OP Sequence

OP: 「残酷な夢と眠れ」 (Zankoku na Yume to Nemure) by Minami Kuribayashi

「回復術士はやり直す!」 (Kaifuku Jutsushi wa Yarinaosu!)
“The Healer Starts Over!”

And now for winter’s most interesting offering. And I do mean interesting. Heh. Given how previews have gone for Kaiyari it’s safe to say this one was going to invoke a good deal of debate, and the first episode doesn’t disappoint on that front. It may not the absolute horror that is proclaims to be, but don’t worry, we’re only one episode in.

As per the RC Preview, Kaiyari is a simple beast. Main man Keyaru (Hozumi Yuya), a village nobody, wakes up one day to discover he’s been chosen as a hero to help defeat the demon lord/queen/cutesy moeblob thing. And not just any hero, the healing hero. Cue all the wonderful adventuring and saving the world and fun that comes from restoring HP! Err, or forced confinement, induced drug addiction, and rape/physical abuse? Yeah, it’s taking the scenic route alright. Much like Shield Hero (at least for the first part of its story), Kaiyari is pretty much a fantasy deconstruction revenge tale, where Keyaru’s mission is to stick it to every other hero who decided he was only a toy fit for use and abuse. How he does of course involves some time travel shenanigans courtesy of Dragon Ball Philosopher’s Stone and spirits going sensual, but frankly that’s fluff next to what everyone will actually be here for. Kaiyari is going to be all about that sweet revenge porn and make no qualms about any of it.

Given how Kaiyari intends on playing out—i.e. as provocative as possible—the good news at least is that the censoring will indeed be nonexistent. Much like Ishuzoku Reviewers an uncensored version is airing, which ensures that every lewd, disturbing, and outright disgusting moment won’t be offset with heaven’s light or its black bar cousin. Likewise is the assistance of the cast and their true natures. Keyaru for example has the crazed revenge seeker down pat, helped in part by some excellent facial expressions and Hozumi Yuya’s voice acting, while Flare (Shibuya Ayano) does well to show off the pampered and arrogant princess (among other things). Mind you we’re still missing a good deal of personality on the part of Flare—not to mention having the cannon hero and sword hero enter the picture—but this episode gives you a pretty good idea what to expect. Keyaru’s enemies are going to be true to the definition, and the MC won’t waste any breath in doing to them what he believes they deserve.

While pretty clear Kaiyari will be playing out exactly as everyone expects, it’ll be a couple of episodes yet before we have an idea just how much it’s going to play to its themes. The depths of depravity know no bounds, and Kaiyari fully intends on exploring the possibilities. Continue watching at your peril.

Full-length images: 01.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「夢で世界を変えるなら」 (Yume de Sekai wo Kaeru nara) by ARCANA PROJECT

Preview

53 Comments

  1. This really needed a double-length first episode because there was simply too much stuff to cover (and uncover!) for a standard-length one. Hopefully the pace will slow down from here on but seeing a certain character in the ED (or was it the OP?) makes me worry about that, unless it’s 2 cours.

    On the whole, though, not too bad a start, especially with the uncensored version being available.

    Angelus
    1. According of what I read in the manga (supposing the manga is actually faithful to the LNs), most character will be unceremoniously presented pretty early, being Norn, the princess’ sister (the other pink haired girl) and Eve Reese (the black haired one ) the last ones to be introduced, almost in the same time in the story, and most things will settle pretty quicly. So, I think we have enough time.

      Jon
    2. Coming into this one blind (outside of previewing) I agree, I was really expecting the first episode to be entirely backstory with it ending more or less when Keyaru acquired the Philosopher’s Stone. What I imagine will happen is that the missing info will be supplied when each major character is properly introduced so any potential rushing is minimized.

  2. “which ensures that every lewd, disturbing, and outright disgusting moment won’t be offset with heaven’s light or its black bar cousin.”

