Cheat Kusushi no Slow Life: Isekai ni Tsukurou Drugstore

Let me start this review off by saying that if you're looking for a brain-heavy show packed with tons of action and adventure, then i advise you to look somewhere else, as Isekai Drugstore doesn't exactly have any of that. But, what Isekai Drugstore does have is a genuinely cute, wholesome, and enjoyable story, with funny characters, and a ton of humorous moments that'll leave you loving this show. Well, at least i hope it does, because it definitely did that for me.

Cheat Pharmacist is an extremely generic, unoriginal show, through and through, and there's absolutely no doubt about that. But what this show does best is that it stays true to itself the whole way. It doesn't try to be anything its not, because this show is already so unbelievably dumb that it doesn't need to do anything outside of its obvious plot and production limits. But hey, it's a good kind of dumb. And if there's one thing i can't lie about, it's that i enjoyed this show for its 12 episode runtime. When it comes to viewing shows like this, i tend to be extremely critical. If anything, i'm very strict when it comes to fantasy isekai animes, because just like anyone else, i find that genre of anime so insufferable and uninspired that i simply cannot invest my time into those types of shows. But, there's something odd about this one. For example, I feel like one reason i enjoy this anime so much is because it reminds me of I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, which finished airing June 26th of this year, and even if they aren't exactly all that alike, they both share that common quirkiness and enjoyability.

The consistency in the art style and production that this show maintains is honestly pretty impressive. I said this in my last version of this review, but this show has a vibrant color palette with cute character designs that look like eye candy. One common element that all these Isekai animes share is that they all usually have a pretty subpar animation studio backing them, with somewhat subpar production quality. But, Cheat Pharmacist doesn't really have any of that. However, what Cheat Pharmacist brings is a message. What is this message, you ask? Well, it's a message to dumb people. If you're an idiot, you should know that Cheat Pharmacist is here for you, and is willing to welcome you with open arms and embrace you with their colorful and vibrant warmth.

The sound is pretty normal, honestly. The background music is basically just anything you could possibly ever hear in a fantasy anime, but there's not necessarily anything wrong with the soundtrack, it's simply just okay. However, i should say that i really love the ending theme for this show. It's incredibly catchy, and i had to add it to my playlist when i heard it. So, in terms of everything that this show provides, the soundtrack is definitely the weakest link, but the ending theme makes up for it, and it doesn't affect the show negatively. The VA's do a good job with these characters, and overall, there's nothing exactly wrong with the sound elements of this show, but there's not exactly anything unique.

However, the enjoyment i got out of this show left me wanting a new episode every week, and i find it odd that i would like a show like this so much, but it was pretty entertaining the whole way. If there was a Season 2, i would definitely give this show another chance without any doubts. If you're looking for a show far more serious than this, then i can't exactly blame you, but if you want to turn off your brain for a couple of hours, and watch colorful, idiotic anime characters yell and do random crap, give this thing a try. You might even end up enjoying it as much as me.

Thank you for reading.

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In our lives, watching so much anime nowadays that COVID is a thing that's becoming the new normal, slice-of-life series have more weight for us the audience, to just watch a show that's worth relaxing to every now and then. And what better way to edge this case than the abundance of the Isekai genre in its many sub-genres, from action to pure Iyashikei shows. And seemingly with this show etching in the new Isekai "Slow Life" sub-genre, unless you're looking for a show that you're very willing to waste your time on, Isekai Slow Life Drugstore (which is what I'll call the anime since there's no short form for it) is that kind of show where nothing and everything random happens out just out of coincidence.

Normally I would spell out the plot as usual, but in this case I would rather copy it off from that one good friend in MAL (that sadly doesn't exist anymore) that has a more positive reception to the series (not because I'm lazy and would use an ounce of my brain cells for this):
Disappointed in his corporate slave’s life and being unable to see anything enjoyable in the life overall, Reiji Kirio, one day, finds himself in the world that he has never seen before. However, this does not scare Reiji, he is glad to finally part with his old and monotonous life. Although, the only skills, Reiji acquires are appraisal and potion creation, which he later develops, Reiji manages to earn the respect of many people, whom he has helped. Now Reiji together with his companions open their own drugstore and their new life begins.

