What They Say
Shinichi’s mission is to bring “otaku culture” to this new world in order to facilitate effective commerce between the two worlds. As an expert in anime, light novels, manga, and dating sims, Shinichi is revered and admired in the new world, and an unexpectedly fulfilling real life awaits him!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
At this point, I expected Outbreak Company to remain cutely amusing. What I did not expect was drama or action executed with any degree of competence. So again, the show continues to be much better than anyone might expect.
However, its light novel conventions still continue to hold it back from true greatest.
Case in point: The episode opens with a “breast size discussion,” wherein one of the female characters asks our hero which bust size he prefers. This allows him to ruminate on the busts of all of his harem thoughtfully while we watch along. It’s tedious and so overdone and objectifying, it lacks any titillation that such a situation should ostensibly provide. I grit my teeth and pretend that, since Outbreak Company’s main character is an otaku, and there is no otaku property that does not contain this scene, it’s a parody. And this lie, this hideous lie, carries me onward into the episode proper.
Shinichi is still tutoring the Empress and Myucel in Japanese, but now twenty or so children of the nobility are attending lessons as well. Their textbook? The Attacking Titans. (But is it truly age appropriate?) Construction has also started on an entire school where other children can attend and learn otaku culture as well. Ever-pragmatic Minori is somewhat uncertain of Shinichi’s methods. She warns him that Eldant is accepting of otaku culture because they’re unfamiliar with it, but that its more egalitarian themes may become problematic with the Empire’s strictly hierarchical society. Universal education risks challenging the authority of some very powerful people, she warns. Shinichi says he understands this, and intends to tread lightly, but a part of him also clearly wants to challenge these outdated values. He lacks Minori’s more sophisticated political understanding of the risks involved, and ends up, quite literally, playing with fire.
Twenty days later, the school opens for business, and trouble immediately brews. Petralka has been jealous of Myucel all along. Despite Petralka giving Shinichi permission to build the school, and her prodigious speed in learning Japanese, Shinichi seemingly has feelings only for the half-breed elf. It’s the kind of harem nonsense that threatens to derail the show, until, thankfully, terrorists intervene. They are the “patriotic” Bayduna faction, and they immediately take Petralka hostage, preventing Minori from successfully fighting them off. Shinichi and Minori are stripped of their weapons and their translation rings, but thankfully Myucel is able to do rudimentary on-the-fly translations after her weeks of study. Petralka notices the terrorists have brought a magic fire bomb along with them, presumably to destroy the school. Just as Minori had warned, Shinichi is told he overstepped his bounds and is viewed as a threat to the natural racial hierarchy of Eldant. They intend to execute him.
In true light-novel protagonist fashion, Shinichi spouts off some idealistic slogans, but it’s Petralka who steps up and advises the terrorists they’re merely making a martyr of a political pawn. Her stepping up to the plate in a crisis is routine development for a royal character, but it’s still somewhat surprising due to how petty she had been in previous episodes. Petralka’s willingness to assume some risk, and Shinichi’s hardcore fanboyishness work to buy Minori some time to free herself and attack with her JSDF training and Fujiko-esque wiles. Even the fire-bomb is dispatched with a well placed gag. The episode ends with Myucel taking a hit meant for the Empress, meaning the two are likely to be more friendly in episodes to come. There will still be the typical jealousy that befits a light novel harem, but it hopefully will no longer be a driving force in the plot.
In Summary
Outbreak Company’s third episodes starts off with standard light novel fluff, but ends with a well-executed action sequence that successfully incorporates otaku humor and even ties several plot threads together. After Dog and Scissors, such a delight it is to deal with an author who can actually write! Outbreak Company breaks no new ground, but it’s still a surprisingly well executed exploration of what could have been a throwaway gag concept. Looking forward to what happens next.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment: Sony VAIO 17″ HD screen
