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15 hours agoNote Black Torch predates Chainsaw Man by two years or so.
In fact I don’t know why they resurrected this series. But not complaining about it.
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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Joined 2 years ago
Cake day: January 12th, 2024
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Prolly getting one season and that’s it, the story is ~20 chapters, but I don’t recall if it was axed or planned already short.
First episode was a decent intro of the two MCs (Jiro and Rago): good-natured punk who speaks with animal x mononoke who’s a shadow of his former self.
Amazing adaptation of the Eris gaiden. So much being done to show Eris’ character, beyond the words:
- cutting her own hair, a sign of determination
- punching Nina almost to death, to the point she literally pisses herself out of fear
- jumping back as Gal Farion goes forth, because she instinctively “knows” he’s a dangerous foe
- paying absolutely no attention to taunts, as Nina says she has more talent for brawling than swords
- Auber reaching for his second sword, as if knowing “this is a dangerous beast you can’t reason with”; etc.
In no moment you need to be said “this is why she’s called the Mad Dog”.
Ooooh, this part is hilarious. Nina thinking Eris is just making shit up on the spot, then finding Rudeus is actually way stronger than she expected!
Small info on the styles:
- Sword God Style values initiative. If you can cut down your opponent before they react, you win.
- Water God Style values defence. Provoke the opponent to act on predictable ways, so you can counterattack them.
- North God Style values flexibility. Dirty tricks, usage of the terrain, whatever it takes to stay alive.
They’re in a weird triangle of sorts: Sword God overwhelms North God, North God tricks Water God, Water God counters Sword God. That explains why it’s so important for Eris to train against all three styles; if she focuses on a single one, Orsted can simply use the one that beats it.
The manga is by no means a masterwork, but it’s fun, and it gets more interesting as it progresses. This anime adaptation is rather faithful, so I’m expecting it to follow fashion. Although to be frank I think the most interesting parts will be likely way past the end of the season; they seem to be adapting 2 chapters per episode.
Dias sounds exactly like I pictured. I don’t like the overall tone of Alna/Aruna’s voice; I think the VA (Wakayama Shion) did a way better job voicing Momo.
Beyond that… it’s OK, I guess? I agree with NineSwords about the pacing. But I feel like the animation was better than I expected.
and everything feels rushed for such a slow paced story
Agree. I was able to follow it because I read the manga, but I’m not sure if anime only folks will follow it.
…meh. Watched it. It isn’t bad, but it’s certainly not great either. I guess I’ll watch a few more episodes, then decide between watching it vs. dropping it.
The story is fairly decent, at least in the manga. But I do agree with you the adaptation is a bit too over-detailed; the “camera rainbows” are completely unnecessary, I’m almost sure the city was modelled in 3D, that guy Elymas protected from the raana behaving a bit too hammy… they also made Elymas look less like a tank, and more like a scrawny boy (in comparison with the manga).
I’ve been picking a few Hikaru no Go episodes to rewatch. Not the whole thing, just some fun games.
That series brings me memories of my chess club times. And internet cafés.
It’s not just uncensored loli porn. It got censored in the LN from spy cam footage of his niece in the shower (the main reason why his brother gets so violent).
[Rudeus on Sylphy and Roxy]
The anime and WN are a bit more explicit on that, but even the LN is crystal clear on Rudeus being a paedophile. And I think the folks doing mental gymnastics to claim otherwise also lack basic media literacy, just like I criticised the “third way” ones.
In the meantime I find your “option 3.5” fairly reasonable. It’s completely fine to criticise the work for not doing a good job of calling out shitty behaviour, specially in the light of its theme.
Rudeus does mention once that Paul (isekai father) is scum, and that’s why they understand each other, but… that’s it. In the meantime Paul cheats on Zenith (who’s monogamous) with Lilia (who’s employed by Paul, so Paul is in a position of power over her), and gets away with it.
I’ve also seen an interesting discussion about how much of the author’s personality is reflected in their works.
It’s somewhat clear for me that Magonote doesn’t really care too much about social causes, such as the role of women in society. And that he caves in to readers’ pressure a bit too easily. But past that, I don’t know, really.
Yup, they are. Fixed — thanks for pointing it out. (I was in doubt on where to rank it, and accidentally split both names apart.)
IMO it’s a series with a damn good worldbuilding, and it got some good animation; for me it was way more enjoyable than Higeki no Genkyou, surprisingly so because I like Pryde’s story way better in the manga (The Barbarian’s Bride gets a bit stale over time IMO). But at the same time I couldn’t see myself being as excited with it than I was with Bertia.
Ongoing, will keep watching because I’m having a great time with all three:
- Mairimashita! Iruma-kun 4
- Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken 4
- Re:Zero 4
Watched / finishing, top of the list:
- Jishou Akuyaku Reijou / Bertia
- Dr. Stone: Science Future 3
- Hime Kishi wa Barbaroi no Yome / The Barbarian’s Bride
Finishing, I don’t regret watching it:
- Isekai Nonbiri Nouka 2
- Higeki no Genkyou 2 / Pryde 2
- Jidou Hanbaiki 3 / Boxxo 3
Deserved a better adaptation:
- Honzuki no Gekokujou: Ryoushu no Youjo / Ascendance of a Bookworm 4
- Saikyou no Ousama 2 / The Beginning of the End 2
Dropped:
- Reincarnation no Kaben
The show was great. Faithful to the manga, in both events and spirit: it’s a short story and not-too-deep story about love. I really enjoyed the ride.
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!
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.
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:
- Mushoku Tensei III
- Youjo Senki II
- Otomege Sekai wa Mob […] 2
- Black Torch
- Ryoumin 0-Nin Start no Henkyou Ryoushu-sama
- Tsuihou Sareta Tensei Juukishi wa Game […]
- Koko wa Ore ni Makesete Saki […]
- Hell Mode […] 2
- Sekai Saikyou no Kouei
- Reiwa no Dara-san
- Suterare Seijo no Isekai Gohantabi
- 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.
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)
- 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.
- 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.
The next episode should clarify most/all of those questions. Just one thing: the contracted spirits have nothing to do with Cecil being the “android prince”, they basically do what their master wants them to.
Fuck, I remember it. It was 110% cute!