From Far Away Episode 1 [First Impression] – AngryAnimeBitches Anime Blog

Eva’s First Impression

What a fantastic start! It was so much fun to watch!  Seriously, I can’t tell you how relieved and happy I am to see such a solid premiere. This is among some of the classic isekai series that launched back in 1991, but it manages to still feel incredibly fresh after being bombarded with so many isekai over the recent years.

Introducing Tachiki Noriko, a seventeen year old girl who finds herself teleported to another world by a golden bird. It didn’t come from completely nowhere for her, as is the days leading up to this incident she had been having dreams of this very world she had been taken to. That’s why she was initially confused whether or not she was still dreaming or not, but it didn’t take long for her realize this was her new reality. Before she knew it, horrifying monsters were popping out and the next thing she knows she’s getting saved by a complete stranger (Izark Kia Tarj) with super human strength.

Great she’s saved! She’s all good right? Not quite. She has encountered yet another issue: The language barrier. This land does not speak/understand Japanese, and even though she’s the fateful ‘Awakening’ she cannot magically understand them on arrival!

Notably in more recent isekai era, language barrier is often something more than not that gets ignored entirely. Characters that get summoned/thrown/reincarnated into another world unlike their own often find themselves magically able to understand what’s being said from the get-go. Maybe the only exception to this rule would be the isekai worlds said to be based on fictional game/book of its universe. Unless that fiction has an established language system, I think it’s fair to assume the language will match with the world of its creator, but I digress.

In any case, the fact that neither Noriko nor Izark can understand each other for the entirety of their first encounter is what makes it not just realistic, but so refreshing. It presents a problem that the two had to work around through mutual cooperation. Noriko woke up lost, scared and confused, and luckily for her, it was Izark who’s the first to find her in the Great Forest of Zago. The place is filled with dangerous and terrifying monsters, and she wouldn’t survive a second longer if she had been left all on her own. So Noriko has no choice but to steel her resolve and put her trust into a complete stranger, as not only he was the first to find her, but he’s also protecting her from the said monsters. And since they cannot communicate, and she has yet to realize the chaos that had been unfolding above her head. She has no idea just how big of a mess she has been dragged into by that golden bird. Still, the two managed to figure out who to converse through gestures and Noriko herself had figured out how to share/exchange names. It goes to show the two have good heads on their shoulders.

Unfortunately that was why her arrival was no secret. It’s a prophecy that’s known far and wide, and everyone’s been eagerly awaiting the moment ‘the Awakening’ descends to their world. ‘Awakening’ is said to be the one who awakens the Sky Demon from its slumber, and so whoever obtains or rather gains control of Awakening, will be able to control the Sky Demon, and become masters of the world. So the moment the light goes green, the race is on to see who finds her first, and that’s exactly what we saw today (making it an understatement as to why Awakening is described as someone who thrusts the world into chaos). Various countries from far and wide, all competing to find Awakening first. At the moment we’ve been introduced Free City of Rienka (the ones who ride winged dinosaurs while standing), Guzena (the ones who were first to arrive and brazenly went into the forest), and another (I forget who) were dressed in blue. Among the three, Rienka is the most powerful, and most would rather steer clear of them than face them head on. Notably, they have a problematic warrior: Keimos, who will prey even on those who are retreating.

Although Izark was the one to save her, and has shown tremendous patience, and compassion with her plight, and is pleasantly surprised by how friendly she is… he made it known to us that she’s not necessarily safe with him. If Noriko really is the Awakening, he will have no choice but to kill her. The audience doesn’t know why yet, but it adds the layer of tension that’ll be hovering over his head at least so as long as she’s kept in the dark about their twisted fate. (And funny enough, Noriko even went as far to say it must be fate for the two of them to have met, not that he could understand when she had said it though, haha!)

Circling back to Noriko, one of the things I absolutely love about her is just how realistic her response was to being transported to this unknown world. But she also doesn’t just helplessly wail about her situation. She allows herself to grieve and express that fear, but she’s smart enough to understand the best thing she can do is to cooperate with the one who has just saved her life and is actively protecting her. Since they cannot understand each other, the only thing they can do is read each other’s actions. Noriko was particularly good at this, as she made a point to observe everything he was doing to the point of scrutiny, but it helped her get a read on the situation at hand, and the type of individual she was with. She was also mature enough to connect the dots and realize that Izark had a good reason for tossing her clothes into the river, and wanted to do the same for her bag. She had hesitated at first, given that really was the last thing that connected her to her original world– but after thinking about it, she realized he probably had a good reason for it (and he did). After-all, it was all for her protection to hide her away from those who wish to use her as a pawn for power

Overall, I’m very pleased with the premiere! I’m especially happy with how well they had adapted the original character designs (and honestly the art itself aged extremely well if I say so myself). They also were incredibly clever with the way they quickly and shrewdly got rid of the smartphone (something she didn’t have in the manga to begin with), by having it slip out of her hand and fall in the water. Fast and efficiently, brilliantly done.

Another thing I really loved, was the way they gave us the visual cue of the language barrier in action. Although I will admit, it was a bit hard on the eyes after seeing it used repeatedly, it was a brilliant indicator to highlight the transition between the two languages. This way we could understand what the two were thinking and saying, but also clearly understanding that they still could not understand each other.

Of course while it’s still early, this episode does makes me quite optimistic how well this will be adapted and I’m excited to see how well this series has aged. Admittedly it’s been so long, similarly to Hana-Kimi I don’t remember much from the series. I just know I enjoyed it a lot for the time, and it’s one of my regrets that I’ve never been able to obtain the printed copies. Who knows, maybe with this adaption Viz Media will do a reprint run! I’d be quite happy to finally get my hands on it, as this is a series that had long ended by the time I got into anime/manga!

Anyhow, it’s a series I’m quite fond of, so I’m going to try my best to cover this. So as per usual there may be weeks where I feel double or even a triple post if I feel there’s not enough to write about. As always, I’ll leave a notice up on the home page and in the most recent episode comment section, as well as our bsky and tumblr page when I do!

Possibility of Blogging: High – Giving it three episodes to start, but very likely will be sticking with it.
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed.