First Impact: THE NEW GATE
Strong player Shin freed hundreds of people imprisoned in The New Gate, a realistic virtual reality massively multiplayer online game. But when he believed the game was over, there was still more in store for him. He seems to go 500 years into that world’s future before he has the option to exit the game. Since he appears a little disoriented here, going back to where his former home was seems like the most sensible course of action. He discovers that the structure is still there, but Schnee, the person he was searching for, is not. Rather, he gets to know Tiera, her servant. Some guys are bothering her, and they also smite her with a massive beast. Thank goodness Shin is there to keep this poor woman safe. To top it off, he removes the curse she was carrying. She offers him a strong letter of recommendation as a token of her appreciation, and it turns out that this is one of the most influential things a person can have in that culture. What adventures will Shin have in this new world?
This first episode was utterly uninspiring, in my opinion. Though I must admit that I’m not the greatest lover of adventure anime overall, I do like the Isekai genre. However, I don’t think Shin’s quest is all that exciting, and it seems like the crew didn’t really make an effort to pique our attention. Nothing about Shin distinguishes him from the other Isekai protagonists that we know of, and his uninteresting character design doesn’t help either. All that’s left is some basic amusement fit solely for the gullible Isekai fan as the idea isn’t all that creative either. The way the female characters are portrayed also bothered me. Shin is seen gazing at Tiera’s breasts for a brief period of time, yet the episode doesn’t even discuss this fact. This brief episode, which likely sets the standard for Shin’s future relationships with women, suggests that objectifying her is perfectly acceptable and normal. Considering how many superior Isekai are available, I don’t think there’s anything here that makes this series worthwhile. I’m not going to finish this one.
