Sword Saint of the Ten Realms.
If you’re hopeless with this stuff like myself, here’s another 10 min per episode joint.
The CDC
(Cult Donghua Checklist)
- Robust Power System – ½✅
- OPMC which defies traditional scaling due to acquiring special thing – ✅
- Family Dilemma – ✅
...
- Surprisingly Good Fight Choreography – ❌
- The Jealousy Ladder of Enemies – ½✅
- Tournament Theocracy – ½✅
- Good Pacing – ❌ (Too Fast)
- Intersexual Aunty Affection – ❌
- Pill Paradise – ❌
- Alchemical Academy – ½✅
- Herb Heaven – ½✅
- Ravenous Revenge – ✅
Ah yes! The classic Donghua rough start, they frontload the tropes, the cliché premise has the knob turned up to maximum, it’s always a test of patience. However if you get past these rocky roads, most times, you’re rewarded. What I’ve found strangely enough is that if it’s too good of an opening it often gets worse as it goes on.
The biggest problem this show has, is the animation. If you’ve watched the top Donghua, this one feels like a total step down, even from 2023 we had way better production going on than this. It’s a funny situation, almost as if it’s running in slow-mo or lagging at times, not enough blood and gore. Its saving grace is that the show’s production does improve slightly as the show goes on. The choreography somewhat works, but for donghua standards this is just no good, too many blitz one-shots like we’re doing 2D animation. Active combat presenting woefully, simply no where near the level we’re used to for 3D Donghua, hell even 2D Donghua.
I will say though, if you persevere till the end you are blessed with an oh-so scrumptious revenge scene an absolute treat. The rest of this experience is not so remarkable. I suppose the MC ,whilst having a rather abrupt story development, was entertaining despite how shallow it all felt. The 10 min episode (8 min really due to preview at the end of each episode) didn’t do it much favors. I did like that they actually utilized a cloak disguise in this show, despite lower budgets, a surprisingly rare find in Donghua. As it turns out, when you’ve murdered people, you can’t walk around midday in bright identifying clothes. This aspect helped the immersion handsomely whenever it was present. Last of all this little sister of the MC, a heavenly dream. If all our sisters behaved like that, we would end world hunger.
The ending was rather strange, because it doesn’t leave a substantial enough cliff-hanger for a next season to be anticipated. Do they even want us to care about the next instalment? I feel satisfied and because of the rather mediocre character developments it doesn’t whet the appetite for much more.
It’s been 3 years and I haven’t seen any signs for a continuing season, this might be it, but I certainly enjoyed this short ride.
Final Rankings
Animation 4/10
Sound 6/10
Plot/Story 5/10
Character 5/10
Enjoyment 8/10 (That final revenge scene as well the use of a disguise beguiled me)
28/30 – 5.8/10 - 6/10
10 x 18 = 180 mins so 3 hours runtime probably less if you skip the previews.
If you’re in deep with this Donghua Stuff and have a free afternoon, I suppose this show can do something for you.
Hope this helps.
May 12, 2026
Shi Fang Jian Sheng
(Anime)
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Mixed Feelings
Sword Saint of the Ten Realms.
If you’re hopeless with this stuff like myself, here’s another 10 min per episode joint. The CDC (Cult Donghua Checklist) - Robust Power System – ½✅ - OPMC which defies traditional scaling due to acquiring special thing – ✅ - Family Dilemma – ✅ ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 12, 2026 Not Recommended
It took me halfway through the first episode for me to surmise that this would be irredeemably awful but with my current no-drop policy (except for extenuating circumstances) I was poised to complete it.
Yes, I've explored the manga, truly it doesn’t get much better. This season, marks the fall from grace of fantasy shows. With the almost obsolete state of Anime Originals, they are left only to select from an ocean of Manga and Light Novels. Whilst it may the actual selection of titles that are issue, what may more damning is that that same pool to choose from may not be as adequate anymore. So ... they reach a precipices. They know we’re going to gobble this stuff up, consequently they’re primarily concerned with just getting stuff out so at least they can fulfill quotas and make some of their money back. Then we are presented the likes of this, an absolute joke of a series that is utterly amateur, whilst taking no risks at all. For these types of shows, I have come to believe there’s only 2 states of writers, ones that are good and those that cover their lack of talent, experience and skill with forced humor, gags or the ever present “Simpquesting”. “DoraTama” presents its audience with a mishmash of interesting themes, but the execution of this is just dreadful. This won’t be like my normal reviews, because describing this initial phase describes most of the experience. Think of the idea of being ‘Reincarnated as A Dragon Hatchling’, what comes to your mind? Of course, as the mind tends to do we immediately jump the gun picturing growing into a big powerful dragon who physically as well as figuratively dominates their immediate environment. This direct dominion morphing into radial diffusion of reverence in that region. I’m sure ideas stemming from that flow through your head like a waterfall. Let's not be so hasty, what about what happens when we're in the Egg phase? Now comes the planning phase of your work and the writers of today reach an impasse. Perhaps the Light Novel is far better but following the events shown here, which I presume somewhat match the source, it leaves me no faith. A question, Does the good part come now or at the end? For a weekly manga, the good part must always come now, it must always come next week. This consequently chokes the potential of many series as they frontload the value, shrinking the both the effect and continuity of later developments. This started as a Light Novel, so what went wrong…. I believe, the value must be carefully spread along the crescendo. This crescendo is coincidently the longest part the viewer is exposed to. By crescendo, I’m discussing; the the ups, the downs, the regrets, the victories, in short the journey. As the viewer, we have an idea how this will end with the nature of the premise and to that point, we readily and gleefully anticipate this. The writer's job now, is to tactfully and diligently describe how we get there in a coherent in addition to an engrossing fashion. Maybe they try earnestly to apply themselves to such a lofty mission, it doesn’t work out, so it seems like they reflexively and retroactively pass it off as comedy, copying the played out handbooks. The problem is that we’re in a phase where we’re routinely exposed to writing that falls below what we thought was meet for children’s books. Tension? Immersion? Wisdom? Forget all of it, they do not care or just are simply incompetent. Starting from the beginning, let’s brainstorm a bit; you’re a dragon egg. What’s important about a dragon egg? How will the Egg survive? Where did it come from? Is the Egg safe? How long till it hatches? Who laid the egg? Who’s going to protect the egg? What type of dragon will it hatch into? (If you’re a little dark) Does Dragon Egg taste better fried or boiled? How does the writer respond? In the depths of their wisdom they answer none of these questions. Promptly, they cut to the chase right away, attachments be damned. The introduction resembling their trusty video game theme induction. You would think that they would wait for this egg to hatch, which would be precluded by having dragon parents or a protector of the egg. These things would be something that would build substance in this show. They instead take the easy way out and the dragon egg starts rolling about and throwing shells with local monsters. Tension leaves the room, the immersion smashed like a glass through hammer. We can now only look-on supposedly in good faith to the potentiality of the characterization and upgrade system. An egg, the most weak and vulnerable point of a reptile’s life. A condition that is symbolized by its sheer fragility, the inability to move or to have agency. You sit there abject, awaiting that fated moment of hatching. The writer thinks they’re clever, so this condition is disrespected. Ill describe the yolk that broke the camels back; an egg proceeds to run around, hide and defeat a predator all the while independently. A shameful attempt to break the mold. What do you think creates tension in these shows? We know we’ll be whisked into events