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Rimuru must have a Nat 20 on Luck

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

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 18 Review

I’m just going to come out and say it: I think Rimuru got a nat 20 on luck when he reincarnated. Because there is NO FEASIBLE way that what managed to happen in this episode can be explained otherwise. His new subordinates just managed to stop an international incident without him even realizing it!

Guy would have gotten away with it…

After Diablo’s little dust-up with Rain, he is greet by his old frenemy/rival, Guy Crimson, the first Primordial and first Demon Lord. Now, Guy had no idea that Diablo had incarnated until now (I think), nor did he realize that he’s working for Rimuru. But before Diablo can start praising his lord and savior, Guy gives it to him straight: he’s here to cause trouble for humanity. While the incident in Lubelious is taking place, he has his other subordinate, the Primordial Demon Mizeri, agree to help the Rozzo family in their final f you to those they see as betraying mankind. Sure enough, Guy’s minions are currently attacking the other Western Nations, while Granville’s other flunky and their hired mercenary band, Vert, attempt to slaughter the Council. As it turns out, the goddess the mercenaries worship is Mizeri, who they summon with the goal of wiping out Engrassia.

I can’t go into further details about the why, but Guy has his reasons for doing this. Basically, he needs humans to continue to be afraid of monsters and demons as part of this grand plan he’s got going. And when they begin to grow comfortable like they are now, he reminds them of why they shouldn’t be like that!

…is what he should’ve gotten away with, if weren’t for a certain slime ruin his plans without trying.

If it weren’t for that meddling slime

As you recall, Rimuru made Testarossa Tempest’s representative at the Western Council. Which means that she is present when Granville and Vert summon Mizeri for their mass-murder plan. And since Rimuru made it her job to keep the Council safe, she is not going to let Mizeri have her way. After realizing that Testarossa, who is a Primoridal Demon like herself, is not only there, but has fully incarnated, Mizeri takes one look at what’s going on and comes to one conclusion: NOPE.

And so, Testarossa saves the day, while barely lifting a finger. And she and her followers start praising Lord Rimuru for it. They think that he knew that something like this would happen and that he had the foresight to put Testarossa in place to keep it from happening.

RIMURU IS SO LUCKY!

LOL

I was audibly laughing as I watching the Demons praise Rimuru like this. Rimuru may seem like this all-knowing god to his friends and followers, but we know the truth: if he didn’t have Raphael, he wouldn’t be able to pull off half the stuff he does. At this point, I’m pretty sure that he’s the only one who doesn’t know that Diablo and the other Colors are Primordial Demons. Even Guy freaks out when he realizes that Rimuru now has four Primordials working for him and doesn’t know it. He’s going to have to have a talk with him later!

Back in Lubelious, Rimuru and Hinata are still fighting against Granville. And since he stacked the deck against them, he’s lasting a lot longer than he would otherwise. Say what you want about the former hero, but he knows what he’s doing. Rimuru has to pull his punches with the Otherworlders (that was a bluff, though.) so he doesn’t kill them, and that distracts him enough to let him focus on Hinata. And that’s before he pulls out his wildcard in the form of Leon Cromwell.

Just keep up the ruse until you can strike, Rimuru and Leon

We already know beforehand that Leon didn’t come to Lubelious to fight. He just wants to see for himself that Rimuru is looking after his beloved sister, Chloe. But then Granville tells Rimuru how he helped Leon summon Otherworlder kids like Shizu, knowing that Rimuru isn’t happy about what Leon put her through, even if it did help her live to adulthood. Basically, Granville is trying to emotionally manipulate Rimuru into fighting Leon and making things worse. Both of them know this, but since they still don’t know what Granville’s game is, they have to play along. Plus, Rimuru did genuinely want to punch Leon for Shizu’s sake.

Little do they know, but Yuuki has already got what they wanted: Chronoa the Hero. And when she wakes up, things are going to get crazy.

The episode ends with Granville’s plans already starting to come undone without him realizing it, but at the same time, he and Yuuki are about to get what they want. And if the title of the next episode is any indication, then things are about to get pretty heavy. That Nat 20 luck that I think Rimuru has is going to be needed! As for this episode, though, I liked it by sole virtue of it making me laugh at how lucky Rimuru managed to be!

I Give “Turbulence in the West” a 4/5

Did you know that Norn Greyrat has a fan club?

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

Something that the Mushoku Tensei Might End up Skipping

Well, I didn’t want to have to go over this. I really didn’t. But given how Mushoku Tensei is trying to make it to a certain point in the story before the first half of the season ends, I don’t blame the anime for skipping over some things from the light novels. Heck, I already have plans to tell you about a few certain events if the anime decides to either gloss over them or save them for an OVA. But for this event in particular, I’m not going to keep quiet. It’s not that important to the overarching story, but it’s a fun little anecdote to Rudy’s life. I call it “That time Rudy wrangled a fan club for his sister Norn.”

