English Dub Season Review: From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Beryl Gardenant (Cory Yee), a middle-aged swordsman running a dojo in the backwaters, lives a quiet life until Allucia (Ashley Bell), former student and Commander of the Royal Order of Knights, appears!  Beryl’s life is about to change dramatically!  City life, old students, new friends, and formidable foes.  It’s all too much.  But after years of training, he has mad skills, and he’s been dubbed “the backwater swordmaster.”

Our Take:

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman is an anime adaptation of a light novel series written by Shigeru Sagazaki and illustrated by Tetsuhiro Nabeshima.  It is directed by Akio Kazumi, with Kunihiko Okada writing the script.  It is produced by Passione and Hayabusa Film, with Passione being known for producing other anime series, such as High School DxD Hero, Ishura, and Loner Life in Another World.  The character designs were handled by Satsuki Hayasaka, and Yasuharu Takanashi composed the music.  The opening theme song, “Heroes”, is performed by Takanori Nishikawa, and the ending theme, “Alright!!!”, is performed by Flow.

Being a swordsman has its quirks, primarily one involving being hailed for the backwater skills and teachings, even after retirement.  However, even in retirement, a swordsman’s duty is never done, especially when their former students return to seek their help once more.  This defines the latest anime, involving a simple reunion that transforms into a grander adventure.  Its protagonist, Beryl Gardenant, reluctantly comes out of retirement to train in the capital with his former student, Allucia Citrus, the leader of the Liberion Order knights.  Amid his training, he comes across the other students he trained with, including black-ranked adventurer Surena Lysandra (Chelsea Krause), knight Curuni Crueciel (Kana Shimanuki), mage Ficelle Harbeller (Julz Roche), and Rose Marbleheart (Shannon O’Brien), the lieutenant of the Holy Order of the Church of Sphene.  Beryl also encounters several obstacles that test his backwater techniques and socialization skills, notably raising a young pickpocket named Mewi Freya (Wissall Homayun) and a power struggle occurring in a foreign country.

In terms of its concept, Old Country Bumpkin plays out similarly to other anime involving harem teams and protagonists returning from retirement, with I Left My A-Rank Party being one example of the former.  Considering my current progress in that show as I was writing this, it was the only example that came to mind at the time.  Additionally, it utilized specific elements drawn from those anime while invoking a laid-back tone that undermines the protagonist’s reunion with their old friends.  The result is conventional at best, which would delight or bore specific fans of the genre. But it’s also delightful enough to deliver a soothing and often action-packed series worth coming out of retirement for.

One of the narrative elements worth mentioning is the “villain-of-the-week” scenario, with some of the episodes highlighting Beryl and his comrades battling against a different enemy.  This includes a high-level monster known as Zeno Grable in “The Old Country Bumpkin Takes Flight With a Monster” and the Church of Sphene’s corrupted bishop, Reveos Sarleon, and his undead army in “The Old Country Bumpkin Faces the Dead”.  These episodes have a formulaic vibe that poses a risk of being too repetitive in the season’s plot, especially when some of them seem like filler plots designed to fill their quota.  Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.  

In addition to the action and subtle charm, those episodes prove to be interconnected in Beryl’s journey, particularly with the arcs presented.  The most notable one is Beryl’s guardianship of Mewi, which began at the end of its fourth episode, “Takes Flight With a Monster,” in which she turned to crime to rescue her deceased older sister.  Following the events of “Faces the Dead,” Beryl takes on the role of a parent to the orphaned Mewi to help her turn her life around.  Granted, the moments involving Beryl and his students were nothing but amusing.  However, the father/daughter relationship between him and Mewi makes the show’s heart beat louder than the sounds of clashing swords, which helped elevate its conventional harem tropes long enough to embrace its heartfelt aesthetics.  Heck, I would even watch the show dedicated only to these two characters outside Beryl’s swordsman duties.  It may not reach the emotional heights it’s intended to achieve regarding the direction, but it hits those familiar storytelling beats well enough to warrant the side plot’s existence. 

