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Al's Anime Reviews - Journal with Witch
General | Posted 3 weeks agoAfter the death of her sister and her brother-in-law, 35-year-old novelist Makio Kodai and her 15-year-old niece Asa live together after the former impulsively took in the latter. The next day, Makio returns to her senses and remembers that she doesn't do well in the company of other people. So begins their new daily life, as Makio attempts to acclimate to a roommate and Asa tries to get used to living with an adult who never quite acts like one.
Well, wouldn't be a fresh anime season without me showing up fashionably late to at least one new show that turns out to be one of the best.
There are a lot of people who see themselves as the main character. They're the hero and always do the right thing, and if they don't, there's always a reason or justification that makes things okay. They simply don't have enough self-introspection to see their selfish nature for what it really is. For those who do truly see themselves for who they are, there are only two choices: Accept that they're sometimes not the best person and live with the guilt, or step up and be what everyone else pretends to be. This is the kind of person that Makio is.
She knows exactly what her shortcomings are: She's self-centered, slovenly and stubborn, holding a grudge even beyond death. However, when she sees her niece, the daughter of the sister she hated, set to be passed around as an unwanted burden by the wider family (who'll all no doubt pat themselves on the ass for being "so kind" while also doing nothing but the bare minimum), she lays down the hard truths and offers the kid a home. It may not be the best one or even the one that Asa deserves, but it'll be a stable one. She barely knows her niece at that point, and she surely doesn't know if she's a writer or not. Nevertheless, Makio recognizes something in her, and she, like all writers, knows how powerful the act of writing can be.
Meanwhile, Asa is truly alone for the first time in her life. Her parents are dead, and her family is looking at her like a problem to be solved, not a child to be loved. They're concerned not with Asa's well-being, but with how her becoming an orphan affects them. No one asks Asa what she wants to do. No one offers her any choices. No one except the family outcast, Makio.
Makio may have gotten in way over her head in a moment of righteous indignation, but she's determined to follow through. She has her own set of rules and morals she lives by. And strangely, taking in Asa is almost a way of getting revenge on her sister. She wants to treat her niece like she wishes her sister had treated her, to respect her feelings and opinions even if she doesn't understand them. This is the key to the connection between her and Asa, and all of this is shown to us through 22 minutes of visual metaphors and tightly written conversation.
It would be easy to read Makio as autistic, and I think that's a valid view of the character. She could also be read as just anxious and introverted. Either way, she's made herself a place where she can function comfortably, and that's what she begins teaching Asa to do as well. Makio tells Asa that she doesn't have to feel sad all the time, that she doesn't have to cry or even necessarily display her emotions. The eponymous journal comes in as a way Makio suggests Asa can process her emotions--when Makio says Asa can write what other people say, she's giving her permission to listen and work things through, giving her a way to engage with the world safely in the confines of text on paper. It's clearly something no one has suggested to Asa before. At the funeral, she mentions that she can tune out the people around her. She pictures herself as the lone person among grey paper cutouts, suggesting that, like her aunt, she feels safer distancing herself from everyone else. Makio seems to be the first person to validate that, as she tells Asa that her journal doesn't even have to be entirely true. The implication is that, being a novelist, Makio is able to connect with the world comfortably through her work while also using words to help herself process life.
Three episodes in, I have a friggin' vault stuffed with compliments that I wish to pay Journal with Witch. The single aspect that keeps bowling me over is its quiet emotional intelligence. This is a story about Asa coming to terms with the loss of her parents while Makio comes to terms with their brand new relationship. Neither character arrives at the narrative with the equipment necessary to process the complexity of the situation. However, Journal with Witch gently takes their hands, and the audiences', and patiently guides them down this winding path, deftly sidestepping both melodrama and triteness. We even learn how to find poignancy in the practice of making gyoza and the therapeutic potential of congregation. Taken as a whole, this story feels like one of the precious few anime written specifically for adults.
On the other hand, the show also finds strength in not centering itself solely on Maiko. Asa is just as important a protagonist. She flounders from a lack of life experience, while Makio fumbles with routines she needs to unlearn. Both parts of this story are necessary because the narrative's big picture stresses the importance of the bonds formed between these two. This isn't surprising to see from a josei manga adaptation, of course.
Journal with Witch pulls the weight of several equivalent series with the amount of confidence and craft on display. The nonlinear storytelling in the premiere correctly places the funeral scene at its climax, when Makio gives in to her heroic impulses and Asa accepts this ripcord out of her downward spiral into utter numbness. Daigo's presence in the second episode primes us for Emiri's in the third. Shared meals accumulate like Tetris blocks filling in the empty spaces of Asa and Makio's relationship. Compare the lifelessly photogenic sushi at the funeral vs Makio's messy yet rustic sausage toast concoction. Reflections, meanwhile, are a consistent visual motif providing a window into the painful past. Their visit to Asa's old apartment lets the presence of the dead linger mostly unspoken, save for a few pointed interjections.
I also like that Journal with Witch pairs Makio's writing with Asa's singing. It shrugs off routine narratives about Makio taking Asa under her wing as her protege. It's the creation of art that's important, not the form the art takes. Asa's creative release doesn't have to be the same as her aunt's, as Makio discovers firsthand when she sees her doodle in the journal. However, Makio's penchant for storytelling definitely rubs off on Asa--as Asa works through all of these new emotions and experiences, her brain whisks her away to fictitious scenes that help ground her. It's a distancing act, but with that distance comes perspective.
But while perspective helps, it doesn't heal. Makio and Asa originally bond due to their similarly muted responses to the suddenness and violence of the tragedy. Whereas others might judge them or consider them heartless, Makio helps Asa understand that their feelings and methods of grieving aren't for the benefit of others. Makio only says goodbye to her sister when she's alone in a room filled with garbage. Asa's emotions only overflow when she's stripped of her agency to carry her sadness on her own. Makio gives her a choice. Her school doesn't. At the same time though, her fight with Emiri allows Asa her first chance to be angry. She blows up because she needs to, and because she isn't Makio, diplomatically revises her prior advice when she truly realizes it doesn't work for Asa.
As a work of visual art, this show is, in a word, intricate. Makio's room is a cluttered personal palace that's all too familiar to me, and the show renders it in exquisite, lived-in detail. Wardrobe choices are muted and deliberate, grounding the audience in reality, and the character designs similarly favour familiarity over exaggeration. The animation homes in on subtle gestures and expressions as a means of drawing the audience into these characters' lives. Miyuki Oshiro's debut as a series director couldn't be more gorgeous or more affecting.
Finally, the last point I'll touch on for now is the show's sound design. Kensuke Ushio's musical palette here really shines. Both of the lead seiyuu are also stellar. I never would've guessed that this was newcomer Fuuko Mori's first role based on how well she's adapted to Asa's character. Then again, Asa hardly resembles the average anime protagonist, so perhaps Mori's plasticity as a new voice actor works in the assignment's favour. Meanwhile, the incredible Miyuki Sawashiro is, as always, a generation-defining talent. She gives Makio her husky gravitas while never letting us forget that this 35-year-old shut-in is, in some ways, even more of a disaster than her niece. Most importantly, Sawashiro and Mori's chemistry is impeccable. We can hear Makio change her tone when she wants to give Asa some actual advice, and we can listen to the difference between Asa's internal monologue and her conversations with the various adults who enter her life.
Journal with Witch contains everything I've been wanting as of late, even if I didn't know I wanted it, especially Makio herself, a woman in her mid-30s trying her best to figure out this new normal. Despite the obvious undertones of grief, maturation and uncertainty, this isn't a melodrama that has to wallow in unending rivers of monologues. Neither Asa nor Makio suffers from any overexaggerated personality defects or showy displays of Big Trauma(TM). They may be very different, and neither of them asked for this new life that they share, but they're clearly doing their best to take this whole thing one step at a time, and they're doing it together.
Normally, people use the "three-episode test" as a way of judging whether an anime is worth continuing. I think that has its merits, as I often use it myself. In Journal with Witch's case, however, the first three episodes leave me wondering not whether I should continue, but whether any other anime this season even come close to challenging it. And as I write this, there's already two more episodes out for me to watch!
Well, wouldn't be a fresh anime season without me showing up fashionably late to at least one new show that turns out to be one of the best.
There are a lot of people who see themselves as the main character. They're the hero and always do the right thing, and if they don't, there's always a reason or justification that makes things okay. They simply don't have enough self-introspection to see their selfish nature for what it really is. For those who do truly see themselves for who they are, there are only two choices: Accept that they're sometimes not the best person and live with the guilt, or step up and be what everyone else pretends to be. This is the kind of person that Makio is.
She knows exactly what her shortcomings are: She's self-centered, slovenly and stubborn, holding a grudge even beyond death. However, when she sees her niece, the daughter of the sister she hated, set to be passed around as an unwanted burden by the wider family (who'll all no doubt pat themselves on the ass for being "so kind" while also doing nothing but the bare minimum), she lays down the hard truths and offers the kid a home. It may not be the best one or even the one that Asa deserves, but it'll be a stable one. She barely knows her niece at that point, and she surely doesn't know if she's a writer or not. Nevertheless, Makio recognizes something in her, and she, like all writers, knows how powerful the act of writing can be.
Meanwhile, Asa is truly alone for the first time in her life. Her parents are dead, and her family is looking at her like a problem to be solved, not a child to be loved. They're concerned not with Asa's well-being, but with how her becoming an orphan affects them. No one asks Asa what she wants to do. No one offers her any choices. No one except the family outcast, Makio.
Makio may have gotten in way over her head in a moment of righteous indignation, but she's determined to follow through. She has her own set of rules and morals she lives by. And strangely, taking in Asa is almost a way of getting revenge on her sister. She wants to treat her niece like she wishes her sister had treated her, to respect her feelings and opinions even if she doesn't understand them. This is the key to the connection between her and Asa, and all of this is shown to us through 22 minutes of visual metaphors and tightly written conversation.
It would be easy to read Makio as autistic, and I think that's a valid view of the character. She could also be read as just anxious and introverted. Either way, she's made herself a place where she can function comfortably, and that's what she begins teaching Asa to do as well. Makio tells Asa that she doesn't have to feel sad all the time, that she doesn't have to cry or even necessarily display her emotions. The eponymous journal comes in as a way Makio suggests Asa can process her emotions--when Makio says Asa can write what other people say, she's giving her permission to listen and work things through, giving her a way to engage with the world safely in the confines of text on paper. It's clearly something no one has suggested to Asa before. At the funeral, she mentions that she can tune out the people around her. She pictures herself as the lone person among grey paper cutouts, suggesting that, like her aunt, she feels safer distancing herself from everyone else. Makio seems to be the first person to validate that, as she tells Asa that her journal doesn't even have to be entirely true. The implication is that, being a novelist, Makio is able to connect with the world comfortably through her work while also using words to help herself process life.
Three episodes in, I have a friggin' vault stuffed with compliments that I wish to pay Journal with Witch. The single aspect that keeps bowling me over is its quiet emotional intelligence. This is a story about Asa coming to terms with the loss of her parents while Makio comes to terms with their brand new relationship. Neither character arrives at the narrative with the equipment necessary to process the complexity of the situation. However, Journal with Witch gently takes their hands, and the audiences', and patiently guides them down this winding path, deftly sidestepping both melodrama and triteness. We even learn how to find poignancy in the practice of making gyoza and the therapeutic potential of congregation. Taken as a whole, this story feels like one of the precious few anime written specifically for adults.
On the other hand, the show also finds strength in not centering itself solely on Maiko. Asa is just as important a protagonist. She flounders from a lack of life experience, while Makio fumbles with routines she needs to unlearn. Both parts of this story are necessary because the narrative's big picture stresses the importance of the bonds formed between these two. This isn't surprising to see from a josei manga adaptation, of course.
Journal with Witch pulls the weight of several equivalent series with the amount of confidence and craft on display. The nonlinear storytelling in the premiere correctly places the funeral scene at its climax, when Makio gives in to her heroic impulses and Asa accepts this ripcord out of her downward spiral into utter numbness. Daigo's presence in the second episode primes us for Emiri's in the third. Shared meals accumulate like Tetris blocks filling in the empty spaces of Asa and Makio's relationship. Compare the lifelessly photogenic sushi at the funeral vs Makio's messy yet rustic sausage toast concoction. Reflections, meanwhile, are a consistent visual motif providing a window into the painful past. Their visit to Asa's old apartment lets the presence of the dead linger mostly unspoken, save for a few pointed interjections.
I also like that Journal with Witch pairs Makio's writing with Asa's singing. It shrugs off routine narratives about Makio taking Asa under her wing as her protege. It's the creation of art that's important, not the form the art takes. Asa's creative release doesn't have to be the same as her aunt's, as Makio discovers firsthand when she sees her doodle in the journal. However, Makio's penchant for storytelling definitely rubs off on Asa--as Asa works through all of these new emotions and experiences, her brain whisks her away to fictitious scenes that help ground her. It's a distancing act, but with that distance comes perspective.
But while perspective helps, it doesn't heal. Makio and Asa originally bond due to their similarly muted responses to the suddenness and violence of the tragedy. Whereas others might judge them or consider them heartless, Makio helps Asa understand that their feelings and methods of grieving aren't for the benefit of others. Makio only says goodbye to her sister when she's alone in a room filled with garbage. Asa's emotions only overflow when she's stripped of her agency to carry her sadness on her own. Makio gives her a choice. Her school doesn't. At the same time though, her fight with Emiri allows Asa her first chance to be angry. She blows up because she needs to, and because she isn't Makio, diplomatically revises her prior advice when she truly realizes it doesn't work for Asa.
As a work of visual art, this show is, in a word, intricate. Makio's room is a cluttered personal palace that's all too familiar to me, and the show renders it in exquisite, lived-in detail. Wardrobe choices are muted and deliberate, grounding the audience in reality, and the character designs similarly favour familiarity over exaggeration. The animation homes in on subtle gestures and expressions as a means of drawing the audience into these characters' lives. Miyuki Oshiro's debut as a series director couldn't be more gorgeous or more affecting.
Finally, the last point I'll touch on for now is the show's sound design. Kensuke Ushio's musical palette here really shines. Both of the lead seiyuu are also stellar. I never would've guessed that this was newcomer Fuuko Mori's first role based on how well she's adapted to Asa's character. Then again, Asa hardly resembles the average anime protagonist, so perhaps Mori's plasticity as a new voice actor works in the assignment's favour. Meanwhile, the incredible Miyuki Sawashiro is, as always, a generation-defining talent. She gives Makio her husky gravitas while never letting us forget that this 35-year-old shut-in is, in some ways, even more of a disaster than her niece. Most importantly, Sawashiro and Mori's chemistry is impeccable. We can hear Makio change her tone when she wants to give Asa some actual advice, and we can listen to the difference between Asa's internal monologue and her conversations with the various adults who enter her life.
Journal with Witch contains everything I've been wanting as of late, even if I didn't know I wanted it, especially Makio herself, a woman in her mid-30s trying her best to figure out this new normal. Despite the obvious undertones of grief, maturation and uncertainty, this isn't a melodrama that has to wallow in unending rivers of monologues. Neither Asa nor Makio suffers from any overexaggerated personality defects or showy displays of Big Trauma(TM). They may be very different, and neither of them asked for this new life that they share, but they're clearly doing their best to take this whole thing one step at a time, and they're doing it together.
Normally, people use the "three-episode test" as a way of judging whether an anime is worth continuing. I think that has its merits, as I often use it myself. In Journal with Witch's case, however, the first three episodes leave me wondering not whether I should continue, but whether any other anime this season even come close to challenging it. And as I write this, there's already two more episodes out for me to watch!
Al's Anime Reviews - Champignon Witch
General | Posted a month agoLuna is a witch who lives deep in the forest and is feared by others. People refer to her as the Champignon Witch because wherever she walks, talks and touches, poisonous mushrooms grow. The story follows the first love of this girl, who's never known the warmth of another person.
It's a persistent myth that fairytales are always happy. As I covered in my review of The Grimm Variations, we can mostly blame the Grimm Brothers for that, as much as Walt Disney may have continued and popularized their sanitizing work. But many fairytales are dark, sad and even outright upsetting. They're warnings and explanations. Stay out of the woods, or the witch will get you. Stay on the path, or the wolf will eat you. Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true in ways you never wanted.
Although Higuchi Tachibana isn't retelling any specific fairytale, Champignon Witch owes a lot to fairytale canon. Luna, the titular witch, seems to carry the curse of the Unkind Girl from Diamonds and Toads. In that rather obscure story, two girls are either blessed or cursed based on their kindness, with the unkind girl ending up damned to have frogs and venomous snakes leap from her mouth every time she opens it. Luna may not bear that burden, but wherever she walks, poisonous mushrooms grow, and anyone who touches her skin ends up sick. In both the ending theme and the second episode, she wears a red hooded cloak, evoking a certain other fairytale girl punished for perceived transgressions, Red Riding Hood. And across all three of these first episodes, Luna behaves in a way that can be seen as selfish--first she endangers Henri's life by continually drawing soul portraits of him, and then the entire world by refusing to relinquish the boy she found floating in the river.
It's not hard to see why she'd do these things. Luna is a profoundly lonely young woman who can't really interact with anybody human because of the danger to them, and she spends most of her time with Merino and Minos, her animal companions. If she's lucky, Claude, the Bird Witch's nearly human crow familiar, comes to visit, but it looks like that doesn't happen often. When she first draws Henri after seeing him in town, his joy at finding his soul able to meet and touch her is a magical experience in many ways. When she has to give him up for his own good, it's heart-shattering. So when the boy appears in the river, dying, it looks to Luna like a second chance.
And then there's the fact that when the other dark witches come to take her to task for her actions, the Water Witch reveals that the boy is cursed, just like her. According to Claude, the seeds of the world's destruction will grow in the boy. It seems likely that Luna's powers came from her cursed status. She can still destroy people, but no longer the world, by which logic it seems likely that the boy can also be defanged. Maybe the other witches just aren't willing to risk it--they don't seem to know about Luna's "master", a large mushroom god of some sort. But maybe if Luna can convince them, she can help this boy.
While these episodes are filled with a lot of static shots, I think it works. Other details are nicely done, such as the change in the way people dress between Luna's last encounter with Henri and the way she and the mysterious boy are dressed at the end of episode 2. She also wears multiple outfits, which is pretty unusual for an anime protagonists. Many of the stills have the vibe of a picture book, which also works well for the way the story is told, with a narrator doing most of the talking, like they're reading us a bedtime story. Other visual details, like how expressive the mushrooms are, help to make up for the limited animation.
You can immediately tell from the character designs that this is from the creator of Gakuen Alice. Higuchi Tachibana has a gift for bittersweetness mixed with cuteness, and that's definitely on display here. It's interesting to think that there's no Mikan to balance out the darker elements this time. Henri comes close, but he's part of the sadness. Luna's got her animal friends and a few othersy, but she's otherwise on her own. At least, she's alone at first. Maybe it's not that a Mikan character doesn't exist so much as that one hasn't come in yet.
The first three episodes really feel like the prologue to the rest of the series, something I'll be able to better assess as the story unfolds. But there's definitely an underlying sorrow to this. There's no guarantee that this will have a happy ending, but it should be an interesting path to follow nonetheless.
It's a persistent myth that fairytales are always happy. As I covered in my review of The Grimm Variations, we can mostly blame the Grimm Brothers for that, as much as Walt Disney may have continued and popularized their sanitizing work. But many fairytales are dark, sad and even outright upsetting. They're warnings and explanations. Stay out of the woods, or the witch will get you. Stay on the path, or the wolf will eat you. Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true in ways you never wanted.
Although Higuchi Tachibana isn't retelling any specific fairytale, Champignon Witch owes a lot to fairytale canon. Luna, the titular witch, seems to carry the curse of the Unkind Girl from Diamonds and Toads. In that rather obscure story, two girls are either blessed or cursed based on their kindness, with the unkind girl ending up damned to have frogs and venomous snakes leap from her mouth every time she opens it. Luna may not bear that burden, but wherever she walks, poisonous mushrooms grow, and anyone who touches her skin ends up sick. In both the ending theme and the second episode, she wears a red hooded cloak, evoking a certain other fairytale girl punished for perceived transgressions, Red Riding Hood. And across all three of these first episodes, Luna behaves in a way that can be seen as selfish--first she endangers Henri's life by continually drawing soul portraits of him, and then the entire world by refusing to relinquish the boy she found floating in the river.
It's not hard to see why she'd do these things. Luna is a profoundly lonely young woman who can't really interact with anybody human because of the danger to them, and she spends most of her time with Merino and Minos, her animal companions. If she's lucky, Claude, the Bird Witch's nearly human crow familiar, comes to visit, but it looks like that doesn't happen often. When she first draws Henri after seeing him in town, his joy at finding his soul able to meet and touch her is a magical experience in many ways. When she has to give him up for his own good, it's heart-shattering. So when the boy appears in the river, dying, it looks to Luna like a second chance.
And then there's the fact that when the other dark witches come to take her to task for her actions, the Water Witch reveals that the boy is cursed, just like her. According to Claude, the seeds of the world's destruction will grow in the boy. It seems likely that Luna's powers came from her cursed status. She can still destroy people, but no longer the world, by which logic it seems likely that the boy can also be defanged. Maybe the other witches just aren't willing to risk it--they don't seem to know about Luna's "master", a large mushroom god of some sort. But maybe if Luna can convince them, she can help this boy.
While these episodes are filled with a lot of static shots, I think it works. Other details are nicely done, such as the change in the way people dress between Luna's last encounter with Henri and the way she and the mysterious boy are dressed at the end of episode 2. She also wears multiple outfits, which is pretty unusual for an anime protagonists. Many of the stills have the vibe of a picture book, which also works well for the way the story is told, with a narrator doing most of the talking, like they're reading us a bedtime story. Other visual details, like how expressive the mushrooms are, help to make up for the limited animation.
You can immediately tell from the character designs that this is from the creator of Gakuen Alice. Higuchi Tachibana has a gift for bittersweetness mixed with cuteness, and that's definitely on display here. It's interesting to think that there's no Mikan to balance out the darker elements this time. Henri comes close, but he's part of the sadness. Luna's got her animal friends and a few othersy, but she's otherwise on her own. At least, she's alone at first. Maybe it's not that a Mikan character doesn't exist so much as that one hasn't come in yet.
The first three episodes really feel like the prologue to the rest of the series, something I'll be able to better assess as the story unfolds. But there's definitely an underlying sorrow to this. There's no guarantee that this will have a happy ending, but it should be an interesting path to follow nonetheless.
Al's Anime Reviews - Easygoing Territory Defense
General | Posted a month agoVan, the fourth son of a powerful noble, is only two years old when he remembers his past life as a salaryman in Japan. With his adult brain in a young body, he's considered a child prodigy...until he displays the "Production Magic" skill when he turns eight. In a family that favours offensive magic, this crafting skill is considered useless in battle, and Van is banished to oversee a tiny country town in disgrace. With only his personal maids, the memories of his past life and his "worthless" magic, Van improves the fortunes of this little village, and himself.
I'd tell you to stop me if you've heard this one before, but then I wouldn't be doing my job here, because you've definitely heard this one before: A lonesome, overworked Japanese man dies and is reincarnated as a child in a fantasy world. He's doted on by anachronistic Victorian maids in his new medieval setting, and his interior age makes him seem like a child prodigy. But oh no, his magic isn't considered valuable, so he and the adults who dote on him are sent away to a remote frontier town. Also he buys a slave who doesn't want to be freed. Yep, the gang's all here for this one.
We've officially reached the point where these isekai anime are making me feel like I'm going insane. I could swear to you on a stack of Shonen Jumps that I already watched the opening scene of this premiere like 20 times in the past year alone, and when the reincarnated Van slowly opened his eyes to remark about his tiny little baby hands, I was actually tempted to go back and double-check the premiere of Hell Mode to see if this was just outright plagiarism. I didn't do that, of course, because it took all of my draining mental and emotional faculties to get through just this one episode of Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord, let alone going back to other, even worse shows I already watched. But still, I'd like to register my continuing annoyance that the scripts for these shows are such shameless retreads of material that already sucked hard to begin with.
This anime is interesting in the fact that only the final few minutes of the episode are relevant to the ongoing story. The rest is little more than a prologue to what this series is actually about, ie. a once-promising noble youth is cast out by his family because of his "garbage magic". Basically, this episode is a lengthy introduction to the characters and setting. We see Van as a child being hailed as a genius because of his adult mind in a child's body. His work ethic also takes him far in both his studies and swordsmanship. Since he has the social skills of an adult, he integrates well with the people of his father's territory. It's clear to all that he's primed to be the next ruler... Until it's revealed he has the lowest form of magic, production magic.
It's not hard to see where the series goes from here with his exile and how idiotic the idea that production magic isn't the single most useful magic possible. It's basically alchemy. Gather the materials, whatever you want appears. Instead of a hundred blacksmiths slaving at the forge for months to turn out subpar weapons and armor, you could outfit an army in a single day with high-quality equipment using the same base materials. You could build a castle as quickly as your magic would allow, as long as wood and stone and whatnot were gathered first. You could build aqueducts and dams in days, if not minutes. Hell, depending on how the magic works, you could potentially mine an entire vein of ore in an instant, saving decades of mining activity in the process. At most, all you'd need is some blueprints, a scale model or a prototype to copy. You'd be a walking industrial revolution.
Yeah, the really sad thing about this one is that it isn't lacking in potential. Van seems to be a genuinely nice person, and it's hard to fault him for wanting to break free of the expectations of those around him. He's getting a chance to relive childhood, so why would he want to waste it being tutored in academics and swordplay to the point where he has no free time? In fact, he sees his banishment as a relief until he realizes that numerus peoople under his father's employ have been ordered to follow him. He seems to have a decent head on his shoulders too.
