Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi MAL Review
If you grew up or spent a lot of time in East Asia, and then had to move to a foreign country (in a different region)... this is the anime for you! In a land of heroes and fantasy magic, I think food is often overlooked, if not placed on the lowest priority for many people. However, in the case of Mukouda, food *is* his only skill, and he makes it work really well!
What sets this apart from other food-based animes is that:
- There's an actual storyline
It's not just 'one diner, one episode' or 'one meal per visit to an isekai restaurant' *cough*. There's travels, battles, and powers learned along with the "local culture."
- Character depth
Flat characters are common in this genre, and they don't have much of a role beyond delivering the food or helping out another secondary character... this series focuses on its two - later three - mains, and we learn a lot about Mukouda's likes, dislikes, preferences and consideration towards others. Each main character grows either physically or emotionally.
- Change keeps it interesting and re-watchable
I was expecting this series to be another 'looks great but probably won't rewatch' one for the shelf, and was surprised at the amount of change. It's like the writers (or team behind it) deliberately wanted to make it different from other food-based animes, and it struck a perfect balance of food and fighting. Whoever was responsible for this was definitely experienced in other genres, so I'm thankful for that.
- Relationship dynamic
It's uncommon to see strong relationships grow between characters in food-based animes. But the dynamic I witnessed between Mukouda and Fel was very similar (if not the same) as Natsume Takashi and Nyanko-sensei from Natsume Yuujinchou. Introducing the third character also grew to be a strong plot element for all of them, and tightened the community feel.
My personal favourite part was just how relatable the series is, though. It's hardship living in the U.S. without access to all the Japanese food I'm used to, and a lot of Mukouda's commentary were thoughts I have here too, haha! The only difference is that he gets his ingredients at the same price as they are in Japan, versus e.g. $7 for a shiitake mushroom... let's not get into that, lol. It really is heartwarming to be able to eat one's own cuisine (or one they are familiar with) while being in a foreign country, so I highly recommend it to others when they are finding it hard to cope. Hopefully, over time, more countries will begin to love food and convenience just as much as Japanese people do! ご馳走様。
The original review on MAL: View here