New Saga

I can’t say that New Saga is outright terrible, but it’s ultimately not worth your time. The premise has promise: a heartfelt story about young adventurers who grow stronger thanks to the MC’s knowledge of a doomed timeline where the world is destroyed by a demon horde. Unfortunately, the execution falls flat. The pacing is bloated—so much so that you could probably watch only a third of each episode and still grasp the entire plot. The story feels padded, stretched far beyond what it needs to be, and could have easily been told in half the number of episodes. The characters don’t do the show any favorseither. Most are painfully generic, and the male cast often comes off as uncomfortably creepy toward the female characters, with fanservice that feels shoehorned in and adds nothing. The only one who stood out even slightly was Theron, since he at least hinted at some depth—but even then, it wasn’t much. The protagonist, Kyle, is surprisingly bland given the weight of the story that rests on his shoulders. What makes New Saga even more disappointing is that it clearly wants to be more than “trashy” anime, but it never rises above mediocrity. It doesn’t lean into the fun excesses of trashy shows, nor does it deliver the strong storytelling or character work it seems to aim for. The result is a dull middle ground that leaves little impact. To be fair, it wasn’t an unbearable watch. But with so many better shows out there that handle similar themes with more skill and personality, this one just feels like a waste of time. 5.5/10

Got off to a very good beginning. Hoped this was gonna be one of the top titles from the second half of the year. Then some of the character growth started to feel weaker or chaotic, filler storylines lingered by far, far, far too long and slowed the pacing, the main story felt choppy and jerky. The second half didn’t live up to the momentum of the start. I’d much rather watch the main characters running away on that carriage and becoming stronger along the way for three episodes than spend five minutes seeing them catch bandits and deal with some local village politics. It was disappointingto see the characters become caricatures of themselves by the end. There was also this idea flying in the air that your best friends could become your enemies given the right circumstances, and that your enemies might not be so bad after all, but it was really poorly done and didn’t quite land.

Well, if you are wondering if you should watch this, I can just tell you stuff while trying to be objective and then my opinion. Animation: Low average, good enough generally but it's not enough to portrait a good fight scene. We don't have that many battles, so I don't think this is a deal breaker. Story: a fantasy story that is kinda in the gray area, it's not a dark fantasy but it isn't a normal one either. The main plain plot is to stop or win the war against demons, but there is some shady stuff going and lot of betrayals. It has quite abit of mystery and some plot twists that catch you off guard. Characters: well, for this part I have to separate between guys and girls. The guys are kinda cold and get things done, they go with "ends justifies the means", I kinda like that. On the other hand, the girls you average kind character and a bit of a moral compass. Now, the main cast. One thing to mention is that the supporting cast has quite a bit of screen time, so if you only care for the MC you may be annoyed by that (I'm not). Our MC - Kyle: our time traveler (and it actually shows), a magic knight and ex hero. He is your average guy on the surface, but he does some nasty stuff if he has too. Compared to other time travelers or reincarnated characters, our MC actually acts more mature (he doesn't get shy with girls, he makes them shy, lol) than the rest of the cast so that's a plus for me. He is strong but not OP. Bro - Theron: your funny and horny guy with no luck with girls that is actually ruthless AF. He is strong but with no magic, he might be even stronger than the MC. First love - Liese: the childhood friend our mc loved but couldn't save and the trigger to make him the hero. She is a bit tsundere, but not annoying, she has waifu skills and it's the kinder character of the party, and the strongest in raw power. Despite that, she is the weakest character. Ex-girlfriend - Urza: the one that healed Kyle after losing Liese, the girlfriend he had at the time he fought the demon lord, she died too. She is the cool lady, a mage/summoner that is also kind... but kind of thorny. Romance: Yes, but it's not a main plot so far, it's pretty low on the priority list. Despite being in the back, it has an interesting take that makes you curious considering how our MC is related to the girls. The only people I think that won't like this is people that wants romance as a main topic. For the rest it won't add not take much. Overall: Your average fantasy with some dark twists that makes it kinda niche and more mature. It's not a power fantasy and despite the time traveling, our party can't save everyone. Our MC makes the pace of the story kinda unique and that is what I liked the most of the story. That's all, I'm out.

Disappointing. To preface with a little history: Tsuyokute no New Saga was one of the earlier pioneers of the regression genre, before it caught on in the mainstream. At the time, it stood out for being a tad more grounded than most, focusing on the consequence of Kyle's actions both in the past present. Yes the slapstick was still there but it was balanced just like the character designs which were more history appropriate. Now,, years later the anime comes out and it's not only late to the party, the designs and directing has made it painfully generics. Full of multicolor anime hair, cutesier aesthetics,a pg-13 feel and the same bland design principles as every other isekai-adjacent product of the past decade. And don't even get me started on the downright wacky ridiculous soundtrack that plays at every moment even serious ones. Like who plays excited wacky party-jazz when reliving the trauma of your friends dying in the past and finally reuniting with one who can believe you? And then there's the 2FPS fight scenes. Unless you REALLY need voice acting I'd recommend just reading the manga. Its the best of the 3 imo, the LN's a bit more complete but meanders here and there and doesnt have the visuals of the manga.