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EP. REVIEW: Handyman Saitō in Another World


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Aerdra



Joined: 02 Feb 2022
Posts: 320
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 7:55 pm Reply with quote
Humor is hit-or-miss in general. Some skits had me laughing unexpectedly, while others were just meh. Since the show doesn't linger on any one skit for too long, there's several great moments every episode. This show would've worked well as a half-length or a short, but it works fine with full-length episodes too.

The first episode is my favorite among the three so far, having the best of the comedic skits. The next two episodes added more world-building and narrative. The show might try to develop an actual plot underneath all the loosely connected skits.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 10:31 pm Reply with quote
Definitely agree that ep 1 was the best one, tellingly its also the one episode that featured almost no fan service. 2-3 were just barely worth watching and I might drop at 4 if it doesn't improve significantly.

The handyman aspect also only sorta work, none of his skill are particularly special, lockpicking is a staple of the genre, any thief/rogue would be far more useful than him in the group. If the show leaned a bit more that way it could be good, but it feel like were genuinely supposed to think he's incredibly useful to the group when he's just not really, which makes the entire thing feel like it's kinda laughing at him and his party member who can't get anyone better. Coincidentally I just meet up with an old friend of mine who became a locksmith and companies are absolutely desperate for hiring more and rolling out the red carpet for them. He's not hurting salary wise and from what I understand most of them end up going independent and making fist full of money to the point where they turn down work. Maybe it's different in japan but I doubt it, so the whole "woe is me" aspect really fail for me.
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everydaygamer



Joined: 10 Jul 2009
Posts: 928
PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2023 2:05 am Reply with quote
It's weird that they don't do anything all that interesting with the handyman aspect. He has some useful skills but nothing all that special or unique.

I get that he's described as an average guy with nothing special about him but this is the first story I've seen actually follow through on that promise.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 1768
PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2023 11:49 am Reply with quote
everydaygamer wrote:
It's weird that they don't do anything all that interesting with the handyman aspect. He has some useful skills but nothing all that special or unique.

I get that he's described as an average guy with nothing special about him but this is the first story I've seen actually follow through on that promise.


Agreed, though some of his skills are mighty handy in a dungeon.
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Minos_Kurumada



Joined: 04 Nov 2015
Posts: 981
PostPosted: Sun Jan 29, 2023 11:05 pm Reply with quote
I must agree with the series doing nothing interesting with Saito.

I mean, even freaking Konosuba had the savviness of using Kasuma's rudimentary knowledge of modern stuff to replicate some of them and get him money.

Saito should know about mechanic, plumbing and electricity, he obviously knows how to work leather to the point of replicating a quite complicated backpack and has knowledge of modern hand tools like saws and screwdrivers.

What does he does with all of that?

He opens chests, something that episode 4 shows its not even a rare skill, I dont get it.

Up to now everything I like about the show it's actually everything that has nothing to do with him.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sun Jan 29, 2023 11:45 pm Reply with quote
So Raelza is Morlock's daughter or granddaughter? Was that revealed before and I missed it? I feel like I might be missing quite a bit due to the vignette structure of the series coupled with my Swiss cheese memory. Man, woman, person, cleric, tank, indeed.

For a second that cavern looked like Kagome's storage room. Smile Then I was impressed that even a locomotive had gotten isekai'ed.

Minos_Kurumada wrote:
He opens chests, something that episode 4 shows its not even a rare skill.

But Saito's better at it than your average lockpick, what with his modern tools, and experience with probably much more advanced locks than they have in this medieval setting.
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absent
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Joined: 15 Dec 2022
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Location: Pennsylvania, USA
PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 12:28 am Reply with quote
Minos_Kurumada wrote:
I must agree with the series doing nothing interesting with Saito.

I mean, even freaking Konosuba had the savviness of using Kasuma's rudimentary knowledge of modern stuff to replicate some of them and get him money.

Saito should know about mechanic, plumbing and electricity, he obviously knows how to work leather to the point of replicating a quite complicated backpack and has knowledge of modern hand tools like saws and screwdrivers.

What does he does with all of that?

He opens chests, something that episode 4 shows its not even a rare skill, I dont get it.

Up to now everything I like about the show it's actually everything that has nothing to do with him.


Also shown in this episode is the modification to Raelza's armor that lets her pop it off in a pinch, and the silver flasks he crafted to carry holy water. He's not a god, but he's using his (very mundane) skills for more than lockpicking. I don't know what more you're expecting.

Consider also that this world doesn't have most of the manufactured parts that a professional in his world would expect to have. It's a lot harder to utilize your skills without those.
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Minos_Kurumada



Joined: 04 Nov 2015
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 11:25 am Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:

But Saito's better at it than your average lockpick, what with his modern tools, and experience with probably much more advanced locks than they have in this medieval setting.


