Category: Some Quick First Impressions

Kobayashi-san Chi no Maidragon S

Short Synopsis: A programmer and her live-in maid are threatened by a bizarrely proportioned interloper (who gives Kobayashi-san an unexpected package).

Wooper: You can’t keep a good studio down, and with all the dirt we’ve learned about the anime industry in recent years, Kyoto Animation might be the only good studio left in the game. Their TV comeback would be worth celebrating no matter what form it took, but thankfully it took Dragon Maid form – the sequel to my favorite recent show of theirs. The changes in series and art directors didn’t stop this episode from looking fabulous, from well-timed comedic gestures to meticulous background design to the effects-heavy dragon duel during the second act. My favorite part of this premiere had to be Tohru’s employment at a maid cafe, as it made excellent use of her personal pride and high-energy temperament. Everything to do with newcomer Ilulu is where I’m more mixed, and not just because her aggressive attitude threatens the series’ trademark domesticity. It’s more that her tire-sized tits and pubic pranks mark her as an obvious conduit for the author’s fetishes, which aren’t exactly up my alley. I have faith that her interest in Miss Kobayashi will eventually exit the sexual realm, but it’s hard to get too hyped for the rest of this season when a prominent new character seems intent on perverting as much of it as she can.

Potential: 70%

Amun: If you’re not cheering for KyoAni to get back on their feet, then you’re not an anime fan. Period. And what better show to do it with than the warm and fuzzy, feel-good story of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid? A wholesome show of the everyday-life interactions between a powerless human and her ridiculously overpowered, but platonically playful, live-in dragon maid. Well….that was the plan anyways until a busty, pants-less loli shows up and causes our heroine to grow a new member. I’m sorry, what?! Everything else was fine – this first episode looked gorgeous, the fight scene was great, nice reintroduction to all the dragons around town….but yeah. I just foresee this going down an oddly specific route, and that’s not necessary – service didn’t make the first season succeed. Honestly, I’m a little upset – there’s just no need to do that and ruin a perfectly good thing (that’s what Miss Kobayashi said ^_^). I’d even say this was the best slice of life setup currently airing. Most seasonal watchers are counting on Kobayashi-san to carry as one of the few tent poles this season, but suddenly I’m concerned about the only show I thought was a guaranteed win.

Potential: I don’t even know.

Seirei Gensouki

Short Synopsis: I forgot so I had to google it – some generic isekai, childhood friend, magic, torture, revenge crap.

Amun: Man, Wooper had his old man rant in the last post – at that point, this season had still not broken me. After watching Seirei Gensouki, that all changes. It’s as if the creator thought “if I pour every component of every isekai into one, surely it will have a soul.” Friend, that’s actually a homunculus, and FMA – an actually good show – discussed how that all turns out. Seirei Gensouki is just regurgitated garbage with new characters, old plotlines that we’re supposed to care about – despite seeing these tropes many, many times – in fact, there are better versions this season. Despite that, there’s at least one fan – and they’ve written a tremendous character summary on Wikipedia. Not that it entices me to watch the show, but wow, someone cared enough to type all that out. Maybe I should take up golf as my hobby instead…

Potential: Get off my lawn

Armitage: See, there’s ‘MC getting into an accident and waking up in a fantasy world’ and then there’s ‘a whole moving bus being side-rammed by a ZOOMING FREIGHT TRAIN and the MC still waking up in a fantasy world’. And since the latter does happen in Seirei Gensouki, it’s one of the first signs that just mayyybe, this isn’t a very subtle show. But you know, first impressions can be deceptive. Let’s give it a fair shot. So, our protagonist needs to protect the female lead who was his childhood friend? Well, sure. We need to give the audience something to relate to, obviously. What’s that? He also needs to take revenge for his mother?? Oh, uh, okay. Guess he’s a savior-of-all-women type. Sure… Huh? What’s that you say? He’s also an immigrant (a term defined in the MC’s own words as someone who “lives in slums and wears dirty, tattered clothes”) and named after the most famous city in South America?! Um, just try and be somewhat careful of the ground you’re treading on her— and we now have the immigrants massacred. So, the boy gotta take revenge for that too. Brilliant. Remind me when the aliens show up to teach our MC time travel, will ya?

Potential: Generic isekai trash: Model #242

Cheat Kusushi no Slow Life: Isekai ni Tsukurou Drugstore

Short Synopsis: Unnecessary isekai about a drug store.

Amun: Ah, instead of Isekai Restaurant simulator, we get Isekai drugstore simulator. Oh, so it’s going to be like that Monster Musume Doctor show? Wait, there’s only 3 characters? And they were designed in Microsoft Paint? Also, what’s up with the love of energy drinks? Last season’s second slime isekai (no, not the good one) had an energy drink vendor there too. Oh there’s a dog-girl…I feel as if those have supplanted cat-girls. I also really enjoy watching like 5 minute meltdowns of characters I just met. You know, this show isn’t funny – this is some uncomfortable emotional trauma. By the way, these are actually a bunch of shorts bundled into a full time slot. Hey look, it’s over. I hope reading this meandering paragraph convinced you never to watch this show.

Potential: 0%

Mario: Some would argue that Drugstore Isekai is unassumed and relaxed, for me it’s just lazy. And it’s funny how watching the entire first episode I still don’t get where the “Cheat” in the title came from, guess I’ll never find that out anymore (they missed their chance to call it Drugstore Cowboy!!!). Like any generic isekai, our transported protagonist has it a bit too easy – by the time the episode begins, he’s already famous to the point that every villager compliments his products as “delicious” – weird considering it’s medicine he’s selling. Then there’s the shameless fan-service as he already has cute animal girls working for him, causing me to shrug when I saw half a dozen other girls lining up in the OP. The show tries hard to please people – to put audiences into their comfort zone, but it’s just too broad to leave any lasting impact. It might put viewers to sleep, though, and if that’s the goal, it does its job miraculously (or is it his “delicious” potions at play?).

Potential: zzz

Getter Robo Arc

Short Synopsis: An irradiated human being teams up with a part-dinosaur pilot to defend Earth from an alien invasion.

Wooper: Arc is the fifth installment in Ken Ishikawa’s Getter Robo series, starring the son of a major character and a pilot from the original series who now plays the role of brilliant scientist. You need some prior Getter knowledge to make these connections, but they aren’t vital to understanding what’s going on, because what’s going on is simple: aliens are attacking, and they have to be stopped. There’s a crudeness to the art in this new series that makes it look like a cheap Saturday morning cartoon, but it’s synergistic in a way – most of the characters are the rough-and-tumble sort (especially Takuma), and the ruined future where the series takes place doesn’t exactly require a polished rendering. The biker gangs and junkyard mafias who populate this new Earth might have some facial features out of place, but since their faces exist to get punched, that’s no big loss. Even the CG used for the Getter mechs is a step up from what we saw in the original PV. It’s weird to see Ryoma’s son say that something looks “jank as hell,” but liberties in translation aside, Arc is still the Getter you remember – for better and for worse.

