Category: Other:

Horimiya

Short Synopsis: Two Japanese teenagers have secret identities. Except they’re boring.

Amun: The multi-coloured shadows are weird. Like the anime just randomly T-poses in different colours for some reason. But seriously…for a show I had pretty high expectations for, that premiere was…okay? It felt a bit heavy handed, honestly. Let’s get this out of the way – no one can help but compare it to Toradora. And by that measure, this first episode fell far short. But on its own merit, Horimiya felt…like there’s not much of a ceiling. Either this show is going to continue at a breakneck, break-heart speed or stagnate to the point of nauseam. I felt the characters were painted with heavy lines and don’t feel like they have much room to change – something that Toradora did incredibly well. I guess it might get better, but I’ve got a bad feeling this show has more pretention than performance.

Potential: 25%

Mario: What struck me first and foremost after I finished watching this first episode of Horimiya is how straightforward the setup is. There’s no earth-shattering external events that cause them to stay apart (like in Koi to Uso or every version of Romeo & Juliet), there’s no internal conflict that pulls them apart (not yet), it’s just a simple story of a girl and a boy seeing different, real-er sides of each other and growing closer because of it. Their chemistry is amazing and even with just this one episode it feels more genuine than many other anime that depict romance. In addition, I like the visual motif of these two characters and their shadows, signifying their outer appearances vs their hidden sides. On that note, I found Horimiya laid it on a bit too thick as it repeated that point too many times (at one point even spelling it out to the audience). The production is decent most of the time, and the dialogue for me is delightful… most of the time. On one hand I appreciate the natural exchanges between the two main leads, but at the same time Horimiya has a tendency to overreact. The most head-scratching part, however, lies in its first few minutes with the creepy comments by the teacher, something I hope the show won’t rely too much on. To sum up in one word, Horimiya is a delight.

Potential: 70%

Cells at Work: Code Black

Short Synopsis: One rookie red blood cell encounters the difference between promotional videos and reality.

Mario: Dang, how was I wrong about this? It turns out that the first episode of the original Cells at Work 2 is just better than this one, no contest. While I initially thought that Cells in sick bodies would make a more gripping show to watch, Code Black is guilty of making it heavy-handed and sucks the charm out of its premise. We have the typical set-up of a new Red Blood Cell who soon learns about the harsh reality of the job, we have the oversized-boobs White Blood Cell which makes no freaking sense and we have the typical bullying senpai – this feels like your average high school anime all over again with a different setting. On a positive note, I like the difference in the other cells’ behavior on and off camera – it’s fun to see the disparity in attitude – but like I mentioned above Code Black doesn’t aim for “fun”. That disparity is there for dramatic effect, and as a consequence the initial spark of watching how your cells work in animated form vanishes. Learn to loosen up a bit and have fun, will ya?

Potential: 30%

Amun: Mario wasn’t terribly enamored with the gritty reboot of Cells at Work: Dying Body Edition, but I thought it was…interesting at least. I kind of like the other side of the coin, a body that isn’t healthy. My complaints – I don’t love the weird shadow texture that’s being applied, and the White Blood Cell’s “plots” could be toned down. Let’s be honest – there’s only so much personification a single cell can take, and I think Cells At Work: Black is starting to bump up against that limitation. Still, the ingenious conversion of organs to buildings and clever adaptation of science are all still here – just missing a bit of the levity. I’m still a fan though, even if I feel a little shamed into working out.

Potential: 60%

Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun

Short Synopsis: Japan’s best Smash Bros player takes etiquette lessons from a high school hottie.

Wooper: This show is basically a self-help guide for incels. The first half largely consists of a shaggy-haired gamer’s complaints about attractive people living life on easy mode, while the second confronts him with the idea that he hasn’t put in enough work himself. That confrontation comes courtesy of the cutest girl in his class, who is naturally also a skilled gamer – though not as skilled as the protagonist, of course. We wouldn’t want to get too crazy with our shitty wish fulfillment plots! She takes the main dude under her wing, laying out objectives like “smile more” and “talk to three girls in a single day” for him to achieve. Of course, this rehabilitation project is just a pretense for the anime’s true purpose, which is laid out in the OP: gather a bunch of cute girls around a lonely nerd. “Woman fixes man” is among the worst romcom types in existence, so using that as a framework and then dumping a bunch of feel-good crap on top is insulting. I’m sure this series will have its champions, but they could do a lot better than watching another episode of Tomozaki-kun.

