The idea of parodying isekai RPGs was novel few years ago. However, after the release of countless light novels and anime that have parodied/attempted to parody isekai, this concept has become painfully dull as practically everything about the genre has already been covered. Originally a light novel by Natsume Akatsuki—the creator of KonoSuba—Sentouin, Hakenshimasu! is essentially just another unremarkable isekai parody. I know what most of you are probably thinking. Given the fact that the original light novel is written by Akatsuki, we should be expecting another side-splitting comedy anime, but in reality, Sentouin only dreams to be as funny as KonoSuba.
KonoSuba was one of the first anime to parody the then ubiquitous isekai genre, which is mainly why it had become so popular. However, no matter how distinctive the set-up was, what primarily made KonoSuba so enjoyable were its flawed yet exceptionally hilarious characters. The comedy of Sentouin is dependent on its characters as well, but the difference is that most of the characters aren't nearly as likeable and entertaining; they are more or less the watered-down versions of KonoSuba characters.
Sentouin's comedy is mostly hit-or-miss. Most of the jokes involve sexual matters in one way or another, which I mostly don't find funny. I won't pretend that I'm a "mature" guy who doesn't laugh at lewd jokes, because I'm not. Gintama is one of my favorite anime of all time and it contains a fair amount of sexual humor too, but that's far from what essentializes the series (the same could be said about KonoSuba). In contrast, one of Sentouin's essential parts IS the lewd comedy; taking out the lewd jokes would be like removing one half of the entire show. To make it worse, the hackneyed lewd humor crosses the line multiple times in the series, which includes the protagonist Agent Six shamelessly groping the female characters, pulling down their panties, forcing them to do lewd things, etc.
This also brings up the topic of using repulsive fanservice as a means of "comedy".
KonoSuba isn't entirely immune to this either, but the issue of fanservice is far, far more prevalent in Sentouin. There are several distasteful panty and cleavage shots in the show that serve no purpose besides appeasing the horny fanbase. This doesn't mean I can't stand "meaningless" fanservice at all. I'm a fairly big fan of the To LOVE-Ru franchise (Darkness, specifically) which is full of pointless and over-the-top ecchi scenes. However, when most of the fanservice is followed by a creepy guy making crude and despicable jokes about it, I think it's reasonable to display some concern.
A lot of people seem to liken Agent Six to Kazuma, but these two aren't the same. Despite his perverted tendencies, Kazuma is surprisingly a very well-written character. Unlike most of his peers who are protected by the mythical object known only as "plot armor", he actually uses his brain to solve his problems. Deceptively clever and knowledgeable, Kazuma is the main (or perhaps the only) reason why his practically dysfunctional group manages to do something useful sometimes. His witty remarks, sneaky tactics and ingenious schemes are one of the prime aspects that make KonoSuba so entertaining.
On the other hand of the spectrum, Six's essential character trait is the fact that he is a giant creep. He is pretty much Kazuma—if Kazuma was made thousand times more stupid and creepy. In the anime, Agent Six himself doesn't do anything useful for the most part (it's usually Alice who does the actual work) and instead causes trouble for others on a regular basis. Most of his jokes aren't even remotely funny. Rather, his creepy and idiotic behavior only makes you annoyed and uncomfortable. Despite that, like every harem protagonist, all the girls surrounding him seem to find him charming for some reason.
Fans will probably say Six does these awful things only so that he could gain evil points, but that's a complete lie. Pretty much all of the times, Six actually enjoys the detestable stuff that he does. Although there are a couple of occasions where he does become remorseful for his actions, they are few and far between. And even if I disregard that argument, integrating evil points into the story is still just a convenient plot device to include fanservice as much as possible; it doesn't rationalize the sexual harassment whatsoever.
Luckily, not everything about Six is irredeemable. There are times when he can actually be a nice person. Take a scene from episode 7 for example, where he found Mokemoke adorable and wanted to be friends with it—tell me that wasn't heartwarming! (although the ending is morbid) Moments like this are one of Six's few saving graces and probably one of the best parts of the entire show. Unfortunately, when you take his countless loathsome deeds into consideration, you realize that Six ultimately doesn't amount to much more than a scumbag. And no, being self-aware about it doesn't help.
Most of the other significant characters—which are all females—primarily exist for being the unfortunate victims of fanservice and Six's sexual harassment. They aren't as unlikeable as Six to be fair, but that isn't really saying much. Similarly to KonoSuba, pretty much the entire cast of Sentouin is extremely flawed, but whereas the former uses the imperfections of its characters to make them more endearing, in the latter it mostly makes them annoying. Alice is probably the most likeable of all the characters; her clever and deadpan personality is a nice change of pace from the usual idiocy.
