REVIEW: ‘No Longer Allowed In Another World’ Episode 1 — “I Must Commit Double-Suicide!”

No Longer Allowed In Another World (Isekai Shikkaku) Episode 1, “I Must Commit Double-Suicide!”, and no, this is not Bungo Stray Dogs! Based on the manga series written by Hiroshi Noda and illustrated by Takahiro Wakamatsu, the series took a wild interpretation of ‘what if the iconic Japanese author Osamu Dazai got iekai’d?’ Studio Atelier Pontdarc has done did a great job setting the comedic tones for the rest of the season.

Think of Mashle-level comedic timing but with a self-deprecating protagonist whose sole purpose is to die in peace. The title itself is a play on the real-life Dezai’s most famous novel, No Longer Human.

The story begins in 1948 Japan with melancholic author Osamu Dezai (Hiroshi Kamiya) getting ready to die in peace with his last lover, Tomie Yamazaki, at the notable Tamagawa Canal (all canonically true to the supposed death of the real Dezai). In this iteration, he is called ‘Sensei’ by most, and she is called ‘Saachan’

However, the lovers’ planned suicide is thwarted when a random truck runs them over. This opening scene was all in black-and-white (potentially because it mimics the 1948 vibes), and really contrasted the colours for the rest of the show. When Osamu awakens, he is met by an elf guide named Annette (Rumi Ookubo) in a church, who explains to him that he is essentially the new hero of the world of Zauberberg.

Osamu’s disappointment of not reaching the afterlife is quickly displayed when he realizes he was transported to another world, and will not be spending eternity with his love, Saachan. This dialogue exchange sets up the comedy for what No Longer Allowed In Another World is going for. No Longer Allowed In Another World Episode 1 nails the first chapter (and some of chapter 2) here, almost animating the pages shot-for-shot.

Osamu quickly tells Annette he just wants to die. He says, “My life is truly one of much shame,” as Annette tries to explain his mission in this world. Despite her moving on with her NPC-like dialogue, she’s quickly interrupted by Osamu passing out from taking multiple sleeping pills to kill himself. She immediately uses her “Detoxify” spell to save him, only for him to start nom-nom-ing on some more pills. This casual comedy is where the series shines the most, leaning into the comical suicidal protagonist.

Annette continues explaining how Osamu was “chosen” by her world’s iconic “Isekai Transport Service,” and we see through her memories of all the other ‘Other Worlders’ she has greeted in the past who got isekai’d. This is an interesting moment because we learn that the other Other Worlders were more invested in this isekai world but were more arrogant or pretentious.

Because of this fact, Annette is shown to adore Osamu more because of his lack of interest in power or glory. Here, she also learns that Osamu is so weak that he only has 1 HP on his stats chart, and has a permanent Poisoned effect status from the sleeping pills.

Ignoring most of Annette’s dialogue, Osamu takes off, lights a cigarette and snacks on his sleeping pills. I genuinely hope he keeps busting out cigarettes out of nowhere, similar to Captain Yami from Black Clover—one of my favorite gags from that series. Osamu leaves the church saying, “I am a born writer,” when Annette asks him to choose a profession before leaving.

Osamu encounters his first sign, and a classic video game voice announces that he has gained experience points for discovering the location. He is annoyed that a voice is talking directly into his head. In a brief instance, a cat-girl is seen getting bondaged by a “Death Tree”—very reminiscent of those trees from the Whole Cake arc in One Piece. This scene immediately screamed fan service, based on all of the risque camera shots (smh, classic harem anime trope!).

Osamu tries to help the cat-girl by stretching his arms out helplessly because he is apparently attracted to ‘women who are about to die’. I guess that’s his kink. The cat-girl screams, “Don’t you have a spell or sword or something?!” Ultimately, the Death Tree also captures Osamu and it begins to drain their life force. For Osamu, this was like a heavenly bath; for the cat-girl, she was begging for her life.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a comedy if the protagonist who wants to die, dies off right here. As it was set up earlier when Annette read Osamu’s stats, the poison in Osamu spread into the Death Tree—causing the Death Tree to die. The cat-girl thanks Osamu, and tries to tell him her name, but he has a major epiphany that interrupts her. He remembers that Saachan also got hit by the truck too, so she must be in this world too! Thus, his journey to find her begins.

The intro credits roll, offering us a glance of some of the other adventurers we can expect to see in this first season of No Longer Allowed In Another World. The post-intro scene continues with the cat-girl still trying to reveal her name as the two go back to the church to pick up Annette to join Osamu’s traveling party to find Saachan.

Like many harem anime series, the two females immediately fight for the male protagonist’s approval/attention. It’s a very overdone trope, so I hope they do something original with it down the road. The party eventually settles down as they all set out to find some leads to Saachan’s whereabouts in Zauberberg.

Osamu, in his strange fashion, decides to rest in a coffin they find at the side of the road—here, Osamu calls the cat-girl Tama (and I guess that’s her name now). The last shot teased some kind of castle glistening in the orange-red sunset, with a mysterious female figure.

The overall gist of No Longer Allowed In Another World was summed up fairly well in No Longer Allowed In Another World Episode 1, being that this will be a humorous adventure following a main character who just wants to commit double suicide with his lover. Despite his efforts to off himself, this isekai world will not allow him the pleasure.

I am looking forward to how they explore the ridiculousness of him being saved from death countless times. Again, I am curious how far the satire will go with subverting the stereotypical isekai tropes. It had a pretty strong, funny start, and I hope this doesn’t become another raunchy harem fantasy anime series. No Longer Allowed In Another World Episode 1’s allure is in its hilarious comedic timing and running gags, along with its ability to satirize the isekai genre.

No Longer Allowed In Another World Episode 1 is out now on Crunchyroll.