Im going to be completely honest I came into this show fully expecting it to be trash. Can you blame me? With a name as edgy as Im Standing on a Million Lives this looked primed to be the new Arifuretashaped isekai punching bag of the season. But a curious thing happened when I started watching it: I actually liked it. And not ironically I actually liked liked it. Okay its far from perfect but this was genuinely one of the shows I most looked forward to throughout this anime season. And considering the absolute dragging its getting in the score department I wanted to put my two cents in and tell you why it actually deserves a shot. So premise: its an isekai obviously but it puts a bit of a spin on it. Instead of being trapped in the fantasy world thats a lot like a video game protagonist Yusuke Yotsuya is just called into it periodically to carry out certain missions. And hes not alone: hes actually the third to join an entire group of people being called in to undertake these missions. Every time they complete a mission theyre sent back into the normal world with no time passed and they live their lives as normal until theyre called in for the next mission with a new party member joining each mission. Theres some more complicated mechanics to how it all works but suffice to say this isnt just some otaku wishfulfillment fantasy there are actual story reasons for why this state of affairs is the way it is and Yusuke cant just powerscale his way to cheap victory like Kirito and his ilk. He and his comrades in arms have to fight and struggle through difficult challenges monsters bandits bad weather unclear objectives to achieve victory. On the plus side they respawn like video game protagonists if they die so they can take a lot of beating. On the downside if they all die at once or they fail the mission they do actually die in real life. So no pressure. Theres a lot of questions still left unanswered about the nature of this situation by the end of this season but with a season 2 announced Im sure well get those answers in time. For now the focus is on the characters and the struggles they go through. And this is where this show caught me off guard because the characters are... surprisingly good. Yusuke is an absolute edgelord who hates other people but instead of wallowing in his misanthropy his character arc is one of overcoming his jaded perspective. Through his struggles in the game world and his interactions with his teammates he starts to grow out of his immaturity slowly realizing the worth in other people and recognizing his need improve as a person so he can continue to be worthy of fighting alongside them. In a way its like a direct subversion of edgy me against the worldstyle isekai protagonists. Thankfully his teammates are all given full characters of their own as well with goals and personalities and motivations and fears independent of Yusuke. Yes so far theyre all his female classmates but theyre far from a bland harem of mindless body pillows. None of them have even expressed romantic interest in him and their character arcs are all about their own personal struggles rather than for the selfinsert protagonist to make them swoon over him helping them. I found this all really refreshing That being said no this show is not perfect. And pretty much all the issues come down to adaptation. I havent read the manga A Million Lives is based on but I can tell that it could have been handled much better. The animation while not atrocious is never any better than functional which makes the show pretty boring to look at. The direction itself actually is pretty good though which covers for a lot of that. The worse issue in my opinion is the editing this shows editing is baaaaaaad. Lots of scene transitions cut at awkward points and lead you into the next scene too fast or lacking establishing shots. And the tone can swing wildly from scene to scene with not enough time to prep you for the change. One moment were in lighthearted hijinks as the characters banter among each other the next moment Yusukes going all edgelord talking about how much he hates the city he lives in and wants to see it burn. On their own these scenes work fine but the show does a pretty abysmal job transitioning between them and it leads to a lot of moments that leave you confused and struggling to catch up to the emotional flow. Maho Film does not strike me as a particularly skilled studio is me point. So maybe youd be better off reading the manga which probably does this story much better justice. Still though if youre an animeonly kind of guy I recommend you at least give Im Standing on a Million Lives a try. Its flawed but its far better than it has any right to be and its definitely better than its current score suggests. And who knows? Maybe with how successful this season apparently was in Japan season 2 will be able to patch up those awkward points and bring this show to its full potential. I hope that happens. Because from what Ive seen here I think it has the potential to become something really special.