As far as Isekai standards go, 100-man does showcase the usual tropes and clichés, but further down the road, it becomes something that takes the same concept and flips it around on its own shell, making for a boring world somewhat unique on its own. It starts off as the stereotypical Isekai type of show that goes on and on with a large class of few characters that are nothing special to rave about, even with their "wheel of luck" skills chosen by the GM (whoever he, or "it" is) that tells them: "Whatever skills and techniques that are given to you, please utilize them to your advantage, no matter how strong or weak your class will be. Any quests that follow, please complete them like you would in a bog-standard RPG. Questions-wise, the quest finisher may ask me only 1 question and I would answer your assumptions."
Pretty conventional and shallow stuff (except the "class setting" anyways), but the world-building gradates at a snail's pace to the point of excruciating-ness (due to the many fillers that was placed in the anime for time-padding, that took off valuable screentime for the adaptation, sad but I kinda understand after finishing the anime). I know this because all of this is not what it seems deep down the rabbit hole in the manga, but to be clear, all of what the anime has showcased, ALL OF IT, IS JUST A PROLOGUE. Ever thought what will it be like if the Isekai world is in parallel with the real world? We're only just getting started! And yeap, there's a Season 2 coming soon in the Summer season next year to expand this story.
What's unassuming at first is the cast of characters, with the misanthrope of an MC and diverse personalities of the girls (because harem, yes, but not in the way you'd expect):
Yotsuya Yuusuke is your typical braggart kind of character, the lonesome loner and a vehement hater of humanity. All he desires for is a world that twists logic and explanation that favours his way of thinking, and be the protagonist of his own "idealistic heroism" villain hero tactics, while at the cusp of people far more popular than him. Case in point:
Shindou Iu, a multi-faceted girl that's the "school idol" for everything, from studies to athletics. Beyond all that however, she's the opposite of Yotsuya in "another world", and that she's a confident but nervous wreck that needs assistance, because of societal implications that could affect her popularity in the real world of trying to ask Yotsuya, would brand her as a normie. Yeap, very stereotypical.
Kusue Hakozaki, think of her like Bofuri's Maple, but average in every way. Like Shindou, she is someone that relies on people to get things moving while acting as normal as they could be. Oh, did I not mention that these 3 are classmates who can get Isekai-ed back and forth to their original and "another" worlds? Well, that's a first (and a very important plot device later in the story).
Yuka Tokitake, she's the messiest of the group. A girl who's constantly being bullied (until Yotsuya saved her), and an otaku, not to mention their version of PreCure's. If anything, she is one obnoxious girl that many of us will feel like she has no place in this story plot, but I'd guess feeding her ideals DID at least move the story forward in a crucial episode of the 'heroes' group's lives.
Kahabell (or Kahvel as the anime applies), a fierce "knight in shining armor" of a girl fighting for her justice. And oh look, another NPC girl to "fall in love" from! Like seriously, can't this show relax its "romance" aspect one too often? Luckily, Yotsuya is anything but a typical MC, sincerely rejecting her appeals and going in for the cause instead of just pandering around (like so many MCs do).
An interesting team of characters, and while I would say that none of them really stand out on their own, you could easily guess that their selling point is indeed, their individualistic "realisms" and how every step of the way expands on the story and world-building. Though small efforts, but big ones as the story setting and plot progresses from form to function, pacing the main cast together with every struggle along the way, and for good measure. On a side note, never mind my sadness, because where the anime lacked, the manga made it up by a ton.
And the animation, oh golly god. For a small and inexperienced new studio like Maho Film to work on 2 simultaneous adaptations in the same season (this "action-heavy" one and Kami-tachi, the slime "Iyashikei" SoL one), that's really stretching their miniscule "number of (40) employees" to the limit (to which I'd put a pun to say: Limited Budget Works). Remember, their very first animation work of Uchi no Musume (the "For my daughter, defeat Demon Lord" show because I'm too lazy for super-long LN titles), that was released to moderate fanfare in Summer last year, it was just okay and really nothing special. So to work on 2 shows within the span of a year, that's quite the crunch I would expect the anime industry to imitate suit from. All I can say for 100-man, is that if you're expecting some decent action, don't hold hopes for this one as it'll only feed you just enough at the very bare minimum to keep things going. Interestingly enough, the cartoonish art style at Episode 1 is also not just for show, it's just an extra in aesthetics, so props to experimentation?
The music however, may just be the star of the show itself. More than the standard OST that was given of songs that fit the series well, another experimentation of that one episode of the annoying otaku Yuka's dreams, they actually made an opening sequence just for cringe-fest and laughs, but it's real (it's even on YouTube so you can check that out if you're so inclined). Honestly, the OP/ED range from decent to fairly good, and that's as much about it that I can say in the music department.
If I have to recommend which is the better one, after some ranting in-between (of which whether you caught or not), you don't need me to infer that the manga is the way to go if you want to experience 100-man at its best. As much as the anime adaptation did somewhat a loose job at recreating the "series of unfortunate events" of heroes with good intentions gone wrong, I can tell you to binge the first few chapters, and the estimated reading time will be faster or on par with a single episode's runtime (compared to how the anime took 3 months just to reach to the plot twist).
Good try Maho Film, but this is a disappointment, and the 1st fail out of 2 concurrently airing shows. Go read the manga instead if you feel so inclined to know what's beyond the surface for now, and wait upon Season 2 coming soon in July.
