The Water Magician

I'm not sure what appealed to me about The Water Magician--it seemed soft somehow? But I thought I'd try it. I also *thought* it was fully released, but it isn't, dammit.

It is, honestly, standard isekai fare. Ryo is reincarnated into a fantasy world called Phi after an accident. The "angel" (?) who gives him the news doesn't realise until after he's off that Ryo has a hidden ability -- Eternal Youth, which, as far as I can tell, means the Fairy King likes him. They mythology of Phi is a bit of a mish-mash, given the Fairy King and demons, and multi-level dungeons, but fairly "normal" for isekai.

Ryo is quite OP and isn't totally obtuse, which is nice. I did like that the first part of the series was him sorting things out all by his lonesome at a remote cabin. Though, like every character that wishes for a "slow life", he is soon catapulted into anything but.

So, while it isn't groundbreaking in anyway and if you think about it objectively, a little underwhelming (there's fair bit where he's not even the focus, in some ways), I am liking it. There's no harem, though there is an elf girl that immediately sees how special he is (he is, after all, carrying a weapon and clothes from the Fairy King himself). She must figure largely at some point, but we've barely seen her other than her being his library buddy, but the entire end credit sequence is devoted to her so she must be "big". Or the animators just like elf girls.

There's a fair bit of "bromance" as he's pals with a talented fighter named Abel (he saved Abel after a shipwreck and then helped get him back home, which is how he was rousted from his cozy but lonely house). I do like their somewhat snarky and bemused relationship. 

I'm just about caught up on currently released episodes and this probably isn't one that I'd go out and buy the books for (unless they go a lot more in depth), but it is the kind of isekai I'd recommend to those who've never seen one -- it doesn't have the "ick" that a lot of them do.