I'm writing this second review after catching up to the latest chapter of 404. And my opinion on this series has improved! The slice of life elements are less overdone now and actually feel like they contribute to the character development rather than just being there for the sake of being cute or filler. I also appreciate that the main character and most of the side characters are pure good as a opposed to the chaotic good of most other Pancakeswitch protagonists. This also means that unlike most of them, the evolutions of the main characters of this novel are far more positive and good for the world and less demon lord/cosmic horror/eldritch abomination type evolutions and skills. There's nothing wrong oth that, we've just seen it done a lot in Pancakeswitch novels. It's a nice and welcome change of pace in my opinion. Also, despite the fact that this is one of those novels where the game eventually merges with reality, it doesn't go the typical route you've seen many times before. It's a gradual process and there's a lot of mystery as to why it is happening at all. Definitely check this one out!
