Golden Kamuy
Short Synopsis: An unlikely duo decides to hunt down a treasure map that is tattooed on prisoners backs.
Aidan’s review
Speaking of premise only this show wins a lot of points. Set in the 1900’s, in the northern snowy wilds of Hokkaido with a story that pulls no punches with gore and violence and not a teenager in sight. The two main characters work well and the dark implications of them hunting down people in order to kill and skin them is certainly morally questionable and interesting. This first episode sets up the main goal of the plot well and for the most part is executed well to boot. So I would be giving this 90 to 100 percent potential if not for one thing. One giant glaring fly in the ointment. Those bloody cgi bears. I don’t know what the director was thinking but he decided to make the bears in this series look photorealistic. So while looking objectively the animation of the bear was fine, the way it was made to look photorealistic is one of the most jarring things I have ever seen. I did a double take every time one of these bears was on screen. They are laughably, utterly out of place. And yes this was an intentional choice by the director because he wanted them to look alien and scary. Gunning for the uncanny valley effect. As this episode showed a perfectly decent CGI wolf. You may be thinking that it’s only an issue for this episode but from what I hear this series will have a lot of furry animals and definitely more bears. So that Director better change his tune on how he wants to portray them. But yes, ignore the giant CGI abominations and this show is one to keep an eye on.
Potential: 80%
Lenlo’s Review:
A good treasure hunt story is always welcome, and Golden Kamuy has started strong. Not only do our leads have to find the treasure, they have to hunt down the maps themselves. I love the premise of the map being tattooed on people. It forces conflict into what otherwise could have been a serene trek through the mountains. Our leads work well together, though Asirpa seems emotionally stunted, though her hard-line morals should prove interesting. Sugimoto also plays the brash soldier who can’t leave the war behind well. Aside from the CGI bear, which was just terrible, the actual designs are good to. Overall, I am happy with Golden Kamuy and it did enough in the first episode to make me stick with it for a while.
Potential: 70%
Piano no Mori (TV)
Short Synopsis: Two young music lovers bond over a mysterious piano in a nearby forest that only one of them can play.
Mario’s review
In preparation for this show, I actually watched the 2007 movie version so I have some kind of prior knowledge, as well as expectation, for this TV series version. So far it’s a smooth ride, but there are still some worries I have for the show, especially when it comes to production aspect. Fukushima Gainax certainly isn’t the studio that shouts confidence given they have no track record whatsoever and indeed some of its issues can be seen here. The character designs are unremarkable, the series looks quite stiff as a whole and most unappealing factor, the awkward and obvious CG animation during the piano playing scenes. Story-wise, it progresses with confident and this premiere already laid out many important seeds between Kai, the new kid and the teacher. We know just about enough about these characters so that we have a reason to care, at the same time there’s still much more room for development. Even though I feel the show sacrifices Shuuhei’s personality (he comes off a bit weak compare to the movie counterpart), I do feel the amount of developments we have is balanced and well-planted. Only other thing I’m worried about is how far this show will adapt considering its 1-cour length. Based on the first few minutes I guess they will adapt the manga until these kids grow up, which mean they will have to burn a lot of material to get there. Not necessary a bad thing if it’s done right, though.
Potential: 70%
Wooper’s review
Piano no Mori is a charming, unassuming piece of work. Based on a manga that’s nearly 20 years old, it could almost be described as quaint – after all, there aren’t any superpowers, it isn’t set in a high school, and nobody is trapped in a video game. In lieu of all that, the series focuses on a couple of elementary school kids who love the piano, one of whom has the mysterious ability to play a broken one that was abandoned in the forest (okay, I guess there are superpowers). They quickly become friends, but their music teacher takes a much stronger shine to forest boy, which I assume will be the genesis of whatever conflict develops between them. This premiere had the look of a kids show, but that’s not a bad thing; given that the characters start as children, it’s appropriate that we see their world the same way they would. I’d describe the series as expressive, even during the CG piano-playing scenes, which I found to be perfectly appropriate. They exist only to depict the performance aspect of the show as accurately as possible, and they do a nice job of it. My one gripe comes from a small passage in the middle of the episode, which glosses over an important day at school in favor of going right back into the forest for more bonding between the two main kids. This decision was so jarring that it has me worried about the rest of the series, which may try to cram too many volumes’ worth of story into just 12 episodes. Without having seen the 2007 movie that Mario mentioned above, I’d say that’s a safer bet than the TV version, but this should still be one of the better offerings this season.
Potential: 60%
Juushinki Pandora
Short Synopsis: An exiled scientist does science-y things and fights against a biomechanical mutant crab.
Wooper’s review
When animating a story with a silly premise like this one, where a worldwide evolution field causes plants and animals to fuse with artificial intelligence, every aspect of its production needs to be rock solid so people can take it seriously. In the case of Juushinki Pandora, every aspect of its production is laughably bad. The dialogue is mostly technobabble, featuring such gems as, “Hyperdrive is now in overdrive mode” – try saying that five times fast without dying of shame. The show is visually unappealing on every level, from its human cast to its mech and monster designs. Stupid anime hair abounds, and the combat scenes are plagued with jerky CG models that lumber weightlessly through vomit-colored backgrounds (a few of which were computerized themselves). As for the characters as individuals, they’re void of all personality. The show tries to establish a tenuous bond between its brilliant scientist MC and his younger sister, but can’t manage it without the help of a “family contract,” which is constantly brought up as a reminder that even though they argue a lot, they’re still a family. Everybody else pilots a robot and talks incomprehensibly about some shit you can’t understand because nothing that’s happening on screen makes sense. But hey, the show has a cat with a mustache and some lady with big tits, plus it’s a NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES (HOLY SHIT), so you’d better watch it, you anime-loving, streaming service-obeying drone.
Potential: None whatsoever
Mario’s review
Farewell comrade Conrad, you deserve better.
In case you wonder who the hell Conrad is, he’s the side character that died even before we hear his voice, let alone knowing what he looked like and what his favorite food was, yet his name is the only name I remembered after watching this show. That should tell you plenty about the level of quality of this blah-blah-blah Pandora. “Disaster” is the word that totally sums up how I feel about this show, as it has nothing that I could recommend on. Characters, like I said, are bunch of cardboard models with weird hairdo that have no personality whatsoever. Worst of all is our main character who love to experiment random things (including his food), speaking in incomprehensive terms and run around his base naked. And did I mention that he has a little sister who watches over him (naked)? He’s so bad that he makes a generic imouto character feel like an angel in comparison. The production is pretty crap as well. Nothing interesting going on with just robots fighting and spilling acid aimlessly and the story grabs me like a fly sting – which is to say nothing. I’m running out of lame remarks so let’s me just wrap it up by saying: this show is garbage.
Potential: 0%
