In this How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Episode 2 Review, let’s take a look at the second offering by all of ours 23rd favourite Isekai of the season.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Episode 2- Overview
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom is being adapted to anime by the studio J.C.Staff, which is also known for bringing popular anime like Food Wars and One Punch Man Season 2 to our screens. The anime is being directed by Takashi Watanabe, who has previously been involved with the productions of Death Note and Slayers. The series is adapted from a popular light novel written by Dozuemaru.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Episode 2- The Review
Episode 2 picks up right where the first episode ends, with our protagonist Kazuya Souma finding himself in the midst of running an entire kingdom on his first day. Kazuya now has to use his intellect and experience as a Civil Service trainee to manage the kingdom and stop it from falling into the demons’ hands.
This premise was always unique enough to turn some heads anyway, but the execution of said concept has been a touch hit or miss so far. The pacing of the episodes has been far from perfect, with certain scenes getting close to elicit a yawn from me. However, the series has shown that the concept has promise and leaves me looking forward to the next episode.
Also Read: How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Episode 1 Review: First Begin with a Hero
The chemistry between Liscia and Kazuya is still palpable, and they got a lot of time to shine in this episode. In fact, more than half of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Episode 2 had just these two characters on screen, which isn’t a bad thing. When it works, it works. Some new characters were also introduced, such as the head captain of the country’s armed forces, Sir Ludwin Arcs.
The way the episode ends was also excellent, with the series going in a direction that, while not entirely unexpected, was still a welcome sight to see. The way the show is going about introducing all these new characters we see in the opening track is also refreshing, with Kazuya even borrowing some phrases from Chinese Emperor Cao Cao to get his way. This development at the end of the episode did a lot for the series that even the opening episode couldn’t do- it made me actually want another episode from the series.
Kazuya can use magic now, the introduction of which to him was something that was convenient even by Isekai standards. His type of magic also reflects how he contrasts with the kingdom he has been chosen to run because it is a type of magic that lets him do paperwork faster and not much else. His tenacity and hardworking nature are commendable, although that doesn’t differentiate him from every other anime protagonist.
Verdict
Overall, I liked How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Episode 2 more than I liked Episode 1, which can only be a good thing. I am hopeful for the direction the anime is headed, and there is enough good material left in the manga to see us through at least the first season without any hitches.
If you enjoyed reading this review of Episode 2 of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, you can read the review of Episode 3 here.