Average student Mitsuki Mutou suddenly finds himself transported to another realm. Summoned by the king of this world for the remarkable power he is supposed to possess, Mitsuki is thrown out when it appears that he lacks a Special Concept. Moping about, he encounters a priestess named Menou who explains that Japanese people like him are known as Lost Ones, and such individuals never fail to have Special Concepts.
Menou elaborates that she is part of a church that helps abandoned Lost Ones integrate into society. She invites him to spend the night at her church, where the two can probe the nature of his ability. Eventually, they discover that Mitsuki's Special Concept is actually incredibly powerful and dangerous.
But is Menou's true goal to assist Lost Ones—or the opposite?
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Ionliosite2
Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road is one of the isekais that come from the new batch of isekai series of this season, however, what made Shokein Shoujo no Virgin Road stand out to me? We’ll see about it. This review has spoilers mostly in the character section. The story seems your run-of-the-mil isekai series showing a male that is transported to another world, finding a cute girl and having an OP power, however that quickly changes showing us who the true MC is, and that one is the girl that we saw, Menou. We follow her in her travel to kill another girl named Akari, shealso comes from another world but her powers make her very difficult to kill forcing Menou to find a way to kill her.
The series has some pretty good world building, the world in which the series occurs gets explored in multiple ways we are told the past and how the culture got to the point it is like why they all talk in Japanese, the reasons why they treat people from other world in the way they do, explanations of the locations they are in which helps in not everything looking the same. We get more than a superficial part of the world explained and there is even more that the anime didn’t get to cover.
The animation is actually pretty good, JC Staff really put effort into this, there are multiple fight scenes which look really good, especially the ones from episode 10 and beyond. The animation and art are pretty consistent through the show, the only nitpick I could make is that in episode 8 there were some reused frames, however even there it still looked nice outside of that, and the purpose of those frames was mostly comedic so not much is lost in there.
About the adaptation, it is actually a pretty faithful adaptation which makes sense since they were adapting only 2 volumes, some minor stuff and here were omitted. The only problem with things omitted is Momo’s backstory, it made her power look like it came almost out of nowhere for not having much information on it in the anime. Despite that, there is also something I liked about the added scenes, some of them give some more character interaction, however a scene in episode 7 where Manon is with the little girl and takes her to the Iron Maiden wasn’t there originally, it was a really good idea to add that scene to make a bigger surprise in a future episode than how it was in the novels.
With the characters we have our protagonist, Menou, unlike most isekais the MC of the series is actually a girl from the world that isn’t Japan, she is pretty calm, she has a determination to kill Lost Ones after her town got destroyed and spending a lot of time her her teacher Flare, she tries her best to kill them for no one else to have to commit those actions she does, despite that she is still has a warm side to her like even after killing Mitsuki she is still buried him, and actually we get to see with Momo how she can treat other people nicely outside of her work. As she travels with Akari she gets to open herself to her and start caring for her, she protects Akari from outsiders at any cost and feels bad for having to kill her but it is still something she has to do to protect her world, it is a self-character conflict that she has that mainly drives the story. Akari is actually an interesting one, we first see her as a very happy person that is suddenly very attracted to Menou despite just meeting her, as if it was fate that connected them, she can be bothersome in some stuff since she is always excited about stuff and is always drooling over Menou, however in episode 6 everything makes sense, we get to see that the usual Akari we see is not her actual personality and that she has traveled multiple times to try to save Menou, the Akari with memories is far more collected than the normal one although still somewhat inexpert in some stuff, she comes off as much more normal than the other and it start to makes sense that the other Akari enjoys so much her time with Menou and the reason why she is so determined to get killed by her. The interactions between Menou and Akari a lot of the time come from Akari being too excited over things or wanting to jump to what Menou is doing or calling her attention, it come with some funny moments, while it also can have some serious and nice moments about them, specially at their “dates” and in episode 6, stuff like that was pretty nice to see, their relationship actually seems more like a friendship.
Momo is the one that probably come out the weakest of the characters, specially because of the omitted part of her past, the reason why she never stands anyone aside from Menou is because she is a misanthrope, her “senpai” is the most important thing in the world for her and that’s why she wants to make Akari disappear as fast as possible, she is always following Menou even if she cannot be at her side helping her to solve some of the stuff that she cannot do alone. Ashuna is an interesting kind of princess; she doesn’t behaves herself like a normal one since she is a warrior too. She has her own motives, that while we don’t see that much in the beginning we get a little grasp in her conversation with Momo in episode 5 when she talks about having a sister. The interactions between Ashuna and Momo are really fun, so the multiple times when they are together can be amusing. We get to see that Ashuna really cares about Momo even if Momo calls her names and tries to push her to the side.
The opening is song is very good, a great work from Mili, I had to listen to add multiple times a day when it came out, the lyrics really fit with the series and the video tells you a lot of stuff that you would have some hard time guessing until you get there. The ending also is good, the song is nice and after a while I really started to like it, but the most important part to me is the video, I really like the video, it is artistic in the style and it makes you follow Akari understanding her travel.
It’s actually funny how this show got under my radar until one day I found a meme about it after the first episode aired and got interested on it. So finally, Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road is a very good series with an interesting premise and it has many mysteries, that while some weren’t solved due to the anime adapting only 2 volumes it still manages to surprise and entertain. I’ll definitely be waiting for a second season of this great series.
Thank you for reading.
KANLen09
Etheric Connect: Scripture, 19:6 Invoke - Pure Concept of Knowledge [SB Creative's GA Bunko Awards Grand Prix winner, a.k.a this shit is great.] If you have ever heard of SoftBank Creative's GA Bunko light novel label before, you would have known it for the one sole source material: DanMachi, which has already spawned 3 seasons and going for a 4th in the upcoming Summer 2022 season, all which've been adapted by J.C. Staff. Novelist Fujino Oomori's DanMachi is the label's acclaimed GA Bunko Grand Prix winner, the most recent up until today since its serialization in 2013. But that comes to a stop, for novelist MatoSato, together with illustrator Nilitsu, have created the next step of that evolution by creating this work that has earned its place as the proceeding GA Bunko Grand Prix winner in 2019, A FULL 6 YEARS where DanMachi has been claiming that title ever since its inception. And if you know anything about awards like these in Japan, they tend to be held in very high regard, and an anime adaptation is almost guaranteed when there's enough source material to go around. Come this season, courtesy of J.C. Staff (which doesn't miss when it comes to highly-prized works like these), Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road a.k.a The Executioner and Her Way of Life has finally bared its fangs towards the small screen, and to say that the experience was mind-blowing is just cutting it short of the overall feel of the source material.
