She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man

Do you have a teacher who truly changed your life? Many people mold our character throughout our lives, and teachers are a pivotal part of the process. There’s no denying that various mentors have positively and negatively affected our lives, so it's best to be thankful for all the experiences earned. On that note, have you ever used your teacher’s position as leverage to get the upper hand?

“She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man,” also known as “Kenja no Deshi wo Nanoru Kenja” and “Kendeshi,” is a 12-episode TV Anime Series that aired from the 12th of January until the 30th of March in Winter 2022. It was produced by DAX Production, MAGES., Kadokawa, Micro Magazine Publishing, MAGNET, and Micro House; licensed by Funimation; and brought to life by Studio A-CAT.

The primary staff involved were producers Takimoto Rei, Shimosato Satoru, Kotaka Tatsuya, and Yoshida Kento. It focused on the genres of Adventure and Fantasy alongside the themes of Isekai and Magical Sex Shift. This series of 23-minute episodes received a Rating of PG-13 for teenagers 13 years of age or older.

The Anime is based on the source Light novel of the same name. It started publication on June 30th, 2014, and is still ongoing. It is the work of Author Ryuusen Hirotsugu and artist Fuji Choko. “Kenja no Deshi wo Nanoru Kenja the Comic” is an Alternate Version of the series in the form of a Manga. It started publication on the 28th of July 2016 and is still ongoing, serialized by Comic Ride and drawn by Artist Suemitsu Dicca. The Anime was initially set to premiere in Fall 2021 but was delayed until January 2022. It was also released on Blu-ray and DVD in three volumes on the 27th of April and the 24th of June, 2022.

So who is the Wise Man in the title? The Summoner Mage Dunbalf possessed a very dignified veteran's body and a long white beard. He was also one of the strongest player characters within the virtual reality online multiplayer roleplaying game Ark Earth Online, renowned as a one-man army.

Alongside the "Nine Wise Mages" and King Solomon, the Mage Player Kingdom of Alcait was formed. But on one particular day, Dunbalf and the Nine Wise Mages suddenly go missing and leave no traces behind. While the game moves on without the legends, Dunbalf attempts to spend his expiring credits and purchases a cosmetic kit that allows him to tinker with his character.

However, by some twist of fate, he accidentally fell asleep during the customization process! Dunbalf then wakes up in the more realistic world of Ark Earth Online and discovers that he has somehow transformed into a cute girl. Upon his arrival in Alcait, he learns that it has been 30 years since Dunbalf’s supposed disappearance. Newly tasked with finding the other missing mages by King Solomon, our protagonist takes on the new identity of Mira, the Pupil of the Wise Man Dunbalf. The stage is now set for her to venture into the unknown and prove his legacy to all.

The Plot and Characters of an Anime are the most critical aspects that make or break the whole show. If you remember the best parts of the story and a good number of characters after watching a series, then it was a pretty good one. But unfortunately, the only character you’ll remember from this one is Mira, and you probably won’t remember anything significant in the Plot besides the first episode, neither in a positive way. This just drives home how forgetful and lackluster this series is.

For starters, the first episode of any Isekai is crucial, as it will either hook the viewer, make them drop the show, or just make them continue watching much less enthusiastically. In the case of Kendeshi, the second half of the first episode is terrible, to the point that it leaves a sour taste in your mouth for the rest of the show. But, indeed, the rest of the episodes are decent. No, there’s actually nothing good here. The characters are generic, the world-building is terrible, the jokes all miss, and there's nothing to get excited about.

Starting with the Story, the Anime community has seen this premise way too many times; it's been repeated into the ground. Basically, the MC gets reincarnated as an overpowered character in-game and then proceeds to solo the entire world. On that note, “Dunbalf” just sounds like a lame pun on “Gandalf” as well. Mira inherits almost all of Dunbalf’s OP abilities and makes easy work of the new world she’s now living in, quickly solving any problems thrown at her.

Nothing else in the story attempts to introduce many confusing plot points or pointless fillers, all of which are left unresolved. It gives us nothing memorable or likable, making it a forgettable flop built solely on bad jokes. Returning to the plot, this is your average everyday Anime power fantasy with a few pleasant moments, but everything else about it is boring. World-building relies solely on dialogue, making it overly bloated and tiresome. They seem to love telling instead of showing, making the Fantasy theme disintegrate along the way.

The Characters only make the series worse than it already is. Mira is the only relevant character who adds something to the story, while the rest are just there and do next to nothing. A prime example is King Solomon, who solely exists to chant random facts about the world when the show needs him to. There are a bunch of other characters who lack any distinguishing traits and have zero impact on the story, so they deserve to be left forgotten.

The only one viewers might remember is Fricka, a girl wearing glasses whose only notable trait was being utterly obsessed with Mira. The show also makes a lot of jokes at the expense of their characters, which really doesn’t help the situation. For example, a running gag is how the MC apparently needs to urinate a lot, which feels so off and weird, no matter how you look at it.

That’s how badly the comedic aspect of the Show is handled. If there was anything good about the characters, it had to be the relationship between Mira and Mariana, who is Dunbalf’s Aide. The two have some emotional moments, and those might as well be the show’s only saving grace.

Moving onto the Art and Animation department, CGI is used in Kendeshi and is an excellent example of how bad it can get. The Action scenes are ever so poorly executed, which robs the show of any visual immersion it might have had. What’s worse is that the Action occurs in horrid still scenes, and even outside of battle, there are just too many still frames.

It’s almost like the entire budget was spent on making the Loli MC attractive, but even this aspect is lackluster by today's standards. If there was anything positive here, Mira seems to have a pretty nice set of outfits ranging from slightly adorable to almost-Hentai-type clothing and manages to stay cute in almost all of them.

There is little improvement in the music and sound departments either. You will get tired of that one OST from Episode 1, which is an odd Loli intro repeated repeatedly, even when it doesn’t match the scene at all. The Opening theme is "Ready Set Go!!" by Asaka, and the Ending theme is "Ambitious" by Erabareshi. Both of these are your typical run-of-the-mill RPG songs, which are decent while they last but are easily forgettable soon afterward.

There’s also this pointless walking-simulator Ending scene that kills the mood and makes you want to skip it every time. As for Voice Actors, Oomori Nichika delivers a pretty good performance as Mira, where she portrays her character archetype well. The remainder of the cast is very generic and forgettable. All in all, the Music, including the OSTs, isn’t half bad, but the fact that they are typical remains.

There are so many things wrong with “She Professed Herself, Pupil of the Wise Man,” and it is effortless to criticize in every department. The Animation is just jarringly bad, and the lack of anything good in this Anime makes it a total waste of time. It is as generic as an Isekai can get, is boring through and through, and isn’t funny at all.

If you’re going to watch this, turn your brain off entirely and attempt to laugh at its weird humor; this way, you’ll at least manage to get through it. Overall, it's an incredibly forgettable show with nothing noteworthy in it. If you view it from another angle, there’s nothing inherently wrong with it except for the terrible Animation. I do not recommend this because it’s not an enjoyable watch, and the adaptation feels awkward too. If you want an excellent Isekai, many titles are better than this!