OP1.5 Sequence

OP: 「Black † White」 by 野水いおり (Nomizu Iori)

「和装ロリはいろいろブッ飛んだお方のようですよ?」 (Wasou Rori ha Iroiro Buttobun da Okata no You Desu yo?)
“Seems Like a Crazy Loli Clad in Japanese Clothing?”

The episode title says it all. Well, a goodly portion of it anyway. I find I’ve been enjoying Mondaiji quite a bit so far – as someone who frequently enjoys shows with entertaining characters over richly built words with protagonists so dull you forget which one is which, it’s a series that has quite a bit of appeal to me. But let’s harbour no illusions – the story is pretty generic, even predictably so. As suspected, the reason these characters were brought to the Little Garden was because Kurousagi’s community was wiped out by Demon Lords and they needed strong people to help them win back their name and honour. This is by no means an original plotline; far from it. But a generic story is not inherently bad – if it provides plenty of space for the characters to continue being awesome, I have no problems with it whatsoever. In fact, in this instance, it actually works in the show’s favour by giving Izayoi a chance to prove himself Genre Savvy, and Genre Savvy characters are always pretty damn cool to watch.

It’s the characters that make this show shine, particularly the core trio and their completely unabashed badassery. They do what they want, when they want, and they’re not swayed by promises of power or an easy lifestyle. There’s no hesitation whatsoever in their actions – the two girls were mad so they picked a fight with an entire community, Izayoi saw Shiroyasha (Arai Satomi) as a strong opponent and immediately challenged her to a game. In many ways, this trio reminds me of the protagonist of Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari – they’re ridiculously overpowered, but it’s handled in a way that’s enjoyable to watch rather than feeling like a masturbatory power fantasy self-insert. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually possible to have overpowered characters without it being a detriment to the series. It’s all in how they’re treated – whether the work in question acknowledges how ridiculous the idea itself is, whether it tries to tell you that a character should be worshipped because of it, or whether it just doesn’t give a shit. Mondaiji and Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari tend to fall into the first and last of those two – the ones which are actually fun to watch.

Given how the story has rolled so far, it wasn’t all that much of a surprise that the character we were immediately introduced to after discussion of Demon Lords would be a Demon Lord herself. What was perhaps a little more surprising was that our trio didn’t end up fighting and decimating her. I was so sure Izayoi would take it upon himself to wipe that self-confident smile from her face. But perhaps this was for the better – the flow of events and You’s game against the griffin (Ishii Kouji) both gave us some more insight into her character and gift, as well as capitalising on what I’d hoped for last episode – games that deviate from outright combat. That such games have appeared already sets a great precedent for what may be ahead.

Despite her meek and timid outward appearance, You is not only extremely competent (we saw this last week too), but also confident in her own skills and always looking to make friends. To be able to bet her life on the game, she had to be pretty sure of her ability to come out victorious. Her gift is actually a little more interesting than I would’ve guessed – rather than merely giving her an affinity with animals (and what I had assumed was only highly refined physical skills and the Praying Mantis style), it allows her to utilise the gifts of any animal she befriends. With that in mind, the reason behind her combat stance in the first episode suddenly becomes much more apparent! It also leaves a lot of room for growth and power-ups as she becomes familiar with the otherworldly wildlife of Little Garden. With Izayoi’s gift marked as ‘unknown’, that really only leaves Asuka for exploration in the upcoming episodes, and given how different You’s power was from what I expected, I’m not entirely sure how to peg her.

Next week I imagine we’ll be seeing the trio (or rather just You and Asuka) face off against Galdo Gasper (Yasumoto Hiroki) who I suspect will now be a powered up vampire. Whether our briefly glimpsed vampire loli will also make a proper appearance is anyone’s guess!

tl;dr: @MoombaDS – A little exposition, an excitable loli, and consistently awesome protagonists! #mondaiji

Random thoughts:

  • The characters all came from different worlds! I had actually made the completely unfounded assumption they’d all be from the same world, so that came as a slight surprise to me.
  • That completely nonchalant kick!
  • Given that Izayoi’s gift is ‘unknown’, I can only imagine he’s going to get continually more overpowered as time goes on.
  • I’m rather glad he isn’t a complete jackass though – even if he’s doing it for the challenge, at least he is helping!
  • As a random aside since I couldn’t find anywhere to slot it into the main body of the post, the Calico Cat is apparently voiced by Nishi Asuka!

