Month: July 2025

DEATH TO THE GIANT WORMS!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DanDaDan S2 Ep 3 Review

Well, this is certainly a pickle! It was already bad enough that Okarun, Momo, Jiji and Turbo Granny were trapped underground with a giant worm cryptid. Then they had to contend with a yokai borne from the hatred of the Kito family’s sacrifices. And to top it off, that yokai has now possessed Jiji and turned him into a force of nature bent on killing them all! Fortunately for Momo, Ken is capable of fighting the Evil Eye while Momo works to find a way to take down the giant worm.

Having managed to possess Jiji, the Evil Eye wastes no time in showing just how powerful it truly is, putting Okarun on the defensive and forcing him to flee with Momo in tow. However, it’s not because he can’t win, as the next round proves. It’s because he prioritizes Momo’s safety over his own like a gentleman. Thanks to him, Momo is able to escape the pit to find a way to get them all out before the Tsuchinoko kills them.

With Momo out of the way, Okarun and the Evil Eye can fight for real. Admitedly, though, their fight isn’t as visually impressive as the other fights we’ve seen in the series thus far. Though, to be fair, it might be because it’s not as long as other fights are. Both of them run out of steam due to the poison in the area, meaning they can’t fight to the fullest. It makes up for it, though, by doing two things. Firstly, the Evil Eye lets Aleks Le flex his Jin-woo muscles. Secondly, the way that Ken Takakura rallies would make Jotaro Kujo proud.

Too bad Okarun’s cool moment doesn’t last long. When he tries to save Turbo Granny, he winds up getting stuck in whatever gunk the Worm spews out of itself. Now they’re both trapped. Luckily, Momo has a foolproof plan to get rid of the worm: burning down the cursed house!

Burnin’ Down the House!

While Okarun and Jiji are doing battle, Momo finds out that it’s all but impossible to get them a means to climb out of the pit. Thus, she changes tactics to killing the Tsuchinoko. It can’t take the Sun’s UV rays, so by luring it above ground before sunset, it’ll kill itself. So she burns down the house.

It turns out that worms breathe through their skin, which is why they crawl up to the surface when it rains; otherwise, they’ll drown. And by calling the fire department, she’s able to have the ground soaked in enough water. And thanks to her quick thinking, the monster is forced to the surface, where it shrivels up and dies, just like nature intended. It may not be the most climactic way to finish things, but there was no way Momo could beat the Death Worm in a straight-up fight.

Sadly, after the worm dies, it expels the last things that it ate: the very-much alive Kito Family, who aren’t happy about what Momo did. And to top it off, the part about it being connected to the volcano was true. Now the mountain’s blowing up and threatening to destroy the village.

How do we stop a volcano?

This was a good episode, overall. I wish that we had gotten more time to see Okarun and the Evil Eye fight, but something tells me that more of that coming in future episodes. For now, though, how is Momo going to stop the volcano and save her friends? And, yes, that includes Turbo Granny. That look on her face when Ken tries to save her is enough to qualify her as such.

I Give “You Won’t Get Away With This!” a 3.5/5

For the Last Time, NAOFUMI DOESN’T WANT A HAREM!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Rising of the Shield Hero S4 Ep 2 Review

It’s only been one day since Naofumi and his party arrived in Siltvelt, and he’s already growing sick of the place. His only goal right now is to get to Q’Ten Lo and stop them from coming after him and Raphtalia. However, Siltvelt’s leaders seemed determined to keep him in their country for as long as possible; likely forever! And as the follow-up episode demonstrates, the leaders of Siltvelt will play dirty to make sure that that happens. Fortunately, Naofumi has a zero-tolerance policy for red tape and stalling, and when one of the country’s leaders tries to make a move, he decides to put them all on the OPP’s list unless they give him what he wants.

You got to admire someone who refuses to deal with baloney.

Before we get started, let’s back up to the season premiere. A few days before it premiered, I remembered I had the light novels that this season should be covering on my smartphone. I started reading through them, and thanks to that, I’m better able to notice a few things that the anime has changed or rearranged. More importantly, it made me remember that the story established earlier than the anime that Jaralis was going to be a problem. For example, in the light novel version of his audience with Silvelt’s leaders, Jaralis starts by singing Naofumi’s praisings before twisting his words into saying that they should go out and crush all who oppose them. And then he basically ends the meeting early by having everyone walk out.

