How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom - Episode 1 Review - Souma Is Summoned to Elfrieden
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
This is the start of a brand new isekai anime! A young man in Japan named Souma Kazuya has a touching conversation with his grandfather, his last remaining relative. A while later, the grandfather passes aways. Souma goes about living his life as a university student. One day, he’s summoned to another world via a summoning circle.
This is all unexpected, but Souma, as a realist, handles it pretty calmly. He asks for an explanation from the ruler who summoned him. This new world is filled with many intelligent races other than humans often found in fantasy - dwarves, elves, dragonewts, to name a few. Ten years ago, monsters from the Demon World teleported onto the northern part of the continent. Several countries came together to fight off the demons, but they were unsuccessful, costing the nations’ military force. By now, the demon forces have spread out to conquer a third of the continent. Their war with humanity is in deadlock.
One of the major nations that border the Demon Lord’s Domain, the Gran Chaos Empire, is demanding financial aid from the Elfrieden Kingdom to continue protecting humanity. But the Elfrieden Kingdom is currently broke and suffering a food shortage. There is a stipulation that Elfrieden can summon a Hero from another world to be given to the Gran Chaos Empire instead of money. And Souma is that Hero.
After Souma is given all the facts, he comes up with a different idea. He proposes building up Elfrieden’s resources and might so that he doesn’t have to be handed over. And so that Elfrieden improves. Souma begins at once tirelessly learning all about Elfrieden and its current situation - strengths, weaknesses, debts, everything.
Then everyone, including Souma, is hit with a bombshell. King Albert Elfrieden steps down from the throne and makes Souma the new king!
Albert’s daughter, Liscia Elfrieden, rushes back to the kingdom. She’s a member of the country’s military. At first, she thinks something bad must have happened to her father and mother, that the throne was usurped from them. But she soon learns the truth. And even Souma was surprised by this. It doesn’t take long to see that she finds Souma’s intelligence to be attractive.
Souma reveals to Liscia that he’s already managed the financial aid to Gran Chaos by selling unimportant national treasures. His next plan of action is solving the food shortage problems.
Meanwhile, we briefly see a number of characters learning about the Hero Souma’s existence, his position as the new king, and his ballsy moves. Including a guy that’s a lion.
