Isekai

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

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

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

Welcome to Chaos Breaker, the Castle in the Sky

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

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S3 Ep 8 Review

You know what’s cooler than a floating castle? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING I CAN THINK OF RIGHT NOW! Sorry, I’m just a little excited at the fact that we are starting a new arc for Mushoku Tensei that will take us to some interesting places. To begin with, though, Nanahoshi decides to reward Rudeus and their friends and family with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They’re getting the chance to travel to Chaos Breaker, the floating castle that’s home to the great hero and Nanahoshi’s mentor, Perguius Dola! Several of Rudy’s loved ones have reasons to want to meet him, and we get to see some cool stuff in the process. But then, something bad happens.

It’s Like Magic Uber!

So, in order to travel to the fabled castle in the sky that is Chaos Breaker, Nanahoshi brings them to a secret location marked by this tablet. From there, she can basically summon one of Perugius’ familiars, Almanfi of the Bright. Rudy actually knows this one, though. Right before the Displacement Incident, Perugius sent Almanfi to investigate what was happening, and he tried to kill Rudy and Eris. He might have if Ghislaine hadn’t been there. The good news is that he’s willing to take everyone there…except for Roxy. Thanks to his experience with Laplace, Perugius doesn’t like Demons. So, Roxy has to be left behind, to her and Rudy’s dismay.

Once they get teleported to Chaos Breaker, though, it proves every bit the wonder of the world that books say it is. The castle is gorgeously designed and ornate, there are beauitful gardens with flowers. The whole thing is nothing short of incredible. The fact that Rudy and the others are able to set foot there is incredible. And several of them have things to ask of the Dragon God.

Perugius is Chill

For such an intimidating-looking figure, Perugius is actually a pretty chill guy as long as you don’t offend him. He’s very friendly with Nanahoshi, having agreed to help her with her efforts to get home by telling him everything he knows. Plus his familiars are nice enough to go out and get food for them, allowing Nanahoshi to have something close to a Japanese meal for the first time in forever. He is, however, a little weary of Rudy, saying how his mana levels remind him of Laplace. If he had resisted getting teleported, he could have stopped himself from going.

To business. Rudy asks Perugius if he can help restore his mother. Alas, he doesn’t know what’s happened to her. The most he can say is that her time in crystal made her some sort of Blessed Child, like Zanoba. He does, however, reveal that that’s how Elinalise was found almost two centuries ago by one of his friends. She kept it secret because a.) she never regained her memories from before she was in crystal, and b.) that was how she was cursed to have s** or die. It also indirectly led to the death of her first husband and her being exiled from the village she made her home.

Ariel’s request is much more overt: she wants his backing to become the next Queen of Asura. But Perugius isn’t going to just give it to her like that. She’s going to have to work to secure his support, and it’s going to be a slow-going process.

Sylphie tries asking Perugius if he knows what caused the Mass Teleportation incident, but not even he knows why or how it happened. All he knows is that it wasn’t man-made. Almost like there was some sort of error in the universe.

Oddly enough, it’s Zanoba who hits it off the best with the Dragon Hero. All he wanted to know was if Perugius knew anything about the automaton they found in Rudeus’ house. It was made by the Mad Dragon King Chaos, a long-dead artisan and craftsman. But Zanoba and Perugius have a mutual love of arts and craftsmanship, so the Dragon God agrees.

I Wish I could Find that Mural to show you!

Everything seems to be going well for the group as they explore the legendary castle, but there was one moment that stood out to me. Nanahoshi shows Rudy, Zanoba, and Cliff this secret room that’s filled with this old mural that came with the place. Not even Perugius knows what it’s for, but…it feels familiar. A little bit like what we see at the end of every episode as we get the title of the next one. That can’t be a coincidence.

Whatever this mural is supposed to be about, though, it winds up getting a backseat, as the episode ends with an emergency. Nanahoshi is in worse shape than we thought.

Nanahoshi doesn’t feel so good!

The anime has done a good job of dropping hints that whatever Nanahoshi has been suffering from isn’t normal, but it really starts to gain attention in this episode. She’s coughing a lot more and she looks notably weaker than normal. But it’s the final moments of the episode that make us realize just how dangerous things are.

I knew that this moment was coming, but that didn’t stop me from being just as horrified as Rudy and Sylphie were. That was a lot of blood that Nanahoshi just coughed up. And the look of horror on her face right before she passed out! She was probably thinking that she was going to die. Death can be scary at any age, but she’s still a teenager. A scared teenager who came to this world against her will and just wants to go home. We can’t let her die here!

I Give “The Flying Fortress” a 4/5

LINIA VS PURSENA IN RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE!

