Isekai

Wow, Fohl Got Quite the Glow-up!

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

The Rising of the Shield Hero S4 Ep 5 Review

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

Bad Kitty

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

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

Fohl got a glow-up

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

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

Time for the Truth

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

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

I Give “White Tiger” a 4/5

White. Tiger. Power. ‘Nuff Said

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The Rising of the Shield Hero S4 Ep 4 Review

The duel for Naofumi’s freedom has begun. After losing all patience with the leadership of Siltvelt for not giving him a ship to get to Q’Ten Lo, Naofumi’s decided to force the issue. Fohl and Atla will fight Jaralis and his champion in a duel on his behalf, and if they win, Siltvelt will stop stalling. But if he loses, he’ll be stuck in Silvelt and forced to have an unwanted harem of Demi-Humans and Beastmen. While that’s already enough motivation for the siblings to win, they have another motive. Fohl has a score to settle with Jaralis regarding what happened to their late father on the day he died, and he will have his answers and his justice.

Fohl and Atla’s Lineage!

Starting with their introduction in the previous season, Shield Hero has been dropping hints that there’s something about Atla and Fohl that’s special. It’s not just the fact that they’re Half-Human or their incredible strength and will. The fact that Trash, who has a grudge against Demi-Humans, was so nice to them was a big hint that they’re special. As these last few episodes have revealed, there’s a good reason for that: by blood, they’re Siltveltian royalty.

Their father (whom I’m not sure ever gets a name-dropped) was the son of Tyran, the late king of the Hakuko, one of Siltvelt’s greatest military leaders, and the arch-enemy to Trash of Melromarc. While hewas every bit as skilled a leader and warrior, though, Tyran’s son didn’t like war, leading to him being disowned by his father. After that, he met and married his wife (who is important for her own reasons), had Fohl and Atla, only to be forced to fight in another war alongside Jaralis and die on the battlefield. His family lost everything after that, with his wife dying of illness, his kids having to give everything to their staff, and selling themselves into slavery so Fohl could pay for Atla’s medicine.

Jaralis is a Low-Class Hater

And despite Jaralis trying to claim to Fohl’s face that their father died a coward, the boy knows right away that he’s lying. So the lion just admits the truth: he murdered their father in cold blood.

Everyone watching should’ve already figured out by now that Jaralis is scum; so much so that the anime wasn’t able to fully capture all the things that make him scum. For example, that incident where Naofumi was almost assaulted by all those beastwomen in the bath? That was likely his idea! That’s strike one! Strike two was him trying to poison Naofumi and his party, and then doing everything he can to deny it like he’s Littlefinger from Game of Thrones. And if you’ve read Allen Blaster’s Shield Hero fanfic, then we see much earlier how slimy he is. But this is the moment where goes from being a slimeball to a hater of the pettiest degree. The man hated the Hakuko siblings’ dad because he was everything he wasn’t: kind, charismatic, and so good at being a leader that even when Jaralis deliberately put him in a position to be killed, he still won. So he pulled a Scar from The Lion King and just killed him himself!

And just like Scar, Jaralis doesn’t play fair. He must have known Fohl could beat him, because he coats his weapons in poison to paralyze him. When that doesn’t work, he dopes himself on a drug that turns him into a giant, four-legged lion. And when that still fails, he resorts to flat-out calling in some thugs to kill everyone, dropping all pretenses of a duel. The man is a hater!

Villain Rule One: Never Monologue

Jaralis, though, managed to make a classic villain mistake: he monologued and told Fohl everything. Between hearing how Jaralis killed his dad, and being pushed into a corner, Fohl gets the push he needs to unlock new power. He manages to transform into a full-on Beastman Hakuko. He looks like a white tiger god!!

As bad as the situation looks, fans should know that Naofumi and the others aren’t in any real danger. Jaralis is the kind of villain who thinks they’re hot stuff, but in truth, is a chump. He has to resort to using drugs, poison, and brute strength to fight a kid, and he can’t even do that. The Shield Hero team can handle him no problem. What fans should care more about is getting to see what Fohl can do in his El Tigre Blanco form. It could end up being what gives him a leg up on his sister! That will have to wait until next week’s episode, though, but we should be in for a satisfying beatdown.

I Give “Entrusted Power” a 4/5

It’s Official: Atla is terrifying!

