In a time when fantasy anime saturates every seasonal lineup, interesting main characters mean everything for shows to stick out. From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman certainly sticks out for me this season. The anime, from Studio Passione and Hayabusa Film, adapts the same-titled light novel by Shigeru Sagazaki, which started serialization on the Shosetsuka ni Naro website in November 2020 and then was acquired by Square Enix in April 2021. The English version of the light novel is licensed by J-Novel. The anime adaptation was announced in August 2024.
I’m not familiar with either the light novel or the manga, other than passing it by on the shelves at bookstores here in Japan. I never picked it up, but the cover art featuring Beryl was always intriguing to me, as we usually don’t get “older” main characters such as him. Often, what makes isekai and fantasy anime stale is that all the main characters from different series tend to blend into one another, at least in my mind.
I tire of the young businessman in Japan who gets hit by a truck and sent to another world, or the fantasy setting with a teenage boy who happens to be incredibly overpowered upon introduction. From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman isn’t an isekai, just fantasy – which I tend to prefer over isekai these days due to isekai often doing the same old song and dance for a decade now.
But beyond that, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman‘s main character, Beryl, is a fascinating main character who only continues to shine through Hiroaki Hirata’s (Sanji in One Piece) voice work. Episode 1 kept me engaged and excited, and I think, so far, this anime will be a breath of fresh air to people indecisive about which fantasy anime to pick up this season.
From the Country to the City
Beryl Gardinant is a sword instructor living in a small village with his elderly parents. To his surprise, a former student shows up with news that Beryl has been chosen to teach the elite knights of the Liberion Order. Despite Beryl thinking himself too old for such a position, he heads to the capital and meets many of his former pupils. Episode one establishes who Beryl is as a character quite clearly. He’s content, or maybe even too complacent, with his countryside life and doesn’t find himself particularly special or powerful. His humbleness can be quite surprising given the pedestal that his former students seem to place him on.
The most charming thing about Beryl happens near the end of From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman Episode 1, where he faces the vice commander of the Liberion Order in a skirmish. Beryl isn’t confident in his abilities, but, to be blunt, he kicks this guy’s ass. However, Beryl doesn’t do it in a way that is disrespectful or mocking of his opponent. Beryl intends to never harm or humiliate; he simply wants to teach.
Other than Beryl’s likable personality, another notable component of him is his voice. Hiroaki Hirata, age 61, is the perfect actor to cast as Beryl. His low, bassy, yet aged voice brings Beryl, as chill as he is, to life. Many of us have heard Hirata-san’s voice through Sanji from One Piece. Sanji is a much more animated and loud character compared to Beryl, so it’s fun to hear this more relaxed and mellow side of Hirata-san’s voice. His performance reminds me of how many older Japanese men speak – they kind of lazily slur their words together, and Hirata-san nails this. While I’m hopeful that this series won’t fall off as far as story, I’d at least tune in every week to hear Hiroaki Hirata as Beryl.
Other voice actors include Yuki Hirose as Curuni Cruceiel, Hitomi Ueda as Surena Lysandra, and Nao Toyama as Allucia Citrus, all of whom also put on wonderful performances. The character designs in the anime, done by Satsuki Hayasaka, stay faithful to the light novels’ original designs by Tetsuhiro Nabeshima (I love the little piece of white hair Beryl has; it’s a small, but nice touch). I adore each supporting character we’ve encountered so far, from the seemingly put-together Allucia, the strong and feisty Surena, and adorably upbeat Curuni. The lineup of female characters is promising so far, and I can’t wait to see what adventures await them.
From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman surprised me with it’s sudden use of 3D animation, but don’t let that scare you! I found the 3D models used during the brawl near the end of the episode to be presented quite well. 3D animation in anime can still be quite scary to see, even after decades of use. But From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman impressed me by not going too over-the-top with its use of 3D models, like in The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses (if you know, you know). The fight still felt faithful to 2D animation, and didn’t ruin the tone for me. I hope the studio can stay consistent throughout the seasons, as we’ve seen anime struggle with 3D animation before, especially late in the season.
There hasn’t been an anime season not packed with isekai/fantasy in several years. It can be overwhelming to filter through them all to decide what to actually watch. I’d give From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman a chance, even if simply for Hiroaki Hirata’s voice work and Beryl as the main character.
I hope I don’t eat my words later in the season, but I’m hopeful for this series, and I’ll be back next week for a review on Episode 2, which premieres on April 12th. Meanwhile, be sure to vote in our seasonal anime poll for your favorite show.
You can watch From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman on Amazon Prime.
©Shigeru Sagazaki, Tetsuhiro Nabeshima / SQUARE ENIX/ “From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman” Production Committee
Participate In Discussions