- Last OnlineJun 26, 2024 8:31 PM
- JoinedSep 25, 2020
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
May 8, 2023
tl;dr quarter-life crisis VN, all route clear, 110% true end
Kaiko Heishi is what both of the "Kicked from hero's party" shows should have been but weren't. It was truly much better than I would have expected from the rating and the cover art. Perfect for light viewing, it felt like a shounen show for seinen folks. All of the discussion of interpersonal relationships without (too much) pain and tragedy, all of the fight scenes without the overused shouting one-hit KOs.
In a sea of isekais and isekai-esque fantasy shows Kaiko Heishi is a simple show with an easy premise and no delusions of world-saving grandeur, either
...
now or later. We have an extremely competent yet humble MC who is just on this side of completely overpowered, and a group of side characters that get around one episode of development each but are contribute to the general focus on emphasizing caring and compassion, even those that start out as antagonists. Kaiko Heishi has managed to walk an extraordinarily thin line of having believable bad guy origins and subsequent redemptions without letting the tone get too heavy or shallow.
In between these sort of therapy session/fights, we get enjoyable content of cute village life or quests with lower stakes. And while there's quite a bit of fanservice one refreshing trait of this show is that the harem size is one. Slight spoiler but not really since the love interest is introduced 5 minutes into the show. This is also part of the reason I would characterize Kaiko Heishi as a shounen for seinens. It's a kind of happy story that encourages and indeed vindicates being a good person above personal gain, and has a calmer take as far as the protagonist is concerned in regards to romance and combat.
I wholeheartedly recommend this show. You're not gonna get heavy action, high politics, or outstanding design but you will get some tasty food for the soul.
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
![]()
May 3, 2023
tl;dr danmachi's got its mojo back (sort of) 5/10
I had a hard time starting this cour after the disappointment that was the first half of S4. For me, Danmachi has been a poster child for the sequel(s) curse; nothing has hit as hard as season 1 did. Though S4-2 doesn't come close to S1, it's still a big step in the right direction from the first half and honestly makes me pretty hopeful for any potential future sequels.
Danmachi has never been a great harem collector for harem's sake which really worked in its favor. Watching Bell's growth as an adventurer within the dungeon and as
...
a person without, combined with the fairly well-executed fight scenes made for the most engaging or at least exciting content. Part of the magic of the first season was Bell's astonishing growth, catalyzed by the other characters around him. This is also why I found the intervening seasons since then to be relatively shallow in content, when Bell becomes more of a typical OP-skill-having, helpless-girl-saving, absolute-moral-spewing shounen MC.
While S4-2 Bell doesn't struggle as much as S1 Bell did, at least he's more of a three-dimensional character than he was in the first half where he essentially only showed up to defeat a couple hard enemies and was otherwise engaging in some forgettable minor plot shenanigans. We see Bell as actually vulnerable again, once again punching above his weight. It's not the same magic as S1 but it's got the same spunk. We get real character development again, for both Bell as well as a handful of the companions he's collected along the way. We get real content episodes again instead of random groups walking through tunnels while fighting mob enemies. And we get real bosses that Bell can't just slap by having sparkles come out of his hand.
Now, it's not perfect in any way. Some of the smaller fights get a bit repetitive, some of the plot points are just hand-waved away, the discussion of morals and justice gets a bit heavy handed... but it's got the seed of what made S1 so good. If whatever comes next is at this level or better I would certainly continue watching.
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
![]()
Apr 26, 2023
tl;dr gets a barely passing grade not for premise nor plot but for the oft overstated cuteness of its characters 6/10
Otonari no Tenshi honestly did better than I was personally expecting though reading some of these reviews you really wouldn't think so. The show's not perfect by a long shot but I don't regret the time I spent watching it. But first, the complaints.
Number one issue for me has got to be pacing. It's a toughie for many anime but romcoms are especially difficult to pace due to their subject matter. Without getting into the hour-by-hour there's only so much content you can squeeze out
...
of a single budding relationship unless the show has exceptionally unusual characters or setting. Pacing problems tend to be even worse for relatively more serious romcoms (I call them romdrams) such as Otonari no Tenshi. I did get rather bored in the latter half of the show as the tropes took hold, the draw of the hook ran out and the characters knew each other better, leading to a sort of tedium that was inevitable from the moment the premise was set.
