Grancrest Senki
Short Synopsis: A mage and Knight take over as lords of a land
Aidan’s review
Unfortunately I missed out on a bit of info that I should have included in the preview but this show is actually written by the same author who wrote Record of the Lodoss War. Considering that Lodoss war was apparently inspired by a Dungeons and Dragons session between the author and his friends, it does make sense that Grancrest feels like the beginnings of a RPG rather than a anime. I still stand by my comments in the preview about this story being rather alright and it does improve when the characters start working towards building a country. However I do admit that this is a fairly mediocre start to this anime and bad tidings for what is to come. Part of the problem lies in the direction which is quite sporadic and confusing. As an example the start of this episode featured a demon cutting off the heads of kings with a giant sword but the scene featured so many close ups and some many quick scene transitions without any real flow that you only realise what happens when you see the kings heads hit the floor. It’s like filming a boxing match and constantly having nothing but extreme closeups of the fighters eyes and punching gloves. Fairly certain the large use of close ups is an animation saving effort but it really is hampering the experience. Otherwise I would say this is a solid meh. I at least appreciate the female lead having an excuse as to why she is wearing skimpy attire(The lord she was to serve as a mage was a pervert who pushed the uniform on her) but it really doesn’t excuse her wearing it for the remainder of the show. Fans of SRPGs like Fire Emblem might get a kick out of the setup. Could get better later but right now it’s mediocre.
Potential: 50%
Mario’s review
Grancest is your typical high fantasy RPG anime without an isekai settings (thank God!), so naturally everything feels traditional and old-fashioned here like what we had few years ago. I couldn’t care less about its world building, a world where the assigned Lord gaining more power level by draining other Lords’ crest, and then managing to claim his castle and mage on top on that? Why creating a world that obviously feel like a game, and not even that original? One point off. The decision to start the entire series with a confusing prologue about the failed attempt to reconcile two nations we literally have no idea about? Another point gone. The characters are even worse, they speak their lines and behave like some silly action figures that carry no personality, nor charms whatsoever. One more off. Despite all that, the show still hadn’t lost me until the main girl’s miniskirt uniform appears so out of context it completely destroys all my goodwill for this series. If you are a fantasy buff, an action-oriented viewer or you have a special interest in girls’ belly then this is for you.
Potential: 10%
IDOLiSH7
Short Synopsis: A woman works as a manager for a new male idol group
Aidan’s review
I was ready to bemoan the experience of going through yet another boy band anime as I started this episode up but even i have seen enough bad Male Idol anime to recognise when something is actually trying. There is the problem that they pretty much throw the characters at us right off the bat but there is an effort to actually characterise them past the bland stereotypes I too often see in these series. The conflict presented in the first episode didn’t really have weight behind it considering the shows very name but it did provide an opportunity to flesh out the group. I can’t say I will ever be won over by this kind of show(Considering my disdain for Idol anime in general) but if you are a fan of these kinds of shows then this is on the higher quality end and i would recommend this to you.
Potential: 20%
Mario’s review
Like most of you guys, male idol is one of my least favorite new genre in anime, so I came to this double-length episode based on a mobile game with little to no expectation. To my surprise though, even with its 40 odd minutes, the show still maintains my attention throughout. Despite run comfortably into its established formula: we have the formation of the group, their CG live concert, each member has their own color code… it helps that the production and the story is solid enough to hold everything together. Its biggest achievement has to be the chemistry between each member of the group and their manager. I see the intent of the first episode to flesh out the members of the band through otherwise a forced conflict, but through that each of them gives their own voice and their own opinions that flesh them out far better than most of other idol shows. This show is by no mean a breakout hit but within its idol genre I would heartily recommend it.
Potential: 30%
Sanrio Danshi
Short Synopsis: Pretty boys are not ashamed to like Sanrio™ Mascots™
Aidan’s review
If you like something, it doesn’t matter if it’s appropriate for your gender or not. That message is good but this feels like promotion in the disguise of anime. Hey girls, we got your product promotional hunks ready! Do you want sporty spice, playboy spice, bookworm spice, class rep spice or nice guy spice? Well come buy Sanrio™ products and meet he boy of your dreams!(Disclaimer: Buying our products does not guarantee success in your love life. Depression and a lightened wallet are expected symptoms.) Other than that this is pretty unremarkable and i find the main protagonists little trauma(Featuring Pompompurin which you can buy in retail stores right now!) to be utterly ridiculous. What you threw a hissy fit at your grandma because you get mocked for liking plush toys and couldn’t bring yourself to apologize for years until she died? So, what happened when your parents forced you to come to grandma’s? Did you just sit ignoring her? Or were your parents cool with you not being there on your grandmas deathbed? This is just dumb and I find the other characters to be rather obnoxious with how they pander to the audience. This isn’t worth your time.
Potential: 0%
Mario’s review
It’s pretty telling when the show’s brightest moments aren’t about the show itself. The play right at the beginning is visually arresting with a clear influence of Utena that is easily the best part of the episode, and then it goes downhill from here. First, these guys are obviously products to lure young girls into watching this show, as each of them is over the top with their archetypes. Second, I think the show’s message is problematic when they view the guys’ standard through sparkling aura, or whatever it is. And lastly, only morons would ignore a crying lost child so all of this not only add nothing to flesh out the main guy, it feels stupid. Then those hot guys apparently love Sanrio/ Hello Kitty mascots? Give me a goddamn break, you’re trying too hard to get them as cute as possible. The production is amongst the most inappropriate I have seen so far this season with those uncanny character designs.and somewhat limited animation. “Don’t afraid with what you love” is a solid theme but when it gets lost amongst prefect species boys collecting cute mascots, I’m pretty I’m not within this show’s target audience.
Potential: 0%
I kinda like Sanrio Danshi. It’s cute…though I do agree that the protag’s childhood angst is overblown. I mean, I can understand the frustration that comes from being made fun of because of something you like (I’ve experienced that myself), but why take it out on his grandma? She didn’t do anything. I’m kinda surprised his parents didn’t scold him about it and make him apologize. If my sister and I did something like that to our grandparents, we’d be in huge trouble.
I really like how this blog doesn’t hold any breaks and throws such evaluations as 0% potential like it’s a usual thing to do. Normally people only talk about the good or sugarcoat things and I’m sick of that attitude. Keep it up crushing them shows, you are doing great.
Although, Grancrest Senki gets 50%? I expected like 0. Hm, weird.
I will admit that the rating was based more on what was to come rather than the episode itself. I feel like the series could pull itself together once they get to the whole country building aspect. If I was basing it purely on this first episode it would be significantly lower. Likely the same as Mario’s 10%
I understand. I think that is a valid perspective here as well and I appreciate the diversity of opinion as an added value.
It’s more to me like how many percent I would reccomend the show to other viewers, so yep 0% mean that you shouldn’t waste your time with it. And yep, as Anime is garbage you’ll see that we’re grading 0% too often here 🙂