Lvxferre [he/him]

I have two chimps within, Laziness and Hyperactivity. They smoke cigs, drink yerba, fling shit at each other, and devour the face of anyone who gets close to either.

They also devour my dreams.

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  • 125 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
Cake day: January 12th, 2024
  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyztoAnime@ani.social•[Discussion] 10 Fantasy Anime With Better Worldbuilding Than Most MoviesEnglish
    1·
    23 hours ago

    I think it’s both because I’ve seen people also dissing Ascendance of a Bookworm, simply for being an isekai. Even if its worldbuilding is extremely detailed and well-thought, like:

    • magic being seen as a resource, and its ties to the class system
    • poor and rich people having completely different mindsets
    • Myne’s mindset being alien to both, as an Earthling
    • poor people being close-knit communities and suspicious of outsiders
    • temples being basically an “out of sight, out of mind” bin for children
    • “I have ties to that powerful person!” corruption
    • the impact of tech over the social structure
    • etc.

    And it does those really well IMO.

    That said, I do agree with you that Mushoku Tensei also puts people off because of the main character; probably more than for being an isekai.

    Quotes of the prologue of the first LN, plus comments

    I was a nice guy, but I was on the heavy side, didn’t have good looks going for me, and was in the midst of regretting my entire life.

    My brash behavior around the house hadn’t won anyone over. I was the sort of guy who’d bang on the walls and floors to get people’s attention without leaving my room.

    He’s a “nice guy”, hated by his looks. Sure. Totally not hated for his behaviour. /s

    I’d only been homeless for about three hours. Before that, I’d been the classic, stereotypical, long time shut-in who wasn’t doing anything with his life. And then, all of a sudden, my parents died. Being the shut-in that I was, I obviously didn’t attend the funeral, or the family gathering thereafter.

    Lives off his parents, can’t be arsed to attend their funeral.

    my older brother, the one with a black belt in karate

    If his brother achieved something, it shows the issue is not simply “his family was bad”.

    What the hell had I even done wrong? All I did was skip out on our parents’ funeral so I could spank it to uncensored loli porn.

    He is not just a paedophile: he’s a paedophile NEET who gives no shit about his family and is completely nonchalant about it.

    I’m quoting the LN but the anime does follow fashion.

    At least for me it’s clear why Mushoku Tensei does this: it goes out of its way to represent the main character’s start as the rock bottom, because it helps to deliver the theme. MT’s theme is *“persevere and try to become a better person, regardless of your failures; it pays off” — and if even scum like Rudeus can do it, the reader (who’s likely better as a person than Rudeus, it’s hard to not be) can do it too.

    His attitude towards his family in the LN volume 12 (second half of the second season) shows that rather well IMO. In no moment the reader is told “Rudeus has changed! He is not the same as that Earthling, he’s a better man!11one”. But his actions show he cares about his isekai family in a way he never did about his Earthling one, and yet they feel natural because he has been becoming a better person over the course of the years.

    Spoilers from LN volume 12 / s2 part 2
    • Before: bashes floors/walls to communicate because he can’t be arsed to speak with his Japanese parents
    • After: loses an arm saving his isekai mother
    • Before: busier masturbating than attending his JP parents’ funeral
    • After: pays respects to his isekai father’s grave, telling it [the grave] he was an awful son, for doing far less than he did to his JP parents
    • Before: shows clear disdain towards his Japanese siblings
    • After: cares deeply about Aisha and Norn
    • Before: NEET, completely irresponsible, cares only after his computer
    • After: raising a family, not just a daughter but also his sisters

    From that, you can go two ways, I think. The first one is to accept the MC is shit trying to become less shit, and enjoy the story and worldbuilding. The second one is to skip it; I don’t blame anyone for doing it, if they want a more relatable main character, I think different people want different stuff and that’s completely fine.

    Additionally there’s a third way: some people instead lie / bullshit / assume that the work defends NEET-dom, or paedophilia, or not caring about your parents. I think it’s lack of basic media literacy.

    Sorry for the wall of text!

