Edomae Elf

I believe this show was a waste of potential.

The idea is cool and different. In short, the story is basically about the daily life of Koito (a shrine maiden - 'miko') and Elda (the deity of the shrine).
The cool and different idea relies on Elda, which is an Elf and on top of that a recluse who is into Otaku-things.

The problem is that they didn´t explore much of that uniqueness, and in the end the anime might end up just being 'another one' you will add to your list. For example: If Elda wasn´t an Elf, it wouldn´t change much except for the ... psychological effect that instead of a human she´s an Elf - they ocassionaly and randomly talk about her past (Edo period etc) but it doesn´t add much. She being recluse is poorly explored as well - they just show she´s afraid of going out and of interaction with other people and that is basically it.

-------- OTHERS:

- The secondary / support characters are fine. Honorable mention to Yord which made things more interesting and enjoyable to watch. Ah! There is Koito´s imouto (Koyuzu); the cute reliable imouto ^~^

- The animation is good enough but where this anime shines most is its art, which is very pretty in my opinion.

- Catchy OP music. As expected every seiyu did an amazing job, but honorable mention to Yord and specially Elda´s seiyu.

CONCLUSION: An anime that had potential for more but its uniquness wasn´t fully explored, but it might have a few scenes here and then that you might enjoy, specially if you are looking for a chill / easy going anime.

Edomae Elf is a slice-of-life anime adaptation set in modern-day Japan featuring an eternally young elf. The story follows said young elf called Elda, who is transported to Edo period Japan from her home in another world. Elda must learn to adapt to life in Edo, and she soon finds herself caught up to be enjoying her new life as an enshrined goddess in the Takamimi Shrine. While it may not be a show for everyone, it offers an interesting concept worth exploring.
The anime introduces a world where elves and Japanese tradition and religion coexist. This blend of fantasy elements and cultural aspects creates a ... distinctive backdrop for the story. However, it's important to note that the execution may not be flawless.
The character development is decent but doesn't always reach its full potential. Elda, alongside her shrine maiden and the various parishioners, embarks on everyday misadventures that provide insights into their personalities. Yet, some characters may feel underdeveloped, leaving room for improvement.

Pros
- The art is beautiful, and the characters are charming.
- The story is funny and heartwarming, with a touch of magic.
- It's a great introduction to Japanese history and culture.
Cons
- The pacing can be slow at times.
- Some of the humor may be lost on younger audiences.
- Nothing happens, as it is just a slice-of-life show.

Overall
Edomae Elf is a sweet anime adaptation that is perfect for slice-of-life fans. However, the slow pacing may be a turn-off for some demographics.
If you're looking for a light and fluffy anime, then Edomae Elf is a great choice. The art is beautiful, the characters are charming, and the story is humorous. However, if you're looking for a more fast-paced or action-packed show, other shows can beat this show easily.

Otaku elf is about an elf that is an Otaku. That is all.

Seriously that's it, that's the show. It does play with a few very interesting concepts though. Same as with (the devil is a part-timer) Elda the elf got isekai summoned to our world. The difference being this didn't just happen, she's been around for 400 years and is fully integrated into human culture... maybe too integrated even.

The show instead explores other aspects that don't come up often in this kind of story. What if you suddenly ended up in a world were people's life spans was barely a blink of an eye ... to you? Generation after generation are born, they grow up, they die. While you stay exactly the same.

Trends change, buildings and roads change, everything around you changes. And you are there all alone.

It's a dark concept and the show tends to use humor to diffuse the heavy moments but one thing it does is show both sides of this. How Elda is a shut-in because all of this is rather dizzying and painful to her. How others appreciate that in a world that is always changing there is one thing that is constant and that it's on their side watching over them.

It also gives the other characters interesting personalities. I love that Koito gives off a cute & earthly vibe but tries so hard for elegant and upper class... while getting shut down by everyone even herself. It's cute and relatable. The artwork shifting between bishoujo and goofy sorta adds to the cute vibe as well.

The blatant product placement though... ew. I mean, it makes sense with Elda being an Otaku and all. But still ew.

So, what I expected was a comedy show built around main characters and gags involving Neets and Otaku subcultural context mixed with Shrines and such.
What I got was mostly a tourist guide to some places in Japan selling you a trip for a vacation with historical subtext involved.
The Guide part is done very well, detailed and curious, if that's what you might find interesting, but the low key product placements in the show and the overall vibe made me feel detached from the show and eventually felt like a long Ad involving elves.

Not so much a comedy as I hoped, not that funny as ... a comedy to stick to it.

If Isekai Oji-san focused too much on the other world, then Edomae Elf is a show that focuses too much on slice-of-life interactions and none of the exciting aspects of the possible setting that the story enables.

Edomae Elf has a solid foundation for a slice of life tinged with comedic undertones in the day-to-day interactions of Takamimi Shrine's Goddess, Elda, and her Miko, Koito. The interactions, reactions, voice acting, pacing, and delivery of certain comedic scenes are good. However, the story boxes itself in with too little variety in the types of scenes that Elda and Koito appear in. All of the side characters are ... quite lame and barely show up. It's a shame because a solid supporting cast would have propped up the show massively. While Koito and Elda's interactions are good and sweet sometimes, the lack of variety and simplicity of the delivery of scenes kills it for me.

There easily could have been a way to avoid this. Either change up the setting a bit, have more side characters or character involvement, or or do what Isekai Ojisan did, which was focused entirely on the exciting past of the MC, which is in this case, Elda. Elda has a 400-year-long past with Japan, and she always brings up her old experiences and how times have changed. This can range anything from the way food was prepared, the culture around going outside at night, technological advances, and the systems that governed people's lives. It's usually a nice history lesson that ties into the current situation, but this pseudo-history lesson could have been much more. If the anime actually focused on these past scenes, then the show would have had so much more variety. Unfortunately, these past bits of history that Elda tells are always a small subtheme of the episode rather than developing anything more.

A shame that this show is just a bit too bland and generic to truly be good.