- Last Online10 hours ago
- JoinedAug 17, 2021
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
May 12, 2024
Shield Hero 3 - Can't even gas it up anymore. They're just living in the shadow of S1.
Better than S2?
Without a doubt! but that's not an achievement.
I should have listened to the elitists on twitter when they called this show mid.
Gone are the golden immersive sequences which caught me by surprise in the marvelous orchestration of S1. This season I could barely stop myself from pausing the video, several times, in utter disappointment. I struggle now to recommend this series to anyone other than the Isekai fanatics.
Let's be honest, they got us good. That short stretch of episodes we were blessed with
...
at the dawn of S1 have lived rent-free in our heads for too long. The novelty has now worn off, they can longer hide the flaws.
I remember the loud LN readers telling us how the show was going to be far better after S2's failure. "Tortoise arc was the worst one", "The characters get so much better". I'm not going to say they're wrong. It's no where near as bad as S2, except, what's carrying this experience are the animators and Admiral Penkin, not the story.
Ultimately we must now come to grips with the fact that this show is barely a mid-tier Isekai. The writing and direction are in absolute shambles.
After watching so much anime, I doubt I would find many first times for anything. This show managed to be the first time I was bored during a tournament arc.
I'm a sucker for tournament arcs, but if you wanted to make me hate them, just do it like these guys did.
The tournament arc was just too quick, too sloppy and had such a lack of attention to detail that It just left me stunned frozen in disillusionment. I won't even use lack of tension, they didn't allow enough time for the brawling to get tense, paradoxically speaking.
To go into depth, something simple but important like their disguises were butchered. Honestly they were like elephants hiding behind a bamboo tree. Every twist and turn of this arc broke my concentration. It was all so rough consequently lacking tact and a genuine atmosphere. You could never stop take in the true spectacle and emotion of environment. Oh dear! the dialogue, It was rubbish, this ruined a fair amount of the seriousness as well as any chance of me getting engrossed into it. They designed some surprises along the way but the transitions into them didn't work or felt rushed collectively cheapening the experience.
For me especially, these fights were over too fast, I needed to see more going at it, old school, head to head, 1v1s, 2v2s, 3v3s all with previous skills and abilities we have come to know from the OG squad. There was a moment where I almost got into the zone but was rudely interrupted by some annoying plot point, abruptly killing the momentum. Picture this, a crowd jam packed but seemingly dead, an announcer that is for all intensive purposes doing it for the paycheck, a plot twist but instead of bringing a welcome change of mood it stifled the creation of the mood we desired. Little things that spice up the experience were absent like, dare I say it, the spamming of authentic and interactive crowd reactions after every pivotal moment. Football is far less interesting without an interactive crowd of fans, similarly so here. The funny thing is that, there are many shows with much worse animation/budgets that can recreate the arena environment and ambiance quite well, even if you know the outcome of fights they still manage to make it interesting and enthralling. Another golden aspect of tournaments is some sort of adherence to rules and integrity and if you track where I'm going with this, you can guess what occurred.
Here's a question, can there ever be too many women in these type of shows?
Yes.
It's even worse when the men are treated by the writers as either useless old husks filled with regrets or dumb jobbers.
I hoped for my salvation with the return of the cardinal heroes, on the contrary, they dragged me deeper into mediocrity. Giving some thought to it, outside of Naofumi, the slave merchant and the countless women we are swamped with, the level of characterization is atrocious. They're not characters, they're jobbers. Person A, Person B, Soldier A, Soldier B. There's nothing to them they're robots, barely sentient just churning out the appropriate lines and "Shield Demon" or "Shield Hero".
On the subject of these cardinal heroes. Instead of vivid and creative wisdom in the writing of these characters, we are graced with undeniably some of the most amateur depictions I've ever seen. Basically the other 3 heroes are just cookie-cutter, 2 dimensional, giga social-rejects with barely any autonomy. I talked previously in my review of S2 about these heroes being used as mere plot devices, despite how pivotal a role they play in the greater plot. They aren't real people, they aren't alert, they don't respond to their environment, their only job is to make Naofumi look more righteous. It's a real shame because they could have created really organic and lifelike interactions between them based on their shared background from Japan, or even constructive tips, strategies and methods on leveling their skills and party members. This could have created a great deal of humorous, witty and relatable moments promoting a more memorable experience that the audience could truly appreciate. Things of this nature certainly would have brought the hype of this show back to S1 levels. Oh, lest I forget, the flashbacks, the oh so terrible flashbacks. Utterly laughable, how did authors/writers come up with this? It's hardly believable. They try to show you what happened during the "Tortoise Arc from hell" from the other heroes' perspectives, nevertheless it comes up short. I don't have any confidence that I could think of a more insulting way to portray these events. I was just mortified with what they came up with, a thoroughly senseless exercise in writing.
An old antagonist makes a quite startling re-appearance but assuredly, there's no way this villain had a possible way of operating with such cunning deception in these circumstances if we assume there was a shred of forethought and coherence in the writing. The sad state these heroes are reduced to is practically unthinkable, it just doesn't make sense in the grand scheme of things. I recall their pitiful attempt to copy-paste repeat the magic of the emotional breakdown Naofumi had in S1 to give these heroes depth. The problem is, they all can't have the same breakdown. The depth, in question, just insults the audience. It doesn't grip me as a story of 4 different heroes with separate ideals, goals and interests. Far be it from such a exciting premise, rather we have; Naofumi and the 3 clowns with identical character development arcs, grudgingly I expected so much more. It doesn't end there, after the "development" you genuinely can't distinguish their characters other than some generic tropes. Taking a step back I just can't help but notice the horrendous state of the characterization of men in this show.
