The anime is... cute. The protagonist was a little stupid but he was also a super nice kid. Had that, "Altruistic hero that never gives up!" vibe going for him. I've seen it before. It didn't give me anything new but hey, I'm here to watch a Shonen anime. I don't have especially high standards when it comes to a series meant for kids. The world is fun the characters are quirky and the plot is simple enough where I can be brain dead and follow along without exerting much effort. It's meh but a good way to pass time.

Then I read the manga. Now I won't watch the anime ever again. It's not an honest adaptation whatsoever. Anime and Manga Seth are NOTHING ALIKE. Yes, they have the same character design and the animation IS itself really good... but manga Seth doesn't smile THAT much. He's actually angry a lot, justifiably so. His motives and pain feels more real to me than anime Seth, who felt more like a "main character" fill in for a new anime series.

As of me writing this, the anime is at it's ninth episode and the manga at it's seventeenth chapter. That is NOT enough space between productions to start an anime and it shows. What I thought was just bland writing was actually FILLER. Black Clover was given ridiculous amounts of hate for their few episodes of filler and the Radiant anime has sooooo much more.

Spoilers.

I don't typically write reviews for anime since I tend to avoid forums and online communities, but I noticed some particularly pointed comments about supposed political propaganda enmeshed in the story line. It seems the episodes involving Rumble Town are the cause of the backlash, but most of the comments I'm seeing that target these episodes seems misguided. The problem seems to me, to be that: The villain (The anti-immigration guy a.k.a. Konrad) seems to be triggering a lot of people that are against illegal immigration, the views and arguments of the villain against immigration are flawed, and that the main character's arguments against the villain are not expressed well. I feel that most of these complaints spawn from a misunderstanding. I'm sure many of you already grasp the difference between legal and illegal immigration already, but for those that do not, allow me to clarify why these complaints hold no grounds. 1. The villain from Rumble Town is against all immigration, not just illegal immigration. He seems to have an irrational hatred towards all those who are not from his neck of the woods; this is downright xenophobia, and is not an attack on Conservative or Republican values (If you claim xenophobia, this is not addressed to you, I just hope you never gain power). This may not be readily apparent to all, but it is clear from his origin story that most of the immigration to Rumble Town occurred before Konrad was in power, but it does explicitly state that the illegal immigrants which entered Rumble Town were imprisoned along with the Defense Force. 2. The anime does a good job addressing the difference between legal and illegal immigration, case in point: the floating city full of sorcerers and humans. This is a city that welcomes newcomers, but requires that they: sign a contract as soon as they enter the city, pay their dues, and obey the laws. The city is filled with all sorts, from humans, to sorcerers, to Kraken-like creatures. (If your issue is due to the current political climate in America, the city even has a wall and a standing army for Christ's sake.) 3. The views and actions expressed by Konrad are what you would expect from a xenophobic tyrant, and the reaction by the MC is one that is warranted by virtue of it being decent and not well formed. The kid is young, brash, and not very intelligent, but his moral compass is spot on even if he is not good at expressing his reasons for despising the villain.

Anyways, since I'm doing a review, might as well cover as many bases as I can think of? The animation is incredible. There is a surprisingly nuanced gradient across all of the characters when it comes to their morality and motivations. I have not read the manga, so it is difficult to distinguish filler, but there were a few episodes where I feel there were: unnecessary flashbacks, low animation budget/detail (I saw a guy hammering nothing at one point). The MC does seem a bit dumb and reckless sometimes, but he's a kid, so I like to think that the recklessness comes from eagerness to prove himself, and the dumbness on his age and lack of experience (Also perhaps I like to believe that around Doc he plays dumb on purpose, to tease him in front of the woman he likes). Also, I think people forget what it's like to be that age, and instead put on their old person hats when judging Shounen MCs. While the anime is not perfect by any means, I believe it has great potential. But yayyy review rants.

Not reason to go on and on about this one. Putting it simply; it is a complete bastardization of the manga and is absolutely not worth anyone's time. Read the manga for the good version of this story and of these characters.

The anime tells the story poorly; it is mostly filler BS that just makes things drag on entirely more mundanely and boringly than the manga by leaps and bounds. The characters aren't accurate in many cases to the manga versions of them, and arguably the manga's proper versions of their personalities and actions are far more entertaining, engaging, and/or interesting.

Some people apparently like stupid main chars, im not one of them.
This guy is so thickheaded it ruined the entire show for me.
Cant even get my self to finish or even get half way through this serie.

So it might just be that i´ve reached a point where id like to see something new but I really dont get any feeling from these people, Can share in their joy, pain, laughs or trials. they just come off as abit shallow and stereotypical, where the writers didnt really care much.

First impression:

I'd say that Radiant reminds me of Naruto, except, a little more grounded, perhaps. It is as you'd expect from a character, male, and in his young years and an extrovert attempting to learn magic and become the ultimate hero.

