Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Welcome to the second week of my personal Hell aka the Worst Isekai arc. This week we’re taking a look at The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar. Based off the light novel written by Seiichi Takayama in 2013 and still continuing to this day. In 2018 it was turned into an anime by the small studio EMT Squared the studio that actually gave us Love Tyrant. When it comes to bad isekai this is usually the first anime that pops into everyone’s head and for good reason. Not only does it get the isekai formula wrong it gets the harem formula wrong as well. How do you screw up one of the easiest formulas out there? Many people have ranked this anime as the worst isekai they’ve ever seen but I don’t know I think there are other animes out there that are worse than this one but it’s been sometime since I’ve watched it so let’s see if my thoughts have changed in any way. This is The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar.
Opening and Ending Theme
Their opening is “Bright way” by Aya Uchida. This song is so uninspiring and lacks effort. I feel bad for Aya because she really is trying here, but by God does this sound so lazy and uninteresting. The point of an opening is to get people excited and interested in the anime, this opening makes me want to avoid the anime all together.
The ending is “Sekaijuu ga Koi wo suru Yoru” by petit milady. This song is actually pretty good. The melody is nice and petit milady so wonderful here. Too bad it’s wasted on an anime like this. It’s just like the ending from the Asterisk Wars their way too good to be wasted on these kinds of animes.
Episodes 1-4
Alright, the first episode has an interesting plot but does a poor job explaining what’s going on so I’ll give you a run down. A boy named Yuuto voiced along with his friend Mitsuki go to a shrine to test out an urban legend involving a divine mirror where it’s said that if you take your picture next to it something amazing will happen. Yuuto takes a selfie of him and the mirror where the mirror begins to glow, and he gets whisked away to the past (I say the past because the anime drops hints that this is still Earth but in ancient times). He was summoned by a girl named Felicia a member of the Wolf Clan a clan of people who are constantly being attacked by their enemies who surround them. Thankfully, Yuuto agrees to help them out as a strategist and using his smartphone he’s able to look up tactics, weaponry, and inventions from history’s greatest figures (which is actually is a smart and clever idea. He doesn’t have OP powers and isn’t a fighter, so the next best thing he can do is come up with strategies and weaponry to give his side the edge). Using his smartphone, he’s able to help the Wolf Clan rise to power and works his way up to become the Wolf Clan’s patriarch. We find out that he’s been in this world for 2 years and hasn’t been able to find a way home yet but he can use the divine mirror to speak with Mitsuki from time to time (damn that smartphone has got one hell of a battery life. I can’t go a day without charging up my phone). Since he can’t find a way home yet he decides that the best thing to do is to either defeat or conquer the other clans to bring them under the Wolf Clan’s banner. This way there will be peace so Yuuto can search for a way back home safely and it puts his mind at ease knowing that when he leaves the Wolf Clan will be alright. So getting back to the episode we open up on a battle between the Wolf Clan and their rivals the Horn Clan where Yuuto employs the tactics of Alexander the Great along with iron spears to win the battle. He goes to meet with the patriarch of the Horn Clan, Linnea, a girl around the same age as Yuuto, where he gets her to accept his terms of being his little sister and fighting under the banner of the Wolf Clan (now when I say sister I mean like making an oath, something seen as very important in this world and it’s an agreement that Yuuto will watch over and protect her like an older brother). On the day that Yuuto and Linnea make their oath to each other (I now pronounce you brother and sister. May your relationship be awkward and have many misunderstandings) the Horn Clan gets attacked by the Hoof Clan one of the largest clans in the west. The Hoofs have conquered one of the Horn’s forts and with the clan still recovery from their lost to the Wolf Clan and at the moment leaderless they’ll be easy pickings. Yuuto wants to mount a counterattack to protect his sister nation but the elders don’t want to help since they haven’t developed any friendship as of yet and still see the Horn Clan as their rivals (oh fuck you guys. Stop living in the past and look towards the future). Pissed off at this, Yuuto rebuts their excuses and using his authority as patriarch says they’re going to help them out no questions asked (or excuses made).
Episode 2 goes by rather quickly. Yuuto sends Siegrune, his daughter and the strongest warrior of the Wolf clan ahead of him and the main unit where they do attacks at night to keep the Hoof clan on their toes and stress them out (trolling for the win). They do this for three days exhausting them and keeping them up at night in the process where when the big battle finally arrives, they’re too exhausted to put up much of a fight and start to fall easily. The fight reaches its climax when Siegrune takes on the patriarch of the Hoof clan, Yngvi, where he destroys her spear, but she counters with her katana which cuts right through him (gotta love that Japanese steel). After this, Linnea decides she wants to marry Yuuto and hand over control of the Horn clan to him. One, because he’s an amazing leader and she’s fallen for him, and two, she’s a hereditary leader. Usually, a leader is decided by one’s merits but Linnea became a leader thanks to her father who handed it to her before his death. Because of this, a lot of people in her clan think she’s undeserving of the title but if Yuuto were to marry her, they would have nothing to complain about and this would strengthen the bond between their two clans. Yuuto obviously has no intention of marrying her but tells her he needs time to think this over where Felicia tries to talk him into it so he’ll stay but then realizes that that line of thinking is unfair and selfish on her part so she says she’ll try to talk Linnea out of the marriage.
