Silver Spoon reading

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?
As a hardcore fan of Fullmetal Alchemist an Hiromu Arakawa's work Silver Spoon is a manga and anime I've delved into before. My initial reaction to Silver Spoon is that it's a very Slice of Life genre manga that takes its time to explain itself through a clueless protagonist. The manga itself takes its time to introduce us to Hachiken's passive nature and struggles attending this school in a completely new field of study. When I first read this manga I wasn't entirely attached to the story itself to be honest, however the comedy and Hachiken's exaggerated emotions are what kept me hooked long enough to want to get to know the characters. Silver Spoon does a good job of educating Hachiken and the reader without overwhelming them with information that may be too difficult to understand. I find that the way the introduction and following 10 chapters really make to large scale effort to keep the reader engaged without getting bored.

2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect
In terms of connecting with the story my personal childhood was something I think shared some common ground with Hachiken. My father grew up poor in Guatemala where he worked his way to a renowned university to study general agriculture. Though I never studied it myself I felt as though I did since my father taught me several basic and random agricultural knowledge growing up. A lot of it stuck with me but it was something that took time to comprehend, just as Hachiken is learning currently from those around him. Hachiken also faces the struggle of wanting to leave home and due to him feeling lost in his studies he defaults to going somewhere that offers a home away from home. I can relate since when choosing a college I impulsively made the choice to be an artist somewhere as far from home I could get. It's not always the right choice in the moment but its one you grow from and make an effort to move forward from just as Hachiken does throughout the series.

3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?
If I had to adapt this manga into another medium (besides its anime as well) I think I would choose to make it a video game. I think Silver Spoon could have the potential to make a good visual novel or open world game where depending on what agricultural subject you choose to pursue you would level up and advance in that skill tree through mini-games. With the way the manga and anime are introduced I think that in itself makes a good opening tutorial to allow the player to gain interest in subjects and characters. If I had to change anything I would choose to introduce all the character arcs together in one chapter unlike that manga that spreads them out, a good choice for it's medium. Aki's side story of going to the races wouldn't take precedence to spending some time with Tamako or Tokiwa. With a visual novel approach each pursued character would give you their complete backstory and how Hachiken plays a part in their life.