A preface before the start of this review. This series is currently licensed by JNovelClub in English. It was originally fan-translated by Warris until the end of Volume 22, before he was picked up and hired by JNovelClub. As a result, when that first happened, JNovelClub continued to have him translate the future Volumes, starting from Volume 23, while slowly editing the previous translations for full publication. They have done so up to Vol 19, so 20,21 and 22 can be still read at the site BakaTsuki as far as I am aware, and will stay that way until the JNovelClub versions go up
Apartment Invaders, or Rokujouma no Shinkryakusha is a weird thing for me. Recently as I have gotten into reading more and more light novels, I funnily find myself watching anime adaptations of them after the fact. Sometimes they are enjoyable, and other times like with ‘In another world with my Smartphone’, they end up being absolutely horrible. Rokujouma no Shinryakusha, or Apartment Invaders in English was one of earliest things that got me into reading light novels though, as I watched the anime, and then was very interested in picking up the light novel because of how it ended. And ever since then, it’s been one great ride, and perhaps my favourite Light Novel series of all time. Apartment Invaders starts off with a rather wacky start. For harem stories, you usually end up introducing the characters and adding them in one by one. As seen by the anime, and the first volume of the light novel though, this does things a little differently, with all of them crashing in right at the beginning, all at each other’s throats, or at least, the first few of the main characters. What ensures is the wacky times as we get to learn more about these characters.
We have our main character, Satoumi Koutarou, who has just moved into a cheap 6-tatami mat room, only to be rudely dealing with a ghost girl name Sanae Higashihongan who wants him gone. Add that a ditzy, air-headed magical girl crashing through a window called Yurika Nijirio, a mature, refined and smart lady from a group of people who live underground and use spiritual energy, Kiriha Kurano, and a princess named Theiamillis Gre Forthothe and her aide, Ruthkania Nye Pardomshisha, who kindly transferred themselves into the room from their ship, both hailing from the Holy Galatic Forthorthian Empire some 10000 light years away. Thus starts the craziness.
It seems Room 106 of Corona House just so happens to be a place where multiple things coincide. It is a hub of powerful magical energy, the main exit and a place filled with spiritual energy, thus of importance to the Underground People, and also happens to be the place where Theia needs to bring under her control as part of her test to qualify for the throne of Forthorthe. These seemingly weird and innocuous events all throughout the course of the novel slowly are all connected and tie into one another, though that is for many, many volumes down from the start. Add to that Harumi Sakuraba, the president of the knitting club at Koutarou’s school, another princess from Forthorthe, Clariossa Daora Forthorthe who seems to have a vengeful feeling towards Theia, Aika Maki, a magical girl from an evil organization intent on defeating Yurika, Kenji Matsurajida, Koutarou’s best friend, and finally but not least, Shizuka Kasanagi, the landlady of Corona House, and you have a large cast of colourful and interesting characters.
On thing this novel does best is how it sets up all the characters and makes you care about theme. It goes in-depth to introducing them, and finding more about them, with at least 2 novels surrounding most of the heroines each. It may come as a surprise to anyone who watched the anime, but that adapted Volume 1-6, and most of 7, and while that may seem like a lot, that’s just the set-up. Literally, it’s the prologue to the main plot-line. Yep, you heard me right, a 7-volume long prologue of sorts. It sets the stage and goes in-depth and in detail into the starting introduced characters, that is, the five invading Corona House, and goes on to give more about the other characters later down the line. In the whole 30 volumes currently published, you see everything from fights and pointless, but fun events, time travel, magic and warfare, both on land and in space, and you’ll be pulled into a large, interconnected story that is very well put together. It creates a vibrant and interesting world for the story to be set in.
You won’t see times where the heroines fight each other for silly reasons, or berate each other for liking the main character, even through the novel they all start off as enemies, but as time goes on, as they help each other and learn more about one another, by the end of it they become like one large interconnect family, a tight kit group surround Koutarou at the centre. It creates a very nice atmosphere and allows the novel to less focus on romantic squabbles, and more on how past, present and future events define it’s characters. On how they deal with a situation none of them expected. On how events that happen define them, and brings them all closer together. It allows the novel to focus on the main thing, the large interconnecting plot-line and story, and most importantly, the characters. Many of the heroines seem like they would be wildly different in origin, but as you read further and more in, you’ll see all the foreshadowing of future events, and how all these individual plot-lines all in some way loosely relate back to our main character. It has a very interesting way of showing why all these girls ended up near and gravitating to Koutarou, why they all, despite seeming so different, seem to have come to the same place. And the pay-off is quite nice.
To put it into perspective, Volume 1-7 is basically the prologue, so read those first. Then, Volume 7.5 and 8.5 are next, as they tell an integral story that foreshadows and sets the basis for many future events to occur. Then simple read the remaining volumes, with the odd couple of volumes hashed in-between that are filled with miscellaneous side stories. Following 7.5 and 8.5, Volume 8-13 basically finish what would be the main rising action that leads into the main interconnecting story connecting all the characters that continues past Volume 13. It really is a wonderful read.
So yes, I would love to go more into detail about the inner workings of the story, but that would be spoilers. But give it a read. It’s a wonderful and well put together story that is not yet finished, with wonderful and loveable characters, a interesting and enjoyable plot, and a very nice ride read. So why not make it your next light novel to read? After all, with 30 volumes currently released, all translated in English, it’s sure to keep you quite busy for a while.
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