Isekai stories are a plentiful these days, so much so that this genre has already been awashed of the creativeness of many new authors trying to directly copy-paste other works that have been well established over the years, I'd say more than a decade and a half since SAO's inception that truly gave Isekai the much maligned and cursed genre that its known today that's backed by immense, growing popularity with each passing year. But have you ever heard of an Isekai where the entire setting is basically a reverse-Isekai, plus themes and nuances added for effect? I know I have not, and Virgin Road basically opened my eyes to your stereotypical Isekai trope that's subverted in a much more deep and impactful way that's not just mere simple background glitches of illusion for shock value, and the magic itself is utilized in such a way that is a total breath of fresh air.
The unimaginable power of Pure Concepts, and Isekai otherworlders called "Lost Ones" whom came from an alternate world known as Japan. These 2 ingredients make up the core premise of Virgin Road, where these Lost Ones would get Isekai-ed and build a new advanced civilization that brought forth Japanese influences into the fantasy world that prospered greatly. However, these Pure Concepts have a negating effect: with prolonged usage, the user will lose control of his/her powers, bringing disaster and calamity to the world, and this eventually gave rise to the fantasy world's legendary disasters, dubbed the Four Major Human Errors that resulted in the effect of these calamities: the Sword of Salt, which turned the whole Western continent into salt that is gradually melting into the sea; the Pandæmonium, a fog-like dead zone in the Southern archipelago where monsters regularly emerge from; the Mechanical Society, which controls the wild frontier in the East; and the Starhusk, which carved out the centre of the Northern continent and set it afloat. To prevent the disasters from raging another situation like these again, this causal effect has become the strictly forbidden taboo that's managed by the Faust (essentially the Church of the fantasy world), spawning Executioners that wield magical powers known as Ether and setting out to assassinate any Isekai otherworlders "Lost Ones" are still being summoned to this very day for fear of their uncontrolled powers. This is essentially Virgin Road's logical extension-cum-exaggerated approach to the Isekai genre, which other than coming off as a one-off shitpost, it's worldbuilding at its best and most finest.
And the story goes of one such Executioner by the name of Menou: a young priestess who specializes in hunting down and assassinating Lost Ones before they can become liable threats, being fully aware that they are innocents who have done nothing wrong, but her Executioner training dictating that they cannot be allowed to live, as their Pure Concepts will ultimately corrupt them if they're kept alive for long periods of time. And her task has led to this otherworlder by the name of Akari Tokito: a Lost One with the Pure Concept of Time, summoned by the Grisarika Kingdom's King Grisarika of the noble class, Noblesse. Just like other people who've been summoned from Japan, Akari is dumbfounded of her newly-known power, but isn't given enough time to experiment on her power because of Executioners like Menou having been trained to kill them within the first sighting of getting to know them, then to slowly invoke the assassination with none the wiser, no words questioned. But when Akari's Pure Concept of Time essentially reverses the ability to be physically assassinated, Menou fears for the worst, and has to find another way in order to be able to kill her, which Akari gladly agreed to, and thus, the duos's journey starts leaping through places and people to find an ideal place to commit the assassination, with both parties (Menou indefinitely, Akari definitely) conceding to the act.
Viewing this entire scenario through Menou at first glance, nothing seems out of the ordinary: a knife-wielding magecraft with full mastery of her ether. That's until you get to see the nuance of how she thinks and acts through every situation: she's groomed from young to be an Executioner because of what she has faced in her past. Remember the Sword of Salt incident that arose from the Lost Ones' Pure Concept powers bellowing out of control? Menou is a survivor of the harrowing incident, which left her soul "bleached" birthed that became the trauma to form the emotionless husk of a child ridden of her family, with no dream left to live by for a suicidal life. This trauma was relieved by none other than the legendary priestess by the name of Flare, known for her incredible skill in magecraft, as well as being the well-known top Executioner responsible for the assassinations of Lost Ones. Having seen the devastation of a lone child wandering across the vast space of a situation that Menou herself could've not overcome, Flare took her in as her apprentice, and Menou even called herself as Flare's "Flarette", her successor in the current day and age where Flare is nowhere to be found. So think of Menou as like Nana Hiiragi from Talentless Nana, though pulling this gambit off is what essentially kicks off the show proper.
The other question now raises to the Yuri aspect of the show, since Mato Sato's work is basically labelled as a Yuri (a.k.a girls' love) work through and through. Raising the bar first to the Lost One Akari Tokito, it's pretty much self-explanatory of her power with the Pure Concept of Time, and if you stripping the power aspect away, Akari is initially portrayed as rather clumsy and air-headed, but also kind and trusting, that lead her to easily trust Menou upon their first meeting as she believed that their encounter was fate. In retrospect, Akari has already used her power to invoke the Regression of Time, saving Menou from countless death instances, which circumstances that their meeting in the fantasy world purely comes down to fate and not the first as we're initially led to believe on the surface level. But remember when I said that the more that the user uses his/her own Pure Concept, he/she will lose control of their powers? This is exactly what happened to Akari, and in this case, resulted in the loss of her memories every time she regresses and leaving traces of deja vu for nothing more than just a passing resemblance for mystery. But, you can't mistake that other than fate, and to even anticipate the killing moment, it may sound insane from Akari's POV, but her character shows that her love and attachment to Menou is genuine, and this may be the first time that I'm hearing this that's similar to the ever-so-popular Christian jargon of "dying to self" for others' gain.
