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The Great Isekai Review List
What is isekai?
According to Mangarock's definition of the genre:
"Isekai translates to "another world." This genre typically has a narrative where a protagonist somehow gets transported to a different world. The new world is more often than not in a fantasy setting, occasionally with traits pulled from JRPG games."
TV Tropes also goes further indepth into the idea, putting it under the trope name of "Trapped In Another World", which is basically just what "Isekai" means. Some people genre savvy to the idea might immediately think of a high school boy arriving in a JRPG fantasy world where they're super overpowered when it comes to combat, whereupon they get the attention of a stunning beautiful woman (or five). It's the definition of a power fantasy, especially for cis straight guys. However, even western works such as "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", "Alice in Wonderland", and "The Wizard of Oz" could all theoretically count as "isekai".
For this post, however, I'll be focusing mainly on isekai series that have gotten a manga adaption of some sort, often from Japan or occasionally China and Korea, which have also started to lean into the trend. That means they'll be falling into a lot of Japanese tropes and cliches, although these aren't necessarily bad things.
All of the isekai I've read through and even vaguely enjoyed are included down below in the comments section, and all of them will be utilizing this same form:
Some of these categories are self explanatory even to people unfamiliar with the genre (Title, Main Character), but a few deserve some particular notice or explanation.
Cheat: A "cheat ability" is basically a power uniquely granted to the Main Character (MC) that allows them to have the upperhand in the world they've been transported to. That sort of thing isn't entirely unusual for many stories, as it is a handy way of making a MC notable, but it is a quality that is inherent to the power fantasy aspect that isekai series often at least nod to. However, the nature of that cheat can take on quite a variety of forms depending on the series. Some do a very basic sort of ability such as access to a never before seen magic, or simply a lot of magic. Others take a more subtle approach, such as a character using their knowledge of a modern world to improve a more medieval one. Seeing the different types of "cheats", how characters use them, and how it affects the setting is one of the things that I find charming about the isekai genre.
Transport: In other words- how did the MC arrive in another world/life? Sometimes, it's because a character was summoned, either by a god or a powerful magician. Other times, it's left as a mystery. Lots of isekai even have the MC die, and their soul is reincarnated in another world with memories of their past life. Depending on how the MC got there, and the whims of the author, it can have quite an impact on the MC's goals or emotions.
Pros and Cons: While they're named as that, these categories could more accurately be called "what I did and didn't like about this series", which means they're completely subjective and from my point of view. The summary will cover what the series is about, sure, but this goes more into my personal opinions.
General Warnings: This will be a simple list of general things to watch out for, such as gore, murder, rape, or sexual assault, along with anything else I think people might appreciate a heads up on.
Fanservice: This one is fairly self explanatory, with fanservice often being women scantily clad or men getting to be in sexy positions with them. Considering how much of a range fanservice can be, I'll be listing this rather in a scale of 1 to 5.
1 - No fanservice whatsoever
3 - Some fanservice, but no so much as to be describing
5 - Hope you like tits and ass, because there's going to be a lot of that
I'll give my reasons and some examples for this category, so that people have a slightly more substantial idea of what will happen.
Harem: Power fantasies don't only include having super amazing powers, but they also dabble in areas of romance, where the (often male) MC will have a bunch of women falling for him and sometimes even having multiple wives.
According to Mangarock's definition of the genre:
"Isekai translates to "another world." This genre typically has a narrative where a protagonist somehow gets transported to a different world. The new world is more often than not in a fantasy setting, occasionally with traits pulled from JRPG games."
TV Tropes also goes further indepth into the idea, putting it under the trope name of "Trapped In Another World", which is basically just what "Isekai" means. Some people genre savvy to the idea might immediately think of a high school boy arriving in a JRPG fantasy world where they're super overpowered when it comes to combat, whereupon they get the attention of a stunning beautiful woman (or five). It's the definition of a power fantasy, especially for cis straight guys. However, even western works such as "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", "Alice in Wonderland", and "The Wizard of Oz" could all theoretically count as "isekai".
For this post, however, I'll be focusing mainly on isekai series that have gotten a manga adaption of some sort, often from Japan or occasionally China and Korea, which have also started to lean into the trend. That means they'll be falling into a lot of Japanese tropes and cliches, although these aren't necessarily bad things.
All of the isekai I've read through and even vaguely enjoyed are included down below in the comments section, and all of them will be utilizing this same form:
Some of these categories are self explanatory even to people unfamiliar with the genre (Title, Main Character), but a few deserve some particular notice or explanation.
Cheat: A "cheat ability" is basically a power uniquely granted to the Main Character (MC) that allows them to have the upperhand in the world they've been transported to. That sort of thing isn't entirely unusual for many stories, as it is a handy way of making a MC notable, but it is a quality that is inherent to the power fantasy aspect that isekai series often at least nod to. However, the nature of that cheat can take on quite a variety of forms depending on the series. Some do a very basic sort of ability such as access to a never before seen magic, or simply a lot of magic. Others take a more subtle approach, such as a character using their knowledge of a modern world to improve a more medieval one. Seeing the different types of "cheats", how characters use them, and how it affects the setting is one of the things that I find charming about the isekai genre.
Transport: In other words- how did the MC arrive in another world/life? Sometimes, it's because a character was summoned, either by a god or a powerful magician. Other times, it's left as a mystery. Lots of isekai even have the MC die, and their soul is reincarnated in another world with memories of their past life. Depending on how the MC got there, and the whims of the author, it can have quite an impact on the MC's goals or emotions.
Pros and Cons: While they're named as that, these categories could more accurately be called "what I did and didn't like about this series", which means they're completely subjective and from my point of view. The summary will cover what the series is about, sure, but this goes more into my personal opinions.
General Warnings: This will be a simple list of general things to watch out for, such as gore, murder, rape, or sexual assault, along with anything else I think people might appreciate a heads up on.
Fanservice: This one is fairly self explanatory, with fanservice often being women scantily clad or men getting to be in sexy positions with them. Considering how much of a range fanservice can be, I'll be listing this rather in a scale of 1 to 5.
1 - No fanservice whatsoever
3 - Some fanservice, but no so much as to be describing
5 - Hope you like tits and ass, because there's going to be a lot of that
I'll give my reasons and some examples for this category, so that people have a slightly more substantial idea of what will happen.
Harem: Power fantasies don't only include having super amazing powers, but they also dabble in areas of romance, where the (often male) MC will have a bunch of women falling for him and sometimes even having multiple wives.
Top Favorites
So I'm A Spider, So What?
Title: So I'm A Spider, So What?
Other Titles:
Author: Asahiro Kakashi, Okina Baba
Main Character: "Kumoko"
Gender: Female
Cheat: Human Intelligence in a Spider Monster Body, access to skill and leveling tree
Transport: Death (by Magic)
Summary: One regular day in the middle of class, a high school girl is trying to nap... only to suddenly find her body being filled with pain. Before she knows it, she's trying to break out of an egg, and finds herself not in her body or her classroom... but rather that as a newly hatched spider! In fact, she's not a regular spider, but rather one of the many kind of "mob monsters" a regular adventurer might slaughter. Dubbing herself "Kumoko" now that she's no longer human, she does her best to try and live a decent life, even despite her circumstances. Now if only everything, from humans to other monsters, wasn't trying to kill her...
Pros: Interesting Premise, Underdog Story, In-depth System, Funny, Background Events
This series has a lot of strong points, and I've always found myself hooked in with every bit of progress. To start with, there's the premise: the MC becomes a basic, everyday mob monster that would be one of the first things killed in a typical fantasy game or story. It puts her into one of the most optimal situations for an isekai MC, where she has an immediate serious obstacle to overcome (survival) and doesn't know a lot about her situation. Not only does this give us something to immediately look forward to in how she'll overcome her circumstances but our heroine doesn't have the kind of cheat or situation that would let her know everything about her new world. We mostly learn about the setting step by step with her, beyond a couple of rare cases. Everything really draws you in and deeply curious to learn more, whether that's about the kinds of monsters, the level up system, or the world at large.
Additionally with all of this, it's a fascinating underdog story, and proves that not all isekai have to be simple and easy "power fantasy" types. While the the MC may have a cheat in the form of her intelligence that allows her to make slightly better planning than most mob monsters... That's still what she is in the end: a simple monster, starting at level 1. Watching her stumble through fights and win against tough odds really fills a body with excitement. That bond also makes the reader concerned for her, whether in battle or in how her journey might change her. The way a human would normally survive isn't the way a monster in a cave normally would, after all.
Yet even with how much the story focuses on the MC, it also makes sure that we are aware that other things are happening beyond her. She's the main character of the story, not the world, and plenty of creatures and people are living their lives separate from her. We get indications, big and small, that the outside world is moving forward with a lot of things... which can make it exciting to see how those might one day affect the MC, once she gets to that point.
Tying all of this together is a very interesting skill tree. For those who love seeing how things work, it's definitely one of the most fascinating aspects of this series. All monsters start off with a basic skill or two, such as a spider having threads and biting... but those are at level 1. The more they use it, the more experience they gain for those skills, and, if those skills max out, they can become something new entirely. Monsters can even gain skills they don't even have yet through this system! This even applies to monster "family trees", as the MC herself slowly discovers. It's an curious look into the mechanics of the world, and how its creatures populate it.
This seems like a lot, but the narration manages to keep things lighter and more hilarious than it otherwise might through its MC, who is our main viewpoint. Her cutesy design (for a spider) helps adds a bit of brevity when surrounded by otherwise terrifying monsters like giant snakes. Additionally, for all the life-or-death struggles and worrying developments, the MC is clearly still a teenager past her arachnid exterior as she displays pretty grievances, wants to just laze around, and even admits to some chuuni daydreams. (Plus some more grounded things, like wanting stability in the form of a home, or pondering about her circumstances.) All of this combined ensures that the story doesn't become too overbearing when it otherwise would be.
Cons: None
...At least, from my perspective. For my tastes, this series is a perfect delight, and I've enjoyed every moment of it.
General Warnings: Spiders (Cute ver. and terrifying ver.), Monster Cannibalism, Mild Gore, Animal Injury/Body Horror
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 2 - As you can imagine, there's not a lot of fanservice when the majority of the story is focused on a spider monster. However, later on in the series, we do see other female characters who do fit more of the typical idea of fanservice when it comes to outfits, so I can't say it's a series completely devoid of it.
Harem: no
In Another World, I'm Called the Black Healer
Title: In Another World, I'm Called the Black Healer
Other Titles:
Author: Murakami Yuichi , Fujima Miya
Main Character: Misuzu Kanzaki / "Reene Kanzak"
Gender: Female
Cheat: Flexible Unique Magic
Transport: Summoned
Summary: On the way home after a fun night of karaoke and looking forward to finding her first job, Misuzu suddenly finds a portal opening up behind her while a multitude of shadowy hands grab at her to pull her in. When she wakes up, she's in the middle of nowhere, in a field near a forest. After experimenting with her magic, she eventually finds herself helping a pair of knights who soon request her assistance for defending and healing their comrades. With that, Misuzu takes on the new name of "Reene" and begins her first steps towards being a healer for the people. But there's still the question of who is responsible for bringing her to this world in the first place...
Pros: Politics, Drama, Detailed Healing, Dream Romance
One of the fun things about this series is the different political aspects which weigh in. The MC's very existence as an extremely powerful magical force with an unknown background means that a lot of different people have their eye on here for various reasons. The political aspect isn't extremely complicated, but it's just enough that anyone can keep up with it, and it's interesting to see the different factions and their different approaches. The group that picks the MC up, the church which has a habit of surrounding itself with powerful types, nobility.... While the MC isn't in the thick of it, she is the cause of it all, so it can't be escaped or completely ignored. What's especially interesting is seeing her progress. The MC is doing her best in her situation, and she constantly has to adjust to new changes in her position.
Of course, where there are politics, there's drama. The good thing about this series is that, once a particular drama is handled with, it doesn't... completely go away. Even when the big main mystery of who summoned the MC is solved, there are still things about it that come up. It might seem like an obvious thing, for actions to have consequences that last long after, but it can be nice to see in an isekai where sometimes the power fantasy forgets about such basic facts.
Related to all of this, you can tell that the MC really is affected by the things she sees, and they continue to affect her even in small ways. When she has a bad experience with another man, for example, she gets anxious when approached even by other men she knows are logically her friends and allies. (The good news is that this reaction is immediately understood, and her companions immediately think of how they can help in regards to this.) It's another thing that should be a given, but the way it's represented is excellent.
This series isn't without a bit of romance, either. Avoiding the harem trope, this focuses much more on a singular romance. For those who love that kind of thing, it's the mystery of seeing the same person in the same dream, and feeling a peculiar kind of longing and bond. I won't say much more than that, and it doesn't become relevant for a while... But it's still a fun and interesting sort of romantic idea.
One of the things which first caught my attention about this series, however, was the way that the MC uses healing magic! She doesn't just use an overall "heal" spell when she has to help someone recover. Instead, she uses a more step by step process: Scan to figure out the problem, sleep to not stress out a patient, anesthesia to numb the pain, bit by bit until they're fixed. It's not something I've seen very often when it comes to healing magics, and I thought it was really cool to see it used!
With everything I've detailed plus the warnings, it might seem like a heavy series, but it manages to avoid that sort of thing. There are still light hearted moments, and plenty of jokes. It's not a series that weighs down on its reader.
Cons: None
I'm perfectly content with this series for what it is.
General Warnings: Mind Control, Torture, Murder, Threats of Rape, Sexual Harassment
All of this sounds pretty bad, but they're not constant throughout the entire series with the exception of people getting hurt.
Slavery: S...orta. There's no 'slave trade', but there are instances of occasional villains using magic to trap or meddle with someone's mind.
Fanservice: 1 - While the MC is a woman, she dresses fairly sensibly in regards to the occasion, and all the other female characters follow the same example.
Harem: No
They Say I Was Born A King's Daughter
Title: They Say I Was Born a King's Daughter
Other Titles:
Author: Bi Chu, Legna Kim
Main Character: Suhee Kim / Sanghee Kim
Gender: Female
Cheat: knowledge from her past life
Transport: Death (Murder via stabbing by a jealous lover)
Summary: Suhee Kim is an inadvertent flirt of sorts, managing to attract the interest of all sorts of men who want to impress her despite her not trying and not even being interested. One day, however, this backfires on her as a would-be suitor, dismayed at her lack of interested and even being engaged, kills her in a sudden attack on the street. Suhee thinks that's it... only to find herself reincarnated as a baby in an entirely different life. Yet it's far from good news, as she finds herself in a world where women are viewed about as well as dirt... even if they're royalty. Now born as Sanghee Kim, she makes the decision to turn her circumstances around for not only herself, but all women- a plan that could potentially take a lifetime.
Pros: "Soft" Power, Politics and Jackasses, Strong Protagonist, Potential Older Gay Rep, Intersection of Vulnerability, Underdog, Humor
Not too long ago, I watched an interesting video that went into a concept South Korea had called "soft power". It was particularly in context of their makeup industry, which was both making a name for itself and being smuggled into its northern neighbor. Lacking the ability to be an overwhelming military powerhouse, such as the U.S.A., it was instead appealing itself to the world at large with its image of fun K-pop bands and appealing products. That was the "soft" power in contrast to the more military "hard" power. It's the power of influencing people's opinions and desires.
It's not surprising that this series, which is also from South Korea, seems to also reference this sort of power in its MC's tactics. While she is royalty in her own right with this new life of hers, she's at the very bottom of the pecking order. It's a new life, but it's a life without any meaning to those in charge. She has no magical ability, which dominates everything in this foreign society, and no magical ability means no martial talent... not that she has any knowledge of that, with her past life having been that of a normal civilian woman in South Korea. She could use her smarts but, because she's "only a woman", it takes work to even get it recognized at all, and her work could get stolen from her by unconvinced men trying to steal that fame for themselves. The MC, at the start of this story, has no other allies. Even those who are already inclined to her, such as her mother and her maid, feel beholden to the "rules" of this world.
So the MC uses the one thing that's left available to her: her personality and ability to read emotions. She immediately addresses that her main issue is that she has no allies, so she has to make some. If she's going to make allies, why not make allies of the most powerful people around? So we get to see the MC completely adjust her persona in front of literally any men, showering them with what seems like unconditional affection and attention. That might not seem like much in our reality, but in this setting where women can't even make eye contact for fear of retaliation? It's a rare commodity and one which really seems to affect her immediate male family members. That makes them more interested in the MC, because they're getting that rare emotional feedback, which in turn allows the MC to influence them. It's slow going, long and frustrating for our MC, but every little change is noteworthy because of it. Her journey is equal parts infuriating and validating.
In some ways, it's almost a power fantasy in its own right, if different from the typical male-dominated stories in the genre. It's a power fantasy that, even when things are at their very lowest, even if one is entirely alone, something could still be done. It's very ultimately an underdog sort of power fantasy.
Yet while the MC is doing her best to manipulate people's perceptions of her, as tiring and lonely a task as this is, she's still only human in the end. The men around her are also only human despite their magical, physical, and political power... which means they're often weird in ways that only people can be. Our MC can often read the guys around her like a book, but sometimes they do things that are outright bizarre to her. She's not a mindreader, after all. Add onto this that there are politics going on over her head that she's nowhere near privy to...
In other words, it all makes for some interesting and honestly hilarious political nonsense. Other people in this setting, men and women included, can't easily conceive of these high ranking men of royalty just... genuinely liking a girl or woman (even if her actions towards them aren't as genuine themselves). This leads to a lot of bizarre ideas that go through other characters' heads, from the government to the court to even outside of the kingdom. It's like a game of telephone, only no one is communicating, and everyone else is making wild ass guesses.
Only two men seem to understand the genuine feelings that are being directed towards the MC, warped in this bizarre culture as they can be, and I find it interesting who those two men are in the story. One is her oldest brother who lacks magic power unlike most men and has essentially been made a political hostage of a neighboring country. The other is the MC's elderly tutor, both coded and in-universe rumored to be gay. It hasn't been gone into deeply yet, as of my reading, but I do find it to be very interesting that the two men who are actually unconditionally fond of the MC and understand the more secretive emotions directed towards her are both... unconventional men, in the setting of the series.
I'm not going to lie, if this sounds like a lot, that's because it is. The misogyny in this series' universe can be pretty heavy, especially in our current political climate. The trials the MC has to struggle through can feel exhausting. Fortunately, like many of the good series I recommend here in this list, it manages to help ease off the burden by including breathers and humor inbetween the distressing or dramatic moments. A lot of it is enjoying the MC's spiteful determination, and her secret true feelings, both things which she demonstrates fairly early on in her new life. The image above is a good example of that, taken from a scene where she meets her father. She already has nothing but disdain for the man, yet she still has to put on a good cute adoring baby show. That doesn't mean she still won't try to cuss him out with "asshole" or "scumbag", however... words only made intelligible because she's a baby who doesn't have the proper vocal chords for it. Moments like those can feel like hilarious "The Office" moments, secret in-jokes between the reader and our MC as we mock the jackasses she's taking advantage of.
It's not only the MC who's funny, however. A lot of the male characters migh be people we'd love to see either change or get their just desserts or both... but they practically live on a different planet with how bizarre their logic or lack of communication can be. That can lead to hilarious exchanges like below:
"Punch me."
"But I don't want to hurt you!"
"It's fine, I have a six pack."
It really makes you wonder, inbetween the laughter and snickering, just what kind of moon logic is being followed here.
Cons: Romance, Queer Subjects
These are a little more complicated than outright cons to the series, but I do think they bear mentioning, especially as a recommendation of the series.
The first thing is the romance angle. Our MC is engaged at an extremely young age for her new life (even if her mind/spirit is that of a woman), although not expected to marry for many years, and her fiance is a teenager. It's essentially a political marriage... or it would be, if her new fiance didn't ~mysteriously~ look like the fiance she had in her past life whom she loved. Thus, there's some tension that happens between them. Again, she has the body of a young child, so it can possibly be strange for other people to see this happening, so I'll leave it to others if this is something they can deal with or gloss over. On the bright side, the series does seem aware of the situation, and nothing really happens between the two while she's still a pre-adolescent child. It even seems to poke fun at her fiance, where he and even his friend wonder what the hell is up with him over a little kid he saw once. A lot of his interactions with her at this point are just tension between both of them, and him being confused and lashing out as a result.
Secondly, this isn't a con so much as this is an intense interest on my end, but I'm left wondering how this particular misogynistic society handles queer individuals, both in sexuality and gender. Men having romantic feelings for each other doesn't seem to be too much of a taboo, with one character declaring himself a rival and the above-mentioned elderly character rumored (but not in an unkind way) to be gay... but the series has yet to go into depth on this subject matter, or any others. I'm really dying to know exactly why gay men wouldn't be seen as an issue, or romances between women. I'm especially interested in what this sort of setting would mean for trans and nonbinary characters.
That would mean subjecting them to a shitty world... but if we're already seeing a simple straight cis woman going through hell, then that leaves me personally in a more prepared mindspace for other things. I can't stop thinking about it when considering the setting as it is. I would really like to see it handled, and handled well. Considering that it hasn't treated its elderly gay character too badly, I have tentative hopes on that front.
General Warnings: hardcore misogyny, emotional abuse, bullying, rape culture, attempted sexual harassment
Slavery: Yes - And not the "sexy" kind by any means
Fanservice: 1 - Despite the misogyny of the setting, sexualization via forced fanservice outfits is not one of them
Harem: No
Bakarina
Title: Bakarina
Other Titles: Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei shite shimatta..., Destruction Flag Noble Girl Villainess, Destruction Flag Otome, I Reincarnated into an Otome Game as a Villainess With Only Destruction Flags..., My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, 乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった...
Author: Yamaguchi Satoru, Hidaka Nami
Main Character: Katarina Claes
Gender: Female
Cheat: memory of her past life (and the game her new life is based on)
Transport: Death (Traffic Accident)
Summary: When Katarina Claes, young daughter of a duke, hits her head one day, she gets a sudden rush of memories- from a past life! There, she was a regular high schooler in modern day Japan whose latest obsession was the otome game "Fortune Lover". Soon, she realizes that her other life's obsession with that game could save her life! Because not only is she in the universe of "Fortune Lover"... but she's the main villainess for two different routes! She has until her teenage years to come up with a plan to keep her from either exile or death. However, funnily enough, things can change just by her being herself...
Pros: Peak Dumbass Queer Energy, Heartwarming, Lighthearted
The great draw of the MC for this series... is that she's a huge dumbass. In a good way, of course! She's a simple girl with simple needs: being alive, farm gardening, and caring for the many friends she ends up making throughout the series. However, she's definitely operating on some different train tracks from the rest of her relationships, and people in general. When she's constantly lost in her own thoughts, she sometimes misses some key information other people outright tell her. So absorbed in her determination to avoid "death flags", she sometimes misses when a flag has ceased to be a problem.
However, for most of the people around her, that's not something that they really seem to mind. Even if she's oblivious and not the brightest bulb in the box, the MC is fun, caring, and energetic- so outside the usual noble standards that lonely or bored characters tend to be drawn to her. She's a dumbass, but she's a loving dumbass who's always upfront in her emotions and thoughts. As this turns out, that's an attractive trait to a lot of people- men and women alike. The MC's excitable but good nature draws a veritable harem to her that she's completely oblivious to. It's kind of hilarious, watching her give the same friendly treatment she's always given to people who are outright courting her. Despite that, no one ever really pushes her to choose out of a number, instead happy to stay alongside her and wait for the day where she'll (hopefully) confess affection.
I'm not sure if this is oblivious ace territory or ditz bi territory or all of the above, but it's fun either way.
