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May 9, 2024
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride. The title pretty much says everything you need to know about this story. A sorcerer finds himself lovestruck at the sight of a beautiful elf slave "Nephy" and decides to purchase her. The problem is he doesn't know the first thing about love. I decided to watch this since I'm already past 60 chapters of the manga adaptation. What initially attracted me to it was how well the characters were drawn. Such smooth drawings and cutsey chibi designs for all the tender and comical moments. The anime copies this animation style almost perfectly. While many will
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be attracted by the Isekai-like title (it isn't one) or the fantasy cover of a cool spellcaster and a beautifully mysterious elf, those who stay will likely do so for the shoujo lovey-dovey feels. That's not to say there isn't any confrontation to speak of. As an Archdemon, our protagonist Zangan will have to deal with several interruptions to his attempts at getting to know Nephy better. There is a bit of drama here and there, so it's not all rainbows and butterflies. But in regards to battles, they tend to get resolved relatively quick. They aren't half assed CG effects, but they aren't what sold it for me either.
I don't like giving mixed feeling reviews, especially for stuff I genuinely like. But for the sake of others, I must warn you that the progression will feel painfully slow unless you absolutely love the characters (which I do!). If I had to give a comparison, it would be something like Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu or the more recent Love After World Domination, but with the comedy turned down a few notches. I don't even remember the story all that well, and yet the main couple, Haruka in particular, was absolutely adorable! And Nephy gives me that same feeling. Seeing an awkward couple try and figure out their feeling for one another is the biggest selling point here. Anyone looking for epic battles and power fantasies should probably look elsewhere.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 30, 2024
First, I want to stress that I did find moments of enjoyment with this anime. It has quite a few recommendations already. However, I don't feel like it lived up to my expectations. Also, I did not read the light novel nor manga adaptations of this story to compare it to. I'll be in the minority saying that this isn't worth it, but I have to stand by that.
This is a reincarnation anime centered around a once noble protagonist, Rishe, who is about to dumped by the kingdom's prince . . . for the 7th time. The other 6 lives were met with a premature
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death followed by a resurrection by a mysterious force. The heroine wasn't a villainess in her previous life so I don't think this is one of those Groundhog day scenarios where she is intended to learn a lesson through repeated death. I just have to assume this is all for gaining cheat abilities through effort rather than bestowal.
Similarly to Gekai Elise, another anime released around the same time, we are never told what powers allowed Rishe to come back to life, or what purpose her resurrection is intended to serve. The anime at least, doesn't cover the other 6 lives she lived extensively. Only the end of the 6th where she meats Arnold, the prince of a foreign kingdom. He is charmed by her athletic abilities and decides to offer her the chance to marry him. He is also the one who killed her in her last 'loop'. Yet seeing him come to aid Rishe and smoothly taking a knee to propose was enough to win me over. Add that to the stellar quality animation and beautiful opening song and this had all the makings of a fantastic romance adventure akin to Beauty and the Beast. Sadly, it was a steady slope downward from here.
With each loop, Rishe tried a new tactic of living in order to actually survive long enough to escape what leads to her untimely demise. Her various teachers, at least the ones we see, were all bishonen to the n-th degree to the point of all of them having glossy lips and exhaling their every word in a seductive tone. In fact, all the hot guys of significance in this story have those shiny lips. It's honestly a little funny how they all look and sound like otome game targets. But this isn't what bothers me. The problem is that these are supposed to be her former teachers as well as people of high rank and education from past lives. And yet they all seem to be made deliberately clueless at key points for the sake of promoting the heroine's assortment of skills. The kinds of things she suggests to appeal for their support in the 7th loop don't seem inconceivable for her teachers to have thought of themselves. It's hard to go into detail without spoiling the narrative. I'll just say that resolving the more dramatic parts of the story didn't reveal very compelling reasons for their execution in the first place. Since the purpose of this loop was supposed to be discovering the reason for an impending war but without knowing the cause, all Rishe can really do is try and make life better for those around her in the hope that something changes. A half cour just wasn't enough time for things to 'build'. Episodes went by in a flash with some spending over half the time without leaving a room. Mind you, this is partially due the amount of tender flirting scenes that unfold between Rishe and Arnold (And they WERE nice). However it also slowed the pace of the story and some conflicts felt more like interruptions. Perhaps things will pick up more in the next season and I can re-evaluate this. Until then, I'm mostly disappointed that intelligence needs to be lowered for the key characters just to promote the heroine's strengths. Having different occupations worth of skills may put you in a great position to mingle as the future queen, but it will take more than a jack of all trades to end this conflict. And If the reasons for it are as silly as the ones in this first cour, I'd be very sad.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 27, 2024
I've seen many isekai and reincarnation stories over the years. The more recent ones have developed somewhat of a bad habit of excessive power fantasy and heavy wish fulfillment. It's a guilty pleasure to be sure. But every so often we get a story that offers a bit more.
