Believe it or not, it’s taken until No Longer Allowed In Another World episode 1 for me to be watching an anime for which I’ve read the source. Well, I’ve played Sakuna, but Blue’s the one that’s writing about that. Either way, it’s been quite some time since I’ve had the opportunity to talk about a series I’m knowledgeable of, so I’m really interested to give No Longer Allowed In Another World a nice and neat once-over, now that it’s in the hands of Atelier Pontdarc. Yet another series featuring a fictitious and suicidal Osamu Dazai, No Longer Allowed In Another World introduces yet another unique twist to the isekai genre.
Parody within isekai is nothing new, obviously. Still though, No Longer Allowed In Another World episode 1 does a good job of illustrating how the series can find a new angle to explore within that. Simply put, it’s just choosing different archetypal characters for the main roles, but I’d still argue that Osamu Dazai is a pretty good pick. The self degrading, isolated, alienated, and dramatic atmosphere Dazai (or as the series prefers, “Sensei”) brings along does a lot to offset the more literal humor. Additionally, the more contemporary decision to forgo a straight-man and leap head-first off that cliff of humor does play out quite well. It turns No Longer Allowed In Another World episode 1 into something of a metronome- bouncing violently back and forth between darker and more gloomy humor and melodrama, and the sort of comedy that has both feet off the ground.
Humor doesn’t get you far without execution, though. Nor does melodrama, of course. While it’s a performance far from the upper echelon of Summer anime, series director Shigeki Kawai still does a good job of providing that execution- in particular with the latter. The work to really highlight sensei as a dramatic and tortured soul shines through quite well with all the closeups and creative posing for his character. For example, the set piece that starts the episode is pretty well what I imagined. The grey-scale format (barring the red thread of fate), the dramatic spacing and layouts that try to avoid Sensei’s face- it’s very much what No Longer Allowed In Another World comes off as in that little prologue.
In contrast, I’d say the humor’s “okay”. Far from bad, but Kawai’s visuals just can’t keep pace with the more dramatic aspects. Though, that doesn’t meant that characters like Annette and Tama are completely humorless. These two lead characters do quite a commendable job of selling the humor, but in the most literal sense. There’s no air that extends on the silly moments like Annette dragging sensei’s coffin- it’s all work that exists in the literal sense, and is only built upon by the voice actors. They do quite a good job, though. They bring a lot of energy and excitement that is very palpable when playing against Sensei’s far more restricted and monotone performance.
Taking a look at the complete package of No Longer Allowed In Another World episode 1, I would say that it’s a fine adaptation. It’s a good debut episode with a strong hook (as I expected), but in a season with so many outstanding works, this is one series that will struggle with strong viewership. It has its good points that keep it in the game, but it also struggles to ensure that it’s bottom end doesn’t dip too far. Thankfully, Rumi Ookubo (Annette) and Sayumi Suzushiro (Tama) are doing a good job of keeping it afloat, so I wouldn’t expect the humor to be any worse than the lowest it was at in this episode.
Because of that, it’s definitely an adaptation that manga readers will enjoy watching every week, but will likely not make it in front of as many viewers as it might have been able to previously. It’s a ridiculously competitive season, and even though I do enjoy reading No Longer Allowed In Another World, I also recognize that time can be spent in far better places (such as The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies, which also aired today). If you’ve got the time, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this anime, but if you’re pressed for time or the number of series you can watch, it can certainly wait to be binged another time.
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