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The God’s Knights are not as Invincible as you Think

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

One Piece Episode 1178 Review

We’re about to whip somebody’s ass! And that somebody’s name is SOMMERS!

So, the downside of watching the One Piece anime is that I have to watch as things just keep going from bad to worse in Elbaph. I mean, I’m a longtime fan of the series, so I know that things are going to get worse before they get better, but this? This is one of the worst scrapes the Straw Hats have been in since the timeskip. And that includes having to escape from Big Mom and all the stuff they went through in Wano! But, I’m also being reminded of just how much I am offended by the existence of Sommers. He is so evil, i was pretty much onboard with Robin’s plans to take him out of the picture from the get-go.

No one hurts innocent kids or books on Robin’s or the Straw Hat’s watch!

TIME TO WHIP SOMEBODY’S ASS

So, if you thought that the God’s Knights couldn’t get any more despicable, then you clearly haven’t been paying attention to the series. I don’t know how Oda does it, but he’s really good at making some of the most disgusting villains you can imagine. Case in point, Sommers and Gunko threaten to kill one of the kids they have hostage. And they’re doing it in the cruelest way possible.

They take one of the Giant Kids, Ronja, and have her stand on a platform above the branches. Right below her, hundreds of feet below, is the Underworld. If she falls off the edge…she’s gonna die. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Even most of the Giants would have a hard time surviving a fall like that. And unless the grown-ups agree to burn the school and library, and everything with it, down, then she will be forced to walk over the edge.

I had to read about this in the manga months ago, and even now, it just sickens me. Now, I wasn’t exactly what you would called attached to school growing up, since that involved homework (which I despise). But libraries? Those were my sanctuary when I couldn’t watch TV or play video games! I looked it up, and it turns out that the deliberate destruction of a library is considered a war crime. These false god’s are committing war crimes and they are laughing about it!

Not on Robin’s watch.

GET HIM, ROBIN!

If you have any inkling at all about what Robin’s life was like before we met her, then you know the HELL she went through. She had to watch as her home, her mentor, her mother were all wiped out by the World Government. She only just now found out her oldest friend and the knowledge of Ohara still existed. And she is not going to let anyone take them away from her again. And this is when Robin locks the f in.

You know, it’s pretty rare for us to see Robin get genuinely angry. Most of the time, she’s the most logical of the Straw Hats, always keeping a cool head or offering some darkly humorous remark. Or being like a mom to Chopper. But if you have seen what she is like when she is angry, then you know why it’s a bad idea to push her to that point. She can, and will, kill people if she thinks they deserve it. And as Sommers finds out for himself, she’s the smartest of the Straw Hats for a reason.

I have to admit, it was pretty clever of Robin to figure out that Sommers powers had a range limit attached to them. Not to mention just how gutsy it was to drive him off the branch into the Underworld, with her along with him. But the best part is seeing how that was just a clone, with the real Robin already making for her captured friends. Now that is how you use your brain!

Which is why I only got even angrier when I saw that Robin’s gambit didn’t work. Damn it, Oda! The bad guys shouldn’t be getting plot armor like this! And then we had to listen as the grown-ups order the destruction of the school and library.

SCOPPER RULEZ!!

Karma’s a b****, though, because guess who comes in clutch to save the day? Scopper Gaban. He jumps in out of nowhere and slices Sommers in half, and unlike the other times, he doesn’t pull himself back together.

Even before it was revealed how Gaban did this in the manga, it didn’t take a genius for me to figure out how this happened: Haki. That spiritual power that has become more and more important ever since the time skip. Through the strength of will, Haki lets even someone without powers fell the mightiest of opponents. And apparently, that also includes the likes of the God’s Knights. So, clearly Gaban is strong enough to actually put a dent in Sommers. And the best part? Sommers knows Gaban. They actually met many years ago at a little place called God Valley. And it looks like Sommers isn’t happy seeing him again.

Things aren’t going to begin going the Straw Hat’s way right off the bat, but this episode did the next best thing: it showed a crack in the Knight’s armor. That’s all we need to know that they can be beaten. Just wait until next year when Luffy and the others make their move. They’re going to whip their asses back to Hell.

I Give “Protect History and the Future – Robin and Gaban Go on the Attack” a 4/5

You Better Save Chloe and Hinata, Rimuru!

