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| Watched the hour long premiere as part of crunchyroll’s sneak peak event tonight! I’ve actually had the first book for two years now and totally forgot about it because I buy stuff and never get around to reading it lol. As expected of Mushoku Tensei staff, the show looks absolutely incredible and the animation is spectacular. Definitely fits the big screen well, but until Xylo meets Kivia towards the end, I thought it was excruciatingly slow and more style than substance. Once the fight against the demon lord starts, I was locked in. The fight was dope, a thank you from Kivia would’ve been nice tho after getting her ass saved!! The post credits scene has me craving much more so I’ll be reading volume 1 asap. Other than the pacing being a little slow, I felt like the OST wasn’t that great for some of the big hype moments like Xylo making the contract and the final attack on the demon lord. LOVE his sentencing scene. Pissed me off because we know he was set up by those people at the church, but why? Are they working with the demon lords? I also think the way the monsters are made with demon blight in this is so cool. As soon as the demon lords touch the ground they infect everything in that vicinity. Inverting the concept of heroes and making them slaves who are despised is also really cool. Author has some cool concepts here. |
Marinate1016Dec 15, 2025 7:44 PM
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| The first episode being an hour long and it being a fantasy reminds me of Clevatess. The dialogue at the beginning was unnatural and for exposition when Xylo told Dotta how heroes are brought back by ripping their souls from hell and putting them back into a body and it causes them to lose their memories and sense of self. Though I suppose it could be justified with Dotta losing his memory. Blonde and red eyed loli. Feel like I've seen it before. Dotta doesn't understand his situation asking, "Shouldn't this be the part where they thank us?" Lots of explosions for a fantasy. Teoretta's miracle is Unlimited Blade Works. They should not have revealed why Xylos killed a goddess in the first episode nevertheless that he did at all. Both viewers and Teoretta would be wondering what his crime was and why he hates goddesses. It would be a clue that those two things are related and it would be revealed in the middle of the anime that he killed a goddess. Then, there would be the question of why which would be answered at the end. |
Weeb_IsekaiJan 3, 6:32 PM
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Reply to Desmascarado
Judging by the opinions in the comments above, it seems I was completely right about how the popular reaction to the anime would be. lol
Clarifying a few things: first, yes, the dialogue between Xylo and Dotta at the beginning is extremely expository (I already mentioned this in my analysis of volume 1).
This is due to the fact that in the light novel, the scene between Xylo and Dotta is the first chapter (I also mentioned this in a forum about the theory that the beginning of the anime is original), and I was correct, since the first three minutes are original to the anime. However, I'm sure the conversation between Xylo and Dotta will be less expository than it was in the light novel.
Second, yes, it was expected that the episode's pace would be slow and that it would have more animation than content.
The justification for this is very simple: they transformed an arc that could be adapted in 25/30 minutes into a 60-minute uninterrupted episode.
I can't wait to have one of the BEST experiences of my life watching an anime.
HYPE!!!
Clarifying a few things: first, yes, the dialogue between Xylo and Dotta at the beginning is extremely expository (I already mentioned this in my analysis of volume 1).
This is due to the fact that in the light novel, the scene between Xylo and Dotta is the first chapter (I also mentioned this in a forum about the theory that the beginning of the anime is original), and I was correct, since the first three minutes are original to the anime. However, I'm sure the conversation between Xylo and Dotta will be less expository than it was in the light novel.
Second, yes, it was expected that the episode's pace would be slow and that it would have more animation than content.
The justification for this is very simple: they transformed an arc that could be adapted in 25/30 minutes into a 60-minute uninterrupted episode.
I can't wait to have one of the BEST experiences of my life watching an anime.
