365 Days to the Wedding
Short Synopsis: Two awkward co-workers decide to pretend to be married to avoid having to move to Alaska.
Amun: This was certainly a premiere. There was definitely about 15 minutes of characters and talking and a slipshod engagement party. You know what? I think once per season, each of us Starcrossed writers should be allowed to take the animation team for a show and switch it with one other show. Because “365 Days to the Wedding” really looked way better than the plot called for – give those fresh wrists to something more deserving! Now, I don’t really hate the map obsessed girl, or the planning out of the date, or even the drunken karaoke. It’s our male lead who is making me drowsy and questioning my anime choices in life. And just…why is it so awkward? Like not in a funny way, but in a “yeah, that’s about how that would go” way. I guess it’s at least realistic. Anyways, I’ll give it a few more, but we need some improvement (and a spine transplant) on our glasses guy, fast.
Potential: 25%
Mario: I admit that the premise didn’t interest me one bit – it’s one of those fake relationship tropes that you can tell ahead where it’s going miles away. But it’s in the details that makes this episode much better in my eyes. First, it focuses on the working adult demographic, which is always a welcome, and the situation our two mains find themselves in is, at the very least, believable. Second, our two leads are quite likable and have good chemistry together. They are both socially awkward individuals who want no trouble in their lives, but the more we learn about them the more we see other sides from them. Well, it wouldn’t hurt for the glasses guy to be more active, as so far it’s the girl’s scheme that drives the plot forward, but I’m in to see how these two loners start to realize their own feelings for one another.
Potential: 40%
NegaPosi Angler
Short Synopsis: Depressed man with 2 years to live and a bunch of gambling debts uses fishing to cope with his impending death and find meaning in his life.
Lenlo: Angler was much better than I was expecting it to be. The balance between serious depression, and goofy life changing fishing was pretty good! I liked that it didn’t really play his issues for laughs either. Angler spent a solid amount of time selling us on Tsunehiro’s mental state, making it clear how hard his diagnosis was hitting him and how little he had to live for. That made his revelation during fishing, something I expected to come off as corny or ham fisted, work surprisingly well. That life or death struggle with the fish, the dawn cresting the horizon as he finds a small bit of joy for the first time in a long time. It was good! I’m still not sure about the cast, and I don’t know how long Angler can keep this up for since it’s a full 12 episodes, but as far as pilots go I’m in.
Potential: 60%
Mario: Angler starts off on the wrong foot. While it’s understandable how down-of-his-luck our MC would feel when he’s given only 2 more years to live, his negative traits, plus his comical failed suicide attempts, nearly make him an unlikable lead to follow. It helps that the episode goes light-hearted in many of these scenes (in his attempt to run away from the loan sharks, we see his Moomin-like face and it’s hard not to chuckle along). And the second half balances this very well where it’s the newfound joy of fishing that pulls this guy back a big time. He’s a cynic who doesn’t care about getting involved in anything around him, so the fact that he gets sucked off fishing at the end is an achievement. This is a sleep hit of this season, but like Lenlo I am a bit wary how it will keep up with 12 episodes run.
Potential: 50%
DanMachi S5
Short Synopsis: Zeus’ grandson has all the hotties – humans, deities, and especially elves – chasing him (some literally).
Amun: This is going to come as a shock to all of you, but I’m very happy that DanMachi is back. In fact, this season is just looking fantastic – we have DanMachi, Natsume’s Book of Friends (which I’d given up hope of ever seeing again), Re:Zero, and some new blood like Dan Da Dan. And what a season of DanMachi it’s going to be!! Okay, look, I haven’t read ahead, because I want to experience the anime for the first time – but several years ago, I was reading up on the different arcs (with no spoilers), and apparently this arc is one of the better ones. Right away, it’s a BANGER. We’ve got romance in spades, new romantic rivals, Ryu feeling all sorts of ways after the deep dungeon adventure, we’ve got two quick skirmishes (that looked surprisingly good), one of which was a bit hilarious. And…yes, there’s that ED, but this season’s called the Goddess of Fertility arc, so what did you expect now? We finally get an arc of Syr, whose been steadily built up since the first season – she’s got all sorts of mystery and connection going on (and apparently some deity as well). All said and done….yes. This is going to be peak DanMachi. My only complaint is the best girl (who is admittedly fighting for her spot in absentia), Ais, is nowhere to be seen and isn’t even mentioned by her full name. She darn well better show up soon, since my guy Bell is in DANGER…..of living up to his rabbit name ;).
Potential: 100%
Say what you will about days to the wedding at least the couple are adults though the male mc falls into the weak lead category.