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 23 Review

Okay, I know that this is going to sound rich from me since I’ve had no problems seeing it happen, but the power of friendship is BS! Well, at least when it’s done due to lazy writing. But at least in this case, it didn’t lead to a deus ex machina, because the person on the receiving end didn’t win. And that’s a good thing, because the person in question was Granville Rosso. So, as Rimuru puts his insane plan to save Chloe and Hinata in motion, Shion steps up and locks the heck in. You can say a lot of things about Shion (she’s not that smart, her cooking is bad, no shirts can fit her), but when she steps up, she gets things done.

Shion Gets it Done

So, I don’t know if I had said it in my review of the last episode, but I was really hoping that we dive right into, well, Rimuru’s dive into Chronoa. This entire arc has been building up to finishing the story of Chloe; the fact that she is prominently shown in the OP and ED is proof! But instead, we are expected to sit through the last of the fights going on between Granville’s, frankly, suicidal plan. It’s a fight between Shion and Ranga against Razul. He’s an Insectoid, a species of bug-people from another dimension that are extremely powerful. Granville and his wife befriended and named him after a failed invasion centuries ago, and he’s served as his right-hand bug and ultimate weapon. And if you have seen the Chimera Ants from Hunter x Hunter or Cell (who we call a bug man), then you know how strong bug-people get in anime.

Now, we all know that Shion is no pushover. She’s one of Rimuru’s top subordinates. Sure, she may not be that smart, but we’ve seen how strong she is. She was able to go toe-to-toe with Clayman back at Walpurgis! However, the fight between her and Razul is the classic case of the unstoppable spear vs the unbreakable shield. In her case, Razul’s exoskeleton is as hard as steel, making it impossible for her to strike a killing blow. Well, at least at first. She knows just how much is riding on this fight, and she has no intention of dying again, because she refuses to worry her beloved Rimuru like that. So she locks the heck in, and uses her unique skill, Certain Outcome. Which basically translates to her being able to get whatever results she wants from doing something. In this case, a single crack in Razul’s armor is enough of an opening for her to finish the Insectoid off.

If there’s ever an Isekai fighting game like Smash Bros, they better put Shion in it.

The Heck?!?

But then we get to the whole “power of friendship” bs coming in. His soul goes to Granville to give him a power-up in his fight against Luminous. The man is literally powered up by the spirit of his friend! Not that it doesn’t do him any favors, because he still loses to Luminous!

And that is why only the protagonists can use the power of friendship!

So, with Yuuki and the clowns in the wind and Granville’s dumb plot foiled, all that is left is to save Chloe and Hinata. And to do that, Rimuru has to do the riskiest thing that he’s ever done. He has to get close enough to touch Chronoa, dive into her soul, find Chloe and Hinata and pull them out of there. Which, if things go sideways, could end up killing him for good. But Rimuru is HIM, so he does it anyway.

GO SAVE CHLOE AND HINATA

And so, Rimuru enters the mind of Chloe Aubert, a beautiful field of flowers, and is met by an unexpected guest in the form of Shizu. Whether it’s actually her soul or just a mental guide, nobody knows. She’s just there to help Rimuru calm Chronoa down, which he does with no problem. However, this is where things get complicated: Chronoa says that Chloe’s soul is lost somewhere in their shared heart. But Hinata’s? She’s disappeared.

Well, it looks like Rimuru is about to face his toughest battle yet: saving his student and his…friend? Are he and Hinata friends? He’s not going to let something like death stop him from pulling this off, and we know that he’s going to do it. So why are we even questioning that fact? I’m just glad that we don’t have to deal with Granville’s stupid plots anymore.  

I Give “Granville’s Hope” a 4/5

Rimuru, time to save your Student!

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

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 22 Review

So I just want to make sure that we are all on the same page about Chloe and Hinata. Chloe got sent to the past with Hinata’s soul hitching a ride, they became the hero Chronoa, and Luminous sealed them away until Rimuru could take care of everything. All of that was made clear in the last two episodes of the series. The real question now is how the heck are we going to fix this?

Sadly, it seems that part will have to wait until the next episode. This one is mostly just about setting us up for Rimuru’s toughest battle to date.

Chronoa’s gone nuts!

So where were we? Oh yes: grown-up Chloe, or rather, Chronoa in control of Chloe’s body. And…dang. When they said that Chloe had the most potential out of all her classmates, they weren’t kidding. She is the kind of person who could single-handedly stop a war. And as we see for ourselves, even the Demon Lords might not be enough to stop her, as Luminous is in the process of freaking out at the sight of Chronoa breaking free. And that’s before she equips her armor and sword. That sword of hers is as strong as his, which is very, very concerning. Add in the fact that Chronoa likely has the combined experience of Chloe and Hinata’s two thousand year odyssey, and is it any wonder why Granville wanted to free her? She could kill the Demon Lords, and then torch the rest of the planet.

https://twitter.com/otaku_lord21/status/2098433895314145486?s=20

So, now is not the time to hold back. As Luminous explains everything we already know to Rimuru, he decides that they need help. So he summons Veldora, and, surprisingly, he realizes right away that Chronoa was the hero who sealed him away. And, I don’t think the anime shows it, but seeing her again actually makes her nervous. Which makes sense, considering how he strongly reacted to Chloe’s future self in Ramiris’ old labyrinth. Also, he claims that the only reason he lost was because he saw how pretty she looked underneath her mask. Awkward.

