Star Crossed Anime

Shironeko Project: Zero Chronicle

Short Synopsis: A queen and a swordsman, linked by fate, embark on separate journeys in their respective kingdoms.

Lenlo: Shironeko Project is trying so hard to be something it’s not. Whether that’s Rage of Bahamut with its battles between effectively Heaven and Hell or SAO with its edgy MC and “deep” metaphors like the hole, I don’t know. What I do know though is that Shironeko achieves neither. The pace is glacial and my interest is non-existent as we watch not!Kirito, or whatever generic name brand MC of your choice, gets his tragic backstory about digging holes only to meet and then lose a mentor figure in the span of 10 minutes. It’s like it’s going to try and cover the whole Hero’s Journey in the span of like… 3 episodes. I could rib on this thing for paragraphs, but Wooper did plenty down below. So instead I will just back him up by saying: No. Don’t watch this.

Potential: 0%

Wooper: Thinking back on the 20 minutes I just wasted with Shironeko Project’s first episode, not a single line of its script or point in its plot was remotely convincing. The opening metaphor of its dual leads as cats was goofy, and each protagonist’s story was terrible in its own way. First up was the future King of Darkness, whose entire village was destroyed within minutes of his introduction. Gotta get that tragic backstory out of the way, I guess, so the red streak in his hair can feel appropriately emo. While digging a mass grave, he meets a master swordsman and defeats him in combat right before the old dude kicks the bucket. This whole scene is such an obvious jump starter for the actual plot, which is spelled out by Mr. Knight in laundry list form right before his death. Then there’s the queen of the sky world, whose personality we aren’t allowed to observe – we just hear about how awesome she is from her subjects. All of that dialogue gets dumped on us after we’re nearly comatose from a shitty CG battle scene – the first of many, I’d wager, given the lifeless production on display. I hope to forget this series as quickly as possible.

Potential: 0%

Fruits Basket S2

Short Synopsis: Yuki meets new eccentric friends of the student council.

Amun: Fruits Basket season one (of this version) ended with some pretty heavy moments – Yuki’s trauma and Kon’s smell.  I was worried season two would start off a little timidly – guess I forgot that if there’s one thing Fruits Basket is good at, it’s making you feel.  This was a good premiere episode to get us back into things, shown from the perspective of a side character – but still moving the plot along. Broadly speaking, I’m most concerned about character creep and/or delving too deep into side characters – judging from the OP/ED, I think that won’t be an issue (I’m seeing one to two more zodiac characters, tops).  Plus the humor is still on point – “zodiac level strange” had me dying. With many other big name sequels getting pushed back, it’s good to know that Fruits Basket is here with the feels, no matter what.

Potential: 100%

Mario: Season 2 picks up right where the first season ends, and overall this premiere is a smooth sailing. It introduces some new characters and gives some minor cast a spotlight. The best improvement here in this sequel is that the show moves away from Tohru and so far focuses on Yuki without Tohru’s direct involvement. As much as I like the main chemistry between Tohru, Yuki and Kyo, it can feel monotonous at times given how many times we need to be reminded that Tohru has changed Yuki for the better? So at least here Yuki owns his story with his own set of side cast (harem as you might put it). This likely is a one-time off, but at least for me it’s a good sign that the material expands its view outside of Tohru’s perspective and allows Yuki (and hopefully Kyo) to be more flexible. While there isn’t much of Zodiac members involved or its iconic Zodiac transformation in this episode, and there’s a tad bit too much romance for my taste, I’m happy that Fruits Basket is back and hopefully this time we can witness it going through the finish line.

Potential:  40%

Princess Connect! Re:Dive

Short Synopsis: A nearly mute hero is sent to another world, where he’s looked after by an envoy of the goddess who sent him there.

Wooper: Princess Connect’s first couple minutes were unflattering, reading like a genderswapped otome game adaptation. The POV shot of a potential love interest just after waking up, the silent protagonist acting as an audience stand-in – things weren’t looking so hot. As the premiere went on, though, it revealed a goofy sense of humor that stopped me from hitting Alt+F4. The male lead’s helplessness is played for laughs, as in the recurring gag where he’s dragged away by rapid dogs, or his inability to grasp the concept of money. The episode-ending battle against a horde of mushrooms was goofy, too (and the animation was pretty nice, coming from a green studio like CygamesPictures). Unfortunately, beyond some of these quirks, Re:Dive doesn’t have much to offer. It’s a KonoSuba-type series featuring much less interesting characters, and the montage of girls that will be introduced in future installments doesn’t entice me in the least. It might not be the worst fantasy anime of the season, but that doesn’t mean it’s worth your time.

