- Last OnlineMar 25, 3:48 PM
- GenderNon-Binary
- BirthdayMar 1992
- LocationWales
- JoinedDec 9, 2020
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Sep 18, 2024
(mild spoilers)
This is the anime that made me seriously consider starting to review anime, with the additional lense of social messaging, and being "that guy", that points out the really bad ideas that a story espouses.
This anime is sexist, but then that isn't exactly a new trait for anime, let's be honest...but it's also in support of maintaining ridiculous beauty standards, and enforcing the idea that they are valuable beyond any other redeeming character traits that a character might have.
Objectively, the MC isn't a bad person, hell, I'd even go so far as to say they are a good person... If denser
...
than a tungsten cube. But none of that matters. Yes, the human female character seems not to really care about how he looks, and says as much, but where do we ever actually see that come across in this series? Especially when at every given opportunity every NPC character, and side character will quite literally go out of their way to do littetally anything for the MC based only on the fact that he's the most attractive living person.
And how did he arrive at his new good looks where he apparently grew like two and a half feat and lost all of his body fat, and changed every physical aspect of the character? Magic.
It's just so... Vapid.
All of this without even really talking about the story...which, let's be honest, is non existent. The only redeeming quality this anime has is that it's passably well animated... The computer generated animation is some of the best, and most awkward I've seen in anime to date, which is quite the juxtaposition to be in. The art was solid for the most part. But that's it...that's where the positive notes begin, and sadly end.
I could give some points for concept, but really, there isn't anything that speaks to a unique idea in this whole show. It does its best to be interesting and tell a story that makes us interested in the goings on in both the magical world, and the mundane human world where the MC comes from... But, with only 13 episodes, and the vast majority of that time used pointlessly fawning over how attractive the main character is, any chance this anime has to develop even the concept of depth in its storytelling is lost.
Yet another anime that squanders itself for cheap thrills and easy narrative plots that detract from any idea of complex and compelling storytelling.
4/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
May 12, 2024
I will start by saying; that this anime was too short. When one considers just how much the twelve episodes included in this anime cover in the time it is given, it becomes easy to say that it feels as though many opportunities to develop characters and deepen the plots, were missed. We begin, and spend almost an entire episode with the Main character, in his first life, as the number one assassin on the planet. And in that one episode, enough time is spent for us viewers to understand who this person is, what his motivations are, and indeed, enough to understand him, and
...
the sort of personality he has, while also making the promise that this character will deliver on these personality traits later in the show. The first episode was well structured if somewhat lacking in any groundbreaking character design in terms of personality and motivation.
Yet, with the remaining eleven episodes, we are rushed through an entire childhood, various tests and trials for the character to get to where he needs to be in order to really take up the titular mantle of the show itself. For me, the pace was rushed, and really a lot more time was needed to develop both the world from the offset, the rules of the divinity involved, and indeed for the development of this character from who he was, into the person that he was inevitably going to become; as such the relationships between the characters often times feel disingenuous, fake, and thinner than gossamer.
Putting those issues of pacing aside, one must, as it is a fantasy Isekai anime, look at the world itself, the magic, and indeed how it all feels and is put together. For me, and this is entirely subjective, the visual look of the magic, as with a lot of isekai and fantasy anime, looks far too flamboyant. I just don't see the need for the symmetrical magical circles that are never explained, and just pop up whenever they feel like it, with no real relevance to anything going on. This is an issue for me because while there was a distinct mention of people having different physical capabilities to that of the world where the main character comes from, there is little distinction between these physical abilities and the use of spells, other than the non-appearance of these circles. That aside, I think this anime had some great potential to really explore magical mechanics more than it did. I enjoyed very much what we did get to see, but there was very little actually explained. I understand this from a narrative perspective, but it becomes difficult to really assess the impressiveness of the abilities of a character when the only description of said impressiveness is the perspective of the main character.
