[Anime Review] Farming Life In Another World - Coziness For The Whole Family (Until You Read the Manga)

I have a confession: I love both Cute Girls Doing Cute Things and Found Family Anime as much as some of the weird and obscure shows I’ve reviewed prior. It’s all about my mood and curiosity. That doesn’t mean I will watch either genre religiously, though. Welcome to my review of the “Stardew Valley” Isekai (as some fans have dubbed it).

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The premise of this one was pretty simple: a sick, middle aged man died from an undisclosed illness in our modern world. The god in charge of his fate took pity on him and offered him a new life with a healthy body and anything he asked for in a fantasy world. What did our main character request? To live a happy life as a farmer since he wasn’t able to in his previous life. God gave him infinite stamina, super human strength and a holy item that can transform into any object he can imagine. What could go wrong?

Before I go any further, allow me to drop an opinion: power fantasy Isekais are not an issue for me if there’s something more to the story and characters outside of that. The World’s Finest Assassin was an example of one I genuinely found pretty awful due to poor writing, characters and concepts portrayed. This one made me happy enough that I’ve seen it around five times now. The meat to everything past the premise was where it hooked me, although, the lack of stakes and true plot not bothering me was a bit of a surprise.

After granting his wish, God dropped our hero, Hiraku, into the middle of the Forest of Death where the strongest monsters in the region dwelled. That was the first sign that this was something different. Due to being new to the world, he had no clue about his predicament and optimistically began plowing the earth, chopping down forestry and building a shelter for himself. The first episode was all about setting up what was essentially him following Minecraft logic (and even talking about playing a similar game while in the hospital). That shelter would eventually become a full village with residents (as shown in the first cold open).

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That leads nicely into the music and overall presentation: both were very much of the farming simulation genre of games. The animation studio wasn’t hiding their inspirations; there were frequent moments of him becoming a chibi character showing off his achieving of new goals in a video gamey way. Those animations, all of the environments, and general character designs were clean and well detailed using digital augmentation, bloom and lighting effects to make scenes pop and cover up rough spots. I only noticed small dips in quality in places during this recent watch due to actively looking for them but I feel they would not be distracting for most viewers. It was aesthetically pleasing. I’m a big fan of the eyes (see some of the screenshots used).

The audio work was equally pleasing. Wind could be heard through the trees. Rivers roared in the distance when they were discovered. The forest sounded dangerous at times. This world felt alive even though it mostly took place in a single location in the middle of nowhere. Much of the musical score used violins and flutes, giving it an aged rural feel. The opening, “Flower Ring” - sung by the female leads’ VAs, was upbeat and inviting with visuals showing off the joys and vibrance of living the simple life. There were three different endings, each with a different animation style but all equally as comfy. [Slight correction: there’s one ending with multiple slight variations and a few episodes where the track plays over characters partying or other tasks]

I also preferred the English dub over the original Japanese voice work. Lucy Christian as the vampire herbalist and first wife Lulucy “Lulu” Lu, Monica Rial as the second wife and warrior angel Tia, and Jonny Yong Bosh as Hiraku Machio were all wonderful casting choices for this kind of series and played their characters with calm, cheerful delight. The Japanese voice actresses were fine for both girls but Atsushi Abe’s rough and gravelly voice for the lead didn’t fit the personality and youthfulness of him. It would have worked for the original him but his new body was that of a young man possibly in his late teens or very early adulthood.

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The standout performance was Bosh’s marriage proposal in Episode 2, which was both awkward and heartfelt as Christian panicked but accepted in her confusion. They remained the core relationship and both had great chemistry with their lines and general intonations. They frequently helped each other out with their passions while also both having different conversations with other members of the cast giving a sense of boundaries and respect. That was another big surprise; the characters in The Great Tree Village, as the location would later be called with Hiraku deemed the mayor, felt like a familial community. Almost like a cult… Bad thoughts are not welcomed!!!

This was also one of the few dubs where the subtitles in the official streaming release mostly matched up with the voices well enough that leaving them on for the jokes and explanations of farming techniques used that were not directly translated into English on screen shouldn’t be an issue. I feel that the creators researched the material competently enough to make this somewhat educational. As someone who grew up on a farm, most of what was shown seemed correct to me. The dialogues were simple to follow and slang or any complex word play were rarely used (although, Lulu slipping in a request for a threesome with the well-formed Tia was something I missed without said subtitles). 🫣

Now before I gush any further, allow me to drop some facts about the creation of this series and some light spoilers. I have read parts of the original manga (which is considered more gratuitous than the light novels, for hopefully obvious reasons). This Anime adaptation is based on a sexually explicit harem Isekai story (despite being published in a shonen publication). In my humble opinion, this Anime is mostly safe for all audiences in the same vein as the original Toy Story where there were very adult jokes mixed in with the wholesome vibes for the children. The little I’ve read of the other works, not so much. What’s even funnier is the studio that made this did the One Room series prior, a PoV borderline hentai franchise in which My Life as Inukai’s Dog (which I have seen) most likely gained much of its inspiration from. This looks like it’s one of the few more family friendly endeavors they’ve created, although, Science Fell in Love was another one that I had a pleasant time with.

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An example of note for me on where the Anime outright displayed its more adult themes: Hiraku found a barred up room in the mansion he built for the community. Upon opening it, it was briefly shown that there was a large bed with various sexual paraphernalia barely shown in the background. He immediately brushed it off as scary. I also found amusement in how much he ignored the advances of all of the beautiful, busty women that joined his settlement on screen while the adorable spider mama would be shown making baby clothes for the “non-pregnant” ones at the same time. The harem by the end of this first season ended up at around 100 or so of various different magical races but that element was barely a part of the presentation and was the big running joke.

One surprising aspect that was also very fun to think about: the nations and leaders outside of the village believed he was forming a world conquering army due to how many of his denizens were some of the most powerful beings in this new world. There’s not much of a plot but the world building and political intrigue woven into a simple story of a man wanting a peaceful healthy life farming was plenty to keep my attention during the latter half. I have two favorite characters, the constantly drunk yet very cordial dragon lord and the demon king with the rebellious teenage daughter. Both were comedy gold in every scene they were in. The Oni maid that constantly asked permission to kill the wine slime was a close second.

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I can see a lack of long term character development and an overarching plot being an issue for some audiences. Comedy is subjective and some of the jokes might fall flat (especially the small handful of Japanese references that foreigners won’t understand without doing research). The ages of some of the women in the harem could possibly raise eyebrows too if you think too hard about them.

My Closing Thoughts

I recommend this series if you’re looking for a laid back time, don’t mind its origins and want something that has great production values with a bit of thought and heart thrown in. If you enjoyed this review, feel to reply, reblog and vote on it. Thanks for your time and have a wonderful night.

Important Information

• Based on a light novel series of the same name by Kinosuke Naito
• Genres: Isekai, Harem, Slice of Life, Cute Girls Doing Cute Things, City Builder, Political Drama, Comedy
• Studio: Zero-G
• Seasons / Episodes: Winter 2023 (12 episodes)
• Streaming on: HiDIVE
• Similar Content Recommendations: Irena, Vampire Cosmonaut (for a more dramatic but also comfy Vampire Human romance tale); I’ve Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level (for a similar type of comfy series that’s geared more towards younger girls and less adult themed; it’s also getting a second season that I’m excited for)