TNT: Isekai and Tensei

Hey all I’m back with a quick information post on some terms I realize I didn’t explain for some readers. It’s all about Isekai and Tensei!

Isekai, Tensei?: I’ve been throwing these terms around and I really should’ve made an explanatory post a long time ago. My apologies, I do get busy with devouring enough material to keep writing this blog in addition to my book and game reviews.

Isekai is a term that the Japanese have termed for a genre, which literally translates into “Another World”. It revolves around the idea of a character, or characters, being transported in their current bodies into another world completely, often a brand new dimension. Some examples of this is Death March, Shield Hero and Arifureta. There are of course plenty of examples, some I’ve even covered in other columns, but those are some quick and easy ones.

What is Tensei?: Well Tensei translates into “Reincarnation”. However there are couple branches of the genre. These can be termed as Reincarnate and Transmigration.

Reincarnate: This is to completely be born again, from infancy. This is the most standard and typical Tensei route, but there can be some differences between stories. Sometimes characters will remember everything from their past life, other times it’ll just be hazy memories or nothing at all until an event shocks them into remembering. Mushoku Tensei is a good example of this occurring. Rudeus grows up from infancy with memories of his past life. And that influences him greatly in his new one.

Transmigration: This is a little different, as this involves someone’s soul taking over another’s body, often right as they would otherwise die. Genius Doctor: Black Belly Miss is an example of this, although there are plenty of other examples out there you could find.

That’s it for this week’s Translation Necessary Thursday!

TNT: Upcoming Anime Adaptations of Light Novels

This week for Translation Necessary Thursday I’m back with a quick look the towards future. It’s all about Upcoming Anime Adaptations of Light Novels!

Arifureta: Color me really surprised, but yeah Arifureta is getting an Anime. Hopefully it isn’t absolute crap, but the storyline is actually pretty amazing, and I’ve read the entire web novel and a bit of the after story. Whether the adaptation is any good will remain to be seen.

Shield Hero: Again I’m really surprised this is getting an Anime, considering the absolutely horrid things that occur to Naofumi in the first few chapters.

Sword Art Online Alicization Arc: Not surprised at all that this is getting an Anime, with how huge a hit the first two seasons were. I’ll admit I’m partial to the GGO arc of SAO, but the rest is a bit too lighthearted overall for me. Alicization though shouldn’t be that lighthearted and I fully expect it to take the entire two cour’s worth of episodes to animate the entire thing, if not possibly 3 cour.

Toaru Index Season 3: Once more a suprise announcement, it’ll happen sometime in the future. Eventually.

Shout outs go to both Overlord and Death March for their adaptations happening in the Winter 2018 season. Hopefully Death March’s won’t be absolutely terrible.

Wish List Adaptations I’d love to see happen in the second half of 2018, but incredibly likely that they won’t happen:

Fate/Strange Fake and Fate/Prototype Fragments: Both are really interesting series that haven’t really been translated yet, so I’d love them to get some love from my favorite studio ufotable. Of course I’d also like a Fate/Extra Caster Route with Hakunon by ufotable as well. Hell get everything Nasuverse related done by ufotable in the future TYPE-MOON! Seriously though, a match made in heaven.

That’s it for the first Translation Necessary Thursday of 2018, come back next week for a more regular sort of post.

Light Novel Thursday: Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari by Aneko Yusagi

 

 

This week for Light Novel Thursday I’m covering a series that I really hope gets an anime adaptation that doesn’t suck like Campione’s did. It’s Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari, or Rising of the Shield Hero,  by Aneko Yusagi!

Plot Synopsis: Iwatani Naofumi was summoned into a parallel world along with 3 other people to become the world’s Heroes. Each of the heroes were respectively equipped with their own legendary equipment when summoned. Naofumi coincidentally received the Legendary Shield as his weapon. Due to Naofumi’s lack of charisma and experience, he ended up with only a single teammate while others have several.

Plot: It’s not nearly as light hearted as something like other series, it’s more like Arifureta than other series I’ve read. That being said it’s definitely translated better than Arifureta is at the moment, and that may impact people reading it better than reading a less refined translation like Arifureta has. The plot itself is great, and I love what Naofumi has to go through because of the other Heroes, who are all idiots.

Characters: Raphtalia is easily my favorite character, because of her earnestness towards Naofumi. Naofumi himself is a bit of an ass, but if you compare him to the rest of the Heroes he’s actually quite nice. The rest of the cast is great as well.

Art: I read the Web Novel version so I didn’t get much of a look at the art, but the artwork i’ve seen is great.

Overall: This is well worth a read if you enjoy stories of this type.

For those who like: Parallel World Stories, Fantasy, Great Plotlines, Amazing Cast of Characters, Excellent Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.