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When 2020 began I think none of us could have predicted the whirlwind rollercoaster we landed on. Gulf War round three; Australian bush fires; COVID-19; and mainstream fantasy hentai. Wait, hentai? Mainstream hentai? Yes, the full kitten caboodle. Might feel strange putting Ishuzoku Reviewers in the same category as near unprecedented global crises, but don’t deny, you know full well you didn’t see this series coming (heh) either.
For the unfamiliar Ishuzoku Reviewers is a fairly straightforward series. A group of libidinous male adventurers, after tackling the trials and tribulations of the questing life, seek out relaxation in the form of various otherworldly escorts and showgirls who just so happen to soak up all that adventuring gold. At least until they get the bright idea to start reviewing their various female conquests and earn some extra coin on the side. Thus was Interspecies Reviewing born, and the rest as they say is history. Or in other words, laying some seriously varied hay while the sun is down. Yes, Ishuzoku Reviewers is all about having sex, except not in the usual porno way. Unlike full-blown OVA hentai series (e.g. Youma Shoukan, Rance 01) Ishuzoku Reviewers treads the border; beautifully bouncing breasts and nipples feature aplenty and groin shots are a buyer’s market, but a lot of the debauchery remains firmly—yet tastefully—off-screen. It’s not a true ecchi a la High School DxD, but make no mistake, this one isn’t that vanilla.
The main strength of Ishuzoku Reviwers is arguably in this difficult categorization. For every sex scene left off-screen we receive some hilariously diverse censorship/analogy scenes, with each damn near better than the other. Want to avoid the aggravating annoyance of those infamous rays of light? Well why not have the light as part of the act! Desire to showcase controversial BDSM and rape fantasy in some comedic capacity? Nothing a little cutesy B-grade acting cannot solve! And if you ever thought mayonnaise bottles couldn’t be representative of the full range of phallic workouts oh boy do you have something else coming. Every week was impressive just for the sheer imagination, and while some concepts were noticeably better than others (egg laying will never be my thing to be honest), you have to hand it to this series; the fantasy premise was leveraged for everything it was worth.
Of course helping the humour was Ishuzoku Reviewers’ cast, particularly in terms of quirks. While elves loving septuagenarian women for example is high on this list (god bless Mitsue, no matter the shudder), the fallen angel Crim is front and centre courtesy of being a true hermaphrodite—and abusing it for all it’s worth. Guaranteed I’m not alone in simultaneous arousal and aversion whenever the adorable cinnamon roll features onscreen, but it’s undeniable Crim’s sexual antics are one of the stars of the show, especially after Crim starts falling from angelic grace courtesy of lead lewders Stunk and Zel and winds up loving the reviewer life almost as much as them. You almost have to feel for poor Meidri in the end. Almost.
For all which Ishuzoku Reviewers nails perfectly however, it’s undeniable this show will not be for everyone. Ecchi and hentai are already niche (at least outwardly) genres overall, and that’s before touching on the type of ribaldry Ishuzoku Reviewers features in abundance; if you don’t like anime tiddies bouncing in your face or the concept of prostitutes this isn’t the show for you. Provided the material is up your alley though and humour is your thing you can expect plenty of fun and even more hilarity as this series romps its way through all manner of fantasy brothel. I don’t know how the hell Ishuzoku Reviewers got greenlit for a conventional adaptation considering the material (let alone a weekly half hour one at that), but I do know this is one series which thanks to its audacity and execution that I and many others will look back fondly on for many seasons to come.
Watched 4 eps. so far and while some of the lewd is certainly nice to look at, the main draw is the humour for me. Funny show.
That’s the main genre of the series for me, comedy.
It definitely leans towards comedy, which IMO is probably the biggest sell. The show never once took itself seriously which helped a lot when it came to its material and overall entertainment.
Whhhaaaat Hentai?
We don’t watch this kind of thing and certainly dk what you talking about ;P
Obviously, we’re a wholesome family friendly space after all 😛
Wonder if I can find more Anime similar to this, especially if they are uncensored
It really depends. You’ll find plenty of actual hentai similar in premise to this (Youma Shoukan linked above being a prime example), but to my knowledge there’s none which feature the same lewd-comedy approach. That’s partly why this show blew up so much, there’s honestly little which could be called similar, even among ecchi series.
I checked out the first episode expecting to shake my head and quit after 15 minutes. What I got was a hell of a comedy and a very close second for my AOTS
LOL, never thought I’d see a final impression of Ishuzoku Reviewers here. If the border wall between ecchi and hentai wasn’t smashed before, it is now.
