Imperial Calendar Year XXX, Spring.
Baron Durin Edward walked down the castle corridor, the magestone in his hand illuminating the dark staircase. The young man's expression flickered in time with the unsteady light.
Durin was a transmigrator. He had been an ordinary anime enthusiast living a normal life in a world much like our own and had never imagined that he, of all people, would one day be sent to another world.
And yet, that day had indeed come, arriving without any warning whatsoever.
"Ugh, no phone, no computer, no anime to watch, not even any novels to read… When will this torture ever end?"
Yes, unlike the typical protagonist who is thrilled to be reborn in a fantasy world, Durin despised it. He wasn't interested in exploring a vast new world; he much preferred being a shut-in, chasing the new anime season, admiring his "waifu of the month," and playing games he could never win. Compared to being a broke noble in a dilapidated castle with no TV, his old life was thousands of times better.
But after numerous failed attempts to find a way back, Durin was forced to admit defeat. Resigned to his fate, he began tinkering with the castle's various contraptions just to pass the monotonous hours.
As he did, the memories of the original Durin Edward, the previous owner of this body, gradually began to surface.
Durin Edward was the heir to a fallen noble house in the Empire's Southern Territory. Born with a natural affinity for the elements, his parents had spent a fortune to send him to the Imperial Capital's Tower of Mages.
Once there, Durin's talent was unleashed. He graduated from his apprenticeship at a record pace and ascended the ladder of magical prowess with terrifying speed, becoming the youngest Archmage in history before the age of twenty.
However, despite his astounding talent for magic, Durin's true passion lay in another field—Arcane Alchemy.
Whether it was the complex magical circuits within a magestone or the mind-numbing schematics of magical engineering that would make a normal mage dizzy, he pursued them with relentless determination. He skipped his regular classes to throw himself into his hobbies, even publishing a thesis on a new era of magical reform at the Tower.
Naturally, his paper was rejected by the old guard of mages and even triggered a formal tribunal against him.
Because of that incident, Durin was forcibly expelled from the Tower of Mages by the Lord of Elemental Magic himself. He was forbidden from ever setting foot in the Tower again and was stripped of his title as an Imperial Magus.
Humiliated, he returned to the Southern Territory and fell into a deep depression. He locked himself away in a remote room in the castle, surrounded by his alchemical tools. He only emerged from his seclusion after his father, the old Baron Edward, passed away, at which point he inherited the family name.
Of course, inheriting the title didn't change him. He remained a recluse, refusing contact with the outside world and only fiddling with his magical contraptions.
Just as everyone in the castle had resigned themselves to the belief that Durin would lead the Edward family into ruin, an accidental convergence occurred. The soul of another Durin, from another world, took over his body.
…
Opening the door to the original Durin's workshop, the new Durin scanned the room, his eyes finally landing on a device in the corner.
"A Magic-Video Recorder and an Imaging Crystal… I can't believe I never paid attention to these things before. They're incredible. Isn't this just this world's version of a camera and film?"
Sifting through his memories, Durin was stunned that the former Baron had unintentionally created something so revolutionary. A thrill of excitement, an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time, shot through him.
Ever since he'd arrived in this world, the dull, tedious routine of a minor lord had crushed his spirit. Even realizing this body could wield powerful magic did little for him; he had been a simple shut-in, after all. He was far more concerned about the ending of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind from his old world.
But now, seeing these two potentially world-changing devices, he couldn't help but murmur to himself, "This might sound stupid, but what if… just what if… I could recreate all the anime I used to watch, right here in this world?"
Yes, this was the reason he had come to this remote room. He'd once had the impulse to write light novels after learning this world had advanced paper-making and printing technology, but his own mediocre writing skills had forced him to abandon the idea.
But now, seeing this groundbreaking magical camera, Durin's passion to bring the anime culture of his old world to this one was reignited with a vengeance.
KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!, Spice and Wolf, Goblin Slayer, Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World, The Familiar of Zero, Overlord, Akame ga Kill!, Fullmetal Alchemist, Grimoire of Zero, Restaurant to Another World, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?…
As the classics he had watched countless times flashed through his mind, he quietly made a firm resolution.
He would produce all the famous isekai anime he knew and loved, right here in a real isekai. He would spread them far and wide and make the hopelessly bored people of this world understand the absolute joy of watching a new show—and the exquisite agony of waiting for the next episode!