Restaurant to Another World

"When a strange door appears in front us, we should enter it with curious expectations, but I bet you, it won't be a restaurant." The restaurant "Youshoku no Nekoya" is known for the different dishes from the menu, but in this case, it is also known by the irregular persons that visit it on the Satur day. A magical door appears every seven days in different fantasy worlds allowing dragons, elf, dwarfs, human heroes and a select diverse group of lucky creatures to vist a restaurant from other world and taste all flavors that can not be found in their lands. Your first impression could be"the story is weak and lacks action." However, the story doesn't need action, fights, war, etc. The story's strength is in the attention to the details of the dishes, the feelings about the dishes, the taste, the flavors, the texture, and the background of the restaurant visitors. For me, it was nice seeing how the fantastic characters converged on a simple restaurant and they were able to create a small background of each one with some few minor stories or plot lines. The story has lots of characters, but they are unique and different. We can see some differences between each other. They like different dishes, they look different, and they came from different worlds. The design of each character varies. For example, there is a lion beast, and you could end seeing some drunk dwarf. The only relation that they have is a restaurant door even if they are from the same world. When they enter it, they are prepared for the worst, but they understand that is a place with fantastic food and different clients. It was excellent seeing that if a character goes to other "areas" or another kingdom, it could meet characters from the restaurant. That attention to the details of the writers is the strength of the show, call me silly, but that's how a great story is done. There isn't a principal character. Perhaps, the human Chef and the two waitresses (demon and dragon) are the most important characters for the story. They received a bit more background than the general characters. They share the same feelings towards the restaurant, the food and they enjoy working there. The sound mix is good. We aren't going to complain about it. The OP song "One In A Billion," is amazing. You will have that rhythm and lyrics inside your head for some hours. The art is great. I thought with the constant character changes the art could have a degradation of quality but no. The art and design use a vast color palette, lighting, and differs on the locations. The details of each character even if it appears a couple of minutes was outstanding and focus on the origin of the character. Those details, the combination of few plotlines, and a small story creates a character background. (Hope that the people from TROYCA and Re: Creators learn something from this animation. You can build a character with motion and few plot lines, lesson learned). Finally, the story could be boring to several spectators seeking action, but this anime isn't for everyone. Also, it isn't bad changing the genre from time to time and relax a bit while you enjoy some different short stories connected with the restaurant. I will recommend this show but with a small advice, do not expect fights, wars, etc. The animation focuses on the dishes and their description, the feeling from each character towards a different flavor and savor.

i can't say i'm a big fan of the art style for the characters, terrible late 90's art is more my thing, but the backgrounds are quality and i'm a fan of the character designs. my biggest criticism of the general art is how often the show the women naked, gimme some naked men or don't give me naked people at all ok??? isekai shokudo's cast is, in my opinion, it's biggest strength and biggest weakness. the setup of each episode is: new character eats food, enjoys, becomes a regular, rinse and repeat. i don't feel there's anything wrong with this setup since the characters arevaried enough to mix up the episode while still remaining faithful to the formula. the best episode is episode 6 though because it has the entire cast present at that point interacting. i could do a food comparison about how this show is comfort food, but it isn't because it's a television show. i enjoyed watching isekai shokudou, it's formulaic, slow paced, and has far too much fanservice for my liking. the world is well built and very generic but the other world in the title being a nice little restaurant is cute. those are my criticisms of isekai shokudou, it's a nice little show with a varied cast, a great dub, and some very nice direction. it's a 9/10 in my timtam book and if i had to make a comparison of any kind, i'd compare it to narnia except the wardrobe goes to a restaurant and there are no christian undertones.

