“Realistic”
To quote someone else who put this into writing much better I with my smol brain ever could,
“ From the first episode and manga chapter it was a one-sided beat down. I get it, I get it. Its swords and spears vs bullets and shells. But further into the story I expected the Imperial army to rebound, change tactic, find an equalizer. Nope. Still a pretty much one sided obliteration and military flex. Not only do the JSDF have the technological advantage but also the most convenient plot armor to go with it. The fantasy world is extremely underpowered, dumbed down and physically weakaned to the point where they get tossed around like ragdolls even in close combat. Their portrayed lack of ingenuity, resourcefulness, creativity and adaption is beyond nerve-wrecking. Yes, they lost the first two battles with great casualties to a brand new enemy with destructive power beyond anything they've seen. So what could they do ? Regroup, rethink tactics, realize the enemy has far superior firepower, charging in with spears and swords won't do. Equip soldiers with more bows. Gather the best engineering minds in the empire and better the ranged weapons capabilities, better bows, stronger arrows. Study the enemy, devise new machinery to give better edge against the modern army. Attack by ambush and surprise. Set traps. Just a few realistic approaches that would, in my opinion, make the fights more competitive. Not to mention that the biggest equalizers on the fantasy side - Rory, Lelei, the elf girl are all fighting against their own world. Because its a harem anime. Imagine if everyone from the ancient world set their differences aside for a moment and fought against the JSDF together. The military would so quickly be overwhelmed. Great story potential, but in my opinion - wasted.”
Also the whole thing is ultra-NIHON STRONK and is unsettlingly imperialistic. The whole idea of “benevolent” Japanese invading and annexing/creating a de facto satellite state out of foreign territory is disturbingly similar to it’s World War II history.