The clearest example of this is obviously the plotline about the slave character, Khamsin. Van sees Khamsin being dragged to the market by his cruel father, who's planning to sell the boy into slavery. Understanding that slavery is bad, Van buys Khamsin from his father and immediately declares his freedom. So far, so good--but then he's told that he can't bring Khamsin home as a random dirty straggler, so he'll have to keep him as a slave for his own good. And Khamsin is perfectly delighted by this, to the point where he doesn't want to cover up his slave crest. The kid is stoked to be Van's slave that his skin turns several shades lighter! It's a hard decision whether to roll my eyes or feel sick at yet another instance of the "noble slavery" falsehood.
I found most of Easygoing Territory Defense to be fine, albeit cliche, until that scene. I'm also endlessly sick of useful magical gifts being treated as useless in these stories because they're not offensive magic. Production magic is useless because people can also make material goods without magic? What, as opposed to fire? You can make fire with physical materials too! If I blow out a candle, is that magic? Does it prove that fire magic, the most quintessential magic in all of fantasy fiction, is useless trash? Is making fire a more useful skill than instantly building things out of raw materials? We know how this'll go too: Van knows about modern technology, so he'll use his magic to make guns and shit. But wouldn't it make more sense for his father to be mad that, say, making things is considered below a noble military family, rather than agreeing that the entire concept of crafting material goods from thin air is "garbage magic"?
I will give Easygoing Territory Defense credit where it's due, however, and acknowledge that this show is a stronger production than many others of its type. That is a remarkably low bar to clear, mind you, but I'm not actually trying to damn this new show with faint praise (at least not too much). Easygoing Territory Defense is genuinely a decently-made show. The storyboarding and solid character designs are strong enough to carry the premiere even when the character animation isn't all that fluid, and the episode is edited well enough that it didn't feel entirely excruciating to sit through the same old song and dance of meaningless exposition and pointless plot developments. Also, I laughed a bit at the Costco joke the writers managed to sneak in.
Here's my dark confession: I actually had a little bit of fun watching Easygoing Territory Defense, simply because I was laughing at the names as they came up. The family name is Fertio, for crying out loud. One of Van's brothers is named Murcia Elago. Like Murcielago, get it? That was certainly worth a chuckle. I can't help but giggle as I try to pronounce Khamsin's name correctly. And yes, I let out a genuine laugh when the armsmaster Dee started doing Kazotsky kicks across the training yard. Hey, it's just an inherently funny dance move!
Unfortunately, the rest of Easygoing Territory Defense is about what you'd expect from 90% of the anime that stole the same basic premise from each other over the last 15 years or so. Van is a bit more likeable and proactive than the usual isekai Potato-kuns, and he's definitely against the practice of human slavery, which is always a bonus (and still yet another terribly low bar to be praised for clearing). An isekai protagonist with 20% more charm and wit is still terminally deficient compared to most other anime protagonists, however, and it's not enough to make up for the boring worldbuilding and storytelling. I think the absolute best I can do for Easygoing Territory Defense is to acknowledge that I was slightly too harsh in comparing it to the genre's worst slopfests earlier. This isn't as bad as those, and maybe I'll even talk myself into doing a full-series review at some point. But the barest minimum of recognizable human spark isn't enough to make this the kind of trash that's worth digging out to enjoy on a weekly basis.
I'd tell you to stop me if you've heard this one before, but then I wouldn't be doing my job here, because you've definitely heard this one before: A lonesome, overworked Japanese man dies and is reincarnated as a child in a fantasy world. He's doted on by anachronistic Victorian maids in his new medieval setting, and his interior age makes him seem like a child prodigy. But oh no, his magic isn't considered valuable, so he and the adults who dote on him are sent away to a remote frontier town. Also he buys a slave who doesn't want to be freed. Yep, the gang's all here for this one.
We've officially reached the point where these isekai anime are making me feel like I'm going insane. I could swear to you on a stack of Shonen Jumps that I already watched the opening scene of this premiere like 20 times in the past year alone, and when the reincarnated Van slowly opened his eyes to remark about his tiny little baby hands, I was actually tempted to go back and double-check the premiere of Hell Mode to see if this was just outright plagiarism. I didn't do that, of course, because it took all of my draining mental and emotional faculties to get through just this one episode of Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord, let alone going back to other, even worse shows I already watched. But still, I'd like to register my continuing annoyance that the scripts for these shows are such shameless retreads of material that already sucked hard to begin with.
This anime is interesting in the fact that only the final few minutes of the episode are relevant to the ongoing story. The rest is little more than a prologue to what this series is actually about, ie. a once-promising noble youth is cast out by his family because of his "garbage magic". Basically, this episode is a lengthy introduction to the characters and setting. We see Van as a child being hailed as a genius because of his adult mind in a child's body. His work ethic also takes him far in both his studies and swordsmanship. Since he has the social skills of an adult, he integrates well with the people of his father's territory. It's clear to all that he's primed to be the next ruler... Until it's revealed he has the lowest form of magic, production magic.
It's not hard to see where the series goes from here with his exile and how idiotic the idea that production magic isn't the single most useful magic possible. It's basically alchemy. Gather the materials, whatever you want appears. Instead of a hundred blacksmiths slaving at the forge for months to turn out subpar weapons and armor, you could outfit an army in a single day with high-quality equipment using the same base materials. You could build a castle as quickly as your magic would allow, as long as wood and stone and whatnot were gathered first. You could build aqueducts and dams in days, if not minutes. Hell, depending on how the magic works, you could potentially mine an entire vein of ore in an instant, saving decades of mining activity in the process. At most, all you'd need is some blueprints, a scale model or a prototype to copy. You'd be a walking industrial revolution.
Yeah, the really sad thing about this one is that it isn't lacking in potential. Van seems to be a genuinely nice person, and it's hard to fault him for wanting to break free of the expectations of those around him. He's getting a chance to relive childhood, so why would he want to waste it being tutored in academics and swordplay to the point where he has no free time? In fact, he sees his banishment as a relief until he realizes that numerus peoople under his father's employ have been ordered to follow him. He seems to have a decent head on his shoulders too.
The clearest example of this is obviously the plotline about the slave character, Khamsin. Van sees Khamsin being dragged to the market by his cruel father, who's planning to sell the boy into slavery. Understanding that slavery is bad, Van buys Khamsin from his father and immediately declares his freedom. So far, so good--but then he's told that he can't bring Khamsin home as a random dirty straggler, so he'll have to keep him as a slave for his own good. And Khamsin is perfectly delighted by this, to the point where he doesn't want to cover up his slave crest. The kid is stoked to be Van's slave that his skin turns several shades lighter! It's a hard decision whether to roll my eyes or feel sick at yet another instance of the "noble slavery" falsehood.
I found most of Easygoing Territory Defense to be fine, albeit cliche, until that scene. I'm also endlessly sick of useful magical gifts being treated as useless in these stories because they're not offensive magic. Production magic is useless because people can also make material goods without magic? What, as opposed to fire? You can make fire with physical materials too! If I blow out a candle, is that magic? Does it prove that fire magic, the most quintessential magic in all of fantasy fiction, is useless trash? Is making fire a more useful skill than instantly building things out of raw materials? We know how this'll go too: Van knows about modern technology, so he'll use his magic to make guns and shit. But wouldn't it make more sense for his father to be mad that, say, making things is considered below a noble military family, rather than agreeing that the entire concept of crafting material goods from thin air is "garbage magic"?
I will give Easygoing Territory Defense credit where it's due, however, and acknowledge that this show is a stronger production than many others of its type. That is a remarkably low bar to clear, mind you, but I'm not actually trying to damn this new show with faint praise (at least not too much). Easygoing Territory Defense is genuinely a decently-made show. The storyboarding and solid character designs are strong enough to carry the premiere even when the character animation isn't all that fluid, and the episode is edited well enough that it didn't feel entirely excruciating to sit through the same old song and dance of meaningless exposition and pointless plot developments. Also, I laughed a bit at the Costco joke the writers managed to sneak in.
Here's my dark confession: I actually had a little bit of fun watching Easygoing Territory Defense, simply because I was laughing at the names as they came up. The family name is Fertio, for crying out loud. One of Van's brothers is named Murcia Elago. Like Murcielago, get it? That was certainly worth a chuckle. I can't help but giggle as I try to pronounce Khamsin's name correctly. And yes, I let out a genuine laugh when the armsmaster Dee started doing Kazotsky kicks across the training yard. Hey, it's just an inherently funny dance move!
Unfortunately, the rest of Easygoing Territory Defense is about what you'd expect from 90% of the anime that stole the same basic premise from each other over the last 15 years or so. Van is a bit more likeable and proactive than the usual isekai Potato-kuns, and he's definitely against the practice of human slavery, which is always a bonus (and still yet another terribly low bar to be praised for clearing). An isekai protagonist with 20% more charm and wit is still terminally deficient compared to most other anime protagonists, however, and it's not enough to make up for the boring worldbuilding and storytelling. I think the absolute best I can do for Easygoing Territory Defense is to acknowledge that I was slightly too harsh in comparing it to the genre's worst slopfests earlier. This isn't as bad as those, and maybe I'll even talk myself into doing a full-series review at some point. But the barest minimum of recognizable human spark isn't enough to make this the kind of trash that's worth digging out to enjoy on a weekly basis.
Al's Anime Reviews - Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation
General | Posted a month agoWhen Lizel finds himself in a city that bears similarities to his own but clearly isn't, he quickly comes to terms with the unlikely truth: This is an entirely different world. Even so, laid-back Lizel isn't the type to panic. He immediately hires a seasoned adventurer named Gil as his tour guide and protector. Until he's able to find a way home, Lizel figures this is a perfect opportunity to explore a new way of life, adventuring as part of a guild. After all, he's sure he'll go home eventually--might as well enjoy the otherworldly vacation for now!
I'm of two minds about one of the basic hooks going for A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation. I've always thought the biggest wasted aspect of isekai stories in general is that the vast majority of characters seem to be isekai'd from our world to another. Beyond that, most of the time, those who end up in the fantasy world are either highschoolers or reincarnated salarymen, ie. simple audience proxies with little to make them special or unique. There's an infinite number of cool crossover combinations possible in fiction, and yet all too often we're treated to a normal guy in a bland stereotypical, game-based European-style fantasy. A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation does a decent job of bucking the trend. Lizel is a character who appears to have been isekai'd from one fantasy world to another. However, while the one he arrives in has the common staples like an adventuring guild, the world he's from does not. More than that, his original world seems to have a different magic system, making for a world that feels right in the uncanny valley for him.
Also, having Lizel be a chancellor from what appears to be 18th century Europe is certainly a novel departure from the usual isekai fare. This makes him calm and collected, able to face even his current situation logically and without panic. He goes about first by getting money and then procuring a guide. He's careful to find the right kind of person, one who's both smart enough to keep his secret and strong enough to keep him safe. It's great. We have a competent protagonist who's focused on preparing himself to live in this world while finding a way home. He doesn't know how he got here, but he's confident that he can simply wait for rescue, thus the smart play is to acclimate as best he can--and if he can have fun while doing it, all the better!
The title doesn't lie with this one: "Gentle" truly is the best description for the episode, although I could also see some viewers switching that out for "boring". Lizel may be the most chill isekai protagonist in the genre's history--to hear him tell it, he was in his office talking with subordinates one minute and then on a street in an unfamiliar world the next. But rather than being upset by his change in circumstances, Lizel just moseys through town, learning about currency and noting that his finery isn't what the rest of the folks are wearing. He calmly sells his ornamental sword to have money to survive, then almost lackadaisically hires Gil to help him out. He's just floating through the whole experience, calm in the knowledge that if his king needs him back, he'll find a way to do so. He's utterly unruffled.
I get it, this is an anime that's going for more of a cozy atmosphere than an exciting or traditionally interesting one. It's not like the show was selling me a bill of false goods with a title like A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation. Still, am I crazy for wanting a show about vacationing in a world of fantasy and magic to contain just a bit more wonder?
Still, I can recognize when a show is a well-crafted product for the audience asking for it. So far as A Gentle Noble is concerned though, while it is a nice change of pace, I'm not seeing a lot to get excited over yet. Despite his background, Lizel makes for a very bland main character, which means he doesn't have much chemistry with the Tall, Dark and Handsome gentleman he spends much of the premiere going back and forth with. I'm not even just talking about romantic chemistry, Lizel and Gil barely have the spark you'd expect casual acquaintances in the office to generate.
Oh, and speaking of those two and the audience asking for it, quick question: Are you attracted to pretty anime men? Because this also plays a big part in just how much you'll get into the episode. While there is some variety in the character designs, they're all ultimately soft-featured bishonen meant to appeal to anyone attracted to anime men. Women barely seem to exist in this world because it's all about the beautiful men. SynergySP has done a decent job adapting the character designs to animation. A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation may not technically be BL, but let's not fool ourselves here, this one is for people who'd like to imagine Gil and Lizel smooching. For me though, the bigger question is whether or not it'll make good on its promise of a greater conflict or remain a pure relaxation show.
The world Lizel has been sent to unfortunately doesn't offer much see either so far. Outside of a couple of magical flourishes that you could miss if you blinked at the wrong time, you really could believe that Lizel was merely stuck in an unfamiliar port in 1800s Denmark or something. I'll give this a few more episodes to try and hook me, but it'll have to get interesting quick.
I'm of two minds about one of the basic hooks going for A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation. I've always thought the biggest wasted aspect of isekai stories in general is that the vast majority of characters seem to be isekai'd from our world to another. Beyond that, most of the time, those who end up in the fantasy world are either highschoolers or reincarnated salarymen, ie. simple audience proxies with little to make them special or unique. There's an infinite number of cool crossover combinations possible in fiction, and yet all too often we're treated to a normal guy in a bland stereotypical, game-based European-style fantasy. A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation does a decent job of bucking the trend. Lizel is a character who appears to have been isekai'd from one fantasy world to another. However, while the one he arrives in has the common staples like an adventuring guild, the world he's from does not. More than that, his original world seems to have a different magic system, making for a world that feels right in the uncanny valley for him.
Also, having Lizel be a chancellor from what appears to be 18th century Europe is certainly a novel departure from the usual isekai fare. This makes him calm and collected, able to face even his current situation logically and without panic. He goes about first by getting money and then procuring a guide. He's careful to find the right kind of person, one who's both smart enough to keep his secret and strong enough to keep him safe. It's great. We have a competent protagonist who's focused on preparing himself to live in this world while finding a way home. He doesn't know how he got here, but he's confident that he can simply wait for rescue, thus the smart play is to acclimate as best he can--and if he can have fun while doing it, all the better!
The title doesn't lie with this one: "Gentle" truly is the best description for the episode, although I could also see some viewers switching that out for "boring". Lizel may be the most chill isekai protagonist in the genre's history--to hear him tell it, he was in his office talking with subordinates one minute and then on a street in an unfamiliar world the next. But rather than being upset by his change in circumstances, Lizel just moseys through town, learning about currency and noting that his finery isn't what the rest of the folks are wearing. He calmly sells his ornamental sword to have money to survive, then almost lackadaisically hires Gil to help him out. He's just floating through the whole experience, calm in the knowledge that if his king needs him back, he'll find a way to do so. He's utterly unruffled.
I get it, this is an anime that's going for more of a cozy atmosphere than an exciting or traditionally interesting one. It's not like the show was selling me a bill of false goods with a title like A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation. Still, am I crazy for wanting a show about vacationing in a world of fantasy and magic to contain just a bit more wonder?
Still, I can recognize when a show is a well-crafted product for the audience asking for it. So far as A Gentle Noble is concerned though, while it is a nice change of pace, I'm not seeing a lot to get excited over yet. Despite his background, Lizel makes for a very bland main character, which means he doesn't have much chemistry with the Tall, Dark and Handsome gentleman he spends much of the premiere going back and forth with. I'm not even just talking about romantic chemistry, Lizel and Gil barely have the spark you'd expect casual acquaintances in the office to generate.
Oh, and speaking of those two and the audience asking for it, quick question: Are you attracted to pretty anime men? Because this also plays a big part in just how much you'll get into the episode. While there is some variety in the character designs, they're all ultimately soft-featured bishonen meant to appeal to anyone attracted to anime men. Women barely seem to exist in this world because it's all about the beautiful men. SynergySP has done a decent job adapting the character designs to animation. A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation may not technically be BL, but let's not fool ourselves here, this one is for people who'd like to imagine Gil and Lizel smooching. For me though, the bigger question is whether or not it'll make good on its promise of a greater conflict or remain a pure relaxation show.
The world Lizel has been sent to unfortunately doesn't offer much see either so far. Outside of a couple of magical flourishes that you could miss if you blinked at the wrong time, you really could believe that Lizel was merely stuck in an unfamiliar port in 1800s Denmark or something. I'll give this a few more episodes to try and hook me, but it'll have to get interesting quick.
Al's Anime Reviews - Hell Mode
General | Posted a month agoThe online game Kenichi Yamada had been playing religiously is shutting down its servers, leaving him with a void in his heart. He looks for a new game to fill it, but everything he finds is way too easy. Kenichi stumbles upon an untitled game, one promising incomparable challenge with unprecedented potential. Without hesitation, he selects the "Hell Mode" difficulty. Lo and behold, he finds himself reincarnated in another world as a serf. Now called Allen, he sets out to unlock the secrets of his mysterious Summoner class. Without the convenience of walkthroughs, game guides or forums, he must stumble his way to the top of his new world by himself.
The real Hell Mode is having to suffer through all of these garbage isekai anime, amirite, folks?
I suppose I should point out that at least Hell Mode has a premise that by definition exists to confront its protagonist with some degree of actual conflict and challenge. I can also acknowledge that a modicum of thought went into giving Allen a class that requires actual effort to be successful in, but come on now. I have not yet been so broken by this godforsaken subgenre that I'm giving out brownie points for a show managing to suck 10% less than its shameless competitors. Jesus H. Dick, how I despise the trope of watching a grown man get turned into an RPG toddler. Allen may not be the most insufferable twerp-baby we've been forced to take seriously on account of the anime industry's obsession with churning out low-effort junk guaranteed to turn a profit, but he's still insufferable, a twerp and a baby.
Allen is yet another adult man reborn as an infant with an adult mind (cue the obligatory remark about "sucking on titties" as if breastfeeding is something designed for the titillation of men reborn as self-aware babies). He can summon his stat screen and he's got powers beyond what regular folks know about. He spends most of the episode figuring out how to use his skills as a summoner, acting like a cute toddler for his parents, and otherwise being as paper-thin a character as almost any other in a similar situation you care to name, with the plot following suit. It's all the same predictable routine, right down to his female friend with the pink hair, who's obviously going to have some sort of sword skill when she gets appraised at age 5.
The job of a premiere is to get the prospective audience invested in a series enough to keep coming back for more each week. While I understand the primal appeal of a story that makes no effort to do anything other than recreate the same familiar experience that first activated the dopamine pathways in our brains when it was fresh, I reject the practice as a matter of principle. I don't care that the anime everyone loved 15 years ago did the exact same thing, the problem is that it's been done a bazillion times since then. We don't need to see Allen futzing around and monologuing about his random NPC parents who ultimately don't matter to the story. We don't need to see Allen learn how to summon little critters with the power of his stupid RPG stats menu. For the love of all that is good and holy, at least have the decency to relegate some of this stuff to a montage.
Here's what I will concede: Around 20 minutes into the episode, I finally began to feel... I dunno, something for this kid and his poor servant-class family. I like the concept of a genuinely harsh world that demands sacrifice and suffering in order to succeed, and I can kinda see how Hell Mode is trying to set itself apart from the pack. The problem is that the fundamentals we're working with--the writing, the tone, the worldbuilding, the genre conventions--are still trapped in the same essential framework, shaped more by corporate interests than by artistic instinct. It's the anime equivalent of putting a decent BBQ sauce on a cheap leftover cheeseburger that you just rewarmed in the microwave. Is it technically a more sophisticated experience than what the burger in its original state would've provided? Maybe. Doesn't mean you aren't still shoving junk down your gullet because it was the quickest and easiest option available.
There was one single moment in Hell Mode where I had hope for the story. Allen reaches out his hand, dramatically calls for the stat window, and...nothing happens. I was suddenly excited. No stat window would indeed be "Hell Mode" for a min-max gamer like Allen. He'd actually have to figure everything out himself or find someone to assist him. Then came another thought: What if part of "Hell Mode" is that everyone has a stat window EXCEPT him? That'd make for an interesting twist.
Of course, this was all for naught as my mind racing with the possibilities was brought crashing into a tree when Allen simply tried again a few seconds later and it fucking appeared.
Hell Mode is, simply put, yet another dime-a-dozen isekai slog. The most original aspect of the show is that the stat window is designed like a floating book rather than a floating computer screen. While Allen talks about how unbalanced this world is, it means nothing. He's already a young child with the strength and intellect of a grown man. The fact that he can only summon insects and rodents means little when he can fight almost on par with someone clearly destined to be the hero. The only actual "Hell Mode" aspect of his life is socioeconomic, with his family being dirt-poor serfs working in a largely undeveloped frontier land.
So in the end, this feels like a series where the main character laments about how bad he's got it even though he's still better off than 99% of people around him. I don't care about him or his struggles, and I can honestly find not a single reason to come back for more.
The real Hell Mode is having to suffer through all of these garbage isekai anime, amirite, folks?
I suppose I should point out that at least Hell Mode has a premise that by definition exists to confront its protagonist with some degree of actual conflict and challenge. I can also acknowledge that a modicum of thought went into giving Allen a class that requires actual effort to be successful in, but come on now. I have not yet been so broken by this godforsaken subgenre that I'm giving out brownie points for a show managing to suck 10% less than its shameless competitors. Jesus H. Dick, how I despise the trope of watching a grown man get turned into an RPG toddler. Allen may not be the most insufferable twerp-baby we've been forced to take seriously on account of the anime industry's obsession with churning out low-effort junk guaranteed to turn a profit, but he's still insufferable, a twerp and a baby.
Allen is yet another adult man reborn as an infant with an adult mind (cue the obligatory remark about "sucking on titties" as if breastfeeding is something designed for the titillation of men reborn as self-aware babies). He can summon his stat screen and he's got powers beyond what regular folks know about. He spends most of the episode figuring out how to use his skills as a summoner, acting like a cute toddler for his parents, and otherwise being as paper-thin a character as almost any other in a similar situation you care to name, with the plot following suit. It's all the same predictable routine, right down to his female friend with the pink hair, who's obviously going to have some sort of sword skill when she gets appraised at age 5.
The job of a premiere is to get the prospective audience invested in a series enough to keep coming back for more each week. While I understand the primal appeal of a story that makes no effort to do anything other than recreate the same familiar experience that first activated the dopamine pathways in our brains when it was fresh, I reject the practice as a matter of principle. I don't care that the anime everyone loved 15 years ago did the exact same thing, the problem is that it's been done a bazillion times since then. We don't need to see Allen futzing around and monologuing about his random NPC parents who ultimately don't matter to the story. We don't need to see Allen learn how to summon little critters with the power of his stupid RPG stats menu. For the love of all that is good and holy, at least have the decency to relegate some of this stuff to a montage.
Here's what I will concede: Around 20 minutes into the episode, I finally began to feel... I dunno, something for this kid and his poor servant-class family. I like the concept of a genuinely harsh world that demands sacrifice and suffering in order to succeed, and I can kinda see how Hell Mode is trying to set itself apart from the pack. The problem is that the fundamentals we're working with--the writing, the tone, the worldbuilding, the genre conventions--are still trapped in the same essential framework, shaped more by corporate interests than by artistic instinct. It's the anime equivalent of putting a decent BBQ sauce on a cheap leftover cheeseburger that you just rewarmed in the microwave. Is it technically a more sophisticated experience than what the burger in its original state would've provided? Maybe. Doesn't mean you aren't still shoving junk down your gullet because it was the quickest and easiest option available.
There was one single moment in Hell Mode where I had hope for the story. Allen reaches out his hand, dramatically calls for the stat window, and...nothing happens. I was suddenly excited. No stat window would indeed be "Hell Mode" for a min-max gamer like Allen. He'd actually have to figure everything out himself or find someone to assist him. Then came another thought: What if part of "Hell Mode" is that everyone has a stat window EXCEPT him? That'd make for an interesting twist.
Of course, this was all for naught as my mind racing with the possibilities was brought crashing into a tree when Allen simply tried again a few seconds later and it fucking appeared.
Hell Mode is, simply put, yet another dime-a-dozen isekai slog. The most original aspect of the show is that the stat window is designed like a floating book rather than a floating computer screen. While Allen talks about how unbalanced this world is, it means nothing. He's already a young child with the strength and intellect of a grown man. The fact that he can only summon insects and rodents means little when he can fight almost on par with someone clearly destined to be the hero. The only actual "Hell Mode" aspect of his life is socioeconomic, with his family being dirt-poor serfs working in a largely undeveloped frontier land.
So in the end, this feels like a series where the main character laments about how bad he's got it even though he's still better off than 99% of people around him. I don't care about him or his struggles, and I can honestly find not a single reason to come back for more.
Al's Anime Reviews - The Invisible Man and His Wife-to-Be
General | Posted a month agoShizuka Yakou, a quiet and bashful young woman, works at a detective agency. Her boss, Akira Tounome, is the gentlemanly type, kind and dapper, though he has an extra talent... He's invisible. His special ability is perfect for detective work, but he quickly finds it doesn't work on Shizuka, who's blind and always knows when he's near. Charmed, Tounome is determined to get her to date him, and very quickly succeeds in becoming her boyfriend. Shizuka's quirky coworkers, contrarian human man Daichi Kikira and sisterly beastwoman Luna Jarashi, kindly watch over her as she stumbles and blushes through the uncharted waters of a brand-new office romance between the invisible man and the blind girl.
The Invisible Man and His Wife-to-Be is GODLY levels of cozy. Shows that don't necessarily have an overarching story but have more like a "days in our lives" type of narrative structure are always sort of hit or miss. On the one hand, they could be very boring because nothing is actively happening in the show itself. On the other hand, we get shows like this, which draw me in with a sense of whimsy and charm that make me want to lean back and take in all the unadulterated sweetness. Almost everything about the show, from its world to its characters to its art direction, is there to lull you into this sense of comfort.
