Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Harem, Romance, Martial Arts, Isekai

A Story of Adventure in Another World and the Real World!

Yen Press’ latest license release, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World, sees Yuuya, a once bullied and hated boy, stumble into another world through a magical door in his grandfather’s house. Travelling between these worlds has granted him a cheat skill as well as an overhaul in his looks and weight changing his life for the better as he attends a new school with new friends and potential for romance both in the real world and in his isekai adventures.

If ever there was a word that could describe this series to a tee, it would undoubtedly be wish fulfilment. This series isn’t going to set any new records or suddenly become a thought-provoking masterpiece, however, if you want to have a little bit of a light fun read that you can switch your brain off to, then this series will undoubtedly do the trick.

Creating a fun, switch your brain off series is a challenge in its own right. A balance is necessary to make sure things aren’t overly silly and events won’t break the emersion. This series does well in this regard by mixing nice action/fight scenes alongside more comedic out of the ordinary events such as our main protagonist getting caught up in a modelling shoot. Moreover, the series has a more novel setting than most which helps the series a huge deal. Usually, the isekai series takes place solely in a new world, however, Cheat Skill changes up the narrative by having both Japan and the other world available to him allowing for two sides of development.

As for character development, well there hasn’t been too much throughout the first volume and it does feel a little lacking, although this might be understandable given Yuuya’s deep-seated lack of self-worth due to years of bullying and neglect. What I do like, however, is the potential for romantic development between Yuuya and Kaori. They seem like the standout couple so far and I’m looking forward to seeing how they progress within the next load of volumes.

Given that this volume feels more like an introduction to the different angles of the series, we don’t see too much of the other world in this volume other than the cabin in the woods and the small forest exploration section towards the middle of the volume. We do also get an introduction to one of the first main characters over in the other world, Princess Lexi and what seems like a conspiracy to take her life so that her brother may take the throne. This will likely be more focused upon in the next volume given the rather shocking volume cliffhanger.

Overall, I would certainly recommend this series on the condition that you’re looking for a fun, light read and not looking for something too deep. This series knows what wants to be and is good at it, and I for one am looking forward to seeing where this series leads next.