GIANT BEASTS OF ARS
Short Synopsis: A girl who just escapes prison teams up with a knight who lost his will of living to fight giant monsters.
Mario: “It’s great to see a hard fantasy once in a while in this medium” was what I thought when watching Ars, until we saw a girl who says nothing but “nyan” (she sings an entire song with “nya”, that’s hardcore) and my hope was crushed. Putting that aside, this first episode has no shortage of ambition, but at the end of the day the sum is somehow less than its parts. We tick a lot of checkpoints in terms explaining its world-buildings, its main characters and the mysterious monsters. Both Twenty-Two and Jiro have their own motivations and the fact that they team up at the end marks a new beginning of their relationship, although they are not that interesting individually. Even if the story stumbles in places, I don’t mind spending more time in this world and see how these characters develop their own payhs from here.
Potential: 40%
Lenlo: I really wasn’t enthused with Ars. The giant beast concept, the opening scene, that stuff was fine. A bit too anime for me with the glowing hair, ending sentences in “nya” and shit, I’d really rather fantasy series try to break from that mold a bit, but it’s not a huge deal. No, what pushed me away was the shift in focus from giant monsters and their slayers to a loli saving the world from a conquering empire plot. It’s fine if that’s what you’re looking for I suppose. The monsters seem well realized, and I like how serious the power difference between them and the monsters is. Makes them feel like actual threats. I just don’t see the show itself going anywhere particularly interesting. It’s a shame, because I’m down for Jiro and Twenty Two. I’m curious about where their relationship will go, and I’m probably going to keep watching it for a bit before I drop it. I’m just not… hooked as of yet.
Potential: 35%
Farming Life in Another World
Short Synopsis: A boy reincarnated to another world devotes his life to farming.
Lenlo: Farming Life was… surprisingly chill. As of this first episode there’s no demon king, no great mission, not even some OP power that could be easily twisted into combat. I mean sure, the lead is OP in that they can farm and build shit really well. But Farming Life spent so much time on the actual building methods, like finding a well, making a toilet, building a fence, slotting wood together, etc etc, that I feel like it might actually commit to its premise. It’s still not my speed, not really my show. But I can respect it’s commitment to actually teaching people about farming techniques and just using the trappings of the Isekai genre to fast forward that Civilization style, ala Dr. Stone. It’s done enough that I’ll watch a few more episodes to see if it really does stick to this Civilization style, or if it becomes like all other Isekai and pulls out a demon king at some point.
Potential: 45%
Mario: While I appreciate the fact the “Farming Life” focuses on… you know, a farming life in this first episode, it’s a show where I can safely say that it isn’t for me. The episode portrays the section that I enjoy the most out of the isekai genre – the beginning stage where our Potato-kun starts with almost nothing and climbs his way up from there. Well, with almost nothing. Because it brings up my main aversion to the isekai-genre: he’s already OP as heck. He acquires an ultimate farming tool which he can use anytime without losing stamina, and can transform into any other farming tools he likes. It’s still very much a wish-fulfillment where someone can start afresh in a new life with an advantage. Add to that, we have a teaser in the beginning where he’s surrounded by cute girls (with different races, of course), a maid, loyal dogs and a Master title. Sigh. I’m outta here.
Potential: 10%
TRIGUN STAMPEDE
Short Synopsis: A journalist duo captures and investigates a wanted dude that looks like a member of K-Pop band.
Lenlo: I was really worried about this new Trigun. The new designs seemed wildly out of character and the CGI didn’t seem all that great when the first PVs came out. But I can now happily report that Trigun is freaking great. Don’t get me wrong, I still absolutely hate Vash’s new design, he looks like a member of a K-Pop band. But Orange nailed his personality, really dialing in on the contradiction of his skill vs his pacifism. On top of that, this is easily one of the most expressive shows of the season. Tsurune may have polished beauty locked down, leading to a show where any screencap could be a background, but Trigun easily beats it, and everything else that’s aired so far, in its movement. A lot of shows’ characters tend to stand around while one is talking/moving in a scene, focusing only on the most important one. But here it feels like they never stop moving. Every scene, every emotion, shows on their face and in their body language. I love it. Trigun, as of the first episode at least, is my Anime of the Season.
Potential: 80%
Mario: I’m a new Trigun watcher here, and it’s the main reason I signed up on reviewing its premiere since I can judge it without the bias of the original classic. With that in mind, I did have a bias when it comes to Orange studio, arguably the best CG Anime studio around. On the production front, it looks fantastic. The backgrounds are filled with colorful yet detailed designs, the characters are expressive in their motions and facial expressions and the action scenes are spectacular. The story, however, can feel a bit too much at times. In a span of 20 minutes we do learn a great deal about Vash: his flashback, his contradiction in his infamous reputation and his appearance, his skills… but sadly we learn very little about his companions: Meryl (Streeps) and Roberto (De Niro). The climax also trades realistic betrayal to cartoonish expressions, which I’m 50-50 at the moment. The cartoonish hijink fits the “go bigger and louder” approach we see at the end, but I myself ain’t keen on the bombastic approach. It’s certainly one of the highlights of the season so far, all things considered.
Potential: 60%
