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A jumbled mess of over-the-top anime themes and tropes combined in a fast-paced story that attempts to meet too many story points. This show, to me, seems perfectly written for the content rating demographic of PG-13. The culmination of all aspects of this anime fit what I would expect a thirteen-year-old boy to enjoy and look for.

The story behind the show is nothing unique but it isn’t bad, the problem is the execution. The pacing of the story feels awful which is not surprising given the twelve-episode length but even for a single cour anime this one feels bad. Due to the pacing issues ... of the show many of the “side” characters or characters that are the focal point of “pivotal” scenes or events are simply that. Mainly one-off characters that serve a small purpose and then aren’t seen again. Many of the main events in the show just don’t feel very special or important. This can be seen tremendously in the last three episodes as these episodes focus on a world-threatening conflict, that boils down to the regret of the main character. The outcome of the conflict is not externally shown or even really reflected on by the main character, making the overall events seem unimportant and just like points on a checklist that need to be checked off.

Another major flaw in the story can be seen via the synopsis of the show. The premises is supposed to be an overpowered “Demon Lord” reincarnates in a weaker state to find an equal that he can be friends with. At no point in the show does the main character state that he is weakened or give off the impression that he cannot use his full, pre-reincarnated, powers. The “equal” that he finds to be his friend is by no means an equal, she is a character that fits the same struggles he experienced in his previous life but even those struggles are only apparent until their relationship starts. The main character also supposedly wants to keep a low-profile but does nothing to do so, at every opportunity to hold back or fly under the radar the character does the opposite.

Many of the characters and personalities in the show are boring or annoying. I don’t particularly mind flashy and repetitive characters commonly seen in rom-com anime, but this show was too much. All major characters of this show follow a standard anime trope or character-type, and many crank the dial to the max. Examples include your stereotypical bashful, jealous harem girl and your arrogant, domineering female warrior type. These are just two of many character types to expect in this show. I think both character types and even many of the others in the show are good when done properly but in this show many of them feel too literal in their representation of the character type and their template becomes their entire identity. By the end I felt no connection to any characters in the show and found myself really rooting for nobody.

Sometimes a bad or niche anime can be saved by the power system or combat within, this is not one of those cases. The magic looks great and feels strong. I found myself thinking that a lot of the magic used would be cool to use in a video game. The system behind it is completely ignored outside of the first third of the show. The best “explanation” a form of magic gets in this show is, “that’s a lost technique” or “you can double cast?!?!” With some of the magical sequences in the show being extremely cool and story focused it is a real shame that the understanding is inferred rather than explained. On top of this, the sword combat is boring and unimpressive. All in all, the combat is rather bland outside of the main character’s magic.

This show was not very enjoyable. It’s possible that as I have gotten older this sort of show doesn’t appeal to me anymore but with the poor story elements, over the top characters and themes, and lack of world or system building I just could not get into it. About half-way through I thought of just dropping it but stuck it out just in case to no avail. This show isn’t all bad as there are some funny moments but that is the pinnacle of the show, a few funny scenes.

A confusing, and wild ride. Bye Bye World is an anime filled with wonderful art, a great soundtrack, unique and interesting power systems, excellent world building, great characters, emotion, and a fascinating story. All things that would make it a masterclass anime, yet it has one grand flaw. The story is confusing and completely unexplained.

The overall design of the show is wonderful from the character appearances, personalities, world design, art style, color schemes used, music, and voice acting. The characters are very detailed and look amazing, their swords and weapons, which serve as an extension of the characters, show just as much detail as ... the main characters. The sounds of the show be it the ambient sounds of the environment, the music played or sung, and the voice acting is splendid. The soundtrack is excellent.

The power system within the show is relatively unique incorporating music and marching band formation into it. This system does not only include combat as singing is used mainly to create, repair, or control things within the world. The combat system also incorporates swordsmanship and magic. The swordsmanship is relatively realistic with more choreographed stances and fighting rather than random swinging. The combat includes excellent swordplay and visually appealing magic.

The character development and romance are ehh. Most of the development is, much like the story, not progressed too much and that which is isn’t explained all that well. It is hard not to grow attached to the many characters within the show. Most characters and character stories at the end of the story so far are bitter or gloomy so don’t expect a happy ending yet.

If you can overlook a somewhat confusing and completely unanswered story, then this show will not disappoint. I cannot recommend this show entirely since many will be turned off by the confusing and non-explained story. If you are fine with that idea and just want to watch a good anime, then this one is a great choice. Although the main downside of this show is the confusing story, season 2 has already been confirmed so maybe things will make more sense then!

If you enjoy cute, wholesome slice of life anime then this anime may be for you. This anime is nothing extraordinary, but it is simple and focuses entirely on the slice of life aspect of raising children. If you are looking for slice of life to turn your brain off and just enjoy then this show is it.

