Title: Farming Life in Another World Vol. 1
Author: Kinosuke Naito (Story), Yasuyuki Tsurugi (Art)
Publisher: One Peace Books
Language: English
Format: Digital
Pages: 176
Genre: Isekai, Fantasy
Publication Date: October 28, 2020
The Story
Farming Life in Another World looks to take a bit of a slice of life approach to the isekai genre without sacrificing the fantasy elements that isekai has come to be known for.
This new manga series by Kinosuke Naito with art by Yusuyuki Tsurugi focuses on a man by the name of Hiraku. He worked for an abusive company in his twenties and, as a result, ended up with an intestinal issue causing him to spend all of his thirties in the hospital. At age 39, Hiraku dies and comes face to face with God itself. God doesn’t want to admit that he made a mistake with Hiraku’s life so he gives him another chance to live in a different world on the one condition that he simply just lives there. Once there, he can do whatever he wants.
God isn’t going to send him there empty-handed, though. He asks Hiraku for three wishes that he will grant for him. Hiraku asks for a body that can never get sick, to be placed in an area with very little people, and to do something in relation to agriculture because he once saw a show about idols living on a farm and he wanted to give it a try. God grants him those wishes and even bestows upon him The Almighty Farming Tool. It lives inside of Hiraku and can transform into different tools to be used to build a farm with. While Hiraku uses the tool, he will never tire.
Hiraku is then dumped into this new world and realizes that all he has is the tool, the clothes God gave him, and an understanding of the local language. First, he learns how to use the tool and discovers is special properties. Then he hollows out a tree and makes that his home. He begins to make fields, a bathroom, finds water, and all of the other basic necessities. Soon, he’s joined by two dog-like creatures. He feeds them and, suddenly, he’s no longer alone. A giant spider soon joins him and helps him make clothes. Suddenly, more and more people are discovered and his farm is turning into a village in which he is named the “Great Village Chief.”
While there is a little bit more to the first volume, this is the basic root of the story. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect from a series such as this. I’ve read Silver Spoon which is a slice-of-life about agriculture and ended up enjoying it very much… then I remembered how Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody tried to add a lot of slice-of-life elements to an isekai series and I ended up finding myself frustrated and bored with it. I decided to give this series a shot in hopes that the story would hold and capture my attention.
The verdict?
It did!
The story is very simple and basic. Just about a man given another chance in another world so he makes a farm and unintentionally turns it into a village for all of the people who suddenly move in. The characters themselves move the story along and make the back half of the manga really entertaining. The first half, on the other hand, is a bit slower as most of the story is told through Hiraku’s inner monologues which are, for some reason, all written in present tense rather than past. That part was a bit jarring but I got used to it after a while.
Characters
Speaking of the characters, there is a small cast at first but that cast grows throughout the first volume. There’s no telling how many more characters are going to be added but let’s cover the ones we know about so far.
Hiraku, as told in the story, died in the real world and was sent to this new world by God. He simply wanted to live alone and become a farmer. He gets his wish and from the start, you can tell that he is just a humble guy. He’s actually just very thankful because after spending 10 years in a hospital bed, he was just happy to be able to move around on his own again. He even built a shrine to God on his new land as a way of thanking him for his second chance. Outside of this, there’s not much to Hiraku. He is certainly hard-working and a caring individual but that kind of seems to negate one of his wishes. For someone who didn’t want to be around people, he sure accepted a lot of people t come live with him without thinking twice about it. It’s a really odd contradiction as you would think Hiraku might show an ugly side to him there but we don’t actually get that. There was one quick little line in the volume, though, that could have indicated that he changed his mind. I’ll let you guys find it and see if you all pick up on it!
God is absolutely hilarious. So, the beginning of the book isn’t the only time we see God. For the first few chapters, God makes an appearance at the end of the chapter in a little 1-panel comic. There, he admits that The Almighty Farming Tool will cause the user’s mind to weaken… how it’s just a copy… how he accidentally sent him to a world with vicious creatures… etc. It really makes God out to be truly incompetent. Just the irony of the humor is amazing! Not every chapter ends with a God panel but they are amazing when it does.
Kuro and Yuki are the names of the dogs that end up staying with Hiraku. Yuki (which is ironic because the word means snow, yet the dog has black fur) gives birth to pups. Soon, those pups go out to find mates and so forth. By the time the first volume ends, there are about 4 generations of dogs living with Hiraku! They are all loyal to Hiraku and would do anything to protect him. Also, they are, apparently, very good at playing chess.
Zabuton is the name given to the giant spider that takes residence there. Somehow, it’s super friendly and doesn’t mind spinning its silk into clothes for Hiraku. He uses the spider to make curtains and other fabrics and, in turn, lets it live in the tree and feeds it potatoes. Zabuton also produces tons of offspring and those spiders help out with farm as well.
Ru is a vampire girl who was found wandering near the farm one day. Thanks to his wish to have a healthy body, Ru can drink Hiraku’s blood without Hiraku suffering any detrimental effects. The more blood she drinks, the bigger she gets. She starts off looking like a child and then ends up looking like a young adult. Ru ends up calling Hiraku “hubby” and moves in with him/ Ru also uses magic and helps light fires, generate luminous objects, and other things to help build out the farm. Ru seems innocent enough and doesn’t mean any harm. Looks like Hiraku found himself a mate… that is until…
Tia! She’s from the angel tribe and has a connection with Ru. She went out and searched for Ru after she disappeared and ends up discovering the farm. That means Tia is going to be living there, too, as well. Once she learns about the farm and what Hiraku is done, she excuses herself and leaves… only to come back with seven high elves who lost their land due to war. Without being able to say no, there are now elves living there, too. They help build a living quarters for them which needs to get expanded because five more elf children show up and now there are 14 people, dozens of dogs, and tons of spiders (and a few bathroom cleaning slimes) all living at this farm turned village.
So much for living alone, eh?
Final Thoughts
I highly enjoyed the first volume of Farming Life in Another World. It definitely took the slice of life aspect and added just the right amount of fantasy and comedy to create something special. The first volume ends with a possible conflict which was something that the story was missing up until that point. From character introduction, world-building, lore, and the establishment of a conflict, the first volume feels about as complete as a first volume of a new series can be. It hit all the important marks and did so very well.
While the cast did expand rather quickly, none of it felt unnatural. New characters were added at a decent pace and all of them made sense. The only thing I wished that they would have focused on was how Hiraku felt about all of these people suddenly living there with him… especially after his wish to live in an area with so little people. His past life of being in an abusive workplace really turned him off to the thought of being around others so it’s odd that he was so easily accepting of everyone. Be that as it may, that was the only flaw I could find in this book.
Everything else was written well, the scenes were great, everything was kept to a realistic sense despite the fact that there were elements of fantasy in there. Even with the fantasy stuff such as vampires, elves, angels, and magic, it didn’t really feel out of place. Hiraku wasn’t really surprised by it either as God did give him a pre-warning about his new world being akin to that of a video game. Still, despite that description, there’s no HP, Mana Bars, Inventory Slots, or anything of the kind and after seeing so many isekai use those tropes, not seeing any of that here felt like a huge breath of fresh air.
Even if this is just the first volume, I already get the feeling that if this series continues on like this, this could be that unique spin on the isekai genre that we’ve been waiting for… at least, that unique spin that is done well. I really look forward to what is to come in the second volume! Don’t let the farming aspect deter you… this had been highly entertaining and I think anyone would be able to enjoy it for what it is!
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This item was provided for review by One Peace Books
