Shinmai Renkinjutsushi no Tenpo Keiei

Wow, the new Atelier game is looking great! Oh wait...wrong material, we're talking about the anime version if there ever was an imitation of it, but in all the good and bad ways possible...which was just a plain ol' fantasy snoozefest. It's almost a given that the SoL a.k.a Slice-of-Life genre can do no wrong, only except that the other genres overshadow it to showcase a bunch of features that ultimately weigh to nothing. And this is such the case for novelist Mizuho Itsuki's series that is Shinmai Renkinjutsushi no Tenpo Keiei a.k.a Management of a Novice Alchemist. As one of the many stories under theShousetsuka ni Narou a.k.a Syosetu banner, this does feel like a stereotypical adventure-cum-fantasy setting that there're so many copycats like it floating around, but how this source material stands out enough to get an anime is just beyond me, because let's be honest: this series is just the turn-off-your-brain kind of comfy show, where you need not question the story/plot, but just enjoy as it is: a CGDCT-like (but is not marketed as one) coming-of-age story. Picture yourself as a kid standing between your parents, dreaming of all the things that you want to become when you grow up, all from a sweet childhood memory. And now, enhance that image when all these things are ripped away from you, feeling dejected about what the future holds, only to be picked up by a stranger that teaches you to be his/her apprentice in a craft to help mold your future. This is the female MC Sarasa Feed in a nutshell, under the tutelage of her teacher, the masterclass alchemist Ophelia Millis. Once an orphaned kid, and now on the road to become just like Ophelia, Sarasa works hard to achieve that dream, only to realize that the journey to becoming a masterclass alchemist is not as easy as it seems. With that in mind, Ophelia issues her a tall order: as a graduate from the alchemist academy, the starting point is by opening up shop and establishing a business of her very own. Only except that the shop's location is way out of town, and having little resources to work with, the learning lesson is that everyone has to start from somewhere, and Sarasa literally starts from scratch. Oh, did I forget to mention that Sarasa is an OP character? Bet you didn't see that coming. For the most part, the show does what you expect: a largely simple slice-of-life show where anything and everything can happen since there's essentially no story or plot to begin with (except the MC's "becoming a masterclass alchemist" part), and that by itself can feel mundane, especially when the characters aren't the particularly strong suit to begin with. Sarasa's helpers of the young Lorea, along with daughters Iris Lotze and Kate Starven of noble stature are a fun bunch to watch, but while I get this fuzzy feeling of just living life together, as time passes, it changes from fun to pure toleration of the sobering truth that there really isn't anything much to the characters either. Most of the "cast" are fellow villagers making appearances every now and then amongst the 4 girls and helping them with the alchemist business. And as stereotypical as this is, it just lacks excitement and misses the "oomph" factor of what defines a work, though in Mizuho Itsuki's case, the novelist is content in staying true to the bread-and-butter ideas of the burn-in of daily life, which is a decent idea, but shows the lack of creativity to spice the source material, leaving it devoid of any staying power. If the show hasn't got a word to describe itself, it would be "standout". The more I learn about studio ENGI working on series that it was chosen to adapt, it has always been a very inconsistent record of adaptations, from good stories stymied by bad animation or bad stories with just a heck little care put into it, and I would say that the latter is pretty much true about the show. I wasn't hoping much from director Hiroshi Ikehata anyways, so this show was certainly a dud in the most average way possible, and not a good one, even though it is enjoyable in spots, provided it's constantly like a bait-and-switch in the on-off position. The OST is also average as heck, with Aguri Oonishi's OP and Nanaka Suwa's ED just sounding kinda repetitive and nice respectively. Both are decent songs though, and nothing more else to add to the roster. There're 2 camps for this: the recommendation goes for the light-hearted setting and the calm and collectiveness that it emits, or the mixed reception that aside from the good points of both the show and its source material, there exists a hollow and empty shell to provide more ideas, that weren't explored on. As for me, I just found the show mildly enjoyable, that slowly was subjected to boredom. Maybe you have a different experience than I did, and that's the subtle diversity of our perceptions. But if there is one certain thing that this show has it going for: the 3-episode rule definitely applies here, and your mileage will vary.