Naofumi vs. an Army of Horny Demi-Humans

Unfortunately, this episode, while rearranging the order of certain events, still meets with the same outcome: irritating Naofumi. Firstly, he’s told that his party must stay in a separate bedroom while he sleeps in one meant for royalty. It’s clearly an attempt to separate him from those he trusts. It’s only thanks to his insistence that Raph-Chan stay with him that it falls through.

And it’s a good thing that Raphy (Raph-Chan’s name in the dub). Without her, he might not have made it through what happens next with his chastity intact.

While the light novel doesn’t have the water laced with aphrodisiacs and the women were waiting in advance, everything else is accurate. If Raph-Chan hadn’t been there for backup and to call Raphtalia, Naofumi would’ve had his chastity stolen that night. Not lost, stolen. And considering what Witch did to him messed him up so bad he’s all but sworn a life of celibacy, this experience was one giant trauma button for him. Needless to say, his blow-up at Werner is more than justified.

Atla and Fohl are more important than you realize

Unfortunately for Naofumi, the rest of his experience in Siltvelt isn’t any more productive. He’s forced to attend parties, banquets, and other social gatherings in his honor, all while listening to the elites trying to outdo themselves in their efforts to glaze him. He doesn’t buy it for a second, and the longer they stall, the more Naofumi decides to just figure things out on his own.

Thankfully, this is where Fohl and Atla manage to come in handy.

I’m not sure how much of their story has been revealed thus far in the anime, but Fohl and Atla are not ordinary Demi-Humans. They are part of the Hakuko, AKA the white tigers. Years ago, they had been one of the four most powerful races of Demi-Humans in Siltvelt, and their father had been a prominent leader. However, when Siltvelt lost the war against Melromarc, and they lost their parents, the Hakuko fell from power. And we know how Naofumi found them.

In any case, though, the siblings still have allies in Siltvelt. Through them, Naofumi starts making his own plans to get to Q’ten Lo, since it’s clear the country is useless to him. But then something happens that makes everyone leading the country into an OPP: someone tries to poison Naofumi and his party.

Jaralis did it. We all know he did it!

Well, to be fair, it’s Jaralis who did it. The smug look on his face says it all. However, when Jaralis and Werner continue to be at each other’s throats, Naofumi decides that this farce has gone on long enough. In a rather surprising twist, though, he’s not the one to start blowing off. It’s Atla.

This should be interesting to watch. That girl is Naofumi’s number one stan, so seeing her get mad at the people in charge of Siltvelt should be entertaining. Still, it’s a little frustrating to see multiple scenes from the light novel get removed from the anime. But the plus side is that this makes me look forward to seeing what will happen when Allen Blaster’s fanfic gets to this point!

I give “Official Welcome” a 3.5/5

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle Premieres Sept 2025 in US

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Blogging , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, September 12th, 2025. Anime fans, mark your calendars, clear your schedule that day, and be prepared to head to movie theaters. Demon Slayer is coming back to theaters for its endgame.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has been one of the most popular Shonen anime of the last six years, earning critical acclaim and fans around the world. And it’s not hard to see why. Between the characters, music, and god-tier animation, Demon Slayer lives up to the hype. It even managed to have the highest-grossing film in 2020 with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train. Five years later, it looks like history is about to repeat itself as the series approaches its climax.

Fans have known for a year now that Demon Slayer would be wrapping up its story on the big screen rather than with a new season. The Final Battle arc, split into the Infinity Castle and Sunrise Countdown, demands no less than that. And Aniplex is splitting everything up into three movies just to make sure they cover all their bases. While the first film should already be out in Japan, Americans will have to wait another two months. And it looks as though it will be released both subbed and dubbed.

Anime has pretty much gone mainstream at this point thanks to the efforts of fans and streaming services, but that doesn’t mean we should be lax when it comes to promoting this film. If we really want to give Demon Slayer the send-off it deserves, then we need to start preparing. Make plans with friends. Coordinate with your local cosplay groups. Make sure that when the time comes, every seat in whatever theater is showing Demon Slayer is filled. Having all three films break box office records in America would be a massive win for us, and I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to see that it happens!

