Fall 2020 First Impressions: Jujutsu Kaisen, King’s Raid, Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken

Jujutsu Kaisen

Short Synopsis: Yuji Itadori is possessed by a great curse, and must choose to use its power to exorcise even greater curses or be exorcised (executed) himself.

Lenlo’s review:

Easily my favorite premiere of the season so far. Horikoshi Kohei, mangaka of My Hero Academia, wasn’t joking when he called this the next pillar of Shonen Jump and this premiere makes me want to read the manga. Starting off, MAPPA knocked it out of the park production wise. Everything from the big action set pieces such as Fushiguro running down the hallway and the rooftop battle to the tiny, almost insignificant movements of characters in the background such as the dogs eating or Council President’s reactions. Add on to that some stellar directing with some consistently evolving visual gags, such as the kids posing with the coach in the background getting more and more absurd, and Jujutsu Kaisen becomes a joy to watch.

Beyond that though I also found it really engaging. Story wise it’s a pretty well set up Shonen; we won’t know more until it really gets going, as the MC was just taken over by the Big Bad. However I found a lot of the small characters’ motivations very compelling. Take for instance the lead’s grandfather’s death, which I found to be done very well. No over the top melodramatic screaming, just quiet shock, tears and grief. This subdued reaction made it feel so much more organic and believable to your typical anime reaction and that emotional connection laid the groundwork for Itadori’s entire character and set up the justification for him entering the conflict to begin with. I have no idea if Jujutsu Kaisen will be able to keep this up, narratively or production wise, especially because of the MAPPA curse. But as far as first impressions go, this is my favorite yet. I am all in.

Potential: 95%

Amun’s review:

Seems like every other season, a new exorcism show comes along. Some are rather low key (this year’s Toilet Hanako-kun), some more action packed (Blue Exorcist). Surprisingly, the Yokai shows don’t tend to lean too heavily into horror – Jujutsu Kaisen didn’t get the memo. While not as traumatic a premiere as Goblin Slayer (I’m still annoyed at watching that so unexpectedly), it’s clear that Jujutsu Kaisen isn’t afraid of a little blood or tentacle hands. Plus it’s MAPPA, so it at least looks amazing (and the OP is probably my favorite of the season). So if you want to see a cross between Parasyte (anime, not the live action movie) and Blue Exorcist/Hellsing Ultimate, this is your show. Only way I’m dropping it is if they start sacrificing plot quality for shock value.

Potential: 80%

King’s Raid

Short Synopsis: A knight’s apprentice and a dark elf from the medieval age find themselves involved in an interspecies war.

Wooper’s review:

I expected this to be one of the season’s worst shows, but while it’s certainly not polished or innovative in any respect, it wasn’t the trash heap I had predicted. Right off the bat, the show earns points by slowly introducing our main character, rather than putting us inside his head and treating us to a bunch of biographical voiceover. As an apprentice knight with a sad past, there’s nothing new about him, provided you’re even slightly familiar with the medieval fantasy genre. In fact, the whole of King’s Raid could be described as a patchwork of cliches: the apprentice knight, the infirmed king, the big titty priestess, the Dark Lord, the racist court advisors, etc. A band of Dark Elves who aim to overthrow Orvelia’s monarchy are the biggest draw here, since the show intends to follow them from week to week, rather than give them the Team Rocket treatment. Visually, the show falls woefully short of its subject matter’s demands, yet its commitment to traditionally-animated combat is admirable, especially during the demon attack in the last few minutes. The characters and settings, on the other hand, look like knockoffs of knockoffs, with their stylish bedhead and transparently digital assembly, respectively. There are more cons than pros here on the whole, but if you’re desperate for a new medieval fantasy anime, King’s Raid will do.

Potential: 20%

Lenlo’s review:

Thanks, I hate it. I gotta say, coming off of Jujutsu Kaisen, this just feels so… so painfully generic and incompetently structured. Visually, its generic, and looks even worse than most basic medieval fantasy anime. Narratively, it’s generic, throwing bare bones cliches such as “Dark elves bad” levels of racism and Knights in shining armor. I just don’t understand why anyone would watch this when you have so many better options out there. Not just in this season, but with medieval fantasy anime at large. Don’t waste your time with this, skip it and watch Jujutsu Kaisen instead.

Potential: Generic%

Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken

Short Synopsis: A young mage-in-training fends off a party of false heroes with the aid of his monster friends.

Wooper’s review:

Let’s talk about the CG Dragon Quest monster in the room: there are some ugly-looking 3D models in this show. They’re so ugly, in fact, that people are bound to make a huge stink about them, even though the show opts for 2D creatures most of the time. In general, it’s the scenes with tons of monsters on screen that suffer from that unfortunate production choice – apart from that, the show looks good. Really good, actually, which ought to be expected when Japan reboots one of its most beloved franchises. What’s awesome about DQ is that both the character and monster designs are packed with personality, and the bold linework in this series takes that charm point to the next level. There are fights aplenty in the first episode, giving both Dai and his opponents a chance to dash, slash, and magic their way across the screen in dynamic fashion. Dai’s kind spirit and hidden strength gave me serious Gon vibes, which is one of the things I liked most about the premiere – I want to see what will happen when he’s truly put to the test. The capsule system is really cool, as well, allowing for limitless possibilities in battle as early as episode one. I’ll be watching this one weekly to see whether the promising combat, characters, and story can create something special.

Potential: 70%

Amun’s review:

I vaguely know of the Dragon Quest franchise – the games were a bit before my time, and I was too young to watch the original version from Toei. In short, I think this is a remake, so I’ll treat it as such. Let’s be honest, Toei shows don’t really look that great – the designs tend to be childish/simple, pace fast, characters straightforward. I’m actually a fan of World Trigger but wasn’t as sold on Kitaro – Dragon Quest, for me, is not an automatic watch based on the studio. What about its other qualities? I think the story is too simplistic, there wasn’t anything original, character or storywise, and we’re going to have gamelike episodic plot-armor progression. Colours are all over the place too. The setting also feels like a low effort rip off of Greed Island from Hunter x Hunter (Wooper pointed out some other similarities too) – plus we have Pokeballs and Slimes. So many shows have slimes now – anime, why you do this? Next, we’ll have Slime High School! In short – if you’re ages 8-13, this show might be for you. Otherwise, nah.

Potential: 1%