Yet, the result of all of this is a magic system that feels somewhat lackadaisical, somewhat lazy, and somewhat interesting, but really fails to deliver on anything concrete.
To top off my complaints in this area, I think the world feels somewhat cobbled together with little real reference to where anything is, what anything means, and the significance of the places that are put into the story. For an anime that boasts a story of political intrigue, in a Mediaeval/ Renaissance setting, you would expect to get more details on the things I've just mentioned. I feel that this is very much a victim of the lack of time that this anime was given to develop anything that feels concrete.
However… for all that this anime fails to deliver, it delivers wonderfully in other ways. Visually this anime was very good, nothing special I will admit, but indeed, the characters were, for the most part, well-designed… two moustaches, and a few hairstyles aside (which by the way, in regards to Lugh’s father, made him look like a character straight out of a Pokemon anime). Even though I think the magic was flamboyant, I have to admit that it was visually pleasing to look at… the set design and art were all very solid. My Biggest issue with the animation is actually the eyes and eyelashes, I don't understand why you would go for such soft shapes and colours for the eyes, while also going for what appears to be a sort of golden hue to everyone's eyelashes. The eyelashes being such a contrasting colour to what one would come to expect in an anime, that I found it extremely jarring, and just a weird choice overall. I do however think the outfit designs of the character were well put together for the most part, if somewhat boring in some areas.
Moving on to the plot and storytelling, I found that there was a lot of unnecessary nudity where really there could have been considerably less, and would have made for a far more natural way of telling this story. The scenes with any nudity in them felt contrived. That aside, I think the plot was really well put together for the time they had. And with the references back to previous elements of the story, all coming together for a final, the payoff was substantial and felt suitably epic for what the show was trying to achieve. The entire premise of the show being about a main character who isn't the hero of the world, but indeed the person who will save the world by killing the hero, is both fresh and interesting for the isekai world (Yes I'm aware I'm coming to this anime considerably later than most).
What this show does really well, is gripping the attention of the audience, and making us feel invested, not just in the main character himself, but indeed the side characters around him. This story dives into some dark places that we don't often get to experience in anime. I’m not here to say whether certain episodes were ethical or not, but rather to say that it's refreshing to see dark topics dealt with in an anime. The resolution of such was positive and handled in a fairly decent way. Was it perfect? No. but then I would never have expected it to have been so.
In each episode, from one to the next, we see substantial development of the character and those characters around them, even if at times that development feels somewhat unearned, there is constant movement within the plot and characters, with enough moving elements to keep the audience interested to see just how all of these different elements come together. I do think there are certain elements that aren't really utilised as fully as they could have been, even with the short time given to this anime in only twelve episodes, but that I think can be forgiven.
Ultimately, this anime delivers on its titular premise in a cool and satisfying way, that I believe will leave most viewers wanting to watch more, wanting to see more of the world, and wanting to see just how things unfold between the characters and the world around them.
Also, I thought the cliffhanger was very well done. It left us wanting more but did not undermine the satisfaction of the end of the series in the finale.
So…for all this anime does badly or wrong, I think it does a lot more right. I think it's a lot easier when writing reviews to only point out the negative, and seemingly the opposite is true. The finer and best qualities of an anime often get overshadowed by these things and as such people like me often fail to appreciate what they have seen because of them. For me though, I really enjoyed this anime, it was refreshing in many ways and interesting in many more.
For me, it's an 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Apr 16, 2024
((Containes some spoilers))
This anime is truly amazing!
That is if you don't spend any extra time thinking about it.
Its fair to say that the animation is solid, with some of the best fight scenes and effects that we have seen in Anime to date, rivalling even the best from recent months such as Jujutsu Kaisen. The fluidity of the movements and fights is up there with the best. This Anime delivers fast-paced fighting that we don't often get to see at such a high level of quality.
