Some Quick First Impressions: The God of High School, Re:Zero S2 & The Misfit of Demon King Academy

The God of High School

Short Synopsis: Tournament Arc – The Anime.

Armitage’s review:

Pure, unadulterated dopamine. 

No premiere which has aired in 2020 has been this enjoyable a watch for me. Remember how last season we saw the first overlap of Korean Webtoons with the anime realm? Now, a lot of people were impressed by the visuals and fights of TOG but its lore and power mechanics left many viewers scratching their heads. So, taking a lesson from that, The God of High School takes all the subtext & world building and throws it right out the damn window. This is mano-a-mano winner-takes-it-all combat and nothing more. You are here for the brilliantly choreographed fights and that’s what you get, with a fittingly upbeat soundtrack (and a banger of an OP) to back up all the physics-defying action. It’s a prime example of how sometimes, a story which doesn’t take itself too seriously can be all the better for it. 

Potential: 95%

Amun’s review:

Finally, an anime soundtrack that I can really get behind. “Contradiction” is a banger song for a bangin’ show.  First half was anime Fast & Furious…with a bike and wooden sword.  That’s about how this show looks to be going.  Unlike last season’s Tower of God, God of Highschool starts out fast and fun.  The characters are troll, the action is great….but I’m just a little concerned with how fast we’ve started that things might fall apart in the back half.  Regardless, I’m along for this ride!

Potential: 90%

Lenlo’s review:

Out of all of the premieres I have seen so far this season, which admittedly isn’t many, God of High school was the best. It’s pure, unadulterated stupid fun. Want health bars and power levels? Nanomachines son. Want a bunch of fights? The entire series is one big tournament arc. Juvenile comedy? We are equal opportunity with the underwear here, with jokes about both panties, briefs and elephant trunks. All around, God of Highschool is just stupid fun that doesn’t take itself seriously, has no deep or philosophical plot (so far) and just wants us to enjoy the ride. The fights were fun, well animated, and reminded me of old kung-fu flicks with characters flying through the air, even if the camera got a bit too wild at times. I only really have 2 concerns. The first is MAPPA, who are notorious for falling apart in the 2nd half of a show. Considering they are working on the final season of Attack on Titan right now as well as how many fights a series like God of High school will have, I am predicting the same thing here. I can only hope they prove me wrong. The 2nd though is whether or not GoH can keep the fun loving attitude or if it will attempt to shift into something more serious. Both of those might not happen though, so until they do, I’m just going to keep watching and enjoy the ride.

P.S. I am apparently the only writer here who doesn’t like the OP. Go figure.

Potential: 80%

Mario’s review:

Sorry to be that guy who bring this overwhelming reception back to the ground again, but I just found the characters too loud for my poor taste and I already have issues with the story. Why does every battle tournament start with the battle royale style where you have to defeat fellow participants? Why do you need to establish the main characters’ bonds by some random chase? I guess it all comes down to the fact that neither the story or the characters engage me much, and that makes this whole ride fun but utterly unmemorable for me.

Potential: meh

Re:Zero S2

Short Synopsis: Modern anime’s most celebrated simp cries a lot and dies a lot: Round 2. 

Aidan’s review:

So how does the new season of Re:Zero kick things off after our boy Subaru is fresh off the victory of the last season? Well it starts by kicking him in the balls and removing his victory of most of its weight. Indeed, you may have thought that after last season Subaru’s life could only go up but this season pushes you right down into the mud and a depressing outcome for all to make the happy sunshine before seem like a dream. Some detractors who stated that this series has no stakes due to Subaru’s ability to do the time warp again have been vetoed as even return by Death can’t undo the damage that has been done. I do think that Re:Zero is still damn strong but admit that as a season starter this episode is rather weak. It was never meant to be that of course with the nature of webnovels being continuous storylines so the source doesn’t really take into account that we viewers waited four years for this.

