Oh look at the time, it's time to open a Jack Daniels and review a book about children's card games that really picks up with the second volume, and I'm not talking about Heiwa.

But I will if I need to stroke my ego.

Why yes, I like Man with a Mission now, how could you tell?

I'm Shida, your neighbourhood friendly Jack Daniels-loving unkie who's here in this beautiful afternoon to review the second volume of ''Yuuto Has a Better Time Than Yza: The Light Novel'', titled ''Zyriot War'', and since I'm bias and bad reviewer, you already know this is gonna go greatly.

So after a long year of waiting for Z World to be finished so that Fox could finish Zyriot War, the entire volume is out. And no, I'm not counting Special Shorts because they're as useful as Izuru's gacha addiction after going to live with Ibuki. The only relevant SS is Yukina's, since it allows me to further take a taco tuesday dump on her, which is always highly appreciated. That and John's SS, because John is still a far more interesting character than this little ball of pretentious attention seeking edge.

Where was I? Oh right, a bad review.

Ok look I'm gonna be frank with you, I'm not enough Arashi to reread something I've read once, not even for the sake of research, so I'll skim through the older parts and focus more on the new ones, as it should be because not alot happens early on.

Tl;dr is that Zyriot does a Sin and monologues for a chapter straight. Yuuto gets marked as a woman beater, Tadaroko gets properly introduced, D Class gives Yuuto a good physical wake up call, courtesy of a good and interesting character and I'm guessing Emica keeps being annoying because this is Generations.

The real good shit picks up with chapter four, the good old ''E Class on the Move'', only that that move isnt from the shit class to a better one. Yes, I did high five myself.

But now let's talk about some characters because I'm more systematic with my reviews than Kamen Rider Saber is with being a bad toku show, and because I need to get Yuuto and E Class out of the way before getting into the cooler shit, starting with the man, not the myth nor the legend, Yuuto.

Yuuto: Yuuto's actually not shit in this one. It's fun to see him be more proactive in his journey into joining a better class instead of just standing there being sad, which he still does plenty this volume, don't get me wrong. He also manages to get one of the teo coolest fights in the entire volume, courtesey of Dark Crow and Claret's smile.

Oh yeah, he changed decks from Erads to Claret. He could have changed from Erads to vanille grade one beatdown and I'd still would have been happy because Erads are bad, soa re the people who play them. But of course he'd get Claret.

''But Shida, you economic knowledged god with a sweet portuguese ass'', I hear you clearly say, ''didn't you put Yuuto on a protag pedestal in the last review?''

Yes and then I woke up to life and realized how bad he was during volume one and how volume two does a good job at making him not job as being a protagonist.

If there's a thing I'm indecisive about is the entire White Room thing, because on one hand, it's awfully lazy and the final nail on the ''This is Youzitsu but the characters take themselves too serious and play a children's card game'' coffin, but in the other, this loser has been getting his ass handed to him so much that I really can't take this guy being a super genius serious and will ignore it until the end of the story. I do think that he one shotting Albert is crap because I'm usually the one who applies anime logic to fistfights, but it's in the past and Albert got his rebenji by making Daman good.

Yukina: After Yuuto we sadly have Yukina. However, I will give her the benefit of the doubt considering she at least as something to do in the story now and I am glad that now she has a point for existing.

It means that after she and Emica finish up their dumb fuckery next volume, I can finally press the skip button on all her lines BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY-

Easily the best decision Fox made this volume.

Still on the E Class train, we have a lightning round because people from other classes are relevant too and I need to get to them.

Pina: Too dumb, too Arthur shaking fist, too irrelevant.

Alice: I dont remember she doing anything besides dying. Hers and Pina's dialogue about trying to guilt trip Yuuto into admitting he has A Class connects just to steer the minds away from him being innocent sounded dumber than both of Izuru's sick speeches to Aimi and Chika combined and I dont care that its within character because they're popular students. This isn't a jab at Fox's writing, it's me appreciating how the dumbassary of popular kids got so well protrayed in here. Like goddamn, they really sounded like braindead fucks.

Aki: Easily one of the better characters of the volume, with the big fight of the volume being all about him, but it sadly didn't live up to the hype because of the fights that came before and after.

Nora: Another great character with one of the best fights in the volume.

