Author: SuperWooper

Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasareta node, Henkyou de Slow Life suru Koto ni Shimashita

Short Synopsis: I Was Kicked out of the Brave Man’s Party Because I Wasn’t a True Companion so I Decided to Have a Slow Life at the Frontier.

Amun: Ho hum, another silly show that’s put the synopsis as the title. And they messed up the translation of “hero” to “brave man”, although it’s clearly a woman? Ha! This is probably going to be terrible. Wait…wait a second. Wait…that wasn’t too bad. Huh…the animation wasn’t terrible. There was a hint of nuance to the characters’ backstories. There are some interesting character dynamics that aren’t completely romantic. It’s not an isekai?! The owl-bear is a fun monster design?!! Hold on lads, this is not a drill – we might have a real show on our hands! Oh, here comes the main girl – never mind, false alarm. In all seriousness, this was not a bad opening episode, considering some of the major duds we’ve had recently (Tatoeba Last Dungeon comes to mind). I’m pretty interested, especially considering the emotional baggage and constraints put on the main character. Most of the red flags I’m seeing come from the OP/ED, and that’s not a surefire judge of how a show will progress (I mean, if you judged Vanitas from the OP, you’d be beyond puzzled at the show itself). I guess the premise sounds so flat on paper, that I’m going to be skeptical the whole season until it proves me wrong. Which it very well could do. I’m saying there is exactly a 50% chance of this being watchable and 50% chance of me dropping it next week.

Potential: 50.000%

Lenlo: A title that’s basically your synopsis? Check. Fantasy world? Check. Opening info dump about a demon lord? Check. Adventuring guild system with maid outfits, massive tits and ranks? Check. Class based power system rather than any kind of meaningful granularity? Check. MC with a “unique” blessing that makes them OP in their own way? Check. That same bog standard “SAO Lite” visual style? Check. A harem? Not confirmed but clearly in the works. Everything about this show just screams unimaginative Light Novel adaptation. Oh sure the basic idea of your overpowered starting companion getting outscaled and kicked out is fine enough. It’s a nice premise for a short story! But between the title and this being a Light Novel I’m not expecting this to grow or do anything interesting whatsoever. It’s a premise created to hook you in early and then go absolutely nowhere. If that’s your thing, if you just want some probably wholesome popcorn entertainment, then have at. But for me this is a pass.

Potential: 20%

Muv-Luv Alternative

Short Synopsis: 36 million Japanese citizens are wiped out in an alien invasion.

Wooper: I’m not a visual novel guy, so I had no idea what Muv-Luv Alternative was about before watching. I still don’t know how the story will progress after having seen it, since the premiere was a giant prologue – one that focused far more on setting and action than on character. But I’m okay with that, because the first episode is all I’m likely to watch, and it surely succeeded on its own terms. Gruesome aliens storm a major human settlement and kill everything in sight while mecha pilots offer feeble resistance – that’s the direction we got here, and though my lack of connection to the cast prevented me from feeling horrified, I did find myself thinking, “They actually went there?” at several points. Hundreds of civilians were slaughtered after their shelter was breached. Diminutive nutsack monsters fired laser beams from their eyes. The boring male lead seemed to drown in monster acid while trapped in a cockpit (though the post-credits teaser indicated that he’s still alive 25 years in the future). The CG was rough, but there’s no way you can animate alien hordes using traditional methods in 2021 when even background actors are commonly rendered in 3D. By the end of the episode, I believed in the bleakness of this alternative history – I just have no interest in seeing what comes next.

Potential: 30%

Lenlo: Ah the second dystopian “mecha” series of the season. Where Eighty Six is gunning for a “nuanced” political drama where the real enemy is your fellow man, Muv-Luv is more your standard “Faceless, nameless, unknowable entity whom you can’t talk to”. It’s all about unbeatable odds, giant monsters and over the top brutal deaths. Oh and skintight, form-fitting outfits. We can’t forget about those. And I have to say… the comparison isn’t favorable for Muv-Luv. Even on a purely visual level Muv-Luv’s rough CGI, boorish backgrounds and early 2000’s designs simply can’t compare to its competitors. Meanwhile on the story side it’s exactly as Wooper said: I don’t know or care about any of these people. Yeah the world sucks… but so does the show so why should I give a damn? Fact is, there are better mecha series within Muv-Luv’s own franchise, not to mention anime as a whole. This one is a pretty easy pass for me.