We actually know nothing of the guy, he could be bellow average, if he is better then he could stablish a lock piking school and find a good craftsman who could replicate the instruments to sell them.

absent wrote:


Also shown in this episode is the modification to Raelza's armor that lets her pop it off in a pinch, and the silver flasks he crafted to carry holy water. He's not a god, but he's using his (very mundane) skills for more than lockpicking. I don't know what more you're expecting.

Consider also that this world doesn't have most of the manufactured parts that a professional in his world would expect to have. It's a lot harder to utilize your skills without those.


The flask are not special and the armor popping trick is exactly what I am asking, more of that please.

For example, the electricity trap, lets change it to the floor being charged, then Saito devises insulative shoes to pass it, simple and justifies this being an isekai.
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absent
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Joined: 15 Dec 2022
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:14 pm Reply with quote
Minos_Kurumada wrote:
The flask are not special and the armor popping trick is exactly what I am asking, more of that please.

For example, the electricity trap, lets change it to the floor being charged, then Saito devises insulative shoes to pass it, simple and justifies this being an isekai.


I don't agree that it needs to do more to "justify" being an isekai, and I'd rather it didn't shoehorn more power into Saito solely to that end. You might not find the utilization of his skills to be anything special, but it's been made clear several times over that characters in the world do. I think the show has taken a refreshingly grounded approach to this format.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:56 pm Reply with quote
Minos_Kurumada wrote:
Gina Szanboti wrote:

But Saito's better at it than your average lockpick, what with his modern tools, and experience with probably much more advanced locks than they have in this medieval setting.

We actually know nothing of the guy, he could be bellow average, if he is better then he could stablish a lock piking school and find a good craftsman who could replicate the instruments to sell them.

Well now you're just dumping on him because he's not doing what you think you'd do. Smile

Sure, he could be below average in our world, but as absent noted, his skillz seem to be above average in this world. And why would he open a school unless he has a dream of being a teacher instead of an adventurer? Not that that was his dream either, but he's enjoying himself anyway. If he established a school for extra income or something, he'd be shooting his own party in the foot if adventuring was still his main gig once he trained people to run his school. Do they need the competition? Could he trust this hypothetical craftsman to share the income? Is there a legal framework here to protect his trade secrets?

He wants to be an adventurer with a group that he likes and that apparently values him as well as his usefulness, and there's nothing wrong with that.
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Minos_Kurumada



Joined: 04 Nov 2015
Posts: 981
PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:54 pm Reply with quote
absent wrote:

I don't agree that it needs to do more to "justify" being an isekai, and I'd rather it didn't shoehorn more power into Saito solely to that end. You might not find the utilization of his skills to be anything special, but it's been made clear several times over that characters in the world do. I think the show has taken a refreshingly grounded approach to this format.


Outside the fact that I am the third person on this treat who has said the same thing, he is doing so little with what he knows it's actually not believable to me and its dispelling my suspension of disbelief.

If what he has done is enough for you, that's ok and I am happy for you, but, it is not enough for me.

Gina Szanboti wrote:

Well now you're just dumping on him because he's not doing what you think you'd do. Smile

Sure, he could be below average in our world, but as absent noted, his skillz seem to be above average in this world. And why would he open a school unless he has a dream of being a teacher instead of an adventurer? Not that that was his dream either, but he's enjoying himself anyway. If he established a school for extra income or something, he'd be shooting his own party in the foot if adventuring was still his main gig once he trained people to run his school. Do they need the competition? Could he trust this hypothetical craftsman to share the income? Is there a legal framework here to protect his trade secrets?

He wants to be an adventurer with a group that he likes and that apparently values him as well as his usefulness, and there's nothing wrong with that.


I don't see how I can answer to that, we don't know if he is adobe average or not, we don't know if he wants to be an adventurer, we don't know if he is enjoying or just looking for money for food and shelter.

Now that I think about it, we know nothing outside the fact that he was very sad in our world...

We don't know what his shelter status is nor what he eats nor if he needs money or if he is ok...

Humm... I think the problem here it's a problem of world building than characterization.

Yeah, I think I will simply stop watching this, thank you for making me realice its not for me.
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primalmaximus



Joined: 05 Jan 2022
Posts: 101
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 6:29 pm Reply with quote
I'll be honest. I didn't like Christopher Farris' review of episode 5.

It seems to me like he sees Handyman Saitō as being mostly comedy with a dash of drama.

But he's wrong. It's been very clear that the series is a weightier comedy drama. Everything from Saitō's borderline depression from how unappreciated he was in our world and how much he fears being abandoned by the friends in his party, to Lanfan's racial curse that forces her to give money to the moon or she shrinks.

Then you have episode 4. Yes, Raelza's fight with the warrior elf ended in a wardrobe malfunction but, aside from that, there was no comedy during that scene or the ones following it. When Raelza states her name for the duel oath, she hesitates before stating her surname and then decides to use Morlock as her surname. So, either she doesn't have a family name or, more likely, she's ashamed of her family's reputation. Hell, she could actually be related to Morlock. Especially because episode 5 states that Morlock used to be quite a ladies man.

