Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou desu yo?

Izayoi Sakamaki, Asuka Kudou, and You Kasukabe are extraordinary teenagers who are blessed with psychic powers but completely fed up with their disproportionately mundane lives—until, unexpectedly, each of them receives a strange envelope containing an invitation to a mysterious place known as Little Garden.

Inexplicably dropped into a vast new world, the trio is greeted by Kurousagi, who explains that they have been given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to participate in special high-stakes games using their abilities. In order to take part, however, they must first join a community. Learning that Kurousagi's community "No Names" has lost its official status and bountiful land due to their defeat at the hands of a demon lord, the group sets off to help reclaim their new home's dignity, eager to protect its residents and explore the excitement that Little Garden has to offer.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sakamaki, Izayoi Main

Asanuma, Shintaro Japanese

Kurousagi Main

Nomizu, Iori Japanese

Kasukabe, You Main

Nakajima, Megumi Japanese

Kudou, Asuka Main

Bridcutt, Sarah Emi Japanese

Shiroyasha Supporting

Arai, Satomi Japanese

Draculea, Leticia Supporting

Tatsumi, Yuiko Japanese

Pest Supporting

Saitou, Chiwa Japanese

Jack-o'-lantern Supporting

Hayami, Show Japanese

Lili Supporting

Mikami, Shiori Japanese

Russell, Jin Supporting

Igarashi, Hiromi Japanese

Kurakane, Chiaki Producer

Tamura, Junichirou Producer

Sekiyama, Akihiro Producer

Kusakawa, Keizou Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Mar 15, 2013

Stark700

Recommended

Have you ever had one of those moments where after you finished watching an anime series, you got a feeling of “damn, I wish I had finished this sooner?” Or maybe, after you finished watching it, you thought, “this NEEDS a season 2”. Well, I'm sure most people who have one of those moments sometimes in their lives after finishing watching a certain series. It can be something based out of enjoyment, something fresh or unique that you never originally thought you'd encounter, or maybe just something that was just hell out of a right whether subjectively or objectively. Regardless though, this series known as ... Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren't They sure hit one of those marks because I got one of those moments.

Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo? (also just known as Mondaji for short) is an anime series adapted from the light novel of the same name. The series takes place in a fantasy world featuring four prominent characters. I have not read the LN version of this anime so I came into this with a fresh start. But from what I got was more than just a fresh start but rather a pleasurable experience.

To reiterate things, the majority of the series takes place in a fantasy world. More specifically though, it focuses on the “No Name” community, a place where there is trouble loose. It's up to our protagonists to help save their world after being invited by a flamboyant rabbit. Sounds strange right? This is obviously supported by the fact that the protagonists themselves are troublemakers. Take for example, Sakamaki Izayoi. He is portrayed as the badass and arrogant young boy. He does what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants. In general, he is a 'problem child'. His love for violence can be seen earlier on even from the pilot episode when he gets involved with some other kids. Yet behind that outer ulterior, we can see that Izayoi is a boy of intellect through his strategic thinking and ways of dealing with problems himself. At even one point, one of the main characters admits that “you really are smart” directly. Despite his arrogance though, Izayoi does seem to care about his comrades and dangerous events as he puts himself at risk. The way he expresses it though...not so much being the 'nice guy'.

That of course only makes up one third of the trouble making trio.

Among the group are also two young girls named Kudo Asuka and Kasukabe Yo. They seem to exist in opposite of personalities as Asuka seems to be play the role of a girl who has a more open personality while Kasukabe Yo maintains a more quiet posture. This is even evident through Asuka's ability where she is able to command others through speech. And of course, they join in the fun after the faithful day when they are asked to help with problems in the 'No Name' community. In fact, all three of these characters seems to be bored of their normal day lives and seek a bit of joy. There's no better place to do that in the 'No Name' community.