    You forgot mysterious mist. Or super steam. ^_-

    Shinji103
  3. I’ve read some of the source author’s works before, like The World’s Finest Assassin & Dungeon Builder: The Demon King’s Labyrinth is a Modern City, and it’s interesting the publishers would choose to adapt their darkest, edgiest work so far.

    And even then, Kaifuku feels more like a writing experiment to push their creative limits; considering the author’s wide thematic range from light-hearted to fairly dark.

    zztop
    1. Likely down to the series’ popularity I’d wager (correct me if wrong!). Also the success of Goblin Slayer and Shield Hero show there’s a market for these sorts of fantasy works so that certainly factored into it as well.

        1. Personally disagree. Both those shows may be less edgy or not too similar in terms of story, but both also have bucked the trend of TV-friendly material in one form or another and more or less enabled stuff like Kaiyari to pop up. This series likely wouldn’t even have been a thing anime-wise if Shield Hero wasn’t as well-received as it was.

  4. If I have to compare this with Shield Hero, I’d say this fella deserves his sweet revenge story.

    Sure later on it becomes a bit of an edgelord’s fantasy, but compared to Arifureta, this is pretty tame actually.

    Dude
  5. Wasn’t bad ~ but i am waiting to see how the next few episodes are adapted before i am willing to commit to watch it. Having read the LN i am hoping for something controversial but i probably wont get it,

    Tegual
  6. I like how Norn looks compared to the LN illustration or Manga. Still need to hear her speak though.

    Looking at this episode, it does look like they’re toning it down a little. Maybe damage control for the inevitable backlash?

    theirs
    1. What backlack? Japanese otakus love this shit, if anything they gonna ask why is it not truer to the source material. Only Western viewers cry over female rape and lots of sex scenes in their anime, thankfully Japan doesn’t care what west thinks, only their internal viewer base.

      Same with Tatoeba Last Dungeon, people already whining theres too much sex in first episode.

      John
    2. There won’t be any toning down outside of censoring I think. The only ones who are going to scream bloody murder here are specific western groups/people, and production committees could care less what they have to say when their primary market is Japan.

    1. Per zztop’s comment above, very likely down to the series’ popularity in Japan and the earlier success of edgy, gore-infused stuff like Goblin Slayer and Shield Hero. Nothing prints attention and money like controversy after all.

        1. As mentioned in a comment above, the relationship is more for Goblin Slayer showing that this sort of trend-bucking material isn’t suicide in terms of profit and that there’s a market for it. Whether or not Kaiyari holds a candle to Goblin Slayer, it still received an adaptation and can thank the success of a few other series for receiving it.

          1. I can guarantee it doesn’t have any worth, is not like that hentai tier first episode of Goblin Slayer to catch attention, everything is like this all here and just that. It’s just pure unadulterated male nerd power sex fantasy. And being profitable doesn’t say anything about its quality, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. A TV time slot has been wasted.

            A lot of people seem to confuse edgyness with being defiant of the norms established and we have been seeing that since Taxi Driver, it’s a concept like 50 years old at this point, not to mention we already had the likes of Urotsukidoji, Goku Midnight Eye and such. And the rule is if you are going to do something like that better have anything else in the oven or else you are just shitting in front of your audience for the sake of it. This is not a Tarantino movie.

            And if you have any doubt about the material, go read it and you will see. I still can’t believe someone would pick this to make an anime, is not like the bar is low, they just picked it and throwed it out of the window. You will see.

            cvb
    2. Seriously, they chould’ve spent a bit more and made the animation smoother. Like it or not, this anime offers very good exploration on the depths of psychological trauma and living and dealing with it.

      Aizen
  7. The MC has granted another chance in his life and he just going to take revenge by becoming like them. Don’t know if this guy is an idiot or just being true to himself that he is just scum just like them.

    Wasabi35
  8. Overall I enjoyed it, but the power of the MC makes no sense, that’s not healing it’s more like morphing, why call him a healer?!
    It’s similar to Mahito power in Jujutsu Kaisen.

