It Sucks Being a Side Character

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2022

Author

Baruma

• Chapter 13
  Oct 6, 2022
• Chapter 12
  Sep 29, 2022
• Chapter 11
  Sep 22, 2022
• Chapter 10
  Sep 15, 2022
• Chapter 9
  Sep 8, 2022
• Chapter 8
  Sep 1, 2022
• Chapter 7
  Aug 25, 2022
• Chapter 6
  Aug 18, 2022
• Chapter 5
  Aug 11, 2022
• Chapter 4
  Aug 4, 2022
• Chapter 3
  Jul 28, 2022
• Chapter 2
  Jul 21, 2022
• Chapter 1
  Jul 14, 2022

Reviews

Community Reviews(7)

• Hoodie_mcbiscuitsRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I started reading this story because I thought the premise was fun. It reminded me of the RDCworld skit where Mark realizes all the tropes and is pissed he’s the side character. At first the story is very in line with that, parodying various anime as the main side character, Lee, copes with living in his older brother’s shadow. He’s an annoying little shit, but that’s what makes him great. It’s funny, has interesting action, and very central themes thanks to being told in first person view. The setup is simple, the execution is good, and the character work is done very well over the first volume, most prominently with Lee. By the end of the first 15 chapters, I felt a little inspired, sufficiently entertained, ready for more, but I felt like it would be predictable. I was wrong
  Volume 2 flips your expectations in a very satisfying way. Minor spoilers for the setup ahead.
  Volume 2 is set to parody isekai in the same vein volume 1 parodied shounen. But it does the opposite. Instead of a primitive fantasy town, it’s a village with a competent government. Every little step of the way the first few chapters, our expectations are flipped in a funny way. But what’s great about it is Lee’s are too. A change happens with him partway into the story, and a change in how the story is told reflects that, as the story switches from first to third person. Once this happens, the events of both volumes are recontextualized. Hints at the inconsistency’s of his narration show through. One of my biggest gripes with the first half of the story is how centered on Lee it was. He’s supposed to be the side character yet he was the center of the universe, but that changes the second the narration switches. The side characters personalities subtly change as they become the real characters they are, instead of the caricatures they were in Lee’s eyes.
  Don’t get me wrong, volume 1 is still great, I think it actually becomes better after reading some of volume 2 and understanding the intent of th
• GGOAPRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Came into reading this story because of the meta view on things and the protagonist's perspective.
  Stayed because of the meaningful narrative about the difficulties of achiving change.
  Really love just how flawed the protagonist is in many ways, while not really being a bad person he is just flawed.
• A Sleepy ReaderRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Initially, it's just a story about a self aware side character who looks around and identifies everything happening around him as a trope of some sort.
  But this story takes it beyond being just that.
  Lee(the MC) grows.
  And the way the author demonstrates this, writes this, is beautiful.
  The author leans on the tropes during the beginning(I mean it is a story about a self aware side character), but he does it in a way that is seriously good.
  But later on, the tropes aren't as reflective of the characters.
  The characters grow, and the author grows it from being a story about a self aware side character, to about growing past being just a side character, growing past living in the shadows. About acknowledging that while he is one, that doesn't define who he is.
  That Lee's role may be as a side character, but it is up to him whether he wants to change that. And he does.
  All in all, a seriously good story ^^^^^.
• RailCannonLiebeRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Like a drunk midget, this story is short and fun. I'm not going to say it's some deeply written intellectual masterpiece, or the greatest written webnovel in the world, but I am going to say that it got me to laugh out loud a few times and even feel some motivation around the volume one end. It's great while it lasts, so go on and try it, it'll only take you a little bit.
  Mr. Baruma! Hello! I need more chapters. This is a threat. I will not be afraid to resort to violence to get what I want. You better not abandon this story, otherwise I will turn your life into a filler arc, you hear me pal? You do? Good. Glad we're on the same page. I loved reading it, thank you for writing it.
• TealiciousTeaRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  Interesting enough and funny story. Worth a read if the concept grabs you.
  The meta understanding that the characters are operting in a cliche, generic shouen story seemed to be somewhag accepted by the characters to varying degrees.
  Anaology - A strong element of denial of the ' shoeun meta' can be compared to beleiving earth is flat even though it is round.
  Some characters do accept the earth is round. They have 'meta' knowledge tbis kmowledge is the crux of the humour, dialgoue and narrative strucuture.
  Written well enough with engaging action and dialogue. Not much setting description.
  Some words are out of line as in a line below the rest of the paragraph. Minor formatting error.
  Story comments on cliche, but is also confined to cliche. It feels like a funny narration of a boring show, game or whatever. You've seen it before, but you'll get some laughs and emotional moments.
  On the themeatic level I'm not sure what the story has got to say. Beyond be yourself and don't compare yourself to others (his brother).
  It fits alright, and is sort of character development for the mc. Though, he already seemed to be doing this anyway. All his views from 'be the best' to his rejection of this view were authentic responses to his context. At no point was he living a 'lie' rather his understanding was the source of his suffering, imo.
  I guess the 'lie' is supposed to be that his view of if I can't be best then I am useful, valid or a hero. He does reject this by the stories end. So personal growth.
  It doesn't really touch on more existential issues the mc has. It addresses his responses to those issue, but not the deep crisis.
  Amor fati - love of one's fate or defiance of fate. Though defiance of fate 'rage against the dying of the light' is the more accepted value. The mc seems to slide closer to amor fati in the 'be yourself' message.
  Honestly neither are funny, and not quite hit well enough to be profound. The funny-serioud balance an author like Terry Pratchet could hit
• CardinalRRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 3.5

