Category: Some Quick First Impressions

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%

Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!

Short Synopsis: A newly-reincarnated mage frets about her godlike powers while rescuing a group of kidnapped children.

Wooper’s review:

Here’s a “reincarnated in another world” series that’s preoccupied not with explaining game mechanics or assembling harems, but with creating a main character worth following. All Mile wants is a normal life, but she was granted incredible powers upon her rebirth, much to her chagrin. Even though her prodigious skill is a burden to her, she’s the sort of girl who will sign up to rescue an inn-keeper friend just days after having met her (even if she has to reveal her shameful invincibility in the process). Mile is rather excitable, so we get both cheery and reserved attitudes from her in this premiere, both of which are believable. She and the show provide plenty of commentary on anime tropes, as well. Early scenes are constructed as though she’s talking to herself in clumsily-written fashion, but five minutes later we learn that she was speaking to an invisible friend the whole time. The circumstances of her arrival in the new world are cliched, so the show winkingly pushes through them in just a couple of minutes. The boarding school setup is unlikely to push any narrative boundaries, but it will allow the show to continue elbowing its fellow fantasy series in the ribs every now and then. With both self-awareness and decent characterization in its arsenal, NouryoKinchi is a fun isekai adventure for people who are burned out on the genre.

Potential: 60%

Lenlo’s review:

You know, as someone who has a relatively across the board distaste for Isekai… this one wasn’t actually that bad. I dare say I actually enjoyed parts of it, which was unexpected. The cast isn’t particularly crazy, seemingly existing for more than just fanservice at this point. Which is always a plus. Meanwhile the MC is rather self aware and generally just tired of all of this kerfuffle. Of course she’s still OP as all hell, and that’s annoying, but welcome to Isekai I suppose. It reminds me of Cautious Hero, in that it’s attempting to subvert the genre, yet I feel it does so… better. None of them have the character of Rista, but that’s fine. It’s not terribly well animated, but it gets by. Really all I can say is that the show is solid, and if I actually liked the genre, I could see myself liking this.

Potential: 35%

 

Kandagawa Jet Girls

Short Synopsis: Two girls team up to challenge the elite school of ski jet sports.

Mario’s review:

What with all these random fanservices? I know that anime medium is the land of pandering but in this show these shots come from nowhere which makes me think that 1 guy in the production committees push hard for these shots regardless of the content. It’s such a shame because otherwise the visual presentation is rather decent. The story takes a familiar route for this genre by introducing the two main characters who are fated to be partners. What it does raise the bar is how these two both have some sort of backstory/ special relationship to this self-invented sports, and the sport itself does intrigue me (do they shoot each other until one’s down or do they shoot some obstacles to gain points?). Then again, these out of nowhere butt and boob shots do deflate my interest somewhat.

Potential: 20%

Lenlo’s review:

Look, you know me. You see my name at the top of this blurb, and you already know what I am gonna say. That its a fanservice, water sports show with a cast of girls who exist purely to get wet, and get naked. The only upside this series has, is that it has a “mature” tag or whatever, so they moved up to the mystical realm of sideboob. To be frank, I don’t see anything interesting here. Keijo from awhile ago had better animation, better art and solid asses. Meanwhile Darling in the Franxx at least use the partner system as a metaphor for sex and all that, even if it kinda fell apart and got weird by the end. Kandagawa though? It’s just pandering, and I have 0 expectations of it.

Potential: 0%

 

Stand My Heroes: Piece of Truth

Short Synopsis: A girl is appointed head scout in the quest to recruit hot boys for an investigative unit.

Mario’s review:

It’s clear from watching this episode that Stand My Heroes is based on an otome game (which normally I’m not fond of), and in the game we play this main girl whose main purpose is to recruit attractive boys to this STAND unit – an investigation unit that work independently with police force. Right in this first episode we have her meeting a football-size boys with proper full names and some sort of catchphrase lines to inform us their personalities. So formulaic aside, two questions come up. How does the main heroine fare compared to the genre and what makes this show different than other otome adaptation? For the first point, personality-wise our girl is still a plain character given how her enthusiasm for “justice” feels one-note at best. For the second point, this show has a crime procedure twist to it, which is clumsy in execution. No, otome adaptation isn’t a high bar and even then this one comes out as a run-of-a-mill addition to the list.