Jiji just Went from Zenitsu to Sung Jin-woo!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DanDaDan S2 Ep 2 Review

Do you guys remember that one episode of DanDaDan last year about Acrobatic Silky’s backstory? The one that garnered critical acclaim and broke the Internet from its sheer sadness? If you thought that the tragic story of Silky’s life and death was sad, then brace yourselves. It’s gotten a sequel. As Ken, Momo, Turbo Granny, and Jiji are at the mercy of a giant worm, an even bigger threat appears: a yokai with a backstory as sad as Silky’s. Maybe even sadder, because the Yokai in question…was just a little kid.

The Evil Eye is scary…

At the end of the last episode, the group was in a bad spot. They were already being cornered by the Mongolian Death Worm. But then, Okarun starts going ghost and tweaking out and trying to kill himself, with Momo soon following suit! As Turbo Granny explains, the Worm emits psychic waves that compel people to off themselves. It’s the ultimate predatory skill, and for some reason, only Jiji is immune to it. All he can do is run for his life while keeping his friends from killing themselves/realizing that this might be what made his parents try to kill themselves.

Except that it wasn’t just the Worm that was the threat. Believe it or not, it wasn’t the only creature haunting the house. There was another being; one far more terrifying than the Worm. A yokai that makes even the likes of Turbo Granny freak out: the Evil Eye.

…But his backstory is SO SAD!!

The Evil Eye is, quite possibly, one of the most powerful yokai in the entire series and a nightmare to deal with. Like the Worm, the Evil Eye also has the power to make people want to off themselves just by looking at them. The upside that its waves cancel out the Worm’s waves, bringing Momo and Ken back to their senses. The bad news? Now they have to run from both while making their way through the Uzumaki-like labyrinth. And when Jiji looks right into its eyes, he sees its whole backstory, and it is a tragedy.

The short version: the Evil Eye was once one of the sacrifices the Kito family gave to the Worm. They had locked him up underground until he was an emaciated husk before burning him alive. But instead of moving on, he somehow became a cursed spirit. And whenever anyone other than kids saw him, they would be compelled to off themselves! And then the Kito Family just buried the son alive in the house as another sacrifice, leaving him to starve of die of asphyxiation, while the spirit couldn’t do anything to help him. And this just kept repeating victim after victim, until that sweet little spirit finally crashed out and decided to kill all humanity. Everyone would die as penance for the cruelty those people were shown.

I thought that Acrobatic Silky’s backstory was sad, but this? This happened to a little boy. A child! And they were doing this to countless people for years to a monster that didn’t care about them and just ate them the first chance they got. No wonder the Evil Eye crashed out. A lot of people would wind up doing the same thing if it happened to them!

Jiji Goes from Zenitsu to Sung Jin-woo

And this just tugs at poor Jiji’s heart, and he goes into “righteous Shonen protagonist” mode. He makes it all the way to the spot where E.E.’s body lies and promises to be his friend and play with him as much as he wants. In other words, he’s offering up his body to be used as a vessel for the yokai, like Ken and Aira.

Big. Mistake. It turns Jiji from a goofy Zenitsu…into Yokai Sung Jin-woo. And I’m not just saying that because all three share the same voice actor. I’m saying that because E.E. Jiji is him! In fact, its revealed that Jiji has a ridiculous amount of dormant spiritual power. Combine that with the Evil Eye’s collected malice, and he turns into an apex predator. And he wields that football like it’s a cannonball. If Okarun hadn’t shown up when he did, Jiji would’ve killed Momo and Turbo Granny.

There’s a reason why DanDaDan fans consider this and the proceeding arc to be among the series best thus far, and its for moments such as this. Now, Okarun has to protect Momo and Turbo Granny from Jiji and the Death Worm! This is going to be a tough fight, but one that fans are going to be enjoying to the fullest extent. And I cannot wait!

I Give “Evil Eye” a 4/5

Naofumi Arrives at Shield Hero Stan HQ

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Rising of the Shield Hero S4 Ep 1

Q’ten Lo just made the biggest mistake it could ever make: it made the Shield Hero mad.

When we last left off with The Rising of the Shield Hero, things got crazy. One minute, Naofumi had Raphtalia cosplaying in a miko outfit because he thought she looked good in it (and she did.) The next minute, his village was attacked by Demi-human ninjas saying that Raphtalia would die for “making her claim to the throne.” It turns out, Raphtalia’s royalty from the isolationist nation of Q’ten Lo! Her parents had left the country to be together, but their countrymen had had assassins keeping watch over them the whole time. In other words, they knew that she had been captured and enslaved and didn’t do a thing about it. Naturally livid, Naofumi and his group have gone to settle things with Q’ten Lo. There’s just one problem: they have to get there via a nation of Shield Hero stans.

