Fall 2021 First Impressions: Eighty-Six S2, Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu, Mushoku Tensei S2

Eighty-Six S2

Short Synopsis: Five survivors of genocide find themselves in a new country while the woman who once guided them plans to change her own.

Lenlo: First up to all the doubters or critique-ers from my first review: I WAS RIGHT. Those of you who read it know what I’m talking about. Personal victories aside, this premiere was alright. It’s picking up right where we left off with the same team and all the same strengths and weaknesses of the first season. The show is pretty, the shots and direction are good and the narrative is pretty straight forward. I am a bit interested in this new Republic and its President that we’ve met, I think Eighty Six could do some fun stuff juxtaposing that with Lena’s nation, assuming it doesn’t paint it as a black and white, good vs evil sort of thing. I don’t think it will though, as the President seems to have his darker secrets. Whatever the case, the first season of Eighty Six was fun, so I’m expecting the second to be too.

Potential: 60%

Wooper: I caught up with the last few episodes of 86’s first season recently, and my expectations for S2 had actually risen by the end. The deftly-handled time jumps that left the audience to situate themselves in the story, the beautiful opening minutes of episode 10, the effective cliffhanger of the finale… They had me looking forward to this new cour. Did its premiere live up to my expectations? Of course not, but it didn’t fall too far outside of them, either.

86 is back on its “subtlety is death” bullshit, with the ultra-racist military drunks at HQ making a repeat appearance that was almost endearing in its clumsiness. They made sure to comment on Lena’s hair and uniform, too, in case there were any blind viewers in the audience. I did like one scene set in San Magnolia, where General Karlstahl silently noted Lena’s closeness with Annette (who probably won’t escape this season alive based on that tipoff), but the bulk of the cool stuff happened in the Giad Federation, where the Eighty-Sixers found themselves embroiled in a new political bog. President Ernst was about as convincing as a Gucci street vendor in his diplomatic friendliness – the show even put stark two-tone lighting on his face in one scene – but whatever’s happening with the child empress and Giad’s squabbling military chiefs could bear some interesting fruit in the coming months. 86 is talking down to its viewership once again, but judging by its runaway success, it’s also speaking their language, so I can’t fault it.

Potential: 50%

Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu

Short Synopsis: Alternate USSR doesn’t want a PR nightmare of having a human cosmonaut die going to space, so they do the logical thing…and send a vampire.

Amun: For a show with such a meme premise, Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu played the first episode straight. The biggest takeaway I got was…this is going to be a pretty standard, one season anime. Wide-eyed human and cold-hearted vampire train, grow closer, some political nonsense, “you’ve gotten too close”, disaster, blah blah, cute science girl, whatever. I wouldn’t say we’ve seen this exact iteration, but we’ve seen all these ideas played out before (plus if you want that secondhand guilt about exploiting minority groups, go watch 86). Nosferatu doesn’t look bad, and it doesn’t seem like it’ll be adapted badly, it’s just…I don’t really see anything special that’ll go the distance. I think the astronaut otakus who are particularly interested in the Soviet Union era space race will be enthralled, but us casuals will probably bail out halfway.

Potential: 45%

Wooper: I’ve liked all of the astronaut-themed anime I’ve seen – Wings of Honneamise, Planetes, and Space Brothers – so Tsuki to Laika had a leg up coming into this season, at least in my view. Unfortunately, the premiere approached its vampiric twist on the genre with a noncommittal blend of solemnity and camp that turned me off. There were some things I liked about the episode, especially Megumi Hayshibara’s halting, skeptical performance as Irina. She sounded decidedly alien, as though she’d studied human language extensively but had rarely spoken it, so hats off to the legendary seiyuu for another bullseye performance. I thought Lev’s character was flat by comparison, like a far less personable Jinto (there’s no doubt in my mind that Tsuki to Laika’s author was inspired by Crest of the Stars). Another thing I liked: the mild food fetishism of the scene where Irina tried salmon roe for the first time. Her strange eating habits emphasized both her nonhuman tendencies and Lev’s attraction to her in spite of them. Another thing I didn’t like: the lighting, which was dreadfully plain, even for a series that spends a lot of time in prison. Ultimately, I think the show’s second episode (when Irina’s astronaut training will begin in earnest) will be a far better barometer for its watchability, so I’ll give it another look next week. I’m not feeling super optimistic after this one, though.

Potential: 30%

Mushoku Tensei S2

Short Synopsis: A pedo is reincarnated and grooms a thirteen year old, as they travel with a mass murderer (who is the least morally repugnant character in this show).

Amun: I believe the rest of the authors are boycotting this series due to its unapologetic degeneracy. And I fully respect that sentiment – I just can’t deny this is a quality production, no matter how despicable the characters are. Because one episode into the new season….these tigers haven’t changed their stripes. We now have the obligatory goth loli making an appearance – is that going to be anime’s “jumping the shark”?. The animation and characters still look amazing – one subtle aspect of the character design is the growing children do look different (as they would in an actual year). It’s a small thing, but it’s well done. This is clearly a passion project – and its high quality reflects that. My complaints: aside from the despicable lead (actually most of the characters are pretty terrible come to think of it), I really don’t like “missed connections” – as the next episode is titled. That feels like a lazy plot device to me. I think this season will focus on transporting and be a primarily urban setting, but I’m hoping for more Roxy and less Eris (although she’s grown – very slightly – on me). And freaking kill anyone named Greyrat.

Potential: 69% (har har – Rudeus made me do it)

Lenlo: Amun would be correct (about the boycott, anyway).