Time to Journey to the Center of Chloe

So, even with the combined power of Luminous, Leon, and Veldora, Chronoa is just too much for them to handle. So, Rimuru has to do what might be the most reckless thing that he’s ever done. He’s going to have to travel inside of Chloe’s body, find the souls of Chloe and Hinata, and somehow pull them out. Well, he just needs to wake Chloe up. He has to find a way to pull Hinata out and get her back in her body. Either way, it’s’ insane, reckless, and crazy. And you know what? It’s also something that only Rimuru can hope to pull off. Otherwise, Lubelious is a goner.

I have to admit, I didn’t really like this episode. Especially considering how it was coming off the heels of two bangers, it felt like it was just reiterating everything that we had already known. But at least it’s setting us up for one heck of a finale.

I Give “Where the Soul Resides” a 4/5

We finally found someone dumber than Eris

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Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S3 Ep 10 Review

You know, I used to think that Eris was the biggest meathead in the Mushoku Tensei series. I mean, it took Rudy a while to teach her how to read and write, and I’m pretty sure she forgot most of it after she went to the Sword Sanctum. When the two first met, Eris’ default solution to any problem was punching it. Not to mention how her letter to Rudy was trash. But after watching this episode, I think we’ve found an even bigger meathead. Like, someone who makes Eris look like a college professor in comparison. And thanks to this meathead, Rudy is almost kidnapped and forced to say goodbye to his family.

Now what?

Picking up where the last episode left off, Rudy, Cliff, Elinalise, and Zanoba’s search for a cure for Nanahoshi’s sickness has borne fruit: they found Kishirika! As thanks for feeding her, she tells them about the herbal tea that will help take care of Dryne Syndrome. The key is this plant called Sokas Grass. It’s original environment was destroyed long ago, but most of the Demon Lord’s castles have plenty of it. There’s just one problem. Her old castle in that very city is currently occupied. And the person occupying is the one who put out those wanted posters for Kishirika: Atofe Rybak, the Immortal Demon Queen.

Upon hearing all this, and that Atofe is mad at Kishirika because she drank her favorite alcohol, Rudy doesn’t hesitate to hand her over to the Demon Queen’s guards in exchange for the grass. That’s the good news. The bad news? He and Zanoba have to have an audience with Atofe.

She’s a Dumbass! Dumbass!

I’m just going to come out and say it: Atofe is dumb. Like, really dumb. Rifujin, the author of Mushoku Tensei himself, says that she Eris taken to her logical extreme. Look at what she does the second she meets Rudy and Zanoba to her own guard!

This is like looking at the worst-case scenario of what Eris could’ve grown up to be like if she hadn’t met Rudy. And not even he can keep her fully under control!

It gets worse. She starts demanding that, as a “reward,” Rudy join her personal guard and serve her. Now, the anime doesn’t cover it, but in the light novels, that means spending ten years enduring her training and antics, and then getting two years off to see family. That means that Rudy would have to miss the majority of Lucy’s childhood! So he naturally refuses…but Atofe doesn’t take no for an answer. There’s only one thing to do:

And so, the group had no choice but to get the heck out of dodge, with Atofe in hot pursuit.

Scratch that. She managed to cut them off at the portal to Perguius’ castle.

This was a Cool Fight

For the first time in a while, Rudeus is fighting a battle that he can’t win, and he is painfully aware of it. Worse, he knows that if Atofe beats him, he can say goodbye to his happy family life forever. But at the end of the day, what matters most is getting the sokas grass to Perugius. So while the others fight Atofe and her guards, Cliff makes a beeline for the portal. For a moment, it looks like they’re gonna make it!

But then we get tricked into thinking that Atofe’s guards had cut off escape, only to learn that they had set foot inside the portal. Which means they ran into Perugius.

Perugius Has been Waiting for this!