Potential: 10%

Babylon

Short Synopsis: In the middle of investigating pharmaceutical law violations, the cops stumble upon evidence of a much bigger case that involves a current mayoral election.

Amun’s review:

(Like Mario, I’m only going to discuss the first episode, even if 3 have been released).  Coming into the season, Babylon stood out as something different from the 100 billion isekai offerings this season.  No one could watch the trailer and not feel a twinge of hope that this might be the next Monster. With those expectations the first episode…was pretty bland honestly.  It was well polished, well directed, and had passable 3D animation – it just felt like I’ve seen this setup so many times before. Even the big reveal could be seen a mile off (by apparently everyone but the supposedly smartest guy in the room).  I’m hoping the upcoming episodes start to flesh out the story a bit more, but for a show that’s supposed to be all about twists, I think this might turn out quite predictable.  

Potential: 35%

Mario’s review:

Note that the following review is for the first episode only, as 3 episodes have been released all at once. And as far as this premiere goes, I had a good time watching it. The mystery at heart keeps escalating at the right pace, and at least so far the setup hasn’t fallen into stupid territory or gone thorugh any major leap of logic yet. Penned by the guy who wrote Kado the Right Answer, I was looking for an ambiguous, mature project and everything happening so far ticks the boxes. The Law & Order vibe, and the dark shade of the city fit right to the tone of the show, but at the same time I find those qualities to be competent but a bit on a conservative side. See, looking at this opening chapter in a procedural crime drama’s point of view, it goes pretty much by-the-book. Main character has some solid traits but as a whole this feels more like an action-driven show rather than character piece or thinkpiece. Depending on how the story escalates in later episodes, we’ll see what heights this show aims for. At least this first episode proves that it can serve as a neat crime investigation show (with no superpowers!!!) for anime fans.

Potential: 50%

 

Fairy Gone 2

Short Synopsis: A cursed child and a war survivor join a military organization to manage powerful “fairies” and protect order in an unstable political landscape while seeking personal redemption.

Amun’s review:

On paper I really shouldn’t like Fairy Gone.  A political fantasy thriller is not usually my cup of tea – throw in shoddy CGI and no backing source material and it should be an easy pass.  But this show punches well above its weight and our first episode back reminds us of it. I think, despite the absolutely awful CGI we saw, the revisit of the Suna village helped flesh out some questions I had from last season.  I think the director and composer of this show really do an excellent job with their extremely limited animation resources – even in a recap episode, we saw some lingering issues nicely shored up. Their scene transitions are on point and honestly the VAs were great (and I usually don’t comment on VA or music).  I keep looking for an excuse to drop this show and it just keeps bringing me back – this season will probably be no different.

Potential: 55%

 

Africa no Salaryman

Short Synopsis: Anthropomorphic savannah creatures try to scrape some enjoyment out of their corporate wage slave lifestyles.

Wooper’s review:

This show reminds me of nothing so much as last year’s Pop Team Epic. They share a raucous sort of humor, though PTE was a stealthy satire whereas Salaryman’s laughs are more sophomoric. Both series used a variety of art styles in each episode, as well; Salaryman shifts between 2D animation reminiscent of Haoliners’ better stuff (To Be Hero comes to mind), stiff but occasionally charming 3DCG, super deformed reaction shots, a crayon-styled kiddie look, etc. This mixed visual approach was the most noteworthy aspect of the show for me, as the humor wasn’t my cup of bush tea. There are segments about girls making false molestation claims, pursuing girls at mixers because their parents are loaded, jokingly trading a donut shop point card for a quickie in the bathroom, etc. These bits aren’t exactly offensive, but they wore on me because they all stem from the buffoonery of one very loud character: the toucan. Here’s a fun fact: toucans don’t live in Africa! Dial down his appearance rate and make the office setting more central to the show, and I might come back for another episode.

Potential: 25%

Mario’s review:

Imagine Aggressive Retsuko, but with an African setting and more crude and mean-spirited humor, and you pretty much have Africa no Salaryman. As is the case with comedy shows, humor can be a hit or miss depending on each person. For me, the humor of the show hits when it defies our expectations on certain characters’ archetypes – given they are anthropomorphic cast. It suffers when it tends to be snotty to gets its jokes across. The highschool girls portrayed as “false victims” certainly raise an eyebrow. While at first it appears that Lion is the main character of the trio, the spotlight for this episode instead is given to Toucan, which makes sense since Toucan has the boldest personality. In that light Lion, and Lizard in an extend, still don’t have much room to grow. Visually speaking, while I approve the art styles, it’s the CG animation that makes the show looks cheap and stands out in a bad way. I’ll give this show another episode to see whether to stick with it.