So you're thinking how after all this how it gets rated 7? Well let's talk about the positives.
In shows like this I love when they return to more familiar characters we have seen before to advance the plot rather than a whole host of new ones.
What's the best part of this season?
Naofumi is back as a functioning and autonomous main character whose decision-making appears appropriately refined and made wiser as a result of his rollercoaster of experiences in S1. This was a very welcome improvement from the garbage shell of an MC we were subjected to in S2.
There's also a neat dragon fight. I got some goosebumps watching that at least. How it was eventually defeated wasn't the best and the entire reason that fight even occurred was lackluster, but all in all, it did hit the spot.
The animation improved by leaps and bounds. With the help Penkin's creative score of pieces the show looked and sounded great even in it's darkest moments.
The positives run quite thin, to make matters worse, they end the season with a very annoying retcon ending.
A puzzling cliffhanger seemingly out of thin air with a whole host of new characters for S4.
Even though I'll most likely watch S4, I'm so disappointed. The hope and curiosity is rapidly fading for me because I know the writers/directors will likely lack the competence and careful thought at to really nail any of the developments of the next season.
If I am to describe this show for any prospective Isekai enthusiast I would say the following:
This series has a Hall of Fame S1 48min introduction, an above average S1 and the rest of it is just an average Isekai with some interesting world building, with S2 dangling it precariously into the trash region.
Quick summary
Pros this season
+ Old Cardinal Heroes again
+ Stellar Animation, good fight choreography, very colorful consistent art.
+ Very Pretty Anime Opening
+ Naofumi back as a character
+ One of the best CG dragon fights i've ever seen
+ Allows us to forget S2
+ Kevin Penkin soundtrack
+ Consistency in general
Cons this season
- Too many girls out of no where, doing crazy things.
- Male characterization is boring, filled with tropes and cliches lacking assertiveness or awareness.
- Hated being narrated to when they could just give us decent dialogue and a few scenes.
- Garbage writing
- Garbage Characterization and the developments of them.
- Worst tournament arc I've ever seen
- Woeful Direction.
- Boring retcon ending/cliffhanger.
Ratings
Animation 9
Sound 8
Story 5
Characters 5
Enjoyment 7
34/50 6.8 = 7/10 Shamelessly, I'm inflating the score. (It's really a six but I'm hopeful for next season)
I had to score it above the 6 I duped out of S2 (which was more of a 4-5/10)
Don't Give Up! This series isn't finished yet. However, now is the time to lower your standards for this series. No more "peak" shouts.
It's not gonna be Slime, Re Zero, Kage No, MT or Overlord it's just little, bang-average, scraping the mid-tier shield hero and that's how it's going to be.
This season definitely got back on track, but that's all I'm afraid.
This will probably be the last time I'm listening to these cringe LN coping bastards telling us it would cook later on.
Hope this helps.
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 10, 2024
No,
I won't tell you anything different.
To summarize my review, This is a season was such a disaster that it makes watching the preceding one a mistake.
Early on, my instincts were prompting me to drop the show, but I persevered. "How bad could it be?" I pondered.
These questions often never age well.
12 grueling episodes later, I came away dumbfounded. It was exactly as the reviewers had described. Studio Hotline's pitiful attempt at a sequel became one of the worst anime I have ever watched. As of 12/05/2024 there isn't a single Recommended review.(Besides the satirical one). Please pay attention to that, it's for good
...
reason.
The producers don't even try to hide how bad it is. I don't know what's worse the comical aspect or the outright revolting fanservice both of which are more than 70% of what you will find within this show. Fanservice just isn't the same when dealing with gorillas and an overwhelming amount of retarded sexual deviants.
Right from the outset they will bombard the audience with copious amounts of "comedic relief".
The problem is that you will barely laugh at any of it and the sheer amount of this buffoonery will brazenly impede any sort of plot or character development.
They seem to have no idea how to separate between serious and funny, therefore everything you watch seems like a joke. The thing is, if nothing is consequential but the funny barely tickles you, the resultant fact is that your time is truly and utterly squandered.
In truth, I could only recall laughing at how just how much they forced the comedy in. It's all put together with no tact there's just this massive shortage of direction in pretty much everything here.
Technically speaking why is it so awful?
- Any sense of an overarching plotline or a goal have been vanquished. You wont even be interested in a slice of life pivot.
- The sheer magnitude of poor attempts at comedy make none of it funny, The jokes from season 1 are stale.
- The new backstories are written so poorly, rife with holes.
- Power of Love/Friendship writing. (Only Fairy Tail can pull this off)
- Aimless, directionless, dumb, stripped of autonomous desire MC, having negligible effect on plot other than to be the device to beat the bad guy. The Plot controls the MC and not the other way round.
- Zero Tension.
- Laughably cheap "2 dimensional antagonists" they are remarkably boring and forgettable. Their motivations are written in such amateurish fashion, that they become far more annoying than profound.