Potential: 50%

Mario: I honestly wasn’t aware of the Getter Robo franchise before watching this, but the old-school artstyle and designs and its epic battles remind me a good deal of Giant Robo. Had it stuck to the “old-school” all the way, the episode would fare much better than this. One of the first issues with Getter Robo Arc is that the obvious CG alien design doesn’t mesh very well with the rest of the story. It feels as if we are watching two different shows altogether. The second issue lies in its pacing. The show assumes the audience has basic knowledge of the characters and their abilities beforehand (I presume?), because it proceeds almost incomprehensibly. Many things are unclear: the main characters’ relationship is unexplained, the reason why they have to fight the aliens is never explained, and what the heck is the mecha that they pilot? All these make it a premiere that is epic in concept, occasionally interesting to watch, and totally unattached when it comes to emotional connection. Too bad!

Potential: Too bad!

Tantei wa mou, Shindeiru

Short Synopsis: An extremely unlucky middle schooler is conscripted into being a now-deceased detective’s assistant.

Armitage: I must really be losing my ability to overlook how juvenile LN writing can be at times because I lost count of the number of times I rolled my eyes at the screen in this premiere. The fact that it was an hour long special didn’t help its case either as so much of it felt like needless padding. The show tries to make its lead into a “quirky” detective with deadpan quips like she’s the anime embodiment of RDJ from those sub-standard Sherlock movies, but it just doesn’t work. The very few times I laughed during most of the runtime, I was left wondering if it was a joke that the characters played off as or were they being deadly serious?? And most of the time, they are being deadly serious. This is a show that makes you feel dumb by pretending to be wayyy smarter than it is. While in reality, it’s kind of a poor-man’s Elementary with almost none of the charm. Either way, I personally would not be watching any more of it.

Potential: 15%

Amun: Ah. This is familiar ENGI studio fare. If you’re worried about the opening quality – you should be, it’s a bad sign. I see all the hallmarks of animation overambition and shortcuts to try and make it work. The result is an almost passable episode that I have no faith in going forward. I will say that the premiere itself was handled pretty well in terms of direction and adapting sub-par source material. The dialogue didn’t drag on like in the manga and the banter was halfway decent. The problem is the chemistry between the leads will be entirely gone next episode as, well, the detective is already dead. I’m normally pretty optimistic, but this is a sinking ship, no two ways about it.

Potential: 30%

Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki

Short Synopsis: High Schooler who read half of “The Prince” is better at ruling a country than a 13th generation monarch.

Amun: (I will not mention Amagi Brilliant Park, I will not mention Amagi Brilliant Park…). So I have actually read some of the source material here…and truthfully, it was better than this premiere. I mean, it didn’t really make sense in paper form, and it sure doesn’t make a lot of sense in moving pictures (what on earth does finding a family have to do with running a country?). That said, this should be pretty hard to screw up – a studious, overly serious Japanese man brings order to a bunch of idiots and accidentally gets a harem on the way. You won’t win any points for originality, but there are worse ideas for a show (like, this season. There are worse ideas this season). It doesn’t look that bad either – some of the character designs have some rough moments, but overall I think this level of quality should be doable for thirteen episodes. The bar is just set so low, that I think if it can manage this level of animation and maybe a slightly more interesting plot (just throw new characters at it, it’ll be fine), then I’ll see this one through. Goodness, this season is terrible.

Potential: 60% (any other season would be 20%)

Wooper: Do you all ever stop and think about the consequences of all these isekai adaptations for anime fandom as a whole? Most people who still read text blogs are on the older side, meaning we formed an image of what anime was in our youth, but there are thousands of kids coming to anime every day without any such preconceptions. They’re not going through the Toonami gauntlet or watching whatever gets dubbed in their native language – they’re typing “watch anime” into Google, settling on the most operable pirate site they can find, and clicking on whatever looks cool. And really, what’s cooler than a thumbnail of a normal-looking guy surrounded by cute girls in appealing fantasy outfits? What choice could be safer than a show whose title makes it sound like a gamer’s dream? For some of these teenage newcomers, this subgenre is not just a corner of the anime market; it’s the cornerstone of their pop culture diet. Ask them what anime is, and once you get past its country of origin and general aesthetic, words like “reincarnation” and “summoning” are likely to crop up. There’s a potential future out there where isekai supplants shounen as top dog, which would result in a lot more Genjitsu Shugi Yuushas – and given how unspeakably dull this one was, I’m not eager to see that future realized.

Potential: None for me

Kageki Shoujo!!

Short Synopsis: A tall girl joins an Opera troupe to play Lady OSCARRRRR. 

Armitage: Kageki Shoujo is an anime featuring an all-girls central cast, a light academia aesthetic and focusing on students training to be opera(!) performers. Yeah… um, where do I sign??

Apart from the core elements being practically tailor-made for me, this show’s highlights are by far the elegance with which it treats its theme and characters. Even the comedic moments are all graceful, never leaning into over-the-top slapstick hijinks. And that’s what makes the central dynamic between Watanabe and Ai so interesting. Though they clearly serve different purposes in the narrative. Ai, a former idol, represents the ugly side of the idol industry serving as a reminder of how pervasive celebrity fandom can be while also acting as a critique for mindless cancel culture. Watanabe on the other hand is the polar opposite of what the performing arts industry demands from its poster children – tardy, loud, uncaring about her perception in front of others; graceless. She values her family and the people who are part of her life more than keeping up appearances for strangers. In stark contrast with Ai who can barely even text her mom every once in a while. It’s a fascinating duality and one that’s bound to be the core of the show going forward. As for the production, it’s nothing out of the ordinary, but the character designs, by Takahiro Kishida of *Baccano! fame, and the backgrounds stand out well enough to cover up any shortcomings on the animation front. While the premiere served mostly as an introduction to the setting and characters, I have it on very good authority that the source material is compelling enough to hold its own. A definite keeper for me.    

Potential: 85%

Mario: There’s a sense of familiarity in watching Kageki Shoujo, but in this case I don’t regard it as detrimental. You can see all the shoujo/josei tropes in this first episode, and the overall story – of several girls with different backgrounds and personalities joining the troupe – is something that we have seen before, but the show provides some solid groundwork for the cast. Each character is distinctive and has their own voice, and the real winners here are Sarasa and Ai as their contrasted attitudes play off each other very well. Visually, the show doesn’t stand out much but the direction does very well to complement the story. Its focus on small moments is another highlight. Kageki Shoujo won’t be “the next big thing” by any measure, but it’s definitely my definition of a sleeper hit.

Potential: 50%

Uramichi Oniisan

Short Synopsis: A world-weary ex-gymnast hosts a children’s exercise show.