Welcome to Siltvelt, Home of the Shield Hero stans!

The new season picks up as Naofumi, Raphtalia, Raph-Chan, Sadeena, Atla, Fohl, and others are headed to Q’ten Lo. With the Phoenix due to revive in a few months, Naofumi can’t afford to worry about fighting another enemy out to get him and Raphtalia. However, since Q’ten Lo is an isolationist country, the only way to get there is to travel by ship from Siltvelt, AKA Shield Hero fan club global HQ.

For those needing a refresher, Siltvelt is a powerful nation comprised of Demi-Humans. Since the Shield Hero is historically known as a protector of Demi-Humans, they exclusively worship the Shield Hero as their god. That makes them the exact opposite of what Melromarc was at the start of the series: an entire nation of Shield Hero stans. Thus, one would think that Siltvelt would be more than happy to assist their god in his time of need.

One would be forgiven for thinking this.

No, Really. They are Shield Hero Stans

Calling Siltvelt a nation of Shield Hero stans isn’t just an exaggeration on our part. The official definition of stanning is being a fan of something to an extreme degree; in other words, potentially more than what should be healthy. Many real-life fandoms have members who engage in behavior that can be considered toxic. One could even argue that being an overzealous fan of something is itself toxic, as it can lead to behaviors like gate-keeping and disparaging people they don’t consider “true fans.” Even worse, though, there are members of fandoms who claim to like something but are just using it for their own benefit or to manipulate the thing they claim to like for their own ends. And as Naofumi quickly discovers, the leadership of Silvelt is filled with those kinds of fans.

After Naofumi and his party arrive in Siltvelt, it’s not long before they’re met by their adoring public. The entire population shows up to greet their hero, and Atla is praising them all for seeing his greatness because she’s Naofumi’s biggest fan. However, it’s when they meet with the leaders of the nation that it becomes clear that things won’t be so easy.

Rough translation: they don’t want him to leave.

Why Must Politicians Be Politicking?

Even in the face of Armageddon, there are going to be people who only care about being on top. In this case, Siltvelt is doing the same thing that Melromarc did to the other Cardinal heroes: glazing them to get their support while planning on using them as pawns. Thankfully, Naofumi has learned not to let this happen to him, and will be quick to put people in their place. However, that still makes it an issue. Especially since the final moments of the episode involve the introduction of a certain someone, a lion Demi-Human called Jaralis.

It’s been a while since I’ve read Allen Blaster’s fanfic, but I remember Jaralis all too well. That man is a problem, and he will need to be dealt with.

All of that can wait, though. For now, I’m just looking forward to seeing more of Naofumi. After the spring disaster that was TBATE, I need an Isekai palate cleanser.

I Give “Siltvelt” a 4/5

DanDaDan, Check out This Giant Worm!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dandadan S2 Ep 1 Review

When the world needed them most, DanDaDan returned!

Welcome back, everyone, to an all-new season of the megahit Shonen anime, DanDaDan. When it came out in the Fall of 2024, this anime set the entire world on fire. The animation was god-tier, the characters were hilarious, and the OP was so good, it wound up trending on YouTube. Not to mention how the episode “To a Kinder World” went down as one of the best moments in anime history. Needless to say, people have been eagerly awaiting its return, and are grateful we did not have to wait long. Especially since the first season ended on a big cliffhanger. Okarun and Jiji found a creepy room in Jiji’s house, and Momo was under attack from a gang of perverts. Anime-only fans wanted to know what happened next, and now is the time!

But first, let’s discuss the new OP, “On The Way” by AiNA THE END. As with the previous OP, fans are treated to a visual spectacle as they see Okarun, Momo, and their growing list of allies face the forces against them. It’s got the same high-tier animation as before, if not better. At the same time, though, I feel like the song itself is a little softer. It’s not as great a beat as that of “OTONOKE”, but that’s just my personal opinion.

Now, Where Were We?

