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‘100 Girlfriends’ is the Ultimate Sigma Harem Anime

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RJ Writing Ink’s Candid Review of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really REALLY Love You

Most anime watchers know, or at least have heard, of the premise behind the harem anime. An everyday protagonist suddenly themselves the center of attention amongst a group of attractive people. Said attractive people are all in love with or interested in them for various reasons. And hilarity ensues as they try to maintain some sense of normalcy in their lives. The formula gets tweaked somewhat, but the premise remains, and it can be a guilty pleasure because 

  • A.) their quality varies from amazing to absolute garbage, with the same going for the characters 
  • B.) the protagonist doesn’t pick their single partner.
  • C.) said chosen partner isn’t who the viewer considers best girl.

But what if there was a harem anime that didn’t do all that nonsense? A harem anime that goes out of its way to avoid the pitfalls of its counterparts while also playing the genre’s strengths to Mt. Everest levels of silliness? And most importantly, one with a protagonist who is a true CHAD and considers every girl to be best? That anime is here and it sets the new standard for harem anime: The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You.

The Beginning of CHADom

Meet Rentaro Aijo, a boy going into high school who only wants one thing in life: to experience love. Unfortunately, despite his good looks, friendly personality, and natural charisma, he’s been rejected by every girl he’s confessed to. All one hundred of them! So, he goes to a local shrine and prays to whoever’s listening to give him a girlfriend. Then, the shrine’s Love God appears and lets him know the good news. Hes not destined to meet his soulmate in high school: he’s destined to meet 100 soulmates!

One month later, Rentaro’s at his first day of high school when he runs into two beautiful girls: Hakari Hanazono and Karane Inda. And the two fall for him on the spot and beg him to date one of them. Rentaro is over the moon! But he can’t choose. That’s when the Love God drops some harsh truths. Firstly, he was only meant to have one soulmate, but due to a clerical error via watching a Miyazaki film, he wrote 100. Secondly, rejecting one’s soulmate will rob a person of all their luck. And they will eventually die. 

So what does Rentaro do? Does he:

  • A.) Waffle on the decision like other harem protagonists?
  • B.) Only choose one and knowingly sentence 99 other girls to death?
  • C.) Date them behind each other’s backs like a scumbag
  • D.) None of the above

Play this:

The answer is D.) none of the above. In the first of countless moments that demonstrate his CHADness, Rentaro tells them that he’s gonna date both of them because he loves And just to prove how serious he is, he gives them these four-leaf clovers they spent hours looking for yesterday because they heard it would set them up with their love! 

And just like that, Rentaro starts his path toward gathering a harem of 100 girls so they won’t die. 

You’re not dealing with your average harem anime.

At first glance, 100 Girlfriends might seem like another harem anime. However, once one enters the story, they will find it’s anything but. It improves on many of the genre’s strengths for the sake of storytelling and comedy. At the same time, it also ensures that it avoids the many pitfalls people have with the genre. In other words, it’s built different, and here’s why.

Exhibit A-Rentaro is a CHAD among CHADS

There have been a lot of different harem protagonists over the years, but a big problem is that a lot of them seem like bland, uninspired, cookie cutter self-inserts. Some examples stand out, like Issei Hyoudou, Tenchi Masaki, and Yuuki Rito, but they can even have their problems. Rentaro, on the other hand, is built different.

Firstly, he’s not a dense kind of protagonist who isn’t unaware that the girls are in love with him. Rentaro’s fully aware of their feelings for him and schemes they come up with to get closer to him, and is openly receptive to them.

Secondly, he is not passive; he is active. He spent years bettering himself to be the ideal boyfriend, which shows. He will go out of his way to ensure each growing harem is happy, even at his own expense.

  • Argue about who gets his first kiss? He’ll devise a way to ensure they can all share the honor.
  • Have trouble talking out loud? He’ll transcribe your favorite book into a text-to-speech app for you to communicate. By hand!
  • Sees some creep trying to put hands on his girlfriends? He’ll come back from death to save them!!

Plus, unlike someone like Issei, he always acts like a true gentleman and treats his girlfriends with the utmost respect. He doesn’t play favorites; he loves them all equally. He is the ideal that every boyfriend or husband should aspire to. He is the true CHAD, the ultimate rizz-god, CHADtaro Aijo!

Exhibit B-The Series Deconstructs a lot of Waifu Archetypes

Given the series premise, its inevitable that it will come to include a lot of character archetypes. In a break from many harem anime, though, 100 Girlfriends doesn’t include them simply for the sake of it, but deconstructs them. It shows the real effects each archetype would have on people; not all are pretty.

Hakari acts prim and proper like the perfect girl on the outside, but on the inside, she’s very perverted and keeps imagining lewd ways to earn Rentaro’s attention. 

Karane Inda is a tsundere, which makes it hard for her to express her true feelings, even when she wants to. Imagine how hard that must be for someone to endure daily?

Shizuka Yoshimoto is a cute girl who hardly ever talks, but not by choice. Her natural shyness already made it hard to speak up, but getting bullied and called a freak by other people, including her mom, made it even worse.

Nano Eiai is like a Vulcan, suppressing her emotions in favor of logic. While that helps her natural intelligence, it also stunts her emotions to the point that she doesn’t know how to respond to love or friendship.

Kusuri Yakusen is a chemistry genius stuck in a loli form, a jab at the whole “legal loli” thing. On top of this, her mad scientist tendencies led her friends to abandon her. A drug she made that the girls accidentally ingest turned them into kiss zombies bent on making out with Rentaro at the cost of their personalities. 

And…I’m not gonna spoil who the sixth one is or her problems.

And unlike many other girls in harem anime, meeting Rentaro doesn’t magically fix their problems. Rentaro may help them, but they are still things they have to actively work on. That fact alone gives them way more depth than most girls.

Exhibit C- It follows Through on its Premise, and Treats Everyone Equally

The title isn’t just for show. It fully intends to give Rentaro 100 girlfriends before the end of the series. By this point in the manga, CHADtaro is already at 27 girls. It’s likely that by the end of the series, it won’t include every kind of waifu. It might have to make some up. In addition, the story makes its intent known by the time the anime ends. It’s not just limiting the waifus to Rentaro’s age range. All types of waifus are on the table!