Of course, all of this makes for a fairly lighthearted story. I've found that it makes for a good refreshing palate cleanser for after reading much heavier or denser stories such as "King's Daughter" or "Duke's Daughter". The stakes get raised a little bit more, once our MC makes it into magic school where, in her memories of the video game, "she" faces her fate, but it's never something with quite the political/economical complications of Duke's Daughter or the stakes of "King's Daughter". It's dramatic, but in the way shoujo are thought to be, and our MC faces the issues with her usual oblivious and yet focused compassion.
Cons: 0
It's a fun and relaxed little story for the most part, and it doesn't need to change much from that.
General Warnings: Bullying, Adopted Incest
One of the people who falls for the MC is an adopted brother, so that may turn some people away from the series.
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 1 - No time for fanservice, only shenanigans
Harem: Yes
Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter
Title: Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter
Other Titles:
Author: Reia, Suki Umemiya
Main Character: Iris Lana Armelia
Gender: Female
Cheat: knowledge of her past life and modern day capitalism
Transport: Death (Traffic Accident)
Summary: Right in the midst of being accused by her fiance of bullying another girl, Iris Lana Armelia is overcome with a rush of memories... Memories of being a regular office worker in Japan. With those memories comes the realization that her situation is identical to the "bad end" of an otome villainess. Hastily, she comes to terms with this new blending of lives, and is banished from the school. After doing her best to avoid the rest of her bad end- being exiled from her family to be a nun- Iris soon finds herself in position of being her family's active fief lord. Iris makes a decision, then and there, to improve her land as best as she possibly can in the midst of political and economical turmoil.
Pros: Political Maneuvering, In-Depth Economics, Exploration of Deeper Stories
An occasional failing in some isekai is that, while they give their MC all the power in the world for that power fantasy taste, they sometimes don't like to consider what that really means in the grand scheme of things. Even if they have world-breaking knowledge or power that could be abused by another party, some stories sidestep this by canonly having the MC overcome it without having to really put much thought into the issue. This isn't true for all isekai, but it is something that occasionally happens.
"Duke's Daughter", however, digs right into all the meat and bone of such a question. Our MC's past life shows that she's incredibly intelligent, having dealt with money and the system it was in extensively as the kind of office worker she was. On an economic scale, that side of her dives immediately into the many economic problems that both her own fief has and which affect the kingdom as a whole. It's honestly enlightening seeing her explain to other people not only concepts such as "banks" and "credit", which helps the reader just as much as it does those she's trying to convince, but we get to see her tackle issues such as when taxes stay the same for decades or why funding for public schools are so damn important. "Iris" as a whole wants to bring prosperity and happiness to her fief, and it's the MC's past life which allows her to really carry through with those kinds of words.
What's fun is that, because the Japanese office worker part of her strangely mixed soul is able to so steadily tackle the economic issues of her fief, this allows the daughter of nobility side of herself to rise to occasions as well. Economic prosperity is a great thing, both to aim for and to have, but that means a lot more people and organizations start to take an interest in the once exiled woman. Through our MC, we get to see various political maneuvering take place, not only through her, but from the various pieces moving in this great clockwork shithouse that is politics. You see, even before our MC's predicament, there was already a lot of politics happening in the form of different parties and royal succession issues. As our MC rises in prominence, we begin to see, through her POV, the various groups and what intrigue is taking place.
On a more story level, something I find fascinating is the way the story compares itself to its otome isekai origins. At the very beginning of the manga, we are given a brief glimpse into the otome whose world the MC ends up in as the role of the antagonist. It's a very basic otome pretense: a more 'lowly' female protagonist catches the attention of a handsome prince, and they fall in love with a future of being the royal couple. Yet as our own MC progresses through her life, we begin to see more past that shallow presentation which the in-universe otome game gave us. We see the complicated strings of court politics, the life an antagonist has beyond her clashes with an otome heroine, and perhaps that such a "perfect and loving" heroine could not only make mistakes, such as going after the fiance of another woman, but in fact have a lot more connections than one would think. It's the kind of fun thing that I could easily see in an already existing fandom, pondering what there is beyond what a story presents to us. Having the former and would-be antagonist as our MC allows us fresh eyes to see everything from a different perspective.
Cons: oh god economics
Listen. I find it very fascinating how this story pays attention to the various factors that come with running a country/fief/a bunch of people. It's this story's strong suit. BUT OH BOY IS THERE A LOT OF IT. The political aspects aren't too bad, dizzying as it can be keeping track of things, but learning about different economic ideas and factors can be. a lot. Especially if you loathe math. But if you're a huge nerd into that kind of thing, then it's pretty neat!
General Warnings: None that I can immediately think of or find
Slavery: Offhanded mention of it (in that a minor issue arrises, but it's illegal in the fief), but it has yet to play a strong role
Fanservice: 1 - The story's strong suits are its politics and economics, and it leans into that hard instead of bothering to throw in tons of fanservice.
Harem: no
That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime
Title: That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
Other Titles:
Author: Taiki Kawakami, Fuse
Main Character: Rimuru Tempest
Gender: Died a guy, Revived a sexless slime
Cheat: devour an enemy and get the skills
Transport: Death (street stabbing)
Summary: An average salaryman ends up dying when he takes a blow meant for his younger coworker one day while they're on an outting, a senseless loss of life caused by a guy trying to steal a purse. As his life fades, the man hears a strange voice in his head seeming to coolly taking notes of his thoughts of dying as if turning them into skills... and when he comes to, he realizes that he's turned into a meager slime monster that could be from any number of JRPG fantasies! Eventually given the name "Rimuru Tempest", he sets out to.... honestly? Just live a comfortable life. However, Rimuru keeps ending up with lots of responsibility for a not-so-average slime...
Pros: Domestic Fantasy Mix, Overarching Story, Fun Protagonist, Found Monster Family, JRPG Mechanics, That Genderqueer Feeling
To some degree, I've found that isekai stories tend to fall on a sliding scale triangle of domestic vs political vs fantasy adventure. "Domestic" isekai tend to focus more on ideas such as cooking in a fantasy world, or the difficult tasks that go into making simple things such as "books". Meanwhile, fantasy adventure isekai are basically the stereotypical idea people have of the genre. What's neat about this series is that is seems to fall somewhere between the two around the middle. Our MC really just wants to live a comfortable life, which then extends fairly easily to wanting the people (well, monsters) around him to also live a comfortable life. That means he has to take into consideration of building up basic things like organizing goblins, hiring better architects who can in turn teach his group how to build, and even thinking of modern comforts like hot bath.
However, in the end, our MC and all his immediate close compatriots are still kind of, you know... monsters. Clearly intelligent monsters that are more akin to people than just basic "mobs" one would fight in a video game, but still monsters whom regular humans and the like view with distrust. Add onto this other kingdoms' goals and interests as this little monster community starts to grow more and more, and you have a variety of fantastical things on the agenda! To protect his home, our MC has to get into all sorts of battle and get all sorts of attention drawn to him. This leads to an overarching story, both of his goal to find freedom for his friend and to deal with something much larger than he expects when he makes a promise to another.
However, the MC is someone that makes you want to stick around for his story. Befitting the kind of story that follows a simple (and not so simple) slime monster around, his personality is fairly relaxed and often somewhat playful. Even in stressful situations where he's genuinely panicked, he's either reliable enough that it feels as though things can push through or silly enough to take the edge off. However, not only is he relaxed and silly... but he's also surprisingly reliable and caring. It's something he even references towards the start of the series, where he admits that his "kouhai" would often come to him for help or guidance and he'd always cave in the end. A comment I once read on a youtube video sums it up nicely:
"I think that's where this protagonist differs from other isekai protagonists, instead of just being a random otaku, he was a working man who was also a boss who lead people under him, like that one he died protecting. So he knows how to lead and care for those under him."
I think that's a pretty accurate assessment, honestly. On some levels, the MC is lazy, silly, and somewhat perverted on occasion... but you can also tell that he was in a leadership position in his life. Not only is he fairly adept at organizing the many people under him, but you can tell he genuinely cares about their wellbeing, goofs aside. Another good quote about the MC and this series in general comes from Mother's Basement's video on the anime version of this, where it stated that, yeah, this is a power fantasy series, but it's a power fantasy where all your friends are well cared for and happy.
As a small cheery on top, this series also does occasional tiny nods to JRPG elements! The most obvious example is its 'naming' system. (Quick but minor spoilers here.) Most monsters don't have names the same way that humans do, in this series' canon. It takes mana to name a monster, and, when that monster is named... They get something of a 'level up', effectively evolving to a stronger, faster, or more magical version of themselves. This is a fun nod to video games. A group of enemies each called "Goblin" aren't anything special. However, when you run into a monster that has an actual name or title, that's when you know something is up. It's really neat little things like that which show through in the series.
Finally, my final comment... is definitely the most subjective thing here, but it is something I wanted to talk about. I'm nonbinary and, generally speaking from experience, the desire to shapeshift is definitely pretty common among me and all my genderfuck friends. So, while I doubt it was intentional, I felt a lot of draw when the MC learned how to shapeshift into a more human form. The MC died as a cis human man, sure, but he readily admits that slimes in contrast don't really have a sex, or a gender, or anything like that. That doesn't really seem to bother him too much for a long time, and the only time we see him even spare a moment to be bothered is when he learns to take a humanoid form. The first time he tries, he realizes his body is essentially "sexless": no genitals, a flat chest, no secondary sex characteristics, and a face that other characters refer to as 'feminine'. That's the body he creates just off the top of his dome. It takes actual focused thought to make a "masculine" or "feminine" body... and then we don't really see it ever brought up again. The reader has no idea if Rimuru ever actually decides to bring any of those kinds of bodily choices onto himself, even though it would be easy to do so, and, honestly? He doesn't even seem particularly interested in doing so.
Of course, this is the opinion and viewpoint of myself, so other people may take it differently.
Cons: Multi-media Details
As with many isekai on the Japanese side of things, this series started off as a light novel, before becoming a manga, and which now has an anime. This is a positive thing overall, because the success of a series means more money available to it for all sorts of things, but it does mean that things change over the different iterations of this series. Namely, there are some details that have been added or changed throughout its various transitions, to getting the full impact sometimes means delving into those. For example, as it's progressed through mediums, the series has given more time and detail to a character that ends up improtant to the MC. However, going through everything isn't 100% necessary to enjoying the story, it just helps add to it.
General Warnings: Typical fantasy violence, Cannibalism for one arc, child abuse backstories, some body horror
Slavery: None mentioned yet
Fanservice: 3 - Not every single girl is covered in skimpy outfits, but a few are, and there more than a few boob jokes here and there. (Especially when the MC goes to the dwarf kingdom.) It doesn't permeate the series, however, having a time and place for most of it.
Harem: Yes, although it's on the same level of the fanservice in that it's not often a huge deal, and the attention of women to him is often more used as a joke than anything
Restaurant To Another World
Title: Restaurant To Another World
Other Titles:
Author: Takaaki Kugatsu, Junpei Inuzuka
Main Character: Arguably "Tenshu" the chef and restaurant owner, but also everyone, at one chapter or another
Gender: Male
Cheat: A regularly schedule teleporting restaurant
Transport: The very same as above
Summary: In a fantasy world, a mysterious phenomenon occurs where, in multiple places, strange doors appear once every seven days. In abandoned mines, shacks in the middle of nowhere, a dragon's hoard- anywhere and everywhere. Those who enter it find themselves in a modern day Japanese restaurant called Nekoya. There, no questions asked, the chefs serves his various peculiar patrons with no questions asked, just like his father and grandfather before him.
Pros: Multiple Character Focus, Feel Good Stories, Food
What helps to distinguish this series from other isekai are a few things. For starters, it's not a person who takes a one-way ticket to another world, but rather an entire place and its workers who do so regularly once a week. That's almost enough to make it stand out from its contemporaries, but then it goes one step further. The MC is arguably the cook who owns the restaurant, inherited from his grandfather that founded it. Yet the story doesn't focus on him. The focus of this story is on the restaurant as a whole.. in particular, the people who patronize it.
With a couple of exceptions, each of the chapters within this series focus on one customer in particular in both their favorite food at the restaurant and how they came to make the life changing discovery of the place in general. That allows the story to expand in a different way than most isekai. Through each individual customer, we get various glimpses into the fantasy world that the restaurant connects to as the customers are from all different walks of life with different circumstances that have lead them to finding the restaurant.
Sometimes this puts the customers at odds with one another: vegan elves disdaining others, countries at odds with one another, even prisoners arriving. And yet no one starts anything while within the restaurant itself. Heated arguments (often over what food is best) are acceptable and even expected to some degree... but no one gets into any physical altercations or even anything that might be too serious. That sort of thing is outlawed by every iteration of the owner, managing to be upheld partially because trying to start a fight would turn the rest of the customer base against them. More importantly, however, to start a fight in the restaurant means being banned from it. Not a single person who's ever visited the place can think of that without going pale.
Because... In some ways, the restaurant and the food it makes are more than just a restaurant and food. Certainly, its modern enmities are wonderful, intriguing, and comfortable to its customers that are from a more medieval fantasy sort of world. There can be no denying that whatever food its chef makes is 100% delicious. Yet the food means something deeper for its patrons, all of them striking into an individual aspect of a whole piece.
In one case, food is the thing which connects two different members of a family, allowing a person to connect with a beloved relative that's since passed. Simple omelette rice helps support a community where the sharing of a large meal binds them all together. Food can be a sanctuary, energy to continue on, a reason to keep living. For those who visit the restaurant, they're not only stopping by for a meal. Rather, that meal represents something truly important.
This can't be surprising, not really. People span a wide variety of backgrounds, beliefs, personalities, and so much more. Yet no matter how different we are from one another, there are still things which unite us across our many divides. Everyone needs to eat. Everyone wants to eat, especially a good meal in a good place sometimes with good company. In that way, because it connects people so thoroughly, food can truly be a way to explore the depths of what make up people. While reading this series, I often felt the way that the many diners did while digging into their meals: warm, comforted, and utterly at ease. It helps that the food is drawn with such loving detail that it makes the mouth water. No wonder that, no matter what the food is, it's so completely believable that it's being enjoyed.
Cons: Food Porn
You know how sometimes you look at a picture and something is so detailed that you can't help but have the thought "Is this a fetish artist drawing something not explicitly fetish?" Like when someone has really well done feet compared to a more simpler style or something.
...That's the feeling that I occasionally get when reading this. There are a couple of close-ups rrrrright in the mouth when they're chewing on a food, and reactions to the tastiness of the food almost seems to border on sexual with flushed cheeks and wet lips.
This isn't necessarily bad, but it's definitely something to be made of.
General Warnings: Fantastical Racism, Closeup On Chewed Foods Occasionally
Slavery: Yes (Not Sexy)
Fanservice: 4 - For reasons detailed above, plus occasional naked women scenes (mostly played for laughs since they're transformed from nonhuman forms)
Harem: No
The New Gate
Title: The New Gate
Other Titles:
Author: Yoshiyuki Miwa, Shinogi Kazanami
Main Character: Shin
Gender: Male
Cheat: Max Level (And Beyond) Game Transfer, equipment, items, and home included
Transport: Game to World
Summary: Having been trapped in a virtual reality game with his life on the line, player Shin is in the final boss battle that should save him and all the other players from their virtual prison. However, after defeating the final boss, something strange happens: a peculiar door opens, revealing a beam of bright light... and suddenly Shin finds himself waking up in a field in the middle of nowhere. When he tries to log out, like he should be able to after defeating the final boss, he finds the button completely gone! And, hey... Should VR graphics look this realistic...? As it turns out, Shin has completely teleported to the world that was once only "virtual reality", and he's been "gone" a lot longer than he thought...
Pros: NPC Focus, Video Game Attributes (low luck stat), Main Character Mockery
In a lot of ways, this series does fill out a lot of the typical tropes and ideas which come up in one's idea of stereotypical isekai. The MC is unbelievably powerful, more than a few women tend to find him interesting, et cetera, et cetera. Of course, it wouldn't be on this portion of my isekai rating lists if it were only that, and it does have quite a few charming points.
On the minor end of things, I've found that the way it translates video game mechanics into a living breathing world to be interesting. A lot of things that player characters of the virtual reality world took for granted have been lost to time in the transition to an isekai world, and their actions when playing the game have influenced ways of life and even countries. It's very fitting, in a way. In a MMO style game, every player character is "unique" and able to do unbelievable things... but to a regular person who would be living in that world, it would be utterly wild to so much as consider. Even small details, such as a low luck stat, sometimes seem to play a part in a joke or a part of the world. It helps add a bit of 'texture' to the general isekai taste.
What also helps make the series more palatable to deal with from other power fantasy type isekai stories is the way it treats its MC. Of course he's really overpowered in battle and his chosen field (blacksmithing), with access to all sorts of materials that would make normal people in this isekai world faint. And, honestly? Sometimes they come sort of close. It's a running gag throughout the series of how ridiculous the MC, how he's so abnormal to common sense, that it's frankly stunning. Only a rare couple of characters don't react to the utter absurdity that is an isekai MC, and they're very particular cases. For everyone else, they have to yell at the MC about how rare an item is, or how stupid his strength is. It's fun and refreshing, seeing a series acknowledge and poke fun at such a common isekai staple.
But... In some ways, it's actually a good balancing act for its MC to be so overpowered. With the MC not having to worry about monetary issues or if he'll survive a battle, the series can focus on what I think is the thing which helps define it from other isekai: NPC relationships.
"The New Gate" really touches on something interesting with its premise of being trapped in a "virtual murder game" scenario only to be trapped in an isekai, and it's not the shift in situation. Rather, it's because not many isekai start off with their MC already having a connection to the world they get transported to. Our MC knows this world, even though it's changed in so many ways, and, more importantly, he knows some of the people.
You see, in the virtual game that the MC originally was in, there was a game option of being able to create personalized NPCs both in appearances and skills. Once all of the player characters of that game began to disappear, well... That didn't mean the NPCs they had created disappeared too, whether with them or simply into the ether. Instead, so many of them had been left behind, having actually become their own people at some point in the game and their own feelings of fondness and camaraderie for the player characters.
For isekai where a character is unwillingly teleported into another world, trying to find a way back to the home they've known isn't an uncommon trope, and one of the obstacles in those stories is what happens when a person realizes they've grown attached to the people and places they've met in this new life of theirs. This series manages to share that sort of feeling, only it's a little different. Here, it's not just meeting new people. Rather, it's having people you already knew, caused them pain by disappearing... and then seeing them all over again, with all the elation and joy that would bring, only for all the parties involved to know that it won't last. That it can't last. It's beautifully bittersweet, seeing the MC meet and deal with some of those he used to be so closed to and who he grew so fond of even when they were NPCs.
This series does an excellent job of displaying the bonds the MC has amongst those who were once his companions, even though we have nothing on when he first started fighting alongside them. I personally could feel the intensity of the emotions between them. Their joys were sweet, and their pain, present and waiting, made my heart twist. I really got invested in his relationships with his companions, more than any other character in the series, because of how much you could tell he meant to all of them and vice versa.
Cons: None
There are some things I could do without on a personal note, such as some of the harem-y elements where all the important women seem to like him, but it's otherwise quite fine a story as it is.
General Warnings: Body Horror, Gore
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 3 - They are plenty of fanservice moments with the MC around other women, along with some outfits that fit the bill
Harem: Yes
The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic
Title: The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic
Other Titles:
Author: Reki Kugayama, Kei Kurokata
Main Character: Usato Ken
Gender: Male
Cheat: Healing Magic Aptitude
Transport: Summoned
Summary: One rainy day, average student Usato Ken ends up having a run in with the popular council president Inukami Suzune and vice president Ryuusen Kazuki, both of them attractive and skilled. This ends up changing his life... as the summons of another world pull the two to fulfill the request of being heroes. However, Usato never heard the bell. He's only a bystander... at least until he checks his magical aptitude on a lark and realizes he's a healer. That gets the sharp attention of the woman in charge of "Kingdom Rescue Squad", infamous for turning the idea of weak delicate healers on its head.
Pros: Isekai Reflection, Creative Use of Healing Magic, Fun Deutoagonists, Badass Healing Teacher
It's basic video game logic, whether in a fantasy RPG or a multiplayer like Overwatch, that you want to take out the healer first before anyone else. In exchange for their healing abilities, they're commonly made weaker when it comes to things like offense and defense. They're certainly valuable, but not powerful. However...
What if your healer character could just... self buff constantly? What if they could use their powers to keep on training, keep their endurance higher, self-heal from any injury almost instantaneously? What if they could just... dodge any attack headed their way, all while stealing away the heavily injured so that they can be sent back into the fray at tip-top shape?
That is the idea behind this series. And frankly? It's really fun.
I really adore series that think of creative ways in which to use established magical abilities or powers, and this one is a prime example of that. It even acknowledges, in-universe, how healers are seen as weak and not suitable for battle. Yet it only takes turning powers inwards instead of out to change the scene completely. Not only does this change how a healer can be themself, but also even how they can deal with combat... Not that they should, of course. Despite the way healing magic is taught, it's also reminded of a healer's first and most important job: to heal others. A healer can turn the tides, can save lives, but that can't happen if they die themselves.
Of course, the kind of person who would think up this kind of healing outlook has to be one hell of a person. For those who are fans of Fullmetal Alchemist and the heartwarming but tough Izumi Curtis, they might find themselves quite liking the woman who ends up taking the MC under her wing. She's that same kind of hilariously badass, now in Combat Medic form, with unbelievably ruthless training and an infamous reputation. She carelessly shows off incredibly badass abilities while also bringing in some great humor because of how absurd her training demands can be. Yet at her heart, you can also tell that she's truly a person who wants to see other people survive, and there's a depth to her that makes her more than a simple humorously vicious mentor. It really adds something to the MC's training, and the reader's view of what healing magic is both capable of and truly meant for.
With the MC and his teacher alone, this story could probably carry itself pretty well. However, remember: the MC isn't even supposed to be a part of this isekai tale. He just got dragged along for the ride because he was too close to the actual summoned heroes. While they don't get nearly as much attention paid to them at the beginning, since the MC is separate from them in his medic training, they both still show plenty of personality and solid moments which I imagine can only improve as the story progresses. They're both quite different people, with one bringing in a lightheartedness to the series and the other being an almost grounding influence.
This is displayed excellently right in the first chapter, when they're all told of the reason they were summoned to another world in the first place. One of the two immediately snaps out at the king and his whole court, calling "Bullshit!" and pointing out that they all had lives and families that they were just pulled away from without any say in the matter. He manages to back down a little after some more conversation and a humble display, but it's a good grounding hint of how this series can occasionally touch in deeper. For some, this kind of scenario might be a good thing with that it can give them a better place to belong or give them a goal they didn't otherwise have... but for others, this is just tearing them away from all they know. Moments like that really help one care for all three teenagers who've been dragged into this, even if they're going along with everything for right now.
Cons: None
This series is really fun for me, and I'm always left hungering for the next chapter with minimal to no complaints.
General Warnings: fantasy racism, bullying
Slavery: Yes, referenced
Fanservice: 2 - There's an occasional glimpse of a not really practice shirt over in the demon army side of things, but, otherwise, everything is fairly decent, even if not always practical.
Harem: No
A Returner's Magic Should Be Special
Title: A Returner's Magic Should Be Special
Other Titles:
Author:
Main Character: Desire
Gender: Male
Cheat: Future Knowledge
Transport: Time Travel
Summary: Out of millions of people, only 7 survive in order to face off against a monstrous being that would destroy so much if left unchecked. Yet when they think they've won, things suddenly go horrible, and as they prepare themselves for death.... One of them wakes up, as a teenager, first getting ready for the entrance exam that lead him down this path. Only... he remembers everything that will come about in his future. With this knowledge, can he change the fate of himself and all his beloved comrades...?
