Magical Explorer, Vol. 1

Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim

By: Iris, Noboru Kannatuki, David Musto - translator

Narrated by: Gabriel Castro

OUT OF THE FRIEND ZONE AND INTO THE FIRE! Few titles are more revered among horndogs-(ahem) connoisseurs of Japanese erotic video games-than Magical Explorer. One day, our smut-loving hero wakes up to find he has been reincarnated into the body of the game’s dreamboat protagonist! Or rather, his hapless comic-relief best friend, Kousuke Takioto. But with his unparalleled knowledge of Magical Explorer and Kousuke’s unorthodox abilities (a scarf that doubles as a fist?), our hero vows to turn the game’s unluckiest loser into its mightiest heartthrob. In this world, nothing is out of reach when you’ve got the know-how!

Might Be an OK Trashy Anime?

I had high hopes for this one when the author, through the mouthpiece of the main character, berates and trash talks all the stupid, nonsensical things about eroge games. Unfortunately, this was all for naught since it then goes on to recreate all of them. We even get the "walking in on a girl in the bathroom" one twice, for crying out loud. When you couple that with a narrator that is hell bent on making everything sound as childish and cringey as humanly possibly, this ends up being a waste of a time and a credit.

terrible narrator

I love the books, but yen audio picked a really bad voice actor, it ruined a good story.

I liked story, but audio needs works.

I enjoyed the story, It was a typical isekai story. It had it's slow bits but it had potential none the less. The BIG problem was the voice acting. For the most part when read he's fine. But his character work leaves something to be desired, as in there is no character work. they all get the same tones and expressions in thier voices. so it's impossible to tell them apart.

Phoned in work sure to disappoint.

If this is the narrator's first try at audiobooks, some leeway could be given to him. however it should then be the director and studio heads job to correct things and aid him. But this entry shows no effort was put into it from any side. Either Yen Studio has no faith in the series or the staff think it beneath them to try, but regardless, the story deserves better. Overly campy and grating half the time is the kindest things I could say.