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Nov 10, 2023
On the positive side of things, this is one of those sequels viewers don't need to see the prequel material to get. On the not-so-positive side, the show may leave viewers actually wanting to check out the prequel material, which may not be something viewers may have access to. Akuma-kun is certainly a long waited delight for those who are into the older series, perhaps even more eclectic styles of Anime/Manga, albeit this isn't a reboot let alone an older Anime finally getting a dub.
Of course, Akuma-kun is difficult to explain, beyond the fact it is of the supernatural mystery genre which can in itself
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be super-niche. And on top of the supernatural horror elements, which are mild compared to some of the others going for the psychological pull rather than the gore out, although the show doesn't shy away from blood and gore when needed, there is also comedy, not to mention interpersonal relationships some are craving, the latter I personally enjoyed a lot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Nov 4, 2023
Don't be fooled by the visuals or the premise, as the ball was definitely dropped on this one.
Effectively, the series tries too to hard present the family as dysfunctional in real life, reducing certain narrative elements to mere shock value while glossing over certain things that really shouldn't have been glossed over, but at times the series doesn't feel at all like the writer >new what they really wanted to do beyond surprising the audience with plot twists for the sake of shock value
For example, shut-ins are certainly a major issue in Japan, with the narrative setting attempting to present this as a bad thing,
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something the family looks down upon and despises the main character for, yet this is something we're told by the main character and what we're shown in real life contradicts this as none of his family members he says despise him actually do. True, we're shown the father doing some really crappy stuff as the series progresses, and the younger brother--
Eh, he says one thing and does another.
More specifically, despite the crappy stuff the father says and the younger brother saying he hates shut-ins, they're both shown as acutely aware of the reason why the main character is a shut-in within the first few episodes and while their responses aren't the best responses to a family member in a similar situation, one can argue they're honestly trying to do their best, even the dad who is presented progressively more and more in a negative light. And the younger brother, who the main character complains about the most is actually dealing with the brunt of his older brother's mental health issues.
Which, one would think this would be a far greater plot element than it is, and the reason why one of the themes here on MAL is psychological.
And yet, the series fails the mental health issue horribly along with many other things as the creator of the series really didn't think through any of these things beyond shock value, but as the series progressed there just became more and more loose ends they weren't tying up, or things that weren't explored in the rich depth one expects of a psychological themed series. This in turn can end up being taxing on the viewer.
So no, I don't recommend it for that reason, but also because I was left with the feeling the creator of the series wanted to capitalize on what's become a major plot theme - virtual reality, shoved in various things from existing series, yet never stopped and really thought about why the more successful ones were successful, which includes the interpersonal relationships which this series had for the first few episodes until it decided to throw that out the window, possibly to be different I guess, and the speculation regarding the probabilities of where virtual reality may somewhere down the line be, whereas this one doesn't stop and think if the things it does are probable, just whether or not the element is cool and/or delivers the wanted shock value.
But yeah, what is set up for in the first few episodes never really pans out, so definitely not recommending.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jun 17, 2023
SEIZURE WARNING
This Anime, for the major fight scenes, is computer generated by placing a 2D art style onto a 3D frame which in turn runs the risk of animation that could cause seizures. This is also a process not everyone is fond of the end product of.
And that's the main reason for the mixed feelings when it comes to recommending this particular Anime and the reason for writing the review. Had this not been a factor, the seizure warning review would lean more towards recommended. On the surface, this particular Anime may appear to be a harem series. Still, in this particular case, the show
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tosses that on its head, for while the main character is surrounded by a harem of females, his party isn't completely a harem, but the platonic relationships he forms with his party are a primary focus. It's not just about the relationships he forms with his party but the relationships he forms with those outside of his party. Part of this comes from the fact he's turned himself into a blank-slate character as well.
On the downside, that may be a miss for some is this is yet another series with an overpowered main character as well as references to a demon lord, although there are ways that this particular series turns those on its head. Despite being overpowered, the main isn't a Gary Stu, and while it is true that his flaw isn't treated like a fatal flaw, his being overpowered is less about his own personal growth and instead about the growth of those around him, of those he forms bonds with as he progresses. There's also - and this isn't a spoiler as it's revealed in the first episode, the element of him attempting to hide his true nature from others as much as possible in order to retain his freedom.