What prevents the show from becoming boring is the fact that everything is so likeable. There are some things about the world that I question, like how the titular invisible man can make his clothes and other objects invisible without much explanation, or how the overall aesthetic of the show can sometimes be a bit mismatched. But I forgive the occasional bits of conflicting worldbuilding because I love seeing these characters interact with each other. Even when we have characters that are supposed to be portrayed as sticks in the mud, everyone cares about each other and has their own way of expressing themselves. If a language or communication style doesn't match well, as we saw between Shizuka and Luna in episode 2, they talk about it. That sums up the overall theme of the show so far.
Our two main characters are destined to end up married someday, it's right there in the title. This is a show about how they slowly bridge that gap to eventually get to the point of marriage, so I was very surprised that episode 2 ended with them definitively getting together as a couple. I swore I thought the show was going to stretch that out all the way to the very end, but kudos to them for having the confidence to just showcase that these two love each other. Some challenges come with their relationship as they begin to understand the specific idiosyncrasies of how they live. Tounome wants to understand more about how Shizuka lives as a blind person, and Shizuka might be one of the few people who's actually able to understand Tounome, who doesn't feel literally or figuratively seen by most people. In a lot of ways, they take for granted a lot of the specific things that have developed for them due to their specific circumstances, but it's those exact things that draw them to each other. I know it's very on the nose about how a blind woman is the only person who can "see" the invisible man, but I'm not watching the show because I want it to reinvent the wheel, I'm watching it because it wears its heart on its sleeve.
And also because it's got a hot furry girl.
The show also benefits from its compelling worldbuilding. Shizuka's world is the kind where your best friend can be a sexy buff lynx girl and your clients at work could be a crew of bizarre aliens or a cyclops in a boat-necked sweater. It's the kind of setting that feels cozy and relatable while still making the most of its fantastical elements, which I really appreciate. Every episode is structured with various peeks into the lives of these characters, and that makes me very excited for future episodes. In just its first two, I'm sold on the cast, from our main couple all the way to the elves that run the tea shop. I want an episode focusing on every single character that we've seen so far, because this show has convinced me that it can make all of their situations interesting and fun to watch.
The whole package of The Invisible Man and His Wife-to-Be comes together into the anime equivalent of drinking hot chocolate while curled up under your favourite blanket. Where I live, blizzards have been rolling in and the snow is really piling up, so this is the perfect thing to put on to forget about that. It might not make you laugh the most compared to the flashier competition, but this is almost certainly going to be one of the best anime of the season.
The Invisible Man and His Wife-to-Be is GODLY levels of cozy. Shows that don't necessarily have an overarching story but have more like a "days in our lives" type of narrative structure are always sort of hit or miss. On the one hand, they could be very boring because nothing is actively happening in the show itself. On the other hand, we get shows like this, which draw me in with a sense of whimsy and charm that make me want to lean back and take in all the unadulterated sweetness. Almost everything about the show, from its world to its characters to its art direction, is there to lull you into this sense of comfort.
What prevents the show from becoming boring is the fact that everything is so likeable. There are some things about the world that I question, like how the titular invisible man can make his clothes and other objects invisible without much explanation, or how the overall aesthetic of the show can sometimes be a bit mismatched. But I forgive the occasional bits of conflicting worldbuilding because I love seeing these characters interact with each other. Even when we have characters that are supposed to be portrayed as sticks in the mud, everyone cares about each other and has their own way of expressing themselves. If a language or communication style doesn't match well, as we saw between Shizuka and Luna in episode 2, they talk about it. That sums up the overall theme of the show so far.
Our two main characters are destined to end up married someday, it's right there in the title. This is a show about how they slowly bridge that gap to eventually get to the point of marriage, so I was very surprised that episode 2 ended with them definitively getting together as a couple. I swore I thought the show was going to stretch that out all the way to the very end, but kudos to them for having the confidence to just showcase that these two love each other. Some challenges come with their relationship as they begin to understand the specific idiosyncrasies of how they live. Tounome wants to understand more about how Shizuka lives as a blind person, and Shizuka might be one of the few people who's actually able to understand Tounome, who doesn't feel literally or figuratively seen by most people. In a lot of ways, they take for granted a lot of the specific things that have developed for them due to their specific circumstances, but it's those exact things that draw them to each other. I know it's very on the nose about how a blind woman is the only person who can "see" the invisible man, but I'm not watching the show because I want it to reinvent the wheel, I'm watching it because it wears its heart on its sleeve.
And also because it's got a hot furry girl.
The show also benefits from its compelling worldbuilding. Shizuka's world is the kind where your best friend can be a sexy buff lynx girl and your clients at work could be a crew of bizarre aliens or a cyclops in a boat-necked sweater. It's the kind of setting that feels cozy and relatable while still making the most of its fantastical elements, which I really appreciate. Every episode is structured with various peeks into the lives of these characters, and that makes me very excited for future episodes. In just its first two, I'm sold on the cast, from our main couple all the way to the elves that run the tea shop. I want an episode focusing on every single character that we've seen so far, because this show has convinced me that it can make all of their situations interesting and fun to watch.
The whole package of The Invisible Man and His Wife-to-Be comes together into the anime equivalent of drinking hot chocolate while curled up under your favourite blanket. Where I live, blizzards have been rolling in and the snow is really piling up, so this is the perfect thing to put on to forget about that. It might not make you laugh the most compared to the flashier competition, but this is almost certainly going to be one of the best anime of the season.
Al's Anime Reviews - Oedo Fire Slayer
General | Posted a month ago(Atuhor's Nose: Strap in, it's another twofer catchup day!)
The samurai who stopped the great fire, Gengo Matsunaga, was called "The Fire-Eating Bird". He resigned from the fire brigade, but suddenly received an invitation to serve in the Shinjo clan. The clan's firefighting team had no money and no personnel and was looked down upon by those around them. With the encouragement of his wife, Miyuki, Gengo decides to rebuild the collapsed team as its chairman. Gengo and his friends, all of whom have their own peculiarities, struggle to "save any life", despite being ridiculed. In Edo, a mysterious series of suspicious fires called "foxfires" continues.
Every so often, it happens that an anime's presentation is so bad that it overshadows everything else. I mean, an anime about revitalizing a band of firefighters in Edo era Japan, where fires could wipe out an entire city in a few hours if not stopped because most of the buildings are made of wood and paper, is a solid concept for some interesting historical fiction. Even adding in the more spiritual additions like Matsunaga being able to somehow sense where people are inside a burning building could work, especially when combined with his apparently fire-related trauma.
In the premiere of Oedo Fire Slayer -The Legend of the Phoenix-, two things stood out positively. Miyuki has a hilarious personality that makes me want more scenes with her. I also like the flashback scene where Matsunaga becomes a black-and-white animatic. It adds some real visual flair to the production. And holy shit, does this anime need more of that.
Yeah, now to work my way up to the elephant in the room.
The firefighter is always a character that's easy to mythologize and exploit for heroic drama, no matter where or when the flames have decided to burn, but it's especially interesting to learn about how the job gets done in a setting that doesn't have easy access to things like steady water supplies and safety technology. The appeal of Oedo Fire Slayer becomes obvious before you even start watching. The Japan of the Edo era is just chock-full of so much easily combustible material and so lacking in the ability to create light or heat with anything but good old-fashioned fire. The danger of widespread house fires becomes an unavoidable practical concern and a cultural touchstone that everyone can immediately grasp. When you combine that with the show's cast of diverse, relatable characters who are being presented with what feels like an impossible task, Oedo Fire Slayer feels like it should be a slam dunk.
Unfortunately, nearly everything about how the show operates in practice is a disaster. I mean, the writing is okay, and the actors do a fine job of delivering their material. This is unsurprising, since it's adapting Hikuidori (Fire Eater), the first volume of Ushuboro Tobigumi, a historical novel series by popular historical fiction author Shogo Imamura, who specializes in exploring character-driven narratives embellished by the nuances of culture and context from times gone by. If nothing else, watching the premiere of Oedo Fire Slayer makes me hope for an accessible English translation of his novels to arrive someday. The point is, messing up the script wouldn't just be failure, it would be downright embarrassing.
No, Oedo Fire Slayer saves the real embarrassment for the audio and visual presentation. Before we even get into what we're looking at, I need to pay special attention to the show's soundtrack, which triggered a response of genuine anger in me. The very first sounds we hear from this show are fucking recorders and xylophones, as if this were some quirky CGDCT show and not a historical drama about surviving terrifying natural disasters. When the score does try to take itself seriously, it becomes an overbearing mess of (presumably) synthesized choirs and strings. The score comes to us from Yasuharu Takanashi, and while he's definitely a "work for hire" type of artist who's produced a lot of music of varying quality over the years, I'm shocked at how phoned in this show's music sounds from the very first seconds.
But the music is small potatoes compared to the terrible 3D animation, which looks 15 years out of date and ruins any chance the series had at being taken seriously. To compare the stiff and completely lifeless movement and faces of the characters to cheap wooden puppets would be a disservice to the art of puppetry, as anyone who's seen Thunderbolt Fantasy can attest to. The choice to go fully 3D may have been influenced by how prevalent fire is going to be in every single episode, but the artists at SynergySP are clearly in over their heads. This makes the CG from the earliest days of Love Live look like something out of Beastars.
To be honest, I couldn't even tell you much about the plot of Oedo Fire Slayer, other than what I said in the summary. There's a guy with trauma from his previous experiences firefighting, he has to assemble a new squad, he has a wife, there's something to do with money...
It's not that I wasn't trying to pay attention, honest! The animation was just so distractingly bad that I could hardly process what was happening in the story! How am I supposed to remember the dialogue when I'm weirded out by how that old guy's mouth is waggling up and down like someone's doing ventriloquism using an ACTUAL dead terrorist?! Are you telling me I'm supposed to take the story seriously when I'm cackling at how a character is scrabbling against the wood as if he's gliding over an ice rink? And the hands, oh, fuck me with 50 cans' worth of tuna, the hands--they're like horrifying flesh gloves! Even faces have only a few lines that, combined with the fact that there are only two tones of each colour being used (shadowed and not shadowed), means the vast majority of characters look nearly identical to one another. Worse still, the lack of facial detail leads to a noticeable lack of shown emotion. Voice actors shout, but the character models don't match. And for some reason, the production team decided to create backgrounds that look like they were drawn with watercolour pencils, an especially poor choice for making it look like they exist on the same plane as the CG characters.
There's definitely an interesting story somewhere in here, and it's easy to believe that some, if not most, would walk away from the job with trauma, assuming they walk away at all. Matsunaga seems to have been one of the lucky ones, as he survived, but he knows at least two people who didn't, his mentor and very likely his father. Now, when faced with a fire, his hand begins to shake, and while it's clear he still has the skills and knowledge required, he may no longer have the heart for it. And yet he can still pinpoint the sound of a fire bell from a great distance, so he may not be as down for the count as he'd like to be.
I appreciate that we don't know precisely what caused him to quit, and it does seem like there's some attention to period detail, from the tiny little fire axes to the way fire brigades operated at the time. But, uh, that's really about it. Everything is really overwhelmed by how bad this looks, which does a lot to distract from any interesting story elements present. If you're really so invested in the history of Edo firefighters that you can overlook all thie issues this anime has right away, it may be worth trying, otherwise it can be safely left for someone else.
The samurai who stopped the great fire, Gengo Matsunaga, was called "The Fire-Eating Bird". He resigned from the fire brigade, but suddenly received an invitation to serve in the Shinjo clan. The clan's firefighting team had no money and no personnel and was looked down upon by those around them. With the encouragement of his wife, Miyuki, Gengo decides to rebuild the collapsed team as its chairman. Gengo and his friends, all of whom have their own peculiarities, struggle to "save any life", despite being ridiculed. In Edo, a mysterious series of suspicious fires called "foxfires" continues.
Every so often, it happens that an anime's presentation is so bad that it overshadows everything else. I mean, an anime about revitalizing a band of firefighters in Edo era Japan, where fires could wipe out an entire city in a few hours if not stopped because most of the buildings are made of wood and paper, is a solid concept for some interesting historical fiction. Even adding in the more spiritual additions like Matsunaga being able to somehow sense where people are inside a burning building could work, especially when combined with his apparently fire-related trauma.
In the premiere of Oedo Fire Slayer -The Legend of the Phoenix-, two things stood out positively. Miyuki has a hilarious personality that makes me want more scenes with her. I also like the flashback scene where Matsunaga becomes a black-and-white animatic. It adds some real visual flair to the production. And holy shit, does this anime need more of that.
Yeah, now to work my way up to the elephant in the room.
The firefighter is always a character that's easy to mythologize and exploit for heroic drama, no matter where or when the flames have decided to burn, but it's especially interesting to learn about how the job gets done in a setting that doesn't have easy access to things like steady water supplies and safety technology. The appeal of Oedo Fire Slayer becomes obvious before you even start watching. The Japan of the Edo era is just chock-full of so much easily combustible material and so lacking in the ability to create light or heat with anything but good old-fashioned fire. The danger of widespread house fires becomes an unavoidable practical concern and a cultural touchstone that everyone can immediately grasp. When you combine that with the show's cast of diverse, relatable characters who are being presented with what feels like an impossible task, Oedo Fire Slayer feels like it should be a slam dunk.
Unfortunately, nearly everything about how the show operates in practice is a disaster. I mean, the writing is okay, and the actors do a fine job of delivering their material. This is unsurprising, since it's adapting Hikuidori (Fire Eater), the first volume of Ushuboro Tobigumi, a historical novel series by popular historical fiction author Shogo Imamura, who specializes in exploring character-driven narratives embellished by the nuances of culture and context from times gone by. If nothing else, watching the premiere of Oedo Fire Slayer makes me hope for an accessible English translation of his novels to arrive someday. The point is, messing up the script wouldn't just be failure, it would be downright embarrassing.
No, Oedo Fire Slayer saves the real embarrassment for the audio and visual presentation. Before we even get into what we're looking at, I need to pay special attention to the show's soundtrack, which triggered a response of genuine anger in me. The very first sounds we hear from this show are fucking recorders and xylophones, as if this were some quirky CGDCT show and not a historical drama about surviving terrifying natural disasters. When the score does try to take itself seriously, it becomes an overbearing mess of (presumably) synthesized choirs and strings. The score comes to us from Yasuharu Takanashi, and while he's definitely a "work for hire" type of artist who's produced a lot of music of varying quality over the years, I'm shocked at how phoned in this show's music sounds from the very first seconds.
But the music is small potatoes compared to the terrible 3D animation, which looks 15 years out of date and ruins any chance the series had at being taken seriously. To compare the stiff and completely lifeless movement and faces of the characters to cheap wooden puppets would be a disservice to the art of puppetry, as anyone who's seen Thunderbolt Fantasy can attest to. The choice to go fully 3D may have been influenced by how prevalent fire is going to be in every single episode, but the artists at SynergySP are clearly in over their heads. This makes the CG from the earliest days of Love Live look like something out of Beastars.
To be honest, I couldn't even tell you much about the plot of Oedo Fire Slayer, other than what I said in the summary. There's a guy with trauma from his previous experiences firefighting, he has to assemble a new squad, he has a wife, there's something to do with money...
It's not that I wasn't trying to pay attention, honest! The animation was just so distractingly bad that I could hardly process what was happening in the story! How am I supposed to remember the dialogue when I'm weirded out by how that old guy's mouth is waggling up and down like someone's doing ventriloquism using an ACTUAL dead terrorist?! Are you telling me I'm supposed to take the story seriously when I'm cackling at how a character is scrabbling against the wood as if he's gliding over an ice rink? And the hands, oh, fuck me with 50 cans' worth of tuna, the hands--they're like horrifying flesh gloves! Even faces have only a few lines that, combined with the fact that there are only two tones of each colour being used (shadowed and not shadowed), means the vast majority of characters look nearly identical to one another. Worse still, the lack of facial detail leads to a noticeable lack of shown emotion. Voice actors shout, but the character models don't match. And for some reason, the production team decided to create backgrounds that look like they were drawn with watercolour pencils, an especially poor choice for making it look like they exist on the same plane as the CG characters.
There's definitely an interesting story somewhere in here, and it's easy to believe that some, if not most, would walk away from the job with trauma, assuming they walk away at all. Matsunaga seems to have been one of the lucky ones, as he survived, but he knows at least two people who didn't, his mentor and very likely his father. Now, when faced with a fire, his hand begins to shake, and while it's clear he still has the skills and knowledge required, he may no longer have the heart for it. And yet he can still pinpoint the sound of a fire bell from a great distance, so he may not be as down for the count as he'd like to be.
I appreciate that we don't know precisely what caused him to quit, and it does seem like there's some attention to period detail, from the tiny little fire axes to the way fire brigades operated at the time. But, uh, that's really about it. Everything is really overwhelmed by how bad this looks, which does a lot to distract from any interesting story elements present. If you're really so invested in the history of Edo firefighters that you can overlook all thie issues this anime has right away, it may be worth trying, otherwise it can be safely left for someone else.
Al's Anime Reviews - Tamon's B-Side
General | Posted a month agoHighschooler Utage Kinoshita works part-time as a housekeeper so she can afford her fangirl obsession with Tamon Fukuhara, her favourite member of the boy band F/ACE. When work graciously sends her to the home of her idol, she discovers that the real Tamon couldn't be more different from his wild and sexy onstage persona.
Do you remember the "Sold to One Direction" fanfic craze of the early 2010s? If you don't, well, they're pretty much exactly what they sound like: It was a type of fanfic where the plot was always something along the lines of "For some arbitrary reason, the teenage narrator/reader has been sold off by their parents to the boy band One Direction, and we're not going to think too hard about the real-world implications this would have." Tamon's B-Side, which has our teenage protagonist coincidentally working as a housekeeper for her oshi, feels like the Pokemon-style evolution of Sold to One Direction fics. And I think that's beautiful and hilarious.
It's ironic that an anime about such a gloomy, anxious idol is already shaping up to be the funniest new anime of the season. There is no greater burden than being an introvert who also loves doing some form of performance art, or any other activity that inherently involves being publicly perceived. And that's to say nothing of Tamon's lack of self-confidence, which is something I guarantee MANY of your favourite actors, musicians, YouTubers, etc. have struggled with at some point, like 95% of 'em. Playing this all for laughs worked for Bocchi the Rock, and if these first three episodes are any indication, it's working for Tamon's B-Side as well.
Indeed, the humor's been working so well in large part because it's not coming from a mean-spirited place, especially towards Utage and fans more broadly (who would, in many other shows, probably feel like easy targets). Quite the opposite, actually--if anything, this anime is celebrating the obsessed fan and their unparalleled passion. To reiterate what I said earlier, it very unambiguously feels like an indulgent, self-insert fanfic with no interest in obscuring that part of itself. That over-the-top element is what this anime brings to much of what it does, making the whole thing an absolute joy.
Standing in very stark contrast to this show is Oshi no Ko, whose third season is also currently airing--and funnily enough, it also has its new episodes coming out on Wednesdays, just like this show. If you're watching both this season, consider watching their new episodes back-to-back each week for a sort of Barbenheimer experience. The private lives of idols are key components of both shows, yes, but they couldn't be further apart in the way they go about handling it. Whereas Oshi no Ko generally goes for the grim and mysterious and at least tries to portray things in a realistic way (I think it has extremely mixed results on that front, but I won't derail this with my Oshi no Ko hot takes), Tamon's B-Side is pretty unserious, silly and downright cartoonish.
That being said, both shows do have one thing in common in their approaches to discussing the private lives of idols: They paint fame as much more miserable and difficult than most people give it credit for, for reasons some might find unexpected. Oshi no Ko obviously examines that through a much darker lens, but even Tamon's B-Side isn't really glorifying fame. Granted, I wouldn't necessarily say it's vilifying it either, but still. Point is, it's a show that doesn't feel the need to be bleak and stern when it tries to say fame ain't all it's cracked up to be. It can accomplish that while being lighthearted and funny, which is an interesting change of pace.
This is all to say that I don't think you're watching the right idol anime this season if you went into this show hoping to see something more grounded, especially in regards to romance with idols, which is something I have little doubt we're going to see talked about more as the series continues, albeit not in a serious way. But if you were hoping to just lose yourself in a fluffy idol romcom, or even just a good comedy in general, you're in the right place. Take this with a grain of salt, since the anime season has only just begun, but so far this has easily been one of the shows I look forward to the most for new episodes. If things continue like this, or get even better, this could very well be one of the best anime of the season.
As a closing note, I'd just like to give a shoutout to how excellent "Tamon's B-Side" is as a title localization. More specifically, the translation in the whole show so far looks great. But the title in particular deserves to be highlighted for how clever it is. I'm not sure if that's the work of the subtitler or someone else, and I wish I could know who came up with it. "Which Face Does Tamon Have Now?", which is the English title you can see in the bumpers and opening and ending themes, is a bit wordy for the sentiment and sounds pretty clunky and unnatural in English. Unless Tamon was either a shapeshifter or cut people's faces off so he could wear them himself. As a title, it just doesn't work for this series, and I don't care for it. "Tamon's B-Side", however, is catchy, it captures the tone of the show completely, and it gets its point across so much better and easier. And it's even music-related to boot! A genuine A+ choice!
Do you remember the "Sold to One Direction" fanfic craze of the early 2010s? If you don't, well, they're pretty much exactly what they sound like: It was a type of fanfic where the plot was always something along the lines of "For some arbitrary reason, the teenage narrator/reader has been sold off by their parents to the boy band One Direction, and we're not going to think too hard about the real-world implications this would have." Tamon's B-Side, which has our teenage protagonist coincidentally working as a housekeeper for her oshi, feels like the Pokemon-style evolution of Sold to One Direction fics. And I think that's beautiful and hilarious.
It's ironic that an anime about such a gloomy, anxious idol is already shaping up to be the funniest new anime of the season. There is no greater burden than being an introvert who also loves doing some form of performance art, or any other activity that inherently involves being publicly perceived. And that's to say nothing of Tamon's lack of self-confidence, which is something I guarantee MANY of your favourite actors, musicians, YouTubers, etc. have struggled with at some point, like 95% of 'em. Playing this all for laughs worked for Bocchi the Rock, and if these first three episodes are any indication, it's working for Tamon's B-Side as well.
Indeed, the humor's been working so well in large part because it's not coming from a mean-spirited place, especially towards Utage and fans more broadly (who would, in many other shows, probably feel like easy targets). Quite the opposite, actually--if anything, this anime is celebrating the obsessed fan and their unparalleled passion. To reiterate what I said earlier, it very unambiguously feels like an indulgent, self-insert fanfic with no interest in obscuring that part of itself. That over-the-top element is what this anime brings to much of what it does, making the whole thing an absolute joy.
Standing in very stark contrast to this show is Oshi no Ko, whose third season is also currently airing--and funnily enough, it also has its new episodes coming out on Wednesdays, just like this show. If you're watching both this season, consider watching their new episodes back-to-back each week for a sort of Barbenheimer experience. The private lives of idols are key components of both shows, yes, but they couldn't be further apart in the way they go about handling it. Whereas Oshi no Ko generally goes for the grim and mysterious and at least tries to portray things in a realistic way (I think it has extremely mixed results on that front, but I won't derail this with my Oshi no Ko hot takes), Tamon's B-Side is pretty unserious, silly and downright cartoonish.
That being said, both shows do have one thing in common in their approaches to discussing the private lives of idols: They paint fame as much more miserable and difficult than most people give it credit for, for reasons some might find unexpected. Oshi no Ko obviously examines that through a much darker lens, but even Tamon's B-Side isn't really glorifying fame. Granted, I wouldn't necessarily say it's vilifying it either, but still. Point is, it's a show that doesn't feel the need to be bleak and stern when it tries to say fame ain't all it's cracked up to be. It can accomplish that while being lighthearted and funny, which is an interesting change of pace.
This is all to say that I don't think you're watching the right idol anime this season if you went into this show hoping to see something more grounded, especially in regards to romance with idols, which is something I have little doubt we're going to see talked about more as the series continues, albeit not in a serious way. But if you were hoping to just lose yourself in a fluffy idol romcom, or even just a good comedy in general, you're in the right place. Take this with a grain of salt, since the anime season has only just begun, but so far this has easily been one of the shows I look forward to the most for new episodes. If things continue like this, or get even better, this could very well be one of the best anime of the season.
As a closing note, I'd just like to give a shoutout to how excellent "Tamon's B-Side" is as a title localization. More specifically, the translation in the whole show so far looks great. But the title in particular deserves to be highlighted for how clever it is. I'm not sure if that's the work of the subtitler or someone else, and I wish I could know who came up with it. "Which Face Does Tamon Have Now?", which is the English title you can see in the bumpers and opening and ending themes, is a bit wordy for the sentiment and sounds pretty clunky and unnatural in English. Unless Tamon was either a shapeshifter or cut people's faces off so he could wear them himself. As a title, it just doesn't work for this series, and I don't care for it. "Tamon's B-Side", however, is catchy, it captures the tone of the show completely, and it gets its point across so much better and easier. And it's even music-related to boot! A genuine A+ choice!
Al's Anime Reviews - Dead Account
General | Posted a month ago(Atuhor's Nose: I slacked off a bit, so it's a twofer day!)
Ghosts have inhabited the internet, following the tradition that ghosts linger in places where they have strong attachments. Soji Enishiro, a 15-year-old who streams under the handle "Aoringo", deliberately creates violent, clickbaity and provocative content to elicit reactions and earn money, but it's all for the cause of paying his younger sister's medical bills. In real life, he's a simple boy who loves to eat pudding and is devoted to his sister, whom he'd go to great lengths for. One day, he's attacked by a ghost that resides in the online world, and the attack leaves him spiritually awakened. He's recruited by Miden Academy, a school that specializes in training exorcists to tackle the digital realm.
2026 has barely begun, and Dead Account's first two episodes have already given us what may be one of the most unlikeable characters of the year. Soji Enihiro does everything to make him worthy of our contempt while still managing to be just another indiscernible shonen protagonist. When Dead Account isn't trying to make a hero out of someone who really shouldn't be, it does everything else to barely leave an impression.
