Re:Zero. Collectively, they are united as a quartet of characters in a school life setting where all sorts of shenanigans blooms. As someone who is familiar with all of those established franchises, I do recommend watching them before stepping foot into this. Character personalities carries over and in general, I do believe you can get a better experience if you knew who the characters are. But for popcorn entertainment sakes, you can also just dive right into this little gem.Even as a crossover, Isekai Quartet stands out as a show of its own. The episodes contains skit stories that are half length. Its main purpose is to humor with the immense amount of comedy that aims to draw our attention. If someone told me this whole idea sounded absurd, I might have agreed at first. That is, I tasted what Isekai Quartet really is and it’s pretty damn delicious. That’s thanks to the drama within that showcases this like a Saturday morning cartoon. To start off, we have several foil characters which translates into some rather noticeable character drama segments. There’s Tanya and Ainz who were once a salaryman in the real world. These two are portrayed as powerful entities that others seems to fear in from their perspective shows. In Isekai Quartet, there’s a rivalry that develops between the two based on some rather absurd reasons. KonoSuba’s Kazuma and Re:Zero’s Subaru came from fantasy worlds as the two manages to establish themselves in their own ways. However, it is easily noticeable how different both characters are. Kazuma is portrayed more as a butt monkey while Subaru evolved as a dark fantasy hero. When you put all four of these protagonists together in the same show, hell breaks loose. I’m talking about the over the top comedy type of hell of course.With the school setting, the creators aimed to bring as many as possible segments as possible. From school rules to a class talent show, there’s many opportunities for comedy. (yes, there is the infamous “beach episode” too before you ask) Anyone who is familiar with these franchises will also quickly recognize how much their personalities carry over. Make no mistake, every character remains who they are from their respective shows. This includes Overlord’s core characters such as Albedo, Shalltear, and Demiurge. KonoSuba has its own class clowns like Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness. Re:Zero’s Emilia, Rem, Ram, and Beatrice are no strangers when they sit in class. And who can forget Youjo Senki’s adorable Visha? Bringing this legion of isekai characters also means a clash of personalities. Just like at school, there are class leaders and rules. The show establishes the rules early on and as each episode progresses, it becomes more and more evident how some characters can’t follow them. The class talent shows also displays a clash of egos. At the end of the day, the audience is the real winner as the anime accomplishes its job of glorfying popcorn entertainment. In a sense, this is a deconstruction of isekai. Character behaviors are observed in the some of the most outrageous ways possible. KonoSuba’s cast is the guiltiest of this with Kazuma’s antics, Megumin’s explosive personality, and Darkness’ perverted fantasies. However, others such as Albedo, Shaltear, and Beatrice also act on actions that speaks louder than words. My only slight disappointment is how much Tanya has to carry her own franchise in this crossover. Honestly, she is probably the most credible member from Youjo Senki. Even someone like Visha feels like she’s the invisible kid in class if you don’t pay too much attention. Similarly, most of the supporting characters from these perspective franchises is overshadowed by the main cast.Isekai Quartet ended up being an anime that I didn’t know I wanted. When it got first announced, I thought this would’ve ended up being a big fat joke to further alienate the isekai fan base. It seemed like a big risk considering how much controversy their franchises became for certain audiences. But after watching this show to finish, I’ve seen the light. Be prepared to be enlightened.