Norn takes so much after her Mom

So, at this point, I’m going to assume that we are all familiar with what Rudy and Norn’s mother, Zenith, was like before she ended up the way she is. She was everything you could want in a mother: naturally nurturing and fiercely protective of her family, as well as headstrong and willing to stand up for herself. I’m pretty sure that smirk Rudeus gets when he’s thinking something dirty is the same look his mom gets when she’s smug about something. Not to mention that she is incredibly beautiful, easily one of the most attractive women in the series.

And whether she has realized it or not, Norn has inherited several of these traits from her mother. Which is how this story begins.

So, it all starts after Rudy comes back with news of Paul’s death. After grieving the loss of her beloved dad, Norn asks Rudy for his sword and for him to train her. Now, he’s not that great as a swordsman, no matter how much Paul wanted him to be, but he decides he should help Norn in their dad’s stead. So the two begin training together, with Rudy teaching her the basics while also trying to get her body strong enough to handle the rigors of sword fighting. And that is when the trouble started.

SIMP ALERT!

It happened when they were out training on the grounds of Ranoa University. Norn had just run off to get changed into her regular clothes when Rudy noticed that they were being watched by a decently-sized group of people. All of them young students at Ranoa University.

Remember what I said about Norn naturally inheriting her mom’s looks? She was still in the cute phase of her life, but she would eventually grow to be just as beautiful as Zenith. Between that, her attempts to do her best, and her tendency to be clumsy and trip over herself, she had managed to win over a lot of the boys at school. And they got it into their heads that Rudy was bullying her, not realizing that she was his little sister or that she had asked for this training. And, at first, Rudy thought that they were just worried for her sake.

But then Norn came back, and the boys couldn’t help but reveal their true colors, complimenting her and saying how cute she was. And Rudy realized what he was dealing with. It was something that he knew all too well from his first life:

Putting the Foot Down

When he heard one of them mentioning how they would buy Norn in a heartbeat if she somehow ended up a slave (no joke), Rudy knew he had to put his foot down.

So, in the interest of protecting his little sister from a potential threat in the future, he organized them all into a group. Thus, the Norn Greyrat Official Fan Club was born, with Rudeus as its leader. All so that people could respectfully admire his sister without causing any trouble.

By the way, when the other members found out that Rudeus was taking baths with his sisters, they kicked him out for breaking the rules.

So that’s basically the story of how Norn got her own fan club at Ranoa U. I doubt it will end up being adapted into the anime, so I thought it would be fun to bring up here. UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!

Granville is Making his Move!

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

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 17 Review

Due to some sort of scheduling conflict or error going on in Japan, we didn’t get a new episode of Slime Tensura last week. It’s unfortunate, but given how I was at a convention that day, it worked out for me. But don’t know what isn’t going to work out? Whatever the heck Granville is planning on doing. He and Yuuki have this crazy plan to attack Rimuru and Luminous so they can kill them/steal the body of Luminous’ best friend. And they are going all out on this! And to make matters worse, not one, but two other Demon Lords are getting involved! At least one of them isn’t actually looking for a fight, at least.

Leon Loves his Little Sister!

So, we need to talk about Leon Cromwell. If you recall, he was the one who summoned Shizu to this world and sealed the Fire Demon Ifrit in her. This kept her alive, but it also led to her eventual death as Rimuru had to stop him from rampaging. Naturally, this didn’t leave us or Rimuru with a very good impression of him. But if the last few episodes have shown us anything, it’s that Leon isn’t a jerk. He’s more of a…dork.

Yes, if the last few episodes have shown us anything, it’s that Leon isn’t a bad guy. He’s just incredibly socially awkward. He doesn’t know how to talk to people properly, and since he’s a Demon Lord, people get the wrong idea about him. Since he’s so focused on finding Chloe that he gets tunnel vision and can’t really see how his actions come off towards other. Combine those two, and it explains why he hasn’t found Chloe on his own. In fact, when he finally decides to ask Elmesia for help, she tells him that he could’ve saved himself a lot of trouble if he had asked for help.

No matter, though. He’s off to Lubelius to reunite with his adoptive little sister! And for his sake, I hope he plays nice with Rimuru. If Chloe has her way, the slime could be his brother-in-law in ten years, LOLOLOL!

The timing couldn’t be worse, though. Granville and Yuuki are on the march.

Granville is on the Warpath

So, Rimuru and Hinata are just enjoying a relaxing get-together as platonic friends, sipping tea and enjoying their morning. Then all of a sudden, they learn that Lubelius is under attack by an army of warriors! And at the head of them is Granville Rozzo.

Granville has assembled a small army and marched them on Lubelius, all with the goals of stealing Luminous’ most prized possession and killing her and Rimuru. At least Granville is being smart about this. He knows he can’t face Rimuru in a fair fight, so he’s rigged it in his favor. Using an army of mind-controlled Otherworlders knowing full well that Rimuru wouldn’t harm them is a good handicap. And the Harlequin Alliance is currently keeping Luminous and her guards busy. He even resorted to using necromancy on his wife’s body to have her fight Luminous. But we know that this is only a stalling tactic. Granville couldn’t beat Luminous in his prime, so there’s no way that he can beat Rimuru. And if anything, seeing someone that she knew and likely called her friend at one point being revived as a puppet is only going to enrage Luminous rather than shock her.

