Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 2

Short Synopsis: A grade schooler tries to embarrass the girl sitting next to him in class.

Amun’s review:

First of all, this show is more difficult than the others to watch this season – so take that as you will. The first episode picks right back up where the previous season left off – that wonderful age where girls always just seem to be one step ahead of their male companions. The gimmicks and the characters are still great, with always the hint of romance, but I remember one of the issues I had in the previous season – the format is just too long. This should be aired as separate shorts, instead of putting several of them into one 20 minute odd episode. It’s hard to maintain interest through all 3 stories per episode, at least for me. Still, I’ll probably watch this and skip through segments I feel are going nowhere.

Potential: 40%

Mario’s review:

There is a certain charm Takagi-san the series that I always come back for more. “Charming” is indeed the magic word here, as under the cute bickering between our duo (in which they have an incredible chemistry together), we can see what their feelings lie beneath. It might be a roundabout way to express their feelings to each other, but like the old saying it’s the journey that worth it. The repetitive nature is not much of an issue for me, since we follow these short stories through Nishikata’s headspace, and he’s always interesting to follow. It falters a but when it focuses on the other three girls, which for me lacks the charms and the humor from the main duo. Overall, you know exactly what to expect here so if you enjoy the first season well enough then by all means, this season will be a treat to watch.

Potential: 50%

BEM

Short Synopsis: Demoted, idealistic cop encounters monsters while adjusting to a new city.

Armitage’s review:

So, to keep up with the trend, we have our yearly 50th anniversary project (Megalo Box and Gegege no Kitaro the year before). Though, in retrospect, BEM has more in common with the latter. We have our lead characters, fighting off yokai who dwell among us mere mortals for the good of all humanity, much like Kitaro, although this show doesn’t even come close to the same level of polish as that ratings juggernaut. Everything’s grim-dark (more literally than figuratively). The animation’s fairly passable but character designs for the yokai looks very jagged. Those of the main characters look pretty stylish, though. Maybe the source material’s strengths can be banked upon to deliver a solid narrative over the coming weeks but as of now, this looks like your everyday monster-of-the-week anime with some gritty dark overtones thrown in for good measure. Don’t expect anything more and you should have a decent time with it. If you like the concept, and wish to be absolutely blown away by its execution, go watch Kitaro.

Potential: 30%

Amun’s review:

Apparently this is the latest of many adaptations of BEM, the story of 3 vigilante demi-humans. The first episode had…a very large bridge, lots of shadows, quite a bit of jazz, a naive cop, gratuitous violence, and anime New York City. And monsters – pretty powerful, but not overly imaginative (they seem to have elemental affinities). With obvious overtones of injustice and class divides, BEM could conceivably turn into an action show plus social commentary…not a great combination. I feel this is going to be a supernatural take on Gangsta – which might not be a terrible thing. However, if you’re expecting something more upbeat like Battlefront Blockade, this is probably not the show for you. If you’re into urban, gory shows (and jazz…so much jazz) that make you feel good when the opulent overlords inevitably get what their nefarious schemes deserve at the cost of some minor character’s life or a major character’s appendage – watch this one.

Potential: 33%

Given

Short Synopsis: Chancing upon an encounter with a doe-eyed boy his age, a teenage guitarist find his love for music once again.

Armitage’s review:

I can see why this is undeservedly flying under the radar for most people. The core demographic for this show (those unfamiliar with the manga, which is outstanding) comprised of two kinds of viewers. The ones who were wishing for a Free: Rock Band Edition, with pretty boys having glistening abs locked up in a music room. And the ones who expected this to be an all-out music themed story. First of all, to clear the air, Yes. It’s a Shounen-Ai anime so there are bound to be pretty boys being awkward around each other and stealing the occasional side glance. But, if done right, it can turn into a highly compelling story like the Classmates movie which came out a couple of years back. And the kind of story Given tries to tell is a very compelling character-driven drama with music serving as a subplot.

It’s about Uenoyama and his attempts at finding his passion in life once again. It’s about Mafuyu, who from the moment he heard a guitar strum just felt completely enamored by its sound. And It’s about the journey that these two will take, breaking down each other’s defenses and growing as people, together. And as someone who is familiar with the source material, I can say that Lerche has done a solid job adapting the manga. The backgrounds aren’t lush or highly detailed but the character art stands out, giving the pivotal scenes the vibrancy they needed. Hearing these precious boys talk was a joy in itself. No complaints on the voice acting front. And, boy! That instrumental band performance was the highlight of the episode. The sound design was absolutely stellar; each instrument sounded very real and the entire showcase and made me reminiscent of Kids on the Slope. Whether Given is able to stand toe-to-toe with that series is something which will only be revealed over time. But the premiere has given (ha!) me high hopes.