The other potential concern would be the message, though I would only be concerned for viewers with delayed social or emotional development. No, you won't become an incel by watching this show, but let's just make it clear for everyone that being a slob and giving a girl an umbrella does not lead to her making you dinner daily in any world except for romcom anime. Though generally being a good and likable person (read: not the "nice guy" kind of good) may increase your chances. Your mileage may vary. Terms and conditions apply.
But on the note of the characters, they really save the show. It's almost too wholesome and vanilla, to the point where I was expecting a tragic turn somewhere along the line. Mahiru is cute af and Amane is kind af, which makes for bland but enjoyable viewing, like a savory bowl of rice. Kinda hungry now. Also hungry because the cooking in the show looked so good even though they don't get into the details of the preparation too much unfortunately.
You might say that intentional cuteness and kindness is cheap and shallow but I found it still enjoyable in moderation. There's also a nice bit of character development as they discover what love really is to them, which I also thought was alright. I understand this show won't be everyone's cup of tea though, but I would say at least give it a few episodes to decide.
also the ED is great. I almost want to set it as my ringtone.
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
![]()
Apr 22, 2023
tl;dr benriya is isekai done right, with enough enjoyable content to fully fill a season. 7/10
Jesus there is a lot of isekai this season but I think Benriya is probably going to be one of the best, if not the best, isekais of this winter. Arranged mostly as a collection of short stories and vignettes, Benriya Isekai manages to deliver both an interesting main plot as well as plenty of good side stories, character shorts and other development, all in a single package. Applause all around.
The best way I could describe this show is as if someone took a serialized comic strip and turned it
...
into an anime. We start out relatively slow-paced with character introduction shorts and general world-building, before diving into a more serious plotline around the center of the season. While there is humor throughout, it is definitely more pronounced in the more lighthearted start and end of the season.
Saitou and his friends, the main characters, are oddities. A mage who can't remember spells, a female knight, a miserly fairy. This all sets up for some funny times as they go about adventuring inside and outside the "dungeon." But even the side characters aren't left behind. Even though they don't get the same treatment as the main characters, we get to see at least their background and general personalities through the flashbacks that are sprinkled throughout the show. And the best part is that these flashbacks don't even seem out of place in the general course of the show due to how most of the content is organized.
There was honestly not a moment in this show that I found boring or unenjoyable. While not game-changing enough to warrant an 8 or 9 for me, Benriya Isekai clocks in at a much-deserved 7 and is certainly a must-watch for isekai enjoyers and honestly most general anime viewers as well.
p.s. forgot to give the good ole 3 pillar comparison:
OP MC? Nope.
Tycoon? Nope.
Harem? Nope? Nope.
Passes with flying colors for reasons noted above.
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
![]()
Apr 22, 2023
tl;dr the "best" bad isekai you could ask for. 4.99/10,
I may be giving this an average rating but that doesn't mean that the show is awful. In fact if you watch a lot of isekai in general you won't want to skip this show. It's a decent enough generic SOL isekai, still leagues ahead of the real ass-tier ones like 8th son, smartphone isekai, harem labryinth isekai (if you haven't seen those don't bother, I gave them a 1/10). But unfortunately it still hits all the tropes of trash-tier isekai and doesn't have the quality or engagement to separate it from worse isekais especially as
...
the season progresses and the harem grows larger. Speaking of which, the three pillars:
OP MC? Yes. Undoubtedly OP MC with his omnitool, even all the other characters know he's OP.
Tycoon? Maybe. This is probably the reason I didn't give it a lower score, since at least city-building is more interesting than wealth acquisition most of the time.
Harem? Yes. Emphasis on yes. He's quite literally the only human male in the whole village the whole show with dozens of women of various races. Apparently in the manga it's even less subtle about this...
