Isekai

Turning Point 4 Changes Everything about Mushoku Tensei

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

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S3 Eps 11 & 12 Review

Three years. That’s how long I have been covering Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. I don’t regret spending so much time focusing on this one series. Nor do I regret the fact that I kept my mouth shut about spoilers from the Light Novels all that time. Because while I may not mind spoilers, this was an exception. It’s the moment that light novel readers have been waiting, and also dreading, to see for years: Turning Point 4. I mean, every Turning Point in the series has changed its trajectory, but this? When I say that this moment changes everything about the story, I mean it. It will reframe everything that has happened in Rudeus’ life since the day he turned 10 in a new light. The best arc in the entire series has begun, and once it starts, we can’t stop.

It’s actually funny. I went into this season knowing full well what was going to happen and eagerly awaiting it. Yet when the time came, I waited almost a month before actually watching the episodes. Some might call it procrastination; I might call it cowardice. But, knowing myself, I think it was because I knew that once I started, I had to have the chance to see everything at once. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to function for the rest of the week.

So it Begins

“Turning Point 4” starts off with Rudeus having a nightmare of himself and his friends being tormented by Atofe and her guards. The whole incident seems like a cool story, but Rudeus, perhaps rightfully, is afraid of what almost happened. He almost lost the family that has kept him going in his second life. On the plus side, though, the whole thing managed to get him into Perugius’ good graces.

Quick backstory: back during the Laplace War (TL:DR Demon God tried to conquer the world), Perugius and Atofe were bitter enemies. The Dragon King has been itching to settle the score with her for good, but after his best friend beat her, and then married her, he made them promise not to kill each other. In other words, Rudeus gave him the perfect excuse to get some anger out. More importantly, he was impressed by Rudy’s magical feats and the figurines he and Zanoba make. He even gives them his blessing to start selling those Ruijerd figurines, because while he hates Demons, Ruijerd saved his life in the final battle with Laplace.

But while Zanoba and Rudy become friends with the hero, Ariel is stumbling. She knows that having his support will guarantee her the Asuran throne, but Perugius isn’t interested in the game of thrones. Although, he does at least test her by asking her what makes a true king. She doesn’t get it, but this will be an important plot point in the future.

I should mention this: Cliff now has his own Demon Eye, the Eye of Identification. When he got it from Kishirika, I don’t know.

Nanahoshi is Fine, by the Way

In any case, Nanahoshi is fine. She has to drink that tea from the grass every day from now on, but she is going to live. And thus, Rudy and Sylphie return home to their family with their heads held high. It looks like a happy ending for all involved.

Which only made knowing what happens next all the more heartbreaking.

For the first time in years, the Man-God appears to Rudeus in his dreams, ostensibly to congratulate him on how happy his life is. That, and he dumps exposition about something we already should have known about in the light novel: Touki, or Battle Aura. It’s where people use mana to enhance their bodies to become stronger, and it’s why the swordwielders in the series can do such superhuman feats. Rudy can’t use it, though.

The Man-God also makes it a point to tell Rudy that if he had followed his advice, Paul would have still managed to save his mom and lived. Meanwhile, like I said, Linia and Pursena would have married him come the next mating season. And all that the Man-God wants from Rudy…is to go into the basement and check for something strange.

WARNING! WARNING!

I really like just how subtle the series is at times. Normally, Rudy would be suspicious about such a random request from the Man-God. But the Man-God makes him more receptive to listening to him by saying that his dad might still be alive if he wasn’t with him at the time. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but if it is, that is very devious, using the truth to convince someone to do something sus. And, even if I didn’t know what happens next, which I do, that “slasher smile” that the Man-God has at the end should set off plenty of alarm bells.

And so, we get to the actual moment. The most important moment in either of Rudeus’ lives. The moment where the entire story changes direction. And since I didn’t want to wait any longer to talk about it, I made the decision a month ago to review both of these episodes together. Because once I started, I don’t think I would be able to stop.

YES, THAT IS RUDEUS

To begin with, yes. That old man (the fandom calls him Oldeus) is Rudeus. Yes he is from fifty years in the future. And yes, everything that he tells himself (Rudeus) is true; all of it is true. And I also want to give respect to the studio for this entire episode, because, even though it’s only adapting a single chapter from the light novels, it doesn’t feel stretched out for the sake of runtime or feel slow. Far from it; this episode gives the story the time it needs to breathe as Rudeus, and by extension us, grapple with what we hear.

