Radiant

so based on the story so far the anime is about men and woman who control chaos to fight chaos creatures

my main problem is the mc is bland and most of the normal human characters feel un-redeemable, they essentially treat people who control chaos as alpha stigma barres and that is where the problem starts, so they treat thier protectors like trash until its time for protecting and then there is still a chance they are going to be hurling insults while they are being protected, and the main character is meant to be ok with that, to be fair his goal boils down to ... i will become the hokage and then everyone will love us and the acceptance of the abuse from the normal people is to the point where some of the villians are just wizards who are tired of being punching bags

the music feels quite generic too, it feels like you could insert it into most other shonen shows and it would fit ok

overall i give the show a 5, i've seen much worse

I've heard that the manga is different, I don't know how its different so this will be my critique on the anime alone.

Radiant had the potential to be something far greater, it even displayed that for a portion of the show, don't simply look at the score I or anyone else have given it and pass it off as bad.

Radiant is your basic shonen anime with your pointy haired snot-nosed brat protagonist who wants to save everyone and stop the bad guys. Nothing really unique there. A good chunk of the show is spent dabbling in miscellaneous adventures that don't add anything to the ... story, this is where most people dropped the show and why Radiant is rated so lowly. I would say Radiant doesn't actually get to be pretty good until the second arc and the climax of the second arc (which is basically a quarter of the show.) If Radiant had pushed out content as heart-racing and emotionally moving as the second arc did but for the entire show instead of wasting screen-time, then the show would have easily been an 8 or a 9. Radiant very much makes me think of Black Clover in this way, an extremely mediocre and unoriginal start of the show, the setting, and an unneeded time waster of an opening explaining the show to us every episode LOL. But with patience and time you'll see that there is something more to this show.

Unfortunately I can really only commend Radiant on a job well done for about 5 episodes but I still enjoyed this show and am looking forward to the season 2 since it was announced at the end of the last episode. I hope season 2 will continue with the level of content that the second arc ended with.

As someone who discovers the series with the manga, I was quite hyped when I learn that it would be adapted. I try to like it, I mean I consider the manga to be one of the best shonen I've read, but na the anime is mediocre and as an adaptation it's trash. I'm giving it a 5 only because if you consider it as a kids show for a young audience it's not that bad.

So the anime follow Seth a sorcerer whose goal is to find the radiant, which is the supposed nest of the nemesis a race of monsters who fall from the ... sky and kill most people they touch. On his quest, he is quickly joined by 2 companions Meli and Doc.

To begin with some positif:
- The anime look good, be it the environments or the characters.
- sound wise both the opening and ending are really good, and aside from the MC the VA are well choose.

And that's it, the story and character are also probably not that terrible but I can only see them as degenerated versions so who know.

Concerning the problems:
- the passing is bad
- the characters are rather annoying especially Seth which is your typical shounen MC stupid but sturdy and determine
- It's cliché everywhere

And the main problem: it's one of the worst adaptation I've seen, think a mix of Black Clover and Tokyo Ghoul. The tone of the series is way more childish, for example in one of Seth flashback we see other children beating him which trigger his power, in the manga, it's because they were taking a knife to torture him). That alone it wouldn't have been much of a problem but combined with the fact that they made every character stupid, add more moral and remove the part which show why people have reasons to fear sorcerers, when you combine all of that it just feels like a version for stupid (or children, it's kind of the same thing).
The characters really being the worst part, Meli is a different person and Seth now doesn’t develop at all and stay the morron that he is at the begining. And they add useless filler while slowing the whole thing.

Conclusion: you should try the manga and if you need to entertain children for a few hours and want a show a little less stupid than your average kiddy show then that anime could do the job.

Radiant, a foray into a world ravaged by demons plummeting from the sky, presents a premise that initially seems like a familiar journey through the Shonen landscape. Demons called Nemesis cause havoc, survivors are cursed, and a lucky bunch can wield Fantasia as sorcerers. While this setup echoes the Shonen formula, Radiant tries to put its own spin on things, even if it takes a while to uncover.

In the midst of Radiant's well-trodden foundations—complete with a youthful and naive protagonist, extravagant battles, and an impossible mission—there are some elements that appear to set it apart. The series introduces the notion of sorcerers as an oppressed ... minority, a refreshing twist, and their plight under the scrutiny of the Inquisition adds intrigue. As Seth, Mélie, and Doc take center stage and embark on their mission in Rumble Town, the scope of the world's complexity becomes evident.

While Radiant's first season allocates much of its time to character introductions and world-building, there's a sense of inconsistency as certain moments might feel less impactful. As the story unfolds, the narrative starts to find its footing, leading to a more pronounced conflict in the latter half that concludes in an engaging manner, leaving room for anticipation.

Radiant's maiden voyage might not be a resounding triumph, yet it does manage to capture some attention—particularly from those with a passing interest in anime. For enthusiasts of the Shonen genre, it enters the scene with a degree of promise, treading familiar ground while attempting to infuse it with a different perspective. The show's visuals boast a lively quality, and its core characters are well-rounded, lending it a semblance of uniqueness. What stands out is Radiant's subtle exploration of real-world themes, coupled with a focus on character evolution that slightly distinguishes it from the typical Shonen blueprint.

I just... I can't enjoy it
I mean I would have dropped the anime at episode three or four out of boredom had I not read the original material.

I don't blame people who still enjoyed the anime, while being stripped from almost everything that truly made its success, but I've watched here and there a few episodes depending on the particular scenes I wanted to see animated and it just hurts to watch.

