Choujin Koukousei-tachi wa Isekai demo Yoyuu de Ikinuku you desu! / First Impressions

「ルーは自分の価値を自分で決めたようです！」 (Ruu wa jibun no kachi o jibun de kimeta youdesu!)
“It Seems Roo Can Decide Her Own Worth!”

Three weeks in and the results are clear: if you don’t know where Choyoyu is heading you’re not thinking hard enough. From saving the world and finding a way home to really indulging in all manner of wish fulfillment this one is holding no punches, and as this episode shows the fun (or predictability) is only just getting started. Isekai is as isekai does, and Choyoyu won’t be falling far from the tree.

Although I may be growing a soft spot for Choyoyu as mentioned last week, it’s frankly impossible to ignore just where this story originates and its level of storytelling. Case in point here is Roo, where we not only get the sob story family separation script, but have it paired with slavery to boot, because emotions! Catharsis! Overly harsh? Maybe just a smidgen, but these sort of sledgehammer expositions and setups are ubiquitous light novel developments, and no matter how smooth or integrated into the overall story they are, they still feel superficial compared against more tempered and subtle methods. It’s not difficult for example seeing where Masato and his three man coin collection crew go from that point, because puppy (kitty?) dog eyes and spunky determination are the bread and butter of instigating future conflicts, no matter the lengths required. Make no mistake, I’m still enjoying this show quite a bit, but a little narrative uncertainty can often go a long way.

Where predictability bleeds over into as well is with our current conflict and first real source of tension with the guardian knights. It was pretty clear from the very beginning that something would happen on this front, and while the exact means were unknown (never thought Lyrule would play the damsel in distress for example), the setup was fairly obvious. Our seven prodigies lack information and will have to leave their village to find a way home eventually, so what better way than by prodding them into doing so? I’m honestly getting a good chuckle out of how stereotypically arrogant and decadent the enemies in this arrangement are (telling the peasantry to all but go and die? Never went wrong before), but it’s certainly a good way to start broadening Choyoyu’s worldly horizons. There’s a critical piece of the isekai puzzle in the seven heroes myth still missing, and with magic supposedly restricted to a very select few, also a magically adept person to start exploring ways back home with. For all that Choyoyu sticks to the garden path there’s a surprising bit of meat on its bones to get through, and with six protagonists still more or less waiting for their moments in the spotlight, plenty of chances to start digging in.

It’s still unknown for me whether I’ll be covering this one through, but without a doubt Choyoyu is one isekai which won’t be leaving anything up in the air.

11 Comments

  2. This is full blown guilty pleasure wish fulfillment to the point that it’s almost embarrassing but I have to say I’m actually really enjoying it. The fanservice is kept to a minimum (so far) and the surprisingly gender balanced (ish) cast are likable enough and allowed to show off their skills. It also probably helps that I avoid most Isekai shows like the plague so theres no real burn out yet.

    sosbrigade1991
    Reply

  3. LN/manga mentions the bathhouse uses recycled cooling water, it’s not a hot spring.
    They’ve been pumping water to Ringo’s aluminium machine as coolant. Rather than just dumping the hot water, Tsukasa decided to reuse it for the bathhouse. Ringo’s also accounted for storage and treatment of related industrial waste.

    zztop
    Reply

    1. Does the LN/manga do a better job of explaining the doctor and the magician’s hijinks? Because miracle surgery and poofing people out of a burning building in a puff of smoke are pushing believably for me even for a show like this.

      qwert
      Reply

  4. https://randomc.net/image/Choyoyu/Choyoyu%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2036.jpg
    Someone is going to start a revolution. Another good anime, with elves, to add to my list.
    https://randomc.net/image/Choyoyu/Choyoyu%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
    No matter which world, assume humans are evil especially in an isekai world. It is good that this is not some “heroes summoned to fight the demon lord” case but rather this is humans summoned to correct the world that is being polluted by corrupt humans.

    Greed
    Reply

    1. Show Spoiler ▼

      zztop
      Reply

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