Category: Other:

Shin Chuuka Ichiban!

Short Synopsis: A young master chef helps a struggling chicken breeder by winning a cooking contest using her birds.

Wooper’s review:

I’ve seen precisely one episode of the original Chuuka Ichiban, which was overly theatrical and not particularly well-produced if memory serves. This one fares much better, as it’s got Production IG money behind it and a veteran director (Itsurou Kawasaki) at the helm. I’m usually a sucker for the sort of white-trimmed characters that Shin Chuuka uses, but in this case I don’t feel like that extra design element contributes much to the series’ aesthetic. What does help its case is the above-average animation and the judges’ ridiculous responses to everything they eat. You get a sense from this episode that cooking means everything in 19th century China (ironically, this is conveyed via the 21st century technique of constantly overreacting to stuff). The art and the series’ sense of fun are great, but where the show stumbles is in its painfully simple story. Mao and friends happen upon a new village, meet a misfortunate character, and help put her life back on track with the power of food preparation. I’m sure the series has a larger plot in mind, but I can’t wholeheartedly endorse this sequel when its first script is such a boilerplate effort.

Potential: 50%

Mario’s review:

You can sense that the source material of this show comes from the 90s based on the character designs and the episodic content alone, and that for me works for its benefits. It certainly revokes many of the charms from that era: from the sidekicks’ dynamic to the feel-good nature it has. Add to that this show is about cooking and there’s clearly a love put on making the food. Maybe it’s just me who watched the episode with an empty stomach but the food displayed in the episode look so delicious. The art and animation remind us to its era, but overall it’s still lacking. The story seems to jump in the middle of an ongoing story, but points to the show of making this episode accessible to new viewers without the usual pitfall of overexplaning its world and characters other anime usually fall into. Admittedly the resolve is stupid (“this is steam rice but it tastes like chicken oh boy give me a goddamn break”) and its over-the-top reactions from the judges can be grating at times, but overall it delivers the charms and appeals successfully in this first try.

Potential: 30%

 

My Hero Academia Season 4

Short Synopsis: In a world of superpowers, one normal boy is given a chance to be the hero he always dreamed of.

Amun’s review:

Why are people calling this a recap episode?  I would say this was a filler episode at worst – I actually love when shows flesh out their world by looking at situations from different perspectives.  “Recap” implies no new ground was covered – while MHA usually covers more ground per episode, there was definitely progress here (see – All Might’s Former Agency Partner, Mr. Combover).  So what if they reused a few scenes? Half of each Bleach episode was footage from the previous 2 episodes, and they didn’t call those recaps. There was more than enough original footage to stand on its own.  This episode was like a small acoustic ballad from a heavy metal band – it may have been different from normal, but it was pure class all the same. I think it’s also critical to build up the impact of All Might’s retirement – this is a global event that shouldn’t be glossed over just to get to the next villain; personalizing it helps the viewers really appreciate how the world’s changed.  I applaud MHA for taking their time and doing this right. And I’ll take slice of Hero life to get me nice and hyped up for the new season any day. Plus ULTRA!!

Potential: 100000000000% 

Lenlo’s review:

Well, it’s really hard to rate a first episode, when the first episode is a recap episode. That said, as far as recaps go, it wasn’t bad. MHA tried to do something new by framing the whole thing from a reporter’s perspective. Even attempting to paint him in a more sinister light at the start. It was a… more organic way to do a recap than I was expecting. And even gave us a peek into the world outside of UA and how they view All Might. Helping to flesh out the world. It’s what anime only filler/recap content should be. All that said though, a recap is a recap, and I can’t really judge the season off old footage and a bunch of stills. So if you really want to know how MHA will do, wait until next week. As this one isn’t for old fans who already know what they are getting into.

Potential: ???

 

Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld

Short Synopsis: After ending the tyranny of the Administrator, Kirito must overcome his trauma to save the world. Both virtual and real.

Lenlo’s review:

So let me be very clear as I start this, I hated the first season of Alice. Probably my least favorite season of SAO yet, with how it handles its entire second half. So I went into this with the lowest expectations imaginable. When I say I couldn’t care less about this episode, please take that as nothing less than a compliment for the series. As it didn’t outright offend me. Just like last season, the opening arc actually appears like it won’t be that bad, maybe even good.  As with Kirito being a vegetable, the focus won’t be on him ruining the plot every 5 minutes. It’s probably the best decision it could have made. And Alice’s focus isn’t that bad either. Bringing the fight to her and all that. I find the weakening of her character strength wise to be a bit pointless though, as we all know it doesn’t actually mean anything. I would rather they just establish the bad guys as being that much stronger. Still, the episode wasn’t bad. But I just have this niggling doubt inside me. A doubt that says somehow, some way, SAO Alice will screw this up. 