Potential: 0%

Puraore! Pride of Orange

Short Synopsis: A middle school embroidery club signs up for a day of ice hockey training, thus beginning their journey to represent Japan in the Women’s World Cup.

Lenlo: Pardon my language but… What the fuck. First you try to make a series about hockey but choose the version of the sport where the players aren’t allowed to body check each other into the wall at 20 miles per hour. Then you open on the absolute fantasy of Japan beating CANADA of all countries at the World Cup of Hockey, something I don’t think Japan has ever even been to. Then it turns the whole thing into an idol performance on stage! Just… Just picking a fucking genre! Sports, Idol, CGDCT, I don’t care! Just pick one and focus on it! But no. Puraore tries to go for all of them at once and in doing so fails to achieve any of them. I imagine even CGDCT fans will want to give this show a pass.

Potential: 0%

Wooper: Pride of Orange’s dialogue is some of the worst that I’ve read this year. Here are some snippets: “The bonds of our hearts connect the puck!” “Nothing says ‘springtime of youth’ like sweat and sports!” And, talking about an embroidery club: “We all share a common thread!” These are just the tip of Puraore’s iceberg of cheese, and the rest of the show is no better. I thought we might be in for a decent Cute Girls Playing Cute Sports series after the opening scene, a solidly animated flashforward to the team’s appearance at the World Cup, but then came the subsequent Idols on Ice performance, and it was all downhill from there. Back in the present, the main characters don’t even have broad archetypes to fall back on, as they all fit into the same impossibly optimistic bucket. One is a little shy, though, so whoever drafted her personality must have woken up for a couple minutes during his high school lit teacher’s lesson on characterization (then gone back to sleep for the rest of the year). Anime blogger Scamp tags these sorts of shows “girls being insufferably nice to each other,” and I can’t imagine a better phrase – emphasis on “insufferably” in this show’s case.

Potential: 0%

Takt Op. Destiny

Short Synopsis: Emo Arima Kousei and Loli Zero Two save the world with the power of music.

Armitage: Damn. This came out as such a pleasant surprise. The show had completely flown under my radar and I walked into this premiere expecting some generic music plot. Which admittedly, this still has. But it makes up for that in the sumptuous sakuga cuts it throws at you every once in a while. While this is a collaboration between Madhouse and MAPPA, the art style is very reminiscent of A1 pictures with crisp backgrounds and some tasty lookin’ treats. But, really, you’re here for the fight scenes and they do look especially glorious. Though, it’s not just these that look good, basically every time an object on screen so much as moves, it does so with a lot of flair and style. And in general, Takt Op. Destiny is a show that oozes style from every pore. I only hope it can deliver a semi-interesting plot to accompany all the sakuga. But hey, if nothing else, we will be getting a crap ton of gifs featuring Zero Two Lite eating stuff. I know there’s a real audience for that sort of thing.

Potential: 70%

Mario: I really hope that Takt Op didn’t spend all their effort on this first episode because santa mozzarella, I didn’t expect the production to be this solid. Not only does the animation know how to shine when it counts, but also the great eye for composition makes this show look appealing all the time. The show is confident enough that it uses 3 different art styles in this premiere and somehow they all work in contribution to its themes. The story still feels generic, however. It’s a basic “human vs monsters” battle so far and the moment it starts to explain why the monsters are attracted to music, it falls flat. This is a kind of concept that you just roll with and don’t try to make sense of. It also introduces 3 oddball main characters, and personally I feel that how well you like the dynamic between them will determine how much you get out of this show in the long run. I don’t mind them so far but they are in need of more characterization and depth to make us care more about them. As far as the first episode goes, though, I’m more than pleased with what we have. Takt Op rocks & rolls!

Potential: 60%

Sekai Saikou no Ansatsusha,
Isekai Kizoku ni Tensei suru

Short Synopsis: It’s right there in the title.

