Watashi

Totally Normal

Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life continued from start to finish as really just light fluff. Even a fight against three elder dragons, an insight into Mile’s feelings about reincarnating leaving her two previous lives behind (once through death and once through just needing to leave her old life behind) and some challenging questions can’t make this final episode feel like it is taking itself seriously. And that isn’t really a problem because its never tried to be all that serious. This anime has been sliding along on the charm of its cast and an understanding that it isn’t really doing anything new but that it’s fine as it is.

Mile’s fight against the dragons is spectacularly average. If you want finger guns, flashing lights, balls of energy, and some really lack-lustre dialogue in a ‘final’ battle against a non-villain then this fight is for you. Then again, all this fight really represents is the first time Mile has come up against something she can’t one hit defeat and opens up the possibility of future exploration for Mile. It was never really intended to be a ‘final’ battle so while it certainly gives us enough of a climax for a final episode of the season it isn’t exactly concluding the narrative in any meaningful way.

Though I would have to point out, just to be fair, that once the two other dragons join in, visually the fight becomes even more dull. For some reason anime struggles with dragons and making them interesting. They largely end up very stagnant on screen. And given how much grief I gave Arifureta for its half-cooked visuals it would be fairly silly of me not to point out that the dragon fight here at times looked every bit as bad.

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Again though, Average in the Next Life has never been an anime that cared much about its visuals, outside of cute character designs, so it isn’t as though the quality suddenly tanked. From start to finish it was consistent both in visuals and characterisation and fortunately it oozed charm.

I will get around to a whole series review soon but realistically if you want an average isekai about a girl who is striving to be average, Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life will probably meet your expectations.

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Karandi James

Want to read more about Mile’s adventures in attempting to be average?

Images from: Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! Dir. M Oota. Project No. 9. 2019

Why We Need Mile

Episode 10 of Didn’t I Say To Make my Abilities Average in the Next Life gives us a brief flashback of Mile/Adele’s time at the academy prior to leaving to become a Hunter. It is interesting how little the anime has focused on this part of Mile’s reincarnation and at the same time fairly smart give when reading the light novels the story got far more interesting after she joined the hunter school. Still, it was welcome to get a brief glimpse of this life even if it led to an episode that felt essentially like filler as the other three members of the Crimson Vow try to throw a surprise 200 Day Anniversary for Mile.

Despite the silliness of the episode, it does lead fairly handily into the next one where Mile expresses concern that her party members might be leaning a little too heavily on her extraordinary abilities. As a result, the three resolve not to rely on her so much and take on a challenging quest to find a missing investigation team. It sets up a situation where you know Mile is going to need to step up and because this is the penultimate episode, even Mile ends up seemingly biting off more than she can chew.

Not that you can take the situation overly seriously. The light and frothy tone of the series so far as well as Mile’s OP abilities make it pretty hard to really expect that any danger will actually befall these characters that they can’t get out of in a probably ridiculous manner.

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The anime continues to be pretty fun and I’m looking forward to the final episode of the season. It will be interesting to see if they resolve this situation the same way as in the books, or if because of all the other changes they’ve made whether we’ll get something totally unexpected. Either way I’m expecting something fun and brightly coloured with just a little bit of absurdity thrown in and I don’t think I’ll be overly disappointed.

Fingers crossed the final episode continues the trend of light entertainment that Average in the Next Life has delivered up until now.

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Karandi James

Want to read more about Mile’s adventures in attempting to be average?

Images from: Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! Dir. M Oota. Project No. 9. 2019

Mile’s Stupidity Is Catching

There’s something refreshing about the characters in Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life. Largely it is the way the Crimson Vow have come together and their various traits have either rubbed off on the others or simply been accepted by them. While they aren’t the most unique characters, there’s genuine fun in watching the four of them bounce off one another. The recurring gag of Mile coming up with a bonkers idea and the rest of the group getting drawn into it hasn’t worn out its welcome nor has the general sweetness as the girls look out for one another and try to make a profit as hunters.

I did find these two episodes surprising as both events, Pauline’s forced marriage and the wyvern hunt, were in the volumes of the light novels I read, and yet the anime has once again taken its own path with these stories. While purists might find the many alterations a problem, I still feel the anime is doing a great job of capturing the overall spirit of the story without feeling the need to slavishly follow it.

