English Dub Review: Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout “A Guy Who Reincarnated as a Fantasy Knockout and Another Guy”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Tachibana Hinata and Jinguji Tsukasa have been best friends since childhood. Now, at 32 years old, they’re both average businessmen. One night after a mixer, an entity calling itself a goddess sends them to another world. When Jinguji opens his eyes, he sees Tachibana, who’s been transformed into a beautiful, blue-eyed, blonde girl. Now that the two are of different genders from each other, they’re each bewildered by the other’s charms. They steel their determination to defeat the Demon Lord in order to return to who they were with their relationship still intact.

Our Take:

Out of the isekai shows I recently experienced, this one has got to be the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. I took a good look at the title and immediately knew I would be in for a wild ride. You got two best friends who got transferred to another world, and one of them got reincarnated into a beautiful girl. Additionally, these friends must prevent themselves from falling for each other while attempting to defeat the Demon Lord. No, I’m not talking about Varvatos from Greatest Demon Lord. If that premise alone doesn’t raise my eyebrow even higher, I don’t know what will. But, of course, the series would have to rely on its execution to get me invested in this bizarre concept.

The first episode introduces us to the two main characters, Hinata Tachibana and Tsukasa Jinguji. They’re two childhood friends who also work as businesspeople. Jinguji has a way with the ladies due to him being handsome. Hinata, not so much. However, that all changes when the Goddess of Love arrives and sends them to a mysterious world. The two friends are chosen as the protectors of another world, and Hinata transforms into a girl because of the wish he made in his previous life. 

If there’s one thing I should give this episode credit for, it’s that it understands how weird this concept is. With a tone that’s as light-hearted as a rom-com and as surreally humorous as a comedy, the episode injects a surprising amount of laughs into the show’s introduction to the characters’ main quest. More importantly, it represents a highly entertaining chemistry between Hinata and Jinguji that could wind up being the main highlight of the series.

The episode combines many different genres, including isekai, yaoi, and my personal favorite, video games. That’s right, the world they’re in is an RPG video game, with Jinguji gaining abilities powerful enough to punch a hole through a massive monster. The latter element caught me by surprise because I originally thought it would be another typical fantasy isekai. Luckily, I enjoy playing video games as much as watching movies and shows, so this is another big win for me.

Overall, I would say that I was surprisingly impressed with how the show started, mainly due to its humor. While the elements introduced were nothing too special compared to the other shows with familiar qualities, the series made a solid first impression with its enjoyable first episode. I also enjoyed Laura Stahl’s attempt to copy Khoi Dao’s mannerisms regarding her performance as Hinata. Now the only questions that remain are whether it’ll maintain its humorous momentum in the later episodes and how long will these two friends have before they surrender to their affections.