A new Isekai on Crunchyroll called I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too, is one of the few series of its kind where the hero is able to travel back and forth between both their home world and the new fantasy world they get isekai’d to. Even though other isekai like this exist, … Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too is undoubtedly one of the more innovative of its kind for various reasons.
Sometimes shortened as Iseleve, this adaptation of the light novel series by writer Miku and illustrator Rein Kuwashima has a unique twist with its portrayal of both the protagonist Yūya Tenjo and his home world. In an unprecedented move, the series explores Tenjo’s life before he gets isekai’d and renders his original body quite differently from how he later appears once he starts leveling up in the fantasy world.
As a result, Tenjo’s new experiences back at home after his physical transformation are almost as though he is in a completely different world, even though there’s a whole new fantasy world waiting for him.
I Got a Cheat Skill’s Protagonist Can Travel Between Reality & Fantasy
Very rarely do shut-ins or unpopular characters actually look the part. Often in isekai they are still attractive and don’t actually appear any different from popular characters besides their demeanor. However, Tenjo is portrayed in an unflattering way based on his lifestyle. However, after leveling up in the fantasy world, Tenjo’s body becomes muscular and chisels his facial features. This results is everyone treating him differently back home, giving Tenjo a whole new perspective on life as though he were living in a completely different world.
Moreover, I Got a Cheat Skill initially creates a connection between the old and new version of Tenjo in the real world before he initially gets isekai’d, allowing his normal life to change dramatically once that shift occurs. Before his fantasy adventures, he saves a girl with a connection to an amazing school, and once Tenjo returns as an attractive person, events had already been put into motion to transfer him there in thanks for his heroic deed. So even his life in the real world is changed dramatically. Viewers had already seen him getting bullied extensively in his original school, so this shift becomes much more prominent when he starts attending the new academy.
How I Got a Cheat Skill Adds Nuance to the “Double Isekai” Sub-Genre
Few other Isekai feature protagonists who can travel back and forth between worlds, and the series that do aren’t as nuanced as I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too. Another Isekai series on Crunchyroll called Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement is similar to some degree. In the fantasy world, the protagonist Mitsuha Yamano is attacked by wolves but suddenly teleports back home where she gathers some random household appliances to slay them. After getting isekai’d back and killing the wolves, she earns money, and decides to earn enough, so she can retire in both worlds. (This also happens in I Got a Cheat Skill.)
With its fun twist on classic isekai and by effectively contrasting the two worlds the protagonist operates in I Got a Cheat Skill takes formulaic elements of isekai and makes them fresh. Although both it and Saving 80,000 Gold innovate the Isekai formula, Crunchyroll’s I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too is clearly superior, except for that horrible title.
Watch I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too on Crunchyroll
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- founded:
- 2006-05-14
- notable shows:
- Array