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

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S3 Ep 7 Review

Ahh, graduation day! One of the most important milestones in any young person’s life! Of course, it’s not Rudeus who’s graduating. He’s got years before that actually happens, and since he lives nearby and Roxy works at Ranoa University, it doesn’t really matter. No, this is the graduation for two of his friends who are getting ready for the next stage of their lives: Linia and Pursena. But it’s a reminder of how time continues to move forward!

Place your bets Folks!

So, Linia and Pursena are finally graduating from Ranoa University. Which in and of itself is a pretty big achievement, because from what we’ve heard, they were so bad in their early days that they could’ve gotten expelled. At least losing to Rudeus gave them a lesson in humility, so I guess it worked out. But before they leave school forever, there’s one loose end that they need to tie up: which of them’s the strongest.

The whole point of Linia and Pursena coming to Ranoa University was to prepare one of them to become the next chieftain of the Beastfolk. They wanted to find a strong man to help them, but all their suitors were too weak to meet their expectations. So, in true delinquent fashion, they decide to settle the succession through a 1v1 fight. Winner gets to go home as heir, the loser can live their own life. And to make it even sweeter, they have Rudy, Zanoba, and Nanahoshi come along to witness it. Which is awesome, because this was one rumble that they didn’t want to miss!

This entire fight was like watching two pro wrestlers or boxers square off against each other, with all the implications that go with that. The two start off by throwing insults at each other, and then they go in for that mutual punch to the face. When Rudy used magic to make a bell and hammer and started doing commentary, I almost lost it. The guy just can’t help but be a goofball sometimes, can he?

We’re gonna see them again. I Know it!

In the end, Pursena comes out on top. In the fight between cat and dog, the dog wins! And with that, the two decide to part ways for good, with Pursena heading home, while Linia deciding to travel and try her hand as a merchant. It’s a very tender, bittersweet moment for the two of them…that then gets immediately ruined when they end up leaving from the same way out of the city. Last we see of them, they’re still arguing like cats and dogs.

By the way, as an aside, I thought you guys should know: according to the Man-God, if Rudy hadn’t gone to Begaritt, the two of them would have tried pursuing him next mating season. Which means that this fight could have turned into one over Rudy.

I’m sure we’ll see them again one day.

WATERMELON!

The back half of the episode, though, focuses on soemthing we haven’t covered in a while: Nanahoshi’s experiments to get home. She hasn’t had that many appearances in the first half of the season, and that’s because she keeps getting sick. It’s not that bad, yet, but she’s so focused on getting home that she has tunnel vision. But the results prove to be worthy it when she and Rudy manage to summon something organic from Earth: a watermelon.

The real win, though, is that this means that Nanahoshi can move on to phase four of her experiments. So everyone gets together to celebrate. And from Rudeus has said, these sorts of parties have become fairly regular and helped them all bond. Which is good, because it’s helping them all have the kind of fulfilling school life that they would want to have. Also, seeing drunk Roxy acting possessive of Rudy is adorable.

And then we come to the bombshell. Nanahoshi says that to proceed with phase four of her experiments, she’s going to seek out her mentor in magic, and she offers to introduce him to Rudeus and the gang. This mentor might also know some secret to returning Zenith back to her old self, sweetening the deal. Who is this mentor, you ask? Perugius Dola, the Armored Dragon God.

DRAMATIC BACKSTORY!

A quick lore dump is in order if you haven’t watched the first two seasons. Four hundred ago, the Demon God Laplace was out for world domination and threatening all of mankind. Thanks to the efforts of Perugius and his comrades, Laplace was defeated and sealed away, but it would not last forever. In the next century or so, Laplace will be reborn. Thus, Perugius has spent the last four centuries in his floating castle with his familiars preparing for the day he would come back. He’s a hero respected all over the world and one of the most powerful and influential people alive. So, he’s a big deal.

This marks the start of a new chapter in Rudeus’ life, and one that will not be as peaceful as what we’ve seen thus far. Things are about to get very crazy as we meet new faces, travel to familiar lands, and crazy things will happen.

https://x.com/OtakuSpirited/status/2076364629404426240?s=20

I Give “Phase Four” a 4/5

Rimuru must have a Nat 20 on Luck

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

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 18 Review

I’m just going to come out and say it: I think Rimuru got a nat 20 on luck when he reincarnated. Because there is NO FEASIBLE way that what managed to happen in this episode can be explained otherwise. His new subordinates just managed to stop an international incident without him even realizing it!

Guy would have gotten away with it…

After Diablo’s little dust-up with Rain, he is greet by his old frenemy/rival, Guy Crimson, the first Primordial and first Demon Lord. Now, Guy had no idea that Diablo had incarnated until now (I think), nor did he realize that he’s working for Rimuru. But before Diablo can start praising his lord and savior, Guy gives it to him straight: he’s here to cause trouble for humanity. While the incident in Lubelious is taking place, he has his other subordinate, the Primordial Demon Mizeri, agree to help the Rozzo family in their final f you to those they see as betraying mankind. Sure enough, Guy’s minions are currently attacking the other Western Nations, while Granville’s other flunky and their hired mercenary band, Vert, attempt to slaughter the Council. As it turns out, the goddess the mercenaries worship is Mizeri, who they summon with the goal of wiping out Engrassia.

