How A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom

 After 3 anime in a row, I decided it's time for a book. Of course, I'm cheating a little bit and killing two birds with one stone--anime and book. Why? Because I started this one in the manga form (remember: Manga are books too! ^_^) and when I learned that the anime was coming, I stopped reading and waited for Funimation to provide moving pictures. 

When it comes to TV/Movie adaptations, the book is basically a spoiler. Rather than read ahead, I decided to stop with volume 3 and wait to let the story unfold on-screen. Of course, there are times when you will want to go back and read the manga instead of relying on the production studio to give you the all the deets...ahem, The Promised Neverland anyone? 

Anyway...back to our hero. Kazuya is 19 years old and has no family left. In my opinion, this makes him better suited for the isekai style story because he doesn't really have anyone to miss him if he suddenly disappears. And hero summonings don't really ask for permission. You just get scooped up and plopped who knows where. In this case, our hero is lucky, well, sort-of. He was summoned as a way to help a poor kingdom pay its financial obligations to a larger one. Instead of being sold off like a bride in some period drama, he instead becomes the king and starts revolutionizing the kingdom.

He's basically the Kingdom of Elfrieden's most powerful civil servant. He clears up corruption, finds a way to feed the starving citizens and even fixes the supply and demand issues with crop production and trade. 

I would classify this story as more of a slice of life type. I personally feel the action and adventure parts are secondary to the main focus of watching Souma Kazuya's mind and policies at work. The artwork is in my preferred style, so it gets 5 stars from me. Acting on both the subtitled and English sides also get 5 stars. Each actor was perfectly suited for the personality of the character portrayed. It was definitely a unique spin on the isekai hero summoning so I give execution of the idea 5 stars. 

Also, we've been lucky enough that the studio decided not to stop with a 12-episode season, so the story is ongoing. This is one I will be adding to my personal collection. It's definitely one of the better ways to spend a Saturday afternoon. 

For those of you without a Funimation subscription, you can find both the subs and dubs on Hulu. Keep in mind that TV won't answer all your burning questions so there's always the manga or the light novel to fill in the blanks. 

Happy Reading!!

 

Blue Period

 What a wonderful story!

While what makes a story great depends on the reader/viewer. That's what art is about. And ironically, this story, about art, is art to me. LOL. 

https://www.netflix.com/title/81318842

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've watched this 5 times. The first time I watched it alone. Netflix only had 3 episodes up and waiting until the following Saturday for the next one nearly drove me crazy. The second time, I watched it so I could show my husband how great it was. Alas, he decided that playing Fallout 4 was more interesting. The third and fourth time, it was just me, bingeing as new episodes were released and the fifth time was with my daughter. She loves to draw and paint and I thought there would be enough stuff to educate and inspire. She's a hard worker and a stickler for what's typical/rules. She sometimes has trouble just having fun and experimenting. Oddly enough, these are traits she shares with the MC of this anime. 

It was worth it to see her pull out her easel and paints and just doodle without stressing over if she could paint within the lines of her own sketch. I'm getting off track. 

This story is about a Yatora Yaguchi. Yaguchi is a high school boy who hasn't found any joy in his life. He's basically going through the motions of living. On the outside, he seems like a slacker and a delinquent but he's actually a hard worker. He's an only child and he's family isn't wealthy, so he's focused on getting a stable, steady job in the future. One day, he wanders into the school's art room and gets drawn in by an amazing painting he sees there. It's this moment where his passion is awakened. 

He doesn't spend much time fighting his inner self about whether or not he is a good artist. He actually constantly tells himself that he doesn't have talent and that all he can do is work hard. He decides that he wants to take a risk on his future and follow his passion to get into a public art college. Where Yaguchi truly has room to develop is on how to have fun and express himself using art because he never truly showed himself to others before. 

Because I often share my anime finds with my children, I will warn you about two things. 

1) There is a little nudity in this. It is not sexual in nature. He is an art student after all and nude models aren't an uncommon subject matter. 

