anime dubbed

Code Red: the Mad Dog is back!

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Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S3 Eps 1 & 2 Review

It’s been a long two years, you guys, but we’re finally back with the new season of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. The Isekai series is more popular than ever, so much so that when Crunchyroll put out their trailer for the summer season, they had Eris as the thumbnail on YouTube.

And speaking of Eris Boreas Greyrat, it’s pretty much an open secret that this will be the season that will see her reunite with “her man.” But before that happens, the story decided to shed some light on what she was up to during her training arc. In the light novels, we got this in the form of side stories sprinkled through each volume. The manga took it a step further by giving her own spin-off about some of her adventures. But now, it’s time to see what the Mad Dog has been up to on her anime training arc. Or, as I call her, the Heartbreaker.

Yes, I am holding what Eris did to Rudeus over her, and I will do so for as long as I please.

Where did Eris go?

The season premiere starts up in the aftermath of the moment that changed Rudy and Eris’ lives forever: the night they traded v-cards, but now from her perspective. And, already, we have a moment where I think the anime doesn’t do the story justice found in the manga or light novels. In the manga, the moment when Eris notes how small Rudeus’ hand is compared to hers, I think she starts to have PTSD-induced flashbacks of Orsted. Seeing her boyfriend come close to dying with her unable to do anything about it was, hands down, the worst moment of her life, and something that she NEVER wants to see happen again. Hence why she decides to go on her training arc to the place Ghislaine learned how to use a sword, the Sword God Sanctum, up north of the Asura Kingdom.

Oh, sweet Eris. I get why she chose to do this, but I really wish she had added an extra sentence to her goodbye letter. Something like “Think you can wait another five years for me?” Or anything to indicate you were coming back. But that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to see what the Mad Dog did while training.

The Mad Dog Goes on an ABSOLUTE TEAR!

So, after some time on the road with Ghislaine, the two make to the Sword Sanctum, run by Ghislaine’s old teacher, the Sword God Gal Farion. AKA one of the seven strongest people in the world. And the first thing that Eris says to him?

And then when Gal gives her a chance by dueling one of his students:

And then he has her duel his daughter, Nina, who you might recognize from the second season. But look:

She made the girl wet herself! If it wasn’t for Gal deciding to spar with her, she probably wouldn’t have stopped until she had beaten everyone in the dojo. But Gal is so impressed with her that not only will he train her, but makes her a Sword Saint on spot!

I couldn’t help but laugh at this entire scene! That’s our Mad Dog for you! I can’t wait for the dub to hear Lindsay Seidel’s voice again!

The animation is still awesome!

Enjoyment about getting to see Eris again aside, the real winner of these two episodes has to be the animation. I know that the anime dipped in quality in the second season, though I can’t quite tell when. What I can say is that the quality picked up in these two episodes. Every time we see Eris train or fight someone, we see how good the animation looks. More than that, though, I was impressed with how the show changes Eris’ look. At some point in the first episode, we see Eris’ facial features lose their childishness and become sharper, symbolizing how she’s coming closer to full adulthood like Rudeus. It’s a nice touch. It also highlights why Eris is called the Mad Dog by her peers. Not that she cares. She only cares about beating Orsted, and that means learning as much as possible from everyone. Including the other sword styles.

But first, she has to start coming out of her shell.

This moment had me laughing!

By the time of the second episode, some time has passed, and Nina has taken it upon herself to be Eris’ rival. Eris couldn’t care less, but when Nina tries to shame her by saying she’d be a virgin forever, Eris hits her with the Uno Reverse Card.

Nina denies it at first, but the more she learns about him, the more she realizes that Eris wasn’t lying. Not only was her self-proclaimed rival beating her in the sword, but in romance. So she comes up with the half-baked plan to go to Ranoa, kidnap Rudeus, and drag him back as her servant to make Eris jealous. Which is how she wound up present in the second season with the Beastmen and Badigadi and sees what happens.

She promptly returns home, now enlightened as to why Eris trains like a woman possessed. And that leads her to become a lot nicer to Eris.

Eris has friends that aren’t Rudeus or Ruijerd?

The crux of the second episode is mostly about getting Eris to come out of her shell as a person. She’s always been aggressive and off-putting to a lot of people, but if you earn her trust, then she’ll sing your praises, as Rudeus knows. Case in point, Gal invites the Water God and her apprentice, Isolte, to train her and Nina, with each of them managing to balance each other out. Eris can beat Nina, Isolte beats Eris, and Nina beats Isolte. It’s a balance of equals that leads all of them to spur each other on. Before long, the three of them actually become friends. And then, we get this awesome, anime-original moment where we see how Eris get this awesome jacket that will become sort of her trademark in the series.

This is the stuff that I have been waiting two years to see, you guys! And it was worth the wait! I can’t wait to see more of this season, because we’re about to head into the best part of the entire series.

I Give “Burn Bright, Mad Dog” and “Howl, Mad Dog” a 4.5/5 Each

What if Eris came back years earlier?

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Early Arrival-A Mushoku Tensei Fanfic Pt 2

Hello, everyone! RJ Writing Ink here and I’m so happy to say that Mushoku Tensei is back for another season. And more importantly, Eris “The Heartbreaker” Greyrat is about to become relevant to the story once more! If you have read my recap of the first season of the show, or the way I mentioned her in season two, then you know my opinion on Eris: her decision to go on an anime training arc for the sake of her boyfriend, while well-intentioned, was horribly executed. And that when she returns to Rudy, she is going to have to work like crazy to make up for the three years of depression she gave him. But what if there was a fanfic that already did that ahead of time? And what if that fanfic was one that I had already brought up?