I can’t go into further details about the why, but Guy has his reasons for doing this. Basically, he needs humans to continue to be afraid of monsters and demons as part of this grand plan he’s got going. And when they begin to grow comfortable like they are now, he reminds them of why they shouldn’t be like that!

…is what he should’ve gotten away with, if weren’t for a certain slime ruin his plans without trying.

If it weren’t for that meddling slime

As you recall, Rimuru made Testarossa Tempest’s representative at the Western Council. Which means that she is present when Granville and Vert summon Mizeri for their mass-murder plan. And since Rimuru made it her job to keep the Council safe, she is not going to let Mizeri have her way. After realizing that Testarossa, who is a Primoridal Demon like herself, is not only there, but has fully incarnated, Mizeri takes one look at what’s going on and comes to one conclusion: NOPE.

And so, Testarossa saves the day, while barely lifting a finger. And she and her followers start praising Lord Rimuru for it. They think that he knew that something like this would happen and that he had the foresight to put Testarossa in place to keep it from happening.

RIMURU IS SO LUCKY!

LOL

I was audibly laughing as I watching the Demons praise Rimuru like this. Rimuru may seem like this all-knowing god to his friends and followers, but we know the truth: if he didn’t have Raphael, he wouldn’t be able to pull off half the stuff he does. At this point, I’m pretty sure that he’s the only one who doesn’t know that Diablo and the other Colors are Primordial Demons. Even Guy freaks out when he realizes that Rimuru now has four Primordials working for him and doesn’t know it. He’s going to have to have a talk with him later!

Back in Lubelious, Rimuru and Hinata are still fighting against Granville. And since he stacked the deck against them, he’s lasting a lot longer than he would otherwise. Say what you want about the former hero, but he knows what he’s doing. Rimuru has to pull his punches with the Otherworlders (that was a bluff, though.) so he doesn’t kill them, and that distracts him enough to let him focus on Hinata. And that’s before he pulls out his wildcard in the form of Leon Cromwell.

Just keep up the ruse until you can strike, Rimuru and Leon

We already know beforehand that Leon didn’t come to Lubelious to fight. He just wants to see for himself that Rimuru is looking after his beloved sister, Chloe. But then Granville tells Rimuru how he helped Leon summon Otherworlder kids like Shizu, knowing that Rimuru isn’t happy about what Leon put her through, even if it did help her live to adulthood. Basically, Granville is trying to emotionally manipulate Rimuru into fighting Leon and making things worse. Both of them know this, but since they still don’t know what Granville’s game is, they have to play along. Plus, Rimuru did genuinely want to punch Leon for Shizu’s sake.

Little do they know, but Yuuki has already got what they wanted: Chronoa the Hero. And when she wakes up, things are going to get crazy.

The episode ends with Granville’s plans already starting to come undone without him realizing it, but at the same time, he and Yuuki are about to get what they want. And if the title of the next episode is any indication, then things are about to get pretty heavy. That Nat 20 luck that I think Rimuru has is going to be needed! As for this episode, though, I liked it by sole virtue of it making me laugh at how lucky Rimuru managed to be!

I Give “Turbulence in the West” a 4/5

Did you know that Norn Greyrat has a fan club?

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

Something that the Mushoku Tensei Might End up Skipping

Well, I didn’t want to have to go over this. I really didn’t. But given how Mushoku Tensei is trying to make it to a certain point in the story before the first half of the season ends, I don’t blame the anime for skipping over some things from the light novels. Heck, I already have plans to tell you about a few certain events if the anime decides to either gloss over them or save them for an OVA. But for this event in particular, I’m not going to keep quiet. It’s not that important to the overarching story, but it’s a fun little anecdote to Rudy’s life. I call it “That time Rudy wrangled a fan club for his sister Norn.”

Norn takes so much after her Mom

So, at this point, I’m going to assume that we are all familiar with what Rudy and Norn’s mother, Zenith, was like before she ended up the way she is. She was everything you could want in a mother: naturally nurturing and fiercely protective of her family, as well as headstrong and willing to stand up for herself. I’m pretty sure that smirk Rudeus gets when he’s thinking something dirty is the same look his mom gets when she’s smug about something. Not to mention that she is incredibly beautiful, easily one of the most attractive women in the series.

And whether she has realized it or not, Norn has inherited several of these traits from her mother. Which is how this story begins.

So, it all starts after Rudy comes back with news of Paul’s death. After grieving the loss of her beloved dad, Norn asks Rudy for his sword and for him to train her. Now, he’s not that great as a swordsman, no matter how much Paul wanted him to be, but he decides he should help Norn in their dad’s stead. So the two begin training together, with Rudy teaching her the basics while also trying to get her body strong enough to handle the rigors of sword fighting. And that is when the trouble started.

