Highlights
- New anime “Why Does No One Remember Me in This World?” blends fantasy with modern elements for a unique viewing experience.
- Info dumping in Episode 1 may confuse viewers, but the intriguing characters and world have potential to keep audiences hooked.
- While not your typical fantasy anime, the blend of futuristic technology and magic creates an interesting premise for the series.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Why Does No One Remember Me in This World?, Episode 1, “The Boy Forgotten by the World,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.
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Anime Title |
Why Does No One Remember Me in This World? |
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Studio |
Project No.9 |
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Episode Number |
1 |
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Air Date |
July 13th, 2024 |
The new fantasy anime Why Does No One Remember Me in This World? dropped its first episode, “`The Boy Forgotten by the World,” this weekend. This new anime is based on a light novel by Kei Sazane and tells the story of a world at war between five different races who want to rule over it. While at first, the humans are able to find victory through the Prophet Sid, a powerful warrior, everything is suddenly erased and rewritten by a world where Sid never existed, and the humans have lost.
While everyone else cannot remember the world where humans were safe and free, one young fighter named Kai saw everything rewritten before his very eyes. One moment, he is living in a world safe from the likes of demons and going shopping with a beautiful girl. In the next, he is in a dark, alternative version of reality actively being attacked by a demon and learning that the most humans can do is try to survive. Why Does No One Remember Me in this World? builds a world where elements of fantasy are blended with science fiction to create something with an interesting premise, but is not the easiest to follow.
A Modern Take on a Fantasy World
Blending Fantasy Elements with Modern Ones
Fans of the Final Fantasy series may especially enjoy the world of Why Does No One Remember Me in this World? because it has a lot of similar elements, especially to titles like Final Fantasy XV. The characters use swords, but they fight high-tech holograms. They drive cars and shop in modern, recognizable cities, but they are talking about elves and demons. Some characters wear fantasy armor and others wear normal jeans and blouses. There are rugged uninhabitable landscapes and shiny skyscrapers.
This blend of modern and fantasy works for Why Does No One Remember Me in this World? though, and does not feel awkward. The story progresses without getting hung up on these kinds of details, which makes it seem like this is just the kind of world that exists in this anime. That is done well, not letting the watcher get confused by what is happening or where the characters are, building an acceptance that this is just how the world is. There is futuristic technology, but also magic, and these two things can exist simultaneously without contradicting one another.
However, if what you are looking for is a more traditional fantasy setting, keep looking. Why Does No One Remember Me in this World? is definitely not your typical fantasy anime, even if it does have elements of it, and will continue to not be from the looks of episode 1. There may be angels, demons, elves, magic, and swords, but there are also cars, holograms, and modern clothes. While the blend is seamless, it is definitely not for everyone.
Get Ready for an Info Dump
The World Needs a lot of Explanations
A big weakness that Why Does No One Remember Me in this World? suffered from in the first episode is info dumping. Because it is a totally original story, viewers do not have any background knowledge of the world and its history and lore. And because it is a unique take on a fantasy world, there has to be an explanation made in order for the world to make sense. The problem is, there is no easy way to do it as quickly as it needed to be done, which makes this critical first episode confusing and overwhelming at times.
Why Does No One Remember Me in this World? has a complicated history that has to be explained very quickly in order to set up the twist of the world being rewritten. Without first explaining how the world got to what the viewer sees in the first half of the episode, what happens in the second half will have less impact. The problem is, the anime only has about ten minutes to explain everything – and then explain everything again when the world changes. Add into that time to introduce characters, add in some fighting sequences, and set up the next episode… and you end up with a massive info dump of background information.
This takes away from the impact that Episode 1 could have had, even while it was necessary. Something other than a montage of oil painting-like still images with a voiceover dropping a lot of jargon that the audience has never heard before probably would have helped. As it stands, Why Does No One Remember Me in this World? will need to get more into the action quickly next week and explain its lore a little more slowly and naturally if it wants to keep audiences hooked.
Good Character Set-Up
Characters Can Make or Break a Series
What Why Does No One Remember Me in this World? did well was set up some interesting and unique characters from the start. While Kai, the lead character, seems to be the typical fantasy anime lead – handsome, powerful, but emotionally unavailable – the side characters have more depth. Saki and Ashran had a fun dynamic together and with Kai that will hopefully be explored more in the coming episodes, setting themselves up as a good side duo.
The most intriguing character, though, is Jeanne at the moment. In the peaceful world, she was still portrayed as a powerful warrior, but the audience got to see her enjoying a day out shopping and flirting with Kai and acting like a normal 17-year-old girl. But in the dark world, Jeanne was pretending to be a man, and leading a squadron with a cold demeanor. Where Why Does No One Remember Me in this World? is going to go with her character is uncertain because the change between worlds is so stark, setting up something to keep audiences wanting to know more.
Overall, Why Does No One Remember Me in this World? Episode 1 had an intriguing beginning, though it was muddled by info dumping and confusing information. The world itself has potential, as do the characters, but the anime will have to recover from a confusing beginning if it wants to retain audiences and keep them invested in the outcome of the story. It did end with an interesting cliffhanger at least, so that is enough to bring viewers back for at least one more week to see what is going to happen next.
Watch Why Does No One Remember Me in this World? on Crunchyroll.
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