Wooper: Let’s be honest with ourselves. This season is going to be remembered for two things: the long-awaited conclusion of Attack on Titan’s TV run, and the continuation of Demon Slayer’s story beyond the material of its record-breaking film. Those two properties will attract nearly as many eyeballs as the rest of this winter’s offerings combined – titanic sequels aside, it’s not looking like the strongest start for 2022 in terms of anime. There’s the usual assortment of isekai and MMO-themed fantasies, a stressful three CloverWorks series airing all at once, and a trio of shows about lesser-known (and in one case, fictional) sports. Personally, none of that really speaks to me – my hopes are pinned on a pair of series that aren’t likely to make waves in otaku circles. One serves as the return of an acclaimed director and master animator after a 14 year hiatus; the other is an adaptation of a batshit insane light novel by a studio handling their first full production. Read on for more thoughts on those and a bunch of other anime, and let us know what you’re looking forward to in the poll below.
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Middling Expectations
Hakozume: Koban Joshi no Gyakushuu
Studio: Madhouse
Director: Yuuzou Satou
Series composition: Ryuunosuke Kingetsu
Source: Manga
The Premise: A disillusioned policewoman decides to stay on the force a while longer after meeting her beautiful new boss.
Wooper: Hakozume is destined to draw a lot of comparisons to You’re Under Arrest, the female-led police comedy from the mid-nineties, but having skimmed the manga and watched the PV, I doubt it will have the action focus that YUA did. We’re probably looking at a ‘moving manga’ adaptation here, not on par with 2021’s Way of the Househusband but definitely on the low end of the animation spectrum. Workplace comedies can make do with that sort of stiffness, though, as long as the characters are strong and the stories give insight into the occupation in question (2006’s Hataraki Man is perhaps the ultimate example of that possibility). Policewomen Mai and Seiko may well fulfill that first criterion, as their understated banter will probably be just as fun to hear as it was to read. I’m less sure about the second part, though a large percentage of Hakozume’s civilian population seems to view the cops as a blight on Japanese society, which is something of a unique angle. This series isn’t anywhere near the top of my watchlist for this winter (it’s not on the list at all, to be honest), but it features adults in the real world rather than teens who get transported to a make-believe one, so I figured it was worth a mention.
