Well this anime is a lot like "Sword Art Online" season 01 structure wise, unlike SAO Alice, the very first SAO was trimmed because it was a newcomer and if you know about the anime industry, you know there are things like Slot Booking, Budget and Profit forecast, Not a lot of anime studios go in with sequels in mind. so it's about playing it safe, what can last the whole season and most likely relevant to what is being played, seeing how popular and how investment SAO has gathered despite the forever mad pseudo critics, not only did it pay off but it generated a large enough pull so that for years anything remotely moving the MC to a different place is good enough to be animated.
So how is it related to SAO, Arifureta it's a much shorter anime that uses the same summary format to maybe pique the interest of an audience.
Plot: 8/10
While SAO was a psychological twist on regards to being trapped inside a game which automatically means certain death if your HP drops to zero, things that only seasoned gamers can avoid and even then, mistakes are made.
Hajime Nagumo is a High Schooler that is transported to another world alongside his entire classroom. and unlike Kirito who has resolve and skills from the get go and you know, is playing with a fake virtual body, Nagumo is a easily forgettable youth with no back bone. was dealt a bad hand upon reaching the fantasy world, whose skills upon arrival to the new world can only work on groups, as he is basically a glorified Blacksmith that isn't a sorcerer, healer and / or even a attacker and of course is risking his life and limbs on his real body on a floor clearing system like SAO but instead of going UP, the higher floors go underground.
By all accounts, A Blacksmith has no business on the battlefield, and is usually in some shop in the safety of a town.
one day, on a mission for simple jealousy for a girl, A male classmate hides a magic shot among shots meant for the creatures they're fighting and hits Hajime Nagumo sending him several floors down by himself alone with terrifying monsters in a lot of darkness.
Now imagine being a high schooler, with the skills of a blacksmith, no weapons several hundred feet under ground surrounded by tougher monsters that the ones your party used to fight. Alone in the Darkness, with monsters to whom you are nothing more than a treat to eat. the upside is that Nagumo by resorting to eat monsters he is able to hunt by setting up traps to be able to survive, he acquires a myriad abundant of skills related to what he eat, even if it is all raw.
Nagumo has to survive and make it to the top, loses an arm to a monster that was already eating him alive and an eye later on. he has to toughen up and is now fueled by hatred of those who left him, but what should have been a story of vengeance, turns into one of growth on which a boy becomes a man, with a party of extraordinary monsters like a Dragon, a Vampire and a still impressive Bunny Girl with super Strength. Nagumo goes from a forgettable character to Rambo in 13 episodes.
Art 8 / 10
Arifureta has great animation and is very vibrant on regards to characters, landscape and world, but the monsters are 3D rendered so it's all about how you feel about that, I didn't find it as bothersome as others do but I'll leave this to your discretion.
Characters 9/10
Sound 10 / 10
Great soundtrack. one of the best things of this anime is the use of it's music.
Enjoyment 9/10
I fully enjoyed this anime, it has a sprinkle of everything, even Konosuba with a perverted masochistic Dragoness on par with Darkness from the aforementioned show. however the edge of the blade here is how does the spacing bother you, this anime spit the anime in to two, a story or summary of one and a long epilogue on which Nagumo is a badass cleaning house on the surface after learning a secret he uncovered underground. a lot of people wanted more dungeon bad assery and more skills. however this show based on how it was handled, the goods are at the surface not the dungeons.
Itis truly sad that this series didn't take the risk a made it longer, maybe get another season and perhaps could have been the next SAO on length but more of an underdog take.
while not the splash everyone anticipated, it's an anime you'll be glad you saw nevertheless. wouldn't be surprised if the show got second season, the character dynamic is a sight to behold after all.
