Fall 2021 First Impressions: Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu, Sankaku Mado no Sotogawa wa Yoru, Kyoukai Senki

Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu

Short Synopsis: White guy turns to sand when touched by a bishounen.

Armitage: Madhouse used to be my favorite anime studio just a little more than half a decade ago. The sheer number of classics that this one production house has developed over time still to this day, remains unmatched. Though, in recent years, the quality of their projects has started to dwindle and their output has become something I haven’t been able to enjoy as much as I would like. Sadly, that still holds true for both of their most recent series, last season’s Sonny Boy and the vampire slapstick-comedy that is Kyuuketsuki. The fact that this is directed by Hiroshi Koujina, the director of my favorite anime of all-time: Hunter x Hunter 2011, marking his grand return to the medium after 7 years had me really looking forward to it. But it crushes my heart to say that I just don’t like it. Kyuuketsuki is supposed to be a deconstructive comedy of vampire tropes but it doesn’t work quite as well as Vanitas and sadly, unlike that series the comedy is all this show has going for. All its humor is just loud slapstick hijinks which admittedly did get a few smiles out of me at points but it all started to wear out halfway into the episode. The one positive is definitely the opening song, which is quite catchy albeit trying a little hard to capture the magic of Death Parade’s OP. Anywho, I will still be watching it because it’s Koujina but man, I’m afraid by the end, this would be adding to the long list of amusing-enough-to-justify-their-existence vampire anime rather than joining the handful of elite titles in that subgenre.

Potential: 30%

Amun: I like vampire shows. I like Hiroshi Koujina (HxH 2011 as Armi says). I usually like Madhouse. I even like the opening song. But Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu isn’t great. Instead of comparisons to Vanitas, I would say the most analogous show is Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle. Kyuuketsuki falls flat in introducing a truly unloveable duo of hunter and hunted – duos like this should look to Mob Psycho and have at least one character be a “good guy.” Sleepy Princess really was a Princess vs. Environment (and the demons in it), so it wasn’t as much of a bitter personal battle, like we see in Kyuuketsuki. In Sleepy Princess you could cheer for the princess while still feeling sympathy for her poor captors – Kyuuketsuki, I wanted all the characters to turn to dust, not just the vampire. Even the best joke of the episode made me wince a bit (the gold-digger). This is just shout-for-laughs and cringe humour – I’m out.

Potential: 15%

Sankaku Mado no Sotogawa wa Yoru

Short Synopsis: A spiritually sensitive bookseller takes on a part time job alongside a socially inept exorcist.

Wooper: For a show about two hot guys engaging in erotic exorcisms, this show looks ugly as hell. The animation is serviceable and the character designs are pretty, so no issues there – it’s the color adjustment that really put me off. We’re not dealing with GoHands levels of filtering, but a large portion of scenes have slight blue or yellow tints to them, which matches the ghost vision of main character Mikado. Just because a visual decision has a clear purpose doesn’t mean it’s always a good idea, though – this show is proof of that. There’s a severe lack of imagination in the way the series is shot, as well: a lot of closeups of characters in center frame, rooms that seem as though they were generated with interior design software, an abandoned apartment whose dingy look was created simply by adjusting a contrast slider. In a sentence, it’s boring to look at. As far as the characters go, the fetishism of the main duo’s exorcism technique hardly requires commentary – let’s just say that biting and licking are sometimes involved. But it doesn’t reach the level of offensive tropeyness, which means there’s still one reason to watch: Hiyakawa’s dramatic consumption of a spirit’s heart near the end, which raises questions about his true nature. I wouldn’t recommend Sankaku Mado to anyone who’s not already a member of the Supernatural BL Fan Club, but it won’t go down as fall’s worst premiere.

Potential: 15%

Lenlo: Oh yay, bad BL, just what I wanted out of the season. This show was just uncomfortable to watch. Not in the ecchi way where you don’t want to get caught on the train or something, ok well maybe a little. More in the “This isn’t entirely consensual” way. That aside though the rest of the show is just mediocre. Wooper explains the visual issues well enough and I agree with all of them. Top that off with BL tropes, an uninteresting mystery and characters that exist purely to fulfill the Seme/Uke slots in a relationship. Wooper is right that it’s probably not the worst of the season. But I have absolutely 0 desire to watch more of it.

Potential: 0%

Kyoukai Senki

Short Synopsis: A war orphan gets in the robot and pushes back against an occupying army in mid-21st century Japan.

Mario: In the same season that features 86, Kyoukai Senki carries over many of that show’s main spirits: the political undertones, the power of the repressed, the mecha in disguise and the subtlety of a hand grenade. To be frank, while the premiere never raises above average marks, I had fun watching it. I can get behind the main concept of the near future where Japan is split and there’s repression everywhere (although the show didn’t sell me at all on these poor citizen’s condition – as far as I can see the MC has a neat place to live and has food on the table, a far cry from their self-description as poor and hopeless). The lead is likeable enough, and his bond with the talkative AI is the main focus of this episode – a right choice for us to stay invested in them. Moreover, it’s the good old school 2D mecha and the fights that are frankly a breath of fresh air (so strange to use these words) now. Yes, Kyoukai Senki’s individual elements remind you of other (possibly better) shows, but so far it maintains its own beat and for me that is good enough.

Potential: 40%

Wooper: The phrase “I don’t like mecha except for Gurren Lagann” is a quick way to spot an anime casual, but there’s a reason for its proliferation: Gurren Lagann was fearless in breaking from the Gundam mold, which so many other titles stick to like glue. (TTGL took plenty of inspiration from elsewhere, but that’s another topic altogether.) Kyoukai Senki is one of the dozens of giant robot series still stuck in Yoshiyuki Tomino’s shadow, and I’m not so hungry for a new mecha series that I’m willing to overlook its slavish duplication of his work. From the corrupt military officers to the main mech’s operating system to the series’ bizarre naming sense, so much of this episode is pulled straight from the Gundam playbook, and it’s kind of hard to endure. Sunrise’s dedication to the series is clear given its traditionally animated robots, and some of the background art was nice (especially during the narrated prologue at the start). But I can’t overlook all the things Kyoukai Senki lacks – character, originality, a sense of fun – just for one or two hand-drawn mecha fights each week.

Potential: 25%