I think "I Was No Longer Human" has some interesting elements, but I can't say that I liked it.

These are: 1) the first-person narration, which in this case makes the story much more interesting than an omniscient, third-person narrator. It is direct and creates intimacy, as we observe every thought of the protagonist. His thoughts are very central to the plot and his behavior.

2) some behavioral patterns that were interesting purely from a psychological perspective. The protagonist faces many difficulties in his life, but these are not so objective as subjective, as I believe they all stem from his way of thinking and his personality. As a child, he had distant parents who neglected him, as one of the youngest children, and did not provide him with a stable and safe environment. This seems to have led him to form an insecure bond with them, and this problematic factor seems to be involved in almost all of his relationships later on.

Another interesting aspect is how the protagonist interprets his failures. As he faces all these difficulties, he constantly makes internal attributions - always blaming his personality and flaws that prevent him from doing anything good. Not once does he consider the environment or external influences. This pattern of self-blame leads to a phenomenon known as learned helplessness - a situation in which the individual stops trying and considers efforts futile as they see themselves incapable of achieving one or more tasks.

Throughout the story, we can see how the protagonist refuses to share his internal problems. This is indicative of Japanese culture, as research shows that Japan's collectivist culture maintains a strong taboo against sharing personal problems, especially regarding mental health. In Japan, people tend to believe that psychological problems are linked to a "weak personality."

I must also say that Yōzo describes the depressive way of thinking with great accuracy. His details are very realistic and also mention physical symptoms.

Beyond all this, I can't say anything very positive about the plot. I just couldn't find anything likable about the protagonist, he had many opportunities but didn't really try. Certainly, he had all these disadvantages from childhood as I said, but still his downfall was inevitable and the ending left me a little indifferent. I didn't necessarily want to see a stereotypically happy ending, but I couldn't draw any particular meaning from this story.