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The Rising of the Shield Hero S4 Ep 3 Review

Ever since Naofumi arrived in Silvelt, I have been very consistent in my opinion about the country: it’s a fan club that is also a nation. Everyone in Siltvelt worships the Shield Hero and would jump at the chance to help them. But like any large fandom, there are going to be toxic elements. The worst of them are the fans who claim to support what they want, but are really trying to manipulate it for their own ends. And having seen how the leaders of Siltvelt are acting, Atla puts on her Tims and gives the adults the verbal beating they deserve.

Atla Grills All the Adults

As we saw in the last episode, someone tried to poison Naofumi and his party, though everyone knows that it was Jaralis who did it. However, instead of arresting him on the spot, the leaders of Siltvelt went back to arguing amongst themselves. That is when Atla finally reaches the limits and proceeds to crash out and tells them the truth: THEY ALL SUCK.

What follows is three minutes of a child proceeding to verbally tear a bunch of foolish adults a new one, and it is glorious. And in keeping with the fandom analogy, she’s basically the one who’s calling out everyone for making that which they claim to love so unwelcoming to others. Having seen and heard stories about how toxic the fanbases of certain franchises have gotten, it’s nice to see someone not letting something similar slide. And if you thought Atla was cool in the anime, that’s nothing. She starts aura-farming so hard, she breaks the floor underneath her while Naofumi sees the figure of an angry tiger forming around her! PURE EPIC!!

Yet despite everything, and despite Naofumi getting the cook for breakfast to admit being told to use poison, what does Jaralis do? Lying through his teeth.

Jaralis Suckz!!

One would think that the end of the world would be a good motivator for people to put aside their wants and needs. However, the stupidity of some people cannot be so easily cured. In this case, Jaralis outright says that the Waves the world is facing are not the ones of legend, and that Naofumi isn’t the real shield hero. It’s like watching Littlefinger from Game of Thrones. The man will lie straight to people’s faces to get what he wants! It also doesn’t help that the Lion is a racist who continually belittles Atla for being half-human.

As this episode makes abundantly clear, Atla and Fohl are hybrids. Their father was a White Tiger, but their mother was human. And a very important human, at that. However, the fact that Jaralis, a grown man, is willing to play the “hybrid” card on children, just shows how pathetic he truly is. And he’s not going to let this go anytime soon.

So, Atla decides to pull up and put him in his place. She challenges Jaralis to a duel.

Let the Duel Begin!

If you’ll recall, Naofumi once fought a duel against Motoyasu over the matter of Raphtalia’s freedom, completely ignoring the fact that she was a slave in name only and was choosing to serve him out of her free will. This time, though, the terms are simpler. Atla and Fohl will fight on Naofumi’s behalf against Jaralis and a champion of Siltvelt. If they win, the Council will give them their ride to Q’ten Lo and let them go on their way. However, if they lose, not only will Naofumi have to stay in Siltvelt…he’ll have to form a harem.

ATLA, FOHL, YOU HAD BETTER NOT LOSE!!!

Naofumi’s chastity aside, this fight is just as important to Fohl as it is to his leader. He’s got questions for Jaralis, and he will get answers.

Grab some popcorn! This will be good!

I Give “A True People” 3.5/5

For the Last Time, NAOFUMI DOESN’T WANT A HAREM!

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The Rising of the Shield Hero S4 Ep 2 Review

It’s only been one day since Naofumi and his party arrived in Siltvelt, and he’s already growing sick of the place. His only goal right now is to get to Q’Ten Lo and stop them from coming after him and Raphtalia. However, Siltvelt’s leaders seemed determined to keep him in their country for as long as possible; likely forever! And as the follow-up episode demonstrates, the leaders of Siltvelt will play dirty to make sure that that happens. Fortunately, Naofumi has a zero-tolerance policy for red tape and stalling, and when one of the country’s leaders tries to make a move, he decides to put them all on the OPP’s list unless they give him what he wants.

You got to admire someone who refuses to deal with baloney.

Before we get started, let’s back up to the season premiere. A few days before it premiered, I remembered I had the light novels that this season should be covering on my smartphone. I started reading through them, and thanks to that, I’m better able to notice a few things that the anime has changed or rearranged. More importantly, it made me remember that the story established earlier than the anime that Jaralis was going to be a problem. For example, in the light novel version of his audience with Silvelt’s leaders, Jaralis starts by singing Naofumi’s praisings before twisting his words into saying that they should go out and crush all who oppose them. And then he basically ends the meeting early by having everyone walk out.

Naofumi vs. an Army of Horny Demi-Humans

Unfortunately, this episode, while rearranging the order of certain events, still meets with the same outcome: irritating Naofumi. Firstly, he’s told that his party must stay in a separate bedroom while he sleeps in one meant for royalty. It’s clearly an attempt to separate him from those he trusts. It’s only thanks to his insistence that Raph-Chan stay with him that it falls through.

