Isekai Quartet

Episode 12

Probably the most important moment in the final episode of Isekai Quartet is the revelation that this isn't the last episode after all; a second season is “coming soon.” Presumably that means sometime in 2020, but it will be welcome whenever it may arrive. This first season finale may get more serious than normal (sort of), but it still delivers on the sheer goofiness and entertaining character interactions that have been hallmarks of the series all season. It cements its position for me as one of the year's funniest comedies, even if you aren't fully up to speed on all four franchises involved.

Of course, knowing all four series certainly facilitates milking every ounce of potential humor from the episode. Playing Reinhard's set of Divine Protections off as a joke (he can do just about anything and claim that it's because of a Divine Protection) is a great way to poke fun at ridiculously overpowered characters in isekai series while also screwing with Subaru, while Ains summoning a horde of undead to protect the spectators turns into equally great fun with Aqua's comments about feeling uncomfortable being protected by the very creatures she's trying to destroy. The shot of Albedo and Shalltear with nosebleeds over Ains' impressive displays of magic is also a clever touch for a shot that lasts less than a second.

But the feature scene is the four protagonists working together to defeat Destroyer. Each contributes in their own inimical way, all to set up Tanya using her prayer-based powers to speed up fast enough to dodge the Destroyer's attacks and swoop in for its headband. Setting aside the notion that the Destroyer even having a headband is silly, this is an application for Tanya's peak magic that has yet to be seen in her own series, but it still fits great here. The underlying joke is that this whole scenario is a big riff on the kind of "heroes' last stand" situation, especially since none of the “sacrifices” made to put Tanya into position were sacrifices at all; Ains just flies up and gently catches both Subaru and Kazuma as they fall. All attempts to play this off as serious were just another angle of the joke.

Given how smoothly this has all gone down, I was utterly unsurprised that winning the sports competition didn't end up getting anyone sent back to their own worlds. It's neat to see many of the characters regarding their experiences at this school as fun, since these circumstances are far than what they face in their source worlds. Naturally, the series is continuing because it has proven popular enough, but it's also amusing to think that the whole gang is still here because they are enjoying their time at school.

In addition to the big announcement, the season ends with the revelation that new transfer students are due to arrive. Since we have already had additional characters from each class appear in Class 2, I have to think that more isekai series might be getting thrown into the mix. Does that mean that the sequel will be called Isekai Quintet or Sextet? If so, which new series would they add? They would have to be isekai titles that are quite popular, got an anime adaptation, and are published by Kadokawa. The Rising of The Shield Hero seems like the most logical option, but are there other choices waiting in the wings? I guess we'll find out when season two eventually lands.

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Isekai Quartet is currently streaming on Funimation.