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Alright, I want to start off this review by saying that I started this show because it was being touted as "the dark horse" of the season. I will also say that the very first episode has what it takes to grab your attention. The problems, however, start quite literally after that point. Our Main Protagonist is an idiot. Idiot, might actually be an understatement here. To explain I do have to add spoilers and there's no way I can avoid it. I can try to be a bit vague here and there but, generally speaking, it's still spoilers. That out of the way, you ... have been warned.

Spoilers START (between episodes 2-5)

- The main character realizes that his enemy can take the appearance, voice and mannerisms of people. Our Main character chooses to go off talking to others about "other people that look like you" to other people, without knowing if they are people or the copies. Strike 1.

- The main character REPEATEDLY chooses to "split-up" even while knowing what his enemy is capable of and that they are looking to strike without attracting too much attention. He has, in just 3 episodes done this four times. Once to his family member, once to his buddy, once to the girl he likes and once to himself for being a moron. Strike 2

- In the fourth episode his secret is found out by the enemy and he knows they know. What does he do you may ask? Does he pull a Subaru and bite his tongue? Haha, no. He chooses let things continually get worse and they do. Episode 5 is entirely that. Strike 3

- In the latest episode I witnessed what had to be the worst writing I have possibly ever seen. The bad guys know of his abilities. The bad guys know there's a person on his side that has the means to kill him. They have literally every possible advantage. They have already won and everything. As fate would have it the shadow that has consumed 70% of the island already chose not to take his ally who was 5 feet from the source but instead go around her. Ok. When he tells her to kill him she slowly and reluctantly agreed RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BAD GUYS WHO KNOW HIS ABILITY! What do they do? They very, very slowly approach his ally while she prepares herself even though earlier in the episode we saw that they can flash step through shadows aaaaand obviously she succeeded because there's another 20 episodes of this garbage.

Spoilers END

To be clear, I don't inherently hate dumb main characters or dumb baddies. What I hate is inconsistent writing. In one moment the main character or the enemies are super intelligent but in the next they make the most blatantly stupid decisions.

I get why that last episode went like it did. They really, really wanted to push the drama but it came at the expense of the writing. So much so that it has honestly ruined this show in my eyes. I like the art. I like the music. The writing, unfortunately, is just too bad for me to confidently say I'll be able to finish this series. The main character is made out to be intelligent on multiple occasions but has repeatedly shown he's about as smart as the average 90's horror movie extra and the same goes for the baddies. Whether they are intelligent or not is dependent on what the plot needs. If the plot needs the baddies to suddenly forget they are super strong then they will. If the plot needs the main character to make dumb decisions to build tension or drama then he will. This is going to be one of those shows that, like the original SAO, garners a lot of hype from people who don't pay attention only for critics who actually do pay attention to come out and show the glaring issues and the score will suddenly drop.

This anime started strong. It had great comedy (imho) and even felt as though it was going to have decent character development. So why do i have a rating of 6? Allow me to explain.

Starting with the story we have, essentially, another game/life otaku anime. This is not SAO or Overlord as the characters are not trapped in the game world. They are instead highschool teens that each enjoy games. One of which enjoys it to an excessive extent and has even lost touch with the difference between the game world and reality. At first the story attempts to delve into this and they form ... a club specifically to help said character. Sadly, this quickly devolves into an average rom/com. Don't get me wrong, i laughed quiet hard at some of the scenes but the development for "Romance" was nowhere to be found and it ends on an extremely overplayed/cliche note.

The art was above average but nothing particularly amazing since we have seen plenty with the same art/animation in these last few seasons. Not to much to note on it other than it was bright and colorful, for the most part.

The sound was also nothing to write home about. It was above average but none of the OSTs really stuck with me or gave me any sense of attachment to the characters. This could largely be blamed on the lack of character development but we will get to that next.

The character....this was both the best and worst part of the anime. There was little to NO development in this department. The only one that saw any advancement was our protagonist and i'm not even sure i want to call it progression in his character because it felt forced. I loved Aika in the beginning but that love slowly shriveled as her character seemed to slowly lose the drive she had originally. In the first few episodes she not only confessed, openly snuggles up to him and even states they are married (publicly) she also had a strong sense of attachment that, at times, even made her seem Yandere. She even had an extremely funny but courageous scene that showed just how strong her conviction was to have our protagonist accept her as his waifu (let me tell you i would not have shut that door). That was quickly turned over though and she very quickly became a character for comedic/fanservice purposes. Personally, i'm never one to pick at fanservice but when it literally takes over a major character that had plenty of good development room, it hurts. I literally wanted to cry towards the middle of this series of episodes because i knew how it would end and it ended in exactly that way....without any romantic development and without any character development. If anything it went backwards T_T

Overall, i would say that this anime is decent. IF you are looking for romance go almost anywhere else. This has VERY LITTLE development in that area and quickly focuses on comedy. If you are looking for something to watch passively for a good few laughs then i would say this is pretty good.