Of course, there are also series that puts their own twist on those elements as well that can be argued as having done it better. Still, the charm of this series really lies with the individual characters and the relationship, so it's good not to focus on just the main character. As such, it will lean more towards a viewer who likes having a focus on interpersonal relationships over individual characters.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 1, 2023
Animal abuse.
Why the writer decided to start the adventure off with animal abuse is a mystery, but they did.
More specifically, the reader is left asking why the main character gets the idea that they have to do their project regarding the environmental impact of creatures by capturing cats and tagging each cat by shaving them and marking them effectively with a sharp. However, one might argue that the main female character quite imagines herself as the scientist wanting to win the science project their teacher assigned because she's jealous of another classmate whose doing sparrows instead.
Did the teacher really instruct students to go out and
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catch the creature they're supposed to be observing?
Ah. It doesn't say it outright, but a science project where the students observe the creatures makes more sense than the cruel tag and release the girl is doing, not to mention the fact she's not really collecting any data on the cats.
This of course, leads to the conflict, the cats wanting to punish her, only she doesn't ever get punished and gets off just to--
*cough*
The ending implies she and the cat spirit are supposed to be each other's first love because the two arguing mirrors their grandparent's, first love. Like, no.
Cat lovers will likely want to skip this one-shot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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May 30, 2023
The plot is a walking cliche. It's been done before. Actually, there's nothing wrong with a plot being done before. The problem lies more with where the writer takes the plot, and in this particular case, the writer doesn't take the plot anywhere new, so the more a reader comes across this plot being used, the more they'll be bored with this particular manga one-shot. Mind you, I do have to credit the artwork with being gorgeous, but the plot--
The plot does nothing to flesh out the characters. The reason why the guy likes messing with girls' hair is barely fleshed out, but more importantly,
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the writer relies too much on stereotypes to drive the plot and conflict that, in turn, removes character agency for the male character.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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May 30, 2023
There is no mother-in-law in this story. No, mother-in-law is the nickname Mashiro earned when she was younger because the other girls didn't like the way she'd nitpick everything, which in turn ties into a negative mother-in-law stereotype. This does, in some ways make the one-shot a bit odd of a read, yet it ended up being quite enjoyable. For those who enjoy romances where opposites attract, this particular piece will be a quick read. Still, if the readers think it will be a run-of-the-mill romance with absolutely no development where the opposite traits are Mashiro and Kobato, the beginning is simply the setup.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 25, 2023
Is the concept for this isekai unique? - Yes. Are the character archetypes used in this series unique as well? - Yes.
The problem is, coming up with a unique concept and/or a unique combination of character archetypes doesn't mean the series is going to be good. In fact, having a unique idea that's never been done before has nothing to do with whether the writing for a given series is good or not. No, whether the writing is good or not has to do with the quality of the narrative being told, how the writer utilizes the narrative devices at their disposal, and whether the
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narrative device is new or not. As such, one can have a narrative device that is brand new and not have a story that is well-written.
Of course, in this same regard, a series doesn't have to be well-written to be entertaining; to which there are series where the flaws in the writing can be overlooked because the work is entertaining. That's how I would describe the first season, yet I'd also argue that there were some positive things the series did as well. For the second season, however, the flaws from the first season became even more evident while, in turn, the positive things in the series occurred a lot less then.
The most glaring issue lies with the main character, which is also one of the main concepts of this series.
Our main character, Yuusuke, is presented from the start of the series as a character who hates the world to the point the first season tried to present him as having the ideals of a psychopath who needs to be reformed through this major, life-changing adventure. In reality, this particular middle school student is pragmatic about life and the way life works, far more than one would want a middle schooler should be, but apparently, he went through something that left him that jaded. He understands that lie isn't equal and that sometimes people have to make hard decisions that they don't necessarily like making. Yet, this train of thought is presented as wrong simply because - well, pacifism is effectively treated as saintdom in this particular series.
It's to the point that the fifth round attempts to lay out just how vile humans are compared to - well, Orcs.
Yes, we're talking about a creature that eats humans that sees humans as just another fleshy food source that can easily be disposed of should they prove to be a big enough nuance which is, in turn, rather ironic given something Yuusuke says during the fifth roundabout humans that he claims is a human only trait, yet anybody with a brain would realize that the Orc share this same trait with the humans. Only, we're supposed to be seeing the humanity in these Orcs with the singular moment we get to see an ounce of humanity be trampled by what he said applies to the Orcs. Nor does survival factor into what he's saying.
