Author: Lenlo

I Parry Everything

Short Synopsis: Noor has wanted to be a hero since he was a child, but he was never good enough at anything to do so. After years of training he was only able to learn a single skill, parry. With only one path before him, he takes that skill to its absolute limits.

Mario: Well, even though the episode feels familiar, at least the main character is so earnest that it’s hard to hate him. The show spends an entire episode showing us his journey to become an adventurer, from when he’s a teenager until now. Throughout all his hardships, and displaying no talent at all, he still keeps going at it. I guess the punch line here is the same as that “BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense” show – he maxes out his parrying skill, so much so that it actually becomes his primary weapon. The girl he saves is a princess so she will take him everywhere with her… I think the show will have all the familiar beats here, so if you still like the main character after this episode and don’t mind the tropes, you will have a good time here.
Potential: 10%

Lenlo: As Mario says, there’s nothing particularly new here in Parry. The MC has a highly specific OP skill in a fantasy world ruled by video game logic, saves the girl who then falls for him, pretty standard power fantasy stuff. But… Parry executes on it competently. It doesn’t rush into the OP bullshit from the first minute, the MC isn’t some Isekai chosen one who doesn’t put in any effort to obtain his skill, and in fact he’s kind of a decent person, helping everyone out and being your friendly neighborhood hero. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about Parry, but I also can’t say I hated it. If you’re looking for a fun OP MC action fantasy series, you could do far far worse than Parry than season.
Potential: 20%

Bye Bye, Earth

Short Synopsis: Belle Lablac doesn’t really fit in as the only human being in a world full of anthropomorphic animals. No fangs, no fur, no scales, no claws. Lonely and eager to discover where she comes from, Belle journeys to find answers to the questions of her heart. Carrying nothing but her giant sword, the Runding, she faces a world of possibilities and pitfalls in hopes of discovering the truth.

Mario: Sometimes, you can feel the air of racism in an anime so thick that you could taste it, and that’s what the first half of this episode does for me. It’s a bit sad, really. For all of its efforts to differentiate itself from the normal isekai settings (there are a whole range of different races here), it just tries a bit too hard on isolating our main girl from this world. In fact, “trying too hard” is what I feel about the whole episode. There are some neat worldbuilding details about nomad and enola, but because the episode tries to cram so many details, it gets lost in the middle. Belle’s flashback, for example, clashes a bit with her current time with her teacher. As a result, it is hard to get emotionally invested in their farewell fight as we don’t spend enough time with them together. Still, the music is nice, and at least the show is trying. Still, I’m not sure if I’m gonna stick around for more.
Potential: 20%

Lenlo: The way I feel about Bye Bye, Earth can best be described as… Curious. I’m curious about this world, and why everyone in it are animals, and not sexy “fox/cat girl” animals, I mean actual insect humanoids/Minotaurs/Centaurs. I’m curious about why our lead is the only human, and what that means for her. I’m curious about this sword, a spell inscribed on the blade, and this curse she undertook to become a Nomad. I’m not sold on any of it yet, the action isn’t great and there’s some pretty basic fantasy racism going on. But there’s enough here that I want to give it a few episodes and see where it goes, plus Penkin’s music, while mixed a tad loud for my taste here, isn’t bad. Hopefully it does something with itself.
Potential: 50%

Atri: My Dear Moments

Short Synopsis: A one-legged man discovers a remarkably lifelike robot sleeping in the undersea ruins of his grandmother’s former home.

Wooper: In the seven years since I started writing for Star Crossed, our quarterly first impressions periods have ended on a stinker around half the time. So, which side of the decent-to-dud divide does our final premiere, Atri: My Dear Moments, fall on? Happily, I’d say it’s the former. The show boasts an interesting (if not original) setting featuring risen sea levels and dilapidated highways, and though its characters are clearly trope-driven, the composition of the cast gives off a mid-2000s charm that I can at least tolerate. The main character is sullen, but he’s got a good reason for it (more than one reason, really), and the cutesy android he discovers on the seafloor near the start of the episode will surely appeal to fans of little sister types. She’s granted a few bits of expressive character acting here, and the protagonist’s 3DCG submarine looks pretty good, too – and even when it didn’t, as in a shot of its extendable arms pinching at nothing in particular, the clumsiness put a smile on my face. My Dear Moments doesn’t have a strong narrative thrust behind it after one episode, but it’s raised a couple questions about its main character’s past and its setting that may bring people back for more. I won’t be among their number, but I can at least appreciate the show’s redeeming qualities – and its place as a decent finisher to the summer season.
Potential: 25%

