First Impression: Hyakuren no Haou to Seiyaku no Valkyria

Synopsis

In the aftermath of taking a photo with a local shrine’s divine mirror with his phone, Mitsuki Shimoya finds himself whisked off into another world—one heavily steeped in the lore of the old Norse myths. With the use of his school knowledge and his solar-powered phone, he brings up the ranks of the people who cared for him, the Wolf Clan. Along with bringing up the clan’s prominence, Mitsuki ends up earning the adoration of a group of magic-wielding warrior maidens known as the Einherjar.

The Good

It’s nice to see that the series is taking a slightly different turn with the type of protagonist it has. He still has some typical qualities of an isekai adventure hero but the type of knowledge he uses and the way he handles things is a nice change of pace. Then there is the theme of the world he landed in. Most isekai stories take on a more medieval style fantasy realm, here, the fantasy aspect is still clear, but the way it has its own distinct setting style is a unique point for the series. The positive points of the series are not all that big but it does make the series rather unique. Another point of interest for the series is the direction and build of the story.
The Bad

The visual for the series alone made it clear that there would more than one or two harem cliches to be found with the stories. From how close he is to one of the ladies who cared for him to how he becomes a hero figure to his supposed enemy, there are some clear harem tropes building up with the episode. Then there is the fact that the female characters refer to him as either father or brother. While it’s understandable given how they’re meant to be a clan, it’s an old and at this point a rather weird idea of the closest female referring to the male lead as a brother figure but ending up as a pseudo-couple.

Conclusion

It’s an isekai story that has potential in terms of plot and protagonist but not much else. It has some points that bring a nice change of pace to the isekai theme, but it feels like the cropping harem themes are taking away from that. The fact that the protagonist is somewhat different from the norm makes up for most of the episode but it still has the general points that we can pretty much expect from an isekai adventure story.

Rating: 6.5/10