Yet, at this moment, what he says that is completely wrong is treated by the narrative as being right, while some of the other things he said are treated as wrong. Differing opinion isn't allowed, and he's even called out by one for carrying more about the people of the other world than the other heroes, which is aggravating given the people of the other world can't revive as they can. They're still getting on his case about this after they find out that the other world is real.
We also shouldn't forget that all of this relies on a negative stereotype for those with social issues, but in Yuusuke's case, we're given this message of a pragmatic individual, who thinks with reason instead of just emotion, is some form of psychopath simply because he would act in a pragmatic manner rather than the pacifist manner that would get everybody killed. He thus needs to be taught how to become an integral part of society who can benefit, which is showcased in his lack of idea regarding what he wants to do in the future, belittling the fact he - a middle school student, doesn't know what he wants to do with his life once he graduates high school despite the fact only some kids will have an idea what they want to do with their future. It's more of a concrete idea in high school.
And, of course, those who lack proper social skills as kids are being put in their place.
Round One's Iu is shoehorned into the role of having social skill issues, with a lot of her issues involving her family background and the fact her older family members are delinquents. There was her temper which was shown only once in a flashback, only to be brought down by the fact other students noticed the teachers treating her differently simply because of who her family was, which is why she came to rely on her peers to stand up to others, at least until she could prove she wasn't like the rest of her family. She's also got a sob story of having a friend who killed herself, although this never really plays much into the story let alone match up with her issues.
As for fatal flaws, she has none outside of the ones forced upon her by the game master. Her actual purpose is likely to have a certain archetype within the group, while also, if what I'm discerning in this season is right, she's going to be the romantic pair off at the end for our main character. Her entire persona is the cool girl, and she honestly falls to the wayside plot-wise as more and more characters join their party.
Round Two’s Kusue had an illness that needed to be cured, which apparently, becoming a pharmacist instead of a doctor will result in her succeeding in finding a cure. However, I don’t really follow that train of logic. Finding a cure to what is obviously a hereditary illness, as her mother also suffered, becomes an ute point as her time in the other world improves her stats in that world, thus hand waving her social issue, because there’s, of course, a magic cure for everyone's social issue woes in this universe. Never mind that there is a definite question of whether the illness is real, resulting in her being lucky even to be born or just all in that head of hers.
In turn, her illness falls to the wayside in later rounds because of this, and the new thing that defines who she is is to be Yuusuke’s moral compass when it comes to killing other human beings because her pacifist ways are considered by the narrative to be more morally correct than his pragmatic thinking. Thus she also remains in this rut of struggling to kill, well, anything.
Round Four’s Yuka is your bullied character, which would be great if they didn’t manage to trivialize the bullying as “girls will be girls” as well as “friends will be friends,” and there being justification for why she puts up with everything. Her other defining trait are being a pervert who has a definite, “I’m not attracted to that because I’m not a perve – wait, am I a perve moment.” She’s also got a thing for getting mad at Yuusuke for being pragmatic regarding how they utilize the fact they can revive as he places less value on her and the character introduced in round five.
Round Five’s Keita Torii is – well, he’s actually fleshed out compared to the other three of our MCs companions. Part of this comes from him being an older brother and being into the whole tough love, but like Yusuke, his ways are treated as being morally bankrupt despite being the pragmatic answer to a given situation. He does turn his background and social issues on their head and not fit the stereotype, and yet there is a definite cogitation with his character that dropping out only happens because someone is dumb, rather than the more logical explanation here that he’s got to help his mom support their family because dad’s not in the picture.
And then Round Six.
Round six really isn’t worth writing home about plot-wise, and the adult addition to the group is a creepy lesbian character whose role could easily have been fulfilled by an existing character. His background is also creepy.
And no, the reason I call her a creepy lesbian isn’t because she’s same-sex attracted. It’s because she falls into that negative stereotype of actually saying some very creepy things about the younger female characters that, if she were a male character, would be seen as her being a super creepy perv that you wouldn’t want around these kids. Yet, she is.
As for the creepy background, that has to do with the trivialization of PTSD by trying to hammer home the message of pacifism over pragmatism only to have contradicting messages within the narrative, along with her sob story of her coming out of the closet to her father resulting in him wanting to kill her because we’re told that’s the case AFTER she notes he had severe PTSD.
