Anime Episode 02

"Guardian Heroes" Shoulda Been Number One!" is the 2nd episode of the "Isekai Ojisan" Anime adaptation.

''Takafumi surprises his uncle with an early birthday present. As the new year begins, Takafumi bumps into a childhood friend.''

Summary
On a rainy day, Takafumi narrates how the recent decline in views of his Ojisan's videos has his uncle vow to stop using online auctioning. He then reveals that he recently won a magazine that listed the result of the Sega Saturn readers' choice. Before being sent to the otherworld, he didn't have a chance to read it; Takafumi, however, doesn't care. The results are a surprise since a PC-ported Bishoujo game wins the contest. After reading this, Ojisan hovers outside in the pouring rain, gets struck by lightning, and proclaims that Guardian Heroes should have won it. He then goes on a tirade about the game's incredible quality and its placement in the game ranking list.

Once the rain settles afterward, Takafumi serves Ojisan some coffee while consoling him that a SEGA Saturn RPG placed in 2nd. He then learns that Ojisan didn't play RPGs due to his lousy memory surrounding the game mechanics. The mentioning of RPGs jogs Ojisan's memory of a time that reminded him of an RPG encounter he had in the otherworld. Casting Icuras Elran, Ojisan shows Takafumi a memory of where he battled a village elder who called him an orc. After that, he learns that the Legendary Dragon of the Fire Shrine close to the village was roused. The way to defeat the dragon is with a special Ice Sword from the Ice Clan; however, the descendent of the clan is a rowdy roughneck named Mabel. Upon meeting with Mabel, she tells Ojisan about a particular flower that her mother once showed her. Ojisan then leaves, reaches the Fire Temple, and slews the dragon himself without needing the sword. This has Takafumi note how Ojisan should have retrieved the flowers for Mabel, but Ojisan claims it'd be too hard for him to remember. After the rest of the memory is shown, the doorbell rings, and it's a package delivery containing a Sega Saturn and twenty games for it. It was intended to be a surprise for Ojisan, but he is now hesitant to give it to him because of his recent outburst about the ranking and their tightened budget. Ojisan gives off an astonished look, making Takafumi unable to comprehend whether or not he's happy or angry. So, to cut the tension, Takafumi reveals that he also has Guardian Heroes, and elated, Ojisan asks if he wants to play. The two then play the game together.

Walking home at night after a shopping trip, Ojisan talks about how the city's atmosphere that night reminds him of a game called Alien Storm to Takafumi. It also reminds Ojisan of New Year's Eve in the otherworld, piquing Takafumi's interest. At home, Ojisan learns that his favorite series Kochikame has ended soon after; he casts Icuras Elran to show Takafumi his memory of a New Year's Eve party that he attended. Although everyone was happy and having a wonderful time, Ojisan was ostracised by them all and ate alone. He then returned to his room for the night, and the memory ended. Claiming that nothing else happened after that, Takafumi asks if the Elf appeared, and he denies it. Apathetically, Takafumi asks Ojisan if he wants to play some Sega Saturn together, and Ojisan happily agrees. During their game session, Ojisan reveals that Mabel did visit him that night, and Takafumi turns off the game system and demands that he see what happened during her visit. Once again, casting Icuras Elran, Ojisan shows Takafumi his memory of Mabel, who had the Ice Sword on her person, asking him how to overcome being a coward. Learning that it was the Village Elder who told Mabel that, Ojisan gives her a motivational speech, but it takes a drastic turn when he learns that she's a recluse and suggests she stay that way. The memory ends after Mabel offers her the Ice Sword, but he declines it. With that, Takafumi languidly gets up and asks if Ojisan wants some soba noodles, and he accepts the offer.

As they eat their soba noodles, Takafumi asks Ojisan if he played video games in his teen years on New Year's Eve, but he answers that he watched a comedy show around that time called "It's Okay to Laugh". Presently, the show has since ended, which shocks Ojisan, and he learns that show ended three years prior and a year before the current, Kochikame ended. They continued their conversation throughout the night, discussing games and eating their soba until the new year rolled in.

On New Year's day, Ojisan creepily compliments a woman named Fujimiya, who creeps her out. Takafumi then approaches her, revealing they have been friends since middle school. They briefly chat, and Takafumi invites Fujimiya over to his place, to which, Fujimiya claims she'll come over after she drops off her groceries.

Thirty minutes later, Fujimiya arrives and receives a text from Takafumi about how he's out getting snacks, but will be home soon. Fujimiya enters the place, and shortly after, Ojisan arrives; he then tries to erase her memory of what she saw, but Takafumi stops him and explains that she's his friend. Upon hearing this, Ojisan prostates himself to Fujimiya and thanks him for being Takafumi's friend. Afterward, Ojisan and Takafumi explain to Fujimiya about Ojisan's background and as a YouTuber. Fujimiya then proclaims that Ojisan should leave Takafumi's life and live his own, and Ojisan deduces that she loves Takafumi. Despite her denying it, Takafumi claims they're 100% friends, and that's it, but Ojisan doesn't buy it, claiming he's seen the entire Neon Genesis Evangelion series. Although everyone back in the day watched it, he solely watched it because SEGA sponsored it. Takafumi then realizes that Ojisan will realize that the Elf was, in fact, in love with him. On the other hand, Ojisan uses a couple of Eva characters as an example of Takafumi and Fujimiya's relationship. After Ojisan moves Fujimiya to tears by telling her a story about a video game character, Ojisan swiftly reads her mind and what she did before she arrived there. The doorbell rings, and as Ojisan goes to answer it, Fujimiya demands to know who he is, but before he can answer, the package man calls for him. Fujimiya then suggests that Takafumi cut ties with Ojisan alluding to them becoming roommates, which she clarifies is not the case when Takafumi thinks that's what she means. As it turns out, the delivery was fifteen kilos of rice, and the package man and Fujimiya were notably furious for different reasons. Currently, Ojisan's secret is known by one more person.

Characters in Focus
Characters in italics debuted here.
 * Takafumi Takaoka
 * Ojisan
 * Sumika Fujimiya

Memory:
 * Mabel Rayveil
 * Alicia Edelcia
 * Raiga Straiga
 * Edgar Crosstruger
 * Elf (Flashback)