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I KNEW That Was Where Skinner Was!

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

Lazarus Ep 12 Review

We are reaching the climax of the story of Lazarus, and things are coming down to the wire. The team has a solid lead on Dr. Skinner’s location (and you won’t believe where he’s hiding), but rogue government agents threaten to ruin everything. Eleina’s collapsed with a fever. Doug’s been captured by INSCOM agents working for the deplorable Schneider, who has also taken Hersch captive. And to top it off, Axel’s clinging to life after a near-death experience fighting the mysterious Soryu. But when you hit rock bottom and survive, the only way to go is up. Now it’s time for Lazarus to make their counterattack, find Skinner, and save the world!

Popcorn Wizard is So Nice

Despite how dire things looked for several members of Lazarus, luck/plot armor has ensured that all of them has weathered the worst of the storm. Thanks to Popcorn Wizard, Eleina safely recovers from her fever until it breaks. The fact that she even recovers from what should be a fatal Hapna fever is even lampshaded by the fellow hacker, who jokes how she might be immortal. That might not be the case, but more likely, Eleina might have an immunity to Hapna. More importantly, Popcorn Wizard, AKA Lin, admits that she’s working to keep Skinner safe. And the reasons are rather heartwarming.

Who would have thought that Popcorn Wizard was one of the islanders with analgesia? Since Skinner enabled her people to move away from their doomed islands, though, her gratitude makes sense. Skinner isn’t an inherently bad person, just one fed up with the self-centered people in the world. Given how Schneider is almost certainly the reason behind the attack that led to Skinner’s crash out, though, one cannot blame him. In fact, this episode makes us hate Schneider even more now.

The Ego on Schneider is Ridiculous

As it turns out, there’s a reason why Schneider chose to go after Lazarus in the first place. Somehow, he got it into his head that there was another purpose behind the team’s formation beyond finding Skinner. He thought that they were secretly attempting to gather blackmail information on the government, namely him. Given how his crimes include using Hapna for illegal experiments on prisoners and covering up a botched seizure as a terrorist attack, he must have thought finding Skinner would expose him somehow.

…Yeah, me and Aaron both agree that Schneider is dumb as freak. He thought that exposing his crimes was more important than preventing the end of the world? Whatever he has done doesn’t matter if the majority of mankind wouldn’t be around to see judgement passed on him. Furthermore, Lazarus may have never thought to look into his dealings until he decided to get in their way. He brought on a self-fufilling prophecy, and almost doomed the world in the process. And while he has yet to face justice, his back is already against the wall. Abel of the NSA was able to convince the President (who’s dying from taking Hapna in the clinical trials) to sign an Executive Order to move on Schneider. The man can only keep INSCOM in the dark for so long. And once Lazarus finds Skinner, he’ll either die or rot in jail forever.

I KNEW THAT WAS SKINNER!

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In the meantime, thanks to some help from Popcorn Wizard, Doug and Eleina turn the tables on their pursuers and elude them. Even better, Lin gives them what they were looking for: Dr. Skinner’s location. Remember back in the third episode, when Axel and Doug went to that homeless camp and I thought I saw a background character who looked like Skinner? As it turns out, I WAS RIGHT! Skinner has been hiding out with the homeless the whole time right under Lazarus’ noses! Thanks to some fast-travel, though, Eleina, Doug, and Chris start to converge on Skinner’s location, and without a moment to spare.

So, What About Soryu?

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That just leaves one last problem: Soryu. After Abel’s assistant bails Dr. 909 out of jail to help them, they manage to confirm Soryu’s identity: he’s the same man that Schneider was speaking to pretending to be Soryu’s handler. In reality, Soryu has a split personality brought on by trauma of something called the “Hundun Project.” It’s not made clear what it is, but it sounds like an illegal government assassin program. And having lost his quarry the first time, Soryu is determined to finish the job. Not for the money, but for the love of the game. The good news is that Axel is still alive and in the care of Skinner’s doctor. The bad news is that the preview for the series finale reveals that he’s headed to a final confrontation with Soryu. Worse, it looks as though the doctor he was sent to find is already dead.

The end is finally in sight for Lazarus, but the stakes are at their highest. If they don’t find Skinner in time, or Axel dies, then they could trip at the finish line, and billions will die. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see how this story ends! It’s had its ups and downs at times, but the past month (in-show) has been a heck of a ride. Let’s hoping the finale proves worthwhile.