- You won't care about the characters anymore.
- You won't care about the poorly built world any more.
- Novice attempts at creating any sort of consequential actions or decisions.
- Animation is poor, tonnes of repeated scenes, zoomed in faces, clunky movements
- Sound is boring and uninspired. It's a genuinely lifeless experience.
- The main cast serves zero purpose, they are either heavily under-utilized or shoehorned in for a monotonous gag scene.
- A multitude of gag characters which ruin any immersion.
- Disgusting Blank Slating at the end of the season rendering the "plot developments" of entire season void.
- 2 pointless comedic relief episodes in between.
Once finishing this season you will come to the realization that the show has nothing left to offer.
The first half of the season while glaringly bad was actually watchable, the second half, however was a total disaster, everything fell apart.
If you persevere, enduring the hardship long enough to reach episode 12, at the end of the tunnel is a dead end. A horrendous climax which just spits in your face. Episode 12 tells you in the most brazen manner that your decision to watch this show was but a fools errand.
I don't think there's a way to redeem this show with a successive season.
I thought the first season was mediocre but even in that state, I took the series to second season. This time I've learned my lesson, I have banished the thought of even entertaining a 3rd season.
Doing about 15 minutes of research from other reviews and comments, they have messed with the timeline of events, confusing those who have read the source.
As you can see I don't have much of an idea how this fares as an adaptation as I have no desire to see the source of this.
Here are the ratings.
Animation 3/10
Sound 4/10
Story 2/10
Characters 2/10
Enjoyment 1/10
12/50 - 2.4/10 - Complete and Utter Garbage.
This most likely will conclude any further interest of more than 80% of the viewers of this second season. I certainly will not be watching a 3rd season, If you are coming hot from season 1, Please!, end your journey prematurely, don't be like me.
Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Apr 28, 2024
This season is like an afternoon on a countryside train, a few bumps along the way but a comfortable ride with lots of warm scenery. By the end, you would have enjoyed the experience but you won't really have much to tell anyone about it.
We're all here because we enjoyed the first season.
The first season starts with an interesting idea based on video game culture.
It intelligently parodies popular media, creating animation sequences with such unique and ridiculous fighting choreography, that you can't help but watch in awe. It's quite simple to understand, the lack of convolution and adherence to its own game mechanics
...
was a nice touch that rounded out the experience.
What did I love about this show?
-Watching the overpowered MC obliterate her opponents in a quirky but clever fashion with her crazy abilities and unorthodox but pleasant character.
-Watching the abilities and pick-ups be utilized time to time like an actual MMO game, was a joy to watch.
-The simple and organic humor that is begotten from the priceless reactions of the characters when they are dazzled by maple and honestly,
-I don't know what they are intrigued by more? her brazen and honest character or her overwhelming power it's quite the amusing conundrum.
Season 2 is simply more of the same.
Pros
- Same Exploring and tournament style Arcs
- Interesting fights, abilities, upgrades etc.
- Generally good animation.
- Fun dynamic between MC and side characters. Creating organic humor
- Steady and relaxing pacing.
Cons
- GM's might be the worst and uninteresting part of the show (they seem to be bots themselves, They never seem to actually want to stop Maple. Their characters seem wasted, I'm not a fan of collective nature of the male ones or the single female unit that scolds them. Their methods are just not compelling.
- Lack of tension.
- Plot doesn't take much of a turn to reinvigorate the viewers interest.
- Interpersonal conflict is far too low for my liking, everyone pretty much gets along, which kills any sort of tension borne from strife or the excitement that a good rivalry can spawn.
The Lack of development of the GMs is a major reason for why I felt this was a step-down from S1 as the novelty has worn of off.
The bosses just felt like walking sponges; taking way too much damage and just existing to be eventually defeated (which is the point) however it just wasn't as interesting or satisfying to watch them go down.
The Art and animation are very pretty in this show, the backgrounds are enticing and colorful. It doesn't disappoint this season.
Sound does the job. They tried to utilize it a bit more for some scenes, even an entire solo, but it just didn't blossom in my opinion.
The other adaptions explain the plot far clearer which would have helped me to appreciate some of the events more, perhaps it was an editorial choice due to the difference in mediums.
As a minor nitpick I greatly disliked the lack of structural protection and particularly the openness of her armor/outfit it heavily contradicts the fact that she's supposed to be the toughest defensively. it's probably an editorial choice for fanservice purposes but you can use her friends or members of her guild for that purpose, it doesn't even fit her character for her armor to be that open.
I think after watching so much anime since the first season released, I have become desensitized to some of it's charms.
At the end of episode 12 we were left with a glimpse of some rather riveting rookies which may light a spark for Season 3 which will potentially be a major point of conflict/interest in the general plot of this series. In that sense S2 is a connector season, so shouldn't be harshly judged. It parallels the experience of a good MMO where we reminisce of the arduous, but worthwhile grind-sessions in between major Quests. In retrospect this season embodies the aforementioned idea perfectly with a little shift of understanding of the purpose of this season. Nevertheless, I finished it in 2 sittings in contrast to just a single sitting from season 1.
