Last Updated: Thursday 10/12 10:05 p.m. EDT

Welcome to my seasonal Guide! (For the debut schedule, see here.) I expect to cover every full-episode series that will be debuting this season and several of the sequels/returning series, including The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent, The Eminence in Shadow, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, The Rising of the Shield Hero, Arknights: Perish in the Frost, Goblin Slayer, The Faraway Paladin, Spy x Family, and Dead Mount Death Play. I will not be covering sequels for Kizuna no Allele, Uma Musume Pretty Derby, Rail Romanesque, Girlfriend, Girlfriend, HYPNOSISMIC, or Dr. Stone. Jury’s out on whether or not I’ll preview this season’s Precure and Seven Deadly Sins installments; I will if they seem to be stand-alones.

Note: With the debut of Good Night World and the belated posting of PreCure 23, this season’s Preview Guide is now complete. The Apothecary Diaries will go directly to episode reviews when it debuts on 10/21 (The review may not be posted until the 22nd since I’ll be traveling that day) and Pluto will likely get a special review either when it debuts or when it finishes.

Power of Hope: Precure Full Bloom

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

I wasn’t going to do this one, since it is a follow-up to PreCure 5 and its related titles, and I haven’t seen any of those. However, commentary suggesting that you don’t really need to know the predecessor to be able to make sense of this one, coupled with a concept that always intrigues me – i.e., what are the heroes doing 10 years later, after all of the heroics are done? – encouraged me to go back and give this one a chance.

While the first episode wasn’t earth-shaking, I wasn’t disappointed. It takes a team of magical girls and forwards the clock roughly a decade, so they’re now all adults pursuing their respective careers. That they are facing adult problems now – ones that can’t be fixed by just turning into a magical girl (even if they still could!) – seems to be the theme of the episode, if not the series as a whole. There’s only so far that dreams and hard work can carry you when faced with things like global warming or a divorce and failing business by her father forcing a girl to change schools. That’s not so say that there isn’t any magical component here; apathy about pollution and the environment is shown to be a key in breeding a new batch of monsters, which will no doubt soon prove to be a menace, and the whole team assembling by chance despite having scattered (only a couple seems to have kept in touch with each other) does seem a bit too much of a coincidence, given their backgrounds. Still, they have at least a chance to commiserate as adults before the crisis arises.

Not at all clear where this is going next; are they going to regain the transformation devices which disappeared on them and becoming PreCures again? If so, will they look like adults or age regress back to their original transformed forms? The series is being coy about this so far, but either option is an interesting one. This franchise 20th anniversary title could well end up being one of the franchise’s most novel entries, and that could warrant another look.

Good Night World

Streams: Netflix on Thursdays

Rating: 3/5 (of 5)

Note: Although Netflix apparently dropped the whole series today, I am only covering the first episode.

In the virtual game PLANET, the quartet forms the Akabane family, the most powerful group of players in the game. In real life, however, they are the ultimate in dysfunctional families. However, because the members of the Akabane family strictly don’t talk about who they are in the real world, none of them seem to be aware that they are a family there, too, as each is in their own world there: separated or divorced parents who don’t live together, a hikkikimori elder son, and an honor student younger son who seems to want to keep communication running within the family but is unable to get anyone else to cooperate.

That’s the central gimmick of this adaptation of a completed manga series from the mid-2010s. The first episode establishes the stark contrast between the happy in-game life for the Akabane family and the miserable real life of the four members of the Arima family. Even the artistry emphasizes this contrast: the virtual world is a mostly-bright and energetic place, while the real-world house is dark, gloomy and somewhat trashy. A couple of other in-game antagonist groups also get introduced, as does a long-term game quest and an upcoming conflict, but the real story is probably going to be about how the real and virtual worlds gradually converge for the central family and how they deal with it. That has a lot of juicy potential, hence my mildly positive score, and in a lighter season this would be a sure-thing follow. Looking like a pass for me.

