Isekai Quartet 3

Episode 8

This week's Isekai Quartet once again heads into full stand-alone territory as the school is rocked by the release of a new MMORPG, "Jörmungandr." The story mainly follows Kazuma, Ainz, and Naofumi—and through them, we see how three people in different stages in life deal with the highly addictive nature of a new MMO.

Kazuma, as expected, handles things the worst. He is, after all, an actual teenager (either 16 or 17). Before getting isekai'd (the first time), he was a shut-in who did nothing but game—so it's no surprise he's fallen back into old habits. And, as a person who has been addicted to more than one MMORPG (World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, Star Trek Online), I can't tell you how lucky I feel that I didn't get into MMO's before college when I had at least some self control… which brings us to Naofumi.

Naofumi was, at the time of his isekai, 20 years old and a college student. He was into all the various otaku fandoms (anime, manga, light novels, games), and cared more about his hobbies than his studies, but wasn't flunking out or anything. However, his time spent with his companions in the Shield Hero world has turned him into an ultra-responsible adult. As we see now, even though he spends as much free time as possible playing (or thinking about) Jörmungandr, his priorities are still centered around Raphtalia and Filo—as we see by him not only preparing them lunch as usual but also ending his game talk with Ainz and Kazuma the moment they arrive.

Lastly, we get Ainz. Unlike the others, Ainz is not only a full-blown adult—likely between 25 and 35—his Earth is a megacorp dystopia set around 100 years in our future. He became a corporate wage slave right out of elementary school and only found joy in his life through playing "YGGDRASIL." For twelve years, he spent every moment not at work in this game. It was his life—and ever since being isekai'd, he's never been able to talk about it. Oh sure, he can talk about his adventures or his fellow players' characters, but he can never reveal it was a game to him—that he was a normal human Satoru Suzuki rather than the lich Momonga. Yet now, he finally has a chance to talk about the game that made life worth living—and with Puck of all people. And while the great spirit may have no idea what Ainz is on about, he's still polite enough to nod along.

Outside of our three main heroes of the episode, we also get to see how others react to the game. It's no surprise that Aqua, just as much of a slacker at heart as Kazuma, would go head-over-heels for Jörmungandr. While most of the characters show little interest in the game (as a fantasy MMO would basically be their normal lives), the characters from Tanya's world are incredibly susceptible to its allure. After all, they are basically people from the 1910s or 20s who have just encountered video games for the first time. As soldiers fighting in a war, entertainment is a luxury, and they are completely unprepared for the addictive nature of modern games designed to get you hooked and keep playing.

This, of course, even applies to Rerugen, who, in an effort to get to know the beast, is instead consumed by it. His utter embarrassment at being caught playing with his own students is the kind of second-hand cringe that gets a laugh even out of a person like me who typically dislikes awkward humor.

This is, once again, an episode that uses a silly premise to help us dive into the inner workings of our heroes in a way not possible in their own series. While it may not have much to do with the season's overarching plot (other than some great background moments like the “Do you know about the Cult of Diablos? Yes/No” poster on the classroom wall), it's still a ton of fun.

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Isekai Quartet 3 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.