The Summer 2025 Anime Preview Guide - New Saga

In a world laid waste by a demon invasion, Kyle subdues the demon king with his last remaining strength, but then he is sent back four years into the past. Armed with his past life's memories and experiences, he takes this second chance at life to ensure that the tragic history does not repeat itself.

New Saga is based on the light novel series by author Masayuki Abe and illustrator Ryūta Fuse. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Wednesdays.

My tentative appreciation for New Saga is waning. After the first episode, I'd hoped that we might get a slightly more nuanced approach to the subject matter, and perhaps that's on me. But the second episode kicks things into high gear, and by “high gear,” I mean “fast forward.” It makes sense that Kyle would want to take action to prevent the upcoming tragedy, but the rapidity with which it unfolds is a bit much, and it opens the door to noticing all the flaws in the execution nicely and widely.

Why, for example, is Liese the only person carrying baggage on their journey? Is she hauling everyone's stuff in that one (enormous) backpack? Is that enough for four people at all? Or three, since Urza was already on a journey when Kyle unintentionally threatened her in public? How did Kyle and Theron dig that enormous tunnel? Yes, okay, Urza's elemental spirit helped, but that's still a ridiculously large tunnel for four humans. Surely they'd have been fine with something less obtrusive? Especially since they're digging it into the legendary treasure room of a long-lost labyrinth?

Those are the most baffling examples, but there are more questions raised by the increased speed the story decided it needed. Other issues that arise in this sophomore episode are perhaps more mundane, such as the potential romantic issues Kyle is facing. He was in love with Liese before the whole war started, and he only hooked up with Urza because Liese was dead. But now they're both alive, well, and accompanying him on his journey, and I'm not sure the storytelling is up for handling that. Kyle is relatively nonplussed, and it seems clear that his loyalties are to Liese, his ostensible first love. But then that third girl appears at the end of the episode, and I don't think Kyle's ready for a harem – and Theron shouldn't be allowed anywhere near one. He's gone from “kind of dumb friend” to “obnoxious” in an impressively short time. Those awkward CGI gold coins are the least of the problems with the scene in the treasure room.

I'm probably being too harsh here. There aren't many options for Kyle if he wants to prevent doom from coming again, and he is considering the best approach. It's more than the execution of the episode isn't quite up to handling it, and that's more of a problem than Kyle's oil-slick colored eyelashes or the stilted art.

Sometimes winning isn't worth it. That seems to be the case for Kyle, a hero who managed to take down the demon lord, but at a price that was far too high. If anyone deserves to get their hands on a magic spell or item that can send them four years back in time, it's him…and, conveniently for the plot, that's exactly what happens in this episode.

Hands down, the best pieces of this are the ones that show what a toll the final battle and the loss of everyone he loved takes on Kyle. When he collapses after winning, there's a sense of resignation in the weight of his body. That goes double for when he stands back up after realizing that his work isn't quite done—you can practically feel his exhaustion. Then later, when he finds himself back in his childhood bedroom and faced with his lost love (?) Liese, his reaction is also palpable. Do I love that he goes from squeezing her in a tight hug to groping her ass? No, but he thinks he's dreaming of a time that's gone, so it at least makes a little sense—and he knows enough to let go when she smacks him and to apologize later for his bad actions. Thus far, he doesn't seem like a twit who assumes consent without asking when he's in his right mind.

That's what I liked about this episode. The rest of it's fine, but not as compelling, largely because it involves Kyle trying to figure out what's going on and what he will do about it. Again, it does make sense – there's no way he could accept this and move on, and if he could, I daresay this would have been a worse episode. But it's also not particularly interesting to watch him inhale a meal meant for four people or talk to his way-too-young-looking mom about time reversal magic. Important? Yes. Interesting? Not so much, especially since he doesn't have a big reaction to being reunited with her. Surely the mother you last saw dead on the ground is worth at least a little of the relief and enthusiasm you showed Liese? (In all fairness, he has a similarly muted reaction to his friend Theron.)

