The following contains spoilers for Episode 4 of My Isekai Life, “Truly Unusual Situations,” now streaming on HIDIVE.
My Isekai Life is a brand-new anime title in the Summer 2022 season starring the isekai protagonist Yuji, a multiclassing wizard with slimes and sage magic alike at his disposal. So far, My Isekai Life hasn’t done much to stand out in the highly saturated isekai realm, but at least Yuji has his moments. He can do more than stomp all the monsters with his OP magic.
Yuji, as a whole, is shaping up to be another generic power fantasy isekai lead, and that trend needs to change soon. However, at least by Episode 4, My Isekai Life has found little ways to round out his character and make him more likable with charitable, nonviolent acts. If My Isekai Life pushes that angle, it could become one of the year’s best isekai titles after all.
In Episode 4, Yuji wanders off into the night to face the mighty blue dragon of delight alone, defying the plan for everyone to face it as a united group. Yuji seems determined to solo every foe in My Isekai Life, and on one level, it’s a bit tedious to see an OP hero doing that yet again. On the plus side, this might be a benevolent move on Yuji’s part, with him facing the dragon alone so no one else needs to risk their lives in battle. Best of all, Yuji’s next scene in Episode 4 continues that wholesome trend, with Yuji taking the time to brew helpful potions. No matter his OP abilities, Yuji is always thinking of others, both on and off the battlefield.
In Episode 4’s middle scene, Yuji runs into a friend — a blonde dryad who he’d rescued sometime earlier. The dryad is thrilled to see her friend again, and she invites him to help her with a project of hers. Not only did the blue dragon’s death rid the world of a monster, but the dragon’s skeletal remains now nourish hundreds of rare blue and red mushrooms, all of which are useful for potion-making. With his slimes to aid him, Yuji collects all the mushrooms, then uses distilled water to help the dryad make high-quality sage potions and mana restoratives. These potions can make all the difference for a wizard in battle, and Yuji is happy to help make these free of charge. It’s good to see Yuji spending his time on something constructive like this with a friend, and this scene intuitively ties My Isekai Life into other isekai anime titles.
By now, it’s pretty routine to see transparent power trip characters like Yuji blitz their way through otherwise difficult boss fights or large-scale battles, and if My Isekai Life focuses too much on that, the show’s appeal might drop quickly. However, Episode 4 also taps into a more wholesome and inspiring isekai trope: the “wandering savior” concept. Many isekai heroes devote some or even all of their time to helping the people around them with their unique meta-knowledge and skills, often outclassing the doctors or artisans in their own world. Such heroes dazzle the isekai world’s natives with their generous acts, and even if that feels cliche by now, it’s far more inspiring than OP heroes like Yuji soling boss battles with ease.
If Yuji can use his creativity to help people and make a positive impact in this world, he may greatly raise his stock as an isekai protagonist and surprise viewers with his improvised solutions to the world’s problems. In so doing, he can echo other compassionate isekai leads such as the optimistic scientist Ishigami Senku, who strives to rebuild humanity with stone-age science, or Azusa Aizawa, the isekai witch who identifies more as a foster mom than an OP wizard. Azusa is both OP and generous, but she focuses on her nonviolent adventures instead, building wholesome friendships along the way. Yuji could stand to follow Azusa’s example and steer clear of power fantasy territory, and Episode 4’s potion scene is a tentative step in the right direction.