I can't believe I missed watching In The Land of Leadale for the majority of the season. This isekai blends comedy, wholesomeness, and world-building in a strangely surprising way. Add to that the amazing main character who has many sides to her personality, it became my new favorite of the season.
The story follows a bed-ridden Japanese girl who lived the last 6 years of her life living in the hospital. One day, the city goes through a blackout, the life support system she's connected to shuts down, and she dies. She woke up to find herself inside the high-elf Cayna. Her avatar of the MMO Leadale, except that the place she found herself in, is 200-years into the future of the Leadale she knew, and that world is her reality now.
I watched a bit more than half of the season. Only by episode 7, the story starts to become more serious, but it has a way to immerse you without the need for an overarching plot. The world and characters have enough charm to stand on their own, and the questions we have about the world's mechanics slowly get uncovered.
The most attractive thing about the show is Cayna's personality and her relationship with everyone else. She's the most powerful being in the story, (as of right now,) and she's so casual about it. She has three children who are respectable authorities in society, and the reaction of everyone who meets her is golden!
It's been a long time since I laughed as hard as when Cayna said she didn't want to cause trouble to "that child" referring to her son, the high priest of the capital. The reaction of her son's subordinates to this random girl referring to their leader this way is so hilarious!
What makes Cayna so enjoyable is that she isn't predictable to the people around her, (sometimes even to the audience,) and her moral compass while leaning to the good side, is as short-tempered as you'd expect from a teenager. Her relationship with her children (whom she made as NPCs back in the real world) is so wholesome, accurate to what I've seen in real life mother, but you always get the sense that she's a child herself, playing make-believe parenthood.
Her overpower-ness makes her casual about most of the things that should be life-threatening. She knows that nothing in this world can harm her, and she's just out to have a good time.
The world of this series is interesting because while it's real to the characters living in it. The world of Leadale still has the game mechanics parts underneath it all. Players like Cayna can still access the menu, and everything they had when the MMO was still active. There's a lot unexplored about the Land of Leadale and I like the pace the story provides info for us with.
What do you think?
I haven't caught up with this anime yet. It's only of two anime I'm watching this season. (Attack on Titan isn't included, I'm waiting to binge it after it ends.) In the Land of Leadale was so enjoyable, I wish I started watching it when it started airing. I'm not interested in reading the Light Novel for this though, if you're a reader of LN tell me what do you think of it?
- This article is also on Read.cash
- First image is made using the logo & promo poster with Canva. All screenshots are taken by me.