Isekai Nonbiri Nouka

What an absolute gem of a show. It's an incredibly relaxing and heartwarming experience that made me feel like I was right there on the farm alongside the characters. The animation is breathtaking and captures the serene beauty of the countryside perfectly. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and I found myself fully invested in their stories. The pacing is perfect, allowing the viewer to fully immerse themselves in the peaceful atmosphere of the farm. I found myself feeling calm and content every time I watched an episode. It's a must-watch for anyone looking for a heartwarming and relaxing anime experience. everything about this show ... is amazing it absolutely needs a season 2 asap it was knowledgeable and also so fun to watch it deserved a 10/10 from me instantly

Oh god, here we go again with another Isekai/fantasy show, only this time, try to guess what it is imitating from the real world: that's right, Stardew Valley, or more appropriately, Rune Factory.

Well, I mean, for a title like lone novelist Kinosuke Naito's Isekai Nonbiri Nouka a.k.a Farming Life in Another World, the idea of getting a headstart if you're a rather new author trying to nitpick about what has NOT come out of the overly saturated Isekai/fantasy genres in the past decade. Unfortunately, this being a Syosetu title that has been launched since the very tail end of 2016 and earning as much as ... 14 volumes of content (as if the time of this review) in the few years since its serialization to now, I really question myself: is it THIS easy to hardsell to Japanese manga/novel companies that the idea of turning Rune Factory into a light novel is a noble concept? Sure, the executives would want to believe so, because while this contributes to sales, we the audience just get wholesomely fumbled around a setting like this which just works decent at best. And given today's landscape of the Isekai/fantasy genre, it's already washed out of its welcome faster than one could ever imagine.

Meet Hiraku Machio, the 39-year-old guy who died of the typical terminal illness in real life and got Isekai-ed into another world. Recognized by God giving him a second chance at life because of what he went through of a life constantly filled with bad luck, He grants Machio the Omnipotent Farming Tool and lands him in the same typical forested area that's far from civilization. Armed with God's Holy Artifact Multi-Purpose Tool from the get-go because of his wish to be a farmer, Machio's location resides deep within an area known for causing a potentially heated conflict between kingdoms, but he doesn't care about at the very slightest. With the largest tree around the vicinity for his farm, this is Machio's redemption at a second life, the Minecraft-cum-Rune Factory style-esque life that's a peaceful one to behold.

When you take a look at this simple premise, the possibilities are endless, as such with the show (and the original source material) in mind. From demi-humans to monsters incoming from the largest tree controlling all traffic incoming and outgoing of demi-humans and monsters alike transforming from being hostile to being like home, it's of no doubt that Machio is doing a great thing for anyone who is in refuge or comes basically for the sole interest of wanting to know more about this new village. Such is with the very first species coming to form their home with him: the Greater Wolves Kuro and Yuki, who were angry at their home has been tarnished by some unknown person and looking for retaliation. Well, the first innings were hostile for Machio, but subsequently with yet another demon spider, the cotton knitting Zabuton, life in this new village begins to take hold, slowly but surely. This raises some attention from the possible inhabitants, like the first few people to come to his village: the vampire Ru and angel Tia. These two are frenemies that have a bit of hostility around them, but in the sight of Machio, work their hardest because both of them are the base foundations for more people to come. Ru has an interest in medicine to grow medicinal plants, and Tia brought in livestock, as well as his family of Killer Angels and Lizardmen to help out in the establishment of the village (the so-called First Steps if you will). Overtime, more and more people like high-elves (led by Ria), elder dwarves (led by Donovan) and even dragons (led by Dryme) come to commune and do negotiations with Machio being the mayor of this growing and vibrant community they call: The Great Tree Village. It's certainly a work of art of how with one simple man wanting a second chance at life, armed with God's Tool of choice, can make one hell of a town that has anything and everything at their shoulders: a strong military from elves and monsters, great resources from demihumans, and a mayor who is steadfast, Machio's work here certainly is not for the faint of heart, subsequently earning himself a harem and families for future generations who'll live to tell the tale of their parents residing in the once-forested village that they can call home. The one SOLE problem I have with this, is that sexual relations are non-existest in the anime (though there are the obvious subtle hints), and I can understand by making this show PG enough to retain the standard, but it feels like a shame that's not inside.

This is quite a simple show to adapt with so much content available at the seams, so it should not be a problem for studio Zero-G and its in-house director Ryouichi Kuraya, along with his staff team to make the best of the adaptation. And for one, certainly its colourful, but yet childishly playful with the comic book-like animation sequences to make for the fact that this is a show that anyone could pick it up and have a good time with it. It's overall in good heart and I wholeheartedly appreciate it for what it is.

Along with the OST, Ru and Tia's character VA OP song "Flower Ring" has a nice tune to it that sounds just as good, and while Vtuber Hizuki Yui's ED "Feel the winds" matches and compliments the feel-good OP, it has an easter egg that only the sharp viewer will be able to catch: notice that each and every character is holding a flower? The ED has different versions floating around the show with its many characters, and each of them holds a yellow rose, signifying their involvement in The Great Tree Village as symbols of friendship. It's nuances like these which help elevate something even as simple as an ending with the watercolour palette.

Y'know, I wish I can really say that this was at least good. But this was a decent adaptation of the LN, albeit with content that was cut primarily because of TV regulations, and even without it, Isekai Nonbiri Nouka would've been a rather sleeper hit of the season with its simplistic storytelling, enriching characters and a generally overall good atmosphere. It's just decent, that's all I can really say about shows like these. But if you're feeling the pinch, try this show, you will not be disappointed.

"The nothing isekai"

A show literally filled with nothingness. It borrows some ideas from various other shows, then does nothing with them.

First up of course is the farming aspect, since it's already right there in the title. Well, it's just as interesting as one wave of the hand with a magical "All-purpose Farming Tool", then pretending you actually did some work. Nothingness incarnate.

Then for another example, it pretends to have a harem aspect at first, with tons of different races and personalities for the waifus-to-be, directly talking about how they need to repopulate their tribes and stuff, then we just see the MC complain about ... being the only man in the village and seek ways to bring other men in and do nothing of the situation. The whole topic is completely avoided for the most part except where absolutely unavoidable. In the manga we are told about the number of waifus on "night duty" in one text bubble when the first pregnancy is found out of the blue and then the topic is forgotten again. Here in the anime even that is skipped so you'd actually think he only does that one girl.

So, instead of harem, you may think it's turned into a romance then? Nope, even that's reduced to nothing somehow. When the first girl shows up and saves him from loneliness and they start living together it sure looks promising, but as more and more girls come around that aspect is just forgotten. He's never shown to treat any girl like anything special until the sudden pregnancy announcement. There were never any romantic moments or interactions, let alone discussions about their views about marriage, exclusivity or such.

Another aspect is village/city/country building/governance, but it again feels just barely glossed over and lacking details or common sense. It's just there, it happens, and that's all that can be said about it. The politics and interactions with neighbors are even more absurdly trivialized. Everyone is just automatically in awe of the new country's might and power and thus best buds by default, there is no conflict and clearly there never will be, so that aspect too leads to nothing.

You can watch this if you want to kill some time, it's not completely terrible. So long as you expect nothing from it, it will deliver.