    Chris
  9. Is the demon girl that he defeats the same one shown in the ED?

    Hm, it felt like due to the rushing it wasn’t made clear how bad the abuse towards him probably was.
    Shield Hero for example dedicated more time for the display of betrayal at the hands of the princess, while here we only got a few flashback scenes and a bit in the OP. So I wasn’t completely on board regarding his revenge plot.
    The maids also felt random, but hey, naked animu girls, I’m not complaining.
    If his main goal is the first pic, i.e. to enslave the princess, then I hope that it won’t be too easy.

    boingman
    1. Bleh, no, can’t be the same character. No horns and different hair color.
      Anyways, overall I liked the 1st episode to continue watching, though I hope that it won’t turn into an production disaster with the 1st episode already not looking that great, and there’s always the risk of dropping it later on if he turns into too much of a scumbag.

      boingman
    2. I wouldn’t fret too much, I also thought not enough time was spent on the buildup and past. To the show’s credit though, I think they intend on featuring Keyaru’s past when the other major characters are introduced, so rather than getting it all at once we get it at specific intervals.

  10. My thoughts before starting the episode: “OK, what manner of f**ked-up s**t and general human bastardry am I gonna see with this series?”

    My thoughts upon reaching this scene (and rewatching the uncensored version a couple of times): “What the f**k? Is Studio TNK trying to one-up Passione and Ishuzoku Reviewers at this point? Studio TNK? Who previously sent High School DxD BorN way off the rails?”

    *ahem* Anyway, I had a hard time focusing on watching the episode for the first time knowing that the other “heroes” are, to put it in the politest possible term, “despicable.” And I thought Shield Hero‘s Malty MelromarcCyka was already a shining example of “hate sink” female villains in anime, but nope, Princess Flare seems to have taken the cake in the first episode alone!

    As for Bullet/Brett (cannon dude), I can’t take him seriously since he’s basically discount Barret Wallace (Final Fantasy VII) fused with Donovan (Berserk). That said, I sense the scene with Bullet/Brett choking Keyaru was watered-down compared to the LN/Manga. And if you’ve already read Berserk, there’s a good reason I’m comparing Bullet/Brett with Donovan (hint hint).

    Other random thoughts:
    – Damn, why did Princess Flare had to have the same name as Hololive Fantasy’s resident dark elf halfling?
    – Is Kureha guaranteed to become Keyaru’s ally (and possibly one of the few persons he trusts) at this point? (The OP and ED credits seem to hint at it.) Or does she turn out to be as f**ked-up as the other “heroes”?
    – And speaking of getting more allies, would be nice if Keyaru’s plans for revenge includes taking those royal maids for himself. Also amused at the one twintailed maid who looks a lot like Kouzaku Mitori (Railgun T) or Hololive’s resident “Maji (Dai)Tenshi” (Towa Tokoyami).
    – Hmm, so the Gioral Kingdom has a similar degree of fantastic racism towards demi-humans like the Kingdom of Melromarc did in Shield Hero. Hell, the king of that kingdom (and Princess Flare’s father) already gives similar vibes to former king Aultcray Melromarc (a.k.a.: Trash). I know comparisons with Shield Hero were inevitable, but damn!
    – The ending theme gives one hell of a (cutesy) mood whiplash. (And there’s certainly nothing cute about Princess Flare personality-wise, especially after what was revealed about her this episode.)

    In between guessing how the story might possibly unfold and wondering how far the series will push the limits of what’s acceptable in power fantasy anime, Kaifuku Jutsushi no Yarinaoshi looks set to go places no other power fantasy anime has dared to go before…provided the viewer can stomach the incoming display of human depravity first and TNK won’t pull a High School DxD BorN with the series (or tone some stuff down). What’s next? An anime adaptation of Parallel Paradise, or Himekishi ga Classmate?

    Incognito

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