Second of all, to those of you who never read the light novels or avoided spoilers online and still thought the Man-God was sus, you were right. You were right to think of him as a creep or someone up to no good. Because after hearing what we do from Oldeus, you are going to want nothing more than to punch him into oblivion, revive him, and then punch him again.

Had Rudeus done what the Man-God had said, a rat would have escaped from the Greyrat’s basement. A rat infected with a rare terminal illness that is deadly to one group and one group alone: women who are with child. Should we be surprised, though, that Roxy is already pregnant? How cruel is it, then, that something that should be a cause for celebration becomes the catalyst for a tragedy that rivals Future Trunks’ timeline?

Everything would have fallen apart for Rudeus after that. He pushed his remaining family away, including Sylphie. Luke would be duped by the Man-God into convincing Ariel to return to Asura to stage a coup that gets them and their followers killed (which is why the fandom considers Luke a bitch.) But the real nail in the coffin? It’s hearing Oldeus tell Rudeus that not only do he and Eris fail to reconcile, but the misunderstanding from the way she left turns them into hated enemies. And then…she dies too.

EVERYONE DIES.

Roxy. Sylphie. Eris. The three most important women in Rudeus’ life all die because of the mistakes he makes, and Oldeus is the result. The way he just makes the entire room shake in rage as he curses the Man-God is just heartbreaking to watch. And again, I knew that all of this was going to happen well in advance, and I was still left speechless. I can still feel the tears start to well up as I’m writing about this as I remember when Oldeus passes away in his past self’s arms, thinking about Sylphie and Roxy.

And the scene where Rudeus has to cremate his future self’s remains. It didn’t register with me as I was reading the light novel, but he wasn’t just cremating someone like his father, which was already bad enough. He was cremating his own broken body and watching it turn to bone and ash. That is all kinds of existential horror!

Sure enough, though, Oldeus was right. There was a rat in the basement infected with the virus that would’ve killed Roxy. And that is why everyone in the fandom considers rats abominations to be killed on sight.

Yeah, I made the Right Call

As disappointed as I am with myself for waiting for all the episodes to come out, I think that I did the right thing. It’s given me almost a month to prepare for what we are about to see, and from what I’ve heard, even that might not be enough. Still, like I said, I promised that I wouldn’t stop, no matter how painful what comes next might be. And I doubt that I will get through it with dry eyes. If you haven’t already seen the next episode, then I recommend you do not jump right to it. Take some time to mentally prepare yourself. This is not a joke!

I Give “Turning Point 4” a 3.5/5 and “An End and a Beginning” a 4.5/5

Chloe Gets her Happy Ending

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

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 24 Review

Chloe, when I do my list of best girls of the year like I always do, you’re going on it. I know she’s technically ineligible due to her physically being a kid, but I don’t care. You’ve earned it after what you did for Rimuru and the rest of Tempest. And now, you get to enjoy the reward you’ve waited eons to experience: a happy life with Rimuru.

SAVE CHLOE, RIMURU!!

So, Rimuru managed to make it inside of Chloe’s mind and has made contact with Chronoa, showing her that he’s fine and that she can chill out. The whole reason she even crashed out is that she has the vague memories of seeing him die in the future, and frankly, I don’t blame her. The bad news is that Chronoa wasn’t joking about Chloe or Hinata’s status. Chloe is someplace that Rimuru might not be able to reach. And Hinata? She did die when Granville impaled her. The reason why we saw her with Chloe is that she pulled in the last remnants of her soul in the form of her Unique Skill. Which, according to the very detailed rules of Magic in the series, is ingrained in a person’s soul. It just goes to show you how well thought out the author was with the story.

So, Hinata’s Unique Skill, and the remnants of her soul along with it, are still inside of Chloe and Chronoa. So, after getting admin permission from Chronoa, Rimuru (or rather, Raphael) gets to work. She take Chloe’s Unique Skill out, evolves into an Ultimate Skill, Yog-Sogoth, and then reconstitutes Hinata’s soul and separates it from Chloe’s. And she also evolves Chronoa into what’s called a Manas. Basically, it’s like a magical, sentient AI that can be born from an Ultimate Skill. Not only does this mean that Chronoa will no longer crash out, but it has the extra benefit of letting her and Chloe swap places whenever they want. Think of it like what happens with Yugi and Atem, or Naruto and Kurama once they became friends. And the two are immediately overjoyed to see their beloved Rimuru after all this time.

