Kochoki: Wakaki Nobunaga
Short Synopsis: Oda Nobunaga in his younger days before making a name for himself.
Armitage’s review:
Oh, yes!! Here we have a completely original story about a historical figure you have NEVER heard of before. Especially, if you follow seasonal anime. That’s right! None other than… drumroll Oda Nobunaga! Can I get a ‘Hell, Yeah!’ exasperated moans
Okay, okay. I know. This is just a classic example of anime giving you a sense of Deja vu by re-adapting a story and giving it a modern spin. Sometimes that works out pretty great! That is what I was thinking before I watched the premiere. But I am now here to report that, it was actually just, um…okay?
I mean, you’ve been there, seen it all. This story just follows Nobunaga in his teenage years. That doesn’t really make up a massive difference though. All the characters apart from Nobu-chan himself are going to be forgettable. You know that. The animation is mostly lacklustre but barely competent. That’s to be expected though. It’s being adapted by Deen. Even their best shows like Rakugo and KonoSuba have shoddy animation. You know that. So, it’s up to you really. Would you like to go into this series to experience a story you already know and are familiar with? Or would it be a soft pass so you can watch the better shows airing this season? My recommendation, is for the latter.
Potential: 20%
Mario’s review:
How many times that we see Oda Nobunaga in animated form? And hot young boy on top of it? This premiere focus on him in adolescent age, and put him through some troubles to determine what sort of person he will eventually become. On that front we have an alright execution of him acting against his father’s will. It helps that he’s an interesting character and the confrontation at the end feels somewhat earned, but the rest of the episode feels unremarkable at best. Maybe one of this first episode’s successes lie in the fact that it has little to do with the main overarching arc yet, so instead it lays its focus on developing him and introducing other main characters. For what it set out to do in this first episode, I can say that they did a decent job, it’s the coming events that I’m not sure if I am interested enough to follow.
Potential: 30%
Isekai Cheat Magician
Short Synopsis: Two childhood friends are transported to an alternate world, where they begin their journey as adventurers.
Amun’s review:
This season must set a record for the number of mediocre (or downright awful) isekai offerings. Isekai Cheat Magicians may be the best one, but that’s not a compliment – this show is so set on being mediocre, it can’t even make an impression as remarkably bad…just remarkably bland. I think probably the most original idea I saw was bringing a girl from one world to the other…although I guess Konasuba sort of did that. Other than that twist, this episode is so utterly forgettable, that I’m having trouble discussing anything aside from the jarringly generic textures that were used for any particle effects – did someone just learn how to use MS Paint? Fan service and overpowered MCs also happened, I guess. This is a pass from me (go watch DanMachi instead).
Potential: 1% (and that would be by accident since I forgot the title)
Helghast’s review:
Isekai shows are a dime a dozen nowadays but Isekai Cheat Magician is like a dozen dimes put together and that’s a lot of dimes. Instead of a single person being magically transported into yet another fantasy, they manage to blow my expectations by having an entire TWO main characters. On top of that, we have the added bonus of the classic character female childhood friend trope which has high potential for some deep character development as these two will no doubt grow in their relationship with each other. Speaking of developmental growing, the character designs may be a little generic but at least all the females are cute and have giant boobies which more than makes up for it as that’s the only criteria for a good show and they deliver in spades. I’m not worry at all about how seemingly overpowered the main characters are or how welcoming all the other adventurers are. This can only mean that as we get further into the show, there will be some really really hard challenges that only the powers of friendship, overpowered cheats and love all combined together will be able to defeat it and I can’t wait to see it.
Potential: Unratable as no scale can describe how amazing this show is going to be.
Machikado Mazoku
Short Synopsis: The descendant of a demon clan learns of her heritage and sets out to defeat a local magical girl.
Wooper’s review:
This show has one thing going for it, and that’s hyperactivity. It only paused to catch its breath once or twice during this entire episode, preferring to spend most of its time providing raucous self-commentary. Even the opening scenes, which bluntly laid out the entire plot, contain violent commands from a cute demon spirit and lots of fretting over the main girl’s newly-grown goat horns. Characters are constantly interrupting each other and making snide comments under their breath, and screen tone backgrounds are employed one after another in heightening this sense of chaos. When everything about an anime is played for laughs, though, it’s hard to find anything to connect with. The story of a recently awakened demon girl who accidentally befriends her mortal enemy is ridiculous, and the show isn’t wrong to poke fun at itself, but I would have preferred at least a small serving of heart to offset the nonstop gags (which grew tiresome after the first five minutes).
Potential: 15%
Amun’s review:
Magical girls, while not as commonplace as some seasons past, always seem to have at least one offering show up. Due to the numerous renditions, I think the genre has become a little self-aware – thankfully, Machikado Mazoku at least tries to switch some tropes up instead of doing another Black Rock Shooter (cute edition). So far, this reminds me of Endro! from a few seasons back, with some slight variations on the characters and themes – the upbeat energy, bright colours, and cute girls are all present as expected. That being said, this show did make me laugh a few times and had pretty good comedic timing and sound effects (for the genre). If Mahou Shoujo is your cup of tea or if you’re just looking for some light hearted laughs at cute hijinks – this show is for you.
Potential: 45%