Potential: 45%

 

Rifle is Beautiful

Short Synopsis: A girl gathers up other girls to save the rifle club from being disbanded.

Lenlo’s review:

Holy crap did Rifle burn through content. When I saw the club wasn’t formed, I thought for sure the season would be about them gathering members and coming together but screw that, lets find them all in 3 minutes flat. Almost gave me whiplash. As for the actual show itself, eh. Like Mario says its a CGDCT show, though while he probably likes it the most out of us, I probably like the genre the least. As a Texan, I was really hoping we would get some actual focus on the guns and the sports aspect of the club but that seems to be in vein. Some of it is there, but this is a CGDCT show first and foremost, and thats sad for me. I also don’t see how Mario failed to notice the CGI, because I saw it the moment it happened, when everyone turned stiff as a board. Now, I could rag on it all day, but I suppose it boils down to this: If you like CGDCT, you will probably find something of value here. The girls are the focus, its not a sports show, yadda yadda. If you want something meaningful out of a piece though? Something more than feel good times with highschoolers? I say its not worth your time. 

Potential: 10% 

Mario’s review:

The moral of this story: for cute girls even guns and rifles are indeed beautiful. Well, this is your typical CGDCT show (a rarity that it’s the only Cute girl show this season). I’m confident to say that I am the most into Cute girls show out of all writers, so trust me when I say that I can see it winning some hardcore fans of the genre. First, the character designs are cute and these girls have some significant traits (like… red hair for half-Russian because Russians have the most beautiful red hair ahh you know I’m just kidding). And literally they all have moments to shine in this episode. Second, it’s not much about the sports but more about them hanging out together so the chemistry between them is important, and as far as it goes the show already establishes some nice chemistry between them in which they bounce off each other quite well. Lastly, the production design is on a better side. There’s some CG mixes in couple scenes but I myself didn’t notice until someone pointed out to me. Overall, this show won’t win any awards but it serves as a good breather in between bigger hits this season.

Potential: 30%

Beastars

Short Synopsis: A wolf and a rabbit, both loners at a boarding school for animals, must navigate the social tensions between predators and prey.

Lenlo’s review:

So I gotta say, this was a much better opening episode than I was expecting. As a manga Beastars was very slow to start. So this upped pacing, 4 chapters in a single episode, was really unexpected. Part of me feels they did it just to get to that memorable first episode ending. But I think it helped get me more engaged quicker. Still, you know my thoughts on the story and where it goes. What I really wanna talk about is how Orange nailed the visuals. Seriously, Beastars is the best animated/styled series I have seen so far. The CGI models look great, blended with just enough traditional animation techniques that they fit in with the 2D also on screen. I also love the presentation style, such as the projector at the start (anime only) or the blue lines in darkness so we can still see, without crappy dark lighting. It’s just fabulous to look at. Also the music, my god the music. Violins, Jazz, whatever that OP that plays at the end of the episode is. Mmm, Beastars has style and I think I am going to enjoy watching it. Because if nothing else, I think Orange can take a story I wasn’t big on and make it interesting.

Potential: 90%

Mario’s review:

I have high expectations for Beastars, considered how Houseki no Kuni wowed me in every possible way. So far, this premiere manages to meet that. The worldbuilding is a highlight for me. While many has issues with its self-contained world, personally I dig this settings where anthropomorphic characters must control their own animal instinct. The concept itself is an interesting one and has plenty of room for develop into something unique. It helps that the main characters have strong personalities, especially the Rabbit girl. I credit her success on the voice performance that hints on both the anger and the tiredness of everyone else perceive her. Our main boy is more simple, but the last bit certainly raises a lot of ambiguity in his character. Orange really raises the bar here in terms of production as this first episode is brimming with many stunning shots, great background arts and and grandeur score. So far, I enjoy almost everything about Beastars: a unique self-contained world, interesting characters and visual audio that I can never get tired of. It has my highest approval.

Potential: 80%

 

Hoshiai no Sora

Short Synopsis: Two troubled teens look to their school’s soft tennis club to address the problems in their lives.

Mario’s review:

At long last, Kazuki Akane is back with an original project. Though at first it appears like you standard sports anime with all the club disband stuff, it quickly rises above the normal traps of the genre through the main characters and the chemistry between the cast. First, we have 2 main boys worth spending time for, each of them have their clear goals, their well-established personality, and most importantly there’s hints of dark familial tension between them and their families. I thought the moment the mother of one boy talk about how she’s scared of eating dinner together with him a bit excessive. Heck, the entire epilogue is excessive as well but they’re thematically consistent and further reveals more and more about our characters. Moreover, the cast so far has a relaxed chemistry with natural dialogues that really feel like they spend a great deal of time together. Then the chemistry between our two mains, and what the money can buy, is an interesting angle to develop. It also helps that the production is great so far with expressive animation and the soft art styles that reminds me a bit of Wandering Son. The last minutes of this episode suggests that this is more a character drama than a sport show and for me it’s all for the better. 

