Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka IV
Short Synopsis: Silver haired wonderboy and half naked elf fall deep into a chalky world with lots of monsters.
Amun: I think I’ll be covering DanMachi IV as a weekly (probably bi-weekly) post, but I figured while I’m here in first episodes, I’ll put my two cents in here. The last half of this season ended less than ideally, and we’re right back in it with….not much happening. The CG twin headed dragon got better this episode, but it’s still not great. There’s some questionable service of beat-up Ryuu and Bell – and not much else going on. I did like the party fighting the floor boss – there were some good moments, but the animation felt a bit lacking at times. I’ve always said DanMachi does a superb job of disguising subpar animation (usually with two stationary animations used in conjunction), and this episode showcases some new twists on that. No matter what, this doesn’t look like it’ll be DanMachi’s best season….or likely its worst. I do feel very apprehensive that there will be lots of sad flashbacks with Ryuu: I’m not looking forward to that. Although there’s a small memory of a conversation with Ais at the episode’s beginning, this is pretty clearly a Ryuu centered arc. So I’m strapping in for a necessary season, but probably not a terribly enjoyable one. Hopefully I’m wrong – in a good way! Just the prevalence of CG and remembered sadness doesn’t have me feeling terribly hopeful. I’m definitely watching it anyway.
Potential: Needs more Ais
Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei
Short Synopsis: Genius cute princesses get up to hijinks and there’s some larger plot or something.
Amun: I don’t 100% know what I just watched…all I know is there’s going to be yuri. And honestly, this wasn’t the worst yuri bait ever – the heroic entrance through the glass was pretty great. After that…I just don’t really know what to expect. I guess this is technically an isekai (which is an extremely lazy explanation for the heroine’s inspiration to fly and obsession with brooms). Is this a magic show? Political drama? Love story? Action-Comedy? No idea, and probably a bit of all of the above. Tensei Oujo looked pretty good and had decent pacing (despite the dramatic dance disengagement dragging on dreadfully). This looks like a show not quite sure of its identity and off on a bit of an adventure – while it sounds grand in theory, these kinds of shows normally get muddled in the middle before trying to tie out at the end. Still worth a few more episodes though – if even just for that crash landing scene. Lol, that was pretty great.
Potential: 50%
Mario: This premiere awfully functions as a prologue, given that after it ends I still have no clue what direction it will take from there (maybe going up as the two take flight at the end?). Instead, the episode spends more time exploring our two main girl leads: the princess Anisphia and Euphyllia and so far that’s a success. Both the girls ooze with personality – Anisphia is fearless, impulsive and tends to break the rules, whereas Euphyllia is serious and collected. The episode conclusion “a girl who loves magic but magic doesn’t love her back and a noble girl who was born with everything but had nothing” nicely sum up their situations and the fate to come. Tensei Oujo isn’t without its issues, however. The isekai’s element is shaky at the moment (the show is better off without its isekai-tag for all I care) and the Princess’s proposal to take Euphyllia at the end still feels pretty weird – not out of queerness but because they had zero connection beforehand. Well, at the very least, this episode convinces me to check out some more.
Potential: 40%
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale
Short Synopsis: On her way to the Capital to pursue her sugar art, a girl buys off a Fairy slave to protect her during the trip.
Mario: It’s amusing that before coming to this show, I had no real expectation for it. Upon watching it, I was nicely surprised on the road it took, in more ways than one. The elephant of the room here remains its treatment and view of slavery. No, I’m not here to pass our moral judgment of slavery, so I’ll be brief on this. The show has its stance on the issues – showing the abuse to the fairies by their owners, and Anne’s own moral view. It’s great the way the show eventually challenges her own point of view (be friends with the slave?), and how she realizes that there is more to the issues that meet the eyes. Her realization upon witnessing him killing other people like a killing machine nicely wraps up the episode. Apart from the show’s main duo tension, Sugar Apple makes the most out of its designs. Both the fairy’s design, especially their wings, and the background designs, are full of details and characteristics. The characters, especially Anne and Shall, are two-dimensional and I’m up to see the chemistry between them. The only thing I am a bit afraid of is the romance bait. Not to say there is anything wrong with romance, but I believe the characters and their tension are strong enough that you don’t really need romance factor in this equation at all.
Potential: 50%
Lenlo: Like Farming Life, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale seems good at what it wants to be but not my speed. It reminds me in a lot of ways of Spice and Wolf actually, with a young human traveling with an ancient fantastical creature. It remains to be seen if their relationship will be as good as Holo and Lawrence, but the fact that the comparison came to me at all is a good sign I think. Beyond that the action wasn’t bad, and Shall seems like a much more forceful partner, giving me hope that he at least will push their relationship forward. My big hope though is that Sugar Apple will actually dive into the sugar/candy craft a bit, and allow our lead girl to actually learn and practice the trade. If it can do that while keeping the two together and progressing their relationship, I think this could be a really good time.
Potential: 50%
