Isekai is an oversaturated light novel genre. They are, in my opinion, the light novel equivalents of Hollywood blockbuster action flicks.

With oversaturation comes a dramatic decline in quality, as authors write highly derivative works that do nothing to enhance the genre as a whole. Enjoyable as they may be, the recent upsurge in these novels have resulted in a sense of complacency both for authors and readers alike. Gems like “Grimgar” and “Re:Zero” are hard to come across, which is why for the longest time, I have avoided premises revolving around being lost in another world.

However, one day, as I was browsing the web for more light novels to read, I came across a series by the name of “How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom.” Tagged as being isekai, I nearly brushed it off completely. It had an unremarkable cover, with its only selling point being its rather interesting title.

Little did I know that that very night, I would be using my precious sleeping time to binge on the adventures of an economics student and his quest to reform a declining kingdom. It’s a tale that, while not necessarily outstanding, has enough of a spin on the genre that makes it fresh and fun to read.

“Realist Hero” focuses on protagonist Kazuya Souma, who finds himself summoned to another world and promptly crowned the king of the land. It is there he finds that he is essentially a chosen one whose destiny is to bring change to the era. What distinguishes this from other isekai is that his way of bringing change is not through some mystical power (which he does possess), but through the laborious task of reforming the entire country’s infrastructure. His first task is not defeating some demon lord, but cross-checking the nation’s finances to see if additional funds and resources can be scrounged to pay off a neighboring country.

Using his knowledge of economics and social engineering, Souma leads a gang of motley characters on a quest to bring societal change one paperwork at a time. Never had I expected to be given a review on national fiscal policy from a light novel, but “Realist Hero” manages to make such boring topics not only interesting, but a focal point of the entire story.

Although “Realist Hero” does fall under common isekai tropes, it does so in a way that fits within the context of the story. Examples include how the plain-looking Souma becomes the centre of attention of a harem. Its standard isekai fare in a sense, but “Realist Hero” explains a lot of these logically within the context of its setting. In the aforementioned example for instance, a character explains that given the high mortality rates, having multiple spouses was not only acceptable, but recommended. Some may look as this as a way to simply justify the novel having a harem, but I appreciate the effort made by the author to at least make it realistic in a sense (even if I personally don’t condone harems and polygamy).

Of course, the story isn’t perfect by any means. Aside from Souma and his (arranged) fiance Liscia, the primary cast of characters have very little meaningful depth to them. They are enjoyable to read about, but very few characters outside of the main duo really stand out aside from being there to support the two. With the high amount of side stories present in each volume, I found myself skimming over chapters in hopes of getting back to Souma’s point of view.

For a light novel, the art is (extremely) reminiscent of Type-Moon. It does the job in my opinion, although I do find that the character designs leave much to be desired. They come across as being extremely generic, although these did not detract strongly from the experience, given that light novels, in my opinion, should be judged primarily from its writing.

All in all, aside from some weak characterization at times, “Realist Hero” is an enjoyable isekai series that stands above its competitors thanks to its interesting take on what it means to be a hero in another world.