Isekai Cheat Magician

Just imagine your typical ideal but without much direction. You got the boy who gets isekaid with some girl, and they turn out to be op. Insert training montage and destroying monsters. Then someone important does and the nd goes crazy blah blah blah. Final fight , some crazy explanation. The end. Wayyy too many plot holes, and terrible story. It had such good potential with developing the viewer's emotions with the characters. The show doesn't draw out much emotions, so when some important character does it jist... Is bland. Honestly the art was good, but even the characters are generic. Black-haired teenage boy withthat one stick-up hair. The redhead girl that has medium breasts. The elf, dwarf, and "sexy" witch. Woo generic, honestly sao is better

Alright. I actually really wanted to make this review right after the seventh episode, because they have some blatant dumb sh*t in it that really... really takes away from the experience of watching this show. So let's start with roast of the Isekai Handicapped Magician. (Yes I finished this show, I have no idea how long the coma went for though) Story: *Slight Spoiler for episode 7* After the first and second episode, this series took a horrifyingly sharp turn from being a generic isekai anime into being a car crash in slow motion. But unlike the ones in intentional car crash anime, this one takes amassive shit on any kind of development or story that it has built up. The story is... garbage, to say the least, with little motivating factors other than "friendship" and the generic stuff that isekai anime have a pattern of having, which isn't the worst thing about this anime, it's just that other than that, we have little context about these characters and give little to no **** about what they are doing or plan to do. If we break down the story elements, they hardly factor into a coherent story arc for any of these characters, other than the main character taking a piss out of himself to save people, and with the exception of one time, when he does something stupid, he never gets punished for it. There is no tension, even less so in an ISEKAI anime where someone is supposed to be overpowered, even when they manufacture some reason for tension, the story feels dry as hell, and nothing really saves it. The final episode is a testament to why the entire show fails as a narrative; remember that partway through this story, for the ONLY TIME IN THE ENTIRE SHOW, the main character fails to save a close friend (Anastasia), he just unlocks a new power, and wins the fight shortly after, after having a NICE TALK with the DRAGON THAT JUST MURDERED HIS FRIEND. The reason why this is so bad, is that for THE REST OF THE SHOW, this PIVOTAL moment in the character arc is ALMOST NEVER BROUGHT UP EVER AGAIN, UNTIL THE VERY LAST EPISODE. Bad writing is what degrades this show from a mediocre at best anime, to a rat-sh*t adaptation of a probably sh*t series. Not to bash on the creator more than the animation direction, but if this is truly the plot of the novels, then there are severe flaws here. I GIVE THIS SHOW PROPS FOR HAVING ITS' OWN TITLE BE A DIRECT MEME, BECAUSE THE MAIN CHARACTER IS NOT AN ISEKAI CHEAT "MAGICIAN" HE LITERALLY PUNCHES THINGS AND USES MAGIC TO BUFF HIMSELF. Art: Not much to say, it is an anime that aired post 2016, if it had bad quality of animation then it would cease to have even the sh*t rating of 5.47 at the time of this review. It did fine in some of the animation effects, but it doesn't distract me from the batshi*t horror story writing that this anime presents to me. Sound: Also not much to say, I'm glad the composition of this score wasn't done in a basement somewhere. passing credit to Fujisawa Yoshiaki for not boring me to death with bad sound design and score composition. + points for an experienced composer. Score is forgettable however, I watched this show maybe less than a few days ago and I am struggling to remember any good standout pieces. Characters: (I'm only going to review the two leads, because apparently the anime only cares about these two anyways) Okay I will rip pretty hard into why this is category offends me, but I would first like to take this section to discuss what character agency is. Character agency is essentially having characters that have options in their decision making process, or in most anime, how we are shown, ways of approaching specific scenarios. It is said that a loss of agency in characters leads to predictable plots, endings, and developments. That being said, I am a shill for Isekai anime. I love Isekai anime so much that when I took a break from watching anime often (2016 - 2019) I still could indulge in some Isekai anime for fun. Isekai anime are infamous for removing character agency the very second that characters are introduced, because they are all essentially the same. But I never in my whole existence, seen blatant removal of character agency and loss of motivation than watching this show. The main character - literally has 0 agency after he gets his one ability, that he spams all the time. You know why he fights, you know he will always win, and you know that regardless of the conflict, you know he will win. Even when he f*cking LOSES someone (see story section), he just keeps going on, no problemo. That isn't how you make a good character. He isn't rounded at all in any emotional developments, he's just that random isekai protagonist you watch in every show. He