Full-length images: 04, 05, 07, 14, 15, 19, 24, 25, 28.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「To Be Continued?」 by 佐土原かおり (Sadohara Kaori)

Preview

End Card

70 Comments

    1. His power is probably man-made (e.g. Index’s espers) as opposed to being a gift from the supernatural (like how Kurousagi explained last ep) which is why they can’t read it. Also might explain why he’s smart despite being the typical delinquent. I suppose he’s kind of like another Accelerator.

      iyArashi
      1. Accelerator from “a certain magical index” series… though I think his power is much more awesome than Accelerator’s… his wisdom and learning ability is part of his gift xD yet at the same time he is smart enough to realize that there are things that are more powerful than him… So I would say he is more like Akatsuki from Hagure Yuusha than Accelerator xD

        jrj
      2. Well without reading the LNs, Izayoi’s personality seems more Accelerator to me right now. He isn’t jumping in to help friends without being asked to yet, but otherwise I do agree he resembles Akatsuki, especially in ability.

        Aex
      3. Personally, Izayoi seems more like Hakurei Reimu from Touhou to me.
        An overpowered main character who doesn’t give a damn about anything except fun and beating up others.

        Also, Black Rabbit is Reisen Udongein Inaba. A useless little bunny, only good for her sex appeal.

        Zannafar
      4. while it is true that black rabbit is really good in sex appeal, she actually has some amazing powers… for one, just remember how fast her running speed was, that was a reflection of her physical abilities, the rest of her power will be shown later (you sort of see some of that in the OP anyway).

        jrj
      5. Have to agree with jrj in that I find Izayoi more like Akatsuki from Hagure Yuusha than Accelerator though not entirely so.

        Just to be safe I guess I’ll use spoiler tags for Accelerator.

        Show Spoiler ▼

        As for Akatsuki, there are some similarities, but as far as I can tell (can’t read the LNs :<), Izayoi isn't as nice. Akatsuki would help regardless of whether it's entertaining or not. He's still a "hero" even if somewhat of a "rogue" one. I also find Akatsuki less arrogant than Iszayoi though neither suffers from a lack of confidence.

        daikama
    2. Or it might be that his real power is just “super saiyan” type of thing, and what super strength he got right now is just passive effect from it, basically double layered power, so can’t read it since it’s not his true ability. Just guessing here.

      Edios
  1. I wonder if Izayoi decided he’d let her test him instead of fighting because he figured out that he couldn’t take on someone quite that powerful (yet) or because he decided to spare such an interesting person. So far the characters keep the show interesting in that they’re actually very much able despite the show only just starting. They’ll probably face problems at some point but there’s something pleasant about having people who are strong from the start.

    Also I bet Izayoi’s power is something along the lines of doing whatever he wants.

    HakumeiJin
    1. well, unlike Asuka and You’s power, until vol.3, the true nature and power of Izayoi’s gift have not been revealed… (from what I know, it is still not explained in vol.4 or 5)

      As to Izayoi’s reaction to Shiroyasha’s challenge, at this point he already realizes the huge power gap between him and her. A 4-digit ex-demon lord is fearsome even to an all-mighty kid like Izayoi, plus he still doesn’t know the limitation of his own power. Also Shiroyasha haven’t revealed her true powers either

      jrj
      1. I’m glad someone who read the LN is clarifying things for guys like me, but maybe you should use spoiler tags in some of your posts? Not knowing and waiting to find out is also a part of the enjoyment.

        shadowalker
  2. Thanks for the post, moomba!

    I finished reading vol.1-3 of the LN. Have to say, the anime did a good job on condensing the events of the LN and trying to putting things in order. The whole bit of You’s back story of her being hospitalized seems to be anime original, but still serves the purpose well. Izayoi’s “code unknown”, on the other hand, just makes this already awesome kid even better.

