In the Land of Leadale First Impressions

“First, you have been cut off from the hospital’s system. Second, you’ve been disconnected from Leadale’s master system.”

I wasn’t even through Leadale no Daichi nite’s OP before the thought crossed my mind that I’d probably made a terrible mistake in choosing to kick off the anime season with this show. Visuals are hardly everything when it comes to a show, but it can severely hamper the ability of the narrative to connect when they aren’t up to the task, and that was one of the lamest OP’s I’ve seen in a while. My mind went back to last year’s Last Dungeon Boonies and its awful animation, which is not a comparison you want to invoke in the first minute and a half. Fortunately, while Leadale doesn’t exactly put its best foot forward with that opening and the visuals remain rather barebones, there is some charm to be found here. Leadale follows what is, on paper, the formulaic story progression that marks many an isekai. Our main character dies, wakes up in a fantasy world and finds they’re insanely talented. What helps set Leadale apart a little are the underlying details. Our main character, Cayna, diverts from many of the isekai protagonist tropes, and serves as a refreshing POV character. I’m not likely to keep up with this one, but despite some mediocre production values, Leadale no Daichi nite seems like it has the potential to be a fun distraction, even if it doesn’t linger in the memory.

The episode opens with Cayna waking up to find herself in a familiar fantasy world, specifically the world of the VRMMO Leadale where she spent much of her time. Cayna’s reaction to this discovery sets her apart a bit. Unlike many isekai protagonists, her reaction isn’t one of horror or even excitement at the discovery that she has evidently died and ended up in a new world, but rather one of bittersweet acceptance. While this episode only provides hints and slivers of details, Cayna had evidently been paralyzed and dependent on life support for a while, and had immersed herself in the MMO as a means of having interactions with others. So while the discovery that she passed away due to the hospital losing power isn’t a happy one, the opportunities to actually eat food or move around by her own volition serve as liberating experiences. That being said, we get a look at the hospital where she was being cared for, and the idea that a facility as large as that didn’t have properly equipped backup generators for its essential systems comes across as foolish. When the episode is said and done, the plot feels basic with little to hook viewers, but it isn’t without an underlying charm.

The production values are where the show’s charm escapes it for a bit, as this really is one of the least visually impressive shows I’ve seen in recent years. I’ve seen bigger missteps, but Leadale is visually bland and lacks identity. On a technical level, Last Dungeon Boonies was worse, but if you showed me a random screenshot from an episode the odds are that I could identify the visuals because they possessed a cohesive and recognizable style. Even if I stuck with Leadale for a full season, I doubt I could make the same claim a year later due to the visuals being mundane. The production is handled by Maho Film, and if it wasn’t for Death’s Door Prods having a search feature, I would confidently state that this was the only show I’d ever watched from them, but evidently I reviewed the premiere of their first series, If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord, two years ago. It didn’t stick in my memory. The music is… mostly passable, but going back to the OP for a moment, whose idea was it to have the opening song start off with the lyrics, “la la la,” for about ten seconds? My eyes glazed over as a defense mechanism. The directorial composition of the OP is rough. There are multiple instances of characters with limited animation cycles sliding into the frame, and you can almost envision a weary animator throwing this together in a video editor at the last minute. When it isn’t janky animation, it’s no animation at all, because this is an opening that loves its still frames.

Before I wrap up, a few Notes and Nitpicks:

• It’s worth noting that Cayna is a female protagonist, something of a rarity in isekai, though we’ve been seeing a few pop up in recent years. The show doesn’t call significant attention to it, but it’s nice to see.
• Aside from If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord, Maho Film was also responsible for two seasons of I’m Standing on a Million Lives and a show called By the Grace of the Gods. I can’t say that either of these ring any bells, but it looks to me like Maho Film is aiming to be the cheap fantasy studio, with UchiMusume being the only title that isn’t an isekai.
• The CG we see in the show is limited, but not very good. The best I can say about it was that it wasn’t around for too long, so it didn’t get distracting.
• I didn’t watch much anime during the second half of last year, so this is my first review since To Your Eternity, and outside of binging Blue Period recently, it’s the first anime I’ve watched in months.