Potential: 10%

Lenlo: This is probably the most… “average” first impression episode I have seen so far. There was absolutely nothing offensive or outright bad about Princess Connect for me. As Wooper says, it’s not particularly interesting, there is little thematic depth to it. But it actually got me to chuckle. Multiple times. The gag humor works, and the MC is a played up version of your everyday isekai MC, except legitimately retarded. Yet unlike Konosuba it doesn’t rely on potty or sexual or transphobic humor to make its jokes. Meanwhile it feels like CyGames Pictures is actually trying here, with things like the CGI grass swaying in the wind and such. It looks terribly awkward sometimes, but there are also moments where it just sort of… works. So I can say wholeheartedly, if you just want a goofy show to burn 30 minutes and enjoy yourself on, Princess Connect is not a bad choice at all. I won’t be watching it personally, because my time is limited and this isn’t exactly up my alley. But I honestly can’t see anything wrong with what is ostensibly a slightly above average gacha mobile game adaptation. At the very least it’s less offensive than Azur Lane was last year.

Potential: 30%

Otome Game no Hametsu Flag

Short Synopsis: Reincarnated little girl hits her head, gets engaged, and breaks down a door like a boss.

Amun: Wait what’s this?! Isekai is evolving!! And…it’s now become chibi isekai! (patent pending)  As the third show this season to feature a person from our world who came back as someone younger, Otome is a decently fresh take on a stagnating genre.  Not only are we back as a little kid, we’re back as an EVIL little kid – well, one that will be eventually. Our heroine is determined not to be evil though – to the extent where she gets sick of everyone’s nonsense and fireman-axes a door.  That pretty well sells this series for me.

Potential: 70%

Armitage: Oh-My-God-This-is-the-most-adorable-thing-ever-I-can-feel-my-poor-harth-meltin’-because-of-this-wholesome-goodness *coughs* *composes herself* Right, so the Otome Isekai. Do we really have to do a proper review of this? I mean, come on! Can’t we just let precious things be, for once? Why do we need to dissect every tiny detail and pinpoint minor flaws that stop us from seeing how perfect things are? Ughhh, fine! I’ll give it to ya straight, a’ight? This is a show about a 17-year-old girl trapped inside the body of an adorable 8-year-old princess who has the tough tough job of stopping equally adorable 8-year-old boys from confessing their love to her. And she goes about that job with the help of the many different emotions who hold a roundtable conference inside her head to discuss prospective strategies for preventing said fated declarations of love, ‘Inside-Out’ style. There you have it. That’s all I have to say about the premiere unless you’re interested in reading about the wide variety of reactions I had to various parts of the episode. To sum them up, there were a lot of ‘aww’s, melodramatic swoons and general unintelligible words whenever something cute happened on screen (which was like, every 10 seconds). So, as a TL;DR, this show is cute, heartwarming and the best thing since sliced bread. Go watch it. Bye.

Potential: All the %

Shachou, Battle no Jikan Desu!

Short Synopsis: Potato-kun gets asked by his childhood friend to be a President of a company that does quests for money.

Lenlo: Basically everything Mario said down below is correct. Shachou is an unremarkable light-fantasy show, with average production and nothing to really set it apart. Yet somehow, someway, that is enough to make it one of the better Isekai of this season. So if that’s your jam, you could do a lot worse. Unlike 8th Son for instance it actually seems to care about its mediocre setting, going so far as to hide its info-dump in an everyday work tutorial or actually explaining why people adventure and showing that technology has actually advanced. Of course there are still no guns, and it isn’t exactly clever. But there is a bare minimum level of effort here that isn’t present in a lot of other Isekai’s. And that alone at least makes me not hate it. It won’t be good. But I don’t hate it.