Before i get started i just want to make it clear that i burned through this manhua in about 2hrs. I also want to make it clear that i have not read the original work, at this time anyway. Now that that's out of the way allow me to share my view of things with the work. I will try very hard not to include spoilers.

Panlong follows the story of a young boy named Linley and his adventures as he, rather quickly, becomes well known throughout the lands. He is assisted in his journey by his familiar and his master. Along the way he will ... meet a great number of people and beasts, among them, he will find many that would betray him and some that prove to be great allies. Linley is considered, by many, an OP main character, to which i must say... he undoubtedly can be.

There are things i both enjoy and dislike about this manhua so far.

The aspects i Enjoy:

+ Many battles - so fights happen in nearly every chapter.

+ Plenty of characters - Many of them will not be simply forgotten and will be seen again in later chapters. (This includes those the main character started his training with)

+ Consistent art - there isn't a single time when i can't recognize the characters that are part of the story or hold a relation to our protagonist.

+ Enjoyable read - Some chapters may swing back and forth about being dialogue heavy or not but thanks to the great art and overall just enjoyable characters i ended up burning through this manhua and can't wait to read more.

+ This is NOT a harem - The main character can be a bit of a ladies man at times but his heart is steady and he only loves one, when he does love.

The aspects i dislike:

- Time jumps - this seems to be a major issue. It always seems to jump to the major points where the character gets much stronger than he was previously. It may show him train often, especially later, but the light training doesn't explain the, sometimes, huge power ups.

- Censorship? - this one i can't confirm, as of yet, but apparently there are scenes that should have more intimate moments but are instead reduced to hugs or hand holding. It also really dampers the relationship the main character has with his primary love interest (or so it seems).


I will be reading the Light Novel and hope to clear up the time jumps/censorship but even then i will still be patiently waiting for updates on this manhua. Hopefully some of you enjoyed this review and even decided to see if you enjoy this manhua. Have a good one...I've got a LN to read :D


Edit (Don't worry this won't spoil anything either):
I began reading the LN, right after posting this. Yes, there are many major changes from gender-personalities. The LN also seems to delve deeper on a much more emotionally gripping scale. It doesn't change the fact that i enjoy this manhua, even slightly, but i can see why so many would be displeased with this adaptation. I've read my fair share of manga/LN counterparts and in every case the LN is far more detailed but in this case there are major time jumps, character changes (both gender and personality) and even overall time frame changes. (like the 11 day stone sculpture in the LN being made in an instant in the manhua). There was also a particular few lines that struck hard in the LN that were exquisite and it is unfortunate that the manhua didn't fit them in:

"Linley’s body began to tremble. “September 29th, that was the first day you missed our meeting. I waited from midnight until nearly dawn. Every minute, every second, was hard to endure. When I returned to school, I was thinking, was it because I made you angry the previous time? So I wanted to make you happy. Like an idiot, I went to buy memory crystals to record the scenes of all the places around the Institute. I hoped that when we were not together, when you missed me, you could watch me.”

“Carrying these two memory crystal balls, in mid-October, I once again went to you, my heart filled with hope. But once again, you weren’t there.”

“In my heart, I started to grow restless. But I held firm. Because I remember that promise that we made each other. I believed that if you were going to leave me, you would let me know first. That’s why I held firm. The end of October, mid-November, I went as well. But in the end…”"

It was after this event that he later created a stone sculpture to commemorate all the things and feelings that left the most profound impact from said event. This statue took 11 days to create all while in a blizzard with no breaks to eat, sleep or drink. It took 1 to find what it was that could re-create what he wished most for and 10 to do so. In the manhua it was done in an instant, in sunny weather and while it still held the same beauty on the outside the sense of deep emotional attachment that each part held was far lessened. The LN wanted to show that he is a character which holds deep devotion and passion while the manhua only seems to want to show him as an OP character that can also make a masterpiece of art in the blink of an eye >.>