gives a sh*t about his childhood friend, big f*** all deal, but that doesn't detract from him being a harem protag in an isekai, and I fell asleep typing that sentence out. The main character is written so poorly and predictably that I would have been more satisfied if they renamed this show the Isekai Chadgician for more effect. "Main" Heroine Rin - I want to label this portion to make it very obvious that though I say "main heroine" this girl is not the main heroine. There is nothing "main" about her, other than that she has 0 agency and is introduced first in the series. She presents one of the worst written and negative agency characters that I have seen in a LONG time. She gets treated like, the worst version of every isekai heroine ever seen, but combined into one. Not only does she immediately get written off as a "slightly" but severely worse "mage" than the main character, who obviously isn't a mage at all, but it is proven that she is just there to get her ass beat when needed and proves that she's capable of nothing but being "helpless"? What is her motivation? f*ck if I know, the show wouldn't tell me. The next thing that they want to insinuate is that she gets a character arc, but as viewers, we never see a single thing of her "growing" as a character, learning something or otherwise unless she's getting the crap beaten out of her and she's "resilient". What kind of character is this? Why do we even care? I hope everyone is prepared to not have those answered because this show has no regard for these questions. This prospect of having a friend coming into a new world with you has so much depth and possible plotlines that seeing this wasted is honestly more harmful than anything. I would like to note that though at the top I said the anime "cares" about these two, they just share the most screen time overall, thats it. This anime couldn't "care" for anything other than itself. I would also like to remind everyone once again, I have seen this anime to runtime, less than 3 DAYS ago, and I cannot even remember the NAMES of these characters. I am not generally a forgetful person, I just realized after watching this anime that I could not bother to remember the first names of these characters other than the 3 that did anything in the story. (Taichi, Rin, Anastasia). Enjoyment: I really, really, really, really, like Isekai anime in general. See story section for my overview, but overall, I feel that if anything, an entertaining or well planned out show about being transported to another world can be enjoyable to a great degree by myself. This is not the case for this show. I was put into an ice-cold comatose state when watching this show. The only time I was bothered to care about this show in the slightest is when they actually killed off a side character, a SIDE character, which had little to no effect on the story at large at all. My enjoyment of Isekai anime usually start off really high, but I have never been more disconnected from a show so quick in my life. Any points this show earns is from fanservice, which doesn't even distract from the fact that you don't give a sh*t about these characters. Overall: When deciding to watch a show, you must be aware of a certain amount of factors, and honestly, when I was choosing this one, I disregarded any of those sentiments and just went for it. But I do have a silver lining for the overall meaning of watching a dumpster fire in slow motion like this: It is often said that you cannot find success without finding failure first. Watching various good-great anime do not change your outlook on what you like, unless you can describe very clearly what you do not like. That's what makes this medium so engaging, that everyone has a general say of what they like, vs what they don't. And that takes time, energy, and a lot of shows to watch. I recommend this show to people unaware yet of what they do not dislike, or haven't found their genre of preference yet. Once you have found that specific niche or taste though, stay away from this show unless you genuinely like to turn your brain off(comatose) for no reason and enjoy your playboy fantasy with magic(that isn't magic), this is not equivalent to *fun trash* shows, this is outright painful to watch, I find my barebones enjoyment by adding my two cents to the pile of change that has already been added to this show. I give watching this a pass for new anime watchers, genuine fans of the LN, or maybe fans of the studio/staff. Better show recommendations: (two, maybe three of these are more comedy centric, but they work with the trope almost 4x better) - konosuba - that time i was reincarnated as a slime - gate(both seasons) - cautious hero Worse show recommendations: - I really wish I could have related shows worse than this, but this is preferential, I do indeed believe that there are worse anime out there, but for the genre, this is by far the worst. I see many people comparing this to Arifureta, but honestly, if you really think about it, at least ONE main character in that show has defined motivations and character traits that make them distinguishable, even if there is only a tiny bit more agency among the cast. Update* 05/18/20 - added worse recommendation/detailed better shows/detailed and added onto overall section