Wooper: Uramichi Oniisan is one of those adaptations where the manga is slapped straight on screen, which means that unless you’re blind and need voice acting to follow along, you might as well read the comic. There are a bunch of A-list seiyuu attached to the project (four of whom have supplied voices for Levi Ackerman, Light Yagami, and both boys from Haruhi’s SOS Brigade), but not even they could stop this episode from feeling about 15 minutes too long. I like the concept, and some of the gags are cleverly conceived, particularly the mascot actor who refuses to take off his rabbit head in order not to make eye contact with Uramichi. Then there’s the exhausted early-30s protagonist who, despite being in peak physical condition, is Literally Me. Despite finding the show humorous and somewhat relatable, though, it has maybe three jokes, and tells variations of them far too often to give me confidence in its next 11 episodes. If the concept of a cynical children’s entertainer and his costumed friends appeals to you, the manga scanlations are 26 chapters deep, so I’d recommend that route instead.

Potential: 15%

Armitage: In theory, Uramichi Oniisan sounds like the perfect comedy anime aimed at adults and the existential dread a lot of us constantly deal with every so often. It’s the perfect premise for a highly relatable gag comedy that would have been a welcome change of pace from all the high-school comedy shows we usually get. The only issue? It’s not funny. The gags can be seen coming from a mile away, the same template is used for almost all jokes, hell even the reaction faces are predictable. With arguably THE BEST voice acting cast in any anime… ever(?), featuring industry titans in Mamoru Miyano, Hiroshi Kamiya, comedy royalty Sugita Tomokazu, Nana Mizuki, Yuichi Nakamura, Daisuke Ono, the list goes on, really. It is such a damn shame that a dream collaboration like this is wasted on a sub standard series like the one we’ve got here.

Potential: 10%

Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid

Short Synopsis: Everyone realizes the young duke is lethal to be around…except for his busty maid who decides that actively seducing him – which would be fatal – is a great pastime.  

Mario: And here we have another show where the girl character makes “unwanted sexual teases” to our poor boy, but as weird as it might sound I do consider them a success so far. So why, you ask? The show balances out its hormonal hijinks with its sad story beats underneath, considering that our boy is cursed with death touch that forbid him to touch living things. That means, no physical contact whatsoever. That tonal shift is not always smooth, but it’s certainly layered where you can sense the sadness behind their (or lack thereof) interactions. Created by the staff behind Hi Score Girl, I expected its full CG animation would take a bit of time to get used to, so I’m genuinely pleased with what we got in this premiere. The gothic background is simple but pleasing, so does the whole production as it looks decent to me most of the time. The main draw here is certainly the titular characters, so if you don’t put off by the amount of sexual teases in this first episode, you will have a good time with it.

Potential: 60%

Amun: You know what, I like this spin on the anime female tease – if you wanna thot at our MC’s expense, then at least put some stakes on it.  In this case, touch him – you die (I actually think that because Alice already loves him, then she’s immune to the curse.  My reasoning: Duke O’ Death had a flower that she also touched and she was fine).  I think Shinigami Bocchan actually played it straight and explored aspects of the premise in an intelligent manner.  I don’t normally love 3D renders, but Shinigami Bocchan looks pretty good so far.  Despite the silliness, there’s a real story here – and for this season, that’s good enough for me.

Potential: 70%

Hamefura S2

Short Synopsis: A reincarnated high schooler finds out she’s the villain of her favorite game and feels safe, having avoided all of her doom flags.

Mario: Our poster girl is back for another season. As much as my heart screams “YES”, to be completely fair, this premiere will satisfy fans but offer little to change distractors’ minds. Part of the reason why is that it rehashes the formula from the first season: Bakarina just goofs around while other guys (and gals) fawn over her. It’s a prime example of characters running around in search of plot since there’s no real urgency at the moment. To add to that, the characters are not distinct enough solely because they all have the same attitude and feeling towards Katarina. Maybe that’s why I enjoy the red-haired dude the most since he is the only one who isn’t crazy about her. As long as the show fixes these two issues I can see it becoming a force to be reckoned with. If not, well, at least we always have Bakarina.

Potential: 50%

Amun: Season 2 of Hamefura was always going to have a problem: what happens when the central conflict, actually the central premise, of the show is resolved? From this first episode, the answer seems painfully clear – instead of avoiding exile or death, our heroine/villainess now must avoid another sentence – marriage. I’m expecting an expanded cast as well – we’ve already met some brothers and introduced the idea of the Magic Research Institute or equivalent institution. This sounds like I’m being pessimistic – which I am – but the first episode still hit all the fun notes and made me laugh just like the best bits of the previous season. I don’t think the magic’s lost, but I think there are going to be some challenges towards the back half of the season. That said, Hamefura has a long way to fall before I drop it – especially considering the other prospects this season.

Potential: 75%

Bokutachi no Remake

Short Synopsis: A wannabe game developer gets a second chance at his dream career after traveling ten years into the past.

Wooper: As soon as I booted up this hour-long premiere and saw the slow crawl of the progress bar, I braced myself for a bad time, but Bokutachi no Remake was merely mediocre. The premise wasn’t too far-fetched for a time travel anime, as the lead character doesn’t use his knowledge of the future to his advantage – he’s just making the most of the mysterious opportunity to redo his college years. Actually, you could argue that the show’s normalcy is its biggest issue. The script is overflowing with safe conversations between students and teachers, which seem designed to pad out a double-length episode rather than illuminate their personalities. Even the protagonist’s reactions to the fanservice scenes seemed a tad too mild (though anime has poisoned the part of my brain that evaluates that stuff). A semi-realistic look at art college isn’t far from my sort of show, but despite the series’ low key atmosphere thus far, I don’t think I’ll continue with it – the aggressively cute female characters and the superficiality of the classes don’t hold a lot of interest for me. Still, there’s a chance that Remake will deepen its scope as it goes, so if you enjoyed this premiere, don’t let me put you off.

Potential: 40%

Lenlo: Bokutachi is… rather dull to be frank. I was rather interested in the beginning! We don’t get enough anime following adult characters and I think the struggle not only to find a job but to manage a videogame project, ala Shirobako, could have been really interesting! But then it decided to go down the time travel route. And I don’t know about you but between Erased and the recent Tokyo Revengers I’ve been burned more than I would like by time travel anime. They so often fall into the common pitfalls of time travel, namely that half-assed writing/adaptations fall apart where in regular series they could coast. Bokutachi has one advantage in that it’s going back to college instead of high school or middle school but overall I’m just not that interested in another time travel “Fix my past mistakes” series. I don’t want to watch people fix those mistakes! I want to watch people recognize and overcome those mistakes!

Potential: 20%

Mahouka Koukou no Yuutousei

Short Synopsis: Viewers can now see the glory of One True Tatsuya from the perspective of his biggest fan – his sister.

