Full Disclosure I have read through MobuSeka twice, and listened up to vol 11 of the audiobook, so needless to say I like MobuSeka more. With that out of the way, I just finished listening to Anoseka and read V6 in spanish so if I get things wrong with points from Vol. 6 please let me know.
Volumes 1-3 are great, however I do not share the sentiment that they are better to any of MobuSeka for the sole reason of being related to Volumes 4-6. Overall the story is interesting but only because I want to see how badly it plays out. I find it hard not to draw comparison and having gripes with the way the author places certain events and leaves certain things unsaid in Ano. Spoilers ahead for both Mobu and Ano
The Good: On the surface I really like the relationship between Leon and Marie (Don't Judge me they're fictional characters who cares about being related in a fictional setting), I like how they went from completely annoyed with each other to caring for and feeling proud of when they are complemented by others it's very cute and wholesome. The proposal was the most beautiful thing I have read and listened to I just had to do both. I had the biggest grin on my face when it happened for the first time. I love Deirdre becoming a fan of Leon and her being team Marie. I'm glad they saved Clarice and her entourage. (Dan especially that's my homie) Nicks and Dorothea ending up together again despite Leon not intervening like in Mobu was absurd and I loved it. Roland showing up as the masked knight, saving the day and ending up jealous and hating/respecting his masked brother in arms. Gelat getting his just deserts at the end of the War was beyond my expectations I had not envisioned the author finally punishing someone after letting certain people get away scot-free.
The Bad (These are 100% factual):
I would say I like the relationship between Leon and Marie up until after the School Trip. Why include the brother sister thing just to sweep it under the rug, but then after sweeping it under the rug you keep it ambiguous any ways and say it's only a contract so Marie stays in school. Either go all in or don't it's far too wishy washy and the cute moments are few and far between. The dynamic has stayed the same ever since they got engaged. (Mainly vol 1-3) The Marie is flat as a board gag followed by Leon getting punched gets tiring after a while.
From the Beginning still knowing it's a Marie route, the author likes to add these parts in the story where Leon and Marie get a sinking feeling, only to then have them do nothing and lead to the suffering of characters that only readers of MobuSeka would not enjoy. This is the part I hate the most only because in the Vol. 5 Afterwards he says,
"Some people close to me have worried that I’m being a bit too cruel to them (LOL)"
and
"If you find this series a bit too angsty, I recommend reading the original".
This made me realize he is fucking with Me specifically (and those who have read the original series).
Luxion: What is Luxion's problem? He is very clearly betraying Leon and the way it is done is far too displeasing and forced. During Mobu he is somewhat invested and hinted at being interested in other AIs by the first term in Lux Report 1. But during Lux report 2 he is all in on Leon and his associates. Mind you this is without Marie and in shorter of a timespan than it's counterpart. During Ano up until the school trip (that cog scene broke me) he is constantly pestering them to get together and once his wish is granted he then loses interest? His entire demeanor takes a 180 simply because Leon says the ends justify the means? Is he also like this in the WN? When he is torturing the Saint why even pretend to care about introducing Leon to get more info but then act like a dickhead and not tell Leon what is going on with the captured Saint anyway.
Leon: I've read that Leon is more toned down and less of a jerk but that is simply not true. He is still a wuss (about Marie and looking at other women) and acts arrogant in the most recent volumes and tells the Roseblades they'd only get in his way. But he still needs to be saved after destroying the Sacred Tree anyway. He has to be persuaded by Marie to save Clarice. He is hung up on killing people again but then turns around and treats everyone except Marie as a Video Game character (when convenient).
Side Characters (That don't matter these are more personal, take them with a grain of salt):
Jenna doesn't exist, and shouldn't I liked her in Mobu towards the end and her being with Oscar, but she is literally not used for anything in this story. In the main counterpart she teaches Olivia rules (cause of Leon) and pesters Leon at the beginning to stay away from Marie, but where is she to tell Leon not to get close to Olivia (She is put aside because then Leon would find out about what is actually going on in the capital) So why mention her at all? Angie is worse by a large margin, despite being warned by Stephanie, being tricked by Olivia in front of Julius and warned by Clarice after she does nothing and is mogged by Olivia when she is crowned the Saint. Crazy to say but all of her scenes amount to nothing because she still thinks wanting to be by Julius is the correct choice (I hated that scene in Vol. 6). Maybe I'll let the author cook because it seems Julius is getting push back from the students towards the end of volume 6. But so far Angie and the Idiot Brigade have been disappointing to say the least in terms of character development. Speaking of which they are even worse side characters. Their Pursuit of Olivia is abhorrent and makes no sense, Olivia should be the one pursuing them not the other way around (It's an Otome Game, which is also why MobuSeka works because Marie triggers the events) Olivia only does so after she is possessed. Thinking about it logically how does the story (The game in this case) progress if Olivia has zero interest in the princes to begin with? The only Meet-Cute event that makes sense is the very first one as it seems it was coincidental that Olivia slapped Julius, however afterwards she is the one actively pursued in the other events.
Narrative Contrivance: I find it completely unbelievable that Leon and company would not know of Olivia's situation up to now. I know they are no longer keeping an eye on her at this point but right after she was tricked at the Casino and they realized there was no one to help her they did not keep an eye on her afterwards and seemingly stopped caring just so that she suffers more. During the dungeon crawl they went as far as finishing the 3rd year requirement yet no one mentions the expelled students who almost killed another student in that same dungeon not that long ago. Despite rumors running rampant among the school Marie is unaware even though she is mentioned to stay up to date with all the goss. Carla returns and gets invited into Leons group but they lost interest in the fact that she stumbled upon Olivia meeting Frampton and planned to have Julius killed (That or the Author forgor). I liked that they had the wherewithal to deal with those 1st and 3rd bosses but for some reason they glanced over the 2nd boss. It's not like it was too out of the way considering they still went out of the country to get the flutes. They even claimed it was urgent since the Sacred Tree is a global threat. But such urgency was nowhere to be found in Volume 3 because then Luxion's meeting Ideal would not happen.
The Ugly: Brad in volume 6 IYKYK
TLDR: Scroll up and read "THE GOOD" (LOL) the rest are just my negative opinions and ramblings if you are so inclined.