But that’s the whole point of the plan. The bad guys are distracting our heroes so that they can steal the body of Chronoa, wake her up, and have her kill them. As far as plans go, it’s decent.

But that’s not the real highlight of the episode. It’s what Diablo gets up to.

Diablo Takes Care of Business

So, while Shion and Diablo are fighting this giant bug…thing, Diablo gets distracted. And it’s soon clear why: someone is lurking nearby, waiting for him. So, at Shion’s behest, he decides to go take care of this problem.

Also, note how Diablo and Shion addressed each other by their names. That’s a first!

The person that Diablo sensed is none other than Rain, the personal maid of Guy Crimson, the first and strongest of the Demon Lords, as well as the first of the Primordials. And Rain is also one of the Primordials like Guy and Diablo. So, she’s crazy strong. But she’s also not on the same level as Diablo. Even before he got his name, Diablo was able to fight Guy to a standstill. And then, Rain commits the ultimate sin in front of Diablo: she calls Rimuru trash.

What happens next is on her!

The episode ends with Guy Crimson himself showing up in the aftermath. I don’t know why he’s there, but this might have just added another wrinkle to this brewing crisis. Rimuru can handle himself just fine, but Guy Crimson? The OG Demon Lord? Yeah, he’d lose. Please don’t let this end badly for him!

I’m still looking forward to seeing how this all turns out, though.

I Give “Lubelius, the Point of Convergence” a 3/5

The Pikachu has Returned!

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

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S3 Ep 6 Review

Did you guys know that Mushoku Tensei fans have a nickname for the main girls based on their hair colors? Sylphie is the Bulbasaur for her originally green hair. Roxy is Squirtle, since she’s a blunette and specializes in water magic. And lastly, Eris is Charmander, both because of her red hair and how dangerous she can be when angry. But what about Pikachu? That would be Sara, the one that got away. Now, I’ve made my feelings about Sara pretty clear: I think she was a poor man’s substitute for Eris and a means to show us how badly the latter’s leaving hurt Rudy. I would’ve been fine if we never saw her again, but Rifujin decided to give us some closure with an entire chapter being dedicated to her reunion with Rudy. And that entire chapter just managed to get adapted into an entire episode of the anime.

Sara’s Back! *Gulp*

So the first thing that stuck out for me about this episode was how it managed to cover something that I thought the anime had chosen to skip over: the return of Suzanne, the old leader of Counter Arrow. In the light novels, it’s revealed far earlier that after Counter Arrow had disbanded, Suzanne and Timothy had moved to Sharia, married, and started their own family. And Rudeus hired her to be Lucie’s wet nurse, leading them to reunite. This actually took place much earlier in the novels while what happens in this episode takes place later. That left me genuinely convinced that the anime was going to skip over it, and thus left me pleasantly surprised.

In hindsight, though, it makes sense that the anime moved the order of events, considering how this entire episode is dedicated to Sara.

The main plot of the episode is about Rudy and Roxy helping to escort this Ranoan princess on her coming-of-age pilgrimage to some shrines. Since Ariel wants to build connections, she tags along with Luke and Sylphie, meaning most of the gang is present. But they’re not the only ones guarding the princesses. The Ranoan Princess hired this party of all-female adventurers to escort her. And guess who’s joined them since Counter Arrow split up?

I know we can technically hear what Rudy’s thinking thanks to his internal monologue, but the moment he sees Sara, I can imagine him completely freaking out.

Sylphie, you are a Saint!

So, Rudeus spends a good chunk of the job (when he’s not simping for his wives) doing his absolute best to avoid Sara. And frankly, I don’t think most guys can blame him. He thought he burned all his bridges with Sara, and so wanted to give her the space he thought she’d want. But Sylphie, who knows her husband so well (bless her heart) sees this and realizes “my man can’t keep doing this forever. He’s gotta rip the band-aid off or else someone could end up dead.” So Ariel, being the chess master she is, has Rudy and Sara go look for some fruit as an excuse for them to face each other.

As a quick aside, it’s so great to see how well Ariel knows Sylphie so well. It’s a good she’s her best friend, because I don’t think that the Greyrats could handle being on her bad side!

The next sequence is nothing short of cathartic, as it isn’t Rudy who ends up apologizing first; it’s Sara.

Sara Apologizes First

So, shortly after Sara had angrily slapped Rudy for badmouthing her and thinking he was just looking to get laid, the woman Soldat took him to came and told her everything. So Sara immediately realized that she had made a huge mistake, especially when she found out that Rudeus briefly tried to off himself. Remember that? Rudeus was so overcome by despair that he might have killed himself if Soldat hadn’t been there, and it would have been all her fault (and Eris’)! So she ran all over town trying to find him and apologize, but he was long gone by then.

Now, Rudy was not entirely blameless. He should have at least tried to explain his problems at the time. But given his mental state back then, I don’t think any of us can fault him for not thinking things through. I don’t think that I would have been thinking straight either.

