Star Crossed Anime

Fumetsu no Anata e

Short Synopsis: An immortal being learns about the fleeting joy and terrible sorrows of living.

Armitage: The reason why To Your Eternity’s biggest litmus test was going to be the adaptation of the manga’s first chapter is because this introduction just carries such a quiet devastation and is so uncharacteristic of modern manga tropes that it’s almost unfair. It presents us with a heartbreaking self-contained narrative which also sets up the premise and tone of the series effortlessly. And while I was always skeptical of Brain’s Base as being the studio in charge of the adaptation, they do actually ‘adapt’ the source material near perfectly here. The one thing they could have chosen to do was to linger on the more poetic moments of the story. Like the being heading out into a wondrous world brimming with the possibility of life, while the boy lies behind him, lifeless. As I mentioned in the Spring Preview, Yoshitoki Ooima’s art cannot possibly be replicated in an anime and Brain’s Base was never gonna be the studio to even attempt to do it. So what we get are a few awkwardly minimal looking backgrounds and wide-shots but that’s about the only negative I hold against this premiere.

The one thing that they do manage to do right is character animation. Fleeting smiles, dejected eyes, trickling tears. All portrayed flawlessly. The OST too is fittingly sombre and melancholic. So, clearly the anime adaptation is going to have contrasting strengths to the manga. Which is fine, as the source material is far too accomplished to be held down by minor technical quibbles. And as long as the anime doesn’t pull a Neverland, this story is going to be one to pull at your heart-strings and then some.

Potential: of breaking your heart.

Lenlo: Fumetsu is freakin weird. Not weird like Odd Taxi, it’s easy to follow and there’s a clear purpose to it. Weird in that I have no idea where it’s going. I wasn’t expecting the Orb to become the MC. I wasn’t expecting this show to open that bleakly. But the way Fumetsu slowly rolled into it, slowly introduced and executed on the idea, was great. Some might call it boring and I don’t think they are necessarily wrong. This was 23 minutes of walking around a bleak landscape with a lonely boy talking to himself, hardly riveting stuff. I think Fumetsu would have really benefited from some better backgrounds to keep us engaged in these snowy plains because what we got are… kinda mediocre. But if you stick around to the end I think the payoff is worth it. It’s a really strong hook and I like how dedicated Fumetsu is to it. I have no idea how it’s going to fill out 20 episodes with this premise. But if they can give me the same kind of emotional catharsis I got from this one then they are gonna be pretty good.

Potential: 70%

Bishounen Tanteidan

Short Synopsis: A quintet of quirky middle school detectives search for a star that their client glimpsed as a child.

Mario: “The first three rules of Pretty Boy’s Detective Club: be pretty, be a boy, be a detective.” How well you take these rules will sum up your reaction to this show, as they’re treated with all seriousness. I’m a fan of both NisiOisin’s genre-bending works and Shaft’s quirky visual style and even then I found much of the dialogue utterly pretentious. Like Wooper mentioned below, it reminds me a great deal of Ouran Koukou Host Club, but while the characters are bland, I enjoy the concept of these boys doing detective work. The visuals are easily the show’s strongest suit, where Shaft handily employs several art styles – the girl’s flashback especially is something to behold. It’s the third collaboration between Shaft and NisiOisin so it’s kinda a household brand at this point. And like any household brand it attracts you because it’s singular. As such, while this episode never fully gripped me you bet I will follow it till the end of its run.

Potential: 60%

Wooper: This episode could be summed up as “Ouran Koukou Host Club by way of Nisio Isin by way of Studio Shaft.” How many of those people/things you enjoy will be a strong indicator of how much you’ll like this series. Personally, I’m fond of maybe one and a half of those three, so while I found a lot to admire about Bishounen Tanteidan, I didn’t particularly like it. What I did like were the overstuffed backgrounds and forays into different art styles, which make the show one of spring’s most visually arresting offerings. The starlit skies, silhouetted architecture, and simulated oil pastel shots were very pretty, which is fitting for a series that revolves around the concept of beauty. What I didn’t like was almost everything else: the pseudo-intellectual opening monologue, the swaths of character-profiling exposition, the camera’s tendency to focus on a middle schooler wearing hot pants, and the list goes on. I’d probably be more charitable if the female lead hadn’t been swept away in the mess, but alas, Haruhi she ain’t. I might revisit this show if the buzz is still good around the midseason mark, but for now I’ve seen enough.

Potential: 30%

Cestvs: The Roman Fighter

Short Synopsis: A Roman slave fights for his freedom by participating in boxing matches.

Wooper: Don’t mess with me like this, Cestvs. Don’t open your show with ugly CG character models, thereby allowing me to brace myself for one sort of badness, and then switch to an even worse hand-drawn style for the remaining 90% of your premiere. Honestly, the move to 2D did this episode no favors, unless encouraging you to stop watching counts. The shift neutered not only the fight scenes, whose fist-body collisions were no more forceful than a primary schooler cracking an egg, but also the anguish inherent in the story. The cries of the fighters as they were struck, their gasps for air and whimpers of pain – none of those sounds were reflected on the characters’ faces, even during life and death bouts. That mismatched quality would have turned Cestvs into a gut-busting comedy had slavery not been an integral part of its premise. Even the injustice and the brutality of slavery couldn’t bring gravity to this production, though. What else is there to say? Spring 2021 truly saved the worst for last.

Potential: 0%

Mario: It feels bad for a show about boxing in an unique setting like Cestvs to be treated like this. The 3DCG is the elephant in the room here. Not only is it ugly to watch, but the facial expressions are nonexistent. Moreover, the punches don’t land any impact, which is a red flag for a show where boxing is concerned. Adding to that, the writing is pretty mediocre as well. The titular character Cestvs doesn’t have one shade of personality, the death of his “best friend” is ridiculous and pointless, and WTF he’s a slave but he has his own coach and apparently he can do some individual training? HE’S A SLAVE for god’s sake!! It’s not the worst premiere this season but there’s very little hope for this to be something worthwhile.