HYPE!!!
| @Desmascarado though I thought that their conversation was unnatural, it is understandable that the dialogue between Xylo and Dotta is expository. Every story has exposition at the beginning. It's plot structure. |
Weeb_IsekaiDec 16, 2025 7:30 AM
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Reply to Desmascarado
@Weeb_Isekai The only justification the author could have for this dialogue is the fact that dotta is the newest sentenced to be a hero. Furthermore, whether heroes work together or separately depends on the mission they are undertaking, so it makes sense that dotta has no idea what's going on, while Xylo, having battle experience, understands the overall situation.
| @Desmascarado spoilers. |
|
Desmascarado said: @Marinate1016 "The post credits scene has me craving much more so I’ll be reading volume 1 asap." After reading volume 1, tell me what you thought, regardless of whether you had a good or bad impression. Bet, hoping to get to it in the next week or so. Got some other stuff to read first |
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Reply to Desmascarado
@Weeb_Isekai (spoilers) only if you haven't watched episode 1 and we're in a forum about episode 1...
| @Desmascarado it was not in episode 1 that Dotta is the newest sentenced to be a hero or how heroes operate. Your other post about King Norgalle appearing next episode is also a spoiler. |
Weeb_IsekaiDec 16, 2025 11:51 AM
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Desmascarado said: @Marinate1016 said:"I felt like the OST wasn’t that great" Are you referring to the sound composition or to how and where the OST was placed...? I ask this because there is a difference between the quality of the OST and a scene where the OST isn't well placed. Besides, judging by everything that has been shown so far, the Yuusha Kei soundtrack seems to be very good. You can like the soundtrack if you want, I just don’t think it’s good. What is buddy arguing about lmao |
Marinate1016Dec 16, 2025 2:18 PM
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| I mean yeah, when everyone’s already hating on me, I’m not about to give them more ammo with them catching me with a loli that wants headpats and praises lol. That said, this one honestly surprised me. Even with some rough CG here and there, the OST is insane, straight up Hans Zimmer level. I was genuinely blown away, especially during the action. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. The best parts were him saving the guys while going down the mountain, the final fight, and the scene where he climbs the monster. That moment with Xylo having that realization in the smoke was great too. The plot already looks really interesting, very Shield Hero season 1–esque, which I’m a big fan of, so I’m fully hooked. So yeah, no surprise, the show with a loli asking for headpats and praise is pure kino. |
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| What an amazing first episode! The high production value deserved all the praise and the story, lore and characters set up is pretty good. Looking forward to learning more about Xylo and Teoritta's cute antics.  |
MainnusJan 3, 6:28 AM
| It's only the beginning of the year and we already have a potential contender for anime of the year, if it continues on this path of course. |
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| Surprisingly neat premiere. A lot of action right off the bat to get people's attention. The character designs, visuals, art/animation style is very similar to Mushoku tensei while the later obviously still having better animation but this is also good. I don't mind the monsters being cgi, there are way too many after all. Idk how much this'll fare in terms of writing but interested for now. Battle slaves are called heroes here and ofc they are discriminated. The faeries/demons look funny instead of gross. The demon lord is interesting though. He can turn everything into pawns it seems. Even goddesses which leads me to believe the goddesses are human made or has something to do with demons. Pretty steriotypical stuff otherwise. I pretty much guessed his entire backstory right away with how informative Xylo was about the knights and their mechanisms. The short flashback scenes were also a dead giveaway. The lolis adorable btw.  The other goddess looking the same further solidifies my belief of them being artificial. |
MegamiRemJan 9, 2:58 PM
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| Well, what an opening. The original title doesn’t sound very impressive, but watching it straight through for an hour is incredibly engaging. At some point, I was a bit lost about the context and how things got to this point, but by the end, the plot around Xylo and the goddesses makes a lot more sense. A revenge story that sacrifices humanity, this is an anime to watch closely this season! |
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| finally, it is out!!! solid first episode no episode next week, alala |
| Life's too short for mid anime/manga. Don't like it? Drop it. 📸 67,8k on IG (Main Hub): https://www.instagram.com/otakuweek?igsh=em5kY3Q4NTVtNXlh 🚀 Discord (News & Tracker): https://discord.gg/vbZrk64uH7 |
| Dotta’s voice is possibly THE most annoying voice I’ve ever heard. Absolutely grating. What a shame. It’s hard to enjoy this show when you’ve got this squeaker chirping in the background. Please never hire this VA again. |