Though parts of my review say otherwise, I think a lot of series would benefit from a season like this with more care, slowly building up events like this to steadily pace the story rather than the industry standard of quickly plunging the story into utter mediocrity with explosive but vapid developments in an effort to retain weekly consumers.
Ratings
Animation - 7
Sound - 6
Story - 6
Characters 7
Enjoyment - 7
33/50 - 6.6/10 - 7
It's a good second season, nothing much stood out. Not all 12 episode seasons need a giant plot twist or turn of events.
Despite my small disappointments I will be watching a third season by God's grace.
Hope this helps.
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
![]()
Feb 22, 2024
"Bastard!!"
Is this show a "Bastard!!" ?
Could it be written/directed by a "Bastard!!"?
Yes and maybe.
Well I've watched about 2 episodes of this and, I can't take it anymore it's just awful. What a waste of time.
...
What's Wrong?
Episode 1 and 2 were basically the disgusting trash red haired girl heroine watching countless soldiers die for nothing till her own life is in danger, at which point she finally decides it's an appropriate time to slightly inconvenience herself, releasing the seal of the of the all-powerful MC who basically could prevent all of it. The MC is a joke, they try unsuccessfully to pull off a an antihero MC but it can't ever work because they're terrible writers. All the characters are borderline retarded and one dimensional. Then when the MC comes out, the villain who's clearly wise, strong and experienced immediately turns into a dumb punching bag for MC. Giant monsters the size of apartment blocks, a full army effortlessly storming a "defended" castle which is designed in the most convenient way to be stormed, then MC one-shots them all in the space of a few minutes, whilst the visuals do a terrible job of making it all believable.
The MC can be humbled in an instant by the nagging of a girl, so as much as they spam the fanservice, and his crazy feats(while nerfing everyone else) you can't ever take the clown serious. The same girl you can't possibly sympathize with because she has a single job handed to her for a lifetime and is too selfish to do it, not for even innocent lives being slaughtered mercilessly in front of her, so you end up hating her too.
There's no consequence for anything that happens in these 2 episodes they just go somewhere else, barely any explanation in between and the same thing repeats, it's utterly infuriating. Seems the show will continue with this with a new bad guy each episode and become even more insufferable. In these 40 mins perhaps there was a single likable character, if that.
Story
"Bastard!!"
0/10
Soundtrack
"Heavy-Metal Fantasy" Exactly what you expect.
it's decent but only heard 2 episodes worth.
6/10
Characters
All bad guys exist to hype MC
MC and heroine are utter trash, they fail in the archetype they embody, Their characters are completely ruined by every thing you see them do in 2 episodes, which makes the experience feel fake and vapid.
The other characters have no depth, they all seem to exist to say the same thing. The same message but just changed a little from a different mouth.
0/10
Enjoyment
One the fastest drops for me.
1/10
Animation
Decent but not enough to keep me watching.
6/10
Overall Score
13/50(2.6.10) 3/10 Horrendous.
I couldn't concentrate at all during this short time, I couldn't believe it was so horrid.
Maybe there's more to it, but some introductions are just too terrible. It's not even ironically funny, it's not even ironically excessive, the gore isn't enough.
It's just a revoltingly bad 2 episodes put together with barely any thought behind it.
It was practically impossible to get immersed.
Should I have written this dreadful review? probably not.
The "Bastard!!" made me do it.
Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Feb 18, 2024
This show is an "Isekai"?
Are you kidding me?
"The 8th son? Are you kidding me?" was quite a pleasant surprise in contrast to its overall rating.
This show is very underrated. I believe it sits firmly in the top half of most of the "isekai" genre.
It was quite funny at times as well as interesting. It will seem, on the surface, your average, boring, played out "isekai" but the deeper it goes, the more it intrigues you as it ushers you into more nuanced parts of it's world quite splendidly.
The story is a very strange mix of brilliant moments, concepts, and shortcomings all with utterly terrible
...
pacing. They end up off-screening important moments butchering entire arcs resulting in wasted potential all around. The show presents initially with a pseudo-episodic structure of the plot, my observation is more evident when looking at the titles of each episode. This simply doesn't work for this type of story and definitely in my opinion, robbed it of true glory. What I will say is that most of what they spent time developing was actually very pleasant.
The first victims of the pacing are the characters, many will say they lack depth or individuality, I do not. Whenever they're on the screen, they shine well and the interpersonal interactions or relationships felt authentic some even invoking goosebumps from me. I watched the show in the Dubbed in English and I never felt the need to switch to the original audio, they performed quite well. While most of the characters do a decent job but the MC suffers the most from these issues with the structure of the show.
MC is a missed opportunity, it's supposedly an isekai, but anyone who's watched the entire thing will say, if you removed the entire setting of an isekai, not much would change, it might actually become better since time would be used better elsewhere.
For comparison, If you've ever watched Soul Land(A Chinese series) this show almost perfectly intertwines the MC's knowledge and character from his past life into the new one in this world. On the contrary "Hachi-nan tte" basically ignores it all together. If we're honest it's a fantasy anime with "isekai " tacked on to broaden it's reach and because of it, the depth of the MC suffers. A sore consequence of this is that you will notice that the MC ends up reacting to the entire story, to no avail, instead of directing it. How we are transitioned from his old life to his new one, as well as liaison between them(the basis of the isekai experience), is amongst some of the worst this show has to offer, the exposition is lacking or seems forced.
