Story:
The story revolves around the Shinichi Kanou, a hikkikomori (or shut in) and otaku who, after a period of deep reclusion, has decided to get a get job. After acing an online test, and performing well in his follow up interview, Shinichi was offered a job. Right after accepting the job offer, he is drugged and wakes in an unfamiliar room. He discovers that he’s been transported to an alternate dimension, to new world, by the Japanese government. He has been hired as an ambassador to the Holy Eldant Empire, a kingdom in this new world. His mission is to bring otaku culture, anime, manga, etc., to the Holy Eldant Empire in order to strengthen its relationship with Japan.
As mentioned earlier, this story is a parody comedy series, and it makes several references to other anime, manga, and other things in otaku culture. The series also pokes fun of, and pays homage to, several anime tropes. These references are not only funny, but they manage to always keep the series interesting. I not only enjoyed the references that Outbreak Company made in its dialogue, but I also liked the more subtle references, such as posters and figures of some of my favorite characters in the background.
While this is a comedy series, it actually does have a pretty interesting narrative that touches on several different themes. The story addresses issues like racism, classism, and politics, which makes it that much more entertaining to watch.
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t come to a very satisfying conclusion. While there is an “ending” it still leaves some things unsaid, and some questions unanswered. And the last couple of episodes did feel a little rushed, as they tried to kick the story into high gear.
Animation:
Outbreak Company’s animation was really well done, with well-defined characters and good-looking background scenery. There are some scenes, specifically some action scenes, that I would’ve liked to actually see the actions taking place, but they decided to just use a shaky background image instead of actually animating it. While the animation isn’t great, it’s definitely good, quality animation.
Characters:
While Shinichi Kanou is the star of Outbreak Company, the series does feature two other main characters, Myucel Foaran, Shinichi’s maid, Petralka Anne Eldante III, the empress of the Holy Eldant Empire, as well as several other supporting characters. Most of the characters in this series suffer from a lack of a proper background story and development, including our main characters. The amount of information we get about each of the characters varies. While some characters will have a fairly detailed backstory, others’ backstories will be only briefly mentioned and explored, if they are ever mentioned at all. Also, while there are some characters that do develop over the course of the series, others tend to either stay the same, or change very little.
With all of that being said, all of the characters are very likeable and enjoyable to watch. The character’s interactions with one another are also entertaining. The relationships between the characters do have a decent amount of development, and it was entertaining to see how each of the character’s relationships changed over the course of the series.
Sound:
Outbreak Company’s soundtrack (OST) is large and varied. It features several orchestral sounding songs, some that are more epic and grand, and others that are more peaceful. The OST also features songs from other genres, from folk sounding pieces to march. It has a good balance of fast and slower paced songs, as well as a good balance between songs that are more grand and complex, and other songs that were incredibly simple. There are also some songs in the OST that are just, for lack of a better word, quirky, but very catchy at the same time. While watching this series the OST can get buried, and you might not even notice how many songs the OST actually has. This isn’t helped by the fact that there are plenty of songs in the OST that sound very similar to one another. But, all in all, Outbreak Company has a very good OST.
Enjoyment:
I had a really fun time watching Outbreak Company. Everything from the funny and interesting references, to poking fun at anime tropes, to the very likeable characters made this series entertaining to watch.
Verdict & Breakdown:
Story: 4/5
Animation: 3.9/5
Characters: 3.7/5
Sound: 4.2/5
Enjoyment: 4.1/5
Verdict: 4/5
Outbreak Company is a very entreating series, and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of anime and or otaku culture.