2) Also, there is a transgender character.  Yuka-chan/Ryuji-kun. Ryuji is a male who dresses as a female and feels more comfortable as a woman. The only person in her family who accepts Yuka as she is, is her grandmother. There's lots of complexity that comes with that in relation to family dynamics and how the character relates to others. The manga probably explains it better, but since it was on backorder and I have yet to receive my copy, I can't say how well the author does or doesn't cover those issues. [I am a lover of print media, so I own very few ebooks.]

It was great seeing a manga that I was actively trying to obtain be turned into a show and I'm anxious to see what season 2 has for me. 

[links are not to advertise, just to help you find it if you're interested]

Ranking of Kings

 In a word: Impressive. 

Ranking of Kings is one of those artwork exceptions I was talking about in my previous post. 

from IMDB

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1000981273?playlistId=tt13409432&ref_=tt_pr_ov_vi

The artwork was so adorable I immediately decided it was for a younger audience and skipped past it. Of course, I have boredom to thank for opening my eyes to this gem. Boji, our star, is a prince who is deaf and dumb. While he can't hear or talk, that doesn't mean he is oblivious to the negative opinions everyone in his family and his kingdom have about him. He keeps up a positive attitude and he's determined to be a great and kind king. 

I found this anime on Funimation. The first episode was dubbed in English and I watched the rest subtitled. The acting on both sides meets my high standards so I have no complaints. The artwork, while not in my preferred style, also gets a 5 star rating. Without the cuteness of the art, Boji's story just doesn't have the same effect. He is absolutely the most adorable, loveable thing!

The story was definitely more sophisticated than the artwork makes it seem. Boji is an older brother to Daida. Everyone thinks Daida would make a better king because he's physically strong and doesn't have any disabilities. Of course, as the first born, Boji is expected to inherit the throne, which he does. Unfortunately, he is overthrown by a secret vote between his step-mother and the former king's other advisors. Shocked by this, Boji asks to leave the palace and go on an adventure. The queen reluctantly agrees and sends him off with two soldiers to guard him.

While he's gone, lots of bad things start to happen. Miranjo, a mysterious woman trapped in a magic mirror, starts on her path to revenge, one of Boji's guards tries to murder him, dangerous criminals get released from prison, someone tries to kill the step-mother using magical beasts, and Boji finds someone to teach him how to become strong enough to put the naysayers to shame. The kingdom is about to fall to ruin and the only hope is...you guessed it...Boji!

I just finished season 1 with my kiddos and we're excited to see what happens next. 

Some heroes wear capes and some wear tiny paper crowns. 

The Faraway Paladin

The Faraway Paladin is hands down my new favorite anime of 2021.    

Thank you Crunchyroll for giving me access to such a wonderful story. It was a great way to top off my year. And I definitely hope this one gets a second season. It has been awhile since I posted, so I'll give a quick rundown of my rating scale. I give anywhere from 1 to 5 stars for the artwork, creativity of the story, execution of the idea and the voice acting. Personally, I'm partial to a certain style of art. However, I do make exceptions from time to time IF the story is amazing.  

The Faraway Paladin gets 5 stars across the board. 

The artwork is beautiful, the voice acting was superb, and the story was great. English dub was not available when I watched it. If one develops in the future, I'll let you know. 

Will, our main character, falls into a isekai type tale. He died and was reincarnated in a fantasy style world as an infant. Like other characters in stories of this type, he has some memories of his previous life. Will admits that he had some flaws in the past and is determined to be better this time around. He's also really good at magic. 

Where Will's story differs is that he didn't wake up one day an was suddenly a magical genius who can instatly use all the best spells and cast without words. He has the aptitude but learns magic and sword skills overtime from the three undead humans who raise him. Yes, you heard that right! I said three (3) undead people: Gus (a ghost), Mary (mummy), and Blood (skeleton). 

I'm not a fan of spoilers and I don't think I could say anymore without giving away too much of the story. I will tell you once Will leaves his home and ventures out to the human side of the world, he makes friends with a half-elf, Mendeldor--Menel for short. 

As I'm not typically a manga reader, I know there is so much more story and world development to be uncovered here. There isn't much more than I can say except that it is a wonderful story so far and something you can definitely watch with a child from age 10 and up, provided they can read the text. 

Image from IMDB