Amun: Irregular at Magic High has always had two primary characters and an otherwise forgettable cast. This episode was…exactly what two seasons of this universe would have you expect, so I’m not going to dwell on that too much. What’s more interesting to me is the ED, which seems to indicate a more sports-themed focus on the minor characters. It also seems that the little sister is the narrator this time around – which I absolutely couldn’t care less about. I guess that means the female side characters will have more screen time? Last season started tackling issues that I felt were a little too large (literal multiverses) to be taken seriously, so I’m glad this season (which is something of a prequel? I think?) will be getting back to small-scale silliness. I still like this world and it’s a fun romp of power-magic fantasy with pretty characters, so I’m onboard. Just don’t hurt yourself thinking too hard about the plot – this isn’t that kind of show.

Potential: 65%

Wooper: I must be getting soft in my soon-to-be-middle age. The sort of dumb anime bullshit that used to get on my nerves only makes me laugh these days. And just like its parent series, this Mahouka Koukou spinoff is positively dripping with dumb anime bullshit; incest bait, protagonist worship, and obsession with female purity all made appearances in this single episode. This thing is written by and for dudes whose contact with women is limited to their immediate family members (who had better dress modestly whenever they set foot outside the house). But as I said earlier, I’m a changed man – these are no longer disqualifying factors in my mind, just distractions from whatever larger appeal a show might have. Just because anime as a whole is overrun with cardboard characters and busty babes doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyed for its better qualities! So the question is, barring Miyuki’s lustful narration, Tatsuya’s crowd-moistening sophistication, and all that evil female flesh on display, what is the appeal of this franchise?

Appeal: 0%

Vanitas no Carte

Short Synopsis: Vampire Hunter V: Bookworm.

Lenlo: I have to admit, Vanitas surprised me. I wasn’t expecting much from another vampire show, especially not after Mars Red. But the unique blend of Studio BONES visuals and the Monogatari Director Tomoyuki Itamura’s flashy, over the top style blend together in interesting ways. It’s dramatic but doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously, often utilizing the same chibi visuals we saw in Sk8 earlier this year. Though one might argue it uses them too much. The fights themselves also aren’t terribly impressive but they also aren’t uh… terrible. The only part that I’m up in the air on is the story. So far it’s pretty rote, happy ending type stuff. Good guy saves the girl, etc etc. The only part that has me interested is how Vanitas tells us, right from the get go, how it’s going to end. That’s always a ballsy move in my book and if it can pull it off, I’ll count myself as satisfied. All in all I would say this is a decidedly average showing from BONES. But in a season as dry as this it’s at least worth watching for a bit.

Potential: 50%

Armitage: Unlike Lenlo, I had rather lofty expectations from Vanitas no Carte and it met those satisfactorily for the most part. This was more of an introductory episode getting us acquainted with our lead duo and the lovely catto, Murr. It looks like this is going to be a vampire hunting show which is what almost all vampire anime ever seem to be. So not much in the name of a unique premise. Still, I have always adored the Victorian Steampunk aesthetic and the nice backgrounds do tend to render the setting well. The real highlight of the premiere for me was the score composed by personal favorite Yuki Kajiura. It amplified the atmosphere and picked up any slack in the animation department to make the premiere feel interesting throughout. The narrative itself has just about started to unfold but the hook delivered at the end makes me really excited for what’s to come. So, in parallel with Jun Mochizuki’s Pandora Hearts, Vanitas has also been slow to start off, but I expect it to make for a highly enjoyable experience once it hits its stride.

Potential: 70%

Kanojo mo Kanojo

Short Synopsis: A high school boy enters a throuple with two cute girls by begging and shouting a lot.

Wooper: Kanojo mo Kanojo depicts the realization of every teenage guy’s dream: dating two girls at the same time, both of whom are cool with the arrangement. How does it approach such an unrealistic scenario? As unrealistically as possible, of course. That’s the secret to the show’s appeal – every line is delivered as theatrically as possible, and developments like the three kids moving in together are basically achieved by magic. The male lead’s noisy demeanor isn’t winning, exactly, but he’s so persistent that he warps the rules of courtship to his will – a top five superpower for sure. The visuals are just as loud, with plenty of closeups on the characters’ shocked faces and scrolling rainbow effects in the background. Even the soundtrack was manic, but I guess it would have to be, as the episode would crash and burn otherwise. All in all, I got a few laughs out of this premiere, most of which stemmed from its stupidity, but I can’t deny its commitment to the bit. Just don’t go in expecting Tsuki ga Kirei or anything on that level.

Potential: 20%

Mario: Frankly, the show already lost me after its first 10 seconds. Here we witness a boy’s wish fulfillment wet dream cranked up to 11. There’s a line in the show that perfectly reflects my sentiments: “What is it about him that you fell in love with?” One thing I can say is that he doesn’t bullshit about two-timing, but does the show expect him to get away with his plan just because he’s honest? The girls, then, are created solely to please both their boyfriend and the males in the audience, and guess what, based on the ED even more girls will join the cast. OF COURSE THERE WILL BE MORE GIRLS. The only point I can give Kanojo mo Kanojo is its sheer commitment to its message, aligned with the boy’s unflinching devotion to NOT let anyone go. For me it’s just painful to see girls written and acted this way.

Potential: 0%

Re-Main

Short Synopsis: A boy wakes up from a coma with missing memories, but can’t say no to the power of water polo and muscular dudes.

Mario: It’s tricky to write about a protagonist who has amnesia going on with their life. It works best in the mystery genre because of the way it utilizes the unreliable narrator – for comedy, though, it’s tough to get it right. Re-Main reminds me a fair bit of the 2010 film Colorful, and it suffers the same problem as that film. First, throughout the 20 minute episode it wasn’t clear how much time had passed since the accident. I reckon the writing is to blame for this, as it tends to replace a lot of events that would show him navigating his new life with “a few months have passed.” Second, the way the lead boy behaves is not at all believable. It’s a three year time span that he lost, but apparently he can still enter high school after just eight months of self-study? I don’t buy that at all. Re-Main glosses over so many details which would have been compelling in their own right and focuses on the water polo part, but it doesn’t actually show us a match, leaving me disinterested in both aspects of the show. Just like the amnesiac protagonist, it’s better to erase this water polo series from our memories.

Potential: 10%

Lenlo: I… what? What are these scribbles? Is this how badly MAPPA is running out of animators? I know that staff/animators are leaving en masse, op-eds about hellish working conditions are being published, and people are literally going to the hospital there but come on! What’s that Wooper? Get off my soapbox? Fine, back to Re-Main. My general impression is one of utter boredom. Visually, narratively and tonally there is absolutely nothing that engages me about this show. Maybe it can get a story out of the family working through the effects of the MC’s coma but that’s about it. But all of that aside, you wanna know what the real crime is? That MAPPA couldn’t even give us some quality butts. Seriously, you’re going to give every guy in a show about speedos and swimming some cardboard asses? Are they all Ken dolls?! I’m very disappointed.

