A Most Unlikely Hero, Vol. 1 (Light Novel)

Brandon admits that his writing is heavily influenced by light novels, anime and manga, and this book is proof to point!One common theme in Japanese writings is that of the "harem hero" whose bumbling but honest life - along with a physical attractiveness that other males just can't see - cause female after female to fall in love with the protagonist. This is one of those but with a more "Western" protagonist. The male lead can fight, is highly intelligent, and exercises daily. Sure, he still has that "my invention wasn't supposed to do exactly that" bumbling, but from an Occidental view, the hero of the story is more hero than zero...Spoilers below... you've been warned:That said, if you have ever read/heard of/tried to stop watching To-Love-Ru, you've seen the Japanese version of this book. This book has some complete opposites... instead of a devil's tail like Lala had, this girl has Angel Wings... and rather being from Deviluke, she's from Angelese. Ok, in both cases, they are the daughter of the ruler of the Galaxy, have a very 'open' view towards walking around the house naked, have 2 younger sisters, invent wacky and uncontrollable inventions that terrorize everyone exposed to them, etc., etc, etc.... The body guards that are sent to fetch the runaway princess so that she can be the prize in a forced marriage competition are extremely similar but not the same... but similar enough that seeing the sword hugging commander walking around in body armor is quite a flashback. To the author's credit, it was much more satisfying to have the hero win through smarts and fighting prowess vs. just getting lucky and getting the commander hit by a train, but this is still very much a fan fiction... One that I was happy to pay for and will re-read. I look forward to seeing if the author stays true to the "harem" story line of the original or diverges (American Kitsune is a modified harem story... the protagonist is loved by many women but only loved one back). What can I say, I like reading stories about overly popular guys getting constantly blocked from love by all the other girls that love him...As far as the rating for this book, I'd put it at a 14+ rating. And so that you know, To-Love-Ru is a solid 18+.

As many reviewers have pointed out, the similarities with the manga/anime series, "To Love Ru" are unmistakable. At first, I thought this was a "Westernized" rewrite of the popular series. The author tries hard to differentiate his work by offering a vastly different male protagonist (think more competence here) and a different setting (future Mars). So in the end, I'm 50-50 as to whether the author made his series different enough to be considered separately as its own work.What I DO appreciate was the quality of the writing in this book. It had some tightly scripted, well-sequenced action scenes similar to what I would expect from a martial arts novel. Additionally, the author took a lot of time exploring the setting of Mars for a different generation of humanity. Thus, instead of writing a series heavily inspired by a manga series, I would love to see the author try writing an original science fiction space opera novel. I suspect the result will be fantastic.A Most Unlikely Hero is recommended to older teens and up who enjoy To Love Ru.

This was an excellent read. I'm frankly not very much into the anime genre, but I liked the first couple books of Mr. Varnell's other series to give this a try.In the end? Worth it. While the characters have a slightly jarring interaction from time to time, the overall effect is of a written cartoon. There were spots that had me wondering what the next portion would entail, and I like being surprised. Thank you for that.(Spoiler)There was a little predictive nature in the naming setup. Having the master of the universe (and potential father-in-law) named Lucifer, a daughter named Gabrielle, and all live in Angellise (apologies for misspellings) didn't exactly resound with originality. However, there is nothing wrong with using those names; just a individual taste idea.Harem ... I actually like how this is up in the air. There's no active push towards or away from it. The protagonist doesn't seem to care, and his significant other is equally ambivalent. No one is attacking each other, and while some are apparently jealous/sad/eager, that just indicates future character development in my opinion. I am looking forward to the next installation of this series.

Alex Ryker is a teenager with a dream - to live up to the image of his father. Hard to do when he gets kicked out of the Mars Police Acadamy! But then he runs into a space Princess and everything changes. Can he protect Gabrielle from her father, an overzealous police force, and jealous former classmates?At its best this is a light novel that attempts to emulate anime classics like Outlaw Star or Lost Universe. At its worst it ends up dangerously close to the show To Love Ru but on Mars in the future. The story meanders a bit as it attempts to build its world and the book is marketed as a harem even though it ends with the main character being with just one girl, but likely this is a slow burn like some of the author's other works.There is a weird misstep that has to be addressed. There is a thug organization the main character has several run ins with, mostly to show how brash and untested he is. Unfortunately the author chose to give this organization a name also shared by a prominent Black Right's movement. Likely by accident or with ignorance, but holy hell does this taint one of the first major scenarios of the book!Despite this, I found the action well paced and the plot while kind of basic moved forward well enough. Curious what the next book will bring.

Sorry but this was massively disappointing , not only is this not a proper manga , there is next to no illustrations and EVERYTHING is over-described to ridiculous levels to the point it becomes boringly unreadable very dissapointed

I have read all the American Fox series then came to this book, so glad I did. Hoping for the next book soon.

Loved the book and refused to put it down until I forced myself to. Can't wait for the next one :D

If your a fan of anime and manga, especially To Love-Ru, then you will most likely find this story highly enjoyable as well. It takes a similar premise as To Love-Ru but has a much more likable protagonist, a cute heroine and a nice spread of other characters that are yet to be fully fleshed out but are enjoyable enough to make you want to find out more.It has good comedy and action scenes and plenty of ecchi for people who enjoy that kind of thing. And I get the feeling it will ramp up even more as the volumes move along.There is plenty of foreshadowing of future developments to keep you coming back for more volumes in the future.Good stuff.

This story is basically To Love Ru if the male protagonist was also an inventor and the alien female was from an angel themed race instead of the daemon themed Deviluke. Oh and said alien female makes me think of a certain silver haired nun for some reason.Unlike the American Kitsune series(by the same author), this book does not have constant 4th wall breaks.