Potential: 40%

Special 7 – Special Crime Investigation Unit

Short Synopsis: A rookie cop helps bust a bunch of bank robbers.

Lenlo’s review:

Unlike Wooper, I actually didn’t have that big an issue with the opening plot and bank heist. It’s a simple and straightforward way to introduce your whole cast. No, my issues lie much deeper. From the knockoff Shadowrun setting, to the crazy cast and dull visuals. First up, the setting, which it establishes as fantasy-modern in nature ala Shadowrun but does virtually nothing with. Window dressing that might as well not exist, even with all the wasted opportunity of a bank heist to throw in things like magic or magical races and the like. Meanwhile the cast itself just doesn’t feel like a “mature” one, to use Wooper’s word. They feel like over the top Shounen characters. Which in a Shounen show is fine, but for a cop drama? Eeeeeh. Last up the actual presentation, which just felt… flat? The crosshatch shading gave me flashbacks to Berserk 16/17, while the actual scenes themselves never really felt fully together. Like a lack of depth, or direction, such as simply cutting to different sides of the car as characters talk, etc etc. I’m just not feeling any passion from this project, which is a shame. Because passion can at least take something dull and make it unique. This is just forgettable.

Potential: 0%

Wooper’s review:

To put it frankly, Special 7 (“Tokunana” in Japanese) didn’t hold my attention. Neither its flashback opening scene nor its ‘in medias res’ bank robbery plot are crafted with much care or attention to detail. They just serve to introduce our newly-minted policeman friend to his childhood savior and his new partner, respectively, via dialogue you’ve heard a dozen times before. The mystery of which bank employee helped the robbers with their heist was Scooby Doo-tier in its simplicity, and only gave Mr. Rookie an excuse to scream about justice and punch the traitor in the face (despite having a gun trained on him). The ‘supernatural procedural’ angle, which has already been tackled by Cop Craft and Midnight Occult Civil Servants this year, adds basically nothing of value. Worst of all, the show looks ugly as sin, featuring jerky character animation and hatching lines being used to shade an inordinate number of surfaces. The result of that second technique is so amateurish that it must be masking the plainness of the unaltered backgrounds, though I don’t know how they could look worse than what we got. Special 7 is proof that mature anime can turn out just as poorly as the moe and isekai bogeymen of recent years.

Potential: 10%

 

Actors: Songs Connection

Short Synopsis: Countless boys gather in a club to sing and “connect”.

Mario’s review:

Actors is another male idol property and it has the same problem many idol or game-adaptation shows before it have: it’s so busy introducing too many characters that the plot gets sidelined. And because there are five, six characters getting introduced at the same time it’s hard to tell them apart, let alone have any proper investment to them. The fact that it has a supernatural twist about White Wall and white shadows that would fit right at home with shows like UNDONE (hey, I just watched it. UNDONE is awesome) than here doesn’t work for the show’s benefit. There’s an actual singing at the end that serves as a climax for this premiere and brings everything together, so I’d suggest that if you decide to check it out, wait until that moment to decide whether or not this show is for you. For me, while the song isn’t bad it lacks the dynamic of songs in say… Sarazanmai or production values of Carole & Tuesday, thus there’s nothing to keep me hanging here.

Potential: 0% 

Lenlo’s review:

I’m not even a fan of normal idol shows. So why in god’s name the other writers thought it was a good idea to let me be the one to write this is beyond me. Maybe they thought it would be funny to watch me lay into the series generic characters or complete lack of actual production value. Or the seemingly split focus between being an Idol show, and this odd supernatural mystery. For the songs themselves, it wasn’t bad, I just didn’t feel anything from it because I didn’t much care about anything that built up to it. Of course, Mario references Sarazanmai and Carole & Tuesday in his writeup, which doesn’t really help considering I wasn’t a fan of either of those as well. So to make a long story short, my answer is this: If you like Idol shows, you will probably like this. If you are like me, and don’t like Idol shows, there is nothing here for you. It’s a very binary choice, all things considered.

