Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki

After the death of his grandfather, 19-year-old Kazuya Souma—an aspiring civil servant—is left all alone with no one to call family. Out of the blue, he is transported to the Elfrieden Kingdom, a small ailing country in another world, to be a "hero." An ongoing war with the demon army has put the entire world in peril, and Kazuya was summoned to aid in the conflict as an offering from Elfrieden to its allies.

Dissatisfied with being used as tribute, Kazuya decides to help the kingdom revamp its declining economy—not by way of adventuring or war, but through administrative reform. Abruptly declared the King of Elfrieden and betrothed to the princess, the "Realist Hero" Kazuya sets out to assemble a group of talented citizens who will assist him in his bureaucratic battles to get the kingdom back on its feet.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Adaptation:	Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki
Sequel:	Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki Part 2

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Characters & Voice Actors

Elfrieden, Liscia

Main

Minase, Inori
Japanese

Souma, Kazuya

Main

Kobayashi, Yuusuke
Japanese

Doma, Juna

Supporting

Ueda, Reina
Japanese

Udgard, Aisha

Supporting

Hasegawa, Ikumi
Japanese

Amidonia, Roroa

Supporting

Ichimichi, Mao
Japanese

Inui, Tomoe

Supporting

Kahara, Moe
Japanese

Kwonmin, Hakuya

Supporting

Okitsu, Kazuyuki
Japanese

Vargas, Carla

Supporting

Terakawa, Aimi
Japanese

Walter, Excel

Supporting

Horie, Yui
Japanese

Euphoria, Jeanne

Supporting

Ishikawa, Yui
Japanese

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Ozawa, Fumihiro

Producer

Watanabe, Takashi

Director

Aketagawa, Jin

Sound Director

Fukase, Shigeru

Episode Director

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Opening Theme

"HELLO HORIZON" by Inori Minase

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Ending Theme

"Kazanear (カザニア)" by Aimi

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Reviews

Sep 25, 2021

bulkyhog

Not Recommended

Ah, isekai. What was once a promising and delightful genre has now become the punching bag of the anime community. Riddled with memes about truck-kun, harems upon harems, stupidly overpowered perfect MCs, and ridiculously long names, it’s easy to see how this genre has become one of the stalest and over-farmed genres in all of anime.

But when I first read the description for Genjitsu, I was intrigued. I’ve always been a fan of realism and reform through policy, add in my economics minor which I’m studying for uni, and you’ve got me hooked on the concept of a hero saving a world through policy reform.

But ... at the back of my head, there was a voice warning me against setting my hopes high for this series. And as soon as the first episode concluded, I knew I was in for a trainwreck.

Genjitsu is a horrible anime, let alone an isekai, because it is predicated on never-ending, bloated dialogue and paradoxical scenarios. Not to mention the classic harem featuring all the tropes, from loli to tsundere to elves and milf-ish baddies.

Light spoilers ahead (not that you’d want to watch this series anyways).

I’ve seen better story dialogue writing from 4th-grade students. Just take a look at EP 6. A convenient mouthpiece chick shows up in the tavern, coincidentally at the same time as the MC king, and proceeds to go on one of the longest exposition dumps in the series. In general, the dialogue and exposition is just so 2-dimensional and bland, it sounds like it was procedurally generated using an algorithm instead of human hands. Don’t even get me started about the romance writing: I’ve read hentai with better writing and character development than this shit.

Genjitsu’s worldbuilding is also filled with more holes than swiss cheese. Everything we’re told just seems to contradict what we were previously told.

The entire plot of the story is centred around a supposed food shortage that drove the nation to the brink of collapse. So drastic in fact that they’re ready to sell off a hero only they can summon. Great. Except when Souma takes over, we see literally jack shit evidence of a severe food crisis. Where’s the rioting? The angry citizens? The STARVING CITIZENS? You’re trying to tell me there’s a food shortage when the overwhelming majority of the low-middle class look totally healthy. We had a whole episode dedicated to showcasing “starving people” more untraditional food options, but you’re trying to tell me people weren’t starving enough to be desperately trying to eat whatever they could get their hands on? Pathetic, and it’s a disgrace to people who have faced/are actively facing poverty, malnourishment, or famine.

What about EP 7? The new port isn’t supposed to conflict/compete with the port under the jurisdiction of the water duchess, but Souma proceeds to explain how they’ll make this port the “heart of the nation”, essentially contradicting his previous assurance to Liscia. What a joke. Also, realist doesn’t do any research into surrounding settlements or try to gain approval near the planned location which leads to this “conflict” that must be resolved. Really, this is just a masked lazy attempt at making MC seem imperfect and to apply the “plan doesn’t go according to plan” trope so his main harem girl can appreciate his “imperfect character.” Apparently, I’m also supposed to believe it costs more to mass mint medals (which are never made out of pure precious metals btw, it’s always a mix) than it does to hand out royal wine reserved for the royal family and important guests? I guess I could sell my shit and become a millionaire in this world.