As this episode went on, I found myself reminded of A Returner's Magic Should Be Special more than anything else. Kyle lacks the self-assurance of that protagonist, but his motives are very much the same: stop the same tragedy from unfolding twice. He's been cautious with his methods so far, and ultimately, his steadiness may prove to be a boon to the story. This isn't a great episode, but it's competent, and it makes me think it'll be worth giving it at least one or two more episodes to see how it unfolds.

When I covered New Saga's premiere, I noted that, for an unabashedly generic retread of the ol' “Travel Back in Time to Kill the Demon Lord!” routine, it had the potential to be maybe-kinda-sorta-possibly-pretty-okay. That might sound like a backhanded compliment, but believe me, I'll take what I can get if the alternative is something with the words “Weakest Class” or “Kicked Out of the Party” in its title. Our guy Kyle might look and act like that one guy from my college Biology class who was pretty chill to partner up with despite always seeming like he was always just on the verge of inviting you to his weekly Bible study, but you know what? That guy was alright. He was fine. He didn't go around seething about all of the dumbass idiot jerks who blocked him from the DnD Club's group chat. So what if he always declined the study group's invitations to go out for pad thai because his stomach “just doesn't vibe with spicy food”?

I might be getting sidetracked. That is because, despite New Saga continuing to be perfectly and unremarkably adequate in its second episode, it's also perfectly and unremarkably adequate. There's nothing about Kyle's continuing quest to get one up on Bad Guys with the power of his future knowledge that is especially irritating or offensive, but it also isn't the kind of anime that will leave a lasting mark on you, either. Even now, just minutes after finishing the episode, I can only remember a scant few moments of what I just watched.

I like that Kyle does the smart thing and just commits to smooching Lise while he still has the chance, since you never know who is going to get slaughtered in the fight against evil on the second go-round. The wrinkle of Kyle accidentally getting wrapped up in an ex-post-facto love triangle because of the pretty elf girl he'll end up dating after his childhood sweetheart dies is an interesting way for the story to capitalize on Kyle's predicament. Um…that magic girlie who shows up right at the end has a really big hat?

At the end of the day, New Saga is nothing else if not a great reference point for me to go back to and use as an exemplar for what makes a “Three Out of Five Stars” type of anime. It doesn't do much of anything wrong, per se, and it has enough passable qualities to fall on the side of technically “good.” I'm not telling you to drop everything and watch New Saga right now. If you need some decent background noise to listen to while sorting your email inbox or comparing paint swatches for your upcoming bathroom remodel, this cartoon will do the job.

I will give New Saga credit for this: It's not slop. The anime industry has been inundated with generic fantasy light novel adaptations for so long now that it has become remarkably easy to spot a series that was created entirely to fill the seasonal slop bucket with whatever featureless, tasteless sludge that the producers think will be able to turn a profit on a bare minimum of effort. Many factors go into the creation of anime slop, but the core underlying principle that unites all slop is a withering disdain for its audience. It doesn't care about inspiring, or creating empathy, or exploring unique and interesting topics; it doesn't even really give a damn about whether it is a product worth paying for, whether the payment comes in the form of money, time, or emotional investment. Slop is “content” in its purest, most base form. It exists to fill a void of space and time, allowing a group of industry executives to make a quick buck on the backs of inexperienced writers and overworked animators.

I have all sorts of criticisms I could level at New Saga, but my Slop Senses did not begin to tingle as I watched its first episode, and that means more than you might think in the middle of a packed Preview Guide season. Still, even if New Saga is put together enough to give you the impression that it actually cares a little bit about being a decent television show, that doesn't mean that it gets an automatic pass for all of the shortcuts and crutches it is still relying on. This is yet another vaguely-defined dark fantasy world where yet another hardened hero has slain yet another world-destroying Demon Lord, only to find that he is actually trapped in yet another “Death kicked me back to the beginning of the story” type of reincarnation anime. Our main hero's name is “Kyle”. There is not one element of the show, so far, that you would be surprised or delighted to find in a cartoon with this premise. I feel like anyone who has watched more than five anime in their life should know what to expect when the protagonist is named “Kyle.”

