Fall 2026 Impressions: Zombie Sagashitemasu, Romelia Senki, Sgt. Frog

by SuperWooper, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Zombie Sagashitemasu

Short Synopsis: A trio of zombie hunters becomes a quintet after bonding with two travelers in a home improvement store.

Wooper: Did I miss episode 0 or something? Zombie Sagashitemasu (“I’m Looking for Zombie”) opted to skip its setting’s descent into an undead apocalypse, which is totally fine, since everyone understands the basics of zombie fiction in 2026. What the show actually lacks is a backstory for its three protagonists. There’s only one flashback to a single conversation between Aki (the blue-and-pink haired heroine) and her father, and it’s not even set outdoors, so we don’t have an idea of what their village was like – only that they didn’t learn kanji there. Aki and her friends are already on the road when we meet them, searching for her dad’s zombified body (likely cueing up a “he’s still alive” twist for the future) and having a blast in the process. I’d be more admiring of that fun-loving tone if we knew the characters better, but the personalities of Aki’s two friends can be boiled down to just a couple keywords: “fashionable” for Natsuki and “brawny” for Haru. The two girls with whom they join forces are a little more fleshed out, with one in particular having felt non-essential in her own village due to a preference for books over physical conditioning. Still, it’s difficult not to feel as though something is missing from this premiere. The characters are enthusiastic about their quest to survive, but they’re not written in a way that makes their survival feel particularly important.
Potential: 20%

Romelia Senki

Short Synopsis: After her royal engagement is called off, a count’s shrewd daughter prepares to move to another country.

Wooper: Watching the first episode of Romelia War Chronicle is akin to watching a lengthy series of cutscenes in a video game. There’s an opening fight against the Demon King that looks far better than anything else in the premiere. Most subsequent scenes are engineered strictly for forward narrative momentum, and most characters deliver their dialogue dispassionately. Romelia, who plans to leave her home country in the wake of her broken engagement, returns home merely to tend to a few financial matters and say goodbye to her parents, and then she’s off again (with her childhood maid in tow). That wouldn’t give me any pause if the goodbyes were a little sentimental, but the only sign of emotion she allowed herself after bidding her hysterical mother adieu was a brief gaze out the window. The whole thing is pretty detached, but then she is a woman with a mission: eliminate the remaining demon forces using human slave labor. Since she no longer has the political leverage to achieve that goal in her homeland, she seeks to build it elsewhere, likely with the help of half a dozen bishounen if the OP is to be believed. Apart from solid visuals (a definite win for the newly formed studio Atra), I don’t believe Romelia Senki presented a strong reason to follow that mission, but even if the show is a cold fish, it’s a competent one as well.
Potential: 25%

Sgt. Frog

Short Synopsis: After Keroro is captured by a rogue military police unit, his friends must band together to prevent his discharge.

Wooper: It turns out that Sgt. Frog really is being rebooted – but not until this series’ second episode. The first one was an original story featuring a plethora of secondary characters, all of whom already knew each other, and some of whom I knew from my limited experience with the 2004 show. A convoluted setup involving a shrink ray and an automated military task force served as an excuse for all the new voice actors to get their cords wet, and I found that most of the Keronian performances were faithful to those of the original actors. The Hinata siblings sounded off to me, though, particularly Fuyuki’s slightly deeper (but still boyish) and more action-ready delivery. Maybe Yuuki Sakakihara only played him that way because of the Gundam-esque nature of this standalone story, where Fuyuki was forced to pilot an unfamiliar robot in order to save the day. I guess fans will be able to compare for themselves as the remake goes on, but I’ll be sitting it out – the visuals here only made me miss those from the first anime, which had both looser animation and more background detail, despite premiering in the early digital era. This new episode’s use of slapped-on color filters for different characters’ fight scenes was particularly unattractive, but hey, maybe this isn’t the sort of show that ought to be nitpicked.
Potential: Tune in next week

Fall 2026 Impressions: Overgeared, FX Senshi Kurumi-chan, Pan Dorobou

by SuperWooper, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Overgeared

Short Synopsis: An MMO addict’s bad luck begins to turn when he stumbles upon a super rare item.

