Anime Blog

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

Mushoku Tensei Season 3 First Look!

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

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!

TBATE Ends Disappointing First Season

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

The Beginning After the End Ep 12 Review

Many kids dream of living a life of adventure, but since few ever do, they turn to fiction. In Arthur’s case, though, he’s actually getting to live the dream. At the tender age of nine (but the mental of forty-three), Arthur has left home (again) to become an adventurer! Unfortunately, like many things in The Beginning After the End anime, events are…lackluster.

You Call That a Fight?

Firstly, I should apologize about the preview for this episode included at the end of the review for the last one. That scene doesn’t happen until the end of this episode, so it might have spoiled some things. Most of this episode is really focused on the process of Arthur becoming an adventurer. That means that he needs to take a test in the form of a duel. And, unfortunately, that also means that the anime lets everyone down once again.

Even with the low bar that Studio A-Cat has set in terms of animation, the fight between Arthur and Kaspian, the Guildmaster who decided to administer the test himself, is bad. Firstly, the show fools people into thinking the fight would be glossed over, only for it to be told in flashback a few minutes later. The fight itself is not that impressive to look at, the characters movements are stiff, and when Arthur is parrying blows, you can see that they’re reusing the same animation to save money. Plenty of animated series reuse animation to save money, especially in fight scenes, but the best ones do a better job of hiding it!

Narratively speaking, though, the fight is supposed to serve as yet another wake-up call for Arthur. He’s gotten so used to being strong that he’s become complacent. That’s the opposite of what he promised he would be when he was reborn. With this and his fight with the headmistress of Xyrus serving as wake-up calls, Arthur decides to rededicate himself to continual growth.

Remember these People

It should also be noted that this sequence serves as an introduction to two people who will come to play important roles in Arthur’s life: Lucas Sykes and Elijah Knight. The former is a human-elf hybrid fathered out of wedlock with an elf slave by a rich noble, so he’s got an inferiority complex and massive ego. The latter is a human raised by dwarves. If you decide to sit through the second season, remember these two. They will be important!

Sadly, the only other important thing in this episode is learning Jasmine’s backstory. She was born into a family of fire mages who thought their element was the best, and they disowned her when she proved talented in wind magic. It’s a very in-your-face nod to the original Avatar: The Last Airbender and how the majority of the Fire Nation convinced themselves they were better than everyone else. But as Arthur points out, that’s a matter of preference and no one element is superior, just like how no way of life is superior.

Also, Tessia has been spying on her future man, and she’s not happy with him being around another woman.

What a Waste

With that, season one (or first cours) of The Beginning After the End. And despite TurtleMe trying to put a positive spin on things, it’s obvious that TBATE is one of the biggest misfires of 2025. TurtleMe got screwed over by Studio A-Cat, who did a poor job of bringing his story to life. The fans got screwed over because its unlikely the show will make it to a third season. And worst of all, TBATE itself got screwed over. It could’ve been the next big isekai, but it got wrecked. However, that shouldn’t discourage people from reading the web novel and web comic. Both are better than what the anime gave us, and TurtleMe deserves the support. For those who stuck around until then, you deserve a trophy.

I Give “The King’s Departure” a 2.5/5

Wait, Is Axel the Key to Everything?

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

Lazarus Ep 10 Review

Six days; that is all the time the world has left before the first users of Hapna start dying. Time is running out for the majority of humanity, and Lazarus still has no idea where Dr. Skinner could be. Yet all is not lost, as the team might have not just one, but two possible leads they can use to track down Skinner. One of them requires Leland to face his past, while the other reveals an astonishing connection to another member of Lazarus: Axel.

Society is Falling Apart

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

With less than a week before Hapna becomes fatal, society is starting to break down. People are starting to break out in fevers from Hapna, hospitals are being overwhelmed, and governments are shutting down. No sense in remaining active if most of humanity dies. And herein lies a slight problem with how the story of Lazarus is going: the lack of time.

Skinner claimed that he has the cure for Hapna on him, hence the entire purpose of Lazarus is to find him in time. However, even if they find him now, mass-producing the cure in time will be next to impossible. Millions of people are going to die before they get their hands on it. Maybe the story will pull off something amazing, but unless the cure can be spread via aerosol form, people are going to die. And one of the team might be among them.

Wait, Leland is HOW RICH!?!