Now, interesting story about Perugius and Atofe. Back in the Laplace War, the two had fought on opposing sides and hated each other. But Perguius’ brother in arms, the first God of the North God sword style, managed to beat her. Then, he used that to convince her to marry him! So, Perugius and Atofe had to promise not to try and kill each other anymore, much to their dismay. And while Perugius has every intention of keeping his word, that won’t stop him from beating her up!

There are so many people in this world that are stronger than Rudeus, it’s crazy. But at least things worked out. They got the plant needed to save Nanahoshi’s life. So we can all breathe a sigh of re…wait a second. What’s the title of the next episode? Oh. Ohhhhhhh…Turning Point 4.

Oh boy…

Dang, I thought I had more time to mentally prepare myself for this. By now, you guys should know the drill. When there’s an episode called Turning Point, that means that something big is about to shake up Rudeus’ life. Something that I have had to keep my mouth shut about for the three years I’ve been covering Mushoku Tensei. I’m not spoiling anything yet, as I want to see how the anime plays out. All I’m going to say is that we are about to enter the best arc of the story. Please, anime. Please don’t ruin this for us!

I Give “An Audience with an Immortal Demon King” a 4/5

Hahari Got her Hands on Kishika

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

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 3 Ep 10 Review

Doggone it. I knew that things were going to go south for Kishika the second Hahari got her hands on her.

But how did we get to this situation? Let me explain.

So, the episode opens up with the traditional introduction of the girlfriend to the Family, followed by the traditional ice-breaking activity. In this case, it’s a kendo fight. All of the girlfriends against Kishika in a battle royale with paper balloons. Pop your balloon, and you’re out. Winner gets a kiss from Rentaro.

Girlfriend Slayer: Kanojo Hametsu no Yaiba

Now, fighting 16 on one might not sound like a fair fight, but this is Kishika and an anime. Have you seen how crazy sword users are in anime? Let’s just rate how each person does.

Yeah, we should’ve thought that Iku would lose first on purpose. But Nano was unexpected. And I’m pretty sure at this point that Kusuri is a certified fan of Zoro from One Piece.

Mei and Karane went down faster!

Hakari and Yamame’s plan was great on paper but poor in execution.

The real fight, though, is against Naddy, Yaku, Mimimi, Meme, Momiji, and Kurumi. They turn the whole thing into a parody of Demon Slayer and the anime isn’t ashamed of it and give Kishika a run for her money…but she still wins.

…is what you’d think I’d say! Cue the punchline as the real winner is Hahari. It’s easy to forget just how devious she can be at times.

And once Hahari has won, she doesn’t hesitate to use her mommy powers on the poor girl. Which leads to…this.

And with that, Kishika has lost her cool image as a knight. But she gets a family of fellow weirdos.

COMEDY SKETCH TIME!

Now, with two episodes left in the season, I was left wondering what’s going to be covered. And I really want to know what they could cover in those episodes. Well, of all the things they chose to do, it was basically a comedy sketch: the Rentaro Family versus an eating challenge.

So, there’s this chapter right afterwards where the is woman who lost an eating challenge and got humiliated has made this impossible ramen challenge as revenge on the world. Unfortunately for her, every single one of her challengers is a member of the Rentaro Family.

What follows is pretty much one of those comedy sketches that relies on the absurdity of escalation to make it funny. Every time a Family Member manages to one up her, she comes up with some ridiculous new challenge, only for it to get progressively stupider. This pretty much everything that we want to see in a Japanese comedy sketch and I love it. And having Kurumi be the final boss is just the icing on the cake. I suggest that you guys just watch the episode for yourselves and enjoy the pairings of the girlfriends, because they are hilarious.

We only have two episodes left of the season, and I have no idea what they will be doing. If I’m lucky, we’ll get another baby episode. That was funny!

I Give “The Rise and Fall of the Proud Girlfriend” a 4/5

Oh man, Kishika is Awesome!

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 3 Ep 9 Review

Hey, Bibury Studios. I want to know how you guys decided on what to include in the third season of 100 Girlfriends, because you are skipping out on a lot!

I wasn’t going to say anything about it until after the season ended, but at this point, I have to draw attention to how this season is being structured. They are jumping all over the place with the one-off adventures, and they are either cramming a girlfriend’s introduction into half an episode, or breaking it out over multiple episodes. It’s very inconsistent! They’re just lucky that this episode included one of my favorite one-off adventures and introduced us to one of my favorite girlfriends in the series.

HOT SPRINGS EPISODE!

