English Dub Review: Farming Life in Another World “Birth”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Hiraku’s second chance was just the beginning. As he reflects on the changes that occurred since his arrival, one thing is certain: The Great Tree Village is lively as always.

Our Take:
Hiraku has come a long way since being reincarnated into another world. He created a farm to live in, made friends with powerful beings, got engaged to a vampire, and was recently promoted to mayor of the Great Tree Village. Now, he’s becoming a first-time parent to his first child. As Hiraku reminisces about his accomplishments in the village, Ru gives birth to a baby boy named Alfred, who happens to be a half-human, half-vampire being.
But, of course, the arrival of Hiraku and Ru’s child isn’t the only scenario occurring in the season finale. Hiraku also provides the village’s currency via Great Tree coins since their current system of trading goods isn’t enough to sustain the town. This resulted in some confusion from the villagers about what one coin is worth and extra work for Hiraku. They also host a grand feast to celebrate Alfred’s birth, with the dwarves producing a celebratory wine to be saved for Alfred until he comes of age. We also see that Beezel finally comes to terms with the Great Tree Village being impossible for him and his army to defeat. So, the only solution for him and the other generals is to become their allies instead. If you can’t beat them, join them. However, Galgardo doesn’t take this idea too well, as he thinks Beezel is arranging a political marriage between Hiraku and Yuri.
Like episode six, “Birth” marks the end of Hiraku’s chapter of his new farming life and the beginning of a new one, and the result is mildly satisfying. With Alfred present, Hiraku will have to pull triple duty to run the village as a farmer, mayor, and father. However, he also has a massive task ahead of him, as he has two hundred people wishing to move to the village. The Great Tree Village isn’t quite big enough to house that amount of people, so it’s time for them to build a second village to accommodate this, Great Tree Village 2. Very original, if I do say so myself.
So it appears that the show’s potential second season would involve Hiraku and his people building Great Tree Village 2 to provide sanctuary for everyone in the fantasy world. If that’s the case, we could get the same routine as the first season regarding farming life and people moving into the town, for better or worse. I’m not as fond of the series’s narrative structure as the other viewers are, mainly due to my lack of experience with farming simulators. However, to its credit, the show provides enough moments in its tranquil tone and charm to keep me invested in this farming life. Stay tuned for my season review, where I discuss my entire experience with this peaceful addition to the isekai collection.