If I could name one anime genre that has exploded the most in the last couple of years, it would be the isekai genre. There's a seemingly infinite number of anime coming out that deal with a protagonist being sent or reincarnated into another world, usually straight out of a stereotypical fantasy novel or video game. Oh, and the main character is usually surrounded by a harem of magical girls that fall in love with him, or vice versa.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't skeptical going into this anime, mainly because so many of the shows in this isekai wave reuse the same mediocre, repetitive formulas to the point where it's beyond cliche, taking an interesting premise and watering it down with bland tropes and mostly average production value.

It was only when my brother suggested this show to me, coupled with the release of the director's cut on Crunchyroll, that I became somewhat interested. The idea of the protagonist being reborn every time they die has been somewhat done before (see Erased), but I hadn't heard of it being used in a fantasy setting, so my curiosity got the best of me.

The first thing that stood out to me was the animation/art style, which is relatively detailed and eye-catching. It's not as bombastic or fluid as something like Kill la Kill or Attack on Titan, but it works pretty well for the story being told. The soundtrack/sound design on this show is also pretty admirable, as a lot of the music and sound effects effectively set the mood for the scenes that play out.

Speaking of mood, let's discuss the story of this show. The plot centers around the main character, Natsuki Subaru, who is suddenly thrown into a fantasy world. There, he meets the mysterious Emilia, who he almost instantly falls head-over-heels for, as well as her talking, flying cat-thing, Puck. After a series of incidents in this new world, Subaru discovers that whenever he dies, he is revived at a pre-determined point sometime before his death. Subaru tries to use this ability to his advantage, planning his actions around the events that happen in the future in order to save himself, as well as the people around him.

Now, I need to get something out of the way right now: this show is dark. There are several moments in this series that will leave you speechless. It's not the cheap kind of shock-factor that's thrown in there purely for reaction purposes. No, this show will make you think about what happened for days on end. At times it's grotesque and terrifying; at other times it's just straight up depressing.

This anime loves to bask in the suffering of its protagonist as his spirit is slowly chipped away by his constant repetition of life and death, as well as the deaths and suffering of those around him. Subaru constantly has moments of sorrow and self-doubt, as he doesn't feel he is living up to the expectations of those around him. Failure is something that Subaru experiences often in this show, and it often results in suffering for him or those he loves.

In this sense, the show does a wonderful job of keeping the viewer invested as Subaru experiences these terrible events, as it is much more rewarding when he succeeds. Though it occasionally results in the show's plot kind of stagnating, Subaru's "Return by Death" ability functions as an interesting plot point that doesn't come off as a gimmick or plot armor. Rather, it is portrayed as both a blessing and a curse.

For the most part, the show's characters are interesting and fleshed-out, though there are a few throwaway secondary characters that don't do much for the story. These characters either don't get enough screentime to contribute to the plot in an interesting way, or their personality is just not very memorable. This is kind of expected from a series with such a large cast though, and it doesn't really detract too much from the storytelling.

Overall, this show is a pretty great entry for someone who's a fan of the isekai genre, or if you enjoy darker stories with slight horror/thriller elements.
The second season is also pretty great so far, and I'm excited to see where the show goes.