We had the opportunity to watch and review the first two episodes of I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? ahead of the show’s July 4 premiere, thanks to HIDIVE, which hosted a North American premiere event at this year’s Anime Expo in LA. HIDIVE is streaming the anime, and I recommend checking it out, if only because the opening theme included bagpipes.
I Parry Everything – A Nice Start Despite the Rush
The anime starts with the backstory of Noor, the main character of the show, and explains his motivations to start adventuring. Noor loses his mother at quite a young age and embarks on a quest of self-improvement. The story itself is a classic in fantasy but is still touching, and will make you like the character of Noor quite fast. However, this backstory felt rushed, as if the anime was trying to get to Noor’s adulthood as fast as possible. This seemed like a waste, with the whole sequence of Noor trying his hands at every skill family but failing each time taking a few minutes in the first episode while it could have been easily a whole story arc on its own. It is possible this will be expanded on later, or that there are other reasons the story needed to get to Noor’s adulthood as fast as possible, but it is still unclear at this point of the story.
I Parry Everything – A Review of the OP-But-Does-Not-Realize-It Trope
The MC of the show, Noor, falls into the category of OP characters who are not really aware of how powerful they are. It is entertaining to watch at the start, and it makes sense in the context of the story as Noor was basically a hermit for many years and he had no frame of reference to compare to. Given his interactions with others during this episode, it seems this aspect also may be used as a comedic point with good success. However, I only hope this does not get overused as the show goes on as it can be the case for similar shows, as this kind of misunderstanding stops making sense very fast as the character is confronted with different situations.
I Parry Everything – Charismatic Characters
The first couple of episodes from I Parry Everything introduced a slew of interesting characters that we should review. Aside from Noor, who monopolized most of the first episode, we are introduced towards the end of episode 1 to Princess Lynne and her knight Ines Harness (What a name!), as well as the king and Prince Rein during episode 2. These seem to be notable characters, and they are immediately likable given what we see during the 2 episodes. Lynne is a free spirit who does not stop at anything to express her gratitude, Ines shows great deference to Noor even though he is a commoner and even tries to educate him without being cocky when he makes a faux-pas, and the king was overall a cool dude despite Noor’s attitude. The Noor-Lynne-Ines trio seems to be the main party going forward, and given the three’s contrasting personalities, this promises to deliver good banter and amusing situations as we go on.
I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? is a solid new anime for high-fantasy fans and Isekai fans alike. This is not an Isekai, but Isekai fans should be very familiar with the different tropes of the OP MC. While I do not expect it to top the charts, it could be an enjoyable pick for those who are interested in the genre. And if this review piqued your interest, you can watch I Parry Everything on HIDIVE, with episode 1 premiering on July 4.
HIDIVE describes the plot of I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? as:
The Kingdom of Clays faces a dire crisis: an assassination attempt has just been made on its own Princess Lynneburg, and now its neighboring countries eye the aftermath like starving vultures, plotting the Kingdom’s downfall. The ensuing conflict will shape the face of the continent for centuries to come…but Noor doesn’t have a clue about any of that! Having freshly arrived at the royal capital after over a decade of rigorous, isolated training at his mountain home, he’s dead set on achieving his childhood dream of becoming an adventurer, even if the only skills he possesses are useless ones. Sure, Noor can “parry” thousands of swords in the span of a single breath, but everybody knows you need more than that if you want to be an adventurer! Our hero’s road to making his dream come true will be long(?) and arduous(?)—but if there’s one thing Noor’s not afraid of, it’s some good ol’ fashioned hard work!
Hiroshi Fukuyama is directing the anime at studio OLM with Chikako Noma as the character designer. Shigeru Muraskoshi is in charge of the series composition. The cast includes:
- Daiki Hamano as Noor
- Maekawa Ryoko as Lynne
- Nanako Mori as Ines Harness
- Jin Yamanoi as King Clays
- Junta Terashima as Rein Clays
- Shinichiro Miki as Sig
- Kenta Miyake as Dandalg
- Megumi Toyoguchi as Mianne
- Toshihiko Seki as Carew
- Hidenari Ugaki as Oken
- Wataru Hatano as Sain
© Nabeshiki/ Earth Star Entertainment / “I Parry Everything” Production Committee
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