Katsumi: The true heroine because Yukina still has Yukina Syndrome.

Mitsuba: He got more character development than Yukina, meaning everything is correct with the world.

Yukimura: Glory to the loser faction.

Akari: She moved up to the class that has the dad of her hot tanned lawyer boyfriend's other dimensional self. Don't get the joke? Good.

Tadaroko: Im probably saying her name wrong.

Kawaguchi: As someone who's favourite series recently became Tokyo Revengers, I really like his backstory tying in into a middle school gang and advocate for the superior SS, that being SS Itsuki: Karaikai vs Ikebukuro Manji Gang. Gotta love the scene where he rides Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier.

Chabashira: Besides that one part in character two, she did absolute jack shit.

Now to D Class, where I get to be even more bias.

Zyriot: The sa dirony si that I found him to be way more interesting outside his fight with Aki, despite that being the msot hyped part of the volume, but considering that they represent the ''You took everything from me.'' ''I dont even know who you are.'' meme, it all balances out.

Hoshimi: Too smol, too potato roll, too Itsuki's sister.

Ishigami: Easily one of the MVPs of the volume, fuck you, fight me, eat Dino DNA bitch.

Albert: His SS could jsut be him not speaking while staring at his Soundcloud profile and it'd still be more itneresting than Yukina's.

Reo: Is his last name Imaishi or Imagashi, I cant remember. Sad Fox didn't throw in the five paragraphs worth of Yuuto monologuing about how Reo could get the last soul for Agravain while ingoring that reride was a thing.

John: The ting does go skraaaaa.

Zenkichi: You mean Zentetta Shigesaki. But he'd need to actually be smart, what TR character can I compare to him :hmm:

Mikitaka: Jujutsu Kaisen came at the right time for us to turn Mikitaka into a fucking loved by all character. Redoing Mikitaka into being the besto frendo was absolute genius and his fight with Nora was easily only beaten by Yuuto vs Kishou, something that could be changed with a bit of Man With A Mission. Im glad he went down to E Class since that means he'll be more present in the main story and that it gives us Dr. Yukimura 2: Kastumi Wars and scenes of Nora's weird best friend triangle and love triangle. Honestly, I will refrain from speaking about him jsut so that you go read all his scenes sicne they're all godtier.

And now for miscellaneous characters because the format of ''Character Name: Funny line'' really makes my job easier.

Kaido: The part dedicated to him flexing his god status on Yuuto's White Room winning ass is easily one of the better parts.

Emica: Im glad I dont have to give her the 2% of attention I gave her last volume anymore.

Itsuki: Monkey

Bald guys: The shine on their head is still more interesting than Yukina.

Suzui: The medical marvel

Itteki: All white powder is same until Suzui drinks the water with cocaine

Namie: She's here

Kumi: She's here

Bel: He isnt here so Fox got get the owner's permission to throw him into the story, gotta complete the collection of obscure references and italian characters.

Kishou: You know, I really like Kishou. The fact he's such a tactless guy outside the King shit ended up being much more refrehsing than I thought, and all of his scenes were pretty good. And man, am I glad Fox unironically mae my meme about him and Itsuki being best friend memes. Fuck your lack of sense of humour and not liking memes getting adaped, all my homies stan Kishou-Itsuki friendship.

Kurosaki: She could tell me to bark, and I'd buy a dog suit right away if it meant being hers. What's up with second volumes and introducing the ultimate best girls of this extended universe, are we gonna get anothe rultimate best girl in Bakarina's second volume or something.

Ryuzaki: Grabahan.

Steering away from characters, thank god, I'd like to go over one of the best aspects of this volume, that being the war, and no, I dont mean the actual war, I mean the Fighter Skills.

Some people don't like them, and I for the love of god can't understand why. Yeah its not like normal Vanguard, but this is V series, any interesting match up you can think of was done and probably wasnt as interesting as you'd think it'd be.

I like my gimmicky shit, Gimmick Puppets not included, so seeing this skills, ranging from balls to walls dice rolling to a net zero filter effect, really made the war way more interesting. Mix that with the fun match ups of bad decks because lol two lowest classes and you have yourself a very enjoyable string of cardfights.

