Just as a note to anyone who is new to this podcast and publication. The following written review is a spoiler-free one that is the same as the first half of the episode. If you continue listening to the episode, I’ll continue with a short discussion that involves more details about what happened in the anime/manga/light novel, etc. If you want to avoid listening to spoilers, there will be a countdown warning before it starts.

Well I had previously done a review about Restaurant to Another World. Imagine my surprise when I discovered there was another series similar yet different from it. So here I am talking about Isekai Izakaya Nobu!

The Basics

This was a light novel series written on Shosetsuka ni Naro (like most light novels are). Unfortunately this series hasn’t been licensed in English or else I’d have read it by now. There is an on-going manga series with 18 volumes published thus far in Japan. Ten volumes have been translated and released by Udon Entertainment under the name “Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu.”

There was an anime series produced with 24 episodes. Naturally you can watch the series on Crunchyroll. Interestingly enough, there is also a live action series in Japan. You can watch the first two seasons on Viki in North America. A third season was also filmed and I hope that Viki will show it soon too.

Now some of you might be wondering, what is an izakaya? If you aren’t familiar, an izakaya is simply put a bar. However it’s not really like a sports bar or Cheers that Americans like me would be more familiar with. Izakayas have more commonality with taverns or tapas bars in Spain. You do get alcoholic drinks at an izakaya, but most commonly you also order food that pairs well with those drinks.

The Premise

Izakaya Nobu was experiencing a business slump in Kyoto. That is until one day the front door to the izakaya connected them to the city of Aitheria. Pretty soon the izakaya started seeing a variety of guests all fascinated by the mysterious, yet tasty food and drink. From city guards to noble lords, everyone who steps through the front door is welcome to take a seat by the counter, sample appetizers and order a meal that satisfies their taste buds. Who will come through the door next? Watch and read to find out!

General Thoughts

Over all I enjoyed this series! Just as I liked Restaurant to Another World, I really enjoyed this series as well. There is also some wonderful world building happening. The only real difference is that with Nekoya, only a limited number of people can access it on a specific day. Nobu, on the other hand, is always linked with Aitheria and all of the customers are people from that other world. This also means potential problems in Aitheria can really affect Nobu’s staff.

I’m hoping that the ebook version of the entire manga series will be available soon. I’ve been able to read the first seven volumes. It’s a shame the anime wasn’t continued, but I suppose it makes sense given how it’s an on-going series. However the live action series does continue past where the anime ended. Viki is a pretty good streaming service for all sorts of East Asian and Southeast Asian tv shows.

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