Disclaimer: This review not only has swearing so it not for kids (duh), but also this review was made only when Chapter 23, Volume 5 was out. So things (like this review are subject to change. Also spoilers, duh).
I... HATE Isekais. I hate the formulaic structure. I hate the tropes and trappings that at best are generic and boring and at worst gross and disgusting. I hate the degenerate protagonists. I hate the writer's poorly disguised fetish. I hate the fact that isekais compose of a large majority of modern anime.
I hate the generic anime. I hate how 12 episodes are pumped out just for a quick cash grab with nothing of substance behind it. I hate the justification of slavery in most isekais. I hate how perverted the virgin protagonists are. I hate how every single one the main character gets a fucking harem.
I hate how gimmicky all of them are nowadays. I hate the overtly long titles.I hate the melodramatic premise where everyone hates the MC because he has the loser power but actually NO! It's OP as shit. And the protagonist is gonna beat the demon with the power of crushing his enemies' testicles.
With all that said I want to make another confession... I like RTA Sousha wa Game Sekai kara Kaerarenai. (Damn it could really use a shorter title). This manga isn't amazing or anything, but it's really great for what it is. It's a neat little subversion of the isekai genre and is able to tell a unique story.
All without falling into the same pitfalls and expectations proposed by the stale competition. This manga has quite a few things to talk about so how about we talk about...
The Art and Character Designs: The art in this manga looks absolutely beautiful. Sure that's a given when it comes to most manga. But it really shines here with each and every panel having love, care and effort put into it. And I feel that they elevate another important aspect to this manga's story and characters.
The character designs. Now I will confess not everyone is a winner. Nor do any of them really enhance anyone's character with a few notable exceptions. I moreso believe that these designs are meant to emphasize a "rule of cool" attitude. But there are some examples which I feel use their designs to the fullest.
But before into that let's discuss why character design is important. A character's personality can be inscribed through spoken manner, but that is far less effective than the show don't tell method. It's always more important to show us why something is the way it is versus that it is. Let me share an example.
"There is a scary cloaked lady over there!" Versus... after the dust from the falling debris and rubble clears a figure appears before you. She is elongated with a slight hunch with lanky arms and legs. She towers above you wrapped in a crimson cloak tattered at its edges with several stitches across its rough surface. Her face concealed under her thick hood. You get a glimpse of her body underneath the torso her form is malnourished and skinny with her only article of clothing is the weather and aged bandages wrapped around her body, arms and legs.
This feels important to me due to instead of telling the audience that they should feel a certain way that showing them something allows them to grant them breathing room to form their own opinions, but you gave them an impression which leans closer to the reaction you want out of them. Which leads to them understanding the concept and idea you present them instead of lazily telling them what it is.
Now let me use an example for great character design. That being Nemesis from Resident Evil 3. Now most of the information I've gathered was through Pastra's video essay on Nemesis which you should check out if you have the time. He has more insight and knowledge when it comes to Nemesis and character design than I could ever have.
But to paraphrase the idea behind Nemesis was not to be another generic zombie, but rather an intelligent and composed hunter. One deliberately created with the sole purpose of killing the members of S.T.A.R.S. And his design executes that idea amazingly. His sleek trench coat and weapon he usually carries with him tells us how more intelligent. And even the stitching around his face shows us that he was being worked on and created. Even his second form reflects the damage done to his throughout the game and his final form instead of being a grandiose final boss is instead a culmination of the damage we've done to this once relentless and determined killer, having now been reduced to a wounded limping animal.
That's why character design is important. It can not only tell us insights into the characters from a mere glance, but also tells us a deeper narrative than there is at the surface level. With all of that done let's get into the meat and potatoes of these characters. I will also try only focusing on the main designs for the characters.
Eida-hime :her outfit is very elegant and refined with the elaborate pattern on her large sleeves depicts her as something akin to a priestess, but also nobility. 8.4/10.
Daanya: She's a cute cat-girl. She's got typical adventurer garb and that's about it. 8/10.
The Demon-King Apocalypse: He looks spooky and intimidating. 7.9/10.
Shachiku: His outfit looks nice, typical high fantasy gear, not bad, but nothing special. Not a big fan of the cyan hair. But better than just black eyes and black hair. 7/10.
Kiira: She probably has... the worst design. It's just bright bikini armor with a tie. It doesn't really show us any insights into her character other than she fights in armor (albeit really skimpy armor) and I guess is a professional because of the tie?? The headdress looks cool. But not enough to save this design, which sucks cause Kiira is pretty cool. She also has fucking high heels while wearing armor?! WHY!? 1/10.
Morphomet: She's a bit malnourished, got a weird demonic eye going on, ram horn(s), a black hollowed out eye, bones around the neckpiece of her outfit, thick fur collar, and spiked gloves and boots. A spooky little tiara. And a seperated top and bottom that is a bit revealing. I dunno there's a lot I like about her design like the visible ribs and slight malnourished look could play into how decayed and withered she is, but then there's some conflicting stuff. 5/10.
Raspi: Our (possibly) non-binary representation, they're okay... Nothing sticks out at me strongly. The mouth tongue underneath the zipper looks freaky. I dunno what I get out of this design. I don't really feel anything strong about it. I guess they look like a youngster? Which does fit with their attitude during their introduction scene with the rest of the elite four.
Brams: On the otherhand Duke Brams is amazing. He pulls from not just Victorian gothic attire, but also heavily from Dracula and other vampires from media. With the white collar shirt underneath the black cloak with that flowing hair. He comes off as suave, charismatic, refined and composed. But his beard and mustache tells us he's an older gentlemen. GOD HE'S SO HOT-!!! 8.7/10.