Wooper: The very first line of the fall season’s first premiere is, “Humans are constantly working hard and improving.” That’s an attractive idea, but in the world of Overgeared (Tempal: Item no Chikara), it’s merely a lie. Forget the main character’s video game addiction and dead end job; even the average person in this show is an MMO lifer (its most popular game, “Satisfy,” has two billion players), and the zillionaires who run the world are so vehemently anti-work that they’ve found a way to make MMO bucks just as valuable as first world currencies. These kinds of stories have been around for an entire generation at this point, and Overgeared brings nothing new to the table, unless you consider the concept of falling below level 0 to be earth-shattering stuff. And some people certainly do – there’s a three minute scene of R&D suits discussing the protagonist’s de-leveling, written in such a way that even people “watching” the show on their third monitor will absorb the roadmap for his eventual ascension. Ultimately, that’s what these “what if video games = real???” shows are: third rate entertainment for third rate anime fans. I know I sound like a gatekeeping prick, but that’s the sort of reaction that trash like Overgeared is uniquely capable of getting from me.
Potential: -3%

FX Senshi Kurumi-chan

Short Synopsis: A math-savvy college student adopts her mom’s self-destructive forex trading habit.

Wooper: I know absolutely nothing about the foreign exchange market, and having just seen the first episode of FX Senshi Kurumi-chan, I’m happy to remain uninformed. Making bets on currency exchange rates sounds addictive, and I’d rather my life not reach the level of ruin portrayed in this premiere. Of course, it’s a little weird that the vehicles for such despair will be fancifully designed anime girls, several of whom can be glimpsed during the closing montage – for now, though, what we have is a prologue about the breakup of a family over forex trading debt, and it’s quite an effective one. After an opening PSA about the real life hazards of the show’s subject matter, the show gets to work shaping its protagonist’s past, introducing her as a cheerful middle school girl before slowly stripping away everything she has to be happy about. The guilt that Kurumi feels about her mom’s poor choices hits hard, and her own decision to follow her into the FX market is tragic in its predictability. This episode’s exaggerated voice acting and blunt (but mercifully brief) flashbacks distract, but don’t detract, from the sadness of its story, which is about all I could ask for. Now that it’s caught up to the present, will it take a black comedy angle or morph into a Kaiji-esque gambling thriller? I’m not sure, but I’ll gladly (not too gladly) watch for a couple more weeks to find out.
Potential: 60%

Pan Dorobou

Short Synopsis: A rodent disguised as a loaf of bread liberates one of his fellow loaves from a local bakery.

Wooper: Like all the best thieves, Pan Dorobou has a code. He aims for freshly-baked bread, steals only one loaf at a time, and eats with gratitude; in other words, he’s tasteful, mindful, and grateful. He’s also the star of a popular Japanese children’s book series, which has now been adapted into an anime with nine minute episodes (six minutes if you don’t count the OP, ED, and episode-ending maze segment). The show has a pleasant picture book style to it, which is especially helpful in giving texture to the different kinds of bread that are so often on screen. Pan Dorobou’s mousey snout and malleable limbs are well-animated, giving him a lot of visual appeal, but not as much as his house in the forest, which is filled with furniture made from bread. If he only steals a loaf at a time, he must have gone hungry for several days to furnish that room! Not that I’d hold it against him – nor would any of the bemused human or animal residents of the neighboring city where he does his pilfering. Pan Dorobou, both the character and the show, are simply too cute to criticize, though I do wonder whether the bakers whose wares he absconds with will be made into villains in the future. Guess I’ll have to keep watching to find out!
Potential: Delicious/10

Fall 2026 Season Preview

by SuperWooper, posted in Seasonal Previews

Wooper: It’s far too early to make this call, but fall feels like a backlog season to me. Spring and summer had a lot going for them from the jump, but several of this autumn’s most promising shows are getting web-only releases, either before or after the traditional TV premiere period has ended. One is based on a video game (and it’s not the Sekiro anime, which was announced as a January series just hours before I published this). Another is a seinen work that marks a first-time collaboration between two major studios. And then there’s Steel Ball Run, which will finally adopt a weekly schedule beginning tomorrow – I figured I’d mention it by name in the intro, since it’s not included below. JoJo is listed in the poll at the end of this post, however, as are several other series without their own blurbs, so you can vote once you’ve scrubbed through the preview. Let me know what I’ve missed, because from what I can see, 2026’s final quarter is looking a little thin.

Middling Expectations

Choujun! Choujou-senpai

Studio: Arvo Animation
Director: Junichi Yamamoto
Series composition: Hayashi Mori
Source: Manga

The Premise: A self-absorbed police officer with psychic powers takes a rookie cop under his wing.