Potential: 15%

Mario: This show is another lame light-fantasy adaptation that doesn’t have any ambition and is not funny or entertaining enough to secure its place for another try. Just look at the main male: plain, surrounded by cute girls (and a boy) who are more efficient than him, and has the CEO position handed to him without any sweat. It certainly doesn’t help that most of this premiere focuses more on tutorial and side quest than establishing the cast. In addition, the production is unremarkable. The budget must be tight, as whenever the show does a wide shot, they skip the details in characters’ faces. The side quest itself isn’t that exciting, and since we all know the outcomes it fails to offer any thrills. The supporting cast has their own quirks but I doubt that they develop much in later episodes. If you like DanMachi then you might find this enjoyable, otherwise steer clear from it.

Potential: 10%

Amun:  There seem to be some heretics among us, one of whom even said some fighting words like “If you like DanMachi” – so the defender of DanMachi has arrived!  That being said….I’ll admit this premier was a bit thin. And, yeah, this is my genre, but…it seemed pretty low effort. The positives are: I like the tension with childhood-friend-turned-secretary (that’s like a second-gen fetish or something right there).  There also seems to be a lot of nice little side stories like the talking backpack and whatever’s going on with the promo video (please note, that says promo) star. The negatives are pretty much centered on the MC, his hair, the mismatched CGI, and the puddle depth plot.  I give this another episode or two, but I’m not that hopeful. Also, I love that they give him the title of CEO, but it means less than nothing – apparently someone’s worked in a startup before.

Potential: 25%    

Gleipnir

Short Synopsis: Furry boy teams up with a girl to collect golden coins while constantly appreciating how nice she smells.

Armitage: Ladies and Gentlemen, lo and behold! The edge-fest of the season. Like always, we have people raring to have a go at each other’s throats while striving to reach a common objective, plot threads tied together by the bare minimum of logic and well, everyone just being a complete dick. Though this time around the differences being that there’s no ‘Game’ in the title, there are furries! (the creepy kind but still) and well, it’s actually pretty good. I love how Studio Pine Jam understands the absurdity and stupidly fun nature of the concept and just runs with it, presenting the already over-the-top story from the source material with even more bombast (I mean, there are guitar solos backed by EDM beats playing in the background as a giant teddy bear carries a scantily-clad teenage girl out of a burning barn. Ah, the CAMP!). And let’s just be honest here, if you aren’t already sold on this show because of the premise or just hate stories that serve as nothing more than popcorn entertainment, nothing I can say will probably change your mind. If you do give this story a chance, you know what you’re in for: elaborate excuses in the name of plot for the next action set-piece to begin so that we get to see some teens go batshit insane, all with some fanservice thrown in for good measure. If that doesn’t sound like your usual cup of tea, fair enough. Though, there’s always room to try out some cinnamon spiced chai latte :3

Potential: 85%

Amun: Uh huh.  Are you in the mood for a fanservice filled, high school death tournament version of Gangsta…with the younger version of Rock from Black Lagoon?  Who can turn into a sorta strong, somewhat cute mascot? Also, did I mention fanservice? It’s gritty, it’s edgy, it has really detailed CGI coins – it’s Gleipnir! (whatever that means).   That being said, I don’t actually hate it – I’m just a little shell shocked from whatever it was that happened in that first episode. Come to think of it, I actually liked Gangsta quite a lot.  I’m open to seeing how the highschool edition turns out – fair warning, you might feel like you need some hand sanitizer after each episode.

Potential: 75%

Mario: Hmm, I’m throwing my two cents here to contrast these two glowing positive reactions above. The fanservice is uncalled for… why does the girl have her bra exposed in the first place? Plot jumps at a brisk pace, and the only hook for me is the “monster” transformation that is both bizarre and cute at the same time. I would put this show in the same “trashy-edgy-and-fun” category as “Future Diary” and “Deadman Wonderland”, and consider how this first episode is pale compared to these two, and how these two crash and burn after the hook, I have my worries towards Gleipnir.

Potential: 25%

Amun: First Mario challenges DanMachi, then bashes Mirai Nikki and Deadman Wonderland (which went downhill a bit, I’ll admit)? It’s on now! That said – I think those are some valid points about Gleipnir, having read a bit more of the manga.

Yesterday wo Utatte

Short Synopsis: A recent college graduate who lacks any real ambition in life gets stalked by a high-school girl and her pet crow.