  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyztoAnime@ani.social•[Discussion] 10 Fantasy Anime With Better Worldbuilding Than Most MoviesEnglish
    6·
    2 days ago

    People look down on the idea Mushoku Tensei and Ascendance of a Bookworm would have good worldbuilding, because both are isekais, but unlike a lot of later series they aren’t simply copypasting stuff from earlier series, and they got a lot of original ideas.

    Take MT for example. (warning: actual spoilers, some heavy ones)

    A creator god made six worlds, all of them unstable, and patched them together into a die-shaped one. Then split his soul into six, each becoming a god.

    Orsted’s father was the original Dragon God. As he died, the title went to his child. He’s also the grandson of the Human God. The series has a literal god as a villain-then-ally. (told ya I’d mention spoilers!)

    You know who is not a god, though? Hitogami! Born in the seventh world, the void formed within the “die”. He killed and usurped the role of the actual Human God. He’s also responsible for the death of the first Dragon God, and the Demon God’s soul splitting into two (one half being murderous). No wonders Orsted hates him so much.

    Hitogami always does his shit indirectly, through three or four “apostles” — people whom he shows visions, and automatically trust him. He tried to do it with Rudeus but it backfired, since Rudeus’ soul is not from the six-sided world the “you’ll automatically trust me” gimmick didn’t work.

    For example, his intervention against Laplace was to make the Fighting God an apostle and have both fight. You’ve seen that Fighting God; he’s that huge four-arms “WAHAHAHAHA!!!” guy, Badigadi.

    The evil half of Laplace fooled the Superd into madness, creating their bad reputation… and the discrimination against people with green hair, like Sylphy. Additionally, people who have green hair are likely to have the Laplace Factor, it’s like the other half of Laplace is slowly tweaking with the inheritance of multiple people, to create a perfect vessel for his reincarnation over the course of millenniums.

    There’s at least one religion in the world, the Milis faith, but it’s clear not everyone follows it. It preaches monogamy, while apparently most people are fine with polygamy. The difference in mindset becomes clear near the end of the second season, look at who gets pissed at Rudeus for bringing a second wife home — not his first wife Sylphy, but his sister Norn! Guess who follows the Milis faith? It went worse for Zenith, though, since the guy violating her religious principle was her husband Paul. (And then her son. Poor Zenith. Nobody cares about your faith.)

    Time loops are an actual thing in MT, and the reason Orsted has such an odd reaction towards Eris when they just met. Or he says Paul Greyrat was supposed to have two daughters, not a son. There’s also a second “loop chain” where Rudeus visits his past self, to tell him to not trust Hitogami; in that timeline Roxy died, Sylphy left Rudeus, and he never married Eris. He did this because Rudeus and Roxy’s daughter Lara has a pivotal role on defeating Hitogami.

    Orsted’s curse doesn’t apply to Rudeus descendants, by the way. Now imagine all three of Rudeus’ wives terrified of Orsted… while their children are like, “dad’s boss! He’s a cool guy and doesn’t afraid of anything”.

    I didn’t even scratch the surface of MT’s worldbuilding with the spoilers above, by the way. I could’ve talked about politics of the kingdom of Asura; or what exactly was the Mana Calamity; or the role of Nanahoshi into the story. The more you dig, the more you find, it’s frankly addictive.

  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyztoAnime@ani.social•Summer Anime Season Preview Discussion and Thread Requests [2026, Week 25]English
    3·
    6 days ago

    Summer? See you guys in December… okay, sorry for the dumb joke. Here’s what I’m planning to pick up, roughly by order of how much I want to see it:

    1. Mushoku Tensei III
    2. Youjo Senki II
    3. Otomege Sekai wa Mob […] 2
    4. Black Torch
    5. Ryoumin 0-Nin Start no Henkyou Ryoushu-sama
    6. Tsuihou Sareta Tensei Juukishi wa Game […]
    7. Koko wa Ore ni Makesete Saki […]
    8. Hell Mode […] 2
    9. Sekai Saikyou no Kouei
    10. Reiwa no Dara-san
    11. Suterare Seijo no Isekai Gohantabi
    12. Rakudai Kenja no Gakuin Musou
    Further impressions on the first six series I mentioned (note: no actual spoilers here, I'm only trying to reduce clutter)

    Mushoku Tensei III — Once you go past the fact Rudeus (the MC) was scum in Earth, and that he’s still shitty after reincarnated (but less than before, so… yay?), you’re presented with a solid fantasy series. IMO Mushoku Tensei has the perfect mix of romance, adventure, and worldbuilding, all of them tied by a nice theme (TL;DR: “try to be a better person, one step at a time”). And it diverges from a lot of later isekais in small aspects, that makes it feel refreshing and exciting.