Potential: 0%

Amun: Amun’s liveblog of this premiere: This isn’t very good. Halfway through – I’m pretty bored. I guess it’s supposed to be inspirational or something. There’s just a lot of talking and some super smash hos going on – oh wait, that would have been actually interesting. There is just so much talking. I’m just so bored. Please. It’s still going. Why is this happening to me. Oh look a little sister. And the clubroom from Yahari with sewing machines. It’s over. Upon seeing this, I’m not surprised the birth rate in Japan is dropping.

Potential: 0%

SK8 the Infinity

Short Synopsis: A skater boy introduces a Canadian transfer student to the world of underground racing.

Wooper: The thing I found most striking about this episode was its design work. All the characters were attractive and easily distinguishable from one another, and I mean all the characters – even crowd members were given unique outfits, hairstyles and expressions. That kind of detail counts for a lot when you’re trying to build a world like this one, because SK8’s premise is frankly ridiculous. The show’s midnight races are supposed to be top secret, but the abandoned mine course they’ve built is so brightly lit that you could see it from space. There’s also a snowboarder who duct tapes his feet to a skateboard and slaloms downhill at 60 mph on his first attempt, because all extreme sports are the same, bro. Despite all this stupidity, this anime looks to be a lot of fun because its characters move and speak dynamically. Reki is passionate without being obnoxious, and Langa is cool-headed rather than dull. The former uses big gestures to communicate, while the latter is given life via minute facial expressions – it’s a neat dichotomy that I’ll be observing each week this season.

Potential: 70%

Lenlo: Yuri on Ice did it for ice skating, Hajime no Ippo did it for boxing, Welcome to the Ballroom did it for dancing and now Sk8 is going to do it for skateboarding. This was unironically the best and most entertaining first episode of this season. Someone on this team has a tremendous love for skateboarding and its community, and it shows. The care put into how the characters move, the aesthetic, the in-anime community around the sport. It’s soaked into every facet of this show. Sk8 isn’t just an anime based around skateboarding because it’s cool. Sk8 IS skateboarding. And I loved it. I have a slight worry about the “Cute Boys Doing Cute Things” vibe I sort of get from it, similar to Hyp Mic from last season, but even with that I loved this premiere and will without a doubt be watching it this season.

Potential: 95%

Project Scard: Praeter no Kizu

Short Synopsis: A bulletproof gunman chooses a successor with whom to entrust the fate of a lawless city.

Mario: GoHands has such a bad reputation that everything from them ought to be viewed through a harsh filter. But I’m here to be a contrarian on this one: this premiere about hot boys fighting against the system is pretty solid. Cheesy? Yes, but the sentimental ending works to set things up in the future. What it sets out to do is sell a brief relationship between the “Hero” and our MC – I can’t say it succeeds based on how quickly the plot goes, but I’m not lying when I say that they’re the most interesting characters in GoHands’ body of work (which admittedly is a low bar). We have a setting that immediately establishes the conflict between the hotboi team – or as they term it, “Scards” – and the other organizations. Visually, it’s a GoHands production alright with an over-saturated color palette and those weird white dots everywhere on-screen, but otherwise I don’t take much issue with it. Like Shaft, it has become their in-house “style” so we’re better off just rolling with it. It has some dynamic action scenes, though. I reckon the show will get dull later on, but after this first episode I am willing to give it more tries.

Potential: 50%

Wooper: As the credits rolled on Project Scard’s premiere, GoHands’ logo appeared on screen, accompanied by the slogan “Animation entertainment to advance.” My question is, advance what? The number of eye doctor visits taken by the average anime fan? The blazing light sources and blue-green color filters on display here would certainly accomplish that purpose. Maybe they intended to advance people’s free time, since about five minutes of Project Scard’s first episode involved characters explaining what had just happened in the previous scene. How thoughtful of GoHands to put a skippable segment into their show so we could make a sandwich midway through! Or maybe they wanted to advance the downward trend of people’s expectations for media mix TV adaptations – that would make sense, since this was one of the worst I’ve seen in recent years. There are just so many ways to interpret “Animation entertainment to advance,” but you know, that’s the mark of a great slogan: it really makes you think!

Potential: 0%

Kai Byoui Ramune

Short Synopsis: A girl who cries mayonnaise is treated by an eccentric “doctor.”

Lenlo: So to be perfectly honest, this is just a bad discount Monogatari mixed with a bad discount Great Teacher Onizuka. The doctor solves occult diseases that are based in your emotional/psychological troubles just like Monogatari, except the actual emotions and ways of fixing them are (at least from the first episode) trite and straight forward. Meanwhile its trying for the same sort of wholesome conflict resolution as Great Teacher Onizuka, confronting the parent and having the truth talk and realizing what is really important to you, but it does so in such a superficial “look at me” manner that it lacks all the heart Onizuka had.

