Hachi-nan tte, Sore wa Nai deshou!

Every season there are a few shows that go under the radar. For me, this season Hachi-nan tte was one of those shows. While it is nothing revolutionary or amazing, it is a solid watch and a pretty entertaining show.

It’s your usual isekai formula with a bit of a different take. The MC is reincarnated into another world as the 8th son of a poor noble family, meaning he basically has no rights to any of his family’s wealth or any sort of inheritance. He eventually works his way up and becomes your usual Isekai protag who is very OP.

Where Hachi nan stands ... out for me is that unlike most isekai, its primary focus is not on an MC going to defeat a demon lord or saving the day, but on the development and bonds formed with the rest of his party, side characters, etc. It’s a very character and relationship driven story, so even if you don’t usually like isekai, you may find this one enjoyable. The art and animation are also top notch as the studio who were in charge of this are behind the legendary Doraemon series as well as Takagi san, therefore production quality remains great throughout.

Unfortunately, while I appreciate the show’s attempt to world-build and develop characters, some stretches of episodes just felt boring to me and did not offer anything to really hold my attention. I imagine some rather important bits of the story were probably omitted due to time constraints as well, which is typical for adaptations.

As someone whose fave genre is isekai, I found this not disappointing, but not great either. However, it is well worth a watch in my opinion. Hachi nan gets 7 concubines out of 10 from me.

At this point, I can't help feel that "Isekai" is a term that means "Educated modern guy reforms the cavemen" or "Genius is born in an archaic society."

Who our main character was doesn't really matter, what does matter is the setting. Our main character, Wendlin von Baumeister (something like that), is the 8th son of a poor, low-ranking noble he is fated to a commoner lifestyle. Luckily for him, he is a prodigy that receives an magical education from another prodigy. The story details his exploits climbing up from the bottom of society.

Story: Compared to the original light novel and the manga ... adaptation, the animated series does not compare at all in regards to pacing, content, or dialogue. Everything has been whittled down to meet time constraints and to fit enough plot. In the original, more raunchy topics are touched on, but this adaptation has been mellowed out for reasons we can guess.

Art: The art design is somewhat bland. Nothing too special. The effects were pretty, which is probably the only this I found notable.

Sound: The opening was pretty jarring for me at first, but it's actually a banger. The ending was calm and nice to listen. Sound effects and the BGM throughout the series is somewhat exciting. However, I did not like the harsh piercing noise for the sound for the activation of magic. It was unique, but my ears didn't like it.

Characters: The main antagonist, while somewhat cliche and one-sided, was gratifying to watch. On the other hand, the main character and his sidekicks were more or less typical characters you would find in other isekai with little ambition other than to serve the main character. Particularly, the last girl to join the harem was very boring for me. People complain about main characters having "no personality," but I say they are wrong. This girl should be deemed as the standard for "no personality."

Enjoyment: I only watched the show as I read the source material. While I did get a kick out of seeing the characters I read about in motion, I can't say I would recommend this for the common watcher. As a connoisseur of "bad anime," this was good enough for what it was, but far, far, far from something I would call enjoyable.

There’s nothing wrong about anime with clichés, even when they have been milked to death. Some clichés are actually cleverly executed in the case of deconstruction of certain themes or plot elements. Character study can also play its cards right and make an anime look beyond what it really is. But when the time calls for Hachi-nan tte, Sore wa Nai deshou to shine, it completely destroys itself and achieves absolutely nothing than wasting our time.

Trying to find anything appealing about this show at first glance isn’t easy. The key visual is covered by generic looking characters and an isekai based protagonist. The synopsis reads ... like most isekai fantasy plot you’ve heard of these days. Oh but there’s political drama! Perhaps that could change the phase of the show, right? Wrong. This anime adheres to what most people assumes and it’s like part of a genetic code. The DNA formula for this show connects the most boring possible themes in the show with an even degenerate cast of characters.

Shingo Ichinomiya is the main protagonist who takes on the role of Wendelin after waking up in a fantasy world. From the beginning, he is portrayed as a character with potential and it’s up to himself to unlock them. Thanks to Alfred Reinford’s tutorage and his own determination, Wendelin evolves into a gifted mage and even forms his own party of adventurers. And if you guess it right now, you’re right. It’s a group of female adventurers and easy to paint them as members of his harem. This is where the show takes the fall as the main female cast in the show is hammered with lazy writing. Let’s start with Elize, the priestess and perhaps most pure member of Wendelin’s party. Here, she’s portrayed with a kind heart but lacks any distinctive traits outside of her healing abilities. Louise, the martial artist fills the role of the physical fighter in the party. Somehow, the show wanted to make her into a comic relief by inserting embarrassing jokes. She also shares a rivalry with Ena, a spear wielding girl with a tomboyish personality. At first glance, she would appear to be someone capable of being a poster girl of the show but as every episode progresses, it’s hard to imagine anything noteworthy to say about Ena. She’s just another member of Wendelin’s harem added for the sake of a harem. And finally, there’s Wilma, a character that I can safely say has no personality. Debuting late in the story, Wilma’s character role brings out some of the worst parts of the show including her gluttonous appetite and offering absolutely nothing relevant. With such a character cast, I’m afraid this show hits the lowest common denominator even for a fantasy isekai.

If you’re in a mood to watch a fun fantasy plot, then prepare for the worst. It’s even less fun when watching these characters engage in political drama between the higher class nobles. One of the more prominent subplot involves a political marriage between Wendelin and Elize. As fate has it, she develops genuine feelings for him and their relationship evolves beyond just politics. But unfortunately, this series doesn’t have time to fully develop that relationship. It instead jumps around between subplots by introducing elements such as martial arts tournaments, hired bodyguards for Wendelin, and other requests such as monster hunting. Between every episode, it seems the show never knows what it truly wants and fails to get us invested into the main story. Viewers will be left with concerns on how weak the plot develops until they just give up. That’s how I felt anyways by the time this anime even reached its half way point. To adapt a large volumes of novels into a 1-cour (12 episodes) anime is nothing but a recipe for disaster.

There’s more than one ways to adapt a show but the studios behind this project didn’t exactly step up to the plate for its character designs or overall look. To appeal the audience, it needed a distinctive character cast even if it means their physical features. It’s sad to say but the show limited itself with a universally dull looking character roster. Every female character has a similar face and molded with lackluster dress codes. Sometimes, the anime tries to bring out their features with decorative clothes but in the end never hits its expectations. Even the monsters look insufferable such as the CGI dragon and the horrid zombies. The only saving grace for the show’s art style is the occasional world fiction that seems plausible at best.

It’s not going to be a satisfying watch. I’ll say this as straightforward as possible but if you want to explore something from the fantasy genre catalog, this isn’t one to aim for. From the lazy plot writing to the uncharismatic character cast, there’s little Hachi-nan tte, Sore wa Nai deshou will offer to the audience. Do something better with your time and don’t recommend this to your friends, or in fact, anyone.