AKA: 日本へようこそエルフさん。(Nihon e Yōkoso Elf-san)

Genre: Isekai fantasy, romance, slice-of-life

Length: Television series, 12 episodes, 24 minutes each

Distributor: Currently available streaming on crunchyroll.

Content Rating: TV-14 (Violence, mature situations, fanservice.)

Related Series: N/A

Also Recommended: Re:Zero, Otaku Elf.

Notes: Based on a light novel series written by Makishima Suzuki and illustrated by Yappen. It started out being serialized on Shōsetsuka ni Narō before being picked up for publishing by Hobby Japan under their HJ Novels imprint. There's also a manga adaptation with art by Shimo Aono, serialized on Hobby Japan's Comic Fire website. Both the novel and the manga have been licensed in English by J-Novel Club.

Rating:

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf

Synopsis

Kazuhiko Kitase is a working dog in the Japanese office landscape, but he has one secret for himself: whenever he goes to sleep, he appears in a fantasy world where he explores and quests to his heart's desire. There, he often meets up with his elf friend, Mariabelle, whom he partners up with from time to time. However, when an adventure into the lair of a dragon finds them facing said dragon, his eagerness to protect her somehow pulls her back to Japan when they apparently perish, and so Marie gets a whole new world to get to know.

Review

It is a little bit irksome that I have to rely on isekai shows to scratch my fantasy itch, but just straight-laced fantasy is just becoming increasingly rare, and even when I do find one, they still somehow carry that isekai stink somewhat. Part of that is because this brand of fantasy, much like harem shows in the past, tended to encourage tepid productions just to fulfill a fix. Like anything made quick for a quick buck, the market thus becomes saturated with tepid nonsense meant to satiate egos rather than provide something for the brain to chew on. Most of them have the tendency to put their focus on one angle that serves as an excuse for why this isekai is somehow different from all the others when they really aren't.

Looking back at all my isekai escapades, there have been shows of all walks and qualities, and having completed this, I can honestly say that Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf is one of the better ones. The "angle" here is that Kazuhiko didn't have to die to get to his other world. In fact, you could argue that Marie is the isekai'd protagonist here, as the show's focus is more about her experience in Japan rather than Kazuhiko's in that other world. When we start out, it has been an escape for him since he was a child, and weirdly enough, he isn't one of those protagonists who are so completely burned out by his work situation that he's all too ready to jump in front of a train. In fact, the show immediately points out that he sticks strictly to his assigned work schedule, and when he clocks out, he immediately heads home to sleep. His sleep, being his escape into that dream world, and is presumably also the reason why he is always well rested. Which is not to say his life has been all roses and sunshine. The world he discovered is loosely tied to his choice of therapy for his childhood trauma.

In response, Mariabelle might sound a little bit like your typical ojou-styled elf. Her tone and inflection when speaking certainly indicate this, but with a slight tsundere bent. She's kind to a fault, though, and clearly intelligent. And sure, she's surprised by the things she sees once she gets pulled to Kazuhiko's world, but she also adapts quickly. Kazuhiko's ability to talk with the beast races opens a lot of doors for the two of them, including their dealings with the arc dragon whose breath was the reason why Marie ended up in Japan to begin with. With shows living or dying by their characters, both Kazuhiko and Mariabelle make for appealing protagonists, and unlike too many shows with romance in them, they actually carry some chemistry too. I'm honestly staggered by how much the two of them talk to each other and spend time making plans with input from both of them being equally important. And Marie wastes none of her time in Japan either; she immediately gets around to learning the language, and although it is a bit difficult for her, having to hide her ears at all times, she's still entirely unafraid of the prospect.

The reason why I took to this show is probably because of how considerate it is. None of the characters overpower each other to any significant degree. Sure, Marie has to lean a little bit on Kazuhiko when acclimatizing to Japan, but the show hints that Marie did the same for him when he was new to her world. Even if you could say Kazuhiko was never in any REAL mortal danger there, that's not something Marie would know at the time when they met. His "deaths" merely meant that he went back to his real world, and he "respawns" in that very spot when he goes to sleep again. The bond he has with Marie means just as much to him as it does to her, and I appreciate that the show isn't completely run by just one of them. The dynamic does, of course, change once Marie realizes that he's 25 years old and not... around 16, I would assume, judging by his otherworldly form. Marie's age is 102, which probably puts her at around late teens/early twenties by elf standards. It's also nice that she's not the jealous type, at least not insofar as the show feels the need to joke about it.

While Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf never really goes into whether the world Marie lives in is a real one Kazuhiko just finds himself in when he goes to sleep or a figment of his imagination, I would probably assume it's a real one, as I can't imagine Kazuhiko being able to manifest a whole living being into existence just like that. But on the other hand, this world also deals with status screens and levels in a very RPG video game-y way, so it's hard to say.

