(CR) Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni (In Another World With My Smartphone) Anticipation

[Amiluhur]

While it's kinda tiresome to see this generic trend of isekai stuff on novelupdates, i'm still crossing my fingers hoping for some good xianxia series to get some kind of adaptation, even if only in manga form. Seriously though, that freaking premise is everywhere nowadays!

[BWTraveller]

I for one am interested to see this. I haven't read all the way through the LN but while it certainly isn't anything special, it's not terrible and I've seen worse. Besides, some of the disparaging posts have seemed to imply that Shield Hero is also very low-quality and Grimgar is great. Since I really like Shield Hero and wasn't a fan of Grimgar, this may be a positive for me.

Anyway, while there certainly are series this can be compared to, positively or negatively, I don't think Grimgar and the like are good choices. Isekai and fantasy in general are blanket terms for a very broad range of stories, with enough differences in content that comparison is rather questionable. You have low fantasy, high fantasy, dark fantasy, light fantasy, serious and comical and parody fantasy, etc. Grimgar is a very dark series with a lot of "real" to it and a whole lot of "this I not a game", making a grim piece where anyone can die without warning and you have to keep facing the likely loss of those you care about just to be able to afford the most basic of amenities. This doesn't compare well to stuff like Konosuba or Smart Phone or other lighter series where plot armor is much stronger and success is rewarded far more richly (yes, even Kazuma's crappy life is FAR more rewarding than Grimgar).

Can't we find some series to use for comparison isn't a parody or downright depressing? Or is that the only way to avoid being a "cookie-cutter"?

[sparhawk1610]

Well, as AB079 mention, I will prefer to see a Shieldbro instead of this.

[zztop]

Originally Posted by sparhawk1610

Well, as AB079 mention, I will prefer to see a Shieldbro instead of this.

Shieldbro's LNs are still ongoing at 17 volumes. Multiple seasons would be needed to fully adapt up to the current novel, especially if you wanted to adapt the LN-original content.

The WN finished long ago, IIRC.

[AB079]

One of the mayor complaints I've seen all across different sites and forums is the MC, the personification of a badly done Gary Stu (the most recurrent comment) who has countless powers pulled out of nowhere and can easily win or overcome different situations making some parts of the story very dull and boring because there is no tension.

I know part of this can be right, but someone who read the WN and is up to date can confirm if this is 100% true? maybe this is going suffer something even worse than the early stage of Onii-sama (thank god Mahouka improved a lot, including Tatsuya).

[BWTraveller]

Originally Posted by zztop

Shieldbro's LNs are still ongoing at 17 volumes. Multiple seasons would be needed to fully adapt up to the current novel, especially if you wanted to adapt the LN-original content.

The WN finished long ago, IIRC.

That shouldn't really be a problem. I mean, seems like most series I've seen based on LNs only cover a fraction of the published content. Look at Konosuba or Log Horizon or any number of other works. Having enough material for several seasons is not a problem; it's far better than a gecko ending (I think that's the term).

I'll admit that as far as I've read this hero really is loved by God a little too much. Actually, even in the first novel he's commented on several occasions about this fact. He's not OP enough to be really cool, falls behind the hero of Death March in terms of character, but he's still far from bad. But yeah, I get the feeling that even he gets a little bored on occasion. And one of the toughest fights up to the point I've read indeed seemed a little anti-climactic.

On a different note, one thing's been bothering me. Do anime companies actually get any money based on sales of the LNs they based their works on? I mean, if they can't make money from increased sales, then I can't see how they'd benefit in any way from making a "read the book" series like some people have claimed this to be. Their money would be from ratings and BD sales and merchandise, not from the books, so if their product makes people want to read the book but doesn't really draw them in to buy the BDs and other merchandise, they're in for a big loss. Unless there's some sort of royalty agreement, I simply cannot see how claims that any anime was made for pure promotion purposes could hold out. Especially considering what it costs to make even a moderately-good production.

[zztop]

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

That shouldn't really be a problem. I mean, seems like most series I've seen based on LNs only cover a fraction of the published content. Look at Konosuba or Log Horizon or any number of other works. Having enough material for several seasons is not a problem; it's far better than a gecko ending (I think that's the term).

I'll admit that as far as I've read this hero really is loved by God a little too much. Actually, even in the first novel he's commented on several occasions about this fact. He's not OP enough to be really cool, falls behind the hero of Death March in terms of character, but he's still far from bad. But yeah, I get the feeling that even he gets a little bored on occasion. And one of the toughest fights up to the point I've read indeed seemed a little anti-climactic.

On a different note, one thing's been bothering me. Do anime companies actually get any money based on sales of the LNs they based their works on? I mean, if they can't make money from increased sales, then I can't see how they'd benefit in any way from making a "read the book" series like some people have claimed this to be. Their money would be from ratings and BD sales and merchandise, not from the books, so if their product makes people want to read the book but doesn't really draw them in to buy the BDs and other merchandise, they're in for a big loss. Unless there's some sort of royalty agreement, I simply cannot see how claims that any anime was made for pure promotion purposes could hold out. Especially considering what it costs to make even a moderately-good production.

Usually not.
Money from LN sales usually flow to the LN publishers, since they're the ones who hold the book rights from the start. Anime studios are just an external party that publishers commission to make an anime of their LNs, so they don't get any of the book money since they don't own the right in the 1st place. Which is why some studio figures say they need Bluray sales to financially survive, since they can claim some of the revenue (with the rest claimed by the publishers and production committee).

