Hello and welcome back to Otaku Thursday! Hope you all enjoyed last week’s Hotsui Matsuri! It was a lot for us here at You Can’t Know, but it was also really fun! Now that it’s over its time to get back on track and back to the good stuff. AKA, it’s time for another First Impressions! Today we are gonna hit up a genre that there’s a lot of this season: Isekai. And on the speculation plate? Isekai Drugstore!
So Isekai Drugstore…is kinda great. Like really, truly great. Like I never thought I’d like this as much as I did. Isekai Drugstore really pulled me in by the description — moreso than any other Isekai in the season. So this show is about a guy who becomes a pharmacist in another world. And yes, I do mean pharmacist. Now, with a season where there’s also a realist hero Isekai, the pharmacist really stuck out to me. I don’t know why. Maybe because he’s not trying to change or save the world he gets isekai’d into, the man is just trying to run a business. Which I think is the genius of this. We don’t get super high fantasy, fights, degrading evil, etc. We get a nice slice-of-life comedy that showcases the daily life of our resident pharmacist. Who–just for reference–uses his real world knowledge to translate into this fantasy world so that he can make potions and other medicine, and more. For instance, one of the first things he does? Makes a friggin’ energy drink. And of course, being from our world where everything is dowsed in sugar, he makes this energy “potion” taste good. Which makes it all the more popular with the people. In fact, he kind of makes it addictive. Other things he created are perfumes, anxiety medicine, super glue, and more–all things we are used to in our world (aka his world) and brand new to his Isekai world.
One thing that makes this show beyond great is the fact that homeboy is slowly building a harem and be could not give a shit (pardon my french). He lives with two girls — a small hyper werewolf named Noella, and he treats her like a daughter, and Mina–a ghost who helps out at the shop. Both of them don’t necessarily make moves on homeboy, but they both clearly feel something for him–devotion perhaps since he saved them both. And again, he couldn’t care less. He treats Noella like a daughter/pet and Mina like a companion. Other customers come and go–mostly females, and they all seem to develop a kind of a crush on our pharmacist. And the best part? All he’s doing is being nice and a decent human being. He doesn’t try to woo them, doesn’t try to help them because they’re cute, he just sees them as people and helps him the same way he would help someone else. He has male customers as well, and he’s just as courteous towards them. At the end of the day, he is a businessman and that’s it. There are times when I think he actually gets a little annoyed when someone visits every day and distracts his work, or doesn’t like it when people get in his personal space, which also makes him this refreshingly nice character who actually y’know–has clear boundaries. I just really like his personality. Homeboy is thoughtful, kind, intelligent, and pretty fair. Though he can also be sassy when he wants to be. So it makes complete sense why his harem just builds around him. And then he’s just there doing his cute lil pharmacist sequence as he makes his newest ‘medicine’.
So as Star and I have been enjoying this show, there’s one thing we’ve been asking ourselves constantly: WHAT DID HOMEBOY DO IN HIS PAST LIFE? Like honestly, this kid is one of the most thoughtful characters and seems to have vast knowledge of all kinds of pharmaceuticals. Like, I know it says he was a corporate slave in his past life, but honestly he doesn’t seem like one. Maybe that’s where some Gary Stu-ness comes in (because let’s be real, Reiji, while pleasant, is SERIOUSLY lacking on the full fledged personality front), but we honestly just keep questioning ourselves. Like, did he just make the best of his isekai situation? Was he lonely in his old life and this is him living it up? What exactly is the full story there? I guess we don’t really care though even if we ask these questions. The show is cute enough as is, and we’re fine as long as homeboy is living his best life.
When it comes to music, animation, and story–I will say that is where we’re lacking. Music is cute but generic and forgettable and the same can be said about the animation. Cute, soft colors–but nothing amazing by a longshot. Meanwhile the story is–well, it’s an anthology of mini episodes so like each are cute. But they also don’t have much substance to them. Which, I think is fair because it doesn’t need substance. It’s not the anime you watch to witness an amazing story, it’s an anime you watch for something cute and funny. And in that, it’s excelling.
But basically, Isekai Drugstore…is nothing special in the long run. It’s a fun ride now, but aside from doing homeboy’s little medicine-making dance when I cook, I can’t imagine this show leaving a lasting impression on me. Is it entertaining? Yes. But it’s also going to be something that will leave my mind for sure. So when it comes down to if I’d recommend it? I’d say yes. Give it a watch because this is a kind of brainless fluff that is just nice to chill out with every once and a while. Even if it’s not gonna be your next favorite anime, it’s certainly going to be a nice, wholesome anime and a good time.
Stay weebtastic,
xoxo
Luna
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