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I Give “Close to the Edge” a 4.5/5

This is Overkill for Course-Correction!

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

Zenshuย Ep 10 Review

Interesting thing about me: there is only so much sadness that I can handle. Thatโ€™s true for everyone, but I have a harder time than others handling sad moments due to how my brain works. So, when faced with a story that veers into the realm of overwhelmingly depressing, my mind reacts in the only way it can: it waits. It waits for things to get better before it lets me go back to something. In the case of Zenshu, the ending to the last episode, coupled with the spoilers for this one, made me do just that. Otherwise, I wouldโ€™ve plunged into despair like Natsuko does as the story goes from correcting itself to over-correcting.

Rock. Bottom

QJ is dead, to begin with, and the entire Last Town is nearing rock bottom. People have been forced to flee from their homes as refugees, and Luke is pushing himself to his breaking point once more. Except, unlike before, he does not have Natsuko to save him, because sheโ€™s handling QJโ€™s death even worse.

In a nutshell, this entire episode can be summed as Natsuko being pushed further and further into despair. She blames her hesitation for making QJ sacrifice himself. She blames her drawings for being used as fuel for the Voids. And to make matters worse, Elder Baobab drops a big bombshell about the prophecy of the Nine Soldiers: itโ€™s a lie. It was something someone made up to give people hope that they could survive the end of the world. Whoever came up with that prophecy wanted to give people hope against impossible odds, but they didnโ€™t believe it would come true.

This is Barbaric Overkill

There was probably some big, Game of Thrones-type lesson that Kametaro wanted to teach people when she created this story. However, itโ€™s beyond me. Prophecies can wind up being hit or miss in fiction, so that doesnโ€™t help things. What makes things worse, though, is how the world of the story begins to overstep its bounds trying to correct itself. Firstly, Destiny tells Natsuko that sheโ€™s going to marry the Chairman after all. Then, out of nowhere, the townsfolk start believing that Natsuko is a traitor because her drawings turn into Voids. The craziest part, though, is the fact that the Void Cult returns and starts saying Natsuko is their antichrist.

No matter how you slice it, whatever the world is doing to make things turn out like this is overkill! Natsuko herself recognizes this as an angry mob tries to kill her right as more Voids attack. However, I think the fact that things start turning out this way is the whole point. The story is trying so hard to get โ€œback on trackโ€ that itโ€™s made things far worse. The most sinister aspect of this railroading, though, is what it does for Natsuko. It effectively has her take Destinyโ€™s place in the story as the one whose death will send Luke over the edge.

This is Why I Waited

This is why I had to wait until the next episode to review this. If I hadnโ€™t done that, I wouldโ€™ve spent the entire week driving myself crazy over what happens next! Itโ€™s chaos, plain and simple!

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Luckily for us, the anime will have already finished by the time this goes out. Hereโ€™s hoping that it winds up being a banger.

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I Give “Chaos” a 4/5

Dr. Stone, I presume?

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

Dr. Stone: Science Future S4 Premiere Review

Everyone, Iโ€™m ten billion percent certain Iโ€™m going to be watching this season of Dr. Stone.

Iโ€™ve been following the Dr. Stone anime off and on since it came out back in 2019, but the new season is said to be the last one. And given how I love the seriesโ€™ sense of comedy, quirky characters, and (largely) accurate use of science, I wanted to see it off. It also helps that itโ€™s got a solid dub and caught up to the point where I actively started reading the manga as it came out. And while some may see the season premiere as padding, I see it as a way for the show flex its comedic muscles.

I canโ€™t spoil anything from the manga, but trust me: you are going to miss the light-heartedness after a certain point.

Disagreements on Travel

Having acquired one of the mysterious devices responsible for turning humankind to stone, the Kingdom of Scienceโ€™s next step is to confront the one responsible. Thereโ€™s one problem, though: theyโ€™re located on the Moon. Getting to the moon was a gargantuan undertaking even with modern society, and Senku is having to rebuild civilization from the ground up. With Japan unable to provide all the resources needed, the Kingdom of Science has no other option: they have to start recruiting people around the world. First stop is the good olโ€™ US of A.

One question, though: what route will they take?

Once again showing their knowledge of science, the anime points out that taking a route hugging the continents would get them there faster, even if itโ€™s more difficult. However, the resident sailor Ryusui argues that they should go in a straight line to the west coast of America. Unable to break the deadlock, Senku and Ryusui decide to settle the matterโ€ฆin a game of poker.

