Rating: B+
The appeal of Isekai Quartet is heavily predicated on clever callbacks and sly applications of lore from its components series, so few things in the franchise truly count as plot twists. The revelation that the prize for the upcoming music contest might be one of the mysterious buttons which brought most of the characters here, though, definitely qualifies.
That the person least willing to take the prize Roswaal presents at face value is Tanya is no surprise; she’s had painful personal experience with bait-and-switch tomfoolery of this magnitude. However, seeing how each group reacts to the possibility of being able to return home is very interesting indeed. Tanya’s torn between how crappy the world she came from was and her sense of duty, but as some of her underlings point out, they can’t get drunk in this world. Though some of Kazuma’s group still want to defeat the Demon King in their setting, he and Aqua are enjoying things enough here that they’re not interested. Ains, meanwhile, is noncommittal because he’s come to appreciate meeting and hanging out with everyone here. That the person most firmly committed to returning home is Subaru actually isn’t a surprise; as flaky as he may seem, he’s the lead protagonist driven by the strongest convictions, whether it’s to support Emilia be a companion for Beatrice.
That Subaru doesn’t know about the button raises an eyebrow, though. True, his group was the only one not shown having shenanigans with a button in the first episode of the first season, but there was always the assumption that they had used one, too. So is Subaru correct that Roswaal pushed the button to bring his group here? Or is something else going on there?
Either way, the other big part of the episode is the Seven Shadows finally making their move, with Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and the little-used Zeta being the rooftop group. Of course they’re going to play the antagonists on the music contest since they see Class 2 as a bunch of cultists; after all, there is a “Ruler of Darkness,” actual devils and undead, and a girl who’s supposed to be a disguised devil. The big irony here, of course, is Tanya laughing off the suggestion that Rerugen might also believe Tanya to be a devil in disguise, when he’s said exactly as much in his source series. The other neat detail here is one you have to watch carefully for: the way Gamma (the brunette among the Seven Shadows) waves her hands uncertainly before they take off, implying that she’s unsteady. (She is.)
The Class 1 strategy meeting also has its interesting points. That the Seven Shadows, who normally thoroughly investigate and analyze everything, would miss the competencies of Kazuma and Subaru is no surprise, as neither looks all that impressive and Subaru in particular is, at the least, among the weakest individuals in any of the classes on his own. But Julius and Felt know that Subaru is a figure to be reckoned with despite his lack of power because of his ability to make things happen, and Chris knows well that Kazuma is a far trickier individual than he appears. (Doubtless she’s thinking of stolen panties when bringing this up, but that’s hardly the only unexpected stunt Kazuma has ever pulled off.) Meanwhile, Cid is sitting reading another Don Quixote book, like he was back in episode 2; I’m sure there’s a joke here that I am missing. Meanwhile the mutant plant/pasta zombie combo-to-be is again foreshadowing the season’s end boss.
Overall, this episode was a combination of philosophical musing and set-up for the eventual finale. To round out, a couple of final random thoughts:
- There is one more class which will be involved in this competition. My sneaking suspicion is the Yunyun and Motoyasu might somehow end up winning the button.
- All of the cast members forming a band in the OP now looks much less random than it did before.
USA Anime 