Spring 2022 Impressions: Shachiku-san wa Youjo Yuurei ni Iyasaretai, Heroine Tarumono, Machikado S2

Shachiku-san wa Youjo Yuurei ni Iyasaretai

Short Synopsis: Smol ghost girl brings overworked salarywoman tea and love.

Amun: Think Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid – and then reduce it to about 5% the content (swapping dragons for ghosts and other fantastic beasts). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, except that this episode tells, then re-tells the same couple hours from multiple perspectives. Just not a whole lot happens (a few rice balls get stolen and wtf is up with Japanese corporate parties). Our main characters are standard enough – I like how anime programmers now use VS Code (and apparently the gender balance in Japan seems a lot healthier than the US according to anime). Cute ghost is cute – but how has no one noticed the literal apartment in the supply closet? Should you watch it? If you want something simple and sweet every week, then sure!
Potential: 50%

Mario: Shachiku-san is like that of a marshmallow. It’s sweet, it’s squishy… but even with just 20 minutes it feels awfully long as there isn’t a lot going on behind its premise. You could summarize the show in one sentence, and by the second half it repeats the same story again with just another perspective – an utter filler if you ask me. The plot is beyond “simple” to an extent that I think it would fare much better if it were a short. Out of all the shows I have watched so far for this season, unfortunately it’s Shachiku-san that tries its hardest to please everyone, but precisely because of that its sweetness just overwhelmed everything else and left a bitter taste instead. Oh “Pwease”.
Potential: 20%

Heroine Tarumono!: Kiraware Heroine to Naisho no Oshigoto

Short Synopsis: A country girl moves to Tokyo and gets to work on acquiring her ideal high school life (with a few snags).

Mario: Heroine Tarumono must try harder to win me over. There’s a sense of familiarity about its school settings and plot, and so far while it doesn’t put any wrong steps, it’s hardly memorable either. As far as I know the show shares the same universe with Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai movies, and many of the old cast did appear in this episode. The main focus, however, is about this new pumpkin country girl Hiyori who is a manager of her classmate / idol duo. So far I don’t really care for any character, and the plot can go implausible at times (the job hunting, her living alone in a big city. Really?) but the production is otherwise solid. I’m not that invested to the story to stick around longer, but I can see that it has a solid formula and if they play the cards well, this could become a sleeper hit of the season.
Potential: 30%

Wooper: This is the best start to a “girl becomes manager of a male idol group” show that I’ve ever seen, low bar though that may be. The main character has a concrete personality, there are more than two women with speaking parts, and the series has concerns outside of how awesome idols are. I was impressed by all sorts of things while watching this premiere: an around-the-horn style cast introduction, decent character animation, and even a scene where three newly-introduced girls make friends without batting an eye. Can you remember the last high school anime you saw where the prospect of chatting with a classmate wasn’t cause for anxiety? I’d practically forgotten how pleasant that could be until Heroine Tarumono reminded me. It’s not all good news for the series, though. Lead character Hiyori is so shrill that it’s tough to endure her voice when she enters her upper register; she has plenty of good qualities, but listenability isn’t one of them. The part-time job she stumbles into isn’t particularly promising, either, revolving around two teen heartthrobs who are also her classmates. Based on where this sort of anime typically goes, there’s all the reason in the world to fear that Tarumono’s uncommonly strong start will be for naught, but Hiyori’s well-meaning nature and strong work ethic have me hoping that her show will beat the odds.
Potential: 40%

The Demon Girl Next Door Season 2

Short Synopsis: Weak/broke but otherwise happy demon girl must defeat a traumatized but overpowered magical girl – or just be friends with her.

Amun: “Demon Girl Next Door” is a heartwarming take on “magic girl vs demon girl”, with surprising nuance wrapped up in a “poverty” comedy. Season two picks right back up, with the focus remaining on the latest magic girl to join (who I guess is really into citrus). “Demon Girl Next Door” is at its best when it explores Momo’s flaws and inner struggles – Yuuko’s screen time is mostly fine, but can get a little grating, as she’s cosmically behind the curve. The overall mystery (such as why her father is spirit sealed inside a cardboard box) looms over the comedy, and I’m interested to see if that’s fleshed out a bit more this season. To me, this is a season sleeper if it can rise above “haha, poor and weak = funny” – which I believe it can.
Potential: 80%

Lenlo: I mean… It’s Machikado. This is the exact kind of moe slapstick comedy I don’t like. There’s no layers, no complexity, to anything. If what you want is a wholesome, brainoff, feel good moe blob then I think Machikado will pay off for you in spades. But I don’t have enough time in my day to spend 30 minutes watching fluff. So this is a pass from me.
Potential: 10%