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[series:3775#628] | ||||||
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(All episodes watched): The mushrooming Isekai genre demands and deserves to be parodied, as was the case with Tsujo Kogeki- last season. Here we have another thing which might go wrong with the 'hero is summoned from earth to save an alternate reality' premise: the hero is excessively, maddeningly cautious (and his social skills could use some work). He's not a coward, he just takes an extremely calculated approach to this quest, just like he did to playing video role playing games. He wants to be 110% prepared for anything that could possibly go wrong. Instead of beginning with the usual human here on earth who is soon whisked off to another world where he meets strange people, here we start with Goddess Ristarte and get a look at the other side of the transaction. So far, so good. There was one thing that seriously bothered me about this show, however: Initially, I liked the use of charicatures of Rista to express emotions on her part, but with time they became tiresome. I was annoyed at how plentiful and overdone they became. Indeed, it got to the point where I was saying to myself, Man, I wish the makers hadn't relied on SD and all so heavily. Fortunately, while they were still noticeable during episode two and afterwards they weren't nearly as common and didn't bug me quite as much (and I got a genuine laugh or two). Anyway, it looked like there would be an extensive cast before long. I don't know if a main character who is 'impossibly cautious' could be made exciting or interesting, but the premise is amusing and for now I would continue to watch with my fingers crossed. At one point during episode two it seemed that this was becoming a serious show rather than a comedy. An innocent person gets killed, and there doesn't seem to be anything Seiya and Rista can do about it. Things return to normal before long however. But wasn't the collateral damage from Seiya's actions even worse than the murder of one person? It's kind of hard to say whether we should be laughing at this. But the show is largely fun and I had no doubt I would continue watching. Episode four summoned some genuine laughs from me. Seiya takes no chances, always over-preparing to maximize his chances of success. One thing he could do better, however, is have some tact. It's fun to watch arrogant villains get taught a lesson by him; the thought occurred to me that this show reminds me of One Punch Man in a way. For the most part this show remained fresh and fun. Seiya generally cares little for anyone but himself, being a expert video-gamer after all, but in episode six he almost is obliged to admit that he isn't completely self-absorbed and might just be a decent person. That was fun, and the theme wasn't just a one-off thing. We also get a hint that what's at stake in the battle for Gaeabrande might be much greater than Rista had thought, which is ominous. I think it is safe to say that this was my favorite comedy anime of the Fall 2019 season. Perhaps the ultimate question is whether the basic gag--a hero who is over-cautious and highly unemotional (in an obnoxious way)--works. Is it a big enough basic joke to power an entire season of anime? Sometimes the show sort of drifts away from this premise and the viewer might even forget about it for awhile. But it gradually becomes clear that Seiya really is changing in a pleasing manner, just very slowly. Some episodes are better than others, but for the most part I would say that the basic gag holds up well enough. I didn't get the feeling that the show was becoming repetitive and tiresome. New opponents come along, with such fantastic powers that you wonder how anyone could possibly defeat them, and somehow Seiya does, in a strange way that you wouldn't have ever dreamed of. And he remains humorously aggravating, though he is softening a little. Anyway, there is a recap episode, number 9.5, which reminds us of how the story has gone as it nears a conclusion. What with this anime taking a largely comical approach, the plot hasn't been all that complex and the need for a refresher wasn't particularly great. In the next-to-last episode we get a surprising revelation of what's really going on--why Seiya is impossibly cautious, why he seems distant and unconcerned with others, and why Rista has come to like him nevertheless. It was kind of moving, actually; at a stroke it sort of turned a two-dimensional comedy three-dimensional as it added an emotional, dramatic element to the story. It was about the last thing I had been expecting, but it made a good deal of sense nevertheless. The final episode works well; we all know that there's no way Seiya is going to get killed, but how he will be 'revived' after that seems to happen was a mystery. And the final gag of the series works well too--it was completely appropriate. This was a show which I was sorry to see end, because it was at it's best in the climax and conclusion. Last updated Friday, May 29 2020. Created Saturday, October 19 2019. | ||||||||
