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(The) Dungeon of Black Company (TV).


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:02 am Reply with quote


(The) Dungeon of Black Company (TV)

Genres: fantasy
Themes: isekai

Plot Summary: Kinji, who lacks any kind of work ethic, is a layabout in his modern life. One day, he finds himself transported to another world–but not in a grand fantasy of a hero welcomed with open arms. He’s immediately shoved into a terrible job. Now enslaved by an evil mining company in a fantasy world, Kinji’s about to really learn the meaning of hard work.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 24165
PostPosted: Sat Jul 10, 2021 8:25 pm Reply with quote
I don't always go along with MCs who are glorious bastards but I'm sort of digging this. Certainly enough to check out some more. I certainly empathize with his lust to be an uber NEET! (I.e. getting cheddar without actually working for it.)
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camseyeview140



Joined: 26 Jan 2021
Posts: 241
PostPosted: Wed Jul 14, 2021 3:20 pm Reply with quote
I thought the reviews for this anime were incredibly harsh. Would they be saying this if they watched Konosuba or some other dark comedy anime that revels in dark cynicism?

Would they act the same towards something like It's Always Sunny?

To be clear, it's fine that they didn't like it. comedy is subjective as all get out, but the reviews seem so scathing compared to the other garbage that's out this season.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15576
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Jul 14, 2021 11:06 pm Reply with quote
Kazuma and co can be trash, but he wasn't nearly as irredeemable as Kinji was in the first episode. Kazuma has even turned down rewards for things that he recognised were actually a problem caused by his party, and can feel guilty about things, even shameless in other scenarios. Kinji already had a problem with being taken advantage of a system like the titular Black Company, and still decided to mind control all of the other workers and feel absolutly no shame or guilt over doing worse than was done to him.

It can just be really uncomfortable to someone like me to have knowingly exploit others like he was, and be expected to find it funny how he only cares about his own desires. It would be like a show where a guy knew how bad it was getting raped, and then decided to go back in time so he could rape everyone else instead.

Not going to say at this point that it poisons every joke, but at this point I want to see Kinji be tortured more than any amount of sympathy for him.
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camseyeview140



Joined: 26 Jan 2021
Posts: 241
PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 12:01 am Reply with quote
I mean, the show has at no point told us to feel bad for him. Every time he has come up with a new scheme, they show him as terrible and his schemes so far failed.

This isn't like The Devil's Rejects where all of a sudden the film is like "you are suppose to like the psychos this whole time." out of the blue.

The lead in this anime is still portrayed as a terrible person.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15576
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:33 am Reply with quote
camseyeview140 wrote:
The lead in this anime is still portrayed as a terrible person.


A terrible person can still have redeeming qualities, and elements we might see in ourselves or otherwise be invested in. I am not sure how else invest or identify with someone who would not think for a second to turn other people in mind slaves.

Would people have the right to say that they are feeling uncomfortable watching a comedy of Adolf Hitler being Adolf Hitler? Or maybe it is like that thing where Morty calls out Rick as being like Hitler but even Hitler cared about Germany or something. What does the main character here care about other than exploiting others?
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camseyeview140



Joined: 26 Jan 2021
Posts: 241
PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 8:59 am Reply with quote
1. no

2. you kind of ruin your own point since you are comparing this guy who made a bunch of money to someone who caused genocide. So, I feel like your point isn't as strong as you think it is. Kind of typical for these forums huh?
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15576
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 5:52 pm Reply with quote
camseyeview140 wrote:
1. no

2. you kind of ruin your own point since you are comparing this guy who made a bunch of money to someone who caused genocide. So, I feel like your point isn't as strong as you think it is. Kind of typical for these forums huh?


The problem isn't that he made money, the problem is that he turned people into mind slaves, and then gave them no rest as he was running them into the ground. I think he told someone to dig with their hands when their tool broke?

The comparison is in a person totally dehumanising others, and feeling no remorse as he forces them into possibly killing themselves so that he might live deliciously. It is like how he was apparently a landlord in his previous life, someone who contributed almost nothing as he siphoned hard earned money from the tenants to live in luxury. While making fun of the common people for working to make a living instead of taking advantage of a system of capitalism. Sure having him be trash and get some comeuppance would be fun, but we are still following this piece of human trash as he might try and find another way to exploit other people. At least in the first episode.
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all-tsun-and-no-dere
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 06 Jul 2015
Posts: 657
PostPosted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 1:34 am Reply with quote
camseyeview140 wrote:

Would they act the same towards something like It's Always Sunny?