Potential: 0%

 

Boku-tachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai 2

Short Synopsis: An average student must earn his recommendation by tutoring several geniuses who are brilliant in one area and useless in all others – can he avoid falling in love with them…or his teacher?!

Amun’s review:

Our first episode back and we’re here to…discuss bust sizes.  Boku-tachi had an entire season’s break to come up with that premiere?  Not only that, this episode came off as picking on one of the candidates rather than the typical building up of one girl per episode.  I’ll be honest, my patience at this point is wearing pretty thin, so barring any remarkable character building within the next couple of episodes (which would be a complete departure from where the manga was going last I checked), this is probably the end of my “learning” from this show.

Potential: 25%

Chuubyou Gekihatsu Boy

Short Synopsis: A seemingly ordinary transfer student is dogged by three classmates who insist she has supernatural abilities.

Wooper’s review:

If you’re going to appreciate this show, you have to embrace its central gimmick: that its delusional heroes, despite their ridiculous personalities, are to be taken somewhat seriously. Transfer student Mizuki does seem to possess limited precognitive skills, as in the matching scenes where she senses the presence of an enemy. Her bothersome classmates are able to stop the projectiles meant to cause her harm, and one of them is able to jump from a second story window and land without issue. So while she spends most of her time trying to escape conversations with these weirdos, they’re onto something when they claim that she has special powers. The show supports both the comedic and the slightly more dramatic parts of this premise by stretching its limited animation as far as it can go, with exaggerated expressions and heavy emphasis on posing. It doesn’t look great, but it’s far from the worst effort I’ve seen this year. Based on the misdirection in this premiere, Chuubyou may have something clever up its sleeve for the future. I doubt that cleverness will be worth 10 more episodes of mixed humor and ear-splitting voicework, however.

Potential: 20%

Mario’s review:

This show relies on one main gimmick in which I’m not too fond of: chuunibyou. While it’s amusing to see how the character with 7th grader syndrome acts all self-serious and delusional, the jokes often wear thin quickly. This time we not only have one, but five (four so far) hypers who act like humanity is on the verge of extinction. Most of the gags in this episode comes from the way it contrasts those guys’ antics with a transfer student who just wants to go through her school life unnoticed, yet she runs into them all the time. This show reminds me a bit of the first episode of SKET Dance, to a much lesser effect and production values. In a season where comedy shows have been performing decently so far, Chuubyou unfortunately doesn’t promise much.

Potential: 0%

 

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun

Short Synopsis: A neglected teenager is sold to the Demon King to serve as his grandson and rule an underworld academy.

Amun’s review:

Any anime can be gory, serious, or even funny.  To me, however, there will always be a place for shows that are just plain fun. Marimashita!  Iruma-kun’s first episode, at least, is that – good fun. I think the Japanese rendition of anime demons tends to be humorous and playful (even considering shows like Death Note), and Marimashita! is no different.  This is the reverse Beelzebub – human in demon land. And, despite being a school setting, I definitely feel the joy in the project – from the background scenes to the voice actors having a great time. I think we’re in for quite an enjoyable ride (despite being yet another isekai school setting).

Potential: 70%

Wooper’s review:

Iruma-kun is the most promising new anime of the season thus far, at least in my view. Though it takes place in hell, it isn’t bogged down by a self-serious story or complicated designs that the artists can’t be bothered to animate. It’s a spry tale of an unfortunate lad who gets whisked off to demon land and finds himself in way over his head, and everything about the show works in favor of that premise. The character designs are colorful and alien, and plenty of love is given to the background players. The humor isn’t particularly inventive, but it’s boisterous and brisk, nicely emphasizing the fish-out-of-water scenario. These are two big positives, but one issue I’m having is the characterization of Iruma himself. A narrator is on hand to inform us about his difficult past and the skills he’s developed as a result, but he’s so busy trying not to die that we don’t learn anything else about him. This issue may be addressed with a couple more episodes, but I doubt we’ll ever get a fulfilling portrait of the guy. As for whether I’ll continue with the series, it’s at least fun enough that I’d consider it. That makes it the better of the two shows this season to feature a German suplex (though I’m sure my co-writer above would disagree!).