There is not much to say about this anime as it is akin to a basic kid’s cartoon. The art style and color scheme are what you would expect of a basic isekai/fantasy anime. There is nothing particularly special about this anime, but I still found myself thoroughly ... enjoying it while watching. The voice acting in the subbed version is good with my only complaint being the voice acting for Alan when speaking individually. Throughout the show the kids, Alan and Elena, generally speak in unison but sometimes they split sentences or speak individually. When speaking individually Alan’s voice sounded older than the depicted age (5). The cute factor from this show comes almost entirely from the kids, the animal companions do not contribute as much as one would expect. Most likely due to the simple art style which limits the details of them. The story aspect of the anime splits between the progression of the kids and the background to why Takumi, the main character, is in that world and what his purpose is. The actual story barely progresses and answers only one main point about who the children are. Something the show does an exceptional job with is depicting many aspects and events of raising children. Although most aspects and events are simplified and or exaggerated, they are very realistic to what you would expect from reality.

My lower rating of six for this show is simply for the fact that it is not a show for everyone. If you are a fan of slice of life and cute-factor anime, then this show should not disappoint but if you are not or you are looking for a strong story or action focused anime this is not it. This show is a great slice of life show to watch if you just want to wind down and turn your brain off.

Many of the summer 2024 anime have been mediocre, and this is no exception. The design of the show being based around parrying is intriguing and the clips seen in many show recommendations for this anime piqued my interest however, while watching and upon completion it was obvious this show was nothing special. Between the repetitive and boring combat, the minor or poorly demonstrated character development, and the average character design style there is much to be desired.

Some aspects of this show that stand out that could make or break your decision to watch are the lack of romantic affairs, exclusion of sexual content, ... and lack of outcome and depth from human vs. human combat. In this show’s case the romantic and sexual aspects are handled excellently. There are no romantic themes present in the show which is not necessarily good or bad, execution of either is what is important. All the relationships within the show are non-romantic, with most emphasis on mentor-pupil and warrior-warrior bonds. This is a very good thing if you do not like shows that drown you with romantic advances and dialogue, there is none of the common blushing/high pitched loud voicing or overly exaggerated emotion that is commonly used to express romantic situations. In a similar fashion there are no over-the-top sexual themes or sexualization of characters. This can be a big turn-off for many people so if that is the case for you then rest assured that this show has none of that. Not only are there no sexual themes (i.e. lewd reactions or suggestive/explicit scenes) there are also no sexualized characters, for example female characters with extraordinarily large assets and revealing clothing that have no reasonably explained purpose. With a lack of romantic and sexual themes the writing does a great job of allowing such exclusions without leaving the viewer with a sense that those themes would significantly impact the outcome or enjoyment of the show. Regarding human vs. human combat this show lacks tremendously. Despite this not being a serious or intense show, the non-sparring human vs. human combat that exists to explain or bring resolution to the plot conflicts feels empty and unimportant. With all battles resulting in little to no casualties with only minor injuries despite the high stakes demonstrated in the context and the overwhelming sense of the good side being the underdogs, the conflict loses importance. It could be said that the major battle scenes could be taken out with the same outcomes and the overall viewing experience would be relatively unaffected.

The main aspect of this show revolves around the parry skill that the protagonist uses. This is unique in the scheme of other anime in this genre and was very intriguing, but the intrigue did not last long. Without giving away too much most of the combat victories seem less impressive due to the pattern of the main protagonist always having some trait unique to him that gives him an advantage over his opponent which lead to a feeling of the character always having the correct tool for the job which got old fast. In addition to this most of the main character’s unique advantages were misinterpreted by other characters, while narratively being explained by the main character’s perspective generally demonstrated by flashbacks or past dialogue. For example (my own), if the main character was immune to fire, the characters viewing the fight would think he would be part dragon born or something, but the actual reason is he sunbathed in the desert everyday for 10 years and became immune to heat. These misinterpretations and explanations are initially funny and unique but lose their charm as they continue to occur.

Regarding characters in the show, none are very interesting, including the main character. Most character designs are generic isekai/fantasy styles, seeing as this is a smaller anime such style is not a big deal. None of the characters have bad styles or designs and most don’t have much of a memorable impact. By the end many of the “important” figurehead characters of the story world seem incompetent and annoying. In addition, the main character’s archetype is boring. It seems that the protagonist was an attempt to make a dense character funny but by the end it was more annoying than anything. The protagonist constantly misunderstands or misinterprets different events, dialogue, and actions of others on the pretext of having lived in isolation and not being knowledgeable of the larger world. While the protagonist is visually, vocally, and chronologically depicted as an adult his personality and mental understandings seem more like that of a child. Furthermore, the only “major” character development is from the main character and the, as I would call her, main side character of which are both mild. The main character’s development is more outward and based around his strength/physicality as his demeanor, actions, personality, and drive never really waver. The main side character’s development is fleeting and felt forced. All her development is linked directly to the actions, words, or interpreted meanings (refer to sunbathing heat immunity above) of the main character. In addition to her changes being linked to the main character they are mostly heard, not seen, changes where she acknowledges she needs to change followed by an internal statement that she will.