later on of them causing cracks in the firmament. A lot of the tension comes from moments of weakness that we must be shown vividly, that dependency, that volatility, that thin line between life and death. These things help build the esteem of the world-building , it readily sets the tone of the world, inducing the viewer promptly into a more attentive and deferential state. The existentiality and the overture to the substance of the story must be established early-on. We, as viewers, know very well the moment human females are involved it will devolve into the same old hobble. These initial chapters are ultimately crucial to establishing somewhat good rapport. So the growth phase is a bust, and we quickly devolve into the quintessential, talentless, tease-fest that leads to nowhere. What about the Isekai premise? He remembers that he was a human, but nothing else. The writer is skipping one half of the duties of the isekai premise, whilst leaving the other as fluid as possible. A decision which whilst it may seem liberating, for writers of this caliber, it rather lures them into the stranglehold of stagnation. The Isekai premise is pivotal to building the main character, as well as laying the foundation for the story. So you can understand that the decision, leaves it as open as possible, but would require a lot of proficiency for them to pull it off in a comfortable way. The result? Surprising no one, we’re right back in generic valley. This is the ‘Myth of freedom’, no matter how much you flee you will always be bound. A reminder to us all that there are responsibilities you can never escape as they will always catch up with you. Defining the main progression system, of course, are the classic game-world mechanics, the labored use of an RPG-leveling system. In this first episode from being an egg(or more accurately a "hatchling" according to the show), he shoots up from level 0 to 25. So immediately this new system is in disdain, and we understand that this will be a fast development. Ask yourself also, why exactly are we speeding through something so crucial to this experience? That grotesque answer rears it’s ugly head; ‘Simp-questing’. What is ‘simp-questing’? A term I woefully created due to the common scenario where MC’s of these fantasy shows are subjected to unlawful, unorthodox and pointless servitude of random females who they don’t own or have sexual relations with. Back to the show, in this same first episode, we are introduced so brazenly and abruptly to a human female, the show died on the spot there. I can tell you till the very end it was a mistake by me to watch the rest of it. Think! As a baby dragon, with knowledge from a past life of being human, do you dare to approach a human? You can imagine what happens next. I said thinking in jest, because there’s none of that here, he just jumps straight into every situation and this is the basis by which the author continues to create conflict, issues and drama. In every situation, trust surely that characters who have brains will never use them. They exist to act on base impulses without second thought. The MC a mere tool, a plot device. He has no history, no desires of his own and begrudgingly no frame of reference. His figure culminates strikingly as a retarded self-insert entity designed to be immediately forgotten. The side characters wholly vacant, ,moronic, one dimensional, idiotic, throwing their lives away because the plot demands it. There is also a sense that nothing happens whilst they’re off screen, their lives only occur on screen. The sense of the cogwheels of a working orderly world, utterly absent. Eerily just like a video game, it’s discomforting. Must I insult video games; they’re far better than this. How many video games have you played where it felt like the world was real, from my own selection of experiences, their example would put this pathetic series to shame. I was obligated to persevere to the end, stumbling penultimately at a blindingly obvious plot twist. The type that you would guess the moment you saw it. This plot twist, in hindsight, was the blueprint of the Great Ark, sent from above that could have saved this work from the flood of it’s own despondency. This writer does himself no favors, ignores the grace of God and immediately exterminates that last bastion of salvation. Final Rankings Animation – 5 Sound- 4 Story/Plot – 2 Characters – 2 Enjoyment – 3 (Most of it was me imagining what it could be) 16/50 – 3.2/10 - 3/10 – Excelling at failing, Topping the bottom charts. Nope, don’t watch it, don’t read it. Thanks for reading my review. Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Mar 29, 2026 Recommended
Behold!
The savior of winter 2026 for us faithful Isekai fans, especially vocational bingers. Before reading my review I suggest you uncheck review spoilers and read “therealkojikondo’s” review, this man expertly captures in writing what made this such an engaging experience. We have exactly what made us fall in love with these shows; slow pacing, great writing, tactfully formed internal monologues. Careful respect is shown to game and world mechanics whilst continually inducing our fan-favorite cathartic staircase of upgrades and powerups. It’s just right up our alley and just begging to be explored. You press play on the first episode, you wake up from the hypnosis and ... there’s no more episodes, you’ve finished it all in one go. One thing you will start to realize after watching 50+ of this genre is that all these authors have an ocean of ideas, but it’s rare for it to translate well into the work. There’s often an overblowing of the scope, never the other way round. They introduce female characters, but in their lack of wisdom, they don’t control the potential so it ends up consuming the experience. You will get none of those errors here, this first season is an overture in paradise. The writer is laser-focused on the themes and consistency. The experience is governed by Gameworld mechanics but none of them are broken once that cliché of a random powerup to solo a tough foe. Intricacy is so evident as you will get carefully placed exposition of the stats of the characters and abilities, consequently making sound impact on the scene at hand. There is a clear distinction between amateur writers and this work with the expert use of time between events in this show. How many shows use time effectively? How many times will you see someone go from zero to hero, in a show centered around development, in a single year? Again we are relieved from this despondency as there is a generous helping time between developments whether small or large encapsulating the sheer captivation of the experience. What surprised me pleasantly was the authors knowledge of ‘gamer’ strategies, tricks and insights which were incorporated into the various conflicts of the show. Hierarchy, order and family structure, in so many shows in time past, it was common to respect such things. Thanks be to God that this author understands that this is integral to a good fantasy experience. The show takes itself seriously, it doesn’t devolve into parody or satirical gags when the situation becomes hard to write. So many shows focus on the lower end of the social scale completely neglecting or demonizing the flip side of the scale. In the same way there are wise and foolish leaders, there are also wise and foolish subjects. The qualities that define the best of the 2 extreme ends of social order make a very healthy union and that is displayed masterfully in such a small 12 episodes. It must have been intentional from this author because you learn very valuable lessons here. Characters present with several dimensions, showing their colorful intents through actions whilst being given enough time to blossom, it’s a rare find. We are blessed with a writer who possesses the wisdom to know what he’s doing with the tension. He rightly stages the level of opponents the MC can defeat as well as knowing good moments to humble the MC. The author uses deaths, however few they are to bolster the experience and to steer the convictions in certain ways which as a viewer you simply cannot disagree with. It’s quite evident we have a smart person behind the pen and I love it. The plot is incredibly smooth, it doesn’t move in your classic Arc to Arc manner. It’s a slow burn much like a leveling grind in a videogame. It’s very endearing, the ebbs and flows of the small subplots and characters genuinely began to form tears in my eyes, it was very well done. The script writing is undoubtedly top notch as well, every conversation felt realistic with the voice acting hitting home nicely. There’s a healthy amount