At any rate, Rudy and Sara have their little heart-to-heart and apologize for how things ended. But you know what the most important part of this was? It’s them acknowledging that any romantic relationship between wouldn’t have worked out. I already knew it. I even acknowledged that Sara being too similar to Eris was going to cause problems and just make her Rudy’s rebound girl. That’s not a healthy foundation for romance, and I’m glad that they acknowledge that in-universe. Pikachu was not meant to be.

Friendship!

In the end, the job goes off without incident, and Rudy and Sara part ways, the two mutually deciding to stay in the friend zone. The most important aspect of this, though, was that it helped Rudy figure out for sure what type of woman is his type. Well, he is already married to Sylphie and Roxy, but reuniting with Sara made him realize why he fell for them, despite the Greyrat family being notoriously attracted to well-endowed women. It was because they had both saved him when he was at extremely low points in his life. Roxy helped him overcome his fear of the outside world that had kept him shut inside in his first life, and then helped him when Paul died. Sylphie became his first friend and helped him get his confidence back as a man. So, where does that leave Eris?

What’s Eris up to?

Look, Eris is going to come back into Rudy’s life. I know it; he knows it; even Sylphie knows it, and she’s never even met the redhead! The question isn’t if Eris will come back, but whether Rudy will be willing to let her back into his life. She was indirectly responsible for the ordeal that Rudy and Sara went through, and she has to answer for that.

Speaking of Eris, the end of the episode is dedicated to another part of the Mad Dog’s training arc. She, Nina, and Gino have been training for years now, and the Sword God is ready to elevate one of them to Sword King, the third highest rank a swordsman can have. Eris and Nina duel over it, and, predictably, Eris wins. The irony is that she doesn’t care about ranks like that. Such titles are meaningless when wanting to fight someone like Orsted, but it’s still impressive.

We are nearing the tail-end of Rudeus’ slice of life at Ranoa University, sadly. Which is a shame because I was hoping that the show would focus more on this part of his life. But if the show is trying to get to where I think it is before the first half of the season ends, they can’t afford to wait around. Heck, I’m not even sure they can make it to that point before time runs out! No spoilers, but let’s just say that things are going to get crazy.

I Give “Another Domestic Disaster” a 4.3/5

Rentaro’s New Girlfriend is Mother Nature Incarnate!

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

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You S3 Ep 5 Review

ZING! KRRACK!! The newest episode of 100 Girlfriends only just started, and Rentaro has already met his fourteenth soulmate! And yes, it happens just as fast in the manga, something that gets lampshaded. Buh golly, meet our goddess of nature, our very own Nausicaa, Yamame Yasashiki!

Let’s back up a quick second. So, Rentaro decided that his girlfriends would look adorable if they were wearing crowns made out of flowers, and Iku suggested he go see the head of the school gardening club. And that’s where we start the episode.

Yamame Yasashiki, Mother Nature Herself

Meet Yamame Yasashiki, or as I like to call her, the living incarnation of Mother Nature. Standing at over 200 cm, she is taller than even Jotaro Kujo, and, according to the wiki, beats even Karane in strength. Not that she would ever use it to harm anyone. For Yamame is a gentle giant, who loves nature more than anything in the world, and has dedicated her life to helping nature grow and thrive. She’s so kindhearted that she even has a separate garden for weeds. She’s so kindhearted that when butterflies started hanging around the flowers in her hair, she let them stay. And over the years, she has used her size to help her protect any plants or animals that are in trouble. She loves nature, and nature loves her back.

So, she’s basically every nature goddess rolled into one. Or Nausicaa, if you’re an anime fan. By the way, if you didn’t know, there is a Nausicaa manga series that I recommend you check out!

Yamame is the incarnation of Mother Nature, no doubt about it. But she has a troubled past. When she was little, her size made her the target for a lot of bullying. It wasn’t until she realized she could use that to help the plants and animals that she started to love herself. Also, she wasn’t joking about walking with stilts around nature. In a bonus chapter of the manga from when she was little, she stepped on a bug by accident. She was so traumatized by it that she almost gave up on going outside. Her pa had to hypnotize her into thinking the bug was visiting her to tell her to forgive herself, and somehow that escalated into her using stilts. The point is, she’s pure enough to ride Goku’s Nimbus!

Oh, and she’s also deathly afraid of fire, as we see when the Vice Principal comes running after her hair catches fire.

It’s this moment that seals the deal for Yamame, as she becomes his fourteenth girlfriend.

GARDENING PARTY

And now, we get the traditional introduction to the Rentaro Family, brought to you by the Gardening Club!

In case you guys haven’t noticed at this point, this show is very open when it comes to referencing other anime. Especially if it’s an anime based on manga published by Shueshia, the company that owns Shonen Jump. In this episode alone, we get multiple references to Yu-Gi-Oh!, which I loved. What I loved almost as much though was seeing the Rentaro Family dressing like nature goddesses and tending to Yamame’s garden. Especially the way that Kurumi was shoveling down those strawberries like there was no tomorrow. I love strawberries, so I get why she’s so into them.