Mario: So far, Ansatsusha is a bundle of some amusing ideas wrapped up in isekai’s tired tropes. It’s such a fan-bait move to include these tropes in there, because many of them don’t need to be in this show. They could exclude the Goddess, for example, and nothing of importance would be lost. The concept of the MC carrying his assassin job to the other world is interesting, and they do spend a good deal of time showing his present life and worldview before sending him to this fantasy world. Interestingly, the LN is written by the same dude who wrote “Redo of Healer” (one of the most mean-spirited and worst shows in this genre), and in some ways this one carries the same nihilistic point of view. This is the cold world(s) of betrayal and its main attitude is “don’t believe in anyone.” So far it hasn’t raised any red flags like Redo of Healer did, but I’m nervous considering the author. The production is actually above-average, but the premise invites plenty of mind games, lots of fanservice and other genre trappings. So proceed with caution.

Potential: 20%

Amun: This OP coincides nicely with the release of the latest James Bond! In my book, this was a great first episode – especially when compared against a similar story from last season’s “The Detective is Already Dead”. High production quality, nice introduction teasers to our main cast, great backstory development, simple explanation of world rules – this is the premiere every isekai should want. Sure, there’s some service, but that’s par for the course. I previewed this series, so I have some minor understanding of where the story goes from here, and I don’t fully share Mario’s concerns. I hated Redo of a Healer with a passion (that author needs help), but Ansatsusha didn’t feel quite as mean-spirited or sadistic in the small sampling I saw. I could be wrong, as the anime has already jumped around a little, so maybe some rougher stories will be adapted this season. Until then, this is probably my dark horse of the season, and I’m looking forward to baby assassin! At least he’s just a murderer this time, not a pedo.

Potential: 75%

Shinka no Mi: Shiranai
Uchi ni Kachigumi Jinsei

Short Synopsis: Monke Isekai.

Wooper: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A high school class gets transported to a fantasy world with video game mechanics, but the main character gets separated from his peers, uses his Appraisal skill to level up, and… Oh, you have heard this one before? Nevermind then.

Potential: 0%

Armitage: I brought this upon myself by asking to get the new Digimon show swapped for something else more critiqueable and believe it or not, this looked like the ‘best’ choice out of all the options. But yeah, you know how this is gonna go: Generic loser MC gets drooled over by naked women out of his league, is laughably underpowered but levels up to be the baddest, kills monkeys using his body odour. Same old, same old. If this is your jam, have at it. I’d rather have my bread without any spread instead, especially when I am running late to school.

Potential: 0%

Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu

Short Synopsis: White guy turns to sand when touched by a bishounen.

Armitage: Madhouse used to be my favorite anime studio just a little more than half a decade ago. The sheer number of classics that this one production house has developed over time still to this day, remains unmatched. Though, in recent years, the quality of their projects has started to dwindle and their output has become something I haven’t been able to enjoy as much as I would like. Sadly, that still holds true for both of their most recent series, last season’s Sonny Boy and the vampire slapstick-comedy that is Kyuuketsuki. The fact that this is directed by Hiroshi Koujina, the director of my favorite anime of all-time: Hunter x Hunter 2011, marking his grand return to the medium after 7 years had me really looking forward to it. But it crushes my heart to say that I just don’t like it. Kyuuketsuki is supposed to be a deconstructive comedy of vampire tropes but it doesn’t work quite as well as Vanitas and sadly, unlike that series the comedy is all this show has going for. All its humor is just loud slapstick hijinks which admittedly did get a few smiles out of me at points but it all started to wear out halfway into the episode. The one positive is definitely the opening song, which is quite catchy albeit trying a little hard to capture the magic of Death Parade’s OP. Anywho, I will still be watching it because it’s Koujina but man, I’m afraid by the end, this would be adding to the long list of amusing-enough-to-justify-their-existence vampire anime rather than joining the handful of elite titles in that subgenre.

Potential: 30%

Amun: I like vampire shows. I like Hiroshi Koujina (HxH 2011 as Armi says). I usually like Madhouse. I even like the opening song. But Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu isn’t great. Instead of comparisons to Vanitas, I would say the most analogous show is Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle. Kyuuketsuki falls flat in introducing a truly unloveable duo of hunter and hunted – duos like this should look to Mob Psycho and have at least one character be a “good guy.” Sleepy Princess really was a Princess vs. Environment (and the demons in it), so it wasn’t as much of a bitter personal battle, like we see in Kyuuketsuki. In Sleepy Princess you could cheer for the princess while still feeling sympathy for her poor captors – Kyuuketsuki, I wanted all the characters to turn to dust, not just the vampire. Even the best joke of the episode made me wince a bit (the gold-digger). This is just shout-for-laughs and cringe humour – I’m out.