Potential: 0%

Sonny Boy

Short Synopsis: Infinite Ryvius but set in the only place scarier than space: High School.

Armitage: I can safely assume that most of you reading this have not seen HBO’s The Leftovers, though I highly recommend you do so as I consider it to be the best story I have experienced in all of entertainment media. Sonny Boy’s core concept is basically a rip-off of The Leftovers but set in a more constrained setting of a high school, because anime. There are also elements of Lord of the Flies, the art is reminiscent of Anthem of the Heart and the school kids have superpowers, because anime. Basically, it’s not a highly original setup. But it’s the presentation of all these disparate elements conjoined together that makes for an incredibly arresting viewing experience.

The world, well… the school, truly feels like an actual place with paint coming off from the walls and iron rails covered in patches of rust. This is very much a place that’s been standing for years, maybe decades. Even with the empty void that surrounds it, it feels like a place that people lived in. A place now inhabited by a cast of somewhat emo teenagers who just want to escape. To be anywhere but here. The ‘punishment rules’ in place are supposed to mirror a totalitarian governing system and I do believe the superpowers and lack thereof would lead to some scenarios of prejudice reminiscent of BnHA and MP100. But while watching this premiere, I couldn’t help but get that nagging feeling of having seen it all before. That is until the last 30 seconds of the episode when Sonny Boy took a deep dive into uncharted territory. There’s every chance that it might still end up rehashing established genre tropes but it’s given itself a solid opportunity to stand out as something more than the sum of its parts.

Potential: 80%

Lenlo: I’ll be frank: I have no idea what this show is. High school? That’s normal. Superpowers? Ok, we’ve seen it before. Transported to another world? All’s good in the hood! Yet Sonny Boy’s strange mix of them all feels… unique. Perhaps that’s just the mystery of the whole thing tinting my perception. Whatever the case though I am intrigued by what Sonny Boy is doing, even if it doesn’t yet make any sense. Meanwhile production wise Sonny Boy is right up my alley. The loose style reminds me a lot of Yuasa’s more fluid, low-detail character designs – the kind that tend to allow his team to distort the bodies to really fit the movement they are trying to sell. Top that off with some great effects work on the powers, such as shattering the entire screen (plus some iffy CGI), and you have my hope for the season (he says after watching one show so far :p).

Potential: 70%

Scarlet Nexus

Short Synopsis: A psychokinetic teen and his childhood savior fight against alien flower monsters.

Wooper: I’ve seen some recent pushback against the habit of calling anime adaptations “advertisements for the source material.” I get why people are moving away from the phrase, since it paints with too broad a brush, but a series like Scarlet Nexus demonstrates why it became prominent in the first place. The show started airing just days after its parent video game’s release, and it’s so disinterested in its own story that spending 60 dollars on the game seems worth it, if only to avoid the anime. Characters talk in bullet points, introducing themselves and providing background information with robotic precision. The very second they’re finished reading their lines, aliens appear, creating a sterile transition into unexciting combat scenes. A little girl unleashes a classic cry of “Momma!” as a means of motivating the rookie protagonist to join the battle and Save the Children. If you’ve ever read or watched a piece of dystopian fiction, Scarlet Nexus won’t have anything new to offer you (apart from its bizarre antagonists, which might best be described as legged floral arrangements).

Potential: 10%

Lenlo: As far as sci-fi video game adaptations go Scarlet Nexus is… fine? Wooper hits all the notes above, it’s a straight laced, stereotypical dystopia with a sci-fi aesthetic. And the sad part? I actually think the video game looks better. The outfits are clearly designed for 3D models and are far too complicated to animate any complex actions. Meanwhile the pacing, as Wooper points out, is more suited for a game than it is a 24 minute-per-week TV show. In fact I actually went and watched the opening hour of the playthrough and I think you would get more value out of just watching the cutscenes or a Let’s Play of that game than you would watching this anime. I don’t know whose idea this series was but the money would probably have been better spent taking everything they put into this and instead recycling it back into the game.

Potential: 5%

Peach Boy Riverside

Short Synopsis: A runaway princess meets a demihuman rabbit who then follows her to repay her debt.

Lenlo: I don’t think there is a single unique or creative thought in this show. It’s a medieval fantasy with a big-breasted female lead and shallow racism that, for some reason, our lead has never heard of and doesn’t believe in despite growing up in this world just like anyone else. There’s nothing about Peach Boy that in any way catches my eye, except maybe like… the cute rabbit monster.

Potential: 1%

Mario: Apparently Peach Boy Riverside’s director chose to rearrange the source material for the anime, which explains why it starts in media res. It’s not that hard to grasp the story, though, as it’s pretty straightforward. So far it’s a road trip where the main girl finds out about demihuman discrimination and her own bloodlust, but neither she nor her discoveries are appealing so far. The way Peach Boy tackles discrimination is totally on the nose, and the fact that she was previously unaware of it is so unnatural. Moreover, what I found most underwhelming is how it approaches the story. The tone is all over the place, to the point we have no idea if certain scenes are supposed to be funny or not. In one sequence, when offered octopus, the main girl immediately thinks of tentacle sex. The way the show focuses on her bouncy boobs, the rabbit girl’s habit of wearing a modern school uniform despite the fantasy setting… all the obvious otaku pandering left a distasteful impression on me. (sigh) I did have some hope for the show before watching it, but with its generic setup, shallow exposition and thinly-written characters, Peach Boy Riverside sets the bar incredibly low for this Summer season.

Potential: 0%

Fumetsu no Anata e

Short Synopsis: An immortal being learns about the fleeting joy and terrible sorrows of living.

Armitage: The reason why To Your Eternity’s biggest litmus test was going to be the adaptation of the manga’s first chapter is because this introduction just carries such a quiet devastation and is so uncharacteristic of modern manga tropes that it’s almost unfair. It presents us with a heartbreaking self-contained narrative which also sets up the premise and tone of the series effortlessly. And while I was always skeptical of Brain’s Base as being the studio in charge of the adaptation, they do actually ‘adapt’ the source material near perfectly here. The one thing they could have chosen to do was to linger on the more poetic moments of the story. Like the being heading out into a wondrous world brimming with the possibility of life, while the boy lies behind him, lifeless. As I mentioned in the Spring Preview, Yoshitoki Ooima’s art cannot possibly be replicated in an anime and Brain’s Base was never gonna be the studio to even attempt to do it. So what we get are a few awkwardly minimal looking backgrounds and wide-shots but that’s about the only negative I hold against this premiere.

The one thing that they do manage to do right is character animation. Fleeting smiles, dejected eyes, trickling tears. All portrayed flawlessly. The OST too is fittingly sombre and melancholic. So, clearly the anime adaptation is going to have contrasting strengths to the manga. Which is fine, as the source material is far too accomplished to be held down by minor technical quibbles. And as long as the anime doesn’t pull a Neverland, this story is going to be one to pull at your heart-strings and then some.

