First Impressions / Mondai-Ji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?

「お風呂であんなコトやこんなコトだそうですよ？」 (Ofuro de Anna Koto ya Konna Koto da Sou Desu yo?)
“Sounds Like We’re Doing All Sorts of Stuff in the Bath Together?”

You is badass. Every time I say that it feels like I’m breaking all the laws of English grammar. It almost hurts to do it. But she really is, even if she wasn’t the one who won this time. Every week I find I like Mondaiji more, purely because these characters are only getting better and better as we learn more about them through their actions. While there is a fair bit of exposition at times (mostly surrounding the powers), when it comes to the characters themselves, Mondaiji abides strictly by the rule of ‘show don’t tell‘ and this earns it massive points from me. It helps a lot that the characters are both shameless and somehow noble at the same time.

I love that the trio have already slipped comfortably into considering the community as their own. You just wants to make friends (the grammar… it hurts…), Asuka seems like the kind of girl who might be used to taking charge of organisations, and Izayoi has his own desire to have fun and destroy anything strong. It’s impressive just how much Izayoi’s actions towards Jin speak about his personality. While yes, his core motive is essentially personal gain, he could still have presented his own name to the masses, his own deeds granting him the reputation needed to build his own band from the ground up. Yet instead he chooses to help Jin rebuild their nameless community while being the true force behind it, getting none of the recognition. At heart he’s a good guy. A self-centred one maybe, but still a good guy.

With no name or flag to represent them, reputation is really the only thing their community has left. Before anything (and Stilts could probably chime in on this better than I can), they needed a name to stand at the forefront, something people could remember and pass on to others. Jin’s name is probably logically the better choice, being constructed in a manner familiar to inhabitants of the world whereas Izayoi’s is foreign and there are claims that due to the way the memory works, it’s harder to memorise foreign names than it is those in your native language (perhaps someone could confirm whether this actually holds any real truth). Now that we have a memorable name, a reputation is required so that people have a reason to care and spread the word to others while simultaneously drawing in both new recruits and potential foes. Establishing a somewhat controversial reputation is amongst the quickest ways to spread the word (controversy tends to spread faster and wider than any other kind of marketing) and help the community grow in strength much faster than it otherwise would. What better way to cause controversy than to claim to have the power to easily overthrow the most powerful beings in the world order?

Of course, neither You nor Izayoi (just kill me now) were the ones to shine this episode. That honour went to Asuka (though You is really fucking badass). I always suspected there would be more to her gift, revealed this week to be ‘Authority’, and it turns out I was right. The logical assumption based on its name is that it would allow her to command almost anything, animate or not. It seems that’s not quite the case though – instead it allows her to control gifts. I’m not entirely certain as to how this works since it was phrased rather vaguely – at this point it seems to essentially allow her to use any gift, but by command rather than instinctively. Whether this is actually how it works, I’m not quite sure. Perhaps future episodes will clarify.

Amidst all that went on, there was a casual remark about a former member of the community, once Demon Lord and now reduced to a slave being sold off as a prize in one of the Gift Games. This was actually quite an effective remark – not only does it tell us what to expect in future episodes and hint at a new comrade, but it gives us a glimpse into the world itself without the need for lengthy exposition. If one can go from being a Demon Lord to a mere slave, ranks in the Little Garden must be rather transitory – it will be interesting to learn exactly what gives people their ranks and whether anyone can become a Demon Lord through sheer power alone. The other thing which has greatly piqued my curiosity is just what Leticia Drakurea’s (Tatsumi Yukio) plan could be. She obviously wants something from the trio and Jin appears to be acquainted with her. I guess we’ll find out as the series continues!

tl;dr: @MoombaDS – More badassery, Asuka’s moment in the spotlight, and Kurousagi being adorable! #Mondaiji

Random thoughts:

  • Watching Calico Cat screw around this episode was entertaining! For a cat, she (calico cats are almost always female right?) certainly seems fond of water!
  • It never fails to fascinate and amuse me just how casually Izayoi handles his ridiculous power. It’s one of the highlights of the show for me. This is what I meant when I referred to Kenshi from Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari last week. Not that their personalities are similar, but in how nonchalantly their power levels are handled.
  • I see Shiroyasha is quite into fetish wear!
  • Given how adorable she is, Kurousagi is certainly an ideal vessel for this!
  • I absolutely love this scene – that funny moment where the lights turn on and you realise the two characters have been talking in the dark for no real reason other than ‘atmosphere‘. It’s clever – a nice jab at ‘dark’ shows that love to do that kind of thing all the time.

