You know how in the last few years there's been a massive number of Isekai/portal fantasy anime shows produced? They drop an average chap into a fantasy world, which is usually a stock medieval setting with added magic and sometimes monsters, and he ends up with a collection of women, arguing a bit but usually ending up agreeing to share him.
Well now apparently we've got enough of them that we can start repeating the different subsets of shows. In this case, it's the version of the idea in which the protagonist has a smartphone with him, that just so happens to have the ability to phone people so that he can "phone a friend".
Yuuto and his friend Mitsuki are mucking about next to a magic mirror, when he finds himself pulled through it into a world called Yggdrasil. Apparently Mitsuki was left behind, and was able to steal the mirror to keep it safe for his return, but he's got no idea how to get back to her. So he's got to keep himself occupied, and reckons the best way to do that is to take over the world and see if anyone knows anything about magic mirrors.
Yggdrasil is either a parallel world or deep in the past, having approximately bronze age technology, so he immediately goes around kicking their technology in the rear to generate iron, glass, kotatsu and other "miracles". This is also a handy source of money for all his revolutionary ideas.
He's also got access to the historical record and plenty of strategic resources, which come in very helpful when he finds himself caught in a great war between the various "Clans" that rule different parts of the world. He's taken in by the Wolf Clan, who are at war with the Horn Clan, Hoof Clan and Lightning Clan. Luckily, with the wise words of Sun Tzu and others, he can happily murder his way through the threats facing him.
Of course, it wouldn't be one of these Isekai shows without the required number of girls to fawn all over him, and here there's even an inbuilt hierarchy system to give you all the cute nicknames you want. See, due to his brilliance, prior to the series he's become the patriarch of the Wolf clan, and has started forming alliances with both the members of the Wolf clan and the other clans.
These agreements are cemented with certain rituals, and establish relationships between people that are named like family bonds. So he's the "father" of the Wolf clan, and as referred to as such. Other members of the clan might refer to him as master or big brother. There is no way this will be used for perviness, right?
It's still a bit terrible, in that way which means I can't stop watching it. The harem aspect is pointless, and I wish for once someone would do a proper Game of Thrones version of this, but there are hints of it in here. They give the politics a decent run, and the strategies of war are a bit more interesting than the usual simple fighting with flashy swords, though once again we've got the "katanas are just better" trope.
Might count as a guilty pleasure, but the quality of it does improve with time as the tension ratchets up and we get deeper into the war of the clans. Nice to see a bit more intelligence put into the battles. Just need to ignore the fan service. Which features twins, hot springs, a staggering amount of nakedness and head pats. Always with the head pats.
Tagged: Anime Comedy Isekai Fighting Harem Crunchyroll Subbed