Actually, it inspired me to go on an Always Sunny kick and rewatch a bunch of episodes. I even alluded to it in my review:
Quote:
Besides, dark comedies about terrible people are much better when they're crabs in a bucket dragging each other down, as opposed to one guy trying to shove his way back into a terrible system without any hope of improved conditions.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4158
PostPosted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 12:58 pm Reply with quote
DuskyPredator wrote:
Kazuma and co can be trash, but he wasn't nearly as irredeemable as Kinji was in the first episode. Kazuma has even turned down rewards for things that he recognised were actually a problem caused by his party, and can feel guilty about things, even shameless in other scenarios. Kinji already had a problem with being taken advantage of a system like the titular Black Company, and still decided to mind control all of the other workers and feel absolutly no shame or guilt over doing worse than was done to him.

It can just be really uncomfortable to someone like me to have knowingly exploit others like he was, and be expected to find it funny how he only cares about his own desires. It would be like a show where a guy knew how bad it was getting raped, and then decided to go back in time so he could rape everyone else instead.

Not going to say at this point that it poisons every joke, but at this point I want to see Kinji be tortured more than any amount of sympathy for him.


Sure... he's almost as evil as the company he's working for. In the end, the people who's will he took over weren't even mad, they were just forlorn they wouldn't be able to keep up such productivity numbers. The company is literally being run by demons and one thing we know about demons is they like making contracts to obtain souls so borrowing them for free is something they'd take notes on. I like how episode 2 nails the metaphor even further home by using the most human like creature out there- the slave driving- oh, I mean hardworking ant. Socialism, strikes and management turnover, oh my.

There's also shades of "The grasshopper and the ants" but the grasshopper dies in that one so the ending's hardly NEET for him.

Most of all, I love how this show wears its politics on its sleeves but the way it dances around being straight, satire or parody leaves it up to the viewer to decide what those politics are.... and I already see comments of "Corporate good" here so that's amusing.

Me: "Hey, isn't that Real Estate Developer Donald... ah." The face of evil in the 21st century representing sloth and greed worldwide.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11601
PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:31 am Reply with quote
Ep 4

Well, Ninomiya's starting to show some redeeming features. He's still trash. Smile But then so are his employers, so... I like the Ant Queen. I guess Wanibe's a Good Boy, but he's not really clicking with me. Maybe I just have an anti-lizard bias. I could never warm up to the lizard people in Overlord either.

Despite despicable characters, this is still entertaining, seeing how he manipulates situations to his advantage. Like the monster farm to pay off his huge debt. I'm curious about Rim's cryptic-but-ignored comment about the incomplete Majin. That sounded sad.

Wonder where the new portal is taking them...
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11601
PostPosted: Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:40 pm Reply with quote
Ah, so that's where it's taking them. The opening sequence was a great hook. Glad to see Ant A doing well for himself. Ninomiya's still garbage so that hasn't changed. Not really on board with a number of decisions they made in this episode, but I can cope. I still like the curves they keep tossing out, and there seems to be an equitable distribution of them toward all targets.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11601
PostPosted: Sat Aug 28, 2021 7:25 am Reply with quote
Ep. 8

Ok, that's a new twist. His gun turns out to be spoiler[an overly attached girlfriend. Actually, literally attached.]
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 24165
PostPosted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:59 am Reply with quote
Kinda gives new meaning to the phrase, "gun control"...
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4158
PostPosted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 12:06 pm Reply with quote
Most important fact of this series: It's adapted from a manga. Unfortunately for me, I found that out after being hit by plot whiplash.

Black Dungeon: "Bam, we're 300 years in the future!"
"Bam, the guy's a girl, I mean the girl's a guy!"
"Bam bam, and we're back from the future with the girl, I mean guy."

Me: Did it mean anything?

Black Dungeon: "... not really?"

Sure, there was an interesting plot reveal regarding Rim's sister but I don't think the writer really knew what kind of mistake he made. We're already in another world, shuffling into that Another World but in that world's future is just some plot hole paving for bringing new gadgets like the Hysterical Gun. But if the future's a dystopia then how did they evolve technology...

He should have just introduced magitek by forces opposing the demons in the present rather then introducing them in the future... then just kill them all off from the Hysterical "There can be only you! I don't want, don't need anybody else!" Gun.

Yes, it's funny but it's my least favorite part of the story. Not the gun itself but the convoluted way it was brought into this Isekai story.
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