World of Chinese web novels is but a peculiar place. It's a place where quality is more often than not disregarded in pursuit of meeting word quotas and making sure to hit that weekly quota of written chapters. A truly hellish landscape for someone who is trying to write an honest to god, good story. And while there are authors who manage to make it work with their craft, unfortunately most of them are destined to fail and resort to writing nothing but rather uninspiring rehash of all the tropes that readers came to love. With author of the original TGD novel "Mad Snail" falling into the latter group, though with a twist of actually never finishing a single novel he wrote, TGD included.

Now that we more or less know what to expect from it's background, let's tackle the Manhua itself and maybe even compare it to the original source, the forsaken TGD webnovel.

So, starting out with the story depicted, it's uh, uh, not good. And even that is saying it rather meekly, as the way the story is presented to us is honestly like a spit to the face of everyone who is willing to spend the least amount of time to critically think about what they are reading. It does not offer anything of value for someone who is looking for good story with interesting plot points and proper challenges for our heroes to overcome. To the point that there is literally no suspense at all throughout the whole thing, and even when the story tries to take itself outside of this deep hole by trying something more drastic, it still promptly takes it all back in the very next chapter. As in to say that we can't have anything bad happening to our cast that the readers came to like. Story and suspense be damned, it's all about feeling good in this wish fulfilling fantasy world, even if it's detrimental to the overall quality of the novel. Basically no matter what, the hero will always triumph and get ridiculous power ups as long as he seems to be just a little bit stuck. Like I said, no suspense but full on deus ex machina.

And yeah, I can see some people saying that "what if the Manhua took liberties with adapting the story", well, in that case I have bad news as the webnovel is just as bad if not even worse on this front, as it tends to drag out the whole thing even more than the manhua itself. Which to it's merit is actually way more condensed, and that in return makes it a considerably better read than the original work. Which, is atrocious in it's own way.

Still, if you turn off your brain and don't focus on glaring stupidities of this story, then you might actually come to enjoy it just like one would enjoy your another typical Isekai, this time in Xianxia sauce. Just turn the brain off and enjoy the wish fulfilment.

Now, regarding the characters I'd dare to say that it's actually just a little bit better. It's not great by any means but honestly it's really hard to go and screw up all of the character tropes of xianxia literature. As such even when the author is trying his utmost best to write trope filled garbage even he won't capable of ruining all of the characters. And it does certainly show in this manhua. Hardest he might have tried, he still got many of the tropes just right enough to make sure that the overall experience with the characters in this work is more or less a neutral one.
Sure there aren't any great characters that you will remember in the next few months or even weeks but there also aren't that many that would etch themselves as utterly horrible. It's just that, it's pretty clear that he didn't try... as such the whole thing basically boils down to the fact that if the side character is meant to be just a little bit longer with us, and more importantly is one of the good guys then he will get some basic exposure to make them at least likeable for your typical brand new xianxia enjoyer. Unfortunately, the moment the person is supposed to be one of the bad guys, it's all going down hill from here. They will be basically nothing but caricatures of the tropes, with the author doing his utmost to make them as unlikable as possible to the point of bad comedy, comedy that was supposed to be serious writing.

Honestly, the main MC falls somewhere in between. If anything calling him your utterly typical Isekai MC is perfectly fine. He's supposed to be funny, witty, brave, intelligent and ofcourse lookin just fine enough. A perfect package by all means. A hero that can do no wrong, and one that will always come out on top. I guess you can already guess why I don't think so highly of him, at least make him have some kind of flaw or some other blemish in his current life, 'cuz sure as hell the fact that his first life didn't go so well doesn't count(honestly novel about his first life would have been so much better...). Still, it's the hero that this story needed and it's one that works just fine. Cuz honestly, the moment I turned of my brain he actually became just fun enough to follow him around this trope filled journey.
Oh, and I forgot to mention but every second female character will fall in love with him. Though on the other hand his heart is set on that one single girl he loved in previous life so I guess there's that?

Honestly, for how much I bash it, this can actually be enjoyable "fast food" manhua if you are willing to turn of your brain and just kill some time with trope filled wish fulfilment fantasy. I guess my problem mainly stems from the fact that there are just so many better xianxia works than this one. One's that you will remember for way longer than this one, cuz let me tell you. I'm already forgetting half the plot points of this manhua, not to mention the names of it's character.

Anyway, moving on to the art style. This is IMO the biggest strength of this little work. While it's not amazing in depicting the fights between the characters it sure as hell does a great job at conveying a rather light hearted attitude that this work have. Especially when it comes to the character expressions which honestly look great with their plethora of reactions. It's also good at conveying the wonders of your typical xianxia worlds, from the floating islands to the dangerous under realms waiting for our heroes to explore. Now that I think about it, this lighthearted but still rather nice art style is the most redeeming part of this manhua, without it the whole thing would be in my opinion unsalvageable. Which is especially true considering that the original novel is full of pointless word filler meant to only make the chapters longer by describing the outside world at every possible moment. Up to the point of mindless repetition.

