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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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 Stretch
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[series:4798#628] | ||||||
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(Seven episodes watched) Another 'what if I were granted a full spectrum of awesome powers and abilities within an MMORPG without having to work for them?' anime. It can't be a coincidence that about the only isekai series I can remember in which the protagonists had weak and unremarkable abilities was also the one I consider the best, namely Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash. It's much easier to just let the viewer fantasize about how much fun a game would be if they stumbled across a way of cheating. I thought Lv2 was silly and simple but it could be amusing and the plot moved rapidly forward. The lazy carelessness of the King of Klyrode and his staff was fun and their insistence on covering up their error seemed all too realistic. Another Hero candidate has awesome stats and should be perfect for the job, but this blond guy is a braggart and no doubt will be humiliated by Flio someday, which is of course another thing viewers would love to fantasize about. No doubt Fenrys (in her demihuman form above) will wind up as Flio's familiar at some point--dominating a supposedly powerful girl is another thing viewers tend to dream of. Likewise, Flio may attract a harem of adventurer girls to himself. So, this show is basically using tried and tested plot elements rather than trying much that is new. At least it is made clear that Flio is a good guy who stands up to injustice when practically everyone else just lets it slide. Even I wonder what a good guy can accomplish when granted fantastic powers, so I figure I will keep watching for now. One unusual touch is that Banaza is isekai'd from one fictional world to another, rather than from modern-day Japan. In episode two Flio shows Fenrys who's boss, and out of some sort of lupine code of honor she declares herself his servant for life. No surprises here. At least Flio makes clear that he'd rather not fight and hurt anyone if he doesn't have to. And there's a problem with the supposed hero--no doubt it will become clear that Flio was the real hero all along. Again, no surprises. Even if it is going to go the way of most isekai series, I just wish it wouldn't telegraph its punches and would at least make a pretense of being unpredictable--like, maybe Flio won't win out in the end. It does have a sort of goofy tone to it (the ED sequence, for example), so I guess I can't say it is trying to decieve us. This is a pretty unambitious show and I might drop it or I might continue watching, depending on how many other shows seem worthwhile this season. By episode three Flio has a hot girl with wolf ears who would gladly have sex with him at a moment's notice if he commanded it, and is supervising a team of four bumbling female adventurers who can't seem to do much of anything right. Yet again, the subconscious fantasies of many modern day Japanese boys. What with the amazing things he has already done he is repeatedly asked to cooperate with the hero, who of course once derided him as useless. He even comes to the attention of the Dark Lord himself. The Dark Lord attempts to recruit Flio just like the King of Klyrode has, but Flio prefers not to take sides. For one thing, it's not clear who are the good and the bad guys in this struggle (which has been underway for something like 500 years). The King begins to suspect that Flio might just accept the Dark Lord's offer, and send the Hero and a small army to pressure him, which forces Flio to take an extraordinary measure to avoid conflict. My thinking at this point was that was that this was a lightweight, pretty average Isekai series but sometimes that was what I was in the mood for. In episode five the capabilities of Klyrode are stretched to the point of breaking as the Dark Lord raids the border (but curiously little actual violence is shown). The King angrily dismisses the hero, who has proven next to useless, and the Hero in turn makes a foolish deal with Hiya, a Djinn (genie?) to get revenge on his opponents. Hiya comes looking for Flio but Fenrys steps in to defend him. I noticed how Hiya didn't mind standing idle for a good while while Flio dealt with the injury Fenrys had sustained, even though he was her primary target. In episode six for once Flio totally loses his temper and beats Hiya to a pulp. I couldn't help noticing that a recurring and disturbing theme of this show seems to be how a man can dominate women and show them who's really boss. But remember, the only reason Flio is such a magnificent sorceror is because of an accident. Afterwards I was a bit surprised when Flio and Fenrys get romantic and vow to do something which hardly ever happens in anime, get married. She has always seemed more annoying than attractive to me. And Hiya winds up as pretty much every girl in this show does, a member of Flio's harem. I had started to wonder if there was any point in continuing to watch this show, what with the vague misogyny and weak plot and all. In episode seven the four adventurer girls try to find ways to make themselves useful since they are getting free room and board from Flio, but Fenrys and Hiya can easily do about anything much better than them using magic. The new evil sorceror woman (notice that they were both women?) who has replaced Hiya doesn't last long. The Princess offers Flio the job of official hero while the previous one is now in prison and I wonder how he can possibly cause any more trouble. But one thing I don't wonder about is whether this show will ever be truly intriguing and exciting, because the answer is clearly no. Last updated Thursday, June 06 2024. Created Friday, April 12 2024. | ||||||||
