Houkago Saikoro Club

Short Synopsis: A shy high schooler stumbles upon an out of the way hobby shop and bonds with other girls over board games.

Wooper’s review:

This series has two things going for it: pretty backgrounds and the allure of a new board game or two to be unveiled each week. Seriously, the background art looks really nice, especially during the exterior scenes, with plants and streams that feel as though someone drew them, rather than using digital assets or slapping some filters on top of a referenced illustration. The layouts are imaginative, and the digital coloring is appealing. The same can’t be said for the characters, who are the same shy/genki/strict trio we’ve seen before in anime. Shy Girl operates on “wears headphones to school” levels of anxiety, while Genki Girl’s philosophy that you can never be lost if you don’t have a destination soured me on her character. Most people will need to head home in the evening, so of course you can get lost, regardless of your immediate goal. The board game they play during the second half of the episode (“Marrakech” – shoutout to Crosby, Stills & Nash) is charming in its simplicity, but that too is sullied by the other characters investing way too much of themselves into helping Shy Girl have fun. It doesn’t feel natural in the least, and I doubt the show will take its foot off the gas in that respect.

Potential: 25%

Mario’s review:

It’s a pretty standard start overall. Too standard that it fails to register to me in any way. I blame it on the plainness of the blue hair main girl, who was literally starting to cry while playing a freaking board game. She’s too uninteresting that I feel the way the other girls “assist” her to be forced. The plot also goes pretty much aimless in the first half and only starts to form once the girls get into the board game store. The other aspect of the show, the board games, does a decent job of introducing various board games and that might be the only selling point I find from this show. Houkago is your average “cute girls playing games” show and doesn’t offer much more than that.

Potential: 10%

Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo

Short Synopsis: A literal potato fails to earn the affections of two anime girls wearing tacky flower accessories.

Wooper’s review:

I watched the first three minutes of this and had to bail. The main character introduced himself by saying that, apart from his name, there was “nothing remarkable about me.” This was a clear sign that the show could be disregarded, as it’s the laziest possible means of creating a relatable protagonist, and also the least effective. I pressed on, undeterred by the show’s upfront admission that characterization was not a priority, and watched with horror as the series used GBA-era sound effects to accompany the appearance of two female characters’ tits and asses. At this point I was done with Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo, but I clicked through the rest of the episode at random and discovered two nearly identical, pitifully animated scenes where a male character cries and softly bonks his head against a wall. The only difference between the two was a different girl watching him each time, staring at him with tears in her eyes as though this fucknugget’s emotional display was the most pressing concern of her life. Also, the character animation is shit and the design work is even worse. Someone please kill me.

Potential: 0%

Mario’s review:

The fun of watching Ore wo Suki is to see how it establishes obvious tropes and then slowly derails from these. While normally I’m not fond of meta-jokes, it works in this case because the show uses our old knowledge of such cliche to twist around the head. It doesn’t make the show great or anything (still pretty trashy), but at least now it’s more engaging. The catch here is that our main guy is a scheming, mean bastard and girls he wants to hunt falling for his best friends instead. While I’m enjoying what this episode offered, I am wary about how it goes from now. The production looks average, and with a show like this the moment it goes for standard route it’ll lose its sparks. Let’s hope we have a no hold bar, wacky tale all the way.

Potential: 50%

Radiant 2nd Season

Short Synopsis: One sorcerer boy fights to end the discrimination he faces and fix the world’s conflicts by killing all of the monsters that made him this way.

Amun’s review:

Radiant is back!  Picking up where last season left off, Seth is off on a new adventure and Draganov, expecting to be executed, got a snowy walk and a promotion.  Alma got a prisoner work release program (that she decided herself) and we can start to see the political framework being set up for this season.  The biggest takeaways from this episode are a) we’re in for some new characters (and a flying raccoon bat?), b) we’re going to have some definite power creep and c) we’ll get closer (but never all the way) to revealing the mysteries of the world.  Speaking of the world, the setting looks great as always – props to the French artists involved.  The formula for success here is simple: straightforward plots, good characters (but not not too many all at once plus some screen time for the old ones), climactic fights, and some minor reveals to string the viewer along.  I like what I see so far.

Potential: 75%

Ahiru no Sora

Short Synopsis: A high school freshman makes a bid to join a delinquent-infested basketball team.

Wooper’s review:

Ahiru no Sora has no interest in reinventing the basketball. That much is clear from the opening scene, where a group of bullies beat up the pipsqueak protagonist under a bridge and take all his cash. He’s short, but he made a promise to himself never to run from a fight; the court is the one place where he feels he can compete; you’ve heard it all before. Even the end of the episode, where he and the aforementioned thugs settle their differences via an athletic contest, is easily predicted. So what does Ahiru no Sora have that other sports shows don’t? The Pillows doing the OP, for one thing, though they sound a far cry from their older, power pop inspired sound. Notable facial features, for another, with protruding lips that make the characters feel a bit less anime. And then there’s the character of Momoharu Hanazono, the part-sage, part-clown brother of the delinquents’ leader. He strikes just the right balance between those two roles, and the tension between the twins hints at something bigger buried in their shared past. I don’t know that I’ll keep watching to discover what it is, but at least the show isn’t totally generic. Just mostly so.

