Sara Talks Anime

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Isekai. It is the most worn-out genre in anime. When it feels like one is popping up every anime season, we are at a point where I do not need to define the term because most people already know it. You know, the main character dies and ends up getting reincarnated into a fantasy world reminiscent of a JRPG as extremely OP and getting a harem at their feet? Yes, that is what I think you think when you hear “isekai.”

Of course, some shows take the typical isekai formula and add some spin to it. A Journey Through Another World: Raising Kids While Adventuring does just that: it takes the isekai formula and adds kids adventuring alongside the main character, who must fill the parental role! YAY!

Anyway, let us get into the specifics of the show.

Our protagonist, Takumi, is killed by accident by the wind god of another world. As his full name is not a name that I want to risk butchering, I will refer to him as a nickname given to him in the show – Syl. Of course, to make up for an accidental cutting short of life, Syl decides that Takumi should be reincarnated in the world that he governs with skills and knowledge of the world, with the skills making him OP…and he ends up in an A-rank forest.

Of course, divine intervention is something you must get used to in this series. At least in the beginning, these gods give Takumi everything he needs; the only things Takumi must worry about are his wants! Now I wanna get killed by accident by a god and get reincarnated in another world and have all that stuff given to me!

But of course, while adventuring, we get to the whole selling point of the show…the kids! Takumi finds the kids. Because of course, they just so happen to be here, and after getting some clothes, they are off out of the forest! And as it turns out, these kids are not the kids you are used to seeing. Just like their papa, they are OP!

Okay, I’ll try my best to not do as much super recap, but they find a town, stay in an inn, find out about the whole divine intervention sthick, become adventurers and complete a quest, witness the kids beat up a guy who’s been training due to having muscles…oh, did I forget to mention all of that plot that I described occurred in the first episode?!

That is right. You heard me correctly. The plot details I explained all occur in the first episode. Do not worry. The pacing makes sense in the episode, but listing all those rapid-fire moments felt like, “Wait, all of that.” Okay, yes, I would repeat myself too much if I repeated it here.

Episode 2 then introduces us to labyrinths—which, for the Mystery Dungeon players in the audience, are similar to those—and contracted beasts. A specific part about the introduction of contracted beasts in this episode feels iffy to me, but I’ll get to that when I talk about Episode 3. Anyway, on streaming services, the first two episodes were released simultaneously. Since I watched this on Crunchyroll, this video was ORIGINALLY going to be written up and posted on the 14th. Still, since I decided I needed another episode to cement my opinion, we are here now.

However, Episode 2 was a solid episode that helped build up the characters and how they interact. The bakery scene was a lovely touch, especially since it allowed us to understand more about the world and its economy. Despite me saying it’s a “solid” episode, there isn’t much for me to comment on about it.

And then there’s Episode 3.

Takumi names two new contracted beasts he got at the end of the previous episode and gives them collars, even saying that the collars should still work when two of the contracted beasts use the skill “Shrink.”

This is where the issue I mentioned earlier involving Joule in the second episode comes into play. In that episode, Takumi has Joule hide in his shadow because Joule is a wolf and, as such, would be seen as dangerous. In this episode, after Joule and Feat shrink, Takumi’s all like, “Okay, now we can go into town with these two out and have people think they’re a cat and a dog,” having Bolt hide in his shadow because Bolt doesn’t have that skill.

Now, if shrinking Joule down with a collar will make people think he’s a dog, shouldn’t the same be valid without the collar, too? I will admit that I know nothing about owning pets, but I refuse to believe that adding a collar to the more diminutive form would make the public think, “Oh, that’s not dangerous!”. We didn’t even get to see Takumi attempt to bring a smaller Joule into the town, and there was no explanation as to whether contracted beasts need collars to be able to enter towns; there are HOLES that need to be filled in.

But I don’t think these holes will get filled in because the focus of this series isn’t about building up a believable world – or at least as plausible as fantasy worlds can allow- where its laws are clear and defined. No, it’s watching Takumi raise these kids while adventuring.

Because that’s the name of the effing show.

I’m sorry. It’s just that, as an aspiring author, it bothers me when laws that could be seen as necessary to the protagonist—like when contracted beasts are allowed in towns—aren’t explained. Despite this seemingly unfilled plot hole, the third episode was…decent.

It took an element introduced in Episode 1 and brought it into the series, though it may need one more episode to wrap up that plot point. That is precisely why I chose the 4-episode rule instead of the 3-episode rule for this show. At the very least, I want to see this little plot conclude.

So, I, the Ash Plavell from July 16^th, 2024, will take a step back, and let the Ash from July 21^st, 2024 fill you in on her thoughts!

Episode 4 segment:

It is now July 21^st, 2024. I have finished watching the fourth episode of this show. Was this setup necessary? No. But, between the 16^th and now, I’ve learned some things. Number one, the microphone I used for this video’s first segment should never be used as a microphone again. Thanks, Amazon Basic. Number two, I love isekai as a genre, both the regular and reverse kinds. And number three, I spend way too much time on Monopoly GO.

Okay, that’s enough unnecessary filler. Let me get into talking about the show. So, this show has a scene of what I lovingly call “holy deforestation,”…which means that deforestation occurs due to a fight between two characters. Yeah, sorry that it has nothing to do with actual gods. That’s just what I like to call it. The episode also doesn’t feel forced in any respect, which is another positive for the show. It seems like the first three episodes were just the weakest of the batch, and now we’re getting into the stronger episodes.

This show also appears to have gay representation, which is always a win for me! I love complicated romances between people of the same gender. Now, am I saying that you have to watch it for the gay representation? No. However, I hope that the character who ignited this gay representation comes back in future episodes.

While holes in the plot may still exist, I think all this show needs is time to fill them. Once that happens, then I think this will be a solid show. As such, I will continue following this show throughout this anime season. It doesn’t exactly have my “seal of approval” yet, but at the very least, it’s not a show I’d recommend folks to stay away from.

A Journey Through Another World: Raising Kids While Adventuring is available to simulcast on Crunchyroll in North America, though episodes are opened up to non-premium users a week after they air. As such, only the first three episodes are available to free users when this is being recorded. Make sure to research what services the show is on for you, before assuming it’s also available on Crunchyroll where you live.