If Monogatari was too wordy for you but you still want something occult akin to it, or Onizuka is too dated for you and you are ok with bargain bin heart-wrenching resolutions, then maybe this can be for you. Personally though? All I see is Walmart brand anime where everything in it was done better somewhere else.

Potential: 0%

Mario: The “solving weekly supernatural cases” anime is not entirely new in this medium, with HellGirl and xxxHolic or GeGeGe no Kitarou coming to mind. And even within that sub-genre Ramune ends up at the bottom of the barrel. While the manga was first published in 2017 (and is still on-going), it has the look and feel of a much older anime. And I mean that in a negative way, with the titular doctor being the main offender. First off, his unorthodox method of curing patients is intentionally ambiguous and makes us slightly uncomfortable – but I was more turned off by his “shout-until-it-sticks” behavior. Worse, while I appreciate how the sickly girl’s current issues deal with psychological stress, in the end she’s just a victim of her shouting doctor and screaming one-dimensional mother, so I feel the solution was pretty unearned. Add to that an annoying MC, unremarkable cast and even less remarkable production values, and unfortunately Ramune doesn’t offer much.

Potential: 10%

Beastars S2

Short Synopsis: One wolfie boy cannot decide whether to eat or “eat” a rabbit (why not both?).

Amun: For starters, I love the OP (and ED? I think they’re one song?). Sounds like Billie Eilish, Japan edition – pretty fitting for the amount of angst present. This premiere is angling more towards the horror undertones we were promised in the first scene of the first season and then promptly ignored for the furry love triangle. The production still looks great, and the plot is progressing fine – Beastars is best when it’s toeing uncomfortable lines. I don’t see anything that tells me it’s time to abandon this furry fleet of ships.

Potential: 65%

Mario: It’s business as usual here in Beastland. The second season picks up a few months after the concluding events of the first, and the gang is back to their normal lives. It’s a quite a low-key start after the climax of last season, merely introducing our mains and their new status quo. I’d say that this returning episode is a bit slower than I would have preferred, with Louis and Juno making way-too-brief appearances… Heck, even Haru doesn’t appear that much. It focuses more on old school “mystery” much like the start of the first season, and we are bound to meet new characters, which is always welcome. The visuals keep up from the stellar previous season, and the OP is an eye worm. Although this episode doesn’t really provide a lot of meat to chew on, it’s always great to have Beastars back on board.

Potential: 50%

Soukou Musume Senki

Short Synopsis: A girl gets transported into a mecha world, which she must save by fighting monsters.

Mario: Ho boy this one was bad. Story-wise it clumsily follows two girls in present-day, before clumsily forcing the main girl into the middle of a mecha fight. Visually, the cel-animated part is sparse in animation and looks stiff at all times, but it is still better than the CG battles that look outright horrible. Then there are 2-3 full minutes of transformation scenes, plus the main girl is so out of her wits that it’s painful to watch. This show is just too generic and offers nothing new to the table. It’s exactly what it aims for at the end: A toy advertisement.

Potential: 0%

Lenlo: Is it weird that I liked this show more before the giant robots, mecha suits and 2 straight minutes of transformation sequences? I thought I had finally found one of those shows that’s just girls talking and hanging out that I could enjoy, before it goes full on Symphogear. That said, this does seem better than Symphogear, however low that bar is. I like that it’s already playing with ideas such as what our lead has lost, that they can die in this world, it’s not just a game, etc. I have no idea if it will stay this way or fall into the same traps. But if it can avoid becoming just another terrible season of Symphogear then I might be able to have some fun with this one. Not much, but some.

Potential: 25%

Ore Dake Haireru Kakushi Dungeon

Short Synopsis: A lowborn noble acquires godlike adventuring skills through no effort of his own.

Wooper: This is the early frontrunner for Worst Premiere of 2021. It ticks pretty much every box of badness possible, especially with respect to the cast: Kirito look-alike protag, sister who’s obsessed with him, childhood friend with two massive “personalities,” and goddess who grants the main dude a bunch of powerful abilities on a whim. He already had one super-powerful skill, but it gave him migraines that could only be cured by kisses (I swear I’m not making this up), so he was clearly in need of a few others. Life point counters pop up on screen throughout the episode so we can track his progress, including how much mana it takes him to shrink his FWB’s tits. Armed with these incredible powers, he decides to apply at the local hero academy (cleverly named “Hero Academy”), and ends up shattering their entrance exam’s high score by several orders of magnitude. Oh, I almost forgot the best part: the main character’s name is Noir Stardia. NOIR STARDIA! It sounds like something out of a fantasy-themed porno – come to think of it, I’d rather watch one of those than another episode of this show.

