This Summer season was an absolute stinker for isekai:
- Maou-sama, Retry!: A parody that could've been better (honestly my isekai of the season).
- Arifureta: Hampered by bad production values and poor source adaptation.
- MILFsekai: More than being an isekai parody with moms being heroes, fanservice kills it much.
AND THEN, there's the absolute (no kidding) garbage that is Isekai Cheat Magician.
By far, everyone should have realized that this series obnoxiously fails in ALL aspects and pointers, and is (dare I say) not afraid to show it in the most disgustful of ways possible: the "Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V" (or "Copy and Paste") notion. Everything is taken from existing isekai stories, from the city settings to the usual tropes and cliches of isekai characters being OP for no reason, other than to exert superiority. What this series DOES DIFFERENT, is to "intentionally" summon some random-ass people to help them resolve crises so evil that only these people are the solution to the problem. How unwittingly obtuse.
Nevertheless, these are my "UN's" to exponentialize the absolute "UN-justice" of a UN-dercooked shitshow:
The story is UN-ridiculous, yet UN-scriptulous at the same time. The whole isekai thing has been done the same way ever, let me script that out for you: the magic and random summoning like KonoSuba's Kazuma, somehow the magic made the characters OP just like Isekai Smartphone's Touya, brought into the overworld that looks UN-canningly like KonoSuba, having a "harem" of girls like every other isekai harem rom-com (again, Isekai Smartphone), fighting together with the Royal Family with "willpower" that is just solely the "blessings" of the gods, with enemies that ACTUALLY have both IQ and EQ (thank God they're smart and stupid too) to acknoweldge strong characters and say: "You're strong. I acknowledge you as my rival!" (Pokemon's Ash-Gary much???) It's such a joke at this point that if Japan doesn't heed the notions of the West (which 100% they don't), this is an overexponential problem and an ass-kicking insult to the anime community outside of Japan.
The characters are just UN-interesting and UN-inspired, meh, not even decent. As far as it goes for the OP MCs Taichi and Rin, I'm not surprised if the central characters are hated from the get-go. Hell, don't get me talking about generic. Those 2 don't even reach generic levels, especially worse in the isekai setting. Taichi is easily Kazuma's level of stench, being bossy just because of his unbeatable powers, while Rin (thankfully not being Aqua) is just the support character that's just ther because her best friend's there. Oh, and she's secretly in love with him (part Rie Takahashi, part in-character expressions). WOW, TALK ABOUT LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP, in a war setting that's a overburden on their atrocious levels of situational awareness.
The support characters are not any good either. Based on how much this strange world is ascertained, the political crisis between families is the norm (which is bog-standard), but this show made me wonder what is going in the original novelist's mind, whether he/she has the knowledge to pan a GOOD setting, or rather: "Let's plan first, and think later!" Not to mention with the usual partners/enemies cliche that has been overdone at this point, I was just wishing for a not-so-predictable loophole to talk about, and the only area I can commend this show for is enemies who REALLY ACT the part of being enemies, in spirit BUT NOT in truth and honesty. Like, come on, don't beat around the bush, get straight to the point!
The art and animation are UN-impressive, simply savage to make a good point on it. I mean, if you have the word "Encourage" in your studio's name, then do a freaking good job about it! But too bad, Encourage Films, your seemingly bad art and non-existent animation causes everyone to "Encourage" spreading the word to stay the hell away from this show, and rightfully so. Don't ever think of taking another show unless it's one the studio can manage decently.
The music is absolutely horrifying and UN-kempt at doing its job to get people into the show. Starting with MYTH & ROID's OP, it is by far the worst song they've ever done (and my ear's still bleeding from it), so much so that the OP lands in a stalemate. Rie Takahashi's ED is no better either, as I'd tell you to watch other shows that stars her in a better light. Other than these things, this show is a fine example of how not to mix music badly, to cover as many layers of badly-done compositions as possible, yikes.
As a conclusion, we have (not) isekai-ed, but definitely got cheated our way into this shitshow, and cheating our way out of this show, not with being magicians, but with social influence and the likes of it. If you're here to watch the usual tryst of bad isekai shows, this is the pinnacle (thanks Japan!) of it all. Enter this show at your own safety, and whether if you managed to cheat your way out of this show or not, I applaud you regardless.
Please, for the love of the overbearing Isekai genre, if you have a sense of respect for yourself being an anime-lover, I beg you (with my knees on the floor) to avoid this AT ALL COSTS! Don't second guess, just don't pelt your feet into this show. Just. Don't.