This year hasn’t been a fruitful one for gag manga adaptations, and given that Super Psychic Policeman Chojo’s source material lasted barely over a year in Shonen Jump, I don’t expect this anime to reverse the subgenre’s fortunes. You have to fill out a season preview somehow, though, so this show gets the privilege of kicking things off. I do like the thicker outlines used for the character art, as they’ll help the cast gel with what I assume will be a lot of impact lines and screentone backgrounds; this isn’t exactly going to be an animation showcase. Neither anime about cops nor espers hold a particular attraction for me, but Choujou-senpai does appear to have a secret weapon in Robo-kun the rosy-cheeked police droid. If Cromartie High School taught me anything, it’s that robot characters can improve any comedy anime (and that TV ratings are irrelevant). Robo-kun may not be the next Mechazawa, I’ll give him a chance to make me laugh this fall.

Continue reading “Fall 2026 Season Preview” →

Summer 2026 Check-In – Weeks 2-4

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: I’m late with these posts so often that I ought to stop offering explanations – so I think I will. The Fall Season Preview will be up on time, though, and between JoJo, Cyberpunk, and a couple other web releases, it’s looking pretty ONA-dependent, which should give us plenty of time to catch up with all the spring and summer stuff we missed. Speaking of ONAs, there was a promising one from China that dropped last month – I’ve got preliminary thoughts on that show, plus a handful of others, after the jump. See you in a couple weeks!

Kore Kaite Shine – 2-4

It’s an interesting balancing act that Kore Kaite Shine has managed thus far. Protagonist Ai Yasumi is powered entirely by her love of manga, and she’s managed to establish a school club revolving around her hobby with the help of her friends, as well as demonstrate her potential as a mangaka to her mentor. There are plenty of limitations placed on her passion in these early chapters, however. Episodes 2 and 3 contained flashbacks to the hardships her teacher faced in securing an industry foothold, along with Teshima-sensei’s admonition that she mustn’t stake her life on manga. There’s also the rude awakening to her lack of writing prowess that she experiences in episode 4 – compared to the outstanding art of new recruit Fujimori, Ai’s stories receive much less praise, which clearly bothers her. She’s more or less remained her cheerful self despite these discouragements, but beneath its cutaway gags and manga-esque flourishes, KKS is obviously a dramatically adept show. Its excavation motif in episode 3’s flashbacks, for example, visualized the “digging” necessary for a young Teshima-sensei to produce a noteworthy work, and even then, all she earned was a bitterly disappointing honorable mention. I have to imagine that Ai will eventually aim for mainstream recognition, too, but as Teshima says in these episodes, “Readers are arrogant creatures.” That’s not just a sobering reminder of our non-creative stake in the work of manga (and anime) pros – it also foreshadows the hardships Ai will face in breaking through to an audience that may not appreciate her strange sensibilities.

Continue reading “Summer 2026 Check-In – Weeks 2-4” →

Spring 2026 Wrap-up – Weeks 9-13

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: With the summer season well underway, I doubt many people are clamoring for months-old thoughts on spring anime, so this post is mostly for me, as it had been hanging around my to-do list for far too long. To tell the truth, I haven’t watched a single episode of a currently airing show beyond last month’s First Impressions period, but I’m still alive, at least. You ought to hear from us again at least once between now and the Fall Season Preview, but for now, let’s rewind the clock to June of this year, starting with my Spring AOTS.

Awajima Hyakkei – 9-12

After serving as the series’ introductory protagonist, then disappearing around the middle of its run, Wakana Tabata returned for all of Awajima Hyakkei’s final four outings. In keeping with the show’s multigenerational theme, however, we weren’t reintroduced to her in just one time period, but two. Her older teenage self served as a roommate to promising freshman Akiho Kashiwabara (just as Kinue was once Wakana’s older roommate), while a future storyline covered her career as an author. Kashiwabara’s lone appearance in episode 9 gave the series another chance to tackle one of its secondary themes in fame, as her parents (both actors) were embroiled in a cheating scandal, but it was adult Wakana’s work on a book about Awajima Opera School that consumed the series’ closing chapters. That sustained focus on a single story marked a departure from its anthological approach, and to be honest, it didn’t lead to the show finding another gear; its best episodes remain the ones that function in isolation, particularly number 3, which I’d place among the best of the decade thus far. Still, the trajectory of the last few episodes did allow Awajima to bring things full circle – an admirable feat, since the show’s cast was huge.

