Two billion players have an account with Satisfy, a VR game where players can earn real money and real-life status through their accomplishments. That’s what Nagamine Takumi, who goes by the username Grid, hopes to do, but he’s a below-average player, struggling with debt, annoying his family, and living paycheck to paycheck. But that could all change when Grid happens upon a legendary item—the techniques of the legendary blacksmith Pagma—which turns him into Pagma’s Successor. With this class change, Grid opens up a new quest, but does he have the power and determination to complete it?

Overgeared has arrived—and episode one surpasses my expectations. The webtoon on which this series is based is funny, high-paced, and full of vivid colors, and episode one delivers on those fronts. Grid is generally the source of the series’s humor, and it looks like he’s going to be written well in this adaptation, which is really critical because he borders on (and sometimes passes over to) being obnoxious. Grid is greedy and desperate, but tenacious and kind to those he respects; all those characteristics are on display in this episode, where his general good nature helps to make him a sympathetic protagonist. The action scenes are fair as well, helped especially through the brilliant blues and oranges that any reader of the manhwa will instantly recognize. The first half of the episode does rush through his discovery of the legendary item, but the later scenes—the movement back and forth between his real life and online life, and the second quest—are well-written and compelling. By the time the episode concluded, I wasn’t ready to leave the world of Satisfy and Grid’s adventure. And that is as good a sign as any that this adaptation works.

Episode 1 of Overgeared will be available to stream on Crunchyroll on September 27th.

©Overgeared Animation Partners