Potential: of breaking your heart.

Lenlo: Fumetsu is freakin weird. Not weird like Odd Taxi, it’s easy to follow and there’s a clear purpose to it. Weird in that I have no idea where it’s going. I wasn’t expecting the Orb to become the MC. I wasn’t expecting this show to open that bleakly. But the way Fumetsu slowly rolled into it, slowly introduced and executed on the idea, was great. Some might call it boring and I don’t think they are necessarily wrong. This was 23 minutes of walking around a bleak landscape with a lonely boy talking to himself, hardly riveting stuff. I think Fumetsu would have really benefited from some better backgrounds to keep us engaged in these snowy plains because what we got are… kinda mediocre. But if you stick around to the end I think the payoff is worth it. It’s a really strong hook and I like how dedicated Fumetsu is to it. I have no idea how it’s going to fill out 20 episodes with this premise. But if they can give me the same kind of emotional catharsis I got from this one then they are gonna be pretty good.

Potential: 70%

Bishounen Tanteidan

Short Synopsis: A quintet of quirky middle school detectives search for a star that their client glimpsed as a child.

Mario: “The first three rules of Pretty Boy’s Detective Club: be pretty, be a boy, be a detective.” How well you take these rules will sum up your reaction to this show, as they’re treated with all seriousness. I’m a fan of both NisiOisin’s genre-bending works and Shaft’s quirky visual style and even then I found much of the dialogue utterly pretentious. Like Wooper mentioned below, it reminds me a great deal of Ouran Koukou Host Club, but while the characters are bland, I enjoy the concept of these boys doing detective work. The visuals are easily the show’s strongest suit, where Shaft handily employs several art styles – the girl’s flashback especially is something to behold. It’s the third collaboration between Shaft and NisiOisin so it’s kinda a household brand at this point. And like any household brand it attracts you because it’s singular. As such, while this episode never fully gripped me you bet I will follow it till the end of its run.

Potential: 60%

Wooper: This episode could be summed up as “Ouran Koukou Host Club by way of Nisio Isin by way of Studio Shaft.” How many of those people/things you enjoy will be a strong indicator of how much you’ll like this series. Personally, I’m fond of maybe one and a half of those three, so while I found a lot to admire about Bishounen Tanteidan, I didn’t particularly like it. What I did like were the overstuffed backgrounds and forays into different art styles, which make the show one of spring’s most visually arresting offerings. The starlit skies, silhouetted architecture, and simulated oil pastel shots were very pretty, which is fitting for a series that revolves around the concept of beauty. What I didn’t like was almost everything else: the pseudo-intellectual opening monologue, the swaths of character-profiling exposition, the camera’s tendency to focus on a middle schooler wearing hot pants, and the list goes on. I’d probably be more charitable if the female lead hadn’t been swept away in the mess, but alas, Haruhi she ain’t. I might revisit this show if the buzz is still good around the midseason mark, but for now I’ve seen enough.

Potential: 30%

Cestvs: The Roman Fighter

Short Synopsis: A Roman slave fights for his freedom by participating in boxing matches.

Wooper: Don’t mess with me like this, Cestvs. Don’t open your show with ugly CG character models, thereby allowing me to brace myself for one sort of badness, and then switch to an even worse hand-drawn style for the remaining 90% of your premiere. Honestly, the move to 2D did this episode no favors, unless encouraging you to stop watching counts. The shift neutered not only the fight scenes, whose fist-body collisions were no more forceful than a primary schooler cracking an egg, but also the anguish inherent in the story. The cries of the fighters as they were struck, their gasps for air and whimpers of pain – none of those sounds were reflected on the characters’ faces, even during life and death bouts. That mismatched quality would have turned Cestvs into a gut-busting comedy had slavery not been an integral part of its premise. Even the injustice and the brutality of slavery couldn’t bring gravity to this production, though. What else is there to say? Spring 2021 truly saved the worst for last.

Potential: 0%

Mario: It feels bad for a show about boxing in an unique setting like Cestvs to be treated like this. The 3DCG is the elephant in the room here. Not only is it ugly to watch, but the facial expressions are nonexistent. Moreover, the punches don’t land any impact, which is a red flag for a show where boxing is concerned. Adding to that, the writing is pretty mediocre as well. The titular character Cestvs doesn’t have one shade of personality, the death of his “best friend” is ridiculous and pointless, and WTF he’s a slave but he has his own coach and apparently he can do some individual training? HE’S A SLAVE for god’s sake!! It’s not the worst premiere this season but there’s very little hope for this to be something worthwhile.

Potential: 0%

Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san

Short Synopsis: A high school girl bullies a nerdy upperclassman for her own amusement.

Wooper: I expected to hate Nagatoro-san the same way I did Teasing Master Takagi-san, but the surprisingly competent animation did this show a lot of favors. The way Nagatoro bounces around the screen gives her an impish quality that softens her verbal blows – her dynamic reenactment of the male lead’s manga in particular marked her as a fun-seeker rather than a tyrant. Of course, bullying a schoolmate in your quest for entertainment is unacceptable behavior in the real world, but this is anime, where a story’s presentation makes all the difference. Nagatoro is a mean girl, but she demonstrates both a lasting interest in her target and an understanding that her behavior is wrong (“I’ve been pretty horrible to you”). She doesn’t leave as soon as she gets the pitiful reaction she wanted – she sticks around, probably because a small part of her empathizes with this loser, and she likes that new feeling of empathy. She even smiles in satisfaction after Mr. Loser works up the courage to ask her name, as though she’s been waiting for it. I think there’s more to this one than meets the eye, even if it’s obvious masochist bait.

Potential: 40%

Amun: Ah, this was pretty painful. Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san is another rare show where I’m familiar with the source material. I previewed this show and said something along the lines of “it’ll be okay as long as it’s not too mean.” Well…it’s pretty mean-spirited, honestly. There’s a bit of a moment where our main antagonist feels bad about making the helpless lad cry, but it’s too little, too late. How should they have approached this? I think this show works if they show how Nagatoro is more clumsy, instead of cruel – how her “bullying” is just a lack of understanding how to relate. Instead, it comes off as just sadistic. Maybe I expected too much, but this is a hard pass from me.

Potential: 0%

Tokyo Revengers

Short Synopsis: A former delinquent time travels back to his middle school days right before his untimely death.

Lenlo: Revengers is a weird one. Narratively I know I have nothing to worry about. I enjoyed the manga so much I caught up on the entire thing in a weekend and the anime did a decent job overall on that. But not 2 minutes in and LIDENFILMS is already changing small character moments, the sort of stuff that informs you as to who they are. Like making the kids key the car instead of our lead himself doing it, taking away that small moment of rebellion as we get a peek at his inner self. It’s not a big deal but it leaves me asking: What else are they willing to change? Meanwhile the visuals are simply uninspired. They reek of cashing a check, of making an adaptation with minimal actual effort. Hopefully I’m wrong, hopefully Revengers comes back strong and gives me the adaptation I want. But I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t.

