Warning: The following contains spoilers for A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics episode #4!!A new reverse isekai series on Crunchyroll called A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics just dropped a major bombshell seemingly out of nowhere that completely redefines how most entries in the overall isekai genre explore the concept of “the original world.” Of course, A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics did expertly foreshadow what was to come, but it occurred both during the least popular of the series’ two main story lines and even after the ubiquitous third episode – during the last few minutes of the fourth episode, too.
Apparently, the original world that princess Sara Da Odin and her lady knight Livia Do Udis come from is actually Earthfrom a parallel universe, where one small difference in history created two very different modes of existence, one of which has magic.
This shocking development is also presented in a manner that doesn’t feel forced because of the anime’s focus on detective work. The final minutes of episode 4 showcase the private eye from the normal world whom Sara has been living with, Sosuke Kaburaya, listing all the clues from previous episodes proving his theory that her world is Earth like Sherlock Holmes, to make it impossible for Sara to deny his findings. Subsequently, Sosuke’s skills at deduction help viewers understand and appreciate all the careful groundwork that writer Yomi Hirasaka and illustrator Kantoku went through in the original light novel to prepare for the big reveal.
A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics Dropped The Bombshell At An Interesting Moment
The female lead gives an interesting exposition dump that lives up to the anime’s title
From the perspective of the entire genre, this bombshell is actually quite innovative, just because many isekai almost always completely ignore the original world, and if they don’t, then very rarely do they go through such pains to hint at the connection between both of them. Moreover, this could very well be the first instance in the genre where the original world is part of a parallel universe that mirrors Earth. From the perspective of just the series itself, anime-goers are undoubtedly shocked that the bombshell occurred during Sara’s particular story.
Even more ironically, episode #4’s case before the reveal deviated from the overall goofiness from earlier installments to revolve around a very intense and dramatic case, meaning that the bombshell wasn’t even necessary to justify her story line just because of how effective it was.
Until now, the most interesting of the two had undoubtedly been the trials and tribulations of Sara’s lady knight Livia, for capturing the brutal difference between reverse isekai and regular isekai. The only thing that Sara’s story offered was an amusing homage to Detective Conan and the humorous ways in which she would use her magic to help Sosuke on cases, many of which were raunchy or lighthearted. Even more ironically, episode #4’s case before the bombshell deviated from the overall goofiness from earlier installments to revolve around a very intense and dramatic case, meaning that the bombshell wasn’t even necessary to justify her story line just because of how effective it was.
The Bombshell Couldn’t Have Happened Any Earlier – Despite What Fans May Have Wanted
The new reverse isekai is surprisingly groundbreaking in its episode #3 twist
Even more ironically, there really wasn’t any other way for A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics to present this bombshell earlier so that viewers could have been more invested in Sara’s story line from the start. Episode #4’s case was the second overall, and even though it contained the best instance of foreshadowing truth about both worlds, it wouldn’t have made sense for it to have been introduced during her first case, since it makes more sense from a narrative standpoint to start small before excalating to something much bigger.
Also, some fans might wonder why the case didn’t happen during the ubiquitous third episode, where major series twists happen in new seasonal anime. Also, ironically, it could have done if the series didn’t dedicate episode #3 to Livia’s unique struggles, but at that point in the anime, Livia’s story was undoubtedly the strongest, so moving Sara’s bombshell in episode 3 would have removed what was then and could very well still be the best aspect of the series for many viewers. Regardless, everyone can at least agree that the truth about both worlds in A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics is innovative for reverse isekai and the genre as a whole – even though fans would have wanted to find out about the connection between both worlds a little bit earlier.
