Genki Life Magazine 55 - Spring 2024

worlds. A few more skills appeared in his “status.” With the few weapons
he found throughout the cabin he was in, just by trying them, he gained
the skill to master them.
A few days went by before he decided to practice with the weapons.
All of the sudden, a monster appeared right outside the property’s
fence. Luckily there was a magical field surrounding the property to
protect him. Overcoming his fear, he threw the spear at the monster
and killed it…leveling up. Exhausted, he went back to our world.
Overnight, he was struck with unbelievable pain. By morning, Yūya
changed into a completely different person. He was now taller, more
muscular…all his physical stats blew up. But mentally, he was the
same old fearful Yūya. Nobody recognized him when the new semester
of school started.
Later on, it’s revealed that the girl he saved was Kaori Hōjō of a
neighboring school where Yūya later attended. In the other world,
Yūya saved another girl, Lexia von Arselia, a princess who ends up
falling in love with him and calling him her fiancé. I see a trend going
on here. He is joined by Night after saving him and Akatsuki who randomly
appears while they were taking a bath.
Like I mentioned earlier, I did read the light novel long before the
anime came out in the spring of 2023. I have not read the manga yet.
I’m happy to say that the anime follows the light novel for the most
part. There are times when the anime rushes through scenes that are
actually explained in more detail in the light novel. For those who
want to dive deeper into the storyline, the light novel is a must-read.
On the other hand, the anime does a pretty good job giving the characters
life. We can actually feel the hardships Yūya had to go through
before he went to the other world. We have fun with Lexia as she excitedly
claims that Yūya is her fiancé because he saved her life. Kaori’s
innocent and cute demeanor comes through in the anime in a way
that was difficult to imagine in the light novel.
I pretty much got hooked after reading the prologue about Yūya’s
struggles from childhood through middle school. It’s something many
people could relate to. But as the story progresses up to the point where
it goes to the other word, he evolved into the “perfect” human. Even
after the transformation, Yūya still struggles with his mental well-being
due to his traumatic upbringing. Little by little, he gains more and more
confidence from the new experiences in his new high school and from
the shared experiences with new friends. Even in the other world,
Yūya’s confidence grows as he battles more and more monsters.
As I continued reading, more of the usual isekai tropes were coming
to light. Yūya has become an overpowered person in strength and
in magic. He meets a lot more people along his adventures and everyday
life… eventually developing a harem. Yes, Yūya tends to meet a
lot of girls who eventually develop feelings for him. He does have that
magnetic personality. Even as Yūya continues to grow as a person,
there’s still an innocence in him that we see throughout the story
which brings him down to earth. Although having all these powers,
he doesn’t see himself as better than anyone around him. He respects
his friends and “family,” responding to their feelings and needs like a
true friend. And at the same time, whenever someone is in trouble, he
helps them to the best of his abilities. For the first time in his life, he
has become a happier person as compared to how miserable he was
up until now.
Unlike other isekai stories I read or watched, the hook to Isekai de
Cheat Skill is the ability of Yūya to travel between the fantasy world
and our world… just by walking through a door! It’s not like the usual
trope where the protagonist can’t return to our world until defeating
a dire antagonist or complete some kind of life-threatening mission.
Time and time again, even after Yūya goes to the other world, he does
come back to our world to go to school and so on. He does have a life
between worlds. This trope adds a whole lot of possibilities to the
story. There are only thirteen episodes in the anime, so the last
episode was rushed and changed quite a bit. The light novel is up to
fifteen volumes (five, officially translated). A lot more people join
Yūya in his adventurestoo many to mention hereall play an important
role in Yūya’s story. Although it was good to watch the anime,
except for some important story elements being rushed or left out, I
would recommend reading the light novel if you’re able to get the full
experience. ❖
Akatsuki
A Mōju that Yuya befriended in another
world. While Yūya and Night were
taking a bath, he entered without them
realizing it. Before they knew it, Yūya had
tamed him. It looks like a small boar with
bushy red hair. He seems to take pride in
being a member of the Mōju race, and
gets angry when people call him a pig.
Akatsuki can neutralize the power of
“evil” with the “Sanctuary” skill.
Genki Life Magazine | Spring 2024 37