Production budget is usually supplied to the anime studios courtesy of the production committee formed by the publisher and external parties, to be used as the studio sees fit. In some cases money is not an issue for these deep pocket patrons - they just want to increase source material awareness. (Ex. The Garo anime Blurays sell poorly, but are netted off by the success of the source live actions.) It's usually the studios that cop the blame for incompleteness, especially if the patrons are not interested in promoting the LNs any more.

Kyoani's the exception; since they usually animate LNs which they already own the book rights to. So they can claim the money from sales of LNs they own, together with the revenue from Bluray/merchandise sales.

[kari-no-sugata II]

I read the first 15 chapters of the WN out of curiosity. Very generic so far: simple plot, simple characters, simple world-building. Easy mode. The smartphone itself hasn't gotten much use yet - map, writing a diary and looking up receipe for ice-cream. Dunno if the LN improves this at all and what the anime will do with it.

[EroKing]

[Utsuro no Hako]

Okay, I read the first volume, and without going into spoilers, it's bad. If you thought Death March was something scraped off the bottom of the barrel, this is what you'll find underneath. Not only is the MC an overpowered Gary Stu with no personality, but none of the girls in his harem have personalities either -- not even something as basic as "tsundere". The only thing that distinguishes any of them are their verbal ticks.

And that's not even touching on the plot, which is practically nonexistent. The MC is so "awesome" that he solves every problem in five pages, and then people spend twenty pages telling him how great he is. The guy makes Kirito look like Haruyuki.

[bakato]

Originally Posted by Utsuro no Hako

Okay, I read the first volume, and without going into spoilers, it's bad. If you thought Death March was something scraped off the bottom of the barrel, this is what you'll find underneath. Not only is the MC an overpowered Gary Stu with no personality, but none of the girls in his harem have personalities either -- not even something as basic as "tsundere". The only thing that distinguishes any of them are their verbal ticks.

And that's not even touching on the plot, which is practically nonexistent. The MC is so "awesome" that he solves every problem in five pages, and then people spend twenty pages telling him how great he is. The guy makes Kirito look like Haruyuki.

Thank you for your sacrifice. Wow. Something worse than Death March?

[AB079]

Originally Posted by Utsuro no Hako

Okay, I read the first volume, and without going into spoilers, it's bad. If you thought Death March was something scraped off the bottom of the barrel, this is what you'll find underneath. Not only is the MC an overpowered Gary Stu with no personality, but none of the girls in his harem have personalities either -- not even something as basic as "tsundere". The only thing that distinguishes any of them are their verbal ticks.

And that's not even touching on the plot, which is practically nonexistent. The MC is so "awesome" that he solves every problem in five pages, and then people spend twenty pages telling him how great he is. The guy makes Kirito look like Haruyuki.

So basically my previous comment about the usual complaint was true after all.

I see some dark times for this series.

[IceHism]

Basically it's nothing special and doesn't even have something meta like popularity to make someone interested in seeing it.

[KanbeKotori]

Anyone who reads the LN here?

What is the twintail maid's name?

[darkofficer]

I wonder why everyone is so negative is not like we are the targeted audience right ??

[BWTraveller]

OK, I didn't think it was all that bad. Nothing compared to Shield Hero or a variety of other series, but seriously not BAD no matter what some people say. I'll look forward to this as a light-hearted series to enjoy when I want to relax. It's not a run through an obstacle course, it's a walk through a park.

Anyway guys, it could be worse. I just read a series in which a guy is sent to another world to fight the demon king with a BATH. Don't see that getting green-lit anytime soon...

On a separate note, I wonder how long it'll be before we find out who the VAs will be...

[gocav]

Originally Posted by KanbeKotori

Anyone who reads the LN here?

What is the twintail maid's name?

If you're talking about the girl on the right with the umbrella in that image then that is Leen. She is supposed to be some sort of queen of fairies(if you look hard you can see her wings) and is described as wearing a goth-loli outfit in the novel.

I'll definitely check out the anime just because I'm curious. I read the light novel on j-novelclub's site and the story is pretty generic, but it is also a nice break from a lot of the other stuff I read.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by AB079

So basically my previous comment about the usual complaint was true after all.

I see some dark times for this series.

By overpowered, Utsuro meant that the MC gets abilities as the plot demand it. Just from 1st chapter alone, he can somehow manage well in fights. Let's not get started with magic. It makes you wonder why he needed a cellphone in the first place if God was so nice with him to give him just enough to not be as helpless as the Grimgar cast (at least they HAVE to be trained in their respective class) and Subaru.

[MisaoFan]

PV:

Looks as uninspiring as I imagined to be. The girls looks very sameface and the main character looks damn familiar in the most generic way possible. Everything about this PV so far reeks of dullness and obvious lack of originality in audiovisuals.

By having a premise revolving around a guy who can fight enemies using a smartphone (which is needed only because mobage is a currently extremely popular trend) and solving girls’ problems out of thin air, I’m not expecting anything good to come out of it at all. If this was released a decade ago I would like it very much and it even had potential to become a success at the time but alas it’s not happening today, considering how many commerical battle harem flops have been released as of late.

[zztop]

The J-Novel Club translator handling Smartphone's official LN translation recommends this series if you enjoy a laidback fun adventure series that doesn't take itself too seriously (in their words).