A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School

Short Synopsis: A pathetic failure becomes the new teacher of a school for Spirits.

Mario: While I believe Youkai Gakkou can build on this concept to get to know more about each type of youkai as they open up to this new human teacher, there are many strikes against it that I don’t really see it can raise above the water. The most glaring one is the teacher himself who is just plain and uninteresting as a lead. When you introduce someone with a story of how they become shut-in after one bad first day teaching at school, while making light of that fact, you’ve done your character a big disservice. It doesn’t get much better from there since he curls up like a ball when he realizes he’s teaching a class full of youkai. The first case he gets here, about a misfortuned youkai that becomes a shut-in, is also not its best sadly. We soon learn the reasons for her not going to school is not because of any stress, bullying or social anxiety that she experiences (which in turns could be something common the teacher and she share), instead it’s just because… she plays too many games. I guess maybe like Natsume’s Book of Friends, we get an episodic chapter about these youkai, and some of them might be touching – but in a season where the actual Natsume is airing, I don’t see any reason in following this one over the much better show.
Potential: 5%

Lenlo: How do I put this… Youkai Gakkou seems to depend entirely on how much you enjoy pathetic humor. Is it funny watching a cowardly incompetent teacher be picked on/looked down on by his students? If so, you’ll probably have a decent time with it. For me though, the comedy fell short. And seeing as how the comedy is basically all this first episode has going for it, that’s not good. I imagine Youkai Gakkou has plans for more, it probably wants to do something uplifting where the teacher makes the Youkai feel normal or something while they help him become more confident. If that’s the case though, it really should have led with that and let the comedy come in later. Suffice to say, as exhausted as I am of premieres this late into the opening of the season, I’m not feeling any interest here.
Potential: 5%

Thunderbolt Fantasy S4

Short Synopsis: Season 4 of Thunderbolt Fantasy, AKA Urobuchi’s Taiwanese Puppet Show.

Lenlo: So I’m gonna be honest, I’ve never really known what is actually happening in Thunderbolt Fantasy. There’s some epic plot about swords, demon lords, spirits and shit, I honestly couldn’t tell you. As such, I can’t really talk about the story or character arcs or anything like that, because none of those are why I watch the show. No, I watch it for one thing and one thing only: Puppets. There’s nothing else quite like them in anime I feel. The exaggerated way they move, the detail in their design and fights, and the fights! Oh the fights. There’s something so fun about watching puppets fly across the screen, kicking up sand and dust with mystical powers, as they duke it out in classic wire-work martial arts film style. Can I recommend this to everyone? No, not at all. The story is nonsensical and honestly probably not very good if I’ve ignored it for 4 seasons. But if, like me, you have a strange fascination with magical puppet fights… You’ll be able to have a good time.
Potential: 50%

Mario: I’ve been following Thunderbolt Fantasy since its inception, and even more was blogging it when it first aired in 2016. Unique aesthetic – and a common question of ‘is it even anime?’ – aside, I am familiar with the wuxia convention well enough to get a real kick out of that. This show for me is Urobuchi at his most doesn’t-give-a-damn. There are larger-than-life characters, epic plots about human and devil realms and other nonsense, but they are entertaining and truly something to behold. This first episode of the supposed final season is purely set up as we track multiple groups of characters while introducing a pair of powerful underlings. So far, it’s actually our MC Shang Bu Huan who is the least interesting as he has second thoughts about his own mission. I’m sure he gets dragged along to the mess soon enough, and I’m all in for that.
Potential: 50%

Touhai: Ura Rate Mahjong Touhai Roku

Short Synopsis: Money, women, organs. Kei, a high school boy, frequents the underground mahjong parlor teeming with desires, earning him the moniker ‘K of Ice’ in the underworld due to his cold-hearted strategy and stylish gameplay. Rumors also circulate that he keeps a girl at his home.

