One of the very first anime that I’ve ever covered on the blog is Restaurant to Another World, from Summer 2017. It’s a very charming cooking/fantasy show with a colorful cast and a fun reversal to the iseskai concept (which, given the stagnant nature of the genre, is super appreciated). As much as I enjoyed the series, I was under the impression that the show was a one and done deal. Imagine my surprise when a second season aired in Fall 2021. I very much wanted to cover it in episode reviews but being the diligent blogger than I am, I naturally got preoccupied with life and this joined a then long list of anime for me to maybe come back to. After mulling it over, catching up on nearly everything else in the backlog, and with some days off to spare, I’m here finally finishing my episode reviews for Restaurant to Another World.
I should first address the studio change for this season. Most of the staff returned for Season 2 but this season is animated by OLM instead of Silver Link, who animated Season 1. As a result, the show looks a little different between seasons. Me personally, I’m not that hung up on the change. Season 1 looked fine but it was by no means the prettiest anime out there so losing Silver Link isn’t that big of a deal. I suppose, based on the first episode, Season 2 lacks the warm “lighting” that Season 1 often had but I can deal with it. Unless OLM really drops the ball here, I’m okay with having them take the wheels.
Season 2 begins with a quick reintroduction of the main cast. It then spends the first half of the premiere introducing us to a new guest character, Hilda (Nao Toyama), a demon girl with cat-like features who works alone as a mercenary. After clearing out a goblin nest, Hilda finds a door to Nekoya (which I guess the goblins never figured out how to open) and she goes through the usual motions of a new patron of the restaurant. In Hilda’s case, her favorite food ends up being souffle cheesecake. Hilda likes sweets but they’re a luxury where she’s from so the quality and pricing of Nekoya’s cheesecake is mighty appealing to her. There’s a quick yet sweet moment where Hilda is initially wary of Nekoya but she calms down when she meets Aletta (Sumire Uesaka) and realizes that a fellow demon works there. She even takes off her headgear and shows off her feline features more openly. I always enjoy these moments that highlight Nekoya as a place where people of all kinds get together. It’s a nice message and it adds to the wholesome tone of the show.
You get a brief interlude featuring the Nekoya crew. I always enjoy it when the show focuses on them. Maybe it’s because they’re the most recurring characters among the cast but I do think they’re a fun bunch. All their different personalities play off each other really well. In this scene, the Master (Junichi Suwabe) cooks some Chinese style fried rice for the crew’s dinner break, while also providing Kuro (Saori Onishi) with another serving of chicken curry. Being Chinese myself, I laughed pretty hard when Aletta asked what Chinese means. I know that’s not a word she’d be familiar with but out of context, it’s funny. Also funny is Aletta trying to convince Kuro to try some fried rice, only for Kuro to decline and stick with her chicken curry. Oh Aletta, you should know by now that almost everyone has a crippling addiction to their favorite food. You’re like the only one who diversifies your appetite.
Curiously, Kuro is back to using telepathy to communicate to the Master and Aletta. I believe her talking to them verbally at the end of Season 1 is an anime-original change but honestly, that’s a change that I wish the show kept. It was so touching that Kuro felt close enough to the Master and Aletta to actually speak to them. I understand wanting to adhere to the books more closely and it’s probably easier to edit Kuro’s dialogue if she’s always using telepathy but this change was so noticeable that it feels rather weird to reverse course on it.
At the end of the day, the Master gives Aletta some leftover corn pottage, having noticed that the girl really wanted to eat it throughout the day, as well as an order of minced meat cutlet sandwiches for Sarah (Kiyono Yasuno). Apparently, Sarah hasn’t been to Nekoya in a while, being cooped up in her house deciphering information about some treasure. I’m a little curious what exactly this treasure will be but it might not matter in the grand scheme of things. The point here is that Sarah hasn’t eaten properly as of late. Wanting to lift Sarah’s spirits up, Aletta decides to share the corn pottage with her the following morning. I’m glad to see more of these two’s friendship post Sarah hiring Aletta as her housekeeper. All we got from that development in Season 1 was the vignette that established it in the first place. I always figured they’re on good terms but it helps to actually see it for once.
Watch Restaurant to Another World 2 on Crunchyroll
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