Usually, being swallowed up by a dragon means death. However, for Rentt Faina, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer, becoming a skeleton is just a little setback in achieving his dream of becoming an defender for the kingdom. That’s because in this world, dying doesn’t mean dying– it just means that he has to kill other monsters and absorb their spirit in order to evolve into more human forms, like ghouls and vampires. It’s a strange premise, and the first episode relies on internal monologues, because, well, he doesn’t have the muscles to speak, but it's intriguing to see someone persevere despite having to start all over again. After obtaining the respect of novice adventurer Rina, the show plays out in a fairly entertaining way, with decent visuals, coherent storyline, and a more cautious protagonist we haven’t seen from previous shonen fantasy.
Synopsis
Rentt Faina has hunted monsters for the last 10 years. Sadly, he’s not great at his job, stuck hunting slimes and goblins for a few coins each day. His luck turns when he finds an undiscovered path. At the path’s end, he meets his demise in the maw of a legendary dragon. But, he wakes up as an undead bag of bones! He sets out to achieve Existential Evolution and rejoin the land of the living.
Storyline
After being devoured by a dragon and becoming a skeleton, Rentt Faina begins his quest to achieve Existential Evolution and hopefully return to civilization in a more humanoid form.
TLDR
What’s up with this anime season’s tendency for fantasy satire and resurrection?
What stands out
Character design. Skeleton characters aren’t exactly new– see every death-inspired work ever created– but The Unwanted Undead Adventurer considers the logistics of not having muscles and the existential contemplation as to whether or not undead characters are the same characters.
