「黒ウサギがエロイヤらしい奴に狙われたようですよ?」 (Kurousagi ga Eroi Yarashii Yatsu ni Wawareta You Desu yo?)
“It Seems Some Pervert is After Kurousagi?”

It’s strange how Mondaiji manages to remain one of the shows I most look forward to each week, even while I find myself falling behind on some of the more ‘prominent’ shows of the season. I decided to pick it up because I thought it provide entertainment. Not complex plots, intricate dialogue, or deep and creative worlds, just pure, simple entertainment. It’s certainly held up to my expectations in that department. Fun is fun, regardless of the simplicity or complexity of the source. Contrary to unscrupulous sources, things cannot be enjoyed wrong. Probably.

There are many reasons why I like Mondaiji so much, or rather, why it continues to deliver entertainment every week without fail (no, I’m not talking about the end card, but yes, you can enjoy that too if you want to). I love mythology and folklore – they’re incredible sources of all manner of tales which continue to rival even the best fantasy writers of the modern day. In fact, a large amount of fantasy writers draw upon mythology all the time, it’s everywhere throughout video games, books, films, and all other manner of media. Mondaiji does it too, quite profusely. From the the Perseus community, led by Luios Perseus (Inoue Go), being based entirely around Greek mythology, to Indra’s spear and the moon rabbit throwing itself into the fire, it’s a series which has a lot of mythological references. The fact that Kurousagi has Indra’s spear brings up a myriad of question – just how high is her power level behind that innocent and whimsical guise? Does it signify a deeper connection with the creator of the Little Garden? I want to see just how far the mythology spreads through this world – I hope we get to see more communities based largely upon mythology!

I find myself moderately surprised that the vampire who stalked our trio would turn out to be the Demon-Lord-turned-slave mentioned by Jin. But with this information, the fact that her actions served as a test for the newcomers was no surprise at all. Her devotion to the nameless community is admirable, even going so far as to throw away her gift to reach them. While there have been sightings of it in previous episodes, this one really brought the nakama theme to the fore (no doubt my girlfriend will be overjoyed about this!). It’s a theme I personally love to see from time to time – that fiery spirit that comes into play when friends and loved ones are threatened. The desire to do anything to help one’s comrades, no matter the personal cost. There was something quite magnificent about finally seeing the normally amiable Kurousagi snap…

…and immediately be restrained by Izayoi. You just have to love these kind of anticlimaxes, just as things are about to heat up, as Kurousagi is about to gain her certificate of badassery, she’s pulled up short. There’s a bit of satire in there too, poking fun at the lengthy power-up sequences so many different varieties of media are fond of. In fiction, powering up seems to come with some unspoken law of courtesy that you will never exploit any of the million massive defensive gaps present during the process. You just sit back and wait to get hit, or maybe dodge or something. Izayoi doesn’t care. He just doesn’t. He’s above everything and everyone else. It makes me wonder if there’s any credence to my speculation that he might turn out to be the creator of the Little Garden just screwing around with his creations. Who knows, maybe we’ll eventually find out!

tl;dr: @MoombaDS – Plenty of folklore, some nakama, and Kurousagi remaining the butt of all jokes! #Mondaiji

Random thoughts:

  • I love Shiroyasha’s sneaky face!
  • I also love how Izayoi just doesn’t care about anything. None of the attacks thrown at him this episode faze him in the slightest.
  • I’m eagerly anticipating the day when he elects not to use a door at all and just enters through a wall instead or something.
  • Poor Kurousagi, always the butt of every joke!

Full-length images: 03, 08, 09, 12, 17, 20, 29.

* Special thanks to the ever awesome Stereo for taming a particularly disagreeable full-length! You’re the best!

 

Preview

End Card

57 Comments

  1. “Poor Kurousagi, always the butt of every joke!”
    To be fair, she has a nice butt.

    Kurousagi snapping was excellent. I really hope she’s in the next game. Wrecking Perseus’s community with that spear would be sweet vengeance. 😀

  2. I admit to having been disappointed when Izayoi pulled Kurousasgi up short in her attack. That whole group seems to have taken after the scumbag attitude of their leader, and given that they’d invaded the No Names’ airspace, insulted them, and attacked one of them without any official challenge, she’d have been perfectly justified in obliterating all of them (in my opinion, anyway). Yeah, technically they needed to deal with the boss rather than just the minions, but that doesn’t mean you can’t deal with BOTH the minions AND the boss.