Lenlo: Touhai suffers from the same issue as every Mahjong anime, the simply fact that no one in the west knows how to play this fucking game. And much like the Cute Girls Doing Cute Things Mahjong from a season or two ago, that really limits its reach because it doesn’t put any effort into teaching the audience how to play the game. That’s probably for the best with the Japanese market, but for me? That makes it impossible to get into. Even putting that aside though, Touhai also comes off as a poorly produced, inferior copy of Akagi, another Mahjong series but created by the Kaiji Ultimate Survivor author, someone who is far more capable of making Mahjong interesting. Combine those, the difficulty of getting into the game and the existence of multiple better criminal-based mahjong series, and I’m not really finding a compelling reason to watch this one. Maybe you’ll enjoy some of the over the top criminality, what with the sex slaves and all, but it sort of feels like shock value more than anything.
Potential: 0%

Demon Lord 2099

Short Synopsis: The Demon Lord is banished by the Hero, only for him to reawaken 500 years later into a whole new, much more technologically advanced world.

Lenlo: Demon Lord 2099 was… shockingly good. I was expecting a meme, but not, it’s legitimately good. From the world and characters it’s created to the story they are caught up in, 2099 genuinely feels like something new. The combination of magic and technology to create a future-fantasy dystopia ala Shadowrun, is fully realized here with beautiful backgrounds and an interesting mix of visual staples from the two genres. And the way power scaling is handled is great as well, working similar to Frieren where it’s not that the Demon Lord got weaker but that magic technology and technique advanced while he was banished. This idea that even common street thugs are able to kick a Demon Lords ass now, and that he can’t get the same implant they have, works well. Most of all, I like the villain! The dude’s just a corporate overlord ass-hate with an inferiority complex who spent the last 500 years prepping to replace his boss. I’ll admit, the show isn’t incredibly animated or anything, there’s no big fights. But I’m bought into this world, these characters, and this conflict way more than I expected to. I really hope 2099 manages to keep this up for the whole 12 episode run, because right now this is my big surprise of the season. Plus, it has Vtubers! Towa-Sama!
Potential: 70%

Amun: I’m a bit less enthusiastic here than Lenlo. I have to admit that I’ve seen quite a few of these “Post-Demon Lord” shows recently (the best of which is obviously, without question, Frieren). I’d say Demon Lord 2099 is a lot closer to Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero with the character dynamics – maybe mixed in a bit with Our Last Crusade/Rise of a New World for the magic/tech mixture; neither of those shows is exactly making history. The villain and even our lead felt a bit flat – both leaning into the super evil persona’s a bit too hard there. Sure, I’m certain they’ll develop over the series, but I was just a bit turned off by how one-dimensional the confrontation was. I like the world well enough, and I think the “problem” to solve is plenty interesting (rebuilding a lost kingdom). I guess I’m a little hesitant in the lack of comedy or chemistry felt…anywhere. Still, I’m here for at least a few more on the strength of the premise alone.
Potential: 50%

The Healer Who Was Banished From His Party

Short Synopsis: A healer only capable of using basic heals is banished from his party. Little did they know, he was capable of more than anyone could expect.

Lenlo: This is a pretty classic “Misunderstood MC is actually OP” story. We don’t get any explanations just yet, more setting up our Female MC, why she’s here, her connection to the lead, and a small mystery about how dangerous he actually is. I’ll admit, the idea that he’s actively hiding his true class and skills is better than him just being OP despite only having basic spells. But unlike say… I Parry Everything which had much the same setup, this one is lacking a lot of the personality and character that made Parry so fun. The MC isn’t an asshole, which is nice, but he also doesn’t have much personality beyond just… not being an asshole. I could see this being fun if you just want a popcorn sort of show, but personally I’m not going to be keeping up with it.
Potential: 10%

Shangri-La Frontier S2

Short Synopsis: Season 2 of Shangri La Frontier.

