Young Seika is the third child of a noble household. Born from a mistress and unable to wield magic, his position is lower than his brothers, and Gly, the middle one, constantly reminds him of that. But Seika hides two secrets. He’s about to reveal the first, which is that he actually does hold incredible power. While his father thinks this late blossoming may be a latent form of magic growing within him, the power is actually spiritual in nature. It was developed in Seika’s previous life in ancient Asia, when he was the powerful exorcist Haruyoshi, who was only defeated when the imperial court turned on him and used his own students against him. That’s secret number two, and Seika will use his knowledge and skills to his advantage to live a happier life this time around.
Well, what have we here, an isekai that blends a western-style setting with eastern-style mysticism and magic? Most isekai series do blend the two to some extent (the character’s magic is influenced by eastern stories as much as western ones), but by starting this episode with Haruyoshi’s former life and then having him resurrect his eastern powers in his new life, The Reincarnation of the Strongest in Another World makes a point of bringing the worlds together. It adds a much-needed element to an episode that otherwise isn’t particularly noteworthy. The setting is unspectacular, the animation average, and the characters forgettable, with the possible exception of Seika. As the episode progresses, he seems more and more sly and selfish, unlike the more wholesome figure carved out in the opening flashback. Is he out to use those around him for his own benefit or will he try to help the world through his powers? Time will tell, though I’m not sure there’s enough here to make me want to discover which is the case.
The Reincarnation of the Strongest in Another World is streaming on Crunchyroll.
I love isekai stories, but the more I watch and read them, the more they start to blend together. I will be skipping this for now.
I feel similarly