In the first half of the episode, the Rentaro Family wins a free trip to this new hot spring before it’s opened (they’re wearing swimsuits). That sounds nice and all, except the hot spring is owned by this company called the Hardcore (or Serious) Group (and Iku is distantly related to them for some reason.) They are like the ACME Corporation from the Looney Tunes, making these weird products that are always hardcore, no matter how absurd. And it doesn’t take long for the Rentaro Family to get into trouble when the bath bubbles end up separating them.

The rest of the first half of the episode can, I think, be best described as an exercise in absurd slapstick. Which is good, because I happen to love slapstick comedy. And it just so happens that one of the biggest strengths of the series is its ability to pair each girlfriend off with each other. This allows them to play to their various quirks in fun ways. Like Shizuka and Nano’s close friendship enabling them to escape a waterspout. Or Mimimi and Meme trying to get out from underneath a jet faucet.

But I think my favorite moment was the bit with Hakari and Karane. Hakari finds Karane in a bath that somehow enlarged her chest, and she’s so enamored with it that she refuses to leave. Then we get this speech that is supposed to be emotional and heartfelt, but swings back into comedy when Karane sees what the bath did to Hakari.

Poor Karane! Even in her dreams, she keeps losing to Hakari!

The other great joke was how, when the Family reunites, they soak in the one hot spring that isn’t too crazy. Though it ends up being so good, their souls almost ascend to heaven from happiness. This company might have just invented the most humane form of execution of all time!

KISHIKA IS SOOO COOL!

In the second half of the episode, Rentaro is being accosted by boys who are mad at him for hoarding these rare keychains. And I’m kind of with them on assuming Rentaro was a scalper. Most guys don’t have 16 girlfriends! But then he is saved by what I can only describe as a female knight straight out of a fairy tale. Oh, and they zing!

Meet Girlfriend #17, Kishika Torotoro! She’s 18 years old, a classmate of Kusuri’s, and captain of the female kendo club at school. And she conducts herself with the nobility and steadfastness of one of those noble knights you read about in fiction. Or Erza Scarlet, if you’ve ever read Fairy Tail.

As a matter of fact, the moment I got to her in the manga, I looked at her swordsmanship and reddish hair, and was reminded of Erza’s. She’s just cool like that. But from the get go, there’s something wrong with her. When Rentaro tries to brush some dust off her head, she gets very upset about it. And this isn’t a one-time thing, either. Her own teammates say she gets like that sometimes.

Now, if this were a more serious manga, you would think that this is a sign that she had some sort of traumatic past that has left her averse to touch. But this is 100 Girlfriends, a gag anime. And this was just a way to build up to the joke about her character as we are led to witness…this.

BABOOO

As Kishika herself admits, being born the eldest of six siblings to busy parents meant that she had to take on a lot of responsibility while young. That means she never got to enjoy the stage of her childhood where most parents pamper and coddle their kids, leading her to secretly long for that. And she suppressed this desire for so long that when she lets it out, she mentally regresses to a childish state.

This is…honestly brilliant. In fact, I think that out of the gags for each of the Girlfriends, Kishika’s might be one of the best. The contrast between her normal serious self and when she lets loose makes it funny. And while there are going to be people who will cringe at this, we need to keep an open mind with this series. There are people who incorporate ageplay into their love lives. And since Rentaro is a CHAD, he accepts that Kishika needs the chance to enjoy herself. Plus, it’s funny seeing her act like this!

Just, just don’t let Hahari anywhere near her! Seriously, don’t!

And with that, we’ve got the last girlfriend of the season, and with three episodes to go! So I really hope that the anime is going to go back to some of those one-off misadventures but with the extra Girlfriends. I don’t want to have to go back and talk about every last one they missed!

I Give “Hardcore Hot Springs Hopping with a Chance of Heaven” a 4/5

We’re really doing this, huh? We’re going into GILF Territory?

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 3 Ep 8 Review

If you guys thought that Hahari and Chiyo were going to be a problem, then you’re gonna hate this: Rentaro’s next soulmate is a grandma! KUSURI’S GRANDMA!!! THIS SERIES DOESN’T GIVE ANY F’s!

Yes, Yes

Everyone, meet Yaku Yakuzen, our 16th soulmate! Yep, this is Yaku Yakuzen.

She’s 89 years old, and like the rest of her family, she took Kusuri’s imperfect immortality drug. Unlike Kusuri or her parents, though, not even the reversing medicine will turn her back to normal. Which is good, because Kusuri only started working on the drug so she wouldn’t see her grammy die. Which is…absolutely sweet and something I totally understand. If I were her, I would give that drug to my parents in a heartbeat.

