Based on a light novel series written by Patora Fuyuhara and illustrated by Eiji Usatsuka, “In Another World with my Smartphone” has a harem base, which is enriched with many RPG elements, particularly regarding the action, and a number of other elements frequently appearing on anime. Let us take things from the beginning, though.
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In a rather strange basic premise, 15-year-old Touya Mochizuki is accidentally killed by God. As an apology, God allows him to be resurrected, but since he cannot send him back to his old world, he instead reincarnates him into a fantasy world along with a single special request. Touya uses his request in order to bring his smartphone into the new world with him, which God modifies so that the phone will function in the new world. God also greatly amplifies Touya’s physical, magical, and cognitive abilities to a certain degree as a further apology for the inconvenience of killing him. Taking full advantage of his second chance at life, Touya embarks on a trip of adventure, fame, fortune and a harem of cute girls, all of which eventually start to like him, in a non-friendly fashion. His life however, is not without problems, both in terms of his adventures, and the balancing of the affections of his companions.
Takeyuki Yanase directs an anime where the main element is simplicity. The story (besides the absurdly funny beginning) is simple, with Touya moving from town to town taking up missions (the rpg element I mentioned), and meeting girls who eventually decide to follow him. Some sociopolitical elements appear eventually, but they are not particularly explored.
The action part follows the same lines, with Touya, who actually seems omnipotent, coming up with new spells to face each enemy, always with the help of the girls around him. The smartphone concept adds another layer to the whole thing, but again, in simple fashion.
The relationship aspect has him being heroic, kind and noble, to the point that every girl he meets wants to hang out with him. This element is the sole one that could be described as more complex, with the constant juggling of the wishes of all these women being somewhat troublesome for Touya, although their kind and polite nature makes things much easier than they could be.
The technical aspect also moves in the same path, with the drawing being generic, without much detail and the colors being mostly bright. The various enemies are somewhat interesting, while the animation is convincing, without any “outbursts” though. The same applies to the costumes and the background.
Overall, I have to say that this looks and functions as a title mostly addressed to lower ages (10-14 probably) although some elements of (bloody) violence and fanservice are also present.
“In Another World with my Smartphone” is a very easy to watch title, although hard core fans of anime will find it simplistic. I would definitely suggest it to parents who want to introduce anime to their children, and that is where its value lies.