Armitage: Oh, boy. This is a tricky one. Don’t get me wrong now. There are a lot of positives here. Be it the refreshing choice of a college graduate for a protagonist in Rikuo, the complicated nature of the relationship between him and Shinako (it falls somewhere in between one-sided crush and mutual fondness) or the general tone of the series which seems wholly drenched in nostalgia (the sombre OST has to be credited for that) while feeling very realistic. Plus, the ED song is definitely my favorite for any series this spring. It’s evident that there’s a lot to love. But my main qualm with it comes back to Haru, who is a walking red flag. Her behavior so far in the series just comes off as a bit obsessive and from what we got to know about her in the premiere, I couldn’t really justify her actions. Though it’s still early days and as more layers of the characters’ lives get peeled in the coming weeks, my opinions may change completely. Unfortunately, Doga Kobo has a track record of ending their one-cour series with big flashing ‘GO READ THE MANGA!’ signs and considering that the source material is over a 100 chapters long, I can see this series succumbing to the same fate. What I can say for sure is that I do find myself interested in knowing where this story is headed and will be following it to the end, even if it crashes and burns by then.

Potential: 75%

Wooper: For a story about a mellow convenience store worker, life sure comes at the viewer fast in Yesterday wo Utatte. We’re barely given a chance to understand who the main character is before his meet-cute with a crow-taming girl, who then appears four or five more times throughout the episode. His recent graduation is mentioned only minutes before his college crush waltzes back into his life, and his confession/her rejection happen shortly thereafter. In fact, all the show’s cards seem to be on the table as of the premiere’s end. We know about Rikou’s past with Crow Girl, her personal history and lack of family, the link between the two female love interests, etc. So why am I looking forward to the next episode? Well, it’s got a male protagonist who doesn’t trip over his own tongue at the mere sight of a woman, which is a welcome surprise in anime land. Plus there’s a melancholic atmosphere to it that I like, even if the show ventured into navel-gazing territory with Crow Girl’s monologue at the end. Rikou’s interest in photography could take the story to some interesting places, as well. That’s a strong enough toolkit for me to pick up this series, at least temporarily.

Potential: 60%

Bungou to Alchemist: Shinpan no Haguruma

Short Synopsis: Historical authors enter stories gone wrong to set them back on the right track.

Lenlo: What the hell even is this? Are we in stories? A fantasy world? The modern world? What is with Japan’s obsession with putting novelists in anime, as if just throwing names in there adds depth? Everything about this just reeks of mediocrity and it doesn’t even have the good will of a decent production. I grew bored and wanted to turn it off by the time the OP rolled, to say nothing of the ED. Long story short, skip this. Even Bungou Stray Dogs does a better job with the “Authors as heroes” concept, and I don’t even like that show.

Potential: 0%

Mario: It’s a pretty bad idea to throw us in the middle of the story without any context and then introduce the twist. It’s like they pull the rug out when we haven’t even put our feet on it. Dazai and Akutagawa are interesting historical figures, but that doesn’t necessarily make them an engaging anime leads to follow. The core concept is easy enough to follow, these writers serve as heroes going inside the fictions to destroy “Taints”, who want to corrupt the story, but it’s not a fresh idea by any measure, and the show loses me hard once Akutagawa’s character enters the story. Our mains are over-designed, loud and thinly written and I find it hard to have any kind of investment in them. An easy skip.

Potential: 0%

Gal to Kyouryuu

Short Synopsis: A fashionable young woman starts living with a dinosaur after drunkenly inviting it home one night.

Wooper: Having read a few chapters of the manga before this episode dropped, I have to say I prefer Gal and Dino in book form. The dinosaur is cute in both versions, but having the freedom to drink in its various facial expressions at your own pace works much better than the TV version. There were many spots in the anime, especially during the Dino Channel segments, where the show held too long on a shot of its mascot, which brought some scenes to a screeching halt. The live action segments suffered from a separate problem, stemming from the cartoon sound effects that accompanied the dino’s movements. I’ll admit to chuckling the first time I heard the airhorn and raising an eyebrow at the lightsaber sounds, but the more ordinary squeaks and boings were applied far too liberally. Despite my nitpicks, the series did have a trump card that entertained me, and that was the recreation of its first chapter with human actors, where a middle-aged man played the role of Kaede. I got a big laugh from this gimmick at first, but I doubt it’ll be enough to keep the show fresh for 12 episodes – Pop Team Epic this ain’t.

