SPOILERS FOR LONER LIFE IN ANOTHER WORLD 220https://i.yt.com/vi/tP9PtvI9uI/hq720.jpg?sqp=oaymwEhCK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAxMIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJDrs=AOn4CLAd8SpvBOZ2W7r2surwvLEn1VALVQ I figured since the Fall 2024 anime season is coming to an end at the time of writing this I should take the opportunity to write my next reviews on all the anime I watched this season while theyre still fresh on my mind. Loner Life in Another World is not the first one I watched but it is the first one that finished airing. Since I seem to be the first one to review this anime I figured it would be a great opportunity to write my next review on this one. Its also my least favorite of the Fall 2024 anime I watched so far and if you read the review summary then youve probably already figured out why that is. 220https://www.beritatren.com/wpcontent/uploads/2024/12/124742379914.jpg PART I: This Has Babys First Isekai Written All Over It Before we get to the cherry on top of this review lets take a little detour so I can properly explain what I mean here. To me this anime really feels like Babys First Isekai but at the same time it doesnt feel that way sometimes and it feels weird for me to say that. Let me explain. 220https://m.mediaamazon.com/images/S/pvtargetimages/8ed98218d0b1345366a7b2119bde92e50cdea0508b2dc82425403e70a195dc8a.BR6ACSX480FMwebp.jpg On the one hand I feel that the animation itself is the biggest contributor to this especially the character/monster designs. Similar to how I feel about the animes environment/background designs I feel that the character designs are very simple but pretty thanks to a combination of vibrant colors and simple structures. Same applies to the monster designs. Of course I wouldnt call them pretty but I would say that their designs not only feel simple but they also look kidified. I mean compared to other Isekais the monster designs look tamer. All the monsters we see are the same ones you can find in any other fantasy/Isekai anime but in this one. Their designs and characteristics are very simplistic but effective and thats without adding any of those bizarre or grotesque features that a lot of monsters in other fantasy/Isekai anime have. The action also looks tamer compared to other fantasy/Isekai anime. The added effects on physical and weapon attacks and the animation of magic spells look vibrant. Theres a lot of monster hunting throughout the anime but its still pretty tame as all we see are the monsters getting knocked back and/or fall dead on the ground without a sign of blood on top of the added effects and animation of the attacks. 220https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/202410/915726977lonerlifeinanotherworldepisode3release4.jpg On the other hand theres still a lot of pretty mature elements throughout the anime which is why I also hesitate to call this Babys First Isekai. Besides the monsters theres also a lot of human death and murder as well as a few sprinkles of blood here and there. Theres also a couple of cursing Ecchi moments and dark humor sprinkled throughout like in any other fantasy/Isekai anime. The biggest example I can give is in the episode where they get to the town and the MC tries to trick one of the girls in his group to strip in order to pay for a drink he was selling. Speaking of the MC 220https://.anime2you.de/2024/09/lonerlifeinanotherworld.jpg PART II: Haruka Is Not An Interesting MC Now to the cherry on top. I dont know about you guys but if this anime has taught me anything its that I might not be a fan of loner stories. Not that the idea itself doesnt work for me but now I just feel like if youre going to have a story where the MC is the only character we see throughout the majority of the time it needs to be a really interesting MC. Haruka just wasnt that for me. I feel like his character peaks in the first episode when he attempts to reject getting Isekaid and yells at the old man who summoned him for only having trash skills available for him to take causing the old man to give him all the trash skills only for Haruka to later discover that theyre actually really OP skills like most generic Isekai protagonist. That was both pretty funny and a good subversion of the Isekai genre. These attempts of subverting expectations are also make me hesitate to call this Babys First Isekai. As the title suggests some of the episodes consist of watching Haruka kill monsters collect materials build stuff and upgrade his skills. It was very interesting worldbuilding at first but for me the longer it went on like this the more bored I felt not because watching Haruka do all this stuff was boring and its not but because it just got to a point where I couldnt stand Harukas voice as he narrates everything hes doing. I blame the story for this rather than Harukas VA. This is basically what the entire plot of the anime consists of. When hes alone Haruka does whatever he feels like doing while we him narrating everything in his head throughout the entire episode. This might work for a light novel like the source material the anime is based on but in my opinion not for an anime. When hes with others however he just tries to go back to his loner life in the forest but keeps getting stopped by the other characters. Thats also the full extent of Harukas character: he just tries and fails to go back to his loner life. Nothing else. You might be asking isnt that the point? To that I sayyeah it is. Again I think the problem lies more in the execution than the idea itself. I do think its entertaining whenever he tries and fails to go back to the forest because of the other characters but I also think Haruka is just not interesting enough to carry the scenes where he is alone and that on top of his constant narration just makes the story drag for me. Speaking of the other characters 220https://static0.gamerantimages.com/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2024/09/lonerlifeinanotherworldharukagirls.jpg PART III: Loner Life In Another World The main problem Ive seen a lot of people have with this anime is that it isnt exactly a loner anime as most of it is just Haruka trying to go back to the forest but getting stopped by the other characters. If I got a nickel every time I heard the title is wrong because he is not alone Id be rich. For me though Im in the minority who does prefer the moments when hes not alone rather than when he is. I didnt mention this in the previous section but Haruka by himself is not funny. Hes only funny when he is interacting with the other characters and vice versa. The other characters in question are somehow not better. 