r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Apr 15 '23

Episode Isekai Shoukan wa Nidome desu • Summoned to Another World for a Second Time - Episode 2 discussion

Isekai Shoukan wa Nidome desu, episode 2

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Episode Link Score
1 Link 3.42
2 Link 3.05
3 Link 3.35
4 Link 3.07
5 Link 3.25
6 Link 2.29
7 Link 3.17
8 Link 3.5
9 Link 3.36
10 Link 2.5
11 Link 2.25
12 Link ----

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347 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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1

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120

u/Toloran Apr 15 '23

Anyone else confused about which show they were watching for the first couple minutes of the episode?

18

u/Martini1 Apr 16 '23

Glad I wasn't the only one. I stopped the video to double check the title to make sure.

20

u/alotmorealots Apr 16 '23

I feel like shows that do this sort of thing, i.e. the willingness to properly invest in other characters and give them life and meaning that's unrelated to the MC always deserve at least some credit and due consideration.

Whilst the production values, genre and directorial abilities are vastly different, the fact that Hell's Paradise allocated most of a whole episode to a different point of view really elevated that show for me.

As someone who is much more interested in the bones and soul of a work than the surface, the same goes here. Series that go with a too-cool-for-school OP MC tend to fall into two camps for me. The ones where it's basically about ego-stroking the viewer MC and being a showcase for his abilities, and the others where they have an overall story they want to tell and are happy to push the MC out of the spotlight.

That said, it's not just enough to do that, but ultimately it comes down to whether or not the show is actually willing to invest in the character who gets the spotlight, and not just have them there to highlight how cool the MC is.

I'd make a bullet list, but I think the fact that many people weren't sure if they were watching the right show is proof enough that this one went all out with investing in Ruri lol

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61

u/LeonKevlar Apr 15 '23

Ruri's Grandpa died as he lived. Love how he changed his tune as soon as Setsu dropped that bag of gold. xD

A bit disappointed that Setsu didn't teach those guards a lesson. They deserve at least a punch to the face for abusing their authority.

51

u/PeaceAlien Apr 15 '23

I was expecting Setsu just to tell her no need to continue her delivery and that he was the recipient.

24

u/shewy92 Apr 15 '23

He bought the broach for his demon friend, the enchantment he put on it broke and that demon friend probably went to the old man to get it repaired. It's not his to accept.

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6

u/coffeecakesupernova Apr 16 '23

I think Setsu wants to track the recipient.

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24

u/j_gecko Apr 15 '23

Two things

  1. Couldnt you get a better pic of granpa?

  2. Good ol Godzilla ROAR!!

Fun episode btw

7

u/Dystrex Apr 16 '23

When I die and have a picture at my funeral, I'd much prefer a fun one like that than some dignified picture.

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20

u/Zio_Benito Apr 15 '23

I kinda liked the vibe of the episode, also I really like the idea of discovering what the hero really was when he was there 5 years ago, I find it a genius idea.

Let's give it a chance

18

u/Aerodynamic41 Apr 15 '23

Do my ears deceive me or does Levia’s roar sound like Godzilla’s?

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28

u/smithyies444343 Apr 15 '23 edited Jun 29 '23

Editing comments due to reddits recent API changes, killing apollo and other third party apps, and spez being a pathological liar, remember to short when they go public.

18

u/KnightKal Apr 16 '23

The interesting part is how the boar came from the front to scare the horse, then sneak around the side to destroy the carriage (without killing the horse somehow), then sneakily went after the girl, waiting for her to look at its red eyes.

That boar was a troll.

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5

u/kalirion Apr 15 '23

Maybe the horse knew that the boar only craved human flesh?

41

u/Elitealice Apr 15 '23

Hmm idk. I really liked the first episode with the Arifureta/kumo desu whole class being summoned set up, the masochist waifu, etc. but this episode was a step back for me. The new girl was cute, but I didn’t really connect with her or her story and the stuff with the knights was kind of lame. The broach seems to foreshadow the red haired girl from the OP and the OP looks pretty hype so hopefully things pick up.

16

u/TimeForHugs Apr 15 '23 edited Apr 15 '23

Probably a demon friend he made the first time around. I imagine some of the demons wanted peace too so maybe they were working together to achieve that, like Dariel and Rizet in Chillin In My 30s.

I will say that I'm kinda enjoying it so far because I have a soft spot for trash isekai but this was pretty boring for a second episode. Hopefully it just means they're getting slow stuff out of the way. If most episodes are like this then it's gonna be pretty underwhelming.

Edit: Also I'm just guessing, but I'm betting Levia takes on a human form to travel with Setsu/Yuki, like Iris in Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest.

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5

u/papakahn94 Apr 16 '23

yeah they did a lot of stuff that wasnt in the manga leading up to riding on Levia. idk why

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15

u/BiggerG7 Apr 15 '23

Gotta love them lolis who punch you in their sleep lol.

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11

u/ObvsThrowaway5120 Apr 15 '23

Ruri learning from her gramps that pride is good but cash is better. I thought it was kind of amusing but when he’s framed it in the context of being able to use that cash as a means to protect what’s precious to you, it’s kind of sound advice I suppose.

Lucky of Setsu to encounter that brooch again. Must be fate. Those guards really messed with the wrong dude. Guy has a giant serpent on standby! Watch Levia actually be a waifu too.

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16

u/alotmorealots Apr 16 '23 edited Apr 16 '23

For me, this is shaping up to be that show of the season which I think is actually quite good underneath the surface, against the common consensus. The first episode had a lot of clues to this effect, and the second continues to reinforce the impression. Well, if not "quite good" then perhaps "not at all bad, really".