The episode opens up right where we left off in December: Momo being attacked by perverts. Guys peeping on girls is not out of the ordinary in anime, but that doesn’t make it any less disturbing. Thankfully, the hot spring was falling apart, so Momo was able to escape unharmed. In addition, it’s revealed that Turbo Granny smuggled herself along for the ride because she wanted to enjoy the hot springs, and her cat body might have helped. It’s good that she’s not alone, but it’s unsettling to hear her say that the entire house is bad news. And she is absolutely right.

The short version: the locals have a legend about the nearby volcano being home to a dragon that will destroy the village unless it receives a sacrifice. And guess who the dragon’s priests are?

Meet the Kito family, aka Jiji’s landlords and the perverts who tried to molest Momo. They’ve been luring victims in for two hundred years and sacrificing them to the dragon to keep the volcano dormant and the hot springs running. It’s like the sacrifice from The Wicker Man, but with a dragon. And Jiji, Okarun, and Momo are their victims this time. Naturally, none of them are keen on this happening, and they refuse to go down without a fight. However, once they arrive in the lair of the Tsuchinoko (the dragon), it’s revealed that it’s not a dragon. It’s a cryptid called a Mongolian Death Worm.

As soon as we learned the “dragon” was a Death Worm, I knew that things weren’t going to turn out how the Kito Family expected. That didn’t dampen the black comedy, though, when the beast chose to eat the Kito Family first. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the quartet is now facing a giant worm cryptid, and Okarun and Momo start tweaking out!

Man, what a good episode! DanDaDan is back and it is looking to be one of the best anime of the year for a second year in a row! Definitely looking forward to spending my summer watching this!

I Give “Like, This is the Legend of the Giant Snake” a 4/5

OG Founder: Anime Confessions & NPSG Impressions!

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Okay…how do you wanna do this…?

Guys, I gotta confess something to you, and this won’t be the only one either. Hope you’re sitting down for this, cuz’ I’m not sure what you’re reaction will be afterwards. Ok, here we go.

I don’t watch anime that much anymore.

I know, I know. Some of you are wondering ‘But why? There are so many good shows out this season! You’ve got Solo Leveling, Demon Slayers’ Final Arc, DanDaDan, like c’mon bro you’re missing out!’ Yeah, yeah, you don’t have to tell me. I know that there are some good shows out, and for many fans they think its the best thing since sliced bread. However when you’re an OG anime fan from the trenches, you get REAL selective of what shows you watch, because your tastes have changed over the years. Matter of fact, the last anime I’ve touched was Fena: Pirate Princess. It was an original anime about pirates that WASN’T One Piece!

Nobody talk about this anymore…

I know I’ve talked about it before, but the anime community is totally different from the time I grew up as an anime fan; especially coming from the 4Kids era of anime dubbing. Speaking of dubbing, how we feeling about the New Panty & Stocking dub? (*goes and reads the comment sections*) Oh…damn…ouch…harsh.

Demon brainwashing created this…let that sink in.

Well, before I address the elephant in the room, I wanna lock this in. You ready? Here we go.

“The OG dub of Panty and Stocking IS the definitive way to watch the series. Jamie Marchi and Monica Rial (hate em’ or love em’) will ALWAYS be the definitive English VAs of OG Panty and Stocking, along with the rest of the OG cast. Even if they don’t come back to the series in the long run, they have solidified their names in PSG dub history, and nobody can take that from them! Even the new cast acknowledged how legendary the OG series is, and that they’ll work really hard to match/capture the same energy. It’s been 15 years since the OG series dropped, and a LOT has changed in the industry since then. We didn’t think we’d get a second season at all, but by God it’s here!”

Now that we’ve got that rant/speech out of the way, let’s talk about the shock to the system that was the recast. When the dub trailer for New PSG got announced, all the hype that the fans of the OG series had, was killed. Panty didn’t sound like Jamie, Stocking didn’t sound like Monica, Scanty was ok, Kneesocks wasn’t too bad, Brief sounded like his OG VA, and Garterbelt…was FINALLY voiced by a Black Man! (*insert Kendrick Lamar’s TV Off Instrumental*) Studio Trigger understood the assignment, and the cherry on top was the redesign of his lips!

Like myself, fans of the OG series reacted to the new voice cast reveal in one of two ways; sheer disappointment over the fact that the whole OG cast was recast, and denouncing the dub in favor of only watching the sub since most of the OG Japanese voice cast is back. It was shocking to find out that the OG cast (especially Jamie and Monica) was not returning (even though they REALLY wanted to), and that Amazon didn’t even bother to give em’ a holla, or anything. As usual fans speculated that the recast had something to do with Jamie and Monica’s involvement in the ‘Weeb War of 2019’, and frankly…I’m past that.

