Wu Shang Shen Di

Reincarnation story ✓
Less than 10 min. ✓
Kick ass MC ✓
CGI ✓

I confess, the poster for this anime did not appeal to me.
I confess, the lack of information on the page did not encourage me to watch it.
I confess, I do not like short anime.

I will be honest, go watch Wu Shang Shen Di right now, don’t even read the rest of what I have to say. I can promise you my review will not be “enlightening”, “analytical” or “sophisticated”. I watch anime for enjoyment, not to take it apart and say “could have been better”, “there’s no character development”, “the art style was boring”, ... “not enough detail in the art”, “seen one, seen them all”. Alas I have strayed…

If you like Isekai you can like this show, if you don’t you can still like it.

The first couple of episodes involve alchemy babble, which shows Mu Yun’s knowledge that becomes his strength to gaining power, influence and wealth. It will be boring and confusing, but you don’t need to learn or remember what they’re saying. The gist of it really, is that the era Mu Yun is from had more understanding of the world and the ‘modern era’ is more backwards than advanced. See it as Mu Yun’s display of superiority. The only thing you really need to pay attention to is the break down on levels and rank. It’s tricky, but it gives you an idea on why some of the things he does might be ‘impossible’ for his level and rank.

Mu Yun is like a kid who’s been bullied to the point of fighting back. He does not tolerate disrespect, his slap-boxes are funny cause he catches people off guard. I like that he is somewhat mature, and sassy.

The girls are not tsundere annoying types*. Then again, there are not many girls in this show, there’s 3 of them so far and none are damsels waiting for OP MC to save them, which I like. Best girl is Qin Meng Yao if for some reason you disagree, go get your head examined.

*Your first 3 experiences, tsundere’s are cute, after that they’re just damned annoying.

The CGI isn’t really bad, you know like the stiff robot* walking, fighting or moving. It’s got some flow, wind and stiffness that will catch your eye but not too annoyingly. The Chinese have good looking CGI. Unless you’re nitpicking. I like that background characters are alive and moving outside of interacting with MC, it makes the world feel alive.

* Beserk (2016).

I’ll be honest, the music and sound effects really don’t stand out to me, but, there is 1 track that plays when the MC succeeds (Ha, sounds like a lvl up tune). You first hear it in episode 2 when he’s talking to Mo Wen about refining pills. Hearing it often in the show, it grew on me, but still I’m not all hyped about it.

The fights are okay… there is not a lot shown in fights, but it’s a 7 min show with about 5 min really per episode. So don’t be too alarmed if some fights feel rushed, short, or completely missing. If he’s beaten them before no need to show him kicking their asses again…right? I mean, his bad guys pop up like he’s catching Pokemon, and they show up in 2’s. So he always has a fight or asses to kick.

Finally, don’t watch the show with expectations, just appreciate it as it is. I won’t lie, it’s not going to stick with you like your favourite anime, you’re probably not even going to remember core characters names. But it’s a good show to watch if you’re tired of regular shows or just looking for something to pass the time.

If for some reason you’ve gotten this far in my review and you have not watched Wu Shang Shen Di. I don’t blame you, but I challenge you to go watch the first 5 episodes (literally worth 1 episode of a regular show). Don’t give me the “it’s too short” excuse, there’s always a ‘kind soul’ who makes a compilation on the tube. Now go.

Story was really nice and smooth through out first season. However after second season it started to get really messy. They use the same rise and fall plot repeatedly and pretty much to be expected. For example when MC failed to defend his hometown he "died" but somehow is still alive and disguised himself and cultivate and later to be re-unit with his family, friends etc. then 50 eps later same plot again. MC "died", disguised himself and then cultivate and later re-unite with his family and friends. He also never really reconnect with his past. As a isekai-reincarnation donghua there should be element of ... the past connecting with present after all it is isekai-reincarnation. literally MC doesn't even try to connect his past even when he met some of his old acquaintance. He just blush it off and pretend to know them somehow without even trying to reveal himself and re-connect with them again. Logic just dont apply here. You have a second chance in life to re-connect with people that you used to know and tell them the truth so they can help you get back your strength. But nope rise and fall plot. Just when he made progress villains attacks, MC "died" disguised himself and repeat. It does not get better either. After 250+ eps of second season the story does not even progress past this rise and fall plot. You know its bad when having to watch all eps from beginning to current newest release of the aired eps and it still doesn't progress.