REVIEW: ‘The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat’

The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat (The World’s Finest Assassin) is an anime that surprisingly didn’t get any attention last season. This might either be because it was another isekai in an oversaturated season, or because its name is too long for anyone to bother inputting into a search bar of any streaming service. Despite this, I was among those who watched the first episode, and after pushing through to the end, found that it wasn’t just your average isekai anime. While that may sound like an oxymoron, The World’s Finest Assassin managed to successfully keep me engaged enough to watch it to completion.

The anime follows an unnamed assassin regarded as the best of the best and the first episode is dedicated to displaying his vast knowledge and impressive skills. Despite all his expertise, however, he’s still killed off by the very organization he’s worked with, resulting in his unfortunate end. Cue the goddess who grants him a new life after death and access to powerful skills in exchange for killing the “hero” who’s destined to destroy the world within a set amount of time. The assassin accepts this quest and begins his new life as Lugh Tuatha Dé, the son of a noble family of killers serving the Alvan Kingdom.

While the anime’s opening isn’t entirely unique, what comes after is where it gets interesting. The next set of episodes were dedicated to showing Lugh’s growth from infancy to a teenager as he, alongside the audience, are taught several things about its world such as the assassination, medicinal, and magical techniques of the Tuatha Dé clan. Coupled with the skills retained from his previous life, Lugh quickly becomes a formidable assassin and gains allies (who, unsurprisingly, happen to be all girls) who help him on his quest to achieve his goal. However, what distinguishes the anime from your average power fantasy anime is how it displays its world.

One minute we’re being shown the intricate assassination and espionage processes of the Tuatha Dé family, the next we witness the diplomatic activities between nobles of different kingdoms as well as how to build and maintain a monopoly. Despite what it looked like on the surface, there are many brilliant moments in the anime that made me think things like “Oh, that was smart” and “Ah, I never thought of that.” As a result, each episode felt like I was gaining something from watching it, which isn’t something that can be said from your usual isekai.

Additionally, while the anime isn’t lacking tropey and predictable plot points and lackluster characters that seem to plague the genre these days, it surprisingly doesn’t shy away from depicting the dark and realistic themes. While a bit limited, the character development, seen chiefly through Lugh’s transformation from a soulless pawn of an assassin to someone with empathy who makes decisions for himself, was quite satisfying. Moreover, multiple mysteries like the hero’s identity, why he turns out to be a villain, and the goddess’ true intentions succeeded in holding my attention throughout the season.

The only aspect of the anime I can say isn’t up to par with the others is the animation. While the staff at SILVER LINK and Studio Palette did a good enough job animating the characters, fight scenes, and magic, they’ve failed woefully in masking their horribly implemented CG models, none of which has any distinct features and look like default assets ripped straight from some software.

Aside from that though, I enjoyed my experience with The World’s Finest Assassin. Despite some tropey plot points and characters, the anime has great worldbuilding, exciting storytelling, lots of brilliant moments, and some endearing characters. It’s not entirely on the same level as an isekai like Mushoku Tensei, but it is good enough to stand out as one of the better titles in the genre.

The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat is available now on Crunchyroll.