Speaking of which now, I almost forgot to introduce that certain bunny-eared girl. With fluffy ears, a shy personality, but a heart of determination, she invites the trouble makers to stop the trouble. So without further ado....let's introduce that Bunny Girl...Kurosagi! Literally translated as “Black Rabbit”, she is the girl who sets the plot and gives the problem children a little joy to their boring lives. Although portrayed as being 200+ years old (is this even true??), she has the personality of a normal girl and that is being easily embarrassed at certain situations and sometimes insecure about the events going around her. However, there is one thing that is for sure. She wants to overthrow the Demon Lords from her world who have been causing nothing more than trouble.

The series adapts many supernatural and fantasy themes through its setting. In fact, the world that the problem children ventures into is nothing like the world they once knew. There are mystical creatures like dragons, jack-o-lanterns, vampires, and everything we don't see in our modern day world. Despite the dangers some of the creatures pose, the problem children deals with them like another day in the park. In fact, I can safely say that their abilities are far too overpowered with some of them literally getting back up after being battered, shattered, and broken. Izayoi's “Code: Unknown” along with his psychic powers makes him one of the strongest characters in the series. Because of his confidence and strength being nearly unrivaled, no wonder he is often so bored with his life. Asuka's power to control others through words is also seen as a very dangerous and useful ability that extents to animals, humans, and even other gifts. Last, we have the shy girl Kasukabe who rules over the animal kingdom with her skill to communicate and gain their abilities. If you put the three together, it seems to almost like a dream team. However, this is not always the case as the group seems to have problems and ideologies between themselves.

On the other hand, there are many adversaries in the series ranging from vampire lords to aristocratic individuals who claims themselves as Gods. They set the premise of this series as being the ones causing the trouble and it's up to the problem children to stop them. Yet, there are many instances in which the show takes the wrong turn and make their encounter seem too eccentric. However at other cases, I find the politics and rivalries to be entertaining; more often times with Izayoi because of his personality and speeches.

While the series seems original, it does have a few issues. Personally, I found some of the jokes to be a bit too repetitive. This is especially true to our beloved little bunny-eared girl where she becomes the center of attention to lewd jokes. Although amusing to watch at occasions, it becomes old and repetitive. Additionally, the theme of traveling to another world to fight in competitions is not new. Series like Dog Days and Ixion Saga DT have taken such themes before and also performed similar stances. It's been done. The series' pilot episode also seems to be quite rushed with a lot of information thrown in at once rather than expanding them further. I guess this can be related to the issue with the length of the series. It's only 10 episodes so pushing it throughout each episode might of just been too much. Regardless these flaws though, it still makes its exciting point across.

In terms of visuals, the series sets itself with the fantasy themes. The Little Garden, the way Kurosaki is dressed, and the mystical creatures are all proof of this. Additionally, the various games themselves revolves around events that are magical. However, I do admit that the characters' designs are a bit too generic. For example, Kurosaki fits into the role of the typical bunny girl with her outfit. The rest of the world where most of the events take place have that fantasy feeling.

Regarding the soundtrack, the series makes excellent use of its scores. The soundtrack works well in general and often or not, it's fun to hear it balance out between exciting moments (the game competitions) and some of the more lighthearted times. The OP song, "Black † White" by Iori Nomizu, is very catchy with the way it presents itself with words like “bam!”, “1, 2, 3”, “black, white”, and other fun words being used. The ED song “To Be Continued?" by Kaori Sadohara gives the main characters a super flat deformed version of themselves and presents into in a fun way. (I'm looking at you Izayoi). It's pure fun to watch it to be honest. Do not skip that ED song.

Overall, this series is the golden egg for me in 2013 so far. Well, at least it's amusing and strange enough with its small cast of badass characters. Oh sure there is some fan service and dirty jokes here and there, but it overall maintains its themes well with the initial premise. In fact, most of the episodes sets with its intense atmosphere related to the games with the main characters each getting his or her own spotlights. And oh, how can we forget that badass Izayoi? The guy has both brains and the brawn that exists entirely opposite of the typical, wimpy, and indecisive male of a harem. So yes, this series was a surprise watch for me. It's only 10 episodes so why not give it a try?