And remember what was said about every girl being best girl here? The series follows through on that, and so does Rentaro. He loves all his girlfriends equally and never favors one over the other. Even protagonists who embrace having a harem have a girl they love the most. But Rentaro is filled with so much love, he can love all of them. Nobody gets left out in the Rentaro family!

100 Girlfriends is the Pinnacle of Harem Anime

Harem anime hasn’t always gotten the best rep. At best, it’s wishful thinking. At worst, it feels like self-insert fiction for those who can’t find love. But 100 Girlfriends isn’t just wishful thinking or a mere self-insert story. 

100 Girlfriends is built different. It takes everything good about the harem anime and elevates it to new levels of romantic comedy. It makes fun of the genre while also furthering its evolution. That’s the feat that only a great story can pull off. And the main character has the kind of rizz every guy wants. 

In other words, 100 Girlfriends was one of the best anime of 2023. Go watch it on Crunchyroll. You will not regret it!

So Many Good Anime to Come out of 2023

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

RJ Writing Ink’s Best Anime of 2023

The Year 2023 was undoubtedly an absolute banger of a year for anime. From seeing how Satoru Gojo became an overpowered rizz God to the most upbeat zombie apocalypse to the end of the Rumbling, it has been a glorious year in anime. With 2024 now, it is the perfect time to reflect on the best to grace our screens. I’m RJ Writing Ink for D&A Anime Blog, and in no particular order, here are my picks for the best anime of the year.

Full disclosure: most of this list will cover anime I’ve seen this year. Thus, this is more of an opinion post than a formal review and breakdown. Most of my choices were anime that set the Internet ablaze with hype, so I think I’m good.

Attack on Titan: the Final Chapter

This should’ve been shown in theaters, plain and simple. Two years after the end of the manga, the anime Attack on Titan ended in two earth-shattering, apocalyptic specials that set the world on fire. As the long-awaited Rumbling flattened the world, fans saw the true horror of what Eren Yeager had unleashed in visceral detail. Everything from the music to the animation was on point courtesy of studio Mappa, delivering some of the best moments anime has seen in this decade. At the end of the day, the real triumph was how the finale improved the ending.

The ending to the manga garnered a fair amount of criticism over the past two years, and it seems the people making the anime took it to heart. As a result, the series finale saw several additional scenes that better explained things that seemed vague in the manga. IE, they better explained Eren’s rationale, how he hated himself for what he did, and how Armin reacted to it. That and it confirmed that, yes, Paradis did get centuries of peace before its eventual destruction. That’s as close to a happy ending as we’re gonna get, and I’ll take it. 

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Once again, Demon Slayer reminds us why it’s one of the greatest Shonen anime of the next generation with the Swordsmith Village arc. Having damaged his sword in the battle at the Pleasure District, Tanjiro and Nezuko head to the Demon Slayer’s secret Swordsmith Village to get him a new one. However, things go awry when two of the Twelve Kizuki infiltrate the village to destroy it. A desperate battle follows as Tanjiro and the other Demon Slayers fight to protect the makers of the only weapons capable of stopping the Demons.

As always, Demon Slayer remains a visual feast for the eyes. The anime has achieved international renown for the stunning beauty put into its animation, but something should also be said for the emotional depth of the characters. From the depravity of the Demons, as they embody the worst of mankind, to Tanjiro’s refusal to ever give up, there’s a reason why Demon Slayer is so popular. The best moment, though, comes in the final episode when Nezuko steps out into the light of the sun and is fine. Such a simple sight, once thought impossible, is enough to bring tears to people’s eyes. 

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

The story of Rudeus Greyrat, the man given a second chance at life via reincarnation, continues in Mushoku Tensei. Unfortunately, the anime picks up with Rudeus at rock bottom, having been seemingly spurned by his love, Eris. Rudy struggles to deal with the trauma of Eris’ abrupt departure as he journeys North to attend the magic school of his dreams. In doing so, he encounters faces both familiar and new as he tries to make the most of his second life, including a certain friend he hasn’t seen in years.

Say what you want about Isekai being a dime a dozen these days, but Mushoku Tensei is one of the good ones. That’s because, unlike many others, it goes out of its way to portray the protagonist as a flawed person whose first life still affects their worldview. While Rudy is still far from a necessarily good person, you can’t help but root for him as he tries to improve. And after the ill-planned stunt Eris pulled, you can’t help but want him to be happy. And the season still needs to be finished, with the second half coming in 2024. Here’s to seeing Rudy’s life continue improving until it isn’t. 

No spoilers. 

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

Ever since he was eight months old, all Rentaro Aijō has wanted was a girlfriend to love. Unfortunately, by the time he reached high school, he’d been rejected 100 times. That’s when he visits a local temple, and its Love God tells him something incredible: he won’t just meet his soulmate in high school. He’ll meet all 100 of his soulmates. The catch is that if he rejects one of them, the resulting misfortune will eventually kill them. Refusing to let this happen or make anyone sad, Rentaro decides to date all of them. 

No, you read that right. This man is going to date 100 girls before he leaves high school.

Harem anime don’t always get a positive reputation, but 100 Girlfriends should be a big exception:

  1. The protagonist is aware of every girl falling for him and goes out of his way to make them all happy.
  2. Almost every girlfriend serves as a deconstruction of their character archetype. Behavior that would be one note in another series becomes more nuanced here and serves as actual issues they may have to solve.
  3. The show embraces the pros of the genre and takes them to new comedic heights.

I can’t remember the last time a harem anime made me laugh so hard, so much so that I wrote a whole, separate review of this!

Scott Pilgrim Takes off

Thirteen years since Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the world was glad to hear that the famous graphic novel was getting an anime adaptation. Animated by Science Saru and debuting on Netflix, the show saw most of the film’s cast reprising in what looked like a full adaptation of the graphic novel series. However, the end of the first episode changed everything. Instead of winning against the first of Ramona’s evil exes, Scott disappears and is presumed dead by almost everyone. Thus, the story shifts to following Ramona as she attempts to uncover who took Scott while everyone tries to move on from their lives.

