Mato Seihei no Slave

[neflight86]

295230.jpg

"Two supernatural forces appeared simultaneously on Earth: entrances to another dimension known as Mato, and Peaches, resources that give unique abilities to women. From the Mato come Yomotsu Shuuki, dangerous monsters that leave destruction in their wake. The government's Anti-demon Corps stands against these creatures, employing women empowered by Peaches to face the monstrous threat. Wakura Yuuki watches these forces clash from a distance, but when he unexpectedly runs afoul of a Yomotsu Shuuki, he's rescued by Uzen Kyouka, the chief of the Seventh Unit of the Anti-demon Corp—and she sees something in him that could turn the tide of the monster incursion. Yuuki holds the unique power to make Peaches more effective, but he'll have to become Kyouka's willing slave to join the fight against the Yomotsu Shuuki and save the world.

Source: HIDIVE"

Genre(s): Action, Shounen, Ecchi, Harem

Research

___________________
1

Here's my hard sell for the season so far. I know that this is so generic. I don't argue that for the first 3 episodes (I'm guessing 6 chapters) or so, but it becomes a truly worthy shounen series as it goes on. At the least it really understands what makes shounen compelling in the first place, and the story becomes more than a fanservice vehicle (though make no mistake, at least 20% of this is going to be fanservice). From the author of Akame ga Kill, if that tickles your interest. I implore you give it a try for a few episodes at least if you like shounen. This production is average, but not ugly, which is all I could hope for.

[Ryllharu]

This is supposed to be fully uncensored (same as Akogarete), so we'll see how they manage the "reward" fanservice scenes, which are industry top-tier as far as I'm concerned.

And yes, it is a good companion piece to Akame ga Kill.

[neflight86]

This is supposed to be fully uncensored (same as Akogarete), so we'll see how they manage the "reward" fanservice scenes, which are industry top-tier as far as I'm concerned.

And yes, it is a good companion piece to Akame ga Kill.

A fetish tour de force, and that's not even why I read it.

[neflight86]

ep2

They change small things around in the adaptation that I appreciate simply because it streamlines some of the world building and its nice to see some minor events from another angle, since I read this twice before. I never caught why there was no area for the 4th squad in the manga, which was filled in here (though I absolutely expect a 4th squad to exist at some point).

Looks like the action animation will be up to a sustainable standard and make for some decent fights (there will be plenty), if the sparring was any indication.

[neflight86]

3

And so what makes this worth watching has begun to peek through. Some good character motivations, some world building, and the Unit 7 girls are remarkably more than simple caricatures at this stage with unique desires and a mutual understanding of their duties. Kyouka isn't perfect, and her growing relationship with Yuuki like the scene at the parfait shop rounds her out as a normal person beyond a typical authoritarian ice queen quite well. During the rewards, they are also exchanging information and bantering back and forth in ways that melt me, instead of the one sided teasing you'd expect from trashy scenes like this. Yuuki hasn't fleshed out into his full character, but at least he isn't the bumbling virgin archetype who freezes up completely around women and can still think and talk in compromising situations, including a little perv here and there.

[neflight86]

5

Okay, this has blossomed into what I can recommend fully. It won't rock your world, but it is probably my favorite battle harem by merit of its thoughtful writing alone.

[neflight86]

6

The casting of Reijin (sp?) could not be farther from what I expected. I guess they want every Mato related character to be coded as female, even if it's gotta be a baba. Decent fights where the girls got to team up, a double transformation (gotta catch 'em all), and the first spotlight on best girl Tenka. I'm all smiles. We're rolling along quite smoothly now.

[Ryllharu]

6

The casting of Reijin (sp?) could not be farther from what I expected. I guess they want every Mato related character to be coded as female, even if it's gotta be a baba.

Raijin's VA is Kujira. Probably best known for Orochimaru in Naruto and more recently Hitogami/Man-God in Mushoku Tensei.

It's pretty good casting for a self-proclaimed Thunder God.

I actually thought it was Frieza's VA at first.

[neflight86]

Raijin's VA is Kujira. Probably best known for Orochimaru in Naruto and more recently Hitogami/Man-God in Mushoku Tensei.

It's pretty good casting for a self-proclaimed Thunder God.

I actually thought it was Frieza's VA at first.

My confusion came from me interpreting that character's design as distinctly male, where this voice is effeminate where I thought a boisterous male voice would be. That's fine, it just caught me off guard.

7

Now we're in the thick of the character and world building that makes me enjoy this so. Captains are all monsters we can look forward to meeting (along with their other squads). Some sinister framing makes us question alliances of characters. A(nother) formal villain faction. Yachio is given some redemption and plans are in motion to go on the offensive; I prefer an active to a reactive cast in this type of setting. And they still fit in some fanservice.

