The Unwanted Undead Adventurer (2024)

[望まぬ不死の冒険者]

Director: Noriaki Akitaya
Studio: Connect
Starring: Ryota Suzuki, Mikako Komatsu, Ikumi Hasegawa
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
A struggling adventurer is killed while dungeoncrawling, only reawaken as an undead monster, but he does not let this stop him from pursuing his ambition of becoming a Mithril-Class Adventurer.

Impressions:
First off, while this is a pseudo-reincarnation story, it's not isekai and the game mechanics are not explicit, so if those elements bother you, you won't have to worry about them here. If I was going to be flippant, I'd say this is a story of a Pokemon's evolutionary journey. Actually, unlike a lot of dungeoncrawlers I've seen recently, this one really puts in the work of the worldbuilding, which makes the dungeoncrawling parts more rewarding to watch. While Rentt isn't the most compelling protagonist out there, the way he influences the characters around him is interesting. It almost has an It's a Wonderful Life feel when you see the influence he's had. I particularly like his relationship with Lorraine. If you want a real "more than married, less than lovers" pairing, here it is. We close on a major evolutionary turning point which could serve as a decent enough "leave them wanting more" conclusion, or could easily segue into a followup if it's forthcoming. (You'll probably have to go to the source material if you want the continuation of the story, I imagine.) I was pretty well satisfied with what I got and would gladly recommend it for a watch.

Rating:
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