Potential: 80%

Mario’s review:

Given is a show of two halves for me. When it focuses on the lead guy Uenoyama, it delivers with solid characterization and the guy has enough complexity for us to care: he finds himself losing the sparks of playing guitar, and finds that sparks in the new guy. It helps that every subplot around him is pretty good as well: he has a natural chemistry with his older sister, he has a band in which the bandmates serve as a nice supporting roles. But when it comes to the other “lost-puppy” character I am almost put off by it. I don’t know how anyone can find him remotely interesting since his head is over cloud 9 all the time. The production, aside from weird smoke effect at the end, is much better than I expected. The use of color and how they put characters into frame strengthen the mood of those scenes, and there’s an attention to guitar sound, which is gonna be key elements for the show going forward. So basically how Given handles that Satou character will be a make-or-break factor for me.

Potential: 50%

Okaasan Online

Short Synopsis: An ungrateful teenage boy and his doting mother are summoned into an MMORPG.

Wooper’s review:

Okaasan Online gives you exactly what it says on the tin: an RPG-themed story about moms. The white-pupiled character designs remind me of the protagonist from Net-juu no Susume, though that series aimed a bit deeper than this one. I feel confident in making that judgment after just one episode, because this show is pretty fetishistic at its core. The mom character is youthful, buxom, and freakishly supportive of her child. She says stuff like, “Look at how cool you’re acting!” and “I’ve discovered a new side of my son!” without the slightest hint of irony. As he’s being sucked into the game world, the main character even hopes that when he returns, he can be “more honest” with his mother. Gee, I wonder what that’s supposed to mean? The twist, which is also the show’s one redeeming feature, is that she’s far more powerful than her son in-game, which will probably lead to his humiliation in future episodes. Their immediate goal is to recruit a bunch of hot female party members for him to flirt with, but with his mom around to accidentally blue-ball him at every turn, this fanservice series might end up a half-decent comedy.

Potential: 25%

Lenlo’s review:

What is with anime, or Japan in general I guess, and fetishizing the family? I like a hot girl just as much as the next guy. But there are certain territories that are off limits, such as “sister” and “mother” and “family members”. Basically, as Wooper was saying, there is a whole lot of mother/son subtext going on and I don’t care for it. It’s an ecchi rpg isekai like series. That’s like… all of my negative tick boxes excluding loli. The only thing it has going for it is the comedy aspect that comes with ecchi series. Which this one has a bit of a twist on with, as Wooper said, the mother blue-balling her son. That at least is novel! However, comedy isn’t exactly my genre. So if it’s yours, this might end up being worth your time. For me though I have so many other things to watch this season, that Okaasan just isn’t even on my radar.

Potential: 5%

Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka II

Short Synopsis: A white haired boy finds love and adventure in a mysterious world called “Dungeon.”

Amun’s review:

1,476 days ago, I last saw the adventures of white haired Bell Cranel and Hestia the short, stacked goddess. DanMachi S2 Episode 1 had the accumulated expectations from the past 5 years to assuage us fans that our patience would be rewarded (I do not accept the existence of the spinoff show as canon, by the way). From episode 1, I can safely say…it’s been worth it.

One of my major concerns was where the series will go – will they continue the MMORPG progression raiding or will they introduce new characters and complications? From the looks of it, the latter. However, instead of the normal character creep that sets into these shows (think Fairy Tail), DanMachi – at least in their first episode back – has done a great job of clearly defining the conflicts, the goods and the bads, and bringing in a balanced mix of familiar side characters and fresh blood. With a surprising amount of relationship progression, nice fighting scenes to remind you this is an adventure show, and a quick tour of all our old friends, DanMachi is back with a bang. Wave your ribbons, fire your firebolts, splatter your minotaurs – the Dungeon is back!

Potential: 10000000%

Helghast’s review:

I watched DanMachi when it first came out and I wasn’t impressed by it at all as it was an amalgamation of every single stereotypical trope of the anime industry. It looked nice but it might as well be an isekai given the video game-like fantasy world with its RPG mechanics, shallow and pedantic characters and a massive amount of fanservice. There are the goddesses that fight over each other like teenage girls in high school and another one that just screams out just how all the little adventurers would enjoy being stepped on by her.

I suppose the best moment in the whole episode was how Bell and the Sword Princess ended up dancing courtesy of Hermes being a completely boss of a wingman. Ais still has the personality of a cardboard cereal box but that was probably the nicest moment between the two characters. It all comes down in the end as the next main conflict gets set up between the Apollo familia and Hesita in an overly dramatic reveal filled with rapey vibes that only emphasizes just how comically bad our new villains are. I’m not a betting man but I’m pretty sure who is going to be the winner in the war games and how Apollo will deservedly get the beatdown that is coming to him.

It’s animated decently enough and you can really see where J.C. Staff focused their efforts on instead of bothering with One Punch Man Season 2. If you into shows like DanMachi then you don’t need me to tell you to go watch it, but for the rest of us, season two isn’t going to change your mind in the slightest.

Potential: 34.5%