    Judging from the OP and the animation, the anime will likely end with the conclusion of vol.2. lots of good fights and thought-provoking games awaits 🙂 Can’t wait to read vol.4-5 🙂

    I hope the LN gets translated in English soon so more people can read it.

    jrj
      1. haha, I wish I could do translation… but both my vocab and my time are limited… 🙁 Plus I can only read Chinese translation to start with…
        but I can at least put some supplement information here from the LN for people xD

        jrj
  3. Better than episode 1 in the sense that we know what’s going on now, and have a better sense of the characters. Last week I was pretty sure Izayoi would turn out to an Accelerator-type of character, but I wasn’t sure if it would be pre- or post-Touma. Turns out he’s a combo of both, so that’s interesting! I’ll admit I was speechless when he agreed to help Black Rabbit so easily, with no conditions or anything.

    Asuka and You are definitely my favorite characters though. I don’t doubt Izayoi would’ve thrown that offer back in tiger-man’s face, but seeing Asuka do her thing was simply great. Tiger-man also established that this isn’t a mild show, killing off kids like that. In that sense, I hope we see him killed off by loli-vampire after he loses.

    Last week I had thought You’s fighting style was cat-like, but wasn’t expecting her full Gift to be so cool! Make a friend, gain a superpower! The idea has seen a lot of forms, but I think this might be one of the best I’ve seen. Does that mean she can run on air now that griffon likes her? Sweet!!! 😀 I’m guessing the a few reasons she can’t fly despite probably having quite a few birds as friends is because they were left in her world, and that whole part where she doesn’t have wings.

    Can’t say I agree with comparing these three to Kenshi on anything other than power-level though, cause while they’ll probably help if someone they know asks, Kenshi was more the type that would jump in to help on his own, or help without even realizing wtf was going on, which I loved him for. Plus Kenshi would already have Black Rabbit ready to jump him in his sleep 😛

    Aex
    1. in the LN, Izayoi had a condition to help black rabbit, which is to “have fun”. He even said that he would quit “no-name” if it becomes “boring”. for a powerful kid like him, I guess that makes sense. the anime cut this probably to save time anyway.

      You couldn’t fly before because the birds in her timeline didn’t have flying “gift” that she could take. Even the griffin wasn’t flying by conventional means. It was flying by walking on air…

      jrj
      1. You’s power doesn’t exactly work like that… Izayoi’s analysis is not too far off. Show Spoiler ▼

        Having said that, this info is based only on the first 3 volumes of LN and is likely subject to change.

        jrj
  4. You’re right in saying the story is generic – and indeed, I doubt this show will be seen as one of the top shows this season. Regardless, I’m enjoying it. I like how deadpan, genre savvy and unimpressed our main characters are by all the fantasy stuff they’re thrown into – the show doesn’t take itself all that seriously, which is a plus in my eyes. They’ve set up the basic plot now as well, so hey, let’s go and see where it takes us.

    As long as they keep up this kind of atmosphere (and don’t cram in some overblown drama at some point, as these comedy shows tend to do), I’ll keep following it with a smile on my face.

    Dvalinn
  5. so head phone guy as bunny girl really going to reveal she summon them to help save their land area & stop a demon lord yet hearing all in.

    while command saying girl make beast guy confess that to reveal he eat children & blackmail other lands to cheat so beat up then challenge to a game later on.

    more reveal that 3 of them are from different parallel worlds area so now meet kuroko-shiro give them challenge ride the griffin so animal talking girl do it.

    so challenge it on while riding reveal bit of her past give on hospital bed got better & forward now ride win almost fall but she ok.

    now winning get their cards gift then arrive no name land see it which got head phone guy challenge is on & beast guy got bite power-up by a little vampire.

    rames
  6. Well this show is pleasantly fun to watch, so far.True, the plot doesn’t seem to be original, but that doesn’t make things any less enjoyable or the characters any less interesting.