Potential: 0%

Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san

Short Synopsis: A high school girl bullies a nerdy upperclassman for her own amusement.

Wooper: I expected to hate Nagatoro-san the same way I did Teasing Master Takagi-san, but the surprisingly competent animation did this show a lot of favors. The way Nagatoro bounces around the screen gives her an impish quality that softens her verbal blows – her dynamic reenactment of the male lead’s manga in particular marked her as a fun-seeker rather than a tyrant. Of course, bullying a schoolmate in your quest for entertainment is unacceptable behavior in the real world, but this is anime, where a story’s presentation makes all the difference. Nagatoro is a mean girl, but she demonstrates both a lasting interest in her target and an understanding that her behavior is wrong (“I’ve been pretty horrible to you”). She doesn’t leave as soon as she gets the pitiful reaction she wanted – she sticks around, probably because a small part of her empathizes with this loser, and she likes that new feeling of empathy. She even smiles in satisfaction after Mr. Loser works up the courage to ask her name, as though she’s been waiting for it. I think there’s more to this one than meets the eye, even if it’s obvious masochist bait.

Potential: 40%

Amun: Ah, this was pretty painful. Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san is another rare show where I’m familiar with the source material. I previewed this show and said something along the lines of “it’ll be okay as long as it’s not too mean.” Well…it’s pretty mean-spirited, honestly. There’s a bit of a moment where our main antagonist feels bad about making the helpless lad cry, but it’s too little, too late. How should they have approached this? I think this show works if they show how Nagatoro is more clumsy, instead of cruel – how her “bullying” is just a lack of understanding how to relate. Instead, it comes off as just sadistic. Maybe I expected too much, but this is a hard pass from me.

Potential: 0%

Tokyo Revengers

Short Synopsis: A former delinquent time travels back to his middle school days right before his untimely death.

Lenlo: Revengers is a weird one. Narratively I know I have nothing to worry about. I enjoyed the manga so much I caught up on the entire thing in a weekend and the anime did a decent job overall on that. But not 2 minutes in and LIDENFILMS is already changing small character moments, the sort of stuff that informs you as to who they are. Like making the kids key the car instead of our lead himself doing it, taking away that small moment of rebellion as we get a peek at his inner self. It’s not a big deal but it leaves me asking: What else are they willing to change? Meanwhile the visuals are simply uninspired. They reek of cashing a check, of making an adaptation with minimal actual effort. Hopefully I’m wrong, hopefully Revengers comes back strong and gives me the adaptation I want. But I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t.

Potential: 35%

Wooper: Imagine for a moment that Erased, the time travel anime from 2016, had been delinquent-themed. Now strip away that show’s intrigue, nostalgia, and good looks. Oh, and replace its suspenseful soundtrack with half a dozen lukewarm electric guitar tracks. Got all that? Congratulations, you just saved yourself the time it would have taken to watch the premiere of Tokyo Revengers. I wish I could join you in spending those 20 minutes on anything else, but instead I have to quickly account for my disinterest. I suppose most of it stems from the main character, whose primary thought as he moved through his extended flashback was, “Oh yeah, I remember that.” The guy is far from an electrifying protagonist – his long-awaited reunion with the girl of his dreams was so mild that I thought he might have the wrong person. Not even the plot’s fixation on single-minded teenage punks could make him look complex by comparison. I suppose I should be grateful to Revengers for having such a lousy lead, though, since it quickly signaled that I had one less series to follow this spring.

Potential: 5%

Edens Zero

Short Synopsis: Poor preteen’s Fairy Tail.

Amun: Disclaimer: I’ve only watched the first episode for this review, and it was a fansub, pre-air. That out of the way – Edens Zero certainly gets right to it – no OP or anything. I guess I’d forgotten how…silly Fairy Tail was. This episode was certainly that – very silly. The twist was pretty telegraphed, but I appreciate what they were trying to do. The fight scene was mixed – there were some nice after effects, but I’m not sold on the choreography. I’m also a little concerned about the pace – this episode felt like we were on a schedule with places to be (despite the robots waiting something like 100 years…no big). I just wish the first episode had reminded me only of what I loved about Fairy Tail – fun characters, friendship, and bagpipes – instead of the other nagging issues as well (production, pace, and choreography). I’m still optimistic, just maybe not as much as I was.

Potential: 60%

Armitage: Preface: Amun made me do it!
To say that I am a fan of Fairy Tail is a lie. To say that I don’t judge you for liking Fairy Tail is a diplomatic lie. So, I guess Edens Zero had its task cut out when it threw its hat in the arena for trying to vie for my weekly watch time. Needless to say that it failed at the five-minute mark when we got our main 12-year-old looking protagonist fondling the main female lead’s breasts before proceeding to place himself on the ground in such a position that he could get a peek at her underwear. Going into this show, I knew that I was gonna have to overlook a lot of stuff to even be able to get through the premiere’s runtime and I did exactly that… until the high-pitched, unfunny slapstick comedy and every second sentence ending with a “desu ga?” got too overbearing that I had to tap out. But for the sake of being a professional anime reviewer, I willed myself to the end-credits. Still, I must say that I simply don’t like this show. I won’t ask you to not watch it. As art is subjective. What I might dislike, you can end up wholeheartedly enjoying. But I can give you a TL;DR which can help you decide if Edens Zero is for you: “Even Fairy Tail is better than this”.

Potential: Pass

Amun: Wait, why the heck would you watch this if you didn’t even like Fairy Tail?! It has the same characters!