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[series:4789#628] | ||||||
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(All episodes watched}: The premise of this show--winding up as a lowly creature that is generally considered evil--reminded me of Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha from last season. But whereas Nozomanu- quickly struck me as having something unique and intriguing to it, Re:Monster does not really surprise me in any major way. The plot might actually be more like a show like Overlord, in which the protagonist attempts to grab as much power and rise as high as possible. The OP sequence promises a wide range of monsters, demons, knights, elves, etc. The key to Gobrou's success, of course, is that he retains his human memories--that, and 'Absorption', 'an extremely rare ESP ability' that he had supposedly been born with as a human and retains, and which allows him to 'eat almost anything and and gain its abilities'. It's always much easier to rise in a game-like world when you are blessed with one or more special abilities right from the start. A good deal of blood is spilled, but it is always that of strange monsters rather than anyone who has any semblance of a personality, so I was not at all disturbed. It is also suggested that (most?) Goblins are the offspring of kidnapped and raped human women, but the show doesn't delve any farther into this topic. So far we have barely gotten to know Gobrou and I doubt if we ever will; he may basically be an empty slot that the viewer can imagine themself occupying. The power struggles themselves will probably be what is supposed to hold our interest, and the premise is indeed sort of interesting. But I didn't feel any distinct thrill or any need to know how this would all work out, probably since Gobrou essentially remains a stranger. When will someone make an isekai anime in which the protagonist tries to find out why his/her new world functions like a video game? In episode two Gobrou rises steadily, killing and eating various powerful creatures, and thereby leaving every other goblin farther and farther behind. It became increasingly obvious that this show was more about how to win power and prestige in a videogame than in a semi-realistic alternate world, because Gobrou ascent would not be possible there. The latter would have been more interesting, but also much more difficult to write. I'd rather learn the story of someone who prevailed using extraordinary wisdom and courage than someone who just became too strong to beat. Anyway, Gobrou is merciless to any goblin who openly challenges him, but gracious to captive human women--one of whom may become part of his informal harem. Already, the thought occurs to me, will the fact that Gobrou was once a citizen of modern-day Japan make any difference from here on? In episode three Gobrou continues to rack up new skills and abilities, making him almost invincible. The girls--both goblin and human--adore him and jockey for his attention. His skills are as useful in bed as on the battlefield, apparently. This was predictable but I was still enjoying this and wondering what Gobrou would do with this tribe he now leads (he muses about possibly forming a unit of mercenaries). In episode four an arrogant Elf leader expects the Goblins to come and fight for him against a human invasion, but times have clearly changed and the balance of power has shifted. Gobrou continues devouring bits and pieces of any organism that might have a useful skill, and has become a virtual walking library of them. Some of his colleagues also 'evolve' in significant ways, though not nearly to them same extent as him. Must be nice to be able to gain a valuable ability just by eating something. In episode five Gobrou and his allies continue to evolve and strengthen. They transform in such drastic ways that I'm having a hard time keeping track of who's who. In real life there's only so far that exercise, training and practice can take you, but in videogame-like worlds there are hardly any limits and one person can become stronger than an entire army. It gets to the point where you wonder why anyone bothers to recruit ordinary soldiers, since they will be little more than cannon fodder when pitted against a hero. Anyway, Gobrou (or has he been assigned a new name?) chooses sides for his small but deadly mercenary army in the looming conflicty between humans and elves. In episode six that mercenary army, known as 'Parabellum', makes mincemeat of the humans, killing dozens but sparing a few noteworthy fighters who might be willing to switch sides. Not a single Parabellum fighter is lost, or even injured, apparently. But it was all rather dull, I thought--more a matter of showing off than a serious contest. And what is the central conflict of this show? Gobrou and Parabellum just go from strength to strength without any setbacks, like Superman without Kryptonite. What would be the point of continuing to play a videogame if you had gotten so strong that there were no longer any opponents who could possibly pose the slightest threat to you? Might as well start over. Actually, in episode seven things don't go as smoothly for Parabellum, largely because the humans have what's known as a 'Brave' on their side. This very annoying fellow, 'Phillipo', can somehow energize up to 100 fighters other than himself (or something like that), and likes the abilities of insects, and as a result Parabellum takes some losses. The fight between Gobrou and Phillipo is inconclusive. Not brilliant, but better than episode six. Gobrou engages in some behind the scenes diplomacy to put a lasting end to the war. I might mention that other than the giant red character, Gobkichi (right?) I feel hardly anyone within Gobrou's bunch is worth getting to know, since they are mainly just strong but still subservient girls who just want to be part of his harem. In episode eight Parabellum regroups. Gobrou and the others familiarize themselves with the new skills and powers that they have acquired as a result of levelling up. It seems like the war is won, so where will things go from here? In episode nine Gobrou enters a city to look for new work for Parabellum. The girls acompany him, and are offered a chance to return to their families, but predictably they would rather remain with their new hero. Gobrou comes across some sort of criminal organization that has kidnapped a Princess. They rescue her and she becomes a sort of patron of Parabellum. I almost dropped the series altogether when several of the girls in Gobrou's harem suddenly became pregnant and gave birth to his children. That had nothing to do with Parabellum and time was rapidly running out for this series to reach any sort of satisfying conclusion. For now, there's incessant 'training', some smirks and some eye-rolling. And then it's over, without any major climax. It sort of sounded like there must be a 13th episode or a second season in the works, but it would be hard to justify them. My feeling was that we never really knew where we were going, and this was all just a fantasy of what a lucky guy could accomplish if there were real worlds that worked like video games. As is usually the case, he has effectively forgotten that he ever lived in this world. Other than the slightly odd premise, this was lightweight, generic, simplistic stuff. Last updated Wednesday, July 24 2024. Created Friday, April 05 2024. | ||||||||