Potential: 60%

 

Val x Love

Short Synopsis: A boy with an evil aura takes care of 9 sisters/maidens in his house. 

Mario’s review:

OMG this one is bad. Let’s just go through the premise. This boy boosts up 9 girls’ (!) (who are sisters (!!)) power by fondling their boobs (!!!). The worst aspect of it is that they don’t even try to make this fanservice pleasurable to watch. The potato-kun has a unique design for a main guy but is ultimately plain and uninteresting. And the amount of fanservice is tired and boring. This might appeal to some since we have 9 girls with different appeals and boob sizes for him to touch every week, but for me I’m pretty much done here.

Potential: 0%

Kono Yuusha ga Ore Tueee Kuse ni Shinchou Sugiru

Short Synopsis: A jaded Goddess summons a highly cautious kid as a hero to save her world.

Amun’s review:

Watching this first episode, I can’t shake the feeling that this show is comprised of all the side characters from Kill La Kill.  Just the unexpected devolution of character designs for laughs really reminds me of that. In this isekai, we have a goddess closest to Aqua (KonoSuba), a hero closest to Death The Kid (Soul Eater), and a world closest to…really any fantasy show ever.  I didn’t really see enough from this episode to get a sense of how this anime will go, but the art was passable and the gimmicks okay. The “shout till it’s funny” humor fell a bit flat in the second half, but I guess I see what they were going for. I’ll give it a few more episodes to flesh out the season’s direction – who knows, might be a diamond in the rough…or just the rough.

Potential: 33%

Lenlo’s review:

You know, for a knockoff Konosuba, I was moderately surprised by Cautious Hero. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still not my kind of show, as I didn’t even like Konosuba. But it seems to have enough of a handle on the shtick to play with it a bit. Playing on the prevalence of “Isekai” stories and such and using that for some of its comedy. The lead goddess is even an amusingly terrible person. The issues though start to arise with our lead who is just… incredibly dull. Like, take your regular isekai protagonist, and remove any defining feature from them dull. Maybe if it plays up the “cautious” bit to actually negatively impact things it could be interesting. But considering I already don’t like this genre, and other shows have done it better… I am pretty meh on the whole thing. Still, it’s not offensively bad. So that’s a pretty good for this season all things considered.

Potential: 20%

 

Choujin Koukousei-tachi wa Isekai demo Yoyuu de Ikinuku you desu!

Short Synopsis: Seven super genius high-schoolers somehow get on the same plane and get transported to another world.

Amun’s review:

Seven super high school geniuses aren’t smart enough to fly on separate planes and end up being whisked away to a primitive fantasy world…with the main protag getting some mouth to mouth meat in the first five minutes.  Choujin has started off beyond pretentious, and, given that all the characters are tired archetypes, I see no reasonable chance of it living up to its delusions of grandeur.

Potential: 1%

Lenlo’s review:

Look people, I don’t need to tell you things are bad, everyone knows things are bad. This is a season of Isekai trash, I am writing my second paragraph yet I am 6 Isekais in and there’s no end to it. We know the anime is unfit to watch and the waifus are unfit to lewd, yet here we sit while some pretentious blogger goes on and on about it as if that’s the way things are supposed to be. We know things are bad. It’s downright garbage. Slowly the medium we love is dying, and all we say is “Please at least leave us alone in our Shounens, let me have my Sakuga and leave me alone,” well I won’t leave you alone! I want you to get mad! I won’t tell you to write to KyoAni or Bones or Miyazaki, because I don’t know what to tell you to write. All I want is for you to get mad. You have to say “I am a human being god damnit, my time has value!” You know what doesn’t have value?! This trash! Don’t watch it. Watch the Network instead.

Potential: -100%

 

Azur Lane

Short Synopsis: Girls from 4 different factions fight against aliens and among themselves because it’s human nature.

Mario’s review:

Azur Lane is designed to be a “cute-girls-in-combats” show by way of KanColle rip-off, and so far it does a terrible job of keeping us engaging. It’s never a sound idea to throw a dozen or more characters on-screen from many fractions and hope we can get invested to any of them. It also isn’t a good idea to throw a book-length of world-building context in the beginning of the show, and it’s certainly a bad choice to feature a battle where we don’t know most of the players. In between those fights we have moe girls looking for a lost pet, talking unnaturally and… did I mention that these girls are embodiment of warfare? It’s a mess of some cool ideas but poor presentation and I don’t think the show delve any deeper than providing a reason for these groups to fight against each other. Maybe after this episode, the show would slow down a bit to tell us more about the main cast but by this point I don’t care about any of them to go on.