Lenlo: Shangri-La Frontier picks up so close to where it left off, so nonchalantly, that it almost doesn’t even feel like we’re starting a new season. In some ways that’s nice, there’s no overly long recap, it doesn’t waste our time trying to bring us up to speed, we just jump right into things. As someone who knows where we are, that’s nice! I’m glad we’re not wasting any time here. That said, I could see it being a bit of a shock for those who don’t remember anything from the previous season. One nice surprise with the episode though had to be the production. It looked great, a number of well animated, dynamic, stylistic fights that I really wasn’t expecting. Season 1 started strong as well, sure, but with how uneventful the last few episodes of the previous season/this current arc is, I didn’t think it would get that much attention. Hopefully the series will keep this up as it moves into the more interesting arcs that it should, hopefully, reach with 25 episodes. All in all, while I’m not expecting the show to be too great this early, aside from shockingly good animation, I do have hope for two arcs that should be roughly as good, if not better, than Wezaemon we got in the first season. If it can do those arcs justice, with the same care Wezaemon got, then Season 2 should be just as good as the first.
Potential: 50%

Tsuma, Shougakusei ni Naru

Short Synopsis: A normal family’s matriarch is reincarnated as a grade schooler.

Amun: I signed up for this one simply because the premise is…unusual to say the least. Going in, I wondered if it would try to be a lighthearted comedy, making tons of jokes about the age gap or if it would be a really tearful, heartfelt “value the time you have” message beaten over our heads. Turns out, Tsuma, Shougakusei, plays it pretty straight. There isn’t a glossing over of how weird things are, or how unusual the dynamics appear to society (the family’s wife now being substantially younger than her own daughter). Moreso, the scenarios of the juggling of the two families (how do you explain your second family as a grade schooler?) and the different romantic dynamics of the more appropriate ages are explored in a pretty clear-eyed manner. In fact, the premise is pretty much the only weird thing about this show – everything else so far has been by the book. And I like that. I really don’t know how Tsuma Shougakusei will manage all of the storylines and complications, but I appreciate the uniqueness of how it’s trying so far. It’s definitely an odd one, but I’m willing to give it a chance.
Potential: 65%

Yakuza Fiancé

Short Synopsis: The granddaughter and grandson of rival yakuza families enter into an uneasy relationship.

Wooper: I knew this show was going to be twisted, but I didn’t expect its male lead to suggest that his prospective fiance become an escort, then list some of the sexual acts she’d be expected to perform in the role. Unless Yakuza Fiance led with its most scandalous material and is planning to turn it down going forward, it seems this show will be a far cry from your typical romance anime. Another thing that sets it apart is its female protagonist’s mission: to make this unhinged dude fall hopelessly in love with her, then dump him after a year, ostensibly so that her yakuza group can take revenge or gain leverage over her target’s family. I’m hopeful that the show will dive into the specifics of how these two groups have antagonized each other in the past, since the heads of both families were the most prominent supporting characters in this premiere. As a matter of fact, it was mostly just the two teenagers and the two grandpas delivering lines this time – the show is tightly focused on a core group of people at this point, eschewing visual diversity in favor of repeated close-ups to highlight the cast’s attractiveness. This results in a rather uninvolving episode, at least from a storyboarding perspective, but the characters’ spirited personalities do keep the half hour afloat. I’ll give this one another couple episodes to develop its personal and familial conflicts, then decide whether I want to continue with it.
Potential: 40%

Natsume’s Book of Friends S7

Short Synopsis: A highschooler seeks to return spirit’s names that his grandma beat out of them.

Amun: I can’t tell you how many times I refreshed Anichart, just to make sure it wasn’t all a dream – that Natsume’s Book of Friends was returning this season. Almost exactly seven years, we’ve been waiting for the supernatural hijinks to return. And this was honestly a good, standard, Natsume episode. We were reintroduced to some of our old friends (plus Natsume’s more recent human additions), but we still got a standard, self-contained story, like we get in so many of the previous six seasons. It doesn’t look like the overall production quality has diminished, and the story still felt complete with plenty of youkai feels – I’m happy as a clam. I would say that Natsume really shines when the story advances (with glacial speed), so I’m hoping for some small advancements of the overall story and maybe some deeper looks into Reiko’s past. Overall, it’s just so great to be back.
Potential: As long as they’re making it, I’m watching it.