The animation was ample in general, but the fights suffer quite a bit here. Especially if you're sensitive to CG you will notice the pitfalls here, they weren't particularly proficient here.
The fanservice is there however it's the tamest I've seen in a while so quite frankly I didn't notice it. Of course none at all would be ideal but this will do. The harem makes sense in general. Probably added one girl too much, but it didn't ruin it for me, they at least made sure to develop a guy alongside them to keep it all in check.
The sound held up quite well, OP was quite good, the first 20s of it were practically unskippable. They do try to enhance some of the more audacious scenes with fitting music. The ED did the job.
In short.
Pros
The first 20 seconds of the OP
Well though out and Intimate character interactions.
Wise and logical story with nuances.
Animation and Sound supports the experience well.
They follow the rules of their own story well.
Last 4 episodes were alright.
Cons
Rough start.
Animated Fights were generally lacking decent choreography or tact. CG was poor.
Garbage Pacing
Isekai genre/tag basically editor tacked-on
Plotlines barely developed. Off-screened important moments.
MC development or characterization suffers as a result of the failed shoehorned isekai genre
People will also claim that the characters lack individuality, i disagree. Apart from the MC it was apt, I worry that if they did waste time on such things it would only hurt the story. The time it takes to add development and the depth of individuality(in question) commonly ruins these experiences.
Animation 6
Sound 7
Story 6
Characters 7
Enjoyment 7
33/50 (6.6/10)
It's been almost 4 years since they released this with almost no sign of a sequel.
I think it's best to read the source, either the Manga or the Light Novel.
I enjoyed this show enough to anticipate a sequel, the highs were quite interesting and out of the norm in terms of depth for most "isekai". The manner it was all stitched together, however, will not leave a lasting impression.
At this point It's very obvious that these authors write their fantasy story first, then replace the origins with a bland and uninspired isekai opening, presumably after a tip from the editors. This show is a great example of this pervasive phenomenon.
To conclude, this is a pure fantasy show, not an isekai for all intensive purposes. Calling it an isekai only makes it worse than what it truly is. Watch this show after all the other better fantasy stories have been fleshed out.
Hope this helps.
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
![]()
Nov 14, 2023
Why does this pretentious looking kid's show have such a high rating?
The title "Made in Abyss" accompanied by a display which does an apt job of putting off one longing for a serious adventure fantasy with competent writing.
What am I getting into? I pondered..
My investigation promptly started on the first 3 episodes of this show, I was displeased and unimpressed, consequently I dropped it. Another day came and a weekly attempt to try and tie up loose ends landed on this show. I picked up where I left off from episodes 4-13 not wasting time on the rather mediocre opening.
It seems my initial thoughts
...
were mistaken.
Drawbacks
- Plot Armor
- Main characters are not very interesting.
- Contrast between the supposed harshness of the abyss and the novice of the main characters is far too great.
- Abyss Underwhelming.
- The extremely traumatic events, seem to bounce off, rather than mold and shape the characters of these very young and impressionable children.
- Side characters lacking potential.
- Monsters Underwhelming.
- Economical Aspect seemingly untouched.
To summarize my analysis of the drawbacks, the experience would have been greatly benefitted from a mature main cast. This would alleviate most of the cons, obviously this would require better writing to achieve, but I think the author is capable.
Starts off slow and rather annoying, you start to wonder what the hype is about? From episodes 4-9 I tracked every episode 1 by 1, it was a decent experience but nothing special.
Episode 10 arrived, A chink in the plot armor finally appeared. and with some clever wisdom and knowledge from the author, the show transformed from decent to a genuine potential banger. After this episode, I lost track of everything. The episodes flowed seamlessly, one after the other, keeping me completely captivated in the experience the studio and author evidently strived hard to cultivate. The show truly grows on you, blossoming into quite the flower at the end of the season finale.
Why do I rate it a 8?
A special character is introduced in the final 4 episodes who becomes this show's saving grace, I would honestly prefer them stealing the MC role.
In addition to this Episode 13 is one of the best season finale's I've ever seen. The pacing of this particular episode is truly perfect the interactions between the characters are so immersive it feels real. The soundtrack from Kevin Penkin does an amazing job at capturing the atmosphere and preserving the theme even when the visual presentation lags behind it.
Ratings
Animation 8
Soundtrack 9
Characters 7
Story 7
Enjoyment 9 (Last 4 episodes brightened my opinion of the show)
40/50 = 8/10
If you've got nothing to watch this has to be on your list if you're a diligent binger who can persevere to the end, it's worth it. Don't be discouraged by it's off-putting exterior the meat is in the inside and you'll have to let it cook for a while to enjoy the feast at the end.
Hope this helps.
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
![]()
Oct 23, 2023
"Tsuki ga MIDchi" (Anime Onlys)
Butchered. C2C's adaptation here just doesn't cut it for what the author deserved.
The Big Problem - How the Plot and pacing was handled.
If you watch it for yourself, read the reviews or even read some of the source material, the general sentiment is that, the show's best moments lack emphasis, or any staying power. 12 episodes were simply not enough to flesh out the breadth and depth of this story.
