Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Not being the first sibling in your family can be tough. You can’t help but compare yourself to the older sibling/s and feel pressured from yourself and your parents to be just as good if not better than them. Anime is no stranger to sibling rivalry just like today’s anime Hachi-nan tte, Sore wa Nai Deshou. Translated to “The 8th Son, Are You Kidding Me?” or “8th Son” for short, this was a series trying to cash-in on the isekai boom while putting little to no effort into the anime. Based off a light novel written by Y.A. in 2014 and continuing to this day, the 8th Son was met with mediocre reviews and nobody really cared for it. In 2020, Shin-Ei Animation (Doraemon) turned the novel into an anime giving us a ‘what did I just watch’ feeling. Well let’s check this anime out. This is the 8th Son.
Opening and Ending Theme
The opening is “Jikuu no Mayoi Hito” by Demon Kakka and Arika Takarano and have to admit this opening is pretty epic. I don’t remember much from my first time watching this anime but this opening kept popping in my head as I was thinking of anime to review for this arc. I love the way it starts off and how it keeps building until the end. It honestly gives you the impression that this is going to be an epic story. Oh if only you knew.
For the ending we have “Tsukiagari no Monologue” by Akino Arai and Akino. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this song when I watched the anime. In fact I would usually skip over it but after sitting down and listening to it’s a good song. There’s a lot of passion going into it and it sends a chill down your spine. In a good way. If the opening was epic this ending was passionate.
Episodes 1-4
The anime starts with our main character Well voiced by Junya Enoki (Yuji from Jujutsu Kaisen) leveling a plot of land for workers with his magic (scene here: https://youtu.be/kVaOj2tlPhc). He then returns to his mansion where we get your typical flashback that explains he was your average white-collar worker who fell asleep only to wake up in another world in the body of a 5-year old boy (you know, the typical). We see that Well is the youngest of his siblings and is part of a nobleman’s house (give him credit, he actually does grasp what’s going on quickly and is able to maintain a cool and calm demeanor, so a point for avoiding that cliché). He quickly discovers that his family is rather poor despite being nobility and he’s the eighth son in his house (well look on the bright side, nobody expects much from the 8th sibling) which is out in the boonies of the kingdom (scene here: https://youtu.be/3JoBUoMJqRw). Hoping to find a talent he’s good at, he discovers that he has a high aptitude for magic and while in the forest looking for wood, he comes across a magician named Alfred who senses his talent for magic and wants to train him.
Throughout episode 2 Alfred teaches Well how to use magic. Alfred tells Well to keep his training a secret from his family as he’s afraid it’ll cause a succession dispute within his family (makes sense. My son can use magic. Therefore, he deserves the land because of his talent. Sucks to be you older siblings). Well’s training seems to be going well as he’s a quick learner and before long starts learning advanced magic. Alfred convinces Well to become an adventurer to see the world and find his own path. After 2 weeks of training, Alfred tells Well his training is complete abruptly because in truth he doesn’t have much time. We find him that Alfred is actually a Whispering Dead, a walking corpse filled with regret that takes the appearance of a normal human and even functions like one. However, their bodies are cold, they lose all their senses, and in time they will become a zombie (I will give this anime credit, they actually do a good job at making this reveal subtle as it was hinted throughout the episode such as Alfred having a cold body and actually eating wasabi like it was nothing). Well is able to put 2 and 2 together and goes to Alfred where we see his body is beginning to become corrupt and he’s slowly becoming a zombie. Alfred explains that years ago he died in a battle against a monster and his one regret was that he never got to pass on his teachings to a disciple. Once he found Well, he was ecstatic to teach him and pass on his knowledge to someone he knew would surpass him in every way. Alfred teaches Well how to use holy magic so he can purify him and lay him to rest before he harms other humans. In a rather well-done emotional scene (seriously, I was so invested in this scene that I forgot it’s an adult in a 5-year-old’s body) Well purifies Alfred and lays him to rest (this however does raise the complaint of why is this adult man crying like an infant? You could make the argument that it’s the bond between student and teacher, but that’s still stretching it. Actually, this raises another complaint, what was Well like in his other life? We don’t learn that much about him before he gets isekai’d away aside from the fact that he’s a white-collar worker. What was he like at work, what were his hobbies, what did he do at his job? Is he shy or confident? These are questions that the series really messed up on). He has a good cry and gets a determined look on his face promising to live a good life. The episode ends years later with Well now 12 years old and leaving home to become an adventurer by joining the adventuring academy.
