WN: Shinja Zero no Megami-sama to Hajimeru Isekai Kouryaku
Entry posted by Clephas in Japanese literature
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This particular WN series falls into the set called 'transference', as opposed to summoning or reincarnation. The protagonist, Takatsuki Makoto and his classmates freeze to death in a bus buried in an avalanche, only to wake up in another world, inside the Temple of Water, where it is explained to them that they have been saved by the mercy of that world's gods. They all receive skills and are more powerful than the natives... except for Makoto, whose status doesn't rise when he levels and only three skills 'Beginner Water Magic' 'Mental Stability' and 'RPG Player'. Since he has almost no magical power and no way to grow through normal methods, he is seen as useless and weak. He is approached by the goddess Noa, who asks him to be her follower, only to find out she is an evil god who is only allowed to have a single follower at any given time.
This story, as you might think, is one about a guy overcoming a lot of obstacles through guts, sheer will, and dedication (well, and an incredible recklessness born of the latter two skills he gets at the beginning). One thing that I loved about this guy is that there is literally no point in the story where he isn't working his ass off with a smile on his face. Makoto is so dedicated to improving his magic (and his control gets ridiculous as the story goes on) that he is constantly startling those who get to know him.
Oh and there is a harem... but it is closer to the 'classic-style' harem where circumstances always converge to keep the protagonist and the girls from actually going all the way (it gets seriously ridiculous there towards the end). This is as opposed to the harem type that has become more common in recent years, where the protagonist is perfectly happy to partake in the pleasures of the flesh wherever he can get them.
The heroines of the story tend to be cheery on the surface while their love is a bit heavy if you look at it from an objective perspective (think more than a little bit of dependence, verging on near-yandere at times). The yandere-ism is hidden, but the girls who actually settle down as heroines all have reasons for becoming dependent on Makoto (and Makoto is your classic dense as lead harem protagonist most of the time, mostly because he finds training and adventuring more interesting than the female body 90% of the time).
Fortunately, this series recently completed the final arc of the WN, so it is possible to read it from beginning to end (as opposed to most, where it just goes on and on). Since it only finished the main story a week ago, it will probably be a while before the after-story becomes sufficiently large to satisfy, but that is a relatively minor downer considering how few series even get this far.
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