Since fans expected a proper adaptation of the popular graphic novel series, some were unhappy that Netflix blindsided everyone. The majority of viewers, though, had nothing but praise. The anime keeps the spirit of the novels and film alive, and it’s clear that everyone was on their a-game working on this. Additionally, the changed timeline allows Scott Pilgrim to deconstruct itself without as much drama. The show gives Ramona more depth and shows that, despite her cool demeanor, she’s made just as many mistakes as Scott did. So, she gets that character development, and so does Scott when he returns. 

Jujutsu Kaisen

After years of waiting for the next chapter, fans of Jujutsu Kaisen got their wish with the show’s second season debuting on Crunchyroll. The first five episodes of the season serve as a prequel to the series, chronicling the events that turned a teenage Gojo into the man who would serve as Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi’s mentor and establish how he is that guy. He was so powerful that the follow-up Shibuya Arc saw him sealed away by the Cursed Spirits, the Jujutsu Sorceror’s fight. And from there, everything that could go wrong did go wrong, as everyone present in Shibuya either died or was thrust into hell.

Let’s come out and say it: the Shibuya Arc is one of the darkest arcs in Shonen history. Between the protagonist’s primary mentor being sealed away and Sukuna using Yuji’s body to destroy Shibuya and kill thousands. By the time the dust settles, the initial villains of the story, who aren’t Sukuna or Geto, are dead, and most of the supporting cast is either dead or heavily injured. Did we mention how Sukuna leveled the district? Not including Jujutsu Kaisen on this list would be a disservice to it. It gave fans everything they wanted and then some!

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Have you ever had a job so bad that a zombie apocalypse seems like heaven in comparison? That’s precisely what Akira Tendou felt in his borderline sweatshop corporate job. So when an actual zombie apocalypse occurs, Akira’s first thoughts? He never has to work again! With a growing group of friends by his side, Akira decides to live his life to the fullest before he potentially becomes a zombie.

The idea of someone being happier in a zombie apocalypse sounds so absurd on paper, but Zom 100 does it so well it might as well be the anti-High School of the Dead. Besides being a rebuke of how oppressive corporate society is, the series also serves as a reminder of what it means to live life for oneself genuinely. Akira’s joy at his freedom in such bizarre circumstances is infectious and enough to inspire people in the universe without focusing more on what makes them happy. That, and it’s just plain funny. 

Baki Hanma

The Baki franchise has always been crazy, but this year, it reached absurd levels of ridiculousness. The first half of the season sees the world’s best fighters trying to fight Pickle, a 190 million-year-old caveman thawed out from ice that are dinosaurs for lunch. The second half of the season saw Baki prepare for his final confrontation with his father, Yujiro, the strongest creature in the world. The results: bones are bones, missing limbs, and punches flying at the speed of sound.

Baki is the kind of series that has to be seen to be believed. The idea of a caveman waking up in the modern day isn’t new, but a caveman that fought dinosaurs and made victims out of everyone he fought? It sounds so dumb, yet so awesome. Additionally, the fight between Baki and Yujiro isn’t just incredible but emotional. Watch this if you haven’t already!

One Piece

If there’s one anime that came out of this year more popular than ever, it’s the legendary One Piece. The long-running Wano Country Arc, which saw Straw-Hat Luffy and his crew and allies fight their most brutal fight to date against the inhumanly strong Kaido and his Beast Pirates, come to its climactic conclusion. Pushing himself beyond all his limits to defeat Kaido and save Wano Country, Luffy unlocked a new form so ridiculous that it can only be described as a weaponized form of Toon Force. 

Say what you want about One Piece, but the world eats well when it cooks. Clips uploaded by Crunchyroll took the top trending spot on YouTube multiple times throughout the year. The live-action Netflix series broke the mold by not being bad. And Luffy got his own balloon at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  

So Many Waifu’s to Choose From!

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RJ Writing Ink’s Picks for Best Waifu’s of 2023

The year 2023 is over, and that means it’s time for us to reflect on everything that’s happened. For anime fans, that also means it’s time to look back the anime we’ve watched, and just as important, which girls and boys we consider to be the best. This year saw tons of amazing waifus; so much so that before the year was out, we had to name them all. I’m RJ Writing Ink for D&A Anime Blog, and in no particular order, here are my top picks for best girls of 2023. 

For this list, we won’t just be including girls from shows that premiered in 2023. We will also be including girls who gained prominence on returning shows in 2023. Also, it goes without saying, but no loli’s.

Tomo Aizawa-Tomo-Chan is a Girl!

Ask her best friend, Jun, and he’ll say that Tomo Aizawa is the best friend a guy could have. One problem, though: Tomo wants to be more than just friends with Jun, and he’s clueless about this. Thus, Tomo has to find ways of getting him to stop seeing her as just one of the guys and seeing her as a girl. 

If tomboy supremacy is a thing, then Tomo Aizawa embodies it. Confident (mostly), friendly, and unwilling to take anyone’s nonsense, Tomo is every tomboy lover’s dream personified, with even girls being known to fall for her. The main issue that she has is that her tomboy ways have left her deeply insecure about her feminine side and make her think she needs to change that about herself to get Jun to like her. The anime focuses on her trying to do so, only to realize that she never had to do so. Jun already loves her the way she is, and so do plenty of fans.

Of which I am one.

Sylphiette-Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

Introduced as the first friend that Rudeus Greyrat ever made in his second life, Sylphiette has been in love with him since day one. That only made it harder for her when he went away to earn money for them to attend magic school, only for the Teleportation Incident to separate them even further. When they finally reunited at that same magic school, Sylphie despaired when Rudy didn’t recognize her. Once she gathered her courage to reveal her true identity, though, she learned that not only had he never forgotten her, but returned her feelings. 

Can we appreciate how much of an angel Sylphiette really is? Despite knowing of Rudeus character flaws (of which there are many), she always saw the best in him even when he didn’t. More importantly, when she learned about the psychological trauma he endured from his first love abruptly leaving him, Sylphie’s first response was understanding and compassion. Her love for Rudeus saved him in one of the lowest points in his life. No wonder why he immediately asked her to marry him. 

