Star Crossed Anime

Spy Classroom

Short Synopsis: It’s a classroom. Of Spies. Who are girls. And apparently not very good at spying. Think Princess Principal meets Assasination Classroom (the ones who were bad at it).

Mario: It’s an interesting premise that does feel like a proud child between Assasination Classroom and Princess Principal. There are some nice setups – the girls are not the best but are the worst students, and the teacher is so skillful but teaches poorly… but overall I feel that something is missing in this episode, and that it doesn’t flow well at all. Take, for example, Klaus’ motivation for picking these girls. Some might say that he scouts them thoroughly and picks them specifically for the mission, all I see is that he just doesn’t give a damn. In the second half the episode focuses only on Lily and Klaus one-upping another, and that brings a fair share of goodies and baddies as well. The bad news is that it occasionally trades logic for “sounding smart” (she who can withstand toxic, is she Poison Ivy??) and the tones are all over the place. The good news is that it does make both Lily and Klaus a more interesting lead to follow along. With all that said, I am still curious so I might tag along to find out more.
Potential: 40%

Amun: You know, I did the comp with Princess Principal and Assasination Classroom, but I’m feeling a bit more Talentless Nana-san after all. And you know what, those are all pretty good shows. Is Spy Classroom? Well…that remains to be seen. For starters, I really like the trend towards having strong characters with obvious flaws – and a genius at everything but teaching is worth seeing. My issues start with the rest of the class. It’s pretty clear we’re going to have an attempted assassination of the week, culminating in a team mission that succeeds despite all the odds. That’s fine – my problem is that this is a rather large cast (7 girls, I think?) That’s over half a season of just introductions…and I’m not sure I’ll last that long. Despite that, this was a pretty decent start – I think the twist was pretty obvious, but there was a fine line between a klutz and a psychopath here that was navigated quite deftly. So I don’t know – will this exceed expectations or just fade into an oversaturated season? Odds are on the latter, but I’ll give it a few more episodes to see.
Potential: 30%

Tomo-chan is a Girl!

Short Synopsis: Tomo Aizawa is an athletic tomboy trying to get her childhood friend and crush, Junichirou Kubota, to see her as a girl and not another one of the guys.

Lenlo: It’s time! The season has begun! And first up is… Tomo-Chan. Gonna be honest, this doesn’t look that good. Visually it’s alright, some nice colors and direction. But it’s nothing too special, nothing that’s really going to elevate the material. And boy does that material need elevating. It’s not a good sign when every single relationship in the show is better than your leading couple. Junichiro and Gundo, Tomo and Misaki, Gundo and Tanabe, the list goes on. I enjoyed their interactions far more than I did the actual leads, Tomo and Junichiro. In fact the only thing those two have going for them is that Junichiro appears well aware that Tomo is a girl and is purposefully denying/pushing back on it, likely because he himself is afraid of a committed relationship. If Tomo-Chan actually dials in on that and gives him a reason to say no beyond “To stupid to notice she’s a girl”, then maybe there’s some potential here.
Potential: 30%

Amun: I guess I didn’t hate Tomo-chan, but I can’t say I loved it. This feels very much like a lesser Shikkimori-san, which was decent enough, but certainly not worth formula copying. Tomo-chan is more in the vein of “shout until it’s funny”…or well, punch until it’s funny. Like Leno says, the supporting cast has some potential – and the hints that Jun is actually not as dumb as he looks are pretty much all that’s keeping me going. Gundo is pretty funny though; I did love the whiplash of the poor duo – I guess some of the comedy did land after all. I just need a bit more from the titular Tomo-chan to make this worthwhile.
Potential: 40%

Revenger

Short Synopsis: A samurai teams up with a special organization to clear his name and take down the local gang boss.