So, yes, there are some definite things that will make some want to give this one a good hard pass, and while I love the characters and I love the concept, it’s not something I’d easily recommend to others unless I knew what their comfort zone for this kind of thing was.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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May 25, 2023
This particular series certainly is a mixed bag of narrative elements.
I'll start off by saying the series does have some unique features in that the premise for this particular isekai - a story where someone falls into another world - are certainly unique. Rounds three and four which our main character is introduced, are also well thought out regarding what the game master is asking for, and I really can't find any fault in those two rounds. In fact, I'd argue those two rounds and how they work out are definitely what draws the audience in
There is also an attempt to utilize unique character types
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within this series, but this is also where the series starts falling apart. Effectively, one can summarize the issue as the creator of this series decided what character archetype they wanted to work with, only not to work out the small details. These small details, in turn, are important to the narrative. That's, of course, the short story, with the longest being that some might pick up on a bit of an ableist attitude towards individuals who are socially inept, with the narrative effectively putting forth this idea that those with social issues can be fixed if they simply find some way to contribute to society ignoring the fact it is possible for someone who is socially inept at contributing to society while still remaining socially inept.
This particular issue shows the most in the main character, who the creator of the series attempts to present in a negative light from the very start, treating him and his social ineptitude as some sign of being a psychopath rather than simply being a pragmatic person regarding the way the world works. His hatred for the world ends up feeling like an extreme, something left completely unexplained, almost as if the person who created the series didn't actually understand those with social issues and instead looked at them through a biased lens of how they felt they could confirm. Of course, here is where I do admit that something may have gotten lost in the translation of the series in the adaption process and that the fault may not lie with the actual original creator but those taking their characters to the Manga.
The issue with not thinking through the details when it comes to the character types shows up the second most in the second character to be dragged into the quest in that we're informed she has an illness, which effectively is her entire conflict in the series with its own set of complications because the small details weren't thought out as well as they should. But effectively, with this character, we have a character with a mysterious illness that leaves her physically weak in the real world. What is the illness? Well, we never find out beyond the fact it is hereditary. This can be brushed off as something writers do a lot in stories they create because it's just easier not to have an illness that is named, and readers can go, "That's not accurate," but in this particular case, it informs her entire identity. Her worldview, like the main protagonist, is treated as wrong and in need of being fixed despite her reason for having the social issues she does is justified by her health issues.
Or perhaps it's not so much her worldview that is being challenged here. Still, the idea that someone with extreme health issues isn't justified for having the social issues they do because of their illness, and by that merit alone, the fact they have social issues is enough to deem them not to be a proper contributor to a functioning society simply which is its own can of worms and much more problematic than simply questioning this characters world view.
Speaking of questioning world views, the first character with social issues who can be described as socially functioning effectively has coping mechanisms that help her function, treated as if it is garbage because there is nothing wrong with depending on friends and no indicator at all that she'd ever been too co-dependent. This, in turn, begs to question what her purpose within this series is because, as another character states, she is effectively perfect only for the narrative to find ways to try and make her come across as flawed, which is problematic because the flaws end up being flaws within the game mechanics, not with the character.
As for the fourth character, she is more fleshed out than the others. In her particular case, her social issues aren't a problem with self but instead an issue with society, in particular a school system that allows such social issues to occur within their system. The first problem arises when - well, she's effectively a character we've seen before, the bullied character. Still, in this particular scenario, the whole bullying thing is downplayed, although how I won't go into it to avoid spoilers. She's also a character we've seen before who fulfills the role of the perverted geek, which seems more there because of the obligatory perverted geek than as a real narrative point, although it does try.
From here, some of this won't be a problem with viewers, but for others, it can be. For me, it definitely left me questioning if the person who created this is someone who actually understands people who have social issues or if they're working with certain talking points regarding certain beliefs regarding those with social issues. The latter is honestly problematic and something to be wary of going into the sequel series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Apr 14, 2022
Maple is a Mary Sue.
And if you thought that would mean a negative review of this series, think again, as this is one of those exceptions.
