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Last edited by Tony K. on Thu Jan 11, 2024 2:06 pm; edited 2 times in total

Berserk of Gluttony (TV)

Source: Light Novel (ongoing @ 8 volumes, written by Ichika Isshiki, illustrated by fame)

Demographic: Seinen

Animation Studio: A.C.G.T.

Genres: action, adventure, comedy, drama, fantasy

Themes: aristocracy, conspiracy, dark fantasy, gore, knights, magical items, medieval, revenge, superpowers, transformations

Plot Summary: Fate Graphite has never tasted real power. Born with the magical skill Gluttony, he constantly hungers in a way that can’t be satiated, and has been shunned and looked down upon his entire life.

One day, while working as a gatekeeper for a noble family and fighting a trespassing thief, he discovers Gluttony’s true power: when he kills someone, he devours their skills and feeds his gnawing hunger at last. In that grisly realization, Fate is awakened to his true potential.

Air Date & Platform:
October 1, 2023 (Sunday)
Available on: Crunchyroll

Episode Count / Runtime: 12 episodes
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Looks like it could possibly have some fan service, ecchi, or harem elements. But it's listed as seinen with apparent conspiracy and revenge themes, so I'll give it a shot. Almost sounds like a more progressively steady origin story of (The) Eminence in Shadow where we actually see him learning to become overpowered, instead of just him already being that way.

Ecchi/fan service doesn't seem as common as when I first got into anime. I guess I'll find out if this show actually has some.

Welp, it's pretty clear that subtlety isn't going to be one of this anime's virtues. The three (un)holy knights are about as unrepentant, degenerate, and scummy as it gets. Meanwhile, the holy holy knight (whose family name is Hart no less) is practically an armed Care Bear. Well, and a possible romantic interest. The only hint of shades between good and evil is the foreshadowing that our meek but plucky narrator is going to be dragged down a dark, violent path by his good intentions.

That said, the revenge formula is well worn for a reason, and having a protagonist who's like that Sylar guy from the old Heroes series is a pretty cool idea. I was surprised to find that Fate could absorb skills from monsters too. If Fate gets dozens of skills every time he plows through a horde full (hordeful?) of cannon fodder types like he did in the pilot, he's going to become OP insanely fast. I'll have to see if the show can make being OP interesting after the novelty has worn off. Or if watching the MC flirting with his inner darkness is more tense and complex than depressing. Did that mask he was wearing/holding in the opening credits imply that he's going to become some kind of medieval fantasy Batman? That could be an interesting direction to explore.

Anyway, I was engaged, and I'll definitely watch the next episode.

Episode 1

My first groan was when I saw the wagon driver who looked like a Mexican out of a western movie with sombrero and all in what's supposed to be a fantasy setting. My second groan was the look of the city which even by Lazy, Generic Background Fantasy Town standards was super lazy and generic. Third groan was the over the top villainy of the Terrible Trio. Fourth groan was Super Sweet Blondie who was crushing on our hapless, dirty MC. Then something strange started happening...

...as the episode went on, I stopped groaning and started getting engaged. By the end, to my immense shock, I found myself adding this title to my Currently Airing watch list. Not saying it won't make me drop it down the line, but considering its inauspicious start for me, I really did not expect this. Just shows to go ya, I guess.

I hate status screens. I find them obnoxious narrative shortcuts, often unnecessary and immersion breaking in the fiction that leans upon them, using the devices to prop up underdeveloped settings like a set of rotting crutches. They're understandable tools in a game setting, but anytime they get trotted out in some generic isekai/fantasy, I shed a tear for good writing,

I've been shedding a lot of tears. It's a legitimate issue now. Please send help.

My pet peeve aside, this is a serviceable story. Underdog's life sucks, he gets a powerup, makes a friend(?), and with his newfound power comes agency to act in the world. I don't think it's a bad start, or a good one. It just is. I'm keeping this one on the tentative watch list for now, but it needs to impress with some interesting wrinkle or amazing execution. It hasn't yet- but it's set itself up to do so.

Edjwald wrote:

having a protagonist who's like that Sylar guy from the old Heroes series is a pretty cool idea.