Potential: 60%

Wooper’s review:

Hoshiai no Sora doesn’t have the immediate brilliance that I was hoping for, but it’s promising enough to keep my excitement afloat. Not only are the characters intriguing, but I got big Tsuritama vibes from their designs, and sure enough, it’s Yuuichi Takahashi behind the look of both shows. Add to this some strong animation during both athletic and dialogue scenes, and you have a winning recipe. My biggest gripe with this episode was the script, which committed two faults. The first was the overwritten nature of the first ten minutes, which took pains to introduce every tennis club member and feed us a unique fact about each one. The natural cadence of their speech wasn’t enough to distract from its mechanical authorship. My second problem was the brief exchange between Toma’s brother and mother near the end, which planted an enormous seed of doubt regarding Toma’s character. This scene was unnecessary – there are enough glimpses of his obsessive personality without it. By the time I’d watched the surprising final moments of the episode, though, I was hungry for the next one. Director Kazuki Akane sometimes misses the follow-through on his promising projects, but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic for now.

Potential: 70%

 

Kabukichou Sherlock

Short Synopsis: A trio of detectives compete to identify a Shinjuku-based serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.

Wooper’s review:

Kabukichou Sherlock’s premiere is a colorful procession of eyebrow-raising scenes that holds together only by the grace of anime god. I was expecting a swing and a miss, based on the six month delay this series suffered back in spring, but this project proved me wrong. I think the secret sauce here is the show’s commitment pushing its illustrated medium as far as it can go. There are musical cutaways, exaggerated character reactions, amateur rakugo performances that seem to take place on another plane, and some of the most elegant use of on-screen text I’ve seen in anime. The jazzy soundtrack is mostly a success (there’s just one Hammond organ track near the start that didn’t work for me), and the character art is sharp and varied. There’s a new guy or girl on screen at least once every three minutes, and they’re all nuts. Remember how Baccano made its name by crossing the paths of a bunch of murderous gangsters? This incarnation of Sherlock does something similar, only its personalities are less violent and even more eccentric. The title character smells a cabaret hostess’ armpit to deduce how she’s paying off her nose job – that’s the level of strangeness the show operates on. If I have one criticism, it’s that the background art is occasionally flat, which is a problem that extends to both indoor and outdoor scenes. Apart from that, Kabukichou Sherlock is a rip-roaring good time.

Potential: 80%

Amun’s review:

I’m…not 100% sure what I just watched.  One thing I do know – and like – is that we have a distinctly Japanese Sherlock.  Most other adaptations of the famous detective duo have been the Western version culturally translated halfway – Kabukichou Sherlock takes it all the way (as to be expected from the name).  The bearded lady shtick feels a bit anachronistic in 2019, but we’ll let that slide. Very bright colours, nice soundtrack, and a good supporting cast all bode well. Straight man Watson also looks on point (I’m curious how they’ll do his military connection).  Kabukichou Sherlock might not fit the mould of shows I usually watch – but I’m along for the ride any way!

Potential: 90%

Mario’s review:

Just chime in to say that don’t listen to these toucans above because this show is a hot mess. Random rakugo and drag dance performances, half-baked case and plain Sherlock & Watson. Go watch isekai shows instead. 

Potential: NOOO

Mugen no Juunin: Immortal

Short Synopsis: A young woman seeking revenge for the murder of her family hires an immortal swordsman as a bodyguard.

Lenlo’s review:

Blade of the Immortal is an odd one. From the beginning, you can see how limited the budget/time for the series is. As it has to be one of those two, since Immortal won’t be winning any animation awards any time soon. What it lacks in animation though, the series has in style/direction. As the series is very interesting to look at most of the time with how it composes its shots. Even throwing in some mixed media charcoal animation in there to help recreate the rough look of the manga. Still, while I find it visually interesting… the pacing concerns me. Its advertised as a “complete” adaptation, and I always thought that was ridiculous. But it’s burning through content to get there. Skipping over a lot of dialogue to get to more important story beats. It leaves me very concerned for how the story will end up pacing wise, and with the limited animation and 2 cour aspect of the series… I give it a 50/50 shot of not screwing this up terribly.