220https://a.storyblok.com/f/178900/750x1089/3f328a8fdc/lonerlifeinanotherworldkeyart.jpg/m/filters:quality95formatwebp First theres Harukas entire class who also got Isekaid alongside him. We dont even know what any of their names are since Haruka just calls them based on their clique which I think also shows how none of them have an actual character at all. The biggest example of this are the girls in Harukas class. Someone really thought it was a good idea to lump almost 20something girls into one group and have them follow Haruka around throughout the entire season. Basically the image above perfectly sums up all of their contribution to the story. They literally dont do anything other than stop Haruka from leaving them and get angry whenever Haruka tries to go back to the forest because they cant survive without their precious man Haruka there to do everything for them and teach them how to survive. It was entertaining at first but the more it happened and the more I thought about it the more I felt bad for Haruka because all they do is scold and guilt trip Haruka for wanting to live his loner life because they cant fend for themselves. Not trying to bring politics into this but if youre someone who is a strong believer in feminism and girl power then you are not going to like this anime. The only really important character here is the class rep who despite hinting at Haruka having a crush on her at the start and getting a couple more interactions with Haruka and her character is basically the exact same as the other girls. Theres also the gal leader who gets a mini character arc where she wants to find and apologize to the nerds and a purplehaired girl who they kind of try to establish a romance with her and Haruka by having her serve Haruka breakfast in Ep 3 but they both ultimately end up blending into the background with the rest of the female cast. I could swear theres also some other girls who the animators keep forgeting about like one with glasses because sometimes they show up in some group scenes and sometimes they dont. Theres also this other girl Merielle who is the daughter of the towns lord rather than another girl in Harukas class but her character is ultimately the same as the rest of the girls. You could literally combine all these female characters into one and the story wouldnt change whatsoever. 220https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/202411/1730904317lonerlifeinanotherworldepisode7releasetanaka7.jpg On the male side of things the only other boys in Harukas class who are worth mentioning are the jocks and the nerds. The nerds are more familiar with the fantasy RPG genre so theyre more interesting and get to do a lot more throughout the story which is ironic considering they completely disappear from the story throughout the middle. The jocks really only serve as the butt of Harukas jokes and more useless characters that are there to depend on and encourage Haruka. I say theyre the only ones worth mentioning not because the other males in Harukas class are uninteresting but because theyre all dead. Yeah I guess they didnt know what to do with the rest of the characters and didnt want to lump all the boys into another giant group like they did with the girls. The one who killed them is the only other character in Harukas class with an actual name: Tanaka. Tanaka is actually a pretty great addition to the story. The first scene where we watch a mysterious figure murder one of the boys from Harukas class was a genuine surprise coming from an anime that I thought was a more kidified version of your typical Isekai anime. Watching Tamaka throughout the first half of the story as he deceives and murders the rest of the boys in the class including the delinquents who were trying to use him in order to use his skill to steal their skills was actually pretty intense made the story more entertaining and made for some great suspense as we figure out how Haruka and the group could deal with this since Tanaka was coming after the class rep and her skill. It all comes to a head on Ep 7 when we see Haruka finally confront Tanaka after he is warned by the jocks and decides to deal with the situation by himself. This also applies for everything else that happens throughout the anime but I do like how everything that happens here does feel like a natural way to get Haruke involved in the conflict and move the story along at least compared to some of the other anime I watched. Anyway the episode and the ensuing fight between Haruka and Tanaka are excellent and after Haruka kills Tanaka it actually got me pretty interested in how the rest of the story would play out. My one nick pick towards him is that Tanaka looks a little too similar to the nerd leader and at times I mistook them for each other. Overall I would say that Tanaka is actually a great character whose addition made the story more entertaining. Theres also these other townsfolk adventurers and the guild master whose names I forgot and dont care to remember since like everyone else they also only serve as more background characters who need the protection of the OP MC. There is one more character who like Tanaka I consider to be an exemption and speaking of her 220https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/202412/1733924624lonerlifeinanotherworldepisode12releaseangelica.jpg PART IV: Angelica The Animes Saving Grace After Harukas victory over Tanaka Ep 811 shifts gears and focuses the story more on Haruka venturing into a nearby dungeon to find an item only for him to fall to the very bottom floor and try to escape by fighting his way up and easily killing the tougher bosses of the dungeon while the rest of the surviving class makes their way down into the dungeon to save