First Chapter Impression: In Another World with My Smartphone

Synopsis

The story tells of a young man named Touya Mochizuki; not much can be said about him but one day he is suddenly struck by lightning. When he awakens rather than being in heaven, he finds himself face to face with Kami himself who apparently has made a mistake and had killed him accidentally. As token of is apology Touya is granted with the opportunity to be reborn in a fantasy world and not only that, he may have one wish granted.

His wish? To be able to bring his smartphone with him to the new world. With a little something extra given to him by Kami, Touya soon awakens in a new world and thus begins his journey of knights and quests.

The Good

The story is pretty direct and easy to follow, the art is well-done and the main character is thankfully not one of the stereotypes of male characters falling into another world. The world he falls into is not overly complicated as well like many other series who follow this cliché and doesn’t immediately delve into high action or a mystery involving politics. Things about the world is explained simply enough and the characters are introduced rather interestingly. Overall the high points of the chapter stem from the fact that it steers away from stereotypes and is a simple enough plot to follow with pleasant art to keep the reader interested.

The Bad

While it is refreshing that the protagonist of the series is not the stereotype that most male characters fall into in this category, he is also quite passive for a character who died and ended up in a different world. He is intelligent but not much has struck out from him other than his fighting ability apparently and when introduced the reader is immediately directed to after he died rather than have even a short intro about him. The art as well doesn’t really stand out that much and the overall chapter did not leave much of hit in terms of first impressions.

Conclusion

It’s an interesting story that refreshingly takes away from the clichés, brings in a new concept and is simple enough for the reader to follow. True as a first chapter it did leave a high mark in terms of first impressions but it is interesting enough to have the reader want more. Overall, it’s a story to follow and learn more about, just to satisfy one’s curiosity.

Rating: 7.5/10