The next literate pink-haired Nana Hiiragi feel-alike is Momo, another Executioner priestess and Menou's personal aide to assist on missions ranging from reconnaissance to providing support in battles, wielding a wire saw as her weapon. Many may question the significance of the Yuri-ness from Momo to Menou, and this is supported by the fact that both were childhood friends, and the crush that sparked out of it from the hair ribbons that Menou gave to her. Yes, it may sound insignificant that something like a hair ribbon is all it takes for a hot-bodied love affection, but to Momo, this is all that she had of her memories with Menou, and I can definitely understand that this connection creates the reassurance that Menou will always be with her, even when they're physically apart. That, with Akari's inclusion in Menou's life, Momo's jealousy reaches far beyond the levels of the earth so much so to always grumble with Menou, that the latter always appreciates her presence, knowing fully well of the awfully close attachment. But just like a well-hidden enclosure of a yandere, Momo is a force to be reckoned with if she is unleashed of her powers, that love translates to a massive power draw that's equivalent to death unhinged, and you DO NOT want to anger this well-endowed girl, but pet her like an overly attached pet to calm her tits down.
The other characters do make their appearances and create their own diversions based on their characteristics, from the likes of the Grisarika Kingdom's warrior princess Ashuna Grisarika whom disregards her position as a princess to look for worthy opponents for battle, to yet another Lost One: Manon Libelle leading a liberated social class all in the disguise that in private, she is but only one of the four main antagonists in the overall story (that's covered in the anime so far). Adding the Church aspect of the Faust and Noblesse being at loggerheads with one another, and you have character and worldbuilding that's larger than life as the series grows to expose more infodump that is cohesive and doesn't feel like it's a waste of time. It's very good and worthy of the Grand Prix position that it won by its inherent strength of making everything connected, that not one single instance is a throwaway feature just for show.
Unsurprisingly, for such a valuable work like this, I'd thought that J.C. Staff would penchant the DanMachi staff team to work on this since this unironically links to a high-quality production given its stature, but since we already know at this point that DanMachi would come back next season, an entirely new staff team must be helmed for this stop-gap show of sorts. And for the notables, bringing in Isekai Bookworm assistant director Yoshiki Kawasaki for his directorial debut, veteran series composer Shougo Yasukawa, Hataraku Saibou a.k.a Cells at Work! chief animation director and character designer Keiko Tamaki, it already sounds like there is a seasoned crew of people whom regardless if they knew the extent of the LN's status, would still produce the finest quality that matches the exuberance of the source material in its grandiose. Some nice scenes, especially the high-octane action battles that are a sight to behold, while making this a wholly J.C. Staff work that's definitely the quality that we've come to know of the studio in shows (especially DanMachi), and this doesn't feel like the cheapness of other average shows that has recently been produced to mixed fanfare.
On the musical side, Mili's "Paper Bouquet" for the OP, other than the fact that it is sung entirely in English (which you can easily find the lyrics in Spotify), it is an excellent OP that embraces its visual spectacle, but I can't help that feeling that it doesn't sound as good as say, Goblin Slayer's ridonclous gore-rape fest of an OP that I still remember to this very day. It has the Mili "Seal of Quality" that's for sure that some people can appreciate, but I just find the song to be decent at best. On the other hand, I freaking love ChouCho's songs with the rawness of her vocal range that is precedent in 2017's "Imouto sae Ireba Ii." and 2020's "Majo no Tabitabi", and of the 2 ending songs sung this season (this one and the Maou Gakuin-inspired shitfest that is Murabito A), "Touka Serenade" is the next acclimation of ChouCho's angelic voice, paired with the dignified visuals that are just shades of artistic symbolisms placed between Menou and Akari's relationship. No doubt that in my mind, this ED is low-key certainly one of the best of the season in both music and visuals combined.
We should come to a consensus: since Japan has countless manga and novel awards like the Dengeki Novel Prize and GA Bunko Grand Prix, these works MUST be adapted into anime, and we SHOULD watch more of them to know of their individual acclaims in the Land of the Rising Sun. The only problem is that people like to profit off of no-name, average people pumping out average works just for quick bucks of cash cows, and this is the rare instance of getting works that have already won prestigious awards that's so great, in the same rhetoric that anime will spike up more sales of the source material. Hopefully this proves to be so, and if there is a Season 2 of this, I will gladly watch more of Virgin Road, because this is the lost art of creative and bold storytelling that so many new wannabe authors nowadays just miss the mark, or barely hung on to tried-and-true methods to try being different, when in actuality, they're one and the same.
Watch Virgin Road, it's a show where your virginity will not be lost in this journey for a compelling experience.
Ace_Entertainers
I don't usually write anime reviews on MAL but after seeing the hate this series is getting on here for stupid reasons has forced me to write this. First of all let me make one thing clear don't believe on the score. The story for this unique Isekai is really good with amazing world building and characters and as a Light Novel and manga reader I can confirm that it gets even better from episode 4 and the final arc of this series is amazing.The pacing for this series is really well done and every episode it adds something to the story or hints at something.As a light novel reader it was good to see them only adapting 2 volumes without skipping most of the stuff.
The characters are really unique and not your normal Isekai characters who feel like every other Isekai character. They have unique character development as the show goes on and some really interesting stories.
The animation and art by JC Staff has been their best since Railgun season 3 but there are a few episodes with weak animation and art. The ost and both the Op and Ed song are amazing. This is among the new isekai of this season is the best and is going to be one of the best ones of the year too.
Overall it is a 10/10 for me and if you are a person not watching this because of low score and Isekai then you are missing out on a great anime.
gigikomo
If you go to my profile, you will see I'm very picky when it comes to giving a 10/10 or even a 9/10 rating. Please try to keep that in mind when reading. Sound: 9/10, great. The opening is great. Several singers. Good melodies. Stereo effect to tingle your ears in all places. The sound effects undeniably go above and beyond, just like in Jojo. There's a deep, rumbling layer to some of them. The voice acting, while not jaw-dropping, is nothing to be ashamed of. It's good. The background music could use some improvement. Not that there is anything wrong with them, it's just that I've heard better. They'regood enough, but didn't help hype me up.
Art: 9/10. Honestly, I initially rated sound and art 10/10 as there's nothing wrong with it but ultimately decided against it to separate it from the character and story, which both go above and beyond.
Only in one episode can you see J.C. Staff (the studio) trying to save a little bit on the budget by reusing 2 or 3 animated shots.
The CGI was used sparely. It was in only one episode that I can remember. And I'm not even actually sure it was CGI in the first place. Anyway, it fit seemlessy.
The character designs are gorgeous, the clothes and the hair are well animated.
