DESCRIPTION

CAST

NOVEL AdventureLeadale no Daichi nite
MANGA AdventureLeadale no Daichi nite

REVIEWS

• 

  haganbmj

  20/100
  A bog-standard Isekai full of recycled ideas that it doesn't understand and doesn't want to explore.

  Leadale no Daichi nite is a bog-standard Isekai full of recycled ideas that it doesn't seem to understand and doesn't want to explore.

  That said this series originates from a Web Novel written between late 2010 and 2012 on Syosetu. It was picked up for a Light Novel serialization and Manga adaptation in 2019 ahead of this anime, with an audio book also thrown in there somewhere. The 2010 period puts it near the beginning of the Isekai boom on Syosetu, so maybe it's not as much reusing tropes as it is trying out everything it could think to do with an MMO Reincarnation story to capitalize on new interest.

  Ideas and Themes without Depth

  ---

  The series starts with the reincarnation of Cayna into the world of a VRMMO that the terminally ill teenager played prior to her life support abruptly failing, retaining her over-powered game avatar and all of its stats and items. The world of the game is reportedly different from the one Cayna knows, however, as 200 years have passed without player engagement.

  Unclear about the developments of the world and whether she might be the only human reincarnation, Cayna shows little interest in answering any of these questions and proceeds to spend numerous episodes aimlessly stumbling into events. The series plays out like a set of writing prompts, presenting a potentially interesting scenario that another isekai might run with and instead ignoring it entirely after a scene (eg. reincarnation depression, NPC sentience and permadeath, development of an MMO skill/item system absent players, players committing crimes and misdeeds). Leadale fails to understand what might make these storylines interesting and instead of presenting its own take on them either ignores the implications or presents the most generic resolution with the weight to suggest that it thinks what it has done should satisfy the viewer.

  On top of this it repeatedly fails at humor with inconsistent characters that mostly just scream, bland attempts at "over-powered" tropes, and a general misunderstanding of where and when to explain elements of the world - spending time establishing game systems that it won't use and backstory for things that it abandons. Recurring gags of the show are very superficial and lack any variety in their execution (Cayna being hungover, Cayna being abusive to her children, characters surprised that Cayna is over 200 years old).

  Unexplored and Undeveloped Storylines

  ---

  Events of the series also happen at a blistering pace with what would typically be multi-episode storylines in another show condensed down to a few minutes. Episode titles such as "A battle, a Victory, a Conversation, and Information" (ep. 8) are pretty much exact representations of how the show operates with all elements being given equal weight and almost no connective tissue to link them together. The series also suffers from implied significance, hinting at something of consequence in the minute prior to the end of an episode only to resolve whatever it was within the first 2 minutes of the next with the remainder of the episode moving on to something else entirely. A lot of this appears to stem from the Web Novel which was written as contained chapters, most of which lack significant detail or consequence to extrapolate to an episode in length and were instead adapted as-is with a misguided attempt to add cliffhangers when a chapter crosses the episode barrier.

  There is a semblance of an overarching plot in "restoring guardian towers" that has no described purpose and is given no sense of urgency or importance by the main character. Cayna also lacks any real motivations, and is seemingly disinterested in uncovering more about the circumstances that reincarnated her as well as lacking any real drive to accomplish anything within the fantasy world.

  Amidst this blur of activity is also a rotating lineup of characters that only stick around for a few minutes so that the show can repeat the same gag of Cayna surprising people with some display of power or being (irrationally) upset when they refer to her as "old." Surprisingly this element seems to have been significantly played up in comparison to the manga adaptation, which makes Cayna seem less psychotic and more invested in those around her.

  The manga, at least in the 10 English-translated chapters I could read at this point, also looks to be a bit more verbose in its explanations of the world and game systems - taking entire panels to explain terminology unique to the world (such as Cayna's "Skill Master" title) that the anime adaption instead seems to just throw around as if it's important and something that viewers should already know.