With Crunchyroll in the state that it is now, I can see why Studio Trigger gave the series to Amazon Prime Video. Yes, this will probably mean New PSG will be in ‘Amazon Jail’ long after the series is over, so it won’t get the ‘DBZ Kai’ treatment OG fans are hoping for; for it’s Home Media Release. (Who knows maybe it will, but I dunno.) Look, I know I said I was going to talk about my first impression of the New PSG season, so here it is…

I like it, I really like it!

It’s FYRE!!!

I know we’re only 3 episodes (6 segments) in, but Studio Trigger didn’t miss a beat! The OST is bangin’, and the New Opening sounds like an early 2000s Disney Channel Original Movie. If you’re a fan of the OG dub and are expecting New PSG’s dub to be on the same level (or even better) in terms of localization, I hate to tell you this, but you’re gonna be disappointed. (Its not the Jamie Marchi 2012 Remix you’re hoping for.)

However, if you’re not attached to the OG cast, then you’re gonna like the New PSG. Who knows how many seasons and movies we’ll get from this franchise, but one thing’s for sure, the B*tches are BACK, and Stocking will ALWAYS be BEST GIRL!!

Oh yeah, my other anime confession…

I never watched One Piece. It’s too damn long.

OG Founder!

Out!

Lord of Mysteries Has me Tripping Balls

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , ,

Lord of Mysteries Ep 1-3 Review

This past spring, we were robbed of a good isekai. The Beginning After the End was a disappointment, especially when it came to animation. Anime watchers have been needing a palate cleanser since then; a real isekai that can make people’s eyes go wide and their jaws drop! And about two weeks ago, we may have gotten just that with this new donghua: Lord of Mysteries.

If only we could fully understand what’s going on!

This is a Donghua

First things first, lets clarify what Lord of Mysteries is. While it is being marketed as an anime by Crunchyroll, its not Japanese in origin. Its a donghua, or Chinese animation, and its based on a popular web novel series written by someone called Cuttlefish That Loves Diving. And to put it bluntly, trying to understand it as a newcomer is going to be an exercise in brainpower.

The story starts when Zhou Mingrui, a young man from modern day China, wakes up in another world in the body of one of its inhabitants, Klein Moretti. This new world he finds himself in is overtly Victorian steampunk in nature, and is one filled with supernatural forces. What’s more confusing, though, is the fact that Zhou’s new body has a bullet hole in his head, the result of a mysterious suicide. Obviously, Zhou is not happy about being yanked from his life into this new world, and he makes it his goal to try and find a way home while blending in as Klein (and we will refer to him as such,) while piecing together what happened to the OG Klein. Unfortunatetly for him, he swiftly becomes embroiled in various supernatural events as he attracts the attention of people known as Beyonders. Some of them are good, and some are bad, but all of them are dangerous.

If you’re lost regarding what Im talking about, do not worry. Apparently, a common issue newcomers have with Lord of Mysteries is how thorough it is on the mystery aspect. There are plenty of different media that include an element of mystery to the plot. Part of the appeal behind that is allowing fans the chance to figure things out as they go along. What makes Lord of Mysteries frustrating to some, though, is that it seems to take this concept to its extreme. Other shows like Gravity Falls will sprinkle clues and hints meant to keep the audience privy to more than what the characters may know in-universe. But when we arrive in this steampunk world, we’re as clueless about how things work as Klein is! Its not even until the third episode that we get an explanation behind the power system that the series runs on; and even then, I had to rely on a YouTuber to best explain it. But to save everyone some trouble, I’ll just explain it here as best as I can.

The Powers of the Beyonders

At the core of this story is what it calls Beyonders. Beyonders are beings who have drunk one of ten magic potions that allow them access to supernatural powers. Those powers get split into twenty-two separate skill-trees called Pathways. Each Pathway has its own abilities, advantages, and drawbacks, and all of them have ten ranks, from zero to nine. The lower the Sequence Number, the stronger a Beyonder’s powers are, with the strongest being on par with gods. The drawback is that the stronger the powers, the greater the risk for a Beyonder to lose their sense of self. If that happens, they go mad and turn into monsters.