Potential: mlg_airhorn.mp3/10

Amun: Uh, this isn’t entirely animation. I mean, there was an animated short for about 5 minutes, followed by some claymation…and then some live action? With an old dude? Who had a heart attack? Like – what is going on? The anime bit was fine, I guess (not a huge fan of dino’s design), but there’s just so much more to this show. I guess I’m extremely curious not where this goes plot wise, but what the actual media is…?

Potential: 5% (Just because I’m curious if this is an actual anime)

Arte

Short Synopsis: Tired of being held down by societal norms and traditions, a girl decides to leave behind her aristocratic roots and carve a new life for herself as an artist.

Lenlo: Unlike Armitage, I knew nothing about Arte going in and only barely knew that Artemisia, whom Arte is based on, existed. Yet even with no knowledge, Arte is the first series of this season to actually hold my complete attention all the way through. Similar to Runway de Waratte, the initial premise of a character striving in an industry they are unfit for and whom the industry is biased against is a good one. Right away it sets the entire world against the lead, and Arte doesn’t look like its going to shy away from the technical aspects like Runway. It’s only made better by the setting of 16th century Florence, which I at least have never seen covered in anime before. The backgrounds are beautiful, and as someone who has actually been to Florence, it’s a joy to see it rendered in such a stunning way. And the commitment to the setting seems to go beyond the flavor of the backgrounds, with hard labor in place of modern conveniences for the art and a focus on the actual living conditions of the times too. My only quibbles are actually very similar to Armitage, those being the comedy falling flat or the animation not being all there. Still though, it’s the first series to really catch and hold my eye yet. And the fact that Armitage is blogging it means I get to just sit back and relax with it to!

Potential: 80%

Armitage: Arte is a story, loosely based upon real events, which follows the titular character on her journey to becoming a painter in 16th Century Florence. The manga serves as a fitting companion piece to Blue Period (another phenomenal manga, though we’ll talk more about it when that anime eventually comes out) but while both are about individuals trying to pursue their passion of becoming artists, Arte distinguishes itself by not only being a story about art and the sacrifices that go into pursuing it for a living but by also serving as a criticism of a history of unfair gender biases that prevail almost every profession. I am already familiar with the source material so, all I hoped for while tuning in to the premiere was for a competent enough adaptation. And I got just that. While the animation itself was nothing too spectacular, the backgrounds bringing to life Renaissance-era Florence looked absolutely stunning. The voice actors for our main duo are both apt and Maaya Sakomoto’s vocal return for the OP is always welcome. The one thing I can point out as a minor quibble is that the comedic gags didn’t all land as expected but that’s a shortcoming on the manga’s part and not the anime. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better start to this story. I shall be returning next week for full weekly coverage. Hope you will join me too!

Potential: 100%

Listeners

Short Synopsis: Audio nerd makes advances on mysterious girl, but gets too caught up in his love of gear to actually get any.

Amun: Really the studios doing Listeners and ToG should switch – I feel like each’s visual style is way better suited for the other. This show looks great – the CGI integration makes sense, the world has good details, it feels like a world of junk and burned out tech. The characters are well introduced with their obvious traits at the front but also with adequate room to grow. Where I’m a little hesitant is the obvious service that’s going to play into this show, and I’ve always found Japan’s portrayal of rock and roll a little…mismatched. That said, I like what I’ve seen so far – this kind of seems like a music mech version of Tsugumomo (also airing this season), which I’m a fan of (see what I did there). I’m here for at least a few more gigs!

Potential: 65%

Mario: Concept-wise, Listeners has a lot to write home about. It’s a musical and mecha hybrid in a distinct setting (at least in this first episode) with gorgeous character designs, expressive animation with a plot that knows where it’s heading. At the same time though, it sweeps through an array of cliche development and tired dialogue that it feels new and old school on equal measures. The soundtrack reminds me a good deal of FLCL, anyone who is familiar with Dai Sato’s past works will see lots of familiar factors here, and boy meets girl who is a perfect match for him with a convenient amnesia? All checks. Even the gags revolving around Mu misreads Echo’s advance is so dated it’s hard to overlook. But Mu’s outgoing personality plays out as a neat contrast to Echo’s personal traits and they have a pretty solid chemistry already. The battle at the end successfully embraces Listeners’ appeals: mecha ⁺ solid action ⁺ rock & roll. In addition, I enjoy many references to the real world’s music. Listeners’ premiere might be on a cliche side, but it does it with its utmost confidence, just like Mu herself.