In any case, Lazarus might have a real breakthrough on their hands. That pill that Chris found at Skinner’s estate wasn’t the cure for Hapna. What it was was an antiplatelet medication used by people who have had artificial heart transplants. They realize that Skinner must have gotten surgery after going into hiding, yet finding no records of it, the team starts looking into a rumored clinic for the elite that does procedures in exchange for high amounts of money. That’s when Leland comes in to help them, revealing he has a secret he’s kept from everyone.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

It turns out that Leland comes from money. He’s the illegitimate child of a deceased aristocrat whose family he’s on poor terms with. To make things even more awkward, as the only surviving son, the family rules say that he’s the head of the family, much to the anger of his older half-sister. Their reunion is an incredibly tense one, and one that Doug and Axel have to see firsthand at his own request.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Family can often be messy, especially in situations as complicated as what Leland grew up with. However, in a nice change of pace, the older sister isn’t just upset about Leland being the heir instead of her. She’s also upset at how little he’s tried to get to know his family. With the world on the verge of ending, people want to get their priorities straight. So, Leland agreeing to spend a few days with her is, honestly, a very touching thing.

In the end, Leland’s sister pulls through, and she gets him to see Skinner’s doctor, who confirms that he did get an artificial heart. Normally, that comes with a stream of data they can track but, Skinner being Skinner, he encrypted it. Furthermore, it doesn’t lead them to Skinner, but Eleina figures out that it’s being monitored by their old friend, Popcorn Wizard, in Pakistan. That leads her and Doug to head to Pakistan on another lead. As they do so, though, Elenia starts to show signs of a fever.

Uh-oh.

Axel Could be the Key to Everything

As promising as that lead might be, there’s another one that might be even more promising.

Remember the incident where Chris faked her death? The Schiphol Airport incident. Official reports say that it was a bio-chemical attack by terrorists, but as Hersch and Abel, the head of the NSA discover, that was a lie. In reality, government incompetence led to a shootout between INSCOM and Airport security, with Skinner caught in the middle. The firefight wound up unleashing an airborne, prototype version of Hapna. That is what killed everyone, and it left Skinner a changed man.

If you recall, INSCOM are the ones who hired that assassin to kill Axel for unknown reasons. Those reasons might have become a lot clearer in this episode, though. As it turns out, that same Hapna prototype was tested on prison inmates. And out of all of those inmates, only one managed to survive: Axel Gilberto.

Axel is in Trouble

This revelation could change everything. When a disease is threatening a large population, such as humans, there’s often going to be a small number of people with a natural immunity. Is it possible that Axel is immune to Hapna? Or was it just a fluke? Either way, it’s enough to get Hersch to send Axel looking for the prison doctor responsible for the test. Unfortunately, that’s when the INSCOM assassin, Soryu, makes his move.

This is not good. Not only would the death of Axel mean killing off the main protagonist, but if Axel really is the key to curing Hapna, then INSCOM could be dooming mankind to extinction. With the preview for the next episode showing a full-on battle about to take place, it could be the most important episode of the series. No matter what, Axel cannot die.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

This is going to be good!

I Give “I Can’t Tell You Why” a 4.5/5

The Second Coming of Vicious

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

Lazarus Ep 9 Review

If a show gets to the point where even it wonders why things aren’t going fast enough, then you know something is wrong. Ten days are left before the first people to take Hapna start dying, and Lazarus is no closer to catching him. And now, they’ve come under the scrutiny of the US Government, which is looking to shut them down. And what’s worse, some of them are willing to go off the books and hire the second coming of Vicious to take care of one of them.

So, after their excursion to rescue Chris in the previous episode, the people in charge of Lazarus are not happy. From their perspective, the team, whose sole job is to find Dr. Skinner, has just been messing around. Thus, they bring Hersch and her boss before a committee to complain about them not doing their jobs.

While the audience knows that Lazarus has been looking for Skinner this whole time, it would make sense why the US government is losing patience. This is essentially the show calling itself out for the fact that it’s made little headway in advancing the overall plot, something that fans are already doing on social media. The suits even bring Leland in to have him testify against his teammates, though he doesn’t take the bait. However, as Axel and Doug themselves discuss, there is a very real chance that they could get silenced after they fulfill their job. And they’re right to think that, as we soon learn.