The pacing is just awful. Too fast, too many cuts too many plot points left hanging unexplained. Poor pacing breaks the golden immersion factor. The type of captivation which abducts the
...
viewer forcing them endlessly through scores of episodes. The best examples for me are shows like FMAB, or Death note. Which I finished over 2 days, completely neglecting the outside world.
It's so bad it just makes moments seem empty which were meant to move you, There seems to be holes in the story where things feel like they should have occurred. They move from one traumatic scene to another, completely anti-climatically. The emotion borne from long stretches of well written conflict that keep you captivated are just lost to advance the story. Some of these half episode scenes, needed a full episode or perhaps 2 to truly do justice to the plot. There are character developments completely absent which left me puzzled upon being introduced to certain scenes.
Simply put,
12 episodes are not enough for the Arcs they intended to animate. They needed perhaps double that amount or more.
There are so many interesting plot devices used but wasted due to not enough time or tact to allow them to blossom.
I'm reading around that they skipped a lot of the meat in the manga/LN to cover the all the Arcs they wanted, Important character development removed. A lot of this stuff blossoms in anime when done well, but they did their own thing not respecting the chronology of the source. It's a shame that they made such decisions.
I'm very fond of their other works but this, to me, had the greatest potential. The poor overarching direction ruined it. Nevertheless comedy of the show still retains most of the author's original charm.
Broken but still works - Characters
The MC is very enjoyable his potential development looks to be enthralling, somewhat logical. It's a proper character done aptly, however there are some abrupt incoherent changes in character, but this didn't ruin the experience for me. Pivotal flashbacks are left out which explain his character more cogently, in favor of worthless fanservice flashbacks. These flashbacks arouse a spark in a relationship which makes zero sense. He also constantly apologizes for something that no one should ever apologize for, it's rather annoying to be honest. It provokes unpleasant memories of some of the detestable omnibenevolent garbage isekai MCs that we have received so frequently from other works. It never ever reaches that territory, thankfully.
With the other characters, while they're quite believable overall there's again a lack of consistency. Important moments and dialogues are left out to jampack the experience inside of 12 episodes. General soundness of their behavior is absent. There certain outbursts stitched in an attempt to salvage the broken plot.
Decent - Sound
They fill most of the experience with ample music and sound design. There's not much dead air in the show. Of course dead air can do wonders for immersion in special moments but it wasn't utilized here.
The soundtrack isn't Fate, It isn't AOT, it isn't Eminence in the Shadow. But it does the job, enhancing the general experience of the show.
C2C's standard but no greater - Animation.
C2C delivers very good animation, this is one of the show's strong points. They really give the fight scenes and general movement some attention to detail, so much so, that he sound design tends to lag behind it.
If I have any complaints, it's about how the story butchers the coherency of the fights. The fights come out of no where clearly shoehorned in to try to appease the viewer but it doesn't work. You don't even understand some of the fights properly, the intensity of the fights is traded for comedic value which just destroys immersion and blocks any sort of phenomena from developing.
Towards the end of S1 the fights and special moments just are devoid of any underscoring there's almost no weight or impact felt after the fact. While, this is more a problem of pacing and the story, it lacked a lot of the spark that makes them memorable and replayable. Especially the grand fight in E12, it's hard to understand any of it, the choreography doesn't give you a good sense of positional awareness the villains seem out of their depth and out of place. Well to be honest, the last fight shouldn't have been here altogether. Without significant explaining of the events which were skipped through and cut out, the whole thing becomes lacklustre.
An example of this done almost perfectly is Tensei shittara Slime Season 2 Part 1. Where there was a slow but careful build-up of Plot and Characters through episodes of clever and engaging dialogue which allowed you to understand the nature and motives of the important conflicts at the end of the season. Though some may find this boring, many others revere it. This kind of direction magnifies the gravity of the experience, making it memorable and thoroughly satisfying. There was care in following the chronology of the manga so it was all understood fairly well. Slime's success is a testament to the fruits of good direction.
Conclusion
I don't think it's a mistake, C2C probably expected to do only a single season of 12 episodes so they chopped up the product after underestimating it's scope.
Pacing.
This is mistake is common within the Industry. I have never dropped a series because it dragged on too long. If the Author wrote those events into the original, they must at least try to adapt it. Of course you can never do a 1-1 adaptation certain changes must be made according to the type of medium. Certain things work better in anime than in written form. The writers source material must be respected, If you skip over parts you must fully flesh out what is remaining. Then cover the skipped parts in an OVA or the next season. The type of person who is bored by your work it's in entirety, won't be fruitful for you in a chopped up form.
At this point if you're an anime-only. I think it's time to retire that position.
There are an ocean butchered works and it keeps getting deeper. The best way you can experience these creative pieces, is by reading the source and then watching the anime for the best moments. Only a few shows get legendary 9/10 and 10/10 adaptations.
The editors/directors constantly underestimate the source material, disrespecting it and warping the message and lessons conveyed through the narrative. They focus on money-making tactics like fan-service, injecting in fights well before their time, cutting development in favor what they perceive as more fruitful for their wallets. Speeding through the content like it's a summary. It's utterly infuriating if you took any interest in the source.
I recommend you Read the manga or Light novel.
If you don't care for those mediums then, perhaps pick this up as one of the mid-tier isekai anime experiences. Only watch it after you have watched all the better isekai out there.