Dead Mount Death Play s2 (ep 13)

Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

The first season of this reverse-isekai franchise was one of the more fun entries in the Spring ’23 season, so its return is welcome. The problem is that the first season (or first half, depending on how you look at it) left so many wide-open story threads that merely wrangling all of them takes up much of this episode’s content. The only new addition is an enterprising reporter who’s ostensibly out to interview the new fortune teller Corpse God but is actually seeking to make connections to bigger cases and mysteries, much like the police are.

That doesn’t mean that nothing’s going on. The masked snipers from episode 10 are back and now in Clarissa’s employ, which is good since it looked at the end of the episode like she just lost one of her servants to another extra-tall assassin. Everyone that’s not in Polka’s group is investigating the hands that Polka manifested in episode 12 and trying to figure out what they mean, while Xaioyu is seeking clarity from his boss and the rest of Polka’s group is trying to stay out of trouble and/or get a better line on the Bastard Children of Sabaramond mentioned in episodes 11 and 12. Basically, there’s a whole lot of extension and follow-up on the developments of the last 3-4 episodes of last season, all of which is apparent set-up for the main plot thrusts of this season. So probably by next episode we’ll be back into the depths of the antics and scheming that this series is know for. Patience is a virtue here.

Kawagoe Boys Sing

Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

A “genius conductor” is out of a job because of his attitude and how little he listens to others, so to get a recommendation to get back into conducting, he’s assigned to form a champion boys’ choir out of nothing at the school his grandmother runs. The first trio he rather forcefully recruits is Tenshi, who loves to sing but cannot do it in front of other people, and his two friends, but others clearly take notice after the trio is cajoled into doing a test performance in the school’s gym.

In other words, this is a fairly standard “difficult/oddball teacher uses unorthodox methods to get the most out of his students” scenario, though it seems to be aimed more at developing the equivalent of a show choir rather than an idol group. Conductor Haruo is more annoying than likable as the eccentric teacher, but otherwise he only two oddities here are the principal having a civet for a pet and a shower scene that, if the genders were flipped, would probably be highly objectionable. Between being pretty bland overall and a weak artistic effort, the only thing to recommend here is some pretty good Engrish singing early on.

Stardust Telepath

Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

In this manga adaptation, Umika is a girl just entering high school who is so limited by her crippling social anxiety that she feels her words don’t reach other humans, so she dreams of befriending aliens instead. To her shock, she gets her chance when latecomer Yu steps into the picture, boldly declares that she is an alien, and quickly takes an interest in Umika. Yu claims she has an ability she calls “foreheadpathy” (i.e., she can read the feelings of others by touching foreheads with them), and that and Yu’s cheery acceptance of Umika helps Umika to finally start to communicate.

This is a sweet little series which could easily be interpreted as having yuri undertones, though I don’t get the impression that is the primary intent. It’s much more of a “finding someone I can connect with” kind of story, one with a distinct mystery element: is Yu really an alien, or just a human girl who has, perhaps, created her own alien fantasy to cope with her own problems? That is very carefully left ambiguous at the end of the episode, as all of Yu’s odd circumstances (living in an abandoned lighthouse, not remembering her alien life before appearing in her current form) could be explained in conventional terms; even her “foreheadpathy” could just be advanced intuition. Regardless, seeing Umika start to bond with Yu promotes all kind of warm fuzzies, which the soft artistry and background music capably support. The OP and ED indicate that this will eventually be a quartet, but it’s starting from a solid foundation with this duo.

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You

Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

This was actually one of the most-anticipated new series of the season, especially by those familiar with the manga. After seeing the first episode, I don’t understand why. There’s absolutely nothing special about its visual quality, it’s far from the funniest things I’ve seen this season (in fact, I think I only got a chuckle or two out of it), it leans very heavily on hoary harem tropes, and its unique spin on the harem concept is just another convenient mechanism to artificially justify the existence of a harem, especially one where the protagonist has done little to earn it. In fact, only one scene stood out as particularly sincere and meritorious. If this is supposed to be something special, its appeal is beyond me.

