The anime only covers the first 2 volumes of the LN, but 12 episodes of this was more than I could normally stomach. The biggest points of criticism would be the bona-fide Marty Stu nature of Touya, the complete absence of conflict, and how it has as many clichés of the subgenre as one could possibly cram in. Eventually one has to wonder if this is less of the writer's creative outlet and more of a personal wish-fulfillment story to jerk off to.
However, those criticisms can be flipped into something of a positive. Isekai as a whole is generally focused on escapism; in other words, it's not so much wish fulfillment for the AUTHOR, but rather for the AUDIENCE. There's a gray area between Mary Sues and escapist characters, but Touya is in my opinion more the latter (hence why he's made deliberately bland in design; he's meant to be a stand-in for the reader/viewer). Hell, even the cheap animation and simple art style give vibes of late-90's anime, making it charmingly retro in contrast to a lot of today's vector, digital, and/or CGI-based animation.
All in all, In Another World With My Smartphone is one of those shows that's "so bad, it's good", sorta like The Room or Chargeman Ken. It's super dumb, but it's fun to watch anyway because of that.
However, those criticisms can be flipped into something of a positive. Isekai as a whole is generally focused on escapism; in other words, it's not so much wish fulfillment for the AUTHOR, but rather for the AUDIENCE. There's a gray area between Mary Sues and escapist characters, but Touya is in my opinion more the latter (hence why he's made deliberately bland in design; he's meant to be a stand-in for the reader/viewer). Hell, even the cheap animation and simple art style give vibes of late-90's anime, making it charmingly retro in contrast to a lot of today's vector, digital, and/or CGI-based animation.
All in all, In Another World With My Smartphone is one of those shows that's "so bad, it's good", sorta like The Room or Chargeman Ken. It's super dumb, but it's fun to watch anyway because of that.