  Industry Motivations, Lessons, and Successes

  ---

  Ultimately the show for me is a demonstrative example of how to apply every isekai trope in the most bland way possible and without any depth. It's a madlibs-style exploration of a fantasy world with minimal internal consistency and an unclear understanding of what draws people to those types of stories. There's some passable voice acting and animation for what I assume is a low budget, but it's ultimately in service of nothing. The fact that this got an adaption is baffling to me; there's nothing here to work with and I would never recommend this to anyone. It's aggressively bland, lacks anything unique, and falls short of even being mediocre. My best guess is that someone saw the success of other, later Syosetu works that have been picked up in recent years and decided that it could capitalize on that trend. Unfortunately, Leadale lacks the hooks that some of those offer and feels like a much less refined story. Futher nothing was done to correct the structural changes inherit in the change of formats, so the series comes off as a scratchpad of ideas written daily by an unfocused author and not a coherent episodic television show.

  This kind of melancholic story with a thin lead can of course work, but unlike recent shows that can trace their origins to Syosetu like Kuma Kuma Bear (2014), Slime-300 (2016), Bofuri (2016), or even Infinite Dendogram (2015) it doesn't commit to focusing on involving Cayna in the stories of a supporting cast or having fun with its cast of interesting characters as a substitute for lacking a substantive overarching plot. Leadale instead teases , likely unintentionally, at bigger stories and rides a muddled line between adventure and comedy without doing either well.

  https://anilist.co/anime/114340/Kuma-Kuma-Kuma-Bear/

  https://anilist.co/anime/112608/Slime-Taoshite-300nen-Shiranai-Uchi-ni-Level-Max-ni-Nattemashita/

  https://anilist.co/anime/106479/Itai-no-wa-Iya-nano-de-Bougyoryoku-ni-Kyokufuri-Shitai-to-Omoimasu/

  https://anilist.co/anime/107420/Infinite-Dendrogram/

  Even within its Syosetu publication era of 2010 Leadale falls short of Log Horizon (2010) in world building, discussing MMO systems, and creating engaging MMO-focused characters or power-trip fantasy works like The Irregular at Magic High School (2008) that are clearly having fun with their premise and can find an audience that enjoys them for that specific aspect.

  https://anilist.co/anime/17265/Log-Horizon/

  https://anilist.co/anime/20458/Mahouka-Koukou-no-Rettousei/

  An Inferior Product

  ---

  Ultimately Leadale is another forgettable Isekai adaptation and in a sea of those it fails to float to top due to a lack of any notable concepts, ideas, characters, or animation. What was more interesting to me was the level to which Leadale falls short at every idea it introduces and the degree to which it seems not to understand how to execute on its own story in any sort of engaging way.

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• 

  Mcsuper

  55/100
  An Inoffensive, Fun Time

  Here we go, yet another isekai, and there’s not much to say about this one, aside from the fact that I’ve played the ED theme for this show like a hundred times, it’s a generic plot line of “Person dies because of this reason, and is completely overpowered in another world”. It’s a slice of life isekai more so than action, and is just ok. Wish they expanded on the game mechanics and why Leadale shut down in the first place a bit more. However, just because it's generic, doesn't mean it's necessarily bad, and I'm sure this show does better than another certain isekai in this anime season.

  My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20

  STORY: 10/25

  The story is basic and inoffensive, but rather uninteresting. Cayna is reincarnated in another world and goes on an adventure, helping people, having fun times with her quirky family, and meeting a whole bunch of people. Again, I wished they went more in depth about the game mechanics and why the game shut down in a more in depth way as well. There was much more they could have done with the story for sure. Overall, there's just not much to remember from Leadale, other than that the story is set in a cozy place.

  ART: 7.3/10

  Fine art, nothing much to say here. The creatures lot a bit ugly, but the fights are alright, and it’s ok to look at.

  MUSIC: 8/10

  The ED is awesome! One of my favourites of the season! Soundtrack otherwise is fitting for a cozy isekai like this.

  CHARACTERS: 9.7/20

  Quite forgettable, but pleasant. We have Cayna, our pleasant overpowered MC that’s probably pretty old inside the world of Leadale, we have her kids, and her grandkids, and they’re kinda quirky and provide comedic relief. If anything, the comedic aspect of these characters were enjoyable at times, but forgettable at most. Overall, good interactions between characters made it somewhat interesting.

  ENJOYMENT: 9/15

  It was decently enjoyable most of the time, the characters were fun to watch.

