Quality Assurance in Another World

Episode 4

We're four weeks into Quality Assurance in Another World now, and I think I've gotten a handle on what I'm looking for in a “good” episode of this show. It's clear by now that we shouldn't expect a whole lot of crazy action and spectacle, because while the show does have the larger narrative thread of Haga and Nikola destroying the debugging stones to follow, it is equally concerned with being a fairly cozy adventure comedy that riffs on funny jokes about video-game design. As such, I'm simply looking for episodes that capitalize on the show's charming art style without getting so inconsistent or sloppy as to be distracting (which is something the previous couple of episodes struggled with). Likewise, I won't go into an episode of Quality Assurance with the expectation that its scripts are going to blow my mind; I just want the story to strike that balance between compelling mystery and likable character writing that made its premiere such a success. In this regard, the show has done a fairly good job since it premiered, though there is always room for improvement.

From the outset, “Isora Amano” delivers on those improvements handily. This episode looks much better than the last couple. Mostly because the relatively low-key story doesn't ask too much of the characters by way of action and the like. More importantly, is the fact that the story of this episode hits surprisingly hard. I had no illusions about the fate of the poor NPC, Lu. From the minute we were introduced to the new character of Isora and his infatuation with the character who exists solely to read his little manga updates and praise him for his efforts, I knew the sickly girl was doomed, doomed, doomed. What surprised me about the episode was that, by the time Isora was cradling the recently vivisected top half of his companion in a pool of her gore, I was still invested in the proceedings despite how predictable it all was.

Honestly, I'm glad that Isora is here to round out the party and provide a fresh perspective for Haga and Nikola to bounce off of. Here we have a fluffy little cat-gnome-thing that is also a real human debugger, just like Haga but he's not nearly so precious about his job. Writing manga for Lu was his escape from the insane debauchery of the other Play-Ing Co. debuggers, though, so his mission has a much more personal bent than Haga's. Our hero and Isora want to get out of the game but Isora balances out Isora's resignation with the drive of good old-fashioned vengeance. Haga and Nikola just need to get the stones out of the debuggers' hands; Isora wants to murder the bastards straight up. As of right now, I'm rooting for Isora.

The strength of the episode's emotional core doesn't make it a completely unqualified success, though its issues are a bit more… abstract than the simple production foibles from earlier. Simply put, the plot of this episode had me scratching my head a bit about the logic of this world and story. And while I'm sure that some of those questions are being raised very intentionally, I couldn't help but be distracted by them. Namely, when it comes to NPCs, the supposed lifelike permanence of Lu's sad death feels at odds with the fact that NPCs constantly respawning was a specific element that Haga had to deal with in Nikola's village. With how sentient and independent are these characters meant to be, if only “special” advanced characters like Lu can permanently die, does that mean that the game quests can only work for one specific player if things go south? Or is the idea that only NPCs killed by player character shenanigans get permadeath?

Furthermore, why do the game devs out in the real world respond so quickly to bug reports but remain blind/ignorant to stuff like the PCs being stuck in the game? I get that the mystery of Haga and the others being stuck is being teased out on purpose but what could a company gain from holding people hostage and forcing them into indentured servitude? Maybe the twist will be something like from the game SOMA, which means… well, I don't want to spoil it, especially if my random guess ends up being right. Still, if you know, then you know.

Strange mysteries and inconsistencies aside, I enjoyed this week's episode of Quality Assurance much more than anything else we've gotten since the premiere. Hopefully, this is a sign that things are generally on the upswing for the show.

Rating:

Patch Notes

• A bit of housekeeping that I forgot to take care of last week: Quality Assurance has an English dub, and it's quite good! I think the more naturalistic localization is an improvement over the straight subtitles, as it adds just enough flavor to individual lines without drastically altering any of the original meaning of the script. Plus, Blake McNamara and Monica Flatley do a great job voicing Haga and Nikola, respectively. They've got an easygoing chemistry, which is good, since their dynamic is the fundamental anchor for the whole show. To be honest, the dub might become my preferred way to watch this series, going forward.

Quality Assurance in Another World is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.