Bryce's Blog

I hope that everyone is doing well, and getting used to the daily grind again.

While it will take a little for my preorders to reach me, I recently got some Blu Rays from Rightstuf, which I was able to find some time and watch.

So far, I have covered one of those BDs and only one remains.

Today, I will be reviewing that last title, which is called The Legend of the Legendary Heroes.

Ryner Lute is a lazy bum that people berate constantly, even though very few know of his real abilities, and he wants to not be bothered with anything.

However, when somebody born of a union between a noble and commoner comes seeking out Ryner’s abilities with a promise of a future where people can freely lay about, Ryner gets forced into doing things that he does not want, not knowing that his journey might be the same as those of legend.

Back when I volunteering at a place doing computer recycling, somebody suggested some anime to watch, and kind of cringing about some of their suggestions, I did not think that this would be that, especially with the summary that I just gave.

However, after giving this show a try, I must say that I really liked it.

After only the first few episodes, I did not want to stop watching for any reason, even though I obviously had stop and take care of all those needs we must all satisfy.

While it was not able to capture my attention right from the first episode, like Boku Dake ga Inai Machi was able to with its pilot, this is still a big accomplishment.

After all, I doubt very many people would want to read or watch a piece of fiction that could not capture their attention too quickly.

Then again, people at big name newspapers and place with bigger name recognition than me do get paid to read and watch some awful things, so I guess it all depends on how much one can tolerate.

If more show got interesting this quickly where I live, there would be plenty more entertainment out there worth consuming, instead of relying on something that does not have a huge appeal. Nice job, Zexcs, you were able to do something right that not everyone can do in the many mediums we have to present works of fiction.

I also liked how there was little to no fan service to be seen during the entire series.

In my time following anime and manga, I have noticed the many times where the series shows off women’s underwear or showing females naked or their bare chest, or even in compromising situations with other characters, because they are trying to give people a visual incentive to watch, instead of a compelling story, much like the movies made where I live rely too much on sex, explosions, CGI, and other eye candy to bring in audiences, and I have grown to kind of dislike it, though I do not think that it should completely disappear.

However, in its entire 24-episode run, I do not remember noticing anything of that kind of nature coming up in the series.

Yes, Ferris, the female lead, does seem to bring up those situations a lot, but almost every time she says something happened that nobody would want children to see, we find out, or already know, that it was a lie, and it ends up making the series fairly hilarious, even if it does not change the fact that it is still kind of the same kind of humor found in many other anime.

Another nice thing about this series was that I could actually feel what almost all of the important characters were going through.

The characters are very important in any kind of work of fiction and to be able to really get an understanding of the story, the audience needs to know what the characters are going through and what they are feeling.

For example, when the Sisters arc started off in the Raildex universe, I could not become as deeply entrenched in what was happening in either the anime adaptation or volume 3 of A Certain Magical Index, because I was only getting to see what Touma and the clones were going through, when Misaka’s despair was the reason why Touma challenged accelerator.

If there was more focus on Mikoto Misaka’s side of things, which was eventually covered in volumes 4–7 of A Certain Scientific Railgun, and episodes 2–16 of A Certain Scientific Railgun S, things would have been much more emotionally charged and enjoyable.

This show, on the other hand, focused a relatively decent amount of time on each character and physically showed their internal and external struggles, which made me want to see these characters succeed against their obstacles and find out where they ultimately belong.

This was nowhere near as noticeable as what could be seen in my most favorite parts about the series, which is its end.

Somewhere near the end, Ryner and Sion go back to where they first talked and, after a bit of talking, the two engage in a fight to the death.

This was one of the best final confrontations to be seen because it had everything that Boku Dake ga Inai Machi‘s final episode did not.

There was tension, as the two friends clashed, neither one really wanting to snuff out the other, and Ryner kept trying his best to stop his friend from doing something he would regret. Sion actually seemed to also be putting a decent fight, while we also see him hesitate as to whether or not he should kill Ryner.

Just describing it right now makes me want to go watch that fight all over again and bask in the glory of what Boku Dake ga Inai Machi should have delivered.

Nice work, Zexcs, you have made one of the best endings I have ever seen, and I feel like you guys deserve a big round of applause, though I guess FUNimation does deserve some credit too, since the voice actors they picked and the director did a really good job of bring out the emotion in it.

Outside of those things, I cannot think of anything else that I particularly liked, since I already talked about how great the ending was.

Because my attention was quickly captured, and that there was little to no fan service to be found, yet still hilarious, and that it had one of the best final confrontations I have seen, this series was one of the best I have seen in a while.

Although. I liked the series, there are some issues.

However, aside from things that are too minor to talk about and few things that I already brought up, only one thing really bothered me.

The ending left too much to be desired.

Yes, I know that I said that the end was great, but there are times when one of the best things about a work is also it’s downfall.

Unfortunately, unlike Case Closed Volume 61, where the problem was not that bad, this one cannot really be overlooked as much.

When the fighting with Sion was finished, Ryner Lute escapes and goes on a journey with Ferris, while commenting that he is determined to save Sion from whatever has been afflicting him, and we see what the other characters are up to.

While this kind of ending is not terrible, it feels like there is more to the story, yet there are no signs of another season in the works.

Now, some of you might be screaming that this is not uncommon in the anime industry, because anime is used to drum up more recognition for a series, but from what I could find digging around, it does not seem like the original source is available outside of Japan, except for a few fan translations that have not gotten through all the books currently available, so I cannot really support this series as much as I want to.

Honestly, I do not even see why FUNimation picked up this title when it was obviously made to do nothing but increase the sales of a novel series that does not exist where I live.

I want a series that has a definitive end and/or one that feels satisfying but can still be expanded upon, like how the Pandora Hearts manga ended.

Unfortunately, Zexcs did not provide either, and it really hurts an otherwise great series.

Hopefully, Zexcs can do better next, but, for now, I do not think that I am willing to invest any more into their work than I already have.

While there was only one thing majorly wrong with this series, the fact that it made it obvious that it was meant to sale more novels kept it from being the best that it could have been.

Despite the fact that there was quite a bit to like, the negative hurt it enough to make this only good enough to kill time.

I recommend this to fans of action and comedy, as well as those that want to see what a final confrontation done right.

As for everyone else, this might be worth giving a try, but the lack of a definitive end may be a huge turn off.

What are your thoughts on The Legend of the Legendary Heroes? Did you like it or hate it? Do agree that this show had one of the best final confrontations ever seen? Was there something that you liked or hated that went unmentioned? Feel free to comment.