Gekai Elise is an anime adaptation of Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp, a Korean web novel that was later given a webtoons adaptation in 2017. My first impressions of the anime were strong enough that I decided to pick up the webtoon and read ahead. I read a lot more than watch anime, so
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if one has source material, I start by comparing that if I can.
First off, the anime takes a few liberties in adapting the story. The romance is more subdued in the anime and there is greater emphasis on proper medical practices. They even added filler episodes to cover more treatments. The medicine alone makes it worth a watch if only for the sake of edutainment. The era that the world takes place in is hard to place. It reflects 18th century Britain, but with some facilities comparable to 21st century. While there is magic it seems exclusive to certain individuals and can't heal injuries. The focus is definitely on the surgeries. As a result, anything out of place used to justify its use requires some suspension of disbelief. But if you can get by that, it's an enjoyable watch. There's also much more story to cover. For those looking to get a romance fix, that will have to wait until the next season.
The animation quality is normal I'd say. Not at the level to a similar anime released at the same time: 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! Even so, I would forgive it since there is a lot of talking. And the topics are more intelligent. The opening song [Believer] by Yui Ishikawa sounds nice. I actually liked the credits song [Listen] by Arai Maju much more. It sounds melancholy yet sweet. Enough that I've listened to it many times on Youtube.
This was actually a recommendation from a friend. I went into this expecting it to be along the lines of Parallel World Pharmacy. It wasn't, but that's okay. I think if you like your fantasy stories more grounded in reality, just not in a modern setting, then I think this will be a nice enough watch. That being said, I can't give it a score higher than 7 for the following reasons. We are never fully told what horrible sins that Elise committed in her first life nor the powers that allowed her to reincarnate not once, but twice. It makes sense from a writing perspective since she needs knowledge of modern medicine in order to change fate. But it feels like a needless level of complexity. There's also the aforementioned suspension of disbelief. A handful of scenes felt almost like a PSA as far as best practices. And this is all coming from the word of a girl that hasn't come of age with no background in medicine. Privilege of the upper class I guess? The protagonist is female which is already a win since most of the isekai/reincarnations tend to be male centric power fantasies. The ones that do get female leads often play out like otome games. At least here, the main character is bringing about change through her own efforts, blood, sweat, and tears which is very admirable. I hope there are more isekai shows like this in the future. Here's hoping the next season builds upon the success of the first.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 2, 2024
Many of you know that food brings people together. Well, that is the core of what makes Dungeon Meshi as good as it is. I've already finished reading the manga for this, and it's one of my highest recommendations to date. However, I also know it's a slow burn and many people will watch the first 4 episodes and dismiss it as a high fantasy-themed Food Wars. I'm here to tell you, it isn't.
The story draws many elements and concepts that fans of DnD and other fantasy RPGs should already be familiar with: Dungeons, adventuring parties, multiple races, magic, etc. But Dungeon Meshi chooses to
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focus not on a legendary hero party out to save the world, but an average one frequently down on their luck, just trying to save one friend. Never one to let hopelessness get the best of him, our quirky party leader Laios suggests saving money by relying on the dungeon to provide for them. Seeing familiar monsters being prepped for a meal as though they actually existed irl was both fascinating and, at times, comedic gold. Just when you think they've found something that's more sus than sustenance, Laios and the groups' new companion Senshi will find a way to make it so. With every successful battle and subsequent meal, we learn a bit more about the party and they, in turn, about one another. As I mentioned earlier, mealtime is when the party begins to bond beyond mere coworkers. We see them become more openminded, not just about the food, but also lifestyle practices, personal motivations, or even belief systems. For those seeking instant narrative gratification, I implore you to give it time. Just like cooking, sometimes the best stories need a bit of prep work before they can become a feast fit for a king.
