Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「たとえどれだけ、この乙女ゲー世界が厳しくても」 (Tatoe Dore dake, Kono Otomegee Sekai ga Kibishikute mo)
“No Matter How Tough the World of Otome Games is”
And all is well that ends well. Or would be, if there was a damn sequel announcement. While I am going to be a sad panda for rest of the day knowing this is all we get of Mobseka for the foreseeable future, I can at least rest happy knowing this series went out exactly as it came in. Enemies were bested; loyal (and thoroughly hilarious) AI sidekicks made their public debut; and the romantic prospects started truly entering their own. Even pint-sized pipsqueak relations found some time to reinforce their presence and the fact they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Yes, it might be a tad disappointing Mobseka is leaving it off here, but if modern anime has shown us anything of late it’s that eventual sequel announcements are more likely than not, even if the timing isn’t always that predictable. And hey, even if there isn’t one coming, at least we got 12 episodes worth of fantastic isekai entertainment. Personally I wouldn’t call that a bad deal at all. And now onto those impressions!
Final Impressions
Considering how overpopulated the isekai ‘genre’ is becoming at this point, it would be incredibly easy to write off series like Mobseka at a glance. These shows don’t really offer anything new, they play to the same tropes and concepts seen time and again, and (arguably for the worst) make few attempts to actually push the boundaries of just what’s possible for their material. And yet that’s what makes Mobseka all the more fun, because it does exactly what’s required to stand out from a crowd of such similar peers: be entertaining.
The biggest selling point of Mobseka is arguably that is makes no excuses for what it is. This one knows it’s a generic isekai, so it sets out to be the best of what generic isekais are about. Inevitably this comes down to humour: Mobseka takes its central premise (otome game world), cranks it to eleven, drapes it in parody, and lets its main cast go hog wild. The result is a series with a lot of tongue in cheek comedy, one thoroughly comfortable in its own skin and willing to let its genericity drive it along. So what if the world makes no sense and has doubled down on the two lines of coke and whiskey chaser variety of story writing? Here it’s all about the fun had along the way, and Mobseka truly wasted no effort in ensuring every step was its own adventure.
Part of what also helps Mobseka succeed with its approach is its characters. Although there’s no denying the cookie cutter saw lots of use in this series (looking at you Angelica and Olivia), the willingness to give Leon in particular some noticeable faults and actually explore them added an essential degree of depth many an isekai lack these days. Make no mistake, it’s not to say Leon is overly complex (it’s not that sort of show!), but that his bravado, moxie, and comedic odiousness were nicely balanced out through misunderstandings and Luxion’s own hilarious version of playing the straight man. Hell even otherwise throwaway characters like the prince’s party found moments to explore their own weaknesses, ensuring in part that Mobseka always had something interesting to see week in and week out. Just goes to show that sometimes all you need is a bit of imagination to rise above the limits.
Overall while Mobseka isn’t breaking any boundaries or testing the limits of its material, this is one show which (if you haven’t already seen it) any isekai fan or any comedy fan should give a spin when they have the chance. It didn’t look like much before airing, it really came out of nowhere this season, but it shows just how important execution and having fun can be when selling your concept and making it work. Whether or not Mobseka can land a sequel in the future (and I really hope it does), it will be an excellent example of just what isekai can do with even the most stereotypical of foundations. Just have to hope more upcoming shows can follow in its footsteps.
I would love to watch another season of this show. Wanting to see Leon fail his way upwards the noble ranks and rile the rest with his success. Now that he is raised to be a Viscount, the next title jump is Count/Earl.
Thank you for covering such a “better than it had any right to be” series.
Thanks for enjoying it! And oh yes, it was definitely better than it had any right to be 😀
It’s certainly a fun show, but I really wished it had a bigger budget. Make the faces slightly more consistent. Of course my real major complaint is that the five princes aren’t bishi enough. XD Get that pretty but utterly useless fact right down.
The star of the show is definitely Leon and his “pay to win” sidekick. Very few isekai protagonists are hated by almost everyone and actually revel in his own notoriety. The karma he gets from getting promotions is strangely amusing too.
On a final note, I’d really like to try an otome game like this. Though based on Leon’s comments, might actually ditch all the princes if they all consistently underperform. Would hitch Olivia with a mob chara too based on performance. XD
Personally I had little issue with the budget, especially considering the mechs were mostly 2D. Never got the hate for the art style either, it honestly wasn’t that bad.
Another season!
> Even pint-sized pipsqueak relations found some time to reinforce their presence and the fact
> they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
If you are referring to Maria (I think that’s her name) there should be less of her.
Oh yeah it’s about her, and IMO I think her presence is worthwhile. She provides a comedic antagonist counter to Leon which gives this series legs. After all she’s also after being the Saint and so far Olivia has only picked up one of the necessary artifacts to claim the title.
Readers say the anime covered the 1st 2 LN volumes. Which is a pity because apparently Vols 1-3 make up a conclusive 1st story arc,
Adapting volume 3 would add at least six more episodes so it understandable.
Volume 3 is equal to 75% of vol 1 and 2 combined so I think they might be able to pull 12 episodes without skipping dialogue and a good war.
but can’t put expectation much since the studio still didn’t have enough experience
I kinda enjoyed it. I do wish they would have finished the arc but i understand that 12 episodes is nowhere near enough with what happens in the third book. My biggest grip is that it would be 6~8 episodes and quite frankly the next arc just isn’t as good and way longer.
Confirm mobseka second season or we riot!