Some time ago, I put the spotlight on Early Arrival, this canon-divergent fanfic where Rudy ran into Sylphie, Ariel, and Luke as they were fleeing to Ranoa. He and Sylphie spend an entire year dating, helping him heal his trauma, couple, and then tie the knot even sooner than in the canon. I couldn’t talk about the story past a certain point because I didn’t want to spoil something big. However, with the third season now here, and with us already knowing that Eris is going to come back, I’m free to talk about it. Why? Well, while I can’t say when Eris returns in the canon, what I can say is that it happens much earlier in Early Arrival. And the results are pretty cathartic, if I do say so myself.

Name: Early Arrival

Type of Fanfic: AU

Written By: GameGladiator46

Started: April 2024

Status: Ongoing

What if Eris Tried to Stop Nina?

So, if you saw the second episode of the new season, then you’ll know about Nina, that blue-haired girl who showed up during that thing with Badigadi. She had shown up so she could beat Rudy, drag him back to that sword school, and show him off to Eris because she was jealous Eris had a boyfriend. It didn’t work out, and as far as I know, Eris never knew about this in canon. But that changes in Early Arrival.

In this fanfic, Eris hears about what Nina is up to and, rather than let her bother Rudy, she attempts to head her off without him finding out. She shows up just in time to stop her, but unfortunately, they get into a fight that attracts a crowd, including Ariel, Luke, and Sylphie.

I’m not sure if it’s mentioned in the anime, but in the light novels, when Sylphie learns about Eris and how she broke Rudy’s heart and left him depressed, she was mad. She said that she would beat Eris up if they ever ran into each other, leaving Rudy genuinely worried for her safety and asking her not to. In this fanfic, though, we get to see Sylphie try to make good on that threat, because the second she sees Eris, she knew it was her. The heartbreaker. And when she hears that Eris didn’t even plan on seeing him, she snaps. She proudly tells Eris that she’s Rudeus’ wife and that she lost her man because of her own mistake.

After that, Eris was pretty much seeing red until the moment Rudy left his hiding place in the library and sees everything. So he grabs Eris and drags her somewhere to talk in private.

Rudy just tears into Eris, and it is SO CATHARTIC

Now, in this story, Rudy had already figured out Eris’ reason for leaving him thanks to Sylphie. He had thought he could talk to her rationally. But the moment she asks him why he didn’t wait for her, all this resentment and frustration he had burst out. And he goes off on her for everything. For the letter. For leaving him so depressed that he wouldn’t leave his tent for a week. For crippling his self-worth as a man to the point that he got ED for a year. Everything. Eris is brought to tears by the end of it!

I absolutely loved this moment in the story. As a reader, we are supposed to understand the logic behind Eris’ decision to leave. She was traumatized by what happened with Orsted, so she went on a training arc to make sure she could protect Rudy. And I respect her self-awareness of the fact that she was too dependent on her boyfriend and had to get stronger. We are supposed to understand why, but at the same time, we get mad over how she went around doing it. And since I don’t know if anyone ever calls her out on it in the story, we have to rely on fanfics to vent our frustrations at Eris. And the writer manages to do so while keeping Eris and Rudy perfectly in character. I tend to go for the higher-quality fanfics, so the fact that I liked this is a testament to how good I think it is. I would’ve wanted it to spend more time on Sylphie and Eris’ fight so they could get their feelings out, but other than that, it felt great. Incredibly cathartic.

And after this, a lot of things change for the story.

Eris moves in

So, despite everything that’s happened, Eris is still in love with Rudeus, and despite being committed to Sylphie, he’s still in love with her. So, much like what we saw at the end of the second season with Roxy, Rudy asks Sylphie for her permission to eventually marry Eris. And Sylphie, bless her heart, can’t bring herself to be mad at Eris, and lets her join their family. But WITH STIPULATIONS!

  • Eris can’t sleep with Rudy for a year as punishment for making Sylphie wait that long.
  • Sylphie calls dibs on their first kid.

And that’s it. Eris starts to live with them, with plans to go back to the sword sanctum later to finish her training. She starts going to school with Rudy and Sylphie, meets their friend group. And most of what happens in the canon still happens. Except for one thing, and I am so glad that it happens.

I always wondered if that would happen

By now, we all know how Paul died saving Rudy from that Hydra. And for the longest time, I have wondered if it was possible to keep that from happening. I concluded that this would have only been possible if Eris and Ghislaine had been a part of the group. With their additional swordsmanship augmenting the Black Wolf Fangs, it stands to reason that the party could take the Hydra down sooner, and thus spare Paul’s life. Thankfully, this fanfic validates that idea. When Rudy and Elinalise set off to help rescue Zenith, Eris and Ghislaine join them, bolstering the overall party’s strength.

This was something that I greatly appreciated about the story. I think that not having Ghislaine present was a missed opportunity for a reunion of Paul’s old adventuring party, which is something that will never happen thanks to his death. And it also gave us a chance to see what the dynamic between Eris and her father-in-law would have been like had he lived. The two butted heads in the brief time they knew each other thanks to Paul’s fight with Rudy, and they do clash a little when they meet again. But they do develop a level of respect for each other.

