Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
FleecyBear
I really liked this anime! I'm writing this as I'm watching second season, and that's also a reason why I decided I had to give recommendations to others:
As every other anime fan, I started watching this one just because I had nothing else to do. Some people enjoy watching random anime to find hidden gems, some are trying to watch something because they're tired of seeing top notch anime that requires every bit of brain power to understand the story. Some people like me just like watching weird anime.
In this case, season 1 gets you interested in the story and characters: it's one of those anime where main character is stronger than others and every girl is interested in him. What this anime does better than others: it's not harem - girls love him, but not much fan service like other si…
Read at the sourceabrildikaputra15
While Beryl is unable to land a hit on Lucy, he manages to avoid being hit by her spells, which is enough to impress her. Later, Surena approaches Beryl with a request from the Adventurer's Guild to help train young adventurers. Beryl recalls his ill-fated attempt at becoming an adventurer in his youth and does not feel qualified, but both Surena and Lucy vouch for his skills. The Guildmaster eventually agrees to have Beryl duel Surena to prove himself. Surena is enthusiastic at the opportunity to properly face off against Beryl, recalling how he rescued her when she was a child. After learning how to use swords from Beryl, she became an adventurer so she could continue to use the skills he taught her as well as prevent other children from being orphaned like her. During the duel, Beryl ac…
Read at the sourceshinmafutsu26
Beryl manages to hold his own against Zeno Grable, stabbing the beast the eye and distracting it long enough for Surena to land the killing blow. Beryl is celebrated as a hero by the Adventurer's Guild for this feat, but he turns down their offer to become an adventurer. The next day, Curuni and Allucia take Beryl to a local blacksmith to replace the sword he broke battling Zeno Grable. He is pleasantly surprised to see the blacksmith is another of his former students, Balder Gasp. Beryl and Balder both notice Curuni's short sword is suffering more wear than it should be, and deduce that her fighting style favors larger and heavier swords, so she decides to switch to a Zweihänder. Surena then brings one of Zeno Grable's claws and commissions Balder to make a new sword out of it for Beryl.…
Read at the sourceLividBunny
Really fantasy like but more in the medieval part.
Starts out with a really funny interaction.
The aspect of swordsmanship in the show is quite alluring and interesting.
And then it throws in magic I actually thought it would be mostly about swordsmanship.
The excitement gets amped up shortly after and then some cool moments.
We get endearing moments and then there happens to be an evil to fight for.
I honestly thought this would be mostly about swordsmanship but I guess it's fine, that bit of combat looked great also.
The show touches up on parental issues as well.
There's a bit of one sided romance and then a bout with the commander.
That really was something, Henblitz came out really forward though, way too much.
More parental issues and a nice hunting bit, I kind of feel bad for the cr…
Read at the sourceAMBITZZ
This anime is... incredibly boring, bland, dull, uninteresting... whatever word you feel like using. Especially the first half of this season; it felt like a GENUINE SNOREFEST. It had a lot of potential to stand out amongst the other anime in the "Old OP MC" genre, to have an identity that separated it from the others but it just butchered the execution. Other shows in this category are about people starting late in life (aka late bloomers), or just strong old guys who get underestimated because of their age and appearance. This anime however, has an MC that is already content with his simple life. He is satisfied with teaching swordsmanship in a remote backwater village, but others around him (like his students and parents) think that he has a lot more potential and deserves exposure to t…
Read at the sourcetroporos
It is good in its storytelling, the characters are interesting, but I'm starting to grow tired of the nebulous "past" setting. I feel like almost every isekai/fantasy anime I watched recently has this problem. They always start of feeling vaguely medieval - people drink beer from wooden mugs; the setting has this medieval feeling to it. But the author can't help himself and adds something modern that could plausibly be in the setting. Something like large stone buildings fit for the 17th century. Then he can't help himself again - he adds a market stall selling books. Really? Then he can't help himself again - now they are washing vegetables in a sink; with running water. Then he can't help himself again - they go to a fancy boutique, maybe we have finally found our setting - 19th century.…
Read at the sourcesuperwolfkin
Sweet without giving you a toothache. There are a few chances I would have liked to see. The "student teacher" relationships are presented a little too seriously but so far it's not that big a deal. I kinda wish maybe he caught the eye of someone his own age and there's certainly no reason he couldn't. Maybe a merchant who think's she's an old maid. Or a seamstress whose time has come. Or heck even a bladesmith or blacksmith so they could have something in common.