of organic humor and when it hits, it hits very hard, it’s incredibly underrated the best stuff, I’ve seen this season. Ahh! I know there will be complaints about CG, if you’re one weak enough to be mentally paralyzed by CG, avoid this immediately! Lest you find yourself in the hospital by the half-way point. Nevertheless it’s done acceptably, it rarely feels out of place and that’s good because it’s utterly pervasive. Honestly there’s just no way a drawn alternative could have achieved the same highs this show produced, CG was needed for this and it delivered. The fights are great, yes they’re still lacking heavily behind China CG, but its up there if we’re talking about Japanese CG. Amongst the shows merits lays another undiscovered diamond mine; the sound track. Whilst you may not find a grand track perfect for any blockbusting playlist, the ambient tracks meant for atmosphere and emotion were simply exhilarating. Especially the country music they used for the first half of this show, clearly inspired by Enno Morricone’s work namely tracks like ‘Ectasy of Gold’ from The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly(My favorite movie ever). So much of it evoked sheer goosebumps, i was mesmerized as it strummed the beauty of the strings against my eardrums. It played a crucial role in amping up the emotion during the shows numerous character interactions. I’d like to think I’m somewhat unmovable but this show proved me a fraud. Unfortunately what lagged behind was the sound design. While it was good, they often had the music start to drown out the voices, and effects at times which I don’t usually notice. All that praise and unfortunately the plot doesn’t sit beside the still waters, it teeters precariously close to the valley of the shadow of death. The oh so familiar plot scenario of the ‘Babysitting woman complex’, a true, but common Isekai travesty. Some of your favorites dabbled or are drenched in the dew of this sin. The likes of ‘Re:Zero’, ‘Mushoku Tensei’, ’ The World's Finest Assassin’ etc. Despite this, I’m still reeling for a second season. Final Rankings. Animation 7 - 2D drawn works did fine, leaving not much to be desired. 3D did a decent job for Japanese standards. Sound 9 - Atmospheric tracks were outstanding but often a little bit too loud, the country background music was Enno-Morricone-Esque, sending absolute chills down my spine and inducing goosebumps. Characters 9 - Fun, Realistic and immersive characters that show the authors talent at reimagining the life and structure from an older European-like basis(Common to fantasy) Story/Plot 8 - Development is undulatingly refreshing and it’s very evident time is spent with great efficacy to maximize immersion, build up is made in pure benevolence. There’s no plot armor. But all efforts culminate into a very cliché Isekai scenario of Babysitting a female that MC doesn’t own, though a second season may shatter my low expectations. Enjoyment 10 – The marriage between such strong background music, with good pacing, healthy characters and consistent mechanics. This was just a pleasure of an evening binge as I finished it, uninterrupted, in a single sitting. 43/50 - 9/10 – Isekai Top Tier if Season 2 continues to be as impressive, A Super Recommendation from me. This winter season was rather bland, there’s not much good to watch outside of the popular stuff but this is one of those chosen few. Binge this as soon as you find some free time. Of course, I must make a disclaimer; If you possess the not so rare CG-lioma brain tumor, do not watch this show! Upon briefly observing seemingly endless waves of Japanese CG there's a high risk to critically accelerate brain death. With a second season confirmed so soon in the summer season, no need to read this, you can just watch the next instalment in 6 months. Also I must praise the author for being a strong force for promoting his work, not just to Japan but to the rest of the world, their site is also very friendly to the non-Japanese. Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 15, 2026
Around 40 Otoko no Isekai Tsuuhan
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
In “ChiefGamer” we trust. I saw his oh so valiant warning of a review, but foolishly, I ignored it.
What a trainwreck! To preface my review, I will inform you that I have not read the source and have very limited knowledge of how well this fares as an adaptation. I’m grading merely what I’ve seen in the animation. Sometimes it’s important to watch shows like this despite the warnings because it allows you to understand why their predecessors were so great. It allows you to separate the wheat from the chaff. It hammers home the fact that not everyone can do the job, and also informs ... of the troubles in the day-to-day workings of anime production. This is yet another “Tonsuki” disciple hoping to make their mark. To their chagrin, they fail so abominably in this adaptation that I shudder to even undertake the due diligence of inspecting its source. Unfortunately I really wanted to like this one, it all began with the classic Sunday afternoon feast of an Isekai opening. Licking my lips, my belly full, my eyes lit up preparing for the goodwill of the evening. It continued somewhat tolerably till around the seventh episode. I describe my experience during that prominent episode as “the advent of doom,” ushering in nefariously the ominous memories of disasters like PNL 2, GGLR 2 etc. In short, a total pacing disaster. Not to mention the kind of script writing which paralyses the mind like the labored and precarious beating of a diseased heart. The culmination of these troubles climaxing in the nuclear wasteland of that 13th edition (Extra episode of doom). So what kept me going? The show periodically hinted and even delved slightly into taboo themes and thankfully without the usual virtue-signaling finger wagging. In the colorful amalgamation of themes that were brought forth, I saw a beacon of hope in it’s crowded narrative. Namely topics like moral depravity, age-gaps, adultery, that’s all light work for me. For any plot that tackles realistic elements, aiming for a mature audience, going down this road is a welcome surprise. The next step is making it all “make sense”. I don’t know whether the source is far better at this, but that’s another way in which it fell below the line. There was a fair amount of “quirky’ developments that fell upon their heads almost immediately, they had me questioning whether it was satire, purposeful irony or such things as; whether someone’s wife was that same person’s daughter. Particularly there was this eerie obsession with open cuckoldry as an undertone but seemingly imminent reality. As I recall the events of this show, what came to the forefront was the glaring farce of the magical system, namely the lack of one. For the MC, his abilities are of course “OP” to no one’s surprise. His powers answer to a so-called economic “limitation”, that restriction progressively becoming a formality during the show’s runtime. The general magic system works by being the “chosen one” and with possession of a grimoire. That means complex, formidable spells with supposedly dire consequences are readily used by a child who purely browsed the pages of these hard covered super-weapons. Picture this, a child who recently discovers magical aptitude, skims a few magical books of power. No training, no practice, no mentor, no rules of realization, finite mana reserves, scales of use. Basically an afternoon in a library, fast-forward to the close to immaculate renditions of said powers in the midst of the uncharted domain of a life-and-death battle. Mind you, this is a child, and with such sudden and proficient use of potent magic in such critical circumstances and with no prior experience, you would scoff at such a thing. The second half is rife with such vile writing. The major problem is generally just too little time spent explaining this system as it’s dwarfed by the MC making a mockery of it, the incessant prattle of the side cast, and the endless wave of satiric developments. What warms my soul in shows like these is immersion. Following the trend with the rest of my review you’d imagine here that sustained thoughtful engagement in this show is impossible. From hair scratching dialogue, to sonic boom pacing and lest we forget driving SUV 4x4s through the paved streets of medieval-Esque towns and cities. It’s a truly tough one and it takes you out of these dream-like experiences like a morning alarm. Continuing on, we have the MC spending months to years in this fantasy world and prowling the world in a pristine white dress-shirt untucked with his