Here it is, the series that EVERYONE and their Mothers HATE ON for NO valid reason other than to simply hate on. Let me tell you its all lies! (Disclaimer: I haven't heard anyone say anything in regards to the LN/Manga just an fyi so far as I can tell its simply hated on for NO reason) I'll be reviewing season 1 here and not mentioning spoilers except one slight spoiler in the Harem, Character Development and Is the MC OP and can't be beat? parts of the review however this spoiler is the same spoiler so only one spoiler and not three and even then I'm not spoiling the whole thing and is needed to better review the anime and to help you form an opinion on if to watch or not. With that said let's get onto the review and hopefully my review will convince you to give this anime a try
So, in order to review this I have to (sadly) address the hate (that shouldn't even be here...) so let's start by addressing YOUR fears and concerns in order
CGI
With the exception of the Orcs or Giants I think it was, the CGI looks GOOD here, in some cases I'd argue PERFECT even. It doesn't look bad in the slightest and works great for the battles and anime. The CGI for the Orcs or Giants (whatever it was) for SURE looks bad and as a result, out of place compared to every other species' CGI but thankfully these aren't seen that often. Just remember I said the CGI looks good, not great and perfect doesn't mean great in this sense either as am talking about for the scenario and BG and such when i say perfect in some cases
Harem/Isekai/Commonly Used Tropes?
In reverse, the tropes have twists and turns you don't normally see, yes some of these tropes ARE still here and without the twists and turns but they never wear out their welcome. Now let's look at the themes of Isekai and Harem, both do things very differently from what MOST anime with those themes do. In the case of Isekai, we don't get many like this one, the anime is a mix of comedy and somewhat dark story and the MC himself being the way he is, most would go down a VERY different route having been through what Hajime has been through
The anime doesn't focus much on the Isekai aspect besides 1 aspect because that is what Hajime's goal is and what the anime focuses on but in a great way and not boring in the least. That's not to say it disregards the theme because it doesn't, but its not the focus and only comes up now and again since the focus is on Hajime's goal and while that relates to the theme of Isekai, how the story does this doesn't beat you over the head to remind you this is why they're doing it every second or anything like that. What am saying here is it tells it in a natural way whenever it comes up
The Harem aspect is also equally different as I want you to ask yourself these questions. "How many Harem anime have the MC lead confess their love and also straight up no room for doubt telling the other girls he only loves the girl he confessed too?" Now ask yourself how MANY of those harem anime also have the ecchi genre and rely on old tropes to tell a story? For the first question your answer is likely either not many or none that you have seen. For the second question your answer is likely countless or most that you've seen. Notice how Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest doesn't even have the ecchi genre? (At the time of this review anyway, just in case MAL adds it later) Yes it has some perverted stuff but that's not the focus
Character Development
Since I cannot go into spoilers, I'll only talk about Hajime at the start/a bit into the anime but again no spoilers will be mentioned and for the rest of the characters I'll just say their development is fair considering the story as a whole. For Hajime, from episode 1 he was betrayed, a class mate tried to kill him and ALMOST succeeded. However, even though he survived he's now on a dangerous floor and powerful monsters that can easily kill him. It's at this point most in his shoes would experience the same thing of their fight or flight survival instinct kicking in. Basically when you're facing a dangerous situation or death and have the option to fight or run, you will typically pick one or the other, often times reactionary without even thinking. (The other options are frozen typically out of fear or giving up) and when you're in the sitch Hajime finds himself in, it's easy to turn a blind eye to what he goes through and not sympathize but you shouldn't ignore what he is going through. In some cases a sitch is SO BAD for someone it can literally CHANGE who they are! We hear and see this change in him quickly from our perspective but keep in mind that for Hajime this is happening over who knows how many hours and days. Eventually, someone might even snap which could also change someone and that's exactly what happens to Hajime here. The characters he meets are what will help him to grow as a character but how and in what ways might surprise you and I'll let you see for yourself. The point here is, even though it was short for us and easy to shrug off, you shouldn't do so. And if you think this doesn't serve a purpose then I want you to look to who he calls his lover, this is another point to why he goes from Common Place to World's Strongest (The title of the anime makes more sense if you watch the prequel to season 1)
Is the MC OP and can't be beat?
No, despite the title of the anime and him being VERY strong, he can die and he still has room to grow both physically and as a character. Same deal for his allies and ofc, his lover too
Time Skips/Skipped Content?
