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Tl;dr If your looking for a wordy, story heavy story about a the international political struggles between medieval nations in a fantasy-esc world, well that's horribly specific but this series has you covered. It could have been much better but it could have been much worse. And it's not something I would recommend first for people who want to watch something inside the isekai/fantasy genre.




Story: 8.
The world, events and progression of the story are really well put together and nearly everything makes sense in the context of the series with the exception of a few pieces that could use better explanation or ... at least something to hint at the reason. But I think that is just another part of transitioning a literary work into an animated series. Time restrictions result in cut content. But at least the core and value of the story are still here.

Art: 5.
I find the art direction painfully generic and forgettable. I greatly respect J.C. and have watched and thoroughly enjoyed many of their other works but this one, they just dropped the ball on the design. Even comparing the character designs to their other works the characters of Realist Hero are just so plane that their almost uninteresting. And, bias up front, it's even worse for me since I'm habituated to the manga's art by Ueda Satoshi. Given Ueda has a background in drawing doujins with only commercial manga before drawing Realist Hero, but his design is so eye-catchingly enthralling that it actively elevates the story. And while this difference between J.C. and Ueda is obvious in the female characters, it's particularly noticeable with Georg Carmine, Poncho Panacotta, and Gaius and Julius Amidonia. These 4 characters looks so much more appropriate for the rolls they play in the series with the designs by Ueda then they do in either the LN or the anime. But considering that Fuyuyuki is on staff at J.C. for character design AND is the artist for the LN, you'd have to expect that the anime will end up as such. Just to be clear, the art isn't bad, i just find it boring.

Sound: 7.
Standard J.C. quality. Clean clear audio, no character sounds out of place(though I think Panacotta could have been don't better). The OP/ED aren't unpleasant but they aren't something I would readily listen to, though the ED does have a catchy tune to it.

Characters: 7.
This is a slow burn in character design. You get a base line "what" they are but not really a full "who" they are. That is what plays out in the series as the internal and international strife is resolved. As well as modicums of character growth as you should expect from a story that is well put together. The permanent characters grow with the story and the temporary ones serve their purpose and end with their roll before they overstay their welcome. The anime just cuts a few too many of the minor character behaviors and interactions that really drive home the interpersonal relationships for my liking though. Another case of could have been better but could have been much worse.

Enjoyment: 7.
Despite its flaws, I still come back to watch the weekly episodes. More out of a curiosity of what's changed rather then what's going to happen, probably the only downside of being a manga/LN reader is you know the story beforehand but if that's enough to cause you to not enjoy the series then you might as well not watch it at all. And in spite of my own bias towards the art, it's not so bad that it would chase me away from watching it. I'm just significantly more liable to recommend the literature, manga or LN, over the anime and point anime watchers at other series.

Overall: 7.
Standard J.C. quality product. If you're into isekais, city builders, medieval fantasy or light romcoms then this will be making your watch list just by name recognition of the studio alone. It won't be high up the list and you'll probably move onto the next series fairly quickly. But the time you'll spend watching the events of Elfrieden by an aspiring civil servant turned monarch won't be unpleasant.

Tl;dr I am both glad and frustrated to say that this series came out very well for what it is. You don't need to read the manga or LN to thoroughly enjoy this series.




Story: 7.
It's your typical Isekai trope setting but with the mind about what it is, taking itself seriously but still throwing jokes and gags at you. Our protagonist takes a dig at the setting being an isekai in the first 30 seconds of the first episode and the self aware but not 4th wall breaking serious humor doesn't fail to come at you right when it needs to. The ... author took the isekai trope and turned it on it's head giving you a kind of antihero who you won't mistake for a villain while pushing awkward tropes into escalating circumstances of their own making. Rip city of Zetsuya. But being a reader of both the manga and the LN, I'm acutely aware of what is missing from the series, a lot of it is character context or humor that fills out the personalities of the characters but that's just one of the restrictions of the Anime format, time is at a premium for a 24minute/12episode series so things are naturally going to get cut.

Art: 7.
C2C did a great job with the art direction, it's very similar to the manga and avoids falling into the basic, common, uninteresting designs that some series can fall prey to(lookin at you Realist Hero). As a long time Manga reader it took a bit for me to get use to some of the subtle differences but viewers going into this completely blind most likely wont notice anything odd.

