Kenja no Deshi wo Nanoru Kenja

“What if an old guy turned into a loli”
That’s basically this anime in a nutshell,but if you crack open that nutshell,you gonna find….nothing.
Because that’s probably the only points that make this anime stands out cause LITTERALY there’s nothing more than it.
The story is about an infamous powerful sage in fantasy world,sounds familiar right,well it is familiar cause probably there’s hundred of anime with this exact setting,take an example there’s exactly two anime that kinda similar in this season,Leadale and Shikkakumon no Saikyou Kenja,a powerful sage in a fantasy world but in this anime,instead of one,there’s 9.
But let’s put all that aside because originality never really ... that important to me but even that can’t really make this anime stands out from the other aside from the genderbend theme which somehow also the exact theme from fantasy bishoujo juniko oji-san that aired this season as well.In fact the only reason I watch this or even know the anime exist is because I actually read the manga and see their anime announcement.
So for those who looking for a fresh anime with an actual interesting story,this is not for you,this a bait for someone like me.
Let’s talk about the story
It’s start just like an every isekai anime would be “Oh shi,I wake up in the other world,oh my God what happen to this,what happen to that ?” kinda thing and as far as I read the manga,it’s not really developed from that.But Genderbend
The sounds
I don’t have to much to say about the OP and ED,it’s okay I guess
The animation
I think the animation is quite good,it’s not horibble atleast until I see the CGI,why would they even put a CGI in this anime
The character
Let just be honest,The MC old guy version is a Gandalf rip-off,I mean his name is Danblf.
His loli version in the other hand is the bait that what im talking about,cute girl doing cute things with other girl while doing magic,yeah I definitely dig it.In fact this is the only thing that make me keep on watching it.
As for the harsh rating that the show received,I can’t really blame people for disliking it.
Overall 6/10 + 1 for the cute girls, so 7/10

I'm not sure why there are so many abysmal reviews here on MAL. I thought it was a wholesome enjoyable little series. Fun to watch and easily bingeable.

I do wish they'd made somewhat of a bigger deal about everyone being trapped in the isekai world, not being to log out, what's surely happened to their bodies in 30 years, and so on. Those facts are utterly glossed over and all but ignored. And I don't really like that.

That aside, it was an enjoyable watch. Though expect somewhat more of a wholesome entertaining experience like Bofuri rather than something hardcore and super serious like Overlord.

I can ... understand why some people complain, as not a whole lot happens if you're looking for X and Y major plot points and resolutions and such. It's somewhat more of an adventure, and still very much still working on the primary task having not really made much progress as of yet. Sort of like you might expect in a 200 episode shōnen but of course this is only 12 episodes so they haven't gotten all that far into it. They've only really just begun unraveling some of the mysteries, and barely brushing the surface of some others.

The main character's absolutely adorable by the way. Maybe not quite Bofuri adorable, but still pretty darn cute.

So like, if you start watching this, the first episode is bad. Like, very cringe. A lot of people will drop this on the first episode. After that train wreck, it turns into a pretty generic isekai with a few cringe spell casting scenes. The characters are all 1-dimentional, the mc is op, the over arching story is moderately interesting, and its overall pretty enjoyable if you like isekai trash. If you dont like isekai trash, give it a pass but if you get through the first episode, the rest is fine. There are some still frame scenes where nothing is animated, and there is ... some bad cgi, but its not too too much and you can ignore it, but its not god awful, its just there.

This is a forgettable but fun anime. It's like Land of Leadale with the VRMMO setting and overpowered protagonist who develops a close network on this game they're trapped in. The plot is largely irrelevant but it's simple, fun trash that I highly recommend for those who like relaxing shows, or something simple while your tired and laying on the sofa because you don't have the energy for anything else. No prizes for guessing which category I was in.

If you like mid-tier Isekai that's designed to be simple relaxing fun with no romance nonsense or edgelord garbage then this is for you. Bofuri is the ... top-tier example for this kind of show, and while this isn't up to that standard it is fun and I really enjoyed all the characters you meet along the journey. There really isn't a lot more to say than it's simple, low energy fun.