    As for Perseus… GRRR. The author definitely isn’t worrying about making morally ambiguous antagonists, here, you can say that much. I don’t mind it, because I just want to see this guy get crushed. I was disappointed that Shiroyasha didn’t deal with him herself when he threw that glass at her (seriously, who does he think he is? Jerk is way too full of himself).

    I kind of hope it may be possible to regain some of Leticia’s power and soul back from the demon lord she traded it to. But then, I’m a sucker for a girl in distress.

    PS: That end card is lovely, I don’t care what you say. 😛

    Wanderer
    1. The way I see it the reason Izayoi stopped Kurousasgi was because attacking them would be the same as declaring war(not sure if that’s the right choice of words) on the entire Thousand Eyes community.The Thousand Eyes community seemed like a larger community compromised of many different communities in which the Perseus community,Luios Perseus and Shiroyasha are part of – not something you want to go to war with for a insult.Plus, there’s a difference between just attacking and officially challenging them to a Gift Game.

      I’m fine with morally ambiguous characters as long as they’re antagonists, but as for why Shiroyasha didn’t deal with Luios Perseus, I think it was because she was the one who let Leticia visit her friends, something she didn’t have the authority to do, and taking on Luios Perseus, now, would draw too much attention to her when she is politically/legally(not sure if those are the right words, either) at a disadvantage.

      shadowalker
  3. This have to be one of those guilty pleasure shows so far. It’s story is solid although puddle shallow & yet I don’t care about any of that stuff at all. We have good guys, middle-ninks, & assholes – tons of assholes.

    Seriously, I can’t believe I actually like this show, but maybe it’s because most of the other junk I’m watching is starting to get on my nerves. Oh well, MOAR KUROUSAGI!

    Megas
  4. While I do enjoy this show for its gags and fun atmosphere, I hope that not every problem to come No Name’s way is going to be solved with Izayoi punching it in the face or masterminding the plan. The girls picked their fight last episode so that didn’t really count, but I personally find Kurousagi, You, and Asuka much more interesting than Izayoi, so I’m hoping they get more spotlight. Right now it just seems like a bland formula of “someone attacks, girls get into trouble, girls worry about a plan, Izayoi kicks down the door and hands them victory”. Why not just skip the second and third step and get victory in one episode? This time it’s fine because I want to see the leader of Perseus bleed gallons of blood, but it runs the risk of getting repetitive, fast. You’ve got four strong characters (five if Jin doesn’t disappearing into the background), so please use them!

    Aex
    1. It’s kind of hard argue when you take out a point as ‘didn’t really count’, but in the episode before the last one, You was the one who handled Shiroyasha’s challenge.And all four characters seem to get a balanced amount of spotlight, ep1-3 was somewhat like Izayoi’s,You’s,Asuka’s turns to shine(among other things of course).
      We got to know more about Kurousagi in this episode and this was actually the first time Izayoi helped the other three, contrary to what you say about being a bland formula or repetitive.IMO they’re using all four characters already, as much as can be used in only four episodes.
      I don’t mean to be offensive, but to me, what your saying seems closer to taking Izayoi out of the picture rather than letting others shine.

      shadowalker
      1. Well honestly I wouldn’t care if he was out of the picture, but at the least I wish he wasn’t such a Dues Ex Machina. Him fixing everything in .5 seconds when he finally feels interested just makes all the struggling the girls do feel cheap and wasted. I’d rather them find a good solution themselves with a little help from Izayoi then have him barge in with “Hey, I decided I care, so here’s the whole answer to your problems. What, that was supposed to be hard?”

        In fairness, I tend not to like overpowered main characters because I find them boring, so I know most of this is just me.

