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[series:4896#628] | ||||||
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(Four episodes watched): The premise of this show wasn't making a whole lot of sense at the end of episode one: almost the entire 23 minutes had been used to demonstrate what a shitty life he had lived in Japan, and Liam had vowed to become just what he (and we) most hated, namely an oppressor of the weak. During the outer space battle that the episode begins (and ends) with, he exults that "Bullying the weak just feels so, so good!" and declares that "I stand alone at the summit of evil!". Being treated like crap doesn't mean it's OK to do the same to others. This guy seemed to have gone from nice to reprehensible, and I didn't like him any more. Who could say that his side deserved to win the battle in which he wreaked havoc? Basically this show takes more than a complete episode to reveal its premise and it was the ANN synopsis that showed me the rest of it: while Liam initially feels entitled to take revenge on humanity in general, he'll comically find that it isn't so easy and his good side will re-emerge. That makes much, much more sense and I suppose I'll watch episode two since I'm modestly curious where this will go. On his fifth birthday--and in this world people often live to be 500 or so--Liam is pleasantly surprised to be granted complete control of the Banfield domain by his parents, who want nothing but an allowance to live comfortably on another planet. It turns out that the family fortune isn't all it was cracked up to be: the family is in fact deep in debt. Guide wasn't the generous person he seemed to be, no, he was actually setting Liam up to live another life of suffering because he (Guide) is 'nourished' by negative emotions (back in Japan Liam's former wife and boss get what they deserve). About the only useful thing Liam's parents left him was a kit to create an android maid, Amagi, who will serve him in whatever way he wishes if you know what I mean. We are also introduced to Christiana Leta Rosebreia, First Princess of the Holy Kingdom of Liebe, though she has yet to meet Liam. So now we more-or-less have the premise. Not brilliant but sort of amusing; I am still curious how Liam will go from a minor, impoverished aristocrat to a powerful and feared person. To speed things up he enters a device to undergo a six-month education program that will teach him everything he would learn in ten years of conventional schooling. I thought the Banfields were strapped for money, yet they have one of these? Perhaps it's best not to ask too many questions. There are anime which have a powerful message but demand considerable effort and concentration to comprehend, and there are shows like this which won't teach you much but are amusing and don't demand much brainpower to watch. Sometimes I would much rather have one of the latter type. In episode three Liam is eager to learn how to be a swordsman and mecha pilot, so eager that he falls for a con in which a mediocre swordsman who is posing as an expert strings him along. This guy had better be careful, however, because Liam has little tolerance for corruption, as one of his lesser officials discovers at great cost. Christiana is taken hostage by a 'pirate' fleet, a fleet so powerful it can destroy whole planets(?). And a conspiracy of mind-boggling size overturns everything she took for granted about politics in the galaxy? While I had been looking forward to yet another episode of this show, I didn't feel much excitement during this one. Liam's quest for power and war against corruption felt simplistic and the pirate bit felt ridiculous. And the supposedly deeply indebted Banfields have their own fleet of space battleships? I got the impression that little effort had been made to make this show intriguing or in any way sophisticated. It seemed more like the whole premise was a joke, but not a very novel or funny one. In episode four the near impossible goals Liam's fake tutor sets for him seem to have the effect of making him stronger and stronger as he seriously attempts to achieve them. He wants the mobile suit of his famous grandfather restored to service precisely because suits were much more difficult to handle back then. I would love for this show to be about an embittered man who fights his way to power and discovers that he's not all that bad at heart along the way, but it is looking more like a man who assembles a harem of hot girls around himself and is content with that. The classic 'what if you could kill any man you didn't like and fuck any woman that you did?' premise. Last updated Monday, May 26 2025. Created Wednesday, May 14 2025. | ||||||||
