Meikyuu Black Company

[neflight86]

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* Based on a comedy fantasy shounen manga by Yasumura Youhei.

Kinji, who lacks any kind of work ethic, is a layabout in his modern life. One day, he finds himself transported to another world–but not in a grand fantasy of a hero welcomed with open arms. He's immediately shoved into a terrible job! Now enslaved by an evil mining company in a fantasy world, Kinji's about to really learn the meaning of hard work!

Source: Seven Seas Entertainment

Genre(s): Fantasy, Comedy

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Based on the art alone, I was expecting another edgy fantasy/isekai harem show, but this is closer to a deconstruction like Konosuba, but don't get your hopes up. The first episode was a bit exposition heavy and the concept didn't really grab me too much. Guy puts in effort to get set for life, and is then summoned to another world and has to start over accumulating wealth, and he's not happy about it. It kind of reminds me of that arc in Kaiji where he was wasting away in a mine, because that's exactly what this is, minus the exciting gambling showdown.

This has the opposite problem of another show this season in that I have no idea the path that will lead the main character to prosperity, but whatever it is will likely come off as contrived given how he was able to treat people and his attitude towards earning money at other's expense. Maybe some redemption might warm me up, but for now we have a hungry dragon loli to tide us over.

[neflight86]

2

So, the scope and objective are now in full view, and Kinji's resourcefulness is on display (as well as toning down his psychopathy). Ants unionizing; cute. I like that the enemies aren't necessarily getting defeated, but rather incorporated into his plan. This is getting better...

[neflight86]

3

Okay, this actually got much better in episode 3. We now have a clear goal and a possible path to execute it upon which hijinks can be enjoyed.

[neflight86]

4

Okay, now this is settled into a rhythm that I like. Kinji's character has solidified enough to know where he stands now, and the hijinks are promising insofar as taking over the company. The angular art and character design also remind me of HSotD, so extra points for that.

[neflight86]

I hoped the evil overlord was actually Kenji, but that would be paradoxical, so perhaps the lizard man? I like a story that doesn't get too attached to a single causality or setting.

Only in anime can they berate capitalism as the cause of a fantasy world's downfall, and then, that same episode, (begin to) fix it with more capitalism. I'm not making a value judgement, and that's the point- I like when both positive and negative are shown. It adds depth of interpretation as a benefit to the viewer.

[neflight86]

The show so nice, it ended twice. If you told me episode 11 was the end, I would have believed you. It was satisfying and wrapped up all of the loose story ends. But then episode 12 sort of tore down the accomplishments and rebuilt them in a single episode, like a giant fake out. It was a strange padding, but it worked.