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Apr 30, 2015

legendofgong

Mixed Feelings

Anime is a way for many of us to escape from our boring realities, and immerse ourselves into the worlds quite unlike our own.

Why did I start with such a cliche and cheesy statement on a review? Is this starting to sound like an essay?

Well, to be fair, Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo (Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren't They) caters towards the type of individual described above. Individuals seeking to escape reality and adventure into a world of the unknown.

Too bad the world in this anime stays 'unknown'.

There are many anime that take on the storyboard of ... 'traveling to a different dimension'. Its a born and bred technique that, with minimal uncertainty, will definitely succeed to draw in the common anime watcher. Anime like Log Horizon, SAO, and No Game No Life first come into mind. However, with all my pride of an anime watcher at stake (if I have any), I will say that there is enjoyment in seeing this style of anime does entertain me to a certain extent. The creativity of the setting astounds us, and the ideas hidden within the protagonist's strengths evokes our imagination.

'Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?' follows three characters with the extraordinary powers. The Strongest human, the ability to interact with animals, and the voice of absolute command are all, 'coincidentally', powers that immediately pop into the mind when speaking of supernatural powers that everyone wants.
These three characters somehow are summoned into the dangerous world of 'Little Garden'

Hardly dangerous.

In fact, the anime was very fast in introducing the power of our superhuman Izayoi, who defeats a water 'god' in the span of 2 episodes. its a common event that we see in some anime like this. Antagonist underestimates protagonist at hand greatly, protagonist demolishes them with an unexplained skill, and the antagonist regretfully admits his/ her mistake. Of course, on paper it sounds cliche and cheesy, but fans love the moment when the antagonist is overwhelmed due to their sheer incompetence in fighting. Come on Water God, don't challenge our shounen protagonist with only your puny god fighting skills.

The anime is hardly to blame for this. We see it regularly. Sora and Shiro from No Game No Life easily dispatch their humanity hating enemies. Don't get me started on Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei. In fact, this anime does well to show that brute force doesn't always win battles compared to the others. Strategy actually appears, albeit occasionally, in the anime. When it does, its hard to watch, as the enemies are so remarkably stupid it makes the strategy in place look well thought out.

What the anime did well in though, was introducing the setting and story. The back-story is developed fairly well, and the majority of the plot-holes in the history that appear are subsequently covered with a brief explanation. Our protagonists discover the dilemma of the community of 'No Name'. This community was at the bottom of the food chain in the world of Little Garden.

What the story does not go in depth however, is the setting itself. Remember when I said the world stays unknown? The beautiful, imaginative idea of Little Garden is hardly developed. Its a flaw in the style of anime. Make the anime short and risk under developing the setting. Make the anime long to delve into the world and lose action and fast-paced storytelling along with it. Its a problem that is hard to correct.

For a anime that deeply involves its characters into the plot-line, Character development is a missing piece to the puzzle. A short 10 episodes may attribute to the lack of development, but the reality is, the characters have no where to go! The moment the land on Little Garden, our protagonists are as overpowered as Goku is by the end of Dragon Ball Z. There is a bit of marginal growth for our characters power wise, of course with the exception of Superhuman Izayoi, who is so perfect in the power category that its hard not to become worse.

Sometimes I go quite overboard with my little jabs at anime. The artwork in Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo? is beautifully done. Characters have no glaring differences in artwork from one point of the anime to the next. The backgrounds are populated with significant detail. Every character looks unique in their own way, and are very distinguishable through artwork.

Through there is far little in character development, the personalities of our protagonists are actually very unique and fairly intriguing. Each character has a unique personality that quite often suits their abilities and appearance. Because of this, when these characters initiate their abilities, it actually feels as if the the abilities they possess are unique to them only.

...

