For the love of family … anything is possible.
Creative Staff:
Art: Kaoru Hoshino
Original Story: Hinagi Asami
Character Design: Kureta
Translation: Alexandra McCullough-Garcia
Lettering: Adnazeer S. Macalangcom
What They Say:
Souya, desperate for cash to pay for his little sister’s medical expenses, has an offer from a shady company fall into his lap – more than enough money for only a year of work … on the other side of a portal to another dimension, where he’ll have to ascend to the fifty-sixth floor of a dungeon! Worse, his gig-work stint as a fantasy world adventurer gets off on the wrong foot when the transfer process malfunctions, stranding him without the supplies! Will his otherworld adventure end before it even begins …?
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Upon being summoned to an austere office, a suspicious businessman calmly speaks to Souya and asks if he would be willing to go to an alternate dimension, with this man dispassionately agreeing if it pays well, thus allowing a lucrative arrangement to be made between the gentlemen, the sole purpose of this meeting is to help pay for his sister’s medical condition and growing bills, and after a generous advance is forwarded to his account, he is told if for some reason he is unable to return, a bonus payment will be forwarded to his sibling for emotional compensation and her discretion. After brief preparations are made, Souya and his team leave through the portal, only to recall the history of this operation and how a strange frontier was discovered, and yet after two expeditions were sent through unsuccessfully, the last one over six decades ago only had one survivor with the foreboding warning from the leader that this new world had gods. However, as this new group attempts to emerge on the other side, Souya’s mission soon meets disaster as most of his supplies are destroyed, along with all of his fellow mercenaries never exiting from the gate, plus the artificial intelligence robots which were supposed to offer essential support are damaged beyond repair, aside from one which is barely in working order, with a questionable interface that is more annoying than helpful.
It is then when Souya recalls the goal of his mission: to explore the dungeon called the Tower of Legions, which the people of this land tell of many possible origins for this labyrinth, some saying it fell from a foreign world, the Priests of the Deeps proclaiming it is a structure left behind by the gods, and local legend stating this is a horn from the giant which created the world, but no matter its history, this lone man knows he has only a year to reach the fifty-six floor of the maze in order to consider this undertaking a success, even as he attempts to questions his lone robotic companion as to their next course of action. While the default personality appears to have been partially corrupted due to damage in transport, it is the alternate mode called Isolla which answers every question with cold logic – hope of rescue being improbable due to the amount of power required to reopen the portal, searching for missing personnel is an inefficient use of resources since survival seems unlikely due to past incidents, and after taking into account the loss of essential equipment and only one team member alive, the odds of the mission’s accomplishment is 0.2 percent. After being present this grim summary, the machina unit declares they are left with two alternatives: to allocate all resources in order to preserve human life or to continue toward the current objective, and it is from these choices that Souya declares they will carry on since it would make no sense to come all this way and do nothing, even as an unexpected visitor springs forth from a nearby lake, making their visit something which neither will soon forget.
In Summary:
Although the notion of a new isekai title seems worrisome due to the sheer number in recent years, it is the underlying noble idea of our main character voluntarily crossing over to help his sister which makes Asami-sensei’s story interesting, and yet it is not long before any sense of hope is quickly crushed due to unexpected circumstances, making readers quietly wonder if this title is doomed from the start. While mangaka Hoshino-sensei’s stoic depiction of Souya immediately projects how this man deals with tragedy in his life, it is the cute robot intelligence Isolla which pleasantly contrasts his harsh attitude and expressions, and yet the audience cannot but stare in appreciation at fleeting backgrounds and wonderfully structured character designs from Kureta-sensei, even as the narrative attempts to continue after a depressing opening act. However, instead of creating a reassuring chance that this protagonist can continue with some chance of success, strangely Asami-sensei seems to take every spiteful opportunity to discourage the reader and an optimistic Souya by throwing impossible road blocks which would have broken an ordinary man, making it seem as if something in this world does not want him to prevail and conquer the Tower of Legion, all while steering us toward unexpected ally of Mythlanica. Even when the two do finally become acquainted, the story continues to plod forward with countless disappointments, as if a clichéd villain is manipulating events toward some malicious goal, only to fall short once Souya decides there is only way to make it in this world, by accepting that everyone is only looking out for themselves, and if he wishes to succeed, he will have to adopt the same kind of cold attitude.
The Otherworlder, Exploring the Dungeon may attempt to create an interesting departure from the classic isekai title, and yet as each page compounds the disappointments unleashed from the previous, readers quickly realize this story will not reflect the optimistic attitude we expect from stories of this genre, immediately polarizing the audience whether to accept the harshness of the narrative or hoping for some chance the protagonist will find some light at the end of the tunnel before we become too depressed after each unavoidable obstacle, all amid a convoluted narrative. Yet it becomes immediately clear Souya is not your typical leading character, for while he may forge forward with determination to reach his ultimate goal, it is the consequences of his questionable actions that always find him at the most inopportune times, pushing him deeper into this ruthless world from which he must quickly adapt if he wishes to survive. Thus, by the conclusion of this premier volume, the audience will either detest this anti-hero or admire him for the cunning actions he took to succeed, making readers wonder what else he will sacrifice to complete his mission and will he be the same person when this journey began.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: Older Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: March 21, 2023
MSRP: $13.00
