Anime: Hagure Yuusha no Aesthetica

Hagure is a ecchi-based action/fantasy for those tired of wimpy, "nice" male leads. However, it is also a series only for those who can tolerate mediocre levels of character development and a story trying to foreshadow a second season so badly that you might as well just wait until the next season comes out.

The story shares the dimension-travel theme of other shows such as Zero no Tsukaima and Astarotte no Omocha. The main difference being the lack of Rie Kugumiya and a much more blunt approach to the ecchi; the main lead here is strong enough not to be a victim of violent acts of retribution for his openly perverse nature (though he displays it in a much more controlled fashion than the lead in Sora no Otoshimono). However, this refreshing change of lead personality is just wasted on a wish washy plot line full of inconsistencies, plot holes, and purposefully-unanswered mysterious questions. If you're looking for a stronger male lead who is not afraid to express his perverse nature, look to Onizuka. If you're looking for just a male lead that can stand up on his own, Campione gives this series a run for its money as well. If you do somehow decide to delve into this series, be prepared for a very lackluster storyline.

Animation:
While there isn't anything atrocious here, the animation isn't what I'd call good. The color scheme gives the series a slightly childish feel despite the story trying (at times) to portray a more somber mood. As for the characters, there's something about their facial styling that is off putting. As for ecchi, the main hero has the ability to undress female characters (almost similar to the protagonist in DxD's ability, though Akatsuki can remove articles intact). He also has the ability to control the flow of chi in people, and thus can basically "control" how people "feel". You can interpret that one as you see fit. Expect plenty of gropings, bouncy parts, and panty shots.

There is a decent amount of action in this series, but the camera is average at best and there is no seriousness nor is there any gore (dragon implodes upon death? what is this Mortal Kombat Annihilation?). The majority of the fighting is analogous to laser spamming in certain Gundam series; basically you see large swaths of colored energy being hurled between contenders.

Sound:
The series has completely forgettable music all around. OP and ED are both action-sounding rock pieces, the ED being the slightly better of the pair. BGM has one or so unique pieces (for ecchi moments), but pretty much your standard fare.

To be honest, the only reason why I considered watching this was the outstanding list of VAs. Also to be honest, I have no idea how this show got so many good VAs signed on, as the characters are so cookie-cutter that none of the VAs even have a chance to drive any life into their roles. Kana Hanazawa voicing a very quiet, orderly character? Ami Koshimizu getting virtually three lines in the entire series? Marina Inoue in a tsundere role is probably the only one that was a good fit.

Story:
As mentioned in the intro, this series' setting is hinged on dimensional travel. In this case, kids are mysteriously transported to another world where they become RPG heroes, eventually returning to Earth with a wide variety of magical and physical abilities. These students are somehow gathered and placed in a school called Babel (of course we're not supposed to ask why or how). Our protagonist is one such student, who just returned from the other world having defeated the last demon king and taking "ownership" of the demon king's daughter (as the king's final request). The story follows Akatsuki as he and Miu adjusts to life at Babel.

The best way to describe the story is that it is analogous to DBZ had Goku started out at Namek as SS3. There's just no point to it all as the hero is already so strong that there is nowhere to grow. All the character relations and "important" friendships are meaningless as the "hero" ends up saving everyone. Every. Single. Time. To the point where one asks "why even bother?" The show tries to keep the viewer interested by occasionally hinting that there is a secret organization with potentially other beings at Akatsuki's level, but nothing ever comes from it other than hooks to try to get you to watch the second season- but if the first series is any hint at how well the production will go for the second season, please count me out.

The story starts out in a slice-of-life, episodic progression before moving on to the "final" arc starting halfway through the show. It builds to an eventual climax with an all-too-predictable outcome. The main plot line aside, there are just too many other subplots going on concurrently (the mysterious organization, occurrences in the other world, etc.) that are just thrown at the viewer as if we were some multi-core processer able to context switch seamlessly between subplots. Ranting aside, the execution of the story is significantly sub par. And I swear I did not look at roriconfan's scores before voting...