So, from the getgo, it’s made clear that Yaku is in an entirely different league than the formerly oldest girlfriend, Hahari. Hahari is still in the prime of her life with anywhere from 60-80 years of life ahead of her. But Yaku was old enough to have served in World War II! She’s already experienced love with Kusuri’s grandpa, who the anime depicts as being this Japanese Rambo! And whereas Hahari never got to enjoy a life with her first love, Yaku did. So the main problem that Rentaro faces is trying to get her to take him seriously.

Listen, I know how weird this sounds, even by harem anime standards. However, we have no right to judge it. We already lost the right to do that with Hahari and Chiyo. Plus, having Yaku in the group means we can make jokes about the elderly trying to understand current tech and the like. It works a lot more than you think in the manga!

But we all know that Rentaro was going to win over Yaku. He’s Rentaro! It’s physically impossible for him to not do so.

This is fun

The second half of the episode is then dedicated to the traditional rooftop introduction of the newest member to the others. And the show doesn’t not hesitate to milk the jokes about Yaku’s age. It’s all in good fun, though. She’s the sweet old grandma that everyone loves because she’s nice and gives us candy.

What’s even funnier, though, is seeing her mix up all the girlfriends and their personalities. I also found the way they used each girlfriend’s image song to be a nice touch. Oh, and, just so you know, the scene with Chiyo is actually the censored version. The manga one wasn’t going to make it past the censors, so it didn’t even bother. Go figure!

And with that, we welcome Yaku to the Rentaro family and officially update the ED to include the secret girlfriend.

We have about four episodes left in the season, and only one more girlfriend. So we’re either saving them for last or they’re gonna cram a bunch of the funnier misadventures in for those episodes. Either way, I’m happy.

I Give “Kusuri-senpai’s Grandmother” 3/5

What…what just happened?

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, S4 Ep 19 Review

It is such a good time to be a fan of the isekai genre right now. The Big Three of isekai, Slime Tensura, Mushoku Tensei, and Re:Zero are all airing side-by-side and are headed into some of the best arcs in the story. I can’t tell you about Mushoku Tensei because I swore not to until the anime makes it to it, but with Slime? We’re about to get a story that’s going to completely reframe how the story could’ve gone. And it all has to do with three women who look surprisingly similar: Chloe, Hinata, and Chronoa.

Granville’s Plan

To remind everyone, Granville’s attack on Luminous and Rimuru isn’t just to get revenge for the death of his granddaughter. He’s smart enough to know that even rigging the game in his favor won’t be enough to kill Demon Lords. So while he and the Moderate Harlequin Alliance keep everyone busy, Yuuki has stolen Luminous’ most prized possession: the sleeping body of Chronoa, AKA the legendary hero who sealed away Veldora centuries ago. TL:DR, she and Luminous were best friends, and when she couldn’t control her power for much longer, Chronoa had her seal her away until the moment when she needed to wake up. Given how she was strong enough to seal Veldora, a True Dragon who’s stronger than even a Demon Lord, this was a warranted precaution. But since Granbell had been undercover in his alter-ego as one of the Seven-Days Luminaries working for Luminous, he knew everything about her. More importantly, he knew how to wake her up.

Stealing Chronoa’s body was phase one. Phase two is what is currently underway: organizing this attack on the Demon Lords to keep them distracted. And to help with this, after Luminous manages to best Granbell’s reanimated wife, Maria, the man absorbs her (no joke) to restore his youth and gain an advantage over Hinata, forcing her on the backfoot.

Uh-oh

And then comes the moment where Granville commences phase three. Chloe, out of concern for Rimuru and Hinata, ends up running into the fight, distracting all of them in the process. And keep in mind, this is a big moment for Leon. This is the first time since he was summoned to this world that he’s seen Chloe, his beloved adoptive sister. And she immediately is in danger as Granville sends his next attack straight at Chloe. Neither Rimuru or Leon can make it in time, but Hinata can. Unfortunately, the only way Hinata can save Chloe’s life…is by sacrificing her own.

It feels like Fuse must have taken a page out of Dragon Ball, because this is just like when Piccolo sacrificed himself to save Gohan. Granbell basically committed a canon event.

Where did Chloe go?

What happens next is a little confusing and doesn’t quite make sense. As Hinata is dying, despite Luminous’ best efforts to heal her, Chloe starts saying how things are happening “too soon.” Then reality starts glitching out, and before Rimuru understands what’s happening, she disappears right in front of him! And so does Hinata’s soul.

I’m not entirely sure how death and the afterlife works in Slime Tensura, but apparently, when someone dies, they either move onto the afterlife or re-enter the cycle of reincarnation. What’s happened to Hinata is different. When Shion and the victims of Falmuth died, their souls remained behind for a while, something that Rimuru extended until he could bring them back. But Hinata’s soul has completely vanished!