Continue reading “Spring 2026 Wrap-up – Weeks 9-13” →

Summer 2026 First Episode Awards

by SuperWooper, posted in Uncategorized

Wooper: This has turned out to be a deeper season than I initially predicted. In addition to all the shows we’ll be recognizing after the jump, some of which weren’t even on my radar a month ago, there are promising titles like Sayonara Lara (one of Mario’s top picks), Smoking Behind the Supermarket (one of Amun’s), and The World is Dancing (one of Lenlo’s). Personally, I’ll be keeping up with a handful of summer series over the next few months, but I’m not sure what kind of coverage they’ll receive, if any. There’s a final spring post I need to make, and I want to check in on midseason debuts like Jiyi Guanli Ju and The Ninth Jedi, but that’s all I can promise at the moment. Maybe some of our other writers will spring into action while I’m gone, though – summer seems as good a season as any to do so!

Continue reading “Summer 2026 First Episode Awards” →

Summer 2026 Impressions: Kimi wa Shinu made Koi wo Shitai, Saga of Tanya the Evil S2, Mebius Dust

by SuperWooper, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Kimi ga Shinu made Koi wo Shitai

Short Synopsis: A shy girl becomes roommates with a rumored assassin at an orphanage for magical child soldiers.

Wooper: KimiShinu (“I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day”) provides few details about its decidedly odd setting: an orphanage where children are raised as soldiers in a magical war against an enemy country. As far as the magic goes, we see wands being conjured and desks and chairs floating in midair, but not much else, and as for the military aspect, that’s how the episode opens, but the broader battlefield situation is obscured by a thick forest canopy. This premiere is more dialed in on protagonist Sheena’s feeling of loss after her roommate is killed in combat, and her fascination with new roomie Mimi, who’s soaked in blood during their dramatically lit first encounter. The issue I experienced here was that the former emotion is crowded out as soon as Mimi appears on screen. She’s cute as a button, and the show practically screams, “BE INTRIGUED!” when such a floofy-haired, high-voiced child is paired with such violent imagery, whereas everything that comes before her introduction is delivered in a normal speaking voice. Even a trip to the school’s chapel, which provides Sheena with an opportunity to place her old roommate’s stuffed animal in her casket, seems to prioritize Mimi’s bewilderment at the ritual. Also, the “kissing as magical first aid” trope is some cowardly shit – if you want to show girls locking lips, why not draw it with your whole chest?
Potential: 25%

Saga of Tanya the Evil S2

Short Synopsis: Tanya Degurechaff finds herself on the front lines once more, determined to win at all costs.

Mario: It sure has been a while. I remember the first season aired almost a decade ago, with a follow up movie and then radio silence until now. We get right to the thick of it in this second season, as Tanya finds herself completely isolated. She is assigned by her scheming leaders to carry out a critical mission, even though she knows she is on the losing side. Her team is incompetent, and the enemy doesn’t fare much better either. What this episode does best, for me, is to keep the tone just right. It fuses the big bombastic battle, the nihilism of Tanya and the ridiculous situation she is in, all in one big swoop. It can be funny at times, gruesome at the next, and in the centre of it all, Tanya is an antihero we just can’t take our eyes off of. So far, what makes her fearsome is that she’s super overpowered, but what makes her vulnerable is that she is alone against everyone else, especially Being X. The show’s animation looks great too, so it’s a blast to see the evil Tanya back in action.
Potential: 50%

Mebius Dust

Short Synopsis: Teams of Capture the Flag players collaborate with a scientist to enhance their meteorite-activated superpowers.

Wooper: It looks like Mebius Dust has taken the form I feared it might: teenagers with various superhuman abilities (who happen to be confined to a single city) playing territory games, rather than teenagers (who happen to enjoy playing territory games) coming to terms with their confinement. This episode is bookended by two such games as a way of introducing the characters and their powers, so there’s no confusion about who’s who and what they can do, but it hardly feels as though we know them as individuals by the time the credits roll. Neither am I curious about the soft-spoken main character Araki, even if he’s the only character who seems interested in life outside the characters’ open-air prison – there’s not enough contrast between him and everyone else to make him feel noteworthy. Some of the players’ superpowers are weird enough to raise an eyebrow at, especially the idol who can conjure glow sticks in his opponents’ hands that put them under his spell, so that’s something. In the end, though, there’s no sense that this meteorite-impacted version of Japan is much different than the present day, and the characters are all too content to spend each day waiting for nightfall so they can play Capture the Flag. No one and nothing about Mebius Dust feels authentic, at least after a single episode.
Potential: 5%

Summer 2026 Impressions: The Ghost in the Shell, Victoria of Many Faces, Flaming Dodgeball Girl Danko

by SuperWooper, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

The Ghost in the Shell

Short Synopsis: In the year 2029, a newly formed cybercrime task force investigates an orphanage accused of brainwashing.