It is quite difficult to come up with something new to make an Isekai story interesting and somewhat unique. Cheat Kusushi no Slow Life: Isekai ni Tsukurou Drugstore manages to do it: its protagonist does not acquire any superpowers and, of course, he is not immortal; he is just a simple young man. However, the two skills he gets are appraisal and potion creation, which immediately help him find a new companion, in the world he knows nothing about. While it might seem that there is nothing special in being able to create medicine, it will be wrong to think so. Reiji immediately wins recognition of the villagers and even opens his own drugstore, and so his new life begins.

It does not involve harems and fanservice is almost non-existent. While it is still a mystery, why Reiji is transported to another world, I do not see this piece of information needed. All that matters is that he is in a new world, Reiji tries to find out more about, he, together with his companions, start his own business and help people, and it is quite enjoyable to follow. Reiji meets many people, who ask him to create them from love potions to something that will scare wolves. And that is the whole story so far. Those who like slice of life, this manga might be what you are looking for. Do not expect any epic action scenes, Cheat Kusushi no Slow Life: Isekai ni Tsukurou Drugstore is just a heartwarming slice of life that takes place in another world.

For me though, I can agree that Isekai Slow Life Drugstore IS a good anime if you want to just relax on, but if you're looking for a hint at anything fresh and not yet seen of the Isekai culture, then you've come to the wrong show. It's not that the characters here aren't just bland and boring at times, they feel like cardboard cut-outs that just exist in the fantasy world where they can do anything that they wanna do: which is to craft numerous types of potions with that same kiddy jingle (that gets old really fast) when Reiji gets into potion-making action with demi-human wolfgirl Noela and ghost Mina. Accounting for the fact that it's not literally a "cheat" of a slow life (that looks misleading), it's just a wholesome and heartwarming slice-of-life adventure that the trio who makes up the Kirio Drugstore does as the forefront of a main business entity, serving townsfolk and curing their problems with potion creation and building friendships along the way. It's just cutesy, child-like visuals meant to serve the fact that bland series such as this can still provide the reader/watcher with peaceful light-heartedness. If it did just that, then it succeeded with the vast minority.

Even with Reiji being voiced by Kazuma's VA Jun Fukushima, the fact that Reiji's character is a stark contrast of a disparity, kinda doesn't elevate the fact that he once voiced the titular eccentric KonoSuba character. At least I can appreciate that Noela's VA Risae Matsuda gives the kid-like feels of her never-ending "ruuuuu~" wolf cries of her strong attachment to Reiji, so that's a thing right there. I could say the same for EMT Squared's low production values and the vibes of an OST, because everything just feels OK, not bad but not good either. If there was something I liked about the show, it would be the ED song alone with the whole childlike quality that for me, never gets old, but something that can also get pretty repetitive pretty fast.

Isekai Slow Life Drugstore is one of those completely average shows where there are 2 camps that define this love-hate series: either you just want to watch a show where no words are exchanged but just requiring your eyes and ears (that's all style), or you feel bored to the point of reaching for another anime that'd best serve your time (that's no substance). Either way, take your poison and escape to a fantasy world that's within your own means of enjoyment.

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So there's isekai trash, and then we have isekai GARBAGE.

Like there are so many shows out there that follow your general isekai formulas with a little twist or something, but atleast they do it some what well. You would assume that a pharmacist isekai would follow the formula at the very least.

To keep it short and sweet, here is what the show has:

Your typical child-like character (I mean the whole show seems so childish but whatever) who really cares for MC, your typical servant like character who cares for MC, tsundere strong girl who cares for MC, little noble girl who cares for the MC, etc.

In addition to all this repetitiveness, pretty much each episode is the same, and it is so boring.

I definitely wouldn't recommend this anime, it isn't bad enough that I had to drop it (I almost did though, stopped watching after episode 4 and then came back for the hell of it), but it isn't good enough for you to go out of your way to start it.

Just leave this show in it's own little corner and move on, unless you want to show this to like your 7 year old siblings or whatever, then maybe it’s fine.

