HA! Ha ha, HAHAHAH!
Last Seen: Episode 1
Summary: (Paraphrased from MyAnimeList.net)
Stories of old tell of four otherworldly heroes, wielding the sword, spear, bow, and shield who defended the land from wave after wave of calamity. With the fate of the world in balance, the kingdom of Melromarc summons these legendary figures: in modern-day Japan, the call is answered, and the unwitting heroes are transported to this fantasy universe.
Thrust into Melromarc and given the title of "Shield Hero," Casual Otaku Naofumi Iwatani is labeled the weakest due to his lack of offensive capability and apparent inexperience, not having any video game experience like his fellow summoned heroes. When the heroes part ways to start their journeys, he only has one willing companion: the beautiful Myne.
However, things soon go horribly astray, and Naofumi is not only branded a criminal, but made an outcast of society, with no money or possessions to his name, and no one, and nothing, on his side, but the Shield he cannot remove that brands him as the Shield Hero.
Summary: (Paraphrased from MyAnimeList.net)
Stories of old tell of four otherworldly heroes, wielding the sword, spear, bow, and shield who defended the land from wave after wave of calamity. With the fate of the world in balance, the kingdom of Melromarc summons these legendary figures: in modern-day Japan, the call is answered, and the unwitting heroes are transported to this fantasy universe.
Thrust into Melromarc and given the title of "Shield Hero," Casual Otaku Naofumi Iwatani is labeled the weakest due to his lack of offensive capability and apparent inexperience, not having any video game experience like his fellow summoned heroes. When the heroes part ways to start their journeys, he only has one willing companion: the beautiful Myne.
However, things soon go horribly astray, and Naofumi is not only branded a criminal, but made an outcast of society, with no money or possessions to his name, and no one, and nothing, on his side, but the Shield he cannot remove that brands him as the Shield Hero.
With hatred filling his heart, he sets out alone, vowing
vengeance against those who wronged him.
First Impression: Standard fantasy material...with a lot of attention to detail. Oh. OH. OH SHIT. Ooh, that got very bad ass, very fast!
My Opinion: This show got amazing, and absolutely enthralling, fast. ... Well, relatively fast. I think it was the studios #1 decision they'll make this year, to have made the first episode double length. If all we had gotten was those first 20 or so minutes of it, I wouldn't have cared much at all. It's attention to detail would have caught my attention, but I wouldn't be literally writhing inside my skull like I am right now, and have been since watching it, with an insatiable craving to see the next episode. That is exceptionally rare these days for me. I love this feeling. The need to see more, to know more, to understand more!
So far, the only complaint I have is a nit-pick, about how fast Naofumi adapts to and begins improvising in his critical state. I mean, there's absolutely plausibility for how he goes about things, and everything he's doing at that point, it just feels like it happened too fast. I'd chock this up to the anime speeding things up. I'd be willing to bet money that a few more transitional mental states occurred in the source material, and some brainstorming to come up with the absolutely fantastic ideas he uses in the later half of the episode.
It goes without saying that this show gets an astoundingly glowing
Recommendationfor its first episode, no strings attached!
First Impression: Standard fantasy material...with a lot of attention to detail. Oh. OH. OH SHIT. Ooh, that got very bad ass, very fast!
My Opinion: This show got amazing, and absolutely enthralling, fast. ... Well, relatively fast. I think it was the studios #1 decision they'll make this year, to have made the first episode double length. If all we had gotten was those first 20 or so minutes of it, I wouldn't have cared much at all. It's attention to detail would have caught my attention, but I wouldn't be literally writhing inside my skull like I am right now, and have been since watching it, with an insatiable craving to see the next episode. That is exceptionally rare these days for me. I love this feeling. The need to see more, to know more, to understand more!
So far, the only complaint I have is a nit-pick, about how fast Naofumi adapts to and begins improvising in his critical state. I mean, there's absolutely plausibility for how he goes about things, and everything he's doing at that point, it just feels like it happened too fast. I'd chock this up to the anime speeding things up. I'd be willing to bet money that a few more transitional mental states occurred in the source material, and some brainstorming to come up with the absolutely fantastic ideas he uses in the later half of the episode.
It goes without saying that this show gets an astoundingly glowing
Recommendationfor its first episode, no strings attached!
[Aside]
On a side note...I've been seeing White Fox Studio's name and logo plastered in the credits of a lot of the anime I've been loving in recent years... This time around, it looks like it's just some staff that was borrowed, but I think I'm going to, for the first time in my life, actually pay attention to and try to follow something/someone's work, instead of exclusively hunting on a unit-by-unit basis like I usually do with books, games, and shows. The only other entity to ever receive my attention like this has been From Software, and I've not regretted that yet. Here's to hoping I don't regret this one either!