In this case, Rentaro is a hopeless romantic who’s been striking out with the ladies since he was an infant – 100 times by the end of middle school, in fact. During a shrine visit to pray for luck in love, the shrine god – a God of Love – appears and tells him that he will find love – 100 times in fact, since he has 100 soul mates due to a silly clerical error. The problem is that there are bad consequences for soul mates not hooking up, and he meets two right away on the first day of school: the buxom peach-themed Hakari and the tsundere orange-themed Karane. The only solution he can come up with is to date them both, which they agree to since a three-way is better than no Rentaro at all. But there are many more (including three who get brief cameos) waiting in the wings. . .

So what does the series do with this that hasn’t been done by numerous other harem series before Essentially, nothing. There are few fourth-wall-breaking attempts at humor early on, and maybe that could turn into a running joke if maintained, but the whole things just seems like a ball of energy that’s not going anywhere. It’s not actually bad by genre standards, but it has yet to show anything special.

Butareba – The Story of a Man Turned Into A Pig

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

I have more mixed feelings about this light novel adaptation than probably any other series which has debuted so far this season, so I had an especially difficult time settling on a grade for this one. The premise is pretty simple: this is an isekai reincarnation tale where a hopeless otaku had been reborn as a pig in a fantasy world and meets a pretty girl who can actually talk to him (and recognize that he has a human rather than swine mind) because she’s telepathic. That premise isn’t actually as crazy as it sounds, because narratives involving men being turned into pigs go back at least as far as ancient Greece (see the sorceress Circe), and apparently, things like that happened at one point in this setting, too. There’s also the added irony that a person who was pretty much a pig inwardly in his former life is now one outwardly, too.

Both the most interesting, and most potentially problematic, component of the series is the human in this human/animal relationship. Jess, who’s a member of a clan (or perhaps subspecies?) which is capable of telepathy, is a blatant otaku ideal. She pampers him to a degree, is willing to do things he asks (or even just thinks about), and doesn’t even take offense when some of Pig’s thoughts stray into the crude realm, even after he knows she can hear them. That can very easily be taken as pandering, even to the point that Pig recognizes it himself. Why Jess is this way is the potentially interesting point, though. She had dreams of being rescued by a prince (but from what?), but she seems unconvinced of her own attractiveness or worth and seems to regard Pig as being refreshingly honest even when he’s just stream-of-consciousness babbling. She gives the impression of not having much for positive interactions with other people, so perhaps she sees Pig as a safe alternative? There’s also the matter of the collar she wears and an apparent state of servitude. The visual detail work on Jess is also impressive, especially compared to the plain-looking Pig. (And doubtless that’s intentional.)

I’m just enough interested in the possible bigger picture here that I may give this one another episode or two to prove itself. Some people in real life do find their pets to be better companions than other humans, so it’s not a big leap to extend that to a clearly-sentient pig, too.

Protocol: Rain

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 2 (of 5)

In this original anime project, Shun was an ace FPS gamer until something happened three years ago which caused enough trauma to get him to stop gaming. The exact event isn’t detailed here, but there’s a dead father and a younger sister who’s apparently paraplegic now (but wasn’t always so) in the picture, so maybe one or both of those is involved? Even so, he came to work for an esports café owned by the family of a friend, and the café getting in financial trouble – and thus the owner (his friend’s father) looking to an esports team to bail them out – may be what forces him back in.

