Review of Drug Store in Another World: The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist

If you've come across this anime on your own, then I'm sure you know what you're getting yourself into. This anime is simply a cute, episodic, low-risk adventure of a random dude getting transported into a video game-like world in which he serves as a pharmacist, typical isekai stuff. The show really sets itself apart with two simple factors; characters and setting. We've all seen isekai, but the fact that a drug store is the main location really sets this one apart, and without the colourful cast of characters, this show wouldn't be half as entertaining. Story: As mentioned previously, the story is mostly episodic with certainthings that bleed into future episodes, like new characters, stuff like that. We follow Reiji Kirio, our typical isekai protagonist who can do practically no wrong. We never learn much of his past life, but the story wouldn't benefit much from an explanation, so it shouldn't be minded much. Most of the time, episodes will include a citizen of the town asking Reiji for help with something, usually pharmaceutical-related, but not all the time. On rare occasion, the plots can be more character driven, and those usually hit, as the characters that surround Reiji are the driving force that keeps this anime watchable. Most episodes contain multiple stories as the anime is a manga adaptation, and I feel that element also tends to keep things interesting.
7/10

Sound:
Relatively run-of-the-mill. All voice actors and actresses deliver solid performances and general sound design is as expected. Not bad, but really nothing amazing.
6/10

Animation:
For the most part, the animation is also pretty much as expected. Characters are expressive, colours are vibrant, generally just a fun atmosphere. I will note that this anime features a single animation for Reiji creating new medicine which is used in every single episode, usually more than once. One may find this lazy, but I personally find it extremely charming, almost like a magical girl transformation scene in an early 2000s anime. All things considered, the animation is pretty solid.
7/10

Characters:
As I've said repeatedly, the characters in this show are a huge selling point, each more fun than the last. Reiji himself is boring, but his sidekick, (and basically his servant) Noela is cute and fun, Mina is a ghost that haunts the pharmacy and is by far the most complex of the bunch, which isn't to say she's a buzzkill, she's just the one with the most depth. She also has one of the funniest scenes in the show, where she drinks a potion that shows her deeper thoughts and her calm and sweet demeanor is completely contrasted by her inner thoughts being the complete opposite. The majority of the rest of the cast is used very well and has plenty of standout moments, my personal favourite being Vivi, who we meet closer to the end of the show, but almost every line of dialogue she’s given is gold. The other standout is Garou, the demon king. I don’t want to get into what makes him so hilarious to me, as his development is one of the few things that actually progresses as the show goes on, so I won’t spoil it. The one character that I really disliked was Paula, the blacksmith. She’s extremely arrogant and I roll my eyes every time she has one of her rude and unfunny one-liners. Overall though, the characters are very well done.
8/10

Overall:
This show will never have you at the edge of your seat, it will never have you laughing endlessly, but what it offers is a fun, leisurely time in which you can relax and enjoy watching some creative characters in amusing and interesting situations. All around, this show will leave you feeling content.
7/10