The only bright spot in this anime is the relatively accurate depiction of basic micro and macroeconomic theories and laws. Outside of that, you have an anime with no inherent value whatsoever. Lacklustre plot, lacklustre characters, lacklustre writing, lacklustre animation and OST, and dog-water-ass worldbuilding. For an anime that’s trying to differentiate itself on being realistic, it sure fell sorely short of the piss-poor standards it set out for itself.

If you’re looking to downgrade your IQ and waste your time, go ahead and crank this show on. Otherwise, you’d do best to stay the fuck away.

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Sep 25, 2021

HellLyter

Not Recommended

I need a herooooo!!! I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the ni, ight~!
He's gotta be a chick magnet
And he's gotta have no personality
And he's gotta be...a realist!?!?

Realist Hero might seem like it's not worth your time on the surface. The premise certainly sounds familiar. Man gets transported to a fantasy world and is tasked with helping it out with his knowledge and/or power. He meets many impressionable young girls along the way, including a knight and an animal girl loli, and they all fall for him for inexplicable reasons. If this storyline sounds bland and soulless to you, then ... that's because you've seen this anime before in the form of Death March, Isekai wa Smartphone, and a plethora of others. But wait! This anime does one thing so different, so original, that it completely flips the script.

The hero is a realist.

"Pray tell, what does this mean?" Your curious mind might be wondering. Why, this essentially means that the protagonist understands basic concepts on how to manage a territory and its resources and spends entire episodes explaining these things to the stupid cast who are in awe of his intelligence because they apparently know absolutely nothing. Some even pledge their lives to him when he simply tells them rudimentary practices. And that is the entire show. Wow, how exciting! This dude is certainly flipping the switch on stereotypical hero roles!! I love watching characters stand completely still and talk about farming for 20 minutes!!!

The characters are all very memorable, they range from fat guy to girl with big boobs. The female lead dresses in a military outfit and wears her hair in a ponytail, which shows that she's a strong, independent woman. She still falls for the hero though and becomes completely dependent on him after 10 minutes because his penmanship technique is sooooo irresistible. Oh, and all of these characters have an aptitude, that one skill that makes them truly special. And when I learned about how weird and seemingly worthless their talents are when it comes to bettering a nation, my expectations were certainly subverted! Wow, stuff like this almost makes me forget about the substandard production values!

Through watching, I discovered something truly eye opening. The two leads are voiced by Inori Minase and Kobayashi Yuusuke, who are the seiyuu for Rem and Subaru from Re:Zero. This has led me to conclude that the casting director is a RemXSubaru shipper. This is clearly the most important piece of information that has come out of The Realist Hero. And now that I've told you, you don't have to bother watching it!

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Sep 25, 2021

KANLen09

Not Recommended

Y'know, I really wanted to believe that this show had at least a calibre of doing things "same same but different". But as it stands, Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki (or its short form "Realist Hero" I'll be referring to from now on) just sorta went downhill as the series progresses for me. Maybe you'd like it, but personally I have watched shows that have similar settings, but just executed a lot more better a.k.a Log Horizon. And also, while I appreciate that there's a variety of Isekai in the Summer season, there's hits and misses, and this sadly falls under the latter.

To be ... fair, what novelist Dojyomaru has on hand is quite the interesting story plot about an Isekai where politics and power play come into mind: it's basically Kingdom Administration (or more appropraitely Re:Construction). A story about an Otherworlder (Kazuya Souma) who got Isekai-ed to not just play the role of the hero, but instead, to be the next king in a kingdom where it's falling apart at the seams against all odds of threats coming both left and right. It's not just the usual typical trope of the Demon Lord's army's uprising, but also internal problems that leaves a kingdom incapable of supporting itself. With some words of wisdom from Kazuya's grandmother that "A man needs to make a family and never fail to protect it no matter what.", he is summoned into the fantasy world as a hero first to help solve a crisis. But here's the twist: the humanities student Kazuya's no OP character, but he has his knowledge of realism and machiavellianism at his disposal to make whatever calls he desires as the roles are consequently handed down to him to help a kingdom come out of its deadly course, from a hero to a realist king. It's very similar to Civilization if you've played the game before.

This series starts out really slow and boring, because that's where the magic happens for Kazuya's crusade to save the Kingdom of Elfrieden that equals constant development over the course of its run. Nevertheless, even if Kazuya's new at the job of being king, he has to constantly decree numerous amout of reforms, conduct negotiations and do everything a king is supposed to do to win the war against the demons and other kingdoms that could wipe a developing kingdom. In order to understand this series generally, it hinges on these words: "Slow but interesting". As far as I understand the pacing of the anime, as compared to the light novel of the same name, it can drag on for episodes with the rhetoric that to "wait until something happens". And while that may be the series Achilles' Heel, it's also the backbone of how some people would come to enjoy the series for what it is: consistency, that plays a major part of how Realist Hero is written to be that slow-burner, easily droppable, but fascinating work if you can stick it out "for just one more chapter" (that sadly, people don't have big brains to understand that it also is a creative concept of some authors who don't like to infodump all at one shot).