In episode 3 we start with the Wolf and Horn clans celebrating their victory together when all of a sudden, Steinthor the patriarch of the Lightning clan that’s a neighboring kingdom of the Horn clan arrives unannounced (he’s looking. . .for a challenge). This is the guy who killed Linnea’s dad and he has the power of two runes making him a strong fighter and an arrogant guy who loves to fight (a dangerous combination). He’s come to see Yuuto as he’s interested in him (woah buddy, he doesn’t swing that way) and takes his leave where he plans to fight against Yuuto down the line. After that, Yuuto calls up Mitsuki who’s mad at him for not calling her for 3 weeks (oh~ that’s a paddlin’ right there) and then he receives a visit from Albertina and Christina the twin princesses of the Claw clan who were sent to be Yuuto’s wives (twins, lolis, one is smart while the other’s an airhead. Yep, fetish characters). The twins have a knack for information gathering as they’ve been following and observing Yuuto throughout the episode to get a better idea of who he is (needless to say, they’re impressed). Yuuto says he never agreed to marry and they’re okay with this as instead they want to be his children, but if they want in they’ll have to show their worth.
At the start of episode 4 Yuuto and Felicia along with Albertina and Christina go to visit a city that’s primarily under Horn clan rule. The citizens are unwilling to accept their new rulers and refuse to do the crop rotation (fine. Starve for all I care). Not wanting to enforce his policies like a ruthless dictator, Yuuto finds himself unsure of what to do until Linnea arrives and convinces everyone to give crop rotation a try (the little sister becomes the teacher). That night, Linnea tries to give herself to Yuuto (give her credit for taking the initiative), but Yuuto tells her he’s from another world (not a problem) and he’s in love with someone else (and this presents one of the major problems in the anime. Yuuto admits that he’s already in love with someone which means there’s no point in this being a harem. The whole idea of a harem is that a group of guys/girls like someone and the object of their affection also likes them but isn’t sure who they like the most. There are times when the object of affection will have someone who is higher than the others, but the others still have some chance to win them over or are comfortable being his lovers. Yuuto rejects all of this by saying that he’s in love with only one person and only sees the other girls as just his friends. He knows he can’t stay in this world and will have to leave it one day to return to his world. This makes everything that the girls do from this point on to earn his affection pointless and disrespectful to his feelings). So after Yuuto tells Linnea who he really is, where he comes from, why they can’t be together, and encouraging her to have more faith in herself, Linnea says she’s not going to give up on trying to make Yuuto fall for her (and there’s the selfishness). Their talk soon gets interrupted by Christina and Felicia who tell them that the Lightning clan is preparing for war (get ready for war *rock music begins to play*).
Episodes 5-8
We get the war of the Wolf and Lightning clan in episode 5 where we see Yuuto just can’t stand Steinthor because he reminds him so much of Yuuto’s past self. In the past Yuuto was an overconfident and arrogant child who believed he was above everyone and nobody could touch him (so, a politician?). Because of this someone he held close suffered for his mistakes and he never forgot. Anyway, the war begins where the Wolf clan uses their advanced strategies and weapons to hold the line and keep the Lightning clan back. Just when they try to go for a pincer attack, Steinthor joins the war and takes on Siegrune. While Siegrune is able to parry all of Steinthor’s attacks, she’s no match for his strength and is forced to retreat. We finally get to see Steinthor go on a rampage as his strength truly is out of this world but he has the bravado of a fool (one who rushes in headfirst without thinking and relies completely on his strength to win battles. He would have been a king if this were the time of the Vikings). The Wolf Clan retreats and Steinthor’s older brother pursues them where he gets killed in battle. Angered by this, Steinthor gathers the troops and goes after them. The Wolf clan successfully crosses a river with Steinthor following behind them and reaching the other side leaving his troops behind (he truly is a fool). The Wolf clan stalls him long enough for them to crush a dam and unleash a flood of water which completely wipes away Steinthor and his troops (scene here: https://youtu.be/1TsAm0VNn2w). Steinthor somehow survives but with broken bones and a bruised ego I think it’s safe to say he lost.