him and barely manage to survive. Honestly as much as I was talking trash about certain aspects of the first half of the anime earlier I was still pretty entertained and interested in the story as a whole and only had problems with individual aspects of it. Once we get to the dungeon however thats when I started to lose interest and zone out even forgetting some aspects of the previous episodes. Ep 811 just follow the same repetitive formula of Haruka easily making his way up the dungeon while the rest of his class struggles to make their way down to save him. One thing I do like about these episodes though is the worldbuilding particularly in regards to the skill/magic system used throughout the anime and how the dungeons themselves are live creatures capable of creating and controlling monsters. There is one more positive and thats the inclusion of the character I mentioned earlier: Angelica. Haruka first encounters Angelica at the bottom floor of the dungeon as she also happens to be both the secret boss of the dungeon and the Dungeon Emperor aka the strongest monster in the dungeon. She first appeared as an undead lich who was extremely skilled with a sword and served as Harukas toughest enemy yet to the point where I thought Haruka could actually be in danger of dying even more than when he fought Tanaka. Haruka eventually figures out though that Angelica is being controlled by the dungeon and chooses to free her from her control and gain the free will she deservesbefore bounding her to his servitude. They then defeat the boss of Floor 100 who drops a cursed armor that Haruka decides to give to Angelica to wear and eventually everyone finds out that the armor restores Angelicas flesh and human form. I do have a small nitpick with how they say the person who wears the cursed armor is supposed to be unable to remove it while Angelica is easily capable of removing it and putting it back on as she pleases but never mind that. Angelicas addition really isnt much at first outside of giving Haruka and extra hand to defeat the dungeon bosses more easily but her interactions with Haruka are still pretty entertaining and funny even though we had to bear through more Haruka monologuing because Angelica was unable to speak. I was also very invested in how Haruka was planning to stop the incoming stampede of dungeon monsters from destroying the town since the only way to do so was to kill the Dungeon Emperor who in this case was Angelica. It was a slug to get through but I did ultimately enjoy how Angelica oneshots the entire monster stampede and saves the town even if the CGI on the monsters kind of downplayed the whole thing. Ep 12 however is when Angelicas character is at her peak. Not only are her interactions with the class rep and the rest of the girls before and after they find out her secret funny but once Haruka finds out Angelica is human again their interactions are not only funny but surprisingly wholesome and bittersweet. It kind of makes me mad whenever I think about it because it makes me think that the whole anime should have just been about the growing romance between Haruka and Angelica rather than the adventures of loner Haruka that we got. It was honestly the best episode and in my opinion the best finale out of all the Fall 2024 anime I watched so far. Also I guess since this practically means that Haruka will never get to be alone again we might never hear the end of it from the people who complain about it. UPDATE 12/28/2024: The last episode of Demon Lord 2099 just aired today. I think that anime now has the best finale out of all the Fall 2024 anime I watched so far with Loner Life in Another World coming in second. 220https://scontentmia31.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.308086/4639151318562192132840611057951350456457475n.jpg?stp=dstjpgs720x720tt6nccat=111ccb=17ncsid=127cfcncohc=8OOdKFMqxrMQ7kNvgHxoGFMnczt=23ncht=scontentmia31.xxncgid=A719qk71TB5O0b5M94LD42oh=00AYCqqMnQzAqbJiQIUb2xWijBdBbnsQZgfwNNS3pxAbs7Qoe=6777D2AF CONCLUSION Despite how negative I may have sounded I still found Loner Life in Another World pretty entertaining throughout but once we get to the dungeon thats when I started to lose some interest and when some of its previous problems started to rear their ugly heads. Im someone who will admittedly spend his time watching bad movies and TV shows if I still find them entertaining but looking back at it this anime is not one Im looking to rewatch anytime soon. Maybe starting to watch anime a little more objectively has drained me of some enjoyment but I also blame the bad character writing here. Now something I neglected to mention in my previous reviews is that I understand that a lot of anime are adapted from manga and light novels and any problems with the story and character writing can sometimes be summed up to flaws from the original source material which might have made it sound like I was blaming the studios behind the anime and not the original source material in my previous reviews and I apologize for it. Sometimes though it can be the other way around but in the case of Loner Life in Another World I think the main problems I have with it stem from the original source material itself. Earlier I saw someone comment on this site that the original author didnt know how to write female characters and I agree with it and more or maybe Loner Life in Another World was just better suited in the form of a light novel than an anime. I did still like some aspects especially the Tanaka and Angelica stuff which I think range from great to amazing. Ep 7 and especially Ep 12 are really the only things that just barely keep this anime from rating lower than a 7 for me. Overall Loner Life in Another World is still an entertaining Isekai and an entertaining first watch but I would only recommend watching Loner Life in Another World if youre someone looking to check out more Fall 2024 seasonal anime someone who is tired of generic Isekais and want to watch an Isekai that subverts generic Isekai tropes or someone who is trying to get into the Isekai genre since this does feel like a more kidified Isekai at times. Also I really do still wish we got the Haruka x Angelica anime instead.