The world-building of Realist Hero does not only kick its legs at the intended story plot, it has to include characters that drive its narrative together with Kazuya's realism mentality of kingdom administrative reforms. I have to say that the Elfrieden Council of advisories to the current king are quite the livid frustration, because kingdoms in the past ages can be a lot authoritarian with its leadership and regime, and in this case, they are the last ones that could help save the kingdom of what's left. But to summon a hero-turned-king such as Kazuya to solve their issues, it's a huge demand on his shoulders to pounce on all that at once, and him using his avaliable powers and resources to save that which is and could be lost is truly a godsend.

There is also the traditional tropey Isekai formula of the harem to help Kazuya, and in this case, a mixed bag of execution of some good and some bad. Kicking things off with the Elfrieden crown princess Liscia, she is the one who stood by Kazuya's side the most ever since the position takeover, and is quite the amusing character to see. I mean, sure, getting forcefully engaged with Kazuya is not necessarily the right move from a family such as her's. It really looks like her royal family just gave up all hope and passed the baton onto Kazuya, which her father King Albert just approves and abdicates the throne to him, making Liscia the next queen in the process to this unequivocal guy who is both IQ and EQ smart to handle. This forces Liscia to a corner, but what choices does she have than to go with her hopeless father's wishes. Eventually, her relationship blossoms with Kazuya becoming the typical boy-girl relationship, but on a much higher pedestal being king and queen of Elfrieden. And for those who like your waifus, Liscia can bear a polyamory relationship, so that's a first if I've ever heard of someone who can accept being a concubine, but of course adamantly wanting to be 1st place (like any other true wife),

Alas, there are just too many characters in this show that while each of them makes useful contributions to Kazuya's kingdom reforms, this move is generally good for such a fantasy world of historical origins. But I'd feel like that the adage of "too many cooks spoil the broth" is prevalent, and this is a series that awfully needs that lot in order for the story and plot to work. As mentioned of the harem, there're some potential waifus that make up the bulk of Kazuya's ministerial team (Aisha Udgard who acts as Kazuya's bodyguard, Juna Doma who acts as Kazuya's peace-time minister-cum-idol symbol to name a few) plus some men (Hakuya Kwonmin as Kazuya's strategist; Poncho Panacotta as Kazuya's literate "Shokugeki no Souma", it's in the name), it's equivocally hard to get invested in most characters if they're just serving their purposes, and regrettably the anime does that a lot which results in loss of focus. It's a shame, really.

Also, J.C.Staff, I should give you a new nickname: from "Justifying Creative Staff" to "Just Crap Stuff", because Realist Hero does feel decently produced. But it's clear where the budget is centrally focused at: the wonky 3DCG camerawork, which I don't know if going by in-house veteran director Takashi Watanabe's direction to include that does make the anime at the very least interesting to give a perspective. If all this was just an experiment for a guinea pig test of sorts, then I'm not sorry to say that it is weird to see such disparity in the face of inconsistency against the backdrops of the half-assed visuals and bad animation. This guy has done a lot of classic J.C.Staff shows from the mid-2000s, but as well as I want to trust that this director knows what he's doing, this just contributes to the miniscule side of failures.

I've always said this: even if the anime fails outright, the music aspect can be its saving grace. Dolorously, this aspect is worse than so-so. I've heard a lot of songs from Inori Minase over the years, and the OP "Hello Horizon" is a good ol' catchy song, but compared to her repertoires before, this can be placed into the bottom of a B-roll double-sided CD. What I find absolutely offending is the ED song and its visuals, which can be very comparable to a PowerPoint presentation, just add some animation of its lyrics in there to complete the song. Just pure laziness. What the hell?

All of this begs the question: "Why then contribute your work to a show where there's clearly no passion be to shown?" Realist Hero overall, can be a better show if given the right talents and a production staff team who are truly dedicated to the work. But as it stands of the current state of the anime industry, it's just rolls over to us the audience to pick up the original source material, because it's a promotional work first and foremost. We've seen big-hit works get phenomenal because of the anime doing justice to the source material (e.g. the most recent being Tokyo Revengers), but this just saddens LN fans (like a certain Typecero) and anime-onlies who wanted more from a political Isekai show such as Realist Hero.

This show could've been a decent potential series, but the anime just squandered it to insensibility and pure stupefaction. Good thing Season 2 is coming in Winter 2022, so at least the story has a continuation to cure that disease-ridden mindset.

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Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki

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Elfrieden, Liscia

Souma, Kazuya

Doma, Juna

Udgard, Aisha

Amidonia, Roroa

Inui, Tomoe

Kwonmin, Hakuya

Vargas, Carla

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Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki

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Synopsis

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Staff

Opening Theme

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