In terms of narrative, it wouldn't be too far-off to say that there's absolutely nothing remarkable about Sentouin. It blatantly rehashes the fundamental tropes of most isekai parodies and doesn't bother to add much of its own flavor. The obvious lack of originality makes the show kinda tiring to watch at times, especially when you consider the fact that there are already a multitude of anime that are based on the same basic concept and follow the same story patterns. Another apparent flaw regarding the storyline, and possibly where Sentouin falters the most, is how the show handles its serious side of things.
Despite mainly being a comedy anime, Sentouin does contain a reasonable amount of drama, and I honestly wouldn't have any issues with it—if it wasn't this poorly written. There is an overarching plot in Sentouin that revolves around the conflict between humans and demons, and it's all hastily put together and doesn't mesh well with the comedy. I get it, the plot is only supposed to be a side-dish here, not the entire thing. But if you think putting in the right amount of ingredients is too much of a hassle, why did you bother to give me the side-dish to begin with?
During dramatic scenes, the characters suddenly become attached to each other for the sake of plot progression. When something serious is about to happen, they suddenly act like they have always been best friends. But here's the problem—they never had any proper bond in the first place. The anime does pretty much nothing to flesh out its characters in a meaningful way, so dramatic scenes like this can only be seen as awkward and pointless. I mean, tell me how I'm supposed to think those guys are being serious when one of them literally pulled down a girl's panties few minutes ago.
Amidst all this chaos and stupidity, Sentouin does have a few morsels to offer. One of the plus points of the show is that it's at least aware of its own inanity, and while that's not necessarily always a good thing, I can still appreciate the honesty (as odd as that sounds). There's something quite exasperating about watching a show that is being ostentatious with its comedy, and Sentouin fortunately isn't guity in that regard. Of course, self-awareness can only carry a show so far, but at the very least, it made Sentouin a tolerable experience.
The comedy doesn't always disappoint. Akatsuki has proved in KonoSuba that he is a talented author, and his brilliance occasionally shines in Sentouin as well. Character dynamic is one of the key things to consider when you are making an anime (especially if it's a genre like comedy that primarily relies on characters), and while the characters of Sentouin generally share a rather feeble bond, their dynamic during comedy scenes is surprisingly quite strong. Unexpectedly, there are some well thought-out jokes here and there that don't shamelessly resort to fanservice, and utilitize the characters' dynamic instead for which they are actually clever and funny.
Remember that I said the characters are annoying? Well, that's not always true. Like Agent Six, all of them have their own great moments. There are occasional moments in the anime when their charm shines through; especially when they are together, they are able to complement each other pretty well. Because of their strong dynamic, sometimes it's quite entertaining to watch the characters simply goof around. From time to time, they can be reminiscent of KonoSuba's quartet, reflecting the latter's usual charisma and excellent compatibility, which should be a plus point for KonoSuba fans like me.
The animation of Sentouin is actually pretty good, although nothing particularly remarkable or worth taking notice of. The character designs are obviously designed to be attractive, and attractive they are. If you simply want some cute girls to gawk at, Sentouin should be able to meet your expectations quite easily. On a side note, the costumes of the characters are fairly varied and distinct; I have to give the artist a pat on the back for that. The background designs aren't half-bad, either.
Like most light novel adaptations, the soundtrack of Sentouin mainly consists of generic upbeat tracks. That doesn't mean that it's bad though; it actually works well with the lively nature of the anime. The dramatic scenes, however, tend to be rather unengaging since they are mostly accompanied with trite and overly sentimental music. The opening "No. 6" is a pretty generic J-pop song that has some annoying parts, but it does suit the vibrant style of the anime. The ending song "Home Sweet Home" is quite catchy and has a soothing vibe to it, which I personally find very charming (Alice's voice is amazing).
Sentouin isn't entirely meritless. Although I have been fairly critical about the show in this review, I have also said that I did enjoy it. Sure, the comedy is mostly trite and inane, but I have to admit that it still made me laugh sometimes. Sure, the characters are generic and can be pretty annoying, but I have to admit that they still kept me somewhat entertained. For what it's worth, Sentouin can be quite enjoyable despite all its flaws, so I found it a bit difficult to actually dislike the show.
But then again, I would have had a much better time watching KonoSuba instead.