The fight scenes don't use any cheap trick, like hiding everything behind a cloud of smoke or only showing shockwaves because "the characters move too fast for the human eye to see" (you know what I'm talking about if you've seen Dragon Ball, for instance). Here, you actually see the characters and there's no freeze-frame either.
Character: 10/10, outstanding and fully deserving of this perfect rating.
An interesting choice for sure, the main cast is pretty much exclusively female. Personally, I liked it a lot! It was very refreshing! It makes for new or different interactions.
Each character comes with their lot of background, mystery, strengths, weaknesses and quirkyness.
Their psyche is explored as well. And it evolves.
Their chemistry works wonderfully. It makes it easy to get attached to the cast. The characters' actions aren't purposefully frustrating, nor involuntarily so either.
Story: 10/10 and I couldn't possibly go any lower as there are too many reasons it's as good as it gets.
As mentioned above, each character brings their lot of background and mystery. But not only that, the world itself also has a rich history. And this anime is not shy when it comes to giving away revelations.
The powers of the characters are not bland. They are well thought out. They come with their drawbacks or limitations.
The main plot is clear, engaging and naturally leads to the unfolding events of this season. There is no forced diversion delaying the progression or anything of the sort that would drop the rating.
It's surprisingly hard to guess who's the antagonist of any given arc!
None of the factions at play are manichaean either!
Enjoyment: 10/10.
Earlier I mentioned the soundtracks weren't epic enough to elevate the hype. But it was well compensated by the art, the story and the characters. So in the end, even during the fights the hype was there. The anime did pump me up, just not at full potential.
Outside of fighting, I'm eager to learn more about the world and our characters! At the same time, the season gave me a satisfying ending. It resolved its issues flawlessly.
Overall: 10/10, a starting season worthy of a masterpiece.
Grimiku
Guys, guys, guys! I figured it out! I know what's wrong with this anime! If you're gonna tl;dr this review than please just know that Shokei Shoujo is a criminally underrated show on MAL because it missed its international audience target by a long shot and I don't mean just the first episode twist that everyone who bothers to know his isekai is aware of. Let me elaborate. This show comes in a season packed with quality content and in an almost post-post-isekai era. It can't create anything new in the concept, we already have had self-aware isekais for years. It can't compete with hype for Kaguya-samaor SPYxFAMILY and it failed to capture hearts of most people invested in regular isekai genre. I mean, I rated it highly but I don't think it comes close to the likes of Re:Zero or Mushoku Tensei and there is abundance, A B U N D A N C E of mid-to-relatively-good shows in the genre. You may ask yourself than - why should I watch it? Who cares if just another guy got transported and struggles to be the hero (or one-shots everything in his way)? The answer lays in subversion of tropes. And before you say "Ha! But it has been done a million of times already. Basically every isekai needs to come up with something new." I will say "Yes, yes of course. Who are you and why do you watch those shows?". And I mean it. Ask yourself those two simple questions because if your answer is along the lines of "because I enjoy seeing my unrealized fantasy in a cartoon form" or "I see myself as guy who starts with nothing but than BAM BAM PEW PEW latent (or developed) super powers and a harem" than Shokei Shoujo is not for you.
Hey look, it's even in the title. It says shoujo, doesn't it? Oh, so you might think because it was marketed as a yuri it may perhaps appeal to or target audience who likes to see relationships and love bloom between people of the same sex with all the emotional twists and turns? You're wrong. And if you came looking for this kind of action, this is not an anime for you. Although I have to admit, it's possibly the greatest shortcoming of the entire series - it fails to realistically capture female x female dynamics in any emotionally impactful way.
Fanservice than? Maybe it has some o t h e r kind of rabu rabu action? Again, wrong. You will 100% see many more panty shots in horror/mystery series like Summertime Render airing at the same time. Shokei Shoujo (in my opinion) is not even close to ecchi. Again, not for you ;(
Who is it for than? It's for you, dear daydreamer. You, the person who enjoys your properly established fantasy world with some thought being put into how power levels work. You, the viewer who prefers their anime with a seasoning of genre and trope awareness. You, the chuunibyou enjoyer of made-up class systems and magical explosions.
But beware! If you also fall into previous "not for you" categories, Shokei Shoujo is going to be mid at best. I can't stress it enough. This show's Original Sin is invoking fantasies to literally kill them first chance it has. It is the core of the entire plot as well. It's about coming to terms with not wanting to erase your dreams but having to live in a world where you have to submit to killing them.
So if you don't mind sitting through a show that has literally no self-insert material*, no emotional kick, little to no ecchi, but talks to your childish-yet-aware brain, be my guest. Watch it and you will be rewarded.
On a sidenote, if you need more of a hook:
+fights are not that predictive in terms of how they develop;
+music, especially the OP by Mili, is great;
+story is thought-through and centered around heavy world building;
+usage of known tropes (talking to you, Re:Zero and time travelling shows) has a unique twist to it;
+for once "going home" is the opposite of an end goal for characters;
+the apparent MC is not Saitama overpowered and needs to find creative ways to deal with opponents far stronger than herself.
Hope that now you are aware of how this show works and why people seem to rate it as they do. Give it a chance if you will. Maybe you're in the right headspace for the Executioner and her way of dealing with life.
* MINOR SPOILERS. Shokei Shoujo deals hard blow to male-centered ego not only in the first episode where a typical sigma-to-alfa protagonist is killed of. It goes great lengths to show there are literally no males in this fantasy world of any significance. There goes gender diversity through another window.
nfken
The story of the series is great, being capable to include two creative ideas in the isekai genre: 1) A interesting "another world" setting with a "sword and magic" society mixed with "our world" culture and technology; 2) A story focused in the point of view of the people of the "another world". So much that the first episode has a surprise twist, where the main character position was "switched" from the typical summoned boy with cheat power to the "another world" assassin lady, Menou. From this point, the story follow Menou, a priestess with the task to kill the summoned people before they lose control oftheir cheat powers (situation that already caused the destruction of continents in her world).
And the main story is about the journey Menou is forced to go together with her next target, Akari, a summoned girl with a power which makes impossible to kill her. A journey with several twists, actions scenes and yuri (lesbian) subtext/romance.
