Skate Leading Stars
Short Synopsis: A former athlete and an aspiring coach team up to dethrone a rising star in the Japanese ice skating world.
Wooper: This show has some pretty big skates to fill, given its most obvious point of comparison, but it did manage to carve out an identity of its own in this half hour. We’re dealing with teenagers instead of adults, and skate leading (essentially team figure skating) instead of solo routines. All we’ve seen thus far is one-man flashbacks and exhibitions, but the presence of a high school club promises plenty of cooperative performances. That’s what worries me most about this series’ future; though there was some slick athletic animation on display here (the smears during Reo’s routine were a highlight), depicting five skaters at once will be far more taxing than anything this premiere offered. In the likely scenario that the production buckles, it’ll be down to the characters to keep the show afloat, and I don’t know that they’ll be up to the task. The protagonist is one of those “shout until your dreams come true” types, so of course his rival has to be cold as ice, right down to his white-and-blue color scheme. I’m betting on the revenge-driven teenage coach as the breakout character, though I probably won’t give SLS enough episodes to see him or anyone else truly shine.
Potential: 50%
Mario: Skate Leading Stars starts off on the wrong foot and goes far too melodramatic and ridiculous for my taste (the 10-year-old kid will swear off the sport he loves just after losing his parents if he loses to the top kid in town. He loses, the story begins), but thankfully it picks up afterward and I have no problem recommending it. While I’m never too hot on hot boys’ shows, the show infuses just the right amount to make the characters likeable, especially that sneaky coach with Hachiman-scheming eyes. Story-wise it has been conventional so far, but the story beats didn’t lose me and this first episode wasn’t afraid to display some sharp skating routine sequences. While they are not as polished as say Yuri on Ice (the show to which we’ll hear a lot of comparison), they don’t rely on CG and they are solidly animated. Certainly worth a few more tries for this one.
Potential: 40%
Urasekai Picnic
Short Synopsis: Two young women form a tentative friendship while exploring a dangerous parallel dimension.
Mario: Such a strange beast Urasekai Picnic is. Part-yuri, part-surreal, part-horror show about hunting urban legends AKA monsters? Yes – although so far I’m not totally convinced with everything it does in this premiere. As for the positives, I like that the show starts in media res. Just like the characters themselves, we have to pick up bits and pieces of this mysterious Otherside along the way. The sense of eeriness and isolation are all there, and the Otherside’s grey palette certainly compliments that empty void vibe. The narration is a bit more hit-and-miss for me. While I enjoy a portion of Sorao’s inner thoughts – especially when it deals with her detachment from her real world – Sorao is still not an interesting lead to follow. That actually helps to make the dynamic between her and the new girl she meets much more vibrant, so it works out for now. The thing is, there’s still a lot of questions about the rules of the new universe, about the show’s endgame, about what this show really is about, that makes this premiere feel more like a side OVA to some established franchise than a proper introduction to the show. As a result, Urasekai Picnic still keeps me at arm’s length, but I do recognize its efforts.
Potential: 40%
Wooper: I have so many questions. How did Sorao first access the Otherside? What prompted the main characters to dash into that abandoned building after the OP, and where was it in relation to their previous location? What was with that stuttering dialogue during Sorao’s confrontation with the Wiggle-Waggle? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing that Urasekai Picnic is generating some intrigue, but I do wish it had been clearer regarding the barrier between its two dimensions. And as long as we’re making wishes, it would have been nice if the show hadn’t periodically replaced pieces of basic character animation with ancient CG models. There are other nitpicks I could make, as well, but they’re overshadowed by the show’s biggest strength: the strong impressions that Toriko and Sorao made on each other. Urasekai Picnic accomplished this simply by giving them plenty of opportunities to talk, allowing them to discover how their differing personalities could nevertheless be compatible. By the end of the episode, I felt as though their future trips to the Otherside would be much more successful if they paired up, and that I’d like to watch that pairing evolve over time.
Potential: 65%
Tatoeba Last Dungeon
Short Synopsis: Super strong country boy with imposter syndrome cooks a witch breakfast and starts building a harem.
Amun: Tatoeba Last Dungeon was one of the shows I’ve had my eye on since it was announced. The first episode was mostly as advertised, although I’m a little concerned about the quality of the animation – one particular faceplant was notably bad. If the first episode is having issues – that’s not a good sign. The other concerning aspects are pacing and humour. This episode actually went through a ton of material from the manga and felt quite rushed. The humour – shout until it’s funny – highlights the one dimensional aspect of the plot’s gimmick…another bad omen. Plus, I’m worried about the random service that showed up halfway for no reason – doesn’t bode well when we’re turning to those “plot” devices so early. No question, major red flags here – I’ll give it a few more episodes to turn around, though.
Potential: 33%
Lenlo: I swear to god these Light Novel titles and premises are just getting more and more ridiculous. What happened to just having a good story? What happened to compelling characters? When did it all get replaced with gimmicks and what do I have to do to get the Twelve Kingdoms style of fantasy back?
If that wasn’t telling as to my experience, I don’t know what will be. I found Tatoeba to be painfully dull. Generic fantasy, overpowered MC, fanservice, fantasy world. About the only danger flag of mine that didn’t tick was “Isekai”. My biggest issue by far though has to be the MC, who is apparently perfect at everything. It’s only been one episode and we already have 3 women fawning around him, 4 if we include the loli grandma, but I won’t for Tatoeba’s sake. I just don’t have anything to invest in at all here, with the only possible exception being the last 30 seconds. Maybe it goes to interesting places! Personally I don’t expect it to, and I won’t be watching long enough to find out.
Potential: 5%