There is definite room for a good dramatic story here, and a quality OP certainly seems to suggest that, but man, the series is going to need more than it’s currently offering to keep an audience. There’s absolutely nothing all that dramatic about the game in question, Shun isn’t particularly compelling or even interesting as a protagonist, and the production values aside from the game don’t impress, either. Part of the problem could just be that I don’t get the appeal of esports at all – the only time I’ve ever watched playthroughs is when I’m stuck on how to beat a particular part of a game – but I’ve seen complaints from others on these points, too. While I’m mildly interested in the circumstances which caused Shun’s absence from the game and how “Explosion-kun” (who seems to be an actress/model IRL) fits into this, it’s not enough to keep me watching.

I Shall Survive Using Potions!

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

In modern Japan, Kaoru is an office worker who getting accidentally killed when a god’s effort to correct a spatial distortion has an unfortunate side effect. As compensation for accepting reincarnation in a medieval-level world, she is granted an ability of her choice: to be able to manifest potions of all types at will, including appropriate containers. (She also gets an Item Box and the ability to read, write, and speak all languages – which she soon learns includes animal languages, too.) She has decided that this is the best way to stay healthy and have an easy way to make a living. What she soon discovers, though, is that while magic and monsters do exist in this world, magical potions are a far more special commodity than she anticipated, and that can be just as problematic as it is helpful.

Based on the cutesy look of this one and the silly behavior of the god and goddess who appear early on, I was not expecting much from this one. By the end of the episode, though, Kaoru had won me over. She is quite the enterprising lady, one who jumps into action with cleverness and takes control of situation, whether it be normal humans, a Baron, or even gods; she even had such a reputation for this that when she appears in her family’s dreams to explain what happened (a great little scene, BTW), they fully expect her to be successful in the new world. She even makes some of the most innovative use I’ve seen for an Item Box, too. Despite essentially being an isekai with an OP protagonist, this one shows enough measured energy and charm that it could prove to be a fun little view.

A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

This one has a slightly unusual origin, in that it’s based on a Korean novel that was originally animated as a Korean webtoon in 2018. However, it still stands as the second series debuting on Saturday 10/7 which sees the protagonist traveling back in time to get a second chance after a Bad Ending. Unlike with Tearmoon Empire, there is no concern about tonal dissonance this time around; it remains an almost entirely serious tale throughout. But it’s also nowhere near as pretty.

The story focuses on Desir Herrman, a commoner who plays a crucial role in the final Shadow World fight against the tyrant dragon Boromir Napolitan by locking down the dragon’s magic so the rest of the surviving six heroes can defeat him. Even getting to that point came at great cost, and even the heroes can’t survive the dragon’s ultimate self-destruct after being defeated. But Desir finds himself back 13 years earlier, at the point where he first joined Herbion Academy. That gives him a chance to find away to avoid the future fate, especially concerning the death of a girl he apparently loved, all while dealing with generic classism and mediocre artistic merits, especially in the CG animation of Boromir.

Except for the aforementioned CG, nothing this episode does is bad, but nothing stands out, either. I could easily see it getting lost and forgotten among the swarm of anime fantasy titles this season.

Tearmoon Empire

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

I have heard that the source novels for this adaptation are a fun read where the humor is mostly based on the absurdity of the disconnect between what Princess Mia is thinking (and especially her selfish motivations) and how people interpret her actions. Perhaps that aspect will develop more as the series goes on, but the first episode shows very little of it. Instead, we get one of the most tonally dissonant anime debuts that I’ve seen in quite some time. At some times this is a dark story clearly inspired by Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution, with protagonist Mia being the downfallen princess whose life ends at the guillotine three years after a popular revolt resulted in her being imprisoned. However, when it time-jumps eight years earlier to Mia at age 12, it turns into a cutesy, more high-spirited affair. While Mia’s experiences from the revolution have clearly affected her (once she accepts that they weren’t just a nightmare), the gravitas of that acceptance isn’t fully there, making the flashbacks (flashforwards?) feel sharply at odds with her actions as a 12-year-old.

