"I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet!" is a prime example of wasted potential and a lackluster attempt at crafting a captivating fantasy tale. While the premise had promise, the execution falls flat due to the main character, Noor, who can only be described as an overpowered idiot. While being an overpowered idiot isn't inherently bad this novel takes the trope of an oblivious, overpowered protagonist to an entirely new level of frustration, to the point where reading it becomes a chore. Let's start with Noor. It's as if the author decided to combine the worst aspectsof an overpowered character and an idiotic protagonist into one bewildering mess. Noor's inability to grasp his own power defies logic and common sense. The secondary characters aren't much better. They see him as some tactical genius that's always one step ahead and while I do like characters like Cid from Eminence in Shadow or Mia Luna Tearmoon from Tearmoon Empire. The difference between those two and Noor is that Mia and Cid actually have charm and can actually think, Noor is about as close to braindead as you can get. A nice example I can think of is in volume one when Noor enters the castle of the kingdom he lives in and meets the king, he doesn't even realize he's meeting with the ruler of the country he lives in.

This novel subjected me to a narrative that treats Noor's obliviousness as a never-ending punchline that was never funny in the first place. This novel's potential is drowned in its own sad attempts at humor, leaving me wondering how something like this can even get published. I'm normally one to binge read volumes but I found myself having to take frequent breaks because of Noor's stupidity.

Save yourself the frustration and invest your time in literally anything else.