Like I always say, though, execution is everything, and New Saga's execution is just solid enough to keep me from writing it off entirely. The voice cast does a good job of giving our band of heroes some emotion and personality. The art and animation from Studios Sotsu and CLUTCH are appealing enough. As with any story about getting a second chance at some terrible misadventure, there's always the chance that New Saga will find a genuinely interesting way to use Kyle's foreknowledge of events in its writing.

Again, if this were true slop, all of these issues would be foregone conclusions, but I feel like New Saga has a chance at being, if nothing else, decently entertaining. This first episode is just a bit too preoccupied with setting up the basics of the story—which, I remind you, we've already seen done a thousand times before—to be anything close to gripping or compelling, but characters are likeable enough that it still holds your attention. Maybe, just maybe, we will even see improvements in the coming weeks? A guy can dream, at least.

Over the years, I've watched many an anime where pesky things like logistics are ignored completely for the sake of streamlining the story. However, I won't say I don't enjoy it when a little more thought is put into it.

At the moment, Kyle, while having more magic than his first time around, is far weaker than he was when he defeated the Demon King. Even in his mind, he can't see himself winning even at the cost of his life. But rather than killing the Demon King, what Kyle wants to do first is prevent the fall of the human kingdoms. There's just one issue: how does a random backwater kid get kings and emperors to listen to his advice?

The only real way to do so is to become a living legend—a hero that it would be disastrous to oppose publicly. But how does one become a hero? The answers this anime comes up with are solid ones: strength, money, and luck. As for the first, Kyle will almost certainly surpass his past strength simply through hard work and additional time spent training and adventuring. For the second and third, that's where his knowledge of the future kicks in. All he has to do is loot a dungeon he found in his past life for money. As for luck, he has a literal list of all the places a hero might be needed right in his pocket.

Beyond handling the logistics, I appreciate that Kyle struggles to keep his timeline and the actual timeline straight. To him, his childhood love died in his arms—and then his second love died, taking a blow meant for him. Now both are alive in front of him. It makes total sense that he'd try to justify his actions to Lise when caught off-guard in an emotional moment—that he didn't cheat on her (because she was dead at the time). It makes for some fun comedy but also underlines how broken he is on the inside, along with the amount of stress he has placed on himself. He is the only one who can save humanity. It'd be far more shocking if he wasn't cracking a bit under the pressure.

All in all, this is another largely unremarkable episode. If last week was pouring the foundation, this week is putting in the support pillars. It's not bad by any stretch, but I look forward to the point where Kyle starts acting as the hero he needs to be to save the world.

Right from the start, I like how New Saga fleshes out the “hero party goes to fight the demon king in one final boss battle” trope seen across so many fantasy stories. Instead of this being the final push in a victorious campaign, it's a Hail Mary. Humanity is so close to total extinction that assassinating the demon lord and taking advantage of the resulting chaos is the best chance for survival. On a realistic level, even if the plan succeeds, there's little to stop the next demon to take the throne from finishing the job.

It's likely to be a pyrrhic victory in the end, and it certainly is one on a personal level for our hero. Kyle has lost everything. His friends, family, hometown, party members—even his talking sword. So when he finds himself in the past, he has trouble accepting it as anything but a dream.

New Saga is far from the first fantasy tale where the protagonist knows the future (though, these days, this most often comes about due to a person from our world being reincarnated in a game they played, a book they've read, or something similar). However, what I like about this specific way of telling the story is that it not only explains the hows and whys of time travel upfront but also uses that information as the basis for the series' greatest looming mystery: the real reason behind the war.

Something on the demon side of things must have gone wrong for the new Demon King to take things from an age of lasting peace to a genocidal war. Moreover, as the demons almost effortlessly conquer humanity in a single year, it's clear the demons weren't simply after more land or total domination. Instead, it seems certain that something happened during the three years before the war that necessitated killing half the humanoids on the continent to turn back the clock. But what was it? That answer—rather than simply getting stronger—is the true key to Kyle saving all he cares about.

This first episode is more than a bit of a slow burn. It focuses on presenting the setting, mystery, and goal rather than delivering anything particularly action-packed or emotional, and I'm okay with that in this case. However, now that the foundation has been poured, it all comes down to what is built on top of it—and that's what we'll have to see next week.