Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy (2021)

[月が導く異世界道中]

Season 1

Director: Shinji Ishihara
Studio: C2C
Starring: Natsuki Hanae, Ayane Sakura, Akari Kito
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
The son of heroes from another world raised on earth is summoned to serve as a hero, only to be rejected by the goddess of the world and abandoned to fend for himself.

Impressions:
You've got to do some extra work these days to be an isekai story that I'm going to enjoy... and this one does a pretty good job of it, to be honest. We get around the tired trope of the OP isekai protagonist by having Kuzunoha lack control of his powers and cursing him from interacting normally with other humans (both because of the language barrier and because he's supposedly so hideous with his average looks that everyone takes him for a monster). So while there are some elements of the usual easy mode, there are enough complications to keep it interesting. It doesn't hurt that the first episode's ED is a performance of Mito Koumon's "Aa, Jinsei ni Namida Ari" by Kuzunoha (that gets a nice remix in Episode 3 by Tomoe and Mio). The concept of building a haven for non-humans is similar to TenSura, as is the stronger focus on trade and diplomacy over fighting. There's a good dynamic with Kuzunoha, Tomoe and Mio and by the end of the season we dip our toes in the wider conflict with a fight that gives our hero a fair challenge. I don't know if we can expect a continuation or not, but I found this to be a decent watch that didn't irk me as so many isekai do. Give it a shot.

Rating:
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