Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts

I honestly was not expecting a lot out of Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts. The cover image felt almost identical to The Tale of the Outcasts on first glance (youngish girl with white hair, beastly lion-y guy) and I will be verrrry honest here...I am really not into furrrrrry type stuff. Cross-species things often feel a bit iffy, even if it's human / demon (wherein the demons look very humanoid). I mean, I shouldn't complain. Technically then elves and humans shouldn't mix either. Eh, I dunno. Maybe you get used to some things through over use? Though I do look at the main characters and from a logistics standpoint it seems...doubtful. Though he is actually also part human some of the time...but I should start over.

In this world, there are humans and there are beasts -- though the beasts are more or less humanoid--they all seem to walk upright on two feet, have two arms, carry themselves like humans, dress in clothing, etc. The humans live separately and there's a truce between them--sort of. The humans have to give a sacrifice and Sariphi, our erstwhile heroine, is the 99th. She knew from a young age that she was to be the yearly sacrifice...in fact, she was brought up by an (evil) family simply so she could take the place of their "real" daughter as the sacrifice. That knowledge perhaps is what set her up for what happens--she's not afraid when she is offered up.

She also very soon discovers that the King of the Beasts is actually part human and when the miasma clears, his human side takes over and the only remnant of the beast is his horns. This is not something that is common knowledge, nor is it known that he's never eaten any of the sacrifices--there's an escape tunnel that he sends them off in. What happened to all the others? Hard to say, given that they would have wound up deep in beast territory. 

Anyway, her sort of strange attitude and pure hearted sympathy catch his eye and he decides to keep her. It feels a bit like a spur of the moment thing; he definitely wasn't planning it. And his advisors, especially his chancellor Anubis (yes, that Anubis...there's also a Set...though none of the other beast-types seem to have any Egyptian ties, so not really sure what they're doing there), are wholly aghast that he plans to take a filthy human as his queen.

Here's where there's a bit of dodgy-ness. She's 15 (thank heavens she's not any younger), though she definitely appears like a child next to him in beast form--he can carry her around practically in the palm of his hand. His lifespan is longer than a humans and while they don't say exactly how old he's supposed to be, I'm guessing (as these things go) it's much older. Though, in his human form, you'd guess he's low 20s. So, yeah, got the age gap thing going on as well as the beast / human combo. And massive power differential between a literal king and a human sacrifice though, to her credit, she never acts like a sacrifice. She is who she is.

BUT...all that said, I don't actually really care about any of that. I'm here for her saving him from his despair and loneliness and self-hatred. For the somewhat complicated socio-economical kingdom stuff and the kind-of caste system of the beast kingdom where ichthyians are lower than low, cat-people seem high up, etc. etc. For him raising her up and giving her a purpose and realising she can have hope for her own life. For her slowly winning the people over by being herself. 

They are two people who each had never experienced any kind of love before (poor guy, his dad even hated him for his "tainted" blood) finding it in each other and there's a kind of beauty to it. They are both childlike in some ways. There are definitely bits that could be gross but instead come across as sweet or wistful. I am about half way through the 24 episodes and I hadn't looked to see how many there were and when it flipped over to 13 after 12 I was like, whoo-hoo! it's not over! and not oh damn, yikes, there's more. So that's a good sign.

Animation-wise, it's okay. A bit rudimentary maybe? I have to admit I love his big fluffy tail though haha. Maybe rudimentary isn't the word. It feels reminiscent of older animation; it's not polished and shiny. It's kinda old school hobbit-y. It doesn't feel like a modern anime but more like a classic fantasy cartoon. The story has that feel too, actually, in many ways.

Both for Sariphi and Leonhart (the name she gives him; he didn't even have one before) -- this is their fairy tale and maybe that's one of the things that I'm quite liking about it. It could feel gross and exploitative but it doesn't. Instead, it's more dreamy and folktale-y. Here's hoping the last half continues to enthral me.

And can I just say that I like this SO MUCH MORE than Nina the Starry Bride.

Edit: up to episode 20 and I had to take a break as it was getting Grimm Fairytale Dark. It's not a bad thing, it's just that I'm on jury duty on a rather difficult (and depressing) trial and I need a break. 

There was kidnapping, an uprising from anti-monarchists, a damaged villain, a very bloody battle, and now as she heads into human lands to try and broker at least the start of peace between them, I'm sure there's about to be a lot more hardship. And Set has been researching the lack of info on the King's mother and has SUSPICIONS that I'm sure will be bad for our couple. I mean, shoulda known. It's Set. How on the nose can you be? I grew up on The Egypt Game. I will go back and finish it, just need some light and fluffy stuff first.

The Unaware Atelier Meister

 So. The Unaware Atelier Meister. Not sure how I'm feeling about this one yet. Mostly because "Unaware" in this case means TOTALLY unaware and completely clueless. And it's definitely harem-y.

Kurt was the, basically, bag carrier on an adventurer team before getting unceremoniously fired. They treated him like a slave but our boy just rolled with it and thinks nothing of his abilities.

His combat skills are atrocious BUT literally every other type of skill (building, mining, creating, crafting, whatever) is SSS rank or who knows, maybe higher. He takes on random jobs through a hiring company (?) and does so well at everyone of them that he's earning money hand over fist but doesn't realise it and thinks he gets fired because he did badly rather than the fact that he does things like 10x faster and better than any person should be able to.

Dude can build an entire freaking mansion in 3 days. By himself. He falls in with a royal princess that he saved from a curse with PORRIDGE. Of course he doesn't realise she's a princess or that he saved her. And of course she is totally besotted with this wide-eyed innocent that would remind you of Bell Cranel except for crafts instead of combat. The others around him include a former royal fighter, a mage, and a new fighting group. They're trying to get to the bottom of who's trying to kill the princess.