[neflight86]

8

Tenka is waifu incarnate. In a show full of waifus. Very cute, reasonable, and assertive; something still not common enough in anime, in my opinion. Yuuki also isn't reduced to a complete bumbling permavirgin herbivore at the slightest skinship, though supremely flustered, and that's about all I could ask for in a show like this.

In a surprise to no one, the ability and reward can be lent out in a pokemon style 'gotta fanservice 'em all' revelation. Did someone say commanders meeting?

[neflight86]

9-11

Not sure if this is more an indictment of myself or the genre, but a decent shounen arc really isn't that hard. At least, when done decently, it seems so effortless, as shown here. Simple battles, some more worldbuilding, and muddy character and faction relationships that make the mind race theorizing the possibilities. Great stuff. Yuuki's sister is not quite bad to the bone, but her and her cohorts are certainly fodder for the imagination, being hostile but open to reason as well.

The setup: Aoba is a bro-con no doubt. Go ahead and mark that one off your harem bingo card. She's also adorable and still sweet when it counts. Her entire faction of girls seem to be those who ate peaches in Mato instead of the Earthrealm. A shady side organization affiliated with the Mato Corps doing clandestine experimentation on them is also shounen as all get out. More backstory than is required, but greatly appreciated and a valuable piece of world building that will help the series stay rich and interesting as further layers unfold... Typical harem ecchi shows don't have that ambition.

The battles themselves were somewhat mixed. Shu-shu and sleepyhead's battle were pretty boilerplate, though the breakthrough of using small size was novel. The Azuma sisters easily took the cake by having established complicated sister chemistry and the use of time rewinding really came through tactically. Yakumo is low key MVP. Lastly Kyoko and Tenma... Kyoko was largely relegated to the background fighting the unihorn, but Tenka stole the scene again by declaring herself Yuuki's girlfriend and consistently referring to Aoba as her 'sister in law' (and the ire that brought out of her). So cute, not to mention her slick rescue of Yuuki completely mid conversation from Aoba in episode 10.

If this is going to end the season next episode where I think it will, we're in for a treat.

[neflight86]

12

Somewhat of an anticlimax of a conclusion. The fight ends with Kyouka slicing up the Unihorn and snake girl sneaking away to express that she is, of course, interested in Yuuki. Friendships/Alliances are formed with Aoba and we get a short afterparty segment (I think I like Yakumo better when voiced for some reason) followed by a reservedly erotic reward and more Tenka teasing, ending with a 'the battle carries on' montage. Strangely, it didn't go hard in setting up a next season, even though one has already been announced (halleluiah). They even mentioned the current supreme commander of the Mato organization as a potential threat. Not bad, perfectly serviceable.

What I had hoped for was to end on the meeting of the chiefs to sample more of the top shelf harem we've got left in the cupboard. I understand not skipping the story bits we got tough; building the cute girl's dynamics with Yuuki is a driving force of the show, after all. Hype can wait.

Overall, I suppose this kind of medium energy adaptation is the best I could hope for Slave Soldier. While the animation isn't going ham, it never dipped into gushing levels of budget cope, either. Keeping a consistent quality from here on out would be awesome, as the long term viability of the story is very much there and I expect the fandom to slowly grow as the series gets, hopefully, annual installments going forward. Not blown away, but deeply satisfied.

[Ryllharu]

Unfortunately, these are some of the weakest arcs in the series, so this season was always going to be a bit on the underwhelming end.

The series takes a while to really get going, for the trust levels to be built, and the full scope of what's at stake to be revealed, which it only starts that development at the very end of this season, with Coco and Naon's abduction.

The good news for anyone hesitating on the series, is that it only gets better and better every single arc. Not an exaggeration. Pick of the manga too, if you haven't, the art is phenomenal. The scans are re-released when the uncensored tanks come out, so be sure to check a site that updates their files.

Ultimately, I think the casting was spot on, every character was delivering it fully, so with a second season announced, it's just a matter of time for the series to pop off to its full potential.

But they should have fixed Tenka's design a little. I can't unsee the banana peel/bird poop on her head. She's not my favorite, thankfully, not even in my top 5.

[neflight86]

But they should have fixed Tenka's design a little. I can't unsee the banana peel/bird poop on her head. She's not my favorite, thankfully, not even in my top 5.

Don't pick on the weepy flower! She only looks strange because she's in full color all the time!

But really, this is as good or better than most battle shounen we have serialized right now by the time it hits its stride, in my opinion.