Reborn as a Vending Machine is Way Better than you think.

Written by Rei Caldombra 8/12/2023.

I don’t watch a lot of Isekai, but I can enjoy them when it's got at least one thing that it excels at. I think the premise and execution of Reborn as a Vending Machine are fantastic. I have read part of the manga, but I will be focusing on the anime. There will be some spoilers for events of the first 6 episodes.

It's an Isekai that truly has a unique premise. The main character functions entirely differently from any other character as he is a vending machine that relies on money to function and can only communicate with preset phrases.

You can’t approach the main character’s agency and capabilities the same way. The money to point system, his life and abilities stemming from that system, his immovability, his inability to speak properly. His gimmick actually has a huge impact on how he functions. Rather than something minor that doesn’t really mean anything after a while. It also doesn’t make him overpowered. While he is extremely capable (especially as we see in episode 6), he still cannot sustain himself or really accomplish anything without other people. It works with the shows general theme of community and cooperation. 

Many Isekai try the “normal person but will 1 unique thing” trope. A lot of the time these unique things are not interesting enough for me to give a try or for me are not interesting enough to be sustainable. I liked the first episode of overcautious hero. But right after that i felt it had already lost its luster. It works for a bit but then gets old quick. 

Here the premise goes so far in the weird and extreme direction that it got me to actually bother checking it out. And they do enough with it that it continues to be entertaining and interesting. It fully commits to its premise and runs with it. 

There are a lot of genuinely good ideas for putting modern concepts against the fantasy world's. One I really like is the point that in a more medieval and dangerous world, seasonings are much harder to acquire. So, while vending machine food to us would not seem very high quality, to them it would because of the ease of access modern capabilities gives to basic seasonings. Stuff like salt, paprika, pepper, etc. are not the standard in their world. Hakko uses his modern food to basically inspire the food businesses of the town. Its genuinely a great idea for a segment. Even with food being the main focus, 5 episodes in its still proposing interesting concepts just on that. There were multiple times where I was surprised there was a vending machine that did what they needed. It takes vending machines, a thing you wouldn't expect to have variety, and proves you wrong. You would not expect vending machines to be an interesting premise, but it really works. It's interesting seeing different real versions of vending machines. 

It can be pretty mundane. I don’t dislike mundane when it's done well. I love shows where very little exciting happens, Non Non Biyori being a great example. And I think this show does mundane well. Mundane content fits a mundane concept like a vending machine. It generally fits well into the situations we see. And then when it does go more fantastical the execution is generally still decent. The mundanity and lack of compelling action and drama may be a big downer for some people, which is understandable. But I take no issue with it. 

Like i said with the mundane working, the simplicity of the characters also works. While his personality is not very interesting, he at least has the defined trait of being a vending machine nerd. Which obviously plays into the premise. Lammis also has a fairly normal and simple personality, but she is likable and for me never really brings anything negative. There are multiple side characters who never really enter either extreme of good to bad. Their personalities are pretty straightforward but there are a lot of good interactions for Lammis and Hakko and they do enough to bring life to the town and scenes in general.

The connection between Hakko and Lammis really works. He is completely immobile. She needs a lot of food and a balance for combat. Their unique qualities make them work really well together. It makes sense for them to stay together. I can buy their friendship as genuine. They don’t feel like they’re forced together by the story because someone has to accompany the protagonist. 

While the world up until now doesn’t have a ton of intrigue and identity, it does have unique aspects. The fact it's just one stratum constantly reminds you that what you see is just a small portion of the world. And learning that each stratum has different creatures and systems makes you curious about what you can expect. There is also no mention of any typical Isekai demon lord, which leaves a potentially serious overarching story much more open. There’s also the idea they bring up in 6 about there being factions of creatures that are most powerful. While not amazing, it has more unique elements than most Isekai worlds that are the standard video game style fantasy world. I'm very interested in learning about the other stratums (which it looks like we will get into episode 7 onward) 

I like the very short scene in episode 6 about Hakko giving a girl the cooking ingredients for stew for her crush on the gate guard. It's very simple and straightforward, but nonetheless a cute scene showing how Hakko has a presence in the town and is appreciated. He truly feels like he has had a big impact on the town. A main character should have presence and impact on their setting. And Hakko is shown to do that. They make him fit organically into the town. That sounds difficult considering he is a modern machine in a magical low-tech world, but they accomplish that. 

A small conceptual thing I'd like to mention is how the waste from Hakko's products disappear on their own. This certainly is one way of acknowledging waste issues without going deep into it. This world would not have a recycling or waste system fitting for plastics, so without this you could certainly claim that his presence would negatively impact the world by creating garbage the world would not be prepared to deal with. It could have been interesting to see a genuine attempt at waste disposal within the world, but I can accept this relatively simple show avoiding that. 

One point that definitely brings criticism is the presentation. The overall presentation isn’t anything spectacular. Animations are not super flued and there are a lot of still shots during the action. But I think it can get away with it because it's never so poor that it's offensive or really takes you out of it. The quality is acceptable enough. The art and animation are not a reason TO watch it, but it isn't so bad that it's not a reason to NOT watch it either.

I genuinely love this show. It's not an amazing show, but it managed to give me more to talk about than most shows do. I'm not big on Isekai, so one generally has to do something really well to get into it. Re Zero has excellent drama and Konosuba has excellent comedy. What Reborn as a Vending Machine excels at is a simple but unique premise that is very well executed. 

Thanks for reading! Hope you give the anime or manga a chance!

My Patreon: patreon.com/ReiCaldombra