Potential: 0%

Amun: Oh come on now, it wasn’t that bad…wait. It was pretty bad. Pretty sure they’re also going for “kink by committee”, with representatives from the imotou faction, the chains-bondage bloc, and vanilla-childhood-friend party, reporting in. I guess I’m a little more favorable to the visuals, since that was passable, but the story and characters are not great. I’ll give it another episode or two, but this feels like 100-man to me – pretty bland. Go watch the other weird revenge-healer isekai this season if you want something more extreme.

Potential: 1%

Back Arrow

Short Synopsis: A ripped nudist emerges from an extraterrestrial capsule and transforms into a gooey robot to defend an old west town.

Wooper: It takes a special kind of trust in your show to base its name on a pun (Back Arrow is a mishearing of the Japanese word for idiot, “bakayarou”). It’s a fitting title, since the whole thing is pretty stupid. It’s the special kind of stupid that anime does rather well, though, where an unwieldy blend of styles and story elements is carried by confident presentation and in-your-face characters. Back Arrow is a dead ringer for the less operatic Gundam series in that way – Turn A especially, given its use of both terrestrial and cosmic motifs. The gaggle of troublemaking children (who double as cheerleaders for the main character) are highly reminiscent of Gundam, as well, only they’re animated with considerably more skill than most entries in that franchise ever managed. As a matter of fact, this whole premiere looked pretty nice. Back Arrow’s “world within a wall” setting doesn’t intrigue me, exactly, but it does feature a lot of pretty geography, with treacherous cliffs and cascading waterfalls giving it a real sense of place. The featureless CG mechs sucked, but pretty much everything else had me entertained – I’ll give this one at least two more episodes.

Potential: 65%

Lenlo: What the fuck did I just watch. Like, I get it, it’s the same guy who made Promare and BNA, wrote Kill la Kill and the Gurren Lagann movie, but what is this? Is he just recycling ideas? Going crazy? I’m really not sure. Because we have a male Ryuko, TTGL’s giant robots, cowboys, techno samurai and… a wall. I honestly have no idea how to even rate this show because after BNA this could easily be a trash fire, but after Promare it could maybe be good. I think the only answer is to uh… watch another and see what happens?

Potential: ???

Kumo desu ga, Nani ka?

Short Synopsis: Most of a class gets reincarnated as rich people. One unlucky girl is reincarnated as a spider.

Amun: First things first – I’m not a fan of 3DCG. I get that it’s necessary – hand animating this show would be insane. Particularly the frog venom fight was fully rendered and stood out – in a bad way. Other than that, Spider-isekai exceeded all expectations. My goodness, the spider character (currently unnamed) is dynamic, well animated, and weirdly cute. It’s strangely impressive that this show can use a spider as such an expressive canvas. I’m also not one to normally comment on VAs, but unnamed spider-chan’s is on point. Nice work Aoi Yuuki! There’s some other plot around reincarnated class members (and the obligatory guy in a girl’s body – that felt a bit forced, to be honest), but the star of this show is clearly our darling spider.

Potential: 90%

Wooper: Ordinary anime series tend to put a lot of effort into their first episodes in an attempt to ensnare potential viewers. KumoDesu is not an ordinary anime, though – it’s an amateurishly directed botch job from none other than Shin Itagaki, the man behind Berserk 2016. That fact will be sufficient cause for most of you to stay away, but for you lucky few whose eyes were never scorched by that show’s repulsiveness, I’ll elaborate on this new spider show’s failings. For one thing, the main character is rendered in unconvincing CG ninety percent of the time, and hardly seems to make contact with the ground whenever she’s shown crawling. The Arifureta-esque starting cave is totally computer generated, as well, so Itagaki can wreck his own show with the pointless camera revolutions and extreme closeups for which he is now infamous. The self-aware dialogue about light novels made me wish that the poison-spewing frog from the show was real so that it could shoot acid into my eardrums. The only thing I didn’t hate was Aoi Yuuki wailing, “Oh, Jesus!” after witnessing her new arachnid siblings cannibalizing another spider. In short, it’s shit.

Potential: 5% (solely for the absurd ED)

Tenchi Souzou Design-bu

Short Synopsis: A new member joins the design team that handles God’s outsourced animal designs.

Lenlo: This is weird. I really expected to dislike this series to find it boring and yet… I was engaged. By Edutainment. I really enjoyed the comedic, yet informative nature of this show. How they worked through possible evolutions/designs of animals, explored different ideas such as with the birds, and ultimately saw how they played out. Or how they explained why Pegasus won’t work, or eventually landed on Giraffes. It was really interesting and the real life animal segments worked surprisingly well. Each of the main team members seem to have actual personalities and tastes/preferences with their work/animals as well. I don’t think this is going to be an Anime of the Season contender and I have no idea if it will actually be able to keep this up long. But as far as first episodes go, I actually really enjoyed it. It’s weird yo.

