My Hero Academia S6
Short Synopsis: Both the heroes and villains are gearing up for their largest confrontation yet, one that will decide the future of Japan and the world at large. Can Deku and the heroes save the day?
Lenlo: The most surprising thing about this premier was that it didn’t start with a 100% anime original recap focused episode. Somehow, some way, BONES managed to jump right into the action. I don’t know what that says about the production schedule. It probably helps that this is the first season in 3 years where they aren’t working on a movie simultaneously, but I hope it’s a sign of things to come. That aside though, let’s be honest, its My Hero Academia. We are 6 seasons in at this point, you know if you like it or not. Personally, for me, it’s going to be my popcorn show of the season. I know this is where Hori’s writing starts to get weaker, but there’s also some epic moments in the arc that I now have a bit of hope will actually get the treatment they deserve. If BONES can just deliver on those then I will be satisfied. My god how my standards have fallen for this show since Season 1.
Potential: 40%
Amun: MHA, you’ve changed. Gone is the underdog feel-good high school life – always a step behind, but with good friends and complex enemies. I mean, our main leads had roughly one line each here. This is now a slick, well-animated ensemble of fan favorites, derived over the last couple seasons, fighting a large-scale battle with global ramifications. And that’s fine, in and of itself, but it’s just not the story I fell in love with. I don’t care about the hero society on a macro level, I just want more Midoriya (and Uraraka). It all feels too big, too fast. I know why the story’s developed to this point and I’m not begrudging the plot development, but I can’t keep telling myself everything’s the same. I guess at some point it’s time to accept that this franchise has scaled up and just enjoy any time with our characters that I can get. Still watching it though.
Potential: 100%
Koukyuu no Karasu
Short Synopsis: An Emperor asks the mysterious consort living deep within the inner palace to help him solve a mystery that will overturn history
Mario: This is purely a set-up episode that introduces the main settings and the main characters – so it’s definitely slow paced – but it gets there with just enough indication about the “rules” of the inner palace, as well as the main characters’ motivations. The result is an introductory episode that does just about enough to tell the main leads with interesting back stories and how they partner up for a current mystery. It’s actually the current mystery that is a weak link here, as I still don’t see the good reasons why the new Emperor Xia Gaojun cares so much about this case, nor does the Raven Consort Shouxue. What the show more than makes up for is establishing Shouxue with a distinctive personality that is both mysterious but lovable at the same time. We also learn about Gaojun’s resolve and while I feel it’s a bit too overblown, his backstory still works well. Then we get the reveal in literally the last seconds and I know I will be back for the second outing. It’s a job well done for Koukyuu no Karasu first episode.
Potential: 40%
Lenlo: As far as seasonal chinese-adjacent historical pieces go… This was decidedly bland. The colors are dull and washed out, and the only design of any note is the female lead. Meanwhile all of the line delivery just feels stiff and lifeless. I get that they are going for a sort of… cool nobility to everyone, but there’s no emotion in anything anyone says. About halfway through there was an engaging scene, both visually and narratively, but right after it ended Koukyuu returned to its bland dullness. It’s like… It’s like the mythology surrounding this world is far more interesting than the world or story itself. There might be something here for those willing to stick with it, you might end up rewarded for that devotion. But personally? This 23 minute episode felt like an hour, and that’s not something I want to repeat every week.
Potential: 30%
Pop Team Epic S2
Short Synopsis: How did Pop Team Epic get a second season when it’s such a shit series?
Wooper: What’s up guys? Welcome back to part 15 of my analysis of Endless Love, the smash hit tokusatsu series starring Aoi Shouta! Before we dive into the video, just a quick reminder – only 95 percent of you guys are subscribed to the channel, so if you haven’t already, be sure to SMASH that notification button and RING the bell for more awesome CONTENT like this. Alright, with that out of the way, let’s just jump straight into it! So in the OP for this episode, we can see Shouta-kun teaming up with another version of himself, which may be the alternate universe Shouta first seen in Gal and Dino, and…wait, why have we suddenly cut to an anime? No, it would be wrong to call this an anime, because it doesn’t have a mature, serialized story for mature viewers such as myself. This…is a cartoon. This doesn’t make me feel Japanese at all! And worst of all, it’s not even funny! Oh, I am definitely tweeting about this. I’ll just open up Twitter and…Pop Team Epic? Wait, this is a real thing? And it actually got a second season? Why didn’t someone simply tell the director to make a better, more accessible show? Great, now it’s repeating the exact same scenes from the first half but with disgusting male voices. Who the fuck would purposely watch something like this?!
Potential: COOL TIME
Lenlo: I’ll never know how serious Wooper is with his lampooning considering Pop Team Epic lampoons itself, but regardless he isn’t wrong about how insane this series is. Pop Team Epic continues to feel like a fever dream that somehow got a budget. If you like over the top meta humor that holds absolutely nothing sacred and takes shots at everything via either obscure jokes or real life slapstick, this might be the series for you. There’s no real story, the characters are openly admitting to being gag cutouts, this is about as pure a comedy series as you can get. It’s just 12 minutes of sketch comedy. A week. Personally? I’m going to watch it because I know that one of these episodes is going to end up being right down my alley. The others will probably be mid, not all comedy hits with all people. But you only need the one episode to have a decent time here. Plus it’s not a big time investment so… why not?
Potential: Is this even anime anymore? I dunno, but it’s fun.
As a fan of MHA I have mixed feelings on the big war ARC. It has great moments and art is superb but near the end, it slowly starts to go downhill. Now I understand why Hirokoshi did what he did. Unlike most “fabs” I am pretty sympathetic towards manga writers. The stress of having to draw new chapters everyday, not to mention SJ’s strict schedule eventually got to him and now he just wants to end the series as quick as possible. However while I understand that doesn’t mean I like the current state of the series. So many potential plot lines have been wasted and rushed and now the series has become another fucking DBZ clone.
I kinda like Raven of the Inner Palace myself. I’m planning on watching more of it to see how it plays out. I will admit though, I REALLY don’t like the singer for the opening song. His voice just sounds so…ehhh.