Part of me feels that Pauline and Mavis may have got the short end of the stick with both of their family problems being covered in a single episode. Mavis in particular felt more like a tacked on addition to the episode rather than really a character focus. Yet at this point we know these girls well enough and we don’t need a lengthy back story to get where they are coming from. While they mightn’t get equal shares in the angsty-back-story race they certainly make their mark as part of the team and so it isn’t really a problem.

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The wyvern episode is a little hit and miss with Mile going to excesses with some of her silliness. Throwing her comrades was not a particularly well thought out plan and her antics when talking with the old man actually bordered on annoying. Still, the wyvern’s reactions were pretty amusing and the rest of the cast kind of held the sequence together. Not to mention, we got to see the girls actually out hunting again which hasn’t happened for a few episodes.

Overall, Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life continues to be lowkey enjoyable with some genuinely funny moments and a few eye-roll worthy moments. However, it is basic, relaxing fun with a fun enough cast and I’m still loving that OP as it just makes me smile everytime because they all just seem to be having so much fun.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! Dir. M Oota. Project No. 9. 2019

Average Filler Episode

Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life isn’t exactly the most compelling viewing at the best of times. In fact, it being laid back and mildly amusing while going through the motions of being an isekai cross with cute girls doing cute things story is a large part of the appeal because it is really undemanding viewing. Yet when we veer off what little plot there may be for an entirely filler episode as the girls take a break between Reina’s tragic back story and jumping into Pauline’s (as the final minutes of this episode seem to suggest), what we end up with is a fairly dull affair.

Which is odd, because the girls are generally pretty charming in this story. Not overly original or particularly memorable, but the camaraderie in the group is a fine selling point. Then we get this episode where the girls hang out, play cards, and then go to the beach. It should be oozing charm and yet falls incredibly short as it really feels like they were walking through a check list of events.

Apparently it is the combination of the usual isekai adventurer/hunting trope crossed with the cute girl antics that puts their charm on full display and devoid of a quest to conquer in a slightly less than ordinary manner, the girls just don’t bring much to the screen.

A Perfectly Average Beach Episode

You know, unless you really like anime girls in swimsuits. I did something unusual after this episode, probably because I was looking for something to say about it other than it happened, and so I scrolled through the comments on Crunchyroll. There’s this ongoing criticism of the fan-service (though, really?) and from one comment it seems the age of the girls (12 – 16) is the problem.

That confused me because is the concern that teenage girls don’t go to the beach in swimsuits? Which just made me wonder just how much censorship some people want in media and if we’re no longer allowed to have any character appear in a swimsuit because possibly that might offend someone we’re probably heading down the wrong path.

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Be that as it may, the episode itself is pretty vapid and doesn’t seem to intend to be anything but. Small character moments for Reina and Mile not withstanding, the only real development is Pauline’s reaction to seeing someone in the street after their beach fiasco is over and clearly that’s next week’s dilemma. Basically, if beach episodes aren’t your thing, skip episode 7 because you really won’t be missing much.

On the bright side, the visual quality of the episode didn’t noticeably dip as some filler episodes do (I’m still haunted by Dakaichi’s beach episode where you would have thought they’d have pulled out all the fan-service stops and yet we ended up with one of the most appallingly animated episodes of the season). The basic tone of the show is maintained and the girls, while a little on the dull side don’t noticeably veer off their usual character notes. So I guess if they had to do a beach filler episode, this one isn’t the worst.

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Karandi James

Want to read more about Mile’s adventures in attempting to be average?

Images from: Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! Dir. M Oota. Project No. 9. 2019

Doing a Proper Job

While the established tone of this anime is one of silliness and fluff, it cannot be denied that the world Mile is living in is actually quite dangerous, even if you are reincarnated and overpowered. This week brings some of those dangers to the surface with the girls completing one job but failing to note the larger threat – as does everyone else – leading to more merchants dying at the hands of the ‘bandits’.

Even the earlier ‘school trip’ vibe that Mile works hard to create can’t really shake the fundamental darkness overshadowing this episode. A doting grandfather going out on his job and presumed never to return is a tragedy (as is the death of all the other unnamed characters who were also part of the caravan and were somehow forgotten by the end).

It all however makes a mockery of Mile’s declaration at the beginning of the episode that the girls never fail. Admittedly, they did complete the job they were hired to do, but the merchants were still in danger, they just didn’t know it. It is a weird balancing act as the story tries to maintain its genuinely light tone while delving into an increasingly dangerous world with dangers the girls don’t even know about or realise are right around them.