Oh, and I liked seeing Hinata act like a tsundere towards him. And even if Shizu wasn’t actually there, I did like getting to see her thank Hinata for saving her, and vice-versa.

After that is done comes the hard part. After returning to the physical world, Rimuru needs help to put Hinata’s soul back in her body. He needs the help of Chloe and Hinata’s best friend. He needs the help of Luminous.

Luminous and Rimuru Save Chloe and Hinata

It’s not just the fact that Luminous’ new Ultimate Skill, which she got when Hinata died, gives her control over life and death. From a narrative standpoint, it makes sense she’s the one who ultimately saves Hinata. She’s always been the one who’s closest to Hinata, with their relationship going far beyond simply master and servant. That’s probably why I liked seeing them interact over the course of 2,000 years as they worked to create the future that we know. That’s not just friendship; that’s love. And seeing everything that Luminous did to help Chloe and Hinata in all that time really made me respect her a lot more. I’ve done this before outside of 100 Girlfriends, but I’m probably going to put Luminous and Chloe on the best girls list for this year.

As for Granville, it turns out he wasn’t dead yet. He lives long enough to tell Luminous that even if his plan to kill them all hadn’t worked out, he would’ve still gotten what he wanted. By forcing everyone into this situation, he made it so that even if he lost, Chloe would rise as the strongest Hero. So, even when he lost, he still won.

Honestly, I don’t really care. After all the trouble Granville caused, I’m just glad that he’s dead. At least he and his wife got to reunite in the afterlife before moving on.

And so, the crisis in Lubelious finally draws to a close. The recital (which was the whole reason Rimuru went to Lubelious) goes off without a hitch, and everyone is happy. Luminous and Hinata reunite, with Hinata even evolving into a Hero herself. But most importantly, Chloe did it. After who knows how many attempts, Chloe finally broke the time loop. She saved Rimuru and Hinata.

Chloe might be one of the strongest girls I’ve ever seen!

I think it goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: Chloe Aubert might be the strongest person in the entire series. Not in terms of raw power or skill, as there are people out there who remain stronger than her. But when it comes to willpower, I think Chloe might have everyone else beat. She endured countless timelines where she had to watch Rimuru, Hinata, and the entire world die. She’s experienced more pain and suffering than almost anyone can ever hope to endure. And despite it all, despite everything she’s gone through, she not only endured, but she remained the same happy, optimistic, and sweet little cinammon roll that we know and love. Granted, she doesn’t remember most of the loops due to her powers, but that doesn’t diminish what she’s done. She likely saved the entire world, and asked for nothing in return. Her only reward was getting to reunite with her friends, her beloved Rimuru, and getting to enjoy her childhood again.

That’s the sweetest part, I think. Despite having long since grown into an adult both physically and mentally, Chloe can revert to being a child thanks to her mastery over time. She can switch to her adult form any time she wants, so she’s got the best of both. Which is good for her, because she might actually have a serious chance of winning over Rimuru, much to Leon’s dismay. She’s happy to see her adoptive brother again, but I found it funny how she told him not to be mean to Rimuru. He really shouldn’t; for all Leon knows, Rimuru could be his brother-in-law one day!

A WAR IS COMING

I wish I could say that the season ended on a high note, but we know that that’s not true. The second half of the series is set to release next summer, and this is where things start to get really exciting. A good chunk of the series has been slowly building up the threat of the Eastern Empire, the strongest nation in the Cardinal World. They’ve been working behind the scenes to cause trouble in the west, laying the foundations for their conquest. In every other timeline, Chloe says that they will win, destroy Tempest, and kill Rimuru and everyone else. Now, Tempest has a fighting chance, but even that might not be enough. That’s just how powerful the Empire is supposed to be. And now, we are about to get a war arc!

If you don’t want to wait to find out what happens and don’t mind spoilers, I reccomend you go on YouTube and look up AnimeBallsDeep. They’ve got this extensive, excellently done video covering the entirety of the Eastern Empire War in the Light Novels. And when you hear what’s going to happen, you are going to have a lot to get excited for.

Too bad we have to wait until next summer to get more Slime conten…wait a second. What do you mean we won’t have to wait that long? We’re getting a spin-off? And it’s about Clayman?