SIMP ALERT!

It happened when they were out training on the grounds of Ranoa University. Norn had just run off to get changed into her regular clothes when Rudy noticed that they were being watched by a decently-sized group of people. All of them young students at Ranoa University.

Remember what I said about Norn naturally inheriting her mom’s looks? She was still in the cute phase of her life, but she would eventually grow to be just as beautiful as Zenith. Between that, her attempts to do her best, and her tendency to be clumsy and trip over herself, she had managed to win over a lot of the boys at school. And they got it into their heads that Rudy was bullying her, not realizing that she was his little sister or that she had asked for this training. And, at first, Rudy thought that they were just worried for her sake.

But then Norn came back, and the boys couldn’t help but reveal their true colors, complimenting her and saying how cute she was. And Rudy realized what he was dealing with. It was something that he knew all too well from his first life:

Putting the Foot Down

When he heard one of them mentioning how they would buy Norn in a heartbeat if she somehow ended up a slave (no joke), Rudy knew he had to put his foot down.

So, in the interest of protecting his little sister from a potential threat in the future, he organized them all into a group. Thus, the Norn Greyrat Official Fan Club was born, with Rudeus as its leader. All so that people could respectfully admire his sister without causing any trouble.

By the way, when the other members found out that Rudeus was taking baths with his sisters, they kicked him out for breaking the rules.

So that’s basically the story of how Norn got her own fan club at Ranoa U. I doubt it will end up being adapted into the anime, so I thought it would be fun to bring up here. UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!

Granville is Making his Move!

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

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 17 Review

Due to some sort of scheduling conflict or error going on in Japan, we didn’t get a new episode of Slime Tensura last week. It’s unfortunate, but given how I was at a convention that day, it worked out for me. But don’t know what isn’t going to work out? Whatever the heck Granville is planning on doing. He and Yuuki have this crazy plan to attack Rimuru and Luminous so they can kill them/steal the body of Luminous’ best friend. And they are going all out on this! And to make matters worse, not one, but two other Demon Lords are getting involved! At least one of them isn’t actually looking for a fight, at least.

Leon Loves his Little Sister!

So, we need to talk about Leon Cromwell. If you recall, he was the one who summoned Shizu to this world and sealed the Fire Demon Ifrit in her. This kept her alive, but it also led to her eventual death as Rimuru had to stop him from rampaging. Naturally, this didn’t leave us or Rimuru with a very good impression of him. But if the last few episodes have shown us anything, it’s that Leon isn’t a jerk. He’s more of a…dork.

Yes, if the last few episodes have shown us anything, it’s that Leon isn’t a bad guy. He’s just incredibly socially awkward. He doesn’t know how to talk to people properly, and since he’s a Demon Lord, people get the wrong idea about him. Since he’s so focused on finding Chloe that he gets tunnel vision and can’t really see how his actions come off towards other. Combine those two, and it explains why he hasn’t found Chloe on his own. In fact, when he finally decides to ask Elmesia for help, she tells him that he could’ve saved himself a lot of trouble if he had asked for help.

No matter, though. He’s off to Lubelius to reunite with his adoptive little sister! And for his sake, I hope he plays nice with Rimuru. If Chloe has her way, the slime could be his brother-in-law in ten years, LOLOLOL!

The timing couldn’t be worse, though. Granville and Yuuki are on the march.

Granville is on the Warpath

So, Rimuru and Hinata are just enjoying a relaxing get-together as platonic friends, sipping tea and enjoying their morning. Then all of a sudden, they learn that Lubelius is under attack by an army of warriors! And at the head of them is Granville Rozzo.

Granville has assembled a small army and marched them on Lubelius, all with the goals of stealing Luminous’ most prized possession and killing her and Rimuru. At least Granville is being smart about this. He knows he can’t face Rimuru in a fair fight, so he’s rigged it in his favor. Using an army of mind-controlled Otherworlders knowing full well that Rimuru wouldn’t harm them is a good handicap. And the Harlequin Alliance is currently keeping Luminous and her guards busy. He even resorted to using necromancy on his wife’s body to have her fight Luminous. But we know that this is only a stalling tactic. Granville couldn’t beat Luminous in his prime, so there’s no way that he can beat Rimuru. And if anything, seeing someone that she knew and likely called her friend at one point being revived as a puppet is only going to enrage Luminous rather than shock her.

But that’s the whole point of the plan. The bad guys are distracting our heroes so that they can steal the body of Chronoa, wake her up, and have her kill them. As far as plans go, it’s decent.

But that’s not the real highlight of the episode. It’s what Diablo gets up to.