Potential: 75%

Amun: Heaven’s Design Team’s first episode landed at the top end of my expectations. We’ve seen this format a couple times now – this is basically the professional version of Seton Academy (complete with the explanation cuts on actual animals). Where Heaven’s Design Team gains better marks is the lack of perversion or furry bait – plus better focus on story and characters. The animation is pretty dull, but we expected that going in – this isn’t the highest budget show from the season. I’m curious if we keep the episodic nature or if an overarching story will occur – if I had to guess, the final project will be humans. The interactions between team members, the various revisions, and failed prototypes resonate true for anyone who has ever been involved in product design. I’m sure the cast will expand to include other professional supporting roles. All in all, there’s definitely space in this story to be good. Probably not great, but definitely good.

Potential: 75%

Yuru Camp S2

Short Synopsis: Rin prepares for a solo camping trip to ring in the New Year, while her friends discuss their holiday plans.

Mario: It’s hot as hell here Down Under so I can’t say I’m in need of its warmth, but cozy and comfy Yuru Camp does indeed excel at creating that feeling. The premiere of this second season traces back to Rin’s very first solo camp and it’s just a joy to watch. She makes mistakes all the beginners make and it adds an extra level since we know how experienced she is now. This new episode wastes no time to display detailed backgrounds, chill soundtracks, and confident, slow pacing that threatens to envelop you and put you into a comfort zone. The second half goes back to the present day and while it’s not as enjoyable as the first half, the natural flow of characters’ dialogue and interactions are fun to watch. I’m still a bit ehh on our animated mascots because it just takes me right out of the flow, but all in all, this premiere is a winner.

Potential: 70%

Wooper: Even though it’s been three years since Yuru Camp first aired, its return to the small screen feels seamless. The new OP and ED are performed by the same artists as before, the earth tone backgrounds are still picturesque, and the pinecones still squeak their customary hellos when the camera captures them up close. That sense of familiarity is a perfect fit for this premiere, which eased us back into the show with a flashback to Rin’s first camping expedition. She’s the group’s most experienced camper, so the sequence where her younger self learned to set up a tent and took notes on starting a fire was very welcoming. “It’s okay if you’re new,” Yuru Camp seemed to be saying. “Everybody has to start somewhere!” Those opening minutes were the highlight for me, but the girls’ present-day conversations did give us some hints as to what we’ll be seeing in the next few weeks – meeting some extended family members sounds like a fun prospect. This is a series designed to be watched with a blanket on your lap and a mug of hot cocoa in your hand, so it’s come along at just the right time for those of us in the northern hemisphere.

Potential: 75%

2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu

Short Synopsis: A star volleyball player moves to the boonies after his harassment of a former teammate ends in disaster.

Wooper: Just as Skate Leading Stars aims to escape the shadow of Yuri on Ice, this show (which I’m dubbing “Volleybros”) has its own Little Giant to slay. It’s not off to a bad start, either – the animation might not be a match for its older cousin, but it’s still pretty good, and the light-accented designs give it an entirely different look. The characters’ heights are more pronounced, as well, which comes into play during not just volleyball practice, but also the high number of dialogue-driven scenes. Volleybros is just as much a drama as it is a sports anime, and it wants you to know that right off the bat. Sulky and confrontational are two of its cast’s more common modes of operation, and two mentions of a transfer student’s dark past bookend the episode with as much subtlety as a spike to the face. Parts of this episode put me in mind of Hanebado, the schizophrenic badminton show from a couple years ago, but there was plenty of good conversation between the two leads, as well. They’re a poor match for each other, but they’d prefer not to be – that’s a tough dynamic to capture in a single week, and Volleybros did a decent job of it. I don’t know if I’ll watch another episode of this, but I hope somebody does – it’s not the knockoff that many will assume it to be.

Potential: 60%

Lenlo: I went into this expecting knockoff Haikyu, but surprisingly wound up with something completely different. Where Haikyu is a more fast-paced action type of sports show, “Volleybros” as Wooper puts it is much slower, but not in a bad way. I agree that it did a decent job with the lead’s dynamics though at times it does feel like it’s ripping off Haikyu a bit. My main hope here is that the “dark past”, which is a bit more extreme than Kageyama’s though the same in function, is properly used and integrated into the story. I want it to be more than just shock value for this initial episode and to see the event handled with the proper weight and respect the subject deserves.