They all know that he's crazy high ranked but have told him he's at best a B or maybe A because he's so innocent. They know that if others knew, they'd want to steal him. Or worse.

I am not all that fond of this plot bit. Because dude is clueless but he can't learn unless SOMEONE ACTUALLY TEACHES HIM and corrects him when he downplays his abilities. So, yeah. I mean, it is literally in the name, but I dunno. It kinda rubs me the wrong way. There's nothing wrong with Kurt himself but you do feel like he should get at least something of a clue sometimes! Am just a few episodes in, so we'll see how it goes. Or maybe his intelligence is just as bad as his combat ability.

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom

Have started another ongoing one that grabbed my attention: The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom. Whew. Yeah, that's a mouthful.

It is, once again, not an isekai. ;-) In this fantasy world, kingdoms are protected by powerful Saints (we've seen this before, like in The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent). In Saint Philia's original kingdom, she and her younger sister are both saints. But Philia, even though she does the brunt of the work and is likely the most powerful saint in years, gets no respect from her family, the prince she's supposed to be engaged to, or even the people she works so hard for. Only her sister supports her in anyway. They think she is standoffish and too full of herself, though really she's just been overworked, un-socialised, and is kinda deadpan. She literally does nothing wrong and gets treated like trash.

The prince approaches a nearby kingdom that lost their saint and basically sells her off, breaking off their engagement (he wants to marry the younger sister who is all smiles). They bundle her off and send her on her way without even letting her say goodbye to her sister (and they tell the sister it was her choice).

Luckily, the new kingdom welcomes her with open arms and the princes there are upstanding fellows (the second prince is definitely the new love interest). Though she's still deadpan and a workaholic, everyone there is amazed at what she can do and how powerful she is. And that power is necessary because it appears that the demon realm is creeping closer and closer...

Meanwhile, younger sister is investigating her sister's disappearance and comes to realise it was indeed a plot by her (horrible) money-grubbing parents and the truly distasteful prince. While she plays along with him, she plots her revenge. Step in a go-between ninja who sets up communication between the sisters and we see some nice movement there.

I do like that the sisters love each other. And that Philia is experiencing appreciation and love for the first time. Even her butler and maid are totally devoted and impressed with her. She doesn't know how to respond, but she'll learn. And good for Mia--I hope she totally sticks it to the asshole prince.

I am definitely enjoying this one so far. I hope it keeps up the good work.

Edit: Finished this one and really quite enjoyed it. Story was good, characters were good. The one idiot prince never redeemed himself BUT he actually got punished. The Asmodeus demon thing didn't totally make sense with him having fallen in love with the Saint who vanquished him 400 years ago who's soul was reborn in Philia (but who also communicated with Philia?), but I'll forgive it that. It was a good show.

The Gorilla God's Go-To Girl

I'm not entirely sure why this one grabbed my interest enough to start watching it before it's complete. But I've started The Gorilla God's Go-To Girl. 

It's not an isekai and possibly not a harem (though it probably is, I mean, look at that image...it looks like an otome opening screen right there). In whatever fantasy world this is, when you hit a certain age, you draw a card and gain a blessing from an animal god. Our not-so-plucky, shy, downtrodden heroine has a heart of gold and winds up drawing a very rare card--the Gorilla God has picked her, giving her the strength, speed, etc. of a gorilla. 

When the Knights hear about it, they immediately want to recruit her. But the one thing this blessing didn't give her is any kind of backbone or self confidence. Even after hearing how rare it is (one maybe every 50 years), she still just wants to fade into the background. But her good heart gets in her way; she even manages to save the life of Isaac (light brown haired guy with puppy dog energy and powers) and impress Louis (dark haired guy 2 years older who is already a knight who seems immediately beguiled and is more than likely the official love interest) and make friends with Eddy (the other dark haired younger guy who is definitely more savvy than the other two youngsters and completes the friend group). Most of the other fellows in the picture are other knights who lead battalions? groups? that all kind of want to recruit her (probably). I honestly mixed up the two blonde ones, thinking they were the same guy just in different clothes, but looks like they're different.

Anyway, the big complication is the bullying she's getting at school (but all 3 of her new found guy friends now conveniently go there too). I am enjoying it, though I am also frustrated at just how much this girl bends over backwards to not even potentially offend or inconvenience anyone else, including the girls that bully her. She brings new levels to "turn the other cheek". Here's to hoping she develops a backbone.

The Aristocrat’s Otherworldly Adventure: Serving Gods Who Go Too Far

Er, so I started watching The Aristocrat’s Otherworldly Adventure: Serving Gods Who Go Too Far because I'd seen a clip of it that looked decent. I made it through 5 episodes in, I must admit, a mini-binge wherein I didn't want to think about anything. But then I didn't have any time and now I've let it sit for a couple weeks and...meh, I don't actually think I'm going to pick it back up. I'm already watching two other shows that are terrible (it's a trainwreck thing; exactly how bad can it get??) and I don't think I can add another.

I mean, I liked the idea of the gods going overboard. At least there's a reason that he's OP. And it would actually be okay if he weren't, like, maybe 12 and he's already betrothed to 2 girls and is constantly rizzing them up (sort of on purpose but kind of not) AND he has an older sister that ADORES him. AND it looks like the harem is just going to get worse and worse. 

So, yeah, just doing my brief write up so I remember later when I see that I've watched a few episodes and can't remember why I stopped. I am really not liking this recent crop of isekai where all the main characters are literally children but still basically acting like adults. It's skeevy.