Its complicated, I know. And the show has yet to fully explain it. Nonetheless, its impressive that Cuttlefish came up with such a deep power system for the story. That shows genuine effort put into it!

I Wanna Go Home

At any rate, Klein wants to go home, but until then, he has to lay low and gather more information. The first thing that he does is pose as a being known as ‘The Fool’ to a pair of Beyonders and establishes a club to gather more intel. The second thing is that he gets a job with a group called the Nighthawks. They’re a police force that deals with Beyonder-related crimes, one of which involves the recovery of a book that Klein came into contact with.

Again, this is all very confusing that doesn’t fully make sense. Nor is it going to fully make sense for a while! Its like the show has the opposite problem of TBATE: the story was easy to understand, while Lord of Mysteries can make your head hurt.

Lord of Mysteries has Dang Good Animation

The irony is that Lord of Mysteries has the animation that TBATE should have had. I have no idea who did the animation for this series, but it is downright god-tier. Imagine the best animation of Solo Leveling, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Attack on Titan, and Mushoku Tensei fused into one, and you’ll get the animation for Lord of Mysteries.

I’ll be honest with you guys: I’m not sure if I’m going to keep reviewing The Lord of Mysteries. It’s a very confusing story to try and follow, and I’m not sure if I’m capable of doing so. That being said, it’s existence and the attention its getting seems to reflecting a larger trend that started to gain traction with Solo Leveling. The world of anime is evolving, and what was once a term used to refer to animated shows coming out of Japan is changing to refer to shows coming out of the Far East altogether. With how badly Japan managed to fumble with TBATE last season, the execs are likely going to be sweating when they see what Lord of Mysteries has to offer.

Though I don’t know if I’m going to be reviewing this series.

Mushoku Tensei Season 3 First Look!

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Mushoku Tensei Season 3 Coming in 2026

Well, it would seem that my predictions for the next season of Mushoku Tensei were right on the money. Season three of one of the OG members of the Seven Summits will be coming in 2026, and we have the trailer to prove it, compliments of Anime Expo.

Full disclosure: I was on vacation as Anime Expo was taking place, so keeping up with it wasn’t a high priority. However, even I paid attention when I saw the trailer for Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation’s third season came out. And this season could be what ultimately makes or break the anime, as its entering one of the most important phases of the story. And thats not just because of the return of a certain red-head.

What’s to Come in 2026

As was the case with every Turning Point, Rudeus’ life has been drastically altered in a short amount of time. On the one hand, his quest to save his mother ended with his losing an arm, his father Paul, and his mother Zenith’s stuck in a catatonic state. On the other hand, he reunited with Roxy, she joined the Greyrat family as his second wife, and now he’s a father himself. And he intends to keep living his second life to the fullest.

The majority of the trailer is meant to show off the various things that will end up taking place in Rudy’s life going forward. There’s a mixture of faces and locations both familiar and new that come and go throughout the trailer. Besides them, though, the things that fans really need to focus on are the book that we see Rudeus writing in, as well as the images that fly on the screen about fifty-nine seconds in. They only appear for a second, but if you slow down and take a look at them, you’ll notice how dark they seem to be as a group. And you would be right. I can’t say anything about what they’re about, but they’re connected to the book that Rudy’s writing in, and…lets just say that many people are going to end up crying when the anime gets to them. In fact, the anime may dedicate an entire episode to these moments just to show how bad things could get for Rudy.

One of two things that I can discuss at length, though, is the return of Rudeus’ ex, Eris Greyrat. AKA the heartbreaker.

Eris is Gonna Have to do a Lot to Make Up for What She Did

Outside of a quick shot of her in the montage for the end of season two, we haven’t seen Eris Greyrat since she ran out on Rudy. Even if you haven’t read the light novels, though, we all knew she was going to come back. Her going on her anime-training arc to get stronger to protect Rudy was the whole point of why she left. However, if you’ve read my reviews, then you’ll know that I have issues with how she went about things. As bad as Rudy can be sometimes, he didn’t deserve to be emotionally manipulated, stricken with ED, and then left in a state of depression for three years. Needless to say, when Eris does come back, she’s going to have A LOT to answer for, and have to do A LOT to make up for what she did.

The second thing we can discuss, though, is how this season will mark the return of the series equivalent of Sephiroth, Orsted. The trailer has images of him engaged in battle, most likely against Rudy or someone else. Given how their last encounter ended with him barely getting a scratch and Rudy and Eris with PTSD, his return is a big deal.

