OP Sequence

OP: 「REAL-EYES」by Inori Minase

「虎の威を借るアミドニア」 (Tora no I o Karu Amidonia)
“Amidonia in a Lion’s Skin”

And so it begins, the second half of the grand geopolitical adventure. Or as is otherwise known, the sequel I never thought we’d see. Much as highlighted back at the end of Genjitsu’s first half, this was a series I swore would be a one and done advertising affair, but the anime gods answered and so here we are getting another healthy dose of isekai’d political scheming. Yes, I might be a tad excited.

Given Genjitsu’s second season is a direct continuation of the first I won’t waste a lot of time on synopsis or refresher – if you haven’t seen it yet go do so because spoilers will be plentiful, or give my earlier coverage a perusal for any missing blanks. In short, however, Genjitsu is pretty much what happens when the OP isekai protagonist winds up losing his physical powers in place of mental. Main man Kazuya (Kobayashi Yuusuke), a political science student, gets transplanted into alternate world-ville because reasons, winds up being made king because he sees a way to save his new home Elfrieden, and gets all the girls he could dream of and then some. It’s effectively Maouyuu Maou Yuusha in harem form, so if you love that you’ll be right at home here.

In terms of the actual opener though, not much really on plate right away. Continuing right where we left off last year, Kazuya has finished making the kingdom of Amidonia pay for their attempt to change the local balance of power and is now staring down the barrels of imperial annoyance. It’s pretty much your usual power disparity at work: the Empire (as Kazuya highlights) needs to maintain their stature and thus must have Elfrieden relinquish their gains, but does not want to fight a war which could call into question that stature. Sure, Elfrieden would likely be defeated and Amidonia brought back from the grave, but the cost could potentially see the Empire weakened and its authority later challenged. In effect Kazuya is betting on this to try and finagle a middle ground out of the Empire, one which will see Amidonia held onto as an Elfrieden possession (either in annexation or alliance) but it’s ultimately a game of chicken which relies heavily on how Jeanne (Ishikawa Yui) will act.

Part of the fun of this too stems from all the mention of Amidonia’s populace and what it implies. Kazuya after all doesn’t have much ground for retaining Amidonia under imperial terms – but he would if Amidonia’s people decide that’s what they want. I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if some sort of plebiscite results from this arc, where Kazuya more or less instills democracy and uses the weapons of peace and prosperity to achieve his desired outcome. It’s underhanded, it’s disingenuous, but it’s perfectly in line with how our world works and would give a good taste of where I expect this season to go. The first season after all simply laid the groundwork to boost the isekai kid onto the world stage, now it’s up to him to show what he’s really made of once the big boys (well, girls in this case) come to play.

We’ll just have to see how well he can rise to the challenge.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「LIGHTS」by Aimi

9 Comments

  1. There’s a small continuity mistake at about 20 minutes : Aisha’s sword handle is suddenly over her left shoulder when you see her in the background, even though it was on her right before. Then it’s on her right again…
    Damn I hate those, it speaks of laziness.

    Weird D
  2. I’m a little surprised that Julius Amidonia was willing to meet with Kazuya after being told to make for the hill and save himself by Gaius. I guess having someone from the Gran Chaos Empire aid in the negotiations washes away the embarrassment of a noble turning tail. Also I am surprised that Julius isn’t a little more prepared when negotiating with Kazuya when Gaius Amidonia was literally bested in the war.

    It seems to me like Kazuya is measuring Julius to see if he can truly rule the Principality of Amidonia or if Julius is even ready for this responsibility? …Just my thoughts.

    RenaSayers
    1. I mean Julius had no choice but to meet him. He is the current leader of Adimonia, and came to negotiate for his capital back. The fact that he relied on the Gran Chaos Empire to do it would be even more embarrassing.

      Pretty sure Kazuya was trying to see if Julius would be a threat to him rather than anything else.

      Tegual
  3. I started reading the Genjitsu LN immediately after the first season and I am hooked! I really like the exploration of how to raise a nation into prosperity and what it means to be an effective leader. Though not a standard isekai, I am very much enjoying the LN and the anime.

    Of course, I need to touch upon our main man Souma’s harem. I’m glad Roroa is going to be a full part of the main case this season and can’t wait to see some scenes from the LN animated. My favorite of the currently introduced members is Liscia.

    There is another character that has become my favorite from the LN, but I won’t spoil who it is because I don’t believe they will be introduced this season. I wish I knew how to put a spoiler tag so I could talk about them a bit.

    Infra90
  4. I find the sudden “turning of militarised nationalist city into flourishing culture center” highly doubtful… sorry but in real life Julius would have field day running guerilla campaign – and our protagonist would see bridges he has built immediately blown up, preferrably when his soldiers are crossing…
    For a series so priding itself on realism, this is highly wishful thinking…

    ewok40k
    1. It is more believable than a hero with no equal randomly conquering a city and then its never seen again because everyone is happy. It is also clear that the rulers weren’t liked, so it is not surprising that once freed of the oppressive yoke that was their former king they’d want to express themselves. Not that it is actually that realistic that it would be this quick mind you.

      Also you assume that guerilla tactics and targeting supply lines is common, but based on its setting, neither of these would have even been a consideration. Consider the fact that until the 19th century most armies would forage or forcibly requisition supplies from wherever they march why would you blow up a bridge that is behind enemy lines when you could just blow up the enemy?

      Tegual
  5. Honestly, the series main flaw is Souma’s anachronisms go over a bit TO well. It is generally true that nationalism was much weaker in the past with people often being content to change hands to just be oppressed by a different ruler as long it wasn’t actively worse somehow.

    Knot

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