The production and art of this anime is top class. Some battle scenes are too short, but they are well placed in the story and have a good conduction.
But another aspect around this series is the hate campaign against it, conducted mainly by people revolted with the first episode because they wanted another series with your typical boy with cheat power as main character, surrounded by his harem of beautiful girls at his foot.
And the curious is that their frustrations can be easily cured by going to the several other series with their desired harem isekai trope (and some of them are actually good). As example, in the same season we have the 2nd series of "The Rising of the Shield Hero", where in the first episode we already have another beautiful girl begging to join the slave harem of the main character.
However, these people make efforts to fill all the spaces in internet with dishonest critics with the lowest scores possible. An effort that is not viewed from the same people in several other genres or series that go against their desired trope.
So, "Shokei Shoujo no Ikirumichi" can be viewed as a hidden gem, with a great story, art and production. But that could be elevated to the level of masterpiece by the polemic that the series created, revealing how some people can be petty by the most ridiculous reasons.
Desi_soap
A unique anime premise with an interesting story. I must say when this anime caught my eye I thought it might just be normal seasonal isekai trash. But as you can tell it is not. It has an interesting story with an interesting concept. The idea of other Lost ones (which are people that got isekaid) having too much power to the point where if they use it too much there minds just get fucked and they wreak havoc and how their are executioners placed to kill them is something I find quite intriguing for the isekai genre. The first episode did made me say¨WHAT THE FUCK MAN" but after that episode it was a good watch. The animation is not great but good. The battle choreography was a bliss to look at as well. Characters are not that bad either. The conversation between them seems somewhat bland but hey, at least they got personality. I enjoyed this anime quite a bit, with its massive depth of a plot and I am hoping for a season 2.
Overall: 8/10
Neremeno
Virgin Road is a guilty pleasure. ;) See it like a B-movie: everything is over-the-top and flashy, with exagerated characters and mustache-twirling villlains, but it's obvious that it's aware of itself. But in addition to that, the author took great pains to provide in-story explanations for everything, even the apparently stupid tropes. Although you'll have to switch to the light novel to have the overall view of the story, the anime adaptation makes for a very fun, self-contained introduction. It faithfully follows the first two volumes of the novel. The world Power-seeking mages use the forbidden art of otherworld summoning to call upon very dangerous beings: Japanesepeople (also called Lost Ones). But there's a catch: during their summon, those Lost Ones get imbued with rare powers, but they tend to go crazy (whole regions of this world were destroyed by them). So the Faust (some sort of Church) founded a order of executioners to track and kill those Lost Ones.
Due to the presence of those modern-era Japanese people, some technological knowledge leaked into this world, turning it into a steampunk setting with a fun technomagic. If you can, pay attention to the text that quickly scrolls off-screen during spell casting!
The characters
The author loves having characters that lie, to others and sometimes to themselves. Sometimes it's obvious from the start, sometimes not, but it makes rewatching the series quite fun. Also, some characters from the main cast are villains, or at least unsavory individuals.
Menou (the Executioner) doesn't really have a defined personality and seems a bit bland? It makes her the only level-headed person in a crazy world, but it's also explained by something that happened in her childhood and has real, even crucial, consequences in the story.
Akari (the Lost One) looks like a walking trope? She's stupid, has no survival instinct and keeps claiming to love Menou for no reason. By the end of the first arc, it's obvious that it's an act (at least part of it), and strong reasons progressively come to light.
Momo (Menou's assistant) is "annoyingly girly" and "cutely jealous"? It's quickly obvious that she's not just a tsundere, but a full-on psychopath… and a frighteningly competent one at that (only her need to please Menou keeps her under control… most of the time).
And so on.
The story
It feels like a long tabletop RPG campaign, with arcs that focus on a given place, a villain and a plot, with some continuity linking them. It's never complicated but it's a healthy blend of mystery, big combat scenes with cackling villains, and small breathers to develop the characters.
While it's technically an isekai, it's really not what the story focuses on (although Menou's recurring dream is probably a clue that it might change in the future). It's all about Menou investigating and dodging nefarious plots from the Faust (the Church) and the Noblesse (the nobility), or investigating dark secrets from the past, while getting headaches from the other characters' shenanigans.
The overall feel is more on the fun side, but sometimes the violence level jumps noticeably, especially in the second arc.
The ending (or is it?)
By the end of episode 12, the second arc is concluded but the overall plot is only starting (the original light novel is still being published), making it a satisfactory ending, if a bit open.
Since there's no second season on the horizon, my advice: go read the novel! The English translation is closely tracked by Yen Press. The story keeps getting both darker and funnier, and the author is very good at always keeping things in motion, never repeating the same tropes, coming up with new deranged behaviors for the characters, and so on. And the main cast is surprisingly interesting.
Is it yuri?
Within the scope of the 12 episodes, in spite of the all-female cast, no.
Akari and Momo keep saying that they're in love with Menou, but there's no romance. Menou never shows any sign of reciprocating (remember that her defining trait is… not to have a defined personality of her own). She cares for Momo and is grateful for her service, but nothing else. She's troubled by Akari, due to unclear dreams that may or may not be memories, but she mostly sticks to the persona she fabricated to befriend her, and protects her so that her power doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
random_savage
This review is spoiler free. Shokei Shoujo is a show with a great central concept which is reinforced by wonderful world building. The magical system is one of the most innovative I’ve seen in recent shows; instead of more classic “elements”, it relies on abstract concepts as specializations which enable a range of unique abilities. The “isekaied” people in this world have certain attributes which make it advantageous for various factions with diverging goals to attempt to summon them and over millennia, they have fundamentally altered the isekai world’s society and the mix of magic and technology which permeates the isekai world is something that isworth seeing. The world follows a hierarchical power structure with three states, the Church, the nobility and the common people, which are a natural extension of the inequality in power which results from the world being one of extravagant and extremely powerful magic and magic technology; the Hobbesian idea that all men are equal as even the weakest man can kill the strongest man is no longer necessarily true in this world.
Unfortunately, as a whole, the show does not live up to the potential which this fascinating setup gives it. The production quality is generally mediocre which unfortunately means that the world and the various magical battles, creatures, abominations and artifacts scattered throughout it are rather uninspiring. The final product on screen does not live up to the quality of the concept. The characters are average at best. None of them are particularly bad conceptually, but their final execution does not make any of them particularly memorable. The show could probably have also been directed better; while the show balances showing and telling well, most of the character-centric and “slice-of-lifey” filler scenes don’t do enough to build up the character’s central to the story.