sleeved rolled up, his black slacks and coffee-colored dress shoes. All this to say he’s a polar-bear in Arlington Texas. We have a kingdom, but it’s a complete sham and proceedings move forward jokingly. A King and Queen present but the “princess” speaks more than both of them. Declaring war on a kingdom but the matter being resolved before break-time. They just don’t care anymore about captivating us, everything is a comedy routine, we aren’t allowed to take any of it seriously. We can’t feel any tension nor have moments that provoke us that aren’t vapid exhibitions. Of course, we cannot forget the MC. He’s a lukewarm one, not too bad, not too good. A victim of the very slippery potentiality of the harem, he is inevitably drowned in the oily swamp of it. The writers, editors and of course directors up to no good yet again. Girls beget more girls. That’s how these shows work, that’s how life works. King Solomon started with a few women he was dealing with and ended up with a battalion-like numbers, It never ends. What started with a healthy juxtaposition of elements between the modern day and a fantasy world with the basis of older civilization, turned into the preposterous drama of a coop of hens with that one “lucky” guy at the center. Commonly you’ll see the narrative, goals, and direction of these works thrown by the wayside, abandoned for the very “necessary” batty babbling of these brood of hens. Usually at least in this poor exchange we are thrown some pity fanservice, but their paltry attempt wasn’t nearly enough to warrant these poor developments. Yes the side cast are mainly girls and to be honest, they steal each other’s light. None of them elicited anything from me because in the erratic bursts of character they were rationed it only further severed apart the continuity. This is most strongly pronounced in the 2nd half of the show. In my usual fashion with fantasy I class all shows by the best show that represented this similar theme. In this case “Tonsuki”, so how does it compare? - Tonsuki (9/10) - Super GAP - Line Of Watchability - YOU are here <-------- - “A Gatherer's Adventure in Isekai”(2025) (3/10) Not the worst but one to surely forget. Final Rankings Animation 5/10 - Drawings range from acceptable to comical, with some of the drawings being remarkably sharp and colorful but as for it in motion, it leaves a lot to be desired. Although it was a tough job, I think better 3D would have solved so many issues. Sound 7/10 - Noticeable soundtrack and it amps up moments quite cleanly. I was kind of fond if it, voice acting was suitable and admirable at times. Sound dwarfing the rest of the production, to it’s own peril. Characters 3/10 - Potential, but pacing issues ruined developments, moments of magic in dialogue snuffed out by an ensemble of derision. Concluding with the “Girls beget girls” phenomenon. Plot/Story 3/10 - Utter garbage plot, zero tension, fleeting realization of story potential, Elements like economy introduced then totally disrespected as the show went on. Enjoyment 3/10 - Honestly, the first 6 episodes scraped a somewhat 6/10 experience, but it dropped off a cliff with every successive episode increasingly becoming a chore, with the final 20 minute episode being finished in an hour as i couldn't so readily comprehend it's absurd developments. 21/50 = 4.2/10 = 4/10 - Avoid like the Plague Watch Tonsuki, then if this still doesn’t discourage you watch the first 7 episodes and leave it at that. It seems my reviews of some of these isekai are all advertisements but comparison is how we learn and improve. Tonsuki = Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill. (9/10) GGLR 2 = Go! Go! Loser Ranger! S2.(4/10) PNL 2 = Promised NeverLand S2. (2/10) We need to cherish the good writers left, this new generation is finished before they even began. Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Feb 15, 2026
Shenlong Xing Zhu
(Anime)
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Recommended
Another welcome Donghua surprise,
for those who watch with undivided attention, it's an experience that rewards your wholehearted attempts to engage the mind. The main character is exceptional here, so much so that you can learn from him, every issue, how he handles conversations, how he moves etc. There’s so much of his personality in this show and he really captures the true nature of this experience. The side cast, well you definitely can divide them into who’s on the MC’s good side as opposed to who’s on the MC’s bad side. Despite this dividing line, there are some border gate, it's quite fluid so don't expect ... anyone to be trapped on any side forever. My brethren, I present to you the donghua classic of story-telling; the escalation ladder. This time around a lot of the structure is maintained, so you’re rarely thrown a curveball. What’s very charming about it is that the scale of conflict matches interestingly with the MC’s current influence. This creates a very immersive atmosphere as well as demonstrating wisdom in the Author. Another thing I found interesting is the dialogue, which does very well in emulating reality, it doesn’t try to dumb itself down and was consistently smart enough to invoke laughter and amusement from me. The MC is also wise in choosing his words, persuasion and controlling emotion which creates much needed tension in areas where you wouldn’t think possible. He has enough power to quell these matters instantly, but cleverly, doesn’t. He finds work-arounds that confer nicely with his own social status, the orders of hierarchy at hand and the realistic concept of face. There’s truly a lot to learn if you focus whilst watching this show. As for the story? It’s a lot of fun, I enjoyed particularly the development in people who got closer to the MC. The big problem is that after 48 episodes, whilst a lot of plot-positive events have happened, it definitely seems like we took just a dip of our feet in the Lake of ‘Dragon Star Lord”. The greater secrets of this world are seldom revealed. The main plot-line/premise growing ever fainter since the opening couple of episodes. Unfortunately we are let down in the animation and soundtrack department. I can’t really recall any memorable tunes, some of them fit the bill but they never truly elevated the experience. They stuck to mostly atmospheric tracks, but I missed that type of track that tends to overpower the scene at times. On the Animation side, I report that the models are up to standard but the shaders are weak. This setup results in a video game like presentation. To add to its woes general animation feels stiff, making the impact of various levels of combat-oriented conflict suffer. Observing the fights, there’s effort showing off the diversity of abilities, techniques and powers but it lacks the finishing touch. There’s an absence of that enchanting and powerful visual bloom that are charactristically in the capability of many 3D works from China. The choreography is okay, but not adventurous enough for me. I'm so spoilt by the donghua norm of insane fight choreography. Contrary to my displeasure, having less complex choreography probably suits the narrative as well as the plot. Interestingly, this show presents as a god-send for resourceful production in animation studios, this world is such that any model possible is allowable in this show. It’s quite the uncanny experience in both good and bad ways, as you view a range assets from all their previous projects. After the conclusion of these admittedly quick 48 episodes, honestly. can i even say that there's about 7 minutes of real content in each episode. It's Akin to watching a 16 episode - 20-24 minute - season. If there's one thing that went against this experience was that i pressed the next video button 47 times, longer episodes would very much be appreciated. Ending is in our donghua classic of a woeful climax, so if you’re looking for a resolution it’s not coming till a second season, which was a shame but I suppose they’ve got to keep you hungry for more in this industry. Final Rankings Music and Sound 6/10 – Did the job, nothing more, nothing less. Plot and Story 7/10 – Main Plot was dodged for several side plots, but still enjoyable Characters 8/10 – Great MC, Enjoyable Main cast, Animation 6/10 – Good models, everything else was unremarkable Enjoyment 8/10 – Every time I put it on, I couldn’t stop until something urgent came up. 35/50 – Recommended to Enthusiasts Want a decent binge in some downtime? This show is for you. Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 20, 2026
Sozai Saishuka no Isekai Ryokouki
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
Lacking a climax.
