It’s told in a bland manner, which is unfortunate because it’s something that could have left a strong impact. More significantly, I felt that some of the backstory for Lud could have been handled better. I didn’t care much for the secondary characters in this volume, but it’s possible they’ll be developed more in future entries. The plot becomes something of a thriller for the second half, and though it’s all a bit by-the-numbers, it’s still engaging enough. Though the war is over, there are still armies and organizations scheming to get the upper hand on one another–and Lud’s town becomes a point of interest for certain distant villains. While they struggle to turn things around for the bakery, the main conflict of the plot is gradually dished out by a number of side characters they encounter. Lud and Sven are both characters who are easy to root for, and I enjoyed most of their interactions throughout the book. Their relationship is thus highly unorthodox, but it plays out in a manner that will feel familiar to most anime and manga fans. of Lud’s mecha unit that he fought with in the war. What Lud doesn’t realize is that Sven is a robot–and more than that, a robot with the A.I. (His attempts at a friendly smile only frighten everyone.) Things finally start looking up for him though near the beginning of the volume when an enthusiastic silver-haired girl named Sven shows up to be a waitress for the bakery. His dream is to run a bakery, but the city he settles in shuns him in part because of animosity toward his homeland, and in part because of his permanent scowl that scares away potential customers. The combat baker in question is Lud, who was one of the top fighters on the winning side of a war set in a fantasy World War-era Europe. There’s an earnestness to the story that’s hard not to like. It’s more of a simple character drama with a helping of sci-fi action, and kind of has the feel of an anime from 15 or so years ago. It’s not really a slice-of-life type of story about running a bakery, nor is it really focused on comedy. The story of this volume turned out to be much more serious than I expected. What exactly was a combat baker? Why is the waitress an automaton? Will hijinks ensue? I couldn’t help but anticipate this story a little. This light novel caught my eye thanks to the fun-sounding title and cover illustration. Special thanks to BookWalker Global for providing a review copy of this volume. There are 7 volumes in Japan at the moment. This series is written by SOW and features illustrations by Zaza. This review is for the first volume of The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress, which is being released digitally by BookWalker Global. For general information on this novel: The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress entry
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