Wooper: “Maximal” is the word I’d use to describe The Ghost in the Shell, the latest incarnation of Japan’s preeminent cyberpunk series. Its reenactment of the 1995 film’s opening scene is backed by a raucous string-infused jazz piece, its brain dive scenes are minor assaults on the senses, and its character animation is more exaggerated than ever. Faster action, more color, less exposition – it’s a new frontier for GitS, and while I don’t love everything about it, the bold approach certainly makes it more interesting than the franchise’s last couple outings. One thing I can unreservedly praise is the limited use of on-screen text to define in-universe terminology, which permits this episode to move at its rapid clip. The Major is more rebellious than professional this time around, which fits the faster pace, and the show frequently looks gorgeous. The cherry blossom viewing scene just after the OP is a highlight, of course, but the episode also impressed me during forested combat and even in meeting rooms tinged with red or blue light. On that note, I think I’ll be switching to the dub going forward, since the show’s speed and information density would give me less time to appreciate its good looks were I to split my eyes between subtitles and visuals. Guess I’ll learn whether the new cast can hold a candle to Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and company in a week’s time!
Potential: 70%

Victoria of Many Faces

Short Synopsis: A former spy defects and builds her new life in a neighboring country under the alias “Victoria,” then decides on taking care of a child.

Mario: We are reaching the tail end of this first impressions period, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Victoria of Many Faces. Even though Victoria was once a spy, there’s hardly any cool action to show off her skills, and that’s for the better. It takes a slow approach to her life in a new country, where she meticulously plans ahead so that she can stay under the radar, although life pulls her another way when she sees an abandoned child Nonna. So far, I enjoy the pacing – it takes just enough time for her to get familiar with her new surroundings and build trust with her neighbors. In addition, even though there’s a lot of narration that voices what Victoria is thinking, it’s her actions (sometimes contradicting what she thinks) that let us sense her true self beneath the surface. That said, so far I am not a fan of the visual presentation. Whenever it showcases her darker past, the show goes down a few tones in terms of brightness as well. It makes the flashbacks feel like Gothic-inspired moments, which I don’t think is what the show is aiming for. What remains strong here is Victoria herself as she opens up more and attempts to leave her past behind, while at the same time it tries to catch up with her. So far, the narrative and the main character are strong enough for me to continue on this journey.
Potential: 40%

Flaming Dodgeball Girl Danko

Short Synopsis: The impossibly enthusiastic daughter of a legendary athlete recruits teammates for her school’s dodgeball club.

Wooper: Upon learning that this show was the sequel to a decades-old sports anime, I decided not to include it in our season preview, even though the intensity of its PV made me smile. Modern spins on older properties haven’t performed too well this year: Samurai Troopers didn’t hook me, Fist of the North Star was insulting, and High School Kimengumi may go down as the year’s biggest WTF premiere. With Flaming Dodgeball Girl Danko, however, we finally hit paydirt – or rather, I did. This series will appeal to very few people reading this paragraph, and not just because it’s a sequel to an anime they’ve (and I’ve) never seen. It’s extremely old school, with lip flaps and speed lines everywhere, a blaring electric guitar soundtrack, and a ridiculous premise where dodgeball is the most awesome thing in the world. The shounen trope of winning through sheer willpower is central to its story’s operation, and there’s a low level of fanservice that will likely ramp up as time goes on, if the characters in the OP are anything to go by. Still, I found myself laughing along at the level of parody on display here. I don’t know how earnest the original Honoo no Youkyuujo series was, but this new one is geared primarily for humor, using its protagonist’s inability to hold back as a comedic weapon in her quest to recruit new players. Even the fanservice contributes to a particular character’s athletic superpower in a silly, non-exploitative way. I can’t recommend Dodgeball Girl Danko to a broad audience, but I also can’t deny how much I enjoyed watching it.
Potential: Just for me

Guest Post: Unearthed Baubles with Firechick: A Dinosaur’s Story (66/100)