Is it a good quality or not when a show like Dead Account tells a story that could only exist in our modern, technology-poisoned hellworld? On the one hand, I feel like I should commend it for its attempts to satirize the enshittifying effects that the algorithm demons of modern social media have had on society's collective ability to function at a basic human level. On the other hand, every day we all have to experience a reality that's honestly not far removed from this "exaggerated" cartoon one, which depresses me. Of course, in our world, it's not spooky ghosts we have to worry about, but rather the exploitation of the digital legacies of our dearly departed loved ones. There are already plenty of delusional, amoral AI bros willing to do that evil work.
I really like the concept here, the idea that like mirrors, empty classrooms and stuff in traditional ghost stories, the online accounts of the deceased act as a portal between the worlds of the living and the dead. These are all things or places that are very much tied to living humans and have no purpose without them. And as anyone who's ever walked down a usually busy street past midnight can tell you, there's nothing quite as creepy as a place devoid of human life that should have tons of it. I also like the idea that digital ghosts require digital tools to combat them. It's both fitting and hilarious that the weapons we see in this episode are basically a ban hammer and literal flames. It brings just the right amount of visual puns to the table. I even like the idea that Soji was basically a nuisance streamer who's well aware that he's doing is shitty and unable to resist the money.
Unfortunately, the execution of these ideas is where the show suffers. It takes a genuinely well-realized idea and turns it into a basic Jujutsu Kaisen wannabe.
Soji is essentially a Logan Paul type of guy, collecting ad revenue from making online flamebait videos (filming himself laughing at dead bodies is one of the first things we see him do, making the inspiration clear and illustrating what a lasting impression Logan Paul's antics had on the Japanese). The plan is that said revenue is supposed to go towards his sick sister Akari's hospital bills. It's an asinine concept. Beyond Soji just being a troll a lot of people would block in seconds flat, the narrative does everything it can to force us into thinking he truly cares about Akari, while so many of his actions contradict this. A plot twist halfway through the first episode reveals that Akari has been dead the entire time and Soji actually skipped going to her funeral. To say that was a dick move on Soji's part is to immensely understate things.
But wait, it turns out this is only because Soji thought Akari was still alive somehow, since he received weird messages from her social media accounts. How did this not raise any suspicion? Did Soji try to investigate the cause behind this? Did he ever think of asking the funeral parlour or the hospital about what actually went on? Or maybe (and more realistically) it was as simple as her account being hacked? The show then reveals that the "Akari" Soji thought was still texting him was actually a demonic spirit, and I'm still not clear on whether it killed her and then took over her online accounts for some reason or it actually IS her.
A boring fight between Soji, the spirit and an exorcist named Kasubata ensues to conclude the first episode, resulting in Soji getting knocked unconscious. After Kasubata wakes him up in the next episode to relay what happened to Akari's accounts, Soji kinda just shrugs it all off, chalking up his sister's death as just another chapter of the cycle of life, all with such a shit-eating grin that it makes you wonder if he's even phased by it.
The show tries again and again to make us believe that he cared about her by having him get all riled up when Kasubata insults him for being a weak, pathetic punk who made flamebait for clout when there were other ways to make money. Is Kasubata even wrong though? The show is trying to him seem like this passive-aggressive douchecanoe rival, but his ability to see right through Soji makes him the more likeable character. When Kasubata had to fight Soji at the end of the episode, I found myself rooting for Kasubata.
Even Soji's whole deal as a character before the phone ghosts and exorcist buddies start running amok in his life is that he's an online nuisance who intentionally harasses and upsets people for money. Everything about his tragic backstory involving his chronically ill sister who gets turned into a monster-of-the-week and destroyed in the very first episode of the show rubs me the wrong way. If Soji had been more genuinely self-absorbed or damaged in his own right, Dead Account might've found something more substantial to say about the way that people get "possessed" by technology in ways that are by no means supernatural, which could've made for some nice complex parallels to the ghost-hunting business that'll clearly be taking center stage in this story.
But no, instead we get the old "temporarily driven insane by grief over losing my improbably perfect little sister to Anime Wasting Disease" routine, which feels like a cheap shortcut to creating a generic shonen protagonist who has the barest minimum amount of backstory to function as a main character.
As far as I know, Dead Account's manga didn't warrant enough hype to have a better budget, and does it ever show in this here anime. The fight between Soji, Kasubata and the Akari demon is very flat. The fight in the second episode is slightly better since there's more action and animation thrown about, but it's better only by default. A tour of the exorcist academy is shown in the hopes of setting up an exam arc, but all it does so far is waste time. Admittedly, the music here is good, and I can appreciate the hip-hop vibes, but the score alone can't force any intensity or emotion in a series that doesn't have much going for it at this point.
To be fair, it's not like the show fails spectacularly at anything in particular. It just doesn't really succeed at much either. The horror trappings are always welcome, and maybe I'll put on another episode when I feel up to it, but I can't help but predict that Dead Account is destined to sit in the watchlists of folks who've already gone through their backlogs and checked off all the truly noteworthy shonen action titles, which means now they just need something to kill time inbetween the new episodes of the shows they're actually interested in.
Ghosts have inhabited the internet, following the tradition that ghosts linger in places where they have strong attachments. Soji Enishiro, a 15-year-old who streams under the handle "Aoringo", deliberately creates violent, clickbaity and provocative content to elicit reactions and earn money, but it's all for the cause of paying his younger sister's medical bills. In real life, he's a simple boy who loves to eat pudding and is devoted to his sister, whom he'd go to great lengths for. One day, he's attacked by a ghost that resides in the online world, and the attack leaves him spiritually awakened. He's recruited by Miden Academy, a school that specializes in training exorcists to tackle the digital realm.
2026 has barely begun, and Dead Account's first two episodes have already given us what may be one of the most unlikeable characters of the year. Soji Enihiro does everything to make him worthy of our contempt while still managing to be just another indiscernible shonen protagonist. When Dead Account isn't trying to make a hero out of someone who really shouldn't be, it does everything else to barely leave an impression.
Is it a good quality or not when a show like Dead Account tells a story that could only exist in our modern, technology-poisoned hellworld? On the one hand, I feel like I should commend it for its attempts to satirize the enshittifying effects that the algorithm demons of modern social media have had on society's collective ability to function at a basic human level. On the other hand, every day we all have to experience a reality that's honestly not far removed from this "exaggerated" cartoon one, which depresses me. Of course, in our world, it's not spooky ghosts we have to worry about, but rather the exploitation of the digital legacies of our dearly departed loved ones. There are already plenty of delusional, amoral AI bros willing to do that evil work.
I really like the concept here, the idea that like mirrors, empty classrooms and stuff in traditional ghost stories, the online accounts of the deceased act as a portal between the worlds of the living and the dead. These are all things or places that are very much tied to living humans and have no purpose without them. And as anyone who's ever walked down a usually busy street past midnight can tell you, there's nothing quite as creepy as a place devoid of human life that should have tons of it. I also like the idea that digital ghosts require digital tools to combat them. It's both fitting and hilarious that the weapons we see in this episode are basically a ban hammer and literal flames. It brings just the right amount of visual puns to the table. I even like the idea that Soji was basically a nuisance streamer who's well aware that he's doing is shitty and unable to resist the money.
Unfortunately, the execution of these ideas is where the show suffers. It takes a genuinely well-realized idea and turns it into a basic Jujutsu Kaisen wannabe.
Soji is essentially a Logan Paul type of guy, collecting ad revenue from making online flamebait videos (filming himself laughing at dead bodies is one of the first things we see him do, making the inspiration clear and illustrating what a lasting impression Logan Paul's antics had on the Japanese). The plan is that said revenue is supposed to go towards his sick sister Akari's hospital bills. It's an asinine concept. Beyond Soji just being a troll a lot of people would block in seconds flat, the narrative does everything it can to force us into thinking he truly cares about Akari, while so many of his actions contradict this. A plot twist halfway through the first episode reveals that Akari has been dead the entire time and Soji actually skipped going to her funeral. To say that was a dick move on Soji's part is to immensely understate things.
But wait, it turns out this is only because Soji thought Akari was still alive somehow, since he received weird messages from her social media accounts. How did this not raise any suspicion? Did Soji try to investigate the cause behind this? Did he ever think of asking the funeral parlour or the hospital about what actually went on? Or maybe (and more realistically) it was as simple as her account being hacked? The show then reveals that the "Akari" Soji thought was still texting him was actually a demonic spirit, and I'm still not clear on whether it killed her and then took over her online accounts for some reason or it actually IS her.
A boring fight between Soji, the spirit and an exorcist named Kasubata ensues to conclude the first episode, resulting in Soji getting knocked unconscious. After Kasubata wakes him up in the next episode to relay what happened to Akari's accounts, Soji kinda just shrugs it all off, chalking up his sister's death as just another chapter of the cycle of life, all with such a shit-eating grin that it makes you wonder if he's even phased by it.
The show tries again and again to make us believe that he cared about her by having him get all riled up when Kasubata insults him for being a weak, pathetic punk who made flamebait for clout when there were other ways to make money. Is Kasubata even wrong though? The show is trying to him seem like this passive-aggressive douchecanoe rival, but his ability to see right through Soji makes him the more likeable character. When Kasubata had to fight Soji at the end of the episode, I found myself rooting for Kasubata.
Even Soji's whole deal as a character before the phone ghosts and exorcist buddies start running amok in his life is that he's an online nuisance who intentionally harasses and upsets people for money. Everything about his tragic backstory involving his chronically ill sister who gets turned into a monster-of-the-week and destroyed in the very first episode of the show rubs me the wrong way. If Soji had been more genuinely self-absorbed or damaged in his own right, Dead Account might've found something more substantial to say about the way that people get "possessed" by technology in ways that are by no means supernatural, which could've made for some nice complex parallels to the ghost-hunting business that'll clearly be taking center stage in this story.
But no, instead we get the old "temporarily driven insane by grief over losing my improbably perfect little sister to Anime Wasting Disease" routine, which feels like a cheap shortcut to creating a generic shonen protagonist who has the barest minimum amount of backstory to function as a main character.
As far as I know, Dead Account's manga didn't warrant enough hype to have a better budget, and does it ever show in this here anime. The fight between Soji, Kasubata and the Akari demon is very flat. The fight in the second episode is slightly better since there's more action and animation thrown about, but it's better only by default. A tour of the exorcist academy is shown in the hopes of setting up an exam arc, but all it does so far is waste time. Admittedly, the music here is good, and I can appreciate the hip-hop vibes, but the score alone can't force any intensity or emotion in a series that doesn't have much going for it at this point.
To be fair, it's not like the show fails spectacularly at anything in particular. It just doesn't really succeed at much either. The horror trappings are always welcome, and maybe I'll put on another episode when I feel up to it, but I can't help but predict that Dead Account is destined to sit in the watchlists of folks who've already gone through their backlogs and checked off all the truly noteworthy shonen action titles, which means now they just need something to kill time inbetween the new episodes of the shows they're actually interested in.
Al's Anime Reviews - You Can't Be in a Romcom
General | Posted a month agoEiyu is a highschool boy whose two childhood friends, Shio and Akari, go to the same school as him. He's started looking at them with both romantic and lustful eyes, though he knows that they have no interest in him, which causes him endless worry. However, Shio and Akari have their own secrets...
I'm not gonna lie, I kinda like the concept at the core of You Can't Be in a Romcom with Your Childhood Friends!, as absurd as it may be. Basically, Eiyu loves the romcom genre of fiction. He consumes it obsessively. His favorite archetype is even the childhood friend. However, like any well-adjusted person, he can distinguish fiction from reality. He knows that his childhood friends are just that. Their closeness is one born of longtime proximity, not romantic intent. And so he goes out of his way not to catch feelings for them, to not let his fictional fascinations ruin his dearly held friendships. He's acting incredibly responsibly. There's just one problem: They actually ARE into him.
Moreover, Eiyu's not projecting fictional situations into the real world; they are actually happening--and in Shio's case, it's completely on purpose. She's used their closeness to read his favourite manga and makes conscious efforts to win his heart by essentially recreating scenes from them. Of course, the joke is that by playing into situations Eiyu knows don't happen in real life, he becomes even more resolute that there's no romantic intent behind her actions.
This brings us to the true-to-life core of the show. We, as humans, often overcorrect. When we see one path forward as leading towards a bad conclusion, we tend to choose the furthest route possible from that so as not to even have a chance of having that bad thing happen. This all too often brings about some other bad situation that we overlook because we were so focused on the one we were trying to avoid. In his efforts to avoid treating his childhood friends as romantic foils in a romcom, Eiyu has inadvertently disregarded the simple fact that sometimes childhood friends do actually fall in love and start dating. He's gone from one extreme to another, and now the only question is, will he be able to reach a happy medium?
As mentioned before, Shio in particular goes to great lengths to reenact genre tropes in hopes of getting through to her crush. She climbs through his bedroom window, crawls into bed with him, and does her level best to make sure that he gets some good feels of her breasts. She makes sure he gets a good view of her butt as she makes her escape through the window afterwards. She somehow even makes it so that her skirt is basically glued to her legs until a stray breeze comes by--although on second thought, maybe that's an issue with the animation. Still, it would be funnier if somehow it were Shio doing it. Akari, on the other hand, is doing her tsundere best to get to Eiyu before Shio does, although she's much less physically forward.
Everything is designed to be a parody of the basic shonen romcom, and I should've found it funnier than I did. And yet, here we are. I think part of the problem is that nearly every line is delivered much louder than it needs to be--whether it's Eiyu doing his damnedest not to react to the girls sitting on his lap, Akari freaking out about seeing him and Shio together, or Shio faking a sprained ankle, everything is yelled at what feels like maximum volume or given a grating pseudo-sultry inflection. The latter does at least make some sense, since neither girl knows how to be sultry. We're talking about girls who think Eiyu's thighs are his weak spot while grinding on his lap. Yes, sweetie, clearly it's his legs that are the issue here.
There are some visual issues at play too. The entire show looks washed out, with the already pastel shades appearing to have been left out in the sun too long. Skirt lengths fluctuate between scenes, as does Shio's boob size, and a lot of the walking animation looks very stiff. I do, however, like the imagery in the ending theme, where the pale shades actually work to their advantage.
With two more girls yet to be introduced, this risks becoming far more annoying. Because it does have the thread of parody running through, things could improve going forward, but I'm not sure if I feel like watching more yet. I won't say it's a skip, but it's going in the low priority list.
I'm not gonna lie, I kinda like the concept at the core of You Can't Be in a Romcom with Your Childhood Friends!, as absurd as it may be. Basically, Eiyu loves the romcom genre of fiction. He consumes it obsessively. His favorite archetype is even the childhood friend. However, like any well-adjusted person, he can distinguish fiction from reality. He knows that his childhood friends are just that. Their closeness is one born of longtime proximity, not romantic intent. And so he goes out of his way not to catch feelings for them, to not let his fictional fascinations ruin his dearly held friendships. He's acting incredibly responsibly. There's just one problem: They actually ARE into him.
Moreover, Eiyu's not projecting fictional situations into the real world; they are actually happening--and in Shio's case, it's completely on purpose. She's used their closeness to read his favourite manga and makes conscious efforts to win his heart by essentially recreating scenes from them. Of course, the joke is that by playing into situations Eiyu knows don't happen in real life, he becomes even more resolute that there's no romantic intent behind her actions.
This brings us to the true-to-life core of the show. We, as humans, often overcorrect. When we see one path forward as leading towards a bad conclusion, we tend to choose the furthest route possible from that so as not to even have a chance of having that bad thing happen. This all too often brings about some other bad situation that we overlook because we were so focused on the one we were trying to avoid. In his efforts to avoid treating his childhood friends as romantic foils in a romcom, Eiyu has inadvertently disregarded the simple fact that sometimes childhood friends do actually fall in love and start dating. He's gone from one extreme to another, and now the only question is, will he be able to reach a happy medium?
As mentioned before, Shio in particular goes to great lengths to reenact genre tropes in hopes of getting through to her crush. She climbs through his bedroom window, crawls into bed with him, and does her level best to make sure that he gets some good feels of her breasts. She makes sure he gets a good view of her butt as she makes her escape through the window afterwards. She somehow even makes it so that her skirt is basically glued to her legs until a stray breeze comes by--although on second thought, maybe that's an issue with the animation. Still, it would be funnier if somehow it were Shio doing it. Akari, on the other hand, is doing her tsundere best to get to Eiyu before Shio does, although she's much less physically forward.
Everything is designed to be a parody of the basic shonen romcom, and I should've found it funnier than I did. And yet, here we are. I think part of the problem is that nearly every line is delivered much louder than it needs to be--whether it's Eiyu doing his damnedest not to react to the girls sitting on his lap, Akari freaking out about seeing him and Shio together, or Shio faking a sprained ankle, everything is yelled at what feels like maximum volume or given a grating pseudo-sultry inflection. The latter does at least make some sense, since neither girl knows how to be sultry. We're talking about girls who think Eiyu's thighs are his weak spot while grinding on his lap. Yes, sweetie, clearly it's his legs that are the issue here.
There are some visual issues at play too. The entire show looks washed out, with the already pastel shades appearing to have been left out in the sun too long. Skirt lengths fluctuate between scenes, as does Shio's boob size, and a lot of the walking animation looks very stiff. I do, however, like the imagery in the ending theme, where the pale shades actually work to their advantage.
With two more girls yet to be introduced, this risks becoming far more annoying. Because it does have the thread of parody running through, things could improve going forward, but I'm not sure if I feel like watching more yet. I won't say it's a skip, but it's going in the low priority list.
Al's Anime Reviews - Kaya-chan Isn't Scary
General | Posted a month agoKaya-chan is a notorious problem child at her kindergarten, but none of the adults know her secret, until Chie-sensei is put in charge and learns of Kaya-chan's hidden ability to see evil spirits and vanquish them with a punch. It turns out Kaya-chan is one of the world's most powerful psychic prodigies.
Kaya-chan Isn't Scary highlights one of the core things children need while growing up: Someone in their corner. Kaya is a kindergartner, literally like 5 years old. Over her short life, she's learned two things. The first is that only she can see, hear and defeat the monsters looming around every corner. The second is that no one will ever believe her.
This has left her as a troubled child when viewed from the outside. She seemingly does mean things constantly, like blocking children from using the swings or taping books shut. Yet this never seems to be for selfish reasons or personal gain. She doesn't want to play on the swing or keep the books for herself. and she never seems to have any ill intent--she's not relishing in the misery she's causing others, she just gives blunt orders with no additional rationale or explanation.
New teacher Chie has been saddled with her, implying it's sort of a rite of passage. Or low-key workplace bullying. Chie's got the right attitude for the situation, and just enough psychic ability that she figures out what's really going on. Maybe she's simply more open-minded than the other teachers, but she's able to put the pieces together about accidents on the swings coming to an abrupt halt after Kaya refuses to let classmates on them, and she actually SEES the evil spirits Kaya-chan destroys. But more than anything, she believes Kaya, which seems to be a new experience for the little girl.
It's clear that she's used to people not understanding what she's doing. When her dad has an evil spirit enveloping his head, she doesn't tell him, she instead makes up an excuse to touch his hair to banish it. She doesn't tell Chie the books she tapes shut are haunted, she just says no one should read them, which is both a fair approximation of what a child her age would say and a sign that she's aware she sees what others can't. Kaya's not old enough to really disguise her actions or make excuses for what she does, but she clearly is acting out of a desire to keep others safe. Does this stem from whatever's going on with her mother? It seems likely--right now, her mom has either been possessed by something or become some horrible creature herself. Kaya's obviously afraid of her, even though she desperately loves her, which raises the question of whether or not she's always been this way or if it's a recent development. Either way, we see plenty of little clues that Kaya misses her mom and that her dad is trying his best, even if he is always the last parent to pick up his child.
Chie, while frustrated with Kaya initially, is at least able to understand that she's missing something vital. Kaya's actions don't fit with normal child logic or emotions. It's only after experiencing one of the supernatural events personally that Chie can connect the dots. And for the first time, Kaya has an ally, someone who doesn't write her off as a troublemaker and is willing to stand up for her and even take blame and punishments for her. Chie doesn't even need to hear Kaya's explanations to take action, she has trust that Kaya is acting in everyone's best interest.
Kaya has gone from a lone, tragic hero doing what's right and receiving only condemnation in return to a girl with at least one person who sees her for who she truly is, and that makes all the difference. And perhaps now, when she returns home to face the unstoppable monster possessing her own mother, she'll have the strength she needs to fight on for another day.
Some people may respond negatively to seeing a horror series that puts children in danger, but real children deal with scary, confusing things in their lives all the time. Kaya-chan Isn't Scary speaks authentically to behaviour as the language of needs and how adults can support children through these challenges. Do yourself a favour and give this one a watch.
Also there's one VERY effective jumpscare in this premiere. I'm not telling you when or what it is.
Kaya-chan Isn't Scary highlights one of the core things children need while growing up: Someone in their corner. Kaya is a kindergartner, literally like 5 years old. Over her short life, she's learned two things. The first is that only she can see, hear and defeat the monsters looming around every corner. The second is that no one will ever believe her.
This has left her as a troubled child when viewed from the outside. She seemingly does mean things constantly, like blocking children from using the swings or taping books shut. Yet this never seems to be for selfish reasons or personal gain. She doesn't want to play on the swing or keep the books for herself. and she never seems to have any ill intent--she's not relishing in the misery she's causing others, she just gives blunt orders with no additional rationale or explanation.
New teacher Chie has been saddled with her, implying it's sort of a rite of passage. Or low-key workplace bullying. Chie's got the right attitude for the situation, and just enough psychic ability that she figures out what's really going on. Maybe she's simply more open-minded than the other teachers, but she's able to put the pieces together about accidents on the swings coming to an abrupt halt after Kaya refuses to let classmates on them, and she actually SEES the evil spirits Kaya-chan destroys. But more than anything, she believes Kaya, which seems to be a new experience for the little girl.
It's clear that she's used to people not understanding what she's doing. When her dad has an evil spirit enveloping his head, she doesn't tell him, she instead makes up an excuse to touch his hair to banish it. She doesn't tell Chie the books she tapes shut are haunted, she just says no one should read them, which is both a fair approximation of what a child her age would say and a sign that she's aware she sees what others can't. Kaya's not old enough to really disguise her actions or make excuses for what she does, but she clearly is acting out of a desire to keep others safe. Does this stem from whatever's going on with her mother? It seems likely--right now, her mom has either been possessed by something or become some horrible creature herself. Kaya's obviously afraid of her, even though she desperately loves her, which raises the question of whether or not she's always been this way or if it's a recent development. Either way, we see plenty of little clues that Kaya misses her mom and that her dad is trying his best, even if he is always the last parent to pick up his child.
Chie, while frustrated with Kaya initially, is at least able to understand that she's missing something vital. Kaya's actions don't fit with normal child logic or emotions. It's only after experiencing one of the supernatural events personally that Chie can connect the dots. And for the first time, Kaya has an ally, someone who doesn't write her off as a troublemaker and is willing to stand up for her and even take blame and punishments for her. Chie doesn't even need to hear Kaya's explanations to take action, she has trust that Kaya is acting in everyone's best interest.
Kaya has gone from a lone, tragic hero doing what's right and receiving only condemnation in return to a girl with at least one person who sees her for who she truly is, and that makes all the difference. And perhaps now, when she returns home to face the unstoppable monster possessing her own mother, she'll have the strength she needs to fight on for another day.
Some people may respond negatively to seeing a horror series that puts children in danger, but real children deal with scary, confusing things in their lives all the time. Kaya-chan Isn't Scary speaks authentically to behaviour as the language of needs and how adults can support children through these challenges. Do yourself a favour and give this one a watch.
Also there's one VERY effective jumpscare in this premiere. I'm not telling you when or what it is.
Al's Anime Reviews - Wash It All Away
General | Posted a month agoFor two years, Wakana Kinme has run a laundry service in the seaside resort city of Atami. Kinme Cleaning is a well-loved business, and Atami residents admire Wakana's devotion to her trade. She builds a fulfilling life, making friends with the locals and visiting hot springs. Although Wakana doesn't remember her own past, her cleaning services safeguard memories imbued in customers' precious items.
Wash It All Away is one of those shows that gives me a much-appreciated look into the cultural differences between Japan and America that aren't so obvious. Beyond the stronger emphasis that Japanese culture tends to put on cleanliness and maintaining strong outward appearances, there's the simple fact that so many folks in Japan don't have easy access to machine dryers the way that most homes in the West do. I find Wash It All Away interesting simply for presenting a story where I can totally buy that our protagonist has built a sort of community hub out of her humble little laundry service.
I mean, yeah, there's the whole convenient amnesia thing that the show's presumably gonna deal with more directly down the line, but you'd only even really know about that by reading the summary I just shared or the back of the manga volumes that the anime is adapting. Besides, I can dig the thematic connection that the show is clearly establishing in this premiere, where the clothes that people wear inevitably end up telling stories about the lives they've lived and the journeys they've taken. There's a melancholy vibe underpinning all of Wakana's enthusiastic explanations of mesh-bag protocol and proper shoe cleaning technique that makes her into a compelling character.
The choice of Atami for the setting also contributes to the tone. Atami is a resort city on the Izu Peninsula directly neighbouring the equally tourist-attracting city of Ito. Just like Ito, it's known for its beautiful seaside and abundant hot springs, but it has a relatively small population. The hills, sandy beaches and alleyways create an idyllic beauty that sets the stage for the intimacy between Wakana and her clients and the quiet rhythms of her life, a life that's rather slow-paced and full of simple pleasures. It's not 100% realistic, but neither is a young woman singlehandedly running a laundry business with total joy and relaxation. It's just nice to imagine things working that way.
As a sidenote, Sayumi Suzushiro sure is busy this season--she's the voice of Wakana and also Miyu in You and I Are Polar Opposites!