There’s an equally sharp contrast in the visuals between the dank imagery of the prison and the gorgeous backgrounds of the palace after the time-jump (and this really is some of the prettiest background art design we’ve seen in recent years), but that is doubtlessly more intentional. The main problem with this one, though, is that Mia just isn’t a very likable character. She clearly hasn’t fully learned or taken to heart the lessons she should have from the circumstances that led to her former death, and at least so far, that’s making her minor efforts to change things feel unsatisfying. There might be a good story here long-term, but it’s not showing so far.

Spy x Family s3

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

The Forger family is back for another round of spy-themed intrigue and fun! This time around, Loid has invited Yor out on a date in hopes of improving her inexplicably foul mood (all for the sake of the bigger mission, of course). However, he’s unaware that Yor’s mood is actually her being in pain from a butt injury she suffered during an assassination job, and while she’s eager to experience the date, that complicates things. Naturally, Anya has to tail them and even thwart the guy who got away from Yor the night before from taking revenge, in the latter case without her parents knowing.

Anyone who’s watched and enjoyed the first two seasons of the series will probably enjoy this episode, too, though it’s definitely not one of the series’ best. Still, seeing Anya go into her interpretation of Secret Agent Mode (and, more importantly, the bad guy actually buying her as a minion of the Thorn Princess) was rather amusing, as was the nature of Yor’s eventual painkiller. Yor also got some great expression this episode, and the technical effort is still solid.

My New Boss is Goofy

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

Kentaro Momose had such a rough time with his abusive previous boss that he was driven to ulcers, so he has serious anxiety about his new one at the new ad agency he hires on with. Fortunately for him, new boss Shirosake is not only a much kinder and more helpful supervisor but also almost comically incompetent at anything not involving his job, which helps put Momose at ease. And nope, there’s absolutely nothing for BL vibes in this scenario. . .

This manga adaptation has a number of sweet and lightly comical moments in it, with the latter mostly focusing on all of the silly minor things that boss Shirosake gets tripped up by, such as accidentally spinning 360° in his chair when he only intends to do a 180 or accidentally poking his finger with his pen. However, the mediocre artistic effort and especially the unattractiveness of the squarish, shojo-styled character designs overwhelmed any other possible merits this show might have had. I can see some audiences being entertained by this series, but I’m not part of that audience.

The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess

Streams: HIDIVE on Saturdays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

So nice to see Taiga from Toradora back in action! Oh, wait. . .

Seriously, though, this light novel adaptation features Terakomari Gandesblood, scion of a prestigious noble vampire clan, who’s literally as weak as they come when it comes to vampires. That’s a real problem in an empire where personal power means everything and has contributed to her being a shut-in for years. She gets dragged out of her isolation when her father misinterpreting something she said leads to the empress appointing her as one of the Seven Crimson Lords, who are supposed to be the empire’s elite. Continue to succeed in battle and she’ll be a candidate to become Empress herself; continue to fail she’ll be executed. (Though how truthful that statement actually is remains to be seen.) Only a new maid knows the truth of the matter, so Terakomari has to put on the act of being the bold military commander she always dreamed about.

This is presented mostly as a comedy, complete with a couple of bits of fan service, though the closing scenes also suggest past bullying. The setting also has one interesting world-building element: no one permanently dies in wars fought in a neutral war zone due to some funky magic, so battles can be endlessly-fought without long-term attrition. How this reality might affect things and a few genuinely funny moments, combined with decent artistry and technical merits, make this a passable start overall, but I’d have to see it do a bit more to seriously consider it for my weekly viewing list.

The Faraway Paladin: The Lord of Rust Mountain

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 4 (of 5)

I have rewatched The Faraway Paladin at least a couple of times since its Fall 2021 debut, partly because it’s just a solidly-made series and partly because it’s the best representation I’ve ever seen of what it means to become a true paladin. This low-key start to season 2 expands on that theme as it primarily focuses on Will taking Bee to visit a renowned but hard-to-reach Academy of Magic. Just getting there is a feat akin to an RPG mini-adventure, but the real meat of the episode is what Bee wanted to see at the Academy and, more importantly, why. In exploring those matters, the story gets to the heart of why Bee chose to become a wandering troubadour in the first place: inspired by a former traveling companion, she wants to make sure that heroic deeds – which can give people hope but which can also be easily disappear with the passage of time if not properly recorded and continually relayed – do not get forgotten.

