Review of Redo of Healer

So, I went in a bit skeptical because of all the backlash, but came out enjoying it. It's a gritty, no punches pulled story that is pretty barbaric and gut wrenching, exploring the depravity of humanity and what they're capable of when given absolute power over others and their motivating factors. The rape scenes, the brutalization of people and so on are tough to watch, but they're necessary to convey what not only the character goes through, but many people do within this world, and it's not too far off from what has happened in the past and even now in ours. It's disgusting, butit's always been an effective demoralizing tactic used by conquerors, and those who say it has no place as a plot device would be wrong.

What makes the character stick out is he is the antihero because of all that he's suffered and endured, and he wants to maintain that. You see that begin to fade as time goes on, but then come back with a fervor when he's motivated by the actions of others in the chaotic world he resides. He endures the pain and suffering all over again knowing it will help him achieve his ultimate goal; revenge. Similar to Edmond Dantès fromThe Count of Monte Cristo, he bides his time, learning, training, plotting how to become a better person than those he despises not only to get revenge, but to completely ruin them and the memory of them because of the betrayals suffered unto him being so vile and egregious. It makes you not only empathize with the main character, but it makes you want to see those who've wronged him suffer and break into nothingness since they're irredeemable as people. It's effective at conveying all this in a streamlined matter, no matter how horrific some of the scenes may be.

As for the parts I didn't care much for, the excessive fan service. I understand in mature rated titles it's to be expected, but it did feel like there was too much of it going on for too long, even when used as a plot device which to me seems a bit silly personally. It felt like it was in there for the sake of having hentai in it, and to potentially fill and fluff out the episodes a little bit to leave enough story for a second season. The other part was while you see his suffering initially and in flashbacks, it doesn't feel like he's grown and cultivated his power to take the revenge for long enough. I feel like if they'd had a little less fan service, and a little more of him struggling, and failing to get his revenge only to get it later on once he had redevised his strategy, that it would have felt a little more authentic.

Overall, it's a pretty great antihero story if you can get past the brutality of some scenes and the excessive fan service. If you enjoy stories of revenge, it would be a good watch for you.