Yes, in a surprise turn of events, it turns out that next spring, we will be getting an anime adaptation of Clayman’s Revenge. It’s a spin-off manga in which, after his death at the hands of Rimuru, Clayman acquired a Unique Skill that sent him back into the past, decades before Rimuru ever arrived. Not wanting to repeat the events that led to his demise, the manga follows Clayman as he tries to prevent his death at Rimuru’s hands, either by keeping him from becoming a Demon Lord, or just avoiding making an enemy out of him altogether. It’s not canon and takes place in an alternate timeline, but it’s still an interesting premise. I’ll definitely consider covering it when the time comes.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am either going to go look up fanfics of Rimuru and an ADULT CHLOE getting married. Because after everything she went through for the sake of that slime, she has my full support.

I Give “The Awakening of the Hero” a 4.5/5

You Better Save Chloe and Hinata, Rimuru!

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

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

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

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

What…what just happened?

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

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!

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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

How Come I’ve Never Heard of Red River Before?

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RJ Writing Ink Looks at Red River

So I was scrolling through YouTube a few days ago during a lull in my day job, when I saw this clip Crunchyroll posted for this anime that came out in July, Red River. It’s an adaptation of a 1990s shojo manga that was apparently pretty popular back in the day, if the Internet is to be believed. Intrigued, I wound up researching it over the next few days, and I have to admit, I can see why the comments on YouTube are upset with Crunchyroll for not promoting this. I can also see that the anime is lowering the bar for what is, for all intents and purposes, the shojo counterpart of Inuyasha.

What is Red River?

Released from 1995 to 2002, Red River is a time-traveling Isekai about Yuri Suzuki, an ordinary girl from modern-day Japan who’s just about to enter High School (college in the anime). Right as she and her boyfriend are walking home together, these tendrils of water shoot out of a puddle, and before she can even cry for help, she gets sucked in. When she awakens, she’s no longer in the land that she knew, or even the time she knew.

To her misfortune, Yuri has been dragged three thousand years into the past, to the heart of the Hittite Empire that ruled what is now modern-day central Turkey. The reason is that this evil Queen, Nakia, wants to use her as a blood sacrifice to kill all her stepsons so that her actual son can become the next king of the empire. Luckily for Yuri, she managed to run into one of those princes, Kail, before getting captured, and he realizes his evil stepmom’s up to something. So he saves her by lying that she’s his new concubine, taking her under his protection until they can find a way to get her home. And when Yuri blows her first chance to go home to avenge a servant boy she befriended, she’s stuck in the past for a whole year with Kail. And with Nakia still after her, she has to keep up the ruse of being Kail’s lover while learning how to be a warrior in a world that’s harsher than the one she knows.

To top it all off, Kail tells everyone that Yuri is the incarnation of Ishtar, this goddess of love and war. So, no big deal.

This has SO MUCH IN COMMON with Inuyasha!

I wasn’t joking when I called this series the shojo manga equivalent of Inuyasha. Besides the two of them releasing around the same time in the mid-90s, they share a lot of similarities in terms of premise and the main characters. And that is both to their benefit and their detriment.

Firstly, we have the lead heroines, Yuri Suzuki and Kagome Higurashi. Both of them are young, compassionate, and spirited Japanese schoolgirls around the same age, though Yuri gets aged up to 18 in the anime. Thanks to forces outside their control, they are transported into a distant past they are not prepared for and become the target of evil forces. Kagome is hunted by Demons who want her dead or the shards of the Shikon Jewel she’s searching for, while Nakia wants Yuri dead so she can take over the Hittite Empire. So to survive, they both come under the protection of the lead heroes and other allies as they learn how to get stronger. And in doing so, they become powerful and respected badasses: Kagome becomes a skilled archer and priestess, while Yuri masters swordsmanship and the art of war.

The only real differences between Kagome and Yuri come down to their circumstances. Kagome’s the reincarnation of the well-regarded priestess Kikyo and can go back to her time whenever she wants. Yuri, on the other hand, is not actually the incarnation of a goddess and doesn’t have the respite Kagome does. So she’s got it harder.

At Least the Male Leads are Different

Then we have the lead heros, Inuyasha and Kail. Honestly, there’s very little similarities between them. Inuyasha is a half-Demon with the powers that go with it, and is brash, crude, and aggressive by nature. In contrast, Kail is handsome, refined, and known as a playboy who refuses to be tied down. The only real similarity between them is how their relationship with the female lead starts out: Kagome and Yuri can’t stand them at first. But like it or not, they are forced to work together to accomplish their goals, and it goes from there.