Pros: Interesting Setting, Fighting Classism, Moral Greyness, Fun Fight Scenes
What's interesting about this series as an isekai is that's it's definitely not the traditional sort. The MC doesn't get pulled into an entirely different world that changes his life. Rather, his soul and mind somehow travel backwards in time, where he'll try to set things up so that a horrible event doesn't happen. Yet this series is still technically a sort of isekai, because transport to another world does happen. In fact... It's transportation to multiple words, all through one conduit, and this occurs regularly within the school that the MC once went to. This is explained within the very second chapter:
"[The Shadow World] is an extremely dangerous calamity that mankind has been faced with. One can view it as a parallel universe to this world... and it opens every year. Within the Shadow World, there are infinite amounts of different worlds within it as well. Some worlds might be relatively weak, but some other worlds might be extremely dangerous. These worlds are based on the past historic events that happened in the current world we live in today. Because these worlds are based on the past historic events, the magic society has been able to create 10 different levels of gauging the Shadow World. The higher these levels are, the higher the difficulty rises. The reason the Shadow World is a threat to mankind is because of the never-ending amount of shadows eating and corroding away the world we live in today. [...] And that is why it is crucial for us to clear the mission objectives in each world."
That's already a fascinating idea all on its own, and that's without the MC's main time travel dilemma.
The MC doesn't want to just change things on a personal level, however. He wants to upheave the system he grew up in completely. While the school is fantastical, it still falls prey to some of the same human follies as before. In this case, intense classism that makes "commoner" students waste away their potential with no proper teachers or even equipment. At one point, the MC reflects on this issue:
"If discrimination didn't exist in a place like this, then so many people in the Beta class could have been trained properly, and so many people wouldn't have died back then."
Hindsight is truly 20/20. From Chapter 1, the MC already shows awareness of what a rotten system he was placed into, but, now that he has so much future knowledge, he can see that it's not only foolish, but outright suicidal to quash down so many amazing talent just because of a ridiculous thing like money. It's an interesting obstacle for a story. Certainly, stopping the end of the world is the main thing... but before the MC can even think of tackling that, he has to deal with the discrimination that is right before him. It's an interesting challenge, and something I look forward to seeing the story deal with, although it can only really handle the issue within the isolated setting of the school for now.
This isn't an easy task, however, and it's made all the harder because some things aren't so clearly black and white. Saving the world, saving millions of lives, is a noble goal, but can you reach it with clean and noble methods? Are things even ever that simple? The story has yet to get that dark, but it has shown little glimpses of it: blackmail to get what one wants, the pain and rage of survivors, and sometimes just simple manipulation born from knowledge of people he's already had another life to get to know. There's some interesting depth to this series.
Of course, it's also mostly carried out by the interesting battle scenes that take place, utilizing mixtures of magic, swordsmanship, and simple tactics. Every scene is drawn quite excellent, and, even when I could guess the outcome, every fight left me on the edge of my seat. I was never left confused at what was happening, either, which is a bonus.
Cons: None
I'm enjoying things so far, and am eager to see how this series progresses!
General Warnings: Classism
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 2 - There's some cleavage and suggestive shots, but nothing too heavy
Harem: No
Skeleton Knight, In Another World
Title: Skeleton Knight, In Another World
Other Titles:
Author: Hakari Enki, Akira Sawano
Main Character: "Arc"
Gender: Male
Cheat: Game transferred everything (appearance, skills, weapon)
Transport:
Summary: One day, a gamer finds himself wakening up in a random forest in the middle of nowhere, wearing the same armor as his favorite MMORPG character, and has no idea how this has happened. Rolling with the punches surprisingly well, he aims to make a living for himself "without attracting any undue attention". Easier said than done... especially when his MMORPG character was a skeleton underneath the armor. As the dubbed 'Arc' begins to live a new life, he begins to get caught up in various things while simply trying to do good.
Pros: Likable Protagonist, Interesting MC Issue, Background Politics
Maybe it's just because of the turbulent, frustrating, and uncertain times I live in right now, but there's something really comforting and nice about a MC who both just wants to live a quiet casual life but also won't hesitate in the slightest to do good. The MC for this series fits the bill perfectly, while being just humorous enough to take advantage of the light moments. He's the kind of guy who bought a limited game skin of a skeleton but had to have his friends point out that it's kind of pointless when he's just wearing big bulky armor all the time. It's a light hearted kind of silliness that helps make the story palatable, because it can go in some really dark directions at times.
One of my favorite scenes is right in the beginning, with the first mercenary job our MC takes. It's just a simple herb gathering mission with a little girl that, of course, ends up being something more. When that's finished, he stumbles upon a different beast that's been terrorizing the local farms. He doesn't really have to deal with it, it's not in his contract or even in his way... but he does so anyway. More than that, he takes the enormous creature back to town with a simple offer: the whole village can take all the delicious meat and anything else, but he only asks for its mana stone and tusks, and that the hide be given to the little girl he just helped.
It's really just a small moment within the whole story, nothing that has any relevance to the tale at large... but it felt good to read, the equivalent of having some hot chocolate. It might not be a full meal, it might not be anything impressive... but that little bit of warmth feels so special. Moments like that help to stand out in the dark aspects of the series, proving that, no matter what happens, good things can still happen. Good people can still help, and be helped.
That's when it comes to the overall story. On a more individual level, the MC's own situation is both interesting and kind of funny in a way. The MC is acutely aware that a skeleton can't just go wandering around freely, so he's essentially stuck hiding his his bulky armor most of the time. However, one always has to be prepared for the unexpected, right? So he's made the decision that, if anyone finds out, his excuse is that he as a paladin cursed into a skeleton. Yet what could happen if that cursed could be broken...? It's only "roleplay" at the start, but, when offered as an excuse, one has to wonder what would happen if a solution was pursued...
In addition to the personal goals of the MC, interesting background events are underway as well, sometimes independent of his own adventure and sometimes spurred on by what he's doing. The story hasn't gone too much into detail on that yet... but there's no doubt that the gears of the world are turning, no matter what the MC is doing.
Cons: None
This story really has its hooks in me as it is, and I'm interested to see where it goes next in both the good moments and the more suspenseful dramatic ones. I could use some of the slightly possessive crushing that I get very vague hints of in the later chapters, but that hasn't shown up much besides one time, so I'm hoping it doesn't become a habit.
General Warnings: Sexual Assault, Rape Threats, Implied Rape, Forced Pregnancy, Violence Against Children, Mild Body Horror
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 3 - There are a rare couple of near naked scenes, and the outfits on some women aren't exactly practical.
Harem: No
Kamitachi Ni Hirowareta Otoko
Title: Kamitachi Ni Hirowareta Otoko
Other Titles:
Author: Roy, Ranran
Main Character: Ryoma Takebayashi
Gender: Male
Cheat: use of all elements, abilities from his past life applied to skills, god care
Transport: Death (in His Sleep)
Summary: After a tiresome life of living as an office worker in a black company and dying in a quiet but embarrassing way, Ryoma finds his soul before three gods of another world who have a proposition for him. Their world relies on magic and, when they transfer a person from another world, that opens up another slight flow of magic to help the natural order of things continue. Ryome gladly and excitedly accepts. Instead of immediately setting off for a life of adventure, however, he ends up settling in the forest he arrived at to begin a serene life of raising tamed slimes. He lives contentedly like that for three years before he runs into visitors to the forest...
Pros: God Family who love Shittalking God, Creative Slime Love, Care of his Past Life, Child Abuse Addressed, Adopted Family, Underappreciated Subjects, Cute Magic Use, Isekai Explanation
There's so much about this series that really drew it to me and made me fall in love with it, right off the bat going into the first chapter. I almost don't know where to begin. I love the MC, I love his supporting cast, I love what he chooses to do... Where to begin, where to begin.
I suppose, if I had to pick a starting point... It would be the value that this story places into the past life of its MC. Isekai is, in a lot of ways, a very power fantasy sort of genre, and that's okay. Because of this, you often see the MCs in various stories becoming 'more' than they were in their average life. The things they were interested in, unless they were video games that allow them to be super genre savvy and powerful in the fantasy world, don't often have a lot of value or any time dedicated to them in the story. Exceptions are for stories such as "Duke's Daughter", but even then, that's more in line with the other isekai fantasies where the MC brings aspects of a more technologically advanced world into the fantasy. There's some of that here, too, of course, in little ways such as food or making essentially a raincoat...
...But more importantly, this series places value on everything the MC has learned or experienced in his life. Retail work? Factors into his isekai skills! Being polite on the phone? That's Etiquette level 7, baby. Even his familial life, from his school days, factors into what he brings into the world. The MC had to brought into the world, but that doesn't mean the story or those responsible in-universe find that to be the only important thing about him. His previous life was just as valuable and important as this new journey is. As even the MC reflects:
"You also put my past life to good use... You didn't let my past life go to waste."
Which leads us into those responsible for this in the first place. On a story level, we're given the explanation of how the MC is in this predicament in the first place. It's no godly accident that he died or anything. No one is necessarily purposefully making this up for him. Rather, the trio of other world gods who speak with him about going to another world simply needed someone to help keep up the flow of magic between two different worlds. No mystery to it, just an explanation right off the bat, which I appreciated.
More than that, I appreciated the sheer love that the gods give to the MC right away. Gods in isekai can be a coin flip, which is part of the fun of the genre. Some of them can be absent-minded grandpas that made a mistake, others are selfish and dismissive, while even many others are detached and cool. Yet in this series, the gods.... They're the kind of gods you would want to worship, the sort of people you would hope are looking after you. None of them force the MC into anything, even though it's clearly the sort of thing in line with his interests. Rather, they welcome him, let him recover from the surprise of dying and how he died, and explain clearly what the situation is. They quickly build up a rapport with the MC, growing fond of him while he's thankful for this second chance, and keep an eye on his journey with no judgment. Even when the MC immediately settles down and just breeds slimes for fun, they seem genuinely pleased that he's just... living a happy and content life.
There were a lot of panels that I wanted to choose to represent this series, and one in particular has always stood out to me that I think really sums up the position of this series' gods and their relation to the MC:
"When you got excited earlier, you started talking in a funny way. That's how you originally are, right? You don't need to keep a polite facade in front of a god, since we already know how you really are."
Those two sentences have the MC break down into grateful tears... and honestly? I was the same. Their unconditional love is truly heartwarming, and it shows not only in their care for the MC, but also when they choose to be outraged at Earth's god for treating his people so carelessly. (Which, uh, might be an issue if you're Christian, or any other type who worships one god.)
It's not only the gods who are deeply invested in the MC like this, either. Very quickly, he ends up surrounded by people in this new world who care about him. After all, he's a good person, through and through, and that kindness is returned to him. New characters immediately draw him in as if he's a new member of their family, worrying about some of the things they think he's experienced and wanting to help make him happy. It's a good example of the trend in isekai where the power fantasy almost seems less like it's magic powers or cool sword skills or anything, but rather finding a new family, one that truly makes you feel loved. That is the true heart of this story, and what makes it stick with me so strongly.
Even better, they use this heart of the series to even address child abuse in the MC's backstory. I don't want to go too much into it, but it really touches on emotional distance and physical abuse, with one very good line that I appreciated when he was told by a teacher not to use violence after it was witnessed his father hit him: "Violence isn't good? Then wasn't that just then violence?" It reached me deeply, especially with some conversations I've had with people over corporal punishment.
Of course, the story's heart isn't the only good thing it has going for it! In case the explanation of isekai mechanics isn't a hint, there's some interesting bits of world building that shine through in this series and which are looked into occasionally! For example, what happened to other people who were isekai'd in the past? How are nobility supposed to act in this world? What are the differences between a tamers guild and an adventurers guild? Various little things are explored casually as our MC begins to explore it properly.
The most fun thing and main subject is, obviously, his interest in slimes. As with most isekai stories, the average slime is thought of as nothing too special. Yet with the MC's attention and curiosity, they soon begin to show a lot more versatility than would be thought. With more isekai showing appreciation for the lowly slime lately (Rimaru of "Reincarnated as a Slime" fame being a good example), I think this is by far my favorite depiction of slimes.
If there's any story that I would encourage to read for some "feel good" feelings and fun little worldbuilding, it's definitely this one. I'm bad at numbered lists, which is why my favorites is a more general sub-thread, but if I did have one, this series would be at the top.
Cons: makes me cry too much
General Warnings: Child Abuse
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 2 - I can think of one character whose outfit is a little more fanservice than it is practical, but other than that, it's a pretty down to earth series.
Harem: No
Moon-led Journey Across another World
Title: Moon-lead Journey Across Another World
Other Titles:
Author: Kei Azumi, Kotora Kino
Main Character: Misumi Makoto
Gender: Male
Cheat: Understands the language of monster races (but not the usual races), World Toughness, Unique Magic Aura
Transport: Godly Intervention
Summary: Just your average teenager in the archery club, Misumi Makoto doesn't expect to be suddenly requested to go to another world... and he definitely isn't expecting to be told that it's because his parents were actually from that other world, having made a promise to exchange that which is most precious to them. So that his sisters aren't taken, Misumi agrees to go instead. However, the goddess of that other world doesn't find him to be perfectly anime attractive, so she banishes him to the outskirts of her world where there are monsters, the only creatures whose language she'll let him understand.
Pros: Inter-god Conflict of interests, Multiple Isekai'd "heroes", Monster Allies, Silly Side Characters, Spite Motivation, Anime Trope Teasing, Deeper Than Expected Plots, Excellent Humor
When an isekai opens up with the MC and their summoner immediately clashing, I can't help but be automatically intrigued by it. When it's because a vain goddess calls the MC out on not being Anime Pretty (tm) and the MC becomes immediately bitter about her despite now living in the world she governs, well, the interest stays.
That is one of the reasons why I ended up staying around for this series, especially because it's not only those two who have conflict. Our story starts in media res, after the MC has already been tossed out of the isekai heavens by the petty goddess, but we soon flashback a little bit to only a couple of hours earlier. As it turns out, it wasn't that goddess who initially invited him, but rather a Japanese god who was working alongside her. The goddess' disregard and callous treatment gets on the god's nerves, and he makes a promise to the MC that he'll figure something out after communicating with some of the other gods. It's this situation that kept me intrigued, wondering what divine issues might arise. Some forty chapters in, and we haven't yet seen the Japanese god carry through on his promise just yet... But that's more than fine. The plot thread has been set up, and I eagerly await when it weaves its way back into the story once again.
Until then, there's a whole lot more interesting aspects to the story which have all been revealing themselves a lot more clearly. The only "gift" the goddess bestows upon our put-upon MC is the ability to speak the languages of inhuman creatures- a category that can go as benign as simple animal people traders to monsters that are normally aggressive towards the common "beautiful" race. Combined with where he starts his adventure, and this immediately allies him with a group of pig-like Orcs. As the story progresses, he continues to make allies with the only groups he can immediately understand. It puts him in an interesting position that I love to see in my isekai stories, where he has to deal with being on a side that doesn't get the benefit of the doubt. In recent chapters especially he has to deal with the kind of persecution not only monsters but simple demi-human races have to deal with.
However, even outside of anything to do with monsters or the MC's connections to them, the world of humans has its own dangers and unexpected pitfalls. The story can seem almost typical at some points, with even the MC thinking of particular video game tropes (albeit with a piggy monster girl instead of a pretty damsel in distress), but it soon begins to show how complicated things can actually be beneath the surface. My favorite example of this is something I don't want to give away too soon, only that it's in a recent arc, and is fascinating to me as a display of how character perceptions can all be different and complex. Handlings of the truth can be quite a difficult thing, as one character even reflects.
Beyond specific plots, this is also reflected quite nicely in a plot point the Goddess mentions fairly early on and eventually gets looked into in later chapters. She gives an excuse for not dealing with the MC because she ended up already picking up two new heroes to her liking while the connection between worlds was open, so that they could protect "her" world from demons in the MC's stead. We get a couple of chapters focusing on those heroes, and, I have to say, they're pretty interesting from a story telling standpoint. The creators use these two heroes, along with the MC, to look at different aspects of isekai and general anime tropes, sometimes played straight and sometimes with a twist to them. This series does that a lot, actually- playing with tropes and the expectations that come with them. Sometimes it's simply for a good joke, like the MC panicking that he might end up on a "marriage route" if he saves the orc princess's tribe. Other times, it's explored a little more darkly, such as why one character in particular keeps having women fall for him. This leaves the story flexible and fascinating for me, as I wait to see what things will be played straight, what things will be a joke, or even what will be twisted around in a way that has me perking up in interest.
While this can sound dark in a lot of ways, the story has some excellent humor that acts as both a palate cleanser for the serious moments and also a good stark contrast to really drive home when the horrible happens. I find it to be an excellent balance, although this is of course subject to taste. What helps this aspect of the story the most would be the various oddballs that the MC picks up to work alongside him. The weeaboo dragon who partners up purely because she wants to see more memories of those times when the MC watched hammy historical dramas, the sadomasochistic giant spider who can't tell if the MC is a snack in one way or the other, the amateur dork adventuring party, the workaholic dwarf who swears to make a mana-draining item that WILL kill the MC.... and in the middle of it all is the MC himself, the Straight Man (tm) to all this asinine monster ridiculousness who's struggling to get some sort of control over the whole disaster. What makes it even better are the times when he has outbursts of his own, such as his deep grudge against the goddess who cast him out and his spiteful determination to learn the common language, because he won't let her stop him!!!
All in all, it's high notes are delightful to me, and the times where it gets low and dark are fairly gripping. I enjoy it a great deal.
Cons: Ch 38's Attempted Rape Scene (Woman on Man)
If there's one down side to this series, it would be a scene where the MC's two notable female companions corner him on a bed. Up until this point, their blatant interest in him and how it goes over his head (with how disinterested he is) has been something of a joke. However, after seeing him getting flustered by an apparent sex worker pressing in on him, they haul him back to an inn they're staying at and confront him on the issue. As they press in on him, starting to undress, they ignore his attempts to tell them to stop... So the MC creates some space with a hasty spell and escapes in the confusion back to their portal dimension home.
Stuff like this would often get me to stop reading and be frustrated for a long while- there's a series that I started to read which seemed like a pleasant relaxed farming isekai before it immediately went south in a similarity shitty rape scenario. However, to my surprise, one of the women actually apologizes to him immediately in the very same chapter, and agrees to not do something like that to him again when he tells her not to. Because of that, some of my frustration eased up, and I felt comfortable to continue my read.
"James, that sounds like an extraordinarily low bar." IT SURE IS. That should probably tell you the kind of bullshit one runs into for anime, and that sort of thing has a tendency to be worse when it's sexual violence related to male characters. I'll leave it to individual readers if this is good enough for them and if they want to bother with the series at all.
General Warnings: Shonen Violence, Drug Torture, Implied Torture, Attempted Rape
On the torture end, nothing is ever done explicitly. Rather, in both cases, we're only shown the end result for the most part: a woman on the ground with her eyes rolled back and drooling (she gets better), a man chained up bleeding and missing a limb. Nothing is really explicitly done, or shown with the kind of horror movie attention to detail that would make one queasy.
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 3 - Some female character outfits show off cleavage and the like, and there are sexual moments such as the above scene plus something featuring another character... but for the most part, it's not a huge prevalent issue.
Harem: Yes
World Customize Creator
Title: World Customize Creator
Other Titles:
Author: Tennki Hero, Yuu Hijikata
Main Character: Tagami Yusuke
Gender: Male
Cheat: Unique Customization Ability
Transport: Summoned (Unknown)
Summary: After being kicked out of the house, Yusuke decides to spend some time playing a game near an old shrine. Yet with a flash of light, he ends up in a strange floating space with a voice asking him what kind of power he would want. After asking for a customization skill that his last game was seriously lacking, he suddenly finds himself in a strange cavern shrine... which is itself in a world where the ability to wield an elemental magic is not only fantastical, but required for anyone to have any worth, their hair reflecting what element they wield. With black hair, eyes, and a strange "divine art" all his own, Yusuke doesn't fit in with such a group... In fact, if anything, he resembles a connection to a "dark god".
Pros: dark god issue, magic worldbuilding, interesting and fun characters, politics and misinformation, construction magic, sex worker normalization
"What does calamity refer to? Who would consider it a calamity? Those in power, or the masses? That's the important part."
That quote occurs only a few chapters into the series, and I think that kind of reflection, an admission into how perception can mean a lot when it comes to an event, gives a solid understanding of how this series is. It reflects the view of magic, the view of those without, politics and countries... Not all of it revolves around the MC, as he admits himself later on that people were plotting long before he ever got involved, but he certainly helps bring a lot of things into the spotlight with his unique existence. That's part of why I like this series so much, especially even more on a reread that finished with a little bit of catching up.
In particular, the MC's situation is particularly interesting to me. As I noted up in the summary, this world's magic system functions on a sort of very basic "four elements" system, and the country the MC in particular lands in has a very hierarchical view to particular magic users. One's hair and eyes reflects the sort of magic they're capable of. So what happens if one's hair is all black, such as an average Japanese person? This simple trait of his homeworld has the MC labeled as a representative of the "Evil God", who opposes the four elemental gods and will apparently bring calamity upon the world. Yet there's a great deal more complexities to this matter than one would normally think. The quote that I opened with is a good example of this, asking the questions of "What does calamity mean?" and "can this definition change depending on who you ask?" Then there are the questions of different cultures viewing this through different lens, or what the passage of time has done to telephone a culture... And finally, is the MC even the Evil God in the first place?
There is so much to this gimmick, both from how the MC views it, to other people, to even potentially the unknown force that brought him into this in the first place. So it's really interesting to see how it all plays out, especially with the magical hierarchy in place. Fortunately, it usually tends to play out pretty simple, with the privilege starting at the top with fire users, water users, earth users, wind users... and finally, powerless people, or those who don't have a "divine art" at all. That's only, of course, in the country the MC mainly gets involved in. How other countries deal with this hierarchy, or how they subvert it, is a major point in a good deal of the MC's dealings with them.
Of course, all of this is pulled off really well with the vast variety of characters that are incorporated into this series. The different personalities and reactions of the supporting cast help solidify the worldbuilding, and give interesting depth to the various conflicts which drags in the MC. One of my favorite moments was when the helpful old man who takes in the MC has to deal with the MC's hair being revealed, and so, to hastily cover up any "he's an evil god" rumors, he quickly starts up a loud and long rambling speech about this made up backstory for the MC and how black is all the colors mixed in together and his research says... Combine this with the fact that he's a character with some important political weight whose presence is important in one of the first arcs. That's only one of many characters in this series. We also have what seems like a mere spoiled princess who thinks things more deeply than one would think, and a powerless warrior ally whose motives complicate things almost as much as he helps... Some of the outright villains can be somewhat two dimensional as far as depth goes, but that leaves the more morally gray characters to stand out in their complexity.
Yet that doesn't change the fact that, two dimensional or not, every character including the villains adds some interesting political twists and pulls to the table. We as the readers get a lot of insight into what each side is trying to do during any given event, which explains neatly how other people's actions disrupt such plans or how their plots can fall apart when they don't take into consideration certain variables.
My favorite moment of plotting being messed up would have to be something that's initially treated as a reoccurring joke a couple of times in the series. People get the mistaken impression that the MC is into young girls, from when he promised himself as a subordinate to the princess character or when he forced a younger subordinate to stop so he could ask if she was alright. At first, it's only treated as a joke, a misunderstanding that gets him flustered and annoyed... up until some arcs later, when another country catches wind of these rumors and takes them completely seriously, trying to plot to get him on their side by "taking advantage" of this supposed "interest".
