At birth, mages randomly acquire one of the four "crests" that represents the extent of their magical capability. Equipped with a crest specializing in creation, a man named Gaius reached the ceiling of his potential, becoming known as the world's strongest sage. Despite his overwhelming power, he is unsatisfied with his abilities and desires to possess the mark suitable for close combat. Knowing that a person's crest is unchangeable, Gaius decides to reincarnate far into the future, hoping to alter his fate.
Thousands of years later, Gaius is reborn as Mathias Hildesheimer, successfully obtaining his long-coveted crest. However, he is surprised to learn that in these times, magic has vastly waned, and the techniques that were once widely used are now nothing more than just a speck of legend. Moreover, the crest that he painstakingly strived to attain is now considered the weakest—merely dubbed the "Crest of Failure."
Nevertheless, Mathias naturally exceeds all expectations. He enrolls into the royal capital's Second Academy, acing every trial that comes his way. But soon after, Mathias discovers the dark truth behind humanity's downfall into magical mediocrity—demons—and endeavors to remedy the consequence of his millennia-long absence once and for all.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Nenhum episódio encontrado.
Comentários
SpRayquaza11
“Well at least it's not another isekai” –stupid pea-brain anituber (and their bandwagoners) This may be rather blunt but this is just plain old power fantasy anime, where the character is just on New game +. This anime is too lazy to even be an isekai XD In every situation there is this single asspull, “I know this because of my previous life, hence trust me bro / I did this in my previous life/I know this chic from previous life / I made this shit in previous life hence it's strong” Now power fantasies can be great, many may forget due to their focus on comedy but Onepunch man is fundamentally a power fantasy and it is done fantastically well, though since some may argue its more of a satire and they would be correct if we want a better comparison we must compare it to another anime called The misfit of demon king academy which is pretty much similar plot and yet manages to be a breath of fresh air in the now almost stale power fantasy genre.
Why is it so?
In a power fantasy, where the outcome of the plot is rather clear i.e. MC will brute force and win anyhow, there needs to be something to look forward to since the story cant be intriguing if every outcome is already clear.
It's the characters.
Matty is more of kirito clone than any isekai protag before him, hell he even dresses and looks like him XD, he has an “I can do anything if the plot demands it” blessing but is still a shy little virgin who is afraid of a girls touch wow. Anos voldiGOAT on the other hand is pure badass, he knows his strength .. flaunts it, behaves, and feels like royalty has the sass and the strength to back it up. Saitama is a hero through and through even without his strength. These main characters are distinguishable EVEN WITHOUT their strength. Matty would probably be just a mob character if he was weak.
The side characters in one punch man are actually what is the greatest strength of the show. The story arc and development in misfit is what makes side characters stand out . In this anime xD I legit forget the name of the main two girls half the time I SWEAR they are just THAT fucking BORING and just exist to confirm and appreciate Mattys strength. There is one good character iris who immediately became better and more memorable than the MAIN TRIO EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS INTRODUCED IN THE 4th EPISODE XD.
Plot (3/10)
Demons bad, humanity now weak, matty strong, the king now serves matty, matty save humanity, girls unzip pants, IRIS CUTE.
Characters(4/10)
Blondie, archer girl, king, headmaster are just matty worshippers and can be assumed to be the same character, Iris is nice and cute but that's it, S rank adventure is mildly interesting i guess.
Art and animation (6/10)
The art is bad, but the animation is surprisingly decent but nothing special as expected of JC staff mediocre is the way to go for them:3.ED has virtually no art other than a couple of nice shots of iris being cute.OP art is an underwhelming compilation of in-show footage.
VA and sound (5/10)
The voice actor of Iris brings out her cuteness rather well rest is well quite forgettable just like the show. Standard walking simulator ED with no good art, the song is okayish but the lack of art makes it an instant skip.OP is just more matty worshipping.
A long-time power fantasy fan may like it, but I find it hard to recommend to any other person. The best I can suggest is to watch the first three episodes and then decide since what follows is more of the same.
Stark700
Have you ever played a difficult game and wish you could've defeated a boss easier? Ever wish you could've just cleared a game without dying once? Well, look no further than Gaius, aka Matthias Hildesheimer who reborn as a sage embedded with powerful magic and skills. Welcome a show about a young man who was once powerful still remains powerful. Now, I don't want to knock down expectations but just reading the synopsis invokes a dull feeling. You're likely expecting a character who's going to treat every fight like a walk in the park. And honestly, you're not wrong from the truth. You see, Mathias representsthe iconic Mary Stu type of character that you may find in some isekai. The recurring trope has been a mainstay in some isekai series in recent years after all. Mathias really is a testament of being the 'final boss' in this show itself.