Diablo Takes Care of Business

So, while Shion and Diablo are fighting this giant bug…thing, Diablo gets distracted. And it’s soon clear why: someone is lurking nearby, waiting for him. So, at Shion’s behest, he decides to go take care of this problem.

Also, note how Diablo and Shion addressed each other by their names. That’s a first!

The person that Diablo sensed is none other than Rain, the personal maid of Guy Crimson, the first and strongest of the Demon Lords, as well as the first of the Primordials. And Rain is also one of the Primordials like Guy and Diablo. So, she’s crazy strong. But she’s also not on the same level as Diablo. Even before he got his name, Diablo was able to fight Guy to a standstill. And then, Rain commits the ultimate sin in front of Diablo: she calls Rimuru trash.

What happens next is on her!

The episode ends with Guy Crimson himself showing up in the aftermath. I don’t know why he’s there, but this might have just added another wrinkle to this brewing crisis. Rimuru can handle himself just fine, but Guy Crimson? The OG Demon Lord? Yeah, he’d lose. Please don’t let this end badly for him!

I’m still looking forward to seeing how this all turns out, though.

I Give “Lubelius, the Point of Convergence” a 3/5

The Pikachu has Returned!

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

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S3 Ep 6 Review

Did you guys know that Mushoku Tensei fans have a nickname for the main girls based on their hair colors? Sylphie is the Bulbasaur for her originally green hair. Roxy is Squirtle, since she’s a blunette and specializes in water magic. And lastly, Eris is Charmander, both because of her red hair and how dangerous she can be when angry. But what about Pikachu? That would be Sara, the one that got away. Now, I’ve made my feelings about Sara pretty clear: I think she was a poor man’s substitute for Eris and a means to show us how badly the latter’s leaving hurt Rudy. I would’ve been fine if we never saw her again, but Rifujin decided to give us some closure with an entire chapter being dedicated to her reunion with Rudy. And that entire chapter just managed to get adapted into an entire episode of the anime.

Sara’s Back! *Gulp*

So the first thing that stuck out for me about this episode was how it managed to cover something that I thought the anime had chosen to skip over: the return of Suzanne, the old leader of Counter Arrow. In the light novels, it’s revealed far earlier that after Counter Arrow had disbanded, Suzanne and Timothy had moved to Sharia, married, and started their own family. And Rudeus hired her to be Lucie’s wet nurse, leading them to reunite. This actually took place much earlier in the novels while what happens in this episode takes place later. That left me genuinely convinced that the anime was going to skip over it, and thus left me pleasantly surprised.

In hindsight, though, it makes sense that the anime moved the order of events, considering how this entire episode is dedicated to Sara.

The main plot of the episode is about Rudy and Roxy helping to escort this Ranoan princess on her coming-of-age pilgrimage to some shrines. Since Ariel wants to build connections, she tags along with Luke and Sylphie, meaning most of the gang is present. But they’re not the only ones guarding the princesses. The Ranoan Princess hired this party of all-female adventurers to escort her. And guess who’s joined them since Counter Arrow split up?

I know we can technically hear what Rudy’s thinking thanks to his internal monologue, but the moment he sees Sara, I can imagine him completely freaking out.

Sylphie, you are a Saint!

So, Rudeus spends a good chunk of the job (when he’s not simping for his wives) doing his absolute best to avoid Sara. And frankly, I don’t think most guys can blame him. He thought he burned all his bridges with Sara, and so wanted to give her the space he thought she’d want. But Sylphie, who knows her husband so well (bless her heart) sees this and realizes “my man can’t keep doing this forever. He’s gotta rip the band-aid off or else someone could end up dead.” So Ariel, being the chess master she is, has Rudy and Sara go look for some fruit as an excuse for them to face each other.

As a quick aside, it’s so great to see how well Ariel knows Sylphie so well. It’s a good she’s her best friend, because I don’t think that the Greyrats could handle being on her bad side!

The next sequence is nothing short of cathartic, as it isn’t Rudy who ends up apologizing first; it’s Sara.

Sara Apologizes First

So, shortly after Sara had angrily slapped Rudy for badmouthing her and thinking he was just looking to get laid, the woman Soldat took him to came and told her everything. So Sara immediately realized that she had made a huge mistake, especially when she found out that Rudeus briefly tried to off himself. Remember that? Rudeus was so overcome by despair that he might have killed himself if Soldat hadn’t been there, and it would have been all her fault (and Eris’)! So she ran all over town trying to find him and apologize, but he was long gone by then.

Now, Rudy was not entirely blameless. He should have at least tried to explain his problems at the time. But given his mental state back then, I don’t think any of us can fault him for not thinking things through. I don’t think that I would have been thinking straight either.

At any rate, Rudy and Sara have their little heart-to-heart and apologize for how things ended. But you know what the most important part of this was? It’s them acknowledging that any romantic relationship between wouldn’t have worked out. I already knew it. I even acknowledged that Sara being too similar to Eris was going to cause problems and just make her Rudy’s rebound girl. That’s not a healthy foundation for romance, and I’m glad that they acknowledge that in-universe. Pikachu was not meant to be.