But what I loved even more was how Rentaro made Yamame feel less insecure about the height difference. I know that in real life, not a lot of guys would want to date a girl who’s taller than them. I think it’s because it makes us feel insecure about our manliness. But you have to remember this: in nature, there are plenty of examples where the female is bigger than the male. That, and Rentaro doesn’t discriminate. Kisses for all!

By the way, that ending gag is meant to be a parody of Attack on Titan. It’s way more obvious in the manga.

I Give “Yasashiki-San’s Gardening Club Tour” a 4/5

The God’s Knights are Here and They Suck!

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

One Piece Ep 1172 Review

And so it begins. The chaos that I have spent the past year or so becoming intimately familiar with in the land of Elbaph. I hope that you guys had your fill of the quieter moments of the Elbaph Arc, and yes, I know how that sounds. In the short time since the Straw Hats came to Elbaph, they’ve escaped a giant, traversed the Underworld, reunited with old friends, AND fought a living legend of a pirate. But that was just a warm-up. From here on out, Elbaph is at war, and the God’s Knights are delivering the opening salvoes.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: if the big bad Imu (the monster running the World Government) wanted to conquer Elbaph, why would he only send three people? Shouldn’t he send his strongest fighters to make the giants submit? Plus, there’s no way that the God’s Knights could be so strong as to be able to conquer the strongest country in the world. I think that even I was a little skeptical about the feasibility of this at first. But as Oda soon proved to us, this was wrong. Terrifyingly, nightmarishly wrong. In fact, these three MONSTERS are probably the strongest enemies the Straw Hat pirates have faced to date!

The God’s Knights Strike

The episode opens on a very ominous note at the Walrus School. We see the kids enjoying recess, playing and having fun, doing normal kids’ stuff. It’s what every parent wants to see their kids doing. But the red flags are already there. The shots of Gunko, Qillingham, and Sommers walking towards the school was giving me goosebumps in the worst way possible. In fact, part of me even thought, “Did Toei set this scene up to feel like the prelude to an attack on a school on purpose?“It sounds paranoid, but considering how many schools in America have been victims of violent acts in my lifetime alone, I think the fear is justified.

The first attack comes in the form of a GIANT SERPENT. The students are sent running for their lives as the teachers do what teachers are supposed to do in a crisis: kick ass and protect their students.

It helps that Saul is an ex-Vice Admiral. And the Principal is a retired member of the Giant Pirates. Both of those titles makes them strong by default, and they deal with the serpent. But there’s still the question as to how it showed up. And why it looks like something that was drawn by a kid.

This is Just EVIL!

But that’s not the worst of it. That serpent was just a distraction. While everyone was panicking, the God’s Knights snuck in and put a bunch of kids from Colon’s class to sleep, before leading them away from the school Pied-Piper style. With Gunko’s arrows guiding them, they’re sleepwalking straight for the beach, where they will board a ship to take them to Mariejois as hostages. And when the adults try to stop them, they collapse to the ground in pain from touching something invisible.

Oh, and to matters worse, more monsters show up. And they all look like something a kid would draw because they were, in fact, drawn by kids. It was a class activity where the kids had to draw what they were afraid of the most.

I don’t want to wait for the anime to explain it, so I’m just going to spoil it: this is all the doing of the God’s Knights. Specifically, their Devil Fruits. We already know that Gunko can create things out of arrows, but then we have the other two. Sommers can create vines covered in thorns, while Qillingham, besides turning into a mythical beast called a Kirin, can put people to sleep AND manifest anything from their dreams. The former is ensuring that none of the adults can save the kids, while the latter is using their nightmares to create an army of monsters to rampage across Elbaph.

WHY ARE THEY SO EVIL!?!?

Okay, three things. Firstly, a part of me has to respect the bad guy’s plan for how foolproof they’ve made it. The God’s Knights summoned an army of monsters (who are incredibly well-animated, I might add) to keep all the grown-ups busy. And they made sure that even if the adults try to free the kids, they will get badly hurt in the process. It’s a pretty well-thought-out plan, and I gotta respect that. Secondly, though, it is also pure evil. To this day, Sommers ranks at the top five list of One Piece villains I wanna see get fed their own teeth. Because as you will come to learn, he is a sick, depraved sadist. The man is laughing at the despair he wants to put those parents through like he’s the Joker!

And three, and I need you to pay attention to this one: the Straw Hats have a no-tolerance policy for child abuse. Hurting kids in their vicinity is basically signing your own death warrant, because they will show you no mercy. And when they find out about what’s going on, they are going to drop everything and fight. But the scary thing is that they may not be able to do much with who they have right now. They need the Monster Trio if they wanna win this, and they’ve got their own problems. Or so they think.