Well, here's an anime that has caused some contention, but it's easy to see why.

Our protagonist is gender-switched into becoming a loli, it's a comedy so much of the humour can be hit or miss, the main character is overpowered (to be fair, all player characters are overpowered) it's a 'trapped in a game' / isekai type

What I like about this anime is that it has 'personality' there are a lot of anime that are generic, and don't do enough to try and stand out.
This takes it's concepts, it's ideas, understands that they are dumb, but then runs with them. It doesn't try to be ... smart, it doesn't try to take itself seriously, and as such you can have fun watching this.

I will say, if I have one big issue with this, then it's the CGI, I assume it was a cost saving thing to have all the monsters as CG, I mean, there are plenty of places where you can tell it saved it's budget, and that possibly allowed them to lift the overall quality of the series.
But the CGI is just outright bad, and it's so predominant in the series.
So while the rest of it looks visually appealing and half way decent, the CG stuff just looks like someone has then come in and been sick all over it.

Next I want to address the premise of the series, as it does seem to confuse a few people.
We have a kid who plays games with his friend (Solomon) who roleplays as a mage, he designed his mage to look as a mage 'should' which is essentially a cross between Merlin and Gandalf, (which is why people seem to be under the impression that he's actually an old man) But that is just the game character he designed, and roleplays as.
He was messing around with a cosmetics tool, fell asleep, and now he's a loli.
But because he's so used to roleplaying that other character and not being a girl, his behaviours are the way they were before, and he doesn't know how to be a girl.

Mira/Dunbalf is overpowered, but so are the other 'former players' it used to be a video game, so all player characters are overpowered compared to NPCs

Finally, It's a comedy, so it's supposed to be silly, it's supposed to be dumb, and it's supposed to be over the top.

I don't care if it's a good or bad adaptation, I will only judge this as the series presented to me.
It's not perfect, it's not without issues, that's why it doesn't get higher than a 7/10, but it is fun, and aside from the bad CGI, it's well made.

The player spent time and resources building one of the most powerful characters, based on his two favorite movie wizards, in a VRMMO that allows users to affect the world. He plays a very venerable and dignified summoner, and stays in character as much as possible. Just to use it before he losses it, he plays with an online vanity box and changes his avatar to a cute little girl. Then he falls asleep before he can change it back.

The player wakes up to find he is his character with the new vanity changes and 30 years in the future ... (giant shock). The "game" is real; she can smell and taste food and even has to pee. Another shock is that the NPCs have developed personalities and complex lives that seem almost indistinguishable from players. She/he is fortunate that she retains the characters original powers and knows how to use them. She even has a few allies that enjoy the gender/age change.

The fun part is watching her interact with allies old and new, mostly disguising her true identity. The reactions of people she deals with, and even her own faux pas, are priceless as she makes minor errors not used to being a girl. Or when she utilizes power and knowledge of magic far beyond that people believe a little girl could possibly wield.

Seeing all of these negative reviews, I just want to defend this show a little bit. This won't be a full review, more just a bit of a suggestion for who might want to watch this show.

The long story short is that you might as well watch the first episode. There is no need for a 3-episode test on this series. If you actually enjoy the first episode, then I think that guarantees that you'll like the show. If you don't, then I can't predict how much enjoyment you'll eke out of the show, but no point wasting your time on a "maybe", so I ... say in that case you should skip this show.

Now, with that litmus test out of the way, what can I actually say about the show itself? First off, it is clearly low budget. If you are offended by still frames and CGI, then avoid this series by all means. If you view those as trivial details that don't matter in case of a sufficiently brilliant story, then be warned that this isn't a brilliant story either.

It's just a fun little fantasy show. It's a show for if you want to watch adventures, magic, and sorcery. It mostly fits the label of "generic", but "generic" is exactly what I wanted when I watched this show, and it delivered. It's fast-paced, fast enough that some viewers report confusion, but it was clear enough to me. It goes beyond the "generic" label quite often, one of those examples being that litmus test of a first episode that I mentioned. The specific manner in which it deviates is that it tries harder than usual to push the fun "playing a game" side of isekai. There's no melodramatic "the world's at stake" stuff going on here, and quite frequently there are diversions away from any attempt at a dramatic storyline. Fighting against impossible odds isn't something that happens, and such extremes are unbefitting for an anime like this anyways.