Friendship!

In the end, the job goes off without incident, and Rudy and Sara part ways, the two mutually deciding to stay in the friend zone. The most important aspect of this, though, was that it helped Rudy figure out for sure what type of woman is his type. Well, he is already married to Sylphie and Roxy, but reuniting with Sara made him realize why he fell for them, despite the Greyrat family being notoriously attracted to well-endowed women. It was because they had both saved him when he was at extremely low points in his life. Roxy helped him overcome his fear of the outside world that had kept him shut inside in his first life, and then helped him when Paul died. Sylphie became his first friend and helped him get his confidence back as a man. So, where does that leave Eris?

What’s Eris up to?

Look, Eris is going to come back into Rudy’s life. I know it; he knows it; even Sylphie knows it, and she’s never even met the redhead! The question isn’t if Eris will come back, but whether Rudy will be willing to let her back into his life. She was indirectly responsible for the ordeal that Rudy and Sara went through, and she has to answer for that.

Speaking of Eris, the end of the episode is dedicated to another part of the Mad Dog’s training arc. She, Nina, and Gino have been training for years now, and the Sword God is ready to elevate one of them to Sword King, the third highest rank a swordsman can have. Eris and Nina duel over it, and, predictably, Eris wins. The irony is that she doesn’t care about ranks like that. Such titles are meaningless when wanting to fight someone like Orsted, but it’s still impressive.

We are nearing the tail-end of Rudeus’ slice of life at Ranoa University, sadly. Which is a shame because I was hoping that the show would focus more on this part of his life. But if the show is trying to get to where I think it is before the first half of the season ends, they can’t afford to wait around. Heck, I’m not even sure they can make it to that point before time runs out! No spoilers, but let’s just say that things are going to get crazy.

I Give “Another Domestic Disaster” a 4.3/5

Title-Kun Nailed this Episode Perfectly

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

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, S4 Ep 16 Review

You know what scares me most about getting older? Well, besides the approach of death and the diminishing of my mental faculties. It’s the cynicism. The idea that I could become one of those bitter old men that the heroes in a shonen manga have to fight, like Danzo, the Five Elders, or the leaders of Jujutsu Society. But cynicism isn’t something that you’re born feeling; it’s caused by something. And in this episode of Slime Tensura, we get to see first-hand what made Granville Rozzo the cold, unfeeling jerk that he is.

The Conference is Here

So, the moment that  Luminous has been waiting for is almost upon her: the musical conference brought to her by Rimuru and the citizens of Tempest. Rimuru, his students, Shion, and the musicians arrive in Lubelious a few days ahead of time to enjoy themselves before the conference. They’re all treated to this amazing feast, stuff themselves with food, and then it’s off to bed for the kids. The adults need to have a chat.

So, it goes without saying, but  Luminous decides to say it anyway: she knows Granville and Yuuki are working together. She knows that they’re going to try and crash the conference, but she doesn’t know what their ultimate goal is. What she does know, though, is that Granville is not someone that Rimuru should take lightly; she’s known him for a very, very long time.

A Hero’s fall to Darkness

Hundreds of years ago, Granville was basically the protagonist of his own fantasy story. He was a young, idealistic, and powerful Hero who wanted to protect mankind from the threat of the Demon Lords, with his wife Maria, and this…person called Razul by his side. To that end, they fought Luminous for a while, but then Luminous told them “chill guys! I ain’t interested in killing humans! We can sustain ourselves on just a small amount of blood!” So Granville decided to work for her and help get the West under control. It was going fine, too…until they were betrayed. This one human got bribed by a demon to let them into a wedding they were attending, and during the fighting, Maria was killed.

Maria’s death was Granville’s cynicism catalyst. He had wanted nothing more than for humanity to be safe from beings that could destroy them, only for a human to kill his wife. He saw the best in humanity, but never considered that we can be just as evil as any monster or demon. So that twisted his goal from protecting humanity to “controlling it from the shadows and terminating any threats with prejudice.” Threats like Rimuru.

Honestly, though, the reason why Granville is so against Rimuru isn’t because his granddaughter is dead. It’s because Rimuru’s way of doing things is proof that his way isn’t working. Even worse, it proves that his way of thinking is obsolete. So, rather than bow out, Granville is determined to bring as many down with him, even if he knows he’ll likely lose.

And his plan is nothing if not audacious.

He’s Gonna do What?

So, we already know that Yuuki and Granville plan to do something during the conference so they can steal Luminous’ most prized possession. Besides having Yuuki and the Harlequin’s fight alongside Granville against Luminious and Rimuru, they’ve lured in another party: Demon Lord Leon Cromwell. He’s still looking for Chloe, and he’s starting to piece together that she’s with Rimuru. And one of Yuuki’s agents just told him that Rimuru is planning to sell off the Otherworlder kids to Luminious.

