#endro!

Trigger warning: mention of violence against women and sensitive topics

Watching ‘Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average In My Next Life?’ when I should be working on Fighter’s next chapter (the last in the cursed Return to San Francisco arc). Guess what? It’s better than Goblin Slayer.

Notably so, since it’s a generic Isekai light novel spoof (when spoofs or deconstructions are at best generic, its a sign of genre death), with casual or joking references to child rape, slavery and forced marriage. A setting where level one female adventurers could very easily suffer the same fate as in Goblin Slayer but, through ridiculous contrivance, do not. 

It must be understood that ridiculous contrivance of a disgusting and unacceptable attack on the female gender (Goblin Slayer) is not morally equivalent to the ridiculously contrived avoidance of such an attack. And a hundred gratuitously slaughtered men in fiction do not have the significance of one gratuitous, exploitative rape, in the context of a real world where violence, rape and degradation are aimed particularly at women. A fictional attack on the concept of female dignity (Goblin Slayer) is a real attack on women, and pitch certainly does defile anyone who wallows in it. Please understand this, please throw every copy of Goblin Slayer down the privy.

Anyway, ‘Didn’t I say...?’ has an important advantage over Goblin Slayer, in that it realises the JRPG fantasy light novel concept is basically ridiculous. The problematic elements I’ve mentioned are awkward and unpleasant as jokes, but not seriously unforgivable mental pollution (Goblin Slayer). Modern light novels that try to take the fantasy/Isekai concept seriously (Tanya the Evil, Shield Hero, Goblin Slayer) always seriously display the mindless violence, racism and chauvinism that form the dark bedrock of primal male fantasy and show up significantly in traditional pulp fantasy over the last 70 years. Remember The Iron Dream? Goblin Slayer’s tale of genociding whiney green-skinned liberals (really) cleaves to it in a very bad way. While ‘Didn’t I say...?’ is a simple, amusing romp where serious issues are not seriously dealt with, and it would certainly be alright to have a few more series like this.

Today’s anime mascot of the day is...!

The canon LGBT+ character of today is:

Favorite Action Anime 

Favorite Seasonal Anime

Favorite wholesome anime with a problematic premise 

Most Overlooked Anime

Best Girls

Cutest Characters

Best Anime Song