Full-length images: 08, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 24, 32, 36.

 

Preview

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45 Comments

  2. It seems that’s not quite the case though – instead it allows her to control gifts. I’m not entirely certain as to how this works since it was phrased rather vaguely – at this point it seems to essentially allow her to use any gift, but by command rather than instinctively. Whether this is actually how it works, I’m not quite sure. Perhaps future episodes will clarify.

    It’s unclear, but I believe her initial power “Authority” is the mind-control ability we’ve seen, but Kurousagi was telling her that she’s refined that ability so well that it has developed into “Control”: something strong enough to control gifts, and even perform miracles. It really wasn’t stated in a way that’s easy to understand, though.

    You was impressive as hell (geh! It is so hard to use her name in a sentence!) in this episode. she blocked that blow with her bare hands! Even though she didn’t win, that was seriously impressive.

    Lastly, I wish the bathtime conversation hadn’t switched to another scene so soon, and not for the normal reason, either. I was actually hoping to learn something about Kurousagi’s past from their conversations. I would have been nice to learn more about all of them.

    PS: Calico cat was flirting with the catgirl waitress in episode one. Odd as it may be, I think it’s likely male.

    Wanderer
    Reply

    2. @Wanderer PS: Calico cat was flirting with the catgirl waitress in episode one. Odd as it may be, I think it’s likely male.

      Since no one else has said it, perhaps she’s a yuri cat instead :P.

      daikama
      Reply

  3. To be honest, this wasn’t my favorite game in the LN… (for one, Izayoi wasn’t involved, plus there wasn’t too much strategy involved), but I think the anime did a good job on that xD Aside from that, I like how they flashed Asuka’s background in the episode 🙂

    One thing I forgot to say from last week was that both Asuka’s and You’s power are still in rather unrefined, raw stage, which means they have a lot of potential to grow. Like Black Rabbit said, it requires a lot of training in a certain “direction”. Of course, the trio will all grow as the series goes on xD

    and the better part of the first volume will start next week with “that guy” and the next game, can’t wait! Thanks for the coverage, Moomba xD

    jrj
    Reply

    1. There are clear upgrade paths for both the girls, but in Asuka’s case it’s because she has a more versatile power than she realized. In Kasukabe’s case, she can acquire new abilities and certainly will as the show continues. (In ep 2 she acquired the “Walk on air” power from the Griffin, for instance.)

      Steven Den Beste
      Reply

      1. while I do agree with what you said, the upgrade path is not all that clear to be honest… For instance, Asuka could try to “control” other things such as natural phenomenon or her own physical abilities… as to You’s case, she could have done something even more dramatic given the complexity involved with her gift origin… I guess what I am trying to say was that, both of them has great potential.

        Though the LN has clearly taking our trio and their powers in a very specific direction xD The OP is one such indications.

        jrj
        Reply

  5. Really nothing to say except badass characters and glorious costumes.
    The episode really lived up to the episode name and more.
    And the characters are really genre savvy to actually mention that they thought the fight would happen in an ambush from the forest. Smart characters are always a plus.
    Also, “my wonderful bunny ears”. Pfft.

    D
    Reply

  6. so water back in land so time for bath time with bunny, voice command, & animal talker while head phone guy scare the mooks.

    give mooks want to stop working for evil tiger & want to be free so head phone understand give also little jin some bros talk to give some confidence.

    now battle with bad tiger give being powered-up by vampire blood give animal girl got hurt but voice command goes with sword to command the vines to tie & slay the tiger vampire.

    now that over cat land people are free all good now bit “hmm” to come.

    szes
    Reply

  9. If I might recommend maybe using Kasukabe or Yu would be a better a idea than You, even if only to not confuse the readers.