A wrinkle that Eris’ presence adds to the labyrinth is how Rudeus’ relationship grows with Roxy. The anime was more subtle about it, but it’s meant to be obvious that Roxy had fallen for him. The reason that she was trying so hard to win him over was that she didn’t know until after they found Zenith that Rudy was already married and going to be a dad. Here, though, Roxy has yet to act on her feelings, despite encouragement from the others.

Sadly, I cannot tell you where it goes from here, as the author has only just started to update the story again. It’s a shame, but there are plenty of great fanfics that remain incomplete. But I’ve rambled on enough about it. I just wanted to gush about one of my favorite Isekai some more.

Really, 100 Girlfriends? How did the Producers Approve this?

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You S3 Ep 1 Review

That’s right, I’m back with more 100 Girlfriends as we move to season three! I have to admit, I was almost tempted to skip reviewing the new season of the ultimate harem anime because of my busy writing schedule (I write for more than just this blog), but then I remembered that this is one of my comfort anime. I’m way too invested in the laughs to stop now! And the first episode made it clear that we were going to get plenty of laughs from the start. Why? Because the Love God is trying to do this serious exposition dump to catch people up on the story…and the show ends up spoiling some of the girlfriends joining this season! The eye pop the foolish God does is hilarious!

Which is good, because the next soulmate joining is going to be…controversial.

Wait, are we Jumping Ahead?

Wait, did the anime just skip a few chapters? And are they adding some of the spoiled girlfriends to the gathering?

Yes, it seems that for the first episode of the season, the show director decided to mess with us. So they skipped to a future incident in which some of the new girlfriends have already joined the family, and they’re being interviewed by this show about dating, and they’re telling stories about Rentaro’s CHAD powers. And it’s freaking the host and crew out. It’s nothing but the show leaning into its gag status, and it’s pretty hilarious. And then Rentaro gets interviewed and they make the mistake of insulting his girlfriends.

It is very likely that this will become a lost episode creepypasta. But I do like how the show staff doesn’t give two cents at this point and is just doing what they think is funny. And now we have the new OP.

Welcome to the church of Rentaro.

Now, here’s the controversial part.

Really? Are we Really Going Here?

It all starts when Rentaro is asked to look his cousin that he’s never met before while his uncle is out. He thinks it’s going to a romance-free day. But then…

Yes. This is real. This is actually happening. And yes, Rentaro in the manga asked the same question to Shueshia about whether they were really doing this. How the mangaka managed to talk his publishers into letting this slide is beyond me, as this is going to attract controversy. But if Shueshia was willing to approve Hahari, they must have been willing to approve…dating your cousin.

Maybe Shueshia approved this because they thought it would be funny to see people freak out about it. Also, it should be noted that in Mushoku Tensei, Rudeus and Eris are distant cousins. We’ve got no right to judge 100 Girlfriends.

Chiyo Iin, the Loli-Cousin With OCD

Anyway, meet Chiyo Iin, Rentaro’s 12-year-old cousin. She just started middle school recently, and is a class rep who is considered super responsible and dependable by everyone around her. So, besides the very specific niche she fills, what quirks does she have that set her apart?

OCD. She has OCD, and whenever she sees something disorderly, she gets upset and tries to fix it while growling like a puppy, as she does after various mishaps befall Rentaro. Oh, and whenever she loses her glasses, she starts crying like a baby.

I’ll be honest: Chiyo was always going to be a landmine for me, but I think that was the joke. Nakamura wanted to do this to mess with us and remind us that he is willing to go there. What I thought was even funnier, though, was the reveal that her father set all of this up to make the two fall for each other. Why? Because he’s an overprotective father who only considers Rentaro worthy of dating Chiyo because he saved him from Truck-Kun as a kid.

Is this entire family looney?

Look, it’s best not to take anything that happens seriously. The anime and manga have already established that they are not taking the story seriously. If you don’t like it, don’t watch. Otherwise, enjoy.

I Give “Cousin and Girlfriend” a 3/5

Chloe is Super Important to the Story!

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 15 Review

You know how in anime, when a person shows up in an OP or ED, that means that they’re going to be important to the story? It’s just something that I’ve noticed from years of watching anime, as the OPs and EDs for a show can reveal potential spoilers. Well, there is a pretty big one for the new OP and ED for Slime Tensura that has to do with two people: Chloe Aubert, Rimuru’s student, and this mysterious, black-haired woman who keeps appearing throughout the show who Chloe seems connected with. If you’ve read the light novels, then you already know what’s going on, but if you haven’t, then you’re about to understand just how important Chloe actually is.

The Black Numbers Get their Jobs

Thanks to Diablo’s recruitment drive, Rimuru now has three powerful Demon women working for Tempest: Ultima, Carrera, and Testarossa. Thanks to them, he’s finally able to fill some positions that he’s been needing filled for a while to help with their diplomacy and legal system. Testarossa is now Tempest’s representative with the Western Council to help keep them on the level. Which is good, because she is great at making sure people fall in line! Ultima and Carrera are now the Chief Public Prosecutor and Chief Justice, respectively, meaning that they will be in charge of enforcing the law. Though it’s a little bit concerning that Carrera’s immediate reaction to potential crimes is the death penalty. Hopefully, they’ll learn to let the punishment fit the crime!

All of this means that for the first time in a while, Rimuru can take it easy and have some more free time. And the first thing that he decides to do is visit Tempest’s school.