More in depth:

Personally, the story and ideas seem solid. The intro to the anime kept me interested and the arrange of character seemed interesting. The setting and the world seem well made and thought out; solid and firm. The characters on the other hand are wild and free, amazing details, and vibrant color palette, and an equally exuberant personalities, naturally.

The story starts out typically; an quick summary of the world and how it works, switching to the main character running across rooftops, showing off his skills, and ending with a minor baddie showing up and ultimately failing to stop it, to which he is saved; their the first episodes ends.

Conclusion:

I'd say, this anime has grand potential. However, it keeps to the same introduction, typically male hero character and support groups, and all of it feels the same, just a different world, with different rules.

The enemies seem to be the most interesting as little is told about them, they fly through the skies as eggs, and hatch, before causing chaos. Seems there's an arrange of different types of enemies, and if experience tells me anything, each type is going to have its own weakness and strength that the character will have to learn in order to defeat them!

i originally thought this show was going to start out slow then ramp up, similar to how Black Clover began. OH BOY WAS I WRONG. i tried to watch it but it was so painfully average that i had to take breaks with this show, it felt like homework! I am giving it a 3 star rating however as it still had a good premise, but i'm really hoping they improve on the fatal flaws that really make this anime tasteless. It also gave me a hint of other good anime's. It was like there was an aftertaste of a great adventure starting and decent character development, but sadly that was all. This anime is heavily lacking in the good qualities that can really make shows magical.

I'll be quick about it (NO SPOILERS):
Just another generic shounen anime. Stupid protagonist who wants to change the world and has silly characters as nakama.
Protagonist is weak, but has potential (some raw inner strength) and needs to be trained by some cool guy with a real hard training. Just the regular stuff.
Thus far, this show doesn't have anything original nor catchy.

CONCLUSION: Watch this show if you really, REALLY, love shounen shows (like me).

Bonus: Kinda Naruto with magic.

I was a bit excited about this show based on how it started. There's a world with magic, but those who are able to use are seen as monsters, for they survived and encounter with humanity's main nemesis. The protagonist has a very clearly defined goal: to find Radiant, the place where these odd creatures come from, in order to destroy it and prevent nemesis from invading and destroying humankind.

Even after seeing first-hand how normal humans mistreat Seth (the protagonist) and Alba (his mentor and mother-figure), we get an even more heart-wrenching moment on the third episode in Alba's flashback as we see young Seth being beaten and almost killed by humans who saw him as a monster simply because he has horns and can do magic. That episode really made me feel for these characters, and it was impressing that Seth was a good person who, despite all that he has suffered at the hands of normal people, still wants to protect them.

By contrast, we see in the second episode that there are magicians who do not have the same outlook as Seth and Alba, and who want to take advantage on normal humans, as well as seek revenge. That duality really made the world of Radiant more relatable and interesting.

Alas, that is where it all stopped. After the third episode the show took a deep dive into nonsense. Seth meets members of the Inquisition, who appear to be the antagonists who pursue and seek to eliminate sorcerers. "Why?" you ask. The so far (episode 6) the show's answer is "just because." There isn't a concrete reason for the Inquisition to hunt down sorcerers indiscriminately. It would make sense if they only went after wrong-doers. However, they arrest the naive Seth who could not control his broom and "crashed" into the Inquisition's ship. They had arrested Melie (the red-haired witch) because she did not have her documents with her. And I believe they were going to arrest Doc because he was carrying the remainders of a Nemesis.

In the first couple of episodes the show clearly sets that sorcerers are the only ones who fight the Nemesis. Not once did the show state that the Inquisition does likewise, only that it is out to get sorcerers for no reason. That is simply not a good way of building up the world. Having a villain with no real motive is boring. Sure, the Nemesis are monsters that destroy everything in their way, but, so far, they seem to be mindless creatures. The Inquisition, however, only seems to be out to get all sorcerers, despite the fact that they are the only ones able to protect humanity from the Nemesis.

Also, from the fourth episode forward everyone becomes incredibly one-dimensional and over-the-top idiotic. Those in the Inquisition boat seem incompetent of handling two young magicians and a goofy human. Then they arrive at the flying wizard mecca of Artemis Academy, which Doc forces Seth to become a citizen, knowing fully-well that that will cause Seth to be in enormous debt, which will be transferred to Doc as he had already gone through that process with Melie. Sure, it was very interesting when the cat leader of Artemis brought out the city's defense against the Inquisition, but that's about it. Everything in that town is incredibly goofy for its own sake. Melie, Seth, and Doc all become extravagantly wacky, boisterous, and unbearable to watch.

At the end of episode six, Yaga, whom Alma sent Seth to encounter, decides to take Seth as a pupil, for we know that he is special. It seems like the show may or may not get better, but so far it has been incredibly disappointing, especially after such a great set up.

TL;DR first three-episodes gave hope of a good series, but the show ultimately falls flat on one-dimensional characters and over-the-top tropes