This first episode is all about showing Wakana's daily routine. We see her exercise before work, interact with her various customers, and even invite her landlady in for tea. Through all these, we can see not only how she does her job, but how it's almost become a driving obsession for her. When seeing the local fireworks festival after closing up shop for the night, she decides to put in an extra bit of work while listening to them. When she notices a stain on a shirt or a scuffed shoe, she can't resist fixing the issue, even doing it without asking in the latter case.
Yet, while it's interesting to see all the technical ins-and-outs of how she does her job, there's more to the episode than just that, and it all comes down to a single line of dialogue. When a client offhandedly mentions that Wakana sure loves doing laundry, her response is "It's the one thing I didn't forget, after all."
Now that's one hell of a line to drop, and it's the first thing in the show proper to clue us in that she has amnesia. With that in mind, perhaps her first meeting with Ishimochi is anything but. Maybe they knew each other before her memory loss, even went to the same school. The same could be said for any of her various clients. Maybe they all know more about Wakana than she knows about herself. On a meta level, that line makes you put every scene before and after under a microscope, looking for secret meanings even as she performs mundane everyday work. It's a cool little way of keeping the viewer's attention.
Overall, it's an interesting little episode, and I'll be coming back to see if we get any more info about Wakana's situation. I don't know yet if her characterization and relationships will make for the kind of compelling storytelling that I need to hold my attention in the long term, but Wash It All Away is such a lovely-looking and pleasant show that I'm willing to give it a fair shot.
Wash It All Away is one of those shows that gives me a much-appreciated look into the cultural differences between Japan and America that aren't so obvious. Beyond the stronger emphasis that Japanese culture tends to put on cleanliness and maintaining strong outward appearances, there's the simple fact that so many folks in Japan don't have easy access to machine dryers the way that most homes in the West do. I find Wash It All Away interesting simply for presenting a story where I can totally buy that our protagonist has built a sort of community hub out of her humble little laundry service.
I mean, yeah, there's the whole convenient amnesia thing that the show's presumably gonna deal with more directly down the line, but you'd only even really know about that by reading the summary I just shared or the back of the manga volumes that the anime is adapting. Besides, I can dig the thematic connection that the show is clearly establishing in this premiere, where the clothes that people wear inevitably end up telling stories about the lives they've lived and the journeys they've taken. There's a melancholy vibe underpinning all of Wakana's enthusiastic explanations of mesh-bag protocol and proper shoe cleaning technique that makes her into a compelling character.
The choice of Atami for the setting also contributes to the tone. Atami is a resort city on the Izu Peninsula directly neighbouring the equally tourist-attracting city of Ito. Just like Ito, it's known for its beautiful seaside and abundant hot springs, but it has a relatively small population. The hills, sandy beaches and alleyways create an idyllic beauty that sets the stage for the intimacy between Wakana and her clients and the quiet rhythms of her life, a life that's rather slow-paced and full of simple pleasures. It's not 100% realistic, but neither is a young woman singlehandedly running a laundry business with total joy and relaxation. It's just nice to imagine things working that way.
As a sidenote, Sayumi Suzushiro sure is busy this season--she's the voice of Wakana and also Miyu in You and I Are Polar Opposites!
This first episode is all about showing Wakana's daily routine. We see her exercise before work, interact with her various customers, and even invite her landlady in for tea. Through all these, we can see not only how she does her job, but how it's almost become a driving obsession for her. When seeing the local fireworks festival after closing up shop for the night, she decides to put in an extra bit of work while listening to them. When she notices a stain on a shirt or a scuffed shoe, she can't resist fixing the issue, even doing it without asking in the latter case.
Yet, while it's interesting to see all the technical ins-and-outs of how she does her job, there's more to the episode than just that, and it all comes down to a single line of dialogue. When a client offhandedly mentions that Wakana sure loves doing laundry, her response is "It's the one thing I didn't forget, after all."
Now that's one hell of a line to drop, and it's the first thing in the show proper to clue us in that she has amnesia. With that in mind, perhaps her first meeting with Ishimochi is anything but. Maybe they knew each other before her memory loss, even went to the same school. The same could be said for any of her various clients. Maybe they all know more about Wakana than she knows about herself. On a meta level, that line makes you put every scene before and after under a microscope, looking for secret meanings even as she performs mundane everyday work. It's a cool little way of keeping the viewer's attention.
Overall, it's an interesting little episode, and I'll be coming back to see if we get any more info about Wakana's situation. I don't know yet if her characterization and relationships will make for the kind of compelling storytelling that I need to hold my attention in the long term, but Wash It All Away is such a lovely-looking and pleasant show that I'm willing to give it a fair shot.
Al's Anime Reviews - An Adventurer's Daily Grind at Age 29
General | Posted a month agoHajime Shinonome is an adventurer and experienced dungeon delver. When he saves a little girl named Lilui from being devoured by a slime monster, he finds out that the girl has been abandoned by her parents and has nowhere else to go. Unable to abandon the girl himself, he decides to take her in, and soon finds out that she's no normal girl.
Yeah, I'mma rip the bandaid off here, the big twist is that the kid is a succubus and every night she age-progresses into a busty adult-looking form. This is obviously gonna divide the show's audience into two very distinct camps: The kind that can't get over the assumed plan to pair our 29-year-old hero with an especially incompetent loli, and the audience willing to look past that because Lilui's technically not even human. And you should know me well enough by now to know that I'm not being judgemental when I say this--if the subject matter truly doesn't bother you, then by all means, go for it. I'm just saying, when a show makes a choice like this, the intent is obviously to at least play up the salacious aspects as much as possible for the sake of... I dunno, comedy? Sex appeal? The desired effect isn't even clear by the time this premiere's over.
I've seen enough anime by now that An Adventurer's Daily Grind at Age 29 could go a couple of different ways. This first episode focuses almost entirely on the wacky parent-child antics that Hajime and Lilui get into, which are admittedly pretty cute. When we do learn initially learn the truth about Lilui, the show still mostly plays the situation for laughs, and Hajime's jokes about it don't actually make it seem like he himself is taking it seriously. So the remainder of the show could still be focused on the sitcom angle for the most part. Then again, I don't really know why the show would make Lilui a succubus if it didn't have sexual intentions.
While that's not a great plot development for a variety of reasons, the issue is less that it happens than HOW it happens, and how it's handled. 99% of the episode is actually devoted to Hajime finding, saving and committing to raising Lilui. He's not sure this is the best plan and doesn't really want to raise a child, but if he doesn't do it, she'll be on her own--her parents have abandoned her, and since she's not from the village where he finds her, the local orphanage won't take her in. She's catastrophically bad at taking care of herself to boot, so Hajime is aware that leaving her on her own will likely spell her death. I'd hesitate to say he's doing it out of the goodness of his heart, but that may be the closest explanation.
That's all well and good, but the narrative falters with Lilui in ways unrelated to her suddenly becoming a busty woman and trying to get Hajime to have sex with her at night. She is, in a word, obnoxious. Someone writing this story appears never to have interacted with a child and instead portrays her as the worst combination of cutesy and gutsy I've seen in a long time. Every word out of her mouth is borderline screeched, her verbal tic is grating, and her attempts to look competent just make her seem mentally handicapped. Hajime spends much of the episode frustrated with her, and that's probably the most relatable part of the whole thing.
To make matters even worse, she's not treated with a modicum of respect. In the course of 23 minutes, she has her worth reduced to her adult form's boob size and wets herself in loli form. Hajime is a twit who thinks it's funny to describe her transformation solely by her boobs growing and decides that the best thing to do the first night he's in charge of a child is to get wasted. It's all meant to be funny, but it falls far short of the mark. Add to this some lackluster visuals and zero explanation for why Hajime is the only character with a Japanese name, and you have what is easily the least impressive premiere thus far. Even for the biggest loli enthusiasts, there are better options this season.
Yeah, I'mma rip the bandaid off here, the big twist is that the kid is a succubus and every night she age-progresses into a busty adult-looking form. This is obviously gonna divide the show's audience into two very distinct camps: The kind that can't get over the assumed plan to pair our 29-year-old hero with an especially incompetent loli, and the audience willing to look past that because Lilui's technically not even human. And you should know me well enough by now to know that I'm not being judgemental when I say this--if the subject matter truly doesn't bother you, then by all means, go for it. I'm just saying, when a show makes a choice like this, the intent is obviously to at least play up the salacious aspects as much as possible for the sake of... I dunno, comedy? Sex appeal? The desired effect isn't even clear by the time this premiere's over.
I've seen enough anime by now that An Adventurer's Daily Grind at Age 29 could go a couple of different ways. This first episode focuses almost entirely on the wacky parent-child antics that Hajime and Lilui get into, which are admittedly pretty cute. When we do learn initially learn the truth about Lilui, the show still mostly plays the situation for laughs, and Hajime's jokes about it don't actually make it seem like he himself is taking it seriously. So the remainder of the show could still be focused on the sitcom angle for the most part. Then again, I don't really know why the show would make Lilui a succubus if it didn't have sexual intentions.
While that's not a great plot development for a variety of reasons, the issue is less that it happens than HOW it happens, and how it's handled. 99% of the episode is actually devoted to Hajime finding, saving and committing to raising Lilui. He's not sure this is the best plan and doesn't really want to raise a child, but if he doesn't do it, she'll be on her own--her parents have abandoned her, and since she's not from the village where he finds her, the local orphanage won't take her in. She's catastrophically bad at taking care of herself to boot, so Hajime is aware that leaving her on her own will likely spell her death. I'd hesitate to say he's doing it out of the goodness of his heart, but that may be the closest explanation.
That's all well and good, but the narrative falters with Lilui in ways unrelated to her suddenly becoming a busty woman and trying to get Hajime to have sex with her at night. She is, in a word, obnoxious. Someone writing this story appears never to have interacted with a child and instead portrays her as the worst combination of cutesy and gutsy I've seen in a long time. Every word out of her mouth is borderline screeched, her verbal tic is grating, and her attempts to look competent just make her seem mentally handicapped. Hajime spends much of the episode frustrated with her, and that's probably the most relatable part of the whole thing.
To make matters even worse, she's not treated with a modicum of respect. In the course of 23 minutes, she has her worth reduced to her adult form's boob size and wets herself in loli form. Hajime is a twit who thinks it's funny to describe her transformation solely by her boobs growing and decides that the best thing to do the first night he's in charge of a child is to get wasted. It's all meant to be funny, but it falls far short of the mark. Add to this some lackluster visuals and zero explanation for why Hajime is the only character with a Japanese name, and you have what is easily the least impressive premiere thus far. Even for the biggest loli enthusiasts, there are better options this season.
Al's Anime Reviews - Noble Reincarnation
General | Posted a month agoNoah, the world's strongest six-year-old, holds the fortunate position of being the Thirteenth Prince of the emperor. Born with an infinite level cap and a cheat skill that allows him to add the abilities of those he commands to his own, he is unmatched. Reincarnated into a noble family, Noah thrives in an environment enriched with exceptional education and abundant resources, allowing his talents to blossom. However, behind the glamorous facade of aristocratic society lurks a world of conspiracies and power struggles.
I swore to myself that I'd save my lowest rating this season for an entertaining trainwreck, but I can't wait any longer. Noble Reincarnation: Born Blessed, So I'll Obtain Ultimate Power is such utter crapola, so much worse than Jack of All Trades, Party of None, that I feel obligated to give it the lowest rating possible. After all, this one has a goddamn stats screen SECONDS INTO THE EPISODE!
No, seriously, I counted--it takes exactly 23 seconds for Noble Reincarnation to present its freshly reborn protagonist with a fucking RPG stats menu, which may well be a new record for one of these things. No, I will not be combing through the fanta-slop archive that is about 1/4 of my nearly 1,000 fucking anime reviews at this point to double-check my awarding of this dubious honour. I just finished the episode a couple minutes before I began writing this, and to look away from this notepad document for even a second could risk the entirety of Noble Reincarnation vanishing from my memory.
Our pointless main character's name is Noah Ararat. In another time, like maybe closer to when I first started encountering this kind of stuff en masse circa 2013 or so, I might've assumed that this ludicrously heavy-handed name was foreshadowing some kind of Biblical allusion or narrative device that would play some role in the show's larger story and themes. But it's now 2026, and we're dealing with a show whose title is literally composed of nothing but a combination of verbs and nouns pulled straight from the "Most Overused Light Novel Bullshit" word cloud. There is no story here. There are no themes. Here, in the isekai void from which no light or hope can ever escape, there can only exist a nonsensical escalation of random RPG skills and interminable cycles of inane, useless yammering flowing from the mouths of soulless sycophants.
So it should hardly surprise you to learn that the entirety of Noah's being, every iota of personality and humanity that the creators of this shitshow could muster, has already been conveniently summed up for you by the title. Noah was indeed Reincarnated as a Noble, he was Born Blessed with S-rank skills and an infinity symbol where his level number is supposed to be, and he does in fact wish to Obtain Ultimate Power. The only other detail I could possibly think to include is that Noah has heterochromia, which is how you know he's super special.
I have some questions here about the fucking stat screen, actually. Was Noah supposed to have been just born in that scene? If so, why is his mother upright, slender and fully dressed with her hair and makeup done? Does vaginal birth exist in this world, or can they just be magicked out? Hell, do babies just appear fully formed like in The Sims? Or maybe I'm overthinking this and it's been a few days. But in that case, why is he just meeting his father now? Not to mention how Noah is fully cognizant of the stat screen, which implies an adult level of processing, but other than that, there's no mention of him being reincarnated.
I'm fixating here because there's just nothing else to say about this show. It's at least as generic as the aforementioned Jack of All Trades, repeating RPG conventions without anything original. Hell, I feel like I've already written these exact sentences at least two dozen times because I am that out of things to say. I suppose Noble Reincarnation is a bit unusual in how seriously it takes itself--the entire premiere is utterly humorless as 6-year-old Noah marches about his poorly lit castle with the dour gravity of a grown-ass man. He has an army of maids, because the more subordinates he has, the more powerful he is, and they're all identical from the neck down. My only chuckle was at how ridiculous the cursed sword Leviathan looked.
Originality isn't necessarily a must when crafting a story, but it really does help, and this first episode lacks it in almost every aspect. Noah opens his eyes as an infant and is immediately greeted by a status screen. "Are these my stats?", he wonders. Soon he's having his Lion King moment as his father presents him to his people as the 13th prince of the empire, and wouldn't you know it, he has insane magical powers. By the time he's living in his manor with his army of uniformly busty maids, it feels like it's time to admit that this is just the latest in a series of similarly derivative power fantasies.
It does have a soundtrack that feels like it wants to sell the show as being darker and edgier than it is. The soaring orchestral chords and intense music when Noah spends all of two minutes mastering his hell blade are really trying their absolute best to make up for the deficiencies in storytelling, and the ending song is kinda pretty. It doesn't work to offset the blandness, but I appreciate the effort. I also appreciate that the story at least doesn't spend the first episode going into exhaustive detail about Noah's past life. His drive to help the peasants speaks to his past while also helping him stand out from his inexplicably shark-toothed brother Albert. So I guess I can't say in all fairness that this episode isn't trying a little. But it's also nothing that hasn't been done before. The dialogue's audio quality was weirdly blown out too. It's most noticeable when Noah confronts the episode's one-off cartoonishly evil noble villain, but it persists throughout the episode.
There's a moment in the final minutes of the episode where Noah goes out to see how the empire has been treating a band of downtrodden refugees, and he calls out the gruel they're being served as "bland", "almost like water" and "already rotten". I couldn't help but laugh out loud, not because the moment was meant to be a joke, but at the total lack of self-awareness on display. Like two mirrors reflecting back onto each other, we've reached an infinite recursive loop of flavourless mush. Do yourselves a favour and stay far away from this.
I swore to myself that I'd save my lowest rating this season for an entertaining trainwreck, but I can't wait any longer. Noble Reincarnation: Born Blessed, So I'll Obtain Ultimate Power is such utter crapola, so much worse than Jack of All Trades, Party of None, that I feel obligated to give it the lowest rating possible. After all, this one has a goddamn stats screen SECONDS INTO THE EPISODE!
No, seriously, I counted--it takes exactly 23 seconds for Noble Reincarnation to present its freshly reborn protagonist with a fucking RPG stats menu, which may well be a new record for one of these things. No, I will not be combing through the fanta-slop archive that is about 1/4 of my nearly 1,000 fucking anime reviews at this point to double-check my awarding of this dubious honour. I just finished the episode a couple minutes before I began writing this, and to look away from this notepad document for even a second could risk the entirety of Noble Reincarnation vanishing from my memory.
Our pointless main character's name is Noah Ararat. In another time, like maybe closer to when I first started encountering this kind of stuff en masse circa 2013 or so, I might've assumed that this ludicrously heavy-handed name was foreshadowing some kind of Biblical allusion or narrative device that would play some role in the show's larger story and themes. But it's now 2026, and we're dealing with a show whose title is literally composed of nothing but a combination of verbs and nouns pulled straight from the "Most Overused Light Novel Bullshit" word cloud. There is no story here. There are no themes. Here, in the isekai void from which no light or hope can ever escape, there can only exist a nonsensical escalation of random RPG skills and interminable cycles of inane, useless yammering flowing from the mouths of soulless sycophants.
So it should hardly surprise you to learn that the entirety of Noah's being, every iota of personality and humanity that the creators of this shitshow could muster, has already been conveniently summed up for you by the title. Noah was indeed Reincarnated as a Noble, he was Born Blessed with S-rank skills and an infinity symbol where his level number is supposed to be, and he does in fact wish to Obtain Ultimate Power. The only other detail I could possibly think to include is that Noah has heterochromia, which is how you know he's super special.
I have some questions here about the fucking stat screen, actually. Was Noah supposed to have been just born in that scene? If so, why is his mother upright, slender and fully dressed with her hair and makeup done? Does vaginal birth exist in this world, or can they just be magicked out? Hell, do babies just appear fully formed like in The Sims? Or maybe I'm overthinking this and it's been a few days. But in that case, why is he just meeting his father now? Not to mention how Noah is fully cognizant of the stat screen, which implies an adult level of processing, but other than that, there's no mention of him being reincarnated.
I'm fixating here because there's just nothing else to say about this show. It's at least as generic as the aforementioned Jack of All Trades, repeating RPG conventions without anything original. Hell, I feel like I've already written these exact sentences at least two dozen times because I am that out of things to say. I suppose Noble Reincarnation is a bit unusual in how seriously it takes itself--the entire premiere is utterly humorless as 6-year-old Noah marches about his poorly lit castle with the dour gravity of a grown-ass man. He has an army of maids, because the more subordinates he has, the more powerful he is, and they're all identical from the neck down. My only chuckle was at how ridiculous the cursed sword Leviathan looked.
Originality isn't necessarily a must when crafting a story, but it really does help, and this first episode lacks it in almost every aspect. Noah opens his eyes as an infant and is immediately greeted by a status screen. "Are these my stats?", he wonders. Soon he's having his Lion King moment as his father presents him to his people as the 13th prince of the empire, and wouldn't you know it, he has insane magical powers. By the time he's living in his manor with his army of uniformly busty maids, it feels like it's time to admit that this is just the latest in a series of similarly derivative power fantasies.
It does have a soundtrack that feels like it wants to sell the show as being darker and edgier than it is. The soaring orchestral chords and intense music when Noah spends all of two minutes mastering his hell blade are really trying their absolute best to make up for the deficiencies in storytelling, and the ending song is kinda pretty. It doesn't work to offset the blandness, but I appreciate the effort. I also appreciate that the story at least doesn't spend the first episode going into exhaustive detail about Noah's past life. His drive to help the peasants speaks to his past while also helping him stand out from his inexplicably shark-toothed brother Albert. So I guess I can't say in all fairness that this episode isn't trying a little. But it's also nothing that hasn't been done before. The dialogue's audio quality was weirdly blown out too. It's most noticeable when Noah confronts the episode's one-off cartoonishly evil noble villain, but it persists throughout the episode.
There's a moment in the final minutes of the episode where Noah goes out to see how the empire has been treating a band of downtrodden refugees, and he calls out the gruel they're being served as "bland", "almost like water" and "already rotten". I couldn't help but laugh out loud, not because the moment was meant to be a joke, but at the total lack of self-awareness on display. Like two mirrors reflecting back onto each other, we've reached an infinite recursive loop of flavourless mush. Do yourselves a favour and stay far away from this.
Al's Anime Reviews - The Demon King's Daughter is Too Kind!
General | Posted a month agoDoux is the gentle-hearted daughter of the once-merciless demon lord Ahriman, who traded in his life of conquest to be a father. Although Ahriman and his close aide Jahi attempt to teach Doux to be a proper evildoing demon, Doux ends up melting the hearts of demonfolk, monsters and humans alike.
Ahriman really has no one to blame but himself--he named his daughter the French word for "soft and sweet", and that's precisely what she is. She's also adorable and humorous, which is probably this show's greatest strength. It's not a given that a series with a child protagonist will pull it off, but this one's first two episodes sure did.
If there's any credit you can give to anime's trend of sporting painfully literal and descriptive titles, it's that you're rarely at risk for false advertising anymore. What you see is exactly what you get. In The Demon King's Daughter Is Too Kind!, Doux, the titular daughter of the titular demon king, is indeed too kind. At least, too kind for the heir to an evil empire. Of course, all the other baddies and beasties are much cuter and softer than they have any right to be too, but that's the nature of these kinds of feel-good anime sitcoms. And the minute the episode bursts into a shamelessly cutesy song about playing hide-and-seek with Ahriman's fiercest general, it forces you to really strap in for the 45-minute ride.
Yes, this is another show that for some reason insisted on dropping two entire episodes at once for its premiere. It's the anime critic equivalent of being forced to politely eat all of the bland steamed vegetables that Grandma prepared for the family dinner before you can get to the good stuff on the plate.
It all begins when Ahriman calls his trusted subordinate Jahi in to task her with toughening up Doux. Worry over Doux's gentle sweetness has caused Ahriman to put his world domination plans on hold. That right there immediately indicates that Ahriman may not be the heartless bastard he likes to think he is: He's worried about his child and wants to focus on her. Jahi thinks he might be spoiling the girl, and that too is a pretty good sign that demons aren't as inherently evil as they seem. While I'd hesitate to call this a plot thread that winds through both halves of the premiere, it's certainly something that comes up again when Doux is given a wand that reduces anyone who touches her with malice in their hearts to dust. Jahi is terrified to touch her, which right there tells viewers that this is not a fear she needs to harbour. Demons, despite Jahi's thoughts, are not made up of only bad feelings.
In a different series, I'd say that this is about nature vs nurture. Doux is so loving and kind because she's only known people to be loving and kind. Her father might now be trying to change that, but he can't undo several years of learning that easily. She cheerfully heals people, listens to them when they're sad and tries to make everyone happy. She's earnest and loving, and that appears to be her nature. Being a demon hasn't made her vicious because her father has raised her with love. And maybe that's the point. Two of the humans Doux interacts with have suffered horrible losses--Granny's husband died of old age, and then her son and his family died in a landslide. Demons murdered Assim's family, and he was then enslaved. That's dark stuff for a story that also features a little girl playing hide-and-seek with forest animals and singing a cute song every episode.
Doux helps Granny and Assim, makes her father's slaves' lives a little better (and when she figures out they're enslaved, I'm sure she'll do something about that too), and is just generally wonderful. It can get just a little grating, sure, and I fear I might have to schedule my next blood test with how sugary it all is, but in today's shitsack world, I'll gladly take sugary joy for half an hour each week.
When it comes to areas where the show genuinely falls short, my main issues are the bland, cheap-looking visuals. You could make a point that the flat and generic character designs are part of the joke, I guess, but I think that'd be giving The Demon King's Daughter too much credit. This is simply not a show that's reaching for the stars when it comes to production values because, let's be honest, the target demographic isn't here to be blown away by cinematic storyboarding and lovingly rendered character animation.
No, folks are here to marvel at the adorable antics of a little monster loli with tiny horns in her hair and enough rambunctious energy to keep even the most bloodthirsty legends of the battlefield busy from dawn to dusk. In that respect, I'd say The Demon King's Daughter succeeds just fine. The show picks up especially in the second half of the premiere, where we see more of the human/demon conflicts that Doux will no doubt continue to shape in a more positive direction, much to poor Jahi's chagrin.
If you're really in the mood for a cartoon about a cute and funny little girl with monster pets who gives her caretakers a hard time on account of how deviously adorable she is, then you'll be right at home. If that isn't what you want out of your anime, well, you were warned. By the title. So, like... Stop acting surprised and watch something else. Ya dummies.
Ahriman really has no one to blame but himself--he named his daughter the French word for "soft and sweet", and that's precisely what she is. She's also adorable and humorous, which is probably this show's greatest strength. It's not a given that a series with a child protagonist will pull it off, but this one's first two episodes sure did.
If there's any credit you can give to anime's trend of sporting painfully literal and descriptive titles, it's that you're rarely at risk for false advertising anymore. What you see is exactly what you get. In The Demon King's Daughter Is Too Kind!, Doux, the titular daughter of the titular demon king, is indeed too kind. At least, too kind for the heir to an evil empire. Of course, all the other baddies and beasties are much cuter and softer than they have any right to be too, but that's the nature of these kinds of feel-good anime sitcoms. And the minute the episode bursts into a shamelessly cutesy song about playing hide-and-seek with Ahriman's fiercest general, it forces you to really strap in for the 45-minute ride.
Yes, this is another show that for some reason insisted on dropping two entire episodes at once for its premiere. It's the anime critic equivalent of being forced to politely eat all of the bland steamed vegetables that Grandma prepared for the family dinner before you can get to the good stuff on the plate.