Obviously this season hasn't gone as well as they hoped so consequently S2 has been passed on to JC.Staff a company with a lot more experience. Works like Toaru, Dan-Machi, Niehime(underrated), Kono-Suba, Bakuman, Saiki Kusuo etc. So a company which may show better competence here. JC are apparently doing a 2-cour (20-24 episodes) for Season 2 so it may drastically improve on this.
If the story intrigues you, I recommend not waiting for S2 and jumping straight into the Manga/LN to experience the tale told at it's best. I won't give you a jump off point. Just start from the beginning as you have missed a lot of the content told within each chapter which properly explain the events.
Final Rankings
Sound 7/10
Animation 7/10
Story 5/10 Manga (9/10)
Characters 7/10 Manga (9/10)
Enjoyment 7/10 Manga (9/10)
34/50- = 6.8/10 = Anime 7/10 Manga(9/10)
Hope this helps.
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 4, 2023
An Objective Review(The Correct Review)
The Eminence in Shadow(Shadow Garden) - 9/10
Must-binge.
Sound - 10/10 One of the best soundtracks I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. The clinks and clangs of the clashing of swords as well as the sound effects of the magic are truly exhilarating. The use of sound and distortions in its peak moments just sends chills down your spine it's quite masterfully done, thrilling the viewer to no end. It's quiet at times, and roaring with energy at another. As a package, it nails the immersion. Suehiro, Kenichiro evidently took the magic in Fire Force and ignited it with a new
...
and more perfect passion. The soundtrack still only(legally) available in Japan but if you can get it somehow, it's truly top tier.
Animation - 8/10 Does very well in some parts but sadly, comes a bit short at others. The fights are consistently well animated for the most part. There's no end to the blood and gore when fighters are sliced and pierced, it's satisfying and tactful. The final episode was some of the best it had to offer and was a joy to behold. It seems it benefitted this studio dealing with more limiting sword-fighting and basic magic spells really allowed the studio to nail animation in crucial areas, ensuring every swing packs a punch, unmistakably they have learnt well from their previous work, "Darwin's Game". They also had prior work in "Rakudai Kishi" to hone their craft. I personally consider this(8/10) as the highest tier for less distinguished studios as it's Impossible for any non- "ufotable/David/Mappa/Madhouse/Wit/A1" show in 2023 to get past 8/10(in animation) as you risk insulting the truly peerless works from those studios.
Characters- 7/10 I think it's certainly an IQ test here, the author seems about half-serious. The fact that the author took the middle ground here is why it may be confusing to some. It might be perceived as clever, but this "cleverness" also breeds doubt in it's integrity. It's ridiculous but also dead-serious. It just hasn't fully translated into everything. Some people might take this the wrong way on the other hand some also may claim it's perfect.. You cannot say the characters were perfect, but you can't say they were awful either. They put the spotlight on certain characters that simply didn't enhance the experience. Thankfully, the MC and some of the top agents kept the show in good spirits keeping our sanity whenever they managed to grace the scene. Some of the characters are on screen for limited time but leave a far greater impact or impression than those who were drowning in exposure. Perhaps this was intended for effect? There was a stark difference in quality of the characters. Some can be described as merely props used for tropes(which may be an intended idiom), I can easily forget some but others still linger in my mind. What we can look forward to is the character development which is set to bear fruit. Overall, the characters are certainly the weakest link here.
Story - 8/10 First few Arcs were not as good, they tried to parody some of your favorite clichés it worked, but not as well as they probably had hoped. The last 2 did well to redeem it, especially the last one, While the MC is quite strong, there still is some suspense there and the use of clever discretion heightens the ability of the show to captivate it's audience. So far the author doesn't seem to be afraid of killing people ,which is quite refreshing, and could lead to a more enthralling experience in subsequent seasons. After skimming the manga, they seemed to have included everything and perhaps a bit more for the icing on the cake. This is why most shows should do a first season with an ample amount of episodes; better to stretch the source with slight additional improvisations than to rush it which may butcher the core experience.
Enjoyment - 10/10 From the animation, to the sound, to the style and the sheer, unapologetic confidence of what they put out, It's impossible not to enjoy this show somehow. The final episode was incredible, a magnificent way to close the curtains on a rollercoaster of a show.
10 + 8 + 7 + 8 + 10 = 43
43/50 = 8.6/10 Rounding up to 9.
Lasting Impression- They need every Isekai/LN/fantasy show to debut with at least 20-24 episodes. It worked for Shield Hero, It worked even better for this. They try to cram, the best, the source have to offer in only 12 episodes and they bomb consistently. Consequently, the pacing sucks, several things are left out and the whole thing seems tacky and inconsistent. Then, even after this, they soften the experience to try pass the adaption off as an advertisement for Manga/LN sales.
This show doesn't suffer from this, and is a great example of what we need more of. Straight-Up, Unapologetic and Stylish. It has also left a lasting hunger for a S2, which was announced swiftly afterwards. To their benefit, this jolly good show, has begotten lucrative traffic to other ventures for its creators as well. We can conclude from this, that it's crucial to nail the anime experience.
Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Apr 11, 2023
CGI this, CGI that, Complete and utter nonsense, Cry more....
Complain about CGI? Watch this show!
For me, the binge was truly effortless.