As simple as that sounds, the spirit with which Bee approaches this lifelong task gives it an energy and solemnity worthy of a true fantasy bard. (And really, Bee has one of anime’s most infectious smiles, too.) It is, perhaps, a message to Will, too: doing great deeds is fine, but what’s important in the long run is that they are recognized and remembered so others can draw courage and resolve from them. That’s incredibly important for someone seeking to reestablish an entire faith, and an affirmation of why Bee is just as indispensable to Will’s mission as any of his other companions. The series’s typically-strong technical merits are also back, too. All-in-all, it’s not an exciting return to action, but one which still fits well within the framework of the series.

Undead Unluck

Streams: Hulu+ on Fridays

Rating: 4.5 (of 5)

Well, damn. Guess I’m keeping my Hulu subscription for another season and adding yet another title to an already-crowded Friday viewing schedule. Because there’s no way I’m not going to watch more after seeing such a balls-to-the-wall crazy opening episode.

You have an undead guy who literally can’t be more than briefly killed by anything and is looking for a way to die. You have a young woman who is planning to commit suicide because of her peculiar condition: anyone who makes skin-to-skin contact with her gets fatally unlucky. Perfect combination, right? Oh, and the undead guy can also jet himself forward on severed limbs by controlling the way his regeneration works. Yes, that’s every bit as eye-poppingly insane in execution as it sounds, and that’s not even close to the full extend of what goes down here. Really, I watched much of this episode with my jaw on the floor.

Doesn’t hurt that studio david production brought their A game to the table here, either. This is as much of an artistic spectacle as anything that’s aired this season, including some amusing self-censoring since Undead is stark naked for much of the episode. It’s bloody to the point of absurdity, so this isn’t a title for the kiddos, but if you can handle that then you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

The Kingdoms of Ruin

Streams: Crunchyroll on Fridays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

In most stories involving witches, they are persecuted for being the enemies of God. In this manga adaptation, however, they were originally the representatives of God in the physical world, charged with aiding and protecting humanity. Once humanity sufficiently advanced, however, they came to despise the witches rather than revere them and so took to exterminating them. Ironically, this brought about the dark times that were prophesized to happen when witches and humans became at odds, though the Redia Empire and its citizens probably wouldn’t agree. Adonis is a young man who, as a boy, was raised by a witch and taught magic, only to see her publicly executed. Doroka is a young woman who, a decade later, was a war prisoner of the Redia Empire when she escaped and tried to free the other prisoners, though in the process it appears she also freed the long-imprisoned Adonis, too. This isn’t going to go well for someone.

What sounded in its advertising blurb like it was going to be a pure fantasy series actually turns out to be a “science and magic” series instead, with true magic existing alongside smartphones and scientific magic nullification devices. This is a dark, almost dystopian setting, one which features graphic public executions, war prisoners being sold as sex slaves, a public driven by hate, and a male protagonist who’s going to be driven by revenge, despite his witch mentor doing everything she could to prevent that outcome. It makes for a fine story base, but the behavior of the apparent female protagonist just seems much too incongruous with the tone the series is otherwise fostering, and there are a couple of other expressions and moments which pop up which feel like they would be much more appropriate in lighter fare. That occasional tonal incongruity is the chief reason why I’m not rating this higher, although the visual so far have been a mixed bag, too; some good design elements, but animation that is frustratingly limited in places and occasional quality control slips in character rendering. I’m going to give this one another episode to prove itself, but it faces stiff competition on an already-packed day.