Well, I think I wrote already to much and wasted enough of mine and your time so here's the TLDR or rather closing thoughts.

TLDR:TGD is a story that's reveling in it's trope filled mediocrity, though as long as you turn off your brain you might actually enjoy it as a time killer. Just, don't expect anything else from it but most basic wish fulfillment story in xianxia sauce. Otherwise if you are looking for actually good xianxia stories then try out Coiling Dragon(don't touch it's manhua, it's garbage) or if you want one with more comedy then ISSTH.

4.5/10

"Song of the Broadsword" came out of nowhere for me. No name studio that I never heard about, just 20 people having it on their anilist. MAL? Not that much better with barely 200 people even acknowledging it's existence. Still, considering a rather high praise from one the folks I follow I decided to give it a go. And honestly, in some aspects I've actually been blown away by this rather obscure donghua. But, let us not jump too far ahead and start with it's premise.

The premise itself is exactly what you would expect from this medium, it's a simple story about enacting revenge onto the people who murdered the family of our main hero. Pretty standard as you'd think, aight? Well you'r not wrong, the story is not the main dish of this little and short donghua. It is but an excuse for our hero to take up the sword and go out on a journey to avenge his dead family.

Honestly I can see people thinking that such simple story is gonna be simply bad, but it's not. It's not amazing by any means, if anything it's rather bare-bones. Yet it's plot point as simple as they are, are actually doing quite a good job of guiding you through the story. It's just that there was no time nor budget to properly expand upon it. Which imo is a shame, especially considering that all of the villains felt like proper people, not just your average sunday anime villains. They all had proper reasons behind their actions and given more time to explore not only them but also the character of main hero and his companion, we would certainly receive story that would be nothing to be ashamed off. Still, considering the time constraints, the budget and most importantly direction focused on the fights, we are still left with something serviceable and something that works just fine as an excuse for our journey. Including the ending which while foreseeable was a nice touch to the story, and still allowed to leave the doors open for a second season. The same goes for the last 2 retrospective episodes giving us just a little bit more insight into this world of martial arts and it's denizens. While not great they surely served their purpose.

But hey, like I said the story is not the centerpiece of this donghua. It is all about the fights. And oh boy, are they not only good looking but also perfectly encapsulating the wuxia fantasy. Honestly it's hard to describe but the way everything plays out during the action sentences is just top notch wuxia film making, and anyone who loves good old kung-fu movies will feel at home. The punches, kicks and all of the weapon swings feel impactful. Even more when they actually go around the opponents guard and connect with the face of the brute on the other side. It's simply a spectacle to behold, one that will surely mesmerize every wuxia fan. And it's not only the sound effects or the fight choreography that makes it such a great show, the dynamic camera work is also one of the crucial aspects of what makes the fights look and feel so good. The way it follows our adversaries during the fights or how it sways with each powerful hit landing really elevates the fighting scenes as a whole. Making them feel even more alive and dynamic than I could have expected, and certainly blowing away anything we have seen in CGI TV anime series like Ajin or Knights of Sidonia. Honestly, Japanese CGI studios should feel ashamed. There is no excuse for 4 frame per second shows when no name chinese animation studio is capable of delivering buttery smooth animation on their first try.

Speaking about animation, it's just like I said before, it's buttery smooth and a pleasure to watch during the action scenes. But, is the art style just as good?
Imo it's a mixed bag. On one hand we are met with really nice 2.5d style that makes use of cell shaded 3d models. Which honestly for the most part look pretty damn good, a lot like Genshin impact character models which I think can be taken as a compliment. The problematic part is the 3d environment in which the fights and story tend to happen.
They will at times look rather mediocre if not rather bland and empty, that is not to say there were no good looking scenes in here. It's just that at times it was pretty clear that there was a lack of time/manpower or simply money to make all of the scenes look good. Certainly a shame but nothing game breaking. I think it's also worth mentioning that the donghua had some nice 2d sceneries that made for a really nice reflection moments.

The last thing that we will talk about is the soundscape. Honestly one of the strongest points of this donghua. The Chinese strings,winds and drums playing during the fights are simply entrancing. They perfectly set the stage for the story and fights, urging you and the characters to finish it all in one swift moment. If anything the OST does remind me of my time with Witcher series when it comes to the soundtrack. With both OST's making me crave for more. Imo this is clearly the strongest point of this donghua.

When it comes to SFX they are also good, the sound effects during the fights are just meaty enough while not completely taking over the soundscape. It's just shame that at times they kinda disappear during calmer moments, for example in one of the scenes in woods you can hear the fauna and the rain but for w/e the reason there is no sound of the footsteps even though the camera is pretty close to the legs and low to the ground. However to be honest it wasn't that jarring. And I think I can excuse those mistakes considering this is coming from brand new studio that no one ever heard about before.
Oh and before I forget I would also like to mention OP and ED that nicely sets up the mood for each and every episode:

Honestly I think that's all I have to say about it. So to sum it up:
Song of the Broadsword won't offer you a deep and nuanced story but it also won't butcher it, leaving us with just good enough reason to follow the hero. The selling points are instead amazing OST and epic fights that truly bring to life one of the pillars of Wuxia, that is the great showdowns between martial artists.