And it’s a good thing that Raphy (Raph-Chan’s name in the dub). Without her, he might not have made it through what happens next with his chastity intact.

While the light novel doesn’t have the water laced with aphrodisiacs and the women were waiting in advance, everything else is accurate. If Raph-Chan hadn’t been there for backup and to call Raphtalia, Naofumi would’ve had his chastity stolen that night. Not lost, stolen. And considering what Witch did to him messed him up so bad he’s all but sworn a life of celibacy, this experience was one giant trauma button for him. Needless to say, his blow-up at Werner is more than justified.

Atla and Fohl are more important than you realize

Unfortunately for Naofumi, the rest of his experience in Siltvelt isn’t any more productive. He’s forced to attend parties, banquets, and other social gatherings in his honor, all while listening to the elites trying to outdo themselves in their efforts to glaze him. He doesn’t buy it for a second, and the longer they stall, the more Naofumi decides to just figure things out on his own.

Thankfully, this is where Fohl and Atla manage to come in handy.

I’m not sure how much of their story has been revealed thus far in the anime, but Fohl and Atla are not ordinary Demi-Humans. They are part of the Hakuko, AKA the white tigers. Years ago, they had been one of the four most powerful races of Demi-Humans in Siltvelt, and their father had been a prominent leader. However, when Siltvelt lost the war against Melromarc, and they lost their parents, the Hakuko fell from power. And we know how Naofumi found them.

In any case, though, the siblings still have allies in Siltvelt. Through them, Naofumi starts making his own plans to get to Q’ten Lo, since it’s clear the country is useless to him. But then something happens that makes everyone leading the country into an OPP: someone tries to poison Naofumi and his party.

Jaralis did it. We all know he did it!

Well, to be fair, it’s Jaralis who did it. The smug look on his face says it all. However, when Jaralis and Werner continue to be at each other’s throats, Naofumi decides that this farce has gone on long enough. In a rather surprising twist, though, he’s not the one to start blowing off. It’s Atla.

This should be interesting to watch. That girl is Naofumi’s number one stan, so seeing her get mad at the people in charge of Siltvelt should be entertaining. Still, it’s a little frustrating to see multiple scenes from the light novel get removed from the anime. But the plus side is that this makes me look forward to seeing what will happen when Allen Blaster’s fanfic gets to this point!

I give “Official Welcome” a 3.5/5

Naofumi Arrives at Shield Hero Stan HQ

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

The Rising of the Shield Hero S4 Ep 1

Q’ten Lo just made the biggest mistake it could ever make: it made the Shield Hero mad.

When we last left off with The Rising of the Shield Hero, things got crazy. One minute, Naofumi had Raphtalia cosplaying in a miko outfit because he thought she looked good in it (and she did.) The next minute, his village was attacked by Demi-human ninjas saying that Raphtalia would die for “making her claim to the throne.” It turns out, Raphtalia’s royalty from the isolationist nation of Q’ten Lo! Her parents had left the country to be together, but their countrymen had had assassins keeping watch over them the whole time. In other words, they knew that she had been captured and enslaved and didn’t do a thing about it. Naturally livid, Naofumi and his group have gone to settle things with Q’ten Lo. There’s just one problem: they have to get there via a nation of Shield Hero stans.

Welcome to Siltvelt, Home of the Shield Hero stans!

The new season picks up as Naofumi, Raphtalia, Raph-Chan, Sadeena, Atla, Fohl, and others are headed to Q’ten Lo. With the Phoenix due to revive in a few months, Naofumi can’t afford to worry about fighting another enemy out to get him and Raphtalia. However, since Q’ten Lo is an isolationist country, the only way to get there is to travel by ship from Siltvelt, AKA Shield Hero fan club global HQ.

For those needing a refresher, Siltvelt is a powerful nation comprised of Demi-Humans. Since the Shield Hero is historically known as a protector of Demi-Humans, they exclusively worship the Shield Hero as their god. That makes them the exact opposite of what Melromarc was at the start of the series: an entire nation of Shield Hero stans. Thus, one would think that Siltvelt would be more than happy to assist their god in his time of need.

One would be forgiven for thinking this.