    I agree with Moomba that Izayoi is a good guy at heart, but if I may add a alternative theory(or just add) to as to why Izayoi used Jin’s name instead of his own, it’s possible he simply didn’t want the responsibility – Izayoi struck me as someone who valued his personal freedom and independence highly, someone who likes do things at their own leisure, on their own rules and for someone like him the fame/recognition(plus responsibility) is probably a restriction/hindrance rather than something he would look at in a positive light – for instance after the fight with the Demon Lords the leader of the community who defeated the Demon Lords would have to take charge of the community and maintain their reputation and for Izayoi that will probably feel like suffocating.Of course there’s nothing wrong with that sort of thinking and it’s unfair to expect Izayoi to be completely selfless and exist just to help others.
    On a another note, whatever his reasons be, I think it’s admirable Izayoi chose to help Jin and their community to stand on their own rather than just ‘saving’ them and be completely dependent on him and the other two.

    Asuka on the other hand, in contrast to Izayoi, seems to have a heavy sense of responsibility and duty – makes you wonder why she left behind all her responsibilities in the other world and came here, in the first .Even though I doubt either of those two has a moral compass that points to true North, at least it’s not too far off.The description of her powers are a bit vague at this point, hopefully future episodes will clarify it a little more.

    And then there’s You, I mean Kasukabe, she’s really starting to grow on me – to stop a tiger+demon+vampire like that, is she friends with a dinosaur or something.And then saying “I might cry” with ‘that’ straight face, yep, she’s definitely becoming more interesting.

    It’s been three episodes now and my verdict on this show:
    IMO, initially it started off as a pretty generic show(not that it’s always a bad thing) with a generic plot,content and characters and granted the plot is still generic, but the content and character more than makes up for it.Especially the characters can’t be considered generic anymore(IMO, anyway) with each passing episode they’re slowly breaking their generic molds and becoming interesting characters with depth and personality.
    I would recommend this show to anyone who likes lightweight shows, but not too lightweight that it just turns into eye-candy.

    shadowalker
    Reply

    1. if I remember correctly, in the LN, You’s super strength came from her friendship with elephant… Though given that her own time period before entering this world, I wouldn’t be so surprised that dinosaur was revived xD

      jrj
      Reply

      3. Though given that her own time period before entering this world, I wouldn’t be so surprised that dinosaur was revived

        I hate to do this, but I would appreciate it if you could refrain from posting vague hints at spoilers.

        Moomba
        Reply

    2. …the leader of the community who defeated the Demon Lords would have to take charge of the community and maintain their reputation

      Why does the leader of the community necessarily have to be the one(s) who fights the demon lords, or even fight at all for that matter? Izayoi defeated the water “god” but that didn’t make him leader. Sure that opponent wasn’t at “demon lord levels”, but it wasn’t exactly weak (except when compared to Izayoi of course XD). Evidently, no one in the community before the trio’s arrival had the power to defeat it – and they desperately needed the gift.

      Maybe I missed something, but I don’t recall anything so far indicating that the community leader is the strongest member by default. If that was the case, wouldn’t Black Rabbit be leader upon the trio’s arrival rather than Jin? Just to be clear, I’m certainly not saying that a community’s leader cannot be it’s strongest member, just that it’s not mandatory. Maybe an LN reader (in a spoiler) can clarify.

      I think both you and Moomba are correct regarding why Izayoi chose to use Jin’s name as a “replacement flag”. Izayoi gets to participate in all the “fun” parts (gift games/combat), but doesn’t get bogged down with more tedious matters (running the community). At the same time, Izayoi does show surreptitious traits of altruism. If he was truly self centered, he wouldn’t have bothered to help Jin to the extent he did, nor take the time to intercept the kidnappers. In fact, I doubt he’d freely give up the “water tree” since that would be a very nice prize to use a means to enter more gift games or simply trade to his benefit. I agree with what Moomba says, Izayoi’s primarily is a good guy at heart – not that he’d ever admit it.

      Even though I doubt either of those two has a moral compass that points to true North, at least it’s not too far off.

      Minor point, but rather than “not too far off” I’d say Asuka’s “moral compass” is very close if not pointing dead straight at “true North.” She was quick to realize that Yuo was lonely and made a point to befriend her promptly. She was also quick to dismiss Galdo’s offer, and found his actions so reprehensible, that she (along with Yuo) felt compelled to issue an immediate challenge. I wouldn’t nominate her for sainthood quite yet, but I have a hard time imagining her act in an immoral manner. Her mannerism may be formal, but so far, Asuka seems like an honorable character to me.

      daikama
      Reply

      1. About the leader, I was only using it as a example to support my point, of course I agree, that it isn’t mandatory for the leader to be the strongest – and the anime hasn’t given any indication to support the idea, again, only a example.