Miyo Saimori-My Happy Marriage

Miyo Saimori did not have a happy life. Unwanted by her birth father and treated like a servant by her stepmother and half-sister, Miyo spent her whole life thinking she was worthless. All of that changed, though, when she was engaged to the cold but handsome soldier Kiyoka Kudou. Despite his reputation of scaring off his prospective brides, she soon learns that he’s not the cruel man people make him out to be. And with his support, she begins to come out of her shell and finally learn to stand up for herself.

Miyo Saimori is like the Japanese version of Cinderella, if what Cinderella went through gave her low self-esteem. Spending her whole life being seen as useless by her own family, Miyo starts out the series with little hope for a better life. However, once she gets her fiancé to warm up to her, and gains the supportive environment she never had, she grows out of her timid nature. While she’s still a bit of a wallflower, she shows everyone that she has an unspoken will to her that makes her far stronger than she seems. 

Shizuka Mikazuki and Beatrix Amerhauser-Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Since these two are from the same anime, I OK combined their entry into one. 

First running into Akira while he was looking to get beer, Shizuka had a demeanor so cold, she could’ve been an ice queen. While this was partially due to her logical nature, a large part of her cold demeanor stems from her control freak father dictating everything about her life. As she comes to spend more time with Akira, though, she starts to lighten up and learn never to let others tell her how to live her life. 

In contrast, Beatrix Amerhauser is very much an extrovert. A young German woman with a lifelong passion for Japan, she came to the country right as the zombie apocalypse started. However, not even zombies would stop her from seeing the country she dreamed about for years, becoming the fourth to join Akira’s growing travel party.

Both these girls couldn’t be any more different from each other, yet both have aspects that make them great waifus. They’re both considered very pretty by men and are subjects to varying degrees of fanservice, but it’s their personalities that are the big draw. Underneath Shizuka’s cold demeanor lies someone who cares deeply for the people she considers her friends. And seeing Beatrix get excited by her love of Japan is enough to get anyone around her fired up. In other words, they’re both great women and great waifus.

Mitsuri Kanroji-Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Born with an abnormal level of strength, poor Mitsuri managed to scare off any prospective marriage partner. While she did try to hide her strength to attract a husband, she quickly realized how miserable her life would be to live like this. Rather than try and act like what others considered to be “normal,” Mitsuri chose to embrace who she was by becoming a Demon Slayer. Now among the strongest people in Japan, Mitsuri hoped to find a man even tougher than her in the hopes of finally finding love.

Okay, real talk. If Mitsuri turns guys off because of her abnormal hair color or for how strong she is, then the problem isn’t her; it’s all of them. Compassionate, beautiful, and willing to lay down her life for what she thinks is right, Mitsuri Kanroji is everything most guys want in a girlfriend. The fact that she hasn’t found a husband who likes her for her is a travesty. 

Ramona Flowers-Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

She is, quite literally, the girl of Scott Pilgrim’s dreams. Those familiar with the story of Scott Pilgrim know the tale of Ramona Flowers. She is a cool skater girl with even cooler hair and has a lot of exes that Scott has to fight to date her in peace. However, all of that goes out the window when Scott disappears in the middle of fighting her first ex. While the others in Scott’s life try to move on with their lives, Ramona takes it upon herself to find out who took him, becoming the main character in this new story.

While the graphic novels and the film adaptation hinted at it, the anime version of Ramona Flowers fully fleshes out her character beyond being a manic pixie dream girl. She’s just as flawed as her prospective boyfriend, Scott, with her actions being just as responsible for how her exes turned out as they are. At the same time, seeing her come to terms with her past mistakes as she tries to find Scott shows how she can change herself for the better. Because of her willingness to make amends for past mistakes while still being an all-around fantastic girl, Ramona deserves a place on this list. 

Every One of Rentaro’s Girlfriends-The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

Sorry, but given the premise of this crazy harem anime, it’s impossible to choose one of Rentaro’s growing list of girlfriends as best. So, much like gigachad Rentaro, I’m going with all of them. 

Hakari is sweet and openly affectionate. She may have a bit of a perverted side, but she’s very supportive of her fellow harem members and their happiness.

Karane may be a tsundere, but that personality type is popular with many anime fans. She may have trouble expressing her true feelings, but when push comes to shove, her love for her friends and Rentaro knows no bounds.

Shizuka is adorable-looking and very well-read, but at the same time, very shy. Her shyness was only made worse because everyone, including her mother, saw her as a freak for only using books to communicate with others. Underneath her shyness, though, Shizuka has a lot of courage and is willing to do anything to help her newfound family. 

Nano is an archetypical kuudere, cold and efficient to the point that she could be called a Vulcan. But once Rentaro gets into her heart, she starts to learn how to embrace her emotions more. Plus, she can dress up to look like an actual Prince Charming. That is a rare talent, indeed!

Kusuri might look like a loli, but that’s due to her genius backfiring on her with a semi-permanent drug, leaving her with the body of a child. When she does return to her actual age, though, she’s like a red-headed version of Bulma from Dragon Ball: brains and beauty combined.

As Hakari’s mom, the introduction to Hahari made her appear cold and controlling of her daughter. In truth, though, that was because Hakari’s father died before she was born, leaving Hahari to raise her by herself at age 13 (she had herself artificially inseminated, all right!) After Rentaro proved how genuine his feelings for Hakari were, though, Hahari didn’t just give them her blessing. She wound up becoming his sixth soulmate, much to everyone’s exasperation.

And this is just the first six. Rentaro is going to have 94 more before the story comes to an end.

Itsuki Gets Curb-Stomped by Rishia

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The Rising of the Shield Hero S3, Ep 11 Review

At this point, it should be obvious that the Four Cardinal Heroes are in need of some serious therapy. None of them were mentally ready to handle getting summoned and told that they’re heroes meant to save the world. Now, Motoyasu can only see women as talking pigs except for Filo (who he now stalks like crazy.) Ren went through his bandit phase after losing his party and getting conned by Witch. Naofumi’s the most stable of them thanks to making friends he can trust. But Itsuki might be in the worst state of them all. He’s so in denial over the fact that he’s wrong that he’s letting Witch string him along.