Potential: 15%

Sankaku Mado no Sotogawa wa Yoru

Short Synopsis: A spiritually sensitive bookseller takes on a part time job alongside a socially inept exorcist.

Wooper: For a show about two hot guys engaging in erotic exorcisms, this show looks ugly as hell. The animation is serviceable and the character designs are pretty, so no issues there – it’s the color adjustment that really put me off. We’re not dealing with GoHands levels of filtering, but a large portion of scenes have slight blue or yellow tints to them, which matches the ghost vision of main character Mikado. Just because a visual decision has a clear purpose doesn’t mean it’s always a good idea, though – this show is proof of that. There’s a severe lack of imagination in the way the series is shot, as well: a lot of closeups of characters in center frame, rooms that seem as though they were generated with interior design software, an abandoned apartment whose dingy look was created simply by adjusting a contrast slider. In a sentence, it’s boring to look at. As far as the characters go, the fetishism of the main duo’s exorcism technique hardly requires commentary – let’s just say that biting and licking are sometimes involved. But it doesn’t reach the level of offensive tropeyness, which means there’s still one reason to watch: Hiyakawa’s dramatic consumption of a spirit’s heart near the end, which raises questions about his true nature. I wouldn’t recommend Sankaku Mado to anyone who’s not already a member of the Supernatural BL Fan Club, but it won’t go down as fall’s worst premiere.

Potential: 15%

Lenlo: Oh yay, bad BL, just what I wanted out of the season. This show was just uncomfortable to watch. Not in the ecchi way where you don’t want to get caught on the train or something, ok well maybe a little. More in the “This isn’t entirely consensual” way. That aside though the rest of the show is just mediocre. Wooper explains the visual issues well enough and I agree with all of them. Top that off with BL tropes, an uninteresting mystery and characters that exist purely to fulfill the Seme/Uke slots in a relationship. Wooper is right that it’s probably not the worst of the season. But I have absolutely 0 desire to watch more of it.

Potential: 0%

Kyoukai Senki

Short Synopsis: A war orphan gets in the robot and pushes back against an occupying army in mid-21st century Japan.

Mario: In the same season that features 86, Kyoukai Senki carries over many of that show’s main spirits: the political undertones, the power of the repressed, the mecha in disguise and the subtlety of a hand grenade. To be frank, while the premiere never raises above average marks, I had fun watching it. I can get behind the main concept of the near future where Japan is split and there’s repression everywhere (although the show didn’t sell me at all on these poor citizen’s condition – as far as I can see the MC has a neat place to live and has food on the table, a far cry from their self-description as poor and hopeless). The lead is likeable enough, and his bond with the talkative AI is the main focus of this episode – a right choice for us to stay invested in them. Moreover, it’s the good old school 2D mecha and the fights that are frankly a breath of fresh air (so strange to use these words) now. Yes, Kyoukai Senki’s individual elements remind you of other (possibly better) shows, but so far it maintains its own beat and for me that is good enough.

Potential: 40%

Wooper: The phrase “I don’t like mecha except for Gurren Lagann” is a quick way to spot an anime casual, but there’s a reason for its proliferation: Gurren Lagann was fearless in breaking from the Gundam mold, which so many other titles stick to like glue. (TTGL took plenty of inspiration from elsewhere, but that’s another topic altogether.) Kyoukai Senki is one of the dozens of giant robot series still stuck in Yoshiyuki Tomino’s shadow, and I’m not so hungry for a new mecha series that I’m willing to overlook its slavish duplication of his work. From the corrupt military officers to the main mech’s operating system to the series’ bizarre naming sense, so much of this episode is pulled straight from the Gundam playbook, and it’s kind of hard to endure. Sunrise’s dedication to the series is clear given its traditionally animated robots, and some of the background art was nice (especially during the narrated prologue at the start). But I can’t overlook all the things Kyoukai Senki lacks – character, originality, a sense of fun – just for one or two hand-drawn mecha fights each week.