Lenlo: I was pleasantly surprised by Atri. I wasn’t expecting much, initial impressions weren’t great since we open on an Onee-san type flashing her cleavage and thigh gap at us. But as the show went on it became more and more of a vibe. Sailing through the ocean, floating underneath the sea, an MC with good reasons to be moody for once. It felt like someone actually cared while making this, unlike a great many of the shows airing this season. I think whether or not you like this will come down entirely to whether or not the vibe is one you connect with. Personally, while I enjoyed it for this episode due to all the other seasonals I had to watch for these posts, I know it’s not something I could keep up with for an entire season. Still, if you’re looking for something that’s more about experiencing a world and the characters living in it, rather than a set narrative, I think this could work for you.
Potential: 35%

Quality Assurance in Another World

Short Synopsis: A player tries to save a village with a bugged strategy to kill a dragon.

Mario: There’s more to Quality Assurance than it lets on, at least for the good first 15 minutes of this premiere. I’m pretty sure everyone would consider “the twist” a legit gamechanger (pun intended here), as it opens up more layers for both the story and the main character Haga. For me personally, it comes off as a bit clunky. How can Haga have so many resources in the first place, and how did he bring them all there by himself before his showdown with the dragon? Does this also mean he witnesses Nikola and the villagers die every time, but only this time Nikola comes back to life? I reckon the show will address the second point later on, as there are still many ambiguous circumstances that await Haga and Nikola on their journey. For now, the character designs remain mixed as well. I really enjoy the designs and costumes that remind me of Kemono no Souja Erin and the Bookworm anime, but the Dragon design is a bit off (are they… dragons?). And the concepts of “debugging” and “non-player character that becomes a main character” aren’t something new anymore. This one does delve into a darker theme and more serious tone, which is always a welcome change, but I suppose we will get a full taste of it in the next episode – when Haga and Nikola explore the world and figure out a way to get Haga back to real life.
Potential: 40%

Amun: That was not what I expected. I thought we’d get something similar to the other Dungeon show (Working!! Dungeon edition). Instad, we’ve got something of the SAO stuck-in-VR setting meets To Your Eternity – not necessarily bad, but not necessarily good. I agree with Mario, those dragons are…not good. The overall story I guess is fine, and the characters are at least mildly engaging. I don’t personally love the designs or most of the visuals, but I’m a bit interested in the premise and the mystery of the world. The twist is fun, so I’m interested in this for at least a few more episodes. Not expecting anything great though.
Potential: 50%

Tower of God S2

Short Synopsis: There’s a tower that grants whoever climbs it fully whatever they wish for. Also, when betting on yourself, make sure to not go into debt so much that you have to sell your organs.

Amun: Ah man, four years since the last Tower of God, and I vaguely remember what was going on (just remember blonde girl is worst girl and something or other about Jahad). This definitely feels like a soft reboot, introducing a new lead. I guess it’s okay since Bam filled the role of the energetic newbie last time, but it just feels like a step back, storywise. I don’t entirely mind, I guess it’s okay to bring in new characters who I won’t remember in four years. I’m not sure I love our new lead, but I’m willing to give him a chance – everyone sitting waiting by the elevator was really funny. The action wasn’t super snappy, and the characters feel more….normalized than season 1. I really liked the first season since it was something a bit different than we usually see – a self-contained world with different factions, powers, and rules (something of a more serious DanMachi). This feels a little more standard fair (especially the character designs), but I’m still interested enough to carry on. I don’t have very high expectations though.
Potential: 50%

Lenlo: So this is where I have to be a bit of a negative nancy. I know a fair number of people were looking forward to this, that they enjoyed Tower of God, both the WebToon and the anime, and were excited for Season 2. But personally? I’ve always found this to be one of the series’ weakest sections, which is saying something for how bad it gets. It wants to do this “Who is he” mystery with the cloaked FUG member while simultaneously making it incredibly obvious that it’s just Bam with a new edgy coat of paint. It also tosses in a bunch of new characters that never really come into their own, but are shoved center stage because Tower of God doesn’t want to reveal anything with Bam after just reintroducing him. It’s just… Narratively it’s unsatisfying, always has been, and the only worthwhile thing I can see coming are the fights. Yet even those don’t seem very promising judging by what we got this episode. Maybe Tower of God has something coming, there are a fair number of fights in this arc, and Kevin Penkin’s OST is always pretty good. Just don’t expect anything great from it.
Potential: 5%

My Deer Friend Nokotan

Short Synopsis: A high school girl befriends a transfer student with antlers growing from her head in the hopes that her violent past won’t be exposed.