        Aex
      2. Well everyone has their own likes and dislikes so no issue, but he didn’t barge in because he decided to care, it was mentioned that he was taking advice from Shiroyasha and gathering the things necessary to challenge the Perseus community – which was the reason he was gone.
        BTW, the girls actually did find their own solutions and Izayoi didn’t help either, other than now of course.

        shadowalker
      3. Right, but Izayoi still did basically all the work (off-screen no less) while the girls sulked/mulled over ideas that probably wouldn’t have gone anywhere if he hadn’t come back and presented them a route that wouldn’t have been so easy without him. I just wish there was more “team” and less “Izayoi is awesome. The end”. They feel too much like support-cast right now when I remember how great they were center-stage last episode.

        Yes, I’m nit-picky. I hate me, too.

        Aex
      4. Those things can be attributed to the fact Izayoi is in some ways street smart, so to speak.

        You’ll probably get your wish for team work in the next episode.While it wasn’t explicitly stated, I got the impression Kurousagi will be one fighting Luios Perseus.

        shadowalker
    2. I started to see Izayoi as a tactician from the time he didn’t want to challenge shiroyasha. That was going against the standard young hothead type and it says a lot about him. He also recognised You’s power was not as simple during the griffon game before anyone else. His refusal to handle the Galdo Gasper game and leave it to the 2 girls was also wise if you think about it.

      All these point to him being the smartest guy in the group. Keep that in mind and a lot of things like why getting Jin to be the living slogan starts to makes sense. Also keep in mind his smarts and the reason why he seems to solve things also starts to make sense

      Zaku_Fan
  5. This show rocks!

    @Moomba, I just want to be clear on this – you don’t watch it for the end card(s)? What’s up with that?!

    Izayoi – now there’s a character. He appears arrogant, but it’s really that his confidence is a reflection
    of his awesome power. He seems to be able to immediately sum up an opponent’s capability and doesn’t
    over-power them, just stops/defeats them barely lifting a finger. In this way, he doesn’t reveal his true strength.
    He seems apathetic, but he would not accept Kurousagi’s offer, but he plays by the rules — and plays hard.
    Couple of small obstacles that would take years to achieve; see ya in twenty minutes! Very cool.

    Kind of reminds me of Hagure Yuusha no Estetica, but with less kinkiness.

    mac65
    1. I love it when shows have characters like this. Characters with seemingly infinite power, yet they never show all of it. They always have to micromanage that kind of character by giving them type-A personalities & mysterious attributes (even to themselves). Of course he could easily blow the whole place off the map but then we wouldn’t have a story. Mix in the dynamics of the other unfinished characters, problematic situations, silly gags, & mild fanservice and you get a pretty good watchable show.

      I was thinking the same with Estetica, but that show’s drama was way over-the-top, & Izayoi doesn’t steal the show all the time like another certain BOSS.

      Megas
    1. I get what you’re saying (picture is pretty, Leticia is sexy in a loli sort of way), but the way Perseus was talking killed my ability to appreciate the scenery at that point. Ugh. Damned horrifying scumbag. I hope someone castrates him before they kill him.

      Wanderer
  6. I rather like this show as well. It attracted quite a lot of criticism amongst most other anime-watchers I know, but I get the feeling they’re taking this show too seriously.

    Because really, even though it has some real scumbags to fight (that creepo from Perseus pretty much wanted to turn Kurousagi into his sex-slave, what the hell), most of the show doesn’t take itself that seriously to begin with. It has protagonists who act like players in a videogame (messing with the people who brought them to this world, picking fights with everyone because they’re bored, and not being impressed by anything), the show frequently pokes fun at a lot of concepts and it mostly keeps a rather lighthearted tone throughout.

    It may not be something that will rock the world, but if it does anything right, it’s that it’s just good fun. There’s always a place for shows like these. It also kind of reminds of Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka for some reason.

    And damn, that ending card.

    Dvalinn
  7. another solid build up episode for the grand game in vol.1 story. Of course some minor details were cut (including my favorite joke of vol.1 involving door and doorknob)… but the enjoyment factor is definitely there.