But then you have the aftermath of the fight. The cleric who's partnered with the elf warrior begs her, "Don't die. I don't care how badly you get injured. But don't die. I haven't learned resurrection magic so you cannot die." Hell, it was never outright stated, but the elf warrior probably suffered from major discrimination because she can't use magic like other elves.

Basically, if you're paying attention even the slightest you'll see that there's actually a lot of drama going on. You'd almost think that Christopher Farris wasn't paying much attention to the series based on his review of episode 5 if he thought the drama didn't work. Yes, some of it didn't work, like the whole "Twilight Fairy about to get raped by a tentacle creature" bit, but the rest of it did. She chose to gain weight because she thought adventurers chased her because of her beauty instead of chasing her as an exotic creature.
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absent
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Joined: 15 Dec 2022
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Location: Pennsylvania, USA
PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 6:43 pm Reply with quote
primalmaximus wrote:
I'll be honest. I didn't like Christopher Farris' review of episode 5.

It seems to me like he sees Handyman Saitō as being mostly comedy with a dash of drama.

But he's wrong. It's been very clear that the series is a weightier comedy drama. Everything from Saitō's borderline depression from how unappreciated he was in our world and how much he fears being abandoned by the friends in his party, to Lanfan's racial curse that forces her to give money to the moon or she shrinks.

Then you have episode 4. Yes, Raelza's fight with the warrior elf ended in a wardrobe malfunction but, aside from that, there was no comedy during that scene or the ones following it. When Raelza states her name for the duel oath, she hesitates before stating her surname and then decides to use Morlock as her surname. So, either she doesn't have a family name or, more likely, she's ashamed of her family's reputation. Hell, she could actually be related to Morlock. Especially because episode 5 states that Morlock used to be quite a ladies man.

But then you have the aftermath of the fight. The cleric who's partnered with the elf warrior begs her, "Don't die. I don't care how badly you get injured. But don't die. I haven't learned resurrection magic so you cannot die." Hell, it was never outright stated, but the elf warrior probably suffered from major discrimination because she can't use magic like other elves.

Basically, if you're paying attention even the slightest you'll see that there's actually a lot of drama going on. You'd almost think that Christopher Farris wasn't paying much attention to the series based on his review of episode 5 if he thought the drama didn't work. Yes, some of it didn't work, like the whole "Twilight Fairy about to get raped by a tentacle creature" bit, but the rest of it did. She chose to gain weight because she thought adventurers chased her because of her beauty instead of chasing her as an exotic creature.


I think it's a little unfair to say that he "wasn't paying much attention." Yes, there's been a mix of drama and comedy throughout the show thus far, but I think this episode leaned way more into the drama than any prior episode. The tone was much darker as well. I was a little put off by it, to be honest. Plus, it's not like he panned it --- 3.5 stars is hardly a negative review in my opinion.

Hopefully it doesn't get too grim for everybody. Saito seemed to believe in a peaceful resolution to the conflict between the adventuring parties, and I think it could still happen. (Despite the pinch that he ended up in.)
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primalmaximus



Joined: 05 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 7:58 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I think it's a little unfair to say that he "wasn't paying much attention." Yes, there's been a mix of drama and comedy throughout the show thus far, but I think this episode leaned way more into the drama than any prior episode. The tone was much darker as well. I was a little put off by it, to be honest. Plus, it's not like he panned it --- 3.5 stars is hardly a negative review in my opinion.

Hopefully it doesn't get too grim for everybody. Saito seemed to believe in a peaceful resolution to the conflict between the adventuring parties, and I think it could still happen. (Despite the pinch that he ended up in.)


Yeah, that might have been a bit much. And I agree with you that the episode was much darker than previous episodes. But to me, it was less off putting and more riveting. In fact, for me, it would have been more off putting if, after the drama in the latter half of episode 4, it had reverted back to the kind of comedy we'd seen previously.

I think that the reasons episodes 1-3 had more comedy than episodes 4 & 5 is because the first three episodes were a prologue. An introduction to the various members of the cast and the quirks of their personalities. That's why they felt more lighthearted. The series itself said that a new era of exploration began after Saitō uncovered the new passage to the labyrinth depths. So I'm assuming that we'll see more drama and intensity interspersed amidst the comedic vignettes.
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Yuvelir



Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 1529
PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 9:13 am Reply with quote
For all its exposition and details this episode had telling us why we should feel for a band of backstabbing murderers, it forgot to tell us one very important detail: why exactly do they need to do this exactly?
There was a vague mention about not letting anyone take the time wizard before them, but surely they aren't dumb enough to think they can actually kill the hundreds of explorers that are coming in? Maybe tell us that before you try to make me feel bad for the cocky ninja?
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