Don't mean any offense to anyone but looking at the tags and reviews of this show, they're all somehow missing the elephant in this room, this show is HORNY. I'm not criticizing it because I'm a perv, I just don't understand why nobody is being honest with what it really is, a FEMALE HAREM ECCHI show.
Don't believe me? behold:
Basically the "realism" is surface level only, fan service definitely have priority, which is again not a critique just a correction. The actual difference between this and dogshit isekai is I would say patience. The main party starts off extremely weak and even by the end they're still running away from some low tier enemies that can't even out damage Kirito's passive health regen. You are on this long journey of growth with the cast every step of the way, and it's not just about leveling up, it's about sorting out personal tensions within the party, helping a party member deal with their trauma or buying a simple piece of equipment like basic iron helmet. It is about tactics, figuring out roles each member has in a fight, learning skills that are all individually super weak but that's all they have access to and they somehow make it work. In the end you get one of the best "party level up get stronger" arcs of any isekai show.
Every female character is of course incredibly hot, and they are all very close to the MC. Again this isn't a snarky comment, I think the relationships are well done with decent depth and characterization, it's just that I can't overlook the fact that this is clearly a harem. The male side characters are not sidetracked or forgotten, they have very interesting personalities and play important parts in this quest to get their fantasy adventure party together. They just aren't romantically threatening so the MC really can be with any girl he chooses, and trust me in the end I'm totally confused which one would be the best waifu because they're all excellent.
While the story is overall strong, the start is very problematic. First of all this is weirdly a "technically isekai" show but not really, the protagonists just show up with no memory of their previous life, no special abilities, they're just normal guys starting off in this alternate world except they don't have any back story, so what's the point of being isekai then? Probably to cash in on the trend? Then there's the problem of the slow start, it kind of really starts at episode 4, yes for 4 episodes it's hard to tell what the show is about except it was obvious there will be a key turning point and you're just waiting for it to happen, while you check out the amazing assets of the ladies. After that point however, I have no complaints and the story goes along at a very enjoyable pace, delivering many above average story beats.
The show is known for a unique art style for many of its backgrounds, and now you also know it has honestly great anatomy for the fan service scenes. These scenes are few and far between but whenever they show up, they have great impact. Another example I should mention is the "ballistics", when the girls do something dramatic there is always extra attention paid to their physics, and for that fraction of a second, over a handful of frames, you really feel the value of having watched it.