That arc also brings up something that is off-handedly referenced in previous chapters, and which I found to be pleasantly surprising. You see, in-universe, sex workers are referred to as "singers"- "night singers", "song princesses", etc. Yet it's not an illegal occupation in any way, and there's even a certain kind of... respect? For how their skills can be. Some sex workers are even clearly viewed as high class and respectable, including a couple of important characters. There's not even any stigma attached to going to a singer for her business. It's all surprisingly and pleasantly normalized in a series that isn't really about sex work. I'm sure it's not perfect, but it's a surprisingly nice change of pace from what I normally see when it comes to sex workers in any media, let alone manga.
All this time has left me without really talking much about the MC's actual cheat skill: the ability to create and customize whatever item he wants. It's certainly an interesting skill that has added a lot of creativity to conflicts, even though it's not a strictly combat skill. There's also its use as something more domestic, with the MC trying to figure out cars, or how to create certain lanterns, etc, etc. There was even a really good moment where he had to deal with the corpse of a person, and realized to his horror that it counted as an "item" as well instead of a living person now... There's a lot of neat things this series does with the idea.
Cons:
General Warnings: Attempted Sexual Assault, Attempted Drug Use, Violence, Brainwashing Results
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 3 - For the most part, there's not a lot of flashy fanservice. There's only one noticeable scene where the MC's love interest strips for him, and another character later on essentially has bikini armor... but everyone else dresses fairly decently, with the worst being occasional cleavage.
Harem: Yes
Peerless Alchemist
Title: Peerless Alchemist
Other Titles:
Author: Ye Bei
Main Character: Ji Feng Yan
Gender: Female
Cheat: Knowledge and Skills of her past life
Transport: Death
Summary: A young woman is seeking to cultivate her soul to the very top, only to die in the process... where she suddenly finds herself in another's body. To be precise, the body of Ji Feng Yan, the daughter of a deceased noble who has been bullied and treated poorly by her relatives all her life. This new Ji Feng Yan decides that she'll change all of that, with her cunning, battle ability, and spiritual knowledge... and that means getting back at all those who have wronged the now deceased Ji Feng Yan and herself.
Pros: Female Revenge Story, Kabadon'd Men, Loves My Alter Ego trope
Some tropes can have a very stereotypical view when one initially thinks of them, and Revenge Fantasies are no different. When it comes to the type that we typically imagine in movies, it's often to think of a person whose family was killed. (When it comes to female protagonists, there's also the storyline of a rape victim getting gory revenge.) Lots of action, lots of macho bloodshed, sometimes tension and horror... That's what comes to mind when one thinks of a Revenge Fantasy flick. While these aren't bad things at all, with tons of fantastic movies being revenge fantasies... This series is fulfilling in an entirely different way.
There are a few reasons that I came away with this impression, and most of them have to do with the MC: her gender, her situation, and her personality.
Usually when a woman is the protagonist of a Revenge Fantasy, it seems to have something directly related to her womanhood being targeted and which spurs her towards revenge. Sometimes this has to do with the Mama Bear trope, often relying on women being mothers to spur them forwards. Other times, these movies rely on rape victims getting back at their aggressors, which can be cathartic or feel like a sort of tragedy porn all its own.
Our MC for this series doesn't deal with any of that. The young woman whose body she has taken over was dealing with the struggles she was because of the political aspects that come with having a noble upbringing, her father dying during war, and her inheritance, problems which the MC inherits along with the body. While the MC does get a quick vengeance against those who tried to kill her, the real bits of vengeance throughout the story are more a matter of people not respecting her.
That sounds small and petty in a simple text sentence like that, until you read the series and take in the things done against the MC. When she demands respect, it is for her rights as family, recognition of her ability, and simple respect of even just her as a person. The original owner of the body was clearly a soft-hearted and timid individual who the more greedy and self-centered members of her family or other people thought they could take advantage of freely. This even extends to her arranged marriage partner asking her to accept him having a second wife, with the implication being that they'll wait for the MC to die eventually in combat before taking all of her things- material and otherwise. Things that she was to inherit from her father are taken from her by the rest of her family, with them demanding even more. The list of offenses aren't all bloody, as Revenge Fantasies often are, but that doesn't mean they aren't just as galling in some sense, especially with the disdain the original owner got without even doing anything wrong.
In a lot of ways, this sort of Revenge Fantasy might be very satisfying to women despite not being directly about womanhood, or other readers who've dealt with similar treatment that's less violent and more... social. The main issue in this series is that the MC is looked down upon, and, because of that, people think they can treat her like trash. MC snaps back against this through not only her magical and combat abilities, but also through clever social maneuvering that allows her to do all manner of things such as break out of an arranged marriage, run circles around her selfish and abusive family members, and even prove the innocence of one person while making things easier for herself over all.
And she does it with such arrogance, too!
This isn't a bad statement, by any means. Oh, certainly, if a woman is vain or arrogant, that means she's usually placed in a story as an antagonist, and it's rarely seen as a good trait for the MC of any story. Yet in this series, the MC's arrogance isn't only a cute accessory, but her main dress of choice... and it's fantastic. Most revenge fantasies, even at their most indulgent, tend to be seen as somber or horrific things even with all the adrenaline pumping action. In this one, the MC's confidence is something to almost aspire to, partially because it's well earned, and partially because it's something glorious to see despite how it almost seems as if the world of her family and overall nobility is so against her. Sure, she may only have the men directly beneath her (initially) as her only allies, but she doesn't let that stop her at any point. The MC knows she's talented. The MC knows she's attractive. The MC knows she's smart. The MC knows that the original owner of her body didn't deserve to be disrespected, tossed aside, and deprived of her father's things. With all of this at her back, she doesn't hesitate in the slightest or be afraid to let everyone know of the faith she has in herself.
Needless to say, this is only against people who have directly or repeatedly wronged her in some fashion. The MC shows nothing but care towards her subordinates and, in most cases, as long as someone is willing to recant or just plain stop their nonsense against her, she's willing to ease back. In some cases, even when someone is being a little bit rude or coming on too strongly, she'll be open to them later once they properly apologize. The MC might admit she's not the greatest person in the world with her own greedy pursuit of clearing up the cracks in her soul (despite already being heads above others as she is now), but she's good enough towards most people as long as they're decent to her. It's only those who refuse to stop trying to make her fall that she lashes right back.
What additionally makes this series and MC quite fun is how she approaches romance. She almost immediately falls for a man on the admittedly shallow reasoning of how attractive he is. It's not strange for a female protag to move in on that sort of thing so quickly... but it is notable for how boldly the MC does it. She immediately tells him she's interested in him, and makes bold flirting references about him to other people and in his face. At one point, she even does the notorious kabedon on him- pinning him with one hand to a wall- to make her intentions known.
And it works.
It's hard to say if the MC's love interest started out as an Amazon Chaser, but, as time goes on, he's clearly not opposed to her constant flirting, teasing, and cuddling. This makes for a delightful dynamic that I don't often see in series, with a more romantically aggressive female character and a more at-home pursued male character whose relationship isn't treated like some sort of joke. That on its own would be highly appealing to me... And then we advance far enough in the story where the love interest ends up having a Secret Identity of sorts.
I don't want to spoil everything with all the details, so I'll do my best to be scarce on them when I can. However, at one point, the love interest has to take on a different identity that the MC can't recognize, and one which is quite powerful as well. He's just as good looking this way, and he clearly can help out the MC considerably like this... and yet, by this point in time, the MC has clearly already set her heart on the love interest that she knows. The disguised love interested being so obviously into her is quite a complication, and she even outright rejects his advances. Not only is it heartwarming to see her be so steadfastly loyal to someone she loves, but it also adds a fun complication she can't immediately solve while also tossing in some amusing humor as well.
Cons:
Oh I love the shit out of this series and have no issues with this glorious power revenge fantasy.
General Warnings: murder of a pregnant woman
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 1 - Everyone tends to favor the same kind of flowing clothes, with women having a little more skin tight variants... but there's nothing that busts out the cleavage or any panty shots, and other such things.
Harem: No
Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi
Title: Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi
Other Titles:
Author: Ren Eguchi, K Akagishi
Main Character: Mukouda Tsuyoshi
Gender: Male
Cheat: Access to Modern Food and cooking utensils, food based buffs
Transport: Summoned (Royalty)
Summary: A regular salary man, Mokouda suddenly finds himself caught up in a summoning which draws him along with three other people. When he's identified as just a commoner with a strange "food menu" ability, no one seems to pay him much mind... which allows him to skidaddle right away from the supposed "quest" all the others were summoned for. Yet it turns out that his special ability gives him the greatest skill of all: the ability to still buy ingredients and pre-packaged food from his original world! Something that happens to get the attention of something quite powerful...
Pros: Cooking Comfort, Humor, A Man and His Dog, Slime Appreciation, Dungeon Worldbuilding
This series doesn't dip quite as hard into the pure mouth-watering descriptions of its food as "Restaurant To Another World", and yet it's still the focal point of the whole story. Thus, there are a lot of fun little warm moments, along with watching other people's reactions to food they've never tried before. This even includes the two monster companions the MC ends up with, one of whom is only with him entirely for his food. The recipe instructions (when they're present) aren't super indepth, yet they're enough for a rough idea of what's happening, and it's all certainly an appreciation towards modern day foods. Stories like this always have a bit of my fondness because not only are they unconventional but it almost seems like it grounds the magical fantasy that the isekai genre brings to its readers. Like, yeah, you could ride a giant magical wolf or talk to god.... but have you considered how good modern day sweet pastries are?
Of course, as is common with unconventional isekai like this, it makes sure to have plenty of humor towards the situation and all of its characters. Our MC is the perfect straight man to the wild priorities and features of this fantasy world's inhabitants, while the natives' often ridiculous traits bounce perfectly off of him. This has left the series as a light-hearted one so far, with the story focusing more on the humor of the situation, the appreciation towards delicious modern cooking, and the MC simply trying to establish himself in the world.
The most constant characters the MC interacts with, of course, would be the two monster companions he picks up along the way. As noted, one of them is a giant magical wolf who really only cares about the deliciousness of his meals. The humor is all about how ridiculously powerful he is compared to this tiny squishy human he's attached himself to, not seeming to understand why things he can do so easily are any sort of big deal. This casual confidence and demands for the best also help the MC, however, pushing him towards things he doesn't have the confidence to try. On the other hand, there's the precocious little baby slime that he picks up whose adorable nature makes the MC dote on him... even when the baby slime clearly can handle his own after a while like any good monster.
Yet beneath all the nice homecooking (and enjoyable quick foods) and humor, there are neat little bursts of worldbuilding scattered throughout it all. The story keeps its setting in mind as it mentions the various countries' and their borders, or how dungeons operate in connection with the monsters that inhabit it. It's the little things which help this story feels like it really does have a setting beyond the antics of the MC.
Cons: None
While I am curious to see if the initial summoned group from before ever pops up again, especially with how worried the MC is about news of his companions and abilities somehow getting back to the king who summoned him, this story is also fine with its light and comfortable attitude.
General Warnings: Weird Meats
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 2 - While one of the gods is shown to dress a little on the skimpy side, the story doesn't really delve much into it, and it's not as noticeable in the black and white art style of the series.
Harem: No
My Status As An Assassin Obviously Exceeds The Braves
Title: My Status As An Assassin Obviously Exceeds The Braves
Other Titles:
Author: Hiroyuki Aigamo, Matsuri Akai
Main Character: Akira Oda
Gender: Male
Cheat: Assassin Class with high stats immediately
Transport: Summoned (Royalty)
Summary: Akira and the rest of his class are merely hanging out in their classroom when a magical circle suddenly lights up beneath them... and brings them to an entirely different world, whereupon they're beseeched by a king to help his country against a demon invasion. Only one of them will have the class of a hero... but Akira finds that he has the class of an assassin, and with much higher stats than the rest of his class. Including the hero! Yet instead of reveling in his abilities, Akira finds something strange to be going on... and so he uses his newfound stealth abilities to avoid announcing his class, instead determined to find out what's really going on here.
Pros: Intrigue, Character Opposites Conflict
One of the classic isekai fantasy tropes is that a royal family in another world summons some wayward teenager to be their great hero, and it goes like very Fantasy (tm) fantasy cliche would have you. Yet isekai have had a long time to develop since those kind of tales, and that's plenty of time for writers and readers to come up with all sorts of questions. Is there really no one strong enough in such a high fantasy world who can defeat the Demon King or whatever threat there is? Is summoning someone from another world actually so easy? How can you expect to trust someone you've just met, who's giving you such an enormous task?
It's upon this basis that the series seems to start itself with, where our MC may be disoriented upon arrival but not so disoriented that he can't see something is strange with their situation. Strange that they were summoned, strange how his stats are so much higher, strange with how something is very clearly Off with those responsible for his class's situation. Of course, he's right.... Which leads us to a very interesting story that never stops giving us questions as readers so that we can look forward to the resulting answers. What's the deal with the royal family? What is his class really being trained for? Who can he trust amongst his own classmates, and who amongst those of this world? Is there a reason the MC has so much more to his stats than the rest of his class? (Besides, you know, being the MC.) And what else is out there in the rest of the world?
As an outsider in more ways than one, the MC's position leaves him with a lot to discover, and with those who are his enemies with a significant advantage. It's not the kind of story that he can just brute force his way through, although combat skills are definitely important for his continued survival. Rather, it's the gathering of knowledge, hiding out, and general sneaking around that will be the most important things.
On the MC's in-universe issues, at any rate. On a reader level, I actually find even more interesting things happening in-between the characters. The MC doesn't carry this entire story all by himself. After all, it was his entire class that was also pulled along into this fantastical other world where there's more to things than it seems. Even if most of them are somewhat faceless NPCs, that doesn't diminish the fact that he does have a lot of other people to keep into consideration.... whether they're helpful to him or a detriment.
That's only most of his class, however. The most important clash between our MC and his class would be the student who has been delegated as the "hero" because of his higher stats among most of his classmates and the fantasy world's populace. (Although, as the title notes, it's not as high as the MC's.) The MC immediately pegs him as being someone too Perfect- handsome, popular, a student council president, on and on. The two contrast and clash almost immediately... Yet there are much bigger things than high school bickering. The series does well in giving plenty of attention to this Hero side character, enough that he could potentially become a Deuteragonist as the series progresses. Seeing both of them buck against their situation in their own ways is interesting, especially with how opposite even their situations are.
As the story continues on, we're also introduced to a variety of interesting side characters who could potentially shake things up or add interesting moments to the story: the knight commander and the captain under him, a mysterious elf woman, a girl acting as an exorcist or the boy swordsman who knows both assassin and hero. If we can get further exploration on all of these characters, I'll be frankly delighted.
Until then, there's a lot of interesting mysteries to solve in the chapters ahead.
Cons: Could Use More Stealth
While learning how to fight and reach a high level through that is all well and good, the thing that really drew me into all of this was the idea of an isekai MC having to use stealth in a political intrigue sort of situation. In recent chapters, it feels a little bit like that aspect has taken a backburner for some more fighting, and maybe a little worldbuilding.
Fortunately, by focusing on two different characters in two different situations, we can have both aspects... for right now. Time will tell if this aspect of the story improves or devolves for me.
General Warnings: Shonen Violence, Minor Character Death
Slavery: None Yet
Fanservice: 2 - The princess character has a slightly low top (although certainly I've seen worse with more cleavage), and I wouldn't call some of the female side characters wearing the most practical outfits... but again! Anime! Seen worse!
Harem: No
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom
Title: How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom
Other Titles: genjitsushugisha no oukokukaizouki
Author: Satoshi Ueda, Dozeumaru
Main Character: Soma Kazuya
Gender: Male
Cheat: Modern Knowledge Plus Multitasking Ability
Transport: Summoned (Royalty)
Summary: All Soma is doing is paying respects to his recently deceased grandfather, his last immediate family who he was extremely close to. Then, out of nowhere, he finds himself summoned into another world... to be potentially used as payment to another kingdom? Fortunately, the royal family responsible for this is just as uneasy to do it as Soma, so they come to a compromise as he works hard alongside the king to find out a way to solve the economical and political problems plaguing the kingdom. He's just not expecting to be given the crown himself- or be engaged to the former king's daughter, the princess!
Pros: Interesting Summon Issue, Economic and Political Issues, Weight of the Crown, Positive Fat Character
If there's one thing that can get me interested in an isekai story right off the get-go, it's when the Why of the MC's summoning is as interesting and telling of the story as the MC themself is. Within the first chapter, this series does that immediately and uniquely. The MC hasn't been summoned to fight a demon king or anything like that. By the time he's been summoned, in fact, the war against invading demons has already reached a standstill. Rather, now the various countries are dealing with the aftermath of a war. There are various far-reaching issues to deal with, but the one most relevant to the MC is the matter of reparations.
You see, the kingdom that's summoned him had quite a few countries between it and the area that the demons appeared at and took over. Another and fairly large empire was much closer to that ground zero, so they did all the heavy lifting. Yet because of that... They're now trying to pressure other kingdoms to pay them for all that work. Their "offer" is simple: either pay them back with hard cash, or try to summon a "hero" from another world.
That very basis alone tells so much about what kind of story this will be! The war against demons has already passed, but the effects of such a war is still being felt, even with countries that weren't directly affected by it. That implies on its own that a variety of things reverberate from even a single instance or change. Of course, this story is more than happy to lean hard into the many economic and political issues which arise in such a matter.
The economic matters are of course the very first stepping stone we have into this story. That only makes sense, seeing as our MC was brought into this fantasy world because the kingdom couldn't make payments to another empire. More than merely paying off such reparations, the MC also has to make sure that the kingdom is more stable than when he left it so that such things don't happen again. Even better, he explains things in a fairly easy to understand way. Part of this has a solid in-universe reasoning, as he often is explaining his ideas and plans to those who aren't as super well educated as he is... mainly the many non-literate commoners that make up so much of the kingdom itself. So he goes through a variety of issues that a country like the kingdom has to deal with, especially when going through the hardships such as the aftermath of a war. He talks about how important it is to have farming crops where possible instead of relying too much on cash crops such as cotton, the importance of managing forests with responsible methods of cutting down certain trees, and making sure to be creative in figuring out new sources of food. (A favorite scene of mine involves an octopus recipe.) The MC even acknowledges how important immigrants are to the economy, with refugees from the war bringing in various talents and foods from their own countries.
Of course, it's not only on the economic front that he focuses on for the benefit of the many common people which the MC is now responsible for. Almost immediately, while mostly off-screen, he also considers and handles matters such as the need for a sewer system, managing pedestrian roads and carts, and what separates garbage from things that can be reused. Because of this and his humble honesty in communicating to the people of the kingdom, he ends up being generally popular among them. I mean, most people would if their president was a nice smart guy who clearly communicated that he cared about them and that's why he was being honest about their situation.
Can you imagine? Asks the American.
Of course... While his actions may make him popular with the common man, that doesn't let our MC escape the political matters of neighboring countries, or even those who should be his allies. This is especially relevant for a trio of characters called The Three Dukes, who have large factions of their own and which are important to the kingdom as it is. Their issues with one another, and how the MC is to deal with them, are part of an important arc that not only plays with political issues such as how to make allies or attempting to negotiate, but also matters of war. However, it's not the combat-porn focused sort of war that might be found in other series. Instead, this focuses more on tactics and misdirection, all in order to gain the upper hand and minimize casualties, especially civilian ones.
Of course... This is a lot to ask for of a young man from modern Japan who's just barely graduated college and wasn't exactly pursuing a job in politics. (Although he's certainly doing quite the job now that he's been forced into it.) As the story progresses, we get to see our MC have to deal with the toughest parts of being the leader to a whole kingdom. Some decisions aren't as easy as convincing people to eat an octopus. When people's lives are on the line... It's hard to make certain calls. At some point in the story, the MC even references Machiavelli and how a good ruler can do a certain thing, but only do it once lest he fall down the slippery slope of dictatorship. The story contains clear hope that things will turn out better, in the end... Yet moments like that lend a certain realism to the story, a quiet darkness, that the road to such hopeful futures can have plenty of bumps.
That feeling is helped by the various characters involved in this story: the hardworking and newly kinged MC, the former but beloved king, his tough but genuine daughter, and many others. One of those that caught my eye early on is one of the few fat characters in the series. Other characters treat him and his interest in food as a joke right off the bat, save for the MC... who finds his immense knowledge about different food throughout the world to be immensely important in a time that threatens starvation for so many people. The MC and the story thus treat him as immensely important to the agriculture of the kingdom. While it's still more than a little stereotypical and frustrating that the one fat character has such an interest in food as his defining trait and job... Well. It's better than many other series treat their fat characters, who are often gag characters or villains. Low bar passed.
Cons: None
I enjoy this series for its simple yet simultaneously detailed look into the various issues that come with running a country, especially one that is dealing with the aftermath of a war.
General Warnings: Natural Disasters
Slavery: Yes, Political
Fanservice: 3 - Any woman that isn't a child or very short is almost guaranteed to have an ample chest, and often cleavage to prove it.
Harem: Yes
Isekai Yakkyoku
Title: Isekai Yakkyoku
Other Titles:
Author: Sei Takano, Liz Takayama
Main Character: Yakutani Kanji / Falma de Medics
Gender: Male
Cheat: Medical Knowledge from a modern era, Unique creation magic, Ability to diagnose with hand and eye alone
Transport:
Summary: The top medical researcher in the world who's made new effective cures for many diseases, Yakutani Kanji is a busy man... so busy that he passes away from overwork. Yet such talent for the good of people isn't to be wasted, as he reawakens in the body of a young boy in a fantasy universe... who just so happens to be the son of the royal court physician! Dissatisfied with the medical knowledge in this world, he begins to set off to continue helping people in a new life.
Pros: Heartwarming, Medical Knowledge, Struggles of Opening a Storefront, Classism Addressed, Harmful Affects of Beauty Industry, Surprise Feminism, Positive Towards Mental Illness
I can't speak for anyone else, but over here in the USA, it can be easy to forget that the medical and health industries can be anything but a soulsucking capitalist hellhole. Every other day, we get horror stories of people struggling for even basic medication, or scared to call an ambulance because of the bills. We've had to deal with such a horrific system for so long... But the act of healing is meant to be for the people instead of for the money. This series is one that reminds us of what medicine and doctors are really for, along with showing us how far we've come on a medical level.
It's a good feeling, this reminder, and we're given a heaping dose of it right from the very start. Our MC is revealed to have gone down the path of being a doctor because of how he lost his younger sister to cancer, becoming incensed when the adults around him seemed to give up so easily. Seeing how hard he works in her memory, wanting to save more people, gets the heart growing hotter, or at least mine did. Throughout the story, more and more of this good heart of his is shown... and how important that good heart is for the practice of a doctor. Our MC shows respect to his new father, telling him how he's still valuable even as the MC overtakes him in terms of medicine. We see how he values the comfort of children, making medicine that they're willing to swallow, or encouraging their parents to bring them in for cheap. We see him work to make medicine and treatment available for as many people as he possibly can.
We see him understand what doctors and physicians should truly be.
Of course, throughout all of this, we're also taken along for the ride in understanding more about medicine! I'm sure it's not the most Academically Correct thing in some areas, although I can't say for 100% certain being not a med student of any sort, but there's still a lot of good basic and interesting knowledge that the MC explains to many of the other characters in the world (who thus function as our proxy in this matter). We're given an explanation of how chicken pox work, why fevers can be dangerous, and even why sometimes medicine has to be given.... Well. From down below instead of through the mouth. Sometimes the MC even goes extremely in-depth on how certain chemicals or reactions work. That can feel a little bit over the reader's head, but don't worry. In a show of solidarity, some of the characters react with the same confusion as a reader might, leaving one to not feel entirely dumb.
