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Spring anime season 2025 has settled down, but this title still has the internet a buzz. From raving reviews to critical hit pieces, there are so many views and ideas around that it can be difficult finding a more neutral look. I aim to give an honest review as to whether this bumpkin is worth the watch.
‘From Old Country Bumpkin to Sword Master’ begins in a small backwater town with an old master in a dojo. The protagonist, Beryl Gardenant, and current master of the sword school, has lived a good and humble life in the shadow of his father, a true master swordsman. Despite always being inferior to his father, Beryl continues rigorous training every day in order to become the best, while training new generations the art of the blade. Unfortunately for Beryl, his father and mother only seem to want grandchildren, and Beryl wants a peaceful life.
All this changes when a former student of Beryl’s arrives at the dojo, seeking to bring him into the capital to train the elite knights of the Liberion Order. While he only wants to live a quiet and peaceful, unassuming life, Beryl gives in and leaves for the capital. Along the journey of training the knights and exploring the city, our beloved swordsman continues reuniting with old students, now grown and having adventures of their own. From teaming up to take down an elusive silver haired white horse, to uncovering political intrigue from the neighboring papist state, Beryl has his hands full trying to live the humble lifestyle for which he so longs. Add to this, his being roped into the responsibility of raising an “adopted” teen girl with talent for magic, and an attitude to boot!
The quiet backdrop and a sudden shift into city life helps keep the viewers on their toes when it comes to pacing, while the animation tends to run smoothly. Vibrant displays from scenery to clothing, attention to detail is the name of the game. Add to this, plenty of swordplay and fight scenes with close ups of the action of the weaponry, ‘Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman’ delivers on entertainment and solid visuals.
The downside, however, is the forced dialogue. While the characters experience physical growth when it comes to sword skills, character growth trends a bit lackluster and stagnant. Your typical wild and strong, elite warrior woman with crass verbiage versus high nobility, well mannered knight lady with a love interest in the main character, rings too trope-ish and tired. At least it’s not another Isekai, right? The political intrigue aspects finally surface near the halfway point, but development is slow and not as exciting or enthralling as other titles out there. Perhaps season 2 (coming 2026) will be better and uplift this to a better spot both in script and depth.
Conclusion
If you are looking for an anime with solid visuals and decent action with focus on swordplay, but don’t mind the clichè dialogue and tired cookie-cutter side characters, then this may scratch your itch. If you want something more engaging and deeper when it comes to plot, maybe give this a pass.
Personally, I would put this on as a nice distraction or filler between great anime titles.
This nerd gives ‘From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman’ a 5/10.
NerdScore
5.0/10
From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman Review
Occasional highs can’t quite overcome uneven pacing and thin stakes—solid moments, but the series rarely blossoms beyond the basics.
A fantasy anime about a humble farm kid’s rise toward sword mastery, trading fields for duels as challenges—and rivals—stack up.
IMDb
6.7/10
Metacritic
NA/100
Rotten Tomatoes
NA
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Hirata Hiroaki, Toyama Nao, Ueda Hitomi (Actors)
- Akio Kazumi (Director) - Kunihiko Okada (Writer)