The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar

Type: Inane

Synopsis: A big history nerd uses his smartphone to win battles in another world. His ability to describe the phalanx formation also wins him the hearts of several beautiful and powerful young women. Because, as we all know, chicks dig military historians.

Pros: OK, so this show is all over the place, but it does do a few things well. I always like it when an Isekai protagonist uses modern knowledge to improve another world’s society. Yuuto, the protagonist, helping the Wolf Clan prosper by introducing them to Iron, Glass, Education Systems, and Crop rotation explains why he would be admired. I also like the Yuuto isn’t all powerful, and has to use his intelligence and access to the internet, which he calls “cheating,” to even out the playing field. The drama between Yuuto and the Wolf Clan’s original successor, Loptr, makes sense, as does Yuuto’s annoyance at the overly-powered Steinthor. Out of the female cast, I think that Christina was the most well written, and fits the role of spy master well.

Cons: The show’s biggest problem is that it’s trying to be two things at once. It wants to be a dramatic war story, while also attempting to be a light-hearted harem show. As it doesn’t do either very well. The action isn’t great, the battlefield is always the same rocky plain, and the strategies Yuuto uses aren’t all that clever. On the harem side, you have your typical set up of a protagonist who refuses to even touch the girls literally throwing themselves at him. To be fair, Yuuto does basically have a girlfriend that he talk to everyday through his magic cellphone. You’d think as their Patriarch, the girls would respect that. Which brings us to the weirdest thing about the show. In the story, Yuuto’s female underlings are called “Little Sister” and “Daughter.” Those are their official titles. So in almost every episode, Yuuto’s “little sisters” and “daughters” are trying to have sex with him. On tops of that, some of the girls act really subservient towards Yuuto, which didn’t help the incest vibes the show was already giving off. Story wise, I was also confused at the start because it feels like the anime is starting later in the established story. We start the story of Yuuto already being the head of the Wolf Clan, and we never get to see when Yuuto is transported to the other world, or his rise to power. A lot of the flashbacks we get, like Loptr’s betrayal, look way more interesting than what we got.

Watch it: Only if you’re really bored (2/5)

MVP: Christina

She’s the only character to call Yuuto out.

Best Episode: Ep. 3 “Twin Runes and Twin Sisters” (an OK start to the arc)

Oresuki

Type: That must have been one hell of a baseball game!

Synopsis: Amatsuyu “Joro” Kisaragi is a simple man with a simple dream, which is to date his attractive friends at the same time. Sadly, his attractive friends want to date his attractive best friend. Which makes sense, as good looking people would naturally be attracted to good looking people. Especially if those good looking people are authentic and have a nice personality, which Joro does not. He’s actually kind of manipulative, and seeing how he treats women, would probably make a bad boyfriend. But the anime universe still rewards him with a smart girlfriend with giant breasts. Because he’s a romcom protagonist, just a dirtbag one.

Pros: The key theme of the show is authenticity. Most of the conflict for the show come from the fact that the characters are hiding their true selves behind a social persona. Joro starts the series as a stereotypical “nice guy” protagonist, but it’s revealed early on that he’s faking it to get girls to like him. He’s actually a bit more rude and selfish. Most episodes revolve around resolving a misunderstanding due to a character’s hidden motives. The character interplay was well done, particularly between Joro and Pansy. Pansy acts as the observer that helps Joro figure stuff out, but a lot of it also feels like her helping Joro becomes a more honest person. Joro starts attracting more people, forming his much desired “harem,” by being himself. But the show’s biggest strength is it’s comedy. This show is FUNNY. Joro frequently breaks the forth wall, the animators seem to have fun adding extra flourishes, and the fact that the watershed moment for these student’s lives was a high school baseball game was never not funny to my. And that bench. That damn bench!

Cons: At lot of the problems here are very high school, which I guess makes sense given the setting. But if your not a fan of high school melodrama, then this might turn you off at points. Most stories involve hurt feelings, or misunderstanding, or lying in order to get closer to your crush. For example, the first episodes involves all the characters lying to each other in order to achieve their romantic goals. I would hazard to say all the episodes involve characters lying to achieve their romantic goals. Except for Tsubaki, whose a real one and hooked Joro up with a job. Objectively, the anime is packed and the plots mesh well together. The last episode is a cliff hanger, but gets resolved in an extra long OVA. Personally, I only had issues with some character decisions. First, I could never get over the fact that Sun-Chan threatened to assault Pansy when his master plan was revealed. Like, I can understand Joro forgiving Sun-Chan for ruining his reputation, because anime. But trying to force himself on Pansy crossed a line. As a viewer, every time I saw Sun-Chan I just saw a sexual predator. Second, and a little less serious, I thought Himawari was annoying. She’s meant to be the “cute” one, but she doesn’t really fit the show’s two-faced gimmick. I kept waiting for her to reveal some reason why she acts that way, but nope. Never happens (maybe in the light novels?). Finally, I understand why Pansy hides her “true” self at school, but her flashing her boobs to Joro in the library felt a little out of character. But I guess some men need stronger hints than others.

Watch it?: Funny, well drawn, and sufficiently dramatic. (4/5)

MVP: Tsubaki

Get you a girl that helps you get that paper.

Best Episode: Ep. 4 & 5 The Flower Dance Arc (Honestly, I’m just a fan of ballroom dancing).