To wrap things up I cannot recommend or oppose you to watch this show. Although I cannot describe this show as good, I also cannot call it bad. This was just an average run of the mill anime for me, it was neither a waste of my time nor a show that will make my top list. This is one of those anime for when you want to watch some anime, and you’re not strapped for time but do not want to start a long or complex show.

Do you enjoy isekai anime but find many to be boring and repetitive? If so this show could be the change of pace you’re looking for while maintaining the simplicity of isekai plots. Black Summoner diverges from the standard isekai path through a hybrid story of a standard isekai journey and the main character’s unique circumstances that brings him to the new world. Using similar elements to anime like Arifureta and Banished from the Heroes Party, this show tells the story of the anti-hero protagonist and shows his new way of life in his new world.

Before furthering this review, I want to preface some things ... within the show that could deter you from watching. The first thing that could deter a lot of people is the use of CGI/3D rendering for many of the fights. From what I generally see this is an unpopular rendering style for anime viewers so keep that in mind when deciding to pickup this show. With that being said, the 3D is some of the best that I have seen within anime. The movement is smooth, and fluid and the character designs convert well from 2D to 3D, maintaining pretty much their entire physical identity. It reminds me of Final Fantasy style rendering and fits the video game theme of the anime. The other deterrent I can see within this anime is the inclusion of slave characters, more specifically the use of slave collars even after being freed. I know themes like that can be hard for many people therefore, I think it is good to know about it before watching.

Now with the bad out of the way let’s talk characters! Many of the characters are generic in the designs, resembling your basic fantasy anime side/background characters. However, there are some unique and well-designed characters; thematically, appearance wise, and personality wise. On a similar token, character development/progression is not the best but I contribute most of that to a limited number of episodes. Most character progression within the show is strength/combat growth, developing skills/stats to help them in combat. There are some minor interpersonal growths with some characters but nothing substantial. Lastly with regards to romance and character relationships, there isn’t much. For romance specifically there is little to no actual romantic progression. The show does fall under the standard harem trope seen in isekai and fantasy anime but even under this trope it is minimal. Speaking in terms of romance there are only 3 characters that show “romantic” interest in the main character, one of which is hardly present within the story. The other part of the harem is more sisterly/friendly relationship so overall the relationships are mild.

Now for the meat and potatoes of why I liked this anime. The first major aspect that stood out is the power system within the show. Although not unique, the show maintained an MMO/video game-like system with stat and ability screens. One aspect of this that I really like is that many of the characters’ stat screens had stat points and abilities reflective of their designated class. For example, a Knight General class would have high HP, strength, and endurance with low magic stats and sword/shield abilities fitting them into the standard mold for their respective class as seen in many video games. This isn’t perfect as not all characters are balanced like that. This aspect is more of a personal point for me as like most anime with such systems, the stats rarely ever get explained or linked into the story but the attention to detail was nice to see. On top of this the commonly used or referenced abilities and traits/skills for various characters were explained well and counters, and uses for such abilities were laid out. The show did a great job of explaining the importance and structure of skill progression and how the various ranks of specific skills impact how useful said skills would be. Lastly relating to the skill system, the main character makes deliberate choices with his skills and progression to maximize his growth, and the story does a great job explaining why such choices were made. As someone who really enjoys video games seeing a character become strong in essentially a world based around a simulated video game system it is cool to see a strategic method to progressing in such a system rather than the standard of giving a main character a cheat power that trumps every other ability.

The last aspect of the show that needs to be discussed is the combat scenes. All the main combat scenes are entertaining due to both having interesting enemies, whether they are human or creature, and the use of different abilities and weaponry. Another strong point within the combat scenes is the strategies used by the characters, especially those of the main character’s party. Having fights where strategy and understanding of the systems and world the characters belong to is always nice as opposed to brute forcing through fights off might alone. The abilities used in the fights are visually appealing even though they are simple. The fight scenes that are heavily ability focused are not nearly as detailed or large as bigger shows but they are captivating and well done. The only real complaint I have with the combat in this show is the lack of injury/death. Apart from monsters, and a few specific scenes most fights end with incapacitation rather than major injury or death. This isn’t that big of a deal at first but after a while it becomes repetitive and makes less and less sense as many of the abilities give the impression that they would be extremely lethal and dangerous so for them to only mildly injure or incapacitate the show loses a bit of necessary realism. It also is somewhat contradictory to the style of the main protagonist who seems to fit more of an anti-hero character.

Lastly the show has a certain simple yet entertaining charm. In all regards I don’t think the show is exceptional to any degree. It has some unique traits and things that it does well, and, in many regards, it is like other shows in the same category. However, the comedic charm, and system building really makes up for the generic tone that would otherwise be there. All in all, I would recommend this show if you enjoy isekai or overpowered main character anime and can overlook the deterrents I listed above, this is by no means a best of the best show but it is definitely a good anime to watch if you want some quick, short entertainment. If you’re looking to get into such genres, I think this is a great steppingstone that many would enjoy. Thank you for reading and feel free to reach out if you would like to discuss this anime or others with me!