We have finally arrived: the first isekai that Marina will be keeping on her watch list…for now. Because, truth be told, as interesting as the mystery is behind the supposed “healing magic,” there isn’t that much otherwise that catches my attention. With a main character who we’re told is just some pleb looking just as shiny and good looking as the two most popular students in school, as well as possessing one of the rarest magics in their new world, I’m skeptical about the overall direction of this show. What can I say? The natural game healer in me needs to see how this will all turn out once our kids are all trained up and sent into the thick of the fight against the demon king’s armies.
The facts:
- Format: TV
- Episode count: 13
- Studio: Shin-Eli Animation, Studio Add
- Source: Light novel
- Genres: Action, fantasy
Let me trace our steps back a bit for more background.
Ken Usato’s our lead, and, like I mentioned earlier, he’s intended to be the generic placeholder for the viewer. He isn’t particularly skilled at anything, and observes along with the rest of his peers the comings and goings of more popular students, like student council president and vice president, Suzune Inukami and Kazuki Ryuusen, respectively.
One after school downpair and a stolen umbrella later, and Usato finds himself in the company of said students who turn out to be way kinder and more approachable than their reputation would have had Usato expect. This did surprise me, for some reason. Maybe I’ve just seen too many isekai lately where the pretty characters are ugly inside, like isekai writers just can’t get enough of that dichotomy.
It’s during their walk home together sharing umbrellas that they’re swept up in a magical summons, only the targets were Suzune and Kazuki alone. Usato is the unfortunate bystander caught in the magic and whisked along with them to another world to serve as heroes for a kingdom beset by demons. Copy, paste, let’s go!
Everything here is familiar ground so far, and when Usato turns out to possess the rare power of healing, I wasn’t surprised. What did catch me off guard was the way in which everyone in this world seemed horrified at the revelation. Isn’t healing magic good? Unless this is something like that horrid anime a season or two ago where healers as a whole took advantage of others.
That doesn’t seem to be the case here. What actually terrifies the king is not so much what, but whom. Rose, the leader of his armies and a rare healer herself, has this obsession with snatching up promising healers and “training” them to her specifications, and it’s that training that compels the king to try and hide Usato. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for us, he fails as Rose walks in at just the right moment to spot her prey and abduct him.
What does her training entail, and why do her subordinates all look like examples straight out of a prison outbreak? They’re frighteningly fixated on Usato as the new guy, and I fear for his well being on multiple fronts. Here’s hoping the show progresses in a way that keeps surprising me!
Watch on: Crunchyroll
Status: Watching (for now)
Anime B&B 