Isekai again, though this time it's in light novel form, not an anime.
Kazuya finds himself summoned to another world, which is currently undergoing a famine, an invasion by a demonic/monstrous army, and a king who doesn't have much idea about ruling, other than "I'm in charge, right?"
Luckily, Kazuya is a socio-economics student, with all of Earth's historical knowledge to draw on (and a smartphone that apparently still works, though it's not a massive plot point for once). As such, he's perfectly placed to replace the king (with his full blessing) and start fixing everything that's wrong with the country.
As is the style, he does this with clever technological advances (inventing television), changes to the existing social order ("no, you really can eat squid, honest"), and a better grasp than literally anybody else on how money works. I know that's the trope, but I think I might have watched/read too many of these now, as it's finally getting a bit painful. A quick lesson for any time travellers who might be reading - people in the past aren't any less intelligent than you. They just don't have as much history to draw on.
To add to the tropiness, he also acquires a collection of women who happen to be highly attracted to him. There's the old king's daughter, Princess Liscia, betrothed to him in order to improve his legitimacy. There's Aisha, a dark elf warrior, who he wins the affection of by offering gardening tips. And Juna, a famous singer, who becomes the kingdom's first "Idol".
He's also got a bit of magic, but here it mostly makes him better at paperwork. Not quite as over the top ridiculous as most of the protagonists of his type (though there are suggestions it's more powerful than it first appears).
It's...okay. It's very much an escape fantasy in the mould of all the others. It has some interesting moments with regards to the technological/sociological changes he puts in place, and I am beginning to suspect that the people who write these types of things are in it mostly for the fun they have researching developments in the middle ages. And it has occasional tweaks of darkness in which some of the effects of war are actually looked at, but it's not terribly deep.
It's light and frothy, and will scratch the itch for those hunting similar. And hell, there's about nine of the things by now I think, so it'll keep you going for a while (though I think I cracked through Vol. 1 in about two hours, so not a huge amount of time). It also has a viewpoint that jumps around a bit, giving the thoughts and opinions of the other people involved. Unfortunately, they mostly think "wow, isn't he amazing!"
One for the fans, but I wouldn't suggest it as an introduction to the genre.
Tagged: Book Fantasy Universe hopping Light novel Print