Summary
KamiErabi GOD.app takes a brutal spin on the overused reincarnation truck form in isekai anime, subverting the genre’s expectations. The purpose of Goro witnessing the cat incident remains unexplained, with possibilities including a test or a way to mock the trope. The series stands out thanks to its focus on Goro’s relationships and the moral dilemma of killing people he already knows, making it more than just an isekai anime. Watch now on Crunchyroll.
Warning: Spoilers for KamiErabi GOD.app episode #2The Creators Crunchyroll’s new death game anime KamiErabi GOD.app must have known what parallels they were drawing with isekai when protagonist Goro witnessed a truck about to hit a cat. However, KamiErabi GOD.app gives the overused isekai plot a brutal twist by having Goro just watch the entire brutal scene unfold before his eyes.
While isekai recycles many tropes to a humorous degree, the use of reincarnated trucks in the genre is certainly the most popular and possibly the most beloved of them all. Some people even jokingly call the truck that triggers the reincarnation of the main character isekai “truck-san” because of its frequent use.
When a truck appears in isekai, the hero’s fate is to jump in the way and die so they can be reborn in a new life. However, this does not happen in episode #1 of KamiErabi GOD.app from creator Yoko Taro (NieR:Automata), producer Unend and director Hiroyuki Seshita.
Scene of KamiErabi GOD.app’s truck toppling a group of giant Isekai
By episode 2, the reason for this scene was still not explained. Maybe Taro just wanted to tease the trope by having the hero not do what was supposed to be done by him. Honestly, Goro could very well have jumped into the truck and been reincarnated into a new world with otherworldly powers without changing too much about the series. After failing to save the cat, Goro is forced to sign up for a death match to become the next god and is able to use karma-based abilities through his little flying companion named is Lall.
It’s possible that Goro’s failure to save the cat was a test that qualified him for the death game. After witnessing a horrifying scene, Goro receives a strange text message on his phone informing him that he “has been selected”. Since death match participants are required to kill each other, it stands to reason that a test would need to be made to see if potential opponents are selfish enough not to save something as innocent as a cat or not. Furthermore, the fact that everyone else present to witness the accident was completely motionless at the scene created the impression that it was an otherworldly experience.
Regardless, KamiErabi GOD.app works more effectively as something other than isekai since the most effective dynamic in the series by far is Goro’s relationships in the game he created before his life changed forever. As a result, Goro struggles with survival and the prospect of killing people he has known in normal life. Although killing someone is difficult, it is inherently much more difficult when the target is familiar. So while Crunchyroll’s new death game anime KamiErabi GOD.app brutally deconstructing isekai’s most infamous quote, it’s a good thing that it’s the only way the series parodies the genre.
The latest episode of KamiErabi GOD.app is now available on Crunchyroll!
Watch now on Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll
establish: May 14, 2006
Notable shows: In/Spectre, Tower of God, Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Shenmue the Animation