Potential: 40%

Sakura Wars the Animation

Short Synopsis: A team of Taisho-era actresses moonlight as mecha-piloting peacekeepers.

Wooper: I knew this show was going to be bad, but I missed the fact that it was animated by Sanzigen, one of the worst 3DCG studios in the business. The first scene took place in darkness, so its ugliness was largely disguised, but the rest of the episode looked straight outta 2013. From simple dialogue to more complex theater and combat scenes, this thing is hideous to watch. The story isn’t much better, being a fusion of the fantasy, idol, and mecha genres that feels like it was made for nobody in particular. The enemies are lizards that look like robots, but are actually demons, and the suddenness of their appearance renders the ensuing battle scene totally lifeless. But hey, at least the main characters got to reintroduce themselves and deliver their shitty catchphrases before charging into battle. Yes, this is *that* kind of show – made solely to familiarize a new generation of waifu-seekers with a media property that they can sink their money into. Don’t watch this.

Potential: 0%

Mario: Unlike Wooper, I am fond of Sanzigen given how their character designs are attractive and the CG looks rather decent, but Sakura Wars looks trash and feels trash. All the characters look stiff and emotionless. It doesn’t help that the personality traits are nothing to write home about, with the worst offender being Sakura herself. Clinging to the only boy in the show, she’s just a pain to watch. The plot is filled with cliche like that girl that has amnesia or how we can tell miles away they are going to be under attack when the only man isn’t around. I know it’s a reboot of a franchise so there’s a market for it, but otherwise I see no reason to pick up on this. It’s unremarkable on all fronts.

Potential: 0%

Kakushigoto

Short Synopsis: The author of a dirty gag manga strives to keep his profession hidden from his daughter.

Mario: I always like Kouji Kumeta’s brand of humor. He has that sort of dry absurdist humor which often relies on heavy wordplay and Japanese culture that would easily get lost in translation. I enjoyed his previous anime adaptations, I know I like Joshiraku more than most people out there, so I approach Kakushigoto with reasonably high expectations. You could say that out of the three works (Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, Joshiraku and this one), Kakushigoto has the clearest “stake” and “story development”, the father makes it clear he doesn’t want his daughter to find out about his manga career and tries his hardest to do just that. But this premiere still relies on an awful lot of standalone gags and a mountain-size of new characters, sometimes it’s overwhelming but personally I don’t mind being overwhelmed by it. The simpleness of character designs is a delight (I’m a fan of Eccentric Family’s character arts). So far, the show works best for me when it fully embraces the absurdness of its world: Gouto’s seat cushion serves as a swimming belt, and he becomes a local hero for his action? Or the running gags of random people recognize him and enjoy his works? Bring more of these please, but the central chemistry between Gouto and his daughter is still lacking, and without it, it’s hard to invest for their action at all. All in all, this premiere earns a recommendation from me.

Potential: 60%

Wooper: I’m not a fan of Kouji Kumeta’s works. In addition to not being a manga reader, I was only able to get through one season of Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, and Joshiraku’s one cour run was too Japanese for a lowly gaijin such as myself. As such, I doubt Kakushigoto will ever set my world on fire, but I found this premiere to be moderately entertaining. The show gets decent mileage out of its gags, rather than dreaming them up and discarding them after a single use. My favorite has to be Goto’s donut-shaped seat cushion, which doubles as a feline floatation device and a projectile weapon over the course of the episode. On the other hand, the last five minutes were spent mocking Starbucks-drinking hipsters – a toothless bit of humor, especially from a social satirist like Kumeta. Backgrounds were a mixed bag, as well, but the Eccentric Family-esque character designs compliment them nicely. Speaking of that series, Kakushigoto’s ED was heavily reminiscent of its style; even if you’ve got no interest in this one, I’d recommend watching its ending theme just for the art. As for the rest of the show, I’ll give it another week before deciding whether to continue.