Wooper: I was originally holding out for fansubs on this one, since the official subs suffer from constant formatting errors, but we’ve got impressions posts to write, so I bit the bullet and watched what was available. Having seen it now, I don’t think spiffier subtitles would change my evaluation of this premiere by much; My Deer Friend Nokotan is supposed to be dumb fun, but instead it’s just dumb. I like non sequitur humor, which is most of what this show has to offer, but my issue is that this episode doesn’t establish a sense of normalcy that it can go on to break. Sure, there’s a school setting, which is probably good enough for some viewers, but from the moment Shikanoko transfers into said school, she speaks with a squeaky voice, causes property damage, and violates the laws of common sense at every possible turn. Even giving her a teenage speaking voice, rather than a babyish drawl, might have helped to establish some sort of mundane baseline against which her more bizarre actions could be contrasted. We never got that baseline, but this show isn’t totally without hope – there was a scene near the end, where a pair of characters flattered the main girl with progressively outlandish praise, that demonstrated some solid comedy fundamentals. That was the only moment where I cracked a smile while watching, though, so I don’t think I’ll be back for round two.
Potential: 5%

Lenlo: Look, it’s a meme show. There’s no other way to put it, Nokotan is a meme that lives and dies by its absurd comedy. If something about poorly composited CG deer and stupid physical/gross out gags from her deer-horned classmate sounds fun, then have it. I have plenty of friends who are raving about this thing because this sort of humor is right up their alley. Personally though, I was bored out of my mind this entire episode. None of these jokes are particularly clever, and I feel like it will run out of material by episode 3 at the latest. So yeah, as with most slapstick gag manga, this is a hard pass for me.
Potential: 0%

Shoushimin Series

Short Synopsis: A girl who loves sweets and a boy who is really trying his best to be normal solve a mystery and (temporarily) get some tarts.

Lenlo: It’s funny, despite being slower paced with a lot of wide shots like the Stepsister show, I found Shoushimin to be much more palatable. Maybe it’s the lack of pretentious piano music playing over everything, or the subject matter and soft-spoken dialogue being more engaging, I honestly can’t say. What I can say though is that I kind of enjoyed this episode. The way they solved the crime and found the bag was a bit out there, walking straight towards where it was hidden with minimal work. But the leads are cute, I enjoy their dynamic, and that sudden rude ending felt like a slap in the face, in a good way I mean. One that tells me this isn’t just going to be sunshine and roses. I get the feeling that any mysteries or conflicts they get up to won’t actually be particularly important, with their relationship being the real meat of the show. If that’s the case, I think I’ll enjoy Shoushimin quite a bit. At least if it can continue to sell me on this relationship.

Edit: I keep seeing these Hyouka mentions, maybe I need to give that a shot. Never seen Hyouka.

Potential: 50%

Amun: Hyouka remixed. That’s what this is. And that is…absolutely great! Instead of having the excitable girl and the underhanded, energy conserving boy in Hyouka, we have a mysterious sweet loving girl and a helpful detective boy here in Shoushimin. I love the vibe, I love the low stakes mysteries, I love the mysterious atmosphere, I love the opening, I love the ending, I love the character designs, I love the cozy setting. I just love pretty much all of this. There is this weird obsession with being normal, so that’s a little odd (and there were some weird cuts in the middle, but we’re going to just ignore that). For all of my hopes for a first episode, Shoushimin crushed it – I’m fully onboard this train (since both characters made it very clear, this isn’t a ship). This is my pick for anime of the season so far.
Potential: 99%

VTuber Legend

Short Synopsis: A VTuber forgets to end her stream, drunkenly rambles in front of her computer for a while before falling asleep, and wakes up to discover she’s trending.