It all begins when Ahriman calls his trusted subordinate Jahi in to task her with toughening up Doux. Worry over Doux's gentle sweetness has caused Ahriman to put his world domination plans on hold. That right there immediately indicates that Ahriman may not be the heartless bastard he likes to think he is: He's worried about his child and wants to focus on her. Jahi thinks he might be spoiling the girl, and that too is a pretty good sign that demons aren't as inherently evil as they seem. While I'd hesitate to call this a plot thread that winds through both halves of the premiere, it's certainly something that comes up again when Doux is given a wand that reduces anyone who touches her with malice in their hearts to dust. Jahi is terrified to touch her, which right there tells viewers that this is not a fear she needs to harbour. Demons, despite Jahi's thoughts, are not made up of only bad feelings.
In a different series, I'd say that this is about nature vs nurture. Doux is so loving and kind because she's only known people to be loving and kind. Her father might now be trying to change that, but he can't undo several years of learning that easily. She cheerfully heals people, listens to them when they're sad and tries to make everyone happy. She's earnest and loving, and that appears to be her nature. Being a demon hasn't made her vicious because her father has raised her with love. And maybe that's the point. Two of the humans Doux interacts with have suffered horrible losses--Granny's husband died of old age, and then her son and his family died in a landslide. Demons murdered Assim's family, and he was then enslaved. That's dark stuff for a story that also features a little girl playing hide-and-seek with forest animals and singing a cute song every episode.
Doux helps Granny and Assim, makes her father's slaves' lives a little better (and when she figures out they're enslaved, I'm sure she'll do something about that too), and is just generally wonderful. It can get just a little grating, sure, and I fear I might have to schedule my next blood test with how sugary it all is, but in today's shitsack world, I'll gladly take sugary joy for half an hour each week.
When it comes to areas where the show genuinely falls short, my main issues are the bland, cheap-looking visuals. You could make a point that the flat and generic character designs are part of the joke, I guess, but I think that'd be giving The Demon King's Daughter too much credit. This is simply not a show that's reaching for the stars when it comes to production values because, let's be honest, the target demographic isn't here to be blown away by cinematic storyboarding and lovingly rendered character animation.
No, folks are here to marvel at the adorable antics of a little monster loli with tiny horns in her hair and enough rambunctious energy to keep even the most bloodthirsty legends of the battlefield busy from dawn to dusk. In that respect, I'd say The Demon King's Daughter succeeds just fine. The show picks up especially in the second half of the premiere, where we see more of the human/demon conflicts that Doux will no doubt continue to shape in a more positive direction, much to poor Jahi's chagrin.
If you're really in the mood for a cartoon about a cute and funny little girl with monster pets who gives her caretakers a hard time on account of how deviously adorable she is, then you'll be right at home. If that isn't what you want out of your anime, well, you were warned. By the title. So, like... Stop acting surprised and watch something else. Ya dummies.
Al's Anime Reviews - The Darwin Incident
General | Posted a month agoAn attack by an eco-terrorist organization on a shady animal experimentation lab unveils the birth of a half-human baby chimp, or "humanzee", who ends up named Charlie. After growing up with foster parents, a bit of a celebrity status and homeschooling, Charlie enrolls in a highschool and encounters many strange looks, a few bullies and a friend. Meanwhile, the eco-terrorist organization is getting more extreme and wants to get Charlie involved with them. Their involvement makes people even more suspicious of Charlie's differences in appearance, ability and worldview.
Thematically, I get what this anime is about. It's using its story to ask questions about human nature. What is it like to be human? What is it like to not be? Can we truly ever understand one another? We explore the idea of "normal" and society's obsession with not standing out, even when, in Charlie's case, it's literally impossible. From there, it delves into moral quandaries about the value of life, especially non-human life. Is all life truly equal, or is human life somehow special? The question even goes beyond the topic of eating meat--is it alright to kill an animal in self-defense? What about a person? And then, beyond all of this, we get Charlie himself. Unquestionably inhuman, he nonetheless shows an inherent bias towards kindness that's very much unlike the average chimp.
My issue with the show is not what deeper truths it's trying to explore, but rather how it does so. I'm still kinda hung up on the hows and whys when it comes to Charlie's creation in the first place. I mean, what was the intended point? Like, when they were writing up their mad science proposals, how did they sell it? How did they get funding? Why do it in America and not somewhere with less strict genetic engineering laws?
Then we have the eco-terrorists. I find it hard to fault anyone who would free tons of cats, dogs and bunnies from a testing facility where someone has been so unscrupulous as to gene-edit a chimp fetus to create a human-chimp hybrid. I have to think that has something to do with why the poor chimp mother is miscarrying when they find her. I don't love that guns were involved, but this is a story with A Point to Make, and that point is almost certainly going to revolve around violence and whether it's ever justified. Of course, that violence is entirely against humans whose lives were deemed by literal domestic terrorists to be of less worth than those of animals, and by the end of the episode, said terrorists are bombing a cafe full of civilians as part of an ongoing effort to try and scare and threaten everyone into being vegans. Which, protip, has never worked and never will.
I feel much the same way about the "bully" students at Charlie's school. While I enjoyed that they seemed multi-layered (with the popular girls cheering Lucy on during the cat rescue and even the big lead bully Ozzy having a backstory that gives him a reason to act out and not feel any kindness for vegans), the whole situation between them and Charlie felt contrived, like the thematic discussion was formed first and then the characters were forced to do things to make that conversation happen regardless of whether it felt real or made sense.
In the context of the show, I'm more concerned about how on the nose this story is shaping up to be. After all, this is a series where the female lead is named Lucy, which I have to think is a shout-out to the famous Australopithecus whose fossilized remains helped inform our knowledge of human evolution. And this Lucy is positioned to be the “link” between Charlie and the rest of the world, or at least the highschool. It's not particularly subtle. But nothing about this episode is, from Ozzy's loudmouthed attempts to outsmart Charlie to Charlie's own fascination with carnivores, shown twice onscreen when he watches a snake eat a bird and later saves a butterfly from a spider's web. I get that this has A Point to Make, but it perhaps could trust its audience a bit more when it comes to grasping the message. Although Charlie himself is still very much a cipher, this episode may be showing how obvious the world around him is, while he, as a being removed from both the human and animal worlds, doesn't fit into any of the very clear molds we see in the plot.
In the end, I'm left on the fence about this one. I may give it another episode, but as sad as this is to say about an anime based on a manga that's won international awards, I'm not totally sure if this one's gonna stick for me.
Thematically, I get what this anime is about. It's using its story to ask questions about human nature. What is it like to be human? What is it like to not be? Can we truly ever understand one another? We explore the idea of "normal" and society's obsession with not standing out, even when, in Charlie's case, it's literally impossible. From there, it delves into moral quandaries about the value of life, especially non-human life. Is all life truly equal, or is human life somehow special? The question even goes beyond the topic of eating meat--is it alright to kill an animal in self-defense? What about a person? And then, beyond all of this, we get Charlie himself. Unquestionably inhuman, he nonetheless shows an inherent bias towards kindness that's very much unlike the average chimp.
My issue with the show is not what deeper truths it's trying to explore, but rather how it does so. I'm still kinda hung up on the hows and whys when it comes to Charlie's creation in the first place. I mean, what was the intended point? Like, when they were writing up their mad science proposals, how did they sell it? How did they get funding? Why do it in America and not somewhere with less strict genetic engineering laws?
Then we have the eco-terrorists. I find it hard to fault anyone who would free tons of cats, dogs and bunnies from a testing facility where someone has been so unscrupulous as to gene-edit a chimp fetus to create a human-chimp hybrid. I have to think that has something to do with why the poor chimp mother is miscarrying when they find her. I don't love that guns were involved, but this is a story with A Point to Make, and that point is almost certainly going to revolve around violence and whether it's ever justified. Of course, that violence is entirely against humans whose lives were deemed by literal domestic terrorists to be of less worth than those of animals, and by the end of the episode, said terrorists are bombing a cafe full of civilians as part of an ongoing effort to try and scare and threaten everyone into being vegans. Which, protip, has never worked and never will.
I feel much the same way about the "bully" students at Charlie's school. While I enjoyed that they seemed multi-layered (with the popular girls cheering Lucy on during the cat rescue and even the big lead bully Ozzy having a backstory that gives him a reason to act out and not feel any kindness for vegans), the whole situation between them and Charlie felt contrived, like the thematic discussion was formed first and then the characters were forced to do things to make that conversation happen regardless of whether it felt real or made sense.
In the context of the show, I'm more concerned about how on the nose this story is shaping up to be. After all, this is a series where the female lead is named Lucy, which I have to think is a shout-out to the famous Australopithecus whose fossilized remains helped inform our knowledge of human evolution. And this Lucy is positioned to be the “link” between Charlie and the rest of the world, or at least the highschool. It's not particularly subtle. But nothing about this episode is, from Ozzy's loudmouthed attempts to outsmart Charlie to Charlie's own fascination with carnivores, shown twice onscreen when he watches a snake eat a bird and later saves a butterfly from a spider's web. I get that this has A Point to Make, but it perhaps could trust its audience a bit more when it comes to grasping the message. Although Charlie himself is still very much a cipher, this episode may be showing how obvious the world around him is, while he, as a being removed from both the human and animal worlds, doesn't fit into any of the very clear molds we see in the plot.
In the end, I'm left on the fence about this one. I may give it another episode, but as sad as this is to say about an anime based on a manga that's won international awards, I'm not totally sure if this one's gonna stick for me.
Al's Anime Reviews - You and I Are Polar Opposites
General | Posted 2 months agoMiyu Suzuki has a desperate crush on Yusuke Tani, a boy in her class, but she has no idea how to approach him. The two are on opposite ends of the class social hierarchy: she's loud and bubbly with lots of friends, and he keeps to himself, barely responding when she talks to him. But when she finally gets over her fears and admits her crush, it turns out that things aren't so hopeless after all.
I had a good feeling about You and I Are Polar Opposites within the first minute or two of its premiere. As the rest of the show's many supporting characters make their usual morning trips to school, our protagonist Miyu Suzuki dutifully styles her hair, applies her makeup and awkwardly practices greeting her crush and smiling "naturally" in the mirror. While all of this is going on, a poppy soundtrack of lively synthesizer beats and chiptunes fills the air with not a single goddamn recorder to be heard in the mix. More importantly, this introduction conveys the show's irrepressible charm perfectly. There's a reason certain romcoms get a free pass from me where others wouldn't: They turn the premise's cliche into a catch-all title. Miyu likes Yusuke, Yusuke likes Miyu, but--get this--they're polar opposites! Will this bubbly ball of pink-hued energy and this stoic wallflower be able to overcome their differences and be together? Of course they will. That's the whole freakin' point of the show.
Most stories end when the main couple admits their feelings for each other and gets together. You and I Are Polar Opposites is not one of them--by the end of this premiere, we're where most romance anime end. That's part of the appeal of this series right from the get-go: It doesn't stop at the pivotal moment, it starts there. And frankly, it's a good thing it does, because while I love Miyu to pieces, she's no Sae Iwata--the poor girl would self-destruct if she had to spend twelve episodes thinking her crush was unrequited.
The episode feels like a distillation of a shonen romcom: Miyu is bright and bubbly, Yusuke is quiet and withdrawn. They both like each other and aren't sure how to say it. There's an absolutely wonderful scene where they're walking together, sounding it out, and he takes her hand. The next day, the inevitable miscommunication happens. All the hits are there, just without the filler that usually surrounds them. And while I enjoy a good well-written romance as much as the average reader/viewer, it's also really nice to get those filler elements out of the way sometimes. Now the story can focus on the main couple without having to also focus on the will-they/won't-they bit.
At its most basic level, this is the story of a girl with social anxiety. Miyu is someone who excels at reading the room, to the point of self-detriment. Because she knows what people want to hear, she's afraid of saying anything else. Everything she says and does is to appeal to those around her. Her own honest thoughts and feelings are pushed deep down, even if they sometimes bubble back up. Meanwhile, Yusuke is the exact opposite. He's a straight shooter. He's not rude or mean, just exceedingly blunt in how he thinks and feels. To Miyu, who never acts on her true feelings, he's someone she dreams of being like but feels she never could, which develops into a major crush over time.
In this episode, she lucks out and gets into a situation where she can take off her mask, and things go well...only for the mask to get in the way the next day. However, the emotional turmoil from this causes her to put her own feelings above others' expectations for once. When she throws that mask away and tells her friends the truth about her crush on Yusuke, the big reveal is that they all support her. They aren't going to turn on her for liking a guy that they wouldn't have imagined her with. And so Miyu discovers that she's been living in a fear-induced world of her own making that exists only in her head. And now she's entering a new world, one where she's not only dating her crush, but able to be more honest with those she cares about. On a purely literary level, I also appreciated Miyu spelling out what she likes about Yusuke, rather than leaving us to wonder what the hell she sees in him. As it turns out, she likes the qualities in him that she wishes she had herself: As a chronic people-pleaser, she admires his straightforwardness and disinterest in currying favour with others.
In the end, it all comes down to execution. Appealing art, stylish animation, clever writing, palpable romantic chemistry between the leads, these are the ingredients that are necessary for an actually good romcom anime, because they're the elements that allow it to stand out from all the has-beens and failures of the genre. In other words, these are the sparkly accessories and perfectly practiced flourishes that give a series its charm, and let me tell you, You and I Are Polar Opposites has charm to spare. Miyu is perky and outgoing without being obnoxious, and the script makes sure that her self-conscious affections never come across as shallow or fake. She's just a girl who wants to look cute and stand out to her friends and her crush, and when you're a kid, that also means stumbling into plenty of opportunities to end up acting like a big dork. I challenge anyone to finish this episode without pumping their fist in camaraderie with Miyu at least once.
And then we have to touch upon our male lead, Yusuke. The big mistake that a lot of anime make with these introverted types is that they fail to understand that a guy being shy, quiet, reserved and/or bad at communicating is not the same thing as being a cold jerk or having no discernible or likeable personality. You can tell us over and over how cute and attractive our heroine finds the main guy in a romcom, but if the audience can't for the life of them see why she's so into him, then it's game over, man. I wasn't sure if they'd stick the landing at first, but all of my worries were soundly obliterated the minute we got to that expertly animated shot of Yusuke taking Miyu's hand as they walked home.
There's a very nice balance between loud and quiet in this episode as well. Everything about Miyu is the former, from her character design to her voice, while Yusuke embodies the latter. Their walk home is a peaceful, silent moment, with both of them lost in their own thoughts, while Yusuke's solo trek after the big misunderstanding is loud in his head. It's a nice way to show that while both fall into one camp or the other, they're generally just people with a variety of thoughts, feelings and voices, and it makes them both feel very human. Their classmates are somewhat less nuanced, but they're still shaping up to be good characters, particularly Yamada, who not only realizes his mistake, but also takes steps to fix it.
The real secret ingredient that gives a romcom all the charm it could ever need and then some is a deceptively simple one: You have to convince your audience that your characters could be real people, and that it would be satisfying as all hell to see them end up together. More anime have failed miserably at this than have ever succeeded, but You and I Are Polar Opposites is already proving to be one of the keepers. And with art that's as bright as a set of brand-new markers and deceptively simple in its character designs, it's as fun to look at as it is to engage with. This should be a delightful combination of sweet and silly, and I'm looking forward to checking in every week to make sure Miyu and Yusuke get the happy ending they deserve.
I had a good feeling about You and I Are Polar Opposites within the first minute or two of its premiere. As the rest of the show's many supporting characters make their usual morning trips to school, our protagonist Miyu Suzuki dutifully styles her hair, applies her makeup and awkwardly practices greeting her crush and smiling "naturally" in the mirror. While all of this is going on, a poppy soundtrack of lively synthesizer beats and chiptunes fills the air with not a single goddamn recorder to be heard in the mix. More importantly, this introduction conveys the show's irrepressible charm perfectly. There's a reason certain romcoms get a free pass from me where others wouldn't: They turn the premise's cliche into a catch-all title. Miyu likes Yusuke, Yusuke likes Miyu, but--get this--they're polar opposites! Will this bubbly ball of pink-hued energy and this stoic wallflower be able to overcome their differences and be together? Of course they will. That's the whole freakin' point of the show.
Most stories end when the main couple admits their feelings for each other and gets together. You and I Are Polar Opposites is not one of them--by the end of this premiere, we're where most romance anime end. That's part of the appeal of this series right from the get-go: It doesn't stop at the pivotal moment, it starts there. And frankly, it's a good thing it does, because while I love Miyu to pieces, she's no Sae Iwata--the poor girl would self-destruct if she had to spend twelve episodes thinking her crush was unrequited.
The episode feels like a distillation of a shonen romcom: Miyu is bright and bubbly, Yusuke is quiet and withdrawn. They both like each other and aren't sure how to say it. There's an absolutely wonderful scene where they're walking together, sounding it out, and he takes her hand. The next day, the inevitable miscommunication happens. All the hits are there, just without the filler that usually surrounds them. And while I enjoy a good well-written romance as much as the average reader/viewer, it's also really nice to get those filler elements out of the way sometimes. Now the story can focus on the main couple without having to also focus on the will-they/won't-they bit.
At its most basic level, this is the story of a girl with social anxiety. Miyu is someone who excels at reading the room, to the point of self-detriment. Because she knows what people want to hear, she's afraid of saying anything else. Everything she says and does is to appeal to those around her. Her own honest thoughts and feelings are pushed deep down, even if they sometimes bubble back up. Meanwhile, Yusuke is the exact opposite. He's a straight shooter. He's not rude or mean, just exceedingly blunt in how he thinks and feels. To Miyu, who never acts on her true feelings, he's someone she dreams of being like but feels she never could, which develops into a major crush over time.
In this episode, she lucks out and gets into a situation where she can take off her mask, and things go well...only for the mask to get in the way the next day. However, the emotional turmoil from this causes her to put her own feelings above others' expectations for once. When she throws that mask away and tells her friends the truth about her crush on Yusuke, the big reveal is that they all support her. They aren't going to turn on her for liking a guy that they wouldn't have imagined her with. And so Miyu discovers that she's been living in a fear-induced world of her own making that exists only in her head. And now she's entering a new world, one where she's not only dating her crush, but able to be more honest with those she cares about. On a purely literary level, I also appreciated Miyu spelling out what she likes about Yusuke, rather than leaving us to wonder what the hell she sees in him. As it turns out, she likes the qualities in him that she wishes she had herself: As a chronic people-pleaser, she admires his straightforwardness and disinterest in currying favour with others.
In the end, it all comes down to execution. Appealing art, stylish animation, clever writing, palpable romantic chemistry between the leads, these are the ingredients that are necessary for an actually good romcom anime, because they're the elements that allow it to stand out from all the has-beens and failures of the genre. In other words, these are the sparkly accessories and perfectly practiced flourishes that give a series its charm, and let me tell you, You and I Are Polar Opposites has charm to spare. Miyu is perky and outgoing without being obnoxious, and the script makes sure that her self-conscious affections never come across as shallow or fake. She's just a girl who wants to look cute and stand out to her friends and her crush, and when you're a kid, that also means stumbling into plenty of opportunities to end up acting like a big dork. I challenge anyone to finish this episode without pumping their fist in camaraderie with Miyu at least once.
And then we have to touch upon our male lead, Yusuke. The big mistake that a lot of anime make with these introverted types is that they fail to understand that a guy being shy, quiet, reserved and/or bad at communicating is not the same thing as being a cold jerk or having no discernible or likeable personality. You can tell us over and over how cute and attractive our heroine finds the main guy in a romcom, but if the audience can't for the life of them see why she's so into him, then it's game over, man. I wasn't sure if they'd stick the landing at first, but all of my worries were soundly obliterated the minute we got to that expertly animated shot of Yusuke taking Miyu's hand as they walked home.
There's a very nice balance between loud and quiet in this episode as well. Everything about Miyu is the former, from her character design to her voice, while Yusuke embodies the latter. Their walk home is a peaceful, silent moment, with both of them lost in their own thoughts, while Yusuke's solo trek after the big misunderstanding is loud in his head. It's a nice way to show that while both fall into one camp or the other, they're generally just people with a variety of thoughts, feelings and voices, and it makes them both feel very human. Their classmates are somewhat less nuanced, but they're still shaping up to be good characters, particularly Yamada, who not only realizes his mistake, but also takes steps to fix it.
The real secret ingredient that gives a romcom all the charm it could ever need and then some is a deceptively simple one: You have to convince your audience that your characters could be real people, and that it would be satisfying as all hell to see them end up together. More anime have failed miserably at this than have ever succeeded, but You and I Are Polar Opposites is already proving to be one of the keepers. And with art that's as bright as a set of brand-new markers and deceptively simple in its character designs, it's as fun to look at as it is to engage with. This should be a delightful combination of sweet and silly, and I'm looking forward to checking in every week to make sure Miyu and Yusuke get the happy ending they deserve.
Al's Anime Reviews - Sentenced to Be a Hero
General | Posted 2 months agoHeroism, a punishment for only the worst criminals. Those sentenced to the fate of a Hero are forced to fight at the front lines against the Demon Lord's army, and if they die, they can expect to be revived and continue the battle. But when their leader, convicted of killing a Goddess, meets another goddess himself, the contract they forge may be enough to change the world...
Each season, we get at least a few of these double-length (or, god forbid, triple-length) episodes. I've found them to be a double-edged sword, leaving me either fully engaged or turned off completely and angry at having been forced to watch more than I wanted. Which outcome happens almost always revolves around one question: Did this need to be 45 minutes long to tell its story?" The good news for Sentenced to Be a Hero is that yes, it did.
A lot is going on that needs to be sorted through, even after using an opening title card to explain that the ultimate punishment in this fantasy world is not death, but rather to be sent on suicide missions while being resurrected repeatedly and losing a bit of your soul and memories each time you die. One issue is that we have a lot of proper nouns that mean different things in this world. A "Hero" is one undergoing the ultimate punishment. A "Goddess" is a living weapon able to manifest items seemingly out of midair. "Fairies" are normal animals mutated by the corruption spread by a "Demon Lord", and I have no idea what exactly a Demon Lord is other than a big monster. In addition to all that lore, we need to get to know our main man Xylo as a character, as he serves as both the emotional core and viewpoint character. In this episode, we learn about him by seeing how he acts around different groups of people, ie., fellow prisoners, holy knights, knight commanders and Goddesses. We also watch him in combat and see how, despite his constant grumbling, he does try to save as many lives as he can.
This makes us wonder about the nature of his crime, what a man as good as Xylo could've done to end up with this fate. And not only do we get that answer, but the context behind it, which makes this a revenge plot, a redemption tale and a save-the-world adventure all rolled into one. All this could not have been done in a single 22-minute episode, and splitting it in two would've left this premiere with far less impact, even with the show's high-tier animation.
The first thing that stood out to me was how the script actually respects the audience's intelligence. There isn't a single line of narration explaining the world, not one mention of stats or classes as a worldbuilding shortcut. Exposition comes through the characters discussing their situation and the world, reminding one another of the grim nature of their lives, criminals receiving eternal punishment for their crimes. I didn't need anyone to tell me that Dotta was probably sentenced for theft, because he keeps stealing throughout the show. The nearly hour-long premiere was primarily focused on action as Xylo, the newly awakened goddess Teoritta and Commander Kivia battle to defeat the ridiculously named demon god Awd Goggie, so I can't say much about the characters yet, but I already have a concept of who they are and what motivates them. Xylo and Dotta's situation reminded me of the inmates who are forced to fight the wildfires that ravage California every year. The actual action was gorgeously fluid and well storyboarded, backed by a soaring musical score worthy of any Hollywood fantasy film.
Second... Look, I know that as both a critic and a functional adult who lives in a society where the gamers should rise up, I should be above making fun of people's names. It's not like fictional characters get any more say in what they're named than real-world meatbags either. All of that being said though, I am begging the anime industry to find even one or two native English speakers with a modicum of taste and run some of these character names by them. Jokes aside, we do live in a globalized society with all sorts of resources right there at our fingertits, so you can't even use the language barrier as an excuse anymore, especially since a name like Xylo Forbartz is clearly trying to sound like a cool-guy hero name from a Western fantasy setting. Just imagine, all of you Japanese writers and editors that are obviously reading this review right now, if I tried to pitch my own gritty animated series set in feudal Japan, starring a hero named Chinchin Tsunamiyamoto.
Yeah, it ain't so easy to take me seriously now, is it? And I'm dunking on his name because, let's be real, if you just read the show's description on its own, you might think this is just another drop in the overflowing bucket of seasonal fantasy slop we have to dunk our heads into every three months or so. "Xylo Forbartz" is exactly the kind of nonsensical letter combination that some inexperienced light novel author would pull out of an online name generator to slap onto their generic potato golem of a protagonist right before they get to the scene where he's hit by Truck-kun and given magical cheat powers by some busty goddess with all the wisdom and common sense of a bundt cake.
As we watch our hero do his best to earn the coveted We Have Guts At Home trophy, the show continues to radiate blazing "Go fuck yourself if you're not down with Xylo Forbartz" energy, and I can't help but respect that (even if I still think his name is fuckin' stupid). Is the story doing anything particularly novel or interesting? No, not at all. We've got a badass warrior with some cute companions who gets betrayed by the Powers That Be and cast down as a prisoner after a battle against a horde of demonic creatures goes wrong. No matter what happens over the course of the show, I'm sure it'll invariably lead to Xylo enacting some richly deserved grimdark revenge.
It's worth noting that this show doesn't want to be poignant or induce any feelings in the viewer beyond the sheer unfairness of Xylo's situation. Even before the final moments reveal the truth, it's obvious that he's not like the other Heroes--none of the Holy Knights immediately recognize him as such, and Dotta, the other Hero that Xylo works with, was clearly sentenced for being a thief and doesn't have even a quarter of the skills Xylo does. The truth, when it comes out, isn't so much a bombshell as it is confirmation of what everything about Xylo's actions already told us. That, for my money, is the best-done piece of the episode. Showing us Xylo's truth without explicitly telling it until the final moments is pretty awesome storytelling. Certainly a better part of the episode than the gross monsters, especially Awd Goggie and his name that outdoes the stupidity of Xylo's. And yes, I'm assuming that Awd Goggie is male because he shoots slime that turns into babies out of a suspiciously placed eyestalk.
Insert the "That's a penis!" reaction clip here.
