The Lord of the Mysteries anime is an adaptation of the web novel by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving. The anime was highly anticipated, as the book was one of the best-selling. And trust me as a reader, although I haven't finished the book, it's not just hyped but well-deserved.
Plot
It's about Zhou Mingrui, a modern-day Chinese student, a keyboard warrior who tries a luck enhancement ritual and transmigrates to another world—into the body of Klein Moretti, a university scholar who strangely committed suicide.
Zhou Mingrui, now Klein, finds himself in a world of gods, science, magic, and rituals. A world of people who attain supernatural abilities by drinking potions.
Klein joins a secret organization and assumes the identity of The Fool—a mysterious existence hidden in the Gray Fog—and now has to grow his power above the mysterious Gray Fog as external forces meddle with his fate.
My Thoughts
I think the first thing you'd find if you look up the anime is that it is visually stunning. With 30,000 frames per episode—that's almost double the frames used for Solo Leveling.
Art is everything, perfectly illustrating psychology and mythology. Just mind-blowing.
Then let's talk about the pacing. If you watch the trailer and get intrigued by the show, my best advice would be—pause the show and finish the novel before starting the anime. Because the pacing is just too fast. Even the novel had places untouched, places I think the author left for our minds to wander. And the first episode alone felt like they just scraped the surface and packed everything together. The transition would leave people even more confused.
I like how they stayed faithful to the book.
Another thing I noticed missing is Klein's inner monologue, which is essential to capture the psychological depth and slow-burn tension. The inner monologue is far more developed in the novel.
Even the novel managed to be more eerie, magical, and sacred, even though the visuals added a lot to the imagination.
The side characters like Dunn, Melissa, Benson, and so many others were given time to be fleshed out in the book, but the anime just made them feel like strangers. When I was reading the book, I knew them.
I also think they toned down the darkness a little to reach a wider audience.
Final Thoughts
If you love the anime, the novel will blow your mind.
The anime is a good visual companion, but deep within, I always knew it wouldn't be able to match the reading experience of the novel.
If you want to understand and dive deeper into Klein's world, I would advise you to read the novel first.
But still, the visuals alone might be enough for some, and some might have very sharp brains to pick up the bits and put them together.
Regardless of the book, I would rate it an 8/10—five coming from the visuals, of course.