KANLen09

I Shall Survive Using Potions! - 1st time's a fluke, 2nd time's a borderline pass, and 3rd time's the charm? NOPE, this trend has finally ended here... If you've been on the anime bandwagon for about 4-5 years now, you might have seen this Fall 2019 show called Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! a.k.a Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!. Despite the rather lackluster premise and subpar production, it was a show where the simplicity of the fantasy Isekai reincarnation OP genre, by meandering away from many of its contemporaries at the time, it was asolid show that was created by the pseudonym novelist FUNA. But within the span of a year, the author's 2 remaining LNs were adapted...and they were absolute stinkers at best. Winter's Rougo ni Sonaete Isekai de 8-manmai no Kinka wo Tamemasu a.k.a Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement (which was said to be the best, but I didn't buy that crap and found it just decent), and now Fall's Potion-danomi de Ikinobimasu! a.k.a I Shall Survive Using Potions!, which is just a side-story-ish shell of Rougo 8-man and a "perfect" backup for inching the former series being inferior over the other as the worst series of the author's biography. Oh, did I mention that both LNs were released just a month apart from each other? That's how you know that FUNA did think of an idea to run two simultaneous series at once: one about money and the other about potions, and to spice the story up, interchange story mechanics between both works, so neither will ever be the wiser. Hello, we are NOT idiots who can't tell the difference between this and the other. If you're familiar with either NouKin or Rougo 8-man, Potion-danomi de Ikinobimasu!'s story elements are so predictable that you can tell straight away: someone dies unexpectedly in real life, only to be Isekai reincarnated into the fantasy world where the gods or goddesses bless the MC with what she wants to have in her new second life. And in this show, for an office secretary turned 15-year-old girl by the name of Kaoru Nagase, this is her new life now: meeting the world's goddess Celestine to get blessed by her with the ability to make potions of her choice, along with an infinite Item Box to supplement with it, and much more. Right away, when you put Potion-danomi and Rougo 8-man side by side, it's the same goddamn story progression with a different purpose and outcome, and even the characters exhibit the same goddamn personality: Kaoru is NO different from Mitsuha Yamano, being smart young girls who can defend themselves with their vast knowledge (until they need assistance from the world's authorities to protect their back). Of course, if you're new to either series, I won't relent as much, but after having watched all 3 FUNA-adapted LNs, it's safe to say that while the author's marketing was done quite well and had some traction in Japan, over in the West, we don't care for the same copy-pasted blurb each and every time, as is the case for both shows (NouKin IS the exception that the author attempted and was fairly well received with the anime). Back to Potion-danomi, Kaoru's goal is not just potions alone, but to find love and have her descendants spread out in the world...hey, just like Rougo 8-manmai in terms of money! But being a commoner, she does not know of the cultures of the various places she goes and has to rely on two groups of people: the nobility (aided by Francette, Roland, and Alan) and the orphans (Emile, Belle, and the rest of the many abandoned children) that they dub the Goddess cult, given Kaoru's close friendship with Celestine. That's fine and all for the community that said girl is seeking to create to better the lives of everyone, but I can't help thinking that this goody-two-shoes formula has been replicated twice in a row and that Kaoru seems to be a subset of Mitsuha in her own good and bad ways. Somewhat expectedly, for the worst show in FUNA's lineup, you have one of the most unknown support studios out there to be assigned to adapt this work. Jumondo as a studio, they're easily seen as worse than 3rd-rate, starting from their Spring 2022 show, Kono Healer, Mendokusai a.k.a Don't Hurt Me, My Healer!, whose low-tier production actually suited the show quite appropriately. Next to come would be the production of Satoshi Mizukami's Hoshi no Samadare a.k.a Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer for Summer and Fall, and it easily looked like garbage. This brings us today to Potion-danomi, and FUNA's rather simplistic art, once again, suits the production being just a lower-than-average show. Honestly, there is just nothing great about the animation. The music fares even worse. katagiri and harmoe's OP and ED songs were subpar to decent, but just not that memorable, and it sure sounds cheery...provided if you just listen once and skip it the next time. On this basis, I can shout: THANK F***ING GOD!...that FUNA's LNs have all been adapted into anime, so we won't have to suffer anymore from mediocre to subpar writing, especially with this and Rougo 8-manmai. NouKin will forever be the ONLY show that I'll recommend; Rougo 8-manmai if only for the interest, and this show? Please skip it entirely.

Kont-Alucard

Another anime from FUNA sensei light novel works (FSLNW) and indeed, it is basically 'saving 80000 gold in another world 2: electric boogaloo'. Comparing both animes, we have: a female MC of ages around 18-21 getting reincarnated as a 12-15 year old looking loli in another world that is way too similar to earth in middle ages of Europe and both isekai worlds not having magic in a common sense, being very wise and intelligent but sometimes dumb enough to not use their cheat powers that are bestowed upon them by a certain god or goddess, characters and world design building that is going more detailed than other offthe shelf isekai animes (i guess this is a good thing? or bad?) but more detailed as in narrator-san and mechanics wise, having cheat level powers and using them in intentional and unintentional ways to achieve their goals and sometimes thinking outside the box, well, basically like that. in this anime we have a girl who can make potions out of thin air. she uses this to gain money, open shops, help poor people etc. and she is not afraid to be seen as a goddess or an angel (not figuratively, too). The anime is made by Jumondo, the studio that often helped other studios in anime making, and also made "dont hurt me my healer" or "kono healer mendokusai" which was... i dont know. if you have watched it, you know it. this anime feels similar to that in terms of animation quality. not good. not worst. i didn't really paid attention to op/ed, music, bgm, ost, etc. so i don't know. But personally, I like FUNA sensei's female lead MC's. they are fun and unique in the anime region. if you like the other works of FUNA, which are "didnt I told you to make my abilities average" (mile chan, or adele von ascham) and "saving 80000 gold in another world" (mitsuha von yamano), you might as well like this one too. There is notihng unique about this anime. it is basically saving 80000 gold in another world's second edition, or you could even call it an "alternate edition". But hey, if you liked those before, you might as well like this one too. just, don't expect a second season, and the manga is not that far away, so you'll end up in light novel reading sites hell.