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Many people will likely consider this episode focusing on a game of poker to be a waste of time. To be fair, theyโ€™re not wrong. Even in the manga, this largely gave off the feeling of padding the story out for the sake of it. However, it still winds up being enjoyable to watch for two reasons. Firstly, it means we get to see the character interacting with each other, which is one of Dr. Stoneโ€™s strongest selling points. Most of the main cast does a good job of bouncing off one anotherโ€™s quirks for comedic effect, and that holds true for this episode.

The second reason? Simple: seeing everyone wearing casino attire. You canโ€™t deny that Senku and Kohaku look amazing in their respective outfits!

Enjoy the fun while it lasts

So, after shenanigans ensue, Senku ends up winning like he usually does. And with their route now set, everyone celebrates by doing the other thing casinos are known for: drinking and partying. And Senku does point out how heโ€™s 3,700 years old, so heโ€™s able to drink. Plus, there are no governments to enforce drinking ages, so itโ€™s a moot point.

Some people might see the season premiere as unnecessary padding. I see it as a fun little way to get started on the final season of Dr. Stone. Like I said, Iโ€™m ten billion percent watching this entire season, because this is going to be one of the big early hits of 2025.

Also, I wasnโ€™t joking earlier: there will come a time when you will miss how light-hearted things are.

Verdict: Imma Watch it

‘Title-Kun’ Is Now a Thing for Crunchyroll

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

If you’re an anime fan, you might have heard of Truck-Kun. If you haven’t, it’s an internet meme used to describe the act of sending characters to another world via hitting them with a truck. Or anytime an essential moment in the plot is set in motion when someone’s hit by a car. Or when any character gets hit by a truck or vehicle in anime. It’s become so widespread that it’s now a universally recognized trope. Many even consider Truck-Kun to be their own character. However, thanks to Crunchyroll, Truck-Kun may be getting a younger sibling in terms of internet memes. Introducing…Title-Kun!

Origin of Title-Kun (I think)

Unless you prefer to watch it on TV, another streaming service, or pirate it, then you probably watch your anime on Crunchyroll. Ironically starting out pirating anime like many other sites, after going legit, Crunchyroll has become the go-to place to watch anime legally in the West. It’s not hard to understand why, though. They’ve got hundreds of titles that get constantly updated, their shop, are big enough to have panels at the most significant conventions, and a dedicated series of YouTube channels. They’ve pretty much cornered the market on anime in America.

Speaking of their YouTube channels, though, lately, people have started to notice a trend in how Crunchyroll names its videos.

The Work of Title-Kun

I don’t know when exactly it started, but the titles for many of the anime clips Crunchyroll posts on YouTube have gotten very creative. Sometimes, they’ll be perfectly normal sounding. Other times, they will be very descriptive regarding their content, to the point where it’s considered funny. For example, this clip showing Gear Fifth Luffy throwing Kaido’s attack back at him? “Uno Reversing Kaido’s Fire?”

The moment from “No Longer Allowed in Another World” when Sensei talks down the Dark Lord’s daughter? “Rizzing Up the Dark Lord With My Unwillingness to Live.”

A clip from Fairy Tail: Hundred Year Quest where Natsu fights a ghost Dragon Slayer? They gave it a Danny Phantom reference so overt, they had to change the name. The list keeps going on!

Many people who watch Crunchyroll’s YouTube channels have noticed the increasingly descriptive (and funny) titles the videos are getting. As a result, more than a few people have made jokes about it in the comments. Chief among them are saying that whoever comes up with the titles should be getting a pay raise.

Then a few days ago, I saw a clip for a new romcom anime called “Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister,” and I saw what one of the comments said:

“Title-Kun is getting WILD these days… “

Spread the Word of Title-Kun

That’s when I knew that this was no longer a simple joke. It was ascending to meme status. And I am all for it!

Don’t ask me why, but I really enjoy how much fun Crunchyroll seems to be having with how they title their videos. Besides referencing internet slang and movies, it just shows a generally high level of creativity. That’s something I’m always looking to see in the things I enjoy. And if the history of Truck-Kun is any indication, then if the meme keeps growing, it will start to be used to describe shows with crazy, descriptive titles. It’s up to us to ensure the meme spreads that far!