Damn. It's got all the things that make isekais trash tier. Why isn't it hot garbage then? The key is Isekai Nonbiri Nouka didn't annoy me. Unlike other, similar "nonbiri" anime that start out nonbiri but end up with some kind of world-saving macguffin being tossed around (looking at you Noumin kanren, Shin no Nakama slow life, etc.), Nobiri Nouka for the most part remains nonbiri and chilled. The viewer can brain off and watch some easy harem collection, village growth, decent food and drink, without needing to focus on any plot points. Even the "fights" are lowkey and pretty much instantly over. This could honestly be the gold standard for generic trope-heavy isekai.
And if you're asking why didn't I rate this higher the answer is: it's still a generic trope-heavy isekai. I fell asleep watching the last few episodes. Watching paint dry is more interesting than watching clueless MC interact with his anatomically incorrect harem. If there's to be a second season of this something needs to change, which would betray the original nonbiri side of the show. So frankly I'm hoping that there isn't a second season so I can remember Isekai Nonbiri Nouka as the best easymode SOL isekai I've seen.
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
![]()
Apr 20, 2023
tl;dr expectation subversion is the name of the game, and Isekai Ojisan plays it perfectly. 8/10
I'm writing this review for future me when I'm going back through these shows and I wonder why I gave it an 8. Definitely deserves it.
Isekai Ojisan is the like a meta show for meta show isekais. The writers know exactly what the tropes are with typical isekais and go out of their way not necessarily to avoid them but to play into them and build unexpected moments off of them. But first, let's stack it up to the 3 pillars of kuzu isekai
OP MC? Yes. Ojisan has got some
...
world-breaker level abilities... but for the most part they're used for comedy.
Tycoon sim? No. Ojisan makes money but it's never even his secondary objective.
Harem? No? This is one of the key features of the show and is also the primary way the viewer's expectations are first flipped.
Let's start with that last pillar because it'll help in explaining how the show works. I'm not spoiling anything by saying the show is essentially a review of an isekai (wait would that make this a review of a review?). Ojisan comes back after decades in isekai and through some shenanigans ends up watching his memories with his nephew and his nephew's childhood friend. Part of what makes the show so funny is the young'uns know exactly what the isekai tropes are or how the characters in Ojisan's memories are feeling but Ojisan has EQ 0. This results in equal parts laughter and equal parts second-hand cringe. The characters in his "harem" are all uniquely funny in ways you typically don't see in an isekai but I won't spoil it for you here. And Ojisan never realizes he has a harem and that fact, commented on frequently by the two "viewers" adds to the hilarity.
So we the viewers get to laugh at the isekai itself, where Ojisan has a harem of humorous women but never has it as a real harem, has OP powers but is also apparently the ugliest person on isekai, and essentially wanders around misadventuring to heart's content. They we get to laugh at the people watching Ojisan's isekai and commenting on it and having their own misadventures as well. It's two for the price of one!
I honestly look forward to a second season. While I don't think we can get too many of these meta-isekais without eventually developing some ennui, I do think that this show is absolutely deserving of a watch.
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 18, 2023
tl;dr OP MC is OP and wants to fight everyone. a better version of Kuro no Shoukanshi but still did not live up to its potential.
Let's begin this review of an isekai by first lining it up against the three pillars of trash-tier isekai.
OP MC? Yes. Undoubtedly and unabashedly OP MC.
Tycoon focus? No. At no point does Inglis appear to be interested in becoming rich.
Harem? No? Inglis acquires a group of women as companions but they do not serve as romantic interests.
Looking pretty good so far eh? Avoided two of those dastardly pillars already. Why did I give this a 4/10 then?
There's been plenty
...
of OP MC's in anime and especially in isekai/reborn animes and the MC of this show, Inglis, is no different, being reborn with powers beyond the pale that put her contemporaries, enemy and compatriot alike, to shame. While not necessarily a bad thing per se, when combined with difficult personalities it becomes a liability to the show. Thankfully Eiyuu-ou Tenseisu gives us a main character that isn't unlikable; Inglis cares about the people around her and her friends and is generally a good person.