The English translated title sounds paradoxical in the fact that we have a character as the strongest sage but with the weakest crest. He did reincarnate into a new body for specific reasons but nonetheless, the title of the show itself sounds ironic. To further this point, Mathias doesn't have any special physical traits if we judge him on the outside. He looks like an ordinary boy with a somewhat mysterious aura behind his personality. Obviously, he has a history but the show decided that to be less relevant and focus on his present goals. And like most fantasy adventures, he gains companions.
I won't say this anime is a exactly a harem but we do have one guy surrounded by three girls: Lurie, Alma, and Iris. Oh, before I forget, Iris is actually a dragon but takes on the form of a cute girl with scarlet hair and big appetite. You may wonder what their roles are in the show and believe me, it's irrelevant to explain. That's because the anime wants Matthias to be the shining superstar. Every episode follows a similar loop-formula where we get to see Matthias show off as an overpowered sage. There's not one battle where he truly struggles. As a matter of fact, you better be used to see one-sided curb stomp fights in the most straightforward way possible. There's also a lack of diversity in combat and action scenes as well. You'd think this anime would at least show the full extent of Mathias' abilities in some way but no, sorry.
Like most fantasy anime with magic elements these days, we also have an academy that teaches various branches of magical arts. Take a good guess who the best student is. That's right, it's Matthias. He makes everything look easy ranging from clearing quests without breaking a sweat, defeating demons at ease, and humiliating adversaries such as Erhard like it's not even worth his time. Because of these traits, Lurie and Alma admires him and wishes to learn to be just as strong as the sage. Iris, on the other hand, joined him because of their past history together. Together, this group pretty much carries the show on their shoulders with Matthias being at the captain.
Look, I'll just say this right now. If you somehow managed to make it past the three episode mark, then there's some chance you may finish the show without questioning your sanity. Do you want an anime with a deep and complex story? Is character development something that interests you? Or perhaps a meaningful relationship between the main cast? If any of those questions are in your head, then look elsewhere. This show sells itself as a depressing adaptation that will quickly wear itself out. You're not going to enjoy the anime if you grow tired of Matthias being the alpha male beating demons everyday. Sadly, that seems to be a main focus of the story as we see Matthias dominate them. It's like playing a video game on the easiest mode and realizing it was a mistake by taking away all the challenging fun aspects.
I don't think there's much to address about the animation quality either as J.C. Staff seems to be working their hands on making this as credible as possible. The character designs, backgrounds, and world fiction elements adapts content straight out of the novels. The female cast are decorated with JRPG-ish looks and giving them different weapons and attributes associated with their fighting styles. In terms of choreography, only the various magic crests and techniques in the show attracts attention. I would be lying if I said I enjoyed the action scenes. Because let's face it, we know pretty much how every fight goes with Matthias being the protagonist.
This anime didn't get much hype ever since it was promoted. You don't see it mentioned more than other shows this season and nor should it be. We've seen how anime like this before and to be honest, I'm very glad it's just 12 episodes. How many episodes can you really watch Matthias obliterating his opponents until he's satisfied? I know I can't for too long.
iamKetranLang
for a tl;dr I LOVE LURIE, she is everything an anime girl means to me! Story moves interestingly, enjoyable around the quick pacing, and I am in complete agreement to how Matty does things, leader type strong and wise with much foresight. I like to see this type of goodness happening with my Isekai anime XD Onto the actual review, I worked exceptionally hard on this review because The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest is my favorite anime and I further associate it as the perfect anime that describes me and why I love anime. Lurie is adorable and bit of an airhead. She got such ashy pretty face and opens my closed heart as waifu. She is why anime girls are the prettiest! In the anime, Matty and Lurie like each other although they're too shy to admit it. When Matty teaches Lurie magic and holds her hand, they're really shy to the touch and gaze XD I love the Matty X Lurie blushing moments. Much of my love to the anime is me seeing Lurie and being happy about it. Like when Matty told Lurie and Alma to cast sleep magic from behind the rocks in secret to put the bandits to sleep and Lurie accidentally made themselves fall asleep too. She is so cute asleep that I want to kiss her, even Matty points out that seeing her, he doesn't want to wake her up.
Iris is a dragon Matty knows from his previous life, provides a lot of the comedy moments, and is very cute, funny, and clumsy in human girl form. She can’t fully control her strength and trips up a lot haha =) Initially from her appearance she looks weak and harmless. Bad guys would want to target her so Iris is often the bait. Little do the bad guys know that she is really a dragon and the strong one like Matty and they get what they deserve.
Alma is tomboyish and a fantastic friend. When first introduced, she was troubled cause she wanted to help Lurie. Alma never gets seriously angry when pranked by Iris, or overprotective of Lurie, she teases Lurie a bit. She is beautiful (not sure if she really cares though), open, reliable, and gives Lurie the courage that she believes in her.
