The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows

xBlueBird★ 8

DO NOT JUDGE THIS ANIME BY THE FIRST EPISODE! The first episode makes it seem like it's just going to be another generic harem slop anime, but episode 2 onwards is COMPLETELY different. I honestly don't know why they decided to structure it like this. In fact, I reckon you can completely skip episode 1, and start watching straight from episode 2. This is because episode 1 happens "in the future", and episode 2 is the actual start of the story. So yeah, just save episode 1 for after you finish watching the anime. Or don't. It doesn't really matter. Just make sure you watch episode2 as well, because it's a lot better and actually makes you feel like watching the rest of the show.

AeroGunz★ 3

“The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows” is what happens when a good idea is butchered by incompetent writing. I don’t think there is another way to put it so here it goes: This show is a self-jerk fest. The protagonist is a boring, blank slate with no personality except what a 13 year old would think is cool. And I probably insulted a lot of 13 year olds right now. There are no stakes at all in all 12 episodes. There is no real point in watching this show. There is no story, no morals, no lessons… Well, there is one: “Always get paid forYour work”. Honestly? It’s not the worst lesson, but the way it is introduced is really lazy. Actually that term can be used to describe all of the plot, it’s full of cliches, overused tropes and lacks anything that could be called original. There are some twists, mostly towards the end, and almost all in the last 2 episodes but they are the effect of bad writing and not planning anything instead of organic progression and setups. That said, before we start I would like to explain something. I will be talking about “plot” and “story”. Many people use those terms interchangeably. I’m not one of those people, so to make sure everyone is on the same page… I use the definitions for “plot” and “story” as Lisa Cron describes them: “What happens in the story is the PLOT, the surface events.” “STORY is about how the things that happen affect someone in pursuit of a difficult goal, and how that person changes internally as a result”. I’ll start with this: The idea is top notch, the execution… utter garbage. Despite having really good ideas about the locations, faction interactions and character dynamics the show decides to ignore all that and just rush everything. The result? Everything is flat and devoid of meaning and stakes. The worst offender? The incident that was the catalyst of the whole show. So picture this. You have an adventuring party. This party has a healer (I will omit other types of magic the MC can use). One healer. Despite that the whole 5 man party leaves every encounter without a scratch. Ok, so You might be an idiot and think that it’s all because of everyone but the healer. So You get rid of the healer. See the problem? Let me count them: 1. Why the fuck would You think that the healer does nothing, when Your party is fighting beasts that are considered dangerous of almost everyone, and get out of it without a scratch? Let me accent that part. “WITHOUT A SCRATCH” 2. It’s healer. Healer. Do live in a place when healers have sway and can be used for political gain. 3.Llooking at it more utilitarian, a healer is a walking health potion and “Oh crap, I fucked up” button. Even if You think (I’m being really generous here with that word) that he’s useless, having him in a party in case You need him is a far better option than not having him when shit hits the fan. Those are just the 3 problems that are the most obvious ( I don’t want to make this too long after all). Listen. I get it. You need to have a healer with a tragic backstory (because of course You do. You are a writer with no skill or imagination so You just take the most pathetic trope for MC You can) and have him make something of himself. Ok. I get that. The idea is solid. So why in 9 circles of hell do you give him everything from the get go? Our MC - Zenos has the skills and mannerism of someone towards the end of his journey. Someone who should be at the verge of evolving from an actor to a mentor. Yet the writers put him in an actor position. But he has nothing to gain, no real goal to stride for. He has everything internally and is given everything externally on a silver platter. You want a genius MC? Fine. I’m all for it. But give him something to strive for. He has no real challenges, no one on his level who could act as his antithesis and give him a proper conflict. Honestly? I get why the MC seems bored all the time. He has nothing to strive for. Not all MCs must start with a goal. You can have them wander around the world for a bit, but at some point, sooner rather than later, the main character must have a goal. You could make an argument (a pretty bad one but still) that running his clinic is his goal. Ok, fine. Then make him do that instead of dealing with shit not connected to the damn place. Him beign unawareness of just how powerful he is is a pathetic trope in this case. Anyone in the slums could tell him his healing is on a whole nother level, but they don't. Why? Because they want to keep him in the slums? The world is presented in a way that even if others knew about him he still would have been better staging there so there is no real reason for it. And even if someone would want to get him, that alone would make a far better plot point than the conflicts he is given. The show has three, almost competently set up, conflicts. The first one is the tension between factions in the slums. The second is Zenos’s encounter with his old party and the consequences of it. The last one is the mystery at the end of the show. They are not bad ideas. The problem lies with the execution of them. Each and everyone of them could carry a 12 episode show organically and with ease if given a competent writer. But, since the show doesn’t have one, everything is resolved almost by a deus ex machina (aka Zenos pulling out something out of his ass with no setup. Well… that’s not entirely true. There is small information that hints of his abilities in the first episode but because this is a soft, very soft magic system they are not exactly reliable) in max 3 episodes. 1 in the case of a battle with the BBEG. Each of these conflicts could organically yield at least 5 episodes. There is a place in them for proper interactions, drama and world building. Especially the first one. The tension in the slums was set up as some sort of feud that lasted for years and was resolved… in about 5 minutes. No proper confrontation between the leaders, no negotiations, not even a damn lazy ceasefire and declaring the clinic a neutral zone. Nothing. 5 minutes and everyone, and everything, is daijoubu. No. Just… just no. Eff off. Of course no one dies or has any meaningful injuries because that would require a writer that can write above the level of a 13 year old, writing fan fiction. This premise alone should have been our gateway into the world. Showing us (not just telling) how the slums work, what’s the hierarchy, how different factions interact with each other and the basis of their conflict. But all we get is “They don’t like each other”. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? A competent writer could have made all 12 episodes about that premise with a satisfying, organic ending. But why do that? Let’s give our white bread with no taste MC a harem of idiots. That is another problem with the show. Everyone is an idiot in one way or the other. The MC has a harem and either doesn't get it or pretends to not get it, the faction leaders all want to jump on Zeno’s healing staff to the point it seems they don’t even manage their factions and I am not even touching, with a 50 meter pole, the subject of a kid elf in love with him. They are all one character with just slight differences that don’t differentiate them from each other much. Also they are pointless to the plot after the first 3 episodes. Everything that happens would happen even without them so why keep them? At least give them some role or function that would justify their existence in the show. No, it’s not comic relief. “Comic relief” implies that something should be funny. Everything in this show is just so childish. Someone need a new arm? Yeah, no problem, lie down and I’ll just cut it off and in 3 minutes You’ll be good as new. What? Infections? I have magic. A giant Golem, a creature of fierce power, is destroying the slums and wants to kill me? Yeah. Give me a sec, I’ll have it done in an instant. Oh and nobody has to die. That would create stakes and possible internal crisis and we can’t have that. The writer is too incompetent to write this properly. There is nothing in this show that would create a sense of danger, loss, hell, it can’t even properly convey a feeling of gain. It’s just so boring and sterile. The MC starts out as a powerhouse with little to no personality and ends as a powerhouse with little to no personality but with a harem. The show has no sense of progression and I think that’s the thing that kills it. If everything stays the same, why even watch it?