Samurai of Hyuga Book 5

Great book. Greeeaat book. Greeeaat, PAINFUL, book. Greeeaat, EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL book.

I am speechless.

DEVON WITH HIS CLIFFHANGERS WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME.

1. Having Ronin’s stats changed, every time a sacrifice for her is made? IT IS CRUEL AS IT IS POETIC. She just wants people to stop dying for her, give the girl a break.

  1. Oh my god. That red string. Absolutely killed me. Repeat after me. JUN/KO. IS. NOT. DEAD.

  2. Toshi, sweet, sweet, Toshi. Why do you have to be so sweet and thicc? Also that loop reveal makes so much sense as loopy (wink) as it sounds.

  3. Ronin hallucinating Masashi as both a coping mechanism and a manifestation of her self hate is genius and cruel. Props.

  4. JUN/KO. IS. NOT. DEAD. Just wanted to repeat that IN CASE THE AUTHOR FORGOT.

  5. That high school fanfic. This book series is a gem good lord.

  6. I love my spirit form, but Jigoku is also just so deliciously powerful. Them sexy red lines send shivers down my spine.

  7. GORO THAT SUMBITCH. Had to spare him to save what’s left of my Ronin’s mental health, if it even exists still. Killing that version of Goro would achieve nothing but more death.

  8. That ending. Swear to god this author is so good yet so evil. Loving the tropes though. I think this has got to be the crack-iest book yet, with kurishitans, Misashi’s high school fanfic dream, and body switching.

  9. Maybe I’m a masochist, but I definitely think Ronin could have broken more. At the same time, her condition at the start was so bad, I guess that was her lowest yet. I would’ve liked to see a little bit more of it, and maybe more of the massacre on the battlefield, but it’s not really anything too big. Just a personal preference

  1. I, yet again, have to wait another agonizing few years for another book. I wish I could just fast forward in time.

Overall, props to the authors! Amazing book yet again. Can’t wait to replay it (once the guides come out :p)

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Folks, I think we are here failing as a community and asking all the wrong questions, we need to clean up our act. Everyone asks “Where is Jun/ko?” but nobody asks “How is Jun/ko?” when we should be asking real questions here: what happened to Juni/ko? Like I really hope they have survived since Nishi’s death sentence is the only one we see being passed
That said I just wanted to say thanks for Juni/ko’s character. The world can be laughing at them, the MC can be laughing at them, but not the author. For someone who has been bullied because of my weight seeing a fat character being not perfect, but still strong and true - that means a lot.

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Oh god, that twists and THAT DAMN ENDING.
I’ve really enjoyed it, can’t wait for the next one, now that’s my reason to live.

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The portrait change to Masami’s at the end is a nice touch. Also she’s adorable.

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I love part body switch. Can’t imagince how Masashi/mi stay in Ronin’s Body :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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My Ronin is female and Masashi is a boy yet my portrait is female at the end. What gives anyone know?

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Whaat!!! Noooo… I hate that kid! :woman_facepalming: Another reason to give up on this series. Tho, I already started book 5…

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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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I might be wrong, but I suspect that there is only one portrait and it’s androgynous since Masa is a kid.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking here about Toshi’s story and there are two things I need to let out:

  1. The Ronin killed them all. Don’t know about the rest of you, but I always kinda thought that no matter what they won’t hurt Masa… Turns out it’s dead wrong. So we’ve seen the Ronin cut Hatch, we’ve heard of them killing everyone in their grief… I’m afraid we are seeing a pattern being established here which will break our hearts later on. And that’s a lot of forgiveness to dish out on Tosh’s part. I can understand dealing with a single case of cannibalism long time ago done by a little kid crazed by hunger and neglect… But to forgive killing you and your friends? Sure, Tosh has been groomed into giving unconditional loyalty, so their mindset would allow for such a thing, but that shit ain’t healthy, this is J-level of codependency.
  2. But also can you imagine being stuck in a time loop and then saying “I guess I’m gonna get laid… a lot”. Like Ricardo and Satsuma aren’t just Tosh’s wingmen at this point, they are full-blown air support squadrons, none of us Tosh-mancers have anything on them. What madlads.

Also is it too much to hope that there will be some sort of resolution with Jun/ko which isn’t romancing them but also not hating and killing them? Like moving into sort of sibling-like relationship? I would really like that, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen.
Edit: also also we better get more kid!Satsuma and Tosh content in the next book, I’ve been waiting for it and didn’t have enough.

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I’m going to try to be diplomatic, but there’s no real…diplomacy you can give to the massive problem that is this book and this series.

A couple of things out of the way first:

STOP TRYING TO FORCE A ROMANCE IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM WITH THE KID. It doesn’t matter how ‘mature’ they are, they’re not an adult. They’re a kid. Especially in how absolutely trauma-filled this whole series is, that last thing I even want to begin to entertain is even the slightest glimmer that the MC feels romantically or sexually attracted to them, or their eventual adult iteration. I wouldn’t have a problem with this being a quickly discarded question, but it spends so much time on it in multiple books and it is deeply disturbing.

Along a similar line of thinking but with very different contexts STOP TRYING TO MAKE THE MC SYMPATHIZE WITH AND FEEL ANY ATTRACTION TO THEIR MURDEROUS AND EXTREMELY ABUSIVE EX if we don’t show any inclination toward that. They had a history. Neat. It’s a highly problematic history. Neat. That should not translate into a present and a future where the MC is forced to think of them in a romantic or positive sexual way simply because they happen to share that connection. If we want to, to have that “”“”“flavor”“”“” fine, let it be there, but it being forced, regardless of player choice, and regardless of how the character might have actually thought about the person based on player choice, is almost as problematic as the above. I shouldn’t have unprompted and long-winded reflections about “what if junko and I are more alike than I thought?” We’re not. I made that choice from book 1 to now repeatedly. I’m not a murdering, abusive psychopath.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against discussing trauma, physical abuse, SA, or anything else brought up in this book, as long as it’s done in a way that fits and furthers the story and makes sense to what is happening. The level and handling of trauma that is being dished out across this whole series, and especially in this book, is on the level of a dark power fantasy, except there’s no power. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean it’s becomes simply dark fantasy, but actually bad fantasy.