Production wise Volleybros didn’t do too bad either. The animation definitely isn’t as dynamic or expressive as Haikyu but Director Yasuhiro Kimura of Golden Wind fame isn’t letting that hold him back. Instead of relying on sakuga magic he actually has some pretty clever and well timed cuts to add impact and a feeling of speed to the sport. If he can keep that up then I think Volleybros will hold up well, despite the occasional weightless block that the ball just bounces off of. All in all I am tentatively excited to see where this goes and will definitely be keeping up with it this season. I just hope it doesn’t go the yaoi route…

Potential: 75%

I★CHU Étoile Stage

Short Synopsis: A group of idols face expulsion from idol school unless they sell 3000 CDs in three months.

Lenlo: I hate how much effort went into the opening shot of this series, I really do, because it actually looks kinda good. I have no idea if this is a one off, if it will all get replaced with CGI models, or if fans might actually get a well-animated bishounen idol series. But the fact remains that production wise I★CHU shocked me out of the gate. Beyond that though… I don’t really have much to talk about. It’s a bishounen idol show, what you see on the tin is what you are going to get. Wooper may be right, there may be some small arcs for the characters here and there, but with how large the cast is I don’t expect any of them to do anything meaningful. Meanwhile I have never liked the premise of idol schools to begin with and the Idol industry in japan itself is uh… very concerning.

So yeah, if you like Idol shows then you might have a winner here with some decent production and solid but flat characters. If you don’t, then this show isn’t for you. I know it’s not for me.

Potential: 1%

Wooper: We’re only three months removed from the premiere of Hypnosis Mic, which had the best opening shot of any bishounen idol series I’ve seen. With that in mind, I sat down to watch I★CHU, feeling it would be premature to dismiss the subgenre’s next offering sight unseen. It seems my optimism was rewarded, because even though this show is even less substantial than a pack of soggy tissues, it didn’t give me second-hand embarrassment the way bishie anime typically do. There are close to 20 idols in the cast here, and while this episode didn’t do much more than assign gimmicks to each one, I got the sense that decent arcs were in the cards for a few of them. That feeling comes mostly from the earnest teambuilding of the show’s primary trio, who managed to put on a crowd-pleasing performance after some initial dysfunction. It was a plot befitting a children’s show rather than a late night TV anime, but it also wasn’t terrible. Oh, and the principal of the idol school (for there must always be an idol school) wears a bear costume, so there’s that.

Potential: 10%

The Promised Neverland S2

Short Synopsis: The recently-escaped orphans wander the forest, encountering both enemies and allies.

Lenlo: So let’s cut right to the chase, if you liked Season 1 you will probably like Season 2. You already know what Promised Neverland has to bring and this is more of the same. I thought it was alright but that it flubbed a bit on the presentation. I’m also sure you have heard that the manga goes down hill, I myself have mentioned it here before, but it doesn’t get bad. Not yet at least. It’s true that the first arc is the best arc and so I wouldn’t expect anything more than that but we have a ways to go before the series properly shits the bed. At least… 2-3 more arcs based on how you count, and in there we will meet my favorite character too!

As for the episode, it wasn’t bad. I continue to like the power dynamics of Promised Neverland. Our characters are never ahead, they never have the advantage and they will never win a proper physical confrontation. It gives every scene, even in such an idyllic forest, a fair amount of tension. Even when they were saved at the end of this episode we can’t help but wonder, are they really saved? Or is this just a new fire? The only negative thing I really have to say is that the lighting was often terrible. Dark scenes at night are hard, I know, but it was difficult to see anything during a lot of the chase scenes. The CGI spider demon thing in particular stood out as uh… not good. 

So yeah. If it can nail the tension, not fall apart on the production and handle some of the big scenes well, I see no reason why it can’t succeed. Just temper your expectations if you really liked the first season and you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Potential: 50%

Mario: Carried on from its successful (in terms of sales) first season, this episode expands in terms of scale and not necessarily on ambition. It’s good to see how the stakes are still so high as death himself hides in the corner and dangers come from everywhere. The involvement of monsters is welcome because we will have a chance to learn more about the new world – the forest for example is full of fantastical details. The drawback, however, is that this episode happens mostly during the night in the forest, hence the show looks dark and dull at times. This episode also highlights how well these kids have matured since we first saw them, especially the supporting ones like Gilda and Don, and the two new allies (or not?) already prove to be interesting in their own ways. It sure is a welcome return for Promised Neverland, with an added bonus: fantastic OP & ED along the way.

Potential: 40%

Gekidol

Short Synopsis: A shy high school girl with a hidden talent joins an acting troupe.

