Winter 2023 Impressions: Trails of Cold Steel, Reborn to Master the Blade

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel – Northern War

Short Synopsis: To protect her hometown from the Erebonian Empire and to distinguish herself from her grandfather’s disloyalty, Lavie enlists in the Northern Jaegers where she’ll do whatever it takes to carry out the mission. Now this rule breaker must form a platoon to embark on a dangerous recon mission into enemy lines—will her mission be a success?

Lenlo: I was really hoping for a bit more… pizzaz from Trails of Cold Steel. After hearing about the videogame from some friends who wouldn’t shut up about it for years, I thought that it would surely be something decent. Right? But like Mario says, it’s about as generic as you would think. Info Dumps and mediocre monsters, lackluster production, there’s just nothing here to really love. So excuse me here at the end of this preview spree if I don’t write anything more then “Don’t”.
Potential: Don’t

Mario: We are at the tail end of this Seasonal Preview. Legend of Heroes is just as generic as its title. It spends all the focus on the settings, but forgets to add characters worth remembering or tell a story worth following at all. The cast includes a female soldier, and two lackeys who spill the information of the world blatantly – even at one point they remark “a kid should know this story”, and then proceeds to infodump us. There’s a hint of an upcoming uprising, but I don’t hold my breath here. The show offers me nothing to care about.
Potential: 0%

Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire

Short Synopsis: Old hero gets reincarnated as a girl, then promptly defeats a giant monster while still in nappies.

Lenlo: Old man reincarnated as a hot girl with all the powers you can ask for. Sure. Maybe if it was playing the whole thing off as a joke rather then having a shot in the OP that explicitly focuses on the female casts tits, telling us exactly what this show is about, it could be fun. But really it’s just the lowest common denominator shlock. Seriously, don’t introduce them as babies and then sexualize them in the OP right away. It feels way to much like grooming.
Potential: 0%

Amun: “I may be a baby, but the power isn’t so bad.” That is no bamboozle, the actual line from the show. There’s an overpowered infant who becomes an overpowered (and slightly bratty) girl. Throw in a duel and a fight with a large monster thing and some cousin love…all while an old man masquerades as his “ideal cute granddaughter” (their words, not mine). I’ll give a few merits for having a slightly unique arrangement of the common isekai components – but that’s really not enough to make a show worth watching. (I must say, “I may be a baby…” was a pretty funny line though, I appreciate that).
Potential: 0%