The more impressive part is everything else a protagonist that's compelling, animation that's good to look at and a narrative with easy going flow. I personally wouldn't recommend this as a first anime but I've seen other people go way worse.
Read at the sourceExtremo888
The swordsmanship choreography in "Old Country Bumpkin" is excellent: they clearly either consulted actual Hema fighters, or watched considerable amounts of swordfighting footage to make sure it looks accurate. As someone who does know actual swordfighting, the fights are a joy to watch.
...Everything else is ass, though. The animation is just serviceable - that would be fine, except the writing is...functional. The animation can best be described as "adequate" for the most part, excepting the swordfighting specifically. Most every single, specifically female, character in "Old Fart Becomes Country Hick" JUST SO HAPPENS to be a former student of the protagonist. No, seriously: 5/8 of the primary characters were former students: pathetically desperate white-haired chick, red-haired boobie…
Read at the sourceHorizon848
This anime surprised me in a very good way, I didn't go into this anime with very high expectations given the mixed reviews and a 6.97 on MAL, additionally some comments were saying it was boring but I disagree completely, this is surely a gem in the rough that doesnt deserve the critical reviews it has been given, enough so that I decided to write a review which is rare for me. Neglecting to watch this anime based on its reviews would be very sad indeed for the work they put into it.
Plot: To sum it up, the beginning premise is that a dojo master in a rural backwater town is summoned to the royal capital to instruct the capitals knights on behest of his former student, who is now the commander of the guard, with an alternate goal that his parents want him to find a spouse as hes now in h…
Read at the sourceFrostFlameGaming
I'm not a huge critic when it comes to Shows and i generally like to throw the word "Peak" around half-hazardly.
But as someone who is involved in Actual Fencing and knows quite a bit about swords i think this anime is quite good,
Yes you do have overpowered Mages among other things however that is counteracted by the main character actually having some sembalance of Real sword-fighting techniques and Strategy which is executed here in a entertaining way.
I also quite like how since he is the only one to know how to fight properly his students are all masters more or less because they also use proper techniques which is a breath of fresh air for a lot of medieval based Anime.
Also all the Characters are absolutly rubbish and at times it feels like it's going to become a Harem anime
But th…
Read at the sourcebig_joe25
If you have not read the manga, this is more or less just generic slightly above-average fantasy anime. The animation work for the fights is hit or miss, sometimes good and sometimes bad, but overall acceptable. The characters are likable enough, and the overall writing is miles above isekai slop (the bar is in hell) but doesn't really do anything super compelling.
But this show's greatest crime is its butchering of the source material. If you have read the manga, you know what I mean. Some of the simpler characters are preserved, but several extremely compelling ones are completely unrecognizable from their manga counterparts, if they were even included in the anime in the first place. The main character of the show is not spared in this case, as he is completely different (and substanti…
Read at the sourceAlphaRikka
I've been waiting for something like this for a whille. This anime doesn't fall inline with the overpowered character type (I've no issue with those, they can be good fun) but instead the MC and the people around him are decisive in their fights. I do really wish it was explained why people aren't as skilled as him in a fight. My only coplaint is that the MC gets well adjusted to fights a little too fast. Maybe he's been in a few prior, but it's whatever. Overall this is worth the watch. It doesn't try to be anything it's not. The swordplay here is where it shines.
Read at the sourceezksh
I actually stopped watching around episode 4 because the action scenes felt mediocre and the story isn't getting anywhere. However, I'm glad I gave it another chance and completed the anime. Initially the pacing felt quite slow, but the plot starts to build up progressively as the protagonist's world gets bigger (after episode 4). Action scenes got a lot better as well. The plot wasn't super deep, but it was deep enough for plot points to form connections over the course of the season. Overall, it was nothing fancy but if you're looking for a feel-good anime with good action and decent plot, this one is for you.
Read at the sourceWitchoftheSouth
The synopsis of Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni naru really appealed to me, but unfortunately, the execution is a complete disappointment. Instead of building a coherent narrative, it's bogged down in harem clichés, which are particularly jarring due to the age difference between the protagonist, Beryl Gardenant, and the female supporting characters. However, Beryl can't be blamed here; he behaves appropriately towards his former students. Aside from their extraordinary abilities and their infatuation with their former teacher, they don't seem to contribute much to the story.