        As for Asuka, well it depends on ones opinion of morality too so, IMO it was wrong to control the maid like that using her powers(first episode) and again with Galdo she unhesitatingly used her powers to control him BEFORE she knew the things he had done – of course his attitude was unpleasant and he was somewhat suspicious, but that alone shouldn’t be enough undermine his free will and control him, for someone who has a high sense of morality.IMO her sense of morality is slightly off just like Izayoi’s, but not to a extent it’s a problem or to call them immoral.
        My idea of a person who has a moral compass that points true North would probably be a saint(even I, myself wouldn’t qualify) and there are plenty of people who aren’t like that, but are perfectly fine individuals.Like you mentioned minor point.

        shadowalker
        Reply

      2. about the leader thing, we can think of it this way. It is true that black rabbit is way stronger than Jin is, but remember she is treated as celebrity. plus she has judge master power, which means she is more of a judge than a player. because of her status, she couldn’t participate in a lot of games (you wouldn’t want a judge to play the game at the same time, right?) As a result, the leader position will have to fall on someone who could actually participate games freely (which is why Jin succeeded the previous leader)

        jrj
        Reply

      3. @jrj – That’s what’s kind of confusing about BR (too lazy to write it out :P). She’s a judge and yet she’s clearly a member of the community. While she hasn’t participated, she recruited other “members” who are just as powerful or even more powerful (guessing here) then here.

        You’re right about concern over conflict of interest by a “judge” playing the game, but she certainly walks a fine line. She’s done everything to help the community except participate and to me is clearly biased towards the community. Not saying that’s bad, but IMO she’s gone far past being “impartial”. Plus, there seems to be some sort of “Central Judge” that she consults via her ears which actually makes the decision (remember the card game).

        From your comment it seems that (1) Judges are community members, and (2) judges are prohibited from participating in Gift Games. FWIW, I don’t’ see why a judge couldn’t participate as long as whenever they do, another judge oversees that particular game. It’s like a RL judge personally involved in a trial. Another judge oversees the case. Still, my guess is BR will never participate in a game (anime or LN). One reason is might be due to the risk of a non-judge gaining judge-specific gifts.

        daikama
        Reply

      4. you will see some of this as the anime goes into vol.2 material, but here is a bit about judge master and black rabbit from the LN: Show Spoiler ▼

        jrj
        Reply

  12. The way You said that she wanted to defeat him but… seems to indicate that she hesitated in her fight instead of her not being able to. Considering that she loves animals I can see how she must have hesitate to kill Galdo.

    Reishin
    Reply

    1. My first reaction when she returned covered in blood was that she’d won the fight and the blood wasn’t hers, but considered it a failure because she hadn’t managed to befriend the beast. I can definitely imagine her having hesitated and ended up losing because of it.

      Moomba
      Reply

  13. I love this series, and the plot/story has a really great potential, but I worry about the pacing of the series. That’s cuz according to some websites like this one:
    http://myanimelist.net/anime/15315/Mondaiji-tachi_ga_Isekai_kara_Kuru_Sou_Desu_yo
    This series only has 10 episodes! Is this true?! Cuz if that’s the case then that would really suck!

    I’m worried about the pacing cuz if I’m not mistaken, there are 7 levels of the continent? and correct me if I am wrong, but there are demon lords guarding each gate for each level? Like Shiroyasha guarding like the 4 lvl. So if they have to take down the demon lords then with 7 episodes left that would really not be enough, unless the only demon lord they plan to take down is that vampire loli girl.

    Why are amazing series like this one and others (like Kore wa zombie desu ka of the dead) that had tons of potential only get 10 episodes while others have so much episodes that they get tens of episodes of fillers.

    Ryner
    Reply

    2. if OP is any indication, the anime will most likely finish vol.2 story with its 10 episodes… of course the more epic games are not going to be shown, but I assure you, the grand game in vol.2 is by itself epic (from reading the LN).

      and @Derprito, while it is true you won’t see No Name beat down all the demon lords in mere 10 episodes, that doesn’t mean something epic won’t happen… unless the anime goes on an original course (which the OP has kindly refute that possibility) Plus there is a stated OVA with vol.8 of the LN

      jrj
      Reply

  17. Three episodes down and the show definitely remains on my watch list. EP 03 continues to deliver a nice balance of action, comedy and character development while the world of “Little Garden” remains intriguing.