Mario: [Disclaimer: I have not watched the episode 00’s “Alice in Deadly School” prior to writing this impression] Maybe it’s just me who has gained a newfound interest in anime (I kid), but I’ve enjoyed all the premieres I’ve seen so far but one (Tatoeba), even the ones for which I had no expectations. Gekidol’s first episode is better than it has any right to be. While the story beats and the characters’ personalities tread familiar paths, there are many other details that raise it above the bar. First is the art designs that look consistently pleasant in this episode. It’s also confident enough to pull off a hand-drawn dance routine, which for me is always a good sign. Second, the subject of theatrical productions always draws me in and indeed some of my favorite anime involve high school plays (Sweet Blue Flowers, Bloom Into You, and most recently, Beastars). Most importantly, Gekidol has many off-kilter details about its setting. Its blend of sci-fi (the TMS hologram, a “robot” girl) and mystery (what the heck is that hole? What happened 5 years ago?) within its typical idol genre sure intrigues me and I’m looking forward to what comes next.

Potential: 50%

Wooper: I was going to watch episode 0 of this show, which is an in-universe play called “Alice in Deadly School,” but it looked kind of hideous, so I didn’t. Not that episode 1 looked much better – all the blurry backgrounds and len flares on display here had me fiending for a palate cleanser the moment that it ended. I’m not an expert on the compositing process, but it didn’t seem as though much effort was spent on blending the characters with their environment. That’s just as well, though, because their personalities are far from natural. The main girl is cripplingly shy (with special attention devoted to her prudeness), her friend is a jealous tsundere, and her new co-stars at Alice in Theater are unstoppably cheerful and supportive. Main character Seria is a gifted mimic, but has no acting chops of her own, which is an interesting idea that’s wasted on such a lame script. And let’s not forget the Global Synchronic Urban Disappearance, a phenomenon that sucked all of Ikebukuro into a black hole five years ago. Has there ever been an anime setup more blatantly designed to hook an otaku audience? Let’s hope I never find out.

Potential: 0%

Hortensia Saga

Short Synopsis: Two orphans of war vow to become stronger in order to defend their homeland from invading forces.

Wooper: It’s fantasy anime like this one that help me understand the isekai boom. While I’m sure we’re all tired of dual world setups, RPG elements and platonic harems, those elements are actually meant to distinguish their works from generic medieval sword-and-sorcery stories like Hortensia Saga. I mean, a power struggle between a fertile kingdom and its barren principality? A knight who dies defending a princess? His son, who vows to gain strength and honorably follow in his father’s footsteps? The plot is positively narcoleptic. The twist here is that the missing princess has disguised herself as a man and intends to join the war effort – sorry, did I say twist? What I meant was “literacy test,” because if you’re surprised to read that Alfred’s squire was actually a woman, your comprehension skills are streets behind. The best thing I can say about Hortensia Saga is that it’s visually competent. The 3DCG armies were a small step up from what we’ve seen in previous fantasy shows, some of the backgrounds were appropriately grand, and the characters never melted. Anime can look as not-terrible as it wants, though, and I’ll still pass due to lack of personality every time.

Potential: 10%

Lenlo: While I understand where Wooper is coming from above, and he is largely right, I am not as harsh on Hortensia Saga. I actually prefer medieval sword-and-sorcery, especially one light on the fantasy elements such as Dwarves and Elves Japan is still in love with, to the Isekai power fantasies. Basically, I’ll take a decent 90’s fantasy novel plot over whatever schlock Isekai Light Novels are churning out these days.

As for the show itself, it was… fine? I’m not a fan of how it started in-media-res with the castle attack, that was the most hamfisted part of the story by far. But everything else with Marius, Alfred and the like wasn’t terrible. I’m getting some Basara vibes, which I absolutely adore, and the general setup seems like knockoff Fire Emblem. It’s not going to win any awards and it certainly isn’t going to do anything new. But if Hortensia can pull off Marius’s growth, their connection over dead parents and the eventual reveal that she is a woman well, it can maybe at least not waste your time. 

Potential: 30%

Skate Leading Stars

Short Synopsis: A former athlete and an aspiring coach team up to dethrone a rising star in the Japanese ice skating world.

Wooper: This show has some pretty big skates to fill, given its most obvious point of comparison, but it did manage to carve out an identity of its own in this half hour. We’re dealing with teenagers instead of adults, and skate leading (essentially team figure skating) instead of solo routines. All we’ve seen thus far is one-man flashbacks and exhibitions, but the presence of a high school club promises plenty of cooperative performances. That’s what worries me most about this series’ future; though there was some slick athletic animation on display here (the smears during Reo’s routine were a highlight), depicting five skaters at once will be far more taxing than anything this premiere offered. In the likely scenario that the production buckles, it’ll be down to the characters to keep the show afloat, and I don’t know that they’ll be up to the task. The protagonist is one of those “shout until your dreams come true” types, so of course his rival has to be cold as ice, right down to his white-and-blue color scheme. I’m betting on the revenge-driven teenage coach as the breakout character, though I probably won’t give SLS enough episodes to see him or anyone else truly shine.