By nature, Matty's trump card is his clairvoyance since Matty's previous life as strongest sage reincarrnated into an ordinary person. I like his kind of OP, he is not unconscious of his power like a stupid fool nor does he purposely try to hide or show off his power for NO reason, but he reveals his power in moderation. In his new world, his crest was thought to be the weakest and incantation-less magic was considered wrong, he demonstrates through action and teaches to correct that train of thought and helps everyone in the Academy get better than focusing on being hero.
Matty knows his power and holds strategies in accordance to clearly assessing situations and threat levels. I enjoy that manner of thought. The party that Matty forms with Lurie, Alma, and Iris as Matty remasters his abilities, they grow together like childhood friends under the guidance of his talent and knowledge. I like the comfort of seeing pretty Lurie and Matty getting together with cute Alma and Iris on an adventure.
Matty would never make Lurie and Alma battle something they couldn't handle. In it lies Matty's OPness, Matty usually fights in moderation, but should there be a serious need to a decisive battle like the Void Eater monster that attacked the Academy, Japanese word is 決戦 "Kessen", Matty would stand in and finish it. It's heartfelt to Matty's character. Iris can swamp everyone easily too as a dragon, but Matty organizes it so he and her fight in moderation so everyone has something to do and Iris doesn't get in over her head and get hurt either. Lurie, Alma, and Iris are all important to him and I'm sure if he the weakest, his dedication to his friends would still be the same.
The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest is my favorite to watch for people that like Isekai and go on an adventure, meeting your waifu, holding her hand to teach her, fall in love with her, and fight alongside her, all while everyone around supports you as a couple. For my waifu Lurie 10/10
KANLen09
Isekai, or rather, reincarnation shows can be both good and bad. Case in point, the recent most famous of them all: Rifujin na Maganote's Mushoku Tensei, which is the undeniable platinum standard to follow. And over the years, many people have become mangakas and novelists just to have their ideas shuffled into the ever growing source material form, and one such person of interest is novelist Shotou Shinkou (or going by his official pen name, Shinkoshoto). This madlad has penned no less than 8 series to his name, and all of them (LN and manga adaptations combined) are released year after the next circa. 2015(technically 2016 is a jump) to now, and concurrently serialized in various magazines.
But sadly, with his first break-out series: Shikkakumon no Saikyou Kenja a.k.a The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest, being his very first work starting in Syosetu in December 2016 to get J.C.Staff's subpar adaptation, the red flag lies in the details. And more than writing this much novels consecutively, this just goes to show that while novelist Shotou Shinkou can write all he wants, the matter of the fact is that he doesn't know how to write a good concise and compelling story, and basing off from the tropes that have already existed to make a predictable story, already decent with padding to make up for the fact that he's suffering a burnout. If this is the case, then the next anime adaptation of his 2nd work: Tensei Kenja no Isekai Life a.k.a My Isekai Life produced by Revoroot that's coming in Summer, could be the same quality as this.
But back to Shikkakumon. Rightaway, I'm getting flashbacks of the comparison between this and Summer 2020's Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha a.k.a The Misfit of Demon King Academy, and I'll just straightaway say this: ALWAYS take Maou Gakuin, you'd doing yourself a better service as Shikkakumon is basically the same average story, plotline, character personalities but executed immensely poorly.
In storytelling, the "Show, Don't Tell" Golden Rule exists so as to give the audience sensory details as compared to needless and mindless exposition, and Shikkakumon absolutely failed that test by speedrunning the source material (LN and manga considered) in the premiere episode to useless jargons and details that can be skipped to enhance the world-building (which in fantasy shows like this is already considered predictable). And even more blatantly, lets the exposition be also explained by the MC Matthias Hildesheimer, he himself being the strongest sage Gaius in his previous life before the eventual trope of reincarnation as the boy with the weakest crest. These so-called "Marks" are pre-determined at birth so categorize people's knack for magic, and each of the 4 Crests signify different uses, the Fourth being the best (for frontal assault etc.) and the First being the worst (for magic support). And Matthias for one, acquires the 4th Crest, which should be the strongest of them all but ended up being labelled the opposite, despite being a ridiculously OP sage in his past life. And this is where another opportunity presents itself: the magic of the future has significantly been downgraded to the point where magic can be used anywhere, anytime, and anyhow may it seem fit. Couple all these problems together, and the newly reincarnated Matthias "Matty" Hildesheimer must make things right while facing the prospect of demons on the loose nearly thousands of years into the future.
It's pretty much a given that fantasy stories like this would have the OP MC couple together with his harem of girls, and Shikkakumon is basically no different from the trope. Being the strongest Sage that literally only a few people would've heard of the Gaius name thousands of years later, Matty lives in full view of the new future's development overseeing how the world got to the point of absolute deterioration, he's basically the new land's dictator that every word of his is absolute. Yes, even above the king, to which I'm thinking that a 12-year-old like Matty can be intelligent enough to rule, but not in a situation like this.