In episode 3 Well has started attending adventuring school where it gets made clear early on that he’s a mage and that makes him feel ostracized from the rest of the class as they leave him alone. In truth however, he’s a golden goose. While Well is worried that he’s beneath the class in fact, the class believes they’re all beneath him (what we have here is a failure to communicate). Mages are seen as the most highly profitable people in the world, so if you can form a party with one then you’re pretty much set for life. Everyone wants to form a party with Well, but they believe they have to prove themselves worthy of his skills (you really don’t). Three students that try to impress him are Louise a skilled tomboy fighter voiced by Yuuna Mimura, Erwin a young swordsman voiced by Hiro Shimono (Zenitsu from Demon Slayer. We’ve been through this Hiro, why are you choosing lousy roles) and Iina a talented spear user voiced by Mikako Komatsu (Maki from Jujutsu Kaisen). Much like Well these three find themselves in the same boat in terms of succession. They’re younger siblings who despite having talent that rivals or surpasses their older siblings they won’t inherit anything due to the fact that they were born later (well ain’t that a bitch? Scene here: https://youtu.be/lXGOtXNBDmU). So Louise, Erwin, and Iina try to impress Well by going big game hunting where they get surrounded by a pack of wolves and saved by Well who was in the area. Sometime later the class gets invited to a garden party held by a duke who is only doing this to meet Well (again, golden goose). The duke wants to speak with Well in private where Well not wanting to be alone with an older man invites Louise, Erwin, and Iina with him saying that they’re a party. The duke allows this and Well gets introduced to Brantag the mage of the duke as well as Alfred’s master. Well tells him everything that happened between him and Alfred (it was sad) and Brantag thanks him for laying Alfred to rest. After this talk, Well and the others talk to each other where they apologize for trying to use each other for their own benefit (you are all selfish, idiots, and need to learn to communicate better) and form a real party together (scene here: https://youtu.be/EDJOGYFucXQ). Well’s luck keeps going when he returns the contents of Alfred’s magic bag to Brantag where he’ll receive 1000 gold coins (ohh~, that’s a lot of yen) and has inherited Alfred’s estate.
Not much really happens in episode 4. The episode starts with Well, his party, and Brantag on a flying ship to the capital. Along the way the ship gets attacked by a skeleton dragon (whose CGI is so poor that I swear it belongs in Berserk 2017. I mean just look at this thing it’s terrible. On top of that there was no reason to make it CGI. It doesn’t look good and instead of showing off your skills you just showed how you have no idea how to integrate CGI into your anime). Since Brantag doesn’t know holy magic it’s up to Well to save everyone (well that’s very responsible of you, send the kid off to his impending doom at the hands of a dragon). Well is successful at defeating the dragon (scene here: https://youtu.be/3Sn9cYPpRmE) and captures the bones and magic stone to take to the capital for money. They arrive safely at the capital where Well is greeted by the knights and bought before the king who makes Well a baronet a title that is one higher than his family (the littlest brother is making the family proud). With a new rank of nobility, the spotlight soon shines on Well as now many other nobles and church members are coming after him in the hopes of earning his favor or wedding their daughter off to him.
Episodes 5-8
Once again not much happens in episode 5. Well gets engaged to Elise voiced by Asuka Nishi (Ravel from Highschool DxD), a young priestess at the church who is called a saint because of her healing magic (scene here: https://youtu.be/HXQ3HHX_BMY). Throughout the episode, the two slowly start to open up to each other (that girl has got one of the fakest smiles I have ever seen) and Well even buys her an engagement ring. In another part of the episode Well makes Erwin his retainer shocking Louise and Iina who decide they want to be Well’s concubines (because of course that’s allowed here. I’m seriously starting to think Utah is from another world). Louise tries to “seduce” Well only to fail (I think she’s trying to seduce him. It’s either that or trying to do the Harlem Shake. Either way, I’m embarrassed for her. Scene here: https://youtu.be/_RV3EjuZuYM).