Everything gets put on the back burner, though, as Skinner decides to up the ante with another announcement (Start at 20:12):

Skinner Changed the Game

This completely reframes the entire mission. If they don’t find Skinner, he will die, and so will any chance of curing Hapna. It might not make sense for Skinner to not take the antidote, but given how he seems to view humanity as a problem, he’s holding himself to those standards. That, and even if only a handful of people survive, the world will be very empty for thousands of years.

Though Lazarus might already have the cure for Hapna in there possession. As Chris is getting dressed, she finds the pill that she took from Skinner’s home. I guessed it was either a clue to his whereabouts or a flat-out cure, but the fact that it’s being brought up now means it’s important. It could be the key to solving everything.

There are bigger concerns now, though, as members of the government are after someone from Lazarus: Axel.

Vicious Has been Reborn

For some unknown reason, members of INSCOM see Axel as a threat. Perhaps it has something to do with how he wound up in prison in the first place, but apparently, it’s enough for them to warrant hiring a black-ops assassin to take him out. And the final minutes of the episode are dedicated to exclusively showing how dangerous he is in what can only be described as the second coming of Vicious.

If Axel is the modern-day Spike Spiegel, this assassin is Vicious. And if he is after Axel, then Lazarus is going to have a hard time.

This entire episode was, for all intents and purposes, meant to set the show up for the final act by raising the stakes. There are only ten days left before Skinner dies, the US Government goes after Lazarus, and now there’s an assassin after Axel. The stakes have been raised to new heights. Hopefully, the last four episodes will see the team finally make headway!

I Give “Death on Two Legs” a 3.5/5

Arthur Become a Teacher for a New Friend

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

The Beginning After the End Ep 9 Review

When you’re a kid, there are few things as scary as the expectations of your parents. The pressure can make some kids crack from trying to meet it. Other kids choose to rebel against their parents expectations, especially if said parent happens to be of the abusive kind. Fortunately, Mr. And Mrs. Helstea are not bad parents. Unfortunately, as Arthur Leywin sees for himself, just because they’re good parents doesn’t mean they don’t saddle their daughter, Lilia, with the stress of expectations.

It’s time for the King to have an intervention.

Poor Lilia’s Insecurities

The episode starts off with Arthur in the middle of an intense training session as he’s trying to master Sylvia’s powers. However, using what is essentially “Za Warudo” is not something that a kid can fully master, much to his frustration. His concerns, though, take a backseat as his family (and Mrs. Helstea and Lilia) take him out to get a makeover. The entire experience serves as a means for Arthur to bond with his family while also revealing just how valuable the beast core Sylvia gave him really is. If people knew he had the beast core of a dragon…let’s just say that he would be the most wanted person alive.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Besides the trip serving as a way to introduce Arthur to the value of what he has gotten, it also serves as a means for him to get to learn Lilia better. And thanks to his past-life xp, he’s able to realize just how much pressure the girl has put upon herself. Her parents, being good parents, want the best for her and hope that she does great things in life. And attending the Xyrus Academy could be the key to doing that. Unfortunately, there’s a mathematical formula at work that is not helping things:

Lilia’s insecurity over not having a mana core+envy at Arthur already having one+parental expectations and unintentional pressures+chance they could pay her way into enrollment=DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN.

Wait…why does Lilia sound a lot like Norn Greyrat?

I Got Norn Flashbacks

When it comes to this episode, the anime changes several things from the story in the webcomic to focus more on the plight of Lilia. Whether intentional or not, this makes what Lilia is going through feel similar to the issues that Norn Greyrat from Mushoku Tensei would undergo. Both are unintentionally overshadowed by someone better than them; both don’t like having to meet others’ expectations or what they think are other’s expectations. And both initially have negative feelings towards the main protagonist. Lilia is just more subdued about it.

Arthur, having grown to understand people better, realizes how bad things could get if they aren’t resolved now. So, he does something about them. It’s just that it is…morally questionable.

This is Not what happened in the Comic

In a major departure from the webcomic, Arthur has Lilia pretend to run away to stay with the Elves like he did, even having a note written. He only did this so that Lilia could see how much her parents cared about her, and to his credit, it does help them work things out. However, it’s still a little messed up to emotionally manipulate people like that.

In any event, Arthur says that he’s going to help Lilia gain her mana core, and he follows through on it. Using the same methods he perfected as a baby, he’s able to teach Lilia (and Ellie) how to start assembling their cores…and it works. It will take a few years, but Lilia will eventually be able to use Magic!