Isekai is a very tiresome genre. Quite honestly with all of the new 'transporting to a new world' adding only one or two arbitrary things in order to make it unique, the concept just appears...lazy. So, now we're gonna transport a restaurant to another world. And...it's actually pretty good. Huh. Story: There are legends of a strange door that appears all over the world on the day of Satur known as "Western Restaurant Nekoya". Within the door lies an establishment that takes in gold and silver coins in exchange for food not seen or known to others. Marvels like curry, parfaits, and natto that people havenever seen before. It is a gift, a strange magical occurrence wrought about by fate. At least that's how I expect someone from the 'other world' to explain whatever's happening. With the plot point of an oak door inexplicably showing up in random places all over a fantasy world really never being touched on in the series, ever, the plot of Isekai Shokudou focuses primarily on the stories of its patrons as we're shown their dining experience in the restaurant and get a glimpse at what this 'other world' is like. In essence, the entire show is centered around world building with the restaurant being the centerpiece that draws in all of these beings from all walks of life to come and tell their story and reaction to the food. And that's it. That is literally the entire show in a nutshell. The show's simplistic nature is definitely its one and only strong point because each week brings about something new for the audience to watch due to vast variety of characters that come in through the restaurant's hallowed door. It's a story that could be regarded as boring to some, but ultimately is a relaxed experience that didn't need to be high octane due to how well its formula worked, despite the formula being incredibly stale. Overview: + Simple story + Tons of worldbuilding - Can be boring for some Characters: The nameless chef simply known as 'Master' is really just a figurehead to the whole thing. Rarely does the show ever focus on him, and when it does, is very little that it's clear that we're only getting a small sample of something that could be developed more. The amount of detail he gets is ok, and it does actually explain the inexplicable door if you infer enough liberties, but selfishly speaking, I would like a little more detail. Despite that slight problem, the rest of the cast is rich and vibrant with a whole host of fantasy beings eating in a place that has a menu somehow large and diverse enough to satisfy and feed the desires of so many different patrons. (All prepared and cooked by only one guy no less.) While remembering everyone's names is virtually impossible, the one takeaway is the audience coming out of every episode having heard a new story or event involving the restaurant. Each A part and B part of an episode focuses on someone different, thus making the formulaic setup for the show all the more enjoyable because in one episode, you could be seeing a treasure hunter reminisce about her grandfather, and in another, you're watching lizardmen do a ritual. As a result, every episode feels fresh and different, making the viewer coming back wanting seconds to know who's gonna show up in the next episode. Overview: + Very good side cast +/- Wish the master got more attention Art: Produced by Silver Link, Isekai Shokudou has a bright and glossy look to it with rich and bright colors to accentuate the entirety of the show's fantasy image. Despite that, movement is rather limited in this show, as the calmer feel of the show seemed to divert all of the budget from animating movement to the quality of the characters and backgrounds. Not to say that's a bad thing, but it's the show itself seems to have an overall lack of character movement because you're basically watching a bunch of people and creatures eat rice omelettes and curry, so anything beyond brisk walks and sitting down is too much to be expected. Also the food. It is very high quality. It also makes me hungry. Overview: + High quality, clean art Sound: Both the show's OP and ED compliment the two combined aspects of the show's centerpiece: the fantasy element and the homely element. "One In A Billion" is an energetic, bright piece that evokes the show's fantasy feel and the kind of wonderment that these beings have when they embark on a journey into a strange place they've never been to. In contrast, "Chiisana Hitotsubu", the show's ED, is a somber piece with a soft piano beat as a sort of cap off to the visual meal that the show presents. It's a satisfying piece that has its merits present with how, like many, the restaurant's regulars have attachments to the foods that they order when they visit. Overview: + Good, satisfying tracks Personal Enjoyment: Despite this being one of the shortest reviews I've written in recent years because the show is so easy to explain, Isekai Shokudou really isn't something that I can really detail without meticulously picking apart and explaining the twenty four to twenty six individual stories that the show features. It's such a simple yet flexible concept that I can't help but want more. It's relaxing, it's satisfying, it may be formulaic, but it's still good. What did I like about this anime? Honestly, the lizardmen one is probably my favorite of the bunch. Iunno, it's just really amusing to see how they created an entirely new ritual for the arrival of the door. Also Lionel's was pretty satisfying too. What didn't I like about this anime? I wish Kuro was given the time of day. She shows up so late in the series and really doesn't make as much of an impact as her coworker does. (Granted Aletta did have more time.) I just wish we got more with her because she was too amusing to not have more of. Also a number of the later stories aren't as well written as some of the earlier ones. Also I wish the show gave us at least one scene with all of the regulars showing up at once and rambunctiously associating with one another. Cause the restaurant always looks so empty with the show having only the featured character story be the only patron in the restaurant at one time. Would I recommend this anime? If you want something healing, Isekai Shokudou is a great fit. Again, the show is very formulaic. Week after week it's the same thing. But every story is different and there's a sense of progression as more and more regulars enter the establishment and start sitting among the new arrivals. It's the kind of storyline leaving you hungry for more with each new episode that really makes the show interesting and fun to watch.