“While elves loving septuagenarian women…”
Septuagenarean *human* women. And on the subject of Stunk and Zel’s initial debate, I’m more inclined to lean towards Stunk’s side as well. Yes, most elf succu-girls are way too old for Zel’s tastes and their mana is stale (not that it matters to humans who can’t sense mana), but think of it this way: With their youthful physical appearance (or really impressive glamour magic, who knows–I wonder if that magic extends “down there” as well? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) juxtaposed with their…”experience” and three-digit ages, they are the ultimate onee-sans. Why? Perhaps in their eyes, hot-blooded human males (and other younger races) are naught but shotas to them. (Ara ara~)
Anyway, favorite succu-girl brothels in the series (so far):
– The Succubus Tower. (None of that low-level lilim BS–unless you have a death wish, have a large group of bros with you, or you’re a high-level incubus). You’ll still feel drained for a week, but the pleasure you’ll experience before that might be a good way to go. It helps that they can change their physical appearance to look like your ideal
waifu/mistressugirl.– The Sex Marionette. Think of the dolls you build there as an R-18 version of assembling a Gunpla kit–except you don’t exactly have an instruction/assembly manual–that you bring to life. Make sure to have lots of patience, creativity and imagination for this one.
As for why those are my picks, I’m but a humble man of culture with a lewd imagination and an ero-cosplay fetish–and those two joints might be the best places to satisfy that lustful, yet specific urge. Yeah.
Definitely enjoyed the show’s raunchy humor (and puns), the exploration of what constitutes as sexually attractive for the various fantasy races inhabiting that world (plus the worldbuilding in general–also, there’s a hint of isekai in the series), the banter between our heroes, side characters and succu-girls, and most especially, the catchy opening and ending songs. (“If it’s lewd, we love it!”)
Also, I’m nominating Crimvael for 2020’s “Anime character that makes you question your sexuality.” (Helps that he’s voiced by the former “Faillen Angel”, Miyu Tomita.) And I’ll be laughing my a** off if next season/next issues feature a lamia succu-girl–and she’s voiced by Sora Amamiya.
Hah I think we all side with Stunk in terms of females, but seriously don’t underestimate the variety of downright disturbing male fetishes; there’s a reason granny (among other things) exists as a porn category after all.
Also firmly agreed with the brothel choice, those were downright perfect in terms of how they were played and featured, especially considering the best two girls happened to be front and centre in both 😛
Granny porn… While I’m not saying anything about the Western version (except it’s too squicky for my tastes, above incest), it helps that there’s this tendency (reputation?) for Japanese women to still look young in their 40s or even 50s. (Kikuko Inoue’s “Eternally 17” movement comes to mind.)
And to be fair to Mitsue, she seems to be the type who would listen to one’s problems/concerns and give life advice thanks to all her experience with the people she meets. All while having a few drinks, like in a hostess bar, which doesn’t necessarily imply sexual companionship. (Though if anything else happens after that, it might be because of the “beer goggles”/”beer vision”/”In vino veritas” *shudder*) Also, if the manga (from a so-far untranslated chapter) is any indication, she was quite the looker in her younger days. If “fountain of youth” magic exists in the Ishuzoku-‘verse (and it’s a good bet Demia has knowledge of it), it would be a game-changer for senior succu-girls like Mitsue.
That said, there really are some fetishes that do deserve a wider berth than today’s “social distancing” limits. Mainly because they’re either unhygenic, stomach-churning or downright evokes certain primal fears. And yeah, wasn’t too comfy with the egg-laying episode either, though it’s understandably appealing to certain species/people. (The owl-girl Mimiro was still entertaining in her own strange way, and I did have a laugh at that one background merman who resembles The Lonely Island’s Andy Samberg. [“J*** In My Pants” intensifies])
Also, let me take a guess at your best Ishuzoku Reviewers girls:
– Mayospell (Succubus Tower) – That Angel Mayo scene… Hilarious (circumvention of censorship) yet strangely arousing. (Either that or Asatent?)
– Meidri – At first I thought of Rabunet (Sex Marionette receptionist), but she didn’t have much in the way of (sexy) screentime. Then I remembered what happened in that episode–and the beatdown the Reviewers received as a result.
Pretty much bang on haha, although I personally rate Demia and Doron higher than Meidri (egg laying and all that XD). Best ones for me were always the ones that handled the censorship best, really got the mind going, and/or had some sort of wholesome aspect to it 😛
I haven’t watched the series, but I am surprised that they even attempted to air the series on TV. If it was as risque as they say they must have realized that it would attract controversy and likely wanted that to happen to push sales? It would have made more sense for them to release the series as an ONA(Original Net Animation). I’m sure there are plenty of Adult providers out there in the world who could have partnered with the studio.
That’s the ironic thing about this, it’s not as risque as everyone made out. A lot of the potential shock and awe was actually kept off screen, and if anything the show veered more towards comedy and satire towards the end. Outside of plentiful uncensored T&A there’s precious little that can be labelled hentai. In hindsight not even sure such ribaldry and ONA production is required here, the strength of this series was firmly on its willingness to tongue in cheek talk about and feature that which annoys the hell out of prudes lol.
10 out of 10
Checked this out because it was in the “weird anime” category. Only expected to watch one or two episodes, but ended up tuning in every week. Humour was hit or miss but there was a guaranty that they’ll hit on something strange.
The reviews themselves was a good case of different points of view from different species/cultures. Actually found them quite logical. In a way, they actually explained the workings of the world.
Also found out I actually prefer humans to the other races. Would’ve thought I’d prefer the elves. But whenever a human in her prime showed up, it really got my attention. XD
If you ever wanted to figure out what your true fetish was this was the show to determine that XD