The harem of girls are also as basic as it could get for being both a romantic interest and suitable allies in Matty's conquest to correct the magic teachings the easy way in and out. And unfortunately, both Lurie Abendroth and Alma Lepucius were the classmates that that Matty singled out because he felt that they have potential, but also being his guinea pigs in the process to always be led by whatever situations they face. Even with most of the teachings guided by Matty, he is a madman to put the plans into action, forgoing any suggestion that is raised and making sure that his opinion only matters because of his own know-how. It's like adding characters that are purposefully made blank and is only supported by the MC to be his right-hand men as helpers, not that Matty ever minded if he needs ANY help at all, and ultimately used for entertainment and proof of power. The only person that's worth any level of enjoyment of the show is with the Black Dragon Iris, a dragon that has long lived since Matty/Gaius's time and the only one that knows of his true sauce. And when she is transformed down to a human, she is the epitome of hilarity as her powers go berserk, going with the flow with whatever Matty asks her to do, and above all, just doesn't give a heck about her surroundings. She's the sole reason why this show works: a lazy, but cute dragon waifu.
I could not even fathom to begin to say that J.C.Staff is becoming the studio where lots of works are hemorrhaged concurrently and produced below expectations, this is turning out to be quite the shoddy work quality that only ages even worse to the point of being D.O.A. And honestly, coming off from director Noriaki Akitaya whom is also directing Slow Loop this season and once helmed fan favourites like Bakuman and OreSuki, working on more than a single show shows the limitation of not just directors in manpower, but also the extent of the changes done in the final product. And it's for this reason that Shikkakumon really suffers from the get-go, because he and his staff team could not understand how to translate LNs into anime, of which this is his very first attempt. All other sources are fine, it's just that LN adaptations may be this director's Achilles' Heel.
Not even the anime's OST is enough to save this show, of which while I feel that fripSide's current-day songs are getting a lot more muted in content, both OP and ED songs are average at best, though Yuki Nakashima's ED is certainly one bright and cheerful song I can appreciate it's use of here but not one that warrants a second listen.
Generic anime are a dime a dozen, even more so if it's an Isekai, of which the genre has not been fully suppressed yet of getting adaptation after adaptation to showcase more mediocrity. Shikkakumon is just garbage-tier Isekai, and coming off from someone that really loves Maou Gakuin because of the immense personality values it has, I'm sorry to say that you won't find it here.
ESER10
Oh what's that? You think this is another generic power fantasy isekai? Well think again, because in this show, the MC gets reincarnated into the SAME world, making this pure fantasy. Checkmate isekai haters. Yeah this is basically just another power fantasy isekai. In this case, the gimmick is the crest that everyone is born with. MC reached his limit, and wanted a reroll to get the crest best suited for combat. However, once he is reincarnated he comes into a world that thinks the strongest crest is instead the weakest, and magic in general has regressed significantly since the time he was alive. To the showscredit, that is a pretty interesting twist that could give rise to some very interesting world building, But in the end, though it wasn't bad, the world building wasn't really that good either. The reveal was interesting enough, but after that it just became a very generic fantasy setting of trying to kill the bad group, with a super powered MC surrounded by girls.
So basically, the main thing that could have made this show interesting is addressed too quickly, which meant there wasn't too much to look forward to, unless you like these types of shows.
Resting_Bonfire
The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest This anime is one of the reasons why quality control is needed. Why are the voice actors and animators paid for something so inferior? Surely there are better uses for the money and surely better manga, manwha, or novels to adapt. I have to admit at least one thing, the basic idea with the seals and the banishment of "wordless magic" was interesting. The demons weakening and controlling the human world in this way is a nice touch. But why is everything else so disappointing? And I'm not talking about the bad animations or pacing, no that's the least ofthe problems.
[Story 2]
The storywriting in the anime is so bad, you could compare it to an Indian action movie. Nothing makes sense, everything seems forced and overdramatized. The final fight is a disaster that could give you a stomach ache. And the protagonist Matthias is the biggest problem. You know the overpowered protagonist who is always sanctified as the "strongest" and is only there to make all the side characters feel stupid and useless in his presence. Here it is at an even higher level. Up to episode 4 alone, the characters have babbled almost several times and already mentioned 50 times how strong Matthias is. Whether he's talking, using a spell, jumping, running, or explaining something, he's immediately hyped or admired in a backlash. Even if you cut out everything but these scenes, the anime is probably stuck at 7 episodes.
This is practically a prime example of bad writing. Not blandness but simply the lack of talent to implement existing ideas. This is about the plot you would create if you were a 14-year-old thinking up an isekai storyline for the first time.
