Jul 9, 2017
It should be said that I joined this site just to review this anime... yes, I'm being completely serious!! I've seen people compare this anime with Hack, Sword Art Online, Game No Life, and Log Horizon, (Grimgar also has a similar dropped into fantasy plot-line too), but really it's like comparing Chicken and Eggs... similar origins, but REALLY not the same thing at all!!
The thing with King's Avatar is that the only time that it has sci-fi/fantasy elements, are during the events that take place 'in-game', really it's a SLICE OF LIFE anime, following the people playing the game!!
It actually has far more in common
...
with a SPORTS anime like Haikyuu or Yowapeda, (or considering the characters ages, a manga like Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru), in that it follows those that are starting again like Ye Xie, or starting from the beginning like Tang Rou... this is definitely a slow burn anime, where the stakes get higher as the characters 'level up'.
I like the fact that it has a grittier more realistic story-line, and the characters are older than usual. Most of the characters are late teens/early twenties, with Ye Xie and Wei Chen being the oldest at 25 & 30 respectively. I also like the fact that there is very little romance, (though Wei Chen is a bit of an old perv), and not a harem in sight!! Though if there was, then it would be a male one. LOL
Later on we also get to know more about the players, rather than their game characters, including their varied backgrounds, and personal histories. For example Concealed Light is a Math Genius, and Ye Xie and Mucheng might love each other, but it's definitely the familial kind of love of siblings.
When I first heard of this anime, 9 episodes had already been subbed, so I block watched the first 3/4's of the season, then waited impatiently for the rest to be released!! When season 2 was announced for 2018 at the end of the last episode, there was no-one happier than I was, and I proceeded to investigate further into the background of the anime... first I found the manga, read all the chapters that have been released, and since it's still ongoing I'll be keeping up-to-date, then I discovered that the novel is being translated, and you can read it at Gravity Tales!!
The novel is complete at 1728 Chapters, with 682 chapters translated, and the anime covers Volume 1&2, most of Volume 3 (with some omissions I think), and the first few chapters of Volume 4, and the most recently translated chapters are towards the end of Volume 10... so as far as storyline is concerned, believe me the anime barely scratched the surface!!
SPOILERS!!!
To put it bluntly, the first season of the anime only covered about half of the first story arc of the novel, what I like to call the 'Messing About in the 10th Server' arc, we still have the 'Battle of the Lake', and the 'Christmas Event' to come in game, and the Happy Cafe trio's 3 day holiday to visit the 'Pro All Stars' event IRL, where Yu Xie's 'Dragon Raises It's Head' move unofficially announces to everyone his intention to return to the pro scene.
I really wish that they had done a double length season and completed the whole story arc, but I guess that might have been taking a risk since I don't think the manga adaptation has got to that point either!! However, I'm hoping that we will see a fairly short gap between the 1st and 2nd season, with them aiming for Summer 2018, rather than later in the year!!
SUPER SPOILERS!!!
I mentioned the first story arc above, but I thought I would whet your appetite for the future of this anime, and mention ALL of the main story arcs of the novel...
1 - Pro Season 8 - 10th Server - Lord Grim Makes His Name (current manga & anime position);
2 - Pro Season 8 - Heavenly Domain - Birth of a Team (current novel translation position);
3 - Pro Season 9 - Pro Qualifying Division;
4 - Pro Season 10 - Entering the Pro League;
5 - World Glory Championship - Team China (not all characters).
Hope this review inspires you to watch this anime, or even take a second look at it, since I think a lot of people made certain assumptions when they started watching it, and ended up getting something that really wasn't what they expected.
I also highly recommend going reading the novel translations at Gravity Tales too. It really cleared up some things that I found a bit confusing the first time I watched the anime, (I've watched it twice, and am about to watch it a third time, whilst simultaneously reading the novel for a second time).
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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