Another great butchering Twelve short acts From 62 chapters Give me Freedom Give me Campfire Give me Tonsuki Lest I Retire… ... Thank you for reading my poem.. They did it again, they debut a show to advertise the source but the show is so bad it deters us instead. From the script writing to the pacing, to the plot, the story, the characters, it’s rather unbearable. Whilst I will rant here about what I watched in this show, it’s important to distinguish this show from the manga which is somewhat better regarding pacing, dialogue and characterisation. There are few times that the anime outright portrays certain small events or dialogue differently to the manga. Back to my rant; They literally went through a checklist. Pikachu-like mascot ✔️ Pseudo-comedy ✔️ Pseudo-Tsundere ✔️ Zero risk taking(including romance) ✔️ Super-self-insertable Goody two shoes – MC ✔️ Tensura-like opening ✔️ Tonsuki creature collecting ✔️ Random encounters like walking through wild-grass in Pokémon? ✔️ Magic Wand World Mechanics ✔️ Game-world NPCs as characters ✔️ The most ostentatiously daft plot twist imaginable? ✔️ Then they thought; How do we make this guy different from other isekai series? 😜 We’ll make him collect herbs in his downtime, Absolute genius! He’s a gatherer who also does what every other isekai protagonist does. They literally stitched this stuff together and what’s left is a complete husk of show. The characters go places and do things and there’s no nuance in it, it’s Ludicrous. We have our classic OPMC but this one takes the cake. If you’re sick of complaining about OPMCs with this one at least you can’t complain enough. Just cry your heart out, this guy has to be one the most disgustingly broken MCs ever. It’s utterly effortless watching how his spells are baked on the spot, pulling utterly outrageous law-breaking wizardry like a rabbit out of a hat. Let’s not even begin to talk about the power system that remains an enigma after finishing the 12th episode. Not only is he THANOS, he goes around pretending he’s not. There’s constantly moments where he creates matter out of nothing, followed by pathetic attempts at humility. It gets to the point I genuinely feel like an idiot for watching this show, I mean this guy should at least show some kind of reluctance before he cures the unknown, incurable illness or cleanses the entire biome of impurities. They take the fun out of everything. Surely they understand that with these shows the fun is in the journey not the end result. Yes the end result must make sense but from the get go, we very quickly understand that sense doesn’t exist in this dimension. Every time they introduce any type of stumbling-block for the MC it’s fixed within the hour. There’s no lessons to be learnt no opportunity for any meaningful development for the characters. I’m not fond of the nature of this MC. Blueprints aside surely they can’t keep making this same archetype of MC. He’s goalless, directionless, inoffensive, giddy, obtuse(dense), addicted to nice worthless gestures. Classic self-insert strategy so they don’t have to spend any effort in advanced characterization and deep and rich stories. The MC then periodically preaches from chapter 1 the modern day guidebook of self-serving sensibilities. The kind of "wisdom" you find all over female social media, utter poppycock. Immersion is also something that is misunderstood upon watching this show, this is made abundantly clear when the MC spontaneously activates his magic. His magical abilities are akin to a war crime in writing, he doesn’t have classical magical abilities which usually have strengths, weaknesses, specialization for/against certain elements or for tasks. He possesses essentially reset buttons, clean slating, physics-defying modifications, cheat codes, auto resolves all whilst being tremendously physically strong and durable. This ends up removing: - All Tension - All Curiosity - All Immersion - All authenticity of the power system - All Hardship, gratification and joy What’s left for us to enjoy? The comedy is trash, the dialogue is undeniably rushed chopped up script with no interpersonal revisions and improvisation. Intersexual affection? Forbidden! They handicap themselves because they’re awful at writing and it ruins the show entirely. You’re supposed to have uncomfortable moments and hardships so when it’s eventually corrected it creates that satisfaction. If you’re a first screen viewer like myself, having undivided attention during viewings, get ready for a real struggle. I’m at a loss for words, a bumbling bunch of events that have the loosest threads between them. The Arcs exist as a means to an end, whatever happened inside them does nothing for the characters and are about as forgettable as possible. During these mini-arcs, there’s barely any dimensions to the characters, what they say or their thought processes. Despite this poor representation of people they never fail to shove in absurdity and jocularity into each sequence. It’s so pronounced in it’s love of mocking itself that the novelty of it wears off. The more you watch shows like this you start to understand the difference between animated and written/drawn work as well as how closely intelligence is linked to humour. They will almost always choose comedy over proper respected and well executed scenes in these modern works and it just kills the mood. It’s so easy to throw a gag in here, or to do the same obtuse idiot routine. What’s left when you waste time with this stuff is empty-shell characterization and the absence of proper story. Whilst the Anime adaptation magnifies this, the Manga has it still laid bare. On second thought defending the manga might be a mistake it’s still the same foolish plots, and twists that are just an insult to our intelligence. You are exposed to the sheer monotony of dialogue, till you enter the acceptance phase. You know a show is bad when you spontaneously imagine the reality of voice actors saying the lines. Particularly this Ayasa Itou, who plays the mascot character, getting paid just saying “Pee, Pee, Pee” in slightly different tones on each of her lines. They mix in a few improvised baby noises, variations of high pitched wails, cries, whimpers and all of it did nothing for me. Usually you are supposed to adore the cute mascots, then you wish ‘oh wouldn’t it be cool to have one of your own’. On the contrary I couldn’t stop thinking about the ways I could put a bullet in this pint-sized screeching terrorist. Though I mention the voice actors here they aren’t the culprits, but rather the script writing. They adapted an egregious amount of 62 chapters in these 12 episodes and it’s just too obvious that the script suffered unrelentingly. Recalling the rest of the cast, the interactions, the banter, it brings tears to my eyes. An assorted waterfall of moments that shook me to my core, evoking vigorous emotions I didn’t think possible. I paused the video uncontrollably several times, I needed a break to take in the sheer mass of expository remarks and curious gestures. I basked in the sweet, sugary relief of those breaks, because it was all complete garbage. Outside of the MC we have nothing, they should have thrown away this companion nonsense and gone solo the whole journey. At least they could have actually made the MC a real person and given us real development. These characters are NPCs they exist to give fetch quests into puzzlingly, perilous, places, tell you unwanted exposition about their worthless lives, and be saved by divine power from the MC. It sounds like a video game, but before we go down that path let’s respect video games, at least you felt life when you read the text boxes. The more I watch these shows the more I understand why there’s this idea that these Manga/Light novels are an escape. There’s this huge culture of discretion in Japan, that completely disappears when they begin writing these works. It seems that we have ended the last phase of this literature being marketed to sentient minds. What’s popular and what gets shown on screen accurately represents this generation. This correlation extending to the modern classic of the ‘Slow Life’ mantra then immediately betraying it with grand audacious displays of ability and potentiality. I get it, purposeful irony, but surely I’m not the only one who’s tired of this. I also start to understand how writing believable smart characters requires the author to be smart and experienced themselves. This dumbing down of so many shows starts to seem less than an intentional thing, but rather a lack of ability and talent. As for the production there’s not much to praise, they showed up, it was watchable and that’s about it. SynergySP join with Tatsunoko Production for the production of this show. SynergySP has worked on 2 previous shows I’m quite intimately familiar with, one is the Good Bye, Dragon life and 8th Son. I’d say the animation is worse than Dragon Life and about the same as 8th Son. I barely observed any dips in quality, and drawn proportions were mostly respected. The sound effects were disappointing, many effects not really fitting the impact, or power. The soundtrack reminds me of video game BGM, it does just about enough to fit the occasion. You’re never curious about it though. Final Rankings Animation 6 Sound 5 Characters 2 Story/Plot 2 Enjoyment 2 17/50 – Avoid like the plague It shouldn’t have been adapted, If you’re interested in the premise, it’s Tonsuki, gone wrong. If even knowing that you’re still curious, check the manga out, do not watch this! Tonsuki = Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jan 18, 2026
Douluo Dalu: Jiandao Chen Xin
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
I was quite excited, much like others that, we had a new instalment from our favourite franchise.
