I was browsing Crunchyroll trying to find something new to get into and seeing the juxtaposition of fantasy on a modern day soldier and Humvee I wondered what could this be about.
The blurb is simple. A fantasy army travels to modern Tokyo through a magical gate. After a bloody battle, the Japanese Self Defense Force (JSDF) pushes that back through the gate, and then pursues, finding themselves in a fantastical land of magic, swords, and dragons.
Our hero, an otaku, is the leader of one of the JSDF recon squads. Youji Itami is a standout for anime heroes, in his lack of... standing out. You see, your anime heroes tend to be over the top in some way. Because he is an otaku you immediately think he is going to be a loveable loser - theses heroes are awkward and incompetent. Loveable losers have some core trait or value that makes them worthy of the title: hero. It could be a latent power, or just the plain old power of friendship that they dedicate themselves to completely. Surprise, surprise! In the first episode Itami shows himself to be quite capable as he saves several people and dispatches one of the attackers. This brings us to the other end of the anime spectrum. The hero that is so bad ass he is the "superman" of that show, perfect in almost everyway, but with some fatal flaw. Itami disappoints us here as well, atleast so far. He is... capable. That's the best word. I've seen three episodes and he hasn't done anything extraordinary. Which moves me to my impression of the anime itself.s
Itami's character summarize quite nicely the whole feel of the anime; Interesting, likeable, but a bit confusing. The show has introduced three female characters, as picture above in the promo shot. So is this going to be an epic fantasy, a love harem, a military anime... I don't know? I'm resisting the urge to read ahead, as the anime has both a light novel and manga already in release. And I guess that's the charm though.
The confusion of exactly what's going on, is EXACTLY what has made the show entertaining. Like the characters being invaded by this strange fantasy realm, I the viewer am engrossed in the world building taking place. There is a likable hero to follow as we discover the mysteries of this strange fantasy realm and what kind of place our JSDF friends have found themselves in.
Everything else about the show is solid and supports the entertainment value - art, music, pacing etc. It appears we are in for a treat, and I can't wait to catch this weeks episode.
I'll be watching late, enjoy ^.^
γγ、γΎγ。
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