This is going to be another one of those times where I have read The New Gate as a manga first; however, this time it’ll be different. I’ve dropped shows before like Spy x Family and Chainsaw Man… not because I didn’t like them… but because I read the manga and felt as if I were just watching a repeat and I got bored easily. Perhaps fortunate (or unfortunately) for me, I fell behind on the English releases and had only read up to volume six although there are eleven volumes out in English. This could play an advantage by holding my attention but the question remains… is the anime as good as the manga (or at least what I remember from it?)
Let’s go!
First Episode Synopsis
Shin is trapped in a VRMMO RPG known as The New Gate. When you die in the game, you die in real life…
Where have we heard this before?
Instead of seeing his journey through the game, we are immediately taken to him going one-on-one with the final boss. After defeating it, the game is cleared and you witness all of the trapped players logging out one after the other. Shin is the last one; however, right when he’s about to press the Log Out button, a gate opens and he awakens back in the game… only this time, it doesn’t feel like a video game… it feels real.
Despite that, he can still access the game menu and notices his stats went through the roof. He uses an item that guides him back to his house and there, he finds that it has become something called The Moon Sanctum… a general store that houses a cursed elf named Tiera. After using Analyze, he determines what kind of curse it is and cures her like it is nothing. She is so thankful; she gives him The Moon Sanctum’s letter of recommendation which is powerful enough to be granted an audience with the King!
He takes the letter to the Kingdom of Breylicht where he enlists in the adventurer’s guild. He has to wait one full day to obtain his adventurer card; however, in the process, he meets the guild master who confirms the authenticity of his letter of recommendation and even goes so far as to test Shin’s combat skills (off camera… boo!).
The next day, he accepts his first quest to do something so heroic, it is sure to make him an instant legend!
He goes to gather Hilk Grass…
While there, he runs into an undead monster… a Lvl 359 Skullface Jack to be exact. His weapon is crap and it’s about to break so he releases his limiters and OTK’s it into oblivion. It was carrying a holy sword that he wanted but the attack sent the sword flying… right through the window of Princess Rionne’s room!
Worth Watching?
YES – Honestly, had I not read the manga, this would have gotten a MAYBE from me. It starts off by being another Sword Art Online clone in premise; however, it does quickly transition away from that. Shin goes from being trapped in a video game to being isekai’d into a world similar to the game only to find out it is the game world just 500 years after the game ended. A little odd but it works.
That being said, the first episode didn’t do much to truly excite a viewer. By that, I mean a show like this would typically invest some of its budget in a big grandiose fight, showing off the character’s true powers and strengths, and then would have ended the episode on him being summoned 500 years into the future. Instead, we see a few sword slashes, no magic, and just an overall weak battle against an enemy that acted as the first boss rather than the last.
The pacing then slows down a lot as he gets his bearings, learns about the world vicariously through a conversation with Tiera, and then sets off to become an adventurer which is also a slow build. The only extra action we get is a very short fight against the Skullface Jack that only gives us a hint of what’s to come in the second episode rather than leaving us on a cliffhanger ending.
While the first episode was more serviceable than thrilling, it did stay true to the manga. The manga also had a bit of a slow start; however, I can tell you that it does ramp up. An anime-only viewer would probably give this the three-episode rule; however, after knowing that it does pick up and become more interesting (as well as more emotional.. a massive one-on-one battle in volumes 4-6 should look PHENOMENAL in animated form).
I do have only one little gripe… the manga itself doesn’t have a great art style. Character designs are rather sloppy and, for better or worse, CLOUDHEARTS is staying true to that as the characters cannot stay consistent-looking. There are some proportional errors throughout the first episode and it’s glaringly noticeable. I feel as if the art quality wasn’t paid enough attention to but as long as they are faithful and do a better job during the fights, it should be forgivable (although I will probably ding it at the end of the season in my review.)
But it should be a pretty decent isekai fantasy although it doesn’t truly do anything to reinvent the wheel.
