Salaryman ga Isekai ni Ittara Shitennou ni Natta Hanashi

I'm really enjoying this anime—it's my second favorite isekai of the season! It has a similar vibe to How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, but instead of becoming the ruler, the protagonist works under the king. If you liked Realist Hero, you’ll definitely enjoy this one too.

A salaryman gets isekai’d and ends up as one of the Demon Lord’s Big Four, though his role is more of a minister or advisor rather than a combatant. The way he applies his past life knowledge in a fantasy world is really interesting, especially his business strategies. It’s fun to see how modern tactics play out in ... this setting.

Not the most original, not the most endearing, and not the most thought-provoking anime, but it’s an isekai, so you should’ve known what you were getting yourself into.

As the title suggests, it's a story about a salaryman getting isekai'ed. No, he’s not killed in his original world; he’s simply summoned by THE DEMON KING—although he acts more like an angel throughout the series. Being a salaryman, he obviously doesn’t have any powers at all, just a normal human. Will he grow stronger? Yes, but don’t expect him to split the sky or create a crater as huge as Alaska anytime soon.

And of course, since our ... MC is a normal human, don’t expect any flashy or hype fights in this anime. Most of it consists of talking and more talking. You’re basically watching a dude solve a fantasy world’s problems using his intelligence and communication skills, with some good old booze to boost his ideas. He’s also not the manliest of men—he gets scared a lot and even cries sometimes. But hey, he never gives up. He always tries and tries, and all his problems and tasks are usually resolved within one episode.

This anime also has a handful of heroines which designed and characterized to please any plump anime women's lover out there, it's also have a few drop of fanservice and romance in it,so if you are looking for that,this anime got it.

The animation is... average, but this anime doesn’t really need a superb, gazillion-dollar budget to tell its story. What we are presented with is just right for this anime.

So, if you have more than enough spare time and don’t want a show that requires too much thinking while you’re watching, give this one a try.

TL;DR: great if you're expecting an average isekai. Bad if you've hyped the show up to be a reinvention of the genre.

It's one of those anime where its name basically tells you all you need to know. I was intrigued by the premise, but that alone isn't enough to carry a show. It takes TWO episodes for some random girl to propose (marriage, as in) to the protagonist because apparently he's just that awesome, and his backstory itself is very "isekai" (extremely diligent, capable worker whose work isn't appreciated by his employers for little reason - it's basically "banished from the hero party" with extra ... steps). So, rather than feeling like something new, it's like you added some coating to a generic isekai, kicked out the action, replaced it with lots of exposition dumps and some not-particularly-engaging negotiation. This isn't necessarily bad, I just want to get it out of the way - no, this show isn't reinventing isekai.

Why isn't the thing you'd want to watch the anime for, negotiation, engaging? Well, several reasons.

1. Let's talk about Frieren (no spoilers, don't worry). Basically, Frieren is super old, and she did tons of stuff throughout her life. As we go through the story, she'll occasionally remember something that happened in the past, and that thing will happen to fit the current situation to a tee (so, someone doesn't want to negotiate? Frieren had the same problem 10000 years ago and knows exactly what to do). This is pretty much the EXACT structure Salaryman takes. Basically, the protagonist is living through the same thing for the second time, so he knows what to do this time. It's not particularly interesting because you don't really feel as though he's problem-solving, or that you're watching a story unravel. More-so as though he has the script / God himself speaks to him and tells him what to do.

Which is also why this doesn't feel like an actual story for now. It's one of those anime that has the protagonist arrive at the correct solution at the very end, just to reveal he's had a plan all along and explains that plan at the very end. It's like a bad mystery show that explains the murder by adding a bunch of new stuff you didn't know about before at the very end, then acts smart because the solution ends up fitting. Yes, it makes the protagonist look smart and capable, but it's like I'm watching someone's narration rather than an anime.

I saw another reviewer call it a salaryman's fantasy and I cannot put it any better, that's exactly what it feels like. The fact he doesn't one-shot anything or isn't overwhelmingly strong doesn't make this any less of a power-trip fantasy: if anything, I'd say that's exactly the reason why it's even MORE self-insert-y.

2. The protagonist is extremely bland. The negotiations both have zero "political" (I don't know how to call these) stakes, because the world exposition is pretty hasty. And zero emotional stakes because MC's only reason for being here is because he likes his boss.

I'll end with the positives, because they do exist. 1. I like that the protagonist's past experiences exist, even if overplayed (it's an actual isekai which is rarer than you might imagine). 2. The short-fuse girl side-character is actually sort of reasonable (like apologizing when she's wrong). 3. The protagonist is a chill dude (maybe too chill). 4. I like the guitar music.

So, if you're absolutely in love with the premise or liked the Frieren plot structure / down for a normal isekai, it's an okayish show. Me, personally, I like being more involved with the plot, finding stuff out along with the protagonist rather than alongside the side-character. And, honestly, I really did expect something new from this show, but it's basically your average isekai except it kicks out all the aspects that make dumb isekai stories watchable. I don't know if I can even recommend this if you enjoy isekai slop, it's a particular niche that's really not for most people, but I'm sure some will love it.