So which of our wonderful selection of core characters are they going to choose for this instalment? Fatty? Oscar? No, possibly the worst choice, Rong Rong. This unfortunately isn’t worth your time. ... Novel reader? Turn your brain off. Watched all of Soul Land and loved it? Turn your brain off. Hypocritically, for good measure, since i'm reviewing this I am not able to follow my own advice. The moment you start thinking, you'll quickly realize they're making things up and alot of the characters aren't acting as they usually do. If you're an incredibly knowledgeable man, caring deeply into the true intricacies of the plot and story i truly pray for your soul as you undergo this endeavour. Too many plot holes, and this annoying Rong Rong kid being thrown into the epicentre of Peak Douluo-level conflict just ruins most of the immersion and any greater narrative effect it could ever have achieved. What's good about it? Sounds great, Looks incredible but the substance is essentially worthless, if you have any investment into this series. Ratings Animation 9 Sound 8 Story/Plot 2 Characters 2 Enjoyment 4 25/50 – 5/10 – Garbage. It can perhaps amuse you, as long as you force yourself not to think. If you finished Soul-land 1 and will just slurp up anything adjacent to it, I suppose I can’t stop you. My reccommendation is; if you have any self-control just skip this entry. Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jan 16, 2026 Mixed Feelings
I saw a latent irresistible vitality lurking in the murky depths of this show. This potential enchanted me as I drew breath of it’s oh-so familiar aroma.
A racket of criticism surrounds this show swamped primarily with remarks about bad CG or bad animation. That’s mostly incorrect and lacks context. There’s a rampant “CGphobia” amongst anime fans in general. What’s hypocritical is that Unfortunately there’s a great deal of people who will take any garbage drawings over even decent CG, it’s practically a mental illness. When you’ve watched decent CG you will understand the power if it when done right. The show however, suffers from ... what I call “Still-shot syndrome”. I watched the show in the absolute best definition possible and the drawn art looks stunning, the CG on the other hand is decent enough that’s if you just capture it in a moment. When it’s all stitched together I do understand why many were not impressed, it just doesn’t look great in motion. It doesn’t help that the opportunity to create stunning chains of animation is somewhat stifled by the nature of the main character’s arsenal of spells. I cannot recommend enough Chinese CG like “Ling Long Incarnation” or “Immortality” which are overall brilliant shows but what shines even brighter in them is the choreography of monsters and villains. The type of shows where you put them on and it feels like a few minutes go by and you think “where’s the rest of it?” and you’ve watched the whole episode. The immersion is criminally-underrated you cannot take your eyes of the screen, you simply don’t have time to look away, you cant even focus on any imperfections because they’re so damn interesting. These monsters are out for blood, they eagerly will crush you in a heartbeat, they don’t stop when the director says “CUT” like they’re on a set. This show is whilst not the worst offender but it surely embodies some if this nonsense. These monsters are just dumb and it sucks, because the lower IQ individuals will call it bad CG instead of realizing the greatest problem lies in the “Space-Invader” like intelligence of the monsters. They only exist to die, there’s barely any nuance here. Thankfully there’s a faithful few out of the thousands of them actually are sentient and are interesting to the plot, despite such uninspired choreography. You will see it in several other reviews but the cliché Isekai villain is back it again and oh boy is it strong in this one. Yup you’ve guessed it every villain also wants to rape or enslave the world’s second greatest god, ‘The Woman’. Nothing wrong with one or maximum 2 of these nefarious crooks but I can’t be walking into a random bar and everyone’s on that kind of business. Oh and here’s my personal favourite, the villain that is 100% sure that they will kill you. We must have caught them in an awkward moment, they’re so sick of bottling it all up. This villain then spends 5-10 minutes lecturing you, on their entire plan spewing important information for no reason and laughing whilst they do it. Nowadays I’m a D1 MC hater, I want to root for villains, I want to like them but we’re not working with much here sadly. About the characters, yeah all the negative reviews are right it’s just a mess. Touka, honestly he should be a decent MC, but it’s complicated. I’m sure this is a problem of the direction of the Anime. The directors have left out critical information and internal monologues and planning before MC makes certain decisions. This is probably to ensure it fit within 12 episodes, this is quite obvious as the first and last episodes are continuous with no OP. This anime MC is just confusing one moment he’s cold calculated and shrewd next moment he’s just a massive softie. They try to parallel experiences with his troubled past but, he’s just too young to make the whole concept of it believable. The MC's dialogue is just in juxtaposition constantly, he’s reminding us things we and the characters already know. He’s supposed to be secretive but just spews practically his entire life at times, whilst saying nothing in others. Perhaps it’s intentional to cultivate the idea of some sort of childish social immaturity. His general disposition being far more advanced in age just betrays it. The dialogue isn’t all bad it has it’s strengths, but tends to leave you in a cloud of melancholy periodically. MC’s powers are refreshingly simple but it’s just impossible to call his spells “weak spells” from the get go you already realize how much of an oxymoron this is. The main girl is just awful. She has a single reason to be there FAN-SERVICE! Of course a man would be functionally a far better companion for the plot, but no it’s worse for sales and editors need the big breasted mascot. Her entire existence is just to prevent you from getting captivated, you cannot get immersed at ALL! I cannot remember the amount of times I paused the video when she was on the screen and that was for all the reasons you can think of. I’ll give some examples of the nonsense, She’s on the run but wears a crown/tiara, bright distinctive clothing and refuses to change her hairstyle. She’s supposed to be a hardened warrior but is anatomically shaped like a housewife. She’s the knight captain but doesn’t wear armour and is only barely leaving her teens! whilst being of a long-lived race. She’s wears the most functionally bankrupt travellers hood ever made, because she needs you to see her massive gazongas and part-the-red sea cleavage and let’s not forget that utterly violent midriff. As you would expect, the one time she looked great was when the MC gave her a coat for half an episode. It becomes such an asinine experience because her portrayed character