Potential: 50%

Hachinan tte, Sora wa Nai Deshou!

Short Synopsis: A hungry salaryman boi is reincarnated as a royal broke brat.  

Amun: You have to respect a show that is true to itself – even if “itself” is really rather plain.  Hachinan (not to be confused with Hachiman, who I believe is here later this season) is a pureblooded isekai, through and through – a rather pedestrian lineage, but one to be proud of nonetheless.  This show looks to be a mix of Wiseman’s Grandson and Ascendance of a Bookworm – neither of which were terribly well animated, but both endearing in their own ways. I don’t see anything original here, but the characters are pleasant enough, the setting rather humorous  – and who doesn’t appreciate making random meals at midnight. I’ll give this a few more episodes at least.

Potential: 35%

Lenlo: Oh Isekai, Isekai, where would we be without you my dear Isekai. Long story short, it’s about what you would expect. We have an overpowered MC thrown into another world. About the only thing interesting Hachinan does is set him up as the 8th son of an impoverished noble, ostensibly setting him up for hardships ahead. Had Hachinan not immediately undercut that by making him an incredibly powerful wizard, we maybe could have had something here. And to be fair, there might still be some decent stuff on how they use the magic to benefit their family economically. But based on this introduction, and the general direction most Isekai go, I am not particularly hopeful. It looks, acts and sounds like a generic Isekai. Odds are that’s exactly what it is. Maybe that’s up your alley, but it’s not up mine.

Potential: 5%

Nami yo Kiitekure

Short Synopsis: Young girl gets super-drunk and is taken advantage of by a middle-aged man in the worst way possible: being forced to host a radio talk-show. 

Armitage: I want to like this show. I really really do. I mean, it’s about a girl in her mid-20s who’s tired of getting over break-ups and wants to find her true calling. It’s also a look at the inner workings which go into producing a podcast. So, it’s basically the radio version of Shirobako. What’s not to like, right? Well… actually, quite a lot. First off, the animation. I understand that studios must be short-staffed because of COVID-19 but the sheer number of times that the animation cut corners in this episode was frankly, appalling. From the blank faces of almost every person in the backgrounds to the bare minimum of character movements and the CGI car reminiscent of early Initial D, it’s safe to say that the show did not look good. Secondly, the A-part of the show just didn’t work for me at all. I appreciate the brave decision of dropping us right in the middle of an episode of the talk-show but it felt sort of jarring and disjointed. Though the one thing this show has going for it is novelty. It’s the kind of story that is very niche but seems really intriguing on paper. And certain aspects of the presentation do pique my interest. Like the sound design guy’s exasperation on Koda making an unnecessary yelp noise in her monologue which would prove difficult to mix or the many other intricacies of the radio production. But unfortunately, the whole package just didn’t gel together like I wished for it to. Which is a pity as I had reasonably high hopes for this and the Spring season already looks pretty thin.

Potential: 40%

Mario: I guess most of us have gone through (or will go through) the phase where all your anger and frustration boil up to the point you want to let off steam and curse the world. This is, I suppose, half of the appeal of Kiitekure, as Minare provides explosive rants after rants but not without its humor and underlying truth. The inside of how the radio station works and Minare’s on air podcasting make up the other half. I had high hope for the show but overall I’m not sold on this first episode. If every session runs like Minare’s first half on-air performance, it’s not going to appeal me much as it just consists of phony, unnecessarily over-dramatized case-scenario, random listeners’ questions and Minare’s yelling her lungs out, all which get pale really fast. The second half has a fair share of issues as well, from Mato’s ethically questionable action, to the over-the-top schtick at the end in an otherwise real setting, and inconsistency in character writing. There’s a scene where Minare wakes up and finds her shoes were neatly arranged and she comments on that, but the very scene before that we see her clothes scattering around the room. In addition, the shadows in characters’ eyes are quite distracting to look at. Still, Minare is an interesting character and this show still has its unique appeal so I still will give it a 3-episode trial. Let’s hope it sticks around.

Potential: 30%

BNA

Short Synopsis: Trigger re-writes Beastars in traditional Trigger style.