Sound: 8.
C2C really did fantastic on this one with only a few minor places that just didn't sound right but those were very short and only happened once so it's not that big of a deal. Natsuki Hanae, Akira Kitou and Akane Sakura all perfectly fit their rolls with the only oddities in audio being when Tomoe and Mio are still in their Dragon and Spider forms. The audio mixing sounds odd but again, those are very brief moments so they don't hurt the series too much being there. And while the OP credit animation kinda gives away a large part of the content of the season, Gamble by Syudou is now a resident of my playlist.

Characters: 8.
Makoto Misumi, this guy is mostly mysteries obfuscated with a very rational person. Why is he so physically different from the rest of his family? How did his parents to get to earth from this other world? What about his monstrous magic power? This one actually gets an answer eventually. You watch him try to adjust to this new life as any high school boy would and end up forgetting how many unknowns make up this antihero.
Tomoe, her boredom finally ends when she has her first fight with Makoto. After which she takes up a subservient role to him, which really is just for show because her tomboyish nature has her running the show the majority of the time even though Makoto is suppose to be the one in charge. And her obsession with Japanese period dramas is so intense that Makoto eventually just straight up calls her a Weeaboo, which gave me a good laugh.
Mio, the almost yandere character. You can never really tell if she's more romantically interested in Makoto or if she's just hungry as her apatite and propensity to put literally anything into her mouth tends to obfuscate her motivations. Keeps her character interesting but eventually comes to classify her as a glutton(by Makoto) before anything else. But she's still playful enough to take Tomoe's challenges and chiding over levels and power.
Many many more characters, both already seen and yet to be seen but C2C did a really good job keeping their personalities intact in the transition to Anime.

Enjoyment: 8.
I went into this with an expectation based off reading the Manga and LN for a long time. Knowing what is going to happen doesn't really ruin a story for me if the story was good to begin with so often times when I'll go in reverse with Anime to Manga to LN(when applicable) but in this instance it was forward as was created. And I still find myself enjoying it quite a lot. even with what I know is missing, I still get that same enjoyment as I would with a new chapter of the books.

Overall: 8.
This series if given more time to fill out the story, 16-24 episodes, it could easily be a 9. But with the content I know was cut I can't really enjoy this as much as I do the literature, and still that doesn't stop me from enjoying it to the point where the VAs are now the head voices for when I read the series. It stands on it's own merit and doesn't actually need anything to supplement it and make it better. It lampoons the Isekai trope in a way that even people who are tired of the genre may enjoy more then expected and while it still could be better, but it really doesn't need to be. It's light and funny with a serious story and serious characters. Solid recommendation.

This show is slightly above average with its use of nuance to tell a story of cope and growth for both teens and adults. It's not a great series but it is by no means a bad one either.

Story: 7
Heavier on the rom then it is on the com, its a repackage of the trope where one person is damaged by "love" and the other is ignorant of it and both are going through the steps of learning about what it means to actually love another person through their own ways of living. Ryo, having been fawned over his who life for ... shallow reasons and at one point tricked into consuming hair in a valentines gift has grown to see women in a negative light and comes to terms with just appeasing the base desires they chase him for as an easy out. Ichika, classic JK trope has never been in a relationship and at one point even thinks Ryo is mocking her inexperience. Both don't really know what they are doing or how the other actually thinks of them, and the mixed messages from Ichika's inexperience don't really help the matter.

Art: 7
Not really much to say here. It's pastel and plain, no need to be eye catchingly vibrant since that would take away from the presentation. It's not 60fps buttery smooth but its not a battle anime so it doesn't need to be.

Sound: 5
There are some noticeable problems with the audio. The VAs all sound the part, their voices fit the characters to a T. The problems though is that all the lines end in an extended exhale. You don't need to end every line by emptying your lungs, it sounds completely unnatural outside of heavy physical activity and ruins the performance once you can't stop noticing it. The other major problem is that the recording studio either had substandard equipment or had insufficient sound proofing because all character speech sounds like there is a mechanical underlayer or echo to it. Like the audio was recorded in 10 year old equipment. I would give Sound a 6 but those issues really bug me. The OP song is very TokyoPop in style and has kinda grown on me though.

