Giving this show another whirl. I don’t know if I will blog about every episode but this is proving to be a keeper for me. I just really dig the vibe of this show.
Marie’s first trip in Japan ends with her checking out the cherry blossoms at around twilight. There’s a brief but interesting conversation where Marie wonders her world might one day reach the same advancements as the modern world if monsters didn’t exist there. Kazuhiro isn’t so sure and he explains to Marie that his world wasn’t/isn’t always so peaceful. I was kind of surprised by how blunt Kazuhiro is here but I really like that he doesn’t sugarcoat things to his otherworldly friend and he uses that comment to better emphasize what beauty there is in his world.
Once night falls, Kazuhiro takes Marie back to his place. As the two enjoy dinner together, they discuss Kazuhiro’s ability to travel between worlds. Kazuhiro explains that apart from himself (and presumably anyone he touches), he’s only able to bring food and drinks over to Marie’s world. Marie speculates that someone must’ve granted Kazuhiro his special ability and establish the rules related to them. In this context, that feels like a wild hunch but since this is an isekai anime, someone letting Kazuhiro enter another world does feel rather plausible.
The conversation then shifts into the immediate problem. Presumably, Marie can return to her world if she sleeps while making physical contact with Kazuhiro (platonically of course). However, Kazuhiro’s ability causes him to wake up where he last slept or died in Marie’s world. In other words, these two would end up back in Arkdragon’s lair and they’d be stuck in a loop where they get “burned” into a crisp over and over again. That could honestly be a good gag in of itself but naturally, our lead characters agree that their best bet is appeasing the Arkdragon so that it’ll let them go. Fortunately for them, Marie recalls how the Arkdragon once visited the town of Ozloi in her world and Kazuhiro recalls that it’s famous for its beer so the two decide to use bring some from Kazuhiro’s world as an olive branch of sort.
Now that they have a plan, Kazuhiro and Marie hit the hay (which goes about as awkwardly as you’d expect). Kazuhiro successfully returns to the fantasy world with Marie along with him, leaving the Arkdragon (Yumi Uchiyama) as their only concern. The negotiation takes a humorous turn. Like, I figured the Arkdragon would accept the beer as well as the lunches Kazuhiro packed for the trip but I didn’t expect her to want them so badly. She relishes them so much that she immediately trades away one of her dragon scales and a crystal made out of her blood, both of which are extremely rare and valuable, according to Marie. It’s such a lopsided and easy trade that it almost makes Kazuhiro and Marie feel silly for even worrying about their safety. And yet, it falls right in line with the tone the show has established for itself. During this scene, Kazuhiro apparently talks to the Arkdragon in one of the languages dragon uses. The dialogue is spoken in Japanese however, presumably for the viewer’s sake mostly but it also very funny how the viewer can understand everything but Marie can’t.
After leaving the ruins, Kazuhiro and Marie agree to keep their new and expensive items to themselves so that the dragon’s lair is left alone. It does feel like a waste for them to just store those items away, however. I wonder if they might play a bigger role in the future. Kazuhiro expects to part ways with Marie once they reach an inn but Marie says she’s down to rest anywhere so that she can go back to Japan with him. Obviously, Marie would be traveling to Japan again. That much is implied in the title of the show. But dang, is she really planning on alternating between worlds every day and night? I figured she’d take a break in between trips. Maybe she and Kazuhiro should find a consistent place to stay in the fantasy world.
Watch Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! on Crunchyroll
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