Some Quick First Impressions: Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!, Kandagawa Jet Girls and Stand My Heroes: Piece of Truth

Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!

Short Synopsis: A newly-reincarnated mage frets about her godlike powers while rescuing a group of kidnapped children.

Wooper’s review:

Here’s a “reincarnated in another world” series that’s preoccupied not with explaining game mechanics or assembling harems, but with creating a main character worth following. All Mile wants is a normal life, but she was granted incredible powers upon her rebirth, much to her chagrin. Even though her prodigious skill is a burden to her, she’s the sort of girl who will sign up to rescue an inn-keeper friend just days after having met her (even if she has to reveal her shameful invincibility in the process). Mile is rather excitable, so we get both cheery and reserved attitudes from her in this premiere, both of which are believable. She and the show provide plenty of commentary on anime tropes, as well. Early scenes are constructed as though she’s talking to herself in clumsily-written fashion, but five minutes later we learn that she was speaking to an invisible friend the whole time. The circumstances of her arrival in the new world are cliched, so the show winkingly pushes through them in just a couple of minutes. The boarding school setup is unlikely to push any narrative boundaries, but it will allow the show to continue elbowing its fellow fantasy series in the ribs every now and then. With both self-awareness and decent characterization in its arsenal, NouryoKinchi is a fun isekai adventure for people who are burned out on the genre.

Potential: 60%

Lenlo’s review:

You know, as someone who has a relatively across the board distaste for Isekai… this one wasn’t actually that bad. I dare say I actually enjoyed parts of it, which was unexpected. The cast isn’t particularly crazy, seemingly existing for more than just fanservice at this point. Which is always a plus. Meanwhile the MC is rather self aware and generally just tired of all of this kerfuffle. Of course she’s still OP as all hell, and that’s annoying, but welcome to Isekai I suppose. It reminds me of Cautious Hero, in that it’s attempting to subvert the genre, yet I feel it does so… better. None of them have the character of Rista, but that’s fine. It’s not terribly well animated, but it gets by. Really all I can say is that the show is solid, and if I actually liked the genre, I could see myself liking this.

Potential: 35%

 

Kandagawa Jet Girls

Short Synopsis: Two girls team up to challenge the elite school of ski jet sports.

Mario’s review:

What with all these random fanservices? I know that anime medium is the land of pandering but in this show these shots come from nowhere which makes me think that 1 guy in the production committees push hard for these shots regardless of the content. It’s such a shame because otherwise the visual presentation is rather decent. The story takes a familiar route for this genre by introducing the two main characters who are fated to be partners. What it does raise the bar is how these two both have some sort of backstory/ special relationship to this self-invented sports, and the sport itself does intrigue me (do they shoot each other until one’s down or do they shoot some obstacles to gain points?). Then again, these out of nowhere butt and boob shots do deflate my interest somewhat.

Potential: 20%

Lenlo’s review:

Look, you know me. You see my name at the top of this blurb, and you already know what I am gonna say. That its a fanservice, water sports show with a cast of girls who exist purely to get wet, and get naked. The only upside this series has, is that it has a “mature” tag or whatever, so they moved up to the mystical realm of sideboob. To be frank, I don’t see anything interesting here. Keijo from awhile ago had better animation, better art and solid asses. Meanwhile Darling in the Franxx at least use the partner system as a metaphor for sex and all that, even if it kinda fell apart and got weird by the end. Kandagawa though? It’s just pandering, and I have 0 expectations of it.

Potential: 0%

 

Stand My Heroes: Piece of Truth

Short Synopsis: A girl is appointed head scout in the quest to recruit hot boys for an investigative unit.

Mario’s review:

It’s clear from watching this episode that Stand My Heroes is based on an otome game (which normally I’m not fond of), and in the game we play this main girl whose main purpose is to recruit attractive boys to this STAND unit – an investigation unit that work independently with police force. Right in this first episode we have her meeting a football-size boys with proper full names and some sort of catchphrase lines to inform us their personalities. So formulaic aside, two questions come up. How does the main heroine fare compared to the genre and what makes this show different than other otome adaptation? For the first point, personality-wise our girl is still a plain character given how her enthusiasm for “justice” feels one-note at best. For the second point, this show has a crime procedure twist to it, which is clumsy in execution. No, otome adaptation isn’t a high bar and even then this one comes out as a run-of-a-mill addition to the list.

Potential: 10%