  THEMATIC EXECUTION: 10.5/20

  The theme is a bit muddled, is it a slice of life, or action? I suppose it’s both, but to me, the slice of life elements were handled well. Wish there was more world-building to create the fantasy atmosphere in a more interesting way, as it did get somewhat boring at times.

  OVERALL: 54.5/100

  A simple generic isekai that was bland, but fine to watch. In a weaker anime season, this is definitely not the worst show, but also this is far from the best. Watch it if you want some nice comedy and simplistic story! Wish Lytt showed up more, since she's so prominent in the ending theme. Overall, just a cozy, inoffensive time. Not awesome, not bad.

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• 

  FenrirBlack22

  70/100
  A Directionless narrative that is carried on the backs of the secondary characters

  Isekai like Leadale offer the protagonist a second chance when their previous lives are filled with disappointment or in Cayna's case, pure tragedy. Even before her death Cayna's life had ended before it could begin which put her in a more unique position compared to other isekai protagonists or even compared to other "Players" that ended up in Leadale. Her "reincarnation" into Leadale allowed her to live a life she could not have dreamed possible back in the hospital bed where she was once imprisoned. But while Cayna seemed to have the life she never had the other characters weren't in those positions which raises some big problems with the show as a whole.
  Leadale is a mediocre isekai fantasy. There is no denying that. But the problems with the show as a whole come from the distinct lack of direction for the plot.

  Why did the players get trapped in the bodies of their video game avatars?
  How did the players get sent to Leadale?
  What are they going to do about this?
  Where are they going to get answers to these questions?
  Who was responsible for this?

  The driving plot for Leadale is Cayna activating the Guardian Towers that have been abandoned after 200 years since Leadale the Game was shut down. Okay. Nothing too remarkable but it's a start. Its a goal for the main character. The problem is there is no reason why beyond Cayna is bored. Will activating the towers magically give us the answers to those questions of why and how all these people ended up trapped in Leadale. Can they use the towers to contact someone who can help them? We don't know. There are no answers or hints given at any point during the 12 episodes. But its okay because no one seems concerned.

  Aside from the lack of a concrete plot, the characters are what makes and breaks Leadale as a series. Cayna is a problem character. Hot and cold. Psychotic and motherly. She is constantly bouncing between two if not more personality traits like a game of ping pong. It seems that the author couldn't nail down a personality for her so instead borrowed the traits of other isekai protagonist from across various series instead of making one from scratch. Her chaotic personality theoretically should have been enduring or funny but is neither and instead comes off as deranged and broken.
  The side characters are where Leadale shines. Lovable and funny the NPC's are the heart of the show and the world of Leadale. The other player characters are more complicated. While they are far improvements from Cayna, they lack drive and agency. Not once did any of them seem concerned or question how or why they ended up on Leadale. Years of their lives lost in this other world that they randomly found themselves in and they seem fine with it. Acceptance is a worthwhile trait to have since dwelling on the past won't get them anywhere, but they act like they don't even care at all about what they lost. 2, 3, even 10 years they were trapped there without answers and those answers are what they and the audience deserve. Cayna shows up, who is probably the one person who could possibly have or be able to get answers or call for help, but the thought doesn't cross their minds to ask. This makes their characters incredibly shallow and no different from the NPCs. It's painfully frustrating to watch these characters ignore what happened to them and settle for a state of ignorance and basically ignore the problem. Having them question how they ended up in Leadale or how do they get back home, would give them more agency and significance as characters beyond just appearing and disappearing on and off. Expressing some thought or feeling about their situation no matter what it is would give them much needed depth. Happy, Sad, frustrated, content? This ties back to the lack of direction for the plot.

  All in all things in Leadale just kinda happen. There is no driving narrative, only this happens and its easy resolved so another thing happens. There is nothing really connecting the events together to create a cohesive narrative. Its all the whims and desires of the author without a plan. I think Leadale would improve far beyond mediocrity it did have a more driving force behind Cayna's actions like trying to get the other players back home or even finding answers. The show is like Cayna, constantly shifting between light and dark and just doing whatever it wants to because there is no one there to guide it. That ultimately hurts it in the long term.

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