    Youjo Senki II — in totally-not-WW1-Earth-with-magic, a man reincarnates as a little girl, misunderstood by everyone, as they assume she’s more thoughtful than she is. War is still cruel, but at least it’s fun to see Tanya’s plans of a peaceful life being ruined by God.

    Otomege Sekai wa Mob […] 2 — Almost everybody has a loose screw or two, and that’s bloody hilarious! Specially the goldfish poop gang “capture targets” of the game, chasing after Marie. Plus Leon does show some character growth, even behind his arsehole façade.

    Black Torch — I read some of the manga a long, looooong time ago. I remember it was about some kid who loses his (literal) heart fighting against a mononoke, and then merges with another who decides to save his life. The story was fun, but IIRC it was cancelled, so I’m glad to see it being animated.

    Tsuihou Sareta Tensei Juukishi wa Game […] — the premise is bland: reincarnated in a game, strong but taken as weak, disowned by his father, yadda yadda. But even then, there’s always some struggle behind the fights that most isekais miss, because having game knowledge doesn’t magically make Elymas invincible. Also, I really like Ruche/Luce as a deuteragonist.

    Ryoumin 0-Nin Start no Henkyou Ryoushu-sama — if I were to describe the manga, it feels a lot like “Spy x Family meets Isekai Nonbiri Nouka”: wholesome slice-of-life with settlement building. There are bits of actions here and there, but I won’t watching it for the action, I’ll do it for the sheep. And the beastkin. And all that fluff.

    I’ll also keep watching: Re:Zero, Iruma-kun, TenSura, Ascendance of a Bookworm. Then there’s the older stuff I’m only watching now, like Mahoutsukai no Yome and Highschool of the Dead.

    So a total of 18 series, 12 being new ones. Two~three episodes per day.

  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyztoAnime@ani.social•[Discussion] 7 Forgotten 2000s Anime With Better Worldbuilding Than Most IsekaiEnglish
    5·
    14 days ago

    While Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles has its own rich lore, it is made even more enticing by its connection to the series xxxHOLiC. Both series were developed by Clamp and are set in the same multiverse. Characters are shared between the two series, and the interdimensional witch Yūko Ichihara plays an important role in both stories.

    This. So much this.

    You can enjoy them individually, but once you enjoy them together, both become far richer. It isn’t just about the TRC gang visiting the witch, everything is connected.

    Two examples (heavy TRC+xxxHolic spoilers)
    1. TRC’s main antagonist Fei Wang Reed was created by Clow Reed. Who apparently was a lover of Yuuko, the witch of xxxHolic; or at least really close to her. Fei Wang wants the feathers for the power to revive Yuuko, who’s not-quite-alive-or-dead, her time was frozen by Clow.
    2. xxxHolic Watanuki is an alternate existence for the Syaoran who you see travelling in TRC. He had to go back in time to save the Sakura you also see travelling; but he needed to leave “someone” to take his place in the world, so Watanuki was born. In fact everything in xxxHolic boils down to giving that alternate existence of Syaoran some place in the world, so he doesn’t disappear and fuck with causality.

    Mushishi and Hellsing also have great worldbuilding, but TRC/xxxHolic is more like a fractal of worlds tied together.

    Can’t say about the other series, as I didn’t watch them.

    With that out of the way, for people who want an isekai series with good worldbuilding, I’d recommend Log Horizon. AFAIK it was one of the first “trapped in a game” isekai series, and it goes great lengths to explore how game logic interacts with reality. Such as food only having a taste when made by people with a cooking skill, or where the money from loot comes from, or what it means to “die” in the world, etc.

