Anime Spotlight #57: Possibly the Greatest Alchemist Of All Time

Article by Sean Wilkinson,

Possibly The Greatest Animeister Of All Time.

It's AniMonday every day in the final week of Anime August, Ticketholders, and if you've made note of the above banner image, today's anime up for review is definitely an anime I'm reviewing this week. 

Unlike Solo Leveling or Tower Of God, there isn't much to say about it in terms of animation quality, credits music, or writing so far (assuming it continues, and if isekai slop like By the Grace Of the Gods and I've Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years And Maxed Out My Level can get two seasons...),

but I found enough to say that it justifies me writing this post for your reading pleasure.

Possibly the Greatest Alchemist Of All Time sounds like something you'd say in the late 2000s after interrupting Taylor Swift at an awards show, but it's actually an isekai anime based on an ongoing novel/light-novel/manga series (The Simpsons' belt-onion of Japanese print media models) written by Kogitsunemaru with Hitogome and Tarō Sasakama drawing the light-novel and manga, respectively.

It follows Iruma Takumi, a dishwater-boring nice guy from Japan who becomes the protagonist in an accidental summoning isekai plot (The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic and The Saint's Magic Power Is Omnipotent, among other titles) and wants to live a peaceful life as a production alchemist instead of playing hero.

But because he has to register his alchemy business a certain way and he doesn't have enough mana to produce the volume of various metals and potions that he wants to by himself (and this is a tamely trashy anime fantasy world where slavery is okay), Takumi gets his Naofumi on and winds up with an interspecies slave harem of psychologically damaged elves and demi-humans whom he episodically fixes by not treating them like slaves because he's a bland, Silver Hair Don't Care nice guy.

And because this is formulaic isekai trash, Takumi's peaceful life with a handful of contractually obligated platonic girlfriends involves him breaking the medieval economy by using his OP alchemy skills and knowledge of modern Japanese conveniences to purify the sewer system and craft refrigerators and magic toilets.

It kind of sounds like By the Grace Of the Gods all over again, doesn't it?

But there's one thing that makes Possibly the Greatest Alchemist Of All Time interesting and worth seeing through if a second season ever comes.

It just so happens that Nolyn (the series' goddess character who looks like she mashed up Sexy Nurse and Sexy Angel costumes from Japanese Party City) sent Takumi back in time to ten years before the summoning so that he could live out his peaceful existence without the pressure of the local church or any "slay the Demon Lord" tropes. Unfortunately, ten years of improving living conditions with magic appliances and quality building materials and potions has put said church's healing mages out of business. And when a greedy, corrupt organization like the Church Of Nolyn (whose negative emotions and grey morality have caused them to tulpa together an evil impostor goddess that they've been unwittingly worshipping instead) has their money cut off, they of course declare these boons to society as demonic heresy. And when a church in anime wants to stop a demonic threat...they summon teenage Heroes from Japan!

So because of the real Nolyn's time shenanigans, Takumi's actions have actually bootstrapped him into a time loop of his own summoning.

That's the extent of what makes Possibly the Greatest Alchemist Of All Time a compelling narrative for now, but there are also the three summoned Heroes to discuss. The two guys are easily corrupted and radicalized into one-note, crusading psychopaths with compensation-sized egos (if you dish my summoned fish) while the girl (who looks like every reluctant heroine with a sword in this kind of anime—Tsukimichi, for example) has a secret skill that lets her recognize and reject evil intent and deception, so you just know she's going to end up on Takumi's side (and possibly a member of the most harem of all time).

And that's all I have to say today. There isn't a theme this week besides "Oops! All Anime," but Stay Tuned as tomorrow, I look at another series where a silver-haired boy gets a not-harem by being naive and good at making stuff. As always, please remember to Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, leave a comment at the bottom of this post and any others you have opinions about, help out my ad revenue as you read so I can pull myself up by my bootstraps and not get stuck making magic toilets in a time loop, and follow me on BlueSky, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest news on my content.

The Greatest Animeister Of All Time,

Definitely Out.