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Still, the clunky exposition as the Nano-Machine mascot character explains the relationships between the kingdoms and then the ‘bandit’ just turning around and dropping his cover after two questions means the execution is somewhat less than amazing. It just kind of happens and everything works but it also all seems fairly unremarkable despite the weight these events might potentially have on future developments.

That said, it is another pretty average episode of an anime that clearly aspires to be average and watchable and is succeeding admirably without making any clear mis-steps even while it never seems to strive for more. If you’ve enjoyed it so far, episode six continues to walk its course.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! Dir. M Oota. Project No. 9. 2019

The Good, The Bad, and
The Tragic Backstory

It is kind of a given in anime that the main character, or the main character’s friend, will have some kind of angsty backstory that at some point will come out as it ties in with some plot or event that is going on. Once again, Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life takes this standard and then delivers it in a pretty straight forward way. The four girls sit around the campfire and each share their past. While it is a given most of them will need to revisit these stories as they aren’t quite complete, it is also means we’re not left guessing what motivates these girls and what shaped their personalities. It is almost, kind-of refreshing.

Obviously Reina is the one who seems most directly affected by her story as she’s allowed her past emotions to interfere with their current mission. And her story is pretty tragic as it rolls out here. I feel that the speed at which this was delivered and the way we quickly move on takes some of the impact out of the whole thing, but it does at least make her actions understandable even if she doesn’t get the reaction from Pauline and Mile that she was expecting.

In regards to backstories though, Mavis is the odd-one out having a relatively easy life and even though her family didn’t really want her to become a knight or a hunter, they haven’t really opposed it too heavily. I feel kind of bad for Mavis given she seems to be feeling bad that she hasn’t got some tragic backstory to share given she’s travelling with three other protagonist cliches.

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Still, this was the better way to find out about Mile’s/Adele’s family troubles and her time at the school before she ran away to become a hunter. This story came first in the books and it really felt dragged out and then the switch to the hunter school felt clunky and like a restart. The anime seems to have worked that out and started the story where it really starts and has now filled in the gap. While there’s plenty of information that got ditched in the process, given the nature of the story you’d have to wonder if it even matters as this has been a fairly entertaining show so far.

As usual we have some very self-aware humour especially when Mile is talking to the nanomachines and they are forming their ‘mascot’ character appearance as well as some fantastic over-reactions and facial expressions. While this episode didn’t progress anything forward it made its intention clear from the start that we were going to learn all four backstories and that is exactly what it delivered. Now we can look forward to the next episode and see where the girls go next.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! Dir. M Oota. Project No. 9. 2019

Learning on the Job

The Crimson Vow are settling into their ‘cheap’ inn and preparing to earn a steady income as hunters. It isn’t all easy going though as part of their deal to stay so cheaply at the inn involves entertaining the guests at dinner with Mile doing her best impression of a maid from a maid cafe in a world where such things don’t exist. Still, small price to pay for cheap rent as the team set up their future.

They are soon looking for hunting jobs and take on a quest to hunt rock lizards. Despite the other three girls being fairly sensible, plus six months of hunting prep school, the girls severely underestimate the challenge finding the lizard to be huge, fast, and able to defend itself against a sword. That said, this isn’t the kind of show where the danger ever really feels actually dangerous and Mile quickly devices a strategy for taking it down using some knowledge of lizard’s from her former life and drawing on inspiration from cartoons.

This episode seems very much about establishing the world as we see how the hunters operate, learn about penalties for failing missions, and also see the girls having to negotiate the other end of the quest when a merchant tries to swindle them just because they are young. I do like that the episode takes the time to do this but doesn’t belabour the point as we move through the first quest, negotiations, other hunting quests, and finally taking on a job guarding some merchants.

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However, what Average doesn’t do is subtlety with Reina’s past trauma being pretty blatantly foreshadowed from the moment she selects the quest and while they don’t linger on this point either (yet), the characterisation is pretty obvious and lacks nuance. Given the selling point so far has been cuteness and humour, the anime not really succeeding at character drama isn’t the worst thing ever, but it just felt so tacked on rather than as a point to learn about the character and her past.

