(youki na gyangu ga chikyuu wo mawasu Isaka Kotaro)
A “gang” of four bank robbers pride themselves on robbing banks in the correct way. They have rationalized to themselves that they aren’t harming anyone, which is ridiculous, but makes a good stage for an interesting plot. This was a lot of fun to read and moves very fast.
Dialogue makes up a large part of the book. At first it was hard for me to follow with the four main characters talking together. However you quickly get a feel for the characters’ personalities and can tell who is saying what based on that.
A character named Tanaka, who lives with his mom, can provide a key for any lock as well as license plates and night vision cameras. I’m interested in characters with these kinds of skills. He doesn’t have a huge role, but I read that Isaka reuses characters. Maybe he’ll show up somewhere else.
I like that the gang sticks together even through a betrayal, all while keeping a light mood. Also, it’s interesting seeing Kyono and Kuon stumble through how how adults can intervene in a middle school bullying situation and can’t just let it go.
It wasn’t too graphic or explicit and stays light and humorous through the entire novel. Great entertainment.
I review the second book in the series here.
Make sure to check out the sequels as they are a lot of fun as well!
Thanks for checking out my blog! I’m still in the early stages, but I hope I can keep it going for a long time. I have enjoyed reading your blog for years, and I have found that it’s one of the few places that I can get reading recommendations targeted at Japanese learners. I’m hoping to add a bit to that pool.
I really enjoyed this one, so I’ll definitely check out the sequels soon.