This was a really sweet episode of TBATE, as it shows just how far Arthur has come since being reborn. He’s better able to understand other people and relate to them, and thanks to that, he’s got a loving home, family, and now another friend in the form of Lilia. There’s just one problem: when Tessia finds out, things could get…ugly. But that’s not for a few years!

I Give “The King Teaches” a 3.5/5

Arthur Has a Baby Sister, and She’s So Cute!

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

The Beginning After the End Ep 8 Review

At long last, Arthur Leywin is home! It took him three years and more solo traveling than most eight-year-olds, but it was worth it to get back to his family. And more importantly, he finally gets to meet the sibling that he almost died trying to protect. The only question is, what will Arthur do now?

That, and just how cute can his baby sister possibly get?

Family Reunion

Thanks to that post-credits scene at the end of the last episode, the anime jumps the gun on Arthur’s reunion with his family. It doesn’t change much, but it does take away some of the inherent heartwarming nature that such a reunion entails. That, and it spoils the fact that Arthur now has a little sister.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Meet Eleanor Leywin, Arthur’s baby sister of about three or four years old. And like most kids at that age, she’s adorable and impressionable, innocently repeating curse words her dad uses without understanding why they’re bad for someone her age. Once her parents explain that Arthur is the big brother she never met, though, Ellie quickly warms up to Arthur, as well as Sylvie. Who, if she sees Arthur as her papa, makes Eleanor her aunt.

Arthur tells his family everything that happened to him while he was away…to an extent. He lies about meeting Sylvia out of respect for her desire to tell as few people as possible. Given how someone was out to kill Sylvia, the fewer people who know for now, the better. That, and it’s doubtful most adults would believe that Arthur was saved by a talking dragon.

What Will Arthur Do Now?

At any rate, the main points of focus for the episode beyond the Leywin family reunion are Arthur’s growth and what his future will be like. Through exposition, the anime reveals the different stages behind the Mana Core that serves as the heart of the use of magic in TBATE. And thanks to his training arc, Arthur is already close to being on his Dad’s level. Since Reynolds is a more restrained version of Paul Greyrat, Arthur finds himself immediately dragged into a sparring session with his old man out back. And, while the special effects for the magic remain subpar, the fighting animation continues to show improvements.

No, really. Arthur and Reynolds’ friendly bout is not that badly animated. No use of still images to convey the illusion of combat; just actual combat. And, again, while the way the anime chooses to animate magical aura’s is still an eyesore, it makes up for it by confirming what last episode should’ve had us suspecting: Arthur can potentially learn how to use all four basic elements. He’s basically like the Avatar!

All of this is also witnessed by the wealthy Helstea family, old friends of the Leywin’s who allowed them to move in with them in exchange for Reynolds helping guard the auction house they own. And as soon as Mr. Vincent Helstea sees what Arthur can do, he gets the idea of enrolling him in Xyrus Academy. AKA TBATE’s version of Ranoa University or Hogwarts.

Which brings us to the second main focus of the episode: Arthur’s future. He’s only eight years old, but even ignoring his past life, he’s already got more life experience than other kids his age. Whatever he wants to do, he’ll excel at it. However, enrolling in a school like that will mean that he can’t spend as much time with his family, and he just reunited with them. Considering how Arthur devoted his first life to his rise to being a king, it’s likely that he won’t want to let his time with his family go to waste. However, there might be another option that he’s considering. And, as fate would have it, it seemingly gets introduced at the end of the episode.

Did the Anime Skip Stuff Again?

It should be noted that Arthur does eventually reunite with the Twin Horns Party in the webcomic like he does in the anime. However, that reunion doesn’t take place until after Arthur has already settled back in with his family, and after several other events already take place. The fact that the anime moved this up means they’ve either rearranged the order of some events, or they’re skipping over some. If it’s the latter, then that bodes ill for the story, as some of those events are important plotwise. Given how I’ve stuck with TBATE thus far, though, I’m willing to continue giving it the benefit of the doubt. With the show starting to show some promise, it would be a shame if it were to fail now.

This was a nice episode, overall. Getting to see Arthur reunite with his family and meet his baby sister was a very sweet moment. Getting to see Sylvie and Eleanor bond, though, was downright adorable to look at!