Man, Witch sucks.

Itsuki Has Started to Lose It.

From the start of the episode, it’s clear that Itsuki has started going off the deep end. He’s mentally monologuing about how he’s on the side of justice. He’s telling himself that he’s not inferior to anyone and denying the fact that he’s messed up a lot. Then when he sees that Naofumi’s behind his match with Rishia and that he brought all the Demihuman kids, he accuses him of gathering more slaves and using them for money and profit. Then, he tries to attack Naofumi, putting everyone’s lives in danger in the process!

It becomes apparent to everyone, especially the viewers, that Itsuki is not in the best state of mind. And we get a glimpse into just how deep-rooted these issues he has are. In his world, an alternate Japan where people could have psyhic powers, he wanted to be a hero, but then he found out that he wasn’t as strong as he thought he was. Unlike Deku, though, Itsuki never got the chance to become stronger; he just got bullied and made to think that he was weak. 

Then he got summoned to Melromarc and told by everyone that he was one of the people meant to save their world. He had an entire country brown-nosing him, and that went too much to his head. Because when you’ve spent your entire life being told you’re not special, you’re willing to believe those who sing your praises, no matter their intentions or sincerity. Thus, like the other Heroes, he fell for Witch’s lies hook, line, and sinker.

Thankfully, Rishia is there to give him a reality check.

Rishia is a True Friend

Rishia is probably the only person who genuinely believed in Itsuki from the start. He saved her from imprisonment, so she followed him and admired his sense of justice…until he threw her out. Now that’s started to overcome her own inescurities and become a badass, she’s ready to help Itsuki in this time of need. And help her she does.

The fight between Rishia and Itsuki is less of a fight and more of a one-sided curb-stomping. Despite being in the thrall of the cursed Bow, Rishia still manages to curb-stomp him. To rub further salt in the wound, Rishia also criticizes his views on justice. Itsuki thinks his form of justice is the only form of justice, but that’s untrue. By its nature, Justice is different between person to person, culture to culture. One group’s idea of justice is another’s idea of tyranny. The fact that Itsuki’s refusing to acknowledge this doesn’t make him a hero; just a self-righteous bully. 

It gets to the point where even Itsuki’s Bow gets tired of its wielders nonsense, and gives its power to Rishia to end things. She does, but Itsuki still refuses to listen to reason and runs off to find Witch.

Itsuki is a Broken Shell

What happens next surprises no one but Itsuki. Witch and the rest of his So-called party’s long gone. They spent all that money he won on themselves and left him with a Mountain of debts, utterly breaking him.

It’s not fully explained in the anime, but the light novels reveal that what’s happened to Itsuki is even worse than people thought. Because he used the Cursed Series of his Bow, the Pride Bow, he’s lost his free will. As a result, the sight at the end of Rishia leading Itsuki is because of PTSD. He can no longer do anything without being ordered to do so. It’s that bad.

The only consolation’s here are the fact that Itsuki is with someone who actually cares about his well-being. The Four Heroes are now United under Naofumi. And they now have an army of strong companions to help them. Things seem to be looking up. 

Since there’s only one episode left this season, I’m waiting to see how things go wrong again. 

I Give “Justice vs. Justice” a 4/5

Raphtalia Must Be Protected at All Costs!

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The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep 12

Raphtalia is one of the best waifus in the history of the Isekai genre. She’s beautiful, kind, and strong, and she was the big reason that Naofumi never entirely gave into the despair from his early days as the Shield Hero. While Naofumi either ignores or remains oblivious that she’s in love with him (for now), he will still go to war against anyone who would hurt her. That is precisely what happens in the final episode of this season of Shield Hero. When an entire country targets Raphtalia for reasons straight out of Game of Thrones, Naofumi marches to war.

A Ridiculous Misunderstanding

Having spent the entire season tracking down the three Cardinal Heroes and setting them straight, things seem to finally be going right for Naofumi. The Heroes are cooperating, Lulorona Village is flourishing despite some setbacks, and everyone’s getting stronger. Gaelion’s even started teaching Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Sadeena how to use Dragon Veins. Things finally seem to be doing well for the Shield Hero.

Then, due to a ridiculous misunderstanding, the Heroes get caught in another conflict.

It all started when Naofumi asked Erhard to make Raphtalia a Miko Outfit based on the one she wore in Glass’ world. While the anime doesn’t explain why he did this, the Light Novel’s do: because he thought she looked cute. It was for cosplay, plain and simple. However, when Sadeena comes back and sees Raphtalia wearing it, she freaks out and begs her to take it off.

Then, all hell breaks loose as the village comes under attack from demihuman ninjas.

Q’Ten Lo and their Stupidity 

The ninjas prove tough enough to fight on even ground with the Cardinal and Vassal Heroes, cancelling their powers. It takes everyone’s help to take them down, but then they blow themselves up before they can talk. And the whole time, they were going about “Heavenly Emperor” and not letting Raphtalia claim it. Thankfully, no one dies, but one kid’s left in bad shape.

Afterwards, Sadeena took everyone aside and explained everything. To the east of Melromarc is the country of Q’Ten Lo, which is a stand-in for Feudal Japan, complete with an Emperor and isolationist policies. In the past, the royal family went through a whole Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon scenario, fighting and killing to decide the next Heavenly Emperor. By the time the dust settled, only two people were left, and one of them was Raphtalia’s father. He and her Mom didn’t want to get involved in that nonsense, so they bailed and moved to Melromarc before she was born. Sadeena, whose family had guarded the royal family for generations, went with them. In other words, Raphtalia is a Princess, and those assassin’s tried to kill her to prevent her from claiming the throne.

It turns out, the Q’Ten Lo government had had assassin’s watching Raphtalia and her parents all her life, ready to kill her at a moment’s notice. And when they saw her wearing that miko outfit, they misunderstood it for her gunning for the throne and overreacted by picking a fight with her and the Cardinal Heroes. Like idiots. Like a bunch of idiots. 