No, Really. They are Shield Hero Stans

Calling Siltvelt a nation of Shield Hero stans isn’t just an exaggeration on our part. The official definition of stanning is being a fan of something to an extreme degree; in other words, potentially more than what should be healthy. Many real-life fandoms have members who engage in behavior that can be considered toxic. One could even argue that being an overzealous fan of something is itself toxic, as it can lead to behaviors like gate-keeping and disparaging people they don’t consider “true fans.” Even worse, though, there are members of fandoms who claim to like something but are just using it for their own benefit or to manipulate the thing they claim to like for their own ends. And as Naofumi quickly discovers, the leadership of Silvelt is filled with those kinds of fans.

After Naofumi and his party arrive in Siltvelt, it’s not long before they’re met by their adoring public. The entire population shows up to greet their hero, and Atla is praising them all for seeing his greatness because she’s Naofumi’s biggest fan. However, it’s when they meet with the leaders of the nation that it becomes clear that things won’t be so easy.

Rough translation: they don’t want him to leave.

Why Must Politicians Be Politicking?

Even in the face of Armageddon, there are going to be people who only care about being on top. In this case, Siltvelt is doing the same thing that Melromarc did to the other Cardinal heroes: glazing them to get their support while planning on using them as pawns. Thankfully, Naofumi has learned not to let this happen to him, and will be quick to put people in their place. However, that still makes it an issue. Especially since the final moments of the episode involve the introduction of a certain someone, a lion Demi-Human called Jaralis.

It’s been a while since I’ve read Allen Blaster’s fanfic, but I remember Jaralis all too well. That man is a problem, and he will need to be dealt with.

All of that can wait, though. For now, I’m just looking forward to seeing more of Naofumi. After the spring disaster that was TBATE, I need an Isekai palate cleanser.

I Give “Siltvelt” a 4/5

Lord of Mysteries Has me Tripping Balls

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Lord of Mysteries Ep 1-3 Review

This past spring, we were robbed of a good isekai. The Beginning After the End was a disappointment, especially when it came to animation. Anime watchers have been needing a palate cleanser since then; a real isekai that can make people’s eyes go wide and their jaws drop! And about two weeks ago, we may have gotten just that with this new donghua: Lord of Mysteries.

If only we could fully understand what’s going on!

This is a Donghua

First things first, lets clarify what Lord of Mysteries is. While it is being marketed as an anime by Crunchyroll, its not Japanese in origin. Its a donghua, or Chinese animation, and its based on a popular web novel series written by someone called Cuttlefish That Loves Diving. And to put it bluntly, trying to understand it as a newcomer is going to be an exercise in brainpower.

The story starts when Zhou Mingrui, a young man from modern day China, wakes up in another world in the body of one of its inhabitants, Klein Moretti. This new world he finds himself in is overtly Victorian steampunk in nature, and is one filled with supernatural forces. What’s more confusing, though, is the fact that Zhou’s new body has a bullet hole in his head, the result of a mysterious suicide. Obviously, Zhou is not happy about being yanked from his life into this new world, and he makes it his goal to try and find a way home while blending in as Klein (and we will refer to him as such,) while piecing together what happened to the OG Klein. Unfortunatetly for him, he swiftly becomes embroiled in various supernatural events as he attracts the attention of people known as Beyonders. Some of them are good, and some are bad, but all of them are dangerous.

If you’re lost regarding what Im talking about, do not worry. Apparently, a common issue newcomers have with Lord of Mysteries is how thorough it is on the mystery aspect. There are plenty of different media that include an element of mystery to the plot. Part of the appeal behind that is allowing fans the chance to figure things out as they go along. What makes Lord of Mysteries frustrating to some, though, is that it seems to take this concept to its extreme. Other shows like Gravity Falls will sprinkle clues and hints meant to keep the audience privy to more than what the characters may know in-universe. But when we arrive in this steampunk world, we’re as clueless about how things work as Klein is! Its not even until the third episode that we get an explanation behind the power system that the series runs on; and even then, I had to rely on a YouTuber to best explain it. But to save everyone some trouble, I’ll just explain it here as best as I can.

The Powers of the Beyonders

At the core of this story is what it calls Beyonders. Beyonders are beings who have drunk one of ten magic potions that allow them access to supernatural powers. Those powers get split into twenty-two separate skill-trees called Pathways. Each Pathway has its own abilities, advantages, and drawbacks, and all of them have ten ranks, from zero to nine. The lower the Sequence Number, the stronger a Beyonder’s powers are, with the strongest being on par with gods. The drawback is that the stronger the powers, the greater the risk for a Beyonder to lose their sense of self. If that happens, they go mad and turn into monsters.

Its complicated, I know. And the show has yet to fully explain it. Nonetheless, its impressive that Cuttlefish came up with such a deep power system for the story. That shows genuine effort put into it!