[Characters 2]
Lurie, Iris, and Alma are average female characters, whereas Iris is practically a 2.0 Millim from (Reincarnated as a Slime), making her the best character in the anime. Why? Because she plays the dork and has no other function, at least she did that decently.
Matthias is ... God spare me. He is without a doubt one of the most embarrassing and forced protagonists you can find. Not only is he extremely arrogant and into a 14-15-year-old girl, as an adult male. But the author couldn't leave him alone for a single moment without stuffing the viewer's face with how "strong" Matthias is.
[Animations 3/ Music 5]
The intro, outro, and osts are ok, average. Animations are pretty bad and reach Nanatsu no Taizai Season 4 level. Slow pacing combined with miserable animations is not a good solution.
[Conclusion 3]
Even though the basic idea appealed to me, the anime was a complete disappointment. There were hardly any things that had any positive effect on me and it is far from average. Even among the most mediocre isekai I've seen, I can't think of one that seemed so empty and disappointing.
If you don't have anything better to do and want to sacrifice a few hours of your life like I did, then check it out. But otherwise, don't even consider it. This is one of the Isekai anime that exists at the very bottom of the hierarchy.
Galatory
The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest Review (6.3) The story is good but the pacing is fast and a bit rushed.The animation is not suitable for anime because for me it would be better if the animation is also good.MC good leader and side characters they did their part in the story well and they are also funny to watch.The song is good. STORY:5/10 The story is too fast,it seems a bit rushed but it is well understood and especially the funny scenes are really funny. ANIMATION:5.5/10 The animation is not good,the low effects are not suitable for anime. Because in this genre of anime it will be evenbetter if they use high and beautiful effects.
CHARACTERS:6.5/10
The animation is not good,the low effects are not suitable for anime. Because in this genre of anime,it will be even better if they use high and beautiful effects.
SOUND:8/10
The song is good.
WhatShouldIBe
Let us start with the flaws. 1. The show moves at a stupid fast pace. This is the root of almost all of the other flaws. 2. You never really learn too much about anything, because it is all being rushed. 3. If you dislike Overpowered Peeps then this is not for you. Spoilers *****Of course this is part of the story and actually is a plot point that Humans were dumbed down by demons, and he would only be moderately overpowered instead of a god amongst men if that had not happened***** Pros, I like all the characters, The story is good and... You never have to waittoo long for the story to continue. Ok that last bit was a joke, It should have been sweetly long like a long bath not bitterly short like a freezing shower. If you can not take your time to enjoy things I do think something is wrong indeed.
But seriously I rated this an 8 Because I honestly I thought it was good in every aspect, except that it was way too rushed. I think they knew it when they made the show. As such unless High fantasy, with a mostly overpowered MC is your cup of tea, think about passing it over.
Personally I would watch it again, But I recognize that it is not going to rate as high for other people because it is not their Genre of choice and it does have "Some Major Glaring Faults.."
MrKaiMan
it's one of the most generic animes i've ever seen, but i enjoyed it a lot. it's one of those animes where you won't enjoy it if you've seen a lot of this genre, which is the isekai genre (?). it's in no way creative or outstanding when it comes to anything. the story is generic and the characters seem fake. the main character is fine. the side characters are entertaining. everyone else is boring. i wish there were more challenges for the main character, Matty. Matty was super strong and defeated enemies with relative ease. it would've made the story just a little bit more interestingif he got badly injured or lost a fight. it might not have made sense or made the anime more enjoyable, but it would change up the otherwise repetitive plot.
overall, i liked watching it, but it was fairly generic. seven out of ten.
Gamesaucer
In as few words as possible, this is an adequate take on the "strong hero reincarnates" genre. This series likely won't wow anyone with its visuals, storytelling or characters, but it's solidly structured and avoids the major pitfalls a story like this might have otherwise fallen into. It's even occasionally clever with the way it builds up its setting and characters, without being pretentious about it. So even if you like to engage with media on a deeper than surface level, you'll still find a few things to enjoy here. Overall, the story has an enjoyable arc in which things gradually get more tense, and character interactionsand story beats, while sometimes on the cliché end of things, do generally feel meaningful and/or deserved.
It's not the kind of series I'd go out of my way to recommend to people, but I definitely enjoyed it a fair bit and it's left me wanting more. It's the sort of thing I'd watch on a quiet afternoon in May in a comfy armchair with a cup of strawberry tea.
Zymymar
This anime is ok. The premise is pretty standard with an overpowered main character and a bunch of girls surrounding him. Nothing special there. Where this anime is let down is that it's just so rushed. They skip any sort of character/world building in favour of skipping to the action sequences, and even those are rushed. The main character goes from being a bottom of the pack loser who's shunned by society, to being recognised by the king himself in a mere 3 episodes. He busts an extinct form of knowledge out of nowhere, and no one questions how he knows it; they just ask him tobe the teacher and by the next episode, everyone knows it.