By NO doubt this show should be skipped (without a second thought), but for it's efforts in the adaptation and the original LN source (no hate towards the novelist), I will give it a B for binary code (if you know what I mean, 1 or 0) just to add the (not so nonsensical) pun here. I really wish I could give this series a BIG FAT ZERO. This Summer season was an absolute stinker for isekai: - Maou-sama, Retry!: A parody that could've been better (honestly my isekai of the season). - Arifureta: Hampered by bad production values and poor source adaptation. - MILFsekai: More than being anisekai parody with moms being heroes, fanservice kills it much. AND THEN, there's the absolute (no kidding) garbage that is Isekai Cheat Magician. By far, everyone should have realized that this series obnoxiously fails in ALL aspects and pointers, and is (dare I say) not afraid to show it in the most disgustful of ways possible: the "Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V" (or "Copy and Paste") notion. Everything is taken from existing isekai stories, from the city settings to the usual tropes and cliches of isekai characters being OP for no reason, other than to exert superiority. What this series DOES DIFFERENT, is to "intentionally" summon some random-ass people to help them resolve crises so evil that only these people are the solution to the problem. How unwittingly obtuse. Nevertheless, these are my "UN's" to exponentialize the absolute "UN-justice" of a UN-dercooked shitshow: The story is UN-ridiculous, yet UN-scriptulous at the same time. The whole isekai thing has been done the same way ever, let me script that out for you: the magic and random summoning like KonoSuba's Kazuma, somehow the magic made the characters OP just like Isekai Smartphone's Touya, brought into the overworld that looks UN-canningly like KonoSuba, having a "harem" of girls like every other isekai harem rom-com (again, Isekai Smartphone), fighting together with the Royal Family with "willpower" that is just solely the "blessings" of the gods, with enemies that ACTUALLY have both IQ and EQ (thank God they're smart and stupid too) to acknoweldge strong characters and say: "You're strong. I acknowledge you as my rival!" (Pokemon's Ash-Gary much???) It's such a joke at this point that if Japan doesn't heed the notions of the West (which 100% they don't), this is an overexponential problem and an ass-kicking insult to the anime community outside of Japan. The characters are just UN-interesting and UN-inspired, meh, not even decent. As far as it goes for the OP MCs Taichi and Rin, I'm not surprised if the central characters are hated from the get-go. Hell, don't get me talking about generic. Those 2 don't even reach generic levels, especially worse in the isekai setting. Taichi is easily Kazuma's level of stench, being bossy just because of his unbeatable powers, while Rin (thankfully not being Aqua) is just the support character that's just ther because her best friend's there. Oh, and she's secretly in love with him (part Rie Takahashi, part in-character expressions). WOW, TALK ABOUT LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP, in a war setting that's a overburden on their atrocious levels of situational awareness. The support characters are not any good either. Based on how much this strange world is ascertained, the political crisis between families is the norm (which is bog-standard), but this show made me wonder what is going in the original novelist's mind, whether he/she has the knowledge to pan a GOOD setting, or rather: "Let's plan first, and think later!" Not to mention with the usual partners/enemies cliche that has been overdone at this point, I was just wishing for a not-so-predictable loophole to talk about, and the only area I can commend this show for is enemies who REALLY ACT the part of being enemies, in spirit BUT NOT in truth and honesty. Like, come on, don't beat around the bush, get straight to the point! The art and animation are UN-impressive, simply savage to make a good point on it. I mean, if you have the word "Encourage" in your studio's name, then do a freaking good job about it! But too bad, Encourage Films, your seemingly bad art and non-existent animation causes everyone to "Encourage" spreading the word to stay the hell away from this show, and rightfully so. Don't ever think of taking another show unless it's one the studio can manage decently. The music is absolutely horrifying and UN-kempt at doing its job to get people into the show. Starting with MYTH & ROID's OP, it is by far the worst song they've ever done (and my ear's still bleeding from it), so much so that the OP lands in a stalemate. Rie Takahashi's ED is no better either, as I'd tell you to watch other shows that stars her in a better light. Other than these things, this show is a fine example of how not to mix music badly, to cover as many layers of badly-done compositions as possible, yikes. As a conclusion, we have (not) isekai-ed, but definitely got cheated our way into this shitshow, and cheating our way out of this show, not with being magicians, but with social influence and the likes of it. If you're here to watch the usual tryst of bad isekai shows, this is the pinnacle (thanks Japan!) of it all. Enter this show at your own safety, and whether if you managed to cheat your way out of this show or not, I applaud you regardless. Please, for the love of the overbearing Isekai genre, if you have a sense of respect for yourself being an anime-lover, I beg you (with my knees on the floor) to avoid this AT ALL COSTS! Don't second guess, just don't pelt your feet into this show. Just. Don't.