Potential: 50%

Wooper’s review:

We’ve finally arrived at the stage of the season where the more anticipated productions start rolling out. Blade of the Immortal has a strong reputation in manga circles, so there are a lot of folks looking forward to the anime on that basis. On the other hand, my interest is due to Hiroshi Hamasaki’s occupation of the director’s chair. This new adaptation is reminiscent of his work on Shigurui, owing to its graphic violence and oppressive atmosphere. The brutality of this episode didn’t always grab me like it did in that series, however; several computer-assisted shots of faces being sliced apart were distracting, and the quick subliminal cuts during the episode-opening massacre were too stylized for my liking. Thankfully, the episode takes a more natural approach when introducing its cast. Hamasaki uses pillow shots of flora and fauna as a contrast to the characters’ pallid designs and agonized facial expressions, creating a heavy mood that’s broken up in just the right places. When the episode descends into bloodshed once more near the end, the impact is much greater thanks to that middle section. The series boasts an intriguing setup, cool sound design, and some nice landscapes, but the action scenes themselves leave much to be desired – they’ll be one of my major measuring sticks for this show going forward.

Potential: 65%

 

Assassin’s Pride

Short Synopsis: An assassin, posing as a teacher, decides to teach his mark to fight instead of killing her.

Amun’s review:

A few things stand out from this highly anticipated show. First, I feel anime as a whole is in a transitional period where traditional animation and CGI are becoming unified. Assassin’s Pride does about as good a job as I’ve seen blending the two, but it’s not 100% seamless. Secondly, the setting is wonderful – I love the unique world, the candlestick, the train…pretty much all the things that CGI helps you do better. Great job. Now the downsides. If you watched the recent show Angel of Death, this premiere has too many similarities – and that should be cause for concern. While I think the exposition as to why our “pro” assassin just betrayed everyone and everything he stood for is close to believable, I think they could have stretched it out just a tad more for me to buy it fully. Finally, the direction is a little odd – we saw far too many shots with the characters 75% out of it (and at weird angles too). Overall, I’m interested to see where it goes (for the CGI if nothing else), but there are some real causes for concern. (Also our MC is literally from the guild called “White Night” and does the Naruto run…meme anime of the season?).

Potential: 40%

Lenlo’s review:

Why does everything have to be so mixed this season? Because somehow, Pride manages to have some good animation mixed into a scene where they can’t match up bullet trails to the guns shooting them. As far as legitimate criticisms of the series itself, my only complaint is our lead Kufa, who might as well just be Kirito. Just as strong, just as emotionless, and just as bland as any other series MC. Winning maidens hearts by saving them in battle, etc etc. You know the drill, though it does end with a bit of a mystery (though his last name more than likely gives it away). So maybe something good will come from him. Outside of him though, I actually saw a lot of things I liked. Such as the almost Kingdom Hearts sort of setting. What with the different districts and “lantern”. Unlike other series this season, Pride also actually built that into its presentation of its world. Giving an artificial sky box for day in a world of eternal night, an extensive lantern system and a lot of darker lit scenes to fit the setting of the series. Meanwhile our female lead, Melida, seems to actually have a personality and motivations. So there is at least one character worth liking. I think if Pride can use its setting, the strongest aspect of it so far, well then it could rise above most of the rest of the season. Not terribly high mind you, I think things like Soul Eater do this sort of setting better, but hey. Getting mentioned in the same sentence as something like Soul Eater is a step above most everything else this season. So it’s not that bad.

Potential: 65%

 

No Guns Life

Short Synopsis: SF hard-boiled the gun smoke drifts muzzle talks.

Wooper’s review:

After reading the first few chapters of the manga for the season preview, my expectations for No Guns Life were low, but they needn’t have been – I was impressed by what I saw here. The premiere’s noir atmosphere is supported by moody lighting and a subdued color palette, but neither of these elements threaten to dominate the episode. Though lots of characters are partially shadowed, the action scenes are set in sufficiently bright parts of the city, and the use of pinks and purples alongside the usual browns and blacks gives NGL a retro-futuristic look. Almost all the backgrounds are 3DCG, which is also used to animate tough subjects like trains or bodies of water. For the most part, this decision works to create a sleek vibe that nevertheless feels slightly off (which matches the political corruption of the city). As for characters and story, gun-headed Juuzo is a strong lead, with quips for days masking a sheepish streak. He’s gotten himself involved in a plot that gets a bit dull whenever the show stops to dish out details, but the concept of a lone private eye pitting himself against a dystopian government is a winner at its core. I’ll be following this one for a full season unless it goes off the rails midway through.

Potential: 70%

Amun’s review:

Oh man, this is great! Throw away those fears of No Guns Life being just a gun otaku show – we have ourselves a mix of Black Lagoon/Trigun/Gangsta/Weird Gun Helmet (…the last one is not a real show). I love the city, love the setting, love the main character. The designs are pretty odd, but they strangely work given the context. I’ve yet to see a PI/wiseguy actually embodied as a gun (well, two guns apparently? Little bit of Vash going on there), but I’m excited. Dystopia, gritty city with PI vs Big Corp? Madhouse production? As my colleague above said, that’s a winner to me. Only thing I’ll disagree with Wooper on is the potential rating…I’m following this all the way, even if it goes Gangsta on me.

Potential: 100%