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Dec 3, 2022
I am not a person that has ever taken part myself in MMA, but I have watched plenty of it in the UFC and Bellator in the past for my 'experience' with it. And I have to say, All Rounder Meguru was a really good series that I feel deserves more attention and love.
Hiroki Endo, the mangaka who was also responsible for Eden: It's an Endless World, was someone that clearly put his heart and soul into exploring the various MMA styles present. The story is really simplistic and nothing too revolutionary, and the art and storyline doesn't really exude 'hype' that much, but the
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more realistic take on MMA sports and detailed explanations of what was taking place in a competitive, professional environment made it an enjoyable read. No over-the-top characters with absurd personalities, and no over-the-top, wacky takes on MMA fights. Everything feels precise, technical and progresses well with both the actions, and characters too, even if they might not be the most exciting of the bunch to most. I did enjoy their realistic portrayals though for a more refreshing take (especially Maki) and Meguru). The characters while a bit dry, did have good chemistry together and that built up well towards the end. The pacing, exhaustion of fights and the progression felt like I was watching a real fight at times but portrayed in manga form, and I like the more professional environment involved with this series than just brawls and unrealistic action scenes all the time.
Overall, its a pretty respectable, technical and enjoyable series but definitely not for everyone. Especially ones that expect more hype inducing levels of fights. But in terms of detail and care put into the characters and especially the MMA styles themselves, that was what sold the series to me as something I highly enjoyed despite the dry feel at times. The covers look great too, and while the battles don't look the most exciting, they do feel incredibly dynamic to read through - which gave me the feeling like I was observing proper bouts. Just maybe wished there was more of a proper, more memorable conclusion to what was an overall satisfying series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 3, 2022
Mushoku Tensei - Jobless Reincarnation, a series that had everything I wanted from a fantasy LN series and left me feeling empty for weeks after finishing it for good.
It is a series with a main character that while problematic, actually is more compelling to read through than many other main characters I read about in the last few years as he actually has tons of issues that were built up through decades of his life, and had to spend a long time in his journey trying to just live in a way that he can feel proud of by the end. It may not be
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perfect, he is actually open to making mistakes and letting his inner weaknesses succumb him at times, but he still wants to do all that he can to not have regrets with his second life. Man was tough to read at first but the more the series went on, the more I grew attached to his journey and desire to change, and to protect the things he cared about that he discarded in his past. The series is a make or break for many purely because of his controversial traits that I see many call him out for, but I still found his character to be captivating despite his flaws. In fact, I kind of felt like a parent just reading through this series as I observe this kid try to figure out how to navigate through life. Felt proud when he accomplished progress that he never could achieve in the past, angry at his mistakes but wanted to see him overcome that and do enough to make himself feel content. I just admire stories that spend time with growing on characters, from their age to their personality and goals. Helps that his journey had an excellent ending too.
Besides just Rudeus, the other characters from Roxy/Eris/Sylphiette, to even his friends/enemies and just random characters that show up once every 5-6 volumes, all had enough depth and thought put into them to not make them just forgettable NPCs. Everyone had traits that stood out, or some background details that made them memorable. Most of these characters, having flaws in their own rights that they try to overcome or live in spite of them, which makes them even more interesting to read through for me. Whenever I got to read first-person perspectives of what side characters went through, I was always blown away with how well-thought out the author was with fleshing out each character possible, and make them feel like they are actively doing something even when the series hadn't focused on them for a long time.
On top of great character writing, the series got quick, quality action scenes to read through with high stakes, brilliantly executed plot twists in the middle and end of the series, a great sense of adventure when relevant, quality slice-of-life with Rudeus bonding with characters, which were greatly needed for him to heal and gain more and more belonging with the world, superb family drama in various volumes like 5 and 11 to name a couple, and much more. On top of that, there was the top-tier world building that felt immersive to read through, intricate work put into the magic system and lore of the Six-Faced World for the time being, etc.
Finally, as a person who gets easily bored with lengthy light novel series because they tend to drag out too much, or lose its hook with time, this series is one of the few that actually maintained its strong, engaging quality from the start all the way to the very end. You could tell that the author knew clearly how to approach the series by not having the series stagnate at any real point, instead feeling fresh consistently in different ways. Helps that the author can execute many themes well at different times. Rudeus and company growing up does help the series' progression too in that aspect.
Overall, this series is special to me and is one of the best light novels I have read. A top-tier, well thought out fantasy series where the isekai elements actually make sense for Rudeus' character without just the MC being super generic, virtue signalling and OP. Characters have depth, moments and plotlines have depth and the world has depth too. Carefully crafted and masterfully executed. Glad that the first season got a top-tier adaptation too, to go alongside these fantastic books.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 15, 2022
Mushoku Tensei's special episode, "Eris the Goblin Slayer" continues the series' strong trend in delivery with its content from the writing to the animation as usual.
There's more focus on Eris and what she's up to in Millishion during the events of Episode 16 in her own adventure, and the show does a good job in showing how much she has grown in her journey with Rudeus and Ruijerd from not only a combat standpoint but a maturity standpoint too. Sure she has her bursts that make her feel like the old Eris but she also gives a lot of thought into whatever decision she has
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to make, and tries to do good deeds on her own too to continue with helping out the Superds in the process while just enjoying her own adventure in the process. She's attached to Rudeus but she also wants time to herself to see how far she has progressed and this OVA showed that off well.
Even had a great character introduction in Cliff, and the episode sets up well for future seasons to deliver upon whether it is with Cliff as a character or the politics teased in the episode with what's happening underneath the heavenly looking country.
Action was stellar as usual, the staff just knows how to make action feel quick yet impactful and brutal without wasting any time on meandering dialogue. Again, shows how much Eris has grown as a fighter too given her amount of training with strong people like Ghislaine and Ruijerd over many years.
This was a super fun episode that actually has some plot relevance for a special episode and not just being a fanservice, waste of time kind of episode. Delivers a lot for Eris' character, and some really good build for future seasons to come, especially with Cliff's character. I loved the opening montage that visualized his life in the past with unique direction choices too for this series rather than having a massive exposition dump of Cliff's life beforehand. Lots to love here, the staff and director definitely put a lot of effort into bringing the most out of this one chapter from both an animation and storytelling perspective.
This kind of episode fits being separated from the main anime due to feeling too different from what Rudeus was doing at the time which the anime was focusing on, but was still great on its own. For some people like me, even refreshing given how the series can explore its quality side characters even more in a free way with this kind of episode. I'm just excited for season 2 to come now, this series really does showcase tons of potential to being an all-time classic and this episode is just a part of that journey while still more than delivering enough to be a damn great episode.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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