Plus, there’s also the fact that the more time each pair spends with each other, their relationship grows. They go from dislike to respect and friendship, and eventually, maybe even love.

Which brings me to something about Red River that I think people should be warned about: the mature aspects.

Trigger Warning: DEPICTIONS OF SA TO FOLLOW

I never read the manga, but one thing I remember happening a lot in Inuyasha the anime is how often Kagome was captured or targeted by the bad guys. Often it was because she could locate Jewel Shards or for her immense spiritual power, but there were also instances where people did it because of her beauty; sometimes both!

And Yuri? Imagine the same thing, but worse.

It should be important to note that, while Kagome and Yuri are already considered attractive by modern standrards, that doesn’t initially translate over when Yuri’s stuck 3,000 years in the past. Due to her small size, slim figure, and preference for more masculine clothing (some even mistake her for a boy), Yuri is initially not seen as beautiful by the Hittites. That’s already changing in the anime as she makes up for these perceived shortcomings with her fiery spirit and growing skill as a warrior, making more and people see her as beautiful. Which isn’t a good thing, as it leads to several men starting to want her for themselves, with Kail the biggest culprit.

The first thing Kail does when he meets Yuri is kiss her. Granted, it was so he could hide her from Nakia’s cronies, but still. Then he saves her life by lying about sleeping with her, which she is forced to go along with, which is embarrassing. And to keep up the ruse of being his concubine, the two of them have to share a bed together. And, being a young man, it doesn’t take until the second episode for Kail to try and make that fake-concubine thing the real deal. He stops when she says she has a boyfriend back home, but that doesn’t stop him from repeatedly kissing her.

That’s also not even getting into the other guys end up falling for Yuri, most of whom are even less willing to restrain themselves.

The bottom line, due to this being a product of the 90s, and that Yuri is stuck in a time when morals aren’t as high as they are now, parts of Red River haven’t aged gracefully and will likely upset people.

Oh great, it’s like TBATE All Over Again

But enough about that. How is the anime itself? Given how its fans have waited thirty years for it to get adapted, it has to be amaz-it’s mid.

I’m the kind of person who focuses more on the story itself rather than the animation, but ever since the disaster that was The Beginning After the End, I’ve become more aware of bad animation. While this series is nowhere near as bad as TBATE was, it’s not as amazing as it could be. When we get our first large-scale battle, it relies on bad CGI to animate the soldiers, which is a bit of a turn-off. Or when Yuri defeats one of Nakia’s minions that was hunting him and everyone is proclaiming her to be Ishtar, it’s just a handful of soldiers in the anime instead of the large crowd in the manga. It may not seem like much, but if you have read the manga, then you’ll know why older fans are turned off by it.

There is one other thing about the anime that I’m not a fan of, and that’s the censorship, but not for the reason you think. I understand that many of the mature scenes and depictions of dubious consent and assault aren’t going to fly today. I can also understand why the studio would want to tone down things like nudity. The problem is that the show only goes halfway. It should either keep everything to satisfy the fans, or go all the way with the censoring. Compromise can be good, but there are times where doing so will upset everyone.

There are about 7-8 episodes of the anime out by the time this goes up, and it has 28 volumes of manga to cover. That’s not enough time for a 12-episode anime to cover everything, meaning it would need to come back for more season. Those seasons, though, won’t happen if the show doesn’t do well, and so far, that seems to be the case. Even I’m not that overly interested in it, with most of it being due to me liking tomboys like Yuri.

The manga, on the other hand…

After learning about the anime and what it’s about, I wound up going online to find the manga it’s based on. I then proceeded to binge-read the majority of it in the span of a few days, and I have to say…wow. What a story.

Firstly, the artwork is absolutely gorgeous. Far, far superior to what the anime has given us so far. I can totally understand why the older fans are upset with the low quality of the anime, even if it does capture Yuri’s cuteness well enough. And the story! It’s a geopolitical story in the vein of things like Game of Thrones that spans the ancient Near East, and one that Yuri has to carefully navigate her way through to survive. And she doesn’t make it through without suffering plenty of loss and hardship. Plus, the relationship between her and Kail does become genuinely sweet to watch. I have a soft spot for good love stories, you know.

