Crunchyroll’s roster of anime hits has unsurprisingly grown in 2025, to the point where major hits like Demon Slayer are more frequently pitted against in-house contesters. Its Infinity Castle movies are an unassailable success, but its action has a new 2025 rival. My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s just dropped anime’s most exciting new fight of 2025.
My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s, as anybody can guess, adapts the eponymous verbosely-named isekai light novel and manga. Isekai’s dominance was seemingly beginning to fade among other emergent anime genres, with long-running hits ready to bow out. Crunchyroll is out to prove the genre is not dead,with Akira Oda showing viewers a killer first fight.
Demon Slayer’s Fights Aren’t the Only Bright Spot of Late 2025 Anime
My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s features a cold open in which two assailants, one in traditional ninja gear, and another in JRPG assassin-class gear, vie over the same target. The latter hitman, later revealed to be Akira Oda, confronts the ninja in close combat, in a fight that barely lasts over a minute.
Animated by Sunrise, this fight immediately becomes a telling glimpse of what’s to come of My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s and how it can stand out from other isekai anime. The signature “Sunrise Smooth” animation is on full display, with Akira ruthlessly disarming and incapacitating his would-be rival, the ninja’s own sword finishing the job.
This is a case for fluid, fast-paced fights not bogged down by flashbacks like in Demon Slayer. This fight establishes what viewers will soon see of Akira Oda, including his maxed-out Conceal Presence skill, while leaving them craving more as it moves back to a swift introduction where its heroes are swept out of their mundane school life.
My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s has more fantastical fights in the episode, but they’re not as protracted as in the opening, and that’s by design. Viewers are expected to believe that Akira has overwhelmingly superior stats in an RPG-style fantasy world, and through a brutal, bone-crushing display of dominance over the ninja, fans got a taste.
Crunchyroll Proves Isekai Is Far From Dead in 2025
While isekai fans know very well the genre isn’t dead, with villainess anime and surprisingly engaging vending machine stories getting their flowers lately. My Status as an Assassin isn’t even that new of a premise, blending power fantasy isekai elements with a character reminiscent of urban fantasy heroes Kim Dokja and Sung Jinwoo before he became the Shadow Monarch.
My Status as an Assassin isn’t even that new of a premise, blending power fantasy isekai elements with a character reminiscent of urban fantasy heroes Kim Dokja and Sung Jinwoo before he became the Shadow Monarch.
Ditching Truck-kun and problematic protagonists, My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s reminds viewers that even a generic-seeming premise can flourish if executed well. Akira has greater stats than his classmates, who are also transported to this world, but they also have distinct roles and are still quite sympathetic.
Sunrise is certainly responsible for this, TMS Entertainment’s planning shows how elegantly and faithfully the series executes the original source material. There’s also an oddly retro aesthetic to character designs that feels refreshing, such as Saran Mithrey’s androgynous visage reminiscent of Griffith, and others resembling characters from Record of Lodoss War or other ’90s hits.