Aha. And so begins the thickening of the plots… or whatever passes for one in these.
Voyager: Shall we let this massacre begin?
EvilBob: Oh, my butchering knives are all ready to go.
Voyager: Ah! Why, thank you for preparing them! I’ll be sure to use them with care.
EvilBob: Who says you’re gonna be the one using them?
Voyager: Hm? Isn’t it always the pig that gets bled?
EvilBob: Dude… not cool.
Voyager: What? I was talking about your anime. Any comparisons to other individuals, real or imagined, isn’t my doing.
EvilBob: …On to the opening thoughts.
Voyager: That’d be for the best, yes.
OPINIONS
EvilBob: Episode three was a bit of a letdown. The one action sequence we got was kind of boring, to be honest. The whole thing was slow and uninteresting. If they had dedicated more time and money to the animation, then this might’ve been an enjoyable fight. Might being the keyword. The fight is the only thing I have a complaint about. The characters are still fun at the very least and their time together is fun. Though Aku was… suspiciously absent for most of the episode.
Voyager: And thus we finally start getting around to the plot. Sorta. With Taichi and Rin making their livings as adventurers, they wind up getting recruited for a special job. The anime continues to leave tidbits out pertaining to certain characters, though isn’t anything especially egregious (yet). But even so, the characters are actually becoming a lot more engaging and the chemistry between Taichi and Rin, as well as other cast members, is beginning to show itself a lot better. The visuals are still nothing to praise and the animation can be rather choppy at times, but there are just as many instances where the animation makes a net improvement, as well. Overall, a solid episode, if a bit unpolished… as the entire show has been thus far, to be honest.
Voyager: So… hope you’re pretty confident in those characters of yours. It’s about the only thing you did praise in your opening thoughts, so… you know… no pressure.
EvilBob: Oh, don’t worry, I’m confident. Confident that they have great character interactions and they’re fun to watch. And how are your walking 2x4s doing?
Voyager: Funny you should mention that. Actually, the characters are starting to fare a lot better, now that they’ve been given some time to act without a ton of expository dialogue and worldbuilding to get in the way.
EvilBob: But… but the character context-!
Voyager: Doesn’t ultimately matter that much, on its own. Especially this early on. Plus, any smart viewer can infer some things by themselves. And while your character interactions are indeed rather fun, the characters in Isekai Cheat Magician are far-and-away more rounded. So. Where does that leave you?
EvilBob: …
Voyager: The correct answer is “Up the creek without a paddle.”
EvilBob: Yeah, you can have this one.
Voyager: Wai- but-
EvilBob: Dude. A few bits of choppy animation is one thing, but everything in Maou-sama, Retry! just looks so… stiff and uninspired. It’s sorta depressing, honestly.
Voyager: …Well okay, then.
EvilBob: Actually, I think the story’s-!
Voyager: Bzzt!
EvilBob: Wha- huh? But… but it’s actually starting to get going a little!
Voyager: That’s great! Or it would be. If it mattered. But I win now. So no need to let this carry on any longer.
EvilBob: Well, it’s only fair that it gets to take at least one point off of you!
Voyager: Ho? Well, in that case, let’s review. The story’s been standing head-and-shoulders above Maou-sama, Retry! in Isekai Cheat Magician the entire time aaand it’s only getting better now that the exposition’s basically done. Tell me. Exactly how much has Maou-sama, Retry! improved?
EvilBob: Uh… well… marginally. The plot’s kinda starting to happen, so…
Voyager: Is it? I suppose the plot’s certainly moving forward a little.
EvilBob: Yeah. Things seem to be headed in an actual direction, now! Before it seemed like things just kind of… happened around Kunai. But now it looks like everything happening has some kind of point.
Voyager: Except it really isn’t. Kunai certainly isn’t driving the plot forward. And while they may have more of a point, things are still just kind of happening to him. And those things don’t really seem to be affecting any real change in him at all. So, uh… where’s the story?
EvilBob: In the… real world?
Voyager: Oh well, in that case, I’d probably check the same grave as your hopes of winning this bracket.
EvilBob: Must you cut so deep?
CONCLUSION
Voyager: Oh, hey, that makes 3 rounds for me out of 4! We’re doing a first to 3, so I guess we all know what that means!
EvilBob: *sigh* …
Voyager: Victory! Again!
EvilBob: One day. Somehow. You will lose.
Voyager: And I welcome the challenge. Though I don’t suppose I’ll be getting it from you.
EvilBob: You know, if your head got any bigger it’d have its own gravitational pull.
Voyager: You would know, huh, tubby?
EvilBob: MEAN!
Voyager: Ahahahaha!
EvilBob: Yeah, just laugh it up, twiglet.
Voyager: Anyway, that’ll be it for us and this bracket! But not to worry! Maou-sama, Retry! will have a chance to redeem itself and put a point on the board with its next episode! It’s a very, very low chance. But still a chance. Let it never be said that I’m not a fair and benevolent being.
EvilBob: …HA! Who in their right mind says THAT?
Voyager: People who don’t want to get stuck watching the absolute bottom of the barrel for a whole season!
EvilBob: …*muttering*
Voyager: So what do the rest of you think? Did Isekai Cheat Magician earn this win? Is it possible Maou-sama, Retry! could win the next and final round? Let us know, down below!
EvilBob: Thanks for letting us waste your time, people.
Voyager: And thanks, as always, for reading. Keep up the Awesome!
EvilBob: And keep it Classy.
Voyager: Take Care