I Give “Reunited With the King” a 3.5/5

It’s Time for Arthur…to Have a Training Arc

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

The Beginning After the End Ep 6 Review

Ever since he got separated from them by bandits, all Arthur has wanted is to return to his family. His stay with Sylvia helped him get ready for the journey, and his detour to help Tessia get home to her own family had slowed him down. That selfless act, though, might have paid off by giving him his best chance to get back to his parents, only for him to learn that that might have to wait. Whatever power Sylvia gave him, his body can’t handle it yet. So, he either stays in the land of the elves, who aren’t too welcoming of him, and trains, or takes his chances by going home and potentially dying.

At least he has a friend in Tessia, though.

When Your Daughter Brings Home a Boy

As the last episode managed to establish, Elves are not too fond of Humans. Given how the events that led to Arthur meeting Tess involved her being captured by slavers, the feeling is not unwarranted and likely mutual on Humans part. So, despite being happy that Arthur saved their only daughter, the King and Queen of the elves aren’t happy that her grandfather wants to take him in as his apprentice. Doing so would mean that A.) a human would be living in the home of the elven royal family for an extended period, and b.) that human is also a boy Tessia’s age.

Anyone who has ever had a daughter will likely sympathize with what Tessia’s father is feeling. His little girl is only five, and she’s already bought a strange boy him. Worse, if he tries to throw him out, Tessia will hate him, making it a lose-lose situation.

Jokes aside, a big part of this episode focuses how important her friendship with Arthur is to Tessia. It’s all but stated that Arthur had no friends in his first life, so Tess is likely the first friend he’s had since he was young. Tessia, on the other hand, has only ever had “friends” who just wanted to take advantage of her princess status. That led her to close herself off to anyone outside her family, hence why she can act so aggressive at times. As her grandfather notes, having Arthur around has made her happier than she’s been in years.

This will be Tough for Arthur, but he will be Fine

Unfortunately for Arthur, the majority of the Elves don’t extend that sentiment. As soon as Tess takes him out to play, he’s accosted by a snooty elf who looks down on him. Thankfully, he shows that he’s not to be messed with in short order.

The more important thing about this episode is that Virion introduces to his friend Xinia, who uses her magic to let Arthur contact his parents. Thanks to that, he’s able to let his grief-stricken parents know he’s alive, but that he can’t come home yet. With that out of the way, though, he’s free to work on fixing his inner power. Which means it’s time for him to undergo his first training arc.

And with that, the first (webcomic) season of The Beginning After the End comes to a conclusion. It was a little rocky at first due to the animation, but once you get past that, the series does have its own rough charm to it. Next time we see Arthur, though, he’ll be bigger and stronger and likely closer to Tessia than ever! Here’s hoping that the animation improves some more!

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

I Give “The King’s Training” a 4/5

Don’t. Drink. THE KOOL-AID.

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

Lazarus Ep 6 Review

Have you ever heard the phrase “Drinking the Kool-Aid?” It became popular in the aftermath of the Jonestown Massacre, an event in which almost a thousand Americans from the cult of the People’s Temple killed themselves in mass suicide via poisoned drinks. While the drinks weren’t made with Kool-Aid, but a different brand, the phrase still has the same meaning: buying into a idea that is incredibly stupid and self-destructive. I.E. trying to kill yourself because a deranged cult leader says so. Unfortunately for Lazarus, their next lead on locating Skinner has to be in one such cult. And everyone there is about to drink the Kool-Aid.

It should also be noted that this marks the first episode since the pilot where a character doesn’t open things with a monologue.

An AI Cult

Having come up with no leads about Skinner for the umpteenth time, Lazarus changes tactics again. They find an old article about how Skinner once visited this Neo-Luddite commune that worships this AI called Naga as a god. They think it’s a good hiding place for Skinner, but since they can’t hack into Naga, Elenia and Leland have to sneak in.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The twist: this cult, Tower of the Truth, is where Elenia grew up before, perhaps wisely, running away. It gets even crazier, though, when it’s revealed that Naga the AI was based on the brain patterns of Dr Skinner. And because they didn’t know to leave well enough alone, the scientists at MIT that created Naga added in a desire for power and need for control.