Episode 6 is a boring episode. Well gets tasked with other mages to take down a dragon (with one of them looking like what would happen if you turned a warrior class character into a mage). The mages defeat the dragon with ease, but then the real battle begins. With the dragon gone the monsters come out of hiding to take his throne and a fight breaks out between the knights and the monsters. Rather than focus on Well and the others on the frontlines, we instead focus on Elise who provides medical relief for the wounded soldiers all while hearing about Well and his brave exploits which inspire her to keep on healing even after she uses up all of her magic (what the hell!? You finally have a chance to show some good action and you instead focus on the healer healing people? Imagine if in the Star Wars prequels instead of focusing on the romance between Anakin and Padme they instead focused on Mace Windu remembering his past and what led him to join the Jedi Order. Would that be confusing or an improvement over the prequels?). In the end the monsters are all defeated and Well and the others are asked to stay in the capital for training (why don’t you just say what they really are? Corporate workers for the king). Elise moves in with Well and the others where we see she’s okay with concubines (of course she would be), so Iina and Louise become his concubines (scene here: https://youtu.be/UE_DqVNkl_E).
Nothing much happens in episode 7. Just a fighting tournament that goes by way too quickly and nothing of interest happens. The episode mostly focuses on Erwin who is the only member of the party who can’t use magic and is determined to win to show value to his teammates (of course we all know this cliché story. They’re not going to abandon him over something like this blah blah blah power of friendship).
In episode 8, 3 years have passed and Well and the others have now officially become adventurers. Well is excited about this as he believes he’ll now be free from doing missions for the king, but that dream gets shattered with the king requesting that he and the others investigate some ancient ruins left behind by a lost civilization (sorry Well, but you’re a tool for the government as long as you breathe). Brantag goes along with them where the group falls into a trap and gets teleported to the bottom of the ruins (two powerful mages and they couldn’t sense a magic trap). The group is then forced to fight their way up against golems (oh wow, memories of Persona 3 are flooding back to me. Throw in an abomination from Hell and it’ll be complete). The climb up is relentless as the golems constantly attack them in large waves and the group barely has time to rest and recharge (I’ll give them credit, they’re showing how resilient they are). They eventually reach a floor where they have to fight more golems and a dragon golem and Well with a kiss from Elise (finally) is able to defeat the dragon resulting in all the other golems shutting down. Well and Elise pass out (scene here: https://youtu.be/0w461SfA9y0) only to wake up in a safe area where the others found a treasure trove of knowledge from the ancient civilization such as airships and an ancient city (what is this, the set of Star Wars?).
Episodes 9-12
At the start of episode 9 Well and the others return from their mission safely and with everything they discovered their reward comes to 2 million gold coins per person meaning the group is getting a grand total of 10 million gold coins (oh my God they are rich). This news of course spreads around the kingdom which only fuels the jealousy of those who can’t stand Well. Well also discovers that somebody has been spreading rumors that he and the others died on their mission (well they almost did). Well and the others decide it’s time to leave the capital so they don’t incur the wrath of their haters. He decides to leave his mansion in the care of Roderich a spearman who has been trying desperately to be Well’s retainer for years. Roderich gladly accepts with tears in his eyes and even finds out who’s responsible for starting the rumors of Well’s death: Roderich’s father. Later on, Well and the others have a going away party inviting everyone who’s helped them out during their stay in the capital when all of a sudden a pink haired girl (who’s been stalking Well and the others all episode) comes busting in and rushes over to eat their fatty tuna. This pink glutton is Wilma the daughter of a noble that Well is friends with. She’s been watching him to see if he’s worthy to take care of her and feed her properly (scene here: https://youtu.be/Ys8eKk9aPAU). You see Wilma has what’s known as hero syndrome, an illness where magic is constantly running through her body. Because of this she has incredible superhuman strength and needs to eat a lot in order to replenish her strength (well feeding her won’t be a problem for Well. Not with all the money he’s got). She joins up with Well’s team as his bodyguard and we end the episode with Well and the others going to see his oldest brother Kurt who just received news about Well’s death and was pretty ecstatic about it (hate to burst your bubble there bro).
Episode 10 goes by rather fast. Well and the others have returned to Well’s homeland to purify soldiers who have become undead. While there we see Kurt has a huge disdain for Well (in his defense Well does live the good life. Still, he’s acting like a child) and wants nothing more than for Well to finish his business and get out. Well and the others purify the soldiers and return their armor and swords to the people of the land. However, Kurt orders the people to hand all their stuff over so that they can use it for iron (show respect for the dead, man). Well pulls out a block of iron and gives it to Kurt to shut him up. Well and the others leave only to return because the palace wants Well to take over his family’s territory (but they have to do it in a very sneaky and underhanded way. Sort of like politics). So Well and the others stay in his family’s territory where we see Kurt’s wife Amalie (damn, she’s a MILF. How’d she end up with him?) and his two boys offer up a prayer for the dead soldiers in place of Kurt who didn’t even show up for the funeral.
