The Executioner and Her Way of Life First Impressions

“Every once in a while, I have this dream. It’s always in Japan, in a classroom I’ve never been to. I’m friends with everyone there… and… one of them is my best friend. That’s the dream I have sometimes.”

The preponderance of isekai series has become something of a joke in the anime community in recent years to the extent that most shows offer a tongue in cheek approach to the now contrived concept of finding yourself in another world. At first glance, The Executioner and Her Way of Life is no exception to this trend, with our apparent lead, Mitsuki, finding himself thrown literally headfirst into his new environment with Konosuba levels of fanfare or more appropriately lack thereof. However, The Executioner and Her Way of Life proves to be a fascinating show that makes spectacular use of the isekai aspects of the core concept and has enough twists and turns to transfigure any detailed discussion of the plot into a minefield of spoilers. Suffice it to say that, aside from some questionably executed and timed comedic beats, The Executioner and Her Way of Life proved to be a delightful introduction to the spring anime season and one that should probably be approached as blindly as possible.

For those who would like a little more insight before devoting time to this series, I can’t blame you, and I’d feel bad submitting a single paragraph as my review, so let’s talk about the world of The Executioner and Her Way of Life. The series takes place in a fantasy world where so many Japanese have been isekai’d that Japanese has become the predominant language, and many cultural and technological advances from our world have been incorporated into their society. This sounds like a good setup for a joke, and frankly, if this had turned out to be a workplace comedy following the ins-and-outs of an isekai immigration office I think I might have been on board. However, while The Executioner does extract a bit of humor from the concept, much of this premise is played straight, and despite the occasional laugh, the narrative usually leans more towards drama. One of the characters we follow is Menou, a priestess who is tasked with taking care of the Japanese citizens, commonly referred to as “Lost Ones,” who end up in their world and are imbued with strange powers. It’s strange to think about it, but it’s a bit rare for characters being isekai’d into a new world to be such an ingrained aspect of a series’ world building, so to see a program make such thorough use of the concept is refreshing.

When I started watching the episode, I hadn’t made note of who was handling the production, but I’ll admit that J.C. Staff wasn’t on my shortlist of guesses. It’s been a while since I saw a show from that studio where I could say with confidence that I’d be watching the second episode, but here we are. They do an admirable job on the visuals for this episode. I remember being warily impressed by their work on the first episode of Skate-Leading☆ Stars, but by all accounts that show proved to be a complete mess. The Executioner and Her Way of Life could potentially follow that same route, but all I can judge here is the first episode and it seems to be well constructed. The only issue I had with the show was its humor, which just came out of nowhere at points. There is an unsettling moment that comes towards the middle of this episode, and it is followed shortly thereafter by the introduction of Momo, Menou’s assistant, whose primary character trait is that she’s attracted to Menou. It’s presented in a silly enough fashion that I don’t think I’d find the character too off-putting if it wasn’t for the poor timing of the gags. On a related note, the series is categorized as a yuri title, so given J.C. Staff’s questionable works in recent years, I’d remain on guard in case the show decides to take the hard left into lurid. The OP doesn’t give any hints of such a turn, so this is an unlikely outcome. I’ll remain optimistic, but I’ve still not fully forgiven this company for Back Street Girls.

Before I wrap up, a few Notes and Nitpicks:

• The Japanese title, Shokei Shōjo no Bājin Rōdo, translates to The Executioner Girl’s Virgin Road, which… I’m good with this translation change. It would read differently in Japanese, since the phrase “Virgin Road” is actually a term for the wedding aisle, but that phrase wouldn’t work in English even though it’s made using English loan words.
• The story started out as a light novel, but has seen an adaptation into a manga which is evidently running in the same magazine that carries My Dress-Up Darling, which of course saw its adaptation last season. I find that to be a fun, if insignificant, coincidence.
• Was Otherside Picnic really only a year ago? I don’t really have a quippy or informative statement to make here. It’s just that the whole “yuri in another world” aspect made me think back to that title for the first time in months. Time is weird these days.