Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern
Short Synopsis: Modern Military Mecha crossed with Tokusatsu, will it be serious or jokey, who knows!
Bravern is… weird. It’s split between this “Modern military mecha against aliens” and “silly tokusatsu mecha”. On one hand, it’s kind of funny how straight it plays it. Characters have no idea what’s going on or why tokusatsu music is blaring from the speakers on the giant robot. That makes the finale work surprisingly well. On the other hand, the buildup to that point, the setup with aliens coming to Earth and killing a bunch of people, that all felt like it came from a completely different show. I honestly don’t think Bravern can balance these two aspects, I don’t think it can simultaneously be Eighty Six and a silly tokusatsu show. It’s going to have to pick one and stick with it. And if I’m being honest, I hope it sticks with the tokusatsu and only occasionally uses the “drama” to set up some jokes. Because there’s no way they are fitting a sentient giant robot that plays its own theme music on blast for the whole neighborhood into any sort of serious narrative. Anyways, while I expect it to flounder as it goes, for now it was kind of fun.
Potential: 40%
Delusional Monthly Magazine
Short Synopsis: Man joins magazine company, gets sucked into weird secret organization bullshit with magic animal people?
There is legitimately no other way to describe Monthly Magazine other than “Boring with extreme prejudice”. Absolutely nothing about this show works together. From the weird “MoPARs” magic items to one of our leads being the most garish tiger-man I’ve ever seen. It even has that thing where every character has a different hair color so you can easily differentiate them rather than giving them any sort of personality. This is one of the easiest skips of the season for me.
Potential: 0%
Saijaku Tamer wa Gomi Hiroi no Tabi wo Hajimemashita
Short Synopsis: Little girl born in a fantasy world has no special skills and must survive alone. Along the way she meets a little slime, and together they venture forth!
I was actually pleasantly surprised by how decent Saijaku was. It’s still a fantasy world with slimes, skills, healing potions, all that shit. But it’s not an OP MC isekai where the lead is teleported to another world and given a deceptively powerful ability that everyone thinks is weak. So it already has a step up there. In fact I was actually kind of surprised by how cute it was. Ivy talking to the audience, breaking the fourth wall to answer some questions, is obvious but it still feels better than a load of “convenient” exposition. And the whole scene with the weak slime, it being this smiling blob that’s really more of a mascot than a companion, was surprisingly emotional. I don’t know if Saijaku will take this “Weak slime and starless skill” thing and somehow turn it into an OP MC show, I really hope it doesn’t. Because if it can dodge that it might just be a solid and cute fantasy show for the season. For now though, I might stick with it for another episode or two.
Potential: 55%