A Pissed off Naofumi Goes to War

So, let’s look at the evidence:

  1. A bunch of Assassin’s overreacted to Raphtalia’s innocent cosplaying (because Naofumi thought she looked cute.)
  2. They attacked Raphtalia, her village, and the people in it.
  3. They tried to kill three of the Cardinal Heroes, the one’s supposed to save their world from the Waves, which would screw over everyone.
  4. By doing so, they risked an international incident with Melromarc.

The thing that Naofumi cares the most about, though? These people knew about everything that Raphtalia went through. Losing her parents to the Waves. How she and her friends got enslaved with many of them dying. They knew about everything she went through before she met Naofumi and since, and didn’t do a thing to help her. 

Naofumi’s response: he’s going to war. 

While revenge is a part of Naofumi’s decision (and in this case, an understandable response), there’s logic behind it. This country was willing to kill the people meant to save their world for reasons that, in the grand scheme of things, are incredibly petty and stupid. In addition, the Phoenix, the next of the beasts after the Spirit Tortoise, will revive in two months. They can’t afford to be distracted like this. So, Naofumi tells everyone present that they’re headed to Q’ten Lo to put their leaders in their place. However, to get there, they must first travel to the one nation Q’ten Lo interacts with: Siltvelt. AKA, the land that worships the Shield Hero like a God. Thus, the season ends with Naofumi flying ahead on Gaelion to give the others a spot to teleport. 

Things are about to get Game of Thrones in here.

The Next Season Should be Fun

Full disclosure: I’m a fan of stories that have political intrigue in the vein of Game of Thrones. Since the show ended, though, I’ve also come to love these stories for another reason: to laugh at how trivial, petty, and stupid the scheming is.

No, really. After seeing how badly Westeros was ravaged from people fighting over a throne that, in the end, no one claimed, made me realize how pointless the whole thing was. Especially given how the entire thing took place while an army of ice zombies gathered in the far north. Replace the White Walkers with the Waves of Catastrophe and the Phoenix, and the Shield Hero deals with the same thing. They’re ready to destroy the world, and idiots in power are playing politics. And unlike Jon Snow, Naofumi has far less tolerance for their nonsense.

So, whenever the next season comes around, we’ll see Naofumi going to the country that worships him and then overthrowing a country dumb enough to make an enemy out of him. Not a bad way to end the season.

As for the season, it doesn’t quite reach the height of excitement that the first season did. Nor did it have quite as interesting a premise as the second season (even if several factors ruined it). However, this season feels like it was meant to be a breather before a potentially big storm. The storm in question being what will go down in Q’ten Lo.

I’m looking forward to it, regardless. 

Also, I’m with Naofumi on this. Anyone who tries to hurt Raphtalia will suffer. Like these two.

Chainsaw Man is Getting a Movie!

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Chainsaw Man fans are going to eat well soon. They’re getting a movie soon.

Chainsaw Man is one of the hottest Shonen series out right now, and for good reason. Part of a recent wave of dark Shonen manga and anime, Chainsaw Man has taken the world by storm. Set in an alternate 1990s Japan in which Devils are real and the manifestations of mankind’s fears, Chainsaw Man tells the story of Denji. After getting killed by his Yakuza handlers, Denji fuses with his Devil companion, Pochita, to become Chainsaw Man. Now he works as a Devil Hunter for the government hunting down other Devils in exchange for good food, a roof over his head…and the promise of getting laid. 

Chainsaw Man isn’t like previous Shonen hits, and it shows. It’s dark, gritty, and filled with so much blood and gore that it would make concerned parents faint from shock. Thus, it’s pretty popular and liked by people in the Shonen demographic and adults who technically outgrew it. The anime was released in Fall 2022, and much like the manga, it was immensely popular. While the reviews for the anime on this blog were critical towards the end, one cannot deny that Chainsaw Man is good. And while there’s no word on when Season Two comes out, the movie will continue the story with the Bomb Girl arc.

In the manga, the Bomb Girl Arc takes place in the wake of the Katana Man Arc. As Denji continues his duties as a Public Safety Devil Hunter, he seemingly meets the girl of his dreams, Reze. However, even those who have watched the anime know that when good things happen to Denji, they tend to get ripped away from him. Hard. And that’s all I’m going to say without spoiling anything.

I don’t know when this will come out of if it will be out in theaters. However, if it’s released in theaters, I’m going to want to see it on the big screen. Regardless of whatever problems I might have had with the anime, I can’t deny how great Chainsaw Man is. It’s going to be fun!

Dragon Emperor Dungeon Boss Fight

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The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep 9 Review

Last week, things weren’t looking good for Naofumi and his allies. Their baby dragon, Gaelion, got possessed by the spirits of two angry adults. Filo’s being used as an unwilling battery as they drain her levels like a parasite. The whole group’s barely hanging on against this pseudo-dungeon boss. And like the boss to any dungeon in an MMORPG, everyone has to work together to slay the dragon.

This might be among the best fights of the entire season.

First Step to Beating the Boss: Find the Weakspot

With the Dragon Emperor bearing down on them with its flames, Naofumi’s barely able to keep everyone alive. It’s only thanks to a well-placed attack by Atla that they managed to escape with their lives. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that by the next day, the dragon will have drained all of Filo’s XP. To make matters worse, Atla, the only one who can hurt it, can’t do so without risking her own life. As everyone regroups and re-strategizes, though, we get a better look at her past through flashbacks.

Gaelion Was a Great Dad

As Wyndia explained, Gaelion is her adoptive father; her biological father died from injuries while (likely) fleeing slavers or persecution. He only lived long enough to tell Gaelion her name.

What follows is one of the most genuinely heartwarming moments of the season. There are a plethora of examples of real-life babies raised by animals, and while Gaelion’s considered sentient, he still counts. Seeing him try in vain to soothe a crying baby Wyndia with raw fish (and treasure) is something plenty of dad’s can relate to. And seeing Wyndia imitate Gaelion’s roar tugs at the heartstrings. It goes a long way to show how important they were to each other, and only makes what happened all the more tragic.

There is a point to this flashback, though. Wyndia remembers that she accidentally discovered her Dad’s weak-spot: an upside-down scale on his chest.

