Anime Hajime Impressions: Isekai Quartet

The Set-Up

Let me be as blunt as I can. I didn’t want to do a proper review of Isekai Quartet because I wanted a chance to nerd out. Although I love writing about anime, watching every series with a critical eye is sometimes exhausting.

Did this mean I knew I was going to enjoy Isekai Quartet? No. (After all, there is also satisfaction in going off the rails on a series without worrying about being fair)

However, considering I have greatly enjoyed the four franchises showcased in Isekai Quartet – KonoSuba, Overlord, Re:ZERO, and Youjo Senki – I thoughts the odds weren’t low.

I also wasn’t too worried about this series being a full-on comedy. Sure, of the four, Overlord, Re:ZERO, and Youjo Senki got quite dark. Still, all these shows were not void of humor. The larger-than-life personalities of many of these characters have produced some rather hilarious moments.

And who doesn’t love a good crossover?

Anyway, here are my impressions of Isekai Quartet.

Impressions

First, I was never going to watch Isekai Quartet until I saw all four anime represented. In March 2021, I finally hit that goal when I got around to the Overlord series. And with Re:ZERO Season 2 Part 2 airing during the winter 2021 season, I was well up to date with at least half of this show.

For the record, this post came out in May 2021. Although I sat down with Overlord and Re:ZERO earlier in the year, the last time I watched anything from KonoSuba was in September 2019. What’s worse, I last sat down with the Youjo Senki series (Youjo Senki Movie, which I saw in theaters) in February 2019.

I probably should have re-familiarized myself a little better since I have proven that my memory isn’t the most trustworthy multiple times. Nevertheless, there is no way I would recommend anyone check out Isekai Quartet unless they have seen all four anime.

Overwise, I don’t know how you can get the full enjoyment out of this series.

Above everything else, Isekai Quartet was balanced. None of the four anime ever truly dominated the screentime. Everyone had their fair share of the spotlight.

This was no small feat seeing how on one end, there was Overlord, which filled out most of the cast. Then on the other end, there was Youjo Senki, and the only character that actually mattered was Tanya Degurechaff.

Isekai Quartet never gave too much focus on any one show. It mainly did this by having the characters interact with each other as much as possible.

There was the unassailable power of Ainz Ooal Gown and his subordinates; the military precision and battle harden Tanya and her company; Natsuki Subaru and his close-knit team of dear friends and allies; and Kazuma Satou and his ragtag group of idiots. In each of their respective franchises, they were the center of everything. Once they were all thrown together, nothing was ever an assurance.

For example, Lord Ainz was unbeatable throughout Overlord. While he might have been one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, character in Isekai Quartet, the unpredictable nature of the other characters was unlike anything he had ever faced.

Lord Ainz and Tanya had immediate respect for one another and saw each other as equals. Lord Ainz also acknowledged Natsuki’s superhuman fortitude, almost as if Re:ZERO’s protagonist’s mind has undergone unbelievable stress. And from Konosuba, the peppy and overconfident Aqua had Lord Aniz worried since she could effectively inflict damage on him.

One of the elements that made Isekai Quartet so much fun was seeing which characters either got along or were rivals. Regardless of the dynamic, no pair was ever farfetched or unbelievable. If two people had similar personalities, it made sense that they would be friends. Likewise, if two had conflicting goals, they were instant enemies.

And that was the thing that allowed Isekai Quartet to be as fun as it was.

This show didn’t exist in a vacuum. All the characters were brought directly from their respective series. Lord Ainz, Natsuki, Kazuma, and Tanya marked the second time they were transported to a parallel world. And it didn’t take these four long to realize they were all originally from Japan.

Just because everyone was in this happy-go-lucky environment, that didn’t mean they had forgotten what drove them.

There was a great scene when Tanya thought Aqua was the mysterious Being X. Before anyone could tell Tanya that someone like Aqua couldn’t possibly be this Being X person, Tanya was on the verge of murdering an actual goddess. I was shocked when this series did not tone down how terrifying the Witch of Envy could be. s.

Not only that, Natsuki’s curse (his inability to tell anyone about his resets) was in full effect. For a split second, it was like we were back in the bleakness of Re:ZERO.

Then right at the end, Isekai Quartet teased the arrival of new classmates. With the isekai genre being so vast, there is no shortage of shows this series can pull from.

I’m not sure if Isekai Quartet 2 will properly introduce new characters or sprinkle in cameos. Whatever may be, though, I am looking forward to what comes next out of this series.

This show was a lot of f-ing fun.

Final Thoughts

When I say “fanservice,” I imagine most people assume big boobs and sex. While I can’t deny that’s usually what that word implies, that’s not always the case.

This series, for example, was pure fanservice. And it was so because of the amount of anime nerdiness.

From beginning to end, this was an anime for anime fans. It ran under the assumption that those watching are familiar with the source series. If you’re not, then I would suggest holding off on this show for now.

However, if you’re like me, who has seen the four franchises, Isekai Quartet is one hell of a good time.

But these were just my thoughts. What are yours? Have you seen this series? What were your impressions of Isekai Quartet? Leave a comment down below because I would love to hear what you have to say.

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For Anime Hajime, I’m Odyssey, and be sure to come back next week as we look at Isekai Quartet 2.