Isekai meikjú de Harem o

It's become a yearly tradition that the AT-X station makes an adaptation of a manga or novella from the adult category. As soon as I find out that there will be three versions of a series, I know exactly what to expect and, as the man of culture that I am, wait for the last version to come out – the uncensored one. There's no point in watching any other. Over the years, I've seen, for example, the fun and well-thought-out Ishuzoku Reviewers a pretty boring Sexmission, and a nightmare in the form of Redo of a Healer. I never really know what's next to come, and how much I'll (dis)like it. This one wasn’t easy to evaluate for me, so I had a look at the reviews on MAL, which surprised me. There are basically just two types of reviews on Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World. Men of culture consider this to be a below-average isekai with very good sex scenes. Since they watch it precisely for these scenes, they usually give it at least an 8/10. The other group rants about how shows that glorify slavery do not deserve a good rating as slavery has no place in the modern world. It’s certainly true, but I wonder what rating these radical moralists would give to shows like The Rising of the Shield Hero, which has the same theme, although it works much better for reasons I'll get to. I was astonished that no one discussed the quality of storytelling and worldbuilding. No one seemed to notice that, even though Shachi Sogano may be a pervert worthy of damnation, he has an undeniable talent for explaining pretty much everything that happens in his world. To tell you the truth, I rarely come across an isekai that goes to so much trouble to explain skill leveling and gaining new abilities, and how things like dungeons, magic, and items work (the explanations are even more detailed in the manga, which I've flipped through, so the novella might be the same in this regard). Honestly, I liked it a lot. Finally, there’s a system where you have to meet certain criteria or perform an activity to gain a skill. The leveling works on a similar principle as in Skyrim, so if you want to improve a skill, you have to use it as much as possible. Everything has its rules here, even society, which is very different from ours, and some of the things that are considered normal there would be repulsive and immoral in our world. And the show works with that. How many isekai have you seen where the main character feels bad after killing his first enemy, particularly a human? This show does deal with a situation like this, albeit briefly (it's him or me and this is simply a different world). The same goes for the moral issue of slavery. I repeat - slavery is an abomination and has no place in our modern society. But this is not our world, our rules don't apply here, and we have to take this fact into account. The show gives us more arguments than that, and it's not just the lame motivation of the horny protagonist who thinks the best way to get into a girl’s pants is to pay for her. Of course, it does play a role as the main character is a relatively normal young man with a fairly normal interest in sex. But there are also practical reasons, like the fact that nobody really wants a budding adventurer in their party, and if you do get recruited, you might get cheated, robbed, or killed, which just won't happen to you if you own a slave (and there's a logical explanation why). One review on MAL says the protagonist is a total pervert but the funny thing is that he doesn't actually want to buy a slave at first, but he is simply convinced by the above arguments as well as being caught in the grip of his own libido upon seeing the girl for the first time (besides, who would the poor girl end up with if he didn’t buy her...). The series doesn't present slavery as a cool concept (unlike, say, Minerva no Kenshi), but as the most logical way to expand your party, profit from it in the long run, and have fun in the meantime. True, it could have been done better. For example, The Rising of the Shield Hero puts the hero in a position where buying a slave is the only possible way to get anyone to join him at all, which most moralists are able to understand. The same thing could have been done here, too. All it would take is to show more and explain less. In practice, it might mean adding a plot about how the protagonist has trouble getting someone to join his party, and when they finally do, they get cheated or ripped off. That way, people would be more willing to accept it. The author must have realized this over time and included a similar situation when presenting the reasons why another slave needed to be purchased later on. The author had been building up to it for several episodes through small mentions and situations, also explaining why the next slave had to be a dwarf. Another moral problem people have with this series is the fact that the main character has sex with his slave (as it happens in other isekai series, such as Black Summoner). I don’t get these complaints. If I buy a slave girl who also provides sexual services, it's only logical that I won't play chess with her in the evenings. Moreover, it’s explained that "accepting affection" as the author poetically calls it, is a social norm, and if it didn’t happen, it could negatively affect the way a slave would view her master and also how those around him would view him (if he mentioned it in public). I don’t think it’s just about a horny guy who wants to get laid. He does own the girl and it's expected of him (and he wants to do it), plus he even asks for permission... I have no problem with that. What else could be an issue? Sherry? Okay, this may seem like fan service for a certain group of viewers that nobody particularly likes, but it’s a sixteen-year-old dwarf, so it explains not only the lore (like in Genshin, for example) but also the race with which a certain physical build is associated, which is mentioned in the series. Now let’s address something that will be of interest to the more cultured among you. The sex scenes are really well done. They reflect how the hero and his girls gradually get to know each other, from the slightly chaotic and inexperienced beginnings to the wild switching of positions and various other practices. The animators did an excellent job. It’s not strictly hentai so the scenes are quite subtle. I liked them much more than those in World's End Harem, and visually even more than Interspecies Reviewers (especially the animation style). The only thing I didn't enjoy was the choice of music for the foreplay. A scene with two girls in the bathroom to music that sounds like something from a slapstick movie seems stupid and doesn't fit the mood. But enough about that, I'm Family Friendly! After reading all this, you might get the impression that I really enjoyed this series. Why only three stars then? Well, mainly because the dungeons look like something out of a 90s RPG, and the visuals are lame compared to the likes of Danmachi. The monsters are anything but interesting or scary, and you just don’t want to watch six episodes of the hero fighting what looks like Sudowoodo from Pokémon or trembling in fear before a killer bunny. It also lacks an interesting backstory, a reason to actually go on the expeditions. Doing so strictly for the money seems boring to me, almost like having a regular job. The parts where the hero destroys the bandits are the only ones that make it seem like there’s something important going on and the way of eliminating them is creative, especially considering the fact that Michio is not an OP superhero (he's just a regular guy who got a few bonuses for pre-ordering the game and has some skills that NPCs don't have, but nothing totally over the top). He has to find other, slightly sneaky but effective strategies. Then there's also a lot of emphasis on finding a place to live, and buying furniture and weapons. There's a reason why most series leave this out - it's usually boring. I understand that Shachi Sogano, who likes to explain everything, can't help himself and it's actually quite original. Still, it becomes too much of a ‘slice of life’, and the adventure feels like a boring trip to work or to the supermarket. It’s definitely better than Redo of a Healer, it's definitely more interesting and polished than World's End Harem, so I guess it’s closest to my impression of Ishuzoku Reviewers. 6/10 (2022.09.21) (kevesebbet) (több)