Chloe’s Progress

If you want to make sure change sticks into the future, you have to educate the next generation. That’s where school comes in, and the one that Rimuru has set up in Tempest seems to be doing a good job. In the episode, we see how the students come from the many different races that inhabit the world, both human and monster. By having them grow up alongside each other, it can eliminate the prejudices that may otherwise develop. More importantly, this school means that Shizu and Rimuru’s old class now has plenty of new friends to play with. We even get a scene where Ryota and Alice are arguing like regular classmates! However, it’s not all the students that we should be focused on, but one student: Chloe Aubert.

Since her introduction, the anime has been dropping several hints that there’s something special about Chloe that sets her apart from the rest of Rimuru’s students. She’s got the potential to be the strongest of all of them, a fact that gets hammered home when she and Rimuru have a brief sparring match, and he gets reminded of Shizu and Hinata due to how strong she is.

Then there’s the fact that when Rimuru got her a spirit to help stabilize her magicules so she wouldn’t die, this woman appeared and jumped into her after giving him a phantom kiss. The sight of her was enough to anger Veldora, who seemingly knew her.

Leon Wants to find His Little Sister

The biggest reveal, though, comes from the Moderate Harlequin Alliance’s meeting with Demon Lord Leon Cromwell. He’s been trying to acquire kids summoned to this world for a long time, which is how Shizu wound up there. As this episode reveals, though, he’s doing this because he’s looking for one person in particular: Chloe. He even has a painting of her in a private room!

I can’t tell you why Leon wants Chloe so badly without spoiling the story, but I just want to say this: Leon isn’t simping for Chloe. Let’s just say that he’s more like a protective big brother to her, and it seems that it won’t be long for he and Chloe reunite.

Which brings us to the setup for the next big moment in the story of Rimuru: the visit to Lubelious.

Luminous Wants some Culture

Ever since the opening festival, Lady Luminous has been desperately wanting some cultural exchange with Tempest. And she’s getting tired of waiting, so she has Hinata go and ask Rimuru when they’re going to get on that. Well, with his workload now lighter, Rimuru is free to focus on that. So, he tells Hinata that he plans on traveling to Luminous’ country for a musical conference to satisfy his fellow Demon Lord. Unfortunately, there are people in the shadows looking to cause trouble like always: Yuuki and Granbell.

With Maribel dead thanks to Rimuru (even though Yuuki was the one who killed her), Granbell is out for the slime’s non-existent blood. So despite having worked for Luminious for a thousand years because she promised to keep humanity safe, he’s throwing that idea out of the window. He is ready to go to war with her if it means that he can bring down Rimuru, and he and Yuuki have a plan to do so. While everyone is focused on the conference, they plan to steal Luminous’ most prized possession: the legendary hero that she has in stasis. You know, the one that she keeps talking to and hugging while naked despite the pain it causes? The magic used to keep the seal in place is dangerous to her, but since she can regenerate, the worst it does is cause pain and destroy her clothes. But yeah…she is into her.

https://twitter.com/animefants/status/2078149753741729899?s=20

In case you haven’t noticed, that woman bears a strong resemblance to at least three other women we’ve met so far: Chloe, Shizu, and Hinata. And that’s a good reason for that, but I don’t want to spoil it. All I want to say is that we should expect things to get crazy. I can’t wait.

I Give “An Unsettling Feeling” a 3.5/5

Wait, Diablo got WHO?!?!

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 14 Review

There have been several times throughout the series where Rimuru has come close to dying. The most apparent example was his initial fight with Hinata, where he had to resort to using a body double to escape. However, our GOAT has come close to dying without even realizing it, which is why so many people are left dumbfounded when he does something unbelievable. And thanks to Diablo, we just got to see the biggest example of Rimuru cheating death without even realizing it. And he does it by gaining the loyalty of a trio of beautiful Demon women.

Who are the Primordials?

While Rimuru and the others were dealing with things with Maribel, Diablo was largely absent for the first arc of the season. That’s because he decided he wanted some extra hands to help him serve his glorious king. So, he headed back to the Demon Realm, the dimension where all Demons originate. Spawned from chaos, they constantly fight, die, and revive in a struggle to get stronger. It’s basically a place of anarchy, chaos, and survival of the fittest. Being the ultimate glazer of Rimuru, Diablo decided that his master deserves only the best minions, so he decides to recruit the biggest, baddest, toughest Demons in the Netherworld: the Primordials.

In the Demon Realm, power is determined by how old a Demon is and (I think) how long they’ve gone without respawning from death. And at the very top of the food chain are the Primordials, of which Diablo is one. They’re the original seven Demons that appeared near the dawn of creation, making them some of the most powerful characters in the entire series. For reference, remember Guy Crimson, the oldest and strongest of the Demon Lords? He’s the original Primordial! With all of that said, is it any wonder why so many people have freaked out upon learning who Diablo is? He could’ve easily killed Rimuru when they first met if he had wanted!

And he wants to recruit three more of them.

Three Demon baddies who can kill you

First up, we have Jaune, the delinquent. Her main hobby is firing off nuclear magic at the base of Demon Lord Leon Cromwell, simply because she’s bored. And when Diablo comes to her to spread the word of his lord and savior, she tries to kill him…to no effect. He just tells her about the glory of Rimuru the slime while she tries in vain to beat him. But all that ends with her being planted into the ground and told to think about her attitude before he comes back.