Another bit of praise I have for this is that all of the characters whose names we learn appear to be actually important. And the one named character who dies in this episode? His name is straight out of Yorkshire folklore, so that and the fact that the bad guys are all called Faeries indicate some of the inspiration for this piece.
Sentenced to Be a Hero simply has the juice. I'm not sure if it's my preferred flavour of juice, but I recommend trying a sip regardless. I can't say I actually fully enjoyed this episode, or that I'll seek out more, but this does plenty right even if it's not for me, and there's something to be said for that.
Each season, we get at least a few of these double-length (or, god forbid, triple-length) episodes. I've found them to be a double-edged sword, leaving me either fully engaged or turned off completely and angry at having been forced to watch more than I wanted. Which outcome happens almost always revolves around one question: Did this need to be 45 minutes long to tell its story?" The good news for Sentenced to Be a Hero is that yes, it did.
A lot is going on that needs to be sorted through, even after using an opening title card to explain that the ultimate punishment in this fantasy world is not death, but rather to be sent on suicide missions while being resurrected repeatedly and losing a bit of your soul and memories each time you die. One issue is that we have a lot of proper nouns that mean different things in this world. A "Hero" is one undergoing the ultimate punishment. A "Goddess" is a living weapon able to manifest items seemingly out of midair. "Fairies" are normal animals mutated by the corruption spread by a "Demon Lord", and I have no idea what exactly a Demon Lord is other than a big monster. In addition to all that lore, we need to get to know our main man Xylo as a character, as he serves as both the emotional core and viewpoint character. In this episode, we learn about him by seeing how he acts around different groups of people, ie., fellow prisoners, holy knights, knight commanders and Goddesses. We also watch him in combat and see how, despite his constant grumbling, he does try to save as many lives as he can.
This makes us wonder about the nature of his crime, what a man as good as Xylo could've done to end up with this fate. And not only do we get that answer, but the context behind it, which makes this a revenge plot, a redemption tale and a save-the-world adventure all rolled into one. All this could not have been done in a single 22-minute episode, and splitting it in two would've left this premiere with far less impact, even with the show's high-tier animation.
The first thing that stood out to me was how the script actually respects the audience's intelligence. There isn't a single line of narration explaining the world, not one mention of stats or classes as a worldbuilding shortcut. Exposition comes through the characters discussing their situation and the world, reminding one another of the grim nature of their lives, criminals receiving eternal punishment for their crimes. I didn't need anyone to tell me that Dotta was probably sentenced for theft, because he keeps stealing throughout the show. The nearly hour-long premiere was primarily focused on action as Xylo, the newly awakened goddess Teoritta and Commander Kivia battle to defeat the ridiculously named demon god Awd Goggie, so I can't say much about the characters yet, but I already have a concept of who they are and what motivates them. Xylo and Dotta's situation reminded me of the inmates who are forced to fight the wildfires that ravage California every year. The actual action was gorgeously fluid and well storyboarded, backed by a soaring musical score worthy of any Hollywood fantasy film.
Second... Look, I know that as both a critic and a functional adult who lives in a society where the gamers should rise up, I should be above making fun of people's names. It's not like fictional characters get any more say in what they're named than real-world meatbags either. All of that being said though, I am begging the anime industry to find even one or two native English speakers with a modicum of taste and run some of these character names by them. Jokes aside, we do live in a globalized society with all sorts of resources right there at our fingertits, so you can't even use the language barrier as an excuse anymore, especially since a name like Xylo Forbartz is clearly trying to sound like a cool-guy hero name from a Western fantasy setting. Just imagine, all of you Japanese writers and editors that are obviously reading this review right now, if I tried to pitch my own gritty animated series set in feudal Japan, starring a hero named Chinchin Tsunamiyamoto.
Yeah, it ain't so easy to take me seriously now, is it? And I'm dunking on his name because, let's be real, if you just read the show's description on its own, you might think this is just another drop in the overflowing bucket of seasonal fantasy slop we have to dunk our heads into every three months or so. "Xylo Forbartz" is exactly the kind of nonsensical letter combination that some inexperienced light novel author would pull out of an online name generator to slap onto their generic potato golem of a protagonist right before they get to the scene where he's hit by Truck-kun and given magical cheat powers by some busty goddess with all the wisdom and common sense of a bundt cake.
As we watch our hero do his best to earn the coveted We Have Guts At Home trophy, the show continues to radiate blazing "Go fuck yourself if you're not down with Xylo Forbartz" energy, and I can't help but respect that (even if I still think his name is fuckin' stupid). Is the story doing anything particularly novel or interesting? No, not at all. We've got a badass warrior with some cute companions who gets betrayed by the Powers That Be and cast down as a prisoner after a battle against a horde of demonic creatures goes wrong. No matter what happens over the course of the show, I'm sure it'll invariably lead to Xylo enacting some richly deserved grimdark revenge.
It's worth noting that this show doesn't want to be poignant or induce any feelings in the viewer beyond the sheer unfairness of Xylo's situation. Even before the final moments reveal the truth, it's obvious that he's not like the other Heroes--none of the Holy Knights immediately recognize him as such, and Dotta, the other Hero that Xylo works with, was clearly sentenced for being a thief and doesn't have even a quarter of the skills Xylo does. The truth, when it comes out, isn't so much a bombshell as it is confirmation of what everything about Xylo's actions already told us. That, for my money, is the best-done piece of the episode. Showing us Xylo's truth without explicitly telling it until the final moments is pretty awesome storytelling. Certainly a better part of the episode than the gross monsters, especially Awd Goggie and his name that outdoes the stupidity of Xylo's. And yes, I'm assuming that Awd Goggie is male because he shoots slime that turns into babies out of a suspiciously placed eyestalk.
Insert the "That's a penis!" reaction clip here.
Another bit of praise I have for this is that all of the characters whose names we learn appear to be actually important. And the one named character who dies in this episode? His name is straight out of Yorkshire folklore, so that and the fact that the bad guys are all called Faeries indicate some of the inspiration for this piece.
Sentenced to Be a Hero simply has the juice. I'm not sure if it's my preferred flavour of juice, but I recommend trying a sip regardless. I can't say I actually fully enjoyed this episode, or that I'll seek out more, but this does plenty right even if it's not for me, and there's something to be said for that.
Happy New Year!
General | Posted 2 months agoHere's hoping for a better year for all of us next year. Stay safe and have fun tonight! <:3
Also, you'll soon notice a bit of a Christmas pic dump--I was too busy and writer's-blocked to get all the planned Christmas stuff up in time, so yeah, you're gonna see some more belated Christmasposting soon with stories written as accounts of what happened on the occasion itself. Please understand, as Iwata used to say.
Also, you'll soon notice a bit of a Christmas pic dump--I was too busy and writer's-blocked to get all the planned Christmas stuff up in time, so yeah, you're gonna see some more belated Christmasposting soon with stories written as accounts of what happened on the occasion itself. Please understand, as Iwata used to say.
IT KRIMAAAAAAH!!!
General | Posted 2 months agoMerry Christmas to all who celebrate it today! I hope you all have a wonderful, safe and fun day today! ^o^
Al's Anime Reviews - With You, Our Love Will Make It Through
General | Posted 4 months agoWhen highschooler Mari bumps into fellow student Tsunagu while both are late for class, she's surprised to find out he's a beastfolk who's to attend her school. After all, it's not rare for beastfolk to coexist alongside humans, but it's still uncommon, with the prejudice and all. Nervous to meet one at first, Mari soon learns there's more to him than his exterior. In fact, the more she gets to know him, the more she finds herself drawn to him, his steadfastness, his kindheartedness, and his body...
Who's ready for a lot more people to get super defensive about whether or not they're furries?
Y'know, I was wondering when we'd get a show that's somehow hornier and even more blatantly laser-targetted at furries than Beastars. This might be one of the spicier public furry animations I've ever seen. Since it's only gonna get more intense from here, based on what people have told me, I'm very excited for various reasons. I'm also curious how the general public will react, because it feels like every year we get a new piece of media that forces everybody to unequivocally out themselves, even though I personally don't think appreciating some good furry media should be seen as a bad thing in the ass-end of 2025.
On paper, With You, Our Love Will Make It Through has a pretty simple story with a tried-and-true setup. We have a typical society that's slowly integrating beastfolk into itsself. The beastfolk make up a minority of the population--it's implied that they're the result of experiments from long ago, and they're even sectioned off in their own designated neighbourhood, complete with a checkpoint they must go through for the sake of "public safety". There are a lot of allegories that you can make about what the beastfolk could potentially represent in the real world. The idea that some people are just instinctively bullying Tsunagu, even though he hasn't really done anything, because his overall presence "threatens" them after he upset the local power dynamic" is very poignant. It doesn't really go anywhere in these two episodes, but I hope that if the show is going to tell this type of story, it doesn't conjure a strawman or sideline its themes.
There's an old Japanese saying, “The nail that stands up gets hammered down.” It means that if you stand out in society, you'll be forced to conform to social norms. But what happens if you can't? What if you're taller or stronger, or you have a different skin colour, or you can't or won't bend to the outdated gender expectations shoved at you? Do the social norms expand to include you, or are you simply forced out of society itself so that everything once again conforms to how it used to be? Two of the supporting characters exist to illustrate this. Aida represents the former end of this spectrum. He sees that his way of viewing the world has been upset and feels that this is a good thing. He's eager to travel into the unknown and explore his new social surroundings. Ochi, on the other hand, is opposed to the change. He wants things back as they were. He talks like his goals are pure. Tsunagu's OBVIOUSLY dangerous and he's upset order in the school by being physically different, thus he must be forcibly removed. Of course, his true reasons are far more selfish, whether he realizes it or not. He used to be at the top of the school hierarchy, and with Tsunagu around, he feels inferior, so he lashes out to feel better about himself. Overall, it's a solid look into the hows and whys of racism in Japan.
I love Tsunagu as a character. He's the soft-spoken gentle giant who's forced to be overly conscious and self-aware of how he relates to everyone else. He hates himself for acting on instincts he can't control and is always trying to put other people ahead of him, and you can tell it's not just because that's something he was told he needs to do, it's just genuinely how he is. I can see why Mari would be infatuated with him, but I also think the show might've shown its hand too quickly. Mari doesn't really give a reason, and it comes after such a physically intense scene, so it rang a bit hollow. I'm hoping we get more into the throes of what this relationship is actually like.
It was probably done to get to the explanation of these more passionate and intimate moments faster. In episode 2, it's implied that these moments are triggered by an oversensitivity to a partner's emotions. When our two leads are being casual with each other, things are fine, but when Mari seems to start desiring things, that is when Tsunagu starts to go haywire, pinning her down and sensually licking her neck and whatnot. It's interesting because it implies that the rather intense moments we've had so far are fully consensual dspite how they appear. It's nice that the show establishes that Tsunagu does have some control over himself in these situations, and that Mari does have the ability to say no. That's always a fine line you have to ride when dealing with subject matter like this.
And yeah, at this point it shouldn't surprise you at all that this story originated as erotica. Although the plot differs, featuring a human woman who enters the beastpeople village, author Chihiro Yuzuki's two-volume Hana and the Beast Man takes place in the same world as this one, prominently features the titular couple having sex, and is apparrently retroactively meant to be the story of Tsunagu's parents.
As for the intimate scenes themselves, well, the lighting for this show is pretty theatrical, with very heavy shadows outside of the comedic moments, to the point where it almost feels like watching it through blinds at times. It can be a little distracting at times, but it matches the wallflower effect the show is going for. It has a voyeuristic quality that gets your heart pounding. There's a lot of setup here for the world and its characters, and it looks really damn pretty to boot. I just hope there's more to all of this going forward than just an excuse to get Bao the Whale screaming in horny bliss for three months.
Also, if this gets dubbed and Bao isn't cast as Mari, the opportunity of the year will have been wasted.
Who's ready for a lot more people to get super defensive about whether or not they're furries?
Y'know, I was wondering when we'd get a show that's somehow hornier and even more blatantly laser-targetted at furries than Beastars. This might be one of the spicier public furry animations I've ever seen. Since it's only gonna get more intense from here, based on what people have told me, I'm very excited for various reasons. I'm also curious how the general public will react, because it feels like every year we get a new piece of media that forces everybody to unequivocally out themselves, even though I personally don't think appreciating some good furry media should be seen as a bad thing in the ass-end of 2025.
On paper, With You, Our Love Will Make It Through has a pretty simple story with a tried-and-true setup. We have a typical society that's slowly integrating beastfolk into itsself. The beastfolk make up a minority of the population--it's implied that they're the result of experiments from long ago, and they're even sectioned off in their own designated neighbourhood, complete with a checkpoint they must go through for the sake of "public safety". There are a lot of allegories that you can make about what the beastfolk could potentially represent in the real world. The idea that some people are just instinctively bullying Tsunagu, even though he hasn't really done anything, because his overall presence "threatens" them after he upset the local power dynamic" is very poignant. It doesn't really go anywhere in these two episodes, but I hope that if the show is going to tell this type of story, it doesn't conjure a strawman or sideline its themes.
There's an old Japanese saying, “The nail that stands up gets hammered down.” It means that if you stand out in society, you'll be forced to conform to social norms. But what happens if you can't? What if you're taller or stronger, or you have a different skin colour, or you can't or won't bend to the outdated gender expectations shoved at you? Do the social norms expand to include you, or are you simply forced out of society itself so that everything once again conforms to how it used to be? Two of the supporting characters exist to illustrate this. Aida represents the former end of this spectrum. He sees that his way of viewing the world has been upset and feels that this is a good thing. He's eager to travel into the unknown and explore his new social surroundings. Ochi, on the other hand, is opposed to the change. He wants things back as they were. He talks like his goals are pure. Tsunagu's OBVIOUSLY dangerous and he's upset order in the school by being physically different, thus he must be forcibly removed. Of course, his true reasons are far more selfish, whether he realizes it or not. He used to be at the top of the school hierarchy, and with Tsunagu around, he feels inferior, so he lashes out to feel better about himself. Overall, it's a solid look into the hows and whys of racism in Japan.
I love Tsunagu as a character. He's the soft-spoken gentle giant who's forced to be overly conscious and self-aware of how he relates to everyone else. He hates himself for acting on instincts he can't control and is always trying to put other people ahead of him, and you can tell it's not just because that's something he was told he needs to do, it's just genuinely how he is. I can see why Mari would be infatuated with him, but I also think the show might've shown its hand too quickly. Mari doesn't really give a reason, and it comes after such a physically intense scene, so it rang a bit hollow. I'm hoping we get more into the throes of what this relationship is actually like.
It was probably done to get to the explanation of these more passionate and intimate moments faster. In episode 2, it's implied that these moments are triggered by an oversensitivity to a partner's emotions. When our two leads are being casual with each other, things are fine, but when Mari seems to start desiring things, that is when Tsunagu starts to go haywire, pinning her down and sensually licking her neck and whatnot. It's interesting because it implies that the rather intense moments we've had so far are fully consensual dspite how they appear. It's nice that the show establishes that Tsunagu does have some control over himself in these situations, and that Mari does have the ability to say no. That's always a fine line you have to ride when dealing with subject matter like this.
And yeah, at this point it shouldn't surprise you at all that this story originated as erotica. Although the plot differs, featuring a human woman who enters the beastpeople village, author Chihiro Yuzuki's two-volume Hana and the Beast Man takes place in the same world as this one, prominently features the titular couple having sex, and is apparrently retroactively meant to be the story of Tsunagu's parents.
As for the intimate scenes themselves, well, the lighting for this show is pretty theatrical, with very heavy shadows outside of the comedic moments, to the point where it almost feels like watching it through blinds at times. It can be a little distracting at times, but it matches the wallflower effect the show is going for. It has a voyeuristic quality that gets your heart pounding. There's a lot of setup here for the world and its characters, and it looks really damn pretty to boot. I just hope there's more to all of this going forward than just an excuse to get Bao the Whale screaming in horny bliss for three months.
Also, if this gets dubbed and Bao isn't cast as Mari, the opportunity of the year will have been wasted.
Al's Anime Reviews - Mechanical Marie
General | Posted 4 months agoArthur Zetes is the no-nonsense heir to his late father's fortune, a misanthropic highschool student whose emotional growth has been stunted by the near-constant attempts on his life from assassins hired by other family members. They're jealous of his chosen status despite his origins as an illegitimate child. 16-year-old Marie Evans is an expressionless, championship-winning martial arts prodigy hired to masquerade as Arthur's new robot maid and bodyguard. While she begins to fall for her master, and he for his supposedly mechanical servant, it's a shame that she can't reveal the truth of her humanity, because he harbours a deep hatred of liars.
Mechanical Marie is in a tough situation. The manga it's adapted from started as a one-shot, so surely that changes the approach the anime should take, right? Should it go for a faithful, panel-by-panel adaptation, or should it just jump right in? The answer they seem to have settled on is a bit of both, and I'm not fully sold on this decision, mostly because I think it would've been helpful to have the scene where Roy scouts Marie in the first place in terms of grounding the story.
Still, this is a fun episode. The basic concept is that Arthur has become a raging misanthrope because he's been treated so badly by other people, mostly his older brother Maynard, who actively resents Arthur's existence. But Arthur needs a good bodyguard (and apparently a trustworthy maid), so his butler Roy enlists the aid of emotionally challenged teenage martial arts champion Marie. Marie is to pretend she's a robomaid so Arthur will accept her help, but what are they to do when Marie and Arthur begin falling for each other?
Personally, I'm always down for some level of subversion of classic anime setups, and the robot maid is a trope perfect for riffing. Not ten minutes in, they're already piling onto the unnecessarily overcomplicated absurdity of the setup--Marie has to enact the ol' "robot pretending to be human at school" trope on top of everything else, so now she's a human pretending to be a robot pretending to be a human. Come on, I know we can go for four layers deep at some point in this story. Plus, Marie's a shredded martial artist to facilitate her routine. It's a sharp enough setup that's absolutely worth a few sensible chuckles.
The farcical nature of it all does call attention to the shortcomings on the more serious end of it though. I can grasp the basic idea of Marie and Arthur's would-be romance, with his preference for emotionless machines unintentionally leading him to be the first person who showed any understanding or appreciation for the unexpressive Marie. However, this intersects with Marie's developing must-protect inclinations toward Arthur, which are meant to clash with the high-strung, misanthropic persona he puts on in public. I get what they're going for, but needing to speedrun that emotional entry to establish the whole premise by the end of the episode does it no favours. Again, it just barely works in this jokier context, and it would've totally imploded had the show asked the audience to take it one iota more seriously.
It's cute, but it'd all work better if the episode had spent more time showing us Marie and Arthur actually interacting with each other. This one definitely could've actually benefitted from a double-length premiere. Instead the moments they spend together feel perfunctory, with very little going to promote any sort of warmer feelings developing. They're just sort of in the same room and talking occasionally for most of the episode. There are a couple moments where they save each other, such as when Marie chases down a kidnapper and rescues Arthur from a burning building and Arthur stands up for Marie at school, but none of them feel like anything more than plot points. There's no real emotion behind either scene, although in the case of the fire, it's clear that they're trying.
The animation effort doesn't quite back it up in the way an absurdist spectacle like this needs. Character models are already melting at multiple distances during more active action sequences. Additionally, the anime often relies on postcard memory-style stills to replace major sequences. Not bad as a shortcut, but it takes me out of the moment when it's clearly being used as a crutch to prop up a rather weak production. That's not to say the show is devoid of charm. There are some great moments where Marie inadvertently proves what a great fake robot she makes, like cracking the world's creepiest smile or showing off her hard thighs. Roy always looks one step away from freaking out and admitting everything, albeit in a stoic sort of way, and the scene where Arthur and Maynard have an entire conversation in internal monologues is fun.
By the second episode, Mechanical Marie begs one very specific and pertinent question: Is Arthur just kinda stupid? Marie's veneer of mechanicalness is so thin that it's astounding no one seems to be questioning it. Or at least not to her or Arthur's face. She puts on a good show, that trick with the plates and the glasses was impressive, but claiming she runs on AA batteries? Please.
It's all part of the humor, of course, and it mostly works. I love that Arthur never questions that Marie-2 is the "improved" robot maid when she's so clearly inferior in terms of looks, voice and locomotion--how is legs to wheels an upgrade? Oh, sure, she can play music when he's resting his head on her lap, but still. And that scene actually cracked me up, the high-pitched sped-up lullaby is hilarious. But Marie-2 serves a more important role than merely to stretch Arthur's credulity: She exists to show that Arthur has found a person he can trust, and that, deep down, he probably knows Marie's a person.
I'd say Arthur's aunt, Charlotte Rusty, definitely does. Apart from the fact that she wears her cat like a scarf, she seems to be very with it, and she's not about to spill the beans about Arthur's new employee. That's probably the right move, because this is something Arthur needs to work through on his own. If he's still willing to believe that Marie is a machine, that says he hasn't quite accepted that he can trust a human yet, even one he's so attracted to. Her supposedly robotic nature is safe, even though he watches Marie-2 attempt to inflict harm, including on him. So many contradictions, so little time!
This episode solidifies this as a sweet, silly show. I wish it looked better--although the oversized circle superimposed on Marie's head to show her miniscule facial expressions is funny, the episode overall doesn't look great, and I feel those stills in a completely different artstyle (it's not the manga's style, if you're wondering) are a bit overused. There's also been some controversy over whether or not the stills are either AI-generated or touched up with AI, but it's an admittedly flimsy argument that seems to stem entirely from one of them giving Marie two left hands. Right, cause that's not an error a human could make, it's not like we saw a six-fingered Phoenix Wright back in 2016 or anything.
Despite its small issues, Mechanical Marie is delightful, and I don't see that changing any time soon.
Mechanical Marie is in a tough situation. The manga it's adapted from started as a one-shot, so surely that changes the approach the anime should take, right? Should it go for a faithful, panel-by-panel adaptation, or should it just jump right in? The answer they seem to have settled on is a bit of both, and I'm not fully sold on this decision, mostly because I think it would've been helpful to have the scene where Roy scouts Marie in the first place in terms of grounding the story.
Still, this is a fun episode. The basic concept is that Arthur has become a raging misanthrope because he's been treated so badly by other people, mostly his older brother Maynard, who actively resents Arthur's existence. But Arthur needs a good bodyguard (and apparently a trustworthy maid), so his butler Roy enlists the aid of emotionally challenged teenage martial arts champion Marie. Marie is to pretend she's a robomaid so Arthur will accept her help, but what are they to do when Marie and Arthur begin falling for each other?
Personally, I'm always down for some level of subversion of classic anime setups, and the robot maid is a trope perfect for riffing. Not ten minutes in, they're already piling onto the unnecessarily overcomplicated absurdity of the setup--Marie has to enact the ol' "robot pretending to be human at school" trope on top of everything else, so now she's a human pretending to be a robot pretending to be a human. Come on, I know we can go for four layers deep at some point in this story. Plus, Marie's a shredded martial artist to facilitate her routine. It's a sharp enough setup that's absolutely worth a few sensible chuckles.
The farcical nature of it all does call attention to the shortcomings on the more serious end of it though. I can grasp the basic idea of Marie and Arthur's would-be romance, with his preference for emotionless machines unintentionally leading him to be the first person who showed any understanding or appreciation for the unexpressive Marie. However, this intersects with Marie's developing must-protect inclinations toward Arthur, which are meant to clash with the high-strung, misanthropic persona he puts on in public. I get what they're going for, but needing to speedrun that emotional entry to establish the whole premise by the end of the episode does it no favours. Again, it just barely works in this jokier context, and it would've totally imploded had the show asked the audience to take it one iota more seriously.
It's cute, but it'd all work better if the episode had spent more time showing us Marie and Arthur actually interacting with each other. This one definitely could've actually benefitted from a double-length premiere. Instead the moments they spend together feel perfunctory, with very little going to promote any sort of warmer feelings developing. They're just sort of in the same room and talking occasionally for most of the episode. There are a couple moments where they save each other, such as when Marie chases down a kidnapper and rescues Arthur from a burning building and Arthur stands up for Marie at school, but none of them feel like anything more than plot points. There's no real emotion behind either scene, although in the case of the fire, it's clear that they're trying.
The animation effort doesn't quite back it up in the way an absurdist spectacle like this needs. Character models are already melting at multiple distances during more active action sequences. Additionally, the anime often relies on postcard memory-style stills to replace major sequences. Not bad as a shortcut, but it takes me out of the moment when it's clearly being used as a crutch to prop up a rather weak production. That's not to say the show is devoid of charm. There are some great moments where Marie inadvertently proves what a great fake robot she makes, like cracking the world's creepiest smile or showing off her hard thighs. Roy always looks one step away from freaking out and admitting everything, albeit in a stoic sort of way, and the scene where Arthur and Maynard have an entire conversation in internal monologues is fun.
By the second episode, Mechanical Marie begs one very specific and pertinent question: Is Arthur just kinda stupid? Marie's veneer of mechanicalness is so thin that it's astounding no one seems to be questioning it. Or at least not to her or Arthur's face. She puts on a good show, that trick with the plates and the glasses was impressive, but claiming she runs on AA batteries? Please.
It's all part of the humor, of course, and it mostly works. I love that Arthur never questions that Marie-2 is the "improved" robot maid when she's so clearly inferior in terms of looks, voice and locomotion--how is legs to wheels an upgrade? Oh, sure, she can play music when he's resting his head on her lap, but still. And that scene actually cracked me up, the high-pitched sped-up lullaby is hilarious. But Marie-2 serves a more important role than merely to stretch Arthur's credulity: She exists to show that Arthur has found a person he can trust, and that, deep down, he probably knows Marie's a person.
I'd say Arthur's aunt, Charlotte Rusty, definitely does. Apart from the fact that she wears her cat like a scarf, she seems to be very with it, and she's not about to spill the beans about Arthur's new employee. That's probably the right move, because this is something Arthur needs to work through on his own. If he's still willing to believe that Marie is a machine, that says he hasn't quite accepted that he can trust a human yet, even one he's so attracted to. Her supposedly robotic nature is safe, even though he watches Marie-2 attempt to inflict harm, including on him. So many contradictions, so little time!