IrrelevantGuy
Shikkakumon no Saikyou Kenja is pretty much the same generic power fantasy series that comes out every season, which means it has most of the same fundamental flaws and cliches that you would usually find in the said genre. The plot is entirely devoid of creativity, the protagonist is extremely shallow, his abilities are far too overpowered, the supporting characters are completely neglected, the world-building is almost nonexistent -- I could honestly go on for a while. Our protagonist, a sage known by the name of Gaius, desperately wishes to become stronger. But in a world where an individual's magical abilities are predertermined at birth andcannot be changed, he is severely limited by his given crest which is not suitable for combat. Wanting to obtain his desired crest instead, Gaius decides to reincarnate into the future and is reborn as Mathias Hildesheimer thousands of years later -- succeeding in his goal just like he had expected.
However, it appears that the world has changed dramatically during his absence; humans are now not nearly as efficient in magic as they once used to be. The crest that Mathias that worked so hard to attain is considered the weakest, and even basic techniques like chantless casting are thought to be extremely difficult to use. Soon, Mathias figures out that demons are responsible behind the immense downfall of humanity, and he subsequently embarks on a quest to thwart the demons from realizing their agenda.
Does this sound familiar? I'm sure it does, because I can already name almost 10 titles off the top of my head that start pretty much exactly like this -- which is one of the biggest problems I have with Saikyou Kenja. It's not only the start, but the entire plot of the show feels like a rehash of other already existing power fantasy series -- albeit not as dumb or tryhard -- but still completely predictable and almost boring enough to be sleep-inducing. And this problem of Saikyou Kenja is only exacerbated by its insipid protagonist, Mathias.
As it is the case with most overpowered protagonists in power fantasy anime, Mathias is at the center of everything that happens in the show. Thanks to his impenetrable plot armor, everyone around him unconditionally trusts and relies on him even though he has the appearance of a little kid. Mathias also acts like the active narrator of the show; he monotonously spells out all the events in the storyline and the brief exposition that we occasionally get is only ever told from his perspective. Because of this, the worldbuilding of the anime is merely limited to Mathius' monologues, which makes the world feel completely lackluster.
Of course, this creates other problems too. Since the plot is almost entirely moved forward by Mathias, all the other characters in the show get completely brushed off as unimportant and always remain under his shadows. They are rarely given any time to properly display their individual personalities, as their actions and dialogues are limited to mere reactions for the most part. It doesn't help that Mathias himself is as dull as the supporting characters -- if not more -- and even more frustratingly, few of them are actually a lot more likeable and entertaining than him.
Bluntly put, Mathias is wholly uninteresting. His only personality trait is that he is insanely overpowered and wants to become even more overpowered for whatever reason (keep count of how many times I use "overpowered"). And because of the fact that he is so overpowered, there is practically no sense of tension that could be felt throughout the story. Even if the skill level of the enemies is increased tenfold (be prepared to hear this million times), it barely matters because Mathias will probably defeat them with his bullshit powers anyway. There are times when he does use proper strategy and teamwork to win the battles, but they are unfortunately few in number.
I suppose another personality trait of Mathius, only if it could be called one, is that he can be incredibly stupid and oblivious. Occasionally, the show tries to be humorous by making him say or do something really dumb, but it doesn't work at all and instead becomes very awkward as it feels completely out-of-place for his character. Following the same pattern, Mathias tends to be clueless at some of the most bizarre and simplest things—which, again, doesn't suit his usually arrogant personality and only makes the comedy seem tryhard.
Speaking of which, Mathias frequently acts like a smartass. For some reason, he constantly needs to say to himself that he is extremely powerful and intelligent, and it is reasonably very irritating. Him being irrationally overpowered was already enough of a turn-off for me, but that being followed by his overly smug reactions made it worse. From time to time, the characters of the show also like to remind us that he is overpowered, and it annoyed me to death most of the times they did so (not every, since there were a few funny ones).
Lurie is an inoffensive character; she is neither interesting nor unlikeable. Almost the exact thing could also be said about Alma, but I personally "liked" Lurie a bit more. These two receive by far the most amount of screentime besides Mathias, and even then they are never treated as significant characters. Their interactions with Mathias are expectedly bland, usually consisting of -- as I previously said -- the two laughing at his cluelessness, acting surprised by his overpowered abilities for the umpteenth time, and more concerningly, Mathias and Lurie blushing at each other while Alma teases them.
The romance between Mathias and Lurie is portrayed in the anime as heartwarming, but I personally find it kind of creepy. Although his physical appearance and lack of maturity may tell you otherwise, keep in mind that Mathias is actually an adult (who presumably lived for many, many years). On the other hand, Lurie is most likely the same age as Mathias' current self, which means that she should be around 12 years old. Taking that into consideration, their relationship becomes somewhat messed up -- but luckily enough, the romance isn't given that much focus.
