Note: Since this is an ongoing series, I will not be evaluating any arcs or resolutions. Instead, I'll focus on its thematic consistency while highlighting certain elements that work within its approach. That will be the tone of this write-up.
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# So, what to expect?
At its core, I Will Parry Everyting is structured as a parody of power fantasy tropes. Unlike typical overpowered protagonist stories where the hero is celebrated for his abilities, Noru's strength is treated as a running gag driven by his obliviousness. And I'll explain why this actually makes sense in context later.
First, let's talk about the story's central device- dramatic irony, and its effectiveness.
Both the audience and the characters around Noru are fully aware that he is absurdly powerful, except Noru himself. This setup isn't new, yet it feels surprisingly fresh here. Why? Because the story does not focus on romanticizing the protagonist or turning him into a glorified figure. Instead, it is trying to thrive on the humor derived from the irony and situational absurdity. The jokes are consistently built around the gap between reality, Noru's clueless perception of himself, and how others misread his actions. This feels more engaging because it avoids the power fantasy fatigue where the protagonist constantly "wins" and everyone praises him. But here, Noru's victories are not framed as victories to him. Instead, we are given two viewpoints to experience simultaneously:
This split creates a dual narrative tension where we are constantly watching both how Noru misreads situations and how others misread Noru. This could be an exaggerated reaction but the joke here grows organically from character dynamics. For example, when Noru kills a Goblin Emperor but describes it as "just" a '"tall & muscular goblin", the joke is not in its ignorance, but it's from how sincerely wrong he is, and how seriously others take him, often motivating them to push themselves harder. The situational humor feels earned because Noru remains a character first and never flattens into a plot device. What I mean is, he is flawed but is conditioned by his world's ranking system, and shaped by his past. His misunderstandings do not feel engineered purely for laughs. It feels human because we are not just watching "what" Noru does, but we are watching "how everyone reacts" to what Noru does.
This gap between reality and perception is what building both comedy and the engagement, thus sustaining interest over episodes. This gives the story a personality beyond just being "MC is overpowered" and turns into something much more self-aware and playful.
If you have ever enjoyed misunderstandings mixed with a powerhouse protagonist, you might recognize a similar comedic structure in the most iconic character of the 2000s— Mr. Bean. Both characters unintentionally influence their surroundings in ways they do not comprehend, making the analogy reasonable. Noru operates in much the same way.
Yes, it is plausible in context. Noru grew up alone, after losing his parents, without anyone to properly guide or validate him. This isolation prevented him from understanding where he stood compared to others. The ranking system in his world rewards people who learn many advanced skills. Basics are seen as stepping stones, not end goals. Once someone unlocks an advanced skill, they stop refining the basics, moving toward more "valuable" abilities. The system actively encourages diversifying skills, not specializing in them. There is an innate attribute bias. Those with the right attributes can unlock advanced skills early which gives instant recognition and higher status. Hence, people with these attributes focus on advanced techniques because that’s what the system and the society values. And since the system tracks a person's advancement numerically, once someone fails to level up or unlock new skills, they are dismissed as failures.
Noru, having learned the basics of many fields, he tried progressing to advanced skills, but he just couldn't. Not because of failure of effort or progression, but lack of the innate attribute required to generate advanced skills. Only those born with certain inherent qualities can generate advanced skills across different fields but not Noru, which means... no matter how hard he trained, advanced techniques could never come to him. So, in the system's eyes, this made him look stagnant.
Noru even trained under six different teachers, but none of them saw his potential because they all judged him by the system's flawed standards. Each assumed he would succeed elsewhere and passed him along, which only reinforced Noru’s belief that he was not skilled enough. By the time someone (his last teacher) recognized his potential, Noru had already internalized the belief that he didn’t belong, so he left quietly, but kept training in isolation. Instead of giving up, he dedicated himself to perfecting the fundamentals. He didn’t realize that honing the basics across all fields would make him exceptional, because no one ever told him, as no one else ever felt the need to do it. Their access to advanced skills made that unnecessary. In addition to that, the system provided no metric for recognizing that kind of growth.