You can see where this is going. They plan on using Leon to help distract Rimuru and Luminous so they can get away with their heist. It’s a crazy plan, and not in the “crazy brilliant” way, but the “crazy stupid” way. Stupid because all Rimuru has to do is speak to Leon with his Nat 20 speech check and explain everything. And stupid because if Leon hurts an ounce of Rimuru’s slimy self, Chloe will hate him for it. And I’m guessing that he’s the kind of big brother who will die from shock if his little sister hates him.

I know that Granville hasn’t had the easiest life, and you can understand why he would turn into such a cynical jerk. But being cynical and not having faith in others is how the world gets worse, not better. And we have enough of that in our world as it is, so I would rather not see it in fiction. Do what you have to do, Rimuru!

I Give “Granville, the Hero of Dawn” a 4/5

Happy Birthday, Norn and Aisha

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

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S3 Ep 5 Review

Fun fact about Mushoku Tensei: did you know that in the world of the series, they don’t celebrate birthdays every year? In that world, birthdays are generally celebrated three times: when someone turns five, when they turn ten, and again at fifteen, where they’re considered legal adults. I don’t think Rudeus ever got a chance to celebrate becoming an adult (biologically), and due to the chaos in their lives, Norn and Aisha actually missed their tenth birthdays. As the new man of the house, it is up to Rudy to fix this!

He loves his sisters so much.

Weddings are so beautiful!

So, it all starts with Cliff and Elinalise’s wedding. I had forgotten about it, but right before Rudy and Elinalise left for Begaritt, Cliff proposed. I guess he does have some CHAD in him. So, we get this nice scene where we see the two of them tie the knot together.

I don’t remember much of it from the light novel, but I think that the whole thing took a lot longer than what we got. Not that I’m complaining, because it was still sweet to see. It even makes Rudeus question if he should have had a ceremony for Roxy and Sylphie but they’re happy with what they got.

No offense to Eris, but I don’t think that she would want that kind of ceremony, either. Her parents would’ve insisted on it, but she would just want to drag Rudy off somewhere and get to the intimacy.

Speaking of which, Elinalise asks Rudy to get her some of that aphrodisiac that Sylphie used to help his impotency as a gift for Cliff.

She bribes him with the promise of talking Sylphie and Roxy into…a threesome. And it works, on every account.

Again, don’t remember much from the light novels, but it still turns out like this. He’s lucky his wives are so open-minded.

Birthday Surprise!

With that out of the way, though, Rudy realizes something important: they missed Norn and Aisha’s 10th birthdays! Thus, the Greyrat family decides to make up for lost time by throwing them a surprise party. This is especially important, since due to their lives have turned out, the girls never got a chance to celebrate their fifth birthday properly. And more importantly for Rudy, hes never had the chance to celebrate their birthdays at all. As such, he wants to go all out. But how to distract them long enough to get everything set up?

He and Roxy take them out fishing while the others set everything up.

The plan is actually two-fold: Norn and Aisha are still not used to having Roxy around. If you’ll recall, Norn made a fuss about her brother marrying another woman. Rudy was hoping that this would help to break the ice. And it actually works. Roxy teaches Norn how to fish, as she’s had plenty of experience from her days as an adventurer. It’s sweet to see the two bond so well.

What was even more entertaining, though, was seeing Rudeus suck at fishing! He was watching Aisha catch them like a pro, and all he got was an old boot. So he resorts to using what is basically Sith Lightning to electrocute the water to catch all the fish. I was shaking my head at the tv and saying how that was just cheating, and Aisha actually said that! Way to be petty, Rudy!

This…this is nice.

After that’s done, it’s time for the party, and it…is just so sweet. Seeing the Greyrat family together, celebrating the girl’s birthdays and how they’ve finally found a new home for themselves is so touching. Yeah, it’s not as cool as the adventures that Rudy has had over the years, but it’s moments like this that make life worth living. And that scene with Zenith…damn. I don’t know if Zenith will ever be back to the way she was before, but just seeing her be able to dote on her daughter and step-daughter like this is just so heartwarming. I think I almost cried watching it.

I need to be taking notes about these moments you guys. I’m hoping to write my own series in the future once I have more time (we need more hands), and I need to keep these slice-of-life moments in mind!

Oh, and I loved the new hat that Rudy got Roxy. She really is the one responsible for the whole family being together again. If she hadn’t trained Rudy, then he, Sylphie, and everyone else might not have survived.

