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The title of the show tells you everything you need to know.
It's very much NOT an exaggeration.
The MC DOES parries everything.
Including a brain.

It's very hard for me to write a review not laced with profanities in this case, so just trust me when I say it is very much not recommended.

And if you dislike the "dense MC" trope, this one is a walking black hole.

And it honestly seems like the rest of the characters are also masters of parrying just like the MC, and they all parried common sense and their brains.
... The FMC ABSOLUTELY REFUSES to end the misunderstandings the MC experiences.
There is absolutely no chemistry between the characters, the interaction feel forced and stiff.

Animation is meh.

Long story short:
Don't recommend.

This is...
Really, really bad.

The robot is a combination dishwasher/microwave/mannequin.
Yet for some reason the MC feels attracted to it.
Now, coming as an outside observer, I'm pretty sure they are setting up an "I, Robot" Scenario, where the bot is actually a hyper advanced prototype that gets unlocked later in the series, so looking at it from outside, one MIGHT be able to explain the attration.
But when you try to immerse yourself into the situation, getting flustered by a dishwasher doesn't make sense.
I don't get flustered when my dishwasher beeps at me that I need to refill the salt.

It's basically a rip-off of Chobits, only way worse.
...
The bot's eyes were well animated though, especially in the zommed in bits.
The animators somehow managed to double up on the uncanny valley:
They quite literally made the anime dishwasher seem uncanny and creepy, but, more importantly, they somehow managed to make you understand that the people INSIDE the anime ALSO experience the uncanny valley when looking at the bot.

Animation, 8/10, would love to see the studio work on a proper show.
Story, 0/10, because it's entirely predictable and makes no sense in-universe.
Overall 4/10 because the animation saves it.

This is the darkest dark horse seasonal anime I've ever encountered.

While I did have an inkling to this being good from the moment I watched the preview, it was more a hope then an actual prediction, purely because I thought that the concept was unique and refreshing, which immediately boosted the score to an 8.

I can happily say show exceeded every expectation I had for it.

STORY:
Zhuge Liang, the master strategist of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" fame(Or, for millennials like myself, that dude with the fan from "Dynasty Warriors"), dies full of regrets.
He then opens his eyes, finding himself ... rejuvenated, and in modern Japan on Halloween night.
Unsure what had happened, confused by all the costumed individuals and loud noises, he thinks he is in hell, and while wondering the streets, he hears a performance from what he first thought to be a demoness, which shakes his soul.
a few more events happen, and he eventually decides that he was brought here to help this young lady achieve her dreams.
And he does so, as masterfully as only a master tactician can.

And while there WERE some things that were obvious plot armor(ie in the way he somehow managed to stumble into meeting all the right people), it didn't feel forced, but rather a result of a master tactician obviously being a smart enough to figure out how networking works.

A perfect 10.


ART
Beautiful colors and character designs.
I especially loved the chibi Eiko in the ED.
Those cheeks are so squishably wholesome!

However, I had to deduct a point over something very bad:
The teeth.
Dear god, the teeth.
They don't match the shape of the mouth at all, even curving in the completely wrong way.

So 9 it is.


SOUND
This is a music anime, so you would expect sound design to be top notch.
And it is.

Let's start with the OP:
It's a cover of a Eurobeat song from 2013, and seeing as the setting of the show is the Japanese club scene, it seems like a great club song would be perfect as the OP to get watchers into the vibe.
And it worked perfectly.
I couldn't skip the OP even once, because it was just that good.
Also:
Koumei dances like me, which was hilarious to see.

They brought a professional singer for Eiko's singing, which I understand isn't a common thing, but it worked perfectly here, because I really believe half the impact would be lost without a proper vocalist.

And the RAP section!
Holy crap, Koumei's rap bit was INSANE!

And the ED stitches it all together, with a perfect wholesome wind down.

A perfect 10.


CHARACTER

The main cast are all some of the most well rounded, three dimensional and complex characters I've seen in anime in a while, and it's a pleasure seeing them grow and evolve.
Koumei has regrets he wants to tie off, and uses Eiko as a substitute for his long dead friend.
Eiko is using music to fight through her own issues, and slowly recovers.
Kabe tripped into his talent and passion, but said talent and passion eventually caused him to develop a fear of performing.

Again, a perfect 10.


ENJOYMENT

You will either love it, or not.
If you're in the former group, it'll be a 10.
If you're in the latter group, you'll likely think it's a 5 or a 6.

However, for me, it's a perfect 10.



Overall score:
10/10, will definitely be rewatching it a lot.

This is actually an adorable show, but I can't stomach watching it, and can't really recommend watching it.

Story - 5 points
This is your average comforter SOL that encompasses works like Senko-san, Kobayashi's dragon maid(in a way), some manga with an office lady and a shota demon or something, and more.

Basically, you have an overworked office worker who gets comforted after work by some supernatural creature.

In short, a type of SOL that's extremely popular in the 20-35 single office worker demographic.


... Art - 7 points
It's a slice of life, it's not that hard to fuck it up.

Sound - 7 points
See above

Character - 6 points
The ghost is absolutely adorable.
Shachiku looks way too much like Kobayashi for me.