Basically, the story meanders along in a slice-of-life style, which isn't really my cup of tea. I find the whole thing lacking in depth.
The only small bright spot is Mewi, who joins the story as Beryl's adopted daughte…
Read at the sourcealgoPotaku
The anime is about a swordsman with low self-esteem. The thing is, someone recruits him to be a teacher at a school for very strong knights. From there, you realize that the protagonist isn't just a swordsman, he's the best, and he has terrible self-esteem. What bothers me most is the lack of character development. But it's good how his interactions with all the characters change and how they all admire him. It's also kind of strange that almost all his disciples are very skilled; I think they're all successful swordsmen, and he claims he had nothing to do with it. The soundtrack was good, the character design is nice—not particularly unique, but it does the job. The battle animation is very good; I feel like the swordplay really shines during the actual fighting. I recommend it; the best…
Read at the sourceharionago
The story follows Beryl, a man who devoted his life to teaching swordsmanship in his small dojo. Over the years, his students rose to prominence and took high-ranking positions. One of them became the commander of the knights and asked him to serve as a trainer for the soldiers an event that completely changes his life.
Overall, the story is enjoyable and follows a slice-of-life style rather than being action-focused, which was not what many people expected. As a result, many started watching it and later criticized it due to the lack of action scenes.
For me, this is one of the story’s strengths. The protagonist is an mature man who prefers calmness and patience, which fits perfectly with the image of a true sword master.
The narration is presented through his daily experiences while he…
Read at the sourceuyuryazar
The premise is actually very good and the story had a lot of potential. Sadly, the execution is weak.
The way the story is told is messy, and some plot points just do not make sense. There are scenes that completely break immersion, like characters doing things that clearly should not be possible in the world the show sets up (like outrunning a horse). There are more weird moments like this, but mentioning them would get into minor spoilers.
Animation is decent overall, and the soundtracks are fine.
One thing that stood out in a good way is the sound design. Small details like sound of clothes moving, or wooden utensils scraping against a wooden plate while eating, are surprisingly well done, but also I was never heard before that biting a sausage makes a crunch sound like a potato chi…
Read at the sourceTaka___
Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru delivers a simple and comfortable fantasy, with a proposal that departs a little from the norm by placing an older, experienced and humble protagonist at the center of the story. This choice works well and brings a more mature air to the narrative, especially in the way he relates to his students and the world around him.
The biggest highlight of the season is precisely the dynamic of master and disciple. The interactions are respectful, natural and help to build a more human and cozy atmosphere, almost like a slice of life set in a fantasy world. The calmer pace also contributes to this feeling, pleasing those looking for something quieter and less chaotic.
The idea of an ordinary man who, over the years, has developed exceptional skills without realiz…
Read at the sourceMitiKosta
Beryl is a straight-up Boomer with a sword
calm, experienced, and clearly past the “shouting my attack names” phase.
And honestly? He’s the best part of the show.
The story moves at a balanced pace, never too slow or too fast, and keeps things simple.
Beryl’s reactions to different situations feel natural, and that’s what makes him so likeable.
The supporting characters are cute and do their job without getting in the way.
The opening and ending songs are both great and surprisingly memorable.
Overall, this is a chill fantasy adventure that doesn’t try to be clever or edgy. Nothing groundbreaking, but enjoyable if you like old-school vibes and a mature protagonist.
Recommended for adventure fans who want a boomer MC done right.
I’d watch a sequel if it happens.
Read at the sourceEl_Gaucho
As time goes on in the anime industry the regular cycle of adaptation from manga to anime now has a new branch, that of the light novel; a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting middle/high-school students equivalent to a novella in size. Over the years the light novel has gained traction and now a path of light novel to manga then finally to anime has been establish. However, for every good light novel adaptation there must be a bad one. For that we can look at From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman.
In this story we follow Beryl Gardenant as one day an old student Allucia Citrus comes back and she informs Beryl that she has handpicked him to train the next generation of fighters in the city. Though initially reluctant when he gets to the city he comes to find that his (predom…
Read at the source