Wooper: I decided to preview this episode as a challenge to myself, since I didn’t know anything about its subject matter. Now, having finished it, I still don’t. Not that it’s VTuber Legend’s responsibility to educate somebody like me, especially since the majority of its audience will come with all the relevant knowledge built in – and even for those of us that aren’t in the know, the show seems easy enough to follow. It’s all about a streamer who accidentally becomes famous in the VTuber space, kind of like fantasy anime protagonists accidentally get transported to other worlds, or shonen heroes accidentally discover that they’re the Chosen One. After waking up to her sudden fame, there’s a bit of reflection on the heroine’s part regarding her new situation, and that comes across well enough, but mostly this show is just a vehicle for uninhibited goofiness. There’s over-the-top product placement, gleeful lesbian innuendo, and one of the VTubers even plays a phallic food-based fighting game. Occasionally there’ll be a neat twist in the storyboard, such as a character pushing the previous frame off camera in order to mark a scene change, but there aren’t enough of these moments to equal the chaos of the script. That mismatch makes it hard for me to recommend VTuber Legend, but then again, my opinion of this show is the last one you should ever consider.
Potential: 10%

Lenlo: Unlike Wooper, I’m rather familiar with the VTuber space. I even have an Oshi, Dokibird for indie and Korone for Hololive. So I have a pretty good idea of what VTuber Legend was going for, and you know what? I think it pulled it off. One of the funnest parts of watching VTubers is that slow descent from their on-screen personality back to their real one, where the Seisou falls away and you get to see who they really are as they become more comfortable streaming. VTuber Legend speedran that a bit with the whole “falling asleep on stream” thing, but that’s happened to actual VTubers as well so it’s hardly unrealistic. Basically, as far as the VTuber side of things goes, VTuber Legend was solid and did a good job showing off the culture, the tech, the attitude, all of that. As for our lead, Awayuki, she reminds me of Houshou Marine quite a bit, enough that I think any Marine fans in the audience will have a good time watching her. She has a foul mouth, drinks, makes lewd jokes, she’s un-Seisou in basically every way. Personally this isn’t my style of humor, Marine is fun but I can’t watch her or her clips for any extended length of time and that carries for Awayuki as well, but I could see a lot of people enjoying this. If you like VTubers and want a weekly comedy show, I think VTuber Legend is a shockingly solid choice.
Potential: 30%

Dungeon no Naka no Hito

Short Synopsis: A hotshot thief breaks into a dungeon, only to end up joining its staff.

Amun: I’m way more optimistic than Lenlo below, but I do agree with a confusing target demographic. With such simple character designs, a more visually stimulating series is a bit out of the question – but they still insisted on several beheadings. Not entirely sure about that. However, I’m a bit more sold on the dynamic between the very serious thief girl and the overpowered, happy-go-lucky dungeon boss. I think this ends up being a cutesy – and a bit stabby – working under unique circumstances. Hey if Dungeon Meshi managed to do a fantasy cooking show (yes, I’m aware Restaurant to Another World exists), why can’t we have an everyday workplace in a dungeon? All in all, I’m going to stick around for a few more at least.
Potential: 45%

Lenlo: I’m really not sure who this show is aimed at. It’s not cute or wholesome enough for the relaxed Slice of Life crowd, there’s too much blood and combat for that. Yet at the same time said action is mediocre and dull, with an emotionless cutesy moe girl doing voice over. This may just be a case of first-episode confusion while the series figures itself out, as the second half tries to transition to a more cutesy managerial depiction of a dungeon where the monsters are employees and this is all put on for the adventurers. This is probably more up the SoL folks alley, but will definitely turn off those looking for more adventurous fantasy fare. Personally, I thought it was rather dull and neither of the characters were all that interesting. Suffice to say, I’m going to have to pass here.
Potential: 0%

Oshi no Ko S2

Short Synopsis: Aqua attends the first several rehearsals for “Tokyo Blade,” the stage play in which he was recently cast.

Wooper: I watched all of Oshi no Ko’s first season and came away viewing it as junk food – a purported deep dive into Japan’s entertainment industry that was really just a pulpy teen drama. As an anime-only viewer, I’ve got no way of knowing whether this season might change that opinion, but it’s off to a pretty good start after this episode. Most of it takes place in a single room – a rehearsal space for the cast of the stage play around which this season will revolve – qualifying it for the “bottle episode” label. Assistant director Kuniyasu Nishina got the most out of this limited setting, however, dimming the backgrounds with different brightness levels to bring out the characters’ line readings, and even representing a particular clash of wills with metaphorical paint being splattered on the walls (which put me in mind of the Araragi vs Suruga fight from Bakemonogatari). The laser focus on acting, and on several of the performers’ different approaches to the trade, actually gave the series a bit of an ‘inside baseball’ feel – more so than in 2023, anyway – and the last-minute request from the in-universe source material’s author poses a complication that ought to help the show stay on track. All in all, having seen this season premiere, I’m more interested in continuing with Oshi no Ko this year than I thought I’d be.
Potential: 70%