Characters: 7
Ryo is emotionally damaged from a poor home life and the constant chasing the girls around him do, be it in his school life or work life. You can see how he doesn't have a grasp on how love works when he's surrounded by lust. His interactions with Ichika serving to teach him what an average boy would have learned in high school what he never could due to the shallow nature of his female classmates.
Ichika is the first timer, unsure of how to even express romantic interest or who those interests of hers lie in. And it doesn't help her position that her best friend Rio has already shown her clear allegiance towards supporting her bother and Ichika getting together. Makes for interesting confusion but I can sympathize for those who want clear and concise answers when none can be had.
Rio is the straight man roll to Ryo and Ichika. Her roll is almost zero comedy but it plays into her character where she use to really dislike her brother of how often he and their father fought but has grown into the familial affection for him due to his crush on Ichika. She's even stated she supports the two so long as Ryo doesn't hurt Ichika and has given a clear warning to Tamaru to back off.
Tamaru is a good plot device for Ichika but He's really one dimensional as a character which is disappointing. Masuda is far more interesting the Tamaru but he's the gag character for Ryo so he's relegated to pure comic relief. Matsushima is a decently written love rival to Ichika and has enough character development to matter more then just a plot device for Ryo.

Enjoyment: 7
Its a Slice of Life Rom-com. Its nothin new, its nothin special. But its a decent pallet cleanser anime with no supernatural, super power, isekai or fantasy tropes in an ever growing market. It wouldn't be my first recommendation, but I would include it with other more interesting anime of the same feel for people who want to watch something to relax and enjoy for a time.

Overall: 7
The series itself is only slightly above average. That's just the way this series is.

Gokushufudou the Anime is exactly whet you would expect from JCS when produced by Netflix.

Story;
There's really not much to be said about the story. Its just your average Slice of Life comedy about a former gangster being the stay at home spouse for his working wife. Due to the media dramatization of Yakuza, this leads into why Tatsu acts the way he does but also helps the series by making it take itself KonoSuba levels of serious which makes the outlandish scenarios and reactions that much more comedic, because it makes them believable.

Art;
Again, exactly what you would expect from JCS when produced by Netflix. Recent... ... developments with Netflix as a company has kind of put them in a less then profitable position so you can tell the art and animation direction was based on how much money could be dedicated to making it look good. Which actually kind of works in its favor since instead of a genuine anime, you get something that's more like an animated comic book. It reminds of me of Gamecube came XIII with how it uses manga style panels to denote actions. That said its clearly not the cleanest or smoothest you'll find and the style doesn't appeal to a lot of people to begin with, just in my opinion taking it that route worked in the shows favor for style points where it otherwise could have looked much worse.

Sound;
Fantastic, every character sounds exactly like they should. Tsuda Kenjirou as Tatsu is a perfect match and its just so much better that Tsuda was also Tatsu in the live action PV. All the characters sound crisp and clear like proper professional audio capture should and the OP track is a banger from the first time you hear it.

Characters;
This is a 1 to 1 with the manga. If you enjoy the manga then nothing will be missing from it within this miniseries.

Enjoyment;
I really enjoyed Gokushufudo the way someone would enjoy A bowl of ice cream and a glass of whiskey; its special and satisfying because it doesn't happen very often. Which is okay because its unhealthy for you if consumed in larger portions.

Overall;
Objectively, there are things the series does well and things it doesn't. There isn't really a story to Gokushufudou so don't expect some deep contemplative epoch or an overarching narrative. Its not a full anime, its an ONA, moreover each 16-20 minute episode contains 5+ skits that are comparable to chapters of the manga. If you dive into the series expecting Yakuza Kiwami then you're going to be very disappointed, if you dive into it expecting [meme] Netflix Adaptation [/meme] then you're going to be pleasantly surprised.

If you're going to watch this series, temper your expectations that JCS does good work and enjoy the ride, because it doesn't last long.

Tl;dr Slice of life, low romantic, very comedy, slight supernatural, the show lives up to its name "Generally Cute". It is worth a casual watch and a recommendation.



Why is the show worth watching? It's almost a 1 to 1 with its manga counterpart. From the characters and their depth and development to the jokes and gags of the series. It helps that the source material lends well to short seasons, 12 episodes is a good length with an easy close out if it stops there for this kind of show. I kind of hope it doesn't, that it gets a second season because I could ... get behind more of the same with this but if it doesn't get another 12 then I know I'm not missing out on anything because its an easy transition to the manga.