When individuals rate an anime, they rate it either through their enjoyment or how well the anime is made. Of course, both these two factors influence one and another, but they are also distinctly separate. Someone can watch a plot-hole filled, disturbing, unimaginative anime and still receive enjoyment because it may fulfill with what that individual may want. Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo? has some glaring mistakes that all anime of its type possesses, but I cannot say that it didn't have its good points, and that I didn't enjoy it. Many of its problems revolve around the shortness of the anime, along with the cliffhanger ending. However, there is more to come, and when that time comes, there will be individuals to either praise it, or judge it no matter what the outcome.

6/10 - Good


(Please don't think that 6 is bad, for those of you, because I base my ratings off of the word descriptions (ie good, very good, mediocre) rather than the number)

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 1, 2014

BigBoss0327

Not Recommended

Story: 5/10
Episode 1 was probably the most interesting episode out of all of them. It definitely succeeded in making me interested and catching me on and making me continue. The downfall of this anime though was that it was completely rushed, maybe because it was only 10 episodes? The whole anime felt like half of a regular anime if you know what I mean "time-wise". Because it was so short, I didn't really get attached to any of the characters or even caring about them because even at the end, so little is known about them. The one who's most backstory was revealed was the ... "little oujo-sama", and the other two I have like absolutely no idea about. Was pretty disappointing and I'm hoping they don't mess up if this anime gets another season.

Characters: 4/10
As stated above, the only past you get a reasonable glimpse from is Asuka's (the rich-girl-character) and barely anything is revealed at all about the other two main characters. There was a point in the anime in the hot springs where the black rabbit asked of their pasts but one of the characters quickly changed the subject. Another thing that was disappointing to see through my point of view was that there was absolutely zero "clutch-moments". You know, when a main character could potentially die, get wounded, or injured, etc... Those moments that bring you closer to the character and make you "care" about them a bit more. Yeah, there was none of that. The whole anime was basically watching these incredibly overpowered as **** characters wreak havoc on everything. Okay maybe there were some injuries, but there wasn't a doubt in my mind the whole entire time that it could ever end badly for these guys. Especially for the male lead. The whole anime went by with him starting as OP and ending as OP - and he's not even at his limit yet. The other "unknown" girl (I'll call her animal-girl), also had like the least screen time of any main character I've ever seen. She got one episode to herself, and then that was it basically. It's even obvious from what I'm typing at the moment.. I just finished watching this anime in one go and the only name I remember is the rabbit's, because her name was Black Rabbit (Kuro-Usagi)!

Music: 7/10
The opening and ending were okay, and extra points for chibi-ending. During the anime I recall many times were there was no music at all when there should have been. I always say this, music is what seperates the good anime from the great anime.

Art: 10/10
At least there's nothing wrong with the art~
Probably one of the key factors that stopped me from dropping this other than the fact that it was only 10 episodes. Art + Animation 10/10 though~

Overall Enjoyment: 4/10
I didn't enjoy this anime. It was boring, nothing really happens in it, and in the end I wasn't engaged in it at all. It had ridiculously Over-Powered characters, nothing is known about them, anime ends in cliffhanger --> season 2. The only thing it had going for it was the nice art and animation. I just wanted it off my plan to watch list because it was only 10 eps. Maybe it's because I marathoned it and didn't watch it weekly? One thing that I can say for certain though, is that this anime definitely doesn't deserve many of the scores and reviews that I saw for it.

Wouldn't recommend this to anyone, could barely call this an anime. It's too incomplete.

FINAL RATE: 30/50
A grim and sad truth.
I was expecting that this anime would have been better as I heard and read many good things about it, but I came out disappointed in the anime and even more disappointed in the people who told + wrote such things. If this were to get a second season I sincerely hope that they don't mess up as bad as they did with this.

It definitely had potential.

Recommendations:

- Sword Art Online -
- Haguure Yuusha no Estetica -

If you like incredibly Over-Powered main characters then you'll like these as well~
Although, Sword Art Online had an amazing OST so you'll at least feel more engaged in it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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