Hence, at the end of the day, Shokei Shoujo ends up as a 7- good, but not great. It really has some solid elements (especially in its world-building) and the main plot is quite interesting. However, as a whole, the show certainly isn’t exceptional. I can’t help but feel that if this anime had a better production team behind it and a better sense of direction, the characters could have been made stronger and both the action scenes and the magic of the world could have really popped. Unfortunately, this is note the case.
I would also mention that there are definitely limitations to the world building, it certainly can’t stack up against something like Fullmetal Alchemist, Attack on Titan, or Legend of the Galactic Heroes, but it certainly is above average and really brings in some great concepts.
Far_Together
A different take from the flood of isekai that has saturated the anime market, The Executioner and Her Way of Life gives us something of a view from the other side of things. Characters that have arrived in this world in standard isekai fashion are extremely powerful, but have a history of changing too much of the world are feared and seen as a problem to be controlled. The main character through this anime is dealing with the realities of her work as well as trying to develop as a person herself. There were several points where I thought I knew where the story was goingonly for it to be derailed rather suddenly.
The story as a whole is a pretty slow burn, the few focus characters are revealed over the course of the show, rather than all at once and it's a nice change from the info dump episodes I'm used to getting these days. However, with there only being one season and the story not being fully told, we do not get a real conclusion or full picture on anything. This is could be taken as a blessing or a curse for the show, depending on the viewer. Personally, I like when a show doesn't give me everything and I feel instead like I'm just viewing a fragment of a character's life, but I know that is not a style for everyone.
The tropes that are assigned to the supporting cast are really why this isn't a 10/10 show to me. There is a hard lean into obsession over the main character that at no point feels natural nor necessary. One character that isn't fawning over the MC is instead after the character that is obsessed with the MC making for awkward moments, that I'm sure are supposed to be funny, but feel like they miss the mark by a lot.
The show has a feeling somewhere between .hack//SIGN and Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and the story overall seems like it may trend toward the latter. I felt like I was reading chapters of a good book while watching this show, with each episode leaving me wanting to watch more, but also satisfied with each viewing block.
Ainosora
A dark storyline in a rich world filled with strong women? If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, just watch this now, it is so good. It starts off interesting but takes a few episodes to really dig into the world and develop, at that point it becomes excellent. This is a journey through a dark fantasy world and deconstruction of the Isekai genre. Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road, which I would translate more directly as The Executioner Girl's Pure Way of Life, is a journey through one of the richest and most interesting worlds I've seen in a long time. A world still reelingfrom major disasters that took place around 1000 years ago, called the four human errors. The human errors are some of the most creative and interesting world disasters I have ever seen in a plotline and I hope they will be explored more in the future. The details given in this anime make one want to see more of the world.
The story centers around a priestess who carries a dark burden, a tradition ever since the four human errors, to ensure they never happen again. The characters in this show are fantastic and varied greatly. The main characters are awesome and play off eachother so well, it is super fun to see them interact.
Overall I'd highly recommend this show if like my first line, a dark storyline in a dark fantasy world filled with strong women sounds awesome to you. The only reason I haven't rated it higher is that the ending leaves much more to be desired, I hope one day it'll be fulfilled.
IgnatiusTheFirst
Minor spoiler ahead, Prolly Potential spoiler but i try minimun it Story : Story pretty simple, follow by a girl who want to kill isekai character to prevent rampage and destroy all over the world, she stumble upon basically impossible to be killed girl who eventually become her partner afterward. The story pretty interesting, its involve so many thing like evil scheme and human experiment. 9/10 Its basic plot but still its only matter is execution Character : We have Menou who are the mc who basically have dark past and have only 1 reason to live, to prevent dark past happened again. MC have end goaland also she is not isekai char. We have Momo, you know it right? Siscon sister who really love her senior and never stop love her. We have Akari who are isekai char, summon by noble in the other world. She is also like Momo, love menou as her best friend and also have dark past before arrive in other world. We have Ashuna, Strong noble woman who going through lot of troubles. 9/10 Overall they use same thing over and over but still its good
Sound : (No comment)
Art : This anime contain so much gore everywhere from very first episode till last episode. They didnt toned down the gore, i give them positive score about that. 10/10 The true action always involve blood and gore
Enjoyment ; I really enjoy watch this anime every goddamn Saturday. I totally want S2 to know what happened next.
Overall : 10/10 I dont want be like hardcore fans but this anime is absolutely good, from action and adventure theme also Fantasy, They hit it to the point even they are use same method like other generic anime but this anime didnt fail me. Really sad its going to the end. This story also take different opening when u see blood on screen at very first episode which catch me by surprised
Do you recommended this? Yes totally especially you like Action
Do you want Season 2 for this? Yes absolutely because they reveal next villain
Thats should be all, Adios!
LikeAFerro
Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road was one of the most pleasant surprises of this Spring. It presents a very interesting twist on the isekai genre, as the protagonist Menou is an executioner of the Church, tasked with killing otherworlders (basically, generic isekai protagonists who have a chance to blow up the world). This spin alone makes the show worth a watch in my opinion, but fortunately the good things don't end with the base concept. The worldbuilding is quite good, with a pretty original and well thought magic system and well detailed social classes. The cast is great. Menou herself is a very interesting character, deeply influenced inher way of thinking by her upbringing, but brought to question her way of life over the course of her journey with Akari, the girl she has to kill. All supporting characters are intriguing and the villains are well developed.
The production quality isn't stellar, but it's definitely above average.
Overall, the anime is a breath of fresh air for both the isekai and fantasy genre, and I'll be first in line on the wait for a sequel.
i-like-this
Isekai Assassin’s Creed. So, this will be a spoiler for the first episode but, I rolled my eyes when the first episode dropped and I found myself watching another *sigh* light novel isekai with an self-insert, annoying, Japanese high school male protagonist loser with no friends who has the power to nullify anything on an atomic scale. I said to myself “I’ll probably drop this after the 3 episodes.” However, my interest in this anime immediately took a u-turn after Menou, the fake out isekai love interest turned out to be the main protagonist and stabbed the twat in the fucking cranium. For she isa priestess, pure and just, and also a murder wafiu.