is completely antithetical to a harlot, who would fit this dressed character design. Funnily enough she gets caught every time because obviously she sticks out like black sheep. Maybe this is clever humour but it doesn’t allow me to truly delve deep into the show. Dammit she just can’t stop telling people who she is, she genuinely doesn’t believe she can die and she’s not alone, I don’t believe it either. Finally I must say her excuse for tagging along with MC is just buffoonery, she rarely partakes in what she was “hired” for and instead does what a woman should do, mind you this isn’t particularly a bad thing. Why must we usher in these prestigious titles and saddle her with all this fighting power in vain. In reality she's something even better, the main love-interest/wife and that's about it. It just ruins the authenticity of the titles and professions, it’s all worthless conjecture. The problem with women in such a close proximity as well as taking so much of the screen time is that women just lead to more women and the main plot gets diluted and we’re just spamming "abuse", rape plot-lines and lest we forget the stop the-perfectly-good-marriage so you can travel the world with MC nonsense(thankfully not here). Some of you are thinking? But why can’t the buxom, voluptuously built female companion not be strong knight captain of the sword in her teenage years in this fantasy setting? Well can a man be one in the same scenario? Of course not. Fantasy cannot rewrite every aspect of reality at that point we are engaging in child’s play and that’s wholly unintuitive and jarring from a narrative standpoint. The MC’s classmates are just ridiculous. The character change of some of these simple last-year high-schoolers is some preposterous writing. The author’s/directors were inspired by the magic of other isekai openings but just lacked the actual talent or experience to pull it off. It makes no sense why they hate him. The sudden acquisition of power doesn’t change people that abruptly people also will instinctively side with the people they know over strangers. Maybe it’s another anime direction issue, perhaps the manga portrays it better. After the openings they settle stubbornly into their niches and archetypes and since we have only 12 episodes their time and development are relegated to the lesser of the 2 abstracts, consequently, developments are paltry at best. I will say certain characters are allowed out of their characterization shells and unsurprisingly it’s just the women. The MC’s classmates are just ridiculous. The character change of some of these simple last-year high-schoolers is some preposterous writing. The author’s/directors were inspired by the magic of other isekai openings but just lacked the actual talent or experience to pull it off. It makes no sense why they hate him. The sudden acquisition of power doesn’t change people that abruptly people also will instinctively side with the people they know over strangers. Maybe it’s another anime direction issue, perhaps the manga portrays it better. After the openings they settle stubbornly into their niches and archetypes and since we have only 12 episodes their time and development are relegated to the lesser of the 2 abstracts, consequently, developments are paltry at best. I will say certain characters are allowed out of their characterization shells and unsurprisingly it’s just the women. I will say that I enjoyed how every episode just flows after another there isn’t this episodic progression. Animation 7 Sound 6 Plot 4 Characters Story 5 Enjoyment 7 29/30 – 5.8 = 6/10 I will not stop saying that these shows need 24 episodes debuts it cuts off so abruptly where it needed to keep going, and due to the time constraints they end up leaving out useful exposition and scenes. If you’re as hopeless with these Isekai as I am. Read the Manga up to chapter 44, then watch this. This basically is the beginning of the light novel so you might as well start from the beginning if you intend to read it. If you’re not an isekai/reinc fanatic skip this and watch better shows sharing a similar premise like Arifureta and ‘So I'm a Spider, So What?’. Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jan 15, 2026
Taigu Xing Shen Jue
(Anime)
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Recommended
The Secrets of Star Divine Arts.
Do you love cultivation Donghua? Do you love minimal story and plot developments compact enough to stuff between 2 slices of bread? Do you love to slurp up short episodes like a Banana Milkshake? Here’s your show! All I can say that if you’re addicted to this stuff, this is another joint that you at least won’t feel too bad smoking. What about the ethereal reverie of a meaty antagonist with ideals so good you can identify with them? Keep dreaming. This is the jobber staircase, but it’s done in such a way that you won’t get offended when they’re beaten. The Cult Donghua checklist - ... Robust Power System – ✅ - OPMC which defies traditional scaling due to acquiring special thing – ✅ - Family Dilemma – ✅ - Surprisingly Good Fight Choreography – ✅ - The Jealousy Ladder of Enemies – ✅ - Tournament Theocracy – ✅ - Good Pacing – N/A (Too Fast) - Intersexual Aunty Affection – ½✅ - Pill Paradise – ½✅ - Alchemical Academy – N/A - Herb Heaven – ½✅ You know the drill, but it gets to the point so there’s barely ever a dull moment. All in all it does the job, the animation could be better, they could have delved deeper into the story, they could have ended it on a good note… I had a few gripes but none of them managed to rack my brains. It would be better for X reason, it could be paced better. Then I remember, I just binged 40 episodes in 2 sessions so maybe it’s not so important. Though I can’t point to any special moments, Episodes 10-39 had me hooked. It’s never 'turn your brain off ,' it remains thoroughly entertaining in dialogue and conflict. I have to praise how lively every fight looks, even when there’s a massive power gap everything fights for its life. The monsters feel terrifying enough to excuse the weaker animation. Don’t expect anything new or breathtaking but if you can survive the rocky start, it’s on cruise control till you bump into the dead-end finale. Animation 6 – You’ll have to get used to it, definitely not up there with the best of Donghua. Soundtrack 7 – Generally good sounds, and appropriate atmospheric music. Story/Plot 6 – Plot makes sense, and is incredibly compact. The story whilst there you might need a microscope. Characters 6 – The interactions are cool and charming but the antagonists are just stepping stones Enjoyment 8 – Well I can’t point to any special moments its just that from episode 10-39 I was just hooked. 33/50 – 6.6/10 – 7/10 Quick binge but never, a strong recommendation. Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 7, 2026
Shinjiteita Nakama-tachi ni Dungeon Okuchi de Korosarekaketa ga Gift "Mugen Gacha" de Level 9999 no Nakama-tachi wo Te ni Irete Moto Party Member to Sekai ni Fukushuu & "Zamaa!" Shimasu!
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
Huge seeds were sown, but what grew were weeds and chaff.