The Main Character (MC), Jin-woo, provides the viewer with a blank slate upon which to cast themselves
...
as the potential her in this saga. Starting as the lowest possible ranked Hunter, to then become easily the most powerful character that we have seen in this anime... it offers the viewer the quick satisfaction one can get from such a simple and overdone plot device.
And...if that is all you are going to look at, the barest surface level of the Anime then it's truly impeccable.
However... thinking a little more deeply...this anime doesn't really have a lot going for it. The main character is the only passably interesting character in the show, with other characters being so badly written that they are easily seen as filler. They are however used to drop semi-vague hints about the progressing plot, and I struggle to call it a plot, I really do. the closest thing we get to a plot is an unresolved situation that kicks the anime off in episode one, which is seldom mentioned until the last two episodes... with a thin, and vague promise of an enemy that could, perhaps, rival the main character... but that's only thin speculation based on what I've seen.
I also dislike how quickly the MC went from being the weakest character to the strongest character in only a few episodes. It's clear to see from the Anime that the ranking system used by Humans is essentially meaningless and redundant... but I shall come back to that in a few moments. What irks me is that Anime, as a whole, has decided to throw away the idea that a hero should have to actually work to get the powers that they are able to later use in an anime to overcome the odds and enemies that are thrown at them through an anime. Instead, what we have been left with are anime like this and many others, that start the protagonist off with almost everything from the beginning, with little hope of actual character development.
So quick are people to jump on this idea of creating a hero who is so immensely powerful that they fail to grasp the idea that by doing so, you are depriving the viewers and consumers of a story, the actual good parts of a story. What we have been left with is a cheap imitation of this slow gathering of skill and power to overcome the odds and be the hero. An imitation that demands us, the viewers to simply accept that a person can gain so much skill and power through doing little more than a few months work.
I get that faster-paced anime are very desirable these days, and I get it, I enjoy these anime too, but what I don't like is that the pace of an anime is being sped up to the detriment of the storytelling.
You look at any longer anime, and you could list off different places by name, and even give them in-depth descriptions that people will be able to recognise almost immediately. You could list off characters, the powers they have and their backstories with ease because there are so many well-developed characters and plotlines woven together into a tapestry that shows us a great unfolding story that has many smaller but unique parts that come together to make something truly worth spending the time to watch.
What we have here though, is little more than a cheap (I mean, expensive in terms of production for sure), knockoff that has little value as a piece of media to tell a story. I can nearly remember the main character's name... let alone actually remember the name of any of the other characters in this anime...let alone be able to tell you their backstories... or anything of substance about them, because no such material was reflected in this anime, and the characters, setting, and generally the whole story was immensely forgettable. This anime is literally no different from any of the run-of-the-mill isekai anime that follows the same premise... but at least with many isekai, they don't try to pass themselves off as anything more than the trash anime that they are... and because of that, generally, they achieve what they set out to do in a more successful and fulfilling way.
This anime pretends to have depth, but couldn't dissolve a teaspoon of sugar.
I give this anime a rating of 6. because the animation is superb, even if that is on a rather dull backdrop for the most part. And in the hopes that it gets better as it goes along. I also give it a six because I really wanted to like this anime more... but honestly, I'm kinda disappointed.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jan 5, 2024
Season 2 of "The Devil is a Part-Timer", is a series that really needed to have been made a long time ago.
Because of the cultural impact that the first season had back ten years ago, it has been put on a pedestal of being a "Classic". If anything the first season, while good, failed to really deliver any sense of continuity in a meaningful way. Yes, it was fun and quirky, and was a herald of the reverse isekai as a genre; but beyond that what did it actually deliver? Nothing of any real substance that couldn't be delivered in one season, while leaving
...
the viewers with a cliffhanger of an ending that promised a continuity of the story that was delivered far too late to remain relevant.
As such, the Second season as a whole, will always fail to deliver on the expectations that people have for something that has been held with such strong cultural regard. Even if the same studio had been animating the second season, even if the second season delivered a truly phenomenal story never before seen by the eyes of any anime fan, it would still be considered some kind of mistake by the people who believe that what they "expect" something to be, is what it "should" be.
