Wooper: There seems to be a consensus online that Winter 2021 is one of the strongest seasons in recent years, but not everyone agrees on which shows are doing the heavy lifting. For some it’s the powerhouse sequels; for others it’s the anime originals; for others still it’s the new crop of isekai series. No matter where your preferences lie, it’s impossible to cover everything – which is where this column comes in. This week we’re touching base with ten shows that didn’t quite make the cut for full coverage, but are still doing their part in making this a jam-packed start to the year. Hope you’re enjoying the season so far – as you’ll see below, we certainly are!
Back Arrow – 2/3
Wooper: Remember when mecha anime ruled the airwaves through a combination of spirited characters and semi-coherent plotting? Back Arrow remembers. “Semi-coherent” is a charitable descriptor, really – the number of meetings, partings, alliances and betrayals in these episodes was enough to make my head spin. Episode 3 was the guiltier party on that front, since it detailed a conflict over a futuristic warship which was largely obscured from view until the end. A clearer sense of just how imposing this dreadnought was, and why so many people would be willing to fight over it, would have been greatly appreciated. Even if the visual direction had been improved, though, a transparently corrupt cowboy leading an entire village by the nose would still make for eyebrow-raising viewing. The previous episode was simpler and more goal-oriented, which worked to the series’ benefit, but it was still packed full of nonsense. My tolerance for that sort of thing is generally pretty low, but the main character’s combination of big dreams and straight talk will keep his show tethered to my watch list for at least 2-3 more weeks.
Heaven’s Design Team – 2/3
Lenlo: This show is too clever for its own good. Somehow, some way, Design Team continues to make edutainment entertaining. Each half of an episode is cleverly pieced together so that every monster, every make believe creature, every feature of life seamlessly leads into whatever the end animal is meant to be. Somehow going from dragons to chickens to starfish, all while feeding into each other. It’s incredible really. Design Team is not and never will be an incredible, Best of the Season type show. But what it is, is interesting and entertaining discussion about nature and just how fucking scary and weird it can be. I love it far more than I should. Also it looks pretty charming.
Amun: I completely agree. This is one of the better “feel-good” shows of the season – maybe that should be an awarded category?
Urasekai Picnic – 2/3
Mario: Urasekai Picnic remains mystifying at best and confusing at worst. There’s always a sense of not knowing what comes next in this show, which works both for our main duo and us. The Otherworld isn’t easily defined, and people who are connected to it usually get lost there; in episode 2 we see another human, and he’s slowly losing his mind over finding his beloved wife who vanished without a trace. What the show does very well is evoke a strong atmosphere with a heightened score and dangers that can come around any corner. It’s part inspired by the Russian film “Stalker” (the throwing-the-rock thingy), part based on urban legend, which makes it an interesting watch. I’m not that into the main girls’ dynamic just yet, and the connection between the Otherworld and the real world is still very vague, but for now it’s keeping me intrigued enough to follow.
So I Was Reincarnated As A Spider – 2/3
Amun: I think Spider Isekai had the largest score discrepancy in Star Crossed First Episodes history – three episodes in, what’s the verdict? As the positive reviewer, I can say – it’s still pretty good. Albeit ridiculous. I’m not turned off by the 3D, although I completely understand if you are. I think the real gem of this show is the spider’s animation, but if you find her antics annoying instead of endearing – stay clear. The reincarnated humans’ story is a drag, but the ascendance of Spider-chan is a pretty fun romp. This is not a serious show – just watch the ED if you don’t believe me. There’s some plot here and there (interesting to see how another reincarnated reacted to eating their own kind – Spider-chan had no problem!), but it’s kept mercifully short. Really, I’m just settled in for fun, mindless spider hijinks – with a likely sappy ending.
Yuru Camp – 2/3
Wooper: I won’t mention Yuru Camp every time one of these posts goes up (it lends itself to absorption more than commentary), but I’m certainly glad to have new episodes as part of my weekly anime diet. “What’s so great about some stupid camping show?” you may be asking, your desire for blunt narrative conflict leaving you clueless as to its appeal. My answer: backgrounds that honor the natural world, female friendships that harbor not a speck of enmity, a gentle Appalachian soundtrack, and a love for food so strong that you can nearly taste the cuisine on screen.
In addition to all these returning positives, I noted a big uptick in Rin’s expressiveness during these installments, especially last week’s. Watching her dash from place to place during her solo camping experience was a big change for her – proof of Nadeshiko’s influence – but her continued preference for outdoor isolation proves that she’s the same old bunhead at her core. Episode 2’s editing during the New Year’s sunrise was excellent, linking all the members of the Outdoor Activities Club together despite their scattered locations, and the introduction of Nadeshiko’s childhood friend (who bears more than a slight resemblance to Rin) was pulled off without a hitch. Yuru Camp isn’t one of the flashiest productions of this bountiful anime season, but it’s definitely one of the most assured.
Promised Neverland S2 – 2/3
Lenlo: Neverland… Neverland is really concerning for me. Episode 2 is whatever, it’s fine, it’s everything we expected. Episode 3 though turns the entire series on its head as it cuts out the single best character in the original story and the cause of the next 2 arcs, effectively skipping 50+ chapters of content. I have no idea what they are doing. I have no idea where it’s going to go. All I can say is that from this point forward, spoilers mean nothing and that we are going anime original. Whether or not that’s good is left to be seen, but in my opinion? It’s a quick trip to the bottom of a lake.