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| No I did not expecting first episode to be like this. soo freshhh |
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| This one looks like it's either gonna be really good or really disappointing because they appear to be doing extremely right by the production. The director has a key animator background and credits on a lot of big shows, many of which are shared with the main animator. They both worked on Mushoku Tensei episodes which should be immediately apparent with the art style shown here. I would not be surprised if there were several other members of the animation team involved as well from that White Fox/Studio Bind circle. They've got my guy Kenta Ihara doing the script and composition too, and I've found his adaptations usually have a way of giving a little extra sauce to the source and making sure it winds up in a flow that can be acted and animated well (Cautious Hero, Isekai Ojisan, Youjo Senki, Handyman Saitou-san, Mieruko-chan, Tsukimichi, Trapped in a Dating Sim, most recently Nukitashi). So unless the plot itself is just absolute unsalvageable garbage I've gotta be optimistic about this show even though I know very little about it beyond the staff and cast. |
| Holy shit, this might as well be a feature film. Not quite the level of Oshi No Ko first episode but up there with probably the best first anime episode I have seen. It feels like if covered an entire arc and also at the end set up what the series going to be and who and what Xylo is. Daughter coded goddess, yes very cute. Even when he was a jerk she kept following him and saved when needed. Xylo have great potential to be an amazing mc but have to see. The revenge plot is well setted up but hopefully it has some progress. The monster designs is probably my favourite part tho. Fusing with animals and making it gross and disgusting. Flying arrow type monsters (Dragopolt dragon darts?) and the bug demon lord seesh. Great design. Animation is there so nothing to add if this continues it would be too good. Fights were amazing. It certainly raised by expections. Hopefully it continues to deliver. |
| Knowing that the staff was highly talented and the director was involved with plenty of Mushoku Tensei KA in the first season, knew that this episode would have really promising directon and animation quality. And on that end, this episode delivered in spades. I don't know the situation for the rest of the season; it might not hold to this levels by the final episodes but even at the worst, I still expect this to look really damn good. The action was incredibly dynamic and intense with the animation to say the least, showed the amount of effort and prep that went into this. Like Mushoku Tensei, the mix of the sword throwing and melee combat and the Gilgamesh-like magic that Teoritta brought to the table stood out. I'm still not quite sure if the story is going to deliver something interesting enough to stay exciting in the long-term, feels like the kind of episode that the show may peak with from the get-go but I hope the world building can show more and more of the scuminess of the world and the treatment of 'heroes'. As far as characters go, pretty one-note stuff overall but again, the idea of sentencing to be heroes sounds like a nice spin on paper and the revenge plot is obviously one that could easily hook people to see that play out ala Shield Hero-esque. As a premiere, it did have a slow start but I understood why it went 1 hour. The first 20 minutes alone were not good enough to have it stands on its own and the whole thing together serves as an effective enough prologue to the series in showing the treatment of Xylo by the other knights and the temple. The characters are a bunch but I'm indifferent to them for the time being. Teoritta's pretty one-note so far so hopefully her and Xylo can show some development as the series progresses. Her character type isn't necessarily my favorite but I'll see, and Xylo was a bit bland to start with but it makes sense in the context of the show with him putting a wall with others due to trust issues. I'm still going to proceed with caution for the time being since I don't know if this can deliver a strong story just yet but the first episode did its job to at least make me intrigued enough to check out the next episode. Also, that main character list is crazy long, and if that is really the case, that puts more doubts with me to be honest. |
animejasJan 3, 9:29 AM
| I thought the studio name was familiar. They animated several Hololive music videos I've seen but didn't know they actually did anime and to this degree. Wow. This was a really strong first episode. It felt almost nostalgic in a way even though I've never read its LN/manga but rather gave off the feeling when you start a new JRPG or something. Really gave me those vibes. Hoping the show manages to keep this up. |
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| I LOVE THE AMBIENT SOUNDS!!! I feel like this aspect is so overlooked in anime that it might as well be non-existent in even the high budget anime movies. @Desmascarado Looks like they will be taking some creative liberties going forward. The goddess contract is made when fighting alongside Kivia instead of around the beginning like in the novel. |
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