Enjoyment - 1 point
Why is this so low?
"Miss Shachiku and the Little *Baby Ghost*"
"Baby ghost" is not some cutesy "ghosts and demons start their lives as babies" thing.
No.
The ghost is a literal dead toddler.
We are told outright that she was a human child, about 100 years before the start of the story, and she somehow died.
How the fuck do you expect me to enjoy a show, when I have to constantly be reminded that this is a dead child, who, by the way, remembers and misses her mother.
Like, who the hell approved this in the first place?!

Overall - 5 points
It is actually a pretty good healer anime.
As long as you can ignore the fact that one of the characters is a dead toddler.

This anime is pretty bad.
That's pretty much everything you need to hear about it.

Characters:
The main characters are a dude who is a MASSIVE chuuni but was too shy to ever express it, so it's stuck in his system, a hyper clingy loli bait who has zero understanding of the concept of personal space, essentially combining the worst traits of Komi and Uzaki, and a walmart brand yandere version of Agari Himiko from Komi san.
Said cheap knockoff is also the funniest character in the trio, but can't carry the show.
3 points.

Art:
Decent enough, since it's a SOL, so no flashy action sequences.
The colors ... are a bit too bright and overly saturated, but bearable.
7 points

Sound:
Since the whole story follows quiet characters, there's not much sound to speak of.
6 points

Story:
The MC who, as I mentioned, still has the mentality of a 12 year old chuuni because he never got it out of his system, befriends a walking red flag factory of a pseudo-loli.
Surprisingly, all her red flags are NOT the exclusive cause of the humor/plot.
Nope.
The humor/plot is derived from the MC's chuuni addled brain is just as active of a participant in the skits.
2 points.

Enjoyment:
There are at least 3 other SOLs this season that you are guaranteed to enjoy more than this show.
3 points.

Overall:
3 points.
Literally only watch it if you somehow managed to watch every other SOL or romcom that came out in the past 20 years.
Even kanokari scores higher.

I don't write too many reviews.
One reason would be because I have trouble defining objective criteria to grade on.

But occasionally, I encounter a work that I just have to write some generic stream of consciousness and hope I can get more eyes on the series.

Cue this story.

Let's get one thing out of the way:
You get exactly what it says on the box;
The MC gets a neat ability for his reincarnation, and uses broken skill interactions to become relatively OP.
Though, if we're comparing him to other OP isekai MCs, he is the weakest of the bunch, even 3 ... volumes into the story(At the time of writing this review, there are 2 volumes out, with the 3rd available for reading in weekly updates for anyone with a JNC sub).
Which is in itself quite a refreshing change.


Story(And World Building): 10
The story is a beautifully crafted love letter to TTRPGs.
The world building is truly next level.
Not quite Tolkein-esque, but much more effort has been put into this compared to your typical isekai.
Honestly, it made me think back to my days in school when I was reading Dragonlance books or the exploits of Drizzt Do'Urden.
It felt like a living, breathing world that existed before our MC came along, and will continue to exist after he's gone, rather than a simple stage backdrop that was created for the writer insert character to be "the best that ever was in".

Things are Expensive™ because we see that it takes effort and time to get the gold for them.
No one's going to be buying a set of Mythril plate armor and an Adamantine sword after gathering herbs for an afternoon.

While we're on the subject of gold, the economy itself is ALSO well researched:
Back when money was literally the number of coins in your pocket rather than numbers on a server, you could even have different currencies within the same country, because whoever was minting the money at the time decided to cheap out on the minting process.
Which is actually relevant to the story on multiple occasions, because the MC kinda-sorta gets scammed but in a legal way, since he is paid with legal tender, but the money isn't worth as much(Think negotiating a payment of 1000 dollars, and you expect 1000 US dollars, but are instead paid in Canadian Dollars).

In a departure of traditional isekai plots, beings like Goblins, Orcs, and other races that are typically mere fodder for the MC to farm money off of, are NOT inherently evil, and at least in the country the MC lives in, you can find them living among the other common fantasy races like dwarves, elves, and other beast folk.

The country the MC lives in is relatively progressive and modernized;
There's no institutionalized racism/xenophobia, and bathing is very much encouraged, and the crown even operates public bath houses that are free for the populace(it serves as a reveal that reincarnation into this world isn't something that happened only to the MC, but instead something that happens occasionally, and the reincarnators bring with them some advancements).

In a society without electronic communication, crime is always a thing, but at least in the country the MC lives in, criminals aren't something you can encounter by just stepping out of town on a bounty quest.
Crime is actually punished, and bandits would typically fight to the death rather than be caught alive, because the justice system assumes that any bandit that has a bounty killed at least 1 person, so bandits are typically executed.
And executions are gruesome specifically to discourage crime.
(Note: The executions are described in gritty detail, so those with weaker stomachs shouldn't be eating anything while reading this).

The fight scenes are masterfully written, with every swing and character action accounted for at all times.
And these fight scenes are also the embodiment of the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words".
A single fight that can take a couple minutes at most if re-enacted on a screen takes a double digit number of pages to resolve, and yet you only realize how long it took wen you go back and count those pages, because you were so immersed in the scene that you didn't even notice the pages moving.