Then things get even crazier. The exact moment that Hinata dies and Chloe vanishes, Chronoa wakes up. As in, the exact same moment.

This is about to get crazy

This next part, I don’t know how to explain without spoiling things, but it comes down to this: Chronoa and Chloe are connected thanks to time travel. And neither of them could remain active at the same time due to how time travel works, as it would create a paradox. With that paradox now resolved, Chronoa has been awoken. And she is now an instrument of destruction and death that will kill everything in sight. Which was Granbell and Yuuki’s plan all along: wake up Chronoa, sic her on all their enemies, and watch what happens.

As for the how and why for this, that still needs to be explained. After the ED rolls, we see Chloe standing in an open field somewhere else, saying how things weren’t going the way she wanted yet. She’s talking about things that you wouldn’t expect a kid her age to normally know, which is probably confusing some anime-only fans. Thankfully, it looks like the next few episodes are going to finally explain everything. Based on what I’ve read in the light novels and heard through the fandom, this is going to be one of the best storylines in the series.

Man, it feels good to enjoy peak right now!

I Give “Death and Disappearance” a 4/5

Chloe and Hinata 2: Electric Boogaloo

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

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 21 Review

This. This is peak you guys. Chloe might have just become the best girl of Slime Tensura. Well, sort of. She’s at least one of the best characters in the story as of now as we watch her experience one of the hardest examples of time travel I have ever seen. At least she’s not alone in it, though; she has Hinata with her! Which is good, because, as it turns out, she’s destined not to last those 2,000 years of continued existence.

The adventures of Chloe and Hinata

After establishing herself in the past as Chronoa, the hero of time (not sorry, Link,) it is now up to Chloe and Hinata see that history turns out the way that they want it to. Which means that they’ve got to spend the next 2,000 years fighting and helping people. Just how Chloe is able to live that long, I honestly don’t know. All I know is that living for that long could make someone change who they are as a person or go crazy. But Chloe? She has some incredible willpower to her! She’s able to keep going all that time thanks to her love for Rimuru! It’s impressive how much she is able to achieve! Plus, she’s not alone.

In those two millennia, Chloe and Hinata form a symbiotic partnership with each other. Hinata will take over for Chloe at times at the girl’s behest, and this will allow her to see what a true Hero can be like. And she is impressed by it. It shows you just how much Hinata’s guilt and doubt was holding her back.

Plus the fact that they can switch now helps Hinata to become even better friends with Luminous than in the present day. Which explains why Luminous has always been so sweet to Hinata. The Vampire Demon Lord had to keep her mouth shut about all of this for years in the name of their friendship. It’s heartwarming.

You know what’s awesome, though? Seeing Hinata be the one who seals away Veldora.

Hinata got her get back with Veldora

In a surprising twist, it’s not Chloe herself who seals Veldora away. It was actually Hinata using Chloe’s body that did it! I don’t get why Chloe couldn’t do it herself, but I guess she just wanted to let Hinata settle her grudge match with him. Either way, it works out. And with that, the future is all but secured. Well, as secured as it will be for Chloe.

Due to Chloe’s past self about to be summoned to this world along with Leon (she gets flung into the future), Chloe’s consciousness will soon disappear as she can’t exist in two places at once. So, the rest is to be left up to Hinata. But there’s a caveat: Chronoa. It’s not just an alias anymore. It’s actually this alternate personality that could eventually take over Chloe’s body one day. And when that happens, no one will be safe. So now, Hinata has to spend the next two hundred years holding Chronoa back until she is summoned to the other world. So, Chloe says goodbye to Luminous and then lets Hinata take the reins, and right away, Hinata is nearly overwhelmed by the power of Chronoa. The fact that Chloe kept her at bay all that time is a true testament to her willpower for the sake of her beloved!

This also means that it is ultimately Hinata who rescues Shizu, the woman who will become the basis for Rimuru’s body and her own future mentor. So, in a supreme twist of irony, Hinata gets to teach her own teacher. How crazy is that?

Ultimately, though, it comes time for Hinata to lose her own consciousness to her past self. And that is why Luminous leaves her in suspended animation, awaiting the day when she can finally awaken after her and Chloe disappear. She doesn’t know what might happen next, but she is confident that Rimuru will be able to handle things. And so ends the story of Chronoa…until now. The episode then ends in the present day as we see the results of what has happened: Chronoa is now out, and she is ready to go on a rampage. So, once again, it’s up to our GOAT Rimuru to save the day.

