Once, Van was two years old. His father told him to study day and night, or he’d be useless. Once, he was two years old…Wait, what? You see, every day, our protagonist would take a train to his computer job, and every night, he would barely catch the last train back home. It is probably a good thing, then, that he ended up being the reincarnated child prodigy Van Nei Fertio, who retains his memories from our world, astonishing his sweet “personal maid” Till and the whole family of Marquis Jalpa Bul Ati Fertio at the tender age of two. It is never too early to start taking your career seriously, and Van’s father decides to turn him into a two-year-old scholar by entrusting his education to the wise butler Esparda. By five, the Chivalric Order’s Deputy Commander Dee is promising to make him the best swordsman in the nation, and doing weird squats in the background while laughing like a madman. At six, Van is feeling a bit burned out, and he buys a slave in the slave market to free him from being mistreated by the least convincing character ever put to the screen. However, tragedy awaits: Van’s appraisal reveals that he is only gifted with “production magic,” considered the weakest type. His father the Duke, being tragically ignorant of the isekai conventions, is going to kill him then and there, but his brother, Prince Murcia, suggests something different…

Well, that was probably the most generic isekai to ever see a screen. It is also complete—if somewhat inoffensive—nonsense: The feeling I get is something like daydreaming without much rhyme or reason after a hard day at work. What if you were a noble in a world in which nobles barely talk to people, so that even saying “thank you” when you’re five causes the whole town to adore you? What if you could guarantee yourself an adoring entourage of maids, non-slaves, knights, and scholars by refusing to punish your exuberant personal maid at age five? Yeah, the bar is practically at the floor. Other than that, the visuals are fine. The castle, in particular, looks quite cool, as do some of the character designs and the lightning in the less-than-convincing scene in which Van’s father almost offs him. This, nevertheless, is a pattern throughout the entire episode: The characters emphatically do not act like human beings. Their interactions convey a vibe of unreality that puts me in an almost philosophical mood. If you love isekai and just want some low-stakes daydream after catching that last train home in the evening, or if you want to meditate while you watch unconvincing interactions, I guess there’s nothing too bad here. It’s not for me, though.

If you insist, you can stream Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord on Crunchyroll.