The Faraway Paladin is a beautiful, gentle story that reminds us a lot of The Old Magus’ Bride, not just because Will is a redhead like Chise and because of the fantasy English-like setting, but also thanks to the idea of getting a second chance in life, next to people who love you and rediscovering your sense of inner worth. Will was a shut-in in his previous life and he vows to do his best in the second chance he gets. He wants to give love, faith, and protection to all living creatures and be Lawful Good, a true Paladin at heart. This doesn’t come without sacrifice, he is scared but goes on despite his fear. The way Blood, Mary, and Gus embrace him is a lot like how the Magus takes in Chise after she gives up hope in life. All these elements make The Faraway Paladin a heartwarming experience that balances sword and magic adventure, with many, many feels.

Admittedly, the strongest contender for isekai of the season is again Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation with its second part. There are several things that Jobless Reincarnation does better: the animation quality is superb, there are a lot of comedic moments, and it has a generous dose of ecchi for those who love it. However, The Faraway Paladin has its own unique characteristics, such as the main character who remembers very little of his previous life, a heartwarming magical atmosphere, and complex lore with lots of information specific to this universe. We do think that The Faraway Paladin could have fared better with a different animation studio because as it is, it cannot compete properly with other popular isekai.

The Faraway Paladin is based on a series of light novels, as most isekai are. We can see that a lot of effort has been put into its worldbuilding. The amount of information we need to understand what happened in the past, before Will’s rebirth, and the Undead family’s fate, is quite a lot and is given mainly through exposition. Episode 3, for example, is a long narration between Will, Blood, and Mary, with the last two explaining their pact with Stagnate and the background story of the High King. It is definitely too much information to be delivered through just dialogue, and the episode felt slow and stale.

There is also Will’s awkward-sounding inner monologue, and while it does make sense to hear his inner thoughts, they come out with a strange echoey sound that is quite off-putting. We are not sure about this creative choice and, in combination with the sometimes wobbly animation, it makes us want to return to other isekai.