I’m not really considering Fluffy Paradise for episode reviews but this premiered with no competition next to it and I had a day off so whatever, here are some first impressions.
Fluffy Paradise begins with the typical isekai protagonist dying and getting sent to another world. In her new fantasy world, Midori Akitsu reincarnates as Nefertima “Nema” Osphe (Ai Kakuma), the youngest child in a noble family in the nation of Gaché. Nema receives from God (Miki Shinichiro) the ability to befriend animals (which shouldn’t really count as a special ability but whatever, let’s run with it). This apparently includes divine beings known as Holy Beasts as Nema manages to become buddies with Lars (Taketora), a giant white tiger and the Holy Beast companion of Gaché’s crown prince Wilhert (Genki Okawa), much to everyone’s surprise.
It’s no secret on this blog that isekai is one of my least favorite genres in anime. The industry has ran it into the ground and the bubble should’ve burst years ago. I therefore have to hand it to Fluffy Paradise in that it manages to get through to my cold heart but I kind of want say it’s cheating here. Put any fluffy animal in your story and I’ll automatically be a bit more lenient for the time being. But hey, it works. It is really cute how the giant and and divine Lars quickly dotes on Nema like any normal pet would and it does make interested to see the main character befriend other creatures in the show’s setting.
There is one solid joke in the premiere. At the end of the episode, Nema’s older sister Kanadia (Haruki Iwata), or Karna for short, somehow summons a dragon Holy Beast during her school exam. Despite Karna’s fire magic being ineffective against the dragon, she nevertheless goes “screw it” and welcomes the challenge. That managed to get a chuckle out of me. Nema and Karna’s mother Cerulia (Ayumi Tsunematsu) cheering Karna on makes the joke even better.
While this is a mostly wholesome premiere, there are a couple elements that suggest something darker in the plot. Technically, Nema is in her new world to investigate humanity’s discrimination against a kemonomimi race known as the Asdyllon, on the behalf of God. Nema’s ultimate goal is to decide for God if humanity should be wiped out or not for their bigotry. Outside of the opening scene and the OP however, the Asdyllon are nowhere to be found in this episode and you almost forget about it while Nema is playing with her new tiger friend. I assume the show will explore this thread in greater detail but I’m curious if that’ll clash with the wholesome tone the show is currently opting for. There’s also this weird moment where Wilhert comments that Nema’s eyes are black. Apparently, black eyes don’t exist in this fantasy world. I imagine this has some significance in the story. Otherwise, why bring it up? And how come only Wilhert acknowledges this? Have none of Nema’s relatives noticed her eyes aren’t the same color as theirs?
I don’t know if I’ll stick with Fluffy Paradise, let along blog about it, but its first episode is enjoyable enough for me to continue giving the show a whirl and that’s more than I can say about a lot of isekai anime.
Watch Fluffy Paradise on Crunchyroll
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