This even leads into places one might not think a medical manga would go! For example: the cosmetics industry. In hindsight, it's not so surprising. With how much various aspects of the beauty industry can affect one's health, a dip into there seems almost natural. Considering that the setting is a sort of Victorian-era fantasy type, the manga makes sure to address various old timey "cosmetic cures", such as bloodletting or how lead and mercury were sometimes used in makeup. Yet while the issues are outdated, the end message is one that applies even to today: there is no beauty that is worth sacrificing your overall health for. If something is shown to negatively affect you? Find a better alternative!
Of course, the MC's foray into cosmetics is an interesting journey on its own. In the body of a child and as a nobleman who most commoners look upon warily, he has a bit of a struggle to initially draw in customers to his pharmacy even if the set up is handled on a financial level. A pharmacy- let alone run by a tiny child of noble heritage- can't survive completely on its own. So we're given a glimpse into how a pharmacy can make itself more appealing to casual visitors, with healthy 'candy', cosmetics, and even free water. That's all on top of excellent medicine and a good doctor.
The economics I was expecting. The small burst of feminism was a definite surprise. Our MC talks about how important it is to have maternity leave and childcare established. All the women working under him are extremely talented, after all. It would be ridiculous to fire them just because they need a break to take care of their family!
Maybe it's just because I'm from the states that I was so pleasantly surprised when maternity leave and childcare were brought up. However, I think anyone would be shocked to see mental illness brought up in a decent light. The series doesn't go indepth into the mental illness itself, although it lists some of the symptoms of auditory hallucinations and perhaps mood swings, but that may be for the best. In that light, it's treated like no other illness, with only a focus made on the treatment and how it was perfectly possible to someone who knew what they were doing. Perhaps it was even a conscious choice by the author, worried of portraying a mentally ill person inaccurately or terrible, skipped over that process. I can't really say, although I would understand that decision. Either way, I was pleasantly surprised that any manga at all delved into mental illness, and even briefly mentioned how the MC was lucky in finding a medication that could give such swift results for that particular person. That this came from Japan, notable for its made image towards mental illness and those who have any, is also a pleasant surprise. It's not the most indepth thing... but that it mentioned it at all was sort of nice to see.
If this series can continue on delivering such care towards people of all sorts, I couldn't be happier, to be honest.
Cons: Little Quick
For the most part, the pacing seems fine enough to me, but I wouldn't mind if the series slowed down here and there to explore deeper into certain aspects of medicine or illness. With reason, of course.
General Warnings: Medical Gore, Cancer
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 3 - There are some fanservice-y moments, and a very... fanservice-y type moment with the mom, but it's fine besides that.
Harem: No
I'm Standing on a Million Lives
Title: I'm Standing on a Million Lives
Other Titles:
Author: Akinari Nao, Naoki Yamakawa
Main Character: Yotsuya Yusuke, Shindo Iu, Hakozaki Kusue (plus others)
Gender: A combination
Cheat: Technical Endless Incarnation, Ability to Switch Classes (with conditions), Companions
Transport: Summoned
Summary: Yotsuya feels as though he's a typical harem isekai protag at first: aimless in life, randomly summoned into a weird fantasy world, stuck with two female classmates. Yet things are more terrifying and dark than he could realize with the death mechanic in play... And as he starts to realize the weight of what it really means to work in this strange world, he also finds out a terrible and bizarre truth: their success in the fantasy world might be affecting their original world and lives more than they could imagine!
Pros: Unique Isekai, Isekai Hardmode, Death Mechanic, Survivalist Bastard MC, Team Interactions
For the first half of Chapter 1, this series almost tricks you into thinking it's nothing special. The MC seems stereotypical, as do his companions in the world he gets transported to. The humor sweeps you in with a smile as the "guide" to this whole situation makes his appearance. There are hints of a few strange things, but it doesn't seem like it will be too big a deal at first. Even the person we're introduced to seems to poke fun at the stereotype of his situation: he's a guy in a strange world with two girls, one who's really attractive and might be interested in him!
And then, only a few pages later, and we're given a panel of a giant monstrous troll-like creature biting one of his companions in half.
We'll get to that in a bit, but the dark aspects of this series isn't what makes it such an interesting and unique spin on the typical isekai stories. There are a few things which really make this series interesting to me that I almost don't know where to start. Yet if I had to pick, one of the most immediate and fascinating things would be the death mechanic that it talks about right from the beginning. It works as such: all those involved in this isekai situation are basically a 'party'. As long as one person in the party stays 'alive', anyone who dies can revive and come back to life just like before... generally speaking.
This adds a layer to the "quests" the group must compete within the isekai world. On one hand, this can expand their tactics, allowing them to revolve things on their deaths, or get a second chance when something fails so long as someone in their group manages to stay alive for long enough. Yet dying is still dying, and there's no denying the horror of some of the deaths that they experience as they struggle through their quests.
Such a mechanic plays interestingly with what one could label our "Main" MC, Yotsuya Yusuke. Our introduction to him is stereotypical, as I noted above. Yet almost immediately, through the second half of the second chapter... We start to explore some darker hidden depths within him, although he doesn't do much to keep them hidden from his companions after a while. Part of the reason that it seems as though he's such an aimless loner is that he's a country boy with a deep hatred for the city, and his reasoning is almost worryingly logical. When he hears the rules on their revival mechanic, he seems to rely on that a lot over things that would be more straightforwardly 'moral'. For example, when they're trying to train to win a tournament, one of the group gets captured. Instead of wanting to try and find a way to help her, however... Yotsuya's solution is the best way to help her would be to win the tournament, get what they need, and complete their objective. He doesn't think they need to go rescue her at all, because wouldn't that just wait time?
On a very distant and video-game like level, he's not wrong. This would be the best and most efficient way to help her, since there's no guarantee that they can defeat her captors. Yet this still comes as a complete and horrifying shock to his remaining companions, especially since they'd thought the two were bonding to some degree beforehand. This difference in viewpoints and the inability to get along whereupon Yutsuya often goes on his own makes teamwork seem difficult....
...And yet teamwork is vital for them. The reason why I list multiple main characters is because this is utterly and completely a team effort. Even the first 'quest' that Yutsuya is a part of ultimately requires one of his companions to help finish off their target, no matter how far he was able to get on his own. Another quest requires all of the group working together to cover as much ground as possible. And on, and on, and on... Not only that, but every character has their own personality, their own backstory, their own flaws and weaknesses which adds to their struggle through this bizarre isekai "game".
Those quests are also what makes this series so interesting. There's good reason why the isekai system seems to demand so much that those it brings in learn to work together. The difficulty slowly ramps itself up higher and higher, demanding more complex and complicated solutions. Even the first quest Yutsuya participates in, the killing of a beast, is incredibly difficult because of how inexperienced and low level the whole group is... so the things their 'game master' demands from them afterwards aren't any easier. Spoilers, but at one point, the group is even tasked with reducing the amount of drug users within a city, a task which leads them to rehauling the whole prison system. It's all truly unbelievable to see the kinds of things that they're forced to do, the dire straits they go through, and how they're forced to compromise or work together.
Seeing things become more and more steadily complex, along with additional members of the party accepted with every new 'quest', is what helps make this story to be truly fascinating. I look forward to where it goes, and how things develop, especially as it discusses things such as morality, logic vs that same morality or emotion, and discussions of things such as war.
Also, minor thing, but later there's a totally casually out queer girl character who becomes part of the main cast, so that's always fun to see.
Cons: None
I'm okay with this story as it is.
General Warnings: Gore, Repeated Revived Character Death, Animal/Monster Death, Mild Sexism, Natural Disasters, Eugenics, Emeto, Backstory Homophobia, Organized Crime, Drug Wars, Drug Use, Prison Reformation and Drug Rehabilitation
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 2 - Characters go 'nude' when 'dead' and waiting for revival, but there are no details to their bodies.
Harem: Not Really? Sort of? The story seems to play with it so it's hard to tell how serious it is about this aspect sometimes. People do seem to get interested in Yotsuya a lot.
When a Stupid FPS Player Falls to Another World
Title: When a Stupid FPS Player Falls to Another World
Other Titles:
Author: Junichi Saiki, Jiraigen
Main Character: Saitou Ren / Schwarz Powder
Gender: Male
Cheat: Access to Military Game System/Weapons
Transport: Unknown
Summary: In a world where massive virtual reality games are some of the most popular forms of entertainment, Saitou Ren especially loves an amazing shooter game. However, one day when logging in, he takes a fall after attack an enemy... but instead of dying or finding a secret area, he finds himself in a new place entirely. It's only after getting a bug in his mouth that's far too detailed for any VR system that he realizes... he's not even where he should be anymore.
Pros: Genre Mash, Guilt Complex, Stand-Alone MC (No Magic, Inhuman Body), Beautiful Art, Interesting Goals
Crossovers can be some of the must fun things to happen in media, or some of the most creative. I believe this to be true no matter the media. When it comes to music, mishmashes of two different types of music can sometimes be utterly delightful and catch the ear in a way the two songs separately may never have done. Fighting games pull together all sorts of strange casts sometimes, delighting many fans of many different comics or video games. Even things like the time Supernatural starred on an episode of Scooby Doo can be hilarious fun on some level for people. However, I think this only really works if a level of love or enjoyment is leveled to all the functioning parts of a crossover instead of using one to bash on the other.
This series manages that perfectly so it's little wonder, with my opinion above, that I found my interest so utterly hooked as I read through the fractured chapters that make this story up. On some level, people likely think that fantasy video games and First Person Shooters (FPS) are on opposite sides of some sort of spectrum, which makes sense. FPS games tend to focus on more modern warfare, often in opposition to other players, and fantasy video games are often thought of as more story driven with a single player drive. This series merges the idea of the two together beautifully. The modern weaponry that the MC still has access to certainly gives him a unique edge, with many foes and monsters not being familiar with such technology. At the same time, he's left out of sorts in a world where most things are fueled by a magic almost every one has, and there's no denying the overwhelming and powerful mystery which forms most of the obstacles in his path- namely the "labyrinth" dungeons of the world.
Helping to bring all of this together would be the fantastic artwork. The artist for this series really does seem to have the perfect style for this kind of crossing over of genres, managing to find the perfect attention to detail for each individual thing that requires it. Monsters such as goblins, harpies, or giant strange dire wolves have a warped fleshiness to them that really helps to stand them out from even the more realistic and grounded human characters. This helps make the MC stand out in stark contrast with the smooth sharp outline of his weaponry, along with the myriad of details that go into guns and the rest of the technology that he utilizes. The entire time, thick forests and suffocating dungeons surround it all, their darkness an enigma and a threat all in one.
Carrying us through genres and art alike would be our fascinating MC. Honestly, there's a lot that I want to say about him. For him, combat has always just been a game, because it's all always been carried out through virtual reality. It's realistic, to a degree, but it's never been something that he's really had to worry about. In this world, where he doesn't even know how he arrived there or how he can return home, a lot is suddenly weighing on him as someone. We get to see him go through real life or death circumstances that are nothing like the VR matches he had back home. We watch him struggle with how much power he has, on how he feels he's failed others, on how much his differences alienate him from so many other people and where he almost rightly wonders just how much he's human anymore. It's a delight to watch as he does his best to figure out what to do in this world, what he can do, and what things shape him towards wanting to explore the dungeons of the world because they're his best way of survival and potentially hint at how he may be able to get back... hopefully.
That's all I can say without spoiling anything, but I really do absolutely adore this series as it is so far.
Cons: Not a Female MC
This is less a con- well okay, no, I was actually very disappointed when I realized the MC was in fact a guy and not a woman. However, that's my regular ambivalent feeling towards a lot of stories, ha ha, so I don't normally list it as any kind of con. But rather, this is a sort of warning for others who were as confused or oblivious as I was when they first get into this series. Along with the MC's androgynous face, there was something about his body that seemed just more curvaceous in the introductory chapter that made me think he was a woman. But he's not. So. That's a thing ha ha.
General Warnings: Violence/Gore, Sexual Harassment, Character Death
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 3 - The female outfits are far from practical, and some mildly compromising positions are seen, but it's not too bad.
Harem: No
Phoenix Goes Against the World
Title: Phoenix Goes Against the World
Other Titles:
Author: Lu Fei, Juzi Cha
Main Character: Huang Bei Yue / "Xi Tian"
Gender: Female
Cheat: Past Life Knowledge, Combat Skils, Cheat Item
Transport:
Summary: A stunning modern master thief, Huang Bei Yue makes off with a black jade rumored to have mystical powers. Yet her antics have gone on for too long, leading her to be killed by the government. However, that's not the end of her journey... as she finds herself taking over the body of recently deceased Princess Royal Huiwen in another world. Treated terribly by most of her family for her lack of martial skills or other talents, along with her poor health, Huiwen passes away after another terrible treatment by her family. Bei Yue won't stand for such poor acknowledgment now that she's here... and she'll be sure to get revenge for the now deceased Huiwen while she's at it!
Pros: Wonderfully Arrogant Female Lead, Alter Ego Shenanigans, Dead Mom Mystery, Solid Backup/Partner Character
In a lot of ways, this series has a great deal in common with another Chinese female vengeance story that I've reviewed on this post: Peerless Alchemist. I like the MC almost exactly for the same reason as I like the MC of Peerless Alchemist as well, in that she's a refreshingly arrogant protagonist of the female persuasion. When I was younger, I used to think that just about any female character with an ounce of pride was just The Worst, but now I've swung completely in the opposite direction. I can't get enough of arrogant female characters, especially with how we never really see them in the role of MC. This series delivers fairly nicely on that front. Our MC this time around was the daughter of unbelievably talented secret agents, and grew up into the most talented thief in the world herself. When she's brought back to life in another world, her new body was that of a princess whose name should bring in more value than anyone treats her with. In her course for revenge against those who continue to do her wrong, it's fantastic to see her enact it all with a held up chin and straight spine.
Where this story differs slightly from Peerless Alchemist is that, where Peerless Alchemist is bluntly upfront with her ability, this series has its MC go a slightly more round-about method of her arrogance. She still displays it to some measure in her home, making sure not to let anyone think they can trample over her too much, but in that area she only uses her wits, the methods of nobility, and her royal title to trip over people for a good portion of the series. Even known as a weakling or loser, there is something valuable to her station that the others in her life want to take advantage of. Yet the MC is still extremely talented at combat or other valuable combat skills, even while stuck in the body of a fragile twelve year old girl. For this, she flaunts such abilities while 'in disguise' as a talented and mysterious individual known only as "Xi Tian" with seemingly no connections to anyone else. As the above picture notes, the MC is more than aware of how many people who spit on her as a princess practically crawl on their hands and knees for her favor as such a mysterious warrior. It's fun in a way to see how the MC utilizes this dual identity in her interactions with enemies and allies alike.
Our MC isn't completely alone, however. Many of the allies that the MC makes tend to be 'allied' to only one of her identities, and people that she can't completely trust even if their personalities are otherwise good. The one exception to this would be her maid, the one person in her expansive home who has consistently and openly on her side when no true help can be found from anyone else. It can feel frustrating, sometimes, in series like these where the MC has to fight against everyone almost on their own, and so her maid really helps bring some relief to that sensation. It helps that, once she's a little more assured of their position and what her mistress can do, she's just as confident and self assured in telling off people who disrespect them. This, in some ways, almost means more than seeing it from the MC. Unlike the MC, so far the maid is far more of a normal person, and she's technically below all the nobility that reside in the mansion. We see this in her first introduction, where she collapses in the MC's home from wounds after trying to get mercy for her. When the going gets tough, she'll do her best, but there's really only so much she can do... which gives it all the more value that she tries so hard at all.
Underneath all of this- the MC's dual life of princess and warrior, the nobility schemes, the maid's loyalty- there's a mystery as well. The MC's mother in this life passed away some years ago due to a strange illness, leaving her all the more vulnerable to her many ills. Yet the legacy she's left behind is something that seems to keep popping up bit by bit. Her noble birth, her kindness, how beloved she was by the people, tales of the unbelievable talent she possessed... It all makes one wonder more about her, how she knew the people she knew, and just what happened in her life before the MC was brought into it.
Cons: Sameface Pretty boys, Punishment Rape, Slight Disconnect in Story
Unfortunately, as much as I generally enjoyed reading this series where it is now, there are a few bugs, moreso than are usually in my recommended list. I'll start off with the most serious thing, before going further down the list.
While it doesn't happen for over a good... half of the story, a couple of times the idea/use of rape as punishment comes up. Both times, aggravatingly enough, it's from the MC. The first time, while she's threatening an accountant for a truthful statement, one of her threats is that she'll send his daughter to a brothel. That remains only a threat, as the accountant tells her the truth of a matter. In a second event, after her sister attacks her for the xth time, the MC beats her soundly before commanding a beast to take her to a nearby mercenary camp with the idea of her as a 'gift'. We're never shown anything actually happening, and there's a chance that the second instance is never carried out due to later circumstances. Still, that doesn't take away the fact that it is used as intended 'punishment', and that overall leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
On a more technical level, while the story has mostly seemed cohesive for the first half of what I've read, at some point it seemed to... get just a little bit clunky. I was left feeling as though I had missed a minor time skip of some sort or that time within the story wasn't making sense. Additionally, it feels as though the author is making it up as they go along and forgetting some characters even when they should be a constant. It's not so bad as to be totally confusing, or frustrating, or completely disrupt the story, but it did feel noticeable for me personally.
Finally, while the MC gains quite the amount of attention from a good few boys... in a lot of cases, I would struggle to tell you the difference between any of them. This is a problem with the art overall in the series, with characters differentiated almost more by their clothing than their actual appearances. Girls all look the same, there's often the same Old Man look, and guys with long dark hair are among a few of the MC's interests. For example, I was able to keep up with two of the "cruel stepmother" type concubines because they had distinct color schemes and particular outfits. Yet once the two were out of them? I struggled to remember which of them was which and what they'd done in particular to the MC.
These issues all made me almost want to put this down into the regular list of isekai on this post. However, after consideration, I decided that I'd overall enjoyed my time reading this series more than not, so into this list it went.
General Warnings: Abuse, Rape as Punishment, Incest, Mild Homophobia
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 2 - Most of the time, characters dress like you would in a classical Chinese sort of setting. However, it seems like whenever a female character is gearing up for battle or action, her clothes get a bit more skimpy.
Harem: Yes
Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita
Title: Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita
Other Titles:
Author: Tomoo Maruyama, Yuu Tanaka
Main Character: "Master" and Fran
Gender: Male and Female
Cheat: He's Literally A Magical Sword
Transport: Death (Traffic Accident)
Summary: Taken in by slavers, a nameless cat child frantically runs away from a beast which tries to slaughter the entire caravan. Helpless and restricted by magic, she thinks this might be the end... until she stumbles upon a magic sword. One that speaks to her! And, coincidentally enough, one that used to be a human in another world before suddenly awakening here... Thus begins a unique and powerful bond.
Pros: Heartwarming Parental Relationship, Duo-tagonist Development, Fun Side Characters (Murder Secretary), Dungeon Lore (Good Chaos god)
Sometimes a family can just be a girl and her talking sword.
Unique spins on isekai protagonist placements are forever and always one of my favorite things that pop up in this genre, because there's a lot to explore with it. So when I saw that this story had the MC becoming a magical sword, of course I was intrigued. What I wasn't expecting was that this story would have the potential to be so heartwarming... or that it would have two protagonists, with one of them already having existed in the isekai world before a magical sword even faintly entered her life.
Initially, their relationship is born completely from necessity. Our Sword MC (SMC) got himself stuck in a position where he 100% needed another person to get out of. Our Wielder MC (WMC) needs a weapon to defend herself against a vicious monster. Yet that only lasts for the briefest of moments before the pair become immediately fond of each other, each viewing the other as the benefactor who ultimately saved their life. Our WMC is still, ultimately, a child, so it's little wonder that the SMC becomes so protective over her immediately... but the sweet paternal feelings quickly begin to ooze out of him as the pair begin to navigate the world together. In turn, she finds him to be a reliable guiding figure whose advice she constantly listens to even while she sometimes shows off her childish side with her boredom of mundane busy work or the need to be bribed for certain things. While many others soon begin to care for the duo (mostly the WMC because of her age), it's very clear that the two of them rely on each other the most out of anyone else in the entire world.
While it would be easy to do this and focus most of the actual power and character development on the SMC, the series actually makes sure to put our WMC on the same level as him. She has her own goals, goals that the SMC quickly dedicates himself to as well, and that primary goal is becoming stronger. Because of the SMC's magical status, any of the skills he gains from killing monsters are skills that he can share with her. Yet, while that's useful and an important aspect of their bond, it's not all the WMC wants. She needs to get stronger on her own as well, as an individual, and the story makes sure to put just as much value and focus on her as much as anything, making the reader invested in her journey and growth.
Side characters also tend to be extremely fun, although not all of them gain even a fraction of the kind of attention that our MCs do. It helps lend a colorful feeling towards the rest of the world. You have some good staple characters, such as a loud and boistrous but ultimately well meaning large oni warrior, the wise elf guildmaster.... But then you have some of the other oddballs that all give to the story. The first one that made me laugh was the beautiful and sweet ~star secretary~ for the guild... who thinks aggravated and murderous thoughts towards anyone else, mostly those who make her job more difficult than it ever needs to be. We also have the A-ranked ace adventurer, who is maybe too much of a wannabe mother figure, or the fearsome necromancer whose claims that he's just a researcher using his abilities for good would land a little more solidly if he didn't act like such a damn weeb about it. Hardly any of the side characters really take the spotlight away from the MC, but they are all a delight to watch and really lend a fun depth to the setting.
Finally, while it's a minor thing, I really do like the bit of lore this series offers to its ideas of dungeons. At one point, a mythical explanation is offered to our MCs on the in-universe lore of their creation. For most people, dungeons are created by the God of Chaos- a sentence that would sound worrying or villainous in some stories. However, the tale goes on that they're made as a trial for humans that, if they succeed in, are granted rewards. This has lead some in-universe to view her as really a 'Good Guy' god, with the real bad apple of the ten gods being the God of War from whom monsters spawn. It's a little thing, but it's the little things that I often like in the things I read!
Cons: Loli Jokes
Unfortunately, with a young girl protagonist, there are a couple of loli jokes sprinkled in here and there. Fortunately, there are two things to counter it: the SMC getting fatherly and "hell no" over the idea and, better (???), lack of true fanservice when more... buxom characters show up. In a bathing scene that pops up, for example, we don't really see any "fanservicey" scenes with our WMC even while naked, but we do see outright nipples drawn (a rarity in even a lot of other fanservicey series) on the more endowed adult women characters who join her.
So, you know. Up to the individual reader on what's manageable for them and what's not.
General Warnings: Loli Fanservice, Violence/Dismemberment, Giant Spider Monsters, Torture, Child Experimentation,
Slavery: Yes - The WMC starts out as one.
Fanservice: 4 - There are adult female presenting nipples, plus a bathing scene. So, yeah.
Harem: No
Potion Tanomi de Ikinobimasu!
Title: Potion Tanomi de Ikinobimasu!
Other Titles:
Author: FUNA, Kokonoe Hibiki
Main Character: Kaoru Nagase
Gender: Female
Cheat: Can Create Any Potion within a "Vial"
Transport: Death (God Fuck Up)
Summary: Kaoru Nagase is living a perfectly average life... up until she accidentally walked into a distortion between worlds that a god was trying to fix. As an apology, she is allowed to exist in another world. Genre savvy, Kaoru asks for a special ability to let her survive in a foreign world. Nothing special! Just the ability to create whatever potions she likes. But it's... possible she may have overestimated just what this new world is capable of.
