Some Quick First Impressions: Cop Craft, HenSuki and Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou

Cop Craft

Short Synopsis: A human policeman is forced to partner with a female alien and track down a kidnapped fairy.

Mario’s review:

Despite its formulaic premise, Cop Craft’s first episode is such an enjoyable ride. It has an interesting settings for one thing, and while in concept it reminds you of Blood Blockade Battlefront, it does have many elements to make it its own. Then the two odd couples have their own distinct personalities and they bounce off each other nicely. On top of that the dialogues are on the better side of the spectrum, both does its job to establish character’s motivation, and each character has their own way of speaking. The production can be a bit shaky at times, but for now it manages to hold up. The gritty tone also brings a lot of potential, and a right mix between real world and fantastical elements are explored in just correct amount. I’d say that its best quality so far is the right mix of all its ingredients, make it a show that is familiar enough but still has its own personality.

Potential: 60%

Wooper’s review:

There were a lot of visual choices here that I didn’t like. The drab color palette, featuring mostly brown and gray environments, is rescued only by Tilarna’s elaborate red outfit. There are moments when the series feels like it was animated in Flash, especially when side characters are put through their stiff walk cycles. The ship on which Tilarna arrives has a rough, sketchy quality to its illustration that doesn’t match the rest of the art. But you know, I kind of dug this episode. It’s another buddy cop show like Double Decker, but it aims for a grittier tone right off the bat, and mostly manages to hit the right notes in the process. The supernatural element and Tilarna’s curiosity about human technology give the script a little flavor, without which it would have felt too familiar. Most importantly, it quickly established who the main characters are and what they want, generating a clash of personalities that it can resolve as it progresses. In short, it didn’t waste my time.

Potential: 50%

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HenSuki

Short Synopsis: A gutless high school boy must figure out which of his smoking hot clubmates gifted him a pair of her panties.

Wooper’s review:

Are you willing to fall in love with a pervert, as long as she’s cute? This is the literal translation of HenSuki’s full title, as well as the philosophical quandary at the root of the show’s deftly-woven narrative. Japanese society is largely conservative (I know this for certain because I am an anime blogger), so even mild sexual deviance on the part of an individual can have lasting ramifications in their life. With this in mind, our potato-faced main character must approach the girls in his after school club with caution. One of them has left him a love letter, which would be scandalous enough on its own, but to include a pair of her panties alongside it? Such a woman could drag him into moral degeneracy! Nevertheless, such a bold maneuver could indicate a favorable temperament with regard to such lewd activities as hand-holding. Thus HenSuki establishes its central theme, exploring the personal cost of pursuing an anime gf with big tiddies. Subplots include incest teasing, breast envy, and sexual slavery. You won’t want to miss this thoughtful, daring, and not at all pandering look at modern teenage romance!

Potential: 0%

Mario’s review:

I expected this show to be trashy but I didn’t expect it to be this boring. This premiere’s main flaw is that it focuses entirely on romance aspect and not too much about comedy. Up until the very last reveal (which put this show into interesting direction, I admit), it feels not unlike a dating sim game or dating visual novel where all girls have a hot for this totally plain male lead. That sense of visual novel extends to its production too, as there isn’t much actual animation and the show’s hanging there with key still frames. The decision to play it straight with romance could have been fine if the dialogue weren’t this boring. Every conversation comes from boy’s wet dream, in which if my memory serves me right he was dreaming in the beginning (See, I already forgot). In theory, this show could serve as a dating genre-reconstruction where all the girls have hidden sexual fetishes that are way beyond this guy’s head but when you care nothing about this faceless dude, you have a hard time getting invested to what it’s trying to say.

Potential: 10%

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Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou

Short Synopsis: An adventurer from another world is betrayed by his classmates before eating monster flesh and turning into a badass.

Wooper’s review:

“Incompetence” is the word that kept springing to mind during this episode. It begins in a cave so dark that the main dude’s hair had to be traced with a white outline, because otherwise you can’t tell where he ends and the background begins. Every combat scene, including the one where he loses an arm, depicts the slashing of claws and blades with limp effects animation. As a result, it’s hard to care about any of the fighting, especially the bits with CG skeletons that hardly interact with the characters. All of the flashbacks seem to have been placed in the script just to emphasize the hero’s weakness and his former classmates’ cruelty, setting the stage for his rise to power. Sounds exciting, right? Nope, he promptly attains this power by getting really pissed off and eating monster meat, rather than by training or learning anything. And then the show has to trot out the concept of in-game stats and skill trees to show how much he’s leveled up, so that even people who don’t leave their rooms can understand how awesome he’s become. If you still remain unconvinced that this show is a turd, check out this climactic moment from the ending. In case you’re wondering, that clip isn’t slowed down, darkened, or modified in any way. The show is just that bad.

Potential: 0%

Mario’s review:

Anime medium is known for its entertainment, but once in a while there are shows that aim for something much more profound, something of a life lesson. Watching Arifureta reminds you time and again that life isn’t all rose-tinted color and that in life, many people have it way worse. Our hero’s innocent outlook of life is shattered through harsh reality. Yes, life is cruel, life is unequal but that makes his transformation all the more powerful. I felt shocked, but I also felt sort of uplifted to see him bounce back and claim his life back. Yes, that is the strength of humanity: To never give up, to enjoy every piece of food you found, and to look Death in the eyes and say: “I will kill because I am hungry”. Arifureta is a story about survival, Arifureta is a story about revenge and Arifureta is a story about breaking your own weak self. Beneath the shocking content, I can see the layered messages that work together perfectly. Its thematic complexity is something that blows away any other contender of this season, Hypeland Saga included. It’s too early to say anything in terms of how the story will go from here but I have no doubt that Arifureta will change the way I view life forever.

Potential: put Vinland Saga into a pit of shame!!!!!!!!