Potential: 25%

Eighty-Six S2

Short Synopsis: Five survivors of genocide find themselves in a new country while the woman who once guided them plans to change her own.

Lenlo: First up to all the doubters or critique-ers from my first review: I WAS RIGHT. Those of you who read it know what I’m talking about. Personal victories aside, this premiere was alright. It’s picking up right where we left off with the same team and all the same strengths and weaknesses of the first season. The show is pretty, the shots and direction are good and the narrative is pretty straight forward. I am a bit interested in this new Republic and its President that we’ve met, I think Eighty Six could do some fun stuff juxtaposing that with Lena’s nation, assuming it doesn’t paint it as a black and white, good vs evil sort of thing. I don’t think it will though, as the President seems to have his darker secrets. Whatever the case, the first season of Eighty Six was fun, so I’m expecting the second to be too.

Potential: 60%

Wooper: I caught up with the last few episodes of 86’s first season recently, and my expectations for S2 had actually risen by the end. The deftly-handled time jumps that left the audience to situate themselves in the story, the beautiful opening minutes of episode 10, the effective cliffhanger of the finale… They had me looking forward to this new cour. Did its premiere live up to my expectations? Of course not, but it didn’t fall too far outside of them, either.

86 is back on its “subtlety is death” bullshit, with the ultra-racist military drunks at HQ making a repeat appearance that was almost endearing in its clumsiness. They made sure to comment on Lena’s hair and uniform, too, in case there were any blind viewers in the audience. I did like one scene set in San Magnolia, where General Karlstahl silently noted Lena’s closeness with Annette (who probably won’t escape this season alive based on that tipoff), but the bulk of the cool stuff happened in the Giad Federation, where the Eighty-Sixers found themselves embroiled in a new political bog. President Ernst was about as convincing as a Gucci street vendor in his diplomatic friendliness – the show even put stark two-tone lighting on his face in one scene – but whatever’s happening with the child empress and Giad’s squabbling military chiefs could bear some interesting fruit in the coming months. 86 is talking down to its viewership once again, but judging by its runaway success, it’s also speaking their language, so I can’t fault it.

Potential: 50%

Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu

Short Synopsis: Alternate USSR doesn’t want a PR nightmare of having a human cosmonaut die going to space, so they do the logical thing…and send a vampire.

Amun: For a show with such a meme premise, Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu played the first episode straight. The biggest takeaway I got was…this is going to be a pretty standard, one season anime. Wide-eyed human and cold-hearted vampire train, grow closer, some political nonsense, “you’ve gotten too close”, disaster, blah blah, cute science girl, whatever. I wouldn’t say we’ve seen this exact iteration, but we’ve seen all these ideas played out before (plus if you want that secondhand guilt about exploiting minority groups, go watch 86). Nosferatu doesn’t look bad, and it doesn’t seem like it’ll be adapted badly, it’s just…I don’t really see anything special that’ll go the distance. I think the astronaut otakus who are particularly interested in the Soviet Union era space race will be enthralled, but us casuals will probably bail out halfway.

Potential: 45%

Wooper: I’ve liked all of the astronaut-themed anime I’ve seen – Wings of Honneamise, Planetes, and Space Brothers – so Tsuki to Laika had a leg up coming into this season, at least in my view. Unfortunately, the premiere approached its vampiric twist on the genre with a noncommittal blend of solemnity and camp that turned me off. There were some things I liked about the episode, especially Megumi Hayshibara’s halting, skeptical performance as Irina. She sounded decidedly alien, as though she’d studied human language extensively but had rarely spoken it, so hats off to the legendary seiyuu for another bullseye performance. I thought Lev’s character was flat by comparison, like a far less personable Jinto (there’s no doubt in my mind that Tsuki to Laika’s author was inspired by Crest of the Stars). Another thing I liked: the mild food fetishism of the scene where Irina tried salmon roe for the first time. Her strange eating habits emphasized both her nonhuman tendencies and Lev’s attraction to her in spite of them. Another thing I didn’t like: the lighting, which was dreadfully plain, even for a series that spends a lot of time in prison. Ultimately, I think the show’s second episode (when Irina’s astronaut training will begin in earnest) will be a far better barometer for its watchability, so I’ll give it another look next week. I’m not feeling super optimistic after this one, though.