    @Moomba: Good review (quite funny). One question though. “…it [Asuka’s power/gift] would allow her to command almost anything, animate or not. It seems that’s not quite the case though – instead it allows her to control gifts. I’m not entirely certain instead it allows her to control gifts. I’m not entirely certain as to how this works since it was phrased rather vaguely – at this point it seems to essentially allow her to use any gift, but by command rather than instinctively.”

    I’m not sure how you arrived at Asuka’s power controls “gifts.” She clearly ordered birds and Galdo in EP 01 rather than “gifts”. In the flashback scene, Asuka says/thinks “A gift of Control…” (Horrible Subs). While her Authority is still not clearly defined, I took that scene to suggest she expanded her gift/power from “Command” to “Control” which enables her Authority to now apply to inanimate objects as well as living creatures. The reason I think she failed to command Galdo in this EP was that his “leveled up” form was too strong for her current abilities. He pauses for a split second, then “breaks free” of her command. It make sense (IMO) that her Authority has limits over who/what it can control. Otherwise, it would be a boring show.

    daikama
    Reply

    1. Unless there are some differences is the subs it was mentioned when Asuka was fighting Galdo(in his tiger+vampire form).Quote:

      “Your Power Words have another potential form.They have the ability to control the numerous gifts that exist.You can use your power at a higher level to bring about miracles.” – Kurousagi

      It doesn’t say that Asuka’s power is limited to that, only she’s also capable of that.Although Moomba’s review is slightly inaccurate when it says ‘instead’ it should have been ‘also’ – strange I missed that when reading the review.
      On a side note I wonder how Kurousagi knows about the possibilities of Asuka’s powers.

      shadowalker
      Reply

      1. This is my take from the LN about how black rabbit knows about Asuka’s power:

        most gift players have this thing called gift card (shown in episode 2), it not only lets player store gifts that can be materialized (such as the water tree and other stuff), but also reveals the names of a player’s gifts. From the name, it is easy to deduce the gift’s origin and its functionality. Black rabbit saw the name “Authority” from Asuka’s card, so she could analyze it and help Asuka develop it in specific ways. And this explains why Shiroyasha became so shocked when she saw Izayoi’s code unknown on his card.

        there is another possibility, which is pure speculation on my part:
        Asuka might not be the first person to possess this power, and since black rabbit is the official judge master of “thousand eyes”, she could have seen other players who possess the same power from earlier games, and thus knows its potential. However it is not confirmed by the LN.

        jrj
        Reply

      2. My mistake – you’re right, it’s both gifts & other stuff. LOL – after watching it again, I remember noting Asuka’s “extra” power the first time I watched and yet it slipped my mind when posting. Not sure WTH happened.

        Anyway, Moomba – my bad, though I agree w/ Shadowalker that also is more accurate than instead.

        @jrj – yeah, the Gift Card’s probably scan/ID as well as store gifts. I wouldn’t be surprised there’s some sort of “Gift Data Bank” which stores & updates Gift information and can be accessed by judges or those with equal authority. At the least I bet 1000 Eyes has a private one. And yeah, Izayoi is certain an outlier and a powerful one at that.

        As for your speculation, I think it makes sense. How could BR say Asuka’s gift is XYZ if she didn’t know what XYZ gift was in the first place. They would all be like Izayoi – “unknown”. Having said that, my guess is that the “levels” of each gift vary person to person as are some gifts are more rare than others. Possibly, some gifts could “mutate” in terms of power (or simply what’s know isn’t that particular gift’s full potential).

        daikama
        Reply

  19. “It’s harder to memorise foreign names than it is those in your native language”
    Lies. In fact, this country’s names are harder to remember than the usually 2-kanji ones in Japan, or the 1-syllable-per name ones in China. Must be because people don’t usually give their children more than one first name, while other countries seem fond of doing that.

    Karuta
    Reply

  20. Most cats do have an aversion to water, but some really like it. My old cat used to relax in the shower when I was taking mine. Didn’t mind the water one bit, although it did keep to the sides.

    Namzor
    Reply

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