Next is Violent, the Princess. She actually has some history with Tempest from the series first movie, where she had made a deal with a royal family that was supposed to end with her getting her a body to incarnate in. Thanks to Rimuru, though, she found out one of her subordinates broke the rules of the deal, forcing her to end things. Needless to say, she’s pretty sadistic. But Diablo wins her over when he says that her counterparts will get to incarnate into the mortal world. Now, it’s important to note that Violet, Jaune, and the final Demon have been competing for eons to see who can incarnate first, so it’s important to them.

Speaking of the final Demon, we have Blanc, one of the oldest and strongest. She is the textbook image of an elegant, beautiful lady, and she is already aware of Rimuru. It doesn’t take much to persuade her to meet with our resident Slime. But she also shows just scary she is by casually maiming two of her subordinates for speaking without permission.

Again, these are the ones that Diablo wants serving Rimuru. Three Demon ladies that most Demons fear. And Rimuru has absolutely no idea about any of this.

Thank god that Rimuru has Raphael to back him up. Because if he hadn’t figured it out…the girls would’ve killed him. But the danger was worth it to see him flex his Haki.

Good Lord, Rimuru doesn’t even know what he’s doing.

And so, without even meaning to do so, Rimuru managed to hire three of the most powerful beings in the multiverse as his newest minions. And with them, the 700 Demons that serve under them, giving birth to what will be known as the Black Numbers. And, in keeping with Diablo’s name, he gives the girls car-based names: Carrera for Jaune, Ultima for Violet, and Testarossa for Blanc. And he gives them all artificial bodies so they stay in the physical world for as long as they want.

This is honestly hilarious. Rimuru doesn’t even realize just how much power he’s managed to obtain for his nation. It’s probably going to end up upsetting the balance of power in the world of Tensura before it’s all over! But, again, he’s not entirely at fault. I blame it mostly on Diablo gassing up Rimuru. Either way, things are about to get a lot more fun!

I Give “The Black Numbers” a 4/5

You Won’t Believe Who Rimuru Hires this Episode

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 13 Review

It’s been a good time for Tempest. With Maribel’s defeat and Yuuki laying low, Rimuru and his friends are free to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor…is what I would like to say. Sadly, Tempest is getting to the point where the work is getting to be too much for who they currently have to handle. Speaking as someone who has experience with more work than one person can handle, I can tell you how disastrous this can be for morale. So, it’s time for some new recruits for Tempest! And as fate would have it, Rimuru gets some perfect hires without having to post a ‘Help wanted’ ad.

Firstly, we need to talk about the OP. With this being the second cours of the season, that means it’s time for the anime to receive a new OP. This way, its remaining up-to-date on what’s happening in the story. And this OP is one of the most enigmatic, with heavy emphasis on subdued colors or outright black and white, chains, and, it should be noted, Hinata and Chloe. Anime logic dictates that what’s going to happen in this second part is going to put a lot of emphasis on the two girls. Just something to think about.

Dino the Freeloader

So after Millim gets dragged back home due to shaking her duties for the umpteenth time, Rimuru decides to get back to work. You can’t exactly blame Millim, though. She’s so happy getting to play with Gaia after these millennia. Sadly, the Dungeon is the only place where it can survive, so it has to stay behind. In the meantime, the work in Tempest is starting to pile up, and Rimuru’s team of Veldora, Ramiris, and more are needing some extra hands to help with their work. As fate would have it, though, one seems to show up right on Rimuru’s doorstep.

This is Dino, and like Rimuru, Ramiris, and Millim, he’s a Demon Lord. However, that title might be stretching it a bit, even by the standards of Demon Lords in this series. Dino is known as the Sleeping Demon Lord and is infamously known as a slacker amongst the other Demon Lords. He doesn’t have his own home or domain to manage. He’s just been freeloading off of Guy Crimson, the oldest and strongest of the Demon Lords, forever. And Crimson finally decided to kick him out, only to dump the responsibility onto Rimuru. And it should be noted that Rimuru cannot refuse. Guy Crimson is far stronger than him, and could easily wipe Tempest out if he wanted.

Rimuru, being a hard worker, doesn’t want to have a freeloader mooching off of him, but thankfully, the problem solves itself. Dino takes one bite of the food in Tempest, and for the first time in forever, he’s motivated to do work. So, he gives him to Vesta the dwarf as his assistant. He’s literally been bribed by food. Honestly, though, it’s a good deal. Food and a roof over your head is a good motivation for working.

As for Veldora, he’s also wants an assistant, but his choice surprises Rimuru: Ifrit, the Fire Elemental.

I don’t Understand how Ifrit is this Way now

If you’ll recall, Ifrit is the Fire spirit that was sealed inside Shizu when she was summoned to this world as a kid. It saved her life, but she had to spend so much of it keeping Ifrit from going on a rampage that it led to her eventual death after Rimuru split them up. Naturally, Rimuru is not keen on Veldora’s request, but there’s a catch to it. After getting sealed inside Rimuru’s stomach, the flame spirit befriended Veldora and they kept each other company. Thanks to that, Veldora was able to help Ifrit chill enough to realize how much pain he caused Shizu and to regret it. Now he wants to make amends by helping Rimuru, and he’s already done so. He provided the salamanders needed for the Magitrain!