I Wanna Go Home

At any rate, Klein wants to go home, but until then, he has to lay low and gather more information. The first thing that he does is pose as a being known as ‘The Fool’ to a pair of Beyonders and establishes a club to gather more intel. The second thing is that he gets a job with a group called the Nighthawks. They’re a police force that deals with Beyonder-related crimes, one of which involves the recovery of a book that Klein came into contact with.

Again, this is all very confusing that doesn’t fully make sense. Nor is it going to fully make sense for a while! Its like the show has the opposite problem of TBATE: the story was easy to understand, while Lord of Mysteries can make your head hurt.

Lord of Mysteries has Dang Good Animation

The irony is that Lord of Mysteries has the animation that TBATE should have had. I have no idea who did the animation for this series, but it is downright god-tier. Imagine the best animation of Solo Leveling, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Attack on Titan, and Mushoku Tensei fused into one, and you’ll get the animation for Lord of Mysteries.

I’ll be honest with you guys: I’m not sure if I’m going to keep reviewing The Lord of Mysteries. It’s a very confusing story to try and follow, and I’m not sure if I’m capable of doing so. That being said, it’s existence and the attention its getting seems to reflecting a larger trend that started to gain traction with Solo Leveling. The world of anime is evolving, and what was once a term used to refer to animated shows coming out of Japan is changing to refer to shows coming out of the Far East altogether. With how badly Japan managed to fumble with TBATE last season, the execs are likely going to be sweating when they see what Lord of Mysteries has to offer.

Though I don’t know if I’m going to be reviewing this series.

Mushoku Tensei Season 3 First Look!

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Mushoku Tensei Season 3 Coming in 2026

Well, it would seem that my predictions for the next season of Mushoku Tensei were right on the money. Season three of one of the OG members of the Seven Summits will be coming in 2026, and we have the trailer to prove it, compliments of Anime Expo.

Full disclosure: I was on vacation as Anime Expo was taking place, so keeping up with it wasn’t a high priority. However, even I paid attention when I saw the trailer for Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation’s third season came out. And this season could be what ultimately makes or break the anime, as its entering one of the most important phases of the story. And thats not just because of the return of a certain red-head.

What’s to Come in 2026

As was the case with every Turning Point, Rudeus’ life has been drastically altered in a short amount of time. On the one hand, his quest to save his mother ended with his losing an arm, his father Paul, and his mother Zenith’s stuck in a catatonic state. On the other hand, he reunited with Roxy, she joined the Greyrat family as his second wife, and now he’s a father himself. And he intends to keep living his second life to the fullest.

The majority of the trailer is meant to show off the various things that will end up taking place in Rudy’s life going forward. There’s a mixture of faces and locations both familiar and new that come and go throughout the trailer. Besides them, though, the things that fans really need to focus on are the book that we see Rudeus writing in, as well as the images that fly on the screen about fifty-nine seconds in. They only appear for a second, but if you slow down and take a look at them, you’ll notice how dark they seem to be as a group. And you would be right. I can’t say anything about what they’re about, but they’re connected to the book that Rudy’s writing in, and…lets just say that many people are going to end up crying when the anime gets to them. In fact, the anime may dedicate an entire episode to these moments just to show how bad things could get for Rudy.

One of two things that I can discuss at length, though, is the return of Rudeus’ ex, Eris Greyrat. AKA the heartbreaker.

Eris is Gonna Have to do a Lot to Make Up for What She Did

Outside of a quick shot of her in the montage for the end of season two, we haven’t seen Eris Greyrat since she ran out on Rudy. Even if you haven’t read the light novels, though, we all knew she was going to come back. Her going on her anime-training arc to get stronger to protect Rudy was the whole point of why she left. However, if you’ve read my reviews, then you’ll know that I have issues with how she went about things. As bad as Rudy can be sometimes, he didn’t deserve to be emotionally manipulated, stricken with ED, and then left in a state of depression for three years. Needless to say, when Eris does come back, she’s going to have A LOT to answer for, and have to do A LOT to make up for what she did.

The second thing we can discuss, though, is how this season will mark the return of the series equivalent of Sephiroth, Orsted. The trailer has images of him engaged in battle, most likely against Rudy or someone else. Given how their last encounter ended with him barely getting a scratch and Rudy and Eris with PTSD, his return is a big deal.

The bottom line is that when I say that this next season of Mushoku Tensei will be covering the most important arc in the series, I mean it. Novel readers have waited for this for years, and its going to change a lot of what we think we know about the series. And you can bet I’m going to be covering it!

