The Great Anime Marathon of 2020! #71 – #75: Is it okay to be creating this many Isekai?

We are never going to run out of isekai, they’re everywhere and they have absurdly silly titles that are very difficult to say. It makes you wonder if the people who created them do it on purpose… no, wait… of course they do.

The following is a spoiler-free list of anime I’ve seen this year in no particular order:

#71: Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash

• Season 1 including OVA: Complete series to date (dub)

Also known as Grimgar, Ashes and Illusions for some reason, this is a series that is short and sweet and pumped full to the brim with money. It feels like you’re watching a movie split up into smaller parts than a TV series the amount of money that is stuffed into every frame.

Everything about this anime is a feast for the eyes and the story itself is excellent in every way. I just wish we got to spend a lot more time in the world because it feels like a fully fleshed out and realised world that one could inhabit… even if we only see the starting area and only the starting area of this clearly fantasy RPG based isekai.

That said, it may be based on game mechanics, but everything about this world is very real and very dangerous. A single misstep can lead to death. Every monster can kill you, even the weakest ones and you are fighting for your life the second you get there.

#72: High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World!

• Season 1: Complete series to date (sub)

Okay, I get that these are prodigies and all as the title suggests, but one does not simply make surface to air missiles within a few days and then ride on them like a surfboard.

I don’t know what I was expecting with this series, maybe something a little more grounded. What I got was some wacky shit where I didn’t quite want wacky shit.

#73: Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren’t They?

• Season 1 including OVA: Complete series to date (dub)

An inferior version of No Game No Life with another bimbo bunny and prodigy type characters like the last anime listed with an absurdly long title. Also, why is this title a question? Who does that? Why?

#74: In Another World with My Smartphone

• Season 1: Complete series to date (dub)

This series almost had me with its resourceful main character who ended up using their abilities really well.

It lost me with the harem crap…

#75: Outbreak Company

• Season 1: Complete series to date (dub)

Now this is a really interesting series. It’s similar to GATE in that it features a military foothold into another world, but goes the more passive route of championing cultural exchange rather than showing off military might.

Of course, things aren’t so great once you realise where the title comes into play. This series does have those usual tropes of the harem and such, but it was used in a much more interesting manner, plus the implications of it all are actually quite frightening.

Despite the tropes, you gotta give credit where credit is due. Outbreak Company surprised me with its simple yet frightening premise.