Premieres July 2025. Check out the ANN article for additional information. Synopsis for the source novels from AniList:
Naofumi Iwatani, an uncharismatic Otaku who spends his days on games and manga, suddenly finds himself summoned to a parallel universe! He discovers he is one of four heroes equipped with legendary weapons and tasked with saving the world from its prophesied destruction. As the Shield Hero, the weakest of the heroes, all is not as it seems. Naofumi is soon alone, penniless, and betrayed. With no one to turn to, and nowhere to run, he is left with only his shield. Now, Naofumi must rise to become the legendary Shield Hero and save the world!
Yup. S1 was good until the last couple episodes. That is to say, it was good enough to overshadow its negatives. Haven’t touched it since.
The isekai genre as a whole has grown since then and it just doesn’t fair well compared to the competition.
Ever since I started reading books I’ve felt like isekais really only have a starting concept and nothing more. Is there a single one that’s actually managed to make a full arc with an ending?
There have been a few. The Vision of Escaflowne, Garzey’s Wing (I won’t claim it’s good though lmao), Spirited Away, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and The Chronicles of Narnia come to mind.
Mushoku Tensei has the best chance. It’s super cringe at the beginning but it has genuine character growth.
I’ve actually read the first couple of light novels of that series, and while it feels much more ad-hoc than other books, things actually seem to have a direction.
The MC is a pedo creep through the first 48 episodes, when growth?