● This is a spoiler-free review.
● 80+ in my rating means very good.
● I've added one of the anime soundtracks(ED) to the sound section. If you wish, scroll down, start it, and use it as your background music while you read.
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The Story ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Mukouda Tsuyoshi, an ordinary salaryman, is suddenly transported to another world one day. He unlocks a special skill called "Online Grocery," which seems very underwhelming, but with his cooking capabilities, tied with his capacity to get grocery items from our world, prove to be more useful than he could ever imagine.The story of Tondemo Skill is simple. I'd say that this anime works more as the title states: a tie between Iyashikei and Isekai. The story is repetitive and follows a simple mechanic: Mukouda gets items, sells items, cooks delicious food, and sometimes fights. Yet, don't be discouraged. It's exactly the light story, without lots of drama or plot twists, that made this experience so comforting to me. I knew exactly what to expect every week while I prepared to watch the episodes. An easy, comfy, and funny time.════ ⋆★⋆ ════
The Art ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The art of Tondemo Skill is good. When it comes to all food, there's no equal. As we all know, anime food looks better than real food, and this anime really strikes you with it. I found myself leaving many episodes hungry. Characters are well drawn and are also very unique; they all fit into the old medieval standards, a.k.a. the bald, strong handworker, the old man that looks extremely strong, etc.
There are however some goof moments in which the drawing or animation gets a bit scuffed, but I can't complain since visual fidelity wasn't something that I was really looking for in such a comfortable anime. Nevertheless, I have no complaints about the art style.
(Literally everyone after watching one episode)════ ⋆★⋆ ════
The Characters ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ There are a small number of characters in this anime. Mukouda, his companions, the guild-folk, and a few other side characters, but nothing is really developed and that's my biggest critic. Most of the screen time is focused on what Mukouda and his companions will be doing. There's no actual personal character development, which could be seen as a negative point since I started the anime and even towards the end I still felt like the dynamic was the same, but luckily for me, it didn't ruin my experience.As I always like to talk about the main character, Mukouda was pretty good. His passion for cooking and how he turns his "adversity" of having a kind of boring skill into something really useful is nice to see. His cowardliness is very unique because I feel like many Isekai main characters love to either be bold and strong or suffer a lot.
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The Sound ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The soundtrack was good, pretty comfortable, and again, it feels like a medieval time. There are lots of air instruments that give you the vibe as if you were in a tavern. In combat scenes, it's also not that bad, and honestly, I don't have much to say besides that it did not feel weird at any point.
(Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the OST on YT, so I just added the ED, which has a pretty good vibe.)════ ⋆★⋆ ════
Conclusion ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ If you're like me, you skip everything and read only the conclusion because you don't want to get spoiled with other themes. So I will try to be brief on this point:Give it a try. The story is simple, and the animation is good, but where this anime thrives is in the Iyashikei (healing/comfort) vibe that it transmits. It's one of those animes that you start after a stressful day, and you just want to turn off your brain and see some delicious anime food. Although it's not for everyone, since it lacks character development and story per se, I think it's worthy of a try.62.5 out of 64 users liked this review