Potential: 35%

Wooper: Imagine for a moment that Erased, the time travel anime from 2016, had been delinquent-themed. Now strip away that show’s intrigue, nostalgia, and good looks. Oh, and replace its suspenseful soundtrack with half a dozen lukewarm electric guitar tracks. Got all that? Congratulations, you just saved yourself the time it would have taken to watch the premiere of Tokyo Revengers. I wish I could join you in spending those 20 minutes on anything else, but instead I have to quickly account for my disinterest. I suppose most of it stems from the main character, whose primary thought as he moved through his extended flashback was, “Oh yeah, I remember that.” The guy is far from an electrifying protagonist – his long-awaited reunion with the girl of his dreams was so mild that I thought he might have the wrong person. Not even the plot’s fixation on single-minded teenage punks could make him look complex by comparison. I suppose I should be grateful to Revengers for having such a lousy lead, though, since it quickly signaled that I had one less series to follow this spring.

Potential: 5%

Edens Zero

Short Synopsis: Poor preteen’s Fairy Tail.

Amun: Disclaimer: I’ve only watched the first episode for this review, and it was a fansub, pre-air. That out of the way – Edens Zero certainly gets right to it – no OP or anything. I guess I’d forgotten how…silly Fairy Tail was. This episode was certainly that – very silly. The twist was pretty telegraphed, but I appreciate what they were trying to do. The fight scene was mixed – there were some nice after effects, but I’m not sold on the choreography. I’m also a little concerned about the pace – this episode felt like we were on a schedule with places to be (despite the robots waiting something like 100 years…no big). I just wish the first episode had reminded me only of what I loved about Fairy Tail – fun characters, friendship, and bagpipes – instead of the other nagging issues as well (production, pace, and choreography). I’m still optimistic, just maybe not as much as I was.

Potential: 60%

Armitage: Preface: Amun made me do it!
To say that I am a fan of Fairy Tail is a lie. To say that I don’t judge you for liking Fairy Tail is a diplomatic lie. So, I guess Edens Zero had its task cut out when it threw its hat in the arena for trying to vie for my weekly watch time. Needless to say that it failed at the five-minute mark when we got our main 12-year-old looking protagonist fondling the main female lead’s breasts before proceeding to place himself on the ground in such a position that he could get a peek at her underwear. Going into this show, I knew that I was gonna have to overlook a lot of stuff to even be able to get through the premiere’s runtime and I did exactly that… until the high-pitched, unfunny slapstick comedy and every second sentence ending with a “desu ga?” got too overbearing that I had to tap out. But for the sake of being a professional anime reviewer, I willed myself to the end-credits. Still, I must say that I simply don’t like this show. I won’t ask you to not watch it. As art is subjective. What I might dislike, you can end up wholeheartedly enjoying. But I can give you a TL;DR which can help you decide if Edens Zero is for you: “Even Fairy Tail is better than this”.

Potential: Pass

Amun: Wait, why the heck would you watch this if you didn’t even like Fairy Tail?! It has the same characters!

Slime Taoshite 300-nen

Short Synopsis: Salarywoman dies of overwork and comes back committed to doing the minimum. And accidentally becomes overpowered.

Amun: For whatever reason, some anime recently have been on a crusade against Japan’s overwork culture. Which strikes me as odd, since it’s well known that animators are overworked. Bit of a disconnect between the medium and the message, you know? Anyways, Slime’s message is “slow and steady wins the race” – which is fine if you’re immortal. Oh yeah, and there are no important males in this world. That’s not saying any particular male is unimportant, there just aren’t any present in this world. I guess those are the points I’m neutral or slightly negative on – the show is otherwise nicely chill. The main character is consistent and committed to taking it easy – no complaints here on that. The introduction of the dragon maid is, well, expected – but not horrid. If you’re looking to turn off your brain (say, as you catch up on the last season of Titan), this is the show for you.

Potential: 65%

Lenlo: I was wondering when I would get to the Isekai of the season. And what do you know, it’s exactly what I expected! Video game logic, stats, levels, slimes, drops and absolutely 0 world building or meaningful character work. Oh there might be something novel in following the “Wise Old Witch” character of the story. See some adventurers visit and ask for guidance, do some Gandalf shit then go to bed. But I don’t expect that to be interesting for more than an episode or 2. Meanwhile any “Save the world” plots are automatically invalidated since our lead is literally an overpowered max level immortal witch. If you want some popcorn entertainment you can turn on and not have to actually engage with, Taoshite is probably up your alley. If you want anything other than to be bored out of your skull though then this is probably a pass.

Potential: 10%

86: Eighty Six

Short Synopsis: Army Management Simulator – The Anime.

Lenlo: I’m getting some serious Ender’s Game vibes from 86 and let me tell you what, I’m in. It’s incredible how much information 86 packed into a single episode. By the end it felt like I had watched 40 minutes instead of 20. Yet the pacing didn’t feel rushed either. It managed to convey just as much information through visuals as it did through its dialogue. Whether it be the homogenized hair/eye color of the citizenry, the debaucherous and trashed “Military HQ” or how District 86 and its inhabitants starkly contrasted both. Combine that with some clever cuts and information dense dialogue and you have more world building in a single episode than a lot of anime get in their entire season. The one way I could see 86 going wrong would be if it abandoned its serious take on war. I need this to be in the same camp as OG Gundam, not Space Battleship Yamato.

Potential: 90%

Armitage: This is damn good stuff right here. 86 was one of the most high profile adaptations of the season, based off of a light novel series that’s highly acclaimed even by people not big on LNs, and being adapted across two cours by A1 Pictures. Safe to say that it does deliver on its promise by presenting us with a gritty war-torn world brought to screen through lush backgrounds and actual good 3D-models not rendered by Studio Orange for once. Outside of the 3D designs too, the animation is nothing to scoff at, with characters having detailed expressive movements even during regular conversations. Coupling all that with some impressive quick-cuts and an uncharacteristically low-key but fitting soundtrack from Hiroyuki Sawano, and 86 just about supplants Vivy as the most technically impressive anime of the season, even with A1’s rather generic character designs. Another aspect in which 86 betters Vivy is the way in which it handles its world-building. While the latter has a better premise overall, 86’s necessary info-dump feels more natural and never gets overwhelming, as it lets its visuals and themes take centre-stage instead. If it can deliver a story along the lines of the very similar and highly impressive Iron-blooded Orphans, we’ll surely end up having one of the highlights of the season on our hands.

Potential: 86% >.>

Shadows House

Short Synopsis: A living doll begins her service as an attendant in a mysterious mansion.