Of course, the show isn't entirely about Kazuhiko and Marie. The two quickly get to know Vridra, the arc dragon that served as the reason why Marie ended up in Japan, and once Kazuhiko and Marie went back with peace offerings, she also created an alternate human form that she uses to travel around both worlds. She has possibly an even more dignified air about her than Marie, but only until either good food or alcohol enters her detection range. I actually appreciated that she wasn't there to become a part of any harem, and instead, she settled into the role of wingwoman for Marie. She's quite straightforward about everything too. Secondly, we have Mewi. He's a young boy and a member of one of the many beast races in Marie's world. He starts out being rescued by Kazuhiko and Marie from the bandits that take advantage of his monster-summoning skills. Sadly, we don't really get to see much more of him in this season (and so far the only one), and I can only assume he doesn't get to experience Japan like Marie and Vridra do due to his clear beast form that would be difficult to explain, never mind hide.

The equal exchange thing even extends to the two regions. Kazuhiko's socializing with Marie comes with her entire life, particularly when it comes to her magical studies, and when the two of them discover a whole new dungeon, they get more involved in the dealings thanks to the governing connections she has that pave the way for both of them. And while there are dangers involved on the Japanese side, Kazuhiko isn't above encouraging her to make friends there too, starting off with one of his neighbors, a woman who works at a library that also serves as Marie's source of education while on the Japanese side. Sure, Marie is reliant on Kazuhiko to travel to and from Japan, but that isn't really treated any differently than her taking public transport somewhere, even if it comes with some limitations beyond a time schedule, and one that more people than Marie get to make use of.

So, how do the romantic aspects fare? It is a bit on the gentle side. I'm uncertain whether Marie looked upon Kazuhiko as a child at first, given that his appearance doesn't change much in that other world despite him having done so from a relatively early age. Some of the goings- on is your typical romance fare, with Marie's first appearance in Japan leaving her stark naked, with much embarrassment for everyone involved, and from there, we have the typical somewhat chaste fumblings of teenage romance. There is some fanservice involved, of course; aside from Marie's first appearance in Japan being entirely naked, she also experiences her first earthquake while bathing, so of course she runs out into the kitchen stark naked. But Marie doesn't really do anything worse than throw a pillow into his face or panickingly shout for him to turn around and close his eyes while she covers up. Even within the last episode, they've barely done anything other than kissing, but they're both relatively gentle souls, so I don't think that's too out there. Kazuhiko's somewhat unsocial nature isn't entirely unwarranted either, given what happened to him in the past, although he hasn't really been above socializing with other races, as he seems to be one of the few who can talk their language. His adventures in what he thought were merely dreams (even if they were being weirdly consistent) did their part to let him open up a bit more on his own terms, which in turn gave him a new purpose once it became increasingly apparent that the other world was a bit more than that.

The fanservice also includes Vridra's human form, particularly during that one time she joins Marie on exploring Japan in what becomes the token hot spring episode. She also fills the outgoing parts of fanservice; she is quite well endowed, as befits a dragon, and she doesn't have any compunctions about showing herself off. I'm still not entirely sure how her powers work, other than supposedly she can split herself into parts, with her large dragon form remaining in her lair so she can look after her children, while the human -- and later cat -- form is able to go places and enjoy the local festivities. She's also entirely shameless, often throwing tantrums about being left out of stuff like this, even if it isn't done to her on purpose.

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf is simply a very pleasant show. It's not shy about showing off the darker aspects of Marie's world and also avoids the failing of when they let their protagonists just steamroll everything because they're the worthiest of the worthy. The few enemies our pair encounter are actually very dangerous, and it takes the combined efforts of the two to defeat them. The second fight is Kazuhiko's only, but that case was more of a duel; Marie and Vridra had to deal with a different enemy, although that one merely showed that if there was anyone in this show who could steamroll anyone, then Vridra would be the one to do it. (And honestly, that sequence was ridiculously awesome. Vridra is the GOAT!)

The only potential complaint I have is that this season probably doesn't cover much of the original material, and that does become a problem when you want to watch more. The show ends with Kazuhiko and Marie visiting his grandpa in Aomori, which does make for a nice and gentle ending to a nice and gentle show, but before that point, various monologues are made that serve as bait for future events the show simply doesn't get to. Vridra even alludes to a calamity that apparently can be found in the catacombs Kazuhiko and Marie discover, which we also don't get around to covering. And Mewi is criminally underutilized in Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf. He only appears a couple of times to explain some stuff.

It is what it is, I guess. In the end, I can only hope this show gains enough popularity to warrant more seasons. I know Re:Zero is the linchpin of isekai shows, which it fully deserves, but for people who prefer their shows a bit less intense, Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf is a very good choice.

I'm usually not a huge fan of isekai. It has certainly run its course, but that's where fantasy is at these days. But a reciprocal isekai? Heck, THAT I can get into. — Stig Høgset

Recommended Audience: There is your typical fantasy violence, sometimes with huge monsters, but the show isn't particularly gory or anything. Mewi is enslaved by a bandit tribe, and there's even some inter-organizational infighting going on as well. There's also some fairly mild fanservice and nudity on account of our main ladies, Marie and Vridra.