Pros: Consideration of Original Family, Good Founding Beginning
There are a lot of big and awesome points to this series that I gladly can and will talk about... But instead, I want to start off with a small detail that I've yet to see in most isekai. Usually, in isekai where the MC dies, that's that. They just are shuffled off to their new isekai life with no real delay. Excuses are usually made where the MC was a loner, or had no remaining family, etc, etc. Yet in this... We manage to see things done a little differently. The MC here had a family, a fairly nice one with parents and two siblings, along with beloved friends. Instead of just leaving right away, she manages to get some closure with some assistance from a god. It's a sweet little scene, one that reminds us of what people have in the present before any wild isekai tales explode onto the scene. It's something so very grounded that it really manages to hit the heart, in some ways more than the sort of over the top drama which appears in fantasies.
This entire scene throughout the whole first chapter also gives us an excellent idea of not only the MC's character, but also how this story might play out. Upon rereading it for this review, I realized all of the first chapter gave excellent ideas of how our MC might approach living in a world when she's so clever along with how its attention to little details would affect various story elements in the future.
Our would-be genre-savvy MC? Her cleverness is a delight to watch, both when she's right about things and when she's accidentally in over her head such as her initial impression of what the isekai world would be like. Clever characters are always super fun to watch as they dance around other people, so long as it's understandable why others wouldn't know or think of something. This series manages to pull this particular aspect off well, giving you a very good idea of exactly how she's managing to twist people's thoughts around so that she can, more often than not, slip out of trouble. This is especially true in the beginning, as the series is setting itself up, and becomes further interesting as the series progresses to even larger matters than merely conning a greedy low level aristocrat. The affairs of royalty, large scale politics between countries and their armies, dealing with interference between religion and government... It's fun to see how she bulldozes and worms her way through so much.
What this opening chapter also shows us is how, at her core, the MC is generally a kind person. Not only does she care deeply for her own family along with her precious few friends, but she picked an ability that is ultimately for the benefit of other people even if it does let her earn a living. This is reinforced through the series. The MC doesn't like hurting people; she says so herself. So even when it's only a relatively minor matter with no bloodshed, if she accidentally harms someone while trying to watch out for herself, she does her best to make it up for them. Needless to say, she extends this sort of gratitude overall as well, so long as it doesn't interfere too much with her trying to just make a small decent life for herself. In turn... This brings out the best in other people, which in turn makes their own lives even better and kinder.
I'm a simple person. In dark times, I just want good stories.
However, there's not only feel-good and funny moments to this series. The above political issues I mention above get a bit more indepth... and there are some other interesting things about the MC's situation which pop up. But I won't go too deep into spoiler territory there, and instead let interested parties enjoy the story themselves.
Cons: Shallow Character Connections
Despite the interesting turn of events along with all the humor... This series doesn't do great at really showing the MC's deeper connections with other characters. While she does admittedly seem to do a certain amount to keep people away, this series even skimps on the one connection she seems to talk the most about, her friendship with the Goddess watching over this isekai world. For a while, I wasn't even sure if it was true that she talked to the Goddess at all or if this was another lie of hers to keep her skin safe.
General Warnings: Genova Convention Violations up the ass
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 1 - Our MC gets many cute clothes, but none that are really meant to be fanservicey.
Harem: No, despite most men with their heads on straight falling for her at first
no subject
Other Titles: Golden Wordmaster, Konjiki no Moji Tsukai, Konjiki no Word Master, The Golden Word Master - The Four Heroes and the Innocent Bystander with the Unique Cheat
Author: Tomoto Sui, Ozaki Yuusuke
Main Character: Hiiro Okamura
Gender: Male
Cheat: Unique Magic
Transport: Summon (Royalty)
Summary: It's a tale as old as isekai: a group of young students are summoned into a mystical realm and beseeched by a king to save the kingdom from demons. What's not typical is... one of those "summoned heroes" actually has the title of "innocent bystander". That's not all he needs to make an excuse and bounce, but it certainly helps. Now, with the only thing on his mind being food and books, what sort of adventures will he end up in all on his own?
Pros: Jerkass with a Heart of Gold Protag, Choosing One's Own Path, Stumble Into Politics,
Cons:
General Warnings: Fantasy Racism, Loli Jokes But No Fanservice, Fat Villains, Body Horror, Animal/Monster Abuse, Animal Experimentation, Animal Death, Giant Spider Monster
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 3 - ?
Harem: No
Kenja No Mago
Title: Kenja No Mago
Other Titles:
Author: Shunsuke Ogata, Tsuyoshi Yoshioka
Main Character: Shin Walford
Gender: Male
Cheat: knowledge from a past life
Transport: Death (traffic accident)
Summary: In one world, a simple Japanese office worker ends up the victim of a horrible traffic accident. In another world, a traveling wagon is attacked by demonic monsters with the only survivor being a single newborn infant. It's by pure luck that a magician comes across the scene while looking for shelter from the rain, so he takes the child under his wing as an "adopted grandchild". No surprises for who that child ends up being. Instead, what's more surprising is that his grandfather ends up being a famous hero, with all his visiting friends having credentials to match. On the day Shin is supposed to go out into the world as a proper young adult, his adopted family makes a worrying discovery: his grandfather has taught him a lot about magic, but not a whole lot about worldly common sense.
Pros: Family, Secondary Character Growth, Interesting Antagonist, Magic System, Hero-Villain two sided coin
There's a lot to like about this series, I think, and it shows that fairly quickly within the first few chapters alone, long before it gets to any of the big and serious moments for the overarching story. The MC and his isekai grandparents aren't related by blood, and neither are any of their friends that drop by to visit. Yet that doesn't stand in the way at all of the bonds that they've made with another. His grandparents still treasure him as a precious grandson, for all the hijinks and trouble he cases, and he views them as a true family no matter if they adopted him or not. This familial care and importance stays throughout the story, even as stakes get bigger and the MC spends more time with other characters.
One of my most favorite scenes, for example, involves a moment when the MC brings some of his new friends over to his house. At this point, his unbelievable magic talents are a basic fact, and his friends have accepted that he's an unbelievably powerful magician who has access to spells they could never dream of. Yet his grandfather very casually displays a sudden talent with one of those fantastical spells to the surprise of everyone, including the MC. When questioned, he says that the spells aren't actually impossible to learn.. it just requires changing one's thinking. With some willingness to be flexible and learn, anyone could accomplish the spells the MC does. Later on, the grandmother talks about this, saying that he did this to show the MC that he wasn't alone. That he wasn't an abnormality so wholly separate from other people.
That scene also brings me to the next good points about this series, one of which is the magic system. As explained in that above scene, the MC isn't just super powerful for no reason. (At least, that's not it completely.) In this world, magic is partially fueled by a solid image of the spell you are trying to case and thus most magicians tend to think of only the end result. The MC takes a more scientific approach to this. Instead of imaging only the end result, he thinks through how that end result gets there. For example, for a fire ball, he thinks of how the oxygen combusts to make a flame in the first place. With this and also his own careful training on his magical control, that's part of why the MC is so powerful.
Not only is this an interesting little way of dealing with magic, but it also allows the characters around the MC a chance to catch up. The MC is surrounded by a cast of distinct and fun characters who function as his friends, but they're allowed to really get some flesh to their characterization because of this. They're not only onlookers to the MC's amazing greatness. Rather, they're comrades learning alongside him who eventually gain the goal of their own to become stronger and learn more about magic. So far, we've only recently really delved into hints of them really getting their own moments or character arcs as they've come face to face with how tough things can really get. The character so far we've been able to seen the best side of would be the MC's best friend of the group, showing off both his political chops and his true feelings on those he cares for. The manga isn't finished yet (and apparently neither is the light novel it's based off of), so I hope we get to see more of this as time goes on.
All of this is the fun and light hearted side of things. However, this series can get rather dark, and that gore warning at the bottom of this review shouldn't be ignored. Part of what is spurring all of this on is, of course, the presence of a primary antagonist who makes himself known relatively early on in the series. I find him to be a very interesting villain for a variety of reasons, from his backstory to what happens to him after he essentially accomplishes a main "goal". I don't really want to spoil anything on his end, but I think he's also something that can't avoid being mentioned.
Good antagonists are often meant to contrast to the protagonist, whether in direct mirror images or as a polar opposite. That's true here, as well, with our antagonist here surrounded by some very interesting and varied people. Yet, just as much for that, there's the way they eventually decide to go after the MC... directly harkening to this dichotomy. Everyone loves a hero, but the line between someone celebrated and someone loathed is sometimes quite thin. I look forward to seeing where this idea goes in the series.
Cons: ...Something
With all the good strong points I mentioned up above, on paper, it looks even to me like this should be ranked up in the favorites list, and yet it's... not. I can't properly explain why it doesn't make the cut. There's just something that isn't making it connect as strongly as all the other isekai that I've listed up above, despite how much I like some of the ideas it carries with it. A part of it, I think, might be the fanservice elements in contrast with the more serious rape and sexism that is present in-universe, with both of them serving to water down the effects of the other in a way that's ultimately unsatisfactory. However, I don't believe that's entirely it, and I wish I could give a better answer.
Ultimately, this is a subjective review, because it can't be anything else. Other people may find that it hits a lot more strongly for them.
General Warnings: occasionally heavy gore, murder of a pregnant woman, occasional gay jokes, rape threats, the result of actual rape/murder, kidnapping, classism castes, underage teenagers with hormones
Slavery: Yes, but only as a background mention
Fanservice: 5 - Lots of cleavage, panty shots,
Harem: No
Kuro No Shoukanshi
Title: Kuro No Shoukanshi
Other Titles:
Author: Gin Amou, Tofu Mayoi
Main Character: Kelvin
Gender: Male
Cheat: absurd exp gathering skills
Transport: won a raffle
Summary: A young man wakes up in the middle of a field with no memory of how he got there or, really, any memory at all. He only knows his name is "Kelvin" when a mysterious voice instructs him to open up his status screen. According to the same voice, he won a raffle of some sort to come here, and, in exchange for his memories, got the ability to gain EXP at an extraordinary rate not normally found in this fantasy world. Without much to really go on, Kelvin decides that all he can really do is put his skills to work... as an adventurer.
Pros: manipulative battle junkie protag, fun side characters
Quite a few of the side characters in this series cheerfully mock and tease the MC as a "battle junkie" and, honestly, they're not wrong. His character shines at its brightest when he's faced with the potential of a strong enemy, or when thinking over how to shore up his own combat capability with either other skills, equipment, or companions. One of the high points of this series' art style is the look of vicious and manic glee that takes over the MC when he's in the middle of an interesting fight. However, he's not wholly foolish about it. Quite the opposite. If it's in the name of getting a better fight, he's not above manipulating an event to put himself right in the line of fire, or when to hold off if it would interfere with his desire for a life of freedom. It's an interesting bit of cleverness in contrast with the clear passion he views battles.
Surrounding him are also a bunch of fun and interesting side characters, as well. Each of them has their own notable backstory that could lead to further interesting scenarios or scenes down the line, from the possessed armor who wishes vengeance for a country long gone or the apparent antagonist who says he wants to devour another demon so that he can rule the world. It definitely leans into the harem genre side of things, with a ratio of more women to men surrounding the MC, but still.
Cons: amnesia, no skill build up, no depth
Unfortunately... So far, the series feels somewhat shallow, and doesn't really lean into its strengths. Right now, it feels as though we're just leaning into a check list of getting the MC some relations with other characters (notably his growing harem of course) with no real focus on any particular 'arc' or story. Even when the MC uses a new skill or ability, it doesn't feel like it was really something we could look forward to with instead it being just a thing he pulled out of nowhere.
Additionally, this almost feels as though it doesn't exactly need to be an isekai in some aspects, although I will admit that there are some things that it couldn't do without being in that genre. The MC's amnesia so far doesn't seem like it's really played an important role in any way. One of the charming points of isekai for me is seeing how a character's connection to their original world influences their personality or actions in the new world, such as skills they can bring that change society or just base goals for themselves such as getting back creature comforts such as delicious food. However, with the MC being amnesiac, that sort of connection is automatically cut off from him, and we don't even get to see any consequences or results from this issue. He doesn't seem to be worried about it, and there's no hints it will affect the story in any way. Perhaps it's fitting that it doesn't affect the MC, because we're told that he himself is the reason for this, with how he traded his memories away in order to get a cheat. That doesn't absolve it from not being satisfying as a story element.
This series' strong trait so far really does seem to be its MC's battle junkie nature, and I think it would feel an improvement if it leaned into that some more. Watching the MC get into fights or instruct others on how to better fight has been the highlights of my read. If his progress had been drawn out a little more and we could see more of his manipulative and clever nature come to light, I think the series would have benefited.
We're still only 28 chapters into this series, so there's a chance that perhaps it will get a boost up, especially since things seem to be getting a little more far-reaching in recent chapters. Only time will tell.
General Warnings: mild gore, child death backstory, fantasy racism
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 4 - fanservice clothing, boobs and butt shots, implication that the MC slept with one character, anime nudity, characters sleeping in the same bad as the MC...
Harem: Yes
How NOT To Summon a Demon Lord
Title: How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord
Other Titles:
Author: Yukiya Murasaki, Takahiro Tsurusaki
Main Character: Sakamoto Takuma / "Demon Lord Diablo"
Gender: Male
Cheat: OP Video Game Stats Transferred
Transport: Summoned
Summary: In the MMORPG "Cross Reverie", Sakamoto Takuma's PC "Diablo" is so powerful as to be called a 'demon king', a fact which the neet and otaku gladly takes pride in. Yet one day, as he goes to sleep, he finds himself awakened... in the form of his PC avatar, Diablo himself! He's been summoned into the world he's only played from, somehow and someway, and to be made a summon of one of two women responsible. Yet the binding magic rebounds, thanks to an item he possesses, and the two girls end up as his slaves instead. Now all stuck with each other, the three set out to figure out just what they can do.
Pros: Charming MC, Heartwarming Deurotagonists, Genre Savy
Frankly speaking, I'm rather picky with fanservice in the media I indulge in. More often than not, it feels like an unsatisfying side dish I feel obliged to eat as part of the wider meal: it either interests me not at all if I am not in the mood for something sexual or, when I am sexual, I require something meatier than just a bland tease of flavor. It doesn't help that fanservice can often feel shoehorned in, distracting from and weakening the main strength of the story. Other people might not have that problem but that's how it is for me.
So I wasn't really expecting this series to snag me. Busty blond elf on the cover? Yeah that's stereotypical. MC is a 'NEET' otaku type who spends all his time playing games and being bitter about couples, and he accidentally enslaves a pair of attractive women? Oof, this story could sure go places, and I'm not sure how much I'll stick around for. Those were the expectations I went in with.
But to my surprise... I actually really like the MC here. Even with that rather negative introduction, the series immediately makes him a humorous figure with his key character trait for the rest of the series: he has no good god damn how to interact with people. Yet instead of being openly nervous and socially awkward (things he definitely is), the series decides to deal with this trait in the rather humorous way of making him roleplay all the time. It's the concept of "fake it until you make it", only instead of acting confident, he's pretending that he's the big tough stoic demon king his PC Avatar is supposed to be, because, god help him, but he has no idea what else he can do. He desperately and stubbornly sticks with this person no matter the occasion, which can lead to good routes, potentially disastrous ones, and sometimes just things no one could have expected. While those within the story only get to see the mask, those reading have the pleasure of seeing all his mental freak outs, relief, embarrassed moments... and the good bits of him which a "demon king" would never get to show.
And the MC is in fact a good person, once the little bits of bitterness and other human flaws are seen past. I was honestly wary of the premise at first, because there are so many ways the sexy slavery trope can go wrong, but it's almost... wholesome? The MC isn't actually happy about having these women bound to him like they are, and he even expresses regret when he realizes that they're publicly branded as slaves now with the magical collars that ended up on them. At the end of the day, he prefers to avoid killing people if he can get away with it. While he ultimately doesn't want to get involved in too much people or too big of threats, he also doesn't really want to be the bad guy he plays as. Even the worst he gets in regards in the fanservice (on a personality standpoint) is molesting a cat girl's ears because she won't tell him her important secret otherwise, and accidentally groping people. The slave collars could have him do anything, but he rarely ever uses that power.
One of the women puts it best, when someone forces her to tell the truth of what the MC forced her to do while under the effects of the collar. The only thing she can say is that, one time, he made her and the other girl make up "with a smile and a hand shake" because they were on the verge of literally fighting. Later on, she even admits that the only real bearing that it has on her life most of the time is that it's a little harder to wash her neck.
That might seem like a low bar but, I mean. Look at that series summary.
Speaking of the girls, I quickly grew to like them as well. The isekai portion of the series opens with the two of them bickering over who 'really' summoned the MC, already butting heads in terms of their personalities. This is a sort of amusing twist on its own of "girls arguing over a man" trope, but, instead of wanting him to love one of them over the other, they view him more as an object or pet or companion initially. As the series progresses, the two of them learn more about each other's circumstances and personalities... and they start to bond from that. Seeing the way their relationship shifts from antagonistic to close really had me invested. They might still tease each other or bicker from time to time, but it's in the way that only those who are close to each other do. I could tell that, while the MC might have forced them together, their relationship was soon something wholly independent from him.
Additionally, while the story isn't anything super genre-breaking, since the MC is a huge otaku NEET type, he does reference and show a not too small grasp of various tropes and cliches. Whether it's his various dumb daydreams on thing both sexual and just silly (such as imagining being called to the teachers' office when the guildmaster asks to speak to him privately) or acknowledging that it's best to get Secrets (tm) out into the open from a companion before it causes trouble (or could help to avert it if he'd only known earlier). One of my favorite moments is when he's put into a bad situation against someone he doesn't want to fight, and the MC considers that he has two bad ends in front of him where he either gives up something important or fights someone important... before he realizes that's not how it works. That might be how it works in a game, but, despite the similarities, his situation isn't a game. It's the real world, real enough for him, and the real world has infinite possibilities.
It's all fun to read, honestly, even with and sometimes even somehow especially for the more NSFW moments.
Cons: Transphobic Trope
If I'm honest, for most of this reading, I was genuinely leaning in the direction of putting this in my 'favorites' list, partially because I'm desensitized to some level of fanservice/hentai tropes and so the good moments were Really Good for me. I really was enjoying myself, up to around the 40s. That's when the series bust out a... frustrating trope.
The "the trans woman is murderous and hates cis women and also is a sadistic pervert" trope.
Yeah.
I've also glanced at the entry on TV Tropes, which predicts another gross trope if the manga continues to follow the line of the light novel, but that hasn't yet been covered.
General Warnings: Groping, Molestation, Hypnosis/Mind Control, Rape Threats, Incest, Loli Bullshit, Torture (not indepth)
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 5 - At one point he outright fingers a girl (for ~magic~ reasons), so, you know. It's not explicitly graphic, but that isn't saying much.
Harem: Yes
Shikkaku Mon No Saikyou Kenja
Title: Shikkaku Mon No Saikyou Kenja
Other Titles:
Author: Shoto Shinko, Liverjam (Friendly Land), POPO (Friendly Land)
Main Character: Matthias Hildesheim
Gender: Male
Cheat: Past Magic knowledge
Transport: Reincarnation
Summary: At birth, every person is born with a marking that decides the strengths and weaknesses of their magic. A person known as a great sage is the holder of one he finds to be the weakest, and, dissatisfied with the limits he's reached, decides to forcefully reincarnate himself to get the 'strongest'. Fortunately for him, he gains what he's looking for in his very next life. Unfortunately... the world he knows has been turned upside down and it is now regarded as the weakest, along with all sorts of things which don't seem to make sense. As he works to become ever stronger, he decides to investigate this strangeness.
Pros: Side Character Progress
The thing I liked most about getting into this series was how the two main side characters, the girls who compose the MC's little team, were given some attention and allowed to grow stronger on their own. While there's no denying how OP the MC is, because of how the idea of magic has been turned on its head in-universe, other characters have the possibility of growing themselves. Most of this attention, of course, goes to the characters who are closest to the MC, and I can't help but find it satisfying and fun to watch them lean into their strengths. They really give off the impression of working hard to reach the ridiculous feats of the MC, and seem to sometimes be so delighted with the idea, too. There's something really fun and charming in seeing them mimic the MC's catchphrase of "Subjugation Complete". Which is good, because...
Cons: Too Easy, Lacks Depth, Paperthin Antagonists
In a story, one of the most important things anticipation. You want the reader to be looking forward to what development will take place in the story next, even (and especially) if they aren't entirely sure of the details. This can happen in a multitude of ways, even if a character is absurdly powerful in most ways... but it can be difficult. It's a problem that I believe is especially tricky when it comes to the isekai genre, since the "power fantasy" aspect of it tends to crop up a lot. Of course, it's not something that's insurmountable, and sometimes that power fantasy aspect can be actually beneficial when it's focused on one area so that another area that can thrive. One example is if a character is supremely talented with magic or combat, so that one can explore more personal or political aspects. That's easier said than done in some ways...
And a good example of that failure is this series, I think.
The MC has fantastic magic, absurd fighting skills, is relied upon immediately by people in higher positions than him, and he doesn't have to worry about anything because his opponents are so purely black and white... He, and the story by extension, are boring because of that. There are no challenges for him to face, no unexpected curves, and there's nothing outside of combat that seems like it could be interesting or trip him up. I can't feel jubilant about when a character like this succeeds, because it's basically just expected after a point, and that point comes pretty quickly in the series. It's like when you chew gum: after a while, the flavor is bland and uninteresting.
Part of the problem would be how the series treats its antagonists. The overall series antagonists are the overall race of "demons", typical horned humanoid figures with horns who can disguise themselves as humans. Yet not only are they not a combat challenge for the MC... but they don't seem to offer any moral or political challenge either.
SPOILERS AHEAD
When I first read through this series, one of the things that stood out to me was the brief exposition the MC gave to us on demons a couple of chapters before we were introduced to them. He mentioned that "In my past life, they were so much of a pain, so us humans annihilated every single one of them." It was such a surprisingly... callous and cruel statement that almost seemed to come out of nowhere, at least for me. There was no mention of how dangerous the demons were, if they were going to end the world, nothing like that. They were just "a pain"... and for that, the MC seemed to think that the genocide of a whole race was perfectly fine.
I was left wondering if that callous statement would pay off in any way, especially once we began to meet demons one after another. Sure, they were villains, but nothing they had done yet seemed particularly enough to warrant racial genocide. They just... acted like regular villains, albeit those who were fighting against the MC and the city he'd come to live in. I was left wondering if the whole reason they'd manipulated human society's idea of magic and infiltrated it to keep it that way was just to avoid another attempted genocide of their species. When they were found out and all pulled out of the human city, was it really because they wanted to prepare for a full out attack because ~it was time to strike~, or were they just desperate to keep themselves safe? More than one demon even calls the MC a monster.
I kept waiting for the narration to address this, either through showing us more of the demons' history or circumstances, a sympathetic demon, or even just one of the other characters asking why. Yet after 20 chapters, it feels like I haven't really gotten even a glimpse of that.
SPOILER END
Ultimately, this series has about as much depth to it as a kindergartner's cartoon. Every fight is predictable, there are no interesting challenges, and the villains only exist to be villains that are immediately defeated with no reoccurring character to get invested in. The only thing that genuinely kept me reading were seeing how the two side characters grew and triumphed along the MC.
This series could be better, it really could. It would help if the two side characters were instead the main, with the current MC instead being a teacher we didn't see everything off (including how impossibly powerful and undefeatable he is). It would help if we got to see a more morally gray side, where the demons weren't just mindless villains and the question has to be raised of how much violence is really justified in the end, something that can't be solved with the MC's combat skills.
But, so far, twenty chapters in, there's been no real hooks to the story or the character.
General Warnings: none
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 2 - While it doesn't happen often, almost all of the demons have very... interesting outfits. They're not usually too ridiculous on the fanservice level, but they certainly are creative. There's also a brief nude scene when a dragon turns into a human.