On a personal note, I hate the fact that I can't bullshit skills into Heiwa like I did with the ride deck, but there's always soemthing else I can bullshit into Heiwa to make fights more interesting.

One day buddy, one day.

Oh yeah, and Balance Breakers?

It's balls to the walls gimmicks on ket, so you know I like it. Still a better design choice than overtriggers.

Some minor nitpicks about the story would be the sweet cafe date being as boring as we'd thought it'd be, Kishou not buying that piano and Drachma Taste not having a second episode out by now.

Im glad Fox started releasing chapters and parts as he did them after getting a taste of his own medicine since it makes remembering half the shit that happens easier and makes the hype train run longer.

Volume 3 will eventually come out, and then well finally get to volume four, which I'm more hyped about because its the summer volume, a.k.a the volume where Fox has to tie in all the dumb shit I did for Spiral Soul's summer arc :ehue:

Cant wait for prem Claret and prem Brandt. Oh yeah I dont like Yukina's deck change, it means taking Nightrose away from Itteki.

And before I forget, let me fangirl about Dark Crow a bit. It's honestly such a godly music choice and the definite Yuuto theme song for now, unless Fox changes his mind along the way. It's the Haruka Mirai to Yuuto's Ryuuga, the Hamefura OP to his Kin, the Guilty Gear rock song to his Izuru. Honestly, Yuuto and Thorfinn from Vinland Saga, the anime where the song is used as the second opening, really have alot in common. They're angsty blond eeuropean teens who swing objects with sharp edges and hate something that is related to their dad, in Thorfinn's case being the murder of his dad Askeladd, and in Yuuto's, not murdering his dad Yza yet. Honestly ten out of ten OST choice, I hope it becomes an opening and that it gets so sued that it annoys Arashi into saying its overused.

I've been Shida, this has been my Jack Daniels bottle, and this was by shitpost review about Zyriot War, because Im not an overworked assistant to overanalyze things and reread the entire volume to then say ''This is a book that has rereading valie'' when even children's books has reread value, Im a lazy overworked warehouse worker.

Ok that's all, go away now, look out for the Shinjuku special eventually coming out whenever I get around to finish it, featuring beloved characters such as Kiyokiyo Kiyokiyo and Shineimon Sins, go watch Tokyo Revengers, go watch ODDTAXI, and most of all, go watch the Chainsaw Man trailer, since I need Chainsaw Man friends.

PS: All the original artwork for the volume was fantastic, specially Yuuto standing on Claret and Kaido power sitting. Some minor nitpicks would be Kawaguchi's weird eyes when meeting Zenkichi and Claret's upper snout looking like a beak on Claret vs Orfist, but Im not a proper artist to properly review art. Either way, it all slapped, but crying out loud, draw more girls, specially more Kurosaki.

PPS: I like how overDress cards got thrown into the story despite already knowing about it, but I hate how it's a jab at us CCEU writers being so slow that entire formatsa re created before we finish out stories : (

PPPS: I said Id review the OD anime but it ended at the same time as volume two so Im gonna skim the shit through the review.

Episode one: Very good

Episode two: Doesnt live to the hype

Episode three: Yuyu beating a Baro-playing Miyuki Shirogane was fun, Danji quitting was not

Episode four: bad episode

Episode five: Good episode until the rats that havent left their parents' basements said ''Tomaru muh waifu''

Episode six: What if you want ''zah brek it down'' but the editor said ''Zero ad''?

Episode seven: Are we sure this isnt a yaoi

Episode eight: Magnolia somehow won against the deck that cucks it better :coolcat:

Episode nine: Shinemon Sins is a monk, holy shit :mindblown:

Episode ten: WHy does Cocytus' edgy grandson look so good

Episode eleven: Im sold on the idea of Elger > Valiente after this lmao, that -one deadass costed the team's banner

Episode twelve: Why are they underDressed and not overDressed :wut:

Characters:

Yuyu: Not a MC

Danji: The actual MC

Tohya: Everything about him is good until he calls his main deck Rooks and Forts

Megumi: Decent

Tomari: Very fun

Zakusa: Best character in the show comedy wise

Masanori: The monk with the attitude

Music was good, unit fights were fucking awesome, when the animation hit, it hit hard, 7/ten, I hope season 2 is better.