Knowing the source material, I would have have watched this anyway. But hearing that Trigger was involved with this was all the reassurance I needed that the anime adaptation was in loving hands. For those unfamiliar with Trigger's other works, I highly suggest you check them out as well. It truly is a name synonymous with quality.
Speaking of quality, the opening song by Bump of Chicken checks another box for top shelf ingredients for a SSS rank anime. It has all the energy to match the atmosphere of the light-hearted, opening portion of the story. The use mandolin was a nice touch to match the medieval setting. I can close my eyes and just picture the rousing dances accompanied by ever flowing ale casks and the scent of pig spit roast in the wind. The ending song, Party!! by Ryokuoushoku only really matches the imagery during the staff roll, though it does a good job of it. I will be very surprised it we don't see a change in opening and credit music by episode 13 since, without going into spoilers, a LOT of stuff happens.
I sincerely hope that the anime will be able to cover the full story. Even more-so that anyone reading this is interested enough to give this adventure a taste. If I might be allowed to amend another popular phrase "its not the destination, its the journey.", I'll say it's not the meal, it's the feelings that go into it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 26, 2021
This will be my 3rd manga review.
After just having finished the final chapter of Nozo x Kimi, I honestly wonder why this has been so highly regarded as it is. I've read manga with stronger emphasis on fanservice, but I honestly read this expecting more from the author of Nozoki Ana who brilliantly took the idea to voyeurism and combined it the psychology of peeping into the true selves we hide from society.
Story 4:
The story starts out similarly to that of Nozoki Ana. Our heroine Nozomi encounters the male protagonist Kimio in the girls locker room by accident. Threatening to expose him to the teachers,
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she makes him form a pack of "showing ourselves" out of each other's windows of the apartment building they both share. In Nozoki Ana, this worked well since both parties were expected to take part in the act which revealed more of the personalities and complexities of both characters. But here, only Nozoki does the actual showing and it gets old very quickly. The story becomes very predictable from the first volume onward.
Art 9:
Thankfully the quality of the artwork has not diminished since Honna Wakou's last work. The angles and proportions of the characters are all very well done as well as unique. Unfortunately this is most likely the main reason why readers rate this so highly. I can't say the same for the content.
Character 3:
Kimio shows little resistance to this "showing ourselves" arrangement and makes almost no effort to change it, showing the same shocked reaction for nearly 2 years. During that time, the duo end up extending that routine to assisting other members of their school with various problems like an unofficial club. Yet, outside of a few exceptions, those characters never play any meaningful parts in future chapters (provided they even show up again at all). Nozomi comes off as being unrealistically insightful of other people's feelings despite claiming to not properly understand her own. Kimio similarly shows a frustrating level of ignorance that challenges most high school romances I've seen (and I've seen many). I expected more insight into the individual characters' backstories as that characterization tied into the theme of 'showing your true self' in the mangaka's last work, Nozoki Ana. No such luck here. Main characters are made oblivious to their own feeling for the sake of extending the story until it just ends. I can't help thinking that stifling the subject matter for the sake of serialization in Shonen Jump ended up limiting the creator's options too much. Instead, the manga favors the literal side of exhibitionism more so than the psychological side, appealing more to young horney teenagers.
Enjoyment 4:
There were many times I wished to drop this manga. I only continued to the end expecting there to be deeper backstory to Nozomi, or perhaps a time skip to college life with less excuses for their high school-level ignorance. If not for Nozoki Ana and the stellar artwork, I might never have picked this up at all. I only consider it decent for those who want to look at high school tits or else a good example of a mediocre romance carried by great art.
Overall 5:
This manga has in no way ruined my expectations for the mangaka's future works. However, it has reminded me that I am too old to be reading Shonen Jump romances that primarily focus on exploiting young men suffering from puberty. If it was more comedy focused, I might make an exception. But this was not funny and certainly not the best romance I've ever read. For those looking for similar manga with more mature elements and dramatic tension, please give Nozoki Ana a try first. Or better still, Nana to Kaoru, which also takes place in a high school setting, but explores the world of BDSM. If fetishes aren't your thing, try Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Oct 13, 2021
Please note that this review was written as of chapter 51's release.
