A Gatherer’s Adventure in Isekai – Episode 1

What’s it about? Kamishiro Takeru is a regular guy with a regular office job in a very regular life; but suddenly, he finds himself summoned to another world. Madeus is a swords-and-sorcery land where he gains the power to capital-s Search for valuable items, kicking off his isekai life, and new adventure, in style!

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Being an adult, it turns out, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I have rent, medical bills, grocery needs, and general additional expenses due to being disabled. While I have a day job I love, I didn’t always have the passion and respect for my private life that I do now: I used to exist for my job, like a lot of people do.

Kamishiro Takeru’s life is a lot rougher: he’s been beaten down by the same old, same old, moving through his days with an almost robotic persistence that many of us can relate to when it comes to living to work and working to live. But of course, this is an isekai, and soon, that job will be obsolete. Question is, will Takeru’s new life be all it’s cracked up to be, or will he be wishing to return to his desk job in quick order?

Episode 1 starts when Takeru turns on his TV and meets an Ensemble Stars-style bishounen (he literally looks like part of fine) who serves as the middle manager for the universe and all the places within it. This includes Madeus, a planet that said godly young man has tinkered with to no avail. Thank goodness Takeru is here to go and be his ultimate tool in shaping a world into something special!

What ensues is Takeru’s new life as a gatherer, collecting item after item as he fills his pockets and finds himself at peace in his new life away from his desk and in the wonderful wilds of his isekai life!

I have to admit, in a sea of isekai, A Gatherer’s Adventure does something a bit different by making the isekai-ing feel like a very unionized, regimented job. Instead of it just happening, Takeru has to go through a process that feels akin to filling out paperwork by way of Quizilla: that is to say, there’s enough believable hijinks that I can cotton to the fact a middle management style universal deity might have you do a little personality survey as they prepare to send you to an entirely different habitable planet.

In terms of characters, Takeru is a pretty likable protagonist who feels relatable. His grasp on magic isn’t immediate, making him feel more grounded than say, a person who gets to be isekai’d into a world where they’re the Demon Lord. This is isekai by way of Handyman Saitou: a regular human using mundane skills to great effect in the world they become a part of. Of course, there’s some classic tropes–we do get a dragon and there’s magic aplenty–but by and large, this is kind of just Takeru’s second chance to live a life that feels more fulfilling and joyful.

In a more broad way, A Gatherer’s Adventure in Isekai continues the narrative of Japanese adults going to other worlds to escape the mundanity of life. And while this continuing trend could certainly be a reflection on the ongoing economic strife of stagnant wages, a sluggish economy, socioeconomic pressures in an aging society, and the general malaise that comes with a country pushing a family unit when there’s no money to adequately support that life, I also think it speaks to a growing break with the idea of being content. 

While I seek contentment as well, I seek it not at the expense of feeling like I’m an active, growing human; and I think part of the appeal of ordinary Japanese adult going on these fantastic adventures to other worlds is being able to feel like you’re doing something meaningful versus, say…a desk job. I’m sure I’ll write an article about this, maybe even this year, but for now, I’m going to cut these thoughts short to wrap things up.

My ultimate verdict is that this is, once again, a perfectly fine isekai anime. It’s escapist, seemingly, and while it lacks the more off-putting elements of isekai, it also likely isn’t going to be revolutionizing the genre as a whole. I think that’s okay though: sometimes we want an adventurous escape, and sometimes when you’re thirty-three like me, you just want to have a small adventure where you’re just kind of doing your own thing.