    Izayoi agreeing to help Kurousagi was hardly surprising seeing as it would rid him of his boredom(although I have my doubts as to if he could be a tsundere character).On that note, Izayoi not taking Shiroyasha head on, surprised me a little, along with the fact he was quite intelligent and learned(not sure if that’s the right word) seeing as he knew the temperature effects of going around the mountain and g-force effects, and used them to deduce You’s power.Galdo Gasper’s mention of killing off kids was also unexpected as I had originally pegged this show to be a little more mild.

    We have some idea as to Izayoi and You’s motivations for their actions – one for fun other to make friends – I’m curious about Asuka’s motivations, even though she explained she left behind her privileged life-style and wasn’t interested in entering another again, but there was no explanation as to why.I’m also curious as to Kurousagi’s powers seeing as she mentioned she was also able to play Gift Games.

    @Moomba
    your post says “Kurousagi’s community was wiped out by ‘Demon Lords'” pretty sure they were only talking about one particular Demon Lord.I assume Demon Lords, though powerful, aren’t evil by definition, it probably depends on the individual Demon Lords.If we consider Kurousagi is friends with one such Demon Lord it makes sense.
    Also I get the feeling that this is one of those shows that are fun to watch, but hard to write about, so nice work on your review.

    shadowalker
    1. it is not known whether it was only one demon lord or a community of demon lords that destroyed the community… hack, they don’t even know the identity of the demon lord(s) that did this to them… which is part of why it is so hard for them to regain their former glory…

      I don’t know if anime will show Asuka’s background more in later episode or not, but for now I will say that her motive has something to do with her family and status…

      jrj
  7. No mention about the ED? Reminds me of the Kill me Baby ED animation which was probably my favourite from 2012. Izayoi’s epic break dance at the end as much of a surprise to me as it was to Kurousagi in this pic: 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-%20ED%20-%20Large%2003.jpg

    On other notes…that eyecatch! And glad to hear Arai Satomi again! Groping lolis are always fun to watch 🙂

    taiakun
    1. It reminds me way more of Blazblue’s Hierarchical Cities, especially because the cities have exactly the same layout, with the rich people on top, with the poor living around the bigger and lower rims of each city.
      Bleach doesn’t have any plot regarding the way of life that shinigami have when compared to this or Blazblue, and personally I’m so lost as to how its still ongoing.

      Giorno Giovanna
    1. regarding that girl in the flashback: Show Spoiler ▼

      jrj
  8. I’m starting to really like this show. It may not be all that intricate/thought provoking or elicit strong emotions (ex. Kotoura-San), but I find the the story, setting, and varieity characters along with the mix of action and comedy more the enough to overcome the weaker points.

    I like the fact that the trio at times don’t give a sh*t as Moomba puts it. It makes for some nice comedic moments and a more interesting story (though sadly for Black Rabbit, a lot more stress.) Sorry, Moomba, but I have to disagree with you on the trio being similar to Kenshi. Kenshi was uber nice, and far more capable in scope. Fusion reactor needs fixed? Leave it to Kenshi. Priceless work of art damaged? Leave it to Kenshi. International negotiations break down? …you get the idea.

    Izayoi’s character still lacks depth, but I like the fact that he’s not the stereo-typical, selfless hero. He’s willing to help out, but don’t expect him to do so without question or at times without reward. While not ideal, that attitude seems a little more realistic to me than constant unhesitating and unabridged altruism. Despite his arrogance, he still respects Asuka’s and You’s abilities, and doesn’t always insists upon being in the spotlight. Personality-wise, he reminds me of Yusuke from Yuu Yuu Hakusho rather than Accelerator (certainly not the “pre-Toma” version).

    As another poster stated, Asuka definitely reminds me of Tosaka Rin – a smart, competent, refined and self assured oujo-sama. Quite enjoyable to watch her skillfully handle a slimy Galdo. She’s one of my favorite characters so far. You turned out to be stronger than I expected (I guess she befriended a some strong animal for her to take down Galdo so easily), though I don’t find her quite as intriguing as the other two. I really like Shiroyasha and thought Satomi Aari did a fine job as seiyuu. I hope she is a regular character. She not only adds to the shows comedy, but is also strong enough to keep Izayoi in check.