Yeah, I’m Calling Loki’s Bluff on this

So, Loki is free, as you might recall. However, Luffy and Zoro aren’t complete idiots, so they made sure to keep one of the cuffs made out of sea stone (it suppresses Devil Fruit powers) attached to his leg. So he can’t use his powers. But Devil Fruit or not, he’s still terrifying. Even though he’s sporting some serious injuries from Shamrock and Gunko, he’s still aura farming. And then he grabs that GIGANTIC HAMMER he calls Ragnir, and threatens to use it to set fire to the giant tree that makes up Elbaph. He’s willing to burn his own country to the ground to get his point across!

I know that this makes Loki seem like an irrefutable villain, but if you’ve read the manga, trust me, this is nothing. Plus, he’s bluffing. Regardless of how much trouble he’s caused for his country, Loki does care about Elbaph. Plus, he hates the Celestial Dragons more than anything in existence. He’s not going to let them run roughshod over his home.

Well, I hope you guys are happy now. The chaos has begun and it’s not going to stop! WE WILL CRUSH THE KNIGHTS FOR THEIR CRIMES!!

I Give “Monsters Appear in Elbaph – ‘What I Fear Most'” a 4/5

The Rentaro Family Idol Arc!

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

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You S3 Ep 4

Idols are huge in Japan. J-pop may not have the same reach as K-Pop, but it’s got its fair share of fans, especially among us weebs. But it’s also a grueling and unforgiving environment that will set you alive! But as long as you have a good support system, then it can be just fine, as the Rentaro Family finds for themselves!

It all starts with Hahari being inspired by this insurance commercial about how you only live once. So on a whim, she decides to throw a spring festival (it’s forever spring!) Unfortunately, the week before the festival, the idol group she hired gets injured while rehearsing, so she asks the Family to cover. It’s the start of the idol arc!

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Idol Life Sucks

First rule about being an idol, though: it sucks. The coach Hahari hired is brutal, pointing out how only half of them (Nano, Mei, Mimimi, Iku, and Karane) are able to perform. Hahari, Hakari, and Meme are weighed down by their boobs (two words: sports bras)! Kurumi keeps getting hungry! Shizuka, Chiyo and Kusuri are just bad at dancing, and that’s not even getting into the singing. So the coach is at the end of her rope, and resorts to the cutthroat nature of the idol industry.

I haven’t watched Oshi No Ko in its entirety, and I have no real interest in doing so. But if some of the things that they show about how cutthroat showbiz is in Japan, then this is the norm. Hell, the coach experienced that herself when she had to leave her friend in the lurch. But this is a romcom, not whatever genre Oshi No Ko is. So when the good half is asked to bail on their friends, they all refuse and tell her to get lost. So, Rentaro becomes their coach because he’s such a CHAD!

And then comes the day of the festival when the family is supposed to perform. They sing and dance their hearts out for their boyfriend, but it turns out that idol coach decided to get even. She brought that injured idol group to the festival to sign autographs just to spite them all, which is a horrible thing to do. Good thing Rentaro and Uncle Hiro came prepared with dummies of themselves. And Rentaro sent out flyers that brought a bunch of supporting characters there to watch.

Full disclosure: I have no idea what separates a good idol performance from a bad one. I don’t really care that much as long as the songs are good. But even so, I’m glad that Rentaro got all those people there to watch them perform. Even the idol coach is moved by how hard they’re trying to perform, and in the end, the performance is a huge success.

So much so that the Rentaro Family is actually scouted by a famous music producer who thinks they’ve got the gift and wants to turn them into an actual idol group. And the anime makes it seem like there’s going to be this big arc ahead of us…but it doesn’t happen.

I Think the ‘No Romance’ Thing is Real

The second rule of being an idol: no romance allowed. And this is actually a real thing. The idol business in Japan and Korea insists on their idols being relationship-free to maintain an image of purity and…oh, who am I kidding. They do it because they know that more people will be fans if they can hold onto the fantasy of dating them.

They don’t even hesitate to walk away, LOL. Besides, a ton of them are probably going to be famous anyway one day.

By the way, it should be noted that the anime has skipped over a bunch of manga chapters about one-off misadventures the Rentaro Family gets up to. So I’d recommend that you go give it a read. Plus, there’s also a spin-off about their actual families.   

I Give “The Rentaro Family Idol Legend” a 5/5. And that’s definitely not because Rentaro is threatening me or anything!

Title-Kun Nailed this Episode Perfectly

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, S4 Ep 16 Review

You know what scares me most about getting older? Well, besides the approach of death and the diminishing of my mental faculties. It’s the cynicism. The idea that I could become one of those bitter old men that the heroes in a shonen manga have to fight, like Danzo, the Five Elders, or the leaders of Jujutsu Society. But cynicism isn’t something that you’re born feeling; it’s caused by something. And in this episode of Slime Tensura, we get to see first-hand what made Granville Rozzo the cold, unfeeling jerk that he is.

The Conference is Here

So, the moment that  Luminous has been waiting for is almost upon her: the musical conference brought to her by Rimuru and the citizens of Tempest. Rimuru, his students, Shion, and the musicians arrive in Lubelious a few days ahead of time to enjoy themselves before the conference. They’re all treated to this amazing feast, stuff themselves with food, and then it’s off to bed for the kids. The adults need to have a chat.