Potential: 30%

Mario’s review:

I just can’t get past how forced and familiar Ahiru no Sora feels in general. Right at the very beginning, our protagonist is already cornered by some bullies because apparently he’s easy to pick on due to his short stature. Then things get more heavy-handed from there as he faces one challenge after another in order to push him further away from just freaking playing basketball. Just let the poor kid play the game for God’s sake. It doesn’t really help that the main guy has the most typical personality in sports anime: earnest to a fault and disadvantaged due to his small build, but he triumphs anyways. (Off the top of my head: volleyball’s Haikyuu, sumo’s Hinomaruzumou, football’s Kattobi Itto, rugby’s All Out… amongst countless others). My point is, Ahiru no Sora hardly offers anything refreshing story-wise and character-wise, and we all know that these delinquents will come around as he builds up this team from scratch and gets the heart of that girl in the process. As usual, sports shows take a while until they can really become their own thing, and this show has the slight advantages of multiple cours and above-average animation, so it can pick up more fans along the way. In my case it fails to grab my attention in its first stretch.

Potential: 10%

Hataage! Kemono Michi

Short Synopsis: A pro wrestler plans to spread his love of animals after being summoned to a medieval world.

Amun’s review:

I hyped up Hataage! Kemono Michi in the preseason and the first episode definitely lived up to expectations. As I said in my preseason thoughts, this show is going to live and die by its physical comedy. The first episode at least did a great job of introducing a tidy cast of characters and setting up the world – I’m a little less clear on what the central conflict of the show is going to be, but I can at least see the direction the main character is taking. One thing I am concerned about is the propensity to veer towards “furry” love as a comedy vehicle – I imagine that shtick might get old after a while if they don’t flesh out their other avenues for laughs. I also am hoping they keep their fanservice in check, which I think this episode did passably. The main question I ask for any comedy is “did it make me laugh” and Hataage! Kemono Michi did without question. If the animation quality keeps up and the writing doesn’t fall off a cliff, this can definitely be a something like a KonaSuba for this season.

Potential: 80%

Wooper’s review:

As isekai premises go, this one is pretty far out there, but I give it points for that. Any parallel world that attempts to summon Earth’s “greatest warrior” runs the risk of getting its number one pro wrestler, depending on the specificity of the spell. That he ignores his quest, suplexes the princess, and heads off to do whatever he wants is even better. Beyond that initial innovation, though, is where KemonoMichi gets dicey. Mister Pro Wrestler is an extreme animal lover, which makes for some amusing moments – when he encounters a new type of fantasy creature, for example, we’re treated to a gleeful image of him doing squats or sit-ups while gliding across the screen. It also makes for some terribly weird “comedy,” as in the scenes where he brings a wolf man to orgasm by rubbing his belly, or sniffs a three-headed dog’s anus with a blush on his cheeks. The show isn’t pornographic by any stretch, but you need only read between the lines to understand that this dude is sexually attracted to animals – a fact that will likely be the foundation for many more “hilarious” moments between now and late December. The show looks fine and it’s occasionally clever, but unless this type of humor is within your strike zone, I’d approach with caution.

Potential: 40%

Honzuki no Gekokujou

Short Synopsis: A bookworm girl dies and gets transported to another world where books are sacred.

Amun’s review:

Many Isekai start off with high stakes – a hero summoned by a nation imperiled by an advancing demon or some variant. Honzuki no Gekokujou’s heroine’s first hardship of the new world is…global illiteracy. While Dr. Stone seeks to reinvent modern society in the flashiest ways possible, our heroine seems like she’ll be spending at least a few more episodes just trying to find something to read (spoiler: bet it’s with the church). I guess it’s a cute premise and the main character obviously has quite a bit of attention devoted to her. The rest of the world look pretty bland, but I guess that’s expected from a medieval setting. This looks a lot like a simpler version of “If It’s for My Daughter, I’d defeat a Demon Lord” from last season – it will pretty much hinge on character cuteness in a fantasy-lite world. If that’s your cup of tea (“If It’s For My Daughter” was for me last season), this looks stomachable. However, with all the other high profile offerings of the season, this show will probably be a palate cleanser at best.

Potential: 40%

Mario’s review:

While Honzuki was in my anticipated list for this season, this premiere unfortunately doesn’t really sell its case. For a show that is designed to be a departure from the isekai genre, it still has the pitfall of over-explaining the new world and its plot (glaring example: “Do you remember your Dad is a guard of the Main Gate?” EXPOSITION!!!). In addition, our girl Myne is so obsessed with books that if you take the book aspect out of her equation, her personality doesn’t have much else. Well, her new body has some kind of illness as well but we know little to nothing about it and the show so far brushes that off as “frail body”. Add to that, I found the fantasy world design is plain and unattractive (looks at the screenshot) and the production so far is below par. The only thing this show offers so far is to see how Myne goes from from zero to becoming an author and opening a bookstore. If that premise still interests you, then you can give it some more episodes. Otherwise, Honzuki offers little else.

Potential: 20%