Thinking about the second season as if there were no decade-long gap between releases, and removing any sense of cultural significance that the first season has, we are left with a strong follow-up season to a pretty strong first season. The story and the characters get the development that is really needed for this kind of story.
Beyond that, the themes of the show and what it represents are further driven home and expanded upon. On top of that, we have a trickling of interesting lore being fed to us via the story in a way that is both compelling and keeps things interesting. But, most importantly, above that, we have complex themes and storytelling, and yet, this anime remains what it is supposed to be, a comedy. The laughs were good, and the writing was light-hearted enough to carry it.
My critique would be, that at times, the second season seemed to drift and the pacing became a tad too slow in places. That said, that wasn't as big a problem as it could have been, because while the drifting is evident, it's at least enjoyable to watch. I would also have liked to have seen more consistent animating styles between the first and second seasons. While the art was different, it was still good, but at times the animation quality wasn't quite where it needed to be to deliver on some of the more important moments of the story.
All in all...this is worth the watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Nov 28, 2023
12 episodes...it Couldn't end soon enough.
As a whole, this anime has some really good ideas, fascinating plot ideas to tie together a truly interesting storyline... yet, what we get, is an anime devoted not to the telling of a story about the world, and the main characters' struggles with dealing with the challenges set before him...we have, instead of that, an anime devoted to making a character so dimwittedly stupid, and lacking any social and romantic proclivity, become what can only be called a collected of young women to make his brides.
This anime has the bare bones of a story with telling, however,
...
at every given opportunity to develop any sense of depth, the writers have decided that they would rather spend their time devising contrived and stupid ways, for this moron of a main character to find yet another bride to add to his growing collection. Between that, we have these young women characters seemingly acquiescing and devising for themselves different ways, and leaps of logic, to allow and facilitate this.
Now, I have zero issues with Polyamorous relationships, and I think that such a thing can be an interesting way to tell a love story because it's not a dynamic we see all too often in modern media, but this is anything but that. It is a mockery of polyamory, it is a mockery of women, and it is a mockery of the intelligence of its viewers.
Every redeeming quality this anime might have had, is so overshadowed by all that I have said so far that they have been rendered null and void in this review, and indeed, that should be the case for anyone possessing more than two brain cells. Watching this anime felt like an absolute waste of time. I do not recommend anyone watch this, barring of course, if you are willing to see what little will you might have, slowly drain from you as you click from one episode to the next, only to realise, that, yes, this anime is in fact as bad as you think it is.
The most annoying thing that absolutely grinds my gears is the fact that the anime really does have the elements needed for a decently good story, but it is let down at every single turn by the writers of this disappointment of an anime, wanting to turn it into some weird harem thing, often involving underage girls, awkward romance, contrived and pointless romantic moments that make a McDonald's wedding reception seem like a good idea by comparison.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Apr 11, 2022
Hello there everyone!
This is my first review, and I truthfully don't intend on writing many of them. That said, I believe I have points to add to the discussion on this anime, that may well be worth the time it takes to type them out.
Many who have watched this season, and the previous one, have either fallen in love with the anime or, have taken an immediate distaste for the anime as a whole. Both...are valid.
The themes in this show are abhorrent. Child sexualization, borderline pedophilia, sexual assault, and a litany of sexually predacious behavior. These things aren't easy to watch.
...
They make me deeply uncomfortable, and to have it so boldly put on the screen as I watch? it makes me wonder how this anime was even approved to be made, to begin with.
Rudius' behavior continues in the second season, much as it had begun in the first season. and there is little defense for the things he did, and let's be honest, we all know that. We can defend him by saying he is in the body of a child, and we can defend him by saying he is in another world where culture and periods of time allow for such things, but those are hollow defenses and we are all aware of that.
