Decided during the past few days to actually sit down and read GDWO for the first time since I've only really read the first couple of chapters and the part of the final battle, and I thought I've give a "first impressions" so far:
- Went in expecting it to be leagues better than TLW and GDN and I was right (although the parts with Sirius are reaaaaaaally trying my patience, I'll rant about him later)
SPOILERSince the Orion plot is basically 98% of what's happening, I'll talk about that first. I'm annoyed that the Ohu Army really was just locked away in a mineshaft, but I can't be too angry at them specifically because the dumb ass human put them there, even though they can barely fucking breath, implying they only get fresh air when he opens the cage, which begs the fucking question as to why the fuck he put them in there. I know something happened with volcanic gas and shit but fuck what kind of dickbrained logic is that??? Is there no actual lodging that the Kurohabaki has that he could've put them in??? Why not let them out once they've woken up, they're clearly a wild dog pack, dumbass Gohei wannabe, I wish he'd died.
The parts with Orion, though, are really interesting to me (going in as an Orion fan definitely helps lol) and again, he's a lot more mature than he lets on. It's really when he's with the rest of Ohu (aka the cunts who constantly call him "idiot" and yell at him and say "O someone should punish him" without actually do anything authoritative) that he really starts being rude. I've seen people say that he ruins plans, but honestly? When? Again, I'm up until the Kamakiri fight so I don't have all the intel, but the only time this even remotely happens is earlier when Izou and his brothers are going to fight. However, they were fully planning on dying and Orion's interruption is what saves them. Also, it's Izou's plan to start the avalanche (which Orion obeys), and they wouldn't have gotten caught in the first place by Masashige had they not been previously injured (which Orion wasn't even there for yet). Aside from that, I really don't see what the problem is except of course he's not Rigel or Weed or Sirius or Bella and he's not some generic nice guy who lets people walk all over him so he's automatically bad I guess
I really like Yamabiko and his inner conflict, and surprisingly, I kinda feel bad for Masamune. He's not my favorite villain but I have way more sympathy for him compared to fucking Monsoon. That brings me to Terumune and I guess Rigel.
SPOILERI expected more of his subplot to be honest. Instead, he pops up for a few pages and disappears until a bit later and he's just already with Terumune with no real explanation (except apparently he just up and abandoned Bella like a dick but that's to be expected). Terumune is fucking awful, not just to Masamune, but also to Yamabiko and Rigel so far. For someone so insistent that he feels bad for raising Masamune the way he did, he was all too ready to do the exact same training with Rigel, wasn't he? And I'm willing to bet he'd do the same to Yamabiko, and furthermore the fuck kinda shit is that dumping this shit on a baby KNOWING that Masamune is gonna be pissy about it? He brought this entire thing on himself and I don't see this supposed character growth he's supposed to be giving to Rigel. Rigel's honestly kinda boring. And a dick.
Orion's bratty for a few chapters, but is a spirited fighter who knows that bad guys should be dealt with, Sirius is a fucking traitor and ready to turn on his own kin on a dime, and as little screentime Bella has, she's a scared little girl in refuge while her family is missing. What the fuck is Rigel except occasionally rude, and a bitch who abandons his siblings without a second thought (which he did to Bella and will later do to Orion)? Idk and to be honest, I don't care. Maybe it's good that he was never considered to be the Leader at first because he'd probably just get bored and run off if Orion or Bella bother him one too many times. Maybe I'm thinking about it too hard and maybe I expected too much but when people call Rigel the best of the 4 siblings I expect to be given a reason other than "o he's not too mean or too nice and he's a different color so he's "interesting"" TFW!Rigel is more engaging and his only personality is that he's probably higher than a fucking kite 24/7
SPOILERI was hoping he wouldn't be as annoying but that was expecting too much from Mr. I'll Gladly Set Up My "Friends" To Die Because I'm In Love With Evil People". I legit expected the Kama bros to give him some half-assed sob story or some shit about their dad or something and maybe they will considering I know about the mom subplot but so far, they've barely interacted with him except to pat his ass on shit that he CHOSE to do. At no point does he feel like he's being forced to do this and as much as he plays the "O BUT I OWE THEM" card, does he really? They literally were about to walk away and let him die when Akakama randomly changed his mind, you'd think someone "who's got the spirit and mind of Weed and Gin" to hear that and immediately be sussed out. Apparently he does realize they're bad and have no issue killing ALL he the Kurohabaki, but that doesn't stop him from blabbing how few troops Yamabiko has or automatically assuming this literal child helped in wiping out Ohu aka the same fucking "OH YOU JUST WANNA GET REVENGE WAHHHH" shit that he pulls in TLW but it's okay when he does it right? If only the Battouga worked like it did in GNG and took his stupid little blueberry head off. Also the fact that he switched over to Kamakiri and just immediately turned against his fellow Ohu soldiers because "he owed them" is so fucking basic that it just proves that Sirius always hated Ohu and was waiting for the perfect moment to betray them. At least I can say this is the least annoying he's been and that's not fucking saying much.
So, in summary, Orion's arc is really interesting for the most part, it's a bit flawed and there's shit that I'd definately change in my own universe, but so far, it's got me interested even though I know it'll be a while before Masamune finally dies.
Rigel is shit, Sirius is shit (fucking who would've guessed), and the only reason I didn't talk about Bella is because we already know she doesn't mean shit to Yoshi so it's not worth going into. That's what AUs are for
If you enjoyed my rambling then be sure to keep an eye out when I continue the rest of what's been translated