However, the viewer's enjoyment of the show is kneecapped by the incessant repetition of the character tropes from the moment they are introduced all the way to the show's conclusion. While repetition may be a useful tool for prose and informative work, typically it is the bane of comedy and entertainment and Eiyuu-ou Tenseisu is unfortunately no different. The characters become nearly flat from lack of development beyond their trope. Cool sidekick remains cool sidekick. Unconfident and mistreated sidekick becomes marginally more confident and less mistreated. Initially mean but not actually sidekick is still initially mean but not actually sidekick. And MC remains just a battle jockey with OP abilities and uncanny world sense thanks to knowledge from a prior life.
I won't spoil what little there is to actually spoil but after the first couple episodes the show really lost my engagement, and it took a conscious effort to finish up the show and write this review. Points for not having a tycoon arc and an actual harem like other subpar isekais but unfortunately replacing it with "hur dur i want fight" does not cut it. Do not recommend.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Apr 18, 2023
tl;dr turn brain off, watch meat fry, feel hungry, order japanese food, repeat with next episode. 6/10
I felt like Fenrir watching this show. So much tasty-looking food on my screen just beyond my reach. It's good motivation to learn how to cook some of those dishes though.
Tonsuki is not a show you really watch for plot or character development and it never claimed to be. From the beginning we see the MC cast aside as a "hero" and be completely content with it, choosing to wander around the isekai with his online market and being happy with the food he makes and the company he
...
meets. I mean honestly if it went on for any longer it would probably get boring quickly. There's only so many ways you can fry meat no matter how tasty the artists make it look. At the length and pacing that it had, Tonsuki was very enjoyable and in some ways inspired me to go out and try to cook some of those dishes (my cooking skill still needs leveling it seems).
At some points the tropes do start to feel repetitive but thankfully the show ends before it gets too bad. I would even venture to watch a second season if the creators could promise new dishes to look at and potentially learn.
It's worth a watch and is an amazing time filler if you're sick of plot-heavy shows and darker-themed animes that drain your psyche. Would certainly recommend.
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
![]()
Apr 18, 2023
tl;dr rating if you play arknights: 8 or 9 /10. rating if you don't play arknights: 5/10 at best
Surely this show's ratings are inflated by the fans of the game. I mean let's be honest. I play the game and while yes, the game has great story and yes, the game has great voice lines, the anime was without a doubt very slow paced and at times boring. It is practically word-for-word from the source material though so points for staying true there.
Like I mentioned above, if you don't play the game you will fall asleep watching this. The gravity of the scenes, the explanation
...
for the world of Terra, the way the characters interact with each other; all of it would not make sense to a non-fan and the anime does little to try to explain any of it to people who are unfamiliar with the source material already. The pacing is molasses. The character development is also molasses. Both of which are real shames because the Arknights main story is actually quite interesting and at times thought-provoking and challenging. All of that was latent in here in the show, sent to background in favor of what felt like character showcases. I should also mention that Yostar/HG make great PV's and music but we didn't get much of that here. Some cool action sequences, a smattering of music, but it didn't shine.
It really hurts me to say it but I do not recommend this to anyone who didn't play the game. I would recommend the game though. So I guess you could come back to watch this after playing the game some? It is a good game...
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
![]()
Apr 18, 2023
tl;dr absolutely the bomb until the conclusion which absolutely bombed (imo)
I don't think I have been this disappointed in the conclusion of an otherwise outstanding season of anime than I am now. When an overall bad show has a satisfying ending it's a silver lining but when you have a great show has a not-so-great ending it's infinitely more of a downer.
Now, I'm not saying the ending had to be happy. Plenty of great anime conclude tragically. It's just that for a show with such strong characters who have demonstrated their ability to problem-solve and change the world around them, the whole premise of the
...
conclusion seems a bit too weak to have held them back the way it did.
Anyway now that my chief complaint out of the way, let me tell you that Tenten Kakumei is a highly enjoyable show with an entertaining plot, likeable characters. It's a nice break from traditional isekai; the isekai-ness of the show is mostly used as character background. If you enjoy yuri (or even if you don't particularly) you will find the characters cute and their interactions enjoyable.
I would definitely have given this a score one or two points higher if it weren't for the way the conclusion felt so rushed and underdeveloped. It's definitely worth the watch though, and looking at other reviews you might find it better than I would lead you to believe.
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
|
