English Dub Review: High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World, “It Seems Akatsuki’s Becoming God Akatsuki!”

 

 

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Tsukasa’s plan to modernize and reorder the fantasy world of Freyjagard begins in full force with religious and political machinations underway. 

Our Take

Last time,  we ended with a declaration from Tsukasa that they would forcibly advance the course of civilization. This proves true immediately, as the episode opens with a truck full of mayonnaise driving into the medieval town. Very little time has passed and incredible new technologies have already come about; electricity, mass production, and pointless fan service. 

But Tsukasa’s grand plan doesn’t stop at just technology. He also founds an entire religion with the prodigies as its angels and Akatsuki as its god, as you might glean from the episode title. Despite that though, the episode contains very little Akatsuki, so I’m not sure why he got to be in the title. Also, apparently everyone who joins gets a bunch of free mayonnaise, so sign me up. 

Founding an entire religion is a very bold move for a bunch of strangers to pull off. When Tsukasa said he would win over the hearts of the people I thought he meant technological innovation and public discourse. Creating a completely new system of beliefs and spreading it proves very effective, but is also incredibly manipulative. This strategy is a bit unexpected, but if Tsukasa is as talented he’s advertised, this probably is one of the more efficient methods. Tsukasa constantly calls for the creation of a democracy, but this seems a bit more like world domination. 

Though with that said, I do think at the end of the day Tsukasa does want a democracy. To that effect, the majority of this episode was Tsukasa trying to convince a former city guardsman named Bernard to lead their army. Bernard wants to simply take care of his daughter rather than dedicating his life to serving another. Tsukasa counters this by saying in the new society he wants to establish, a man can live his life without having to give up everything. 

By the end of the episode, Tsukasa does come off as sympathetic to others. He is doing this not for personal gain but because it’s what he believes is right. Though at the same time, he is clearly not afraid to employ active measures or bring down the hammer if need be. This is made clear when he blackmails the mayor of Dormundt into adopting Tsukasa’s new religion and allowing them to be its rulers.

I think if this weren’t an isekai show, all of the political schemes would generate a very serious atmosphere and question whether the end justifies the means. But since this is isekai, it’s instead portrayed as very positive and uplifting. The real-life gravity of these events creates a little dissonance in the tone, but I think in this case you’re expected to suspend that disbelief. 

Ultimately though, I do wonder why nobody thus far has questioned the legitimacy of the prodigies’ claims. There are rumblings of that at the end of this episode and I’d be interested to see if they play out.