Be that as it may, between giant lizards, rock monsters, and the girls trying out Mile’s old school uniforms after their hunting gear gets covered in mud, this episode is still pretty fun to watch. However, it does clearly indicate that this show isn’t going to rise much beyond just being fun because it can’t really handle more depth.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! Dir. M Oota. Project No. 9. 2019

Crimson Vow Mean Business:
They Even Have Their Own Pose

Mile’s quest to be average takes another hit in credibility as the roommates dominate at their graduation ceremony from Hunter’s Prep School. Fortunately they have a plan and have formed the Crimson Vow, complete with their own pose, coloured smoke, and action figures ready to be sold for profit to set up their new life. Yeah, totally average Mile.

At this point it is pretty clear that this anime has no intention of following its source particularly closely. Instead it seems to have taken the four main players and gotten that group together much faster and is holding on to the tone of the story rather than the events. This comes at the cost of backstory and entire characters, but Mile’s motivation remains crystal clear. Where this could have been another case of Arifureta’s confusing narrative with characters later appearing who we had no recognition of and a protagonist left without any clear character due to the rush, the comical nature of the story here and Mile’s rather simplistic goal works. As does having the team face off against a different group entirely at their graduation.

Basically, this story is working whether you’ve read the source or not and it is light and fun even if it is leaning a little on the self-aware side. Whether someone is enjoying Average up until now will depend entirely on whether they find Mile’s attempts at being average charming or groan inducing and whether they like the chemistry between the central characters. While I’m not into self-aware comedy and the lack of a driving story is normally an issue, much like when reading the light novels of this I’m kind of just happy to go with it. It makes me smile and that is quite frankly enough.

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Where there might become a problem for this anime is the speed at which we are warping through events. While it doesn’t concern me that a lot of characters at the school got axed, and the school Mile used to attend before the Hunter’s school in the books was entirely dropped, it does concern me that we’ve covered six months in the space of three episodes. There’s an incredibly strong bond between the group of girls already which from an anime only point of view feels a little disingenuous given the short space of time we’ve seen them interacting for, though does feel real after six months of rooming together. Hopefully now that they have graduated together and formed a group the anime hits the brakes and lets us enjoy them becoming hunters together.

I’m honestly enjoying this anime. It isn’t brilliant but it gets a laugh out of me and it is good relaxing viewing each week so far. I’m very comfortable with the fact that it isn’t going to be the same as the books and actually pretty happy to see where they intend to go with the anime and where we’ll end up.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! Dir. M Oota. Project No. 9. 2019

That’s Normal, Right?

The second episode of ‘insert ridiculously long title’-Average in the Next Life is a light breeze of relaxation with a few smiles thrown in. It isn’t as funny as it thinks it is and the character over-reactions are a little on the excessive side, but by and large it is fun enough and it isn’t trying to take itself seriously which lets the audience just chill and watch Mile walk herself into the next situation where she will most definitely reveal that she isn’t average.

I don’t remember if the first episode had the OP or not, but I do know that this week I paid attention and thought it was super cute and fun. Okay, it isn’t the kind of song I’m going to listen to independent of the anime, but the song was just kind of the same fun spirit that permeates most of the episode and it was kind of fun just watching the girls bounce around together.

And while the other girls are still very much in introductory form, already there’s a fairly good chemistry in the group. These girls are enjoyable to spend time with and their personalities bounce off one another well even in these early stages. It makes me want to stick around and go on adventures with them. The bonus of the four of them is that none of them have dominated to the point where they are already wearing out their welcome two episodes in.

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The episode itself is pretty simple with some basic tests to check ability levels where Mile completely misses the ‘average’ mark she’s so desperately aiming for before the students form parties and go take on a small quest where the girls are initially being out-foxed by rabbits. Okay, rabbits with horns but the three girls in Mile’s party are struggling until she gives them a few pointers.

I think a lot of the fun comes from this element where Mile isn’t just solving everything easy. Sure, she could have saved the other girls some trouble and caught the rabbits, but instead she works with them to help them get stronger, albeit for her own motives. That changes the story from the standard isekai with the overpowered MC in the middle around which other people attach themselves but do little. Here the MC is overpowered but the other characters are growing as well and are also dealing with situations while the MC tries to take a more background role. It isn’t a massive re-imagining of the genre but it is different enough to make it feel slightly fresh.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! Dir. M Oota. Project No. 9. 2019