Go-toubun no Hanayome S2 – 2/3
Mario: These two episodes focus on the quarrels between Nino and Itsuki, which are my favorite sisters so it has been a blast. The show so far still nails the comedy bits, but at important times it also manages to deepen the characters; these episodes mark the first time Nino tells Futaro about her insecurity. Futaro also meets his fated “Rena”, and Rena tells him off quickly when she sees how Futaro doesn’t see worth in himself. This series might rely on established tropes for all of its conflicts, but it does it with absolute confidence so that it fits nicely into the show and it’s so fun to watch. Whoever Futaro ends up with (I have my guess), I can’t wait to see the road that takes him there.
Tatoeba Last Dungeon – 2/3
Amun: Checking back in with the overpowered-but-stupid hero of the season, Lloyd is heroically….working as a cook in a restaurant. There are some pretty telegraphed plots developing here (the witch who is a princess, the small fry bad guy, and the king who is a demon and can now be fought by Lloyd). The animation quality is still Powerpoint class and everything feels pretty contrived. This is anime junk food (which, given that anime in general isn’t considered high-brow, is pretty bad), but I’m still mildly entertained. Feels like pacing is awfully quickly though – I guess no one’s holding out hope of a second season yet. With good reason.
Kemono Jihen – 2/3
Wooper: After reading the first volume of Kemono Jihen last month, one of the potential stumbling blocks I noted was its rival character, Shiki. His manga counterpart gave off an edge-meister vibe, but episode 2 of the anime focused on his self-important attitude rather than his anger. This version of Shiki is a prankster and a showoff who masks the pain of having been abandoned by his arachnid mother (rather than telegraphing his emotions for a preteen audience), which is surely a welcome change. The other detective’s assistant, the superficial but kindhearted Akira, also received a nice introduction. Unfortunately, there was a mechanical feeling to both of these episodes that interesting side characters couldn’t cure. Kabane saving a family from supernatural bugs prompted him to reflect on his own desire for family – a fine connection to draw, but not when it’s written in such blatant cause-and-effect fashion. And episode 3’s beheading of the main character didn’t bother to generate an ounce of suspense as to his ultimate fate. Kabane’s inhuman demeanor is part of what keeps the show feeling flat, but systematic scripts are the bigger problem.
Project Scard – 2/3
Mario: I’m here to check back on these hot boys but the story hasn’t progressed that much since the event at the end of episode 1. We get introduced to all the main players in different sectors (usually in pairs, interesting) and see Yamato starting to fill the gap left by Eiji. The special abilities they get by way of tattoos are interesting, but the unnatural dialogue can sometimes bring down the show. I will stick with this one till the end, mostly because I want to see how GoHands handles this kind of story. So far it’s not bad per se but it also doesn’t make me want for more.
For me at least, So I Was Reincarnated As A Spider has a good story till this point and the main character is well written. But the cg animation is pretty bad and definitely takes you out of the show. Its not berserk bad but you have to think if the anime got a better production, like say the slime isekai, it would be a significantly better anime, and imho an genuinely good anime.
I agree with you on all the CG….except for the spider. And I feel like the spider’s movements are so key to show, that it has to be CG. So it’s a conundrum – if you don’t do CG, you can’t have the crisp spider movements but then you’d have better everything else. Personally, I feel the spider outweighs the snake and frog, but I’m very sympathetic to those who disagree.
I don’t mind the spider being CG and loved Dorohedoro, which did that for the characters but having everything done CG for the spider sections was unfortunate. I think even the backgrounds are CG. But didn’t know that CG made it easier to get a character’s movements down and you can’t really argue against them doing it this way for the spider at least
Brief update on the ongoing Toei anime: I’m done with following Digimon 2020. It’s become increasingly clear that the team behind this one has no real intention on following on the coming of age themes seen in the original series, and insists on throwing in escalating threats and constant setpieces without giving any one character except for Tai and Agumon any room to breathe. In fact, the director admits this and it was an intentional creative decision to focus solely on the action. Because of this, we have a story where there’s too much and yet nothing happening at all because the series insists on keeping things a mystery despite more threats and more undeserved power-ups which supposedly represent growth, which probably means that they never had a clear plan to begin with outside of the first few episodes. The 1999 series accomplished far more 30 episodes in than this waste of time.
At least Dai no Daibouken is steadily trudging along.
For Urasekai, I’d recommend strongly to read the manga first. After watching the 4th episode, it’s obvious the anime is super rushed in comparison. The manga does a better job in every aspect. At least I have plans to stop checking the anime the moment it’s about to surpass the current manga adaptation to avoid spoilers.
hmmms, thanks for your heads up. The “vague” feeling I have watching this isn’t a good sign as there’s just not enough information to work with. Depend on how I feel after episode 4, I might check out the manga (up to this point) just to see what parts the anime has left out and whether it’s a good decision or not.
Are the older shows you guys covered previously going to be covered again soon? Y’know, like Aoi Hana and Shounen Onmyouji? If not, that’s fine, I’m just curious.
I will, actually. I plan to work on second cour of Shounen Onmyouji (wouldlove to lay out my thoughts so you can follow it along the way) and Emma: A Victorian Romance. Expect them to come out in this column next week 🙂
Cool! I can’t wait! 😀
Eh, to me Ayano looked more like a palette-swapped Nadeshiko but with darker hair and green eyes. Totally love her, though.