That's exactly who I was thinking of when I watched this! And I'm actually wondering if Fate will turn into some kind of anti-hero, since he has to kill things to gain power. I'm also curious about that talking sword. The fact that it knows "divine law" makes me think there's a much larger backstory to how it came into existence.

All in all, this was a good enough opener to keep me interested, and I hope it eventually answers some things like: how long do his absorbed powers last, what are the side effects (if any), and are there any kind of limits to Gluttony skill?

Looks like this is shaping up to be a good season for fantasy.

Yeah, the show is not subtle about anything and it has more then a few clichés. It is the basic story of a mistreated person getting an op skill and using it to get revenge on those who wronged him and become crazy powerful. Story wise I am not expecting much, but it is entertaining enough for now and the mc will probably get roped into a big adventure somehow.

I like the base idea of the lead's abilities, but this just reeks of edgelord nonsense that teen boys who didn't know better would eat up like gullible suckers.

It's just fine though? I like the talking sword idea, but everything is just so half-baked and boring.

Edgelord is officially now one of those overused words that has stopped having any meaning due to... well, overuse. I swear to God these days any show that isn't all about rainbows and puppies gets tagged with the Edgelord label.

Agreed, but dressing in black while talking about revenge and needing more POWER does get you pretty close to being one.

A show about an MC who gains skills and power by killing people/things can't help but be dark. But I agree that its sledgehammer dramatics leave it open to edgelord characterization.

Blood- wrote:

Edgelord is officially now one of those overused words that has stopped having any meaning due to... well, overuse. I swear to God these days any show that isn't all about rainbows and puppies gets tagged with the Edgelord label.

I mean, you can't blame people labeling this one edgelord since he thinks the world sucks around him, everyone but him sucks, and he wants power. If you want people to stop labeling stuff like this as edgelord, then maybe creatives need to stop catering to 15-year-olds who think this stuff is cool.

if it was actually good, people wouldn't be bothering to label it edgelord nonsense. The Eminence of Shadows sort of gets away with it since it feels like a trollpost of the typical "edgelord" media.

It might be useful to see more than 23 minutes of this show before deciding that the MC thinks that everybody around him sucks. Like I say, the show certainly laid it on with a trowel when it came to dramatizing his situation but you can't blame him for believing his world sucks. If edgelord still meant anything beyond, "a show where a lot of negative stuff happens" it should refer to a character who thinks the world sucks but has no real strong reason for feeling that way. Same for the MC's desire to gain power. Totally understandable for a character like him who grew up believing he had no useable skill.

I mean, the writing isn't good enough to get over that and it isn't giving a good first impression. The writing isn't good enough to make you feel engrossed in the world and when you can't be engrossed in the show you are watching, the flaws start to come out.

I'll give it the good ol three-episode rule, but if I come back here after ep 2-3 and still feel like it's edge lord nonsense made by a teen who thinks he knows better when he doesn't, well, then that's what's going to be. Don't hate the people using the word. Hate the creatives who aren't putting in the effort to make good licenses.

Too much anime is coming out these days and the fact this season alone is getting 50-60 shows, well, you can't afford to be mediocre anymore. Like every other form of media. People have to pick and choose wisely and if you can't make people stick past the first episode, then that's on them. not me or anyone else calling it edgelord.

Even if it wasn't trying way too hard to make this world suck, stuff like the video game stats and the middling animation and one note characters don't make it a good show.

Who knows, maybe the first episode was terrible and ep 2-3 get better, but I doubt it.

What part of the show indicated that the MC "thinks he knows better?" I'm not being sarcastic - it's possible that happened but I genuinely don't remember it. I think giving the title another episode or two is more than fair. Believe me, I am very aware of this show's flaws. My original post is basically, "wow, really thought I'd be dropping this but somehow it ended up convincing me to try some more." Dropping this at some point in the future feels like a real possibility, but we'll see. Also, I'm not "hating" on people that use the term edgelord, I'd just like to see a more disciplined use of it so that every single show that dramatizes dark things doesn't automatically gets slapped with the label.

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