Bucchigire!
Short Synopsis: Seven rainbow-haired criminals are spared execution in exchange for their loyalty to the Shinsengumi.
Wooper: Bucchigire’s first episode didn’t get off to the best start, as the whole first half was a one-by-one introduction to its seven main cast members, each of whom took it in turns to accept the same job offer. Despite their varying personalities, designs and hair colors (can’t forget about hair colors), this resulted in a somewhat monotonous beginning, to the point that my brain was in danger of tuning out the show altogether. Fortunately, the second half had me feeling a bit more alert, as the characters could display their whacked out personas a bit more freely while they prepped for their first Shinsengumi mission. Bucchigire doesn’t meet the nutcase quotient of something like Akudama Drive or Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi, but there are definitely some crazies among the cast – disappointingly, there are also characters like Bou (whose defining traits are fatness and gluttony) and lead character Ichibanboshi (whose seiyuu attempts to shred his own vocal chords with every third line). I’m not even a tiny bit interested in the latter’s backstory, given how poorly the flashback to his parents’ death was presented, so his sizable role in the larger plot means I probably won’t be watching for long. Still, I was generally pleased with the art and animation, even if they (along with the rest of the show) were covered by a distracting screen-wide texture effect. I’d call the series competent, if not engaging, so far.
Potential: 30%
Lenlo: I’m actually impressed by how unabashedly trashy Bucchigire is. I thought this series was going to take itself, and its premise, too seriously. Instead it feels like Bucchigire knows exactly what it is. It wasted no time skipping over all the piddly details, you know just important stuff like plot, character motivations, etc, and just shoved it down your throat to get to the good stuff. The first half of the episode is devoted to almost magical-girl like introductions, with big spins, bright colors, wacky names, over the top backstory with “Black” bars, and each and every character embodying an entire archetype. It moved a mile a minute! Meanwhile the second half was more your standard “2nd episode”, with everyone getting a moment to express more of who they are and giving us some decent fight scenes. And you know what? Those fight scenes didn’t look terrible. Most of the show didn’t look great, lots stills, stiff movement and awkward directing, but every now and then the animation got reeeeeeal smooth. Combine that with your standard Idol show color palette and some thick black lines (Mmmm) and you have something that doesn’t look half bad. All in all I think that while Bucchigire impressed me, it only did so because my expectations were rock bottom. The show still probably isn’t anything special, but you could probably have a good time with it.
Potential: 30%
Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer
Short Synopsis: A college student swears to serve a princess in her mission to prevent Earth from being smashed by a planet-sized hammer.
Amun: I heard good things about the source material for Biscuit Hammer, but I went into this episode pretty blind. And wow – this is a colossal screw-up. Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer is the clear and present winner of the Worst First Episode Award, even if the vote comes out otherwise. The rest of this paragraph will just be my list of complaints. Let’s see, first of all everything about this animation is always slightly wrong. Only one part of the frame at a time is animated – on characters’ faces, during action shots…it’s all just very wooden and frankly shows low skill and terrible layering. The music, the voice actor choices, the shots just don’t work together. The dialogue is wonky, and the explanations are insanely convoluted – Biscuit Hammer manages the odd feat of being both boring and over-explained. The humor is also…really, really bad. The main character is awful and the lizard drags on in a quasi-Buddah voice…that should be the comedic relief. So many other things are wrong here: textures and perspectives have their incompetence showcased in the latter half of the episode. What really pisses me off is that I can see there’s a potentially good story in here if it was handled right. This may be the greatest waste of potential in anime history.
Potential: This is probably the worst premiere I have ever seen.
Wooper: Now that I’ve watched this premiere, I feel silly for criticizing the Tokyo Mew Mew reboot’s art and animation so harshly. Biscuit Hammer is probably 50 percent worse looking – its overexposed character lighting, ugly filters and textures, and limited range of motion hamper its presentation across this entire episode. Protagonist Yuuhi’s first encounter with a menacing golem becomes an unintentional comedy when it awkwardly teleports in front of him from ten meters away, and after a young girl appears to save him by punching the golem really hard, its unmoving image slowly floats away from the point of impact. Day saved! Biscuit Hammer’s stop-and-start music and strange voice direction aren’t much better, but even putting its audiovisual elements aside, the narrative setup here didn’t grab me. I haven’t got much experience with mangaka Mizukami’s works (I’ve only read Spirit Circle), but I know he likes to deliver Campbellian calls to adventure via atypical characters – this time it’s a talking lizard who repeatedly demands that Yuuhi protect a princess and save the world. It’s only through sheer force of eccentricity that I could be brought to care about any of that, but this episode was less eccentric and more bewildering. I’m sure the manga sells the start of this story with far more confidence, so I’d sooner read its first volume than watch the anime ever again.
Potential: 0%
The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting
Short Synopsis: A wild yakuza’s new mission: babysitting his new boss’s daughter
Amun: I usually like anime where tough guys have to take care of little kids (Beelzebub comes to mind, even Gintama to a lesser degree), so Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting seems up my alley. And after the first episode, my verdict is…this is perfectly average. Small detail – props for giving someone who makes his living fighting proper cauliflower ears. The characters are fine – I don’t actually think Kirishima’s warmer side is entirely unbelievable, since those confident in their strength can show kindness towards the weak. I don’t think the setting is that original, and there really isn’t anything that sets Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting apart – but I had a good time, so I’ll keep watching for now.
Potential: 60%
Mario: At this point, anime’s “single parent taking care of a child” premise isn’t that refreshing anymore, so to really stand out those shows have to go the extra mile. So far, Yakuza Babysitting sits squarely in the middle pack. It has some good moments: the school scene is warm and both Kirishima and Yaeko act maturely most of the time. But Kirishima’s quick acceptance of his new role is kinda glossed over in this episode, and the production is unremarkable so far, especially the distracting score which I don’t think fits the scenes. This is a breezy watch, but it needs to do more to impress.
Potential: 30%