There is one character that I do genuinely like, though, which would be the "dragon girl" Iris. She is without a doubt the best character of the anime by a mile. Her over-the-top and fittingly clumsy personality is actually funny, and the scenes featuring her casually destroying her surroundings are easily the best from the entire show. Unfortunately, Iris doesn't get much focus throughout the story, and although she is a part of Mathias' team and supposedly a main character, like many others, she is rendered insignificant for the entirety of the series.
I don't think the other characters are even worth mentioning, but I will outline their roles and personalities just to show you why they aren't. Firstly, you have the unmistakably benevolent king and principal who can't do anything themselves without Mathias' help, and to oppose the good principal, there is the bad principal who has the mind of a 10-year-old kid (and definitely not a smart one). Finally, you have the boneheaded demons and their underlings, whose job is to act cocky at first and then get absolutely thrashed by their gigachad lord -- obviously none other than Mathias.
And that's it. I just fully described all the supporting characters that appear in the show; there is nothing more to say about them. Unless you count the academy students as characters too, who literally make no more difference in the narrative than a cardboard cutout would.
In contrast, I think the animation of Saikyou Kenja is quite decent on the whole. The character designs are generic for sure, but the animation quality is fairly consistent and there are not that many noticeable flaws in my opinion. I might even say that Saikyou Kenja is one of the better looking isekai/power fantasy shows in the last couple of years. The soundtrack is rather generic on the other hand, but the voice acting is expectedly very good.
Repeating what I said in the beginning of my review, Shikkakumon no Saikyou Kenja is probably one of the most generic power fantasy titles I have seen to date. But you know what? As much as I criticized the series, it is not completely garbage. Even if Mathias is a dull and unlikeable protagonist, at least he isn't always obnoxious. Even if the storyline is repetitive as hell, at least there is no insufferable drama or harem. Even if everyone besides Mathias is practically worthless, at least someone entertaining like Iris exists. Even if the writing sucks, at least there is somewhat decent animation.
The point I'm trying to make is, there are many more power fantasy shows out there that are worse than Saikyou Kenja -- it is far from being the worst one. That alone should be enough to convince some people to watch the anime and even enjoy it, but clearly, it wasn't nearly enough for me.
Anos_Voaldigoad
a real shame: the base story, AKA the manga, was really great, but the anime studio did a really bad adaptation, it was way too rushed and it seemed too bland and with no actual motives behind it, where the mange clearly had, and this is neither the first nor the last anime butchered by a bad execution. i would only want one thing: if you do not want to make it even as a decent job, then leave it for someone else who will. As i earlier said, the story itself was great: you had a lot of surprises on top of the main protagonistbeing overpowered but still wanting more, and everything was good, i know some might not really like it, and i understand, but for me, it was perfectly great: everything was within what should happen, nothing too boring, surprises everywhere, but... most of it was removed during the adaptation: what was good or realistic or respectable given the background details became completely stupid and impossible due to the lack of that background info, and the story and pacing itself became just too unrealistic it became just like toddlers shows i kind of remember watching long ago: too fast, nothing really explained, but you have the exiting bits and scenes...
i would have definitely ranked it about 3 or 4 and dropped it before it even ended, but i somehow decided to look at the base material and i was surprised, and now that i had a better idea of what is happening and why, the anime became more fun and understandable, and i was able to enjoy the action scenes animated
you might think otherwise, but overall, after having some clues from the manga, it was pretty good, try reading at least the first few chapters before completely refuting what i said
mrfried
I'll start with a TLDR: save yourself time and skip this, while this anime is average and 'inoffensive' it is extremely bland and lacking in personality. Welcome to the isekai that is not an isekai, What do I mean by that? Well, the MC is a reincarnation, he just reincarnated into the same world, thousands of years into the future, in order to become more powerful... urgh. This anime is average, it's beyond average, it's mediocre in how mundanely average it is. Overpowered protag saves the day, again, and again, and again... it's nothing new, you've seen this before, you've seen this done better, but you've also seen thisdone worse, and for that reason, it's worse than a bad trash isekai as they often tend to have 'personality', whereas this is so bland it's quite positively dull.
It's only positive is the character Iris, but even Iris can't overcome the wall of bland that is the main cast, or the predictable and cliched plot.
The problem here is, it doesn't do anything really wrong in order to give it a low score, nor does it do anything right (with the exception of Iris)
I can condemn this for being bland and dull,
But I can't outright call it bad (I've seen plenty of bad anime to know what makes a bad anime)
The animation is fine, it is what you'd expect to see, there is nothing good or bad about it, it's competent.