This episode solidifies this as a sweet, silly show. I wish it looked better--although the oversized circle superimposed on Marie's head to show her miniscule facial expressions is funny, the episode overall doesn't look great, and I feel those stills in a completely different artstyle (it's not the manga's style, if you're wondering) are a bit overused. There's also been some controversy over whether or not the stills are either AI-generated or touched up with AI, but it's an admittedly flimsy argument that seems to stem entirely from one of them giving Marie two left hands. Right, cause that's not an error a human could make, it's not like we saw a six-fingered Phoenix Wright back in 2016 or anything.
Despite its small issues, Mechanical Marie is delightful, and I don't see that changing any time soon.
Al's Anime Reviews - A Star Brighter Than the Sun
General | Posted 4 months agoSae Iwata and Koki Kamishiro have been friends since childhood. One fateful day at the end of middleschool, Sae has a revelation: Koki has grown up. Now they're in highschool and she has another revelation: She has feelings for Koki. But she isn't the only girl who does...
It's a truth universally acknowledged that a shojo romance must feature two characters who don't realize their crush is mutual. This truism is doubled only if the two are childhood friends who drifted apart a bit in middleschool only to reunite in highschool. When you add to that the visual elements of floaty bubbles, soft filters and pastel stills, A Star Brighter Than the Sun's first three episodes look like the winners of The Ultimate Shojo Challenge. If it wasn't also good, it might be a little ridiculous. But fortunately, this anime is leaning into its trappings because it knows how to use them. It may not be a new story, but it doesn't have to be--all it has to do is use its tropes well.
Sae Iwata (Iwa to her friends) has been crushing on Koki Kamishiro since they became friends in gradeschool. At the time, she was the tallest kid in class, shooting up to five feet in no time, while he was among the smallest. By middleschool, she'd reached 5' 4", but he surpassed her. And because they weren't in the same class and thanks to the whole gender expectations vibe of middleschool, they more or less fell out of touch. But Sae never stopped watching Koki, and there's a strong implication that the same can be said for him. In episode 1, he practically jumps at the chance to rekindle their friendship, and if you're paying attention, it looks a lot like he announces his choice of highschool the minute Sae says hers. His body language and delivery both indicate that North High hadn't been his plan until hearing that it was Sae's.
This series seems to be all about the little moments. Koki's brief hesitation before saying North High, the way he seeks Sae out with his eyes even if they're not near each other, and how he goes out of his way to be close to her all speak volumes, even if Sae can't catch them. Her sense of social inferiority to him is so ingrained that she can't recognize her own behaviours in his. In episode 3, when he says that the girl he likes shines brighter than the sun, she immediately assumes that means it can't possibly be her because no one would describe her that way. But from Koki's words, it sounds like he thinks the same way, that no one as good as Sae could ever see him that way.
It's a very grounded approach. Everyone believes that there's something wrong with them. Just as Sae is stuck in the mindset of being a giant girl, Koki is keenly aware of his own shortcomings, and both of them believe that those stand out as much to others as they do to themselves and no one could love them for it. Yes, Sae's height is inescapable, but once people get used to the fact that she's so tall, they don't seem to care--her kindness is what shines through to everyone. Sui, one of her new friends, doesn't view Sae as the weirdly huge girl who saved her when she fell, but as the nice girl she met on the first day of school. And when someone doesn't see beyond Sae's height, Koki is there to let them have it, which obnoxious Izawa (who at one point attempts and fails to bestow the nickname "Jolly Green Giant" upon Sae) learns firsthand. Or so we can assume, anyway. In a good bit of Show, Don't Tell, no one ever says that Izawa was making fun of Sae when Koki shoved him down a slope. We can guess that from Koki's body language and the fact that he reverts to calling Sae by her first name, but it isn't spelled out. Similarly, Izawa later remarks that making fun of Sae is officially off the table. It's pretty clear that he's referring to the hill incident... Or maybe another attempt to do the same thing, since he doesn't seem like the kind of guy to learn his lesson easily.
Apart from the slowly unfolding romance plot, what I love about these episodes is Sae's friend group. Sui, who could've easily become a two-faced fake friend bitch when she found out about Sae's crush, is instead shown going out of her way to be a good, true friend. When she thinks Sae doesn't like "girl talk", she switches it off, and when she learns Sae likes Koki, she stops thinking about actively pursuing him. Kagawa, the third in their trio, also makes a real effort to be a good friend. She's dry and serious, but that doesn't mean she doesn't enjoy spending time with Sae and Sui, and the scene in episode 3 where Sui dries her hair for her is a beautiful little snapshot of their relationship.
In another story, Sae and Koki not really communicating could've been annoying, but the details are so well done here, from the line delivery to the body language, that it really works. I genuinely want to see them work things out and figure out their feelings (and he better not have a crush on someone else). In a shojo romance, that's paramount, and this show is poised to get it right. Don't let me down, A Star Brighter Than the Sun, and you might prove to be one of the best new shows this season.
It's a truth universally acknowledged that a shojo romance must feature two characters who don't realize their crush is mutual. This truism is doubled only if the two are childhood friends who drifted apart a bit in middleschool only to reunite in highschool. When you add to that the visual elements of floaty bubbles, soft filters and pastel stills, A Star Brighter Than the Sun's first three episodes look like the winners of The Ultimate Shojo Challenge. If it wasn't also good, it might be a little ridiculous. But fortunately, this anime is leaning into its trappings because it knows how to use them. It may not be a new story, but it doesn't have to be--all it has to do is use its tropes well.
Sae Iwata (Iwa to her friends) has been crushing on Koki Kamishiro since they became friends in gradeschool. At the time, she was the tallest kid in class, shooting up to five feet in no time, while he was among the smallest. By middleschool, she'd reached 5' 4", but he surpassed her. And because they weren't in the same class and thanks to the whole gender expectations vibe of middleschool, they more or less fell out of touch. But Sae never stopped watching Koki, and there's a strong implication that the same can be said for him. In episode 1, he practically jumps at the chance to rekindle their friendship, and if you're paying attention, it looks a lot like he announces his choice of highschool the minute Sae says hers. His body language and delivery both indicate that North High hadn't been his plan until hearing that it was Sae's.
This series seems to be all about the little moments. Koki's brief hesitation before saying North High, the way he seeks Sae out with his eyes even if they're not near each other, and how he goes out of his way to be close to her all speak volumes, even if Sae can't catch them. Her sense of social inferiority to him is so ingrained that she can't recognize her own behaviours in his. In episode 3, when he says that the girl he likes shines brighter than the sun, she immediately assumes that means it can't possibly be her because no one would describe her that way. But from Koki's words, it sounds like he thinks the same way, that no one as good as Sae could ever see him that way.
It's a very grounded approach. Everyone believes that there's something wrong with them. Just as Sae is stuck in the mindset of being a giant girl, Koki is keenly aware of his own shortcomings, and both of them believe that those stand out as much to others as they do to themselves and no one could love them for it. Yes, Sae's height is inescapable, but once people get used to the fact that she's so tall, they don't seem to care--her kindness is what shines through to everyone. Sui, one of her new friends, doesn't view Sae as the weirdly huge girl who saved her when she fell, but as the nice girl she met on the first day of school. And when someone doesn't see beyond Sae's height, Koki is there to let them have it, which obnoxious Izawa (who at one point attempts and fails to bestow the nickname "Jolly Green Giant" upon Sae) learns firsthand. Or so we can assume, anyway. In a good bit of Show, Don't Tell, no one ever says that Izawa was making fun of Sae when Koki shoved him down a slope. We can guess that from Koki's body language and the fact that he reverts to calling Sae by her first name, but it isn't spelled out. Similarly, Izawa later remarks that making fun of Sae is officially off the table. It's pretty clear that he's referring to the hill incident... Or maybe another attempt to do the same thing, since he doesn't seem like the kind of guy to learn his lesson easily.
Apart from the slowly unfolding romance plot, what I love about these episodes is Sae's friend group. Sui, who could've easily become a two-faced fake friend bitch when she found out about Sae's crush, is instead shown going out of her way to be a good, true friend. When she thinks Sae doesn't like "girl talk", she switches it off, and when she learns Sae likes Koki, she stops thinking about actively pursuing him. Kagawa, the third in their trio, also makes a real effort to be a good friend. She's dry and serious, but that doesn't mean she doesn't enjoy spending time with Sae and Sui, and the scene in episode 3 where Sui dries her hair for her is a beautiful little snapshot of their relationship.
In another story, Sae and Koki not really communicating could've been annoying, but the details are so well done here, from the line delivery to the body language, that it really works. I genuinely want to see them work things out and figure out their feelings (and he better not have a crush on someone else). In a shojo romance, that's paramount, and this show is poised to get it right. Don't let me down, A Star Brighter Than the Sun, and you might prove to be one of the best new shows this season.
Al's Anime Reviews - Kashiwada and Ota
General | Posted 4 months agoKashiwada and Ota are middleschool classmates. Kashiwada is a girl who never shows emotions on her face, while Ota is always thinking of pranks to surprise Kashiwada with, but he always fails. They appear to be opposite types of people, but deep down, they genuinely care for each other.
Okay, I honestly find this kind of hilarious: The name of the show is Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Ota. The synopsis for this show spells out for those who missed the title that yes, Kashiwada is inexpressive and Ota is very expressive. The episode title for the premiere is "Those Who Are Completely Inexpressive and Those Who Are Super Expressive". For an incredibly low-stakes romcom that lives and dies on the back of the most obvious joke in the world, this show sure does seem worried that we still might not get the schtick. So in case anyone is still lost, allow me to break it down for you. See, Kashiwada is a girl who most would probably describe as "inexpressive". Ota, on the other hand, is the kind of fellow that you could easily apply the "expressive" descriptor to, as a general summation of his personality. The two are opposites. Opposites...who are attracted to one another. Do you understand now? Do I need to say it louder and slower for the small infants in the back?
Yeah, if there's any fatal flaw to this anime's whole setup, it's the fact that it's very literally a one-joke premise, and the joke ain't exactly a fresh one.
Pairing two characters that are at such opposite extremes of each other can definitely be fun, and it's a story setup that has been done plenty of times with varying results. I can enjoy those shows on some level as long as the comedic timing hits or it brings just one fresh element to the table. Without that, you risk having a show that drags out the same joke over and over again without much opportunity for creativity. Unfortunately, the latter is precisely what this show does in its premiere.
Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Ota only has one joke, which is in the title. You have a girl who's not that good at expressing herself and a boy who's expressive to fault. The two are curious about each other but show their feelings in extremely different ways. I do like the fact that Kashiwada isn't just an emotionless brick--she does express herself, just in very subtle ways that the rest of the cast can't pick up on. That's kind of fun in its own way, and she's actually quite forward when you just ask her direct questions, like how she basically confessed to Ota right in this first episode. However, I don't like Ota as a character because I think the show went too far in the opposite direction with him. He's loud, abrasive and annoying, and his actions really do border on bullying when you sit down and think about it. He's basically invading Kashiwada's personal space, constantly throwing things in her face, and if it wasn't for the fact that she likes him, I feel like this would be a very different type of show.
So I'm just watching a really misguided boy bully his obvious crush, which isn't an interesting premise, and it's made even less interesting by the presentation. Was I the only one who thought all the background characters looked deranged too? Something about the way many of them have their eyes drawn makes them feel unsettled, and once again, we have another show that's so aggressively washed out that everyone looks like ghosts. The music was the only thing that made me laugh during this premiere, thanks to its aggressively cartoonish quality, even making like DK and whipping out bongos at points. Outside of that, I don't think there's really much here that warrants a full 22-minute runtime. Maybe if this were a short series, it'd be easier to digest, but in its current form, I feel like a lot more needs to be done to keep me engaged.
Does the second episode do any better? Well, on the one hand, I feel like it was a bit funnier, but on the other, I still feel like the show isn't really addressing the fact that Ota is still kind of a bully to Kashiwada. He's at least taking more direct accountability for his actions and showing more openly that he does actually care about her even if he'll deny it. That is better, but I still REALLY don't like the idea of them as a couple, nor do I think I like him that much as a main character.
Episode two also introduces a third main character, the rigid class rep Tabuchi, the class rep. When she calls out Ota's bullying of Kashiwada, it's ostensibly to defend Kashiwada's feelings, but in truth, she's just as obsessed with Kashiwada as Ota is and worries that she'll stop coming to school. There's some actual potential to Tabuchi's relationship with Kashiwada--she initially describes herself as a "fan" and watches Kashiwada from afar, like an onlooker watching an animal at a zoo. She projected her own perception of events onto Kashiwada's feelings, claiming that she can understand Kashiwada better when really she's guessing just as much as anyone else. So basically the only reason why she's so uptight is because she's Kashiwada's fan, not because she had a legitimate point, and she's arguably just replacing one form of harassment with another. Eventually Kashiwada confronts Tabuchi and says she doesn't want a fan, she wants a friend. It was an unusually perceptive depiction of how people often treat others who are regarded as strange, as an observer and a defender while keeping their distance in a way that's ultimately dehumanizing. Tabuchi resolves to act as a friend to Kashiwada, but it's might not be so easy to make that kind of connection. Perhaps the series will do something with this, but it's likely too heavy a subject for this kind of show.
I think the part of the episode that got me to react the most was probably the beginning scene revolving around the swimming lessons. I liked the cutaway between how everyone else was seeing Kashiwada and how she was actually swimming. Or rather, borderline drowning. That was probably the best use of the cutaway reaction gags the show really wants to lean on. If we could get more exaggerated situations like that, I think I could find a lot more humor in this show. However, I think it also worked because we actually went to a slightly different setting than just the classroom. Maybe if we get to see these characters outside of school, there'd be a lot more to play around with. But for now, even at its best, things are just sort of...okay, I guess.
Okay, I honestly find this kind of hilarious: The name of the show is Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Ota. The synopsis for this show spells out for those who missed the title that yes, Kashiwada is inexpressive and Ota is very expressive. The episode title for the premiere is "Those Who Are Completely Inexpressive and Those Who Are Super Expressive". For an incredibly low-stakes romcom that lives and dies on the back of the most obvious joke in the world, this show sure does seem worried that we still might not get the schtick. So in case anyone is still lost, allow me to break it down for you. See, Kashiwada is a girl who most would probably describe as "inexpressive". Ota, on the other hand, is the kind of fellow that you could easily apply the "expressive" descriptor to, as a general summation of his personality. The two are opposites. Opposites...who are attracted to one another. Do you understand now? Do I need to say it louder and slower for the small infants in the back?
Yeah, if there's any fatal flaw to this anime's whole setup, it's the fact that it's very literally a one-joke premise, and the joke ain't exactly a fresh one.
Pairing two characters that are at such opposite extremes of each other can definitely be fun, and it's a story setup that has been done plenty of times with varying results. I can enjoy those shows on some level as long as the comedic timing hits or it brings just one fresh element to the table. Without that, you risk having a show that drags out the same joke over and over again without much opportunity for creativity. Unfortunately, the latter is precisely what this show does in its premiere.
Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Ota only has one joke, which is in the title. You have a girl who's not that good at expressing herself and a boy who's expressive to fault. The two are curious about each other but show their feelings in extremely different ways. I do like the fact that Kashiwada isn't just an emotionless brick--she does express herself, just in very subtle ways that the rest of the cast can't pick up on. That's kind of fun in its own way, and she's actually quite forward when you just ask her direct questions, like how she basically confessed to Ota right in this first episode. However, I don't like Ota as a character because I think the show went too far in the opposite direction with him. He's loud, abrasive and annoying, and his actions really do border on bullying when you sit down and think about it. He's basically invading Kashiwada's personal space, constantly throwing things in her face, and if it wasn't for the fact that she likes him, I feel like this would be a very different type of show.
So I'm just watching a really misguided boy bully his obvious crush, which isn't an interesting premise, and it's made even less interesting by the presentation. Was I the only one who thought all the background characters looked deranged too? Something about the way many of them have their eyes drawn makes them feel unsettled, and once again, we have another show that's so aggressively washed out that everyone looks like ghosts. The music was the only thing that made me laugh during this premiere, thanks to its aggressively cartoonish quality, even making like DK and whipping out bongos at points. Outside of that, I don't think there's really much here that warrants a full 22-minute runtime. Maybe if this were a short series, it'd be easier to digest, but in its current form, I feel like a lot more needs to be done to keep me engaged.
Does the second episode do any better? Well, on the one hand, I feel like it was a bit funnier, but on the other, I still feel like the show isn't really addressing the fact that Ota is still kind of a bully to Kashiwada. He's at least taking more direct accountability for his actions and showing more openly that he does actually care about her even if he'll deny it. That is better, but I still REALLY don't like the idea of them as a couple, nor do I think I like him that much as a main character.
Episode two also introduces a third main character, the rigid class rep Tabuchi, the class rep. When she calls out Ota's bullying of Kashiwada, it's ostensibly to defend Kashiwada's feelings, but in truth, she's just as obsessed with Kashiwada as Ota is and worries that she'll stop coming to school. There's some actual potential to Tabuchi's relationship with Kashiwada--she initially describes herself as a "fan" and watches Kashiwada from afar, like an onlooker watching an animal at a zoo. She projected her own perception of events onto Kashiwada's feelings, claiming that she can understand Kashiwada better when really she's guessing just as much as anyone else. So basically the only reason why she's so uptight is because she's Kashiwada's fan, not because she had a legitimate point, and she's arguably just replacing one form of harassment with another. Eventually Kashiwada confronts Tabuchi and says she doesn't want a fan, she wants a friend. It was an unusually perceptive depiction of how people often treat others who are regarded as strange, as an observer and a defender while keeping their distance in a way that's ultimately dehumanizing. Tabuchi resolves to act as a friend to Kashiwada, but it's might not be so easy to make that kind of connection. Perhaps the series will do something with this, but it's likely too heavy a subject for this kind of show.
I think the part of the episode that got me to react the most was probably the beginning scene revolving around the swimming lessons. I liked the cutaway between how everyone else was seeing Kashiwada and how she was actually swimming. Or rather, borderline drowning. That was probably the best use of the cutaway reaction gags the show really wants to lean on. If we could get more exaggerated situations like that, I think I could find a lot more humor in this show. However, I think it also worked because we actually went to a slightly different setting than just the classroom. Maybe if we get to see these characters outside of school, there'd be a lot more to play around with. But for now, even at its best, things are just sort of...okay, I guess.
Al's Anime Reviews - Lil' Miss Vampire Can't Suck Right
General | Posted 4 months ago(Atuhor's Nose: This was meant to go up yesterday, and in fact, I could've sworn I'd submitted it. So thanks to this odd error, today's a twofer day.)
Luna Ishikawa is a dark and mysterious vampire--or so she'd like her new classmates to believe. The truth is, while she may be one of the not-so-mythical bloodsuckers, she doesn't really live up to the hype. She's short and clumsy, and she can't even suck blood properly. So when her classmate Tatsuta Otori discovers her little "drinking problem", he can't help but lend a hand.
Remember how monster girls were the big craze from like 2015 to 2020? That's all I was thinking about when I was watching this premiere, because it feels like a show that could've come out during that five-year period. The idea of monster girls in a traditional Japanese highschool setting isn't really anything new. Unfortunately, there's only so much you can do with that setup while sticking with a relatively lighthearted genre. The first episode of Lil' Miss Vampire Can't Suck Right doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel or anything, but I did think it was cute enough..
Here we have the classic story of the popular highschool ice queen and the normal guy who sits beside her. Like these tales tend to go, the ice queen has far more going on underneath than it seems, and after the normal guy discovers her secret, the two become unlikely friends and eventually romantic foils. However, while the basic framework is far from original, it's what this anime builds on top of it that matters. Of course, the twist for this anime is right in the title. The ice queen character, Luna, is a vampire. In class, she plays into the stereotype of what people think vampires should be, ie. brilliant, poised and suave as all hell. The problem is, she's inept at the main thing vampires are known for, ie. bloodsucking.
What makes this silly plot work is how well it's been thought through. Not drinking blood means she's always hungry, trying to fill the void with any sweets she can shove down her throat. Beyond that, without blood, she doesn't have access to her powers, like flight. And once she starts feeding on Tatsuta, the normal guy of the story (who's so purposely nondescript and unassuming they don't even bother to animate his face unless strictly needed), we learn that being bad at sucking blood means everything from drinking too much to having to constantly reposition and make more punctures. Moreover, as Tatsuta gets to know the real Luna, he starts to see the cracks in her facade that no one else does. Sure, she solves a difficult equation on the board like it's nothing, but doesn't notice the chalk dust covering her sleeve. Then he catches her eating snacks behind her books while pretending to study, absolutely not something a noble vampire would do. It's entertaining and endearing stuff.
I like that the show doesn't try to overexplain its setting, it's just a modern setting where supernatural beings and deities happen to live amongst people, although some choice words did make it sound like there's more going on to keep the peace than what we saw here. I hope we get more of that as time goes on and the cast expands. Outside of that, it's just two awkward teenagers learning to get along and share a secret with each other. If you do it well, that's arguably all you really need, though I do question the longevity of that premise. It looks like there is a more extended cast coming, but based on what we've seen so far, I fear they might turn out a bit boring, especially since it looks like almost all of them are just going to be normal humans. I hope I'm wrong, but if you're going to introduce a world populated by monster girls, you need to have some genuine fun with that premise, don't play it safe.
I also feel like the premiere is a bit stylistically inconsistent. I love the design of our main heroine, and I know that her design is supposed to clash with her male costar, whose design is simple to the point where he doesn't even have a mouth, but he legit looks like he's drawn in a completely different artstyle. Most of the time it takes me out of it more than it makes me laugh. I do like the joke about how Luna goes into a bit of a chibi mode whenever she gets excited. The show addresses it but doesn't clarify whether it's just a visual gag or some Umaru-chan thing where she's actually doing it.
All that being said, I have so many questions. How has Luna never sucked blood before? Or does she mean she's never sucked it from a live person, as opposed to a blood bag or an animal? Are her parents also vampires? Why are they allowing their daughter to starve herself via her own incompetence? But at the moment, these aren't plot holes--rather, they show that I'm caring enough about this show to want to learn more about the characters and their lives. And frankly, that's a very good sign. Let's be real, I can't see this being the breakout hit of the season, but I think there's enough here to keep me satisfied.
Luna Ishikawa is a dark and mysterious vampire--or so she'd like her new classmates to believe. The truth is, while she may be one of the not-so-mythical bloodsuckers, she doesn't really live up to the hype. She's short and clumsy, and she can't even suck blood properly. So when her classmate Tatsuta Otori discovers her little "drinking problem", he can't help but lend a hand.
Remember how monster girls were the big craze from like 2015 to 2020? That's all I was thinking about when I was watching this premiere, because it feels like a show that could've come out during that five-year period. The idea of monster girls in a traditional Japanese highschool setting isn't really anything new. Unfortunately, there's only so much you can do with that setup while sticking with a relatively lighthearted genre. The first episode of Lil' Miss Vampire Can't Suck Right doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel or anything, but I did think it was cute enough..
Here we have the classic story of the popular highschool ice queen and the normal guy who sits beside her. Like these tales tend to go, the ice queen has far more going on underneath than it seems, and after the normal guy discovers her secret, the two become unlikely friends and eventually romantic foils. However, while the basic framework is far from original, it's what this anime builds on top of it that matters. Of course, the twist for this anime is right in the title. The ice queen character, Luna, is a vampire. In class, she plays into the stereotype of what people think vampires should be, ie. brilliant, poised and suave as all hell. The problem is, she's inept at the main thing vampires are known for, ie. bloodsucking.
What makes this silly plot work is how well it's been thought through. Not drinking blood means she's always hungry, trying to fill the void with any sweets she can shove down her throat. Beyond that, without blood, she doesn't have access to her powers, like flight. And once she starts feeding on Tatsuta, the normal guy of the story (who's so purposely nondescript and unassuming they don't even bother to animate his face unless strictly needed), we learn that being bad at sucking blood means everything from drinking too much to having to constantly reposition and make more punctures. Moreover, as Tatsuta gets to know the real Luna, he starts to see the cracks in her facade that no one else does. Sure, she solves a difficult equation on the board like it's nothing, but doesn't notice the chalk dust covering her sleeve. Then he catches her eating snacks behind her books while pretending to study, absolutely not something a noble vampire would do. It's entertaining and endearing stuff.
I like that the show doesn't try to overexplain its setting, it's just a modern setting where supernatural beings and deities happen to live amongst people, although some choice words did make it sound like there's more going on to keep the peace than what we saw here. I hope we get more of that as time goes on and the cast expands. Outside of that, it's just two awkward teenagers learning to get along and share a secret with each other. If you do it well, that's arguably all you really need, though I do question the longevity of that premise. It looks like there is a more extended cast coming, but based on what we've seen so far, I fear they might turn out a bit boring, especially since it looks like almost all of them are just going to be normal humans. I hope I'm wrong, but if you're going to introduce a world populated by monster girls, you need to have some genuine fun with that premise, don't play it safe.
I also feel like the premiere is a bit stylistically inconsistent. I love the design of our main heroine, and I know that her design is supposed to clash with her male costar, whose design is simple to the point where he doesn't even have a mouth, but he legit looks like he's drawn in a completely different artstyle. Most of the time it takes me out of it more than it makes me laugh. I do like the joke about how Luna goes into a bit of a chibi mode whenever she gets excited. The show addresses it but doesn't clarify whether it's just a visual gag or some Umaru-chan thing where she's actually doing it.
All that being said, I have so many questions. How has Luna never sucked blood before? Or does she mean she's never sucked it from a live person, as opposed to a blood bag or an animal? Are her parents also vampires? Why are they allowing their daughter to starve herself via her own incompetence? But at the moment, these aren't plot holes--rather, they show that I'm caring enough about this show to want to learn more about the characters and their lives. And frankly, that's a very good sign. Let's be real, I can't see this being the breakout hit of the season, but I think there's enough here to keep me satisfied.