Artificial intelligence has long been a staple of science fiction, but for every example of one that doesn’t go nuts, there are multiple examples of Hal, Skynet, Ultron, and the Absolute Solver. With AI starting to get more and more powerful in recent years, there is a legitimate concern that they could go mad with power and destroy humanity. It’s why the Three Laws of Robotics are a concept, and why people are urging AI not to be abused. And unfortunately for the Tower of the Truth, Naga’s creators did the exact opposite by giving him a god complex. And in an effort to prove its own divinity, Naga plans to have the entire cult commit suicide by immolation. It’s having them drink the Kool-Aid and go full Jonestown!

This is Why Need to Not Be Dumb With AI

The entire episode is more or less a cautionary tale about two things: the dangers of unethical AI, and the dangers of living a life isolated from any outside information. While the Tower members aren’t wrong about the world being filled with a lot of bad things, shutting themselves off from life means they don’t understand why trying to commit mass suicide is a terrible idea. Then again, Skinner suckered most of humanity into drinking another kind of Kool-Aid in pill form, so…

Fortunately for Elenia and Leland, they manage to convince one of her only friends in the cult to save them, and Lazarus is able to stop the drinking of Kool-Aid before most of them die. The only casualty is the leader of the cult, an Ex-MIT scientist who became obsessed with Naga in the first place. As for Naga, he survives, only to get told off for being nuts by Axel and likely destined for deactivation/execution.

Things aren’t a total loss, though. Lazarus managed to recover Naga’s memory banks, so if the AI had any other contact with Skinner, they can find it. It’s probably going to be another wild goose chase, but maybe we’ll be surprised this time. At least we won’t have to worry about the Kool-Aid anymore!

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

I Give “Heaven is a Place on Earth” a 4/5

Arthur Gains a Teacher

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

The Beginning After the End Ep 5 Review

If you stick with something for long enough, there’s a chance it might end up being better than how it started. If that’s true, then maybe TBATE is finally starting to get better. With the post-credits scene from the last episode ending with Arthur being held at sword point by the Elves of Tessia’s homeland, things did not look good. It looked as though Arthur might be in even more trouble, with Tessa seemingly indifferent to his plight. What makes things more surprising, though, is how this is actually a step up from what happened in the webcomic!

For the first time, the TBATE anime has one-upped its source material.

What Happened in the Webcomic

In the original webcomic, Arthur and Tessia’s arrival in the Elven city is far more lighthearted in tone. The reaction Arthur has when learning that Tessia is the Princess of the Elf Kingdom is more comedic and the attitude of the other Elves is more respectful. Whatever suspicions they had, the fact that Arthur returned with Tessia safe and sound warrants a little courtesy.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By contrast, the sight of the Elves outright attempting to arrest or kill Arthur could be seen as an improvement on the source material. Not only do the adults’ hostile attitudes increase the tension, but they also drive home just how deeply distrustful the Elves are of Humans for things like slavery. Thankfully, once Tess snaps out of whatever trance she was in, the sweet girl is Arthur’s biggest defender. The sight of her innocently taking Arthur home with her without any prejudice is the kind of thing we should all want to see our kids do.

The original webcomic is already good, but this was probably the first time the anime managed to improve upon things. As funny as Arthur’s reaction to learning his new friend is royalty (and he chews her out over it later), the anime’s decision to have Arthur’s life depend on his ability to talk things through feels more realistic and dramatic.

This episode really helps to hammer home the idea that TBATE seems to be at its best when it’s not focused on the fighting. Instead, the character interactions and the resulting drama help to keep people interested despite not looking as good as other anime. Case in point, when Tessia’s grandfather, the former King Virion, takes an interest in Arthur, he invites him to scrap together. The resulting fight once again shows the series’ criticized “PowerPoint fights,” as the fight isn’t that impressive. That being said, the show does make an effort to include some actual animation.

At Least the Fighting’s Getting Better

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The fight isn’t really what’s important, though. What is truly important is what happens afterward. The reveal of the cause behind Arthur’s increasing chest pains, as well as the fact that they will eventually kill him if left unchecked, is handled well by the anime. As is Virion’s offer to train Arthur as his apprentice. The alternative, though, is what will eventually happen if Arthur doesn’t get help for his chest pains: they’re the result of Sylvia giving him some of her power. And since his body can’t handle it yet, he’ll die if nothing is done.

With Arthur’s plans on returning to his family now on hold for the time being, the show looks set to settle into the land of the Elves for a few episodes. Here’s hoping that things improve for the anime’s sake, or it’s not going to last past the first season.

I Give “The King’s Test” a 3/5