In the first half of episode 6 Yuuto is given a day off, so he goes up to the mountains to relax in the hotsprings with Felicia, Siegrune, Linnea, Ingrid (a blacksmith who also likes Yuuto. She’s is our tsundere for the evening), Christina, Albertina, and a little girl named Epheria who was once a slave along with her mom before Yuuto bought them both. The girls as you would imagine try to seduce him in the hotsprings by washing his body and giving him a nosebleed (you weakling. (Corbin): Amateur. (Baron): You’re a disgrace. Scene here: https://youtu.be/82FOt-0f5Kw). After that not much happens except for Yuuto deciding to give free education to the children thanks to all the money the clan is making off of glass cups.
Episode 7 starts off with us seeing how Yuuto became the patriarch of the Wolf clan. The previous patriarch was Felicia’s dad Farbauti who was growing old and realized that in order for the Wolf clan to survive they would need a new patriarch. Everyone thought Farbauti would choose his son Loptr to be his successor, but he chooses Yuuto instead (talk about a swerve). This choice pisses Loptr off and he accuses Yuuto of planning this from the start and tries to kill him only to instead accidently kill Farbauti (idiot). Loptr soon ran away and Yuuto filled with regret and guilt got to work making the Wolf clan strong. After this, Yuuto hears word that the Hoof clan was conquered by the Panther clan using tactics that were similar to the Wolf clan (well I think I know what happened to Loptr). It doesn’t take long for Yuuto to figure out that Loptr is the patriarch of the Panther clan and he tries to make peace with him. Loptr responds by attacking the Horn clan directly and forcing Yuuto into battle. Loptr tries to use the hit and run tactic only for Yuuto to counter it with crossbows. Loptr then surrounds Yuuto’s army and Yuuto counters with iron walls to protect the shooters (no offence Loptr but in terms of leadership Yuuto is owning your ass). Loptr plays his trump card which is using the power of Signy his second in-command (Baron: Woah, please say she joins the harem). Signy uses her dancing to turn the troops into berserkers who charge to their deaths and break through Yuuto’s iron walls. Loptr and Yuuto finally come face to face with each other where Felicia tries to get him to stand down and it doesn’t work. Just when he’s about to attack Felicia (dude, that’s your sister. Have you no standards?) Yuuto protects Felicia and Siegrune arrives on a camel to fight which agitates the horses who can’t stand the smell of camels (well there’s something new I learned). Loptr is forced to retreat and Yuuto’s army is victorious.
Episode 8 is a boring episode where nothing of importance happens. The only thing worth seeing is the opening moments where Signy is riding Loptr (Corbin: Yuuto could learn a thing from him). Yuuto shows that he’s a dense MC who you want to punch (but I think you already knew that) as he has Ingrid help him on her day off to make presents for Felicia and Siegrune completely ignoring all of her advances.
Episodes 9-12
Episode 9 focuses on Mitsuki who tries to look for a way to help Yuuto return to the 21st century. She goes to her friend, Ruri, for help who introduces Mitsuki to her cousin Saya who studies mythology and tells her all about Yuuto and his situation. According to Saya, the story shares many similarities to Norse mythology with Yuuto being similar to Surtr who causes Ragnarok and dies at the end. Saya believes that Yuuto might be forging the original Norse mythos which would go on to become their mythology (wow, he’s creating history). This information scares Mitsuki as she’s now afraid that Yuuto will die and tells him what she learned. Of course he doesn’t care about that, he’s more worried about if Mitsuki got this information from a guy or girl (you really think she’d fall for another guy? She speaks to you every day and is waiting patiently for you to return. Have a little more trust in her). He heads out to clear his head where he hears some commotion coming from a bar and goes to investigate where he finds a girl who strongly resembles Mitsuki.
At the start of episode 10 we find out that the Mitsuki lookalike is really Sigdrifia the divine emperor (or empress if you want to get technical) of the Holy Asgaror Empire who pretty much rules the land Yuuto and the other clans reside in. She gets brought back to the palace where her identity gets revealed and says she knows all about the ritual that brought Yuuto to their time. Sigdrifia says when Yuuto was brought to this world a spell was put on him, so the only way to get back home is to have the spell removed. Unfortunately, Sigdrifia isn’t good at removing spells (she can cast them but doesn’t know how to dispel them) meaning Yuuto’s only hope at returning to his time is with Signy who is a master at removing spells (and I highly doubt she’s in the mood to do him any favors). After this, we get the only funny moment in the episode which is a banquet with Yuuto and his harem where the girls get drunk, strip, and try to have sex with him (scene here: https://youtu.be/-QaYUzifFG0, just give them the D and be done with it). Later, Steinthor and the Lightning clan attack the Wolf clan’s territory and Yuuto heads out to do battle after receiving a good luck kiss from Sigdrifia (scene here: https://youtu.be/CCEquZi4XzE). At the battle, Yuuto gets caught off guard by the Lightning clan using iron weapons like them (time to upgrade to steel). Yuuto does regain the upper hand by separating Steinthor from his forces and trapping them in the mountains where Steinthor takes on Siegrune once again. However, the Panther clan is coming to join the battle as they’ve teamed up with the Lightning clan at the request of Alexis from the empire. Apparently, members of the senate feel the Wolf clan is disrupting the balance of power and want to eliminate them. Of course, Sigdrifia won’t take action against a clan she has befriended, so what better way to eliminate them then by having another clan do it.