Potential: 30%

Mushoku Tensei S2

Short Synopsis: A pedo is reincarnated and grooms a thirteen year old, as they travel with a mass murderer (who is the least morally repugnant character in this show).

Amun: I believe the rest of the authors are boycotting this series due to its unapologetic degeneracy. And I fully respect that sentiment – I just can’t deny this is a quality production, no matter how despicable the characters are. Because one episode into the new season….these tigers haven’t changed their stripes. We now have the obligatory goth loli making an appearance – is that going to be anime’s “jumping the shark”?. The animation and characters still look amazing – one subtle aspect of the character design is the growing children do look different (as they would in an actual year). It’s a small thing, but it’s well done. This is clearly a passion project – and its high quality reflects that. My complaints: aside from the despicable lead (actually most of the characters are pretty terrible come to think of it), I really don’t like “missed connections” – as the next episode is titled. That feels like a lazy plot device to me. I think this season will focus on transporting and be a primarily urban setting, but I’m hoping for more Roxy and less Eris (although she’s grown – very slightly – on me). And freaking kill anyone named Greyrat.

Potential: 69% (har har – Rudeus made me do it)

Lenlo: Amun would be correct (about the boycott, anyway).

Mieruko-chan

Short Synopsis: High school girl plays “You can’t see me” with spooky ghosts (or, perpetual poker-face screams internally.)

Amun: I don’t normally do horror – I think the only horror/guro shows I’ve seen are High School of the Dead, Shiki, and Another…true fans will probably disagree with my classifications of those. However, the first half of Mieruko-chan’s premiere played as I would expect from good horror setups: subtle tells, spooky foreshadowing, plenty of passed opportunities for jump scares. The big reveal: spot on, great stuff. It’s the falling action where I start to scratch my head a little – what is this show, really? I’m just concerned about the overall point of the story – if it ends up as an oddly specific fetish to seeing scared girls act brave, I’m out. As expected from the genre, there is some service, but it’s quite manageable; not quite what I would call tasteful, but not overboard. General verdict: pretty good start, but the overall direction of the show remains to be seen.

Potential: 55%

Armitage: In contrast to Amun above, I love all kinds of horror media. I know the tropes inside out. I also know that it’s categorically difficult to make anime come off as genuinely scary. I understand that the shlocky nature of this genre leads to crossover with giallo tropes like the fetishization of female characters. But again, in slight disagreement with Amun, I feel that this show overindulges in its perversion – a character’s boobs basically get more screen time than her face, we get a gratuitous shot of the MC taking off her underwear in a restroom and we also get a couple of crotch shots from below and behind. It’s too much, honestly. But I would still be willing to look past all that, if this show actually utilized the other half of its runtime doing what should be its main objective: scaring the viewer. And it does try but really, everything just falls so flat. The monster designs are not scary, the lighting and color palette are too bright, the setups are so generic, it all just feels like a slog that has you wishing for even a jump scare or something. Yeah, that’s how desperate I got. And would not be putting myself through more of this.

Potential: 10%

Muteking the Dancing Hero

Short Synopsis: A new kid in town transforms into a dancing hero to save Neo San Francisco from the evil Taco Tacos corporation.

Mario: Yes, Muteking is as silly as it sounds. It takes advantage of every opportunity to be over the top, be it the quirky designs, scream-until-it’s-funny humor, bizarre sense of logic, and a lead character who literally dances away evil and saves the world. Its nonsensical but bright tones remind me of series like Akiba’s Trip – dumb fun shows that match the energy of a teenage market more than the old me now. The show occasionally rises above the average when it depicts colorful backgrounds – the city Neo San Francisco looks dazzling – but it’s bogged down by the silliness of the plot and characters that are… I’ll be honest, kind of insulting to the audience. Muteking is like the first sip of a soft drink: it overwhelms you at first but only leaves you with an overly-sweet aftertaste. If you don’t mind all that, though, you’ll be fine with it.

