Warning: Spoilers for As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World episode 12The protagonist Lord Ars from the recently concluded Crunchyroll isekai As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World already proved long ago to the shonen genre that heroes don’t always need to have big, lofty dreams like many of them always do. However, the season finale drove the point farther home than fans could have ever imagined, especially since it was accomplished by enforcing one of the series’ strongest themes.
Lord Ars was already an unconventional hero, even by the standards of reincarnation anime where a grown man is reborn as a young child in a noble family. There are many isekai where the protagonist rejects the grandiose dreams of most heroes by just wanting to live a slow life, such as KonoSuba.
While Lord Ars is the firstborn of a noble family and embraces his duty to govern his house’s town, and initially just wanted to fulfill the role he was given, he eventually appears to accept a dream that someone made for him of becoming not just a king but an emperor by the end of the season finale. Moreover, the character who gave him that idea was none other than one of his retainers that he obtained through his unconventional use of an overused power in anime called appraisal.
As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, Shows The Time Before The Dream
Based on the Light Novel Series by Miraijin A, Anime Produced by Studio Mother
Obviously, shonen heroes aren’t born with an incredible dream, but the events of every shonen series necessarily focus on the time after they have begun dreaming of great things. More often than not, that origin story is eventually shown through a flashback but, even in this scenario, viewers have to be content with the essential details. Meanwhile, As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World provided an entire season-worth of material before Lord Ars gets a dream planted in his head, allowing viewers to experience that growth and monumental revelation in real-time.
There are numerous episodes leading up to this point that show powerful men applauding Lord Ars for surrounding himself with competent people, but each time, the young aristocrat tries his best to downplay this major feat. There was even a moment when Lord Ars couldn’t even imagine himself being promoted to a position much lower than that of king, let alone emperor. This is because Lord Ars had always felt insignificant when compared to his father, and was therefore in a perpetual state of feeling like he would never be able to fill his father’s proverbial big shoes.
Showing Shonen The Ropes By Using An Already Subverted Popular Power
Although his goal eventually changes from just wanting to ensure his town’s survival at the onset of war to creating a town where children could live happily, Lord Ars was always entrenched in the role that he had been given. He didn’t even consider dreaming beyond what he could do for his father’s town. Lord Ars’ revelation is even more meaningful when taking into account that his most recent retainer dares him to dream. The entire show centers on the anime’s innovated depiction of the appraisal skill, which Lord Ars uses to surround himself with capable people.
The basis of the skill and the theme of the show is based on how he identifies the people he surrounds himself with. So, when comparing this development to shonen, Lord Ars transcend the typical hero by focusing on his retainers and companions. This allowed viewers of As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World to witness how Lord Ars possesses all the qualities of a perfect ruler, not just because he wants peace and happiness, but because he never intended to be one and had to be convinced of it.