So, thanks to Veldora’s recommendation, Rimuru gives Ifrit a chance and gives him a new body to inhabit and renames them to Charys. For some reason, though, Charys can now change from man to woman whenever they want, getting stronger with fire or wind depending on their gender. I don’t know how this is possible, to be honest, but I think we should just roll with it. I’ve already seen a character in One Piece with the power to make people swap genders, so this is nothing to me!

This is a very slow and lowkey episode, in my opinion, as it revolves around Rimuru getting more help around Tempest. Ramiris gets even more helpers in the form of more Dryads thanks to the artificial bodies Rimuru is making, so that’s good. However, the real highlight is the ending as we cut to one servant of Rimuru that has been notably absent: Diablo. Earlier in the season, he said he was going off on a trip to find some worthy assistants for himself, so he’s gone back to the Demon Realm to do so. And he’s apparently bringing up to a thousand subordinates with him when he gets back. Rimruru is cool with it, but he has no idea just who Diablo has in mind. And I’m not spoiling it for you guys!  It’s going to make the surprise all the better! So, see you guys next episode!

Also, I really liked the new ED that’s based on a board game. It’s pretty obvious that, besides Rimuru, the other person playing the game is meant to be Chloe. And she’s on some sort of journey to find Rimuru. I’m not sure if you know this, but besides being her teacher, Chloe has a crush on him, something he’s well aware of (and wishes someone had said that to him when they were 18 or 20). It’s adorable for right now, but it seems like it might be more serious than we realize.

I Give “New Companions” a 3/5

Luffy is Fighting one of the Roger Pirates! So Cool!

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

One Piece Ep 1170 Review

I have been reading and watching One Piece for many years now, and I have come to notice a formula to the way that Oda writes the story. Whenever the Straw Hats make it to some new island, things will start out pretty low-stakes as they explore the place and get a feel for things. Eventually, though, the big bad of the arc will make themselves known, and then everything hits the fan. We are now at that point in the arc where things are about to start hitting the fan, and trust me when I say this, they are going to need Loki. But first, Luffy has to win the key from Scopper Gaban, ex-member of the Roger Pirates.

If you’ve followed One Piece at least as far back as Sabaody, then you know that the hype behind the crew of the Pirate is well-deserved. Rayleigh was able to go toe-to-toe with a Navy Admiral despite being well into his 70s, and he was able to scare off Blackbeard not that long ago. Needless to say, most of the crew can be counted as some of the strongest in the world by default. And that’s why seeing Luffy fight Gaban was so hyped when the manga came out. If Luffy could hold his own against one of Roger’s two hands, then we would know just how strong he has gotten. And the anime knew this.

This was a Good Training Session

I know that there were fights while trying to escape Road’s brick model, but truthfully, this was the first real fight of the Elbaph arc. The anime knew this, because it went all out on showing just how wild this fight was. Luffy was bouncing around the place like crazy, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t play a finger on Gaban. The man held him off using the very key they came to get as a weapon. Regardless, though, the fight was very well animated, and it more than lived up to the hype. And that moment when Zoro decided to jump in, and Luffy went into Gear Five? It was incredible. The strongest of the Straw Hats were getting ready to double-team a legend in what we thought would be a legendary duel, and if it had continued, I do think they would’ve won. But, nope! Gaban drops his axes and surrenders!

To be honest, I already knew that the two won when Gaban tried shoving the key into Luffy’s mouth in a goofy fashion. He did say he wanted them to get their hands on the key, and they did. From the way I saw things, Gaban was only doing this to test them and see if they were on the level that Shanks said. Because if they let Loki out, they would have to be prepared to fight him, and if they lost, they would lose the trust of the Giants. But more importantly, though, Gaban did it because he knew that Elbaph was about to be in danger. The greatest threat it has probably ever faced, if you ask me.

EVIL! EVIL! EVILEVILEVILEVILEVIL!

Meanwhile, as the children at the Walrus School are playing, Gunko and Shamrock are about to make their move. Their goal is to conquer and enslave Elbaph so their master can use the Giants in the coming war for the fate of the world. And so they summon reinforcements to help them in the form of two more God’s Knights, Sommers and Qillingham.

Don’t be fooled by their goofy introductions, you guys. I have had years to get to know these two as individuals, and trust me when I say this: they are monsters. Not just monsters as in they’re monstrously strong, but monsters as in sick, twisted, and sadistic demons! The two of them and Gunko are going to be enough to cause a catastrophe the likes of which Elbaph hasn’t seen in years. They are absolute menaces to society, and at this point in the manga, I am genuinely hoping that the Straw Hats send them home in body bags.

Don’t believe me? Their game plan to conquer Elbaph is to capture the kids and take them back to Mariejois as hostages. It takes a special kind of evil to go after kids!

I hope that you guys got your fill of the low-key stakes, because that is about over. From here on out, things are going to get progressively crazier as the Straw Hats face their biggest battle yet! And I can’t wait to see it animated!

I Give “Get the Key! Luffy vs. Scopper Gaban” a 4/5

The Legend of Love, Scopper Gaban!

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

One Piece Chapter 1169 Review

I’m going to be honest with you: I had no clue that Toei was going to be airing all the episodes of One Piece this year back-to-back. I genuinely thought that we would be waiting until the fall for the show to kick back up, but I’m not complaining. It won’t be long now until the Elbaph arc really begins in earnest. But before that can happen, the story needs to add a few more players to the board. And on the side of the pirates, we’re getting an absolute legend. Not only is this man one of the most famous in the entire world, but he’s also a legend of the art of love.