So now, they have to hit that.

Might Not be an MMORPG, But It can Still Play Like One

Shield Hero has made no attempts to hide its MMORPG influences from day one; that’s a known fact. At the same time, it’s also made it clear that, while some aspects of it function like an MMORPG, real life is still real life, as the heroes have all had to learn. In the case of fights like the one against the reborn Dragon Emperor, though, the show knows how to play its roots to its advantage.

Anyone who’s played MMO’s like World of Warcraft, Star Wars: the Old Republic, and more know what the final boss of a dungeon’s like. It’s a fight that tests them to their limits and requires perfect teamwork and not pulling a Leeroy Jenkins. Thankfully, not only did Naofumi’s group come to play, but so did the animation.

The fight that follows, while not quite as tense as the previous episode, makes up for things with letting everyone get at least one good hit in. However, despite everything, it’s not until Atla and Fohl show up that the tide truly turns. It shows that the studio put much of its budget into Atla’s final attack, because it is breathtaking to watch.

In the end, Naofumi and others manage to free Gaelion jr. and Filo from the Dragon Emperor, and Sadeena rips its core out. Boss fight won!

They’ve Got a Dragon Now!

So, despite having to say goodbye to her father for a second time, Wyndia manages to make peace with what happened, and starts to forgive Ren. The show makes it no secret that had Ren known the truth, he wouldn’t have fought Gaelion. Thus, it’s satisfying when afterwards, Naofumi tells the villagers, “you all duped Ren into killing that dragon for its treasure and steal his daughter. You brought this on yourself and got what you deserved.” Knowing what he can do to people who make him mad, they got off easy. It’s also satisfying to see Wyndia take the first steps to healing by thanking Ren for saving her.

Except the OG Gaelion isn’t gone for good. Part of his soul’s now rooming in Gaelion Jr.’s body, which he asks Naofumi to keep quiet about. Sadly for Filo, Jr isn’t giving the XP back, and who can blame him? He can turn into a dragon big enough for the heroes to ride!

Thus, the Sword Hero manages to make amends for one of his biggest mistakes, but the season’s not done yet. Itsuki’s still MIA, and the title for next week’s episode makes it clear the search for him’s about to start. 

This could be the hardest attempt yet.

I Give “Emperor Dragon” a 4.5/5

Wyndia and the Dragon. Her Story Revealed!

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The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep 8

One minute, Naofumi and his party are cooing over their baby dragon, Gaelion. The next, it’s eaten the fused core of the dragons that Ren and Kizuna each killed. The latter is still mad at Ren and is ready to kill everyone. It seems their only hope lies in the dog girl, Wyndia, and her surprising connection to one of the dragons. 

How Did This Happen, Anyway?

The episode first establishes that the souls of two dead dragons possess Gaelion. As Rat explains, dragons in Shield Hero have an organ called a core that houses their memories. Since Gaelion is still young, the other two dragons overwrite his mind and body. In other words, he’s possessed and ready to kill anyone who comes near him. 

To make matters worse, Gaelion’s possession is taking its toll on Filo, who ate part of the core before. Now, Gaelion’s cursed Filo and started sapping her levels. The threat of the angry dragon and to Filo’s life is more than enough to prompt everyone to go after Gaelion. Thus, the group winds up traveling to the den of the dragon that Ren first killed.

Wyndia and Her Dragon Dad

While Ren’s slaying of the dragon and his careless decision to leave the body behind without burying it was already framed in a bad light, it’s only in this episode that the true extent of his mistake is laid bare thanks to Wyndia. As she reveals late in the episode, the dragon Ren killed and Naofumi fought as a zombie was her adoptive father, Gaelion. Worse, it’s revealed that after Ren killed her father, the villagers captured and sold her into slavery. They used his naivete for selfish purposes, leading to Wyndia’s distrust of Ren. 

The anime’s already well-established how the other three Cardinal Heroes have largely failed to live up to the mantle thrust upon them. They refused to work together, their pride kept them from listening to Naofumi, and they lost their parties and all trust. However, to know that Ren got tricked into making Wyndia an orphan and slave? That’s easily one of their biggest screw-ups. It also makes the sight of Naofumi’s group fighting the possessed Gaelion heartbreaking.

Return of the Dragon Emperor

Things only get worse as the party fights against the now massive dragon Gaelion’s become. Not only is it sapping Filo of her power, but it leads to her going berserk and running right toward the dragon. The group can only watch in horror as Gaelion swallows her whole to absorb her power. It’s like Cell from the Dragon Ball franchise! Worse still, even though Wyndia gets through to her father, the dragon emperor that Kizuna slew becomes dominant, ready to conquer anew.

The upside (for the fans): the fight between the reborn dragon emperor and the combined hero party is the best fight of the season yet. Naofumi, Rapthalia, Ren, and everyone else pull out all the stops to fight against the monster. It’s visually stunning in a way that the series hasn’t been since the first season. You can tell that the studio wanted this fight to live up to the fan’s expectations. Unfortunately, it’s also a fight that needs to be resolved by the end of the episode.

Yes, the episode ends midway through the fight. With most of the group on the ropes and Naofumi barely hanging on, it’s an ideal cliffhanger. Waiting a whole week to find out what happens next will be torture!

I Give “Dragon’s Den” a 4.5/5

How to Train your Dragon, Shield Hero Edition

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The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep 8 Review

Things are once again looking up for Shield Hero Naofumi. Thanks to Eclair bringing Ren back to his senses, the Sword Hero’s now living in Lulorona Village. That village is getting bigger every episode, with all sorts of new people moving in. In addition to people, the village is also getting its fair share of animals to help out, including an egg that hatches into a dragon. Unfortunately, dragons aren’t the easiest mythical creatures to tame, as Naofumi soon discovers.

As a side note, this episode also marks the first significant role of a character that Allen Blaster, author of the Diligence of the Shield Hero series, likes. 

More Slice-of-Life Stuff

This week’s episode starts off on a relatively calm note, and it largely retains that tone up until its final minutes. While some might find this boring, a story’s slower moments are just as important as the exciting ones. Moreso since they leave plenty of room for introducing new characters, developing existing ones, and showing them interact outside of battle. 

