Bro, this series is seriously underrated! Not since Konosuba have we had an isekai comedy this hilarious! Seriously, watch it, it’s a great bit of dumb fun!
Most isekai protagonists are more than happy to stay in their other world. And why wouldn’t they? A life of magic and adventure, spent with overwhelming godly power and a harem all your own? It’s certainly an alluring fantasy.
Not for Yousuke Shibazaki. Or Ojisan, as we’ll be calling him. He just wanted to go home and play his Sega Genesis.
In every respect, Ojisan is a parody of every other isekai protagonist. Oh, sure, he’s overpowered as hell and has a harem dogging his every step. But his similarities to his peers ends with the premise.
His design is the first clear sign of that. Most isekai heroes are copy-pasted ‘handsome’ anime boys with dark bangs. Not Ojisan. His design leans closer to a certain tag of Hentai than a young and attractive hero. A fact that he himself is well aware of.
What makes him so unique is one simple change: his adventure is over. His isekai shenanigans are over and done with, and he’s returned back home to his world. But he did take his godly magical powers with him. He’s basically a retired isekai hero that just wants to start a streaming career with his nephew.
Although he wasn’t a particularly bright hero, then or now.
Ojisan doesn’t understand how isekai tropes work. Whereas Mushoku Tensei’s Rudeus knew full well about tropes like tsundere and childhood friend love interests and leaned into them, Ojisan isn’t familiar with these tropes at all. As such, he misinterprets just about everything that happens to him to a hilarious degree.
His relationship with Elf is my favorite example. To us, the viewers, it’s as obvious as daylight that she is a) a tsundere and b) madly in love with Ojisan. But he doesn’t see it that way. From his perspective, she’s just a rude crazy woman who followed him around insulting him for no reason.
But he puts up with it. Not because he’s in love with her. Ojisan is simply calm and polite enough to take it in stride. He might complain or ask for his hoodie back, but he’s not the type of guy to snap or fly into a frenzy.
During his isekai time, Ojisan had one objective: find a way back home. Any good that he did along the way was either fortunate happenstance or accidental. Hell, most of the time, the bad stuff that happened was his fault!
Even still, Ojisan is a kind person. Albeit in his own idiotic way. My favorite example is his treatment of Mabel. As she complains about having to work, he gives her a ring worth a fortune. But she misinterprets it as a romantic gesture, and thus becomes one of his traveling companions. Though he might have called her another obnoxious weirdo.
It says a lot, I think, that he puts up with his traveling companions. He doesn’t understand them in the slightest, and he does try to give them the slip a few times. But he does appreciate their company. When his isekai days are behind him, he looks back on them fondly, even admitting that he misses them.
With all that said, Ojisan isn’t a particularly complex character. He’s a fantastic parody of isekai protagonists, but he doesn’t have much of a character arc. Like a sitcom, he’s a static laugh factory. And that’s fine. Not incredible, but fine.
Ojisan is a great breath of fresh air. Hilarious and likable, he’s a delightful lead. Sadly, that’s not quite enough to challenge the heads of the list. So he’s going to the middle-upper end of the list.
- Rudeus Greyrat (Mushoku Tensei)
- Natsuki Subaru (Re:Zero)
- Kazuma Sato (Konosuba)
- Ainz Ooal Gown (Overlord)
- Yousuke “Ojisan” Shibazaki (Isekai Ojisan) <————–
- Naofumi Iwatani (Rising of the Shield Hero)
- Catarina Claes (My Next Life as a Villainess)
- Rimuru Tempest (Slime Reincarnation)
- Kirito (Sword Art Online)
- Yuto Suoh (The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar)
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