Man, this was a good mini-arc, you guys. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind an entire spinoff as we see Chloe and Hinata’s adventures! But I guess it’s time to return to our regularly scheduled chaos next week.

I Give “Chronoa the Hero, Pt 2

What Happened to Chloe? The answer is…Super Fun!

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

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 20 Review

Oh, I have been waiting a while for this part of Slime Tensura. Ever since season one, the series has kept dropping hints that there is something special about Chloe Aubert. That she has an important role to play. Well, if you’ve read the light novels already, then you know the story was setting us up for one of the best time travel stories in anime. If you thought Trunks’ attempts to save the future were crazy, then you haven’t seen what Chloe has had to go through for the sake of her beloved slime, Rimuru.

Hinata Really Hates Herself

The last episode of the anime ended on a very bleak yet mysterious note for anime watchers. Hinata apparently died saving Chloe’s life, only for her soul to disappear. And then Chloe vanished into thin air. Obviously, the two are somehow connected, and we are about to learn why. But first, we get a look back on Hinata’s life.

Despite many people in her new world calling her a hero, Hinata has never seen herself as one. The reason is that during her life on Earth, she had to watch as her dad became incredibly abusive due to falling on hard times. It got to the point where she straight up killed him to try to end the abuse. And this wasn’t an act of self-defense, by the way; we see her push him off a cliff in the anime. When her mom got worse, she started thinking she’d be better off as an orphan, but then she got isekaied. It’s something that she feels a lot of guilt over, and it’s that guilt that’s kept her from unlocking her full potential. And now she’s dead…or is she?

As it turns out, the reason why Hinata’s soul vanished is that it jumped into the body of Chloe. Then Chloe jumped 2,000 years into the past, and this is where she dumps the exposition on what the heck is going on. I could share a link to a video explaining it all, but I want to try and tell it myself.

Chloe can Time Travel

To put it simply, Chloe has a unique skill that has left her trapped in an infinite time loop thanks to the deaths of Rimuru and Hinata. Originally, the incident with Falmuth, with Rimuru never fighting Hinata and thus making it back in time to stop the massacre. Thanks to that, he never had a reason to become a Demon Lord which left him and Tempest significantly weaker. Five years later, the Eastern Empire invaded and destroyed Tempest, with Rimuru dying in battle. Yes, our OP Slime died. After that, Velodra crashed out and went on a rampage, forcing Hinata and Chloe to fight him, only for Hinata to die in battle. That, in turn, led to Chloe being sent back in time. She would then spend the next 2,000 events trying to change history to prevent Hinata and Rimuru’s deaths, eventually transferring her memories to her future self.

This was just the most recent time loop. She’s done this so many times that she can’t remember anything past the last few times. All she remembers is that every time, Rimuru and Hinata, the man she loves and the woman she sees as her role model, die. She thought that she had changed things by stalling Rimuru long enough for things to play out as we know, but then Hinata died prematurely thanks to Granville.

Put some Respect on Chloe’s Name

Now, time travel in the isekai genre isn’t a new concept. Arguably the best example of it has been found in Slime Tensura’s contemporary, Re:Zero with Subaru’s infamous Return by Death. And I do mean infamous, because if you have seen some of the ways he’s died, you are left in disbelief at the fact that he is still able to keep going! That is basically what Chloe has had to experience for who knows how long! The only difference is that Chloe isn’t the one dying; it’s everyone else she cares about.

FRIENDS!!!!

That…might be…some of the most impressive willpower that I have ever seen in a character. Chloe has been living through so much failure and loss and keeps trying. Most people would have gone completely insane having to go through all of that even once! I haven’t even watched Re:Zero, and I know that Subaru goes through absolute hell on a regular basis! But I think Chloe might have him beat when it comes to sheer willpower! And she’s doing all of this for the sake of her love, Rimuru. It’s genuinely sweet.

At any rate, now that she’s in the past, Chloe’s goal is to ensure that the future plays out exactly like she wants it to. First things first, she has to re-befriend Luminous Valentine, and she knows exactly how: warn her about Veldora’s rampage on her old city!

To make a long story short, it works. They’re not able to save the city, but they do get the people out and guide them to the place that will become Lubelious. Having secured the trust of her friend once more, Chloe then sets out to ensure that things play out the way she wants to get the future she wants. A future with her beloved Rimuru. And she even gives herself a new name that will be known by all: Chronoa.

Man, this is peak! What a great time to be an isekai fan!

I Give “Chronoa the Hero, Part One” a 4/5