Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf!

Episodes 1-2

The first episode of Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! promised a fun and low-key reverse-isekai of sorts that falls into that oddly specific sub-genre of “Cute Elf Girl from a Fantasy World Comes to Japan and Enjoys a Bunch of Snacks.” Our titular heroine, Marie, has the right balance of spunk and inexperience that make her tourism in the Land of the Rising Sun enjoyable to watch, and she's got just enough chemistry with our nice guy protagonist Kazuhiro to make the show work as a light rom-com as well. If the series had simply been a collection of daily adventures that could also double as blatant but effective advertisements for Japan's tourism industry, then Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! would have probably been a fun watch for this season all on its own.

The second episode of the show pleasantly surprised me, then, by revealing that this is an anime that might have a bit more going on with its storytelling than you would assume of its premise. Don't get me wrong, this isn't some grand and shockingly deep adventure of epic proportions - at least, not yet - but the fact that the series is actually having Marie and Kazuhiro move back and forth between the characters' two worlds is in and of itself a layer of complexity that I never would have hoped for and greatly appreciate. So many isekais of both the generic and reverse- variety get bogged down in exposition that just plainly does not matter, so consider how shocked I was to be legitimately interested in the mechanics of how swapping between Japan and Fantasyland works. What kind of items can our heroes take with them? What otherworldly forces have granted them this wondrous ability, and what might their ultimate goals be? How much can Kazuhiro destabilize the foundations of this mystic land with the unspeakable temptations of Japanese cuisine?

It's a very simple tweak to the formula that is just rife with so much potential. For me, a big part of the appeal of any isekai story is the interaction - the conflict - that is created by the introduction of elements of reality that get sucked into the fantasy world, whether we're talking about the characters and their worldviews or the technology and knowledge that come with them. These days, most isekai are content to ignore almost all of that and have their protagonists just be nerds with encyclopedic knowledge of lame computer game systems. Here, though, the two worlds both matter equally, and that fact alone makes me so much more invested in our heroes' silly little adventures. They were cute enough already when Kazuhiro was just showing Marie the wonders of automobile transportation and bath bombs. Now that they're working as a team to solve problems and grow together, I might just end up shipping them like a shameless Tumblr blog. #Maruhiko, baby.

Speaking of shameless, I have to commend Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! for understanding the industry's dire lack of sexy dragon-mommies with a penchant for good beer and katsudon bentos. Clearly, author Suzuki Makishima watched Neon Genesis Evangelion back in the day and thought to themselves, “Misato is obviously Best Girl, but you know what would make her even better? Turning her into a fire-breathing monster that could roast you alive or step on you with a second thought.” Friends, we might just be dealing with the work of a genius, here.

In all seriousness, while Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! isn't going to change any lives or blow minds with incredible production values, it seems set to offer a very cute and surprisingly entertaining romantic fantasy. I'm looking forward to seeing where Marie and Kazuhiro's adventures take us, next.

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James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.