Watching Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster was a strange endeavour. It was like drinking strange looking "drink" made by your 8 year old cousin just to realise that it's actually pretty dope. Like the amount of strange and seemingly random things that were put into it actually ends up making a strangely enticing flavour, that's how it felt to watch this little show. Random, non the less enjoyable one, especially if you enjoy seeing all the current tropes but done "oldstyle".

Just imagine that the very first episode is literally written like a typical sport drama series. No, really.
The first episode is literally oldschool sport school drama but with cute girls and one'samas training and running in mechas. Yes, instead of cute girls doing push ups you have cute girls piloting mechas that are doing push-ups or mechas running laps around the school football pitch. Bizarre. Baffling. Even ridiculous. Now add some shoujo drama between girls looking up to beloved one-sama and you have 1st ep of gunbuster. Just riciculous fun, hell you would think that it's some kind of new anime made to ridicule all the anime tropes just to then realize that it's actually coming from an 88 show.

Now, one would think that it's all gonna be fun and roses as the show is gonna keep on making fun of all the tropes within it. And yet, when it comes to the other part of the show it will hit you with astoundingly hard sci-fi. So hard that making switch to it can actually become quite a problem considering the swings from funny trope filled segments of cute girls doing stuff into this hard and realistic sci-fi landscape.

Like, I'm gonna be honest. I dropped my guard during episode 2 and had really hard time figuring if the show is serious or not when it comes to how it portrayed "time" and it's technology. On one hand I knew that what they are saying sounds familiar and should make sense but on the other hand considering how frivolous the show was in previous episode it was easy to just disregard as something random and "in-universe". Even more when you never heard about time-dilation. Yes, this anime properly makes full use of this little bad boy, and oh did it made me question my sanity considering last time I heard about it in high-school.

What's more there is lot of such small things here, the whole anime is riddled with such little details that will make you smile the moment you notice them. Like it's really clear that a lot of love went into creating this little show even if it doesn't seem like it at first glance. Even German names for soviet astronauts make sense, after all part of them are from friggin DDR(East Germany). See? Totally makes sense. Or how do you secure more funding for your space army? You strike a deal with corporations so that the mechas they sponsor will fly around in Adidas and Puma paint jobs, like damn I was laughing like stupid when I saw Adidas sponsored mechas.

As for animation, it's pretty good considering what I expected from such old show. Hell if I'm gonna be honest this show have better and more detailed animation style than many currently airing ones. I'd even say the animation fluidity is better than some of the current shows. And the depiction of sci-fi stuff? Very good, especially the cockpits and space opera.
Though unfortunately apart from the main Gunbuster the rest of mecha is of an older more round and bulkier design which is a shame considering that everything else is pretty good while they are just bog standard design. Worth of note is also the last episode, which while not entirely to my liking was a fun take on inserting more pathos into the whole story.

One thing that I should also address when speaking about animation is the fan service. It's actually mixed bag. It was pretty good most of the time or at least the situations where it was mostly presented. And that comes from someone who's generally not a fan of ecchi harems etc. But in this show the situations with it felt natural and in place. Big part of it being that nudity felt like something most normal and that it would be strange to make a big deal out of it.
Unfortunately on the other side the fan service had to rear it's ugly head in the uniform design, which to be frank was little bit annoying considering the rest of the setting. Another minus was "fan service" in last episode. Imagine the most important fight, one that will decide the fate of all humanity just to see the MC rip her uniform during the climax. Yes, she just goes and rips part of her uniform revealing her bosom. Tbh I'm fully aware of the significance of this action and how it was portraying determination of this young girl. Determination to give up her life and rip her heart out so that her ideals can live on. But to me it felt way to abrupt, giving me a feeling of a last one fan service scene. Which in hindsight was just me being incapable of properly connecting with her due to time constraints of this short ova.Thus actually snickering during the scene.

And now finally story. Which is, well... As good as it can be considering the amount of screen time the show got. It gets to all the important points. Though at times it comes of as comedy rather than drama(R.I.P Smith I will remember your 5 minutes of screen time fondly), but with how little time they had to tell this "epic" tale it's no wonder that a lot of parts had to be skimmed on so that they can manage to pack it all up in just 6 episodes. Honestly, given 6 more episodes to flesh out everything and It would most likely be a very good anime, one that would be remembered by way more people. Especially considering how amazing the Sci-fi parts are. The whole dealing with "time" and consequences of life choices segments were also pretty good. The threat and how they dealt with it was also great point of this series(RiP Jupiter). Unfortunately the more interpersonal drama between main cast was the weaker link of the series, clearly trying to just hit of the important plot points no matter how break neck the speed. But all in all I didn't mind it considering it meant that the Sci-fi parts had more time to shine.

So, well, all in all I did enjoy it for what it was. Had a great laugh and saw some interesting things. Good/Very good - 7.5/10