I would start the episode, a moment went by, and the ED would start playing
These were 14-16 mins long(excl OP&ED). It just sucks you in.
I'm not lying when I say; There is movie level animation every episode.
The fight choreography in show is just incredible. There's so much of it, so expertly done, it's impossible to get bored. There is so much attention to detail. You will be amazed at how well they revere fighting styles and techniques.
Have you ever sighed when watching
...
the MC of your average show just effortlessly hack down giant, powerful beasts in absolute impunity with the standard dumb as rock monster fight choreography? Me too...
This show takes that boring garbage and throws it out the window with the most freakishly animated and intelligent monsters, beasts and bandits you have ever seen, It's a sight for sore eyes.
These beasts are beyond ruthless, no tea breaks you can't even breathe, you make a single mistake you are instantly obliterated.
Never have I seen animators respect every character, whether beast or human so well, everyone in this show is a threat. No one fights like an utter moron, beasts will relentlessly attack their enemies overpowering them with strength with ample intelligence. The animation conveys strength and weakness so perfectly.
There's rarely any stopping to talk in fights breaking the captivation, it's so realistic. You will truly feel the struggle in the fights, the soundtrack truly amps the stakes and there's no pointless time-wasting in battle.
The MC is a sight for sore eyes, a lot of his character is shaped from his experiences. The author displays their wisdom and prudence, there's great deal of understanding of human nature. You'll find yourself able to sympathize with both sides of every conflict. There's no evil bad-guy just clashing desires and ideals.
Chinese donghua usually do power scaling quite well, however this show is a true distinction. It has probably, the best power-scaling and progression I've ever witnessed. There's no plot armor, they focus on what's important, having a well-thought out trade-off for many decisions taken. Many things are explained quite well, I was rarely confused.(Well unless you're not used to remembering the sea of Chinese names for the cast)
While death is abundant, they keep the overall lethality of the cultivation skills quite low for this type of show, heavily restricting the general scale of the powers. This remarkably, does wonders for the immersion. The powers only get crazy at the very top and we're still no where near destroying planets or evaporating the ocean. Every tool is used extensively and well is accounted for.
One thing the show does best, is that it's very focused on it's core purpose and story.
It doesn't let the common editor tack-on tropes over-power the story, allowing the viewer to be engaged throughout. There aren't any filler arcs or entire episodes wasted on gag characters pissing about. The characters are many, but each are respected and are used masterfully. Notably, They're not afraid kill them off for good reason, however important they might be.
All in all....
There might have been a single solitary arc i didn't enjoy, the rest was wholly exhilarating.
As with a lot of these donghua you actually learn something and gain some wisdom, this one doesn't disappoint.
Animation? Best out there. Go watch episode 20-21 and tell me if you've seen much better out there.
Characters? while fleeting they are well crafted.
Story? Top tier. No faffing about, no agendas, just a damn good story.
Sound? Top tier.
Enjoyment? Best out there...
11/10 but you can only give 10.
Just watch the whole thing including S1 and you'll start talking like me, if only all CGI could be like this.
I've never given a donghua a 10, but with this, it was impossible not to.
Simply incredible, make haste and binge it.
Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Apr 8, 2023
Not sure why this is 7-overall? perhaps some of us didn't make it to the end. This was an easy, but incredibly satisfying binge.
The start is a bit rocky, but the more of it you watch, the more it grows on you.
This takes the "seemingly" classic; expelled from army/party set-up, and executes it on the highest level I've seen to date.
This is a great show, with almost no drawbacks. Can we give it a 10? No, it doesn't take enough risks and is the standard 12 episodes.
Started it, and couldn't stop until it ended, I was completely immersed, you can tell it was written with
...
a lot of thought.
Usually, with this type of anime, I need about 3 sittings to finish them. This isn't your average anime fantasy, the likes of which are cringe, cliched, filled with worthless fanservice, harems and other box-ticking garbage. Rather, it takes some of those familiar elements but uses them more sparingly to ensure the experience isn't overwhelmed by these tack-on tropes.
The MC is a breath of fresh air , something different, which also bolsters the experience. He isn't some giga-simp, self-insert, pathetic, "relatable" or on the other hand, omni-benevolent, pure-soul, dense, etc. He fits in well with the story his character is very consistent with his upbringing.
Later on in the story, you're rewarded with a very interesting, but foreshadowed plot-twist which creates a healthy paradox.
Everything is quite well balanced in the show, most of the characters are used masterfully well for the plot. Some manage to receive a decent amount of development in these very short, 12 episodes.
There is very prudent writing here, though at some parts perhaps this show is too idealistic, but at the end of the day we watch these shows for enjoyment, and it certainly passes on that. Gives us some of those great old-fashioned tones without the present day stitched on degeneracy.
What could be better?
A better opening, to captivate the audience, some started it but weren't too impressed.
The Art, Animation and Sound are used efficiently but they aren't too remarkable.
More episodes couldn't hurt.
Darker themes could have been explored, haply for a second season?
Art & Animation 7
Sound 7
Characters 10
Story 9
Enjoyment 10
7 + 7 + 10 + 10 + 9 = 43/50 (8.6/10) Overall 9
This is one of the best shows this winter season, hurry up and watch it when you have free time.
Hope this helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