See, Maple is a Mary Sue, but her being one is completely intentional, not to mention completely the fault of the devs of the game she plays. After all, they're the ones who created a game with the loopholes that allowed Maple to become the Mary Sue she is within the game. This in turn results in some crazy stuff going down within the game that wouldn't happen in any other game, and simply because the devs attempted to have
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as many realistic elements they went overboard.
Oh, and they made the mistake of allowing players to be able to stack their stats in one slot, something you won't see in any other games. No, seriously, Maple exists because they didn't think things through, like big time.
To which, while it is true that Maple is intentionally a Mary Sue, that in itself is going to be a turn off for some viewers. It's a good idea to think of the series as a slice-of-life series even though it's not currently marked that way genre wise, as the conflict within the series is more reflective of a slice-of-life type story, with the gamers going through their daily lives, except in game.
There's also a lack of character development because of that, as a lot of the characters fatal flaws are hidden by the fact they're in game and their lives offline aren't at all talked about, because in effect, like with all gamers, that conflict of life offline is left behind. This in turn actually makes it quite realistic to how it is when one games, albiet for some this can be grating not having some of the more common conflict elements one would see in a series with the Video Game theme, such as cheating and hacking, poor sportsman ship.
And it's not needed, at least not at this point, although, in this regard another thing about this series is how it can get repetitive with it being all about the crazy stuff Maple gets up to. Which isn't a bad thing, it's just not necessarily something everyone is going to be interested in.
In other words - true, the series does have some issues one would normally see in those not so great series, but a lot of it is intentional. It's definitely humor driven. Instead of making the series badly written and badly done, it instead means it's a series that isn't everyone's cup of tea.
That said, and this may become an issue in future seasons, is Maple's friend. Her quriks honestly are getting less attention than Maple's are and she feels more like a side kick, whereas the other characters other than Maple seem more developed. And some of her skills become irrelevant later on, or so it seems.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 9, 2022
Female gamer here.
Why is it that a series where the cast is predominately female gamers for once has to portray female gamers as being less capable than then our male counterparts?
I’ve never come across a series where a male player went a full year of playing a game only to need another male player to teach them the game mechanics. I’ve never come across a series where a male gamer was mocked for their love of premium items. And play to win tactics. I’ve never seen a series where a male newbie is so illiterate they are incapable of using the in-game chat. I’ve seen
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male players in a series here or there be out of touch with reality, but not to the degree Ako is in this series.
So what gives?
Oh, wait. We’re talking about female players, who are less capable of gaming and need a male player to sweep in and rescue them, right? After all, only a male player would be able to figure out the game strategy the female players come up with may not be the best route, but only goes along with it because he’s the perfect gentleman when it comes to gaming, the ideal player who’s only suffering because he decided to forgo soloing and teamed up with this girl who is so ditsy she’s oblivious to the actual game mechanics for an entire year.
Except players like her and players willing to put up with the likes of her don’t exist.
Oh, sure, there are gamers who do in fact struggle with the game mechanics, but struggling for an entire year while being a part of a group is unrealistic. No, seriously—game mechanics would have been one of the issues tackled once she got to playing with a specific group regularly,. Or the player struggling with the game mechanics would have become frustrated and found a different game to play. Nor do newbies struggle with making full sentences in the in game chat.
Then there is the fact Ako is an in game stalker who becomes an IRL stalker, but this is brushed off as being okay if not cute and enduring rather than the alarming behavior it is, likely because she’s a female stalker. Which, most serious gamers would have blocked rather than put up with, nor is putting up with her stalking behavior a sign that the MC is the perfect gentleman player like this series wants to make him out to be.
Oh, and one more thing.
Regarding the actual game they play, Legendary Age. By the end of the series, I was left feeling Legendary Age had to be the worst game of its type which in turn begs to question of how the characters actually find the game enjoyable. Not only are there pay-to-play aspects to the game to the point it’s likely to play to win, but there are also game mechanics—and by this I mean game mechanics on the developer side of things that don’t make sense as being actual in-game mechanics.
So, the series is definitely a train wreck when it comes to series which feature aspects involving gaming., but the issue of the game they’re playing not coming across as a very believable MMO game mechanic wise, or at least an enjoyable one could have been overlooked if the series didn’t spend so much time purposefully nerfing every known female gamer in the series just to make the male MC look good which in turn makes the times this isn’t happening fade into the background.
And true—some can overlook those elements, but for others, it’s definitely going to be a killjoy.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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