NineSwords

With all your examples back to back, I think I can pinpoint now why the Reincarnated as a Sword illustrations fell so flat for me. It's the lack of expressions. You have an inanimate object and an expressionless girl, so it's to be expected, but the only illustration I liked from the ones you posted was the last one at the table while eating. and on the flip side it's probably why I cherish the Bookworm ones so much because there is always such a high emphasis on the character's expressions.

I’d rather have the Solo-Leveling cover art ...

I have always found the Solo Leveling covers to be strange for a series based on source material, where the visuals play the most important role.

So I've read the sample chapter and that's a definitive "no" from me. Maybe this is a lost-in-translation case and it's better in Japanese but in English the MC is just terrible. I get it that they've aimed for "quirky" and "endearing" but it comes across as "obnoxious", "gross" and "off-putting". Here are some quotes from MC just from the prologue:

“This is so easy. It’s about as easy as day-old bathwater is on your skin.”

My dream is to become a houseplant in an apartment shared by a cute lesbian couple and have them water me and feed me romantic scenes every day.

“N-no, no… I’d be putting my life in danger if I kept playing any longer… I need yuri to cleanse my mind…or I won’t be human anymore…”

My yuri sense began to tingle.

“…Ah, I haven’t even been able to read this month’s Princess Yuri yet.”

“So the yuri pairing is safe, huh? Then I guess this is fine…”

“Absolutely not! I’ll protect those yuri couples even at the cost of my life!”

The order of priority went like this: yuri >>>>>me>>others.

“Nothing gets by me when it comes to yuri girls.”

“Oh, I have a yuri IQ of 180.”

“Never in my life have I insulted a yuri girl with a joke. As a dutiful Japanese citizen, I have never once failed to pay my taxes or protect the sanctity of yuri.”

“Well you took away my precious oral moisture. Give it back.” I pointed to the puddle of water at her feet with a grin, and she walked away. (<<<- This part is one I don't understand since the girl he's talking to didn't do anything to cause the puddle. My interpretation is that he wants to drink from the puddle because she stood in it)

There is a lot more of that. And that's only the prologue.

There’s not even a depiction of anyone actually INSIDE her highbeast anywhere.

Sports Grun Version

Grunbus Version

Thanks for the little excurse into the indie LN scene. That's something completely unknown to me. But yes, I agree, some of those illustrations are terrible, especially when they are supposed to be the same characters.

Your second Fran/Teacher example there is actually something I dislike a lot when artists do that. I see it as a copout. It's just a generic "here is character swinging a sword with some effects". It's like the transformation scene in a magical girl anime. It is so generic that it can be sliced in everywhere. There is no background, there is no enemy, there is no special expression, and there is literally nothing unique to the scene. Every single time I see this type of illustration I'm disappointed that I don't get the see the monster/enemy design.

As for the awkward Bookworm illustration, I think that almost none of the illustrations in that series are like frame captures from a movie scene. It's almost always a composition that shows the characters/their expressions/the object/the place/etc. that's the focus of the scene. I like this approach since it gives me the information I want. Take this illustration for example in direct contrast to the Fran one I talked about earlier:

We could have had White as a maid or the demon Lord fighting against a god. But instead we had that.

I hate it when something like this happens. I don't know how significant this scene is but usually the illustration contingent gets used up for bath scenes that could be more impactful scene choices.

@NineSwords@ani.social the masochist reading more trash

That expression is spot on. The dead eyes. Just add some drool from all the brain cells dying.

Not how I remember it but that must be what this imaginary illustration of mine was based on. Thanks for finding it!

I have one for "worst". The illustrations for the Wortenia War series are so bad compared to other published series.

And for best I think so-bin's work on Overlord is outstanding from the rest.

The Overlord illustrations can also be my pick for "weirdest":

For the funniest illustration, I clearly remember an illustration of Rozemyne driving -proud as can be- in her highbeast through the castle halls with either Ferdinand or one of her retainers walking beside it with an exasperated expression. I am just not sure if this is really an illustration or if I only imagined how a scene from the books would look illustrated.

Perfection

The byline sounds funny "Reincarnated as a Yuri Ship-Sinker"

I've said it before, but yes, that's why the anime adaptation is such a letdown for source readers. While it's fine for anime-onlys it's nowhere near the quality of the LN.

Speaking of typical Myne Moments, can we talk about her highbeast?

This is the thing I am looking forward to the most to see animated in the next anime season. I love that design and hope that some fan releases a 3d printable model after it was shown in the anime.

What a massive revelation that was!

This is going to continue since the entire plot was outlined in advance.

Apologies in advance if I go AWOL again.

Don't worry. With KCD2, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii and MH:Wilds all back to back I'll have a hard time finding time to read as well.

I like that. A lot. I'm going to steal this and when someone asks me next time why I read this shit, I have an answer other than "sometimes I hate myself".

I remember it having the exact same premise as another time reset princess story (it wasn't Tearmoon Empire) and reading both back to back. It was a master class in how execution can make or break a story.