The Legend is Here!

So, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami are still looking for the key to Loki’s chains, with the group being on the fence about what to do afterward. To be honest, I wasn’t that worried in the manga. If Loki tried anything, Luffy would just kick his ass. Heck, Luffy even says that’s what he’ll do in this episode. The real concern is how Elbaph would take it. Unfortunately, any attempts by the group to fly under the radar are gone, as they’ve been found out by someone: Ripley’s husband and the father of Colon. Though, it should be his real name that should be more, and for good reason, as we get a story from the Giants that exposits why he’s so important.

In the days of the Roger Pirates, there were three men who were the pillars of the entire crew; their equivalent of the Monster Trio of Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji. Roger’s right-hand man was Rayleigh, but his left was a man named Scopper Gaban, and he was every bit as strong as the others. Once, when Roger was sick and resting at a hospital, hundreds of pirates showed up trying to take him out. In response, Gaban walked out of the building, axe in hand, and proceeded to single-handledly run all their fades! None of them got near Roger! And after the Roger Pirates disbanded, he settled in Elbaph, where he all but married Ripley and they had Colon. And now, that man was sitting in the ruins of Aurust Castle waiting for Luffy to show up to see what he would do.

I was absolutely floored when Gaban was introduced. He had been teased about years ago in the cover stories as this mystery man who met with Crocus, this guy who briefly sailed with Roger as his doctor. Most fans were convinced that he was another member of the Roger Pirates, and we were right! We only know a little about the lives of Roger’s old crew even after all this time, so seeing Gaban was like meeting pirate royalty. Also, I couldn’t help but respect him for managing to get someone as nice as Ripley as his wife. Though I do think that one day, Oda has to explain how the technical aspects work. Otherwise, fans are going to be making weird assumptions.

Luffy Beating Loki=Being on Shanks’ Level?

At any rate, Gaban wants to ask Luffy what he intends to do about Loki, testing him. He even points out that the only reason he got captured was because Shanks had to step in and do it when the Giants couldn’t. Of course, I took it, and Luffy probably took, to mean that if he managed to beat Loki, he’d be on Shanks’ level. Which is something that has both been a goal of his as well as a necessity if Luffy wants to become King of the Pirates. So, he gives Luffy a challenge: if he can beat him in a fight, he’ll hand over the key. So, bet!

Luffy is going to need to get stronger sooner rather than later, especially since Elbaph is about to be in danger from the God’s Knights. If he can stand on the same level as Roger’s number three, then I like the odds. That, and I wanna see how he measures up to a living legend. This next episode should be fun.  

I Give “The Legend Lurking in Elbaph – The Identity of the Mountain-Eater” a 4/5

So, What are you Watching this Summer?

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

Some of the anime that RJ Writing Ink’s Watching this Summer

Summer time! That means it’s time for family trips, smashing watermelon on the beach, and arguing over who looks best in a swimsuit. Anime fans do all that, and we have to keep an eye out for all the new anime that’s coming out. This year, we’ve got a pretty good lineup of new and returning anime to watch, with Crunchyroll having dropped a list of some of its biggest upcoming shows. And, I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t know how much of it I’m going to be able to watch. Not because I don’t want to, but because I’m going to be so busy covering things. But that’s not going to stop me from giving you my list of anime that I’m looking forward to enjoying! I’m RJ Writing Ink, and here are all the anime for the summer season that I’m probably going to watch! Hopefully!

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 3-July 5th

The Rentaro Family is back! And just as crazy and wholesome as ever! If you remember my writings from the winter of last year, then you know that I’m crazy about the ultimate harem anime. Naturally, I’m going to want to cover it as we get even more members joining the Rentaro Family! I won’t spoil anything about them, but let’s just say that this next batch will contain some of my favorite girlfriends thus far, as well as some that will make you question how the mangaka got away with them. So, just be prepared in advance.

The Elusive Samurai, Season 2, July-

Two years ago, we got the first season of the anime The Elusive Samurai, and now we’re finally getting the second. Created by the mangaka behind Assassination Classroom, the Elusive Samurai is a historical fantasy about Tokiyuki Hojo, the last surviving heir of the former Shogunate, forced to go on the run when his family is overthrown. I liked it well enough at the time, but I never got into it as much as I could have. With the manga having ended earlier this year, though, I might be willing to pick this story back up.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4-

So, it turns out that I was mistaken. I knew that the fourth season of Slime Tensura was going to be split up into multiple cours’, but I assumed that they would be split up into different seasons of anime. As it turns out, I was wrong. That means that we’ve got another 12 weeks of Slime Tensura to get us through the Summer, and I’m looking forward to it! I can’t wait to see what Rimuru gets up to next, because I have no clue.

Speaking of peak Isekai…

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3-July 5th-

You know that Crunchyroll is pushing a show to be a frontrunner for the season when they make one of the main characters the thumbnail for their trailer for said season. Mushoku Tensei has exploded in popularity thanks to the success of the anime, and I have been waiting for the last two years to see us pick up where we left off with our boy, Rudeus! He may have lost his arm and his dad while saving his mom, but he’s gotten a second wife in the form of Roxy, and more importantly, he’s a dad now! The real highlight of this season, though, is going to be the return of Eris, AKA the girl who broke Rudeus’ heart. If you’ve read my reviews of the show, you’ll know my opinion about Eris: she’s going to have to spend the rest of her life making up for bailing on him the way she did. More importantly, though, we are going to get to see something happen that will reframe the story and what happens going forward. Something that I’ve had to keep my mouth shut about for years now, and if the anime doesn’t go into more detail, I will!