Potential: 20%

Lenlo: Muteking is… it’s… I don’t… This is certainly a show. As a reboot of a franchise from the 80’s it makes sense why it has the energy it does. And as what is, effectively, a Tokusatsu show the tropes and structure it has are familiar. But I’m not really a fan of Tokusatsu. So while the 80’s aesthetic is nice and the wackiness is amusing I just can’t get into it. It’s like this season’s Back Arrow, a show trying to revel in absurdity to hide the fact that it doesn’t have anything else going for it. If wacky popcorn fun is your way to relax then I think this will be great for you. But for me it’s just going to be a waste of my time. The OP is pretty fire though, I’ll give it that. Absolute jam.

Potential: 20%

Tesla Note

Short Synopsis: Ninja girl trains for her whole life to become a spy and investigates Nikola Tesla’s crazy inventions.

Amun: I didn’t know anything about this show before watching the first episode, except that I really like Teslas (the cars). However, that positive word association isn’t nearly enough to carry me through this drag of a first episode. Oh look, high school ninja girl whose training to save the world (although, the best part of this episode is when she was worried her grandfather was nuts – I can’t complain just because of that). Aside from Shinigami Bocchan from last season, I don’t normally stomach 3DCGs, and Tesla Note isn’t going to add to those exceptions. What’s weird is there are some conventional background characters, but the mains are crappy 3DCG – I would have preferred it the other way around. The action is as good as it could be (some spotty animation here and there), but the plot and the characters just feel so generic, I struggled through. Pass from me.

Potential: 0%

Mario: Gosh, this thing looks abysmal, and I can totally see where the compirasion to Ex-Arm comes from. Just look at this cut to see how bad the production looks. In its defense, the show is still competent at displaying goofy facial expressions, but its 3DCG looks amateurish in every other department. The writing is not good either. As spies, the main character and her partner have James Bond levels of subtlety and Shinji levels of stubborness. As far as the plot goes, it’s mildly intriguing as they used the real figure Nikola Tesla, but it still feels generic by the end of this episode. I won’t mince words here, Tesla Note is terrible. Its story is nothing to speak of, its characters are loud and the visuals remain the “talk” of the show, albeit for a rather embarrassing reason.

Potential: 0%

Blue Period

Short Synopsis: A high-functioning delinquent falls in love for the first time.

Lenlo: If I’m being honest, I don’t think Blue Period needs or benefits from an adaptation. Oh it looks fine. So far we are getting the colors I wanted, something to set it apart from the bright moe-blobs of every season. And as Armi says below the score and VA work are nice. But in its transition to an anime Blue Period has lost what I think is one of its greatest strengths (and manga’s as a whole): Self pacing. The ability to decide how fast, or slow, you consume a story. The option to sit and linger on a single page for 10 minutes soaking in the art and narrative. And Blue Period is a series that benefits from that more than most. The way it uses art and the expressions of its characters, these things I always want to look at for minutes at a time. But I can’t do that with an anime. Instead I get the Director’s pacing, I’m forced to move through the story at a rate that I don’t necessarily like. So yeah. I like Blue Period, I think it’s an acceptable adaptation so far and that should be enough to get what is one of the stronger stories of the season across well. But I honestly recommend anyone that enjoys the anime to go read the manga afterwards, at your pace.

Potential: 70%

Armitage: On the surface, Blue Period is the kind of story we have seen every possible iteration of in all forms of media. It’s an underdog story about a guy starting from the bottom and trying to succeed against insurmountable odds. Well, that’s what the core premise would have you believe, at least. Still, Blue Period is one story that so many people who are familiar with it have the deepest connection towards and that’s because they see themselves mirrored in it. Their dreams, their aspirations, their self-doubt, their constant yearning to belong. This is a story that channels all these feelings within its narrative and it does so without a hint of pretense. There are no shounen clichés here, no overpowered protagonists and no malicious villains. Blue Period wears its heart on its sleeve but it’s also a rather erudite narrative. It is no exaggeration to say that I have learned more about artistic expression through this one series (and by researching the various concepts it introduces) than I have from all previous instances of my exposure to art, combined. So, yeah, basically this is as accomplished as modern source material for an anime can possibly get.