This Summer, ANIME FANS SHALL FEAST!!

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Ten Anime and Films to Look Forward to in Summer 2025

Now that it is meteorlogically behind us, I think we can all be honest about the Spring 2025 season of anime: it wasn’t that good. There were a number of great anime, to be sure. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Wind Breaker, the return of One Piece, and Lazarus (at times) were all good. However, it feels like many of the anime this season were a bit of a let down. The Beginning After the End, for example, had the potential to be the next Solo Leveling, but became a laughingstock. However, deep down, I think most people knew that the spring was going to be a lean time for many anime fans. What everyone was really waiting for was the arrival of summer, because we’ve got one of the strongest anime lineups in years. Spring might have been lean times for many, but this summer, fans shall feast!

Lord of Mysteries (June 28th)

After the disaster that was The Beginning After the End’s anime (THANKS A LOT, A-CAT!), isekai fans need a palette cleanser. Whereas TBATE was born in the USA, though, the next big isekai, Lord of Mysteries, comes from China. The premise is that a young Chinese man suddenly finds himself reborn into a world that’s a combination of the Victorian Era, steampunk, and magic. Now going by the name of Klein, the man is entangled into some sort of supernatural conspiracy as he tries to find a way home. I know next to nothing about the series, but everyone who talks about it on YouTube says its on par with Re:Zero and Mushoku Tensei in terms of quality. That alone is enough for me to be intrigued! Though, it won’t be the only isekai to look out for this summer.

New Saga (July 2nd)

What’s the one thing better than the chance of being reborn into a new world with a clean slate? Going back to an earlier part of your life with all your memories intact, giving you the chance to change how your life turns out. That is the premise behind this new anime, New Saga. Set in a fantasy world nearly destroyed by a war between humans and demons, this anime tells the story of Kyle, the hero who saved the world at the cost of his life, only to awaken four years in the past. Given a second chance to save everyone he loves, how will he put this time to good use? I don’t know, but I’m eager to find out.

DanDaDan Season 2 (July 3rd)

Sometimes, life is good. It’s only been a few months since the first season of DanDaDan ended, and we’re already getting season two. Then again, given the cliffhanger the first season ended on, anime-only watchers wouldn’t want to wait very long. The second season looks set to pick up right where we last left off with the Evil Eye Arc, with Okarun and Jiji hunting for the ghost haunting the latter’s home, while Momo has to fend off a group of perverts in a bathhouse. And judging by the trailer that we’ve gotten, not only will the animation be as good as ever, but the story will get even crazier. Given how the series became one of the biggest hits of 2024, expectations for DanDaDan remain at an all-time high. At the very least, here’s hoping that the new OP is as catchy as “Otonoke.”

Nyaight of the Living Cat (July 6th)

Of all the versions of the zombie apocalypse, this is, by far, the most cruel and evil version I have seen to date. In this comedy horror, a mysterious virus spreads throughout the world, turning everyone who touches a cat…into a cat. Given how beloved cats are by humanity for their companionship, endearing behavior, and natural floofness, this is pure torture! As a cat-lover myself, having to avoid petting their floof feels scarier than any zombie horde. Which is probably the whole point. It’s not meant to be taken seriously and is meant for laughs.

New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (July 9th)

After all these years, Panty and Stocking have returned. For those who don’t remember, this was an action-comedy about two angelic sisters who got kicked out of Heaven for bad behavior and have to redeem themselves by killing evil ghosts. Sadly, they’re easily distracted by their respective vices of men and candy. The show happens to be a favorite of the founders of this blog, so it’s return is going to be a big deal. Just don’t let any minors see it. It’s raunchy enough to rival the likes of South Park!

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 4 (July 9th)

Just when things seemed to be going Naofumi’s way, the Shield Hero ends up facing a new problem. Thanks to a misunderstanding, Naofumi discovers that his companion, Raphtalia, is actually the long-lost heir to an isolationist nation with techniques capable of beating the Cardinal Heroes. Rather than let them keep coming after her, Naofumi opts to travel eastward so he can stop the fight at the source. Unfortunately, the only way to get there is by going through the Shield Hero-worshipping nation of Siltvelt, and they have their own plans for him. In addition to uncovering more about Raphtalia’s lineage, this season will also shed light on the lineage of two of his newest allies, Atla and Fohl. Given how Shield Hero has managed to remain consistently good (barring its second season), this going to be one of the big isekai of the summer.

