English Dub Review: In Another World With My Smartphone “Decisions, and With My Smartphone”

Personality, romance, and sweet love? Today’s episode really was from another world, for this series at least.

Where was this episode 11 episodes ago? Having to sit through some of the stalest characterization and romance building scenes to finally get to a point where the characters have dynamics to them and the writing is actually lively and engaging. It’s weird to say but the moment this series added the sex robot from last time, the lewdness brought out a new-found sense of definition to the writing and characters that weren’t there before. If this is what they are ending off the season on then I am glad the writers finally understand how to humanize the OP Touya.

OVERVIEW (Spoilers Below)

Because as we seen throughout the season, Touya has been nothing short of a Mary Sue, approaching each problem he comes across with nice acceptance and indifference. Not really responding in a manner fitting of a character who can develop over time. Now though with not one but two out of his four girl gang confessing their love and insistence to become his wives, Touya is left to decide if he and his modern sensibilities can go through with this polygamous marriage. I’m rather shocked by this setup. I would never have thought the show would actually have the balls to try and balance all the girls as romantic partners in this sense but now I am seeing this is In Another World With My Smartphone’s true tone.

It’s not a simple slice of life fantasy story. It’s not a deep and engaging fantasy epic. It ain’t even a raunchy harem anime. It’s the awkward combination of all three and the show is at its best when it lets Touya revel in a world that by his modern-day standards makes no sense. Throughout the show, Touya has been single-handedly saving the day without much thought or effort which sucks out a lot of the tension from the ensuing events. Now the writers can’t go back to making Touya an overpowered Mary Sue because that ship has sailed and sunk. So with episodes 11 and 12 Touya was challenged in a method that physical strength and magic power had no bearing on. His sex appeal. Thus, creating a tension from our awkward teen’s struggle to come to terms with polygamy and a world that is definitely more shamelessly open about love and relationships.

Even Touya’s harem has grown from this realization as each one has a more entrenched archetype within this relationship. Linze is the soft-spoken introvert, Elze is the brash and awkward tsundere, Yae is the proper wallflower and Yumina is the mature romantic with the bonus of being quite the ingenious manipulator. I am sure many can say the girls exhibit some of these tropes before but in my mind those traits were undercut by Touya being played up as so unbelievably perfect they were relegated to his cheer squad. Now each girl is able to react to Touya and each other in various ways, they are able to bounce their emotions and feelings and this can have lasting growth throughout the future narrative. It’s a bit too late for it as it is the end of the season to exhibit this but better late than never I suppose.

OUR TAKE

It finally feels I enjoyed an episode of In Another World With My Smartphone unironically. Every week I would come to this show and just laugh at the absurd nature of Touya’s overpowered abilities and his harem being written as a bunch of useless paperweights. It viewed like a series that didn’t have any idea what it wanted to do but it damn well wanted to try to do something. The result to me was just sadly hilarious. This time though I laughed at the wonderful well-timed jokes, the cute and involving character interactions and just the new but fitting raunchy angle the writing was giving itself. I can’t say the series was good for every reason I listed up til this point. But I can say at least the season ended off on a high note for me and if the writing continued to be on this level, I wouldn’t mind seeing a 2nd season of In Another World With my Smartphone.