Anyways, I'll throw in a couple of warnings. First is the preponderance of potty jokes. No idea what the author was thinking, only one of them made me laugh, but realistically speaking they are only a small portion of the series. More bothersome to lots of viewers will be the premise, where an old wizard is reincarnated as a young girl, and sexualized like most young female anime characters. The disconnect seems troubling, but there is a second level where the old wizard is just a character, and presumably the person playing him wasn't also a wise elder. Whether or not it's disturbing depends entirely on who the original player was, which is a subject that the anime doesn't dive into at all.

What I enjoyed was a simple fantasy with all the usual tropes, plus a few moments where the tropes were expanded on. Not to beat a dead horse, but one of the best examples is the latter half of the first episode. I'm serious when I say that this will tell you whether or not you like the rest of the series!

Alot of people said that this series have a bad CGI, generic plot and bad anime adaptation(compared with manga or LN).

Frankly speaking I've found myself fell in love with this series. The plot doesn't feel generic to me unlike the other people, it's pretty interesting. Of course the plot is overlap with other anime series such as Log Horizon where the player entered inside the game world and experience the changes happened between the game and reality. The TS part also very appeal to me, of course I don't mind if the MC avatar stays the same but it would've been more pleasing to the ... eye to see a girl as the MC. Unlike Shoujo Senki, this series shows more fanservice and the plot is not that heavy to consume even though the plot is on a war world scale but it's very lightweight so I always watch it with a breeze.

The MC personality is very humble and likeable, she's able to adept to the current world and improve her magic just like how her character suppose to be, a sage that have a great amount in knowledge. The summoned spirits are also very cool and cute especially Leticia and Pam.

For the CGI, I see no problem with it, it's not that bad or that good either way. The CGI moves fine but very bad when they are cut so it feels more incomplete rather than bad in general.

I don't know other adaptation on this series so I'll be skipping this topic.

It is NOT about old guy turned into a loli.
This is a generic isekai adventure with a player suddenly appearing in the world of the game he was playing before and suddenly it is life, there is pain and blood, NPCs are having free will, fall in love, have children, etc. You know the drill.

Unfortunately, this show doesn't explore the shock and psychological trauma of being ripped out of the ordinary life and being placed into a world that looks familiar but anybody can just impale you with a spear on a spot, like "AFK" (highly recommended).
It is not even Alicization which explores the free ... will of NPCs and human rights of the newly sentient beigns.

If you want a comparison: it is "Reincarnated as a slime" without the "being actual slime" phase and city building and with HEAVY references to Overlord (basically the entire Ep5 is Overlord graveyard arc including freaking maids). The MC appearance being similar to the Rimuru is not random.
Second will be "In the land of Leandale".
Third will be "around the world with my smartphone".

Once again, it is not SAO and not Spirit chronicles. This show has no drama, no goal. There is just OP MC wandering around, having fun and kicking ass without much effort.

The old man is out of the picture almost entirely except an accidental joke once per episode "are you actually THE old wizard?" --- PANIC-PANIC.

Neither we go into a shock and novelty of the sex change. For the MC the loli body is just ANOTHER COSTUME. A bit embarrassing but not much more embarrassing than the old wizard costume.
Ultimately, we are never bothered by the image of the actual player MC. We even do not know if this is a boy or girl.
So gender-bender part is all but invisible and is just a basis for a couple of jokes.

The show can be seen as "isekai turned into generic fantasy" if not for this "find other players" part.

Nevertheless, as a parody-comedy based on the well established tropes, it delivers more that one laugh per episode.

Here is my review of this anime in 2022!

Story (7)
The story is about a strong player which is old and turned into a loli because of falling asleep while opening the customization items and he can't log out. The journey starts from that and it becomes more interesting at the middle-end episode.

Art (8)
The art is great! But it needs more detail on the background in my opinion. The magic circle that was used is pretty good!