‘Solo Leveling’ Might be First Big Anime of 2024

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

โ€˜Solo Levelingโ€™ Initial Review

Itโ€™s safe to say at this point that anime and manga have gone mainstream in Western Culture. More and more anime based on popular manga, light novels, and the like are coming out of the woodwork. But now, what the West considers anime (Japanese animation) is expanding its scope to works beyond Japanโ€™s borders; specifically, to Korea, home to a plethora of webtoons and manwha. And right now, the one everyoneโ€™s talking about is the bloodiest since Attack on Titan, Solo Leveling.

This isn’t an exaggeration. Solo Leveling might be one of the bloodiest anime of the year.ย 

A Bottom-Feeder Gets RPG Superpowers

Ten years ago, portals and gateways opened up on Earth that led to other dimensions. And in those dimensions were monsters and entities straight out of a fantasy MMORPG. With conventional weapons useless, people started gaining the ability to hunt and kill these monsters, giving rise to the Hunters. There’s one catch, though: once you awaken your abilities, your stuck with whatever rank you get; no leveling up or getting stronger. Which stinks for those at the bottom, like Jin-Woo

Sung Jin-Woo is an E-Rank Hunter at the bottom of the barrel and is called the weakest ever. He can barely do any damage, he goes down too fast, and regularly comes close to death every time he fights in a Dungeon. But he keeps at it to support his family, until the day the inevitable happens. The party he’s in gets caught in a dungeon that starts slaughtering them in ways that haven’t been seen since Attack on Titan! And when the survivors can escape, he has to get left behind, thinking its for the bestโ€ฆuntil he realizes that this is a horrible way to die.

That’s when he gets this little notification like from a video game saying he qualifies to be a โ€œPlayer.โ€ Next thing he knows, he’s waking up in a hospital, completely healed. There’s one catch, though: he’s now being forced to do daily activities to get stronger or risk dying. The upside to that? He’s now able to level up like in a normal RPG. And he’s the only one who can do this.

Jin-Woo has just entered a real-life RPG.

An Interesting Take on a Premise That’s Been Done Before

As far as premises go, the concept behind Solo Leveling isn’t what one would call unique. Other anime have revolved around a similar premise.

  • Supposed weakling gets thrown into situation that can kill them.
  • Weakling gets a lucky break/special skill that helps them to survive and level up.
  • Weakling goes from being bottom of the barrel to OP as heck.

For reference, look up Arifureta: From Commonplace to Worldโ€™s Strongest. It’s like Solo Leveling, but an isekai and not as good.

I’ve never read the webtoon or web novel versions of Solo Leveling, so I wound up going into this anime blind. After what I saw, though, I can see why it’s so popular and breaking the Internet with it’s hype. The animation is dark, bloody, and beautifully well-done. The story (which is only four episodes in) doesn’t skimp on the details of how dangerous being a Hunter would be, either. While the first episode is lighter on it, episode two sees people in Jin-Wooโ€™s party dying left and right. Limbs get blown off, a man gets crushed to death by a statueโ€™s foot, and one guy got split right down the middle! It’s horrifying, yet you can’t look away. And Jin-Wooโ€™s near-death experience rivals Eren Yeager getting eaten by a Titan in terms of horror! 

Speaking of Eren Yeager, Jin-Woo has a few traits in common with the wielder of the Attack Titan. Like Eren (at first), Jin-Woo is a good person put into horrific experiences that harden his heart. Yet Jin-Woo can’t quit being a Hunter, no matter how dangerous it is. Firstly, Mother is on life support due to being poisoned by mana from the Gates. Secondly, his sister needs the money for school. But he’s so weak that he can barely make ends meet, and his new status can help change that.

Don’t Underestimate RPG Mechanics

At first, the gains aren’t that noticeable, but anyone whose player an RPG should know better. Upgrading stats even a little can make all the difference, as seen in Jin-Wooโ€™s first solo dungeon. While he once struggled against the weakest enemies, he gets strong enough to take down a snake the size of a house. With his bare hands, no less! And then he pierces the defense of another Monster a group of low-ranking Hunters were barely holding off with a broken Sword! The man is like a Korean Kirito meets Deku!

I’ve been reading Manwha and Webcomics for years on Webtoons, but Solo Leveling might be one of the most interesting and exciting that I have seen to date. And after spoiling myself by finding out what’s going to happen, I know I’m going to enjoy this show. Might even make it a weekly review.

Raphtalia Must Be Protected at All Costs!

