RICHMOND, Va. — The isekai genre has truly taken over anime with its broad appeal of being transported to another world or life, and My Life Was Turned Upside Down When I Woke Up As A Snailwoman is already proving to be a crowd pleaser. The show follows Aiko Neneki, a college student in Tokyo, as she navigates her new life as a slimy half woman, half snail hybrid.
“I’m really enjoying MLWTUDWIWUAASW so far, even if I have to turn it off when my mom is home,” said anime fan Josh Peters. “We watch her struggles with normal life: brushing her ‘teeth’, opening doors, tying her ‘shoes’, those sorts of things. It’s cool to have a protagonist so down to earth even if she is constantly producing incredible amounts of goo. Usually women are kind of stupid but at least since she’s a snail it checks out.”
Pre-release reviews from test screenings have already come in and the praise is glowing. Audiences are charmed by Aiko’s happy-go-lucky attitude despite her horrifying new eyeball stalks, and are inspired by her strength when facing new challenges.
“I thought it was kinda hot that she became hermaphroditic,” said test audience member Steven Ramirez. “I wasn’t really sure if I’d like her snail design but they did a good job making sure she was still cute even if she does have a shell. Kinda weird that it’s also a backpack though, I don’t know if they really got the implications of that.”
Some viewers are worried the series will experience the typical isekai pitfall of sexism, mostly due to the genre’s tendency to have gratuitous fanservice.
“At least the protagonist is a woman,” said pre-release viewer Madison Robertson. “Would I rather she not have tits as a snail? Yeah. But at least it isn’t a harem anime.”
At press time, showrunners expressed that they hoped to see no less than a dozen horny snailwoman fan tattoos in the future as well as numerous elaborate cosplays.