The bottom line is that when I say that this next season of Mushoku Tensei will be covering the most important arc in the series, I mean it. Novel readers have waited for this for years, and its going to change a lot of what we think we know about the series. And you can bet I’m going to be covering it!

Well, that Was Lazarus, People!

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Lazarus Ep 13 Review

Ladies, gentlemen, and that technicolor rainbow in between, we got him. Just as the doomsday clock was about to hit midnight, Lazarus pulled off their mission. They found Dr. Skinner in time. Yet, I can’t help but find a number of things concerning about the ending to Lazarus the series. Chief among them, the series finale was full of too many contrivances to let me take it seriously.

Schneider’s Stupidity

The series has made it no secret that the reason Dr. Skinner made Hapna a deadly trap is because he lost faith in mankind. The real question, though, is what finally made him crash out. As this and the previous few episodes confirmed, it was because of Schneider. He wanted to turn Hapna into a bioweapon against Skinner’s wishes. And when Skinner tried to blow the whistle, Schneider tried to take the prototype by force, leading to it being unleashed at that airport and killing dozens of people. And when the government tried to cover it up, he had enough. So he forged Hapna into a knife aimed at humanity’s throat, all in an effort to ensure that someone would try to find him. And by doing so, they would learn why he did all this by exposing Schneider’s crimes.

And yes, bioweapons are illegal under international law. Its one of the few things the majority of the world seems to agree on. Yet Schneider tries to justify things to Abel by saying that if the US government didn’t make them, someone else would and use it on them. In reality, the only people who would think of using a weapon capable of destroying the world has to be insane or driven to that point. Schneider’s arguments fall on deaf ears, and he gets hauled off to jail to either rot forever or get the death penalty.

The Final Battle

Meanwhile, we have the final fight between Axel and Souryu. While the fight itself is entertaining enough, it gets undermined by the fact that the show didn’t give us enough time to really get to know Souryu. It does explain how he was part of Project Hundun, this Chinese program to turn kids into emotionless assassins, which is horrifying on a number of levels. However, in the context of the story its being told, Souryu is less important than the actual mission to find Skinner. While we can sympathize with him on some level, he’s ultimately little more than an obstacle standing between Lazarus and Skinner.

Way too Much of a Coincidence

The contrivances dont stop there, though. The finale reveals that, somehow, every member of Lazarus was at that fateful attack. And somehow, they all came back from death thanks to their bodies developing an immunity to Hapna. Its why Axel survived the prototype and why Eleina survived the fever that should’ve killed her.

In hindsight, the show had already hinted that there was a reason why Chris survived the attack, along with Axel’s own immunity. And as improbable as it sounds, it is possible that all the members of Lazarus could have been at that incident at the exact same time. Fate can work in crazy ways, after all. What the show fails to do, though, is come up with a convincing way to make us believe that this was possible. As a result, it seems less like an act of fate and more of an ass-pull by the show writers.

In the end, though, it doesn’t matter. Lazarus makes it to Skinner…and just in the nick of time.

The show doesn’t make it clear how long it takes to mass-produce the cure for Hapna. However, even by the most conservative estimates, hundreds of thousands to even millions of people still end up dying. It doesn’t matter if the show tries to paint this all as a happy ending for the team and the people they’ve met. A lot of people still died! But while Skinner might have made the weapon, Schneider is ultimately the one who is at fault for everything. And sadly, with extinction no longer an imminent threat, world leaders go back to business as usual. It seems like people didn’t learn anything. So what was the point?

Well, that Was Lazarus

Lazarus is meant to be a good look at humanity, warts and all. Its meant to show us that, for all our faults, there can be good in humans. Sadly, it would seem that the ending to Lazarus is hampered by how rushed the overall story was. Thirteen episodes wasn’t enough time to fully tell the story that we wanted to see, and it shows. Even worse, the ending of the series states that the team will continue to work together, going on even more adventures we’ll never get to see. Its frustrating to think about how we could’ve gotten more time to spend with Lazarus, but never did. This might be another Adult Swim original that many people won’t remember by the time the new year rolls around, and that is sad, considering this was made by Shinichiro Watanabe. But it was still fun in the end. Thanks for the memories, Lazarus!

I Give “The World is Yours” a 3/5