When Renegade Immortal premiered on September 25th, 2023, it arrived with the kind of quiet confidence that would eventually translate into an 8.8/10 rating—the kind of score that speaks to both critical appreciation and genuine audience enthusiasm. What Ergen created here wasn’t just another anime adaptation of a popular web novel; it was a deliberate statement about how to pace a sprawling narrative across an unexpected canvas. A 200-episode first season might sound excessive to some, but for this show, it became its greatest strength rather than a liability.
The premise centers on Wang Lin, a young man born with a crippled soul—a limitation that would crush most protagonists before their story even begins. Instead, Ergen made this the foundation of everything that makes the show compelling. Here’s someone who shouldn’t be able to cultivate toward immortality, and yet his refusal to accept that predetermined fate becomes the emotional core that audiences latched onto immediately. It’s not about power escalation or flashy spectacle; it’s about stubborn, grinding perseverance against cosmic unfairness.
What made the creative execution so distinctive:
- The 21-minute runtime allowed for breathing room that most anime adaptation struggle to find—enough time to develop character relationships without padding, enough space to let dramatic moments land properly
- The decision to stretch the narrative across 200 episodes meant that character development could unfold naturally rather than in the compressed, jerky fashion typical of seasonal television
- Ergen’s visual direction in the action sequences elevated what could have been standard cultivation-story combat into something genuinely kinetic and memorable
- The pacing structure actually honored the source material’s complexity while making it accessible to viewers unfamiliar with web novels
When word started spreading about Renegade Immortal, it was the kind of organic, word-of-mouth phenomenon that streaming platforms love but can’t manufacture. Episode 4, “Calamity Come,” hit a 9.4/10 rating—an exceptional number that indicated the show had hit on something audiences desperately wanted to see. That episode in particular became a turning point where casual viewers transformed into invested fans, the kind who’d frantically search for discussion forums and clip compilations.
> The show’s willingness to let Wang Lin fail, suffer, and struggle without immediately offering redemption made it stand out in a landscape saturated with power-fantasy narratives.
The cultural conversation around Renegade Immortal extended beyond typical anime fandom circles. This was the kind of show that people recommended to friends who “don’t usually watch anime,” because its appeal transcended genre. Yes, it’s absolutely an Action & Adventure series with Sci-Fi & Fantasy worldbuilding, but it functions equally as a character-driven Drama where the internal stakes matter more than the external ones. That genre flexibility became its own kind of cultural footprint—it proved that animation could handle nuanced storytelling without sacrificing spectacle.
What made audiences genuinely connect:
- Wang Lin’s journey wasn’t about becoming the strongest; it was about becoming himself despite every force in the universe working against him
- The show refused easy answers, choosing instead to sit with moral ambiguity and complicated choices
- Secondary characters received genuine arcs rather than serving as mere stepping stones for the protagonist
- The cultivation world-building felt internally consistent and earned, not imposed from above
The decision to structure Renegade Immortal as a Returning Series status rather than simply declaring it “complete” suggests that Ergen has plans for expansion. Whether that means additional seasons or supplementary content, the fact that the show commanded enough audience loyalty to justify continuation speaks volumes. Two hundred episodes is already a substantial commitment from viewers; the fact that people wanted more says everything about the quality of execution.
The streaming availability across both Crunchyroll and the Crunchyroll Amazon Channel made the show accessible enough to build a genuinely global fanbase. International audiences could engage with Wang Lin’s story in real-time, creating that beautiful moment in modern television history where geographic boundaries stopped mattering. Fan communities formed almost immediately, with certain episodes becoming reference points in broader conversations about anime storytelling.
What’s perhaps most impressive about Renegade Immortal is how it validates a particular approach to narrative television that mainstream western productions have largely abandoned—the idea that a story worth telling might actually deserve the space to be told fully. In an era of eight-episode seasons and constant cancellations, here was a show willing to commit to its vision across 200 episodes because that’s what the story required. It wasn’t padding; it was respect for the material and the audience intelligent enough to appreciate it.
As Renegade Immortal sits in its Returning Series limbo, it’s already secured its place as one of 2023’s most significant television achievements. It proved that animation studios could take risks on unconventional formats, that audiences would reward ambition and substance, and that a crippled young man refusing to accept his fate could become the hero we all needed to see.
