"Uncle from another world" anime review
The series carries a lot of comedic weight with it's subversive premise of the isekai fantasy genre within anime at large. The usual set up is someone in the modern world, typically Japan, either dies or goes to sleep and wakes up trapped in the novel or video game they were just enjoying before they went to sleep. Upon waking up, they discover an absurdly overpowered ability to give them godlike leverage over the world they find themselves in. This can be the ability to order amazon packages (yes really) where the exchange rate 100 yen translates to what a medieval house costs in that world. Not to mention the technology asymmetry where activating a lighter in front of an audience would make them see you as an inventor/wizard within the hour.
This isn't even touching on waking up within said fantasy world with pre-set powers of said world like an office worker waking up with level infinity punching strength making them powerful enough to punch that world's version of the Pangea continent in half with a downward slam. All this being said, Isekai Oji-san takes a different approach. Rather than have the main character stay in said world, the story starts with him waking up in a hospital for what has been a 20 year coma in the modern world but for him has been 20 years in the fantasy world, fighting monsters, gaining magic and meeting comrades of all stripes. The main character's nephew sadly thinks his uncle's words are just delusions from a coma. That is until said Uncle calls upon the spirits to levitate a nearby vase in front of his nephews eyes. The nephew, now star struck decides to bring his Uncle back to society and make him a celebrity as anyone with those kinds of abilities is bound for fame in fortune in a world with youtube. In between the Uncle uploading gameplay of his favorite Sega games as a child and reminiscing with Takafumi, his nephew, the Uncle recounts his adventures becoming stronger, joining a party and constantly being mistaken for an orc as in the fantasy world he's considered hideously ugly. Note that ugliness doesn't stop him from getting a love interest but it's something I found refreshing, to see a heroic main character not look the best and still save the day as he grows older and just settles into a peaceful life with his nephew. It's not a dynamic you often see in fantasy or any anime these days. It's available on netflix and is a series I had a lot of fun with.