The OST likewise is pretty standard, there is nothing really standout about it, and it does the job.
The story is what you'd expect for these types of anime, it's predictable, but hits the required beats, you have some deux ex machina moments, some plot armour moment, the types of things that you'd expect with these power fantasies but there are no big holes in the writing, and the story/plot progresses at a smooth enough pace.
So no, it's not bad writing, but neither is it good writing.
Characters... We have our over powered protagonist, his Party of friends, and the girl who falls in love with him at first sight. All very predictable, there is not much to them, but they are given just enough attention to prevent them from being paper thin. But as said before, they are bland, they are the blandest of bland.
Our MC is overpowered, yet dull.
And then you have Iris, Iris is the odd one out as she has far better writing, far more character, and is given more attention and development.
Iris feels like she belongs to a different (better) Isekai series, that is how out of place she is, she isn't just the best character, she is the best thing the series has to offer.
As for enjoyment... If you like Isekai, or power fantasies, then it's passes the time, if you don't, then why are you watching something like this?
AnimeSrk
An OK series, the MC is also OK, he is pretty forgettable indeed, the story is decent, and the other side kicks of the MC are the same as the MC. I have a lot of mixed feelings about the season, there are some good points also but the negatives overshadow it sadly. The villains are also weak from my point of view as I have seen a lot of magic anime. The art style and the animation are decent. The magic shown are also Ok, they aren't that flashy and overwhelming when you compare it to other shows. I give this series 4/10.
Destron
I wouldn't say I hated this anime because there's far worse shows out there. However, I wouldn't say I enjoyed weakest crest. Crest was by far one of the blandest animes I have watched in quite a long time. Normally my gripe with Isekai anime is how overpowered the main character gets in such a short space of time. Crest manages to go one step further and make him OP in the first episode. I get the whole reincarnation thing as that was the reason he offed himself was to get a 4th crest, but even with his abilities not to full capacity, he's stillkilling everything in 1 hit.
I don't mind if a show makes it so weak enemies are killed in 1 hit, especially if the MC is strong as it saves time. However, with the exception of the final episode I can't think of a single fight Matthias struggled at. There wasn't really any moments in the show to get excited about as he was able to kill pretty much every enemy in 1 hit. I think the writers thought by making most of the combat oriented around the 3 girls would balance it out, but it still ended way too quick because with Matthias's guidance, they too became stupid strong.
The ending was also incredibly stupid in my opinion. The solution to beating what was considered his strongest foe to date was 110% pulled out of the creators arse. Painfully average anime that didn't really have much substance to it. He didn't even make it slightly exciting by creating new stuff to aid him on his journey. He used weapons and artifacts from his past life that was conveniently placed all in one location that he was allowed access to.
5/10
AlexTRose
This is the first review I will be writing on this site because I want people to know how truly bad this anime is. The story goes lightning fast and is mostly told in boring exposition by a character that has no personality and is amazing at everything by birthright. The MC is reincarnated and we know nothing of why he chose to do so (Thats right he chose to be reborn for some reason with a spell he made) and the first 2 episodes span 3 months I believe. There is no tension, none of the characters have anything but their base personalities, thereisnt a single original concept which can be fine if done well, but put simply the anime doesnt do anything well. The music is generic, the setting is generic, the people are generic, the enemies are generic, the goals are generic, there isnt a single thing this show does well and it just comes flat of any other anime in this genre. I think the only reason I watched it through to the end was some sick form of masochism or pride to finish what I started. I would hope the manga was better but I know I will not be reading it becasue of the poor taste left in my mouth from this rendition. I would rather go and watch every CG scene in "so im a spider, so what?" exclusively on repeat for the runtime of the show.
TL;DR Just dont acknowledge this show, and ignore it on your feed, dont waste your time like I have
Tatsumi_Sora
They are barely any humans conversations in this anime all the talk is about textbook boring stuff about magic and metals. The characters just come and go without affecting the story. The story does not emotionally affect the viewer at all. There was no intelligent exchange of words between the characters anywhere. The heroin was cute but it feels they just added her for the sake of having her it would have been nice to see the two of them develop their relationship. Most of the anime is cliche with nothing but the cliche every anime has this but there is a lot going in between but this animejust has the textbook cliche where the super-powerful villain comes just so that he can die in a boring way.
I would not recommend this anime to anyone.
Penegal
If youi are interested in this anime, I highly recommend reading the manga. The anime speeds through the plot, skipping out details and the pacing is absolutely insane. You miss out on how relationships form, how one thing leads to another and why things need to happen. Most of the time it had me wondering why they adapted it this way. My only idea is that they just wanted to reach one of the "high-stakes" confrontations as a season finale. If you are interested in the premise and want to watch the anime, I genuinely urge you to read at least the first 10 or so chapters beforedismissing this as just a bad isekai.