    For some reason, I’m not quite ready to put the trio among the ranks of the “god-like” characters in terms of power. Izayoi quickly backed down from Shiroyasha’s challenge – something I can’t see a “pre-Toma” Accelerator doing (let alone losing for that matter). I bet there are more powerful demon lords as well. I view the trio akin to upper-level RPG characters in a low level dungeon. Completely dominating (more so than I’d like) and arguably boring to watch fight, but only temporarily so. At least I hope that’s the case. Eventually I’d like to see each of them lose at least once while in the meantime increasingly struggle to find victory.

    daikama
    1. LOL so true about Kenshi. He’s still one of the best male protagonists I’ve ever seen in anime. Then again, being raised in that family, you either become superhuman or you die XD Plus his interesting personality and antics made him deserving of a harem, even if it was a somewhat unwanted one.

      I agree that the trio seems more over-leveled than god-like, which I like. IMO it keeps things from getting a boring feeling, and makes them interesting since you know there are stronger people out there. Right now they’re breezing through the lvl 10 stuff at lvl 40(?), so we’ll see how long it takes for them to hit a boss and realize at some point they became under-leveled 😛

      Aex
    2. I don’t think ‘respect’ is right word to describe his reaction to the other two fighting Galdo Gasper, his thoughts were probably closer to “They picked a fight with Galdo Gasper? Damn, they must be having fun, it would be immoral of me to ruin their fun.”

      And it didn’t strike to me that Izayoi, as someone who needs to be kept in check(or can be, for that matter) or arrogant, seeing as he’s using his brains as much as his fists.A person becomes arrogant when he/she overestimates their abilities and takes on opponents they can’t handle, if Izayoi NOT taking on Shiroyasha head-on shows anything, it’s that while he may have a high-level of self-confidence he can’t be pegged as arrogant yet(of course he could have done that for completely different reasons too).

      shadowalker
      1. Just because Izayoi didn’t want to “spoil their fun”, it doesn’t necessarily follow that he has no respect for Asuka or You. While I doubt Izayoi sees Asuka and Yoi as equals, I do think he has some meaningful degree of respect for their abilities. In EP 01 he apologizes for making them “waste” their efforts to win at Black Rabbit’s card game. Would someone like Izayoi apologize if he had little or no respect for that person? Maybe I missed something, but so far I’ve seen nothing that indicates otherwise. How would you describe Izayoi’s view of the two girls?

        I found the banter between Shiroyasha and Izayoi entertaining. I didn’t mean to suggest Izayoi needs to be kept in check, but I think it’s more fun to watch from time to time rather than seeing him constantly run around doing as he pleases without limitation.

        Arrogant means “Having or displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance.” [cite] Certainly one is arrogant “when he/she overestimates their abilities”, but that’s not an absolute prerequisite. Do you consider it impossible for a person to act arrogantly as long as their ability is sufficient? I agree that declining to fight Shiroyasha makes Izayoi less arrogant than he otherwise might be. However, that in and of itself doesn’t mean he isn’t arrogant at all.

        Maybe “cocky” or “a somewhat arrogant” would be a better choice. JMO, but I see Izayoi as more than just “self-confident”. To me, Kenshi, for example, is self-confident (humble really) while Izayoi’s grandiose manner (ex. his introductory speech) crosses the line between “self-confident” and “arrogant”. Maybe not much, but to some degree nonetheless – and that’s fine. I like Izayoi. He’s an entertaining character.

        daikama
      2. Rather than saying not respecting others, I would say it’s more like, Izayoi doesn’t seem to think of things in terms of respect(well, I could be wrong though seeing as he had some level of faith in You’s abilities when she went around the mountain).As for Izayoi’s view of the two girls, I think it borders on ‘don’t care’ more than anything else – a feeling that seems to be mutual.I’m sure their relationships(not in a romantic sense) will develop later on since they’re pretty much strangers to each other at this point.

        “I found the banter between Shiroyasha and Izayoi entertaining. I didn’t mean to suggest Izayoi needs to be kept in check, but I think it’s more fun to watch from time to time rather than seeing him constantly run around doing as he pleases without limitation.”