Character:
To be honest, this ought to be a continuation of the rant from above, but I'll spare you and just say "more of the same". There are way too many characters thrown in seeming for the lolz, and the antagonist is so cliche that you'll have thought he came from something over a decade ago. All the characters (Miu aside) lack any depth whatsoever, almost as if the show is purposely hiding details. Character relationships also feel shallow, the deepest probably being Chikage's yuri feelings towards Miyu. As mentioned in the sound section, the great VA talent is truly wasted on these characters.

Value:
Some may rate this series highly because of this section alone. I'll agree, the male lead is a refreshing change from the wimpy lot. However, he overshadows all other aspects of the show to such a degree that he single-handedly undermines the story as well as the importance of the other characters. Watch this series only for the fan service; otherwise, be prepared to be disappointed.

Animated by Studio Arms, and directed by Kujou Rion, both of which have made nothing but porn-related works. This show is no exception; it is heavy on fan service, has ecstatic in its title, and the main picture shows one guy and many chicks. Plus it is the adaptation of a light novel, so it doesn’t take a genius to tell it won’t be a mature show about the meaning of life.

Let’s start by something easy; the production values are average to bad for their time. Half the time I felt like I was watching a low budget hentai; dull animation and cookie cutter characters defined only by hair colour and boob size. The soundtrack is also nothing but forgettable songs. There are supposed to be some famous voice actors in it but I sure didn’t give a damn if they all sound like retards with the material they were given.

The story is about this guy who was magically transported to another world, where he became an RPG hero and defeated the king of demons even before the show begins. He finds a portal to return home but decides to take with him the demon’s daughter in order to protect her from all the people who would hold a grudge against her. Back in his world he is enrolled in the special school for all kids with superpowers and has the girl pretending to be his sister. And since this is a no-brainer show we are not supposed to ask why his parents didn’t run to see their son safe and sound or why is transportation to other worlds taken so lightly. As I said, it is a heavy on fan service show, so you must enjoy it just for that and not for anything else. All I have described above are just the excuse; they barely elaborate or flesh out the whole transport to other worlds theme. The plot is BS and all you get is basically excuses for the protagonist to look awesome while dealing with high-schoolers who are too high on hormones and keep looking for excuses to molest a girl or pick a fight with the protagonist.

The protagonist is memorable for being a parody of RPG heroes. He has reached epic levels from his fight with the demon king and has learned some really ridiculous powerful skills, such as removing underwear from girls in a fraction of a second or making them pee for the lulz. He is not a wuss like most protagonists these days and treats women only as f**k holes. Other than that he is blunt, uninteresting, and named after the villains in that gay show called Naruto. The demon’s daughter is supposed to be a tragic character for having to hide her identity and rebuild her life, but as I said the show barely tries to flesh out the theme of the story. Thus she is treated mostly as a sperm bucket with a rack that never seems to fit in clothes. Thus it’s impossible to sympathize with her; plus her name is like the sound of a cat. The rest of the characters are nothing much; the girls are treated as cosplaying whores, while the boys are just jerks who want nothing else but to fight. Literally, there is nothing memorable about them despite the occasional sloppy attempts at drama and fleshing out.

In a similar way every single thing that is going on in this show is just a poor excuse for fan service. Trust me when I say they are learning nothing in that school, the teachers are useless, and it’s just a bunch of horny teenagers finding pitiful excuses to blow shit up and molest others just for the heck of it. So basically every episode is about the protagonist shamelessly molesting girls who instead of reporting him literally fall for him, and boys who want to compare their peckers with the protagonist. Any drama or plot that sometimes tries to pop up is forgotten as soon as the next underwear flies off in the air. And the ending is not even an ending but rather a warm-up for a second season that never came. Yes, it was yet another infomercial for selling more novels instead of a proper adaptation.

As a whole there is nothing to see here; just another forgettable no-brainer show. I must admit that it’s at least good for its fan service. It is bordering a softcore hentai at times, with a protagonist who is one step away from a rapist, and that makes it more interesting that the usual crap we get in harems. The boobs are never censored and there are even some scenes of sexual foreplay. Other than that it’s complete garbage and if you try to watch it for any other reason you are going to hate it.