Sound (7)
The music for OP and ED is good but I prefer more upbeat since there are a lot of action in the anime.
...
Character (8)
The main and supporter character are memorable but it's quite hard to remember the 9 strong players. I only remember 2 of them.

Enjoyment (8)
It's enjoyable to watch this anime!

Overall (8)
Recommended to those who love game vibes like SAO with less hardcore action.

This story feature an old man turned into a loli, and his adventure in the game now turn reality Ark Earth Online. He's struggling with current appearance while trying to solve the problem that pop up in his absence, while trying to keep his identity hidden. Something like that.

Yeah, it's hard. Unlike Log Horizon this world mechanic is a bit convoluted, make it hard to appeal to the "gamers" out there. I'm not saying that it's bad or anything, it's just hard to adapt it to anime.

The whole novel is basically his adventure in this new world, with his new loli form to ... spice things up. Kinda like Elaina but more streamline. Worldbuilding and such.

Now before my review, I had no expectations in finishing this anime, I had in mind to drop it after watching the 3rd episode.

When watching the first episode I was practically sure that I would drop this anime after not even watching the 3rd episode.

Now let's talk about the story that will probably lead to all other important topics, the story is kinda generic in the scene, and you've probably seen this somehow, there's nothing big about the story itself, if you're trying to watch something original, you'll probably dislike it. Somehow I liked the anime, and why?! because of Mira/Dunbalf of course, the whole ... anime is suposed to of course focus in one character itself, as it is the main character, I can say that clearly after watching the anime (I might be wrong, but that's what they actually mostly showed in the whole anime).

Focusing in one character, making her very cute, which I can see they did pretty well about that, the key animation was great, now let's just not talk about the CGI there, which was kinda meh, and I personally dislike CGI in most of the cases.

Now if I would summary this anime, it's everything focusing in Mira's adventures while she's doing quests, at the end stuff happens, but that just as a generic plot does to just do the big battle and 'happy end" or somewhat.

Now if you like some of these topics, you probably will be interested in at least watching it until the end:

Very cute main character, which changes clothes a lot, and each one clothes is very cute tho.

The main character is very powerful and of course mostly surprise people after showing its true power (mostly people are doubt about its power due to the main character be a "little girl").

For me at least was kinda fun to watch Mira's adventures, and meeting new people, and getting along with them.

The animation is good, the CGI is kinda not good in my opinion, but I dislike CGI so you may like it who knows.

Mira's seiyuu did a great job in her voice, I was surprised after I found out she didn't voiced more characters.

Now this is it, I kinda have a unpopular opinion here since everyone seems to dislike it, but as I said before I started watching it I had sure I was gonna drop it.

When the anime started in its first episode it really caught my attention, its chilling with its unique sense of using background music its quite fun. However, when it reach the moment when they enter into the new world it kind of a let down, because I thought Dunbalf would be the only one who would be transported, I was not expecting that...... them would also actually be (i put dot because prevent spoiler ;) ). The reason I find this part let down because I am worried that its gonna diminish the MC effect meaning the OPness display of our precious MC. I didnt ... give up on the anime and decided to tag along longer with this anime. What was ahead really pique my interest. They are able to present the OPness of the MC really really well despite of all those ...... that also got transported. The fighting scenes also greatly improved as it progresses in the episodes. I really hope for a SEASON 2 since, our precious MC have more adventures to go, I dont mind tagging along with her, its quite a fun ride.

Just finished watching Kenja no Deshi and...

ART
Honestly, the animation was terrible and could've improved if they at least used decent CGI on the monsters and fight scenes. I get that CGI is used frequently on anime but they could've at least used CGI in a good way. But character designs were at least decent so I give art a 4/10/

MUSIC
The music was the common and average fantasy music so I give that a 5.

STORY
I would've given the story an 8 if the isekai part was explained decently and if some parts were not confusing so I give the story a 7 since I still ... enjoyed watching.

CHARACTERS
I give the characters a 6 coz they're not terrible... but I don't get that impulse to love them like other anime like maybe Maid Dragon or Love is War.

OVERALL
Overall, I think this anime should get a 5/10 but the story was decent enough and I did enjoy the anime so I'll give it a 7/10.