Anime Review: Isekai Quartet Episode 1

Isekai Quartet

Studio: Stuido PuYUKAI

Genres: Comedy, Parody

Stream: Funimation

This is it. Decades of animation have finally lead to this moment. The greatest crossover in the history of mankind. No! I’m not talking about Avengers! I’m talking about Isekai Quartet of course!

Isekai Quartet is a crossover short featuring characters from four prolific isekai franchises: Konosuba, Overlord, Youjo Senki, and Re:Zero. It places all of these beloved characters into a modern-day school to do… Something. The end result is a cute comedy with wonderful chibis.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t actually super excited to watch this series, despite having seen all four shows. I’m not a huge fan of Overlord, though I did enjoy Youjo Senki and Re:Zero quite a bit. Really, I only found myself wanting to watch Isekai Quartet for more Konosuba antics (It’s one of my absolute favorite franchises). In this first episode, I got what I came for. Those who are coming to see just one of their favorite franchises might not be as pleased.

This episode spends all of its time introducing viewers to the characters. The various quirks of the characters from Konosuba and Overlord are mostly explained in the first half, while Tanya gets a decent amount of time towards the end. The cast of Re:Zero doesn’t make an appearance until the last minute or two, so those who are coming to see Subaru (Or Rem, let’s be honest here) will be disappointed. As an introduction, Isekai Quartet succeeds. There is plenty of fanservice here, especially for Konosuba and Overlord fans.

While Isekai Quartet is obviously targeted towards fans of the genre, those who are only familiar with a franchise or two will still find plenty to enjoy. This especially applies to the Konosuba and Overlord fans, less so for Re:Zero. I’m sure that the other franchises will get plenty of time to shine throughout the series, especially Re:Zero, which is too popular to ignore. For anyone who isn’t a fan of these series already, there might not be much reason to watch.

Each character looks great in this series’ chibi style, even those in more serious shows. The characters seem simple, but hold on to their signature features. The sound effects are funny, adding to the silly premise. Most (If not all) of the original voice actors are present, making Isekai Quartet that much easier to love for fans. The opening and ending are full of style and energy, completing an overall entertaining and fun package.

Isekai Quartet‘s love and care for the various franchises is its greatest strength. The fanservice is wonderful, and every voice actor successfully creates a memorable experience for fans of isekai. While this episode spends all of its time introducing characters, it’s clear that this will be a fun series once everyone starts interacting more.