There are Still Some Issues, but Nothing’s Perfect

The main criticisms that I have about the manga, though, besides the adult stuff, center around the plot holes. For example, around the halfway point in the story, Yuri hardly thinks about her family and boyfriend back home in favor of the life she’s built in ancient Anatolia. She doesn’t even get the chance to say goodbye, let them know she’s alright, or give them some form of closure. And then there’s Nakia’s plot, to begin with. Why does she need Yuri specifically? For that matter, why did she need to kidnap someone from 3,500 years in the future when she could have gotten someone from her time? And she just keeps persisting in her attempts to kill Yuri when a more pragmatic person might cut their losses and send her back. She’s not that interesting as a villain.

And there’s also the setting itself. I’m not sure if Yuri knows this, but by the time she gets sucked into the past, the Hittite Empire’s days are numbered. Around 150 years later, it and most of the societies in the region will enter the Bronze Age Collapse that will take centuries to recover from. So, it makes the ending very bittersweet in nature.

Despite all of this, though, and all the faults I found, I couldn’t help but like Red River. It was such a page-turner that I couldn’t stop reading it, even if it gets repetitive after a certain point. It really did remind me a lot of Inuyasha, and I’m grateful for that. Plus, it did give me some ideas for when/if I ever decide to try my hand at my own historical isekai. So, go watch the anime if you’re up for it, but I think that the manga is a much better use of your time.

We’re Going back to the Demon Continent With this One

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Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S3 Ep 9 Review

I am sick and tired of the vile accusations that our dear Sylphiette is somehow responsible for Nanahoshi coughing up blood. We knew it wasn’t Sylphie’s fault, so why are we making memes about it?!? Even Rifujin, the author of Mushoku Tensei, is getting in on it!

In all seriousness, though, we know that Sylphie didn’t do this to Nanahoshi; she’s Rudy’s Goddess of Love for a reason, after all. This is just our way of coping with what has happened to her. And, as this episode confirms, this isn’t the kind of problem that can be solved with magic. If Nanahoshi wants to survive, then Rudeus and the others need to find her a cure.

DON’T DIE, NANHOSHI!

Three days after Nanahoshi collapsed in a pool of blood, her condition begins to stabilize a little. Perugius’ familiars are skilled at their work, but there is only so much they can do. At the very least, they confirm what Nanahoshi’s suffering from: Dryne Syndrome. In a nutshell, her body’s unable to neutralize the mana saturating this world, and it’s been slowly killing her. If I had to compare it to a real-life counterpart, it feels a bit like radiation poisoning. Since Nanahoshi has no mana, this means that she’s suspectible to it. And if nothing changes, she’s going to die.

What happens next can only be described as one of the most valid crash outs in the history of crash outs.

I TOTALLY Get why Nanahoshi feels like this!

This moment is one of the reasons why I consider Mushoku Tensei to be one of the best isekai of all time. A lot of isekai treat coming to another world as a form of escapism and act like it’s a good thing. But the truth is, not everyone will see it like that. Nanahoshi was happy with her life back home. She misses her family, her crush, her friends, modern technology, everything. And she was summoned to this world without being asked or even wanting it and has had to work hard to survive.

I think a lot of our hearts went out to Nanahoshi in this moment. A lot of us may see isekai as a means to live the lives we have always wanted, but for every person that would thrive in another world, it feels like there will be plenty who just want to go home. And as harsh as she is to Rudy, she’s also right. He’s had his own share of struggles, but he could’ve gotten it way, way worse. And that’s why Rudy is determined to find her a cure.

How are we going to find he-never mind!

Now, there’s only one person alive who could possibly know a cure for Dryne Syndrome (or is it Drain Syndrome?): Kishirika Kishirisu, the former Demon Empress. AKA that little shrimp that Rudy gave food to one time, and she gave him his magic eye. She wanders around the Demon Continent at her own leisure, doing whatever she wants. Which means that, in order to track her down, Rudy has take himself, Cliff, Zanoba, and Elinalise to the Demon Continent.

Considering how this is the first time in years that Rudy has set foot in the land where he began his great odyssey home, you would think that he would feel a little nostalgic. But the city they end up doesn’t exactly have pleasant memories for him, and he’s too focused on saving his friend.

And then, just when it looks like they’re in for a wild goose chase trying to find Kishirika, this happens.

Un. REAL. The plot must love Rudeus and his friends, because that is the only feasible way that this could happen. The bad news is that they’re not the only ones looking for her: someone has a bounty out for the former Empress. But no spoilers! Let’s just say that we’re about to deal with someone…crazy.

I Give “Lament” a 3.5/5