Kaguya-sama: Love is War -Ultra Romantic-
Short Synopsis: Four nutcases and one airhead procrastinate in their student council duties by turning mundane situations into major crises.
Lenlo: You already know by now what this is. Or whether or not you like Kaguya-sama. The only real question here is if Season 3 maintains the same level of quality as the last two. And to that I can confidently say: Yes, it does. This first episode felt just like any other episode in the series. It was fun, with a number of clever gags and premises that got me chuckling as the layers to each got peeled away. I vastly prefer this kind of layered comedy to anime’s more general slapstick, so it’s nice to see it back. Supporting this, Shinichi Omata continues with his fantastically clever and inventive direction. He brings so much to the series, so many visual queues like the camel that simply didn’t exist in the manga. Augmenting it for our personal silver screens. My enjoyment of this series isn’t in question, I know for a fact I’m going to have fun here. The only question in my mind is whether or not this will top season 2, should they have improved their drama abilities, or if it will be about the same quality as before.
Potential: 80%
Wooper: That opening montage was a heck of a reintroduction to the world of Shuchiin Academy. Even if some of its explosive pink imagery was recycled from season 2’s finale, its appearance sent a clear message: we know you remember these characters, and we know you’ve been waiting for their return. They’re especially welcome sights after watching a barren winter give way to a bleak (thus far) spring season – Kaguya-sama’s reliability is something anime could use more of, so I’m happy it’s back. We’re already making new discoveries about the student council members, such as Iino’s weakness for sexually-tinged motivational mp3s and Kaguya’s archery-honed hand strength, and this premiere puts them to good comedic use. We even got a Hayasaka appearance in the season’s first outing (overseeing Kaguya’s tentative first steps into the world of smartphone literacy). What else could you want from this show? Other than an arm wrestling story that doesn’t conclude with a girl’s victory resulting in her humiliation, I mean. Kaguya ought to be a little cooler under peer pressure than she was a year ago – at least enough to brush off the teasing of the chumps she just beat. That nitpick aside, I enjoyed the whole episode (but I hope something else can outperform it before these first impressions are through).
Potential: 75%
The Dawn of the Witch
Short Synopsis: Three mages get to know one another while carrying out an escort mission for a royal academy.
Mario: Damnit, up until I finished this episode, I hadn’t realized that it is a spin-off of Grimoire of Zero, a show I did watch back in 2017 but have since forgotten about. I did enjoy the mismatched duo of Zero and the beastfallen Youhei in the original series, but the fantasy setting is unfortunately so generic that I didn’t make any connection between this show and Grimoire of Zero (and no, Albus’s name didn’t ring a bell). Structure-wise, this first episode is clean enough to establish the quest to come and some minor conflicts along the way. The team is rescuing their fellow classmate Kudd at the moment and I can see him joining the group real soon. The interactions between the cast is just about enough… but unfortunately the dialogue drags a bit for me here. I suppose the titular witch is the worst offender for this, as she tends to act like a 6-year-old kid and the show has a tendency to amp up her tantrums, and her old-school way of talking. The main dude doesn’t fare any better, as he has as much energy as a koala sleeping in a tree (Koalas spend 90% of their time sleeping by the way). As far as “adventure” goes I can see it appeals to the target audience – it has the fun of adventure, peppered with the cast of diverse characters and a hint of political / racial tension, but otherwise if you want something deeper or more adventurous (in terms of style and storytelling), you can look elsewhere.
Potential: 30%
Wooper: Another fantasy anime destined for the digital landfill, this time set in the Kingdom of Wenias (heh). Honestly, my brain was mostly glazed over during this episode, but I still picked up on the perverted storyboarding – I’m sure you can imagine what that means, so I won’t go into any more detail. I also remember that the headmaster of Wenias’ Academy of Magic (for there must always be a magic academy) was named Albus, but instead of a bearded man with twinkling eyes peering over half-moon spectacles, she was a boring blonde lady with big boobs – give me old and wise over hot and uninteresting any day. As for the main character, he was the wettest of blankets (your classic anime underachiever with nothing in the way of personality), so his traveling companions’ attempts to get him talking resulted in some pretty dull conversation. That’s the one thing I can give Dawn of the Witch credit for, though – it tries its hardest to establish both context and character through conversation, rather than putting a narrator in our ear and calling it a day. Whether it succeeds in its goal is up to the individual to decide; personally, I found it mind-numbing, but I’ve also seen at least a dozen versions of this setting and/or premise that were far worse.
Potential: 10%
Tiger & Bunny 2
Short Synopsis: An array of sellout superheroes gang up on criminals to look good for the camera.
Wooper: I should have known better than to look forward to the second season of a show whose first season I couldn’t finish. Tiger and Bunny are as uncoordinated and childish as ever, making the prospect of watching them in 2022 even less appealing than it was in 2011. They’re left in the dust by all of the other heroes when responding to a robbery during this episode’s protracted intro sequence, and they resort to the silent treatment after one of them takes the other’s energy drink from the break room fridge. Those “other heroes” are no better – amalgamations of stereotypes and stock character traits, one and all. The show doesn’t seem to have a point of view regarding its corporate sponsorship gimmick, which is one of the most frustrating things about it. Midway through the episode, Tiger and Bunny are forced to go golfing with one of their company’s richest benefactors, who’s thrilled to be in the presence of two manufactured superstars, and their response is one of mild inconvenience. Very few of the heroes (if any) are frustrated by the attachment of a points-based ranking system to their work, as though they have no real opinions about the superhero business. To top it all off, the post-ED scene that teases this season’s villainous duo sends them whizzing past camp and straight into the loony bin. If you’re a T&B fan, bon appétit – seriously, clean your plate so I don’t have to eat the leftovers.
Potential: Not my thing
Mario: I have fond memories of the original Tiger & Bunny. While it’s nowhere near my favorite series of that year (2011 was still one of the great years in anime), I found the very idea of superheroes incorporated with reality shows and business to be fun, and a good way to satirize the consumerism of today’s world. This first episode more than satisfies that idea, introducing a new “normal” as the superhero teams are now functioning as pairs, or “buddies” to use the show’s term. It’s great to see the old gang back with some fresh new faces, and so far they are a delight. I also feel that the way they set up a new status quo is well-done, because as the before and after-credits suggest, things will get far out of control later on. I might have preferred if they stayed in this light mode of characters’ nonsensical bickering and reality-show satire rather than the over-the-top, exploding action-drama later on, but all I can say for now is that I feel right at home watching these characters again.
Potential: 50% – or “Feels right at home”
Oh I did watch Grimoire of Zero – I don’t remember a single thing about it except for the name though. Didn’t realize they were related.
Well Mario you are far more positive than the Whooper, who clearly was too impatient lazy or both to actually finish the show. Seriously there is a little thug called character development!
Whoever this “Whooper” guy is, he might have reasons for dropping an anime outside of impatience or laziness – thinking it’s not very good, for example.
Also a little weird that you’d refer to a literary principle as a thug, but I suppose it does have a somewhat devious connotation, in that people often cite it as a reason to keep watching a show whose characters never actually improve.