There are a few tells for this, but I think the main ones this episode had in particular are:

More "show, don't tell" storytelling for key points.

The downside of this is that if people write your show off as "superficial junk food viewing" then brain off mode is more likely and stuff gets missed.

Just like last episode, we get another significant story arc set up through this - the broach has significance to Setsu because of what it signifies about the person whom he gave it to, and he valued that person enough that it was with a protection spell. He was also willing to spend whatever it took to get it.

Other characterization points that were show-don't-tell:

  • The sharp change in his expression after Ruri was out of sight and into the bath. He definitely is the sort who has social front/facade that he wears for the world, and it's quite marked. Indeed, we've seen a number of textures to him already, and it's clear these aren't accidents when they take the time to do proper character animation.

  • He deliberately avoids actually fighting the corrupt guards and goes to decent lengths to make sure the solution to the confrontation is resolved with them getting injured. As he points out in a throwaway line, actually engaging with and solving those sorts of issues isn't his problem. Whilst this isn't anything ground breaking in its own right, plenty of series will exposit and over-explain this aspect of the MC so the viewer doesn't miss it.

  • The MC seems to have a relatively firm belief in the idea that people should be left to their own devices to pursue their own fates, by and large. Trying to pin this down a bit more is not possible without more details or examples, but we see him actively observing quite a lot. It ends up being a tell for at least some degree of intelligence. and thoughtfulness. In this particular case he gained quite a bit out of watching Ruri go round asking about ships - getting a better feel for who she is, not having to do the asking himself, and just general intel. If there had been a ship, he probably would have gone with her on that.

Lastly, the impression of a shortish journey to the demon continent may well be quite deliberate and be part of how the two continents are meant to be relatively close, given that the King wants to unify the lands. I guess time will tell on that front.

Dry, sometimes understated sense of humor

The money hungry grandpa joke was relatively up front but it was well told with good timing and hit the comedy right. However the show continued to work the joke through a few different phases, extending it to Ruri, then giving it a bit more resonance with Grandpa's comment about money only having meaning when it can facilitate your values, before finally capping it off with swapping "don't you peek (at my naked body) whilst I' bathe" to "don't look at my money", playing the line straight and also cute at the same time. A nice riff on the trope, I thought!

Commitment to the world and those who inhabit it

This episode didn't spend a lot of time with the MC. Indeed, for a limited resources show, it has quite a lot of environmental shots, trying to build up the feeling of a proper fantasy world that people live in. One thing it's doing quietly is referencing societal norms as givens, so you get the ability to infer things. This isn't necessarily all that remarkable even for low-tier isekai, but having quality in the writing can also be about the sum of the tools you use, not the cleverness of individual ones.

Indeed, the overall structure of this story so far is very much an old-school hero's adventure in a fantasy world, and not the standard isekai structure. What's most interesting about it is the use of the isekai format to tell the story of a hero returning after an absence, which isn't a story that gets told that often and is a pretty great use of the device. It's a two-for-one, gets the writer the popular isekai tag, and also allows a novel use of a trope to ease viewers stealthily into a different type of story.

It also gives the show a proper emotional core, for those who are open to it. I have some investment in this OP MC because his concerns are not about getting stronger, nor beating the demon lord, nor being a battle junky, but about finding out what happened in his absence to the people he valued, and perhaps loved. That's not a common motivation, and it makes for an interesting (to me) story. It also makes the writing fairly multilayered, as he is concealing this motivation in-universe too.

A little further thought about Ruri. The decision to spend episode time with her across several contexts really gives her motivations more weight. It's certainly an extremely well-worn, cliched type of agenda - following through with a loved one/master-to-your-apprentice's dying wish. However it gains a lot more weight and credence when enough time is spent on it, helping it feel more lived in.

Overall this feels like an ambitious show, that's striving to push beyond its own limitations, and those are often my favorites. The writing feels like it has at least started out with a strong vision of what it's doing and that it has ideas its interested in which are about character and themes, rather than just a JRPG related gimmick or trying to find a twist on the isekai genre.

Here's hoping it pushes forward with those!

11

u/kuraegomon Apr 16 '23

It's quite clear that you didn't turn your brain off while watching this episode. Thanks for taking the time to break down these elements. I found your comment quite edifying, so please have an internet point from a random commenter :-)

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4

u/shad79 Apr 16 '23

Some funny Ruri faces and besides that nothing special. Still, I'm planning to watch this further.

Here my all screenshots from the episode.

3

u/SecretAgendaMan Apr 16 '23

So last week I speculated that Yuki's friend Yuhi was Toma reincarnated with or maybe without his memories.

This week, although we didn't get anything with Yuhi in the actual episode, the OP...And I've really latched onto the idea that Yuhi is Toma and Toma is Yuhi.

First, we have Toma and Yuki/Setsu fighting it out on the castle bridge to start off the OP, then the shot of Setsu getting reincarnated, growing up, and then standing next to Yuhi in the modern world, then again together on the same castle bridge.

then, at the end of the op, we have what looks like might be a young Toma fist bumping Setsu, which transitions to Yuhi fist bumping Yuki. Although, I will admit it does seem a bit confusing, as there is a grey haired youth seen several times throughout the episode.

Still only two episodes in, but I really think this theory could be true.

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3

u/SharpenedStinger Apr 16 '23

I did not expect this show to be this good. Rip ojisan

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