Sakamoto Days, Part 2 (July 14th)

It’s been a few months since we last saw any new episodes of Sakomoto Days, but the new shonen anime about the former assassin who doesn’t kill is coming back with a new cours. The first half ended in the middle of the Sakamoto Family fighting Lu Xiaotang’s Triad family for the right for her to stay with them. However, the second half seems to have the stakes get raised as more assassin’s begin to target Sakamoto. Most notably, the trailer explictily shows that these new hitmen are willing to target his wife and daughter. Even if he didn’t kill anyone anymore, though, that’s still going to be the biggest mistake they ever make! You don’t mess with a person’s family unless you’re ready to risk your life!

Kaiju No. 8 Season Two (July 19th)

Much like DanDaDan, Kaiju No 8 is a shonen series from last year that’s returning for its sophomore season. At the end of the last season, the main protagonist, Kafka Hibino, was forced to out himself as a humanoid Kaiju to his comrades in the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force. Thankfully, he was able to convince them to give him a chance, leading him to be taken in by the First Division. With the threat of Kaiju No. 9 hanging over Japan, Kafka will have to gain greater control over his Kaiju form if he hopes to be of any help. While it might have gotten overshadowed by the likes of DanDaDan and Solo Leveling in terms of hype, Kaiju No. 8 remains an amazing anime with great animation, so it’s going to be one to look out for.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle

This summer, the final battle between the Demon Slayers and Muzan is about to begin. Shortly after the end of its fourth season, it was revealed that Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba wouldn’t be getting a fifth season. It would be getting something better: a three-part film trilogy covering the events of the Infinity Castle Arc, and presumably, the final battle against Muzan. While it’s still unclear when the films will be released outside of Japan, fans are ecstatic over this news, and will no doubt flock to movie theaters to give the beloved series the ending it deserves. The D&A Anime Blog will be included among them.

Chainsaw Man: The Reze Arc (September 19th)

At last, Chainsaw Man HAS RETURNED!! Despite how I felt about the ending to the first season, I was still interested in seeing the rest of the series unfold as an anime. And like many people, when I heard that the next arc, the Reze Arc, would be getting the movie treatment, I had one question: what day does it come out? Sadly, like Infinity Castle, we don’t know when the film releases stateside, but when it does, I hope to be there to see it. In all of its bloody glory.

TBATE Ends Disappointing First Season

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

The Beginning After the End Ep 12 Review

Many kids dream of living a life of adventure, but since few ever do, they turn to fiction. In Arthur’s case, though, he’s actually getting to live the dream. At the tender age of nine (but the mental of forty-three), Arthur has left home (again) to become an adventurer! Unfortunately, like many things in The Beginning After the End anime, events are…lackluster.

You Call That a Fight?

Firstly, I should apologize about the preview for this episode included at the end of the review for the last one. That scene doesn’t happen until the end of this episode, so it might have spoiled some things. Most of this episode is really focused on the process of Arthur becoming an adventurer. That means that he needs to take a test in the form of a duel. And, unfortunately, that also means that the anime lets everyone down once again.

Even with the low bar that Studio A-Cat has set in terms of animation, the fight between Arthur and Kaspian, the Guildmaster who decided to administer the test himself, is bad. Firstly, the show fools people into thinking the fight would be glossed over, only for it to be told in flashback a few minutes later. The fight itself is not that impressive to look at, the characters movements are stiff, and when Arthur is parrying blows, you can see that they’re reusing the same animation to save money. Plenty of animated series reuse animation to save money, especially in fight scenes, but the best ones do a better job of hiding it!

Narratively speaking, though, the fight is supposed to serve as yet another wake-up call for Arthur. He’s gotten so used to being strong that he’s become complacent. That’s the opposite of what he promised he would be when he was reborn. With this and his fight with the headmistress of Xyrus serving as wake-up calls, Arthur decides to rededicate himself to continual growth.

Remember these People

It should also be noted that this sequence serves as an introduction to two people who will come to play important roles in Arthur’s life: Lucas Sykes and Elijah Knight. The former is a human-elf hybrid fathered out of wedlock with an elf slave by a rich noble, so he’s got an inferiority complex and massive ego. The latter is a human raised by dwarves. If you decide to sit through the second season, remember these two. They will be important!

Sadly, the only other important thing in this episode is learning Jasmine’s backstory. She was born into a family of fire mages who thought their element was the best, and they disowned her when she proved talented in wind magic. It’s a very in-your-face nod to the original Avatar: The Last Airbender and how the majority of the Fire Nation convinced themselves they were better than everyone else. But as Arthur points out, that’s a matter of preference and no one element is superior, just like how no way of life is superior.