Harem: No
no subject
Title: Otherworld Nation Founding Chronicles
Other Titles:
Author: KOIZUMI, Sakuragi Sakura
Main Character: Almus
Gender: Male
Cheat: Past Life knowledge
Transport: Death (Traffic Accident)
Summary: A regular office worker ends up meeting his death... and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a forest, starving, in the form of a ten year old child. As he struggles to come to terms and survive, he's come across a Griffin and told that he's intruding upon his territory. The young man explains his situation, and the Griffin offers him a deal: if the newly named Almus can raise a group of children abandoned in the Griffin's forest, the Griffin will provide items, food, and shelter for them all for three years.
Pros: How To Form A Town 101, Griffin Dad, Politics, Blessing System
In comparison to all the other things I'll mention, the Griffin which initially takes in all of these abandoned children is actually a rather lowkey entity who, as the series progresses, makes less and less appearances.. and yet his presence is never really forgotten. To the humans, he's an immensely powerful force who cares nothing for them and prefers a life of isolation deep within his forest. He's a mythical creature in every meaning of the word and that is indeed our first impression of him as readers. Yet it quickly becomes apparent that he's more than just some distant myth. He may be inhuman and ancient, and yet he's surprisingly stable. He rescues the children out of kindness, but an off-chance bit of kindness means nothing if he doesn't carry through. That's the entire reason he spares our MC: if he's going to do this properly, then he's going to get someone more familiar with humans and how they should live than himself.
It's honestly a quote that I found really striking: "If it were you, would you abandon them starving and without shelter, or would you pick them up just to throw them away irresponsibly? If you save someone, be responsible to the end."
The quote is not only a good one on personal responsibility, but also a reminder to know your limits. If you can't do the Right Thing (tm) to the end to really make a difference, you might just be doing equal or more harm to their initial situation.
I think it makes for quite a good opening for an otherwise fun and interesting domestical/political isekai. In the modern day, we've progressed so much that the idea of needing to start from scratch like our ancestors is sort of in the past. Perhaps that's why some people can imagine thriving in a zombie apocalypse with nothing but a cool gun or machete. This series really shows how much work is required and how varied it must be. It even shows a few neat little lifehacks, such as using certain plants to drive away pests from crops or handy ways to make harvesting grains easier. It's really enlightening to see how society has progressed, but just in a smaller area and put on high speed.
All of that information is stuff that the MC brings from his past life in modern day Japan: history, life experiences with farms, and general leadership skills. However, there are things going on beyond him, and most of that would be politics. As a child who has a connection to the Griffin along with his brilliant ideas, he's of interest to those running the country... who have their own issues that are happening throughout the kingdom and in others. It's interesting to see the reasonings they make, what they decide to come to the MC about and what they keep hidden in their sleeve for the moment.
Additionally, there's one last thing. While there is a Griffin and "voodoo" (although I can't say how much it has in similarity to the real life equivalent), magic is fairly lowkey in this world. The main things are called "blessings", given to people such as the Griffin or even the princess of a kingdom. There is a large variety of blessings, with them unique to a person and not often able to be lended out. Mainly they've been focused on the MC, but the Griffin has one along with some others, so it will be interesting to see if anything is done with that.
Cons: The Romance, Power Sexism
I'm actually pretty relaxed and flexible when it comes to romance between young teens, or even pre-adolescent kids. When I was younger, I thought all sorts of dumb romances or crushes were fine, partially because of cultural influences I'm sure but also because kids never really think they're kids. Even now as an adult, I can understand that sort of mentality. (Which is different from condoning it, mind.) Especially in manga and anime, not really understanding how actual teens act or look is pretty common. Thus, I tend to detach from some level of real world common sense when reading manga and such, which allows me to enjoy the story.
Yet something about this series just... really makes it either awkward or annoying for me. Part of it is the fanservice, as usual, which is annoying on even the teenagers and looks really weird and uncomfortable when you see it on ten year olds. All the other boys can wear regular ass clothing, so why is one of the girls wearing some sort of v-neck crop top? Additionally, there's just not enough art progression when it comes to the ages. While some of the guys change quite notably (the kid who takes up archery is the most blatant example), all the girls don't really... seem to change, and not even some of the guys. The art style feels as though they never really grew up or changed in most ways. That's not exactly a great feeling, when you're watching them continue to dress up in skimpy clothing or talk about teenager hormone nonsense.
(Additionally, one of the romances feels a little rushed, since that particular love interest seems to turn around a little too fast on being stand-offish to being invested in how much he cares, but that's a personal preference.)
Additionally, there's one really gross scene where the MC's primary love interest tries to convince him to take some powder and isn't entirely clear on what he does. Instead of eating it, he feeds it to some nearby goats who all immediately start to "do it like they do it on the Discovery channel". Instead of treating this like a really fucked up date rape thing, it's treated more like a silly joke, and there are no real consequences. Again: these are very young teenagers at this point.
On a more minor note, things initially seem to be on mostly even levels when it comes to what kids do what jobs, but that changes once the girls start learning magic. After that, only men seem to be allowed to become warriors and the women are only 'voodoo magicians'. They can still participate in combat to some degree with the ability to spy on things while 'soul riding' an animal... but it definitely has that annoying and weird "real men fight, girls have to stay in the back" sort of thing. There's one girl who manages to be an exception in that she eventually ends up a cavalry rider, but it still doesn't really seem like enough.
General Warnings: Underage Romance, Attempt at Date Rape (Girl On Boy), brief Emeto
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 3 - hey artist quick question why does the ten year old have a v-neck crop top thing
Harem: Yes
The Simple-Looking Sword Saint Is Nevertheless The Strongest
Title: The Simple-Looking Sword Saint Is Nevertheless The Strongest
Other Titles:
Author: Akashi Rokuro
Main Character: Shirokuro Sansui
Gender: Male
Cheat: An essentially immortal body
Transport: Death (Traffic Accident/God's fuck up)
Summary: One day, Shirokuro Sansui ends up dying in a traffic accident... which, as it turns out, is an accident from God who killed him because Sansui's name was so old fashioned that he thought he was an old man. To make it up for him, God agrees to send him to another world and fulfill his desire of becoming the strongest person. But, as it turns out, that means training for 500 years under another swordsman... and things take a change when they find a baby, whereupon Sansui is sent out into the world to take care of her.
Pros: Cozy, Genre Teasing (harem and all), Appreciation for Simplicity
There's something very relaxed and chill about this series. Most things are down to earth, and that's almost represented in the way that the MC trains for learning swordsmanship. The goal he tells God about is to become the strongest person in the world... but the only way he can actually do that is by constantly training. That's the simple truth of the matter: if you want to get good at something, all you can do is practice again and again, constantly. In a genre with people who are geniuses or immediately great at something, it's almost kind of nice to have this sort of message.
Additionally, it seems to acknowledge that it's different from a good chunk of its genre, because there's another character that definitely fits the bill of being a stereotypical male isekai protagonist. He's talented in multiple things other people aren't, he has a harem.... The whole deal. Yet the story continues to tease him a little bit with how even our MC realizes what a typical isekai protag he is, and how, even with all the special abilities one might have, it doesn't mean anything if you don't have the experience or practice behind them. He's not treated too unkindly, but there's no denying he's poked fun at.
Cons: Shallow
While the series is chill enough, that really seems to be all it has going for it. What really caught my attention was the idea of someone dying, ending up in another world, and then ending up raising a child of all things. When the MC is made to go out into the world to learn more about it and also properly raise his child, I was hoping that we'd see a bit more of a comfortable domestic isekai that focused on his relationship with his new daughter as she grew up. However, it felt like that was brushed off too easily and, so far, there haven't been any other strong plot hooks that really get my attention. It's not a hugely bad series, it just didn't do as much as I wanted in some areas.
General Warnings: None
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 2 - There outfits some women wear are a little cleavage showing, but there's nothing really hardcore or shoved in the face every two pages
Harem: Yes, but not with the MC
Wortenia Senki
Title: Wortenia Senki
Other Titles:
Author: Yagi Yukari, Hori Ryouta
Main Character: Ryouma Mikoshiba
Gender: Male
Cheat: immediately down for murder, but also can absorb other people's power by killing them
Transport: Summoned (humans)
Summary: With a family dojo whose motto is that their style is only meant to kill, Ryouma expects to simply live out his life as he always has. However, in the middle of his lunch, he's suddenly transported to another world... and finds himself surrounded by people whose gazes he can't say he likes. After violently escaping, he decides to figure out a way to get home and how to make a life here.
Pros: Escaping Summoners, Morally Grey Protag, Multiple Viewpoints, Worldbuilding, War Tactics
Stories where the MC clashes against the forces which isekai'd them are always fun and interesting. When such a clash means killing the various armed guards around you, I feel like my intrigue gets hooked even further. Our MC has no hesitation in identifying that there's something disturbingly odd from the start of forcefully summoning a random stranger, and his identification of the coldness in their eyes only reinforces that fact. As he states, it's essentially self defense.
Yet that doesn't take away the fact that our teenage MC is extremely skilled at such violence, and demonstrates no hesitation in bringing that violence to its natural conclusion of death. That he can be from such a peaceful country living in a peaceful time and still do this is impressive, and almost worrying. While one could argue that he only does it to those who deserve it, like any good protag one would normally root for, well, there's still a ruthlessness to his actions in many cases that still manages to give one pause.
Adding onto this is how we often see the point of view from other characters. Right from the start, while our MC is dispatching those responsible for his situation, we see another person thinking of her grandfather- one of those involved. Her view of him as a kindly old man directly contrasts with what the MC is going through right now. It's an interesting consideration of why many characters do what they do, and it adds a little bit of dimension and depth to the story instead of us being stuck with the MC all the time.
Isekai also do best if there is something fascinating to their worldbuilding, and, while this series does nothing unique or special, it still manages to address various little issues that are quite interesting. One of those that caught my attention was a discussion of the guild for adventurers, where it was discussed just the kind of power they held over their own, and how that could complicate matters.
What I think might be this series' strongest point of favor, however, would be its focus on battle tactics. This is something that comes up in the latest arc most predominately, moreso than in the first and precious arc before it where we're introduced to the MC and the world. While it doesn't go wholly indepth on some things, it still makes sure to make mention of a great deal of the kind of politics, economics, and battle tactics which are all important to any sort of war, no matter how short lived. Even the use of rumors to unease the local populace is used in a way that I found quite clever and interesting.
Cons: Quick and Shallow
...If nowhere else, then in our initial introductory arc.
For such a grave crime of killing quite a few people, including a couple of important faces, it feels like we don't really get indepth on the consequences of that, or explore them completely. It even felt a little rushed, as if the story had somewhere else to be despite this problem being still the strongest connection to the isekai genre so far in my opinion. There is a chance that the story will dip back into that- we are only 23 chapters in at the time of this writing. So there's a chance for that to be a little more satisfying in future chapters.
General Warnings: Violence, Attempted Rape, occasional fatphobia, occasional in-universe sexism
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 3 - His two "combat slaves" are dressed in extremely skimpy attire that's not really suited for actual combat, mages or not, and we do get a couple of shots of sensual images when talking about sex slaves... And a ninja gets her clothes sliced through so that injuries can be looked at... But there's more violence than anything sexual, and focuses on tactics and other such things as well.
Harem: Yes
Isekai Yururi Kikou: Raising Children While Being an Adventurer
Title: Isekai Yururi Kikou: Raising Children While Being an Adventurer
Other Titles:
Author: Tomomi Mizuna, Shizuru Minazuki
Main Character: Kayano Takumi
Gender: Male
Cheat: Enhanced Abilities and God nosing into his business
Transport: Death (Divine Fuck Up)
Summary: Out of nowhere, Takumi finds himself in front of a crying individual.. who soon reveals himself to be a god that explains Takumi accidentally was killed while a rift between the worlds was being repaired. As an apology, he's transported to another world, right in the middle of a deadly forest. As he makes his way to town, he stumbles upon two very young children, and, well. That's how he ends up becoming a dad.
Pros: Fluff
If you need a nice story that's just a guy dadding some children while the children hilariously and soundly defeat most monsters they stumble upon, well, this is a solid story for you to enjoy. It's sweet to see the way that the MC worries over the children, especially sometimes when he wonders if he's doing a good job, and the children are so adorable with how they eagerly seek out his approval as the first person they met who also treats them so kindly. There are a fair amount of action scenes, but, most of the time, they're not super indepth and often used more for humor or even the occasional teaching moment.
Cons: Fluff
However, there's really not much more to this series than cute moments and funny jokes. While the parental relationship is sweet, it doesn't go super indepth whether emotionally or practically. It's the equivalent of candy when it comes to the Found Family trope, especially when I've read other series (even isekai) that've gone much stronger with the idea.
This isn't necessarily a dealbreaker, or even a bad thing. It's a nice little series on its own merits, and has plenty of chances to change from the mere 15 chapters that are currently out.
General Warnings: General adventure violence
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 1 - There's yet to be any really fanservice moments (thank goodness considering there are literal children involved), and most people seem to have decent clothing on
Harem: No
The Abandoned Hero Is Going Home
Title: The Abandoned Hero Is Going Home
Other Titles:
Author: Kikuyarou, Naname44°
Main Character: Ogata Yuuto
Gender: Male
Cheat: Hero Powers (Shadow Based)
Transport: Summoned (Royalty Magic)
Summary: Ogata and Hijiri, a couple of friends, suddenly find themselves summoned in a castle by a princess- the quintessential isekai experience. Yet while the princess fusses over Hijiri as the summoned hero, the second she's convinced him out of the room... She outright kicks Ogata out of the castle entirely, revealing her truer colors underneath. This could be something of a problem, considering Ogata is the real hero to begin with! The real hero who... just wants to get back home over all else.
Pros: Hero Mix-Up, Friendship, Navi NPC, Genre Fighting, Cat MC
From what's been released, this story feels like one about "connections" in some ways. That's apparent right off the bat with our very first set up scene: two teenage boys get suddenly transported with one of them being told that he's the hero and the other one being the guy we know is the actual main character. From that idea alone, I was fascinated with the potential this series had and the direction it could go in. The "hero" is working hard for the MC's sake, and, vice versa, the MC wants to make sure his friend is safe. Two sisters who were once close are now separate because of one's devotion to her duty and the other's fear of being alone. Holy maidens are women actually connected to a summoned hero by some sort of spiritual bond.
All characters in any story will bounce off of each other and react to the actions of others but, in this story, it feels as though connections particularly have something to them. Perhaps that will change as the story goes on, but it is what I've gotten as an impression so far.
Of course, even with those connections, the series does obviously make a nod towards its genre and some tropes that come with it. While the MC may be the technical "True" Hero, all he wants to do is just go home where the food doesn't suck. The "Holy Maiden" that's supposed to be connected to the hero both as a companion and a love interest is seen of as not exactly wanted, and it's even slightly questioned if this is a good idea. Even the Princess who rebukes the MC and gets him tossed out of the castle seems to be deeply considering this, thinking of things like "what happens to the rest of their families" when thinking of the Happily Ever Afters the fairy tales often gave her. This sort of thing is both played for laughs and also has featured as the hint of conflicts.
Ultimately, however, the story has leaned more into its more comedy driven aspect, with a focus more on jokes, gags, and a general sense of light-heartedness. The best example of this would be a floating icon character not unlike the meme-ified version of LoZ's Navi who makes the claim that they're God to the MC. Despite this boisterous claim and the knowledge they can offer, they're treated more as a nuisance than anything, and even the eventual cat the MC gets deigns them more of a chewtoy than anything. It's actually kind of funny to watch as he's forcefully used from everything to a shield against a monster to a flashlight in a dark cave. With this and many other things, the story manages to keep from being particularly dark or depressing.
Also the MC has a bunch of cat traits without outright being a cat and I just love that kind of shit, thank you.
Cons: 10 Chapters
While I love all of these base ideas... I also can't really say that I have a completely good grasp on this series yet. It's only ten chapters (listed as five in some ways), and that's not completely enough to gauge where it will go as a whole. I've enjoyed the few chapters that are out yet, and have decent hopes in its potential, but I can't say anything for certain.
General Warnings: Emeto
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 1 - Nothing yet
Harem: No
It Seems the Strongest Job is Not Hero nor Sage, but Inspector (Provisional)
Title: It Seems the Strongest Job is Not Hero nor Sage, but Inspector (Provisional)
Other Titles:
Author: Atekichi, Takeda Atsushi
Main Character: Manabe Hibiki
Gender: Male
Cheat: God's Attention, Unique Job Class
Transport: Summoned (Supposedly)
Summary: Manabe Hibiki starts out his day like any other, ready to open the door to his classroom... and yet, as he does so, a brilliant light blinds him, and he finds himself in another world entirely. Stunned at his situation, he's even more stunned at his job title. What the heck does that "(Provisional)" part even mean, anyway?
Pros: Interesting Class, Solid Main Trio, Fun Characters, good set up for potential
If there's one thing that can be said about this series, it's that it has a fun and varied amount of characters in its regular cast. Even when the MC is on his own, his well meaning socially-oblivious personality stands out great alongside the determined and hopeful elf archer he meets, or the muscle-obsessed but surprisingly reliable guildmaster he works under. This is especially true of the companions he eventually picks up: the experienced and loyal wolfman hero and the younger bright magician girl attached to his side.
Their dynamic is solid and good, both in more personal matters as they talk about what the MC really wants to do, and when it comes to that good old fashioned JRPG grinding. And it's important that they all have a good rapport with each other, not only in-universe, but outwards to the reader's eye as well. After all, the MC's class explicitly prohibits him from gaining combat skills, so everything he has to do is something he's actually relying on others for. Sure, he has access to unbelievably powerful magics... but no MP to use them with, meaning he has to make "Contracts" with other people in order to cast spells. He's not a tank of any kind, so he has to hide behind his wolfman, and things can go pearshaped if they're caught unaware. It's a really fun idea, giving a main character a job class that's so dependent on other people.
Along with all of this, the series adds in some interesting questions as set ups that have the potential to be interesting story parts when we get the answers. Where is the rest of the MC's class? When will we see the elf woman who wanted him to join her party? What's the deal with the woman in the wolfman's memories, and will we figure out more about the mage girl's past that lead her to this current situation? There are a lot of things that could be quite interesting in the story ahead, and I'm looking forward to if they'll be resolved properly.
Cons: Slavery
Normally, I can overlook how slavery is portrayed in most isekai and fantasy stories. Not because they're good, mind you, but because it can obviously be just a sex thing, or "this was bad but look what the MC did, he's doing a good thing" sort of situation. It's still portrayed as bad, but not in this particular case, you guys! So there's usually just enough self awareness that I can roll my eyes but generally not focus too much on it in favor of other parts of the story.
I didn't have such an easy time with this story, because it seems to forgive the idea of slavery far too easily. The place where the MC has to go find slaves (since he can't fight on his own) boasts about how they're slaves of war, or crime, and how they're all well cared for... like that makes it any better. Then, later one, one of the now-former slaves seems to just get over the role that place had far too easily, with the primary face of the operation being treated more like a funny gag than anything. It just brushes off the horrors of slavery, after showing us two of the main characters being in such terrible positions to start with.
It's... more than a little frustrating, to put it lightly.
General Warnings: Shonen Violence
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 2 - In the beginning especially, there are a couple of jokes made, but it's not a big factor into the series yet, especially once he gets his main companions.
Harem: No - There are jokes made about how charming he is, especially towards "big sister" types, but romance of any sort doesn't really seem to play a part in his adventures so far
While Killing Slimes for 300 Years, I Became the MAX Level Unknowingly
Title: While Killing Slimes for 300 Years, I Became the MAX Level Unknowingly
Other Titles:
Author: Yuusuke Shiba, Kisetsu Morita
Main Character: Azusa Aizawa
Gender: Female
Cheat: Immortality
Transport: Death (Overwork)
Summary: Office worker Azusa falls prey to the mentality of overworking herself to death... something which lands her right on the doorstep of a god, who gives her the option to live in another world with a power of her choice. Asuza immediately chooses immortality, wanting to make up for all the lost time in her original life where she was more focused on working instead of living. Content with this new life where she only occasionally fights only slimes for spending money, Azusa continues a carefree and relaxed life for many years... until she finds out that she's accidentally hit the highest level possible, an unreachable goal for most regular people.
Pros: Sweet Fluff, Connection/Relaxation Balance, sometimes a family can just be a mom and her kids and all the women who have a crush on her
This series is really the epitome of fluff, to the point that I wouldn't be surprised if the physical copy of the manga came out with paper made out of marshmallow. There's nothing of heavy substance in the story, no serious stakes or any sense of Real Danger (tm). For the most part, it's light, comfortable, and there's always the feeling that a happy ending is waiting at the end of whatever 'storyline' is at currently at work. As I've said before, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. This series is enjoyable on this merit, a break from indeed the kind of destructive lifestyle that the MC herself wanted to free herself from. It's nice to just see someone living a happy life, and accidentally making a family out of everything.
Yet for as simple and shallow fluff that it may be, there are some good lessons and moments in this series. In recent years, there are a lot of stories where the MC is an office worker who dies of overwork- a hint of the kind of capitalistic problem that Japan (and many other places) have to deal with. Whenever the MC is made to face with things that remind her of that lifestyle, such as her new apprentice's overzealous work ethic, she immediately pushes back against it. I think that's an important thing we all need to remember, especially in a capitalistic world that demands more of our effort, for longer, regardless on if we want to or even can. It's a good reminder that everyone needs to not only know their limits, but firmly stick to them at times. The human race (or dragon, or elf, or what have you) wasn't made to work so rigorously. We need breaks, and comfort, and happiness.
With the weight of capitalism at its worst, it's no wonder that the MC makes the decision to go 300 years in mostly isolation while only venturing out occasionally for things she needs to buy from others. Yet while it quietly criticizes capitalism "work ethic" excuses, the series also points out that those 300 years of isolation aren't the ideal for our MC, either. At the same time that humans aren't made to work so heavily, they're also social creatures that are happier with other people. Living a life of just relaxed isolation is fine for a while (even if that 'a while' is 300 years in an immortal witch's case)... but she seems to become a lot more lively and happy when she has someone to share her life with.
If that particular phrasing sounds a little queer, well, there's good reason for that. When her female apprentice first requests to be a live in apprentice, the MC's immediate first thought that she very nearly voices is "Like marriage?" Once another female character joins the cast, she more than happily volunteers that she normally likes guys but would more than happily let the MC have her way with her. (And in fact often seems to be wanting her attention.) Nothing seems really.... serious yet, but there's no denying that there's something incredibly queer about three women living together, and one of those women is a mother who didn't require a man of any sort to get a pair of children.
Cons:
There are a couple of things played for laughs that I'd rather not be (a character gets effectively drunk horny and tries to make a move on the MC, the use of a particular Japanese phrase that's translated as "straight woman who'd have sex with a lesbian").... but overall I'm good with it.
General Warnings: The above
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 3 - There are a few boob jokes here and there, especially once the elf joins with things, plus a hot springs chapter... And yet surprisingly for the latter, it's almost not drawn in a super fanservice-y way imo.
Harem: Yes
no subject
Title: Chillin' Different World Life of the EX-Brave Candidate Was Cheat From LV2
Other Titles:
Author: Miya Kinojo, Akine Itomachi
Main Character: Banaza
Gender: Male
Cheat:
Transport: Summoned (Royalty)
Summary: Banaza is a merchant from a fantasy world all his own... so it's quite a surprise to him when he's summoned into an entirely different fantasy world in a kingdom's efforts to pull a hero to defend them against the demon army. When the status crystal ball shows he's only an average man, and the "real hero" is discovered, so much commotion occurs that his chance to return to his own world is lost. The king sends him off with some supplies to a forest as "compensation"... only it's filled with various demonic beasts. And that's when Banaza realizes his status screen has changed from what it first looked like when he arrived...