    Black Rabbit, being the decedent of moon rabbit, has a lot of great powers. But given her judge master status, she couldn’t not use her full powers in normal situation, and as a result, it leads to many who believe she is actually weak. The other things that we should remember is that, don’t compare anybody’s power level in this show to Izayoi, at least not in early episodes… This kid is Beater just slightly overpowered right now. But I can assure that more powerful friends and enemies will show up, and our problem kids will grow too (this genre can’t escape the growth trope)

    Having said that, Izayoi won’t the solution to every problem. Why does everyone have to join a community in little garden? Why do people have to join a community to participate in games? If individual might is the solution to all things, then there wouldn’t be a need to have community, right?

    and lastly, little garden is built by various gods and mighty beings, therefore folklore and myth will be a recurring theme here (since all these beings exist first in the lore), one interesting factor that draws me into this LN/anime series is the way the author takes the lore in a new direction xD Can’t wait for next week’s showdown!

    jrj
    1. Having said that, Izayoi won’t the solution to every problem. Why does everyone have to join a community in little garden? Why do people have to join a community to participate in games? If individual might is the solution to all things, then there wouldn’t be a need to have community, right?

      Glad to hear that. Right now they’re playing up Izayoi too much for me, so much so that it seems like he COULD do everything himself, so I look forward to a game when he isn’t the guy that everything depends on (not just because he decided not to get involved, either). Asuka, You, and Black Rabbit feel too side-kicky right now, and I can tell they aren’t.

      Aex
      1. This story is way too light-hearted for me to be spoiling anything but Izayoi HAS to do the grunt work right now because that’s his role. Like any show of this nature, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

        Megas
      2. well, I am not going to spoil anything detailed here, but as a LN reader, I can say that there is a reason why there is no one-man-army in this world xD

        As to why Asuka and Yo seems useless at the moment, let me say this then. You know that both Asuka and Yo’s power are in unpolished state, which means that while they possess interesting gifts, it will just take time to “level up” I guess. You probably don’t want to see grinding. Also consider their actual power. Asuka is control (which is not good for combat if enemy has a stronger mind than she does), and Yo is trait shifts, but given she comes from earth, there are not a lot of strong beasts for her to be friend and learn from. Naturally, until they level up, all the major action goes to Izayoi (since his power seems to manifest best in physical abilities). Though I can say that there will be time for all 3 kids to shine xD

        and lastly to Black Rabbit… As I said earlier, she is in a difficult situation due to her status. So unless something dramatic happens, she won’t be able to use her full power anyway.

        jrj
  8. Moomba: You’re right about this being something to look forward to weekly despite not being a big name. For me the list of shows I really want to see weekly consists of this, Tamako Market, and AKB0048.

    Something I noticed recently:
    Pan shots which you can stitch into full-length images are an interesting double-edged sword.

    While watching, I get that “budget got cut” feeling.

    But afterward, when you do stitch them together, you get an awesome picture.

    They’re pervasive to the extent that when I was watching a show (I don’t remember which; may have been a movie) which had a camera pan in which the backgrounds were properly perspective distorted, the correctness bugged me.

    CarVac
  9. So glad you decided to pick this show up! It’s one of my favorites this season, it’s just plain FUN, and I don’t care what anyone else says about it, cause it’s great. I like that the characters have no prior relationships with each other (they’re not childhood friends and no one has a crush on anyone, there’s no animosity between them either). I think the fresh start from all of them is one of the best parts about the characters, of course along with their personalities!

    Kiria
  10. while animal girl is still recover bunny girl talk to head phone guy about rescue a person in gift game til here come little vampire yet turn out vampire is one to rescue.

    give vampire girl reason was to test them all seem sorts til here come spartans to capture the vampire which got bunny girl mad til head phone grab bunny in later time.

    cause they need beat spartans’s boss to free vampire girl who happen a total smug-jerk who want bunny also make rude saying blah to tick off everyone cue shut up peresus with head phone block the hook with one finger.

    so with wonder how beat peresus & free vampire girl well head phone got two big balls treasure give beat the kraken as a offer gift game challenge so they could battle the peresus.

    slamy
  11. It’s strange how Mondaiji manages to remain one of the shows I most look forward to each week, even while I find myself falling behind on some of the more ‘prominent’ shows of the season. I decided to pick it up because I thought it provide entertainment. Not complex plots, intricate dialogue, or deep and creative worlds, just pure, simple entertainment.

    Nicely written, my sentiments in a nutshell.

