You gotta be kidding me...another studio ENGI ugly-ass production values with an all-too-familiar setting and a crude story that works? What kind of world are we living in that we can pass bad production for good stories?
More often than not, reality hits harder than expectations, and novelist Yomu Mishima's Otome Game Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu a.k.a MobuSeka is just exactly that: a HameFura rip-off, but replace the female villainness lead with someone who's not even the main character, who's literally: Trapped in a Dating Sim, with the world of the Otome Game being tough for mobs a.k.a background characters. And since this ... is a novel that started in Syosetu that lasted from 2017 to 2019, that expanded into the LN and manga versions of the novel, it's safe to say that what came out of there has a lot of wacky ideas during the period accurate to 2017 that only a few things are common within each other: Isekai, characters being OP, and Demon Lord reincarnation. The anime adaptation covers the first 4 volumes of the LN, though you can just read the manga anyways because the anime follows that version very closely, and to the point where I'd say that it's to the T, though LN readers will probably know that how MobuSeka progressed after the anime's content is a hit-or-miss sadly, but that's outside the scope of this review.
In MobuSeka's case, it's reinventing the settings that HameFura is known for with the known caste system nobility, interesting MC, love interests, magic, and above all: the "reincarnated as a villainness" shtick where the MC, LITERALLY is a jerk that acts like an actual villain with a logic for trash that only warrants if he does feel like they earn the karma. And this is what Leon Fou Bartfort's character is like: starting off being forced by his sister to help complete a rather punishing Otome Game, where the usual shenanigans of the game are as you would expect to be played out, to only lament at the difficulty of the game to pass out not by Truck-kun, but at the stairs leading to his house. Fast forward to the reincarnation phase, and he finds himself right inside that same exact Otome Game world where women reign supreme, and mobs like Leon are easy to manipulate that makes the setting tough for 'mobs'. Of course, like Katarina Claes, Leon also knows how the game works inside out, but one thing stands out amongst the two: a simple cheat code, because Leon is a mob character, and aside from wanting to live a normal life, unless he works to the death, he's gonna stand out amongst the nobility to forever be their plaything. So it's to that extent that the world ain't all nobility, but also with a mixed sci-fi theme with the "old world" featuring technology that only "Old Humans" can understand and mechas that add more lore to the series's worldbuilding, even if Leon is a "New Human" with technically "Old Human" knowledge. Also, Luxion for an AI downsized from its real body of a giant black spaceship-like airship is quite the hilarious joker as it hates "New Humans" and isn't abashed to trash-talk towards Leon when it feels like doing so. And that's more than its programming allowable to also help Leon in "cheating" his way through the Otome Game since his knowledge is unrivalled, and his personality being one similar to that of a rebel: not caring about how others look and opinionate about him, even to the point of criticizing and chastising others in the pursuit of being realistic, while throwing all logic off to the point whom are closest to him to act like the ever-so-predictable friendship clique setting, even showcasing compassion at times in his most dirty and disgusting behaviour the way he knows how to deal against. And true to honest, it doesn't get better than Leon being the 'mob' that tries to "change/alter history" by doing things that are to be expected of a background character. For such a character like Leon, unpredictability is the name of his game, and he's fun to watch as a trash-thrashing person.
There's heaps of other characters here too in MobuSeka, but I'll just go by the order in which they're introduced in the anime, there's a lot of ground to cover here. Starting off with the nobility's side of the caste system antics, it's the annoying Chibi-like character of Marie Fou Lafan, the daughter of a Viscount family. She, like Leon, also sucks as a character, but damn is she worse off than Leon himself by being oh-so-glamourous in vying for the attention to disrupt the Otome Game's natural progression of the female protagonist Olivia (whom again, like Katarina Claes) is a commoner through and through. And that's exactly Marie's position in the Otome Game: to meddle with the game dynamics and the placement of the characterization between the supposed commoner Olivia and antagonist villainness Angelica, so much so that Angelica took Olivia's place as the victim to be ripped apart from the princes of the kingdom: the crown prince Julius Rapha Holfort and his 4 idiotic aides of Jilk Fia Marmoria, Brad Fou Field, Chris Fia Arclight and Greg Fou Seberg, muscular and popular, but only in name (if Leon's in the overall picture). For the most part, it's utter broad daylight bullying at its worst as the kind and modest protagonist Olivia lacks a consistent amount of self-confidence, ensuring that she would always be the target of all nobles. On Angelica's side, instead of the usual crown prince shielding her, he's been bought to Marie's malicious intent, and it would be weird for his 4 aides to not side with him enough for Leon to backfire their karma on them.