The series also earns credit for featuring a middle-aged swordsman as its protagonist, unlike other harem fantasy anime.  Those shows typically feature a young kid, teenager, or young man surrounded by numerous beautiful girls, which is often seen as a significant selling point for their fan service.  So, it’s easy to consider that having a slightly older man serve as the genre’s protagonist was a pretty big gamble to bet on, particularly given the age difference between him and his female students.  This is the case for Allucia, who secretly has a crush on Beryl throughout the season and easily gets jealous whenever he’s with another woman.  Fortunately, this refreshing direction paid off quite well, as it focused on Beryl seeing himself as past his prime until Allucia’s offer had him honing his swordsman skills once more.  It was more than enough to endure most of its familiar narrative beats without relying heavily on its intended fan service and questionable choices, especially when Beryl is constantly facing amusingly awkward scenarios between him and his students.

Regarding its English dub cast, the show is, unfortunately, another example of a dub that lacks authenticity in its vocal performances.  From the first episode, the direction for the line delivery and dialogue appeared to be surprisingly underwhelming, causing me to hope it would slightly improve in later episodes.  Sadly, that wasn’t the case.  They’re not irritatingly terrible, but there have been some occasions where their acting sounded more forced than genuine.  Cory Yee was a decent choice for Beryl, as his voice suitably conveyed the gentle and generous tone of his father-figure appearance, and Ashley Bell was somewhat passable as the tough yet vulnerable Allucia.  The only character I could think of who was wildly miscast regarding the dub was Beryl’s father.  I couldn’t find the name of the actor who voiced him, but he sounded way too young to voice someone who’s much older than Beryl.  Thankfully, Beryl’s father only appeared in the first episode and the season finale.

As for the animation style, it’s another form of presentation whose direction highly depends on a viewer’s preferences.  The animation, produced by Passione and Hayabusa Film, primarily consists of 2D animation but also utilizes CGI for the show’s action sequences, particularly the swordsmanship techniques employed by the characters.  When it focuses heavily on traditional animation, the show becomes a properly vibrant depiction of its laidback tone and art direction.  However, when the CGI animation for the characters’ battles appears, that’s when things become a bit divisive.  I usually don’t vibe with 3D animation in anime, not just because of how clunky the characters’ movements looked but also how jarring it contrasted with the 2D backgrounds.  

However, From Old Country Bumpkin is a rare case that makes the CGI appear slightly more tolerable than I anticipated, but still felt a bit sluggish.  Most of the time, the CGI was serviceable in highlighting the characters’ authentic swordsmanship techniques and even the battles that occurred throughout the season.  Beryl’s duel with Spur in episode six and the confrontation against the assassins in the penultimate episode are just a couple of examples that effectively utilize the balance of 2D and CGI.  They didn’t provide a significant revolutionary impact in its presentation, either technically or emotionally. But, at the very least, they’re not uncanny enough for me to retire from the series faster before someone could draw their sword.

Overall, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman slices its way through most of its formulaic aspects to deliver a tolerable laidback anime that also doesn’t shy away from its action elements.  Admittedly, I had my doubts about it being a chore to watch after watching the first few episodes, particularly due to its harem narrative elements and average voice performances.  Not to mention, it marks the latest series to incorporate CGI effects into its traditional 2D presentation, posing the risk of it looking uncanny if improperly executed.  Fortunately, the approach to its laidback tone was comforting enough to inject some enjoyment into its by-the-numbers concept and likable protagonist.  The final two episodes regarding Rose Marbleheart stumbled near the finish line due to the show’s poor handling of its predictable twist.  Other than that, the series is a tolerable addition to the low self-esteem hero/harem fantasy anime catalog, utilizing its swordsman and narrative skills to carve out a niche for itself in the genre.