Do you like short stories that don't have much of a point but may serve as a nice lighthearted vignette? Do you like watching people gush loudly about how much they enjoy the various types of food that they are eating? Well if so Restaurant To Another World might be for you! If you don't it most certainly won't be. While Restaurant To Another World has a nice atmosphere and does well to protray a comfy setting, it's only purpose are the two things I mentioned: short meaningless vignettes that can sometimes be heartwarming, and watching people gush over the food that they love eating somuch. While it does those two acceptably, there really isn't much else to this story. None of the main characters are developed. They have an episode half or two that gives them a little bit of character but for the most part they are ultimately unimportant. Just people that you get to know as you get to see the various walks of life that frequent the restaurant. The various walks of life aren't very fleshed out either. While we are introduced to important bits of their character for that segment, this does very little but give a general sense of who this character is. In many cases, this character could be one of many others that would be able to fit into the role. Ultimately their personality doesn't matter and isn't explored. They are rather a tool to dig into what one type of typical fantasy character might enjoy at this restaurant. And due to a decent amount of the episode being decidated to their love and eating of the food in question, this limits even more the characterization that the characters get. While there are a couple who get developed to an amount that at least makes them a character, most of them are not. The stories usually aren't that much to write home about either. Most of them follow the same ordering. First a problem or a character point or some sort of starting idea will be introduced. Then that character will find the door or will think about when they found the door. Then they'll visit the restaurant and proceed to gush over the food that they chose to order. If it's their first time they'll express disbelief about how for some reason this restaurant shouldn't be able to do the meal they want well before turning into putty when they experience the true power of the food that they soon devour down. And then they order seconds, thirds, and as many helpings as they possibly can. While this can get very boring and predictable, I will note that there are times where the show is able to use its formula well and tell an interesting or heartwarming tale. Although some of its better tales are when it ditches the formula and decides to go more freeform, espeically when it involves the main cast. The episodes surrounding the demon girl in particular were able to carve a nice simple heartwarming story. The type of story I had hoped and expected to see more of from the show. Restaurant To Another World also can have the bad habit of trying to gimmick up some of its shorts in order to cover up it's formula some. However this only makes it worse as the while the formula isn't too annoying the gimmicks almost always are. There is one part in which it tries to present itself like a documentry. While it's a novel idea it ultimately fails to bring enjoyment because documentaries are best for when someone craves knowledge in a subject matter. It's hard to crave knowledge into a fictional subject matter that as a viewer I didn't even know about until that episode started. With no curiousity being built, there isn't any pay off. The art and sound are both fine. They're both good for the atmosphere that the show is trying to envoke and thusly I think that ultimately they work. Although the OP is very out of place. Personally I'm actually quite fond of the sound cue that they use each time someone comes across the door. It's unique and it makes a sort of recurring sound that adds to the comfiness of the work. I tend to like traits that are allowed to be reused and be familiarized to the audience. It's like a little special trait to itself, and that's pretty cool! Overall I feel one's enjoyment of this show is really going to depend on the answer to those first two questions. If you want to watch people love and nom on food, or if you like short comfy but meaningless stories you'll probably enjoy this despite it not having the best characters or story. But if you don't like that or don't really care for it, it'll seem tedious and repeative, as that's really the meat of what it has to offer. Personally I'm not the biggest fan of either. While I can enjoy meaningless short stories if they resonate, they rarely did for me. While I certainly understand there is an audience for this I am firmly not that audience as the flaws outweighted the strengths of the show for me. As a potential viewer you'll have to make the decision yourself. Do you think short comfy vignettes and food love can outweight it's lack of character or story depth? If so give a try. If not you're probably better off looking for another show.