A powerful wizard and sage comes upon a baby whom he adopts and names Shin. The baby is actually a man from our world reincarnated into the sage’s world. The sage raises Shin, separated from the rest of society, and teaches him in the ways of magic. It is only when Shin turns 15 years old and sets out on his own journey that the sage remembers that he forgot to teach Shin the common sense and ways of this particular world. And so, Shin goes the capital of the Alsheid Kingdom to enroll in the capital’s magic academy. – ANN
Streaming: Crunchyroll and Funimation
Episodes: 12
Source: Light Novel
Episode Summary: One day, an elderly wizard named Merlin finds a baby in the wreckage from a demon attack. That baby, who he takes in and names Shin, becomes a boy with a special aptitude for magic. Merlin teaches Shin everything he knows, bringing in acquaintances to teach him the ways of the sword and magical garb. Soon Shin becomes a young man with a hold over magic that’s terrifying in its scope.
One of Merlin’s acquaintances invites Shin to attend a magic school in his country. There he can learn how his skills actually compare to those of his peers, as well as figure out some basic skills like buying food and interacting with other people his age. Shin starts to fill in his social gaps once he arrives; he rescues a couple of girls from a group of thugs, and becomes instantly and hopelessly smitten with one of them.
Impressions: This was the last of the typical-length series on my review list (aside from some unfamiliar sequels and Attack on Titan… but we’re three seasons deep in that one and I doubt anyone cares to read a first impression full of spoilers), and I have to be honest I kind of expected the worst. I won’t harp on the isekai genre for being what it is, because it’s a very broad concept that can be done extremely well (check out the classic The Twelve Kingdoms for a great example of how the genre can be used to portray real character growth). Most of the time lately, it’s been used to express various power fantasies, and while there’s nothing inherently bad about that, there have been some series in the recent past that have seemed content to indulge in the fantasy of toxic behavior without consequence – not a good look.
The “overworked salaryman gets killed and reincarnates with magic powers into an amenable fantasy situation” is nothing new; I can think of at least one series from the past year that made decent use of that very set-up. When a story element is popular it starts to show up in subsequent series, which is honestly fine with me. What gets under my skin about these particular plot developments is that they sometimes signal a vengeful storytelling intent, as the main character’s overwhelming skill in his new magical life becomes a kind of un-earned reward for his perceived suffering in the previous one. It’s this perception of people being “owed” something in exchange for the experiences we all deal with to some extent that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
Thankfully, Shin doesn’t exemplify the worst traits of these protagonists. He’s entirely over-powered, to the point where he can turn the landscape into rubble, but though he retains some memory of his past life in Japan, and harbors a tragic shounen backstory (i.e. dead parents), he also grows up among caring adults who do what they can to fill the gaps left by the family he never knew. Though his grandfather, the magic-wielding Merlin, didn’t do a great job exposing Shin to the outside world and his responsibilities within it, he managed to accomplish something that I see as much more important – he gave Shin an education and sense of emotional well-being, thus preventing him from becoming yet another maladjusted asshole let loose in a lawless fantasy sandbox.
That’s likely why this episode feels so breezy and nice for the majority of its runtime. For much of the episode, Shin just lives out his (honestly very atypical) childhood. He’s gifted in magic manipulation to the point that it feels unrealistic (obviously magic isn’t “real,” but when a kid is impressing multiple adults with his skills on a regular basis it becomes difficult to buy-in), but he’s enthusiastic and good-natured, and I appreciated the way that the episode maintained that tone. The extent of his naivete is also a bit questionable considering the great variety of adults who seem to care for him; their reaction to his utter lack of knowledge mostly amounts to “I thought you were going to teach him that!” For that most part, though, that doesn’t come into play until later on.
It happens to be that very naivete that lends a bit of a sour note to the end of the episode. Shin is fifteen-years-old, and while that’s the age of majority in the fantasy world, as we all know from our own lives, fifteen is by no means old enough to have had a ton of life experiences. Since Shin was raised around older adults, he’s never interacted with anyone his age, and never experienced romance, so the last few moments of the episode set up a prospective relationship for him to pursue. This is fine with me in theory, but suddenly over the course of about thirty seconds, our innocent protagonist goes from being fairly competent to “me see cleavage, brain not comprehend.”
It’s moments like this which really bring episodes down, in my opinion. I feel like, no matter how sheltered someone is, they don’t immediately shut down in the presence of someone they’re attracted to. They might fumble their words or become shy, but the whole gag of their brain flying out the window as blood rushes to their neither-regions is old and tired. It probably wouldn’t have mattered that much to me if I wasn’t enjoying the rest of the episode, but since the other twenty minutes were relatively innocent and tame the tonal swap was much more jarring. The camera also lingers on the young woman’s cleavage as she’s introduced, which is not a great way to establish that she’s important to the narrative (or maybe that’s the point).
Unlike some of my peers, I’m of the opinion that the isekai genre has some life and potential in it. Just because it’s been used to tell the same types of stories the last couple of years, doesn’t mean that its framework can’t also be utilized to present more uplifting and constructive character development. Honestly, this intro episode gets about halfway there before making a misstep, which is pretty good in the grand scheme of things. I’d just love to see a story that is braver in its choices and has more confidence in its protagonist.
Pros: Shin is a kind-hearted protagonist with a good support system. Most of the first episode is breezy and fun.
Cons: The episode sabotages itself in the last couple of minutes by adhering to trope-y gags about young male sexuality.
Grade: C