Watching Isekai Cheat Magician is equivalent to trying to complete an assignment from your most dreaded class in high school. You’d want to tear your hair out and punch the teacher for being a such a dick. The experience this gimmicky show speaks for itself not just because of its title but by the context of its plot, characters, and absolute lack of creativity. This anime…no, this abomination is more of a cash cow riding on the current popular isekai trend. Like most isekai anime, we have the characters trapped in a fantasy world after certain circumstances. At this point, any anime fan familiar with thisconcept should already know what to expect. But if we take a look back, the main characters themselves had no clue what was happening. Taichi and Rin manages to land themselves into a strange world after being hit by a mysterious light. From there on, we get the usual gimmicky monsters, guilds, magic, swords, and every page out of the book you can think of in an isekai theme show. It’s the type of isekai anime where anyone can pull out of their ass. Collectively, Isekai Cheat Magician is actually watchable at first glance. Sure, there’s a lack of creativity but it has a colorful open world. This is by no means an expansive world as the show mostly dedicates its time on the main protagonists. Be ready to have Taichi’s character shoved down your throat as the show pushes his character to broken degrees. I’m not a fan of using buzzwords but there’s no other way to describe Taichi other than a “Gary Stu”. The show even addresses his potential from the early episodes and as he begins to gain experience, his fights begins to feel like curb stomp battles. Rin isn’t too far off as she manages to master magical abilities under the tutorage of Reima. (you know, the girl who shows up nearly nude in her first appearance) Rin’s character is the stereotypical childhood friend who has obvious feelings towards Taichi. The anime itself doesn’t focus too much on the romance elements as it’s much more of a high fantasy isekai. That doesn’t mean it spares the time to get them alone though. Plus, you got a character like Myura who I honestly see little point in being in this anime altogether. What a lackluster character roster. However, I did try to watch Isekai Cheat Magician for its plot. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like the plot has a main purpose. Our characters aren’t there to stop some world ending apocalypse or seeking a way to go home. They seem to adapt with their new life and become part of this new world. Without much of a purpose, the plot itself is extremely loose and constantly adheres to every isekai theme imaginable. It’s like one of those early access RPG games that developers made and try to improve. For this anime, there’s no room for improvement as the show limited itself to just 12 episodes. Every episode follows a similar trend of the characters facing some sort of obstacle but with an overpowered guy like Taichi, it’s easy to guess who comes out as the winner. Furthermore, Taichi himself is a poorly written protagonist who receives little character development. No, his mastery of his powers is definitely not a sign of his character growth. Similarly, the other characters he bonds with falls under many generic pitfalls you’ll discover in an isekai show. Hell, even side characters like Anna can hardly make an impact and ends up being disposed with little development. Like I said before, this story is one that anyone can pull out of their ass and it’s not hard to see why. But is this abomination truly such a catastrophe? The short answer is yes and the long answer is also yes. There are only some minor parts in the show that makes it above the lowest denominator. First, I do have to say that the overall visual style makes this anime feel consistent. It looks a bit JRPG-ish at times but definitely fits under the category of an isekai-fantasy. Second, some of the magical elements in the show has its standard. What I mean is that they do explain it in a way that relates to isekai and fantasy. However, that’s pretty much the only acceptable parts of Isekai Cheat Magician I’ve realized. Everything else is just underwhelming from the actual combat scenes, character relationships, and overall plot. Even the world fiction wears itself out as the show dedicates more and more time into Taichi. I’m pretty convinced Isekai Cheat Magician is made for the purpose of marketing its light novel and other related franchise. This got an anime adaptation as a way to convince us to become fans of its universe. But please, don’t fall for it.

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