        For me it’s more annoying than fun.

        “Do you consider it impossible for a person to act arrogantly as long as their ability is sufficient?”

        Pretty much, seeing as if the person can back his talk with his abilities then it’s not arrogance, but pride(I should have probably used this word instead of self-confidence in my earlier reply).
        I agree Kenshi was self-confident and was really humble about it, while Izayoi is also pretty confident, but also very proud about himself(and his abilities).Yep, I think the word prideful describes Izayoi better than arrogant or self-confidant.

        shadowalker
      3. RE Respect: IMO Izayoi does think in terms of respect at least in terms of power/ability. Why else would he back down but for his respect for Shiroyasha’s strength? Just to be clear, I mean respect as “acknowledgement of ability or skill”, not necessarily admiration. I agree that neither the girls nor Izayoi have much interest in each other, and I also don’t see any future romance b/t them and Izayoi.

        As for “arrogance”, personally, I think there’s a point to where pride becomes arrogance depending upon one’s behavior. Still, JMO so agree to disagree there.

        daikama
      4. Well in the end I think the differences in our opinions stem less from our views of Izayoi and more from our definitions of words like respect or arrogance.

        As for Shiroyasha, he could have backed away completely different reasons too.Plus, she wasn’t exactly showing-off her strength so unless Izayoi is capable sensing other peoples strengths he had no way of knowing her strength(of course creating that whole area can be attributed to her power, but I’m not sure if it comes from her power or the card she was holding or just one of the perks you get when you host on Little Garden – Kurousagi also materialized a table in the first ep, remember).

        shadowalker
      5. Sorry to jump in, but I will add a little bit of detail omitted from the LN so that it might give a bit more perspective:

        the card game played in the first episode is anime original, and that was done using judge master’s right, but personal power (being a host does have some special rights, but does not change one’s personal power). As to Shiroyasha, she is really powerful since she is at the top of two most powerful races — spirit and god. She is both the main spirit of a white sun (shiro) and a demon god (yasha). The game board she showed was only the tip of iceberg of her power… The LN did briefly described a sense of fear when the trio confronted Shiroyasha…

        As to Izayoi, he does come off as being arrogant, but he is more than capable of sensing greater power and analyze his situation. In a way, it is how he present his personality that rubs some people the wrong way.

        Lastly, remember the title. These kids have some problems, so common sense might not apply to them (poor black rabbit xD)

        jrj
    3. jrj – thanks for clarifying. When she listed her “titles”, I figured she was one of those “cute” but deadly type characters. It also makes sense that Izayoi has a “built in scouter” so to speak given what we’ve seen so far. Regardless of whether one thinks he’s arrogant or not, I imagine we would all agree he’s intelligent and quite perceptive.

      Finally, yeah, poor Black Rabbit LOL. I think she got more than she bargained for with those three, but it could have been worse.

      daikama
    1. well, it is only 10 episodes plus a stated OVA so far… also since the LN haven’t been translated in English yet, most people probably just don’t know it yet…

      but it will get pretty awesome with some of the later games, I promise! the LN is worth checking out too.

      jrj
      1. @ jrj: Are you sure it’s only a 10 EP run? According to ANN the show is scheduled for 12 episodes. I hope that’s correct – NOT a fan of 10 episode seasons. Maybe the anime generates enough interest for the LN to be picked up for translation. Happens often enough.

        Can’t wait to see some of the games. I hope there are good puzzles & unexpected twists along with the typical combat challenges.

        Thanks again for all the additional info. I’m glad I decided to pick up the show “last-minute” right before the season started. It’s one of my favorites so far.

        daikama
      2. Sources (both Chinese and English) that I have come across so far seems to suggest that there is only 10 episodes (which is sad)… though it is certainly not impossible to have 12 or more episodes xD

        jrj
  9. “”Given that Izayoi’s gift is ‘unknown’, I can only imagine he’s going to get continually more overpowered as time goes on.””
    Actually I would say his power is already overpowered but so far show bits of it, maybe because its sealed.

    Wilfriback

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