The animations are what you would expect from a Slice of life romcom. You're not going to be getting exaggerated movements beyond arm flailing and you're not going to see any weird contortions. You'll get derpy faces where appropriate for the gag but you'll never see a face that just sticks out of the scene like "That ain't right". Its very uniform in what it is and how it maintains its style. Its nothing spectacular but with this kind of series it doesn't need to be. And it works all too well with the characters.

Speaking of characters. The show does an incredible job of retaining personality and depth of the characters from the manga. Nasa is clearly conveyed as a naive munchkin, Tsukasa is clearly a meganerd with lvl999 domestic skills, Chitose is still a derpy siscon, Kaname is still the comic relief pervert with her deadpan deliveries, every character sticks in the mind for who they are on their own. Which is exactly the way a Slice of life romcom should be.

The audio design is spot on. Every character sounds and plays to the mood and occasion based on their personality. Most of the characters yell when yelling, Tsukasa never yells and maintains her tone even when her mood shifts, as do the maids. The audio tracks punctuate the scenes nicely. And while the ED isn't my kind of song, the OP has grown on me like a Myth&Roid track. Heard it once and wasn't a fan. 2nd, 3rd, 4th time and I can get into it. Now its one of those tracks I actually like listening to.

So what's to say about the story? Well there really isn't much of one as is the way of the Slice of Life style, just mini archs that are resolved in 2 or 3 episodes like acclimating to married life or meeting the parents. There is kind of a sub plot about how Tsukasa might not be entirely human but that's not really explored in the anime so far so you'll have to go to the manga and reddit for your Kaguya-hime theories. Just don't expect and in depth and engaging story line cause it isn't there, it was left on the wayside to make room for jokes. Jokes that even translate well to be funny in English.

This show is kinda in that spot where you could enjoy it alone, you could really enjoy it with a romantic interest but it would be kinda weird to watch in a group viewing session. Its still worth the watch if you want something that's not an intense series trying stand out as the must watch of the season. Watching Tonikaku Kawaii for me was like watching Flying Witch; the very loose overarching plot is only there as a vehicle for the subplots that make the characters memorable, and season of fresh anime later its still good for a rewatch or a pallet cleanser after a particularly heavy series. And even if it doesn't get more episodes added I know I can just pick up the manga and be right back into the story without issue because it didn't just translate well, but the studio who produced it did such a good job on crystallizing that which made the source material enjoyable.

Very good job Seven Arcs, I give you a gold star for this show.

Tl;dr It's not bad but it's not good either. If you go into it blind to what it is than you'll probably mildly enjoy it than forget it but if you were expecting something more than just read the manga because this is a clear case of the manga is MUCH better.



So why is the manga better? for the same reason that this anime is just disappointingly average. The first 2 episodes fallow the story flow but kind of gloss over some pretty big pieces of the set up to the series. And as the episodes progress you might notice, there is a strange lack ... of character depth to Ryoma. He just seems like a generic cheat archtype. Nothing about the skills that he has is really explained in the anime as it is in the series and much of the humor and jokes stemming from Ryoma's memories of earth are completely gone leaving the series with a distinct lack of humor. More over, Ryoma's behavior from episode 1 is on par with his behavior in episode 11, the brief exposition about his child body affecting his adult mind is completely moot because of this, with no significant changes to be seen where as in the manga we clearly get scenes where we see Ryoma clearly losing control of his emotions on more than 1 occasion BEFORE the exposition about the mind/body conflict. None of the characters really get any flushing out like they do in the manga. You don't get to see Reinhart go merchant mode over Ryoma's creations, you don't get to see Elise act like a doting mother(who probably wants to just straight up adopt Ryoma into the family), you don't get to see Eliaria as the excitable and precocious child that she is, all of the characters just lack the part that makes them stand out and memorable. Other parts of the show are outright changed like the Latrine Pit plot lacking in exposition of the problem and the large amount of character building with the side characters during the plot point. Like how, in the manga, Ryoma meets the adventurers in groups over the course of the day with exposition(and comedy) about Asagi, then with the beastgirls and their connection to Mia(and her garbage house), then Ryoma and Raypin nerding out over monster research. The Iron Mine plot is also drastically different both in its initial presentation and the goblin swarm. Same with the Laundromat building plot.