Art(Illustrations and Prose): 9
The illustrations are...
It's a bit hard to explain, but they feel raw somehow, or incomplete.
Especially when compared with some of the art on Lansane's pixiv.
The prose otoh is just *mwah*.
The writing style might not be for everyone, but I'm a sucker for details, so I enjoy reading how the MC is constantly thinking through things.
And like I've already mentioned in the previous section, the descriptions are top notch, and let you build a very clear image of the scene.
It applies to fights, scenery, monologues and dialogues.
The prose really does breath life into the world and characters.


Character: 9
Let's get the main character out of the way first:
Erich isn't your typical blank slate OP isekai harem MC designed to maximize read self inserting.
Erich is an established character who has his own goals, and will achieve those goals come hell or high water.
And if it means compromising on some other things?
Well, in Erich's own words:
"Go on, take my honor. Pride is cheap-especially mine."
He is also not Neutron-Star-Dense™ like your typical MC. He knows when a female character shows interest, and he is introspective enough to go "Hmm... Do I want her attention, or should I shoot her down?"
Again, a refreshing change compared to your typical isekai.

Side characters:
There is 1 best girl in the series, and she has 8 legs to embrace you with.
There are of course, other side characters, but going into too much detail will inevitably end with spoilers.
Just trust that even the characters that have cookie cutter personalities based on a trope or two have enough filling to blur them around the edges.


Enjoyment: 8
This story has some wish fulfillment elements, which are even more obvious upon a second(or third) reading.
Schuld very clearly decided to take his own likes, decided there's nothing to be ashamed of, and rolled with them to create this story.
It's very clear that he enjoys TRPGs, likes monster girls, and prefers dominant and/or muscular women.
I happen to share those proclivities, so it checks off pretty much every box for me.
Why did I dock points then?
Well, there's 2 reasons:
1) I'm not too big a fan of the "harem" tag, but since it's so bloody common, I learned to live with it and not judge something too harshly if it has that tag.
2) The actual reason I docked 2 points is right there on the cover of volume 1.
The best girl is a loli.
She is such a well written character, but Schuld had to go and ruin her by making her race biologically stop aging at around 10.

Overall: 9
Really, the worst thing about this story is the fact that the best girl is a loli.
It's like we're presented with a perfectly marbled A5 wagyu steak, and then told that it is cooked to medium.
Bleh.
Blasphemy!
A travesty.

I truly enjoyed the read.
Hell, there were multiple sequences where the story managed to make me say "God I wish that were me."
That's an actual achievement, since I never once caught myself thinking that in the past.
But I can't, in good conscious, give it a 10, because I don't understand why the literal best girl has to be a loli.

So 9 it is.

Starts out nice, gas great ecchi, then turns to absolute shit.

It looks like there was a ghost writer who came in to write the plot for the second third of the story and thwn left, saying they don't want to work with sasuga anymore, leaving us with the absolute dumpster fire that we ended up with.

Either that, or Sasuga had a massive stroke that made her think that this shit ending is somehow a good idea.
We're talking shittiness levels that would make Nisekoi cringe.
Shittiness levels that make the HIMYM ending seem good.
Shittiness level that make the ending of GOT look like a fucking masterpiece.

I've wasted ... a year of my life following this series, and I regret it.

Story: 2/10
It starts out decently enough, but then becomes a dumpster fire of soap opera drama after soap opera drama.
Not to mention all the fucking filler arcs.
Who the fuck does filler arcs in a fucking manga?!

Art: 9/10
Have to stay objective, the art is fucking amazing, and the ecchi side chapters are great. Series would've been awesome if she'd kept to those.

Character: 1/10
The MC is literal trash tier. Like...
The dude in "Princess Connect: ReDive" likely has more personality and self reflection at this point.
Upon review, the only time the MC fell in love with someone was at the start.
Even the "choice" in the end came because he was convinced by someone else.
Literal fucking NPC.

Enjoyment: 2/10
Absolute garbage.

Overall: 1/10
Don't even bother with this one.

Spoilers for the anime ahead.

Story 8
Art 10
Sound 10
Character 8
Enjoyment 10
Overall 10

I don't have something too in-depth to write, unfortunately, as I'm not too good at getting thoughts out from my head into the physical world.
...
However, I've fallen in love with the original anime from the first second of episode 1, and it's always been a wild ride.

I've always had a serious emotional reaction to the anime, and Kaede's arc in particular caused a very strong emotional reaction.

This movie gave me the same emotional reaction, at least at first.

15 minutes before the end of the movie, you go through the same emotional train wreck you go through when Kaede is lost.

However, due to the way we confirm that the timeline remains pretty much unaltered(meaning that all the character development made during the film has been erased), I was forced to dock points from the Character and Story parts.
Mostly because of the tired "You thought it was character development, but it was actually a dream! HAHA!" cliche.

However, the film still gets a perfect 10 from me, because even though points were docked, the movie brought a perfectly satisfying ending, and as such, still earns that perfect 10.