Potential: 0%

Lenlo’s review:

You know, I have a lot of friends who play this, and for an adaptation of what I think is a mobile game, it apparently does a decent job. As someone who the only thing they know about it is “Waifu Ships”, it was exactly what I expected. Every possible waifu ship thrown into the first episode so the weebs wouldn’t be annoyed if their boat was left out. And you know what, at least the waifu’s are cute. The designs are on point, and I don’t just say this because one of my favorite artists Dishwasher does a good bit of Azur Lane fanart. Sadly, tits and ass is pretty much all the show has. I have no time to get connected to any of them, the combat makes no sense, and its literally a tie in to a mobile game I don’t play. So I suppose the question of whether or not you should watch this boils down to this: Do you play Azur Lane? If yes, it’s perfect for you. If no, wait for it to be over and and the waifu fanart to start getting produced. It’s what I will be doing.

Potential: 0.01%

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%

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 2

Short Synopsis: A grade schooler tries to embarrass the girl sitting next to him in class.

Amun’s review:

First of all, this show is more difficult than the others to watch this season – so take that as you will. The first episode picks right back up where the previous season left off – that wonderful age where girls always just seem to be one step ahead of their male companions. The gimmicks and the characters are still great, with always the hint of romance, but I remember one of the issues I had in the previous season – the format is just too long. This should be aired as separate shorts, instead of putting several of them into one 20 minute odd episode. It’s hard to maintain interest through all 3 stories per episode, at least for me. Still, I’ll probably watch this and skip through segments I feel are going nowhere.

Potential: 40%

Mario’s review:

There is a certain charm Takagi-san the series that I always come back for more. “Charming” is indeed the magic word here, as under the cute bickering between our duo (in which they have an incredible chemistry together), we can see what their feelings lie beneath. It might be a roundabout way to express their feelings to each other, but like the old saying it’s the journey that worth it. The repetitive nature is not much of an issue for me, since we follow these short stories through Nishikata’s headspace, and he’s always interesting to follow. It falters a but when it focuses on the other three girls, which for me lacks the charms and the humor from the main duo. Overall, you know exactly what to expect here so if you enjoy the first season well enough then by all means, this season will be a treat to watch.

Potential: 50%

---

BEM

Short Synopsis: Demoted, idealistic cop encounters monsters while adjusting to a new city.

Armitage’s review:

So, to keep up with the trend, we have our yearly 50th anniversary project (Megalo Box and Gegege no Kitaro the year before). Though, in retrospect, BEM has more in common with the latter. We have our lead characters, fighting off yokai who dwell among us mere mortals for the good of all humanity, much like Kitaro, although this show doesn’t even come close to the same level of polish as that ratings juggernaut. Everything’s grim-dark (more literally than figuratively). The animation’s fairly passable but character designs for the yokai looks very jagged. Those of the main characters look pretty stylish, though. Maybe the source material’s strengths can be banked upon to deliver a solid narrative over the coming weeks but as of now, this looks like your everyday monster-of-the-week anime with some gritty dark overtones thrown in for good measure. Don’t expect anything more and you should have a decent time with it. If you like the concept, and wish to be absolutely blown away by its execution, go watch Kitaro.

Potential: 30%

Amun’s review:

Apparently this is the latest of many adaptations of BEM, the story of 3 vigilante demi-humans. The first episode had…a very large bridge, lots of shadows, quite a bit of jazz, a naive cop, gratuitous violence, and anime New York City. And monsters – pretty powerful, but not overly imaginative (they seem to have elemental affinities). With obvious overtones of injustice and class divides, BEM could conceivably turn into an action show plus social commentary…not a great combination. I feel this is going to be a supernatural take on Gangsta – which might not be a terrible thing. However, if you’re expecting something more upbeat like Battlefront Blockade, this is probably not the show for you. If you’re into urban, gory shows (and jazz…so much jazz) that make you feel good when the opulent overlords inevitably get what their nefarious schemes deserve at the cost of some minor character’s life or a major character’s appendage – watch this one.

Potential: 33%