  The story cold-opens into a battle with the Villain, in which the MC of this Story, Lee, confidently expects that he's also the Main Character of his own life. Oops. That's his big brother and he's just a side character.
  Lee doesn't take it well. Specifically, he handles it with an increasingly bleak, sarcastic savviness that you'll either enjoy or find annoying.
  I could've forgiven the bleak protagonist, but where I struggled with the rest of the story was the team. Lee treats his brother Diran, the ostensible protagonist, Shai (Shy), the tsundere nicknamed "Useless", and Roku the muscle as cardboard cutouts. Unfortunately, so does the author. They're comedically dumb, uninteresting, and mostly exist to make Lee sound smarter as he explains the stereotypical episodic plots to them. Which was funny at first, but got old fast.
  At halfway through the 1st Volume, I'm left with the enduring impression that what Lee needs in his life is not the ability to defy fate or control his own destiny like the mysterious antagonist promises, or even the courage of his convictions, but rather an ounce of empathy for his teammates and friends. At least then he'd probably be less miserable.
  Caveat to the above: in a chapter note, the author claims that this is a very deep and complex character story, and they wouldn't blame me if it took a couple rereads to understand it. I have not reread this story and don't intend to, so it's entirely possible I've missed something deep and complex.
  If you like deeply sarcastic and savvy POV characters who feel like the Only Sane Man in a typical Shounen series, go ahead and give this one a shot!
• MeMyselfRoyal Road

  ★ 0.5

  I read about 15 chapters of this and I must say it's not my cup of tea, therefore take this as the opinion of a stranger more than anything, as this may become one of the best stories on RoyalRoads, and I will just be a dunce. Now to the review.
  Even thou I like the premise, the story crawls, its pacing is all over the place and this short read seemed like a chore, the events sometimes did not even correlate. It does not flow. But maybe thats intended.
  The protagonist with his sarcasm and cynical view on every event seems to have the entire story figured out, yet he is remarkably incapable of change as he has supposedly been in the team for 2 years yet he did nothing to change his life and still questions himself on what he wants, even the end of volume 1 was unsatisfactory to see is big realization, as it was lackluster at best, with all the intelligence he supposedly has he should have come to that conclusion long ago.
  And the other characters are mostly cardboard cutouts so there is nothing to say about them.
  The World and Power System I like it, as I love magic systems and world-building in general, and the few things that were said seemed quite good and fun.
  All in all, I couldn´t shake the feeling that this is some amateurish wannabe intelligent, "Look at me I'm so smart, meta, critical and subversive. 5head" story as it tries to subvert tropes and look savvy but ends up looking foolish at best, and a train wreck at worst.
  And I must add that one should not have to read 30 or even more chapters for a story to become engaging, a good story is engaging from the beginning.
  Finally, I prefer the approach that "Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga" took with its protagonist and story, even thou they have a very similar premise.
  This part is more a rant than anything, so disregard it.
  I just can´t, this style of story is just awful and I am unable to put into words how much I hate it. I see an amateur trying to make a subversion and falling, please do anything else, your