Quality Assurance in Another World (2024)
[この世界は不完全すぎる]
Director: Kei Umabiki
Studio: 100studio, Studio Palette
Starring: Kaito Ishikawa, Hinaki Yano, Reiji Kawashima
Episodes: 12
Synopsis:
The life of a common village girl changes forever when she meets a mysterious King's Seeker who upends her understanding of the world.
Impressions:
I'm going to have to spoil the first big reveal a bit or I won't really be able to talk about this series much at all. This is a "trapped in a game world" story partially told from an NPC's perspective, which is a mildly interesting change of pace. More interesting is that the players are a beta testers working to log and report the many bugs they find. Well, main character Haga is faithfully doing his job while others who haven't gotten themselves killed or bugged into some virtual hell have gone off the deep end. If the original author doesn't have personal experience in playtesting, he's definitely done his homework, and Haga's work, while it appears insane in-universe, feels pretty authentic. The way the abundant bugs can work as both help and hindrance provide both a source of conflicts and often the solution to get out of them. The art style reminds me somewhat of the Dragon Quest series and I wouldn't be surprised if it was at least partially the inspiration for the aesthetic. If you're hoping for the typical power fantasy, you're going to be disappointed, but if the character dynamics and the overall sensibilities click with you, you should enjoy it. I enjoyed it as a nice aversion to the typical "trapped in a game world" plot, but there's quite a cliffhanger and no clear signs of a second season in the offing. (The original author has directed viewers to the manga if they want a continuation of the story, so that's not too promising for anyone wanting to see it on the small screen.) I'd say it's worth a watch, so give it a shot.
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