If you’re looking for a isekai with interesting concepts which are actually well written and executed then The Executioner and Her Way of Life is certainly one of the most unique isekai I’ve watched in recent memory.
Although the realm/world Menou belongs to is honestly a bit bland and lacking in any real identity, it’s politics and society is solid and interesting. An isekai world in which assassins for the church are responsible for taking out the overpowered teen high schoolers known as “Lost Ones” summoned to the world by the kingdoms royalty so they can essentially use them as weapons to overpower said church is really cool. Topped off with a magic system which is not only beautiful to look at but, mechanically deep and flexible makes the shows combat engaging and exciting.
The main story is solid as well. After Menou tries and fails to assassinate the ganki Lost One and political tool Akari she has to travel with her target and figure out how to assassinate someone who can just turn back time with her “pure concept” after getting stabbed in the neck as if nothing ever happened. Menou is on a timer as Akari could potentially lose control of her pure concept and become what the world knows as a “Human Error” with the potential to seriously damage or even destroy the world. Although Akari may come of a clumsy, busty, possibly yuri moè blob who is very charming she does over do it to the point where her personality can get a bit grating. She has her own goals (which I won’t spoil here) and her involvement in the stories main twist is genuinely cool.
There are two supporting side characters who tail the duo behind the scenes. Momo is Menou’s apprentice and operates for her behind the scenes, but she comes off and is a weird sex pest towards Menou in most of their interactions and it’s not endearing. Princess Ashuna who is trying to wipe out her families corruption is the equivalent of the Goron from “Breath of the Wild.” Y’know, “ME STRONG, YOU WEAK, ME HIT ROCK WITH SWORD, IT BREAK.”, that sort of personality.
The two main villains are also a bit generic in their goals, but in an engaging way and the second feels like *insert gender* came straight out of a horror movie.
It is refreshing to see a show made by J.C Staff which doesn’t look like shit and has premium animation. Suspiciously premium even. Seriously, this anime is gorgeous. Considering the studios recent out puts and how amateur or rushed most the art and animation looks it makes me wonder if they’re trying to push The Executioner and Her Way of Life as one of their “main series” like Danmachi. If that’s the plan then I’m totally on board for more.
8/10 Great
The_Namer
In a fantasy world that has long been on the receiving end of countless super-powered isekai protagonists from Japan (so-called Lost Ones), the decision has been made that they all need to be executed on sight. It sounds like a painfully meta, gimmicky concept, and it does come across that way in its bait-and-switch first episode, but once you get past that shaky start the show manages to overcome the hurdles it's set for itself. It makes this needlessly difficult for itself in the early episodes, and risks alienating viewers. Part of this is because the Japanese high school kids are all whisked away to thisworld against their will by people who want to manipulate their powers, only for them to be brutally executed shortly thereafter. The other problem is the priestesses (ie. assassins). Protagonist Menou is the executioner of the title and comes across as ruthlessly efficient, making her difficult to engage with at first. Her giddy, bubblegum-haired sidekick Momo, meanwhile, is a flat-out psychopath who merrily tortures and kills people at the drop of a hat. All other priestesses seem to fall somewhere between those two personality types, and they all just come across as villains.
This is exacerbated when Akari enters the picture. This cheerful Japanese girl immediately becomes attached to Menou, blissfully unaware that she's next on the hitlist. Menou kills her with typical efficiency... and then Akari gets back up, uninjured, and unaware of what just happened. So begins Menou's quest to kill a seemingly immortal girl who adores her.
It all sounds like a mess in synopsis form, but to the show's credit it managed to win me over. First, it does eventually make an effective case for why the Lost Ones can't be spared. In classic Wheel of Time or Claymore fashion, the more a Lost One uses their powers, the more they lose their mind. We're soon shown evidence that Lost Ones inevitably become walking natural disasters of apocalyptic proportions. It doesn't make the unfeeling priestesses any more sympathetic, but it does explain why their role is a necessary evil.
Then there's the world-building. This story's world and magic have had a lot more thought put into them than typical off-the-peg isekai. The long-term presence of people from Earth has had a visible impact on life in this world in many different ways. Meanwhile the various magic abilities make for some interesting battle scenes, since it's rarely a case of people just flinging energy blasts around.
Finally, there are the twists. Practically every episode or two we get a new twist that presents interesting new possibilities, makes us reassess a character, or throws a spanner in the works. If you can get past the cold brutality of the first couple of episodes, the story really starts to escalate nicely.
The only problem after that is that this is the usual partial adaptation of a longer work. The stopping point isn't particularly satisfying, but the fact that it's an isekai hopefully means there's a relatively good chance of it getting a second season.
scyllarei
A fantastic take on Isekai that doesn't rely on tropes to make it enjoyable. Thinking of it as a regular, run-of-the-mill Isekai will just make you hate the show. At its core, it answers the question that we all secretly wonder: how would other worlds deal with overpowered people from another world, and what would you do if there was one that was unkillable? The show isn't perfect but does an excellent job of establishing the characters it uses. At no point does it try to reach into random dramatic character arcs, it focuses on its story and is straightforward. The synopsis doesn't lie, and whileit isn't quite as good, the story plays out like a hybrid of Madoka and Re:Zero.
It's definitely worth the time to watch and even if you don't end up loving it, it doesn't waste your time. Would love a Season 2.
Vandell
This show is a lovely twist on the isekai formula, with a fully-realized world. The characters are delightful, with interesting personalities and motives. I'd normally rate this show an eight or nine, but due to the staggering number of people butt-hurt because the main protagonist isn't an isekai'd blank slate guy, I am obligated to rate it higher. Shokei Shouko no Virgin Road carries itself with a calm, detailed confidence of writing I haven't seen in quite some while; while this show doesn't reach the highs of, say, Re:Zero, it has moments that evoke that tall legacy, for certain. Also, a personal aside for the villains. Allof them have been fantastic so far, with a notable high praise for the last one of the season.
