Uncle from Another World (2022-2023)

[異世界おじさん]

Director: Shigeki Kawai
Studio: Atelier Pontdarc
Starring: Takehito Koyasu, Jun Fukuyama, Mikako Komatsu
Episodes: 13

Synopsis:
A young man reconnects with his uncle, who has been comatose for 17 years, only to learn that during that time, he has been having adventures in another world and has brought his incredible magic powers back with him.

Impressions:
With the glut of isekai trash, the subgenre is already effectively a parody of itself, but sometimes we find a comedy that can still skewer the well-worn tropes in fun and exciting ways. This is one such series. We have a highly dysfunctional protagonist whose social ineptitude is the main source of comedy played off his somewhat more functional nephew (who nevertheless has glaring blindspots of his own). The story of Uncle's isekai adventures is told via magical replay. The situations themselves are funny enough, but the reaction from the nephew (and later his friend who joins in) really sell it. Sega fans will appreciate how Uncle uses Sega games as the basis for his life philosophy (and all the homages in the OP are quite the treat). The three heroines are quite amusing, especially the longsuffering Tsundere Elf-san. (If only Uncle would get a clue, but, alas, he never will, making for quite the tragicomic shenanigans.) The production values are quite high, making for a visual treat, and though complications on the production side led to some severe delays in the initial run, that won't be a problem for people coming to the series now that it's complete. This has been one of my favorite series in a while and I strongly encourage you to add it to your collection.

Rating:
Own It