    Although, I think Izayoi being the creator of Little Garden is a bit of a stretch, for instance Shiroyasha was the who told Izayoi how to get the ‘watermelons’ needed to challenge the Perseus community – the creator of Little Garden would know that by himself.
    Unless we’re talking about different mythologies, ‘Indra’s spear’ and ‘the moon rabbit throwing itself into the fire’ both emphasize on charity,compassion and self-sacrifice, right?It does describe Kurousagi in this episode.

    When they said Leticia gave half her gift to a Demon Lord were they by any chance talking about Shiroyasha or someone else?
    On a side note, Shiroyasha and Izayoi seem to share the same wavelength on some levels.

    shadowalker
    1. Shiroyasha is only an ex-demon lord… there seems to be a confusion to the term “demon lord” in this series, which is explained more in the LN. A being is only called demon lord if he/she/it abuses host master right (the right to force anyone participate in a game). When a person stops doing that or loses that ability, he/she/it becomes ex-demon lord.

      as to the demon lord Leticia give her gifts to, at this point in the LN, the identity of that demon lord is unknown.

      jrj
      1. She introduces herself as a “Maou” ie “demon lord” in episode 2. There was no “former” or anything such thing attached to that statement. So, you’ll have to excuse us mister novel reader, but I think we’re going to continue to refer to her as such until given a solid reason not to.

        Wanderer
      2. @Wanderer, If you think I am here to show off my status as LN reader, I am sorry you feel that way, I am only here to share what I know.

        @Ryner, Maybe think of it this way. the demon lord title is both a honorary fix and a status. While a lot of people refer to Shiroyasha as the demon lord of white night, she is not an active demon lord because she does not abuse her host master right. More on the demon lord system will be explained later in the show I think.

        I guess my point is to say that Shiroyasha is not the one that destroyed No-Name and took Leticia’s power away from her

        jrj
  12. Asuka and Izayoi mad one critical error though…Kurousagi’s sexy legs belong to ME!!!!

    *gets thumbs-downed, tarred, and feathered by everyone*

    But seriously, I’m sure Kurousagi (and rabbits in general) is exceptionally powerful when you consider just how much others want her to join their community (aside from other “obvious” reasons ufufu~), how much influence they seem to have (to the point where they have to meet “certain requirements” to be able to join any games themselves), and the amount of power and the fact she had such a powerful weapon seems to support this.

    Also, is it just my dirty mind or…

    https://randomc.net/image/Mondai-Ji-tachi%20ga%20Isekai%20Kara%20Kuru%20Sou%20Desu%20yo/Mondai-Ji-tachi%20ga%20Isekai%20Kara%20Kuru%20Sou%20Desu%20yo%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2036.jpg

    …are those being quite “conveniently” held? ufufufu~ ^^;

    HalfDemonInuyasha
  13. @MOOMBA: You and me both feel the same way about this show that I look forward to it each week that it takes over or prioritize it over the other more well known shows. This show completely surprised me and I just had to find more details about it like in LN, even if I had to spoil it, it was well damn worth it.

    The only thing I hate about this show, is the fact that it only has 10 episodes -_- where I believe judging from the LN material so far could have been at 24 episodes. Man, why do great shows like this show and Korezon only have 10 episodes? Meanwhile we got ongoing animes out there that have 100+ episodes filled with tons of filler material.

    Ryner
  14. Really Izayoi cans start killing everyone at this point , he is too strong and Op and that’s good. This show is different than Dogs day while still giving us a comedy this is a serious show which I approve and for some reasons loli vampires are always mistreat !

    pokpok
    1. considering this is still early in the series (there are currently 6 or 7 volumes of LN out, and we are near only the end of vol.1), power levels means very little… plus they are on the 7th floor, the weakest floor… so if Izayoi isn’t overpowered now and continue to grow, he and No-Name will have a really hard time face boss or demon lords from, let’s say, floor 3 and above… Plus Izayoi didn’t beat Shiroyasha xD

      jrj
  15. In fiction, powering up seems to come with some unspoken law of courtesy that you will never exploit any of the million massive defensive gaps present during the process.

    Hokaze Kon will disagree. =)

    Izzard
  16. Lets just hope Kurousagi’s Spear is a multi-use one after that misfire. Indra’s Spear in mythology is supposed to be a super powerful only-one-shot-but-won’t-miss kind of weapon.

    Namzor

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