The King's Avatar

This was a good, action-packed show. There is a cool male protagonist who gets kicked off the team, and he starts to rebuild from scratch and becomes a formidable opponent. This subject matter is not bad at all and is something every MMORPG player dreams of when after a few years of playing, they create a smurf account on some new server. I also find it positive that this is not mainly about the MMORPG world like almost every anime series. This show is more about gaming and the players. It is also about programming, which has a lot of traction in China, making people not only wealthy but also making celebrities of them. However, at the same time, this is also one of the show's shortcomings because a person unfamiliar with multiplayer online video gaming is not going to get things such as what is so great about how big the main male protagonist's APM is. The biggest problem with this show is the dull repetitiveness and flatness of the plot after a while. For quite some time, the show is merely about battles featuring new opponents, groups of opponents, formation, and expansion of the main protagonist's team. They mention setting records in other dungeons; however, that is not shown on screen because they already covered enough in the first half of the season. So even though we see more and more cool fight scenes, unexpected escapes, and strategies during which we are supposed to feel reassured that the main protagonist is a really cool gut, it slowly gets boring. You then have to wonder about where the show is heading. Moreover, the protagonist is a seasoned gamer, yet, the things he has been given to be as cool as possible (a special universal weapon and a "no rank" style of play) also get a bit tiresome. Hearing for the hundredth time that the main protagonist's weapon is so unique and that his style of using all the various features is so cool is not that much fun. However, enough about the downsides. The animation is pretty good considering it is a Chinese anime series, and I also never believed I would have liked the Chinese song used in the opening (I did not think I would ever get used to Chinese singing). Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised and pleased. Also, the first season finale suggests that the next one (if there is one) might be more interesting in terms of plot, so I am looking forward to the future. Plus, I occasionally play various MMORPGs myself (even though I am not a pro), and so this was just the ticket. 6.5/10. (27.02.2022)

I did not even know that the second season was already out for a long time, and to tell you the truth, I did not want to get into it. After the three-episode follow-up, which was all about the professional multiplayer online video game tournament and did not add anything interesting to the main narrative, I was a little worried about what the second season would be about. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The second season is a return to the professional world of gaming, about the main male protagonist’s leveling up, and the various fun strategies he uses to develop his character and recruit new members. There is not much technical stuff, concepts like APM have all but disappeared, and this season is more visual rather than just telling the story. It is about how much stronger and more capable the main protagonist is than the others. It throws up some unexpected twists with unexpected fights. There are many times when Ye Xiu seems to have everything figured out and is part of some elaborate and crazy strategy of his that will give him some advantage. However, it is quite believable this time around, and many of the surprises and tactics are quite entertaining. The main male protagonist uses everything he knows about the game and does things that others definitely would not do; he can be calculating and sneaky, which I like a lot. Likewise, there are a lot of good characters, and their relationships work, plus they maintain a decent amount of suspense. The characters love playing the video game Glory, which I found believable, and everyone has a vision and clear objectives. I thought the second season exceeded expectations in all its aspects and even managed to allay my fears about whether I would enjoy more of this show in the future, which will focus on the professional world of gaming because the writers managed to build a good atmosphere in the show. Animation-wise it is above average and the fight scenes, in particular, are dynamic, and I was quite pleased with the soundtrack. 7.3/10. (28.02.2022)