Furthermore, with Leon's inclusion in the overall story, it can seem and look cumbersome that there're too many actors in a now-convoluted storyline where the mob characters take charge of altering it into a realistic un-fairy tale like scenario. But I promise you that it's not, as Leon weaves his own way into the circumstances and makes his own path so that everyone can get pissed off for making insignificant splashes from a two-faced character, pinning all the blame on him while both Olivia and Angelica can see through the gaps of their own situations. You simply can't get a better wingman than Leon Fou Bartfort, the insignificant mob character that turned from the hatred of all to a valuable player that despite his noble status (which he doesn't want any of that shit at all), he's the perfect player to guise and guide through the intricacies of unjust treatment within a much-maligned societal standing. And to earn the respect of the wayward-sided Olivia and Angelica whom Leon has constantly risked his life for to save them from their own traumas, that's saying something that background characters may one day be protagonists of their own choosing. This is the reason why as much hate as Leon gets, he's a pretty likable character, and one whom doesn't await shooting for the stars to earn the recognition that he deserves as a literate snake-snively person that acts according to what he feels is right. As some would say: A cliche overpowered protagonist done right, and for VA Takeo Ootsuka whom also acts as Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru a.k.a Run With the Wind's Kakeru Kurahara, it makes Leon stand out more than he actually would have been, and that I'd say a job well done.
It must be said that studio ENGI's production values have gotten a lot worse overtime. While its starting shows look fine with decency (and that was 2.5 years ago with Hataage! Kemono Michi), it didn't took until last Spring's Full Dive that the overall feel just looks bad, and I mean REAL BAD. Often at times, the art style just looks drab and lifeless, and let's not go into the character design which I feel that it was way too overdone with shades and contours so strikingly deep that literally everything looked razor-sharp and unnatural. To this effect, you can blame character designer Masahiko Suzuki who's done more character design in the creature department (i.e. Overlord, Kami no Tou, Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?) than actual human characters. It's like someone trying to diversify his CV that when trying something new, it's a given that he'll earn rude comments, but I for one can't understand how someone so bad at creature models earn the culmination that is featured in this show. It's abominable, and the only negative about MobuSeka. And for a Kadokawa-backed company, this is just...ugly. Like come on, wouldn't spending money on resources and more training help out to make your company look much better in the eyes of the watching public?
The OST on the other hand, it's good. Kashitaro Ito is such a talented Anisong singer, and his vocal talents display the promixity here of an OP that features strong vocals and dynamic musical range, something that's a staple of if you listen to his songs. Riko Azuna's ED...actually fits for a much more playful aesthetic in rounding up the heavy bombardiness of the episodes, though the song is decent that's patched together with the visual play. It's peppy and kooky.
I wouldn't be wrong if I said that there are WAY TOO MUCH Isekai anime these days, and standing out is even more difficult if the formula has been done better, or if it concerns when the adaptations of source materials comes out faster to be the first one to set a precedent on how future shows will be like to determine greatness or mediocrity. MobuSeka won't be a show that tries to break the bank by being mostly the same borrowed aesthetics from other shows that have come and gone before it, but if I can guarantee something, it's one hell of a good time watching a jerk carve out a path for himself and trashing the world behind him.
Truly, the world is tough for mobs, but the real world is just as hard for Otaku (if this ain't an WotaKoi reference enough).
 Alternative Titles Synonyms: Otomege Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu, Mobseka, Mobuseka Japanese: 乙女ゲー世界はモブに厳しい世界です Information Type: TV Episodes: 12 Status: Finished Airing Aired: Apr 3, 2022 to Jun 19, 2022 Premiered: Spring 2022 Broadcast: Sundays at 22:00 (JST) Producers: AT-X, Sammy, bilibili, Kadokawa Media House, Kadokawa, Micro Magazine Publishing, Micro House Licensors: Crunchyroll Studios: ENGI Source: Light novel Duration: 23 min. per ep. Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older Statistics Score: 7.341 (scored by 158,999 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: #25692 2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #793 Members: 302,615 Favorites: 2,051 Available AtResources |
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