Which leaves us with the adaptation. And honestly, it’s pretty damn solid. See, all I wanted from this premiere was for it to just have consistent animation, art pieces that do not look uninspired, voices that fit the characters and a general color palette that feels like it understands the manga’s ethos. And we get all that. Add to that a fantastically understated background score and you have got a classic in the making.

Though, as a disclaimer for potential viewers, I would say that if the somewhat uneventful pace or its naturalistic approach to dramatic storytelling that you saw in the premiere was something you didn’t like, you might not enjoy Blue Period by the end. This is not a story that will ever get your blood pumping with exhilaration but it might just build a new home for itself along the least visited roads of your heart, if you let it.

Potential: To be what you need.

Selection Project

Short Synopsis: American Idol: Anime edition (or, The Goddess of Idol School).

Armitage: This show basically shoots itself in the foot by starting off with a first half that’s basically 200 characters thrown at the viewer without any build-up. Like really, the only thing you can get from the first 10 minutes of this premiere is that this show has pretty character designs, which is to be expected from Doga Kobo. But credit where credit is due, the actual production of Selection Project is really solid. Detailed backgrounds, great attention to detail like the smart TV connected to the tablet and an actual ‘korean heart’ symbol for the reality show’s ‘Like’ icon make the world feel modern and lived in while the impressive character animations bring the characters to life. It’s a shame that the show barely focuses on all our lead to have us make any connection to her goal of becoming an idol. Which is a shame because the scene in which she has a panic attack on screen is masterfully done without a hint of melodrama. All in all, I did see enough positives here to believe that if Selection Project can narrow down its focus to a manageable amount of characters, it can be a very watchable show.

Potential: 50%

Mario: Selection Project combines two popular formats (singing competitions and anime) into one and for me, those are the two pop culture mediums that I have spent the most time watching when I want to relax and shut down my brain. So far it’s not entirely successful – the main girl does not particularly stand out, the supporting cast is so broad that we only see their dominant (read: stock) traits so far, and the singing competition has some questionable rules. But there are two things that make Selection Project different from your normal idol show. First, Selection Project is more about individual competition than forming an idol group so the dynamic is going to be different – the cast doesn’t have to work together but sees each other more as rivals. Second, the decision to drop our lead character from the competition at the end is a welcome one, not because she won’t be back (she will), but more because the show pulls no punches on having the character experience failure and hurt. This is good enough to guarantee a second chance from me.

Potential: 30%

Isekai Shokudou 2

Short Synopsis: A blonde demon waitress begrudgingly shares some leftover corn potage after a hard day’s work.

Wooper: I’d only seen the first episode of Isekai Shokudou 1 before jumping into Isekai Shokudou 2, so you’ll have to pardon me if I’m missing some critical lore, but this premiere was just as average as the first. That’s not a damning indictment or anything (more than half of anime are well below average, in direct violation of mathematical principles), but given the concept behind the series, it could aim a lot higher. Imagine a version of this show where the focus stays on the patrons at the restaurant, rather than the Goody Two-Shoes demon who works there, and over time we develop a roster of regulars who discuss current events and swap stories over delicious food. I’d love to see a more topical version of this show, or watch as a mage and a druid strike up a romance after a few dates at the restaurant, rather than listen to the show extol the virtues of cheese at multiple points per episode. I know I’m criticizing the show for what it isn’t, rather than what it is, but that’s because the show is neither good nor bad – it’s merely a competent, low-stakes fantasy series to throw on after work. It doesn’t need to be anything else, but that also means it’s not my bag.

Potential: 50%

Amun: …Wooper, you gotta watch more than the first episode if you’re going to ask for something, because that’s basically what the first season was. The mistreated demon and the dragon telepath get maybe one more episode than the other patrons, but the regulars do get the lion’s share of the focus – seeing them here four years later, I still remember all their favorite dishes. However, everything in this episode isn’t hunky dory. The animation was a little suspect, especially in the early action sequences. Isekai Shokudou has, and will always, suffer from a cast that grows exponentially. Watching someone experience commonplace human food for the first time can get old. But it’s a light hearted show that doesn’t get hung up on delusions of grandeur (looking at you, Sonny Boy) – Isekai Shokudou is the OG of the isekai small business simulators, and – in my opinion – the best.

Potential: 70%