At the start of episode 11 Brantag tells Well that the capital has been wanting to develop Well’s family territory for some time. The problem is the leaders of the territory have been less than stellar in their eyes (given Well’s father and looking at Kurt I can’t argue with them). The capital can’t force Kurt out of his position as that would be overstepping their boundaries and cause panic in other territories. So, they had no choice but to get tricky and play an interesting game of chess. Their plan: Well returns to the territory, he flexes to earn favoritism with the people, the people demand Well become their new lord, Kurt attacks Well out of envy, Kurt dies, Well becomes lord, he develops the land, and the kingdom makes a profit out of all of this (it sounds complicated on paper but when put into action it flows perfectly like cooking a delicious meal). After Well hears all of this he finds himself unsure of what to do. If he becomes a lord the land and the people will thrive, but at the same time Kurt will either be exiled or killed (the latter is the obvious outcome) and his wife and children will lose their noble status. Well goes to Kurt and tries to get him to sign over the underdeveloped area to him, so they can avoid this messy outcome. Kurt refuses out of fear that giving Well even one speck of land will spell doom for him in the end. With no other option, Well decides he has no choice but to become the lord of his family’s territory. However, he refuses to go along with the plan of the capital and works out a plan where nobody hopefully has to die (now where’s the fun in that?). Well creates a bazaar in the town stealing customers away from Kurt’s inner circle, he pays Kurt’s inner circle to travel to the capital and learn from others to better their craft, he buys a house for Amalie to live in the capital safely with her children, and even plans to have Kurt join a convent so that he won’t be killed by those in the capital (they wouldn’t dare kill a man of the church). The plan works as Kurt finds himself alone and abandoned by his inner circle and having no other option but to attack Well just like he wanted (Kurt attacks Well, Well defeats his brother without killing him, banishes him and develops the land. In the end the capital will earn a profit from the development and Well’s family is safe. Everybody wins). Unfortunately, outside forces decide to interfere as Roderich’s dad hands Kurt a flute that can summon dragons.
In the final episode Well and Kurt meet out in the underdeveloped land where Kurt pulls out the dragon flute and plays it only to discover it’s not the dragon flute, but instead the flute of malice. This flute takes all the hatred of the user and morphs it into a monster. The only downside is the flute turns the user into an undead (you play with death you become death). At first Well is too paralyzed to kill his own brother (don’t be. Kill the asshole. The man was prepared to kill his own wife and children just to prove he was better than you), but quickly gets over it and kills him. Kurt’s remaining malice somehow made it to the capital and killed Roderich’s dad along with 11 other nobles (they deserved it). With Kurt dead Well becomes the new lord of his family’s territory, becomes a count, and is allowed to name his reward. Well requests the authority to give the title of nobility to two people, an authority that belongs to the king only and actually causes a bit of an outrage in the king’s court, but ultimately gets granted to Well. Well plans to give those titles to Kurt’s children once they come of age if they choose, meaning their futures are in safe hands (best uncle ever). The season ends with Well and the others in the middle of developing the land for the kingdom (Corbin: Question, where does the brothel and casino go?).
Final Thoughts
So that was the 8th son. . .kind of a waste of time. While not awful it’s not really all that good either. The characters aren’t really all that interesting as you never find yourself getting all that invested into them and Well’s character confuses me. Despite the fact that he got isekai’d, the character really doesn’t act like he comes from another world. In fact, the whole isekai’d thing seems rather pointless. He doesn’t really use the knowledge from his past life to give him an advantage in this world or bring new and innovative ideas from his world that could help this world. You could have told me that this was just a straight-up fantasy anime and I would have believed you. Like I said everything about this anime is generic from the world they’re in, to the politics, to magic, to the classes, etc. The first two episodes were good and really got me interested in the anime, but after those episodes the anime just goes down a generic slope and tells a story we’ve seen a number of times in isekai animes. Actually, going behind isekai standards this anime falls below average. Just when it seems like the anime is going to get interesting it instead opts to focus on things we don’t care about and let all the interesting things happen off screen. The animation and music are nothing special and the action leaves much to be desired. Like I said, when it seems they’re going to have some action they instead either fast forward through it or have it shown off screen. What kind of sense does that make?
Final Score
The final score for the 8th son is a 3/10. A pretty bad isekai that doesn’t do anything awful but doesn’t do anything good either. It’s just there and that’s pretty much it. I can’t really recommend this anime as I think there are better isekai anime worth checking, but if you’re looking to waste time check this anime out. Will there be a second season of this anime? I highly doubt it. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.