While so many fans nowadays don’t seem to expect much from a new isekai anime, I always hold out hope it will be stellar as, let’s face it, some of them still are.
That’s why, when watching In the Land of Leadale, Episode 1, “An Inn, a Tower, a Bear, and a Banquet“, I kept an open mind.
Sure, the just released first episode starts with a girl who is confined to a hospital bed and on life support dying, and soon after waking up in an alternative world as her VRMMORPG character Cayna the Elf.
No, nothing original here when it comes to the protagonist’s door of entry into the isekai world.
That being said, while In the Land of Leadale Episode 1 didn’t offer anything earth-shatteringly different, or much that would make help it stand out, it is still a solid offering in the isekai genre and sets the anime up for the likely decent story, fun characters and a pleasant viewing experience to come.
In the Land of Leadale, Episode 1, “An Inn, a Tower, a Bear, and a Banquet” review
The thing I enjoyed the most about the first episode of the isekai, slice-of-life fantasy anime In the Land of Leadale, other than the character of Cayna, is its’ feel.
Light, relaxing, full of fun and all done a little tongue-in-cheek.
Tongue-in-cheek as, while Cayna may at first seem very goody-two-shoes, it becomes obvious quickly there may just be more to her than meets the eye.
Especially when we soon learn the locals at the inn Cayna finds herself staying in when she first wakes up are frightened of a witch in a silver tower not far from the village.
A terrifying figure they call the ‘Silver Ring Witch‘. A figure, it turns out, was Cayna herself, 200 years ago when she first played the game.
As she admits to herself, maybe she should have been a little nicer to the folks she treated poorly?
Cayna isn’t just potentially scary masquerading as sweet either.
In fact, at Level 1100, she is mightily overpowered. Something we see as she saves a local man from an enormous horned bear by kicking it in the head, while not even breaking a sweat.
Yep, we have yet another overpowered hero heading up this latest isekai anime.
All in all, though, In the Land of Leadale Episode 1 definitely shows quite a bit of promise.
Cayna is intriguing in the way she almost calmly accepts she is now dead in her own world, and so stuck in a VRMMORPG.
To some extent, she even seems more interested in being able to taste real food again after years of being on an IV drip than she does in getting back to her old body and her old life.
Then again, if I woke up as an incredibly cute 300-plus year old elf with battle skills even Thor might envy, in a world that is beautifully drawn and where most people seem to be nice, I’m not sure I would bother heading back to where I came from either.
Especially if where that turned out to be was trapped in a bed hooked up to IVs for the rest of my life.
In the Land of Leadale Episode 1 ends with Cayna enjoying wine in the game world for the first time ever. Then proving, while she may be a badass in a fight, she’s a lightweight when it comes to booze.
Like I said, In the Land of Leadale Episode 1 certainly isn’t reality changing.
But it is a lovely little isekai, with a pleasant soundtrack, sweet characters, an interesting enough story and a very pretty art style.
Yep, I’ll definitely be tuning in for episode 2 as, if in the mood for a comfy anime, this one certainly suits.
The first episode of the anime is now streaming on Crunchyroll, with new episodes arriving every Wednesday.