Season 1 and 2 both have this, where the less important points are shown briefly so you get the idea of what is happening and then it skips it to not draw out the anime and KILL the pacing. Never ONCE did this confuse me at ANY point nor was this bad as it actually helped to make the anime much better. I do not know if this is shown or told in the Manga/LN though but let me say this, its at its worst in the first few episodes of season 1 and who wants to see someone go through a long period of time (to say the least cus spoilers) doing the same thing with the same dark colors and background (They're in a Dungeon of sorts called a Great Labyrinth to give you an idea). But by showing JUST ENOUGH of the content that matters that isn't important, they can get to the parts and fights that matter where character development might happen, a better fight may happen or both and more
This also helps to further the plot along. There will still be some time skips after the first few episodes but not nearly as bad or as many minus one or two instances but and again, this doesn't ruin the anime and only makes it better and believe me, I DON'T say that lightly as I am not fond of time skips either but given the story and what parts the anime showed briefly before skipping to the next part, it works perfectly and I CANNOT stress how impressive that is and how much it really helped to make the anime better. So don't go into it thinking it'll hurt it because it actually makes it better and again, it gets better after the first few episodes
As for skipped content from the LN/Manga, I don't know if the anime skipped any, though whatever stuff it does skip in the anime it does show and you know what's happening and are able to follow along with ease and I can say that if there is any skipped content from the LN/Manga, it didn't hurt the story or enjoyment, least with everything that's currently out at the time of this review for this anime series
Story concerns and I heard the anime is trash, worst anime ever etc. and just LOOK at that LOW rating D:
I heard the same and saw that low rating for season 1 too and then some. I also saw season 2 has a higher rating. Currently Season 1 is rated a 6 and season 2 a rating of 7 as the over all rating for both seasons there. Let me remind you that a rating by and of itself does NOT mean something is bad or average, or great or a master piece etc. There are MANY factors for why someone rates something the rating they rate it, and sadly "going with the crowd' and "hating on something just to hate on it" and just being a troll and being insincere and so on are all reasons that some, or a lot, also rate something, whether high or low
I said it at the start and I MEANT IT. This anime is hated on SOLELY for the sake of it. I have seen 327.6 Days worth of anime at the time of this review, if we were going by my mean score (currently 6.96) that'd mean the anime I've seen wasn't worth my time and is under average but that's FAR from the case. Likewise just because I've seen so much anime does not make me an expert on it, but from what I have seen, out of ALL the countless anime I have seen and stories in Japanese video games and the occasional manga and LN, I can say with CERTAINTY that, Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest is FAR from trash, FAR from worst anime etc. that you have heard
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest tells a story with a some twists and turns, some predictable, some not, some moments small, big and minor (Think Slice of Life moments for the minor stuff) will likely catch you off guard, happened to me at least 2 times with the minor stuff and some of the story portions of the anime I did not see coming. Sure its no master piece (How many stories actually are?) and sure its not going to be BEST ANIME EVER SO GOOD, but it IS a very good anime. I do not rate an anime an 8.0 lightly, most get a 7 or below with some getting a 7.5 at the next highest. For me to rate an anime an 8.0 or above means its really good. It may take some time to get really good, but that doesn't change the fact that for me, Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest is an 8.0 for both season 1 and season 2. No bias here or anything either, you can see what I rated the specials and OVAs and such and even the prequel to the first season which I watched after finishing season 1 fyi (Hint I rated those lower and you can watch the prequel to season 1 before season 1, though its not needed but if you enjoyed season 1 do give it a watch if you haven't already) and one of those specials has a diary which tells us a side of a certain character for what she experienced in season 1 that I really enjoyed getting to know as it wasn't told in season 1 and you'd never know that about her unless you watched that episode so that episode is worth checking out too
So, here we are, we're at the end of the review and you're now at a cross roads, you can choose to watch this anime, or not. It's up to you, but I really encourage you that if you want to watch this anime, don't hesitate, give it a try. I almost didn't, partly because I've seen so many anime already and I just wanted a good anime to watch and the other part because I listened to the majority that loved to hate on this series for NO reason other than to hate on it and also because I saw the low score for season 1. If I'd not listened to my own heart, to my very soul and being that called out to me saying "Hey, I might actually like this, looks good" and instead listened to those saying untrue and negative things about it and that oh so important (Sarcasm there btw) over all score for season 1, I'd have missed out on a pretty good anime that I'd really enjoy. I am glad I listened to myself and I hope this review helps YOU to listen to yourself too, whether that's you don't wanna watch it or you do want to watch it, hope it helped! And likewise I hope you enjoy this anime should you choose to watch it :)