Wooper: Boy, that opening montage was a lot more sinister than anything I read in the manga’s first ten chapters. I like it! There’s all sorts of stuff we can infer from those first few minutes – the train that arrived at the Shadows estate was carrying human slaves, those slaves were served a liquid that likely tampered with their memories, members of the Shadows family are created using humans as models, etc. It’s an interesting premise to be sure, but apart from that early foreshadowing, most of this episode provided more character introduction than intrigue. I’m fine with that, since likeable characters are something every premiere ought to strive for, but it does make it hard to judge just how strong a central pillar Emilyko will be for this story. If you like genki blonde girls, you’re sure to find her an adequate guide, and if you like the ‘dirty canvas’ look of the backgrounds, you’re probably hooked already. I’m mixed on the aesthetic myself – it’s great in concept since it underscores the series’ Victorian influences, but it was clearly achieved with a preprogrammed filter, rather than a human hand. Even though I feel like the art director made the right call here, it’s still a minor distraction – modern anime’s curse to bear, I guess.

Potential: 50%

Lenlo: I’m not sold on Shadows House yet. As Wooper says, the opening montage was very sinister, very different from the rest of the show. If it can fulfill the promise of a mystery that it has made then I can see it being successful. But so far I’m not very engaged by Kate or Emilyko. It was cute enough I suppose and I like what it’s doing with the “Shadow” characters’ designs. I’m just… I’m not interested in a girl playing house for 20 minutes. I’m going to keep watching in the hopes that these “Bodysnatcher” vibes I’m getting pay off. I’m not convinced they will yet though.

Potential: 40%

Zombieland Saga: Revenge

Short Synopsis: A Zombie Idol group bombs a performance and has to get real jobs.

Amun: I went into this episode thinking, “what else could Zombieland possibly have that we didn’t see in the first season?”  Quite a lot, apparently.  I still hate the producer – “shout until it’s funny” – but he makes sense, given the end of season reveal about his Sakura connection.  However, this first episode was not the steady ascent of an idol group that I expected; it’s surprisingly befitting of the title “Revenge.”  I…am actually onboard for this.  If it was just a straight trajectory of variety shows and silly local hijinks, I’m not interested.  But put the idols in a large financial and emotional hole plus imply that these zombies have a real shelf life?  That’s high stakes – sign me up.

Potential: 60%

Mario: Zombieland Saga’s first season for me peaked too soon and fell off a cliff after two episodes, and I have the same sentiment about the franchise’s return here. The intro where the workers sing a propaganda song about squids reminds me of all the qualities that I love about Zombieland Saga – yeah, its biting satire is still there. Sadly, the rest of the episode functions like a typical idol show. They all work part-time jobs in order to do concerts again, they are dismissed by the audience and then saved by their manager Kotaro. Speaking of this dude, boy, I’d forgotten how lousy and annoying he can be. This is supposed to be an episode where we can get into the reasons why he wanted to form Franchouchou in the first place, but we didn’t get a glimpse of that – instead it was just him acting from one extreme to another at maximum volume. Even the girls feel less distinctive this time around. Zombieland Saga works much better as a satirical comedy than an idol show, so as long as it sticks with the former, lightning could strike again. If it sticks to Kotaro, however… (sigh).

Potential: 10%

 

Bakuten!!

Short Synopsis: A former baseball benchwarmer joins his new high school’s rhythm gymnastics team.

Wooper: This show really wants to be Haikyuu, man. The chummy club atmosphere, the bird motif, the Yuuki Hayashi score (which sounds like a discount version of his past work), it’s all here. I do want this show to succeed, though, because while it leaned on shiny 3D models for an extended gymnastics routine near the start, there was a rough sort of expressiveness to the rest of the episode. Both the club members and the student body exuded personality during the recruitment scene, and there were smile-worthy moments throughout, like a character doing a somersault into a hallway to make his presence known. Even if Bakuten starts relying more on CG as the season progresses, that’d be alright, so long as it clears its main obstacle – a boring protagonist. Every other character in this premiere outshone him, which was expected, since he functioned as an empty vessel just waiting for [insert sport] to spice up his life. If the show takes quick steps to help him find his voice, Bakuten will have a shot at being the second-best sports anime of the season, but that’s the most it’ll ever achieve.

Potential: 50%

Lenlo: After 2.43 last season I really wasn’t expecting much from this season’s “Pretty Boys do Pretty Things” show but Bakuten surprised me. There was no faffing about with sad backstories, edgy setups or anything like that. It introduced us to a kid who tried a lot of sports trying to find a passion, something most can relate to, and focused on that. The entire episode was him meeting and hanging out with the team, giving us a good idea of who these people are. They are still only stereotypes so far but already we have seen each of them be open and supportive in their own way. Welcoming new people into the group. It’s not the most inventive of openings but I can appreciate its brevity, how it gets us straight to the meat of the story. Hopefully Bakuten can keep up this depiction of passion and teamwork because so far at least I’m in.

Also the 4 minute long full length gymnastics sequence was a ballsy way to start. Nothing but feet hitting pad, diegetic music and some closeup camera shots. CGI wasn’t half bad either. Good job Bakuten.

Potential: 70%

 

The World Ends With You

Short Synopsis: A moody amnesiac attempts to clear a death game in a parallel Shibuya.

Wooper: I should’ve known better than to expect anything from a video game adaptation. TWEWY’s characters have to be some of spring 2021’s worst thus far – other than their participation in a virtual death game, they’ve got nothing going on. Imagine a scene where a story’s protagonist is mentally controlled and forced to choke his partner, without whom he has no hope of survival in an unfamiliar world. Sounds tense, right? Now imagine being bored out of your skull while it plays out on screen, because you were only introduced to the characters ten minutes ago and you have no clue who they are or how they arrived in this alternate universe. The premiere only created more questions as it progressed, so the show is likely fine with that state of cluelessness, but I’m not. It fell to the visuals to keep me intrigued, but while the 3D models did lend a convincing virtuality to the experience, the framing of the non-combat scenes was pretty boring, and alt-Shibuya wasn’t nearly detailed enough to keep me rooted in TWEWY’s world. Even the music was forgettable, despite how integral the original game’s soundtrack was to its success. Hopefully somebody out there enjoyed this episode enough for two people, because I liked almost nothing about it.

Potential: 5%

Lenlo: I had some hopes for TWEWY. Not much, but they were there. Hopes for its visual style, hopes that it would break the mold a bit since it isn’t front a Light Novel, etc. But it met none of those! While I love the thick black linework on the characters the CGI monsters, and occasionally CGI leads, look atrocious. Maybe if they all used the same style it would be fine but I can’t help but feel let down. Meanwhile the story is exactly as Wooper describes it: Boring. Within 5 minutes I found my eyes wandering to the timestamps. It took 10 for my phone to come out and by 20? Well lets just say I was glad to hear the ED kick in. Wooper already gave you the detailed point by point rundown of why so I’ll just stick to seconding him on this: Don’t watch TWEWY. There are better shows this season.

Potential: 0%