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

The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep 12

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

A Ridiculous Misunderstanding

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

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

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

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

Q’Ten Lo and their Stupidity 

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

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

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

A Pissed off Naofumi Goes to War

So, let’s look at the evidence:

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

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

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

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

Things are about to get Game of Thrones in here.

The Next Season Should be Fun

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

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

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

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

I’m looking forward to it, regardless. 

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

Mushoku Tensei Is S-Rank Isekaiย 

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A Candid Recap of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, Part 1

If you’ve been watching anime for the past decade, then you know about the concept of an isekai. We know the idea: someone living their life when they get sent to another world cooler than ours. It’s a concept that goes back centuries, but the 2010s saw it explode in popularity. Next thing we know, there’s an isekai in every season of anime coming out, all trying to cash in on the hype. It’s gotten to the point where people are starting to get sick of it, and how many of them seem dime-a-dozen. Look at all the hate that Sword Art Online gets! However, a few isekai truly live up to the hype, and after years of wandering, I have found it. After all these years, I have reached one of the Seven Summits of Isekai, and it is glorious. I have discovered Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. 

Now, I know the controversy surrounding Mushoku Tensei and how some people think it’s overrated. However, it came at the right time when isekai were starting to blow up in Japanese culture. Thanks to that, it helped pave the way for the genre’s explosion in the 2010s. And once I started watching it, I realized that it was good. Like, really good! And with the new season coming out, I thought it’d be fun to recap the first season in my own words. My own candid, hilarious words. This is Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation.

In the Beginning…

So, this story starts out with this overweight, lazy, 34-year-old shut-in in modern Japan, and…he sucks. He’s a smart guy, but he started slacking off growing up, so he ended up in a bad high school. Then one day, he finna give this bully a piece of his mind. Their response? They beat him, strip him naked, and leave him chained out in public for the whole school to mock him. 

Seriously messed stuff, I know. And then, he decides that he’s done with the outside world. He’s just going to live at home and mooch off his parents, spending his whole time watching anime and ogling waifus 24/7. He doesn’t even try and earn money off of YouTube or get remote work, something he is fully capable of doing!

Eventually, though, his parents die, and since this guy’s wallowing in self-pity, he doesn’t even show up to his parent’s funeral. When his family finds him, they find him ogling loli waifus. And they’ve had it, so they throw him the f out of his house. That’s when he finally realizes that he’s wasted his life and wishes, “man, I wish I had another chance to do things over.”

Truck-Kun Cometh!

That’s when the dreaded Truck-kun shows up, and today’s victims are a trio of high schoolers arguing on a crossway. So the man decides, “Screw it. If I’m gonna do one thing right in my life, it’s this.” Now he saves the teens, but Truck-Kun takes him instead. But since this is an Isekai, he doesn’t die. His life’s getting started. 

The next thing this dude knows, he’s opening his eyes someplace else, and he’s surrounded by these smiling, good-looking strangers who are all happy to see him. And it doesn’t take him long to figure out that he’s been reincarnated. And once he sees the grown-ups using magic, he realizes… he’s been isekai’d. 

So, sweet. He’s finna put this new life to good use.

Oh, and from this day forward, this man shall be known as Rudeus Greyrat.

Finna Take His First Steps

So this grown man has been reincarnated into a world of magic and swords in the body of a baby but with all his memories intact. And since this is an isekai, that’s basically like a cheat code to help him get a head start. So once he relearns how to walk, talk, and read, he gets down to business. He starts reading these books on how to do magic and begins practicing in secret. And he quickly learns something. Even though those books say he has to use these incantations to do magic, and that everyone has a set amount of magic, or mana, in them… that’s all bunk. He learns how to do wordless magic and trains himself so he never runs out of mana. So, he’s a badass, and he’s only three. 

Rudeus’ so badass that his parents, Paul and Zenith, decide to get him his own magic tutor. Enter Roxy Migurdia. Instead of being some Gandalf type, she’s a cute demon loli with blue hair. She only looks young, though; she’s 30-something. Her people, the Migurdians, can live around two-hundred years, and spend 75% of them looking 13. In other words, she’s legal. Stand down, FBI.

Anyway, Roxy spends the next two years teaching him everything she knows. By the time they’re done, he’s already surpassed her. More importantly, though, Roxy manages to heal all that trauma Rudeus’ been holding onto from his past life. So when she dips on out, Rudy is a changed person. From that moment on, 

He still keeps a pair of panties he stole from her, though, as like this holy relic. It’s slightly sweeter than it sounds.