The battle continues in episode 11. Once the Panther clan arrives the soldiers of the Wolf clan lose hope until Yuuto arrives on the frontlines to give them an inspirational speech and this raises their morale to fight back and force the enemy to retreat (rage my children! Rage). Siegrune also gets a win over Steinthor by using a technique taught to her by Yuuto. She doesn’t kill him but she injures him enough that he’s forced to retreat with his clan. Loptr refusing to accept defeat charges at Yuuto and the two finally fight with Yuuto getting the win (excellent. Finish him). However, Signy uses her magic on Yuuto which frees him from the effects of the mirror and he gets sent back to the 21st century all while leaving his cellphone behind with Felicia (scene here: https://youtu.be/tn8divYe-gE, this could alter the timeline).
In the final episode Yuuto is back in the 21st century which upsets Loptr and Steinthor. Despite this setback, both of them continue to attack the Wolf clan. Not worrying about his clan, Yuuto returns to normal life (what the hell man? You know your clan’s in danger and you’re just gonna sit back and pretend nothing is wrong? Fuck you). He goes shopping with Mitsuki where I got to be honest, I’m really not seeing the romantic connection between the two. It really does feel like he had a better romantic connection with a few of the other girls like Felicia, Siegrune, Linnea and Ingrid. You can tell he acknowledged them as beautiful women that any guy would be lucky to have and respected their abilities. With Mitsuki it just feels like they’re best friends who love hanging out with one another and have a platonic relationship. After some time, Mitsuki receives a call from Felicia and the others where the war is not going well for them. They lost their fort, Siegrune got injured pretty badly, and they lost a lot of men. The good news is Sigdrifia can summon Yuuto back to their time but the question is does Yuuto want to come back (yes, stay in the 21st century as everyone you’ve come to love gets killed, raped, or sold into slavery- WHY ARE YOU GIVING HIM A CHOICE!? Tell him to get his ass back here whether he likes it or not). Yuuto of course decides to go back and this time he brings Mitsuki with him on the condition that she marries him (scene here: https://youtu.be/QKZri78cqCA. Tell me Mitsuki, what are your thoughts on concubines?). So, if you were hoping we would get one epic battle between the clans to end the anime on a high note (and salvage this anime in some way), then get ready to be pissed because they skip over it (https://youtu.be/frKJmnp4blo). Yeah, no joke, they skip over everything. We don’t get to see Yuuto and Mitsuki being summoned, Mitsuki’s reaction to the world, everyone else’s reaction to Mitsuki, the battle, the strategies used to win, or what became of Loptr and Steinthor. We just go to the end of the battle where it’s obvious the Wolf clan won and Yuuto is being held as a hero (fuck this).
Final Thoughts
Well this was awful. I feel bad because there was some good potential with the setting of this anime, but it just goes to shit. Yuuto is a pretty dense lead although I will give him credit for being a capable leader who cares for his clan, using strategies from history, and not backing down from his opponents. The rest of the harem is pretty cliché and I wish we would have gotten more one on one time between them and Yuuto to see how they came to like him and what they like so much about him. Again, I really do feel like he had a better romantic connection between Felicia and the others then he did with Mitsuki. While Mitsuki isn’t a bad character I don’t think she deserved the main heroine spot. The anime skips over a lot of stuff such as Yuuto showing the people different things to enhance their culture, the magic of this world, the different clans, the relationship between the characters and the ruling powers of this time period. The only characters I do like somewhat were the villains as Loptr and Steinthor play their parts well and I was mad that Alexis pretty much disappears all together in the anime.
The animation and music is nothing special. The fight scenes are too short and don’t have a lot of action which is shocking considering the year this anime came out. There’s not that many funny moments in the anime and for a harem/ecchi anime it’s very weak in that department.
Final Score
The final score for The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar is a 2/10. Is this the worst isekai anime out there? I don’t think so, but it’s a top contender make no doubt about that. Truth be told I really do feel that this is one of those animes that would have benefitted with a second season, but with the bad taste this season left in the mouths of viewers there’s no way this is getting a second season. If you want to check out the light novel be my guest, hopefully it’s better than the anime. It’s because of animes like this that isekai anime started to get such a bad rep and why a lot of people started to hate them. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
*All videos, clips, and music are not owned by me and belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved*
Thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave a comment in the comment section or send your comments, feedback, or request to iamprojectnitsuj@gmail.com
And follow me on twitter for updates and other stuff: https://twitter.com/ProjectNitsuj