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Special Articles

So…today I learned that this exists thanks to this tweet by Japan Society Film that randomly appeared in my feed out of nowhere. I was already intrigued by the movie it talked about, Rex: A Dinosaur’s Story, both because its premise sounds like a mashup of both ET and Jurassic Park (Both movies even came out that same year!) and because the movie got pulled from theaters because Haruki Kadokawa, the then president of Kadokawa and the creator of the media mix concept, was arrested due to a drug scandal. If that doesn’t tell you how super strict Japan is about drugs, I don’t know what will. But I became even more morbidly fascinated when I found out apparently the movie was a VERY loose adaptation of a manga that CLAMP did the art for! CLAMP didn’t write the story, as that was written by some zoologist named Masanori Hata. Now, I’m not entirely sure if the manga is considered the original source or the movie is, or if the manga is just supposed to be a promotional tie-in for the movie. I couldn’t find anything concrete on that. But I was able to find that someone fan translated the manga for Rex: A Dinosaur’s Story into English. I found it, read it, and here I am! My verdict: It’s a cute little manga about a girl being friends with a baby dinosaur, but don’t expect anything more out of it than that, as it’s silly, cliche, and cheesy as all hell.

Continue reading “Guest Post: Unearthed Baubles with Firechick: A Dinosaur’s Story (66/100)” →

Summer 2026 Impressions: Red River, Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky, Tenkosaki

by SuperWooper, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Red River

Short Synopsis: A teenage girl gets transported back to ancient Anatolia (now Turkiye), where she is saved by a prince.

Mario: I have so many mixed feelings watching Red River. On the one hand, its storytelling and visual style make it a throwback to a bygone era. I’ve also read a good portion of the “Crest of the Royal Family” manga, where Red River clearly draws its influence. On the other hand, the opening scene… nearly throws me off with what I wanted to forget about that begone era’s storytelling. Starting off with a kiss between two characters we hardly know?! No para mi. The episode goes faster than I expected, but so far all Yuri (the main character) has done is run around cluelessly, scream and get saved by a man who claims her to be his. Not a good start at all. As for the slideshow presentation, I understand the complaints, but personally I don’t mind it. The freeze frames still work for heightened dramatic effect, which actually suits a show as ridiculous (with a straight face) as Red River. I’m not holding out hope for this show, but I might still watch it for my nostalgia kick.
Potential: 30%

Love Unseen Beneath
the Clear Night Sky

Short Synopsis: A withdrawn college student angsts over how helpful he should be to a blind girl in his year.

Wooper: Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky (Toumei na Yoru ni Kakeru Kimi) is completely unremarkable. Its character designs in particular would make it tough to pick out of a lineup of one, but the show plays it safe in every other aspect too, from animation to dialogue to music. In establishing shots where protagonist Kakeru walks around campus, there are almost no other human beings to be found, and even a crowded orientation party toward the start of the episode doesn’t feel very lively, mostly due to the predictable conversation between him and the more well-adjusted friend who dragged him there. Despite all that, however, I didn’t hate this episode. Kakeru may be stuck in his own head, and we may be stuck there with him (he’s the POV character, rather than his blind classmate Koharu), but his curiosity about her condition and fear of saying or doing the wrong thing around her gives him a lot of room to grow. Eventually he’ll learn not to be surprised at what she’s capable of, and begin to offer help without second guessing whether it’s the right thing to do. The show’s safeness, while somewhat disappointing, also means its main character is normal enough to carry a disability-themed story without any anime bullshit rearing its head. Maybe I’ve got the bar set too low for this one, but I’m actually kind of interested in giving its second episode a go.
Potential: 35%

Tenkosaki

Short Synopsis: A new transfer student reunites with his male childhood friend, only it turns out his friend is actually a girl.

Mario: This show (“Oh Boy, Was I Wrong About Her” in English) runs on a very simple premise, and so far it’s the only thing it has going. To be fair, the main duo has solid chemistry. You can really see they enjoy their time together and that even after seven years apart, they get along very naturally. Saying that though, I wonder if their genuine chemistry alone can save the show from running out of steam. The animation is also flat, with some questionable choices here and there (like the sparkly sequence where they run alongside each other, it’s out of place there). If you are a fan of romance or slice of life shows, then by all means continue with it. In a season where we have You and I are Polar Opposites though, I do feel that show is a much better option.
Potential: 10%