Out There Making Moves

So now that he’s not scared of the world anymore, Rudeus starts living his new life to the fullest. He’s making moves and making friends, like his new friend Slyph, this green-haired part-elf he rescues from bullies. Because he can’t stand bullying, thanks to what he went through in his first life. After that, Sylph latches onto Rudeus like glue, following him around everywhere and thinking he’s the coolest person ever. Rudeus thinks they’re pretty awesome, too, not to mention quite the looker. Give it a few years, and he thinks the girls will be trampling over themselves trying to get at them…maybe even the guys.

So Rudeus and Sylph end up becoming best friends, and soon, Rudeus decides to teach them everything he knows about magic. Pretty soon, they’re able to cast magic without incantations, which is a bit of a blow to Rudeus’ ego. Still, now the two of them can go out, make moves, and woo girls as a badass magical duo.

All of that changes, though, when they come back home after getting caught in a rainstorm. So Rudeus decides, “Alright, let’s hop in the bath so we don’t get sick.” But Sylph’s like, “Um, no thanks, I’m good.” But Rudeus thinks he’s just being shy, so he ends up forcing the matter. That’s when he gets the biggest shock of his lives: Sylph…is a girl. Her real name’s Sylphiette. Her hair was just so short that his stupid ass thought she was a boy this whole time.

Morgan Freeman: It was at this point, Rudeus knew…he fucked up.

So, yeah. Rudeus might be a pervert, but he’s got standards. He doesn’t need the FBI coming into his house and arresting him for being a pedo. So, he tells her he thought she was a boy this whole time, like a dummy, which makes her cry. However, after they’ve got time to think things over, Sylphie forgives him for being an ignoramus. 

So, bet. Now Rudeus got a potential future waifu for a best friend. 

Finna Save the Family

Not long after, Zenith discovered she was pregnant with their next kid. Happy feelings for all. Exceptโ€ฆ Lilia’s also pregnant. Now I know what you’re thinking: who’s the Dad? Well, the answer might surprise…Paul, it’s Paul. Everyone knew it was Paul! 

Morgan Freeman: It was at this point Paul knew…he fucked up.

So, here’s the thing: Lilia plans to stick around to help Zenith give birth, but once that’s done, she’s giving her two weeks’ notice. The problem is that it’s a month-long journey to her hometown. With a baby to care for, that’s a death sentence. So, Rudeus pulls a big-brained move and resolves things. He throws Paul under the bus by lying and saying the whole thing was his fault, and Zenith buys this. Okay, I don’t think she does, but she uses it as an excuse because she doesn’t want to throw out Lilia since she’s her best friend. That, and this is Paul we’re talking about. 

Full disclosure: it was Lilia that came onto Paul. She already had a crush on him from way back, and she had to spend years listening to them go at it after dark. There’s only so much a person can take, and no amount of maintenance can help. So, she did the only thing she could and cared for herself. 

So, awesome. Rudeus has two baby sisters: Norn and Aisha. 

Daddy Gets Rudy a Job

So, by this point, Rudeus is pretty happy with his life. He’s a badass magician, he’s got two adorable sisters, and his best friend Sylphie’s super cute. He’s finna enjoy his life the way it is. Except he gets this letter from Roxy, who says she’s been inspired by him to train to get even stronger and that she hopes to see how amazing he is once he’s grown up. She also got a job tutoring this Prince, but that’s for another day.

So, in his previous life, Rudeus was pretty smart and had all the potential to be successful. However, he let himself start slacking off, and everything went downhill from there. So instead, he’s going to make sure that doesn’t happen this time. So, he decides to enroll at Roxy’s alma mater and become a world-class magician. And when Slyphie begs him not to leave her alone, he decides they both should go. The only problem: how’s he going to pay for all this? His Dad won’t pay for both of them.

So, Rudeus decides there’s only one thing to do: he’s gotta get a job. And Paul pulls some strings and gets something that’s perfect for him. See, Paul’s not just some knight and former adventurer. He’s actually from one of the great houses that rules their country, and his cousin’s the heir to another great house that rules their region. Plus, his and Zenith’s old adventuring teammate, Ghislaine, who is the swolest-looking cat girl you’ve ever seen, is their bodyguard. So, he pulls some strings and gets Rudeus a job working as a tutor for the Boreas Greyrat family. 