KaoriHanekawa
An incredible production quality with some negatives and many positives, one of the negative points in this Work is the bad personality of the character ''Momo'', she is simply unbearable being a spoiled character, sticky with Menou and manages to be completely unpleasant with anyone trying to get close to Menou, I don't think the Author was in the slightest bit in a good mood when he created a character with such a bad personality, but we also have promising and unique characters like Ashuna and Akari, if the first season of Anime had 24 episodes and not 12, we could have seen an evenbetter development for both.
Shokei Shoujo is a unique Isekai Work that completely escapes the clichés and generic stuff of the vast majority of other Isekais, easily being one of the most unique Isekais anyone will have the opportunity to be able to appreciate. There are no super powered MCs, no harems and none of the usual clichés that I see people complain about that cause them to 'Drop' from Isekais, instead we have 2 amazing, strong, independent female leads who try to stand their ground together along their journeys, we also have some super interesting magical concepts, some legitimately scary and maybe disgusting villains?!
I really don't see how anyone can not like this Work, unless the person hasn't even read the Synopsis of the Work, or else they were expecting something Generic and Cliché like most other Isekais with super male protagonists. powerful and completely dull that they complain about every season... Zzzzz
In terms of the story itself, Shokei Shoujo has a great premise and is developed very well throughout the events, the fact that Menou has to find a way to kill Akari while she clearly develops strong feelings for Akari is something I at least I don't remember seeing it in another Isekai, even less in such a well done way and that you really feel like they're both creating a connection and Menou constantly has to hesitate with her own feelings because she ''has'' to kill Akari. The Characters are very unique and some of them bring incredible personalities to further enhance the story and get you involved in it.
One of the things I loved most about Shokei Shoujo is that the Eyes are incredibly well done (I really love it), the voice acting is very good and the animations are very solid and lovingly done by the J.C Staff who always makes a great job. Anime also has a completely wonderful OP and a very good ED, with decent OSTs.
That's it, Shokei Shoujo was for me one of the best Works of the Spring 2022 season, I certainly fell in love with this Work and its amazing characters, being one of the most unique Isekais I've ever been able to follow and I had a lot of fun over the weeks accompanying this Masterpiece. I will certainly read the LNs while the adaptation doesn't get a 2nd season.
Shokei Shoujo gets 10 out of 10.
TheUsualDumbKid
To start off, you may see several negative reviews about this anime, but I doubt they watched the anime in entirety without a negative lens. Those who reviewed it negatively simply point out that there is a lot of gore, the CGI didn't blend well, a specific character was not enjoyable, and the over-obsessiveness of another character created awkwardly comedic moments. This anime simply wasn't an anime that suited their taste and they shouldn't have continued giving themselves a negative experience. To those who ended early, it is because they've watched Re:Zero and found that the show was unoriginal. While the beginning plot twist mayhave been reused, the anime in itself is actually very original.
In this anime, if the second half of Episode 7 and all of Episode 8 were excluded or better done, then the anime would be an obvious masterpiece to anyone who finished it. Those sections of the anime were the only negative things about it. It was all just pure fan-service, over-bearing sides of characters, repeated bad attempts at comedy, and exposition dumps (which were, in the end, misleading). Many people were probably disappointed and lost interest after those episodes and glanced through the last episodes and left with a bad impression.
Outside of those two episodes, this anime is amazing. The fight scenes (excluding the final fight scene) were incredibly well done. The story is very unique and has several interesting and unexpected plot twists. The music fits so well throughout and the voice acting in most sections (except the final fight scene) was really well done. The characters are original, and while it seems that women were forced into this anime, they actually work really well for the story. Overall, if you sit back and just let yourself watch the anime (like most fictional stories should be interpreted) it is most definitely enjoyable. That's my short review. Below I will go into further detail.
Story 10/10:
I have never watched Re:Zero. So, this start with an unexpected plot twist from the get-go for an isekai wowed me. If you did watch Re:Zero, it serves neither as a unique interest nor an effective hook. But, if you continue watching through the first half of the season, things get really interesting. It could've easily gone to a mc + sidekick vs the world type of deal or even a mc + best friend happy stop and start type of deal, but it didn't. The plot twists and the plot reveals were all super interesting and excellently used. While a lot of exposition dumps happen in the beginning and at Episodes 7 & 8, the rest of it is presented in manner similar to flashbacks or mystery-story leads. This creates a perfect air of mystery and leaves a lot of loose ends once old loose ends are tied up. The first half of the season was amazing. As for the second half, it was even better. We learn a tiny bit about what the world actually is like and what the real big story going on is. It definitely is a great set-up to continue off of.
Art 9/10:
The character designs are really impressive. Aside from that, the fight scenes (aside from the final fight scene) are actually really well blended and choreographed. They also have great animation and detail for those fight scenes. The final fight scene had moments where it was obviously bad, but during the actual action bits (not the still-bits where dialogue occurs) it was blended really well and looked nice. While it was by no means the best it could be, considering it wasn't Demon Slayer level budgeting, it was great.
Sound 8/10:
The voice acting for the most part really did a great job of conveying emotion when it was needed (or not conveying emotion for characters that shouldn't've). Aside from that, the sound effects were timed correctly and helped engross the viewer into the scene. Definitely one you should watch with headphones or surround sound for a much better experience. Not to mention the intro and outro songs were really good and the music throughout really helped dial into certain scenes. The sound overall was very good.
Characters 9/10:
The character developments, reveals, and flipsides that were shown were great for all except one character. Momo's two sides to her character (which are in essence two different forms of the same personality trait) are almost overbearing. One side of her is over the top and the other side is too edgy. However, her fight scenes and character design were really good. As for the other characters, to highlight a few, Menou's internal conflict and push and pull of her heart strings throughout combined with her no-emotion executioner side create a perfect contrasting duet for the story. The Princess's recklessness paired with her surprising intuition creates a character that has most likely has more depth and past than what has been revealed. Pandemonium has a great character for what she needs to portray as well as quite an interconnected and emotional backstory that is very well revealed and somewhat unexpected despite the obvious clues for it. Overall, all the revealed characters aside from Momo were given great depth, personalities, and backstories.
Enjoyment 10/10:
I truly enjoyed this show from start to finish. My bias says this is probably the best isekai I've watched. If you take out my bias, this show at the very least deserves a better rating. It is underrated. (At time of writing this 6.89 is the rating)