Helghast: Due to how Netflix releases things either too late or too early, the entire first half of BNA is out for your viewing pleasure. I’ve watched the first three episodes to balance it out and Studio Trigger hasn’t failed to entertain me yet. This time it’s Zootopia meets Kill la Kill and if you were expecting another Beastars, think more along the lines of the brustling fire-conscious city of Promare rather than the intricate layers of society. With the director of Little Witch Academia and the guy who scored Megalo Box being behind this production, it has been a fast-paced and wild ride through Anima City. The animation is an absolute riot in portraying the comedic violence and the characters of Michiru and Shirou drive the story with their different senses of discovery and justice. Being a Studio Trigger show, I expect this to be a smash hit or at least implode unto itself in a spectacular fashion.

Potential: 80%

Lenlo: Well one thing is for sure, you can tell this is a Studio Trigger production right from the get go. It’s flashy, bright and has a sense of style. Whether BNA ends up as anything more though we will have to wait and see. Because initially, its story isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, especially from Trigger, who seem hooked on this same core narrative. Some kind of class system in place, down-trodden, etc and the heroine comes in to fix it. That said there is some promise, a hint of a mystery, in just the first episode. Which gives me hope that there is more to BNA than just Triggers stylistic flair. Even if I am wrong though, if nothing else, BNA will be a party to watch. That’s for sure. With any luck, we may even go to space by the end.

Potential: 80%

 

Tamayomi

Short Synopsis: Two childhood friends reunite in high school and become a softball battery.

Lenlo: I feel betrayed. I feel lied to. In a word, I feel upset. Because the PV’s and Key Illustrations leading into this promised me strong women with strong thighs. And Tamayomi gave me neither. Just look at these thighs, all bland, detail-less and samey. It’s almost as if their character designs have little actual differences! Meanwhile, the animation on these thighs is also lacking, as they move like slow blobs of jello. I can’t even appreciate flashback thighs, which is criminal considering how many there were! Flashbacks I mean, not thighs. Long story short, as far as a “Cute Girls Doing Cute Things” sports show goes, neither the girls nor the thing they are doing, are cute. And so I can only say it fails.

Potential: No Thighs/10

Wooper: This premiere was, in a word, boring. It took 22 excruciating minutes for the main character to meet several of her classmates and throw a few practice pitches to her childhood friend, with a couple middle school flashbacks to break up the monotony. Every bit of the episode felt padded, from the slow upward pans whenever a new person was introduced, to the internal overreactions whenever a character did something mildly surprising. The comedy revolved around identically-designed anime girls being kind of ditzy, which is nobody’s cup of tea when it’s done this predictably. Speaking of their designs, they’re so simple that it’s a wonder that animation isn’t better. Everybody looks like Kirito with a more feminine haircut, yet the episode’s few moments of full motion struggled to keep things consistent. The main girl has a magical curveball that initially heads right for the batter’s head, then darts into the catcher’s glove at the last second, and… You know what, I’m not going to waste another word here.

Potential: 0%

 

Tower of God

Short Synopsis: Young boy enters a Tower themed Death Game in search of the only girl to ever talk to him.

Amun: I read the first couple chapters of this webtoon and I was decently hyped….first episode has pretty well killed that. Unlike Lenlo, I do not like the rough line – I think it disrupts what should otherwise be a spectacle of scenery. Instead, we have shallow depth, low effort backdrops with characters parading around in PowerPoint animations. The story is a mess too – had I not read the source material I would be completely lost. As it is, I’m only halfway lost. What I’m seeing is the very definition of amateur hour – which makes me sad since I’m rooting for the Crunchyroll sponsored projects to succeed. Oh well, better luck next time, I guess.

Potential: 1%

Lenlo: Tower of God is a weird one. Visually, I like it. The rough line work stands out and the animation is good enough with that line work to keep me interested. It looks like nothing else airing this season, really. However having read the original WebToon, I can say with utmost certainty that if you had no idea what was going on this episode, you won’t moving forward either. Narratively it’s a bit of a mess, as the author figures out what kind of story they want to tell. So all I can really say at this point is that I am looking forward to some good animation, some good fights, and if it can adapt some of the best scenes of this first volume, it will at least be a good time. Nothing phenomenal, but hey. Sometimes I just want some popcorn you know?

Potential: 50%, popcorn flick