Trauma and suffering happen regardless of choices or logic. People die not because it’s logical for them to die, but because it’s demanded that they make irrational choices in an extremely twisted sense of “dying for a cause.” The number of people who give up their lives against all reason, because of the kid or the mc, is beyond ludicrous. There isn’t a single moment when characters make an accounting of available options, and come to the conclusion that it’s either suicidal bravery or self-sacrifice that is necessary. They just make that decision, unprompted and unchanging, because the plot demands that the MC takes another L. You made all the right choices? Here’s your L. You made all the wrong choices? Here’s the exact same L.

Random aside, but why are more than half the choices memory tests? It’s a choose your own adventure book, not a “can you remember the previous plot” book. Remembering the previous plot is a given either because of the recap, or the prior books. Hero’s Rise had a similar issue, but there most of the pointless choices were if you wanted to search the left side of the room first, instead of the right, or what kind of attack you were going to use that was going to succeed regardless. Memory test, that the MC themselves goes “wait no, it’s actually this” if you get it wrong, is even worse than that. It feels more like a school quiz, and the grade you get is a big fat F anyway because the game requires that the MC take another L.

Here’s my recommendation for book 6, because against all my better judgment, I will play through it because 5 had a genuinely interesting cliffhanger and twist, and you are a genuinely good writer, at least when you trust the reader and don’t make everything verbose. Make the book the last book, for the love of god. Everything is in play, and it doesn’t need to take that long. Kill the cliffhanger demon, fix the body swap, drop the kid romance…thing, let Jun/ko actually be dead and gone finally, get back to the emperor, get the forces together into a last battle, defeat the last demon, something something epic battle of the lions, wedding, mourning, the end. The MC did all the suffering they ever will need. It didn’t make them stronger or more interesting in the least. It just made it a slog to read and straight up frustrating. It didn’t feel like an exploration of a real world, but just torture-porn.

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The worst advice I’ve ever been given for writing is to try and change it so that the people who hate it, will like it.

Because now not only the people who enjoyed my writing originally will now hate it, but I’ll hate it, too.

That aside, I really, really hate the idea of Masa being made into a romance.

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Don’t worry, Ronin hates it too. But it was hilarious for me look at Kid’s wet dreams,we’re like a machine, dragging Kid on our back for a whole month and actively go crazy, and Kid come up with school fanfiction (J is school bully and we are a teacher, lmao).

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I really don’t think we are in any danger of having full-blown Masa romance. A lonely teen has a crush on a rare (also good-looking and capable) adult who gives a fuck about them? Yep, never happened before and how dare you. The Ronin, on the other hand, is so much nope-ing out the whole situation, they ignore it even after Tosh spells it out for them, and the sight of their double being predatory towards Masa is enraging to them.
As for Jun/ko… well, let’s not forget that the Ronin ended up exploiting them first (or at least they can feel like they did just that, and to honest - yeah, kinda). And if people could easily break abusive relationships, the world would be a whole other place, but alas.
Also the Ronin is not a self-insert and are their own character, who takes us for a ride, but not much more. You would never hurt Masa? Well, the Ronin could easily sell them into slavery couple of years ago. You are not a murdering psycho? Funny you should mention that since Ronin kills everyone in one of the loops.
To be honest, if regularly being on the low and in the skin of not the nicest person irks you so much… just don’t read? You really don’t have to? There is no point in torturing yourself?

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The whole desperately unrequited crush has so much more mileage in it, honestly. It also felt like that whole dream sequence was a way for the author to tactfully shoot down the whole idea of a romance.

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First, you have to remember that its FICTION.

As for Masashi, the Ronin is disgusted when M’s Ronin was acting predatory towards them during the dream bit so I don’t get why you think M romance is forced?

As for Jun/ko, I cringe when some players are gushing over him because yes, he was an abusive ex, he’s a psycho and everyone should get away from him. But again, its fiction so let people who like it enjoy it.

Please write a more constructive criticism next time and stop ranting. If you don’t like it then say so but stop being rude to the writer. Many of us waited years for this sequel (and its great!) let us enjoy it.

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Right? I remember as a kid/teen and having a crush over someone way older than me and imagining the same things as Masashi lol.

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The author has made his positions on the main protagonist and the romance option of Jun/ko clear over the years.

With that said, please keep your focus on the game, and not those that post their feedback directed to the author.

Move back to posting about the game.

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What a hurtful message! If I was a younger man, or a less experienced writer, your words really would have upset me. Whenever I get a piece of feedback or criticism of one of my works, I always learn 1000x more about the person giving the comment than the work itself. And it’s always interesting to see how my creation looks through the perspective of others.

@Serban_Zaha: I’m honestly not sure why you would continue to suffer yourself through this series, or even how you managed to make it this far. It’s obviously not for you. Judging from your feedback, you seem to be an anti-fan: someone who will continue to play these games even though they hate them. I’ve never been an anti-fan, so I can’t relate, but I have to imagine it’s not a good mental place to be in.

With all sincerity, I would urge you to move on. I hope all goes well for you, and I thank you for the compliment: for my writing to be so good that you would torture yourself to this extent is very high praise.

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Is masami the one speaking in our ronin’s head or he had gone crazy?

I think it’s a weird mix of both

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