That's why this show is just average; because if you're familiar with the content already it feels like bare minimum plot retention as it tries to sprint through the season as a time slot filler. The anime blazes through roughly 30 chapters of the manga, each chapter being nearly 40 pages, in about 8 episodes and the majority of the content of those chapters is completely lost. The art style isn't bad with the exception of the occasional goofy face but it tries really hard to stand on the merits of bright colors rather than expressive and memorable characters. The audio is decent but also doesn't really stand out in a memorable way. And while the OP is just not good, the ED at least tries to be more memorable but the tone of the rock style track clashes horribly with the rest of the music present in the show and because the ED is kind of a highlight of the beastgirls(who lack the exposition they get in the manga) you're left kind of wandering why make them the focus of the outro other than just saying "Hey! Otaku like beastgirls!"(Which isn't necessarily wrong, but kind of obnoxious in its forced presentation).

If this show was 24 episodes long, it probably could have been taken slower and more of the necessary character development and plot could have been added, but its only a 1 season series and you can really feel it in the anime. Moves through the story too fast, discards too much that is suppose to endear the characters to you and changes the plot so that everything feels like it was all trivial to deal with just to fit inside of 12 episodes. I'd give it a lower score but really it doesn't deserve a 4 or lower based on my own expectation from what I've already read. It's not bad but it's just not good. I know what its missing and even if I was ignorant to it from episode 1 it doesn't do anything that makes me want to talk about it. Just finish it so I can move on to the next one and go back to reading the manga.

Tl;dr This series is a disaster. If you really want to give Arifureta a try read the Manga or the Novel.

May contain spoilers;


Oh boy, where do I begin with this mess. When I saw this was in production by White Fox 2 or 3 seasons ago I was reasonably hyped for it to come out. White Fox has done reasonably good to great work on other series that I have been reading long before an Anime adaptation happened and with only minor nitpicks at some plot rearrangement with my full understanding that Manga and Anime are essentially marketed to separate(but still overlapping) ... audiences. So I tempered my anticipation with a fare amount of reasonable change but than I watched the first episode... and now I'm past the 4th episode and I'm dropping this series there. This is a total betrayal of the series as well as burning some reputation White Fox had(at least with me) over it.

The good;
Sound design is excellent and clear, all the voices sound appropriate for the characters so far and the opening song Flare by Void_Chords is now a permanent resident on my playlist for just how kickin it is.

The bad;
Hajime's character is completely different from his manga persona, being changed from a traumatized(symbolized by his Marie antoinette Syndrome after eating his first monster), angry, ready for bloodshed at any moment attitude that made him such an antihero of the manga to a mostly neutered re-humanized tragic protagonist. He has, for what I've seen so far, been completely defanged.
Yue has been altered from the much more capable if slightly bratty counter balance to Hajime's ever encroaching psychotic break. She's now a much more meek and soft spoken loli character who seems to be present more for the shows marketing than for the actual story, which is a blatant betrayal of her character when you learn that her roll in the manga is being the primary force that keep Hajime from murder on reflex.
And if these 2 are any indication of character design for the show I have no positive outlook on how Shia or Tio will be played, both most likely will be shoehorned into more marketing rolls as their characters barely resemble who they are in the written works.

The Ugly;
Most of the show. That's not a joke. For a pseudo-RPG Isekai style series the biggest draw for me was the dark and hard art style that really accented what was happening in the story. But Hajime looks flaccid and weak, Yue is still sporting a fur towel(probably because Waring Hajime's trench coat wouldn't be TV appropriate, even though its a staple part of her character design after she gains her own set of clothes), and the monsters being in CG being the biggest design mistake. They look nothing like their manga counterparts and look either ridiculous our outright pathetic(in the case of the Gale Bear and the Hydra).

If you where coming into this series completely blind, with your only knowledge of it being its MAL score and synopsis, you would probably passively enjoy it and give it a 5 or a 6. If you started this series because you read the Novel or the Manga and where hoping for just another way to enjoy the series from a studio that HAS done good work in the past, than like me; you have been betrayed. Read the Manga or the Novel and hard pass on this Anime.