Mario: Overall it was a solid premiere. True to Urobuchi’s brand, the episode features a protagonist whose ideals and honor are crushed and destroyed. Sounds familiar, right? The episode lays out some neat choreography and music, so on the production side it is a delight. From a writing point of view, so far it establishes well the main characters, namely Kurima and Usui, and I certainly want to see more of them. It doesn’t shy away from the violence (a plus for me. There are some creative killing methods there), but at the same time it’s also on the verge of melodramatic and heavy-handed. So far, that isn’t a big turn off but I really hope it doesn’t rely on that later on.
Potential: 60%

Lenlo: You know, I really wasn’t expecting much from Revenger. I thought it was just going to be another Pretty Boy Samurai Show. You know what I’m talking about, the ones where every character has a shtick and a different hair color. And to an extent, it is still that! There are 5 pretty boys fitting different archetypes that each fight differently. But what I wasn’t expecting was the sheer brutality of the show, nor the legitimate tragedy that is the lead’s backstory/motivation. One leads me to believe Revenger will have a far more adult style to it moving forward, rather than the generally safe style these kinds of shows usually do. Meanwhile the other gives me hope that there may be an actual story here to enjoy. Only time will tell if it can live up to these hopes, but it’s done enough to make me want to actually watch and find out more.
Potential: 50%

Tsurune – The Linking Shot –

Short Synopsis: The 2nd season of Tsurune, Kyoto Animation’s premier “Handsome Boys Doing Handsome Things” show.

Lenlo: Jesus Christ it’s just so goddamn pretty. Say what you want about the story, personally I actually quite like Tsurune’s portrayal of the sport and the connections built within it, however I know it isn’t for everyone. But you can’t deny just how good Tsurune looks and sounds. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up being the most solid production of the season. That said, it’s the 2nd season of a 5 year old show. At this point you probably know if it’s up your alley or not. If you want to watch a character drama about pretty boys shooting arrows, give it a shot. Go try the 1st season. I know I was pleasantly surprised by it and you might be too.
Potential: 50%

ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister!

Short Synopsis: A shut in is turned into a loli, ecchi bullshit ensues.

Lenlo: You know how the anime community has this reputation in conservative circles for being filled with pedophiles and sexual deviants? Onimai, and shows like it, is why. This show is pure ecchi trash, and I can’t find it in me to respect anyone who not only watches this but likes it. I wanted to quit 5 seconds after the OP started, but I kept watching for you. And let me tell you… It’s not good. Just don’t watch it. Please.
Potential: Am I going to prison for watching this? Will you?

Mario: Thank you Lenlo for the passionate vote of disapproval. Let me fill in by dissecting it objectively. Yes, Onimai is a dumpster fire. Its leering at the underaged body, although not explicitly showing anything, is deeply uncomfortable. But even if you bypass that, the fact that the brother was manipulated by his sister without his consent (and at one point we see her hiding a spy camera) is troublesome. The main themes of the show are about 1) the expectation from the roles one’s supposed to perform and 2) what it feels like to be born with a different body. As such, I can feel it resonates on some levels if they can pool these issues effectively – which I highly doubt the show can pull off. Onimai’s mind seem to be occupied by Mahiro’s new found body and having Mahiro actually accepting his fate. No boy, just no.
Potential: “Bottomsley” – as in, the bottom of anime’s hell pit.

TECHNOROID: OVERMIND

Short Synopsis: Androids form a boyband to prevent their power, and thus their lives, from being shut off. Except it’s nowhere near as dark as that kind of existential crisis should be.

Lenlo: So let me get this straight, Overmind is about… hot android boy bands competing to be the top hot android boyband in a tower named after the myth of the Tower of Babel? I’ll be honest, I’m not feeling anything at all from this. As far as idol premises go its one of the more unique ones, but that doesn’t exactly make it good. It’s just an excuse to get 4 generic, color coded male designs on a CGI stage singing music composed by committee. Not a winner I’m afraid.
Potential: 0%

Mario: In all disguises of futurist settings, Babylon’s tower (that gives me a strong Hunter x Hunter’s arena vibe), and androids that occasionally have their heads dropped off when bumping to each other (such flawed designs if you ask me), Technoroid (maybe I should capitalize the name but I haven’t the heart to do it) is an idol show at heart. As such, it has all the trappings of an idol show: awkward CG live performances, hot boys and girls with color-code and zero personality, rival bands that might or might not be an avatar for some real-life bands… to be fair, Technoroid is more ambitious than that. Throughout the first episode, the band tries solving a kid’s grieving issues as well, and in the process learns about emotions and… singing together in live performances. Yeah, you read it right. For all of its ambitious settings and trying to break away from idol’s simple formula, the show sadly hampers itself by its silliness of “why do we need to sing together” or “why we need to pay pills for electricity” bits. It’s clear that they don’t take themselves so seriously, so why do we?
Potential: 0%

Ningen Fushin: Adventurers Who Don’t Believe in Humanity Will Save the World

Short Synopsis: A band of Isekai misfits form an adventuring party.