For anyone binging the series in the future this is unlikely to be a problem but even I with my love for this show, had a bit of an adjustment period to this first episode. I also think that for some extra context and despair, reading the Re:zero Side story novel ex 1 can give some much needed context as to why Crush losing her memories is far, far more sad than it might appear. I also admit that the design of the Gluttony Archbishop is just far too silly. I will also note that the first few minutes of this episode was the same few minutes added to the final Re:Zero director’s cut episode shown previously.(On that, the only piece of new content within the director’s cut. The rest was just small tweaks) It’s a bit of a lukewarm start but I am most definitely ready for the story to come and Subaru’s ever continuing journey of pain and suffering.

Potential: It’s about damn time

Armitage’s review:

Huh? That was… a premiere, I guess. Though, to be very honest, it just felt like an immediate continuation of the last season of Re:Zero. The show flat out assumes that we would remember all the characters & their relationships with each other and just dives right into the nitty-gritty without no recap or nothing. Now, that isn’t a bad thing in itself but it does catch the viewer a little off guard. As for the episode itself, it was fine. Nothing too remarkable. Barring a brief fight between Rem and two newly introduced Sin Archbishops, it consisted mostly of people talking. Since the original production staff has returned, the show has kept its look but the animation wasn’t anything to write home about. Here’s to hoping the coming weeks bring a lot more death and suffering with them!

Potential: Cloudy, with a high chance of pain. 

Amun’s review:

Okay, now hold on just a second here.  I’m seeing some detractors to what I consider an outstanding start to a marquee show’s second season.  Why is Re:Zero great?  It’s not the action, character designs, or weird magic cats – Re:Zero is head and shoulders above in depicting realistic reactions to trauma and human emotions.  There are no stakes?  Subaru’s PTSD is the darn best depiction of fighting through personal demons and fears I’ve ever seen in anime.  Most shows maybe kill off a main character in the finale or something for some feels – Re:Zero manages to do it every week and still hit hard (even when it’s the same character).  So there was no recap, so Gluttony looked a little silly – this episode still delivered the emotional gut punch we’ve come to expect (and maybe even started to like).  I am ready to be hurt again!

Potential: Oh yes.

The Misfit of Demon King Academy

Short Synopsis: A demon lord is reincarnated as a douchey teenage boy with murderous magical combat skills.

Wooper’s review:

Some anime are so structurally and artistically inept that they serve as case studies for How Not to Make a Show. Other anime are so laughable in execution that they read as comedies in the eyes of their disbelieving audiences. Both of these categories have value, but unfortunately, The Misfit of Demon King Academy fails to meet either of those already low bars. This premiere was not merely bad; it was stupid. It was not merely silly; it was ridiculous (that is, worthy of ridicule). Its mission statement was to place its protagonist in flattering situations, then allow his effortless strength and charisma to carry each scene. This strategy failed due to his lack of humanity, but the reality of this episode is far more troubling than that mistake would indicate.

This is a protagonist who has the ability to kill people multiple times by reviving them between deaths, and he takes advantage of this power to repeatedly and gruesomely murder his enemies. What’s worse, his reward for this behavior is the loyalty of his victims, because they’re the Demon King’s subjects, and he was the Demon King the whole time! That episode-ending twist is intended to re-frame his cruel behavior, but I have to wonder what sort of person it could possibly convince. This reads like a series for the bullied middle school kid who aspires to be a bully one day, or an adult with an animated blood fetish, or whatever the magical equivalent of a future school shooter is. If you fall outside of those categories, watch anything – ANYTHING – except this show.

Potential: 0%

Mario’s review:

Questions: Is it fun to watch an overpowered character do nothing but display how awesome he is an entire time? Is it fun to see him mercilessly abuse another opponent just because that opponent acts like an asshole? Is it fun to see a girl’s still fallen head over heels for him and describes him as “kind” despite all his egotistical actions?  Answer: No, Not at all. Get me out of here.

Potential: 0%