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Late 2019, at Comiket #97: "Wow, another isekai anime announced. But... A pharmacist? Is that reliable?" - That was the question I asked when I found out about the show. The only thing I had of information was the synopsis, the magazine the manga was published by (Web Comic Gamma Plus) and that the source material was a Light Novel. It is a path that many works take and with Cheat Kusushi it was no different. The biggest fear of the adaptation is that the magazine itself is new to the manga market and this anime was the first from this new publisher. Now with the show already closed, I would like to say that they did a satisfying first job.

Well, when they announced an adaptation of Cheat Kusushi no Slow Life, I was anxious about what would be presented. A show bringing an intriguing idea, where the isekai this time is... in a pharmacy. In fact, Reiji without much reason is inserted into this world, where he becomes a pharmacist (often mistaken for an alchemist). He, Noera and Mina live together in this universe, without much pretension or contextualization about how they met, but what was important for the anime was not this, but the casual, relaxing and... some boring. In fact, Cheat Kusushi is a show that oscillates in its ideas, as what used to be a scenario of discovering new medicines turns into a heap of things that are easily mistaken for alchemy.

Not that I'm complaining about this proposition, but when the anime idealizes Reiji as just a simple medicine maker to a creator of things capable of making a journal create a visual hologram of one of the characters' mother, the verisimilitude built during the show is limited and at the same time significantly undermines the expected experience. It's a trivial theme within the show, but one that doesn't sit well with the series, no matter what argument is used to defend it.

But the anime shouldn't be criticized for that alone. In fact, what really made the anime silly was the studio itself. EMT Squared is not very well known, except for having made a few anime such as Kuma Kuma Bear and Assassins Pride. The former was a recent project that didn't get that popular. To this day it is not a show that has interested many people. Assassins Pride was a waste of time, because besides being a generic story and very bad in the basic aspects, it got the status of one of the worst animes of 2019 (and rightly so). So a weak adaptation that would not improve its reading materials was already expected. That's what happened. As much as the anime has the charisma and comics with Reiji, Mina, Noera and all the rest of the group, the show evidently fails to be more than sudden moments. It's a synergy that doesn't bring anything new and even if it manages to spark interest during its story, it's not something that manages to convince.

The production is tokenistic. It doesn't have that many serious problems, except for the totally IRRITANT AND ACCELERATED beginning, which I'm sure made many people give up on the anime right at the beginning. The story? Well, if you want to focus on the clash between the culture of a human being living in this new universe, that's not what Cheat Kusushi really does. As much as I don't want to give that example, it is necessary for comparison. Mushoku Tensei is one of the anime in which the focus of the isekai is not to feed into the idea that Rudy has trouble living in the fantasy that is the new world. Mushoku's purpose relies on what Rudy learns in the world. Reiji, in Cheat Kusushi, as much as he also does this, does not actually learn something new. His insertion into the anime is already cemented and the only times he's really had that reminder that he's in a different world are in the last two episodes, which really isn't a good way to do it.

Things like what led to Reiji and Noera meeting and Mina being a ghost who only became better acquainted with Reiji after a while are not explored. They are overlooked and the anime didn't really care about that. It would be more appealing to experience a relationship that is developed over time, unlike the very mechanized episodes where even the order of the episodes doesn't really matter. Seriously, the only changes the show has made is to add about four characters, some problems between them, and more and more things that don't add to the show. It is a factor that varies from person to person. Some admire this unconventional pace, others just find it okay and acceptable, just like me. It's not bad, but it wasn't good.

Finally, Cheat Kusushi was a quick show, but it drained my energy as it was tiring to watch. What is positively marked is the fact that it is a show that managed to adapt a story coming from the Gamma Plus Web Comic, even though the Light Novel is published on other sharing networks. All in all, it was only a symbolic experience. No big deal. There was nothing that made it a remarkable anime, but it didn't cause any compromising feelings either. Maybe I'm asking too much of a show like this.... Now it's just hoping that if it has a sequel, the cool stuff will hold up, if not the joke with the word "Cheat" for "S**t" would make sense.

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