So, it goes without saying, but  Luminous decides to say it anyway: she knows Granville and Yuuki are working together. She knows that they’re going to try and crash the conference, but she doesn’t know what their ultimate goal is. What she does know, though, is that Granville is not someone that Rimuru should take lightly; she’s known him for a very, very long time.

A Hero’s fall to Darkness

Hundreds of years ago, Granville was basically the protagonist of his own fantasy story. He was a young, idealistic, and powerful Hero who wanted to protect mankind from the threat of the Demon Lords, with his wife Maria, and this…person called Razul by his side. To that end, they fought Luminous for a while, but then Luminous told them “chill guys! I ain’t interested in killing humans! We can sustain ourselves on just a small amount of blood!” So Granville decided to work for her and help get the West under control. It was going fine, too…until they were betrayed. This one human got bribed by a demon to let them into a wedding they were attending, and during the fighting, Maria was killed.

Maria’s death was Granville’s cynicism catalyst. He had wanted nothing more than for humanity to be safe from beings that could destroy them, only for a human to kill his wife. He saw the best in humanity, but never considered that we can be just as evil as any monster or demon. So that twisted his goal from protecting humanity to “controlling it from the shadows and terminating any threats with prejudice.” Threats like Rimuru.

Honestly, though, the reason why Granville is so against Rimuru isn’t because his granddaughter is dead. It’s because Rimuru’s way of doing things is proof that his way isn’t working. Even worse, it proves that his way of thinking is obsolete. So, rather than bow out, Granville is determined to bring as many down with him, even if he knows he’ll likely lose.

And his plan is nothing if not audacious.

He’s Gonna do What?

So, we already know that Yuuki and Granville plan to do something during the conference so they can steal Luminous’ most prized possession. Besides having Yuuki and the Harlequin’s fight alongside Granville against Luminious and Rimuru, they’ve lured in another party: Demon Lord Leon Cromwell. He’s still looking for Chloe, and he’s starting to piece together that she’s with Rimuru. And one of Yuuki’s agents just told him that Rimuru is planning to sell off the Otherworlder kids to Luminious.

You can see where this is going. They plan on using Leon to help distract Rimuru and Luminous so they can get away with their heist. It’s a crazy plan, and not in the “crazy brilliant” way, but the “crazy stupid” way. Stupid because all Rimuru has to do is speak to Leon with his Nat 20 speech check and explain everything. And stupid because if Leon hurts an ounce of Rimuru’s slimy self, Chloe will hate him for it. And I’m guessing that he’s the kind of big brother who will die from shock if his little sister hates him.

I know that Granville hasn’t had the easiest life, and you can understand why he would turn into such a cynical jerk. But being cynical and not having faith in others is how the world gets worse, not better. And we have enough of that in our world as it is, so I would rather not see it in fiction. Do what you have to do, Rimuru!

I Give “Granville, the Hero of Dawn” a 4/5

Happy Birthday, Norn and Aisha

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Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S3 Ep 5 Review

Fun fact about Mushoku Tensei: did you know that in the world of the series, they don’t celebrate birthdays every year? In that world, birthdays are generally celebrated three times: when someone turns five, when they turn ten, and again at fifteen, where they’re considered legal adults. I don’t think Rudeus ever got a chance to celebrate becoming an adult (biologically), and due to the chaos in their lives, Norn and Aisha actually missed their tenth birthdays. As the new man of the house, it is up to Rudy to fix this!

He loves his sisters so much.

Weddings are so beautiful!

So, it all starts with Cliff and Elinalise’s wedding. I had forgotten about it, but right before Rudy and Elinalise left for Begaritt, Cliff proposed. I guess he does have some CHAD in him. So, we get this nice scene where we see the two of them tie the knot together.

I don’t remember much of it from the light novel, but I think that the whole thing took a lot longer than what we got. Not that I’m complaining, because it was still sweet to see. It even makes Rudeus question if he should have had a ceremony for Roxy and Sylphie but they’re happy with what they got.

No offense to Eris, but I don’t think that she would want that kind of ceremony, either. Her parents would’ve insisted on it, but she would just want to drag Rudy off somewhere and get to the intimacy.

Speaking of which, Elinalise asks Rudy to get her some of that aphrodisiac that Sylphie used to help his impotency as a gift for Cliff.

She bribes him with the promise of talking Sylphie and Roxy into…a threesome. And it works, on every account.

Again, don’t remember much from the light novels, but it still turns out like this. He’s lucky his wives are so open-minded.

Birthday Surprise!

With that out of the way, though, Rudy realizes something important: they missed Norn and Aisha’s 10th birthdays! Thus, the Greyrat family decides to make up for lost time by throwing them a surprise party. This is especially important, since due to their lives have turned out, the girls never got a chance to celebrate their fifth birthday properly. And more importantly for Rudy, hes never had the chance to celebrate their birthdays at all. As such, he wants to go all out. But how to distract them long enough to get everything set up?

He and Roxy take them out fishing while the others set everything up.

