This show never tries to be something in-depth or incredibly engaging with deep storylines and plot, all the while being serious beyond all measure at every twist and turn.
No, this Isekai makes fun of itself and its genre just as much as it delivers entertaining episodes, wonderful fight scenes, and the classical over-the-top power fantasy the genre has become known for.
We get to see a whole episode of his pre-isekai life, which is much more than usual, and something at least I appreciated.
The real draw in this Anime is the main character and the humor that stems from him and his surroundings, as well as his casual insane power level we get to look forward to seeing at certain points in this first season.
While the entire cast of characters might take all of the things that happen in the story very seriously, our lovely isekai protagonist Cid treats it more like roleplay and fanfic than anything else.
He has no idea that what he started turned into something very real and powerful in this new world he finds himself in, but that is where a lot of the humor in this show comes from anyway, so it is just as well that he doesn't.
Now the story is something many of you might find as one of the more entertaining parts of this Isekai anime, but for me, I am not that invested in it. It has a plot, and it is moving along, and I do find it intriguing to a degree, but it is far from the main thing that pulls me into this show.
For me, the plot serves as more of an interesting background foil to move the narrative forward so that we can enjoy more hilarity and over-the-top power-fantasy action time and again.
While I adore Cid and his quest for mundanity, there is also a good set of supporting characters that build the show into an even more entertaining piece of media.
The other members of Shadow Garden, The princesses, and the dorky friends are all, at least to an extent, entertaining and add to the show rather than subtracting from it.
The bread and butter is Cid though. his antics, his want and need to be the perfect mob character, his desire to roleplay his increasingly real fantasy; it is all just chef's kiss in my mind.
The thing that kept me engaged and waiting for a new episode of this show week by week was the humor and general comedy the show put at the forefront many a time.
It makes fun of itself just as much as it makes fun of the entire genre it is wilfully a part of. And it taking itself as lightly as it does simply adds to the enjoyment, in my opinion.
That it casually and seriously just makes Cid go into a tournament arc in disguise as "Mundane Man" is the perfect example of how 'seriously' this show loves to treat itself time and again.
That it mixes these comedic moments with proper power-fantasy sections makes it even more worthwhile and entertaining. The mix of the two is what kept me very engaged and thrilled to watch the show week after week.
The music in the anime was also surprisingly good. I did not expect it to bring out some classical pieces or use them in any meaningful way, but gosh darn, it did.
The overall sound design was also above average in my mind and added to the experience rather than subtracting from it.
I loved how this show made the very tired and overused isekai genre into something that once again felt somewhat refreshing and new. It happily meta-games the genre and laughs with the audience as it goes from one part of the story to the next.
It allows for plenty of comedic moments, as well as lewd moments, but never forces it down your throat or overstays its welcome.
On top of this, it manages to be a very entertaining power-fantasy anime all on its own, even without any of the priorly mentioned elements.
The fact that it never takes itself too seriously, and lets that shine through via our main character Cid and how he operates, makes the entire show much more drawing and entertaining as a whole. Especially when Cid joins the 'roleplaying' and gets to live out his fantasy as the Eminence In Shadow.
I ended up quite enjoying this first season, much more than I expected. I am therefore going to give it a high score, as well as recommend anyone even slightly interested in the genre go take a look at it as I think you will enjoy it greatly.
I also picked up the books as I could not wait for the second season to see how things develop further.
I can only hope the coming second season entertains me as much as this one did.
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