Shoushimin Series
Short Synopsis: A girl who loves sweets and a boy who is really trying his best to be normal solve a mystery and (temporarily) get some tarts.
Lenlo: It’s funny, despite being slower paced with a lot of wide shots like the Stepsister show, I found Shoushimin to be much more palatable. Maybe it’s the lack of pretentious piano music playing over everything, or the subject matter and soft-spoken dialogue being more engaging, I honestly can’t say. What I can say though is that I kind of enjoyed this episode. The way they solved the crime and found the bag was a bit out there, walking straight towards where it was hidden with minimal work. But the leads are cute, I enjoy their dynamic, and that sudden rude ending felt like a slap in the face, in a good way I mean. One that tells me this isn’t just going to be sunshine and roses. I get the feeling that any mysteries or conflicts they get up to won’t actually be particularly important, with their relationship being the real meat of the show. If that’s the case, I think I’ll enjoy Shoushimin quite a bit. At least if it can continue to sell me on this relationship.
Edit: I keep seeing these Hyouka mentions, maybe I need to give that a shot. Never seen Hyouka.
Potential: 50%
Amun: Hyouka remixed. That’s what this is. And that is…absolutely great! Instead of having the excitable girl and the underhanded, energy conserving boy in Hyouka, we have a mysterious sweet loving girl and a helpful detective boy here in Shoushimin. I love the vibe, I love the low stakes mysteries, I love the mysterious atmosphere, I love the opening, I love the ending, I love the character designs, I love the cozy setting. I just love pretty much all of this. There is this weird obsession with being normal, so that’s a little odd (and there were some weird cuts in the middle, but we’re going to just ignore that). For all of my hopes for a first episode, Shoushimin crushed it – I’m fully onboard this train (since both characters made it very clear, this isn’t a ship). This is my pick for anime of the season so far.
Potential: 99%
VTuber Legend
Short Synopsis: A VTuber forgets to end her stream, drunkenly rambles in front of her computer for a while before falling asleep, and wakes up to discover she’s trending.
Wooper: I decided to preview this episode as a challenge to myself, since I didn’t know anything about its subject matter. Now, having finished it, I still don’t. Not that it’s VTuber Legend’s responsibility to educate somebody like me, especially since the majority of its audience will come with all the relevant knowledge built in – and even for those of us that aren’t in the know, the show seems easy enough to follow. It’s all about a streamer who accidentally becomes famous in the VTuber space, kind of like fantasy anime protagonists accidentally get transported to other worlds, or shonen heroes accidentally discover that they’re the Chosen One. After waking up to her sudden fame, there’s a bit of reflection on the heroine’s part regarding her new situation, and that comes across well enough, but mostly this show is just a vehicle for uninhibited goofiness. There’s over-the-top product placement, gleeful lesbian innuendo, and one of the VTubers even plays a phallic food-based fighting game. Occasionally there’ll be a neat twist in the storyboard, such as a character pushing the previous frame off camera in order to mark a scene change, but there aren’t enough of these moments to equal the chaos of the script. That mismatch makes it hard for me to recommend VTuber Legend, but then again, my opinion of this show is the last one you should ever consider.
Potential: 10%
Lenlo: Unlike Wooper, I’m rather familiar with the VTuber space. I even have an Oshi, Dokibird for indie and Korone for Hololive. So I have a pretty good idea of what VTuber Legend was going for, and you know what? I think it pulled it off. One of the funnest parts of watching VTubers is that slow descent from their on-screen personality back to their real one, where the Seisou falls away and you get to see who they really are as they become more comfortable streaming. VTuber Legend speedran that a bit with the whole “falling asleep on stream” thing, but that’s happened to actual VTubers as well so it’s hardly unrealistic. Basically, as far as the VTuber side of things goes, VTuber Legend was solid and did a good job showing off the culture, the tech, the attitude, all of that. As for our lead, Awayuki, she reminds me of Houshou Marine quite a bit, enough that I think any Marine fans in the audience will have a good time watching her. She has a foul mouth, drinks, makes lewd jokes, she’s un-Seisou in basically every way. Personally this isn’t my style of humor, Marine is fun but I can’t watch her or her clips for any extended length of time and that carries for Awayuki as well, but I could see a lot of people enjoying this. If you like VTubers and want a weekly comedy show, I think VTuber Legend is a shockingly solid choice.
Potential: 30%
Dungeon no Naka no Hito
Short Synopsis: A hotshot thief breaks into a dungeon, only to end up joining its staff.
Amun: I’m way more optimistic than Lenlo below, but I do agree with a confusing target demographic. With such simple character designs, a more visually stimulating series is a bit out of the question – but they still insisted on several beheadings. Not entirely sure about that. However, I’m a bit more sold on the dynamic between the very serious thief girl and the overpowered, happy-go-lucky dungeon boss. I think this ends up being a cutesy – and a bit stabby – working under unique circumstances. Hey if Dungeon Meshi managed to do a fantasy cooking show (yes, I’m aware Restaurant to Another World exists), why can’t we have an everyday workplace in a dungeon? All in all, I’m going to stick around for a few more at least.
Potential: 45%
Lenlo: I’m really not sure who this show is aimed at. It’s not cute or wholesome enough for the relaxed Slice of Life crowd, there’s too much blood and combat for that. Yet at the same time said action is mediocre and dull, with an emotionless cutesy moe girl doing voice over. This may just be a case of first-episode confusion while the series figures itself out, as the second half tries to transition to a more cutesy managerial depiction of a dungeon where the monsters are employees and this is all put on for the adventurers. This is probably more up the SoL folks alley, but will definitely turn off those looking for more adventurous fantasy fare. Personally, I thought it was rather dull and neither of the characters were all that interesting. Suffice to say, I’m going to have to pass here.
Potential: 0%
If you ever want to have a taste of Hyouka try watching episode 19 first.
It requires no previous knowledge of the series and is the most coincise example of what the series is about (including the character chemistry between the main duo).