Mario: Oshi no Ko picks up right where it left last season (as if “episode 12” wasn’t a clear indication), meaning that if you are new to this parade, you’re most likely lost amongst its big cast. For the rest of us, this new season will be focusing on the “2.5D play,” which is apparently an adaptation of a popular manga, and is very much within its DNA. We get the “inside knowledge” of the production of a stage play where the cast rehearses for their parts, the staff members who rationalize their artistic choices… but what I find unusual is that Aqua is not necessarily the main focus here. We hear his monologues, but so far he’s removed from the stage production itself. Instead we learn more about it through the people around him, especially his “girlfriend” Akane. This is pretty much a setup episode, but it does provide a good cliffhanger at the end, so I’m sure to tune in for the next episode (my guess is that the author wants to kill the main love interest and bring Akane’s character to the forefront).
Potential: 40%

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian

Short Synopsis: A beautiful student council member and her otaku seatmate flirt with each other.

Wooper: Alya-san is such blatant nerd bait that the “too old for this shit” part of me wants to dismiss it out of hand, but honestly, it isn’t that bad. In fact, before we got to the part where the Russian hottie asked her classmate to slide her thigh high sock up her leg, I was ready to label it ‘kind of good.’ The premise of her smugly flirting with him in a language that he can’t admit he understands is a good one, since it gives incomplete power to both characters, and though the protagonist is a Literally Me redditor-type, he’s also normal enough to refer to an attractive classmate as a friend without stuttering about it. There are a couple good gags in here (e.g. an ikemen’s phone slipping from his hand due to shock, then pausing in midair before falling to the ground), and the character animation is more polished than I expected. Eventually, though, you reach the scene where the main dude’s hand brushes against the cute girl’s crotch while he puts on her sock, and though the show carried on from there without missing a beat, that was the point where I pulled the cord to get off at the next stop. Still, if you’re looking for a light ecchi romcom this season, you should probably be watching this.
Potential: 40%

Lenlo: Wooper basically has the right of it, as far as ecchi romcoms go you could do a lot worse than Alya. While I can’t speak to the quality of the Russian, it is an interesting hook and leads to some pretty cute interactions. That plus the MC being a generally well adjusted human, capable of holding a conversation without melting into himself, does a lot to make Alya watchable. Does that make Alya good? Not really, not for me at least, as it’s still pretty trashy and fetishy with stuff like the leggings and the crotch touch. The blatant love-triangle being setup with the other girl, Suou, doesn’t do much for me either as I’d much prefer this be a wholesome and straightforward romance. If romcoms are what you’re looking for, you should probably give Alya a shot, as it definitely stands out against the normal romcom fare. If that isn’t your genre though, nothing about Alya is going to change your mind.
Potential: 30%

Shinmai Ossan Bouken-sha…

Short Synopsis: Apparently 30 years old is middle age, and also too old to be an adventurer. Unless you were trained by super adventurers and are basically Saitama from One Punch Man.

Amun: I get it if this show isn’t for you. In fact, you’ll probably need to have experienced a very specific set of circumstances to appreciate this show: being a part of a group who is significantly more skilled than you at something. I’ve had the (dis)pleasure of this experience: you really do end up with a confused sense of normal. Shinmai Ossan does a surprisingly good job of conveying that confusion when you encounter someone who is “normal” to the rest of the world. The frustration and anxiety that comes from not being able to measure up against your peers, who are beyond exceptional, comes across quite well here. Also, what’s with calling 30 old…first Kaiju No. 8, now this show. I must admit, I do enjoy having an old man in a young man’s game – it makes for a nice gimmick. Now, the animation isn’t top shelf, and the character designs look a little dated, but I quite enjoy the premise, so I’ll be sticking around for a while.
Potential: If you like the shtick, 70%. If not, 10%.

Mario: I reckon that this episode can resonate to most late-bloomers out there (myself included) – whether it’s is your career or hobby, the show suggests that it is never too late to turn over a new leaf for what you really care about. I just wish that they handle all the other parts surrounding that message a bit better. The whole premise boils down to a one-liner joke – that he’s OP despite his age and his stats – and it gets stale even before the episode ends. The writing is clumsy – remember the duel where they have to give one “condition”? Well, they kinda forget it here partway. Our main guy is as bland as white paper and as thick as the slime bag he punches… I suppose that the show will get more straightforward as it goes, i.e. this elite group will save the world with him as the main contributor, but that would also kind of defeat this show’s very premise.
Potential: 10% (can confirm I do not like the shtick)