I Give “Celebrations” a 4/5

Money, Piranha Plants, and New Spells

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

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation S3 Ep 4 Review

Welcome back to a day in the life of the Greyrat family, and that is where we will be staying for a good while. I know that some people are going to be eager to see the story move forward some more, but part of Mushoku Tensei’s charm is that it doesn’t limit itself to the big moments. It focuses on the little ones in Rudeus’ life in equal value, something that we should already be used to. And I for one am enjoying getting to see these smaller moments in his life as he continues to better himself. And in this episode, he makes his next big leap forward as a mage. Also, the family gets a new pet.

Is Rudy Loaded?

It’s been a few months now since Rudy made it back from Begarit, and all the members of the Black Wolf Fangs (minus Ghislaine) gather at Paul’s grave to bid farewell. Geese and Talhand are headed off on their own with their share of the loot they got, but not before leaving Rudy his and his dad’s cut. And it’s a lot of money, I should note. Enough to last his family for a good, long while.

Come to think of it, I don’t think that Rudy has ever really had to worry about money that much in his second life. He was pretty well-off thanks to his days in Dead End on his globe-trotting odyssey, and even if he wasn’t, he could make do using his magic. Remember those figurines he likes making? If he made that a full-time job, he would be rich in no time! But I digress. Life is going well for Rudy. His mom is more active, even if she still isn’t acting like how she used to, and it was funny to see him try to make his daughter laugh. He looks just like his dad when he was doing that to Norn and Aisha.

Speaking of which, the Light Novels go a little further into it, as Rudeus has this internal monologue about how he sees the ideal dad. And despite all of his faults, Paul is the person he sees as an example. And, if Paul were alive, he would be just as doting towards his granddaughter.

Oh, and that’s not even getting into the surprise that Rudeus discovers for himself in the first half of the episode: Aisha got a new pet.

Piranha Plant

So, you might have noticed that the Greyrat family brought a pet with them back from the Begarit Continent; that giant armadillo? Well, it turns out that Aisha has also gotten herself a pet that she’s been keeping a secret from her brother. Or rather, she had planned to tell him about it, but he found it before she could. It’s not a cat, dog, or any other animal that you would expect a little girl to bring home, either. It’s a…Piranha Plant.

Okay, the actual name of it is a Treant, a type of plant monster that’s this world’s equivalent to slimes. But it more or less looks like a cross between a Piranha Plant and Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. And Rudeus must be familiar with one of the two, because his first instinct is to want to burn it! But Aisha begs him not to, saying that it’s her pet that came out of this seed around the time Rudy got back from Begarit. And she’s doing a good job of training it to not hurt anyone. But when that doesn’t work, she plays dirty and resorts to blackmail.

I have to admit: I did laugh when Aisha threatened to tell Roxy and Sylphie about Rudeus’ secret shrine to them, complete with Roxy’s “holy relic.” That girl is going to be a menace when she’s all grown up! Thankfully, Roxy shows up and tells Rudy that the Treant is safe. Her people even use them to ward off pests from their farms. So, the plant monster stays. And Aisha has named it Byt. I would’ve name it Seymour or Audrey III.

But then something even funnier happens. Well, it’s funny in hindsight.

Rudy Wants to Level Up

So, the student council got reports that someone was harassing a student at school, so Luke and Sylphie went to see what the problem was. Except when they get there, it’s just Rudy bothering Roxy. Apparently, not everyone is aware yet that Roxy’s a teacher now, much to her dismay. And to Sylphie’s chagrin, the lack of context makes it sound like Rudy is trying to ask Roxy for something dirty, and he thought he was being his usual pervy self. In truth, though, he was just begging Roxy to teach him how to be come a King-Class Water Mage like her, and she didn’t want to. One of the few things that she can say she tops her husband in is her rank as a mage. But she eventually backs down.

Frankly, I don’t blame Sylphie for thinking Rudy was up to something pervy. Most of the people in their world are pretty horny, if you ask me!

That Was Awesome

So, we then get to see this awesome moment where Roxy teaches Rudy and Sylphie this King-Class water spell, and it’s basically like calling down lightning from on high onto a target. And, like most of the anime, it’s superbly animated. Absolutely breathtaking to look at! And Roxy manages to pull it off rather well.

But then Rudy tries it, and…well, it’s basically like him dropping a tactical nuke. I swear, that guy could end up destroying an entire city if he’s not careful!

Well, with that done, Rudy is now a King-Class Water Mage, and he and his wives head home to continue their lives. But, honestly, I think that Rudy could take it even further. If he applied himself as much as Eris is in her training, he could become the strongest mage in the world in a few years. Maybe he’ll need to do that, depending on the motivation he has. Questions for later, though.

By the way, it’s not mentioned in the anime, but in the light novels, we start to get these little anecdotes about legends of Ranoa University revolving around Rudy. Well, it’s basically stuff that Linia and Pursena spread about their “Boss.” Like, how he has trained monsters at his house, how he can summon lightning from his fingertips, or (this is my favorite) can fire his arm like a rocket. It’s funny.

I Give “A King-Class Water Mage” a 3/5