Now my astute reader you may have noticed I went in order of each and every one of these characters' appearances; however, with one exception... Queen Arachne... WELL-
The Part Where They Talk About Arachne:
I really like Arachne. Like I love her so freaking much. She's so pretty, but also a horrible murderer, but she's too cute to be held accountable. :3
She in my opinion is the most effective and interesting villain in this entire manga. I want to take the time I have here to discuss not only why her design works on an objective level, but how that ties into her character and thus elevates it.
Arachne's story is that she is one of the elite four. A council of greater demons who served under the Demon King: Apocalypse. Arachne being the queen of her domain of spiders. And sometime 50 years ago decimated a thriving village. She was rumored to kidnap beautiful girls and make them her puppets to make use of their hidden skills gifted by the goddess. All so she can consume their power. And on one fateful day found a pair of sisters: Noran and Loran.
She found Loran to be useless and thrown her to the pile of others who lacked talents; however, this awoke an ability in Loran from this tramua, the ability to detect demons. But Noran was unlucky as she was found to be suitable to become the next host body and was consumed in front of her sister's eyes. After this much isn't known other than that Loran was able to flee and that over said 50 years Noran had been preserved and maintained as Arachne used her body as a suitable humanoid form. Alongside feeding from her body, abusing her body for selfish power.
Back to the present I believe her design elevates the idea that Arachne preserved and adorned this body in garb whilst wielding power. The idea that Noran, this human being who once had a life is nothing more than clothing to her, nothing more than a puppet to masquerade as someone long dead. Someone so detached to Arachne she practically abuses this corpse.
Arachne's design is beautifully grim. She wears a mix of a Victorian and Gothic aesthetic. That is seen across her ball gown dress, gloves, sleeves, collar, boots and the headdress that is the spider that controls this body. With various segments of clothing being composed of web as if Noran was merely a fly in Arachne's web. Another thing I once took for granted is how expressive Arachne is. While yes this is a manga with an anime art style with a lot of expressive faces I find it interesting for the case of Arachne.
Parts of me also believe that this idea was also intentional. Arachne must've had this host body for a long time 50 years and become adept at controlling her motions. To the point her face can twist and contort to reflect this monster's feelings. This idea becomes especially clear during specific panels. Panels in which her sharp pointed teeth display a sinister smile. Her hollowed out eyes highlighting how depraved and manic she truly is.
She never was the elegant and beautiful queen she presents herself as. Deep down she's a selfish power hungry monster. Even when composed that facade is in shambles. As if she's struggling to preserve this crumbling body she's held onto for 50 years. The black void of eyes devoid of any compassion or empathy. And the spider atop her head feeding off of the body she puppeteers.
And how is her injustice treated? She is utterly and completely humiliated. After conspiring against her fellow elite four due to jealousy and spite. Her over 50 years of malice, suffering and sadistic joys she took over the years finally catches up with her. As she dies alone...
THEN SHE DIES TO COINS! :D
Also I tricked you! I didn't just want to talk about Arachne due to how pretty she is and how compelling she was, but also to bridge the gap between the character designs and the...
Writing: Imma make this brief cause I just spent up all of my energy talking about the best villain in this series. So let's get down to it.
I really like how speed running is portrayed in this manga. It would get annoying and cluttered if the whole fantasy world knew about it, but they don't which leads into some funny moments. I also like it due to how accurate it is. From my research and experiences speed running most of this was right on the money. I find Shachiku's love for Anverse and speedrunning compelling for just how genuine it sounds. That passion is admirable.
Although sometimes it CAN be a bit too much. I also appreciate that Shachiku isn't a total degenerate. At least for the most part. Like he acknowledges how weird Kiira's sexually charged design is and apologies to her after complimenting her due to him thinking he made her uncomfortable. However it did lead me to think they passed on the degeneracy to Ain. Which lead to me not really liking him
Sure Ain does have his moments, but he didn't really grab me and his moments of being a pervert kind of took away from his character. I also really like Kiira and Ada (Daanya)'s relationship. With Kiira wanting to seek retribution and justice for the abuse her childhood best friend went through. I couldn't really care for Raspi. On the opposite end I have a lot of fun with Duke Brams. You know how I feel for Arachne. Morphomet is... fine... I guess... But it isn't fair to judge that much, she didn't her chance to shine yet.
The worldbuilding is good. Like this manga is very conniving in not just the idea that this is a living, breathing fantasy world, but also that this is a complex and interwoven videogame. Which is a notable feat for the writer(s), props to them. The comedy is also on-point. Sure it is a bit hit-or-miss but there is some fun concepts that the manga gets to mess with. And when it does that it feels like its in its element.
Also an appreciation. Now this isn't exclusive to isekai anime/manga, nor this is exclusive to the medium as a whole. It's a problem of media itself where women are more commonly sexualized then men. And while I don't think this manga solved it exactly perfectly I think it did a good enough job. I mean there's just parts where the mc just strips down. And there is the existence of Ada he's hot, but then again he's a perverted douche.
Although I will admit that more female characters are sexualized than the male one ones, but I think there's something to note here. That "hey why can't we do the same to men?". And I believe that either there should be zero sexualization between men and women or that if there has to be sexualization it should be equal.
Conclusion: Final thoughts. I feel like I covered most of what I wanted to say. Apologies that this review is WAAAY longer than most. Sorry this felt not as organized as some of my other stuff. There might be a few mistakes in the review here and there. But I'm done for now. I might make some changes if there's stuff that obviously wrong pointed out by you.
Feedback is wanted and appreciated. Goodnight Iono nation and have a lovely day.
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