Potential: 50%

Mario: Skate Leading Stars starts off on the wrong foot and goes far too melodramatic and ridiculous for my taste (the 10-year-old kid will swear off the sport he loves just after losing his parents if he loses to the top kid in town. He loses, the story begins), but thankfully it picks up afterward and I have no problem recommending it. While I’m never too hot on hot boys’ shows, the show infuses just the right amount to make the characters likeable, especially that sneaky coach with Hachiman-scheming eyes. Story-wise it has been conventional so far, but the story beats didn’t lose me and this first episode wasn’t afraid to display some sharp skating routine sequences. While they are not as polished as say Yuri on Ice (the show to which we’ll hear a lot of comparison), they don’t rely on CG and they are solidly animated. Certainly worth a few more tries for this one.

Potential: 40%

Urasekai Picnic

Short Synopsis: Two young women form a tentative friendship while exploring a dangerous parallel dimension.

Mario: Such a strange beast Urasekai Picnic is. Part-yuri, part-surreal, part-horror show about hunting urban legends AKA monsters? Yes – although so far I’m not totally convinced with everything it does in this premiere. As for the positives, I like that the show starts in media res. Just like the characters themselves, we have to pick up bits and pieces of this mysterious Otherside along the way. The sense of eeriness and isolation are all there, and the Otherside’s grey palette certainly compliments that empty void vibe. The narration is a bit more hit-and-miss for me. While I enjoy a portion of Sorao’s inner thoughts – especially when it deals with her detachment from her real world – Sorao is still not an interesting lead to follow. That actually helps to make the dynamic between her and the new girl she meets much more vibrant, so it works out for now. The thing is, there’s still a lot of questions about the rules of the new universe, about the show’s endgame, about what this show really is about, that makes this premiere feel more like a side OVA to some established franchise than a proper introduction to the show. As a result, Urasekai Picnic still keeps me at arm’s length, but I do recognize its efforts.

Potential: 40%

Wooper: I have so many questions. How did Sorao first access the Otherside? What prompted the main characters to dash into that abandoned building after the OP, and where was it in relation to their previous location? What was with that stuttering dialogue during Sorao’s confrontation with the Wiggle-Waggle? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing that Urasekai Picnic is generating some intrigue, but I do wish it had been clearer regarding the barrier between its two dimensions. And as long as we’re making wishes, it would have been nice if the show hadn’t periodically replaced pieces of basic character animation with ancient CG models. There are other nitpicks I could make, as well, but they’re overshadowed by the show’s biggest strength: the strong impressions that Toriko and Sorao made on each other. Urasekai Picnic accomplished this simply by giving them plenty of opportunities to talk, allowing them to discover how their differing personalities could nevertheless be compatible. By the end of the episode, I felt as though their future trips to the Otherside would be much more successful if they paired up, and that I’d like to watch that pairing evolve over time.

Potential: 65%

Tatoeba Last Dungeon

Short Synopsis: Super strong country boy with imposter syndrome cooks a witch breakfast and starts building a harem.

Amun: Tatoeba Last Dungeon was one of the shows I’ve had my eye on since it was announced. The first episode was mostly as advertised, although I’m a little concerned about the quality of the animation – one particular faceplant was notably bad. If the first episode is having issues – that’s not a good sign. The other concerning aspects are pacing and humour. This episode actually went through a ton of material from the manga and felt quite rushed. The humour – shout until it’s funny – highlights the one dimensional aspect of the plot’s gimmick…another bad omen. Plus, I’m worried about the random service that showed up halfway for no reason – doesn’t bode well when we’re turning to those “plot” devices so early. No question, major red flags here – I’ll give it a few more episodes to turn around, though.

Potential: 33%

Lenlo: I swear to god these Light Novel titles and premises are just getting more and more ridiculous. What happened to just having a good story? What happened to compelling characters? When did it all get replaced with gimmicks and what do I have to do to get the Twelve Kingdoms style of fantasy back?

If that wasn’t telling as to my experience, I don’t know what will be. I found Tatoeba to be painfully dull. Generic fantasy, overpowered MC, fanservice, fantasy world. About the only danger flag of mine that didn’t tick was “Isekai”. My biggest issue by far though has to be the MC, who is apparently perfect at everything. It’s only been one episode and we already have 3 women fawning around him, 4 if we include the loli grandma, but I won’t for Tatoeba’s sake. I just don’t have anything to invest in at all here, with the only possible exception being the last 30 seconds. Maybe it goes to interesting places! Personally I don’t expect it to, and I won’t be watching long enough to find out.

Potential: 5%