My second isekai review. I mostly rate manga/anime based on the overall enjoyment factor of the story. However, it feels like I should be rating this as a hentai manga rather than an isekai. If you read a horror, you rate the scare factor. If it's comedy you rate the laugh factor. If you read hentai, you know what you're looking for and if you don't find it, it's bad. The story is most definitely built from the mind of a male gamer with a love of porn. An isekaied protagonist is trying to
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build a full party of sex slaves while discreetly raking in experience and money by way of cheat abilities. This isn't the first time this has been done and is far from being the best representation of it. So why is it worth your time? The art is top tier. *chef's kiss*
It doesn't seem fair that a manga adaptation of a boring web novel centered around wish-fulfillment should have such amazing artwork, but here we are. All hail Hyouju Issei! Sadly, the art is the only thing I can give all my praise to. If it wasn't for that, this manga would easily be worse than Gun-Ota ga Mahou Sekai ni Tensei shitara. Even the fight scenes in the dungeons are full of low angle close ups of butts and skin tight leather gear as if to remind the reader why we're sitting through this.
I was impatient with the release rate of the manga back when there were only about 30 chapters and tried reading the web novel up to chapter 224. This was far more difficult than it sounds. The story is barely moving with the protag spending most of his time experimenting with the limits of his abilities, buying luxury items, beating floor bosses for drops, and bathing in his slaves' admiration (sometimes literally IN the bath). There might be some genuine backstory to flesh out the slaves more in the future, but at this pace it's going to take tens more chapters to get there unless the author decides to trim the fat a bit. Honestly though, most readers are just going to be more interested in a different kind of 'flesh out' of the cast. I rated this an 8 only because I see it as porn-with-plot type hentai that hits all the right buttons. If you want a good isekai with actual plot progression, go read That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. You're welcome.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 13, 2021
Please note that this was written as of chapter 41's release.
Isekai has become one of my guilty pleasures. However, finding one with a good story that doesn't lean too hard into wish fulfillment, ecchi harem madness is difficult to say the least. Thankfully, this is not one of those. The story focuses on dual protagonists, Aura and Zenjirou, that share genuine love and support for one another while professionally dealing with royal intrigue and scheming from numerous powerful figures. It's not often we get to see a female lead or a competent protagonist, and we get the best of both worlds here. While there is
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still talk of forming a harem, there are several legitimate reasons given for it despite the kingdom currently being ruled as a matriarch. Overcoming this political drama while getting to see brief moments of tenderness between the main couple is what makes the story so entertaining (to me at least). I won't say the story has been enthralling from beginning to end. The chapters are meaty at nearly 40 pages, sometimes with several text bubbles of exposition for the sake of the reader. This is not some shonen battle manga with lots of battles, cliché villains, and occasional fan service. In fact, there hasn't really been any one person to step forward as a true antagonist as of yet. Much of the appeal has come from learning how this isekai world works and trying to figure out who the 2 protagonists can trust. Magic exists, but not to absurd levels. Much of the enjoyment comes from the world building and the excellent characters. Those used to seeing brain-dead characters with 2D personalities carried by broken skills will be pleasantly disappointed here. Characterization is so strong in fact that I'm considering picking up the novel version in the hope that I get to know them better.
The art is just good. It could be much worse, but as the story is the larger focus here I can understand why something easier to draw is much preferred. Many characters remain stone-faced while 'on the job' which makes sense given that they have reputations to uphold and can't afford to be expressive in public. Gotta keep up that poker face! Still, this makes the couple's time alone when they can be themselves that much more satisfying. A shame we can't see it more often.
I am very much looking forward to seeing major confrontations happening in the future. As of right now, nothing world-threatening has presented itself, quite the opposite. The points of confrontation outside of one particular arc have been minor, serving to illustrate the differences in hierarchy, gender equality, etc. compared Zenjirou's old world. There are many little events unfolding that may come back around to reveal something bigger than the sum of its parts. As of right now, I'm content with just reading Risou no Himo Seikatsu as though it were a Regency novel with less emphasis on romance. Oh and dinosaurs, can't forget those.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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