This has to be satire or something. There are only 2 conclusions after watching the debut fantasy shows from this season. Either we’re entering a phase of the worst Japanese writers ever, or they’re intentionally trolling us and I didn’t get the joke. I don’t know how they managed to fumble this set-up. A non-stop sequence of bait and switch tactics. In 12 episodes they’ve adapted 1-49 chapters of the manga. From skimming through the manga they did alright job in adaptation. The issues in the writing and general pacing persist in the manga, though I don’t ... know about the Light Novel. You’ll hear from others that this show is shamelessly copying from it’s successful predecessors. You shouldn’t complain about copying, If something is good, reproduce it a million times. What people don’t realise is that even copying, is a skill. Most of the inspiration is subject to a very cruel butchering. The author doesn’t understand what they’re copying. They lack the wisdom nor the understanding to stage the timing or to gauge the level of effect. They race through events, skipping to the climax so there’s no adequate build up for the important moments. My eyes lit up and I rubbed my hands furiously every time I saw they were so evidently influenced by Overlord. I thought “There’s no way they can ruin this”. By the end of it my face drooped in pure disgust, utterly bewildered at how terribly they executed it. We have the classic, elephant- behind-bamboo-tree disguises, How are we practically omnipotent in an animated fantasy show, but can’t just change facial appearance or even better just wear a full suit of armour or disguise. We put on the most anorexic masks like we’re doing fancy dress party. We walk around in a GOLDEN suit of armour! While we stress about discretion? It’s too much for my brain sadly. I also get a sinking feeling that he’s just too powerful, he knows too much, he is far too mobile all times it’s very overbearing, such that it eliminates all tension. They pick a handful of these themes but nothing is fleshed out. You take a sip of this resultant rich diabolical soup, you grimace and you’re instantly reminded of true brilliance of its predecessors. The writer didn’t give the plot enough time to blossom, there wasn’t enough careful focus on the themes or characters. If you want incorporate all these elements and characters then you need a great helping of time to prevent your story from paralysing the learned mind. An example is Tower of god, the damned thing is still ongoing but more importantly, for the anime, they needed an entire season for the betrayal phase. How long do you think the betrayal phase was for this show? I’ll be generous and say a single episode. If you’re expecting story, they’ve come empty handed, character development thrown to the wayside. Continuing on about this short betrayal phase. It’s unfortunately also a huge issue for the believability as a whole. They also make the stupid decision to skip all the development during the build-up after the betrayal phase. So he’s zero then next episode he’s hero, that’s an inconceivable shift for the viewer. The matters are made worse due to his child-like disposition and the fact that he is young. Children are used as a device in writing because it gives the idea to the reader of development. Just think to sports, like a young football player, people flock to these players because they’re drunk on the idea of the future development. Similarly so a child implies development and growth. Continuing with this they really ought be to be careful in showing and implementing an adequate phase to ensure that the viewers/readers are satisfied. The series of events were like you went to sleep and you’re Bill Gates the next day but with a child’s mind and body. It’s so readily discomforting and ludicrous. They give a reason for this, but how can such a pitiful statement excuse omitting one of the most important stages of these kinds of stories. This also creates an issue where we rarely get to see his ability in a meaningful way. The premise is in the title, this “MUGEN GACHA” doesn’t really define the experience, it seems like a gateway to tell their amalgamation of themes from successful works. Even the basis for the magic system isn’t well explained at all. From my understanding in terms of revenge, there’s two types of people. People who genuinely enjoy others’ suffering and those who don’t. In a revenge story usually the original person didn’t enjoy others’ suffering but due to the traumatic nature of his betrayal he becomes that kind of person who does. The thing is, this MC, he’s just not that person. I recall vividly the times he tries to sound cruel and callous, it’s a genuine misfit. Not only does his height, his facial disposition, his voice actor betray him, the entire character short-sells him as well. I just don’t believe he has that cruelty to him. Every time he actually tries to enact his revenge or does the crazy-evil-face it just feels fake, pretentious and forced. Farcicality stemming from the stark lack of correlative behaviours, mannerisms or mentality that precludes or predisposes him to it. Outside of the betrayal he’s a little boy who wants to have a lot of friends basically, the betrayal did basically nothing for his character and this is an issue in the writing. I’ve heard the phrase, “cardboard cutouts”, while people will blanket this term on most of the characters actually it’s just not the case. There was a wealth of promise in these characters, it’s so sad it mostly went to shame. I particularly mention the antagonists, which sadly I ended up rooting for, more than the MC. The antagonists feel real, their dialogue was the most fun I had during the show, some were actually funny, there were some routines that started to lift my spirit. A few had their time to shine but others which should have at least matched that brightness were snuffed out far too quickly. The greatest problem however lies within the main cast, him and his crew are absolutely abominable. They’re pseudo one-dimensional, that phrase I initially mentioned fits them perfectly. They don’t show enough individuality and when they do it’s so disjointed, lacking charisma and authenticity. The chemistry between them could barely boil raindrop, their routines and conversation are so uninspired and boring. You’ll barely ever perceive their convictions beyond wanting to sleep with the MC or adjacent sensibilities. Revenge is a very personal thing it’s hard to get even your best friend to care about it if it never directly affected them, how about a whole company of people? Yeah it doesn’t make sense why they care and there’s just not enough effort put in to convince them as well as us the audience that they do. The MC is whatever the author wants at the time, It lacks continuity, the adequate behavioural patterns, consistency and does the story no justice. Character dynamics display massively wasted potential, for example, if you remember ‘Alpha’ from ‘Eminence in the Shadow’; She’s basically the first member of the MC’s syndicate, she becomes the head girl both in strength and in the hierarchy. They have a character try to emulate her here yet all it does is further bolster your love for Alpha. That dynamic between Alpha and the rest of the girls exhibits that writer’s brilliance, they respect her, showing great deference to her. They might be jealous of her position even so they would never pull anything stupid to spite her, this show has the illusion of that kind of hierarchy but then betrays it immediately in action. You can never walk past someone you respect without their permission, it’s fundamental non-verbal behaviour. The rule is broken upon the first time we witness this character dynamic. This mediocrity extends to moments were the writer is trying to get the characters to be quirky or comedic, rather than producing relatability with positive emotions, it ruins the immersion. Their outbursts and timing in dialogue always seems to fervently halt any attachment the viewer tries to have. They steal each other’s light. As for the art and animation, do not let anyone tell you that this is bad. In fact, if they were adapting my favourite LN or manga I’d be overjoyed. There’s obviously a very close resemblance to Dan-Machi’s style, as this is from the same studio they were very resourceful. Their efforts bore fruit, It’s very easy on the eyes. Animation was fluid and clean throughout, they did a great job with the material. My greatest critique lies in the source, especially with the character design. The antagonists’ designs less so than the main cast. In particular, outfits for the main females very much betrayed their hierarchy/order. I compare it to Albedo from Overlord, she wears a full dress gown down to her toes yes, it’s revealing in a few areas for fan service purposes but other than that the design projects her position. Hell, when she goes into battle she wears a full suit of armour, making it extremely immersive. The Albedo-like version in this show has a short maid dress, It’s so off-putting you don’t have the idea that she’s in charge, which is in complete juxtaposition to Albedo, let’s not even begin to mention what she fights the battles in. There were a few interesting things along the way.. - City of Wolves being named after an a peculiar City in Africa. - A character with a familiar name from OPM (which aired simultaneously this season) - The soundtrack trying their absolute best to evoke the kind atmosphere, Overlord produced in tense moments. - A great deal of gore. Final Rankings. Animation – 8 – No complaints here. Sound – 8 – Their efforts were far too evident. CoTE, Arifureta Composer Story/Plot – 2 – Non-existent story, Poorly paced plot, Themes pauperized. Characters – 3 – While antagonists were decent, main characters failed on almost every level Enjoyment – 4 – The production really fought for the viewer’s attention but the substance betrayed 25/50 – I don’t get the joke. Here’s an idea, just go and rewatch Eminence, Redo and Overlord you’ll have infinitely better time than watching this wretched amalgamation of them. Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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