English Dub Review: Restaurant to Another World “Pork Cutlet Rice Bowl / Pudding a la Mode”

Because going into an arena with five bowls of rice in you is a great idea.

Spoilers Below

Lionel was once the king of a mighty city of lion men. However, his people committed many atrocities to the surrounding towns, and they hired a “hero” to bring him down. In exchange for all the loot he could find, and a cut of the proceeds, this half elf hero was to paralyze the populace and sell them into slavery. Lionel ended up in the gladiatorial arena. For each fight he won, he would earn 100 gold. The price for his freedom: 10,000 gold. If he won 100 battles, he would be free. But that didn’t look likely. His first opponent was a manticore, and they were both starving. As luck would have it, the door to the Nekoya appeared inside Lionel’s cell. Though he couldn’t pay initially, the owner (grandfather of the current Master) fed him five katsudon. That’s a pork cutlet rice bowl. This gave the lion man all the strength he needed to win his fight. And the next. Twenty years later, he still fights in the arena, even though he’s free. Every Saturday, he returns to his old cell and orders the katsudon. Aletta wonders if Lionel were to meet that half elf again, he might beat him this time. The master doesn’t know, but he certainly hopes so.

Oh, and speaking of half elves, they aren’t all bad. Meet the Witch Princess Victoria. Even though both of her parents were full humans, she was born with elven traits. Half elves have it hard. Humans don’t trust them, and elves hate them. Their only options are to go into sorcery or become mercenaries. Victoria chose to throw herself into sorcery, tutored by another hero and regular to the Nekoya, Altorius (he’s the mage in white). During her eight years of study with him, he showed her to the mystical restaurant, where she acquired a taste for sweets. Even after her tutelage was over, she would return to eat there regularly. This is the first time she has seen Aletta, who is shocked when someone who looks like an elf would order pudding a la mode. It’s loaded with egg and milk. As we’ve seen, elves are strict vegans! She finishes her treat, and orders four small ones to go. We finally get to see what her sorcerous experiment is: a refrigeration box, so she can enjoy ice cream all week.

I feel like this episode was kinda weak. Sure, the story of Lionel was interesting, but Victoria’s story was a bit of a snooze. It had narration from beginning to end. I know, I said I liked it during Gaganpo’s story, but that was because it was a gag. This time, we just have a narrator go on for a long time about how she’s a half elf, and here are the problems they face. It was all telling, no show, especially because she didn’t have any of those problems. She was isolated because she liked it, not because of racism. So the episode uses about a third of its time talking about problems that are completely detached from the story. What I do like is how characters from previous episodes are getting woven in, here and there. It builds on the sense of continuity and universe.

As always, the art is a joy to behold… oh, wait. Well, we have an issue. This episode is riddled with little errors and animation issues. There aren’t any cases of “derpy eyes”, but there are a great many points where facial shapes are warped at a distance. Lionel’s face in close-ups is consistently inconsistent. Animators apparently can’t agree on Victoria’s figure, because in some shots, she’s a bit broader in the belly than others. Further, watching the two featured characters eat, it didn’t feel as if they were holding the utensils. Just a disembodied hand holding some food that vanished suddenly. When it comes to close-ups of Aletta and Victoria (when she isn’t eating) the art and animation are great, and the girls are cute. The voice acting was sub par, I feel. Lionel wasn’t bad when he talked, but his roar wasn’t really a roar. Jeremy Inman just used his voice acting scream. It lacked any gravitas or stopping power. Victoria didn’t say much, really. Her portion was more narration than anything else. So, it is with a heavy heart that I have to give this episode six rice bowls out of ten. Hopefully, that will give it the strength it needs to do better next time.