Tensei shitara Ken deshita

Reincarnated as a Sword sounds like a boring gimmick, but it does a suprising job of mixing classic fantasy and isekai. The man in the sword is of course somewhat overpowered, but is stronger when wielded by an actual swordsman. As it so happens, a cute black catgirl finds him and he handicaps himself in a way in order to be her sword and protect her since she's actually pretty weak by herself. They have a nice, wholesome bond and the girl is very cute and starry-eyed like a kid in a candy shop. The action in the show happens to be pretty good too; there'san appropriate about of gore for monsters being chopped up with a greatsword. The skills and abilites are also very satisfying to see, especially in bigger fights with skilled opponents. It doesn't do anything crazy new in terms of isekais, video game menus and everything; but it has the formula down pat and the enjoyment level up. 8/10; solid show that I hope gets continued.

Imortant points: -Not an Isekai (the story goes - The gods took a soul from another world, wiped his memories and made him into a sword. If you remove the "another world" part, everything stays exactly the same because his memories were wiped clean anyway) - No fanservice, harem, echhi. At all. Fans of aforementioned genres should skip the title and head to the garbage dump where they belong. - Generic RPG fantasy world - elfs, gnomes, magic, skills, classes etc. - Extremely poor/dumb/lazy writing. The worldbuilding, characters, motivations, dialogue, well... everything really is just dumb. The core ideas are not bad, their execution is. - Itis Wholesome. The heroine and the sword are OP AF and nothing bad can/will happen to them. - The hero of the story is not really a sword but the catgirl I decided to watch it because of the "wholesome and nice story in a grim world' idea. "Getting stronger, overcoming challenges", "Brutal murder of terrible people" and other things that make you feel warm, nice and fuzzy inside. And all of it is indeed there. However! My god does the writing sucks. The sword is basically just what it is - a sword not a person. He does not have a personality. He has no memories. Do not have a name, no personal goal or any real human thoughts or responses. In Pathfinder RPG there was an adventurer whose mind was trapped in a weapon and he acted as a person. Here the first thing the sword thinks after getting a generic lvl up by killing monsters around him - It would be nice to find a master who will wield me. Yes he is just an intelligent sword. Nothing more. The world is DARK. Or rather it should be dark. Widespread slavery, genocide, various persecutions based on race or social standing, a world full of monsters who kill a lot of adventurers and regular people alike. And at the same time, it is all friendship, pink ponys and rainbow atmosphere. People do not behave in an appropriate manner in such a world. Some residents of this "grim world" have morals appropriate for a peaceful developed country of our day. Not the brutal world where they exist. It would take too long to list all things that could be improved by simply dedicating some effort to write a logically sound narrative without changing the main storyline. The bottom line - Extremely poor/dumb/lazy writing. If you can turn off your brain and you want a wholesome and nice story in a grim world. Then I can recommend this. For everyone else, it is a low-quality anime that you probably should skip.

Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken a.k.a That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. That's quite innovative for its time, plus Ranga as a huge but lovable doggo. Jidou Hanbaiki ni Umarekawatta Ore wa Meikyuu wo Samayou a.k.a Reborn as a Vending Machine, Now I Wander the Dungeon. Though the anime adaptation is coming soon, it's unironically the pinnacle of fiction that I'm so awaiting its eventual arrival. Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? a.k.a So I'm a Spider, So What?. Despite Millepensee's horrid-but-tolerable CGI, I can understand why the LN is highly praised for its originality. But what about Tensei shitara Ken Deshita a.k.a Reincarnated as a Sword?If I have to describe this show in the now oversaturated Isekai Reincarnation sub-genre, it is neither here nor there in the overall sense, only backed by wherever the plot that the original source novelist Yuu Tanaka wants to head towards directionally, and that direction is inconsistent at times. The best way to see this show is through reception, and as an example: ANN's Theron Martin, in reviewing Volume 1 of the LN, praised the character interactions with the action, and the little-above-average writing skills that showcase a somewhat limited world-building, but criticized the story's lack of originality, which is why you see those 3 sources right in the review's opening messages, being a copy-paste, jumbled mess-up of a concoction. The TL;DR is that Tensei shitara Ken Deshita is good in spots, but it's often a hit-and-miss affair, and it's down to your perception on how you are going to see this. And honestly, my review of the show could've just ended like this, but let's take a dive into what's really going on in this premise. The story (or the plot rather) is truly one of the epitomes of a lackluster setting of someone getting reincarnated from death in the real world, only to find themselves being an object of some strange kind. Could be a slime, could be a spider, heck, even a vending machine! But in this show, the typical MC instead becomes a sword that awaits its master while it does its own things to kill off time, defeating monsters and levelling up in OP-ness like who gives a shit about that. Eventually, it (or he) gets a new master in the form of a nameless Black Cat, said to be a beastkin group that has nothing but bad vibes and a reputation to boot, being the inferior race amongst all beastkin. After the sword repeatedly lunges towards its enemies slicing and gobbling up the equivalent of magic stones to store up mana for its self-sustained levelling up skills, it provides assistance to this Black Cat, shackled in slavery and torture to defend and attack against both monsters and its user's oppressors. And once it's freed from all of the torture that this Black Cat has been suffering for all her life, the nameless gets a name from it, and the student-teacher relationship of Fran and Teacher is born. And true to honest, I can live with this kind of setting as it presents a coming-of-age story with Fran as she deals with both her past and her present, proving that her lowly Black Cat race isn't one to be trifled with with the leading character being Fran alone to represent and stop the racism and bullying of her fellow tribespeople. What happens thereafter is just a string of coincidences. Both Fran and Teacher a.k.a Sword Dad have that relationship that feels like a daughter-father dynamic, it feels satisfying to see Fran really grow up from her shackles of life to one that's constantly growing under Sword Dad's guiding rhetoric to lead Fran the correct way and not just to learn of what if right or wrong, like say, upholding one's own justice, for example. Fran's dishevelled look in the beginning may look rough, but as she turns from the dirty and unpresentable to a more fitting representation of a confident adventurer and gaining the attention of people from all walks of life, it's there that she becomes more attractive and attention-seeking in both good and bad ways, plus Teacher who is able to help her discern what she lacks, and makes for a character that you earnestly want to root for, becoming stronger by the day. The somewhat large character cast that serves as Fran and Teacher's waypoints, I'll just take or leave it, except for the exceptional few. One of them is the Rank A half-elf adventurer Amanda, whose both an ace and a philanthropist to an orphanage, taking care of orphaned children in great numbers. And likewise, she's the mother character when it comes to Fran, though the Black Cat herself vehemently denies her affection from time to time. But regardless, Fran's living her life alone without her biological parents who've been killed by humans, and it wouldn't hurt to have parental figures tagging along for progress, as she drives towards her goal of evolution, a feat that no Black Cat has ever attempted before. Despite being produced by almost relatively the same staff team as Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu a.k.a Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy- over at studio C2C, the glaring similarities are obvious at first sight, with the only difference being of the source material's writing quality. And as mentioned earlier, novelist Yuu Tanaka's writing is a touch above average...though come to think of it, it feels like it consistently needs plot movers to ensure it's always heading in predictable fashions, which explains the rather hit-and-miss feels of the show overall. But when you examine the production quality on its own, C2C has done a respectable job maintaining the feel of the LN that's translated onto the small screen. And for that, it gets a commendable pass. The OST, depending on your taste of music, can also be hit-and-miss, as per the case for Sword Isekai here. For the yearly seasoned anime watchers, you will come to know that this is not the first time that both Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets and Maon Kurosaki are paired together for a rockafella-like OST. In fact, both music artistes made their debut all the way back in 2010 with Highschool of the Dead, and in the years since, have made a name for themselves right in their own respective genres. For the former, having their songs be titled after respective anime that they have made their appearance on is the unique signature, and Sword Isekai is no different with the standard-ish J rock n' pop that the rock band is known for being decent in spots in every regard. For Maon Kurosaki, the last few years haven't really been so kind to her, with the last major hit being Toaru Majutsu no Index III's OP themes back in Fall 2018. And now with her ED theme song, she has finally hit her stride to produce yet another banger of a song that showcases Fran's journey from slavery to redemption. Really though, I have grown to love the ED more than the OP, that's for damn sure. At the end of the day, we should already acknowledge that we're in a time where most of the Isekai sub-genres have been explored for seasons now, most being borrowed ideas with a few unique ones that stand out. Ultimately, it does and doesn't matter if your work sounds generic, all it matters is if the execution holds up to be worth of its enjoyability and recommendation. For Sword Isekai, I can't help but be like Humpty Dumpty sitting on the fence about what is/are good and bad about it, and my TL;DR is that while the main characters i.e. Fran and Teacher are a treat to enjoy, the rest of it just comes off as uninspired, something that we the audience have been a dozen times over, and are practically begging to see what makes this show (and its source material) stand out, only to face an eke of disappointment that the simple fact is practically in your face: a generic title that can be explored much, but severely limited by its potential for tendencies around the "Isekai Reincarnation" sub-genre. If you're the kind of person who is willing to take a sacrifce for some enjoyment, I would say: Go for it. Sword Isekai is good, but not great. But if you're otherwise, then this show is going to bore you to tears by the time you're getting around the halfway mark. It's such a shame that the potential is squandered to stick to tried-and-true methodologies that work best, and while this does not look like an ugly duckling, it certainly is no swan.