Baki-Dou: The Invincible Samurai-June 18th

I know that this comes out three days before the actual summer solstice, meaning that technically, it doesn’t count as a summer anime. However, this is Baki we’re talking about. If you’ve seen Baki, then you know that the characters in this series do things that regularly defy common sense. They can do whatever they want! And in this case, the second half of Baki-Dou has the entire cast throwing everything they to defeating the resurrected Musashi Miyamoto, AKA the undefeated Samurai of legend. A man who was able to go toe to toe with Yujiro Hanma!

And this is just the start of the anime that are coming out this season. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch some beach episodes and see who wore a swimsuit best!

The Harley Mural, the Most Important Lore in One Piece, is Revealed

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

One Piece Episode 1168 Review

This is it. Of all the episodes of One Piece that I’ve been looking forward to all year, this is probably one of my top three. The chapter that this episode is adapting was one of the biggest and most talked-about in the entire series. Given how the series has been ongoing for almost three decades and 1100 chapters and counting, that’s saying something. However, I can attest to the fact that the two big events of that chapter left the fandom foaming at the mouth. Not only did it confirm a long-standing theory that apparently existed, but it dropped some of the biggest lore in the entire franchise!

Shanks Has an Evil Twin

I don’t know who first came up with it or when, but there was this theory going around about Red-Haired Shanks, the pirate who inspired Luffy to become one himself. It all stems back to this one scene at the Reverie, the summit where world leaders meet to discuss important matters. We saw what looked like Shanks meeting with the Five Elders of the World Government. Since Shanks is a pirate, that should be impossible. I guess someone thought that this means that Shanks might be a Celestial Dragon by birth. I didn’t think too much of it at the time, but then this guy from the God’s Knights showed up on Elbaph looking like Shanks with longer hair. And all of a sudden, fans were saying that this mystery guy was Shanks’ evil twin brother! And you know what? They were right! As Shamrock and Gunko finish beating the tar out of Loki, the former reveals that Shanks is his younger twin brother!

Oda pretty much dropped a live bomb in the room with this reveal, and I remember the tweets and Reddit posts and discord servers going crazy over it. Suddenly, people were asking all kinds of questions about Shanks’ backstory, and it revealed just how little we actually knew about him. The most we knew was that Gol D. Roger and the Roger Pirates found him in a treasure chest after this big adventure and adopted him. How could a baby Celestial Dragon end up like that?

Well, regardless, fans were glad that this ended up happening, because it was the best thing that could happen to Shanks. Being raised by the Roger Pirates saved Shanks from becoming as cruel and sadistic as the majority of the Celestial Dragons, who are among the most toxic groups of people I have ever seen in fiction.

Speaking of Shanks, when Luffy is talking with those Giant guards and they say Shanks jumped him, Luffy adamantly refuses to believe it. They argue that it looked exactly like Shanks, but in a rare show of intelligence, Luffy is able to point out several flaws in their logic. Firstly, Shanks is chill, while Shamrock is arrogant and a jerk. Secondly, Shanks would never become violent unless he had to. And when the evil twin theory is mentioned, Luffy remembers how Shanks never mentioned his biological family. As far as he knew, the Roger Pirates were his family…except for Buggy. Loved the shade thrown at Buggy.

Good on Luffy for not being fooled by this. He’s always been a good judge of character, and if he says someone is good, then we should take his word for it.

All of that, though, takes a backseat in comparison to the part that set the entire fandom ablaze: the Harley Mural.

They Will Meet again

As Franky and Ripley are exploring the massive tree that covers the island, they come across a mural that’s believed to have been painted during the Void Century. This gets juxtaposed with Robin, Chopper, and Saul back at the Owl Library as they read this ancient book called the Harley that tells the story of the Sun God, Nika. We hear Robin begin reading the story aloud as we join Franky looking at the mural, and the anime went above and beyond for this. In the manga, everything was summarized in a single panel over a look at the Mural, but the anime has the whole thing revealed bit by bit as Robin reads the story, which I will now show to you.

In the days and weeks after this chapter, there so many video essays about this story that I found online. The most die-hard fans of the franchise poured everything into deciphering the meaning behind the story, and I will be including one of the most prominent at the end of this post. In a nutshell, though, it’s saying that the world has been destroyed twice in the past. Someone tried to stop it from happening, first in the form of the Sun God, Nika, and then in the form of Joy Boy, but for whatever reason, they failed, and the world became what it is today. The last part is a prophecy, though, saying that this time, the Sun God will bring about a new world, one that is better than the current one. In other words, Luffy might be the guy who will end up saving the world.

Pirate. Jesus.

To casual fans, this all might sound confusing, but to those who have stuck with One Piece for the long haul, this was big. One of the big draws of the story is the amount of worldbuilding put into it, with the mysteries about the past being something that fans have wanted to know more about for decades. It’s gotten to the point that when given the opportunity to learn the truth early, fans will refuse. So, this was a big moment for us.

And we’re going to get even more big moments soon. According to rumors, the second batch of this year’s episodes will drop in July. Which means that I’m going to have multiple shows to go over this summer! Tough, but worth it!

I Give “Ancient History – The Harley Passed Down by Elbaph” a 5/5