Over time, this extreme focus didn’t just shape his abilities, it also distorted his worldview. Cut off from typical adventurer society, Noru never fought real battles, or observed others in action, Or learned how strength is measured. He simply had no frame of reference to assess himself, so it never occurred to him that he might be exceptional. This isolation lasted nearly a decade. During that time, Noru trained obsessively but paid no attention to the outside world. He never studied books, never sought information on threats or politics, as he never felt the need to understand the world beyond his immediate surroundings. And that is quite realistic, people immersed in their own routines often don’t seek knowledge outside their domain until necessity forces them to.
When Noru finally steps beyond his perimeter, the world is completely unfamiliar. The people, the threats, even the basic facts of adventuring are foreign to him. When he encounters monsters capable of devastating towns, he casually classifies them as just dangerous wildlife.
The circumstances also work against Noru which always prevents him and the others from realizing the truth. For example, in the scene where Noru claims his first reward, the guild master could have pieced it together if Noru hadn’t unknowingly destroyed the evidence. After defeating the Goblin Emperor, Noru describes its appearance to the guild master. The guild master senses something was off, so he asks for a proof. But since Noru had unknowingly vaporized the body, there was no evidence. With no evidence, the guild master reluctantly assumed Noru had taken down an unusually tall goblin. And because the princess was traveling with him, the guild master assumed she must have done most of the work.
Well, because it makes his behavior emotionally believable and thematically relevant. The comedy isn't just around ignorance or silliness, you know. It's grounded in Noru's psychology and the world's design. Yes, it's easy to mistake his obliviousness for stupidity or ignorance. But from a structural standpoint, it is actually a conditioned response to his environment. It's not just a personality quirk. All of which, adds logical clarity to the story where each misunderstanding is sequential and organic, even clever. You can easily picture him sincerely telling a dwarf, "You are pretty shredded for a toddler", and actually meaning it. Hahaha!
Since Noru can’t level up in the system, it means he will never receive any external validation from it. Imagine training your entire life, perfecting every skill you know, but because there is no visible metric tracking your progress, so you end up assuming you have achieved nothing. That is Noru’s mindset in a nutshell. His perception of his own worth is dictated by a system that is not going to acknowledge his progress ever. Even when people tell him he is overpowered, he will brush it off, not out of false modesty, but because he truly believes he is just working hard to keep up.
In that sense, Noru’s character works as both a parody of typical overpowered protagonists and as a surprisingly grounded case study- someone who unintentionally becomes a leader and symbol of strength purely because of his misunderstandings. He doesn’t aspire to greatness. He simply keeps doing what he knows, and others read depth where there is only oblivious sincerity.
Yes, this type of story carries inherent risks, especially as a long-running series. The core humor relies on repeated misunderstandings driven by Noru’s obliviousness. While this works effectively early on, without structural variation, the same formula risks becoming repetitive over time. Fortunately, the story so far avoids outright redundancy. The core setup—others misreading Noru’s actions while he misreads the world—remains consistent, yet the situations themselves have shown enough variety to keep the story engaging.
We have already seen small emotional cues suggesting that Noru isn’t trapped in permanent stasis. There are hints of possible self-reflection or subtle shifts in his perspective, which gives hope that the story might gradually evolve without sacrificing its comedic tone. Though understated, this detail suggests the narrative isn’t entirely static, and that’s a promising sign.
That said, I think it would be unfair to expect full-fledged character growth or climactic moments of recognition from this kind of story. Because this series isn’t aiming for that. Its core tone thrives within its comedic rhythm and judging it by the standards of a traditional power fantasy would miss the point.
#Would I recommend it? Definitely!
But only if you are clear on what you are getting. This isn’t a grand adventure built on epic arcs or world-shaking revelations. Like I have mentioned; It's a comedy of misunderstandings; both his and everyone else's; the very humor that defines the show’s appeal.
PS: The anime adapts up to chapter 21, the latest chapter as of February 2025. While mostly faithful, it includes a few extra frames to enhance certain scenes. So, you can check it out as well!.
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