Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou

You know how in a lot of anime the main character is a boy somewhere around 12 to 15 years old, just hitting puberty. He's got a good heart but he's kind of a loser. He's socially clumsy. He gets bullied and he never really fights back but somehow, he always comes through in the clutch. That's how our hero is in this series in the first episode, except that he is 17. What follows is not a spoiler because it all happens in the first episode. By the way, the anime starts somewhere around the third chapter of the manga. The anime just sort of starts in the middle. There is no real explanation of what is going on other than a few hints. It's a fairly obvious plot. You've seen it plenty of times. A high school class is suddenly sucked into another world where they must fight monsters and demons. You don't really see that happen. It is sort of alluded to in flashes. The story really starts when the boy-hero falls into an abyss. There he manages to survive long enough to eat some monster meat. This gives him more powers. He then uses his newly acquired powers to kill more monsters and acquire more powers. In the meantime, he comes to believe that the world has always had it in for him and his only course of action is to become ruthless and to take what he wants without compunction. He becomes single-minded in his desire to win at any cost, and yet there remains a deeply buried sense of good. It's very unusual for an anime boy-hero to be this decisive and to put his decisions into action without hesitation, even if those actions contravene accepted norms of social behavior. The title word means mundane, ordinary. That's what the boy-hero is at the beginning but he certainly doesn't stay that way long.

Finally a straight edge main hero who displays some good judgement. As when he finds a certain someone sealed in a heavily guarded dungeon he's like: "ok, there must be a reason for this" and is cautious. So good to see this, as opposed to predictable boring anime-style: "oh no this person is locked up, we must help him/her no matter what, how or when".

Another plus is that the anime is fast paced. There is actually progress. Bang bang and they are on floor 100 already. Not like black clover for instance where you'd be stuck on 1 floor with 20 fillers and 15 flashbacks stretched over 30 episodes.

It's also nice how the main hero does actually kill monsters instead of the usual silly mumbo jumbo you can expect in other anime: "oh no we must let everyone live no matter what blah-blah".

The only major letdown is how the big monsters are drawn out and animated. Almost painful to watch. You are left wondering what on earth happened there, did they not have enough budget for that or time (or likely both). Well, you'll see for yourself

Finally they actually kiss in this anime instead of acting like children are found in cabbage all the time. This to me is a big plus, adds emotional depth to the show and is a refreshing differentiation from what we see almost everywhere else.

I love the fact that he started off with nothing but pain and anger but slowly becomes more and more powerful and the character development is amazing I kinda hate the the animes only gonna have 13 episodes

The first episode wasn't really that great, it was a bit too predictable and the animation was bad, particularly for the monster fight scenes. However, it got steadily better. The MC was pretty awesome and feels dark, sort of like Naofumi from Shield Hero. To be perfectly honest, Arifureta seems like the love child of Shield Hero and DanMachi, but with bad animation and some awkward but funny fanservice. However, its story was pretty good and intriguing. Can't wait for season 2!

This review covers all three seasons of Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest. While it's not the most polished or universally acclaimed isekai, it delivers where it counts and keeps you hooked with its darker tone and evolving cast.

The story is solid, with enough twists and emotional weight to stay interesting across multiple arcs. Hajime's transformation is central to the show's appeal. His shift from weak and isolated to overpowered and emotionally scarred is dramatic and satisfying. Several supporting characters get genuine development, and the show does a good job of slowly expanding its world.

The animation, especially in Season 1, is very hit-or-miss. Some scenes lack polish, and a few episodes drag longer than necessary. There's a feeling at times that budget constraints held it back visually, though later seasons show improvement.

Still, if you're looking for a darker, more emotionally charged isekai with solid pacing and a story that doesn't shy away from violence or psychological struggle, Arifureta is worth checking out. It may not be a masterpiece, but it knows what it wants to be and sticks to it.

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POSITIVE : Strong character progression, especially for Hajime / Darker tone than most isekai, with emotional weight / Expanding world with engaging lore

NEGATIVE : Uneven animation quality / Pacing issues in some episodes / Some early scenes lack impact

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