Sit back, relax as I present to you THE REIGNING! DEFENDING! UNDISPUTED, ISEKAI CHAMPION! HATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGE, KEMONO MICHI!!!!!!
Story: 6.5/10
The story begins with our protagonist and professional wrestler, Genzo Shibata and he is about to complete his final match as a wrestler. Before he finishes the final blow in the match, he is suddenly transported to a fantasy world and is requested by Princess Altena to be the hero they need and slay all of the daemon beasts threatening the kingdom. However, Genzo is a lover of all animals, he could never harm them. So what does he do? He decides to go Brock Lesnar on her ass and takes her to suplex city...b**ch. Fleeing the castle and having nowhere to go, he meets a wolf-girl by the name of Shigure and together, they work on Genzo’s lifelong dream, opening a pet shop.
It’s a unique premise in terms of Isekai plots go and the way it goes about it is well done. It establishes early on that we are in for different kind of Isekai with Genzo basically going “You want me to kill animals? F**k that.” And then goes off to do his own thing. In terms of setting the scene, this show does it very well and we see how the pet shop unfolds over time with the animals Genzo captures and how to get the funding. But throughout the show, we never get to see payoff to all of the tasks Genzo, Shigure as well as two other characters that join him later on, Carmilla and Hanako. It’s all building up to it yet there no ounce of payoff to convince the people that these beasts that threaten the kingdom could be adopted as pets. It’s kind of disappointing.
Of course, being a pet shop Isekai isn’t the only thing that makes this show unique, as it also part wrestling and this is where most of the comedy is with all of the German suplexes you desire. The show is definitely more physical humour than witty humour with Genzo and other characters laying the smack down on anyone that provokes them, friend or foe, male or female (yes, we have another true advocate of gender equality here). So it’s definitely got a certain taste but what makes it work is the timing of it considering that the characters were asking for it. It has plenty of running gags in this show as well that, even though you can see them coming, are well executed every time. It’s well done and definitely is humorous. That’s not to say that the dialogue doesn’t have some funny moments because it truly does so it isn’t all physical humour as the writing does add to the humour.
Characters: 8/10
As a protagonist, Genzo isn’t exactly relatable. He’s loud, brash, doesn’t think outside the box and his only interests are for himself with no consideration for other people. As a wrestling protagonist though, he fits that mould well. Now, I have watched wrestling for several years before finally getting bored with it earlier this year (Thank you Vince McMahon), so I have a good idea of how a good wrestler should act and he definitely does that. He exaggerates everything in every situation for the sake of entertaining the viewer even though he doesn’t realise it. For example, when someone calls him the Daemon Beast Killer, he doesn’t try to reiterate that he doesn’t want to be called that. Instead, he either makes the person go through a table or chucks that person into the ceiling. He dramatise more than he should and makes it work. This makes him a funny protagonist because again, these characters are asking for it and he is just replying how he sees fit, even if it is a bit ridiculous.
Now the characters that join Genzo in his quest to open a pet shop are rather basic in terms of how unique these characters are. Shigure is obviously the level headed one in order to see what genzo does is quite ridiculous. While she is a “good” person, she sees this pet shop as way to get rich fast. Hanako, who is a young dragon-girl, is just obsessed with food and that’s pretty much it (although she is smarter than she comes across). Carmilla is a vampire who is obsessed with serving Hanako. The all have simple desires and character depth but they all share a similar mindset which is there obsession over something. Genzo being animals, Shigure being money, Hanako being food and Carmilla being Hanako herself. They aren’t complex because they don’t need to be. They all fill their roles well and their single obsessions is all you need to for them to stick together and to have chemistry with one another. As well as Carmilla getting her ass kicked by Genzo for being a sarcastic b**ch is always funny. There is even a dog that accompanies Genzo by the name of Hiroyuki and he is just adorable.
The supporting cast as well has its niches that they definitely fulfil. They all add something to either the plot, to the comedy, or both. Where it can be simply be Celes wanting to be Genzo’s apprentice, a group of thieves where the wolf-man gets traumatised because Genzo loves animals a bit too much. Even a simple anthropomorphic ant that is somehow part of the pet shop idea and we have no reason why. It’s something stupid like that makes the cast as a whole, enjoyable and there isn’t a character I hate in bad way. It’s rare that I find a cast of characters where I don’t like at least one character but I don’t, they all fulfil there role well and I can’t complain too much besides a couple of gripes.
Animation: 6/10
The animation for Hataage isn’t exactly impressive but it is also not bad either. But it is weird saying that because at one point, it can look uninspired. But other times, like when Genzo fights an Orc Chieftain, it looks really good. It lead me to the assumption that it was used for more comedic effect that when it gets down to it, it is impressive; something I think this show has an edge over the manga. That being said, art style isn’t exactly impressive and leans to the more generic side with no signature features to make it stand out. The character designs though is good because they each stand out in there own way can be easily identifiable from one another. So it has that going for it.
Sound: 5.5/10
The soundtrack is a mixed bag. Half of the soundtrack is more or less generic fantasy music like flute instrumentals or a more light hearted ost for the show’s comedic moments. It sounds like a standard ost that you would hear in other shows. It doesn’t sound bad but it doesn’t stand out. Then there is the other half, where it sounds energetic, intense and adds to the atmosphere. This is normally played during the wrestling scenes or when Genzo is laying the smackdown on people. It definitely is more noticeable than the other half of the ost and adds to the scene of this fight that you would be watching. I also like in significant moments when Genzo german suplexes someone, you can hear someone counting “One...Two...Threeee!” It’s a nice touch for a show that is part wrestling.
The opening is alright in my opinion. "Fight! Kemoner Mask" by NoB is definitely energetic, paced well and matches the tone of the show pretty well. It’s one of openings that can get you hyped for the show but didn’t exactly wow me and I wanted to go back and listen to it again. Good openings do that. But this opening lacks that itch that makes you want to do that. It is most likely down tot the visuals being okay. But the opening is solid overall. The ending sequence is very meh. "Anegdot" by Momosu Momosu is one I skipped through about 3 episodes in. I saw Hiroyuki, I saw his dance, it was adorable and I moved on. It’s pretty much the same animation on a loop so it got boring fast.
Conclusion:
Hataage is definitely one of those that is there for the sake of being entertaining for the viewer. It’s a rather simple minded show because really, it doesn’t need to be anything else. It just needs to find a way to entertain the viewer and it does that in my opinion. Now sure, it ain’t the best thing in the world since it never does anything amazing but it does do things right to make one of the more entertaining Isekais out there. I will commend it for doing something different instead of just doing, “Transported to another fantasy world but this time have the protagonist be a wrestler to save the world.” Despite having a lack of payoff for all of this, it is one of those shows that you can sit down, turn your brain off after a long day and watch a wrestler german suplex a princess.
My personal enjoyment: 7.5/10
Overall score: 6.7/10 Recommendation: Watch it