The plan is actually two-fold: Norn and Aisha are still not used to having Roxy around. If you’ll recall, Norn made a fuss about her brother marrying another woman. Rudy was hoping that this would help to break the ice. And it actually works. Roxy teaches Norn how to fish, as she’s had plenty of experience from her days as an adventurer. It’s sweet to see the two bond so well.

What was even more entertaining, though, was seeing Rudeus suck at fishing! He was watching Aisha catch them like a pro, and all he got was an old boot. So he resorts to using what is basically Sith Lightning to electrocute the water to catch all the fish. I was shaking my head at the tv and saying how that was just cheating, and Aisha actually said that! Way to be petty, Rudy!

This…this is nice.

After that’s done, it’s time for the party, and it…is just so sweet. Seeing the Greyrat family together, celebrating the girl’s birthdays and how they’ve finally found a new home for themselves is so touching. Yeah, it’s not as cool as the adventures that Rudy has had over the years, but it’s moments like this that make life worth living. And that scene with Zenith…damn. I don’t know if Zenith will ever be back to the way she was before, but just seeing her be able to dote on her daughter and step-daughter like this is just so heartwarming. I think I almost cried watching it.

I need to be taking notes about these moments you guys. I’m hoping to write my own series in the future once I have more time (we need more hands), and I need to keep these slice-of-life moments in mind!

Oh, and I loved the new hat that Rudy got Roxy. She really is the one responsible for the whole family being together again. If she hadn’t trained Rudy, then he, Sylphie, and everyone else might not have survived.

I Give “Celebrations” a 4/5

Loki is Out! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES?

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One Piece Episode 1171 Review

So, we all knew that Loki was going to be let out eventually, right? Even if Luffy would’ve chosen not to do it, the story demanded that this would happen. What with the arrival of the God’s Knights on Elbaph with their evil plan to conquer it? The Straw Hats are gonna need that kind of firepower on their side! And I’m pretty sure that when this all went down in the manga, I was thinking that, despite what his name is, I think his hate-on for the World Government is genuine. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First Luffy and Zoro have to decide whether or not to trust Loki.

Full disclosure: they don’t, so they’re smart about this.

Nothing to see here!

So, while Luffy and Zoro head back down to the Underworld, Nami has Road take her and the injured guards back to the party. The plan is to make sure that no one gets too suspicous and doesn’t try and stop whatever the pair are going to do…I think. Honestly, I don’t think Nami cares that much. She’s upset that she couldn’t get any loot in the castle. Plus, she knows Luffy and Zoro are big boys who can clean up their own messes.

She does manage to come back in time to see Usopp completely wasted, and it’s pretty funny. He has the right to get wasted, though. Seeing Elbaph has been his dream for years now!

https://twitter.com/aniwolf66/status/2081508263514746906?s=20

Sadly, while Nami can keep a secret, her newfound servant is a complete and utter pushover.

DANG IT, ROAD!

Road takes the Castle Guards to Gerd, since she’s a medic and can treat their injuries. But she is smart enough to know that what happened to them is sus as they come. Road tries to lie to her about what’s going on because he doesn’t want that kind of heat on him…but it doesn’t work. His poker face is terrible and Gerd isn’t stupid! He caves super quick.

And that leads to Hajrudin panicking and bringing his crew to the Underworld to keep Luffy from…well, being Luffy. But they stupidly forgot their ships don’t work without clouds, so they almost fall to their deaths. If Luffy hadn’t been there to save them, then everyone except for Gerd would’ve died. Why Gerd? Because Sanji came along and he probably would’ve done something.

THANK YOU, ZORO!

By this point in time, Luffy and Zoro had already made it back to Loki, and they were appalled to see what had happened while they were away. Zoro’s horrible bedside manners confirm that he’s still breathing, but when Luffy goes to use the key, he almost passes out. That’s what happens when he touches sea prism stone, though. As for Zoro, he’s more skeptical and doesn’t want to free the Giant since he knows what would happen if he went on a rampage.

Zoro may not be that smart, and he’s got a horrible sense of direction, but at least he’s got a good sense for things like this. So they compromise by keeping the leg cuffs on so he can’t use his Devil Fruit powers. And that’s when Harjudin and the others show up and almost die.

And then, Loki gets up. And holy cow, was it amazing, you guys! The animation was top-notch for this one moment as we get to see just how big Loki really is. He’s massive. Like the size of the Colossal Titan! That’s terrifying!

Good thing that he can’t do much now, can he?

Loki is Bluffing!

Look, guys. Loki just got his butt kicked by Shamrock and Gunko. He’s in a lot of pain and losing a lot of blood. There’s no way that he can fight at his full power right now. Plus, he’s got bigger fish to fry. The God’s Knights are here.

I don’t remember if the scene of them approaching the Walrus School was in the manga or not, but…I was scared. I was scared because I knew what was about to happen to those kids, and how the adults were not going to be able to stop it. That’s got to be terrifying if you’re a parent!

So, it’s about to begin.

I Give “The Heinous Sinner – Loki of the Underworld Freed?!” a 3/5