Pros: Summoned By Assholes, MC says "fuck slavery", Unaware MC vs Asshole Hero, Contrasting Heroes, Cute Romantic Moments
If there's one thing that's satisfying about isekai summoners being complete assholes, it's that you can almost always look forward to them getting their just desserts at some point in the future. With this series, we get that almost immediately just by the fact that the MC is clearly the exact solution against the demonic enemy that they need...
...And they treated him like complete garbage when they thought he was just a completely ordinary guy.
Oh, the Schadenfreude. The delicious, delicious Schadenfreude of watching someone screw themselves over because they were needlessly an asshole to a complete stranger that they'd already screwed over once before. The fun doesn't stop there, however. While the MC isn't immediately identified as a hero, someone else is... And he's a complete bastard, asshole, and coward to the core.
This lends to the story more than just getting to watch the asshole king get to deal with someone else equally as assholish who he can't just toss aside in a murder forest, however. This Hero also functions as the perfect contrast to our MC, differences which become more and more stark as we watch the story progress between the two of them. Our MC is honest about his feelings or desires even when he's requested by people high up in an adventurer's guild, called "soft hearted" by more than a few people, and truly abhors slavery so much that he would rather struggle and thrash with constantly casting the same spell over again.
I don't know about anyone else, but, man, it's so nice to see an isekai MC actually vehemently refuse against slavery bullshit.
Then you have the Hero: a man who values his own safety over those of other people, who tries to lie to others in order to deny his own cowardice, perfectly glad to be accompanied by a cute enough servant girl... The two of them were pulled into such a similar situation, yet are such different people, that a run-in of some sort seems inevitable. If nothing else, I can't wait for both the kingdom and this Hero to be forced to deal with the fact that the person they treated so poorly is actually so important.
Yet besides all of the story things happening... What helps make the story additionally fun to read would be the romantic moments that occur when the MC finds himself sort of accidentally picking up a 'wife' in this world of his. I don't want to spoil too much of it, only that his new wife is a warrior bestial type of woman (not That sort of bestial, sorry, furries) who concedes to him in combat. The two end up with one another, with the MC not really into picking up a wife initially.... Despite this, he still does his best to communicate with her about his unique situation so that she has a chance to bow out, and does his best to make her a happy woman with gifts when she looks wanting or open consideration of how she would feel with other women hanging around him so much. It's just so sweet and charming to see how much care he takes towards her, and how blissfully happy she becomes from the littlest things. In turn, his wife does her best to strive towards adjusting more to the world of regular non-warrior humans, not wanting to leave her husband- the leader of her pack- to do all the work himself while she does nothing.
It's all just... really sweet.
Cons: Warrior's Attempted Suicide, s l o w
If there's one downside to the romance angle, it's that it happens because the soon-to-be wife believes she either should marry the powerful but softhearted person who defeated her... or die a death since she's no longer reliable as a warrior. Clearly that is no good for the MC, so that can lead to one feeling like it's a manipulative start to the relationship.
And then, even without that... At the time of this post, there's only six chapters, and the last update was in April. So it may take a while for a more indepth review to happen here.
General Warnings: Attempted Warrior Suicide, Shonen Violence
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 3 - There's a brief nude scene, and the female outfits aren't often super practical.
Harem: Sorta? Some of the other girls the MC is with show a clear interest in him, but he's only shown interest in his new wife.
The Death Mage Who Doesn't Want a Fourth Time
Title: The Death Mage Who Doesn't Want a Fourth Time
Other Titles:
Author: Densuke (II), Takehiro Kojima
Main Character: Amamiya Hiroto / D-01 / Vandalieu
Gender: Male
Cheat: Unique Magic and Multiple Reincarnations (because god fucked up)
Transport: Death (Terrorist Attack), Death (Double Murder)
Summary: While on a ship tour trip, Amamiya Hiroto and all of his classmates end up perishing in a terrorist attack that destroys their ship. With all of them in the afterlife, they're soon approached by a deity who gives them the choice to be put back into the regular reincarnation cycle... or be reborn in an entirely new world with their memories and also special abilities! Yet while he's waiting for his turn, Amamiya witnesses someone who not only has an extremely similar name... but even looks like him? The shock of this ends up leaving him behind, which is only then that the deity realizes his terrible mistake. But he can't send Amamiya back, and can't give him any special abilities or good fortune for a new world... Thus dooming the youth to a life guaranteed to be full of misfortune.
Pros: God's Fuck Up and the Following Consequences, Suspicious Circumstances, Mom-Son Relationship, Bone Friends, Bikini Armor Jokes
Isekai gods can really be a toss-up. In the worst case scenario, you can get complete assholes who don't even want you to be there and will toss you to the side to struggle. Other isekai gods are basically your new family, deeply invested in your happiness. Others are more neutral, simply moving the process along regardless of their individual personality.
And then you have the fuck ups.
These are a surprisingly common isekai god in their own right, where the MC stuck with them has ended up in their situation not because it was necessary in any way at all but because God was such a ditz or a jackass or an idiot that they genuinely just messed up. Usually this is reserved for causing the MC to die in the first place, and the isekai journey is a way of apologizing to the poor soul. It's embarrassing in a way but the honest mistake aspect of it combined with the isekai reward helps take away some of the sting. However, that last one seems to be the most vital aspect of it: that a mistake is recognized and that proper recompense is given. Needless to say... the MC in this story doesn't get even that much.
From the get-go, the MC's story is that of tragedy. Not only does he die in a horrible attack, unable to truly help anyone, but then his chance at getting a new life is stolen from him in suspicious circumstances and God essentially tells him "Well! Guess you're fucked and doomed to a life full of misfortune and misery, but, hey, chin up and optimism and stuff, right?" It's little wonder that the MC becomes so full of bitterness and vengeful thoughts towards the god that's put him in this situation... or towards the cruel scientists who end up experimenting on him for their own interest and gain. This rage eventually extends even to his former classmates, along with the person who took his name, abilities, and good fortune. The title of this series gives away everything, although it might be confusing at a first glance: the MC dies in this miserable second life that he's been given and is cycled into a third life but only after God curses him so that he can't get vengeance on his former teammates.
Yet to the MC? Another clash between him and them is only inevitable. The isekai god responsible for this whole disaster might think it best for the MC to 'live and forgive' but that isn't exactly an easy thing for someone to just do, especially when it's the God's own careless fault for the whole mess. However, as a human being (even if his body is a little questionable now), the MC can't help but grow. In his third life, for the first time with even his past lives consideration, he's born to a mother who is alive, well, and truly adores him. The relationship between the MC and his third life mother helps soothe over some of the horrible and traumatic things we're made witness to in the MC's second life, and it's really heartwarming to see. I think it's in the nature of most readers, when reading a story where a character is thrown through the ringer, to want to see them made happy for even a little while. With the inclusion of the MC's mother, we get that, for a little while. We get to see how some of his misery and rage is abated, just a bit, as he enjoys what is genuinely a mother's life and basks in her loving praise of him just... growing up.
I mean, it gets bad eventually, because this is still a story of revenge in the end, but some of the humor and heartwarming moments like these help not be too depressing, and yet don't take away from the MC's main goal of revenge or the terrible things that happen eventually in the story.
Some of that humor also comes from the minions that our MC works his necromatic abilities on, of course. The story shows its balance of horror and comedy with them well. On one hand, there's no denying the terrifying imagery they invoke easily enough as they slaughter wayward bandits with ease, blood dripping off bone. Other times, they invoke a lightheartedness born from their bond with the MC as they ask for his praise, bemoan their inability to make a fire or fly, and just goof around. Whether they're endearing or horrifying is all dependent on the situation, and the safety of their creator.
Of course, the jokes don't last forever. As I mentioned before, this story never forgets that it's ultimately a revenge story in the end, and a lot of interesting questions have been set up from the beginning that I can't help being intrigued about. Who was the 'fake' MC who took all that power and good fortune for himself? How will the MC's former classmates affect his future, or even reach him in this world completely different from both his homeworld and the world they initially reincarnated into? Can the MC find the proper vessel for a wayward soul, and how will he deal with the rest of a world that wants nothing to do with him? A lot of questions have been set up, leaving me eager to see how they come up again or are solved.
Cons: Fanservice
I'll be honest, the fanservice in this story seems to be keeping me off-balance on making a solid decision one way or the other. For example, his mother is a voluptuous woman with more than a couple of shots of her that are clearly meant to emphasize that, even when it feels a little... inappropriate to do so. I also always kind of find it weird when a MC's mother is made to be Super Hot (tm) with lots of fanservice moments, because, I mean. In most stories, the MC is the character whose viewpoint we're supposed to be most stuck with, so it just seems... really weird to also make the mom character super attractive in all these poses and looks to the reader. Yet at the same time, the story almost seemed to poke fun at it at one point, with how yeah, babies need to be breastfed, but this is weird for a teenager in a baby's body, and the mom just treats it as a natural process.... etc, etc.
Later on in the story, we also get a glimpse of a female character in the typical bikini armor on a title page at one point. Later on in another chapter, two sets of typical bikini armor are then possessed... but with no bodies forming underneath them, leaving it to look like as if there's bikini armor on invisible bodies. That, too, almost seems to be a joke in a way towards typical cliches and tropes of fanservice.
If it were more clearly one way or the other, I would have an easier time deciding how to feel about it, and yet.
General Warnings: Mass Murder backstory (many people die before reincarnation), Child Abuse, Human Experimentation, Starvation, Necromancy, Revenge Plot, breastfeeding a baby with the mental space of a teenager, Parental Death, Animal Death, Rape
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 3 - The MC's mom in his third life has quite the figure, so of course attention has to be drawn to it instead of it just being a basic and boring fact. While there is a rape scene, it's not shown in detail (although parts of it are still shown in the panels), and it's treated as a horrifying thing instead of fanservice.
Harem: No
I Became The Demon Lord so I Created a Dungeon and Spend Heartwarming Time There with Non-Human Girl
Title: I Became The Demon Lord so I Created a Dungeon and Spend Heartwarming Time There with Non-Human Girls
Other Titles: maou ni natta node, dungeon tsukutte jingai
Author: Note Tono, Ryuuyuu
Main Character: Yuki
Gender: Male
Cheat: Connected to a moddable dungeon, now a Demon Lord
Transport: Death
Summary: Waking up with memories of his own death and in the middle of an empty huge throne room, Yuki is completely confused... up until he touches a peculiar orb that floods his mind with information. That's when he realizes that he's become the "demon lord" of a dungeon, able to fully customize it to his will! You know. With some caveats. Of course, soon enough, he finds himself not living on his own.
Pros: Living Dungeons, Domestic Dungeon Life, Effects of Inhuman Reincarnation, Politics
There's something I've noticed popping up in a few manga stories, plain fantasy and isekai alike, when it comes to the discussion of dungeons. In video games and other such media, they're not really thought too hard on, because admittedly the usual ideas work perfectly fine on their own. If it's a cave, well, of course monsters and animals would live in a cave. Need to explain treasure chests? Bandits probably used it as a hideout. Any complex underground buildings are obviously symbols of a long lost civilization. Yet another explanation has begun to pop up in occasional stories: what if dungeons are actually living creatures?
That's the idea that this story pokes at. In this world, dungeons are living creatures born from immense gathering of magic with what could arguably be called two 'cores'. The first is the average orb with lots of power at the very center of the dungeon. The second is a "demon lord" or a "dungeon master", born as the dungeon's first line of defense and it's more active other half. There are even various rules on how a dungeon can get "points" which allows the demon lord to make changes to it or gain items. The way it's presented makes it seem very video-game like... and yet, when I thought about it, I realized that it also just made sense for a creature on a living level. One of the ways is that creatures are defeated within the dungeon, and isn't that like a form of gaining experience or eating food? If an intruder is within the dungeon, it also gains points then, another form of experience. It's a really interesting thing to me, and something I would like to see explored more of as the story continues.
In this aspect, as the MC figures out this new life of his and how to make his new home more secure, it's almost a fairly domestic series. For at least a good few chapters, the MC isn't really interested in living up to the title of 'demon lord'. He just wants to peacefully expand his home so that there's plenty of room for all of them, do the typical nerd shit like learn how to use magic, and get some of the creature comforts in life such as baths or board games. This is all alongside the people who come to live with him, such as a supreme dragon or the little vampire girl who he quickly grows protective of. A lot of the early chapters are simply full of mostly funny moments, or even cute ones. It seems as though it might even just be that kind of story.
Yet a dungeon is still a dungeon, and monsters are still monsters, at least to the world as it knows things. A clash is often inevitable in such a situation for the typical fantasy world, and things suddenly take a turn for the serious when one of the MC's own ends up in a bad situation because of regular humans. This leads to a situation where the MC has to face the fact that, since he's reincarnated, he's changed. He doesn't view other people, humans, the same way as he did before, not exactly. This is a plot point that's just recently been touched upon, and I'm intrigued to see where it goes.
I'm also just as much intrigued by the politics that are now being dragged into the story because of the relatively recent events. What do you do against immensely powerful beings who could wipe you off the map if they so chose? What if not everyone agrees to just backing off? They haven't gone too indepth with this aspect yet, so I'm looking forward to seeing how everything plays out in this area.
Cons: Loli Jokes, Genre Mismash
On a minor note, this relies on a couple of loli jokes such as cultural mixups on what establishes marriage and teasing the MC about being a lolicon , and the series could really do without all of that.
However, at the point we're in currently, the story's two conflicting genres don't seem to have meshed perfectly just yet. It still seems to be wobbling a little on domestic silliness and potential political messes. I'm waiting to see if the story can reconcile these two different aspects of itself well enough. It's not an impossible task, but some creators can still mess up on the step there.
General Warnings: Immortal Lolis, Violence, Pedophilia Threat, Brief Torture
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 3
Harem: Yes? - There's obviously a main romance, but he accidentally marries an adopted little sister (I know) and currently lives with four women total.
The Power of the Saint is All Around
Title: The Power of the Saint is All Around
Other Titles: seijo no maryoku wa bannou desu
Author: TACHIBANA Yuka (II), Fujiazuki
Main Character: Takanashi Sei
Gender: Female
Cheat: Enhanced and Unique Magic
Transport: Summoned (Royalty)
Summary: In a certain fantastical country, whenever the miasma of demons and monsters grows too thick, a "Saintess" suddenly appears. When this doesn't happen, the country tries to summon one themselves... only to summon two! The prince takes an immediate interest in one of the girls, only to ditch the other behind. Frustrated and annoyed, Sei Takanashi doesn't have too many options but accept the kindom's hospitality. Yet tired of having nothing to do, she ends up getting interested in the research institute which shares the castle's gardens...
Pros: Medic/Researcher Focus, Dork Romance, Dual Circumstances, Petty Reluctant Main Character
As anyone can tell from the rest of the lists I've made in this post, I have a fondness for stories- especially isekai stories- that focus in on quieter things that would usually get swept to the side in a stereotypical isekai. Funnily enough, that's also how this story opens up: with the MC being summoned alongside another girl but being utterly brushed aside by the welcoming prince character. Funnily enough, this enrages her at first, and she even admits later down the story that she's still pretty pissed about how that event transpired. Yet another reoccurring theme throughout the story is how much she'd really... just rather not have the kind of responsibility that comes with being a person with an isekai title like "The Saintess". She would really just much prefer working in the area she stumbles onto in her initial days at the royal palace: the research institute that studies things such as different potions.
Honestly, I really appreciate the focus that goes into such a thing, although it doesn't go into the kind of depth that other medical isekai stories might. It's a much more lowkey sort of story, exploring the MC's growth as she balances what she finds to be rewarding work along with a regular life. It also shows the importance of something that's often taken for granted in fantasy stories: the ever present 'health potion'. In a situation where you don't have a healer, or healers are rare, the ability to ingest something which can heal you instantly even a little bit is invaluable, and the story makes sure to mention more than once how important excellent potions are to common soldiers and knights. While I think it could go a little more indepth into things like this and the creation of items with magical effects, it's a nice little charming story on its own.
Fortunately, while the 12 chapters that are out have been lowkey on such matters so far, it makes up for any slowness in story by putting a little more focus towards its characters. One of the most charming points I've found have been the little romantic moments between the MC and a knight whose life she saves with one of her unique potions. It's truly endearing to see the way he lights up in her presence, or layers compliments upon her for little things. In turn, it's fun and relatable to see her fluster upon his interest in her, even as she clearly isn't opposed to it either. Their relationship isn't the complete focus, yet it adds something sweet to the story whenever the two interact with one another.
Another character is also intriguing me, although we've only just recently started getting further glimpses at her, and that would be the other girl who was summoned along with the MC. One of them has to be the 'real' Saintess, after all... But what would that mean for the other girl who then has to deal with the fact that she was summoned for really no good reason at all? What sort of things is this other girl dealing with, in contrast to the more background character life that our MC is living? A few rumors are bubbling around her, and yet one has to wonder what's truth and what's gossip. I'm really interested to see more of this other girl's situation, and how perhaps her and the MC may one day interact further.
Cons: Lowkey
So far, just twelve chapters in, and this story is more relaxed than faster or more intense stories. I find it to be fairly enjoyable, but it's not so comfortable that it earns a spot in my toply rated list.
General Warnings: None
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 1 - The MC and what few other female characters pop up all seem to dress fairly plainly and appropriately.
Harem: No - The MC is surrounded by handsome men, but only one has any romantic scenes with her
The Reincarnated Prince Wants to Slack Off
Title: The Reincarnated Prince Wants to Slack Off
Other Titles: tensei ouji wa daraketai
Author: Nagomu Asahina, Shishamo Horishiro
Main Character: Haruto / Phil Graceheart
Gender: Male
Cheat: Modern Memories, Can Understand Beasts and Spirits
Transport: Death (Traffic Accident)
Summary: Haruto is the average college boy... up until he's hit by a truck and finds himself waking up in a much more luxurious bed than his shitty apartment. Suddenly, he finds himself to be the youngest child of the royal Graceheart family. He's eager to live a casual and regular life, the kind he never got to live before, but his life never seems content to let him do that... although part of it just may be his fault with how much he gets into things.
Pros: Appreciation of Casual Life, Loving Family
One of the things I really like about isekai is that, a lot of the time, it reminds you of how good we've got it in some aspects of modern life. Some isekai are really focused on what aspects of modern life they're appreciating: modern convenience food, the existence of books, advanced medicine. Others are a little more broad, with this series being one of them. The MC's story is one that I think a lot of people can relate to, in the general vibe even if not in the exact specifics. Not only did he have to deal with emotionally distant and demanding guardians, but he found himself under a lot of stress while living in a poor man's apartment where he'd even jokes about the ceiling falling in on him. It's to the point where his ideal dream is aggressively mundane: living together in a nice house with someone he loves and an adorable dog for him to love on.
When the MC is reincarnated and regains his memories of his past life, he's in quite the cushy position as the prince of a royal family. Yet it's all the little things that he really shows an appreciation for, such as the idea of having family who really adore him (overwhelming as they can sometimes be), an adorable pet whose fur he can pet, and being able to just spend money on a whim for the little things like a street snack without having to worry that he'll be destroying his finances with just that. It's a dream that I'm sure many people long for, and this isekai allows that indulgence to be lived through.
Cons: Mild Homophobic and Fatphobic Jokes
Unfortunately for the otherwise relaxed humor of this series, not all of its jokes are great. For starters, it falls into the "rich villain is fat and the MC pokes at this a little" trope. That would be annoying on its own.
However, there's a much more exasperating joke early on that was just completely nonsensical to me. Reincarnated, the MC is five years old, and his family mostly treats him as such. This is notable when, after tea, his oldest brother invites him to sit on his lap. You know. Like siblings do. Yet the MC gets internally freaked out, saying "even if I look five, I'm still a college student mentally, so this scene will always look like THIS to me", with the 'this' being a mental image of a stereotypical pointy-chinned yaoi scene complete with flowing petals. He eventually relents, but not because, you know, he acknowledges that they're siblings and he's technically younger, but because his sisters offer their laps instead and he thinks to himself that he's not a lolicon.
All of this is... annoying for a couple of reasons. Mostly it's because all of this is completely unnecessary, from the lolicon joke to the homophobic panic. After all, it seems to ignore the main point in that all of these people are his family. This isn't the kind of isekai reincarnation story where the MC has taken over someone else's body and no one knows. Rather, the story makes it clear from the beginning that the MC was always the five year old prince, he's just now remembered his past life in another world. He's still partially the same little kid who's always been sitting on his older siblings' laps.
If this were more on the MC reflecting on how weird it is to sit on someone's lap when he's now mentally much older in some ways, that would be fine. I would accept that easily enough. Yet it's just such a dumb trashfire of a scene that I really hope it's an isolated incident or else this story could get tiring fast in the future.
General Warnings: The above cons, emotional abuse backstory
Slavery: No
Fanservice: 2 - A few jokes are made, such as the MC telling a flying girl to please walk instead, but none of the designs are as bombastically in the face as most fanservice scenes are.
Harem: No
The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious Manga
Title: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious Manga
Other Titles: Kono Yuusha ga Ore Tueee Kuse ni Shinchou Sugiru
Author: Tsuchihi Light, Koyuki
Main Character: Seiya Ryuuguuin
Gender: Male
Cheat: Ideal Hero Candidate... but also he's mostly so over cautious as to train ridiculously
Transport: Summon (Divine)
Summary: It is the duty of gods to ultimately protect the many different worlds in existence... and typical that they would come under threat by demon lords. Fledgling Goddess Rista has the unenviable assignment of saving an S-Class Danger world... but strikes it lucky when she finds a human with all the stats that say he could be truly great! What she's not expecting: for her chosen hero to be so cautious that she's not sure their great adventure will ever get started.
Pros: Jackass With a Heart of Gold, Good Humor Dynamic, Fun Trope Toying
"I'm out of MP."
"Then use an Ether!"
"But you can't buy Ether."
"It's the final battle!"
"I only have 85 of them-"
That's it, that's the series.
Jokes that are also true aside, this series so far has proven to be greatly hilarious as it validates hundreds of gamers everywhere for their item hoarding and level overpowering ways. The biggest help to the humor of the series is the dynamic between the duo of the series, the stars of the show.
On one hand, you have the overly cautious hero who demands one thousand vials of holy water and thinks even passing villagers could be potential monsters. On the other hand, you have the intense reactions of his goddess companion dealing with an absolute ass of a weirdo who always throws her off balance from what should be the "typical" hero's journey. The especially great thing is that, while the MC, our hero, is doing all the hilariously over-cautious things like nuking a slime from orbit, the goddess companion has such intense reactions that they're almost more hilarious than the MC himself. While the goddess has some sizable breasts, half the time I forgot about her design because the intense expressions of disbelief or anger or stubbornness caught all my attention.
Yet the MC is also more than meets the eye as well. His super cautious antics are hilarious, of course. They're the whole theme of the manga (plus the anime based off of it, and the light novel that inspired it). Yet now and then, we get deeper hints beyond his blunt caution and distrust of everything around him. His caution is shown to be sensible in some cases, the perfect fit for a world of such danger, and we get to see just how much he considers his place in things. After all, is his caution really so misplaced when his life is the one that could change the fate of this world?
So in both humorous ways and more serious ways, this manga plays with all sorts of the typical fantasy tropes where a hero would go off to defeat a demon lord for the fate of the world.
Cons: Short
This manga is currently beneath seven chapters so, without looking at the original light novel or the upcoming anime, I can't get a good read on it yet on how it might go or what twists might exist.
General Warnings: None too serious spring to mind
Slavery: Yes
Fanservice: 3 - Boy do some ladies sure have sizable cleavage, most notably the goddess companion
Harem: No