Isekai Inquisition Review

So, Isekai Inquisition. It was shorter than I was expecting given the thread count, so the review is out early.

The quest takes place in a pretty standard swords and sorcery fantasy setting, but with one major caveat- people from another dimension (Earth, specifically Japan) periodically appear on their world, disrupting the natural order. These invaders also posses the benefit of 'Cheat Skills'- mysterious, powerful abilities which give each and every otherworlder, or 'Stranger' as they call them, incredible power, such that the world's church created a group of covert operatives- the Inquisitors- to neutralize the threat. The protagonist of the quest is princess Lorina de Lindan, an exceptional mageknight and a prototypical member of the 'Otome Villainess protagonist' archetype (a hardworking, loyal woman shunned by her fiancé in favor of a reverse-harem building lowblood wench)

As you could guess from the summary and title, Isekai Inquisition is steeped in the conventions of Japanese media, particularly modern fantasy light novels and anime, with most of the 'Strangers' being a direct reference to one or more popular works in the genre. The anime-ness of the quest is both its primary selling point and the strongest deterrent for a prospective reader. On the positive end, the conventions and tropes of the genre serve as excellent narrative shorthand, a collective bank of knowledge between the author and the audience which the QM can reference instead of having to sit the audience down and feed them extensive exposition. Because of this, the quest is more able to focus on its strong points- adventuring through a reasonably fleshed out fantasy world, high octane, fast-paced action, and a genuinely gripping undercurrent of intrigue regarding the workings behind the world and Wonderland. Additionally, the framework of the Strangers and their cheat skills allows for a large amount of leeway to insert 'rule of cool', permitting a super wide range of enemies, power sets, and aesthetics for both protagonists and antagonists.

That being said, the anime feel can at times be offputting- some of the character interactions seem a little artificial and contrived to a reader unfamiliar with translated media, and a lot of the dialogue is pretty unsubtle. Of course, these things can also be viewed as strengths: to a reader who is used to the style of storytelling, it allows personality, interpersonal dynamics, and key information to be conveyed to the reader in a much more efficient and clear manner than a subtler, more 'realistic' conversation might, and to a person who's grown tired of the tropes and conventions of western fantasy story, the manner of storytelling in Isekai Inquisition could serve as a breath of fresh air. The only thing that one might really struggle with is not getting the references- one could still follow the plot without being in on the joke, but a lot is lost on a reader who's completely unfamiliar with the genre.

If I had to point out one flaw, it'd be the narration. The QM makes a solid attempt to tell the story from Lorina's perspective, not just by having the camera follow her, but by actually telling the story from her point of view. While not completely unsuccessful in this regard, the differences between her otherworldly perspective and a human from earth seems to be applied somewhat inconsistently. However, moreso than that, the QM attempting to give Lorina's thoughts and actions a feminine, in-character feel can be somewhat contrived. Though this may just be a personal pet-peeve of mine, the attempts to inject girlish mannerisms into her internal monologue don't seem particularly true to how women really act and think- again, it mostly follows the anime logic of how they might be portrayed in male-targeted media.

That being said, all of the above flaws are pretty easy to overlook, especially for the target audience of readers invested in the type of story being told. When all is said and done, I can really boil down my review to a single sentence: if the title "Isekai Inquisition" seems cool or interesting to you, you're going to like this quest.