The catch is that he can’t come home, write home, or write to Sylphie for the next five years. They’re becoming co-dependent on each other, and that’s not good, so they need to be self-sufficient. 

That’s All for Now!

And that is where we are going to end things for today. I meant for this recap to be done in one go, but it’s so huge that I had to split things up. Come back for part two as Rudeus starts his new life as a professional tutor and comes face-to-face with, quite possibly, the tsundere to end all tsundere’s.

Tanjiro vs The Super Doll

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Dubs & Subs , , , , , , , , ,

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba S3, Ep 2 Review

In my review for the season premiere, I missed an important scene at the end of the episode. In it, Tanjiro’s in the woods near the swordsmith’s village when he stumbles upon a man who looks exactly like the one he saw in his dream in the episode. As we see in this episode, that man isn’t a man but a training dummy. A training dummy that puts 21st-century robotics to shame, at that! Modeled in the likeness of a long-dead Demon Slayer, it will help Tanjiro get stronger if he can get past the abrasive Hashira who called dibs on it. The Yoriichi Type Zero doll appears!

Muichiro Tokito, the Sand Paper Hashira

Picking up where the last episode left off, Tanjiro watches as one of the twelve Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, butts heads with this little blacksmith named Kotetsu. Muichiro demands to use the mechanical doll, the Yoriichi Type Zero so that he can get stronger. However, that young blacksmith refuses, not wanting it to get damaged. The Yoriichi doll was made by his ancestors three hundred years ago, and it’s so advanced they don’t know how to repair it if it gets damaged.

Muichiro doesn’t care, though. After knocking Tanjiro out for trying to intervene, the Hashira proceeds to train with it and chops off one of the arms! Muichiro’s officially the Mist Hashira, but he might as well be the Sand Paper Hashira. He’s so abrasive and arrogant he makes the likes of Sasuke, Bakugo, and Vegeta look pleasant in comparison. 

So, Tanjiro and this little boy, Kotetsu, aren’t going to take this disrespect lying down. Even though he’s only ten and knows he can’t fix the doll if it breaks anymore, Kotetsu doesn’t care. He goes full drill sergeant and forces Tanjiro to try without rest or food until he can beat the thing. It gets so bad, Tanjiro has to drink the rainwater to stay upright! 

It’s worth it, though, to fight the Yoriichi doll.

The Six-Armed Demon Slaying Doll

There needs to be a way to discuss the person who the doll was modeled after without spoiling the manga. For now, the important thing to know is that Yoriichi was a Demon Slayer who lived three hundred years ago and was a master swordsman. He was so powerful that swordsmiths had to give the Type Zero doll six arms to capture his skill with a blade fully. In addition, as Tanjiro discovers from his dreams, this man eventually meets Tanjiro’s ancestors. The earrings that Tanjiro wears match the ones Yoriichi wore in the dream. In other words, the Kamado family was close to this man.

That doesn’t do a lot of good for Tanjiro, though. Despite his best efforts, his exhaustion (and Kotetsu’s drill Sgt. behavior) almost get the better of him. However, in true Shonen fashion, pushing himself to his limits lets Tanjiro unlock a new power. And while I don’t understand how smelling the doll’s attacks works, I don’t need to understand it. It allowed him to beat the doll…and break it.

The Perfect Sword for Tanjiro, Courtesy of Yoriichi

As shocking as it was to see the Type Zero doll break thanks to Tanjiro’s training, what’s more, surprising is that a sword is embedded inside the doll. It may have shocked Tanjiro and Kotetsu, but I know why it was in the doll. I guess that Yoriichi himself put the sword inside the doll that bears its likeness as a reward. Anyone strong enough to beat the Yoriichi Type Zero would be good enough to wield the blade within. In other words, it’s likely that the sword’s special. 

Again, I never read the manga, so I am still determining what will happen next. However, I’m willing to bet that that mystery blade will become Tanjiro’s new weapon of choice before this arc endsโ€”the perfect tool to kill Muzan’s evil Demons. 

This season’s gotten off to a slow start, lacking the ecstasy-inducing action we saw in the Entertainment District’s climax. However, once things get underway, Demon Slayer will start breaking the Internet again. I look forward to seeing what happens and learning more about Yoriichi in anime form.

I Give “Yoriichi Type Zero” a 3.5/5