So, the question now becomes...why did I rate this anime so highly? Why did I enjoy this anime as fully as I did? why do I see this as an anime that is worthy of the high rating it got?
I will start with the controversial... What this anime does well, I think, is present a person who is supposed to be almost beyond redemption. That no matter the good things he does in the universe, he is returning over and over again to the same person he was back in his first life. every time Rudy does something amazing, or sufferers through something, he is brought immediately back into the frame of what and who he was before he was a gifted magician capable of amazing things. This show wants you to be aware that Rudy isn't a good person. This show wants to remind you that Rudy is so deeply flawed that there is no saving him in that way. It wants to remind you, that you are supporting this lecherous person... and on some level, I think it wants to make you feel bad for doing so.
Is this a defense for the character? No. It's an admission that he is just as bad as he is made out to be, and possibly much much worse.
But... I do believe this... The character is redeemable. If not now, then in the future of the story (I have not read the books). There is a lot of room for the character to grow, and he has grown already. Much more so toward the end of this second season than he ever did in the first season as a whole.
There is real reference in this second season to the damage that the main character endured in his first life. From traumatic events to developing serious mental health issues. We grow to understand that his separation from the society that he was originally from is because of a fear that he has. Fear caused in him by various traumatic events that happened to him as a child. And while this is specuilation on my part, it's easy to see the path that was taken from where he started as a child in his first life, to who he ultimately became. He started, as it is hinted, as a good person, calling out others for being unfair, or bullying others. But then, for standing up to those people, he was treated in a way that caused him to completely withdraw into himself. Pushing out all the people around him, fearing that they all hated him, and were laughing at him. So twisted did he become, and so deep did the self-loathing go for him, that he inevitably gave in to his own perceptions of himself.
And now? He has been given a new life... but retains who he was before. I believe That he has to do some serious unlearning of who and what he is. unlearning that can take a lifetime. It is fair to say that he is a deeply damaged person. But I think it's also fair to say that the show knows this, and it's not asking the viewer to say "Yeah, we're suddenly going to be okay with all that he does". I think, what it's asking the viewer to do, is to simply understand him. Note here, that I don't say to forgive him, or to condone the action of the main character...but simply to understand.
Though, on this topic of the character himself, I will say this... my entire opinion of this, and the anime...can and will change depending on how this story develops and ends. If I see that this anime does nothing to address the character issues that I have talked about above, then I will stand corrected in my hypothesis about this story and character.
But... on to other topics. I think the development of the plot in this has been fantastic. The foreshadowing is good enough to know that there is yet, much much more to come. And yet, what it has already achieved in two short seasons is nothing short of miraculous. The pace of the story somehow feels both slow and fast, and really, so much happens in every episode that it makes me want...or need to know how things are going to develop from there. The different characters in the story are unique and refreshing to see... though I would like to have seen and heard more about the political situation after the calamity, though that may be because I'm a sucker for that kind of medieval court intrigue.
Though, I'd have liked for a greater description of how magic works, and indeed how fighting works, and the different styles therein... there is real potential here to develop the world in which this all takes place, far far more than I have seen already. But, understandably, the inner workings of such things can be rather dry content for the majority of anime viewers.
That said, enough is explained to keep me interested in such things, and I hope that the next season will expand on what has already been shown.
The truly wonderful thing about this anime though is the incredibly humanizing moments that happen. not just with the main character, which give me hope for his development and growth as a person, but also with the other characters as well. A personal favorite of mine was with Rudy's father. That was such a touching moment, not just for Rudy, but for his father too... and is a perfect example of why I rate this season, and this anime so highly. I also personally like that this anime doesn't pull its punches with the truly contentious subject matter. It's there, and it's in the open, and much of it is left to us, to really think about what is going on in the minds of the characters.
Thank you for reading. And I hope that I have added to the discussion that is happening around this anime in a meaningful and positive way.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