So if people were wondering why they find the adaptation kind of boring or bland, I'll explain, while avoiding spoilers as much as possible.

The anime is slow. Like, Naruto-level slow. And I forgave that ... 15 years ago, but I can't do that past 2017. Especially since the original material is quite quick-paced and always seems to know where it's going.

Second, the characters are off? Like, all of them? I mean, even Mélie, whose character is so tied to the storyline, somehow looks like a weaker, less capable version of herself ? It's a shame since the author is so attached to giving his feminine characters space to develop and stand their ground... And why is Seth so bland? He's actually supposed to be a thoughtful, genuine, witty character you know ? (at least after his origin-story arc)

Then, while I know it's so tied to the language it was written in, but the lines were supposed to be so direct, precise, and full of jokes and puns... I can actually guess the adaptation is not that far from the japanese-translated material... Because culture is tied to language. And, well, those characters were supposed to be French. (I'll miss you Dragunov...)

I've seen people praise the coloring, but I'm so used to the author amazing color-spread and beautiful color palettes, I just wish they had someone like that to adjust the lighting. The anime scenes look bland in comparison...

The animation is barely passable. On today's standards I would say it's awful. The characters lack expressiveness, the way they move barely gives any emotion...

In a nutshell, this version is both sexist and disrespectful of the manga. If you can, learn French and get the original material. The English translation is decent too. But then, if you enjoy this version somehow, I'm glad, for real ! I just want people to know that it could have been even better

Radiant is a first for me and the anime community in that it is a french manga (yes, apparently they do exist) turned into an anime. This alone compelled me to check out the anime as it was something different. At least, that's what I initially thought.

Story - 5

I thought that with a french manga we would get an original story with a different perspective on the medium we know and love. Instead, I got just another cliche ridden shounen. Which if executed well can turn out pretty good. Unfortunately, this is not one of those times. From the beginning I could tell this ... was going to be a disappointment as the first episode was probably the most boring first episode of any anime I had seen in recent memory. Now, I'm not one to make knee jerk reactions after one episode so I stuck around to see how the story would play out. As expected they kept the same style at the same sluggish pace. The story for the most part was slow, boring, and what felt like filler even though this is a decently sized series at 21 episodes. Even when the story gets to its "hype" moments later on they still feel underwhelming just because of how the show was handled. So the story was lacking, but there are ways around this.

Characters - 5

That way is compelling characters which this story has very few of. Off the bat we are introduced to our main character Seth, a sorcerer, who acts very much like your standard shounen protagonist. His power isn't very creative either so its not like he stands out from the crowd very much. The side kicks that go alongside our main character have nice designs but personality is lacking. As the series progresses we are introduced to a few more from the cast who in my opinion are far more interesting then our main group. Yet, they don't stick around for very long but I'm hopeful they will play a more vital role in the future.

Animation - 7

I was surprised that a foreign property like Radiant would have some nice animation and art so it was a pleasant surprise. The animation stays consistent for the most part and its easy on the eyes. The characters themselves do not look cookie cutter which I like. They look like they actually have some personality even if that is sadly not the case. Action scenes are decently handled as well. Overall, for a non Japanese manga turned anime the animation was quite good.

Sound - 8

By far and away this is the main reason why you should watch Radiant. The opening song alone is straight fire and instantly gets me hyped for the coming episode. Even if you don't end up watching the anime, at least watch the opening. The ending song is decent and the voice acting is fine as far as I can tell, but the opening is something else.

Enjoyment - 6

The show started off slow and most of the filler episodes which took up a good bit were boring, but the content towards the end was decent enough. The characters outside of a couple later on were not very compelling nor was I interested in their motivations or journey. I liked the music and the animation though so maybe I'm just a sucker for a good OP, but overall it was a decent enough watch. I am curious to see where the story will go next as of the time of writing this a season 2 was announced. Here's hoping for some more compelling story lines. My recommendation would be to check out the opening and then decide from there.

Story-
The story is clear cut on what the protagonist's objective is. That can be a good thing but it's too simple to get me to continue to watch.

Art-
Art is what i'd expect from a shounen. It's not bad but not spectacular.

Sound
The sound wasn't too distracting and I'm somewhat in favor of the opening.

Characters-
... The protagonist has an irritating personalty, shows little gratitude, and is so thick headed that it's sickening. A supporting character is just there for the sake of disruption and the other is there for comic relief.

These can be good things but there's not much that makes me love this characters enough to continue.

Enjoyment-
It's not great but I don't hate.

Overall-
Just another generic shounen.

I really want to like this show, it does have everything that I look for in anime/manga. A fantasy world, magic systems - and a pretty cool magic system at that. And I think of shonen anime/manga as a comfy and safe genera that I'm always happy to just lose myself in.

That being said, every time I find myself getting into this story. Getting into the world setup and the plot starting to move along. A character (usually the main, or doc) has to open their mouth and ruin it for me.

Right now, my only real complaint that's keeping me from being less ... harsh on this show is. The main character is just too dumb. At first I thought he was regular level shonen hero dumb. Which is fine, you learn to love the dimwitted hero with a heart of gold. Or at least I do. But Seth is really pushing the boundary of 'naive if not a little slow' to 'how does he know to dress himself?' almost to 'if he feels hunger pains, does someone still have to tell him to eat?'

Case in point, it's season 2 and other characters have to remind Seth what his goal in life is. You know the main plot, his 'I'm going to find the one piece/become hokage/catch them all?

At this point I've got 2 or 3 more episodes left in me before I'll need to take a step back, and if I can't restart it after a few weeks, I'll have to mark this as did not finish.