Mario: Welcome to 2023 with – of course, the most cash-cowed genre in the anime world at the moment – an isekai offering. I will start off with a positive, Ningen Fushin has an amusing concept: a bunch of distrust members form an unlikely group and eventually save the world. In the right hand, this premise could turn into something affecting (they all go through traumatic events), or a satire in the same vein of Konosuba that pokes fun at its characters and the isekai tropes. Sadly, Ningen Fushin is destined to be mediocre. First, the mash-up elements between RPG fantasy and modern day idols are jarring (and only makes sense from an otaku’s point of view). Second, the episode tries to cram so much backstories from multiple characters that it has little room to breathe. Moreover, in order to give the characters a solid cynicism, it walks on many troublesome tropes that I am not keen of: a false rape acusation, an asshole partner who will turn the table at a flick of a finger… Ningen Fushin isn’t bad per se (we’ve seen worse), it’s just bland and average.
Potential: 20%

Lenlo: I’ve found the first generic isekai of the season. The idea is interesting enough I suppose. Rather than a single loser MC with a grudge against his original party, we have 4. Each one of the core party members has a chip on their shoulder from some past life event. If they had a decent enough personality, some kind of interplay, then I could get into it. Watching some misfits who really don’t belong together create a family is nice! But I just don’t have any faith in Ningen Fushin to be able to do that.
Potential: 5%

Bungou Stray Dogs Season 4

Short Synopsis: Various (loosely based) literary characters, headlined by Osamu Dazai, try to outwit (or outshoot) each other.

Amun: Let’s be honest: Bungou Stray Dogs is a B-tier show that just keeps getting renewed – and I love it. This season is starting off with a flashback on the founding of the detective agency, featuring Yukichi Fukuzawa (the Armed Detective Agency President) and Ranpo Edogawa (the actual detective of the detective agency). I remember there were throwaway lines about how the Armed Detective Agency was created as a home for Ranpo, and it seems this is exploring that. I don’t know much about the President, so it’s interesting to take a look – Ranpo has always been a pretty flat character to me (think Sherlock Holmes), so seeing him as a little kid is kind of fun. Also VERY interesting to see the President having serious parallels (cell phone, assassin background) to Kyoka Izumi, who he later brings into the fold. I bet this flashback arc lasts half a season, like others have in the past, but it’s still a nice twist on what can become a set-piece show. The noir aesthetics aren’t half bad either (especially considering this is a pretty flashy show). Of course, Bungou Stray Dogs always thinks itself overly clever when it’s really just entertaining, but four seasons in, this should come as no surprise. Good start to the season!
Potential: 75%

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague

Short Synopsis: A rom-com between a stoic girl and her colleague, Weiss brother AKA Ice-Man.

Mario: Despite the cold title, the episode is much warmer than you might expect. It’s cute to see both characters slowly get to know each other and support one another in small ways, the real issue I have with it so far is that it is a bit monotone. We get to see Ice Guy blushing and bringing snow to the office multiple times and as a result it gets pale at the end. The show leans hard on the romance side as well. I don’t mean it as a negative aspect, but by focusing on this couple, the show doesn’t give enough spotlight to other members of the cast (well, except the cat). The visual is on a conservative side. It doesn’t look bad but it doesn’t excite me either. I can see myself returning to this series from time to time for the coziness, but don’t expect it to be a hit this season.
Potential: 30%

Lenlo: I’m very much in the same boat as Mario here. Ice Guy seems like a very calm, low-key sort of office romance. In a lot of ways I can appreciate that. I like romances involving young adults capable of having conversations and slowly getting to know each other more than I do highschool over reactionary crushes. In that sense, Ice Guy is right up my alley. However, just as Mario says, its visuals leave a lot to be desired and the characters themselves, while fitting the “chill” themes, have very little emotional range. I realize I was just complaining about over reactions, but there’s such as thing as not enough of a reaction. It doesn’t have to be huge, subtle moments are generally stronger. But I feel like we didn’t get much of either here. Maybe I’ll warm up (heh) to Ice Guy after an episode or two. But as far as first impressions go, I’m not feeling very passionate.
Potential: 20%