English Dub Season Review: The Unwanted Undead Adventurer Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Rentt Faina (Alex Hom) has hunted monsters for the last ten years.  Sadly, he’s not great at his job, stuck hunting slimes and goblins for a few coins each day.  His luck turns when he finds an undiscovered path.  At the path’s end, he meets his demise in the maw of a legendary dragon.  But he wakes up as an undead bag of bones!  He sets out to achieve Existential Evolution and rejoin the land of the living.

Our Take:

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer is an anime adaptation of a Japanese light novel series written by Yū Okano and illustrated by Jaian.  It was directed by Noriaki Akitaya, and Yukie Sugawara wrote the script.  It is produced by Connect, known for producing other shows like Chaos Dragon, Ange Vierge, and Slow Loop.  Takao Sano handled the character designs, and Shun Narita composed the music.  The opening theme song, “Immortal,” is performed by Juvenile, and the ending theme song, “Keep Your Fire Burning,” is performed by Mao Abe.

Many adventurers, especially the rookies, are forced to confront death sooner or later.  However, this adventurer learns that being dead is the least of his problems, and boy, did he find out the hard way.  This sums up the concept of this latest fantasy adventure anime, in which a down-on-his-luck adventurer discovers that death is only the beginning of his new journey.  The Unwanted Undead Adventurer is a fantasy anime showcasing that being dead actually has some benefits, especially when they’re seeking to become the greatest adventurer who ever lived.  But does the series also have enough merits to keep its future alive?

The first season of The Unwanted Undead Adventurer centers on a Bronze-class adventurer named Rentt Faina, who makes a difference in the town of Maalt but lacks the profound skills to become a Mythril-class adventurer.  After being stuck in Bronze class for a decade, Rentt sets out to make his dream a reality.  However, his adventuring life comes to an unexpected end when he discovers a hidden path in the Moon’s Reflection Labyrinth and ends up being devoured by a dragon.  But he finds himself resurrected as an undead skeleton.  As a result, Rentt begins his new journey of returning to normal with the help of a high-level magician and reliable friend, Lorraine Vivie (Corey Pettit).

The episodes consist of Rentt attempting to achieve Existential Evolution to return to civilization while keeping his new identity hidden from other people.  Along the way, he discovers unexpected ways of leveling up and gaining profound power in his skills.  Rentt also encounters and helps plenty of other adventurers and civilians amid his quest, including rookie adventurer Rina Rupaage (Abigail Blythe) in “The Rookie and the Veteran”.  When it comes to anime involving adventurers, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer certainly offers what we expect from its formula.  You have a protagonist chasing their dream despite the obstacles and a reincarnation element that limits yet enhances a character’s capabilities regarding their skills.  While I don’t think it offers anything else besides those narrative elements, I didn’t mind its undead presence, execution-wise.

The show’s protagonist, Rentt Faina, follows the usual personality traits of other anime heroes, mainly his dream of greatness.  Throughout the series, Rentt perseveres in achieving his accomplishment of being a Mythril-class adventurer despite his unusual appearance.  But, of course, it’s not without a few issues that could dampen his chances, including him being the suspect in the mysterious kidnappings of young adventurers.  There’s also the matter of the downsides residing in Rentt’s new form, including his cannibalistic urges.  But despite those issues, Rentt’s generosity, intelligence, and goodwill toward other adventurers are always ahead of his own needs.  The best examples come from the episodes “Bronze-class Exam” and “Magical Contract”, where Rentt partakes in the practical exam with swordsman Rize Dunner (Aiden Call) and sorceress Laura Satii (Lexa Childress).  With him being a Bronze-class adventurer for ten years, Rentt assists them in gaining a better understanding of the ups and downs of an adventurer amid the exam.  While nothing special regarding his journey, Rentt’s selflessness and inspiration toward others make him another adventurer worth rooting for.  Additionally, Alex Hom did a suitable job voicing the undead protagonist.

The season’s plot offered plenty of diverting elements to bypass its usual RPG-like adventurer formula, especially the Existential Evolution that Rentt seeks to gain.  Unfortunately, it also included a couple of them that were rarely explored throughout the first season.  The worst offender is the plot point involving the disappearance of the novice adventurers introduced in “Magical Contract”.  This resulted in Rentt being the primary suspect in the crime, forcing him to tackle side quests unrelated to the guild for the remaining season.  It was last brought up at the end of “A New Weapon and Power” and was never mentioned again afterward, leaving me to question its existence.  I’m guessing this plot point will be brought back in season two, but even if that’s the case, it was still pretty crummy that it introduced something interesting, only not to give it more attention after that.  I also thought that the rookie adventurer Rina Rupaage (Abigail Blythe), introduced in “The Rookie and the Veteran”, would play an essential role in the season.  However, she was never mentioned again after that episode until the season finale.  Evidently, the series was more focused on going through the repetitive narrative motions than committing to its intriguing ideas.

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer was my first exposure to Connect’s animation style.  I knew nothing about Connect except it is a division of Silver Link, the same company behind other anime like Bofuri and The Misfit of Demon King Academy.  That alone is enough to pique my curiosity toward the studio’s presentation.  While I wouldn’t say it’s the best-looking animation I’ve seen, it certainly has some merits in its designs and action scenes to keep my interest alive.

Overall, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer may not have revolutionized the adventurer genre, but its enjoyability benefits by preventing itself from stopping dead in its tracks.  The series periodically falls into some familiar trappings of its first season, including plot elements that don’t get resolved until the next season or at all.  As a result, it can feel a bit repetitive in the final few episodes regarding Rentt’s side quests.  However, regarding everything else, like its protagonist and animation, it’s watchable enough to satisfy specific fans of adventurer fantasy anime, even though it might not bring doubters back from the dead.  Regardless, I wouldn’t mind seeing what it’ll do for its second season, especially regarding its unresolved dilemma involving the missing novice adventurers.