    And if you don’t want isekai, there’s The Ancient Magus’ Bride. Sure, younger than things mentioned in the list (the first season is from 2013), but worldbuilding is top notch.

  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyztoAnime@ani.social•[Discussion] What anime you didn't initially expect to enjoy but later did?English
    5·
    29 days ago

    Sentenced to Be a Hero: initially I thought “meh, yet another series where they fight the Maō”, but right in the first episode there was a “hero” stealing stuff, then I was like “well, this is going to be fun”. And as the series progressed I started genuinely enjoying its cynical and bitter tone.

    Mayonaka Punch: I didn’t bother with the series at the start of the season, because you can be pretty sure “arsehole influencer doing dumb shit” is not my cup of tea. But mid-season I got bored, gave it a try because I thought the vampire looked fun (and quickly noticed she was voiced by my favourite voice actress, Fairouz Ai), and really enjoyed it, because the interactions between characters were fun.

  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyztoAnime@ani.social•[Episode] Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Season 4 • Mairimashita! Iruma-kun 4 - Episode 7 discussionEnglish
    1·
    1 month ago

    What a banger. I’m not into musicals, mind you, but I’ve enjoyed every single second of this episode, it was bloody perfect. All that build-up from the other six episodes, the tease with the Misfits “fighting” over Elizabetta, the way they introduced Lilith’s lovers, letting the Misfit’s personalities “leak” into the characters they’re representing, all that anxiety waiting for Purson (mind you I did read the manga, but I was still “Purson when?”)…

    And they made the Misfits look physically tired at the end of the episode. Specially Elizabetta. Like you’d expect from someone who has been dancing/singing/acting for minutes in a row, it’s something so subtle but you notice it in real actors.

    Plus I love how this arc basically introduced a new character (Purson) without feeling weird or off. Perhaps due to his bloodline ability, sure, but still.

    People will still talk about this episode for the years to come, because it is that good.

  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyztoAnime@ani.social•[Episode] Higeki no Genkyou to Naru Saikyou Gedou Last Boss Joou wa Tami no Tame ni Tsukushimasu. Season 2 - Episode 3 discussionEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    For a long time I wondered why I like this series so much. The premise is a bit cliché (the villainess is reincarnated, and actually a decent person), the MC has Mary Sue vibes, and the animation is subpar.

    But this episode shows it for me, in all its glory: regardless of all I said above, this series is damn great at pulling you into all that emotional baggage of the characters, so you root for them: Stanley and his mother, Arthur and his father, Val and his kids, and now Leon and the people of his kingdom.

    And the contrast between how things went in the game, versus how things developed because of the reincarnated Pride, only adds even more impact.

    Leon and Pride’s engagement is probably over. He loves Anemone too much to leave it, and Pride is certainly not ditching Freesia. And yet their relationship is way better than it would be in the game, and so are the ties between both countries.

  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyztoAnime@ani.social•[Episode] Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE Cour 3 • Dr. STONE: SCIENCE FUTURE Part 3 - Episode 2 discussionEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    [François] The revived people of South America helped me to learn it [Spanish]

    Things like this are the ones that make me like the least this part of the series. It shows how much they rushed research.

    There’s no way they’d learn Spanish in Araxá, most of the population there speaks Portuguese. In fact, I don’t even know why they decided to mine niobium there, if they entered SA through the Amazon river delta; for reference they’re further from each other (2000km) than Berlin from Moscow. Plus there are niobium deposits in the Amazon basin, smaller and less profitable but still enough for their purposes.

    And the whole idea of going to Catalunya feels silly. There are some fluorite deposits in Sant Cugat del Vallès but they’d need to walk something like 15km from the coast, on a rather hilly terrain. Transport is hard. There are better deposits in Asturias, by the coast, but no olives. But you know, where there are fluorite deposites near the coast? And olives? Tunisia. Plus dates; amazing travel food, tasty even if dried for long-term storage, and with a high caloric content. I should stop chewing on those everyday, though. They certainly don’t help with my weight.

    Those things don’t make me say “bleeergh, I’ll drop it!”, but come on… it’s a stain in a series that shone because of all the research behind it. Granted, mostly Chemistry, but still.