Fantasy

So this is Suicide Squad, But Cooler? I Like it!

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

Sentenced to be a Hero Ep 2 Review

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen a group of convicts be used as cannon fodder by uncaring superiors, I’d have a few extra dollars. Which isn’t much, but it’s weird how I’ve seen it happen multiple times in fiction. That being said, Sentenced to be a Hero is looking to be one of the biggest anime of the season. People are praising it for the story, the animation, and the characters, and it’s not hard to see why. Mother’s Basement included it in his list of heavy hitters for the winter 2026 season; he nicknames it “Gantz of Thrones.” That’s incredibly accurate, in my opinion! The Heroes are people being used as fodder in a war they’re expected to die in, but can be brought back for more, and not all of them are mentally put together. But that won’t stop them from doing their job.

So, despite the premiere ending with Xylo getting arrested and accused of stealing Teoritta, he wakes up in a tent with nothing having happened to him. Which makes sense, considering how he’s already been sentenced to the worst possible punishment as eternal fodder in a war. Credit where it’s due, though: that knight Kivia does apologize for the accusation when they meet up later in the episode. But Xylo couldn’t care less, as he tells her point-blank that she wouldn’t have believed him anyway. He’s right; no one would believe him, so why bother?

What does surprise him, though, is the fact that Teoritta refuses to end their contract, despite knowing what he did…or was forced to do by his circumstances. Some would call her naive, but I see it as her being a good judge of character. Xylo may hide it underneath his bitterness, but he’s a good and decent person. If he wasn’t, then why would he make it his mission in life to find the people responsible for Senerva’s death? He’s such a good person that he’s ready to burn everything to avenge her.

Another Suicide Mission

Speaking of mission, the heroes get their next one: defeating some demons called faeries infesting the mines at a town called Zewan Gan. This is when we are introduced to two more heroes, and, in keeping with what seems to be the theme for them, they’re quite eccentric. There’s his majesty, Norgalle Senridge. He’s an expert in sacred seals and magic, but he’s convinced that he’s the rightful king of their nation and everyone are his subjects. I’d say he’s delusional, but I’ve seen crazier things be true, and he does look out for the others. There’s also his servant, Tatsuya. He’s been a hero for so long, he’s practically feral. It’s tragic for him, but it makes him super vicious in battle.

So, we’ve got a fallen holy knight, a thief, a coward, a delusional magic expert, and someone as feral as Ezekiel from Total Drama. This whole thing is reminding me more and more of Game of Thrones meets that Suicide Squad isekai from a few years ago, but better. Consider me invested in it.

At any rate, their mission is to seal up the mines and make sure the demons don’t get out. That is already a hard job. But to add an extra layer of tragedy, its revealed that the faeries they’re fighting were humans transformed into monsters. The heroes and holy knights are basically having to perform mercy kills. The mission gets complicated, though, when they find a survivor who says there are more deeper in the mines. Kivia has orders to collapse the mines, but Norgalle insists they save ‘his people.’ So what can they do?

You Can’t Ignore Being a Good Person

Xylo shows why he’s a good person once again when he tells Kivia “Screw it. I’ll go save them. If I’m not back in time, feel free to blow the place. Not like you’re going to lose anything valuable.” But as a precaution, he refuses to allow Teoritta to accompany him. Which means if they run into trouble, they’ll be at a disadvantage.

If the extra-long premiere was meant to serve as a first look at this world, then this second episode helps to flesh out the world. And once again, the animation is still gorgeous and I love it. I’m now fully invested into this series and I’m looking forward to watching it over the rest of the season. Next week, we’re likely going to see the heroes race against the clock as we see them try to live up to actual heroes. Bring it on.

I Give “Sentence: Clear the Zewan Gan Tunnels Part 1” a 4/5

Wow, Fohl Got Quite the Glow-up!

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

The Rising of the Shield Hero S4 Ep 5 Review

Have you ever seen The Lion King before? Remember that climactic scene where Simba and Scar clash atop Pride Rock as the land burns around them? That was one of the coolest things that Disney did during the 90s, and throughout the duel of Fohl and Atla vs Jaralis, I’ve gotten similar vibes. From Fohl fighting to avenge his father to the fact that the three combatants are humanoid cats, it just feels so similar. And much like The Lion King, Fohl succeeds in his mission, while also getting a glow-up in the process.

Bad Kitty

After turning into a lion the size of a tank and calling his drugged-up followers, Jaralis goes from fighting a duel to attempting a coup and assassinating Naofumi. His thugs prove to be no match for the Shield Hero’s party, but the crazy thing is that they won’t stay down. They keep respawning, making them a major pain for Naofumi. Even worse, when Jaralis continues to lose to Fohl, he absorbs them into his body, turning him into a monstrous chimera. He starts to think that he’s a god who could conquer the world. In actuality, though, he’s only succeeded in outwardly becoming the monster he always was, and everyone knows it.

Naofumi, though, manages to put him in his place. Using his Shield and connection to Fohl, he gives the boy his own power-up, turning him into a full-on white tiger. Between him and his sister, they make short work of Jaralis, simultaneously avenging their father while also silencing any skeptics. Naofumi is the Shield Hero, and anyone who denies it is deluding themselves.

Fohl got a glow-up

The duel is thus over, and the leaders of Siltvelt keep their promise. The ship will be ready in three days. Truthfully, though, Jaralis had forfeited the second he called in his back-up and commit high treason. What was most puzzling, though, was that before he died, the lion mentioned how someone had given him the drug he used. Someone else had been pulling the strings, but at the moment, we don’t know who it is. Nor will we know anytime soon, as Q’ten Lo remains the priority.

Besides restoring their family’s honor, though, the biggest change from the duel is Fohl himself. Thanks to being half Demi-Human, when Fohl got his big level up, he aged into a teenager, showing how strong he’s gotten. In fact, Naofumi says that in his white tiger form, he’s stronger than Raphtalia and Filo! Sadly, the drain on mana means the form can only be used sparingly, preventing it from becoming a cheat code. On the plus side, though, the latter half of the episode sees Fohl and Atla returning to their childhood home and visiting their parents’ graves. Fohl sold it to pay for Atla’s medicine, but a friend of theirs kept it and is nice enough to return it. There, the group enjoys a home-cooked meal that fuses the best of Siltvelt and Melromarc together, a symbol of who Atla and Fohl are.

Time for the Truth

And since the anime isn’t going to say it, I’m going to rip the band-aid off: the Hakuko siblings mom, Lucia, was the younger sister of King Trash of Melromarc. For years, Trash thought that she had been killed while attending a supposed peace summit between Melromarc and Siltvelt. In truth, the whole thing had been set up by war hawks, and Lucia had somehow fled with Tyran’s son, their father. That led Trash’s hatred for Demi-Humans to boil over, hence why he treated Naofumi so badly. To him, Naofumi was a reminder of what he thought he had lost. But now that he knows that his sister had kids before she died, he has the chance to change for the better.

This entire part of the season has really been the story of Fohl and Atla. A good story knows when to develop its supporting cast, and that is pretty much what the Siltvelt Arc has amounted to. While it could’ve been done in a much shorter timeframe, though, I can’t complain about the results. From here on out, though, we’re focusing on Q’ten Lo. It’s time to settle things for Raphtalia, and I can’t wait to see what her ancestral homeland looks like.

I Give “White Tiger” a 4/5