The first of the new characters to join the cast this episode gets introduced in a rather hilarious fashion: by trying to ride atop a panicking Filo. Enter Ratotille “Rat” Anthreya, an alchemist and researcher specializing in create new life-forms. After getting thrown out of her country due to slander, the Queen of Melormarc hired her to work for Naofumi. Unfortunately for Filo, she’s also the kind of person who does things first without asking permission, hence the attempt to ride her. She makes up for her lack of social etiquette by helping raise the animals, though, so it turns out alright.

 Given this episode’s slower, slice-of-life feel to it, a lot of the supporting cast gets a few moments to show off their own growth. Keel reveals that he’s learned how to transform into a dog much like how Sadeena can go killer whale. S’yne creates a plushie (that looks like Fohl) that can talk for her, helping her communication problem. Ren grows closer to Eclair as she shows him how to read Melromarc’s language. It’s little things like this that flesh out the characters and make them more believable.

This girl will not stop until she gets what she wants.

Perhaps most humorous (and concerning), though, is Atla’s actions. Several times now, Atla’s been caught sneaking into Naofumi’s bed. Her excuse is that, as his shield, she needs to guard him…but nobody buys that. Especially since she tricks her brother into falling asleep before restraining him so she can do this. 

We may have a budding yandere here, folks!

A Baby Dragon: Cute But Dangerous

The supporting character that gets the most attention in this episode, though, is a little dog-girl named Wyndia. There’s things that cannot be discussed without entering spoiler-territory, but the episode does reveal a few key things about her. Chief among them, she has a strong affinity for beasts and animals, especially dragons. Wyndia has a strong fondness for dragons, so when a box of supplies that Naofumi gets includes a dragon egg, her first thought is to want to raise it herself. While Naofumi’s the one who watches the egg until it hatches, it’s Wyndia who ends up naming it: Gaelion.

Despite starting out looking like Gaelion the dragon is the second coming of Filo, things don’t go so smoothly for everyone. While in Glass’ world, Naofumi had the cores of the dragon that Ren killed (and became a zombie) and the one that threatened that world fused into one. However, Gaelion winds up eating it. He then proceeds to grow ten times his size, wrecks Naofumi’s house, and runs off.

Again, can’t reveal what happens without spoilers. However, just know that the next episode will be very entertaining. 

I Give “The Girl and the Dragon” a 4/5

Ren is a Kirito Wannabe, Confirmed!

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The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep 6 Review

An interesting fact about Ren Amaki from Shield Hero: he’s a pretty obvious expy of Kirito, the main protagonist of Sword Art Online. AKA, one of the stories that made isekai a popular genre from the 2010s onwards. People know Kirito as either this lone-wolf gamer with a heart of gold or a sword-wielding badass. The anime makes it all the more apparent with Ren sharing the same seiyuu, or voice actor, as Ren in the native Japanese. Unlike Kirito, though, Ren is more of someone who wants to be a badass yet fails miserably when it counts. Case in point, this episode of Shield Hero shows Ren’s mindset before getting summoned and how he ended up the way he is now.

Kicking off with a flashback to Ren’s life before the present day, fans see how much of a contradiction the young man is. On the one hand, he likes being the strongest or being seen as the strongest and having others sing his praises. On the other hand, though, he’s a lone wolf who is unsure how to interact with his peers, and thus fails to understand the value of the teamwork. As a result, when he got isekai’d, his whole party only fed his ego, exacerbating the problem. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Ren kept thinking he was all his party needed, and neglected their own growth. Which came back to bite him tragically when his party got slaughtered by the Spirit Tortoise. 

Then, in a move surprising no one but himself, Witch robbed him of his gear and money. After that, the same guys who attacked Naofumi’s party try to kill him, only he’s got no party to help him; no deus ex machine like S’yne; and none of the townspeople want to help him. He’s all alone. And that leads him to activate not one, but two, cursed series for his Cardinal Sword and become a bandit leader.

The difference between Ren and Kirito is that, while Kirito started out as a lone wolf, he managed to grow out of it. He opened himself up to others, made friends, and even got a girlfriend. Ren was never willing to take that first step, though, despite dying saving someone else’s life. He never had the kind of people that Naofumi found, which only served to reinforce these negative qualities. All of these things ultimately drove Ren to the point where Naofumi finds him. Wearing a tuxedo mask, fighting Motoyasu, and corrupted by the curses of gluttony and greed. 

Ren Gets a Reality Check

Clearly, Ren is in need of a reality check, and where Naofumi fails, his friend, Eclair, steps up. And, since we skipped out on the second season, Eclair is the daughter of the Lord that ruled the land that Lulorona Village’s a part of. When he died, she hunted down the slavers who kidnapped the villagers, only to get imprisoned by the Three Heroes Church until Naofumi brought them down.

The fight between Ren and Eclair is short but important for two reasons. Firstly, despite him being a Cardinal Hero, Ren gets his butt kicked by Eclair, showing him how weak he is. It’s even implied that Eclair wasn’t fighting him seriously, to boot, driving the point home further. Secondly, Eclair cuts to the root of Ren’s problems: he doesn’t know what he wants beyond the role he was given. He lacks the resolve needed to point his strength towards something worthwhile, stagnated from that, and hates himself for it, since it means he got his party killed. 

That is the power of the “fight no jutsu” and “talk no jutsu” at work in tandem.

With the main conflict now resolved, the episode wraps up with the two assassin’s from before attack the group while they’re recovering. However, Motoyasu kills them both in two seconds thanks to taking Naofumi’s training advice, and Raphtalia kills their souls so they can’t come back. One less problem to deal with, and two of the Cardinal Heroes now willing to listen to Naofumi.

This wasn’t one of the most exciting episodes of the season, but nonetheless, it was an enjoyable one. We got to see inside Ren’s mindset and learn why he is who he is. Furthermore, getting to watch him see reason was very satisfying. With six episodes left in the season, the only hero left to find is Itsuki. Fingers crossed, Naofumi finds him before he can get hurt or cause too much trouble. 

I Give “Where You Point Your Strength” a 4/5