Some Quick First Impressions: Deca-Dence, Japan Sinks, No Guns Life S2

Deca-Dence

Short Synopsis: Girl finds herself a new daddy while waiting for her biological father to return from fighting monsters in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Armitage’s review:

Damn. That was a lot of subplots. Not only does Deca-Dence throw the viewer right into its world without any warning or setup, it also keeps unveiling layers upon layers of subtext and side-plots over the course of its premiere. There’s so much going on here that if you were to not pay attention for ten seconds, you’d end up missing a potentially vital detail. Considering that a story like this relies heavily on world-building and the fact that it’s likely only going to be one-cour, you can expect that the pacing would feel a bit breakneck at times. That being said, I really liked what I saw and do find myself thoroughly invested. The direction by Yuzuru Tachikawa feels very assured, camerawork is dynamic, character designs stand out and the CGI doesn’t suck(!) The only thing that makes me a little skeptical is the writing. Tachikawa is not overseeing the screenplay and being an anime original, this can just as easily crash and burn no matter the calibre of its director. Nonetheless, it’s a promising premiere and I am genuinely excited for the direction this story might take in the coming weeks.

Potential: 80%

Mario’s review:

Out of all the shows airing this season, Deca-Dence is a wild-card for me based on the reputation of the director alone. Let’s just say I found this premiere mixed, especially the first 5 minutes were so clunky it nearly kicked me out of the story entirely. We have a textbook flashback of a young girl losing her Dad during one of the “missions”, we have a mouthful of world-building exposition fed to us, camouflaging itself as students reciting the rules – but I can’t help but feel obvious. We have most of the characters behave one-noted and unconvincingly (take that bullying girl, for example). Thankfully one our lead gets into her first job (in what reminds me greatly of Dragon Dentist’s world), the story improves tremendously as the show showcases many of its strengths. First, Natsume is a good character to follow around. She has this “loud” personality but Deca-Dence does a great job of endearing her with expressive facial expression, and her chemistry with the other lead is solid so far. The direction stands out as well, kudos to its use of match cuts (I love those) and many stunning fight choreography. On the other spectrum, the story moves a bit too fast at times and I am not really that into the CG monster designs. As it stands Deca-Dence has its ambitions but I am not totally convinced with how it plays out so far.

Potential: 40%

Japan Sinks

Short Synopsis: A 1970’s disaster novel adapted for 2020, where Tokyo is destroyed by a massive earthquake and the Muto family must do their best to survive and escape this crumbling city.

Lenlo’s review:

It should go without saying after my Eizouken review, but I am a bit of a Yuasa stan. When I heard he was doing another series this soon after Eizouken, I was pumped, even if it’s his last series as a Science Saru lead. And while other writers here might disagree with me, as far as the first episode goes, Japan Sinks did not disappoint. Visually yes, it’s a bit odd, like all of Yuasa’s works. It isn’t an animation spectacle like Eizouken or Devilman, nor is going to be as surrealist as Tatami Galaxy. But there was just enough color so as to not feel too brown, just enough expressiveness in the characters and their animation to still feel like an anime, all the while delivering a grounded tragedy/disaster tale. I have no idea if it sticks with this, as I have heard some… interesting things from friends who have already finished the series. Things that make me think that maybe, just maybe, this falls apart horrendously. But I do know that I am bingeing it later tonight, and I trust Yuasa to see me through. Might even write a review if no one else wants to blog it.

Episode 3 Update: 3 episodes in, my hype has died down tremendously. Every episode it just gets worse. I’m starting to blame the series director if only to keep Yuasa on my “Never failed me” list.

Episode 5 Update: Dear god why

Potential: 80%, I trust in Yuasa to carry this through
40% Yuasa please fix this before my next update
1% Hope is almost all lost

Wooper’s review:

Despite its depiction of a nation-shattering earthquake, Japan Sinks might be Science Saru’s most down-to-earth project yet. There are no genius dogs, no supernatural water physics, and no ultra-stylized table tennis matches to be found here – just ordinary shots of extraordinary environmental damage, and the people devastated by it. The loose character designs remind me of Devilman Crybaby, but that series’ uncompromised freedom of movement isn’t the goal in Japan Sinks. It’s a straightforward disaster drama with a family of four at its center – which makes me wonder whether a stricter style might have clarified their emotional burden. As a matter of fact, that thought nagged at me the whole way through this episode. Still, it managed to connect with me by the end, when survivor’s guilt caught up with the teenage daughter and she wept for her fallen teammates. The backgrounds were prettier than I’d anticipated, and appropriately stark in their portrayal of a ruined and fiery Tokyo. Other things I liked were the small narrated inserts about life before the earthquake, Kensuke Ushio’s forlorn, piano-based accompaniments, and the sunlight-flooded OP. The character art and straightforward story are lagging for me right now, but assuming the latter factor improves, I’ll be content.

Potential: 60%

No Guns Life S2

Short Synopsis: Tough guy with a literal revolver head has to babysit an idiot who can take over other people’s bodies (only if they are robotic amputees).

Amun’s review:

If you read the weekly summary from a couple seasons ago, you’ll know NGL S1 was my darling overachiever. I love the characters, 3D generated setting, the world – everything. NGL S2’s first episode is an unmitigated disaster. First off, you know the one thing that didn’t make Season 1 great? Characters standing (or sitting) around talking. Secondly, the animators have forgotten how to draw their main characters – mostly Mary. But the background characters as well. I guess Juzo looks about the same, but even then there are wonky shots – when he reaches his arm back, it’s completely out of perspective. The backgrounds still look pretty good, but that’s not enough – the most action in this episode is getting shocked by a doorknob. Victor just looks weird and the 3D CGI chain tentacles are not appealing or frightening. The OP is okay, and the ED is kind of fun (twerking giant Mary is really the only redeeming part of this show), but in between is a big problem. My hype is severely dampened.

Potential: 25%

Wooper’s review:

As an extended homage to the noir detective genre, No Guns Life relies heavily on its detective MC to maintain a clear point of view. Without Juzo’s dry humor and reluctant do-goodery to filter incoming information, the plot would read like a load of quasi-political conspiracies and nothing else. That’s exactly what happened in this episode, as our favorite gun-headed investigator took a backseat to Mary, Tetsurou, and season 2’s new rogues gallery. Hell, he received only slightly more screen time than his heavily stereotyped trans landlord, who was kidnapped by a fanatical anti-modification faction. There’s little time to flesh out that story, though, because we’ve got to learn about Mary’s Doctor Octopus-esque brother, the blond bowl cut villain who appears in the final scene, the well-mannered agent who’s after Juzo’s data chip, etc. It doesn’t help that a good portion of the story revolves around that data, since it was acquired during a glorified side story during the previous season. Ultimately, this is a premiere that tried to do too much, and failed pretty badly.

Potential: 15%