Also, Tessia has been spying on her future man, and she’s not happy with him being around another woman.

What a Waste

With that, season one (or first cours) of The Beginning After the End. And despite TurtleMe trying to put a positive spin on things, it’s obvious that TBATE is one of the biggest misfires of 2025. TurtleMe got screwed over by Studio A-Cat, who did a poor job of bringing his story to life. The fans got screwed over because its unlikely the show will make it to a third season. And worst of all, TBATE itself got screwed over. It could’ve been the next big isekai, but it got wrecked. However, that shouldn’t discourage people from reading the web novel and web comic. Both are better than what the anime gave us, and TurtleMe deserves the support. For those who stuck around until then, you deserve a trophy.

I Give “The King’s Departure” a 2.5/5

Arthur Just Passed His Entrance Exams

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

The Beginning After the End Ep 11 Review

There comes a time in every child’s life when they must leave the nest. Granted, Arthur has technically already done that, but involuntarily doing it doesn’t really count. This time, though, Arthur has every intention of spreading his wings as he prepares himself for his future time in academia. But before he does that, he wants to get a few more miles on his soul by going out and seeing the world. All he has to do is convince his parents to let him do so.

…this is going to be hard.

Early Enrollment Exams 1

Due to the anime moving various events from the webcomic around, what we see happen at the end of the last episode and the start of this one takes place far later than in the source material. Perhaps A-Cat Studio did it because they thought it would make more sense, but all it does is annoy long-time fans who want a faithful adaptation of TBATE. Given how it doesn’t really affect the overall plot of the story, though, I think the anime can be forgiven.

At any rate, the woman that Arthur meets is Cynthia, founder and headmaster of Xyrus Academy. AKA this world’s equivalent of Hogwarts or Ranoa University. It’s not explained well here, but Vincent Helstea put in a good word with her and she’s testing him to see if he’s good enough to enroll.

As per usual, the fight is nowhere near as impressive as it should be. However, if you’re still watching TBATE at this point, you might as well abandon all hope of good fight scenes. What matters is that while he loses, Cynthia knows he’s got great potential and passes him. Despite offering to let him enroll in the Academy then and there, though, Arthur turns her down. He wants to wait until he’s the same age as the other students before he enrolls, meaning he’s got until he turns twelve; three years from now.

Although, Arthur has no intention of spending those three years being idle.

Arthur the Adventurer!

Despite being younger than Rudeus was when he got flung to the other side of the world, Arthur is set on becoming an adventurer. He wants to keep getting stronger so that he won’t lose anyone in his family. And while his parents know he’s more capable than people twice his (biological) age, they’re rightfully reluctant to let him become an adventurer. It’s only when he promises to visit every few months and he gets a ring and scroll that will let her know if he’s in trouble that Alice relents. It also helps that Jasmine agrees to go with him.

With that out of the way, now comes the most important part: choosing his weapon. And the one he ends up choosing with Sylvie’s help is pretty cool.

Cool Sword, Arthur!

Dawn’s Ballad W.K IV. is a unique weapon, to be certain. It looks unassuming on the outside, but the fact that it can absorb Arthur’s magic and adjust itself to his size says it all. That blade is special; the chosen weapon of an RPG protagonist special. And he manages to get it for free by tricking Vincent Helstea. Not the most moral of decisions, but even so, it’s a good find.

And so, this chapter of Arthur’s life comes to an end as he sets off on his journey as an adventurer with Jasmine. A journey that, sadly, we do not see, not even in the webcomic, as this moment marks the finale to its second “season.” AKA when a major timeskip occurs in Arthur’s life. The next season will subsequently cover the tail end of Arthur’s time as an adventurer before he starts school. That will end up being largely covered by what will be the second season of the show…sort of.

They already made the next batch of episodes

In a recent post, Crunchyroll announced that episode twelve will be the season finale for The Beginning After the End, with the second season releasing sometime in 2026. With the amount of backlash the anime has gotten from fans, it seems crazy that the show would get a second season. While they’re calling it a second season, though, it’s not; it’s more like a second cour, or episode block.

According to Anime News Network, TBATE was originally planned to have twenty-four episodes that would comprise its first season. Instead, they decided to split it up into two cours’ and release the second half in the following year. It’s actually common in longer anime. It doesn’t mean that the series is getting renewed for a new season. If it is, then hopefully, it will be made by a studio that knows how to animate properly!

I Give “The King’s Decision” a 3/5