Reincarnated as a Sword Most people probably would get turned off by "reincarnated..." on the title alone But honestly, this is one of those isekai that actually telling a complete story, with no your usual Edgy teenager self-insert protagonist and didn't betray their premises by turning the Sword into human so you can relate (Looking at you, slime) Because, well this anime basically Shounen wrapped in the isekai package Dead parent? gluttonous MC? start as underdog? Owning a unique power? yep you got it [Animation] 9/10 Hands down one of those studio you could see their effort being fateful and try their hardest to make the animation as well as they candespite the budget. The color palettes and overall animation are very standard but when it comes to action scene You can see the effort they put into it from the choreography, cinematography, the composition, the cut, pacing, and overall tones On top that, they even putt an effort to make a mob like goblin have individual design and looks different from one another. The use of CGI also very minimal which is quite a surprise considering Shishou design make him quite hard to animate. [Story] 8/10 The story is your typical isekai plot, dude died and reincarnated to another world, but this time his new body is a sword. But unlike most isekai, he's basically a support character for the female protagonist and father figure of her instead being the main focus. Meet Fran, a girl from the black cat tribe who lost her parent from an ambush of a slave trader and now living most of her live as slaves. Until one day, when her caravan attacked by a monster in desperation, she met a talking sword and became its owner. She later name the sword "Shishou" and make a pact that she'll become stronger in order to evolved carrying her parent's dream and eventually prove that her race are not weak. And so it begins, the journey between father (sword) and daughter (cat) as an adventurer throughout the world [Character] 10/10 As I mentioned before, there's essentially 2 main protagonists on this anime "Fran and Shishou". The dynamic between them are really cute, basically a father-daughter duo who keep looking out for each other throughout the story. Fran is a very stoic girl and most of the time seems expressionless, a lot of times she act immature as most 12 years old girl would act, exicted for a new thing, and genuinely have a good heart. Although she's snapped quite easily, especially if someone insults her race for being weak. And there's where Shishou step in as her father figures, he teaches about lots of things, telling her the right thing to do, scold her for her misdeed and mistakes, and cook her warm food. Shishou body is a sword, but he able to use telekinesis or manifest a ghost hand to do chores or just aid frame for her everyday life, Fran puts her trust 100% over Shishou and respect him a lot. Even the side-character is not overbearing or annoying or over praise the MC and tell us every second how godly they are like you see on most isekai Nell the guild receptionist is very respectable woman and a hardworking one with habbit to badmouth the people annoyed her, she's one of the people Fran saw as allies Guild master always looks calm but actually suffering from headache from the trouble fran giving him Garrus the Blacksmith who provides most of grain equipment is teaching both Shishou and Fran about the world Donadrond the examiner a hard boiled Oni who approved Fran potential, but didn't hesitate to chew her if she's being reckless Amanda the Mysterious half-elf who's seems have her favoritism toward MC Spearbro and the gang an absolute comedic relief, and many more [Overall] 9/10 This is probably one of isekai that's actually good and didn't make me angry for how stupid thing would turn later on. There's no harem, there's no self-insert MC you need to relate, the character interaction is always fun and interesting, the MC is not overpowering and have to climb really hard to overcome their problem, and Fran is just top notch Cutie

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