My Home Hero
Short Synopsis: A father kills his daughter’s abusive boyfriend and now tries to get rid of the body.
Lenlo: The most lacking thing about My Home Hero is its production. In trying to stay grounded in its portrayal of crime, murder and domestic violence, it ends up looking restrained and bland. I don’t hate it, it doesn’t look bad. Just uninteresting and not particularly memorable. Luckily the story seems at least a bit interesting. At its core it’s vigilante justice against organized crime. But I like how it’s also set up as father vs father protecting/avenging their mutual families. None of the characters are particularly noteworthy just yet, but for a 1st episode I’d say I’m satisfied enough to keep going and see where it can go with this little personal war. Part of what will make it interesting for me though will be seeing how our soft salaryman lead evolves over the course of the story, rather than starting as a hardened ex-killer or something. If My Home Hero can nail that evolution, akin to say Breaking Bad, then it should be at least decent.
Potential: 40%
Mario: With My Home Hero, the main hook is definitely there, but I am concerned whether or not this production can make full use of the premise. For example, the visual is pretty bland with a muted and unattractive color palette and lacking in characters’ facial expression. But for me, my main gripe lies within its story, where the tonal shift is awkward and Reika’s boyfriend is too much of an asshole to be taken seriously. Take the scene where, upon seeing Reika’s bruised face, Tetsuo immediately senses that something was wrong (a great moment), but it then proceeds into him begging her to stay, which kills all the buildup from beforehand. In addition, to paint the yakuza’s boyfriend bad deeds, not only does he proudly confirm them in public, but the show has him repeat his intention every single goddamn time. A more subtle approach would benefit this better. My Home Hero is not without its strengths, however. We’re clearly rooting for the killers here, and the episode aptly gives more moral shading to the central murder – Tetsuo’s wife appears to be more convinced that Tetsuo did the right thing than the man himself. The episode so far achieves what it sets out to do – what Tetsuo and his family will do next – but they also need to give us more reasons to care about them.
Potential: 30%
Yamada-kun to Lv999 no Koi wo Suru
Short Synopsis: A college girl attempts to strike up a friendship with a handsome gamer after her boyfriend breaks up with her.
Wooper: Sasuga Morio Asaka, Madhouse’s shoujo ace. Yamada-kun felt limited by its silly premise in manga form, but under Asaka’s guidance, this first episode successfully exploited that premise for comedy. Timing is one major factor here – take protagonist Akane’s tranquil pauses in between messages from an inattentive online guildmate, for example. The buoyant synth music and quiet sips of tea during her downtime make you wonder when this peaceful mood will be broken, so when she eventually snaps and tells the guildmate to get the hell out of her hunting ground, it ends up being exactly what you had hoped for. That guildmate ends up being the Yamada from the title, whose frosty vibe attracts Akane’s interest once they meet in real life. Her scheme to have him pose as her boyfriend, plus her strategy to get dolled up before attending an event where her ex is likely to appear, create a strong impression; Akane is somewhat shallow, yes, but she also puts a lot of effort into whatever she does, which should contrast nicely with Yamada’s laid back energy as the series goes on. The frequent shift between simpler and more detailed versions of the character designs works well, allowing the show to bounce between bemusement, sadness, annoyance, and any of the other emotions it needs to access. Its only major weakness is art direction, as Yamada-kun’s real and virtual worlds both look a bit flat – but seeing as it’s capable of keeping your attention on the characters from start to finish, that won’t stop it from being a watchable romcom.
Potential: 50%
Lenlo: I will admit, I was really surprised by how charming Yamada-kun was. It’s another one of those wish-fulfillment “Otaku meets hot girl randomly” stories, but there are small details about it I enjoy. Akane’s facial expressions are especially on point. Whether it be the sarcasm and vindictive attitude of “:3” or her complete and utter ignorance of “O.O”. I feel like Yamada-kun actually managed to translate some of those text expressions, and their meanings, well into the show. Yamada also being completely uninterested and actually pretty comfortable on his own was nice too, he isn’t some desperate incel looking for a sex object. Am I sold on Yamada-kun? Not yet, most anime romances are vapid and short-lived whirlwinds. But this one at least has enough potential and charm that I’m going to check it out for a few more episodes. Plus the characters might have gotten laid in the first episode, and I’m curious if Yamada-kun will actually commit to this being an adult relationship.
Potential: 40%
Alice Gear Aegis Expansion
Short Synopsis: A girl enrolls in a group to fight mechanical aliens, and with the help of all the other girls, she passes the test of becoming an Actress.
Mario: Here, at the bottom of the seasonal offerings, we have Alice Gear. It’s an adaptation of an action game where the girls – branded as “Actresses” – fight evil mechanical aliens to protect the Earth, but you get none of that in this first episode. Indeed, this episode is more akin to an idol show, where a girl decides to join the girls group to be near her crush. It serves as a perfect opportunity for the staff to draw her lewd reactions, nosebleed and all that jazz. If it sounds awful on paper, it’s even worse watching it happen on screen. The only novelty to this episode is that it came up with a method to test their “Actress ability” by blowing into a metal horn, just like the way you test your blood alcohol level.
Potential: it gave me a bad nosebleed.
Lenlo: I liked this show better in the few minutes I thought it was just Symphogear in space. And I hate Symphogear. I thought that at least then we could get some fun action and maybe some stupid space drama. Instead Alice Gear whatever the hell exists purely as a lewd reaction gif generation. Is this a bit unfair to the series? Yes. Alice Gear is nowhere near as bad as stuff like Onimai from last season, which made me feel like I should go to jail for just having watched it. The fact remains though, while it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen, it’s also not worth watching.
Potential: Ow
