Manga 144044 Isekai Arigatou

Pretty interesting manga - there's a good amount to like here, the expressions are great and there are some really funny/charming moments. That said, I feel like this series has some of the most bizarre tonal whiplash I've experienced from a story in a hot minute. We're seriously going from slice-of-life type humor and shenanigans to people getting dismembered, eaten, and raped in the span of a couple pages like... it's not like including dark elements in an otherwise lighthearted story is an issue in itself, but... it really just feels, to me, like the author might be trying to do a little too much ... at once. The pace at which some chapters will switch between gruesome imagery and our regularly scheduled goofy face buddy-buddy family-friendly entertainment is just kinda wild.

It's worth noting that this unbalance seemed toned down a little more in the most recent chapters, so, going forward, it may be a different story - it's not as though adult themes and tongue-in-cheek violence weren't present from the very start, and by and large, I felt like the author was able to pull it off in a way that at least kept the story humorous and engaging; it was a generally entertaining read. However, it's just hard to really get all that invested as a result of that ever-present dissonance between what the manga is and what it seems like it keeps trying to be - I felt like both the characters and the world-building suffered a bit as a result. It's hard to be both a dark fantasy and a whimsical, self-aware fantasy at once, and despite some very entertaining and memorable panels, it's hard for me to see this story sticking the landing. I think if they stuck just a little tiny bit more to the silly stuff, it'd be better for it. But to each their own - if you're an isekai fan looking for something a little different, this one just might float your boat.