KimiZero (aka Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me)

Streams: Crunchyroll on Fridays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

The premise of this light novel-based series is as basic as can be: a geeky introvert loses a bet and has to confess to the girl he secretly likes, a pretty, outgoing, popular girl rumored to be a very active dater. To his shock, she accepts, and they start dating. What makes this one interesting – and potentially more worth following than many others of its ilk – is that this may not be as shallow a story as it might initially appear to be. Runa, the sexy gal-type girl that protagonist Ryuto asks out, accepts because she believes in giving “like” a try to see if it can develop into more, but her numerous past relationships never have.  Following scenes suggest why: somewhere along the line, she got the idea in her head that sex was just something that’s expected as the foundation of a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. She’s expecting the same here, so she doesn’t waste time in inviting Ryuto to her room. This raises the strong suggestion (which Ryuto picks up on himself) that her past relationships didn’t last because the boys were only interested in that. But while Ryuto absolutely wants to do it with her, he sees that more as a goal in a relationship rather than a starting point. For Ryuto, sex should only come when she wants it, not when she thinks it’s expected of her. And Runa finds that to be an interesting change of pace.

I do hope the series eventually delves into Runa’s viewpoint on things, as seeing how she ended up with this mindset would be very interesting. Regardless, getting the big elephant in the room out of the way up front makes for a promising foundation for a developing relationship; too many anime romances just skirt around sex as long as they can. While I’m not expecting great things out of this series, there’s enough promise here in its look at relationship mindsets that I will probably, at the least, check back in on this series from time to time.

Goblin Slayer s2

Streams: Crunchyroll on Fridays

Ratingg: 3.5 ( of 5)

While I wouldn’t say it’s the best straight fantasy series in recent years, Goblin Slayer is certainly one of my favorites, so I was eagerly looking forward to its continuation here. With all the familiar faces from the first season back and an interesting new story angle developing, it doesn’t disappoint – at least on the storytelling side, anyway.

This episode does specifically follow the events of the movie Goblin Crown, and it has a specific reference to Fencer (the prominent character introduced in that movie), so seeing the movie first is highly recommended. The framing device is the beginning of Priestess’s second year as an adventurer, and she’s looking to rank up as a whole new crop of rookie adventurers comes into the picture. Among the rookies is a brash, red-haired wizard boy who seems especially determined to hunt and kill goblins. Goblin Slayer is unconvinced that he’s ready or capable, but Priestess is also having trouble increasing her Guild rank because she’s seen too much as a supporter for a party of Silver ranks, so a compromise is struck: form a temporary party of lower-ranks, with Priestess as the leader and the boy as a member. (And, I presume, trainees from other parties shown prominently last year joining in, too.)

Seeing the series blend together previously-established threads (like Fencer and the proposed rookie training program) is quite satisfying, as is seeing a return to the emphasis on rookies in the adventuring world. While the regular group has a fun and effective dynamic, this is an interesting angle to explore. The writing also deftly mixes in many of the familiar faces, shows how perceptions of Goblin Slayer have changed amongst the veterans, and even finds time for some rookie viewpoints, too. (And speaking of viewpoints, the goblin’s-eye-view of the critical events from episode 1 of season 1 was a neat trick.) New OP “Entertainment” by Mili (who also did the OP for the first season) is also among the season’s best. Sadly, the rest of the visual quality doesn’t hold up, which is why I’m not rating this higher. The studio switch – from WHITE FOX to LIDEN FILMS – has, so far, resulted in a significant visual downgrade, with almost everything looking at least a bit rougher. If this is the series’ new visual standard then it’s going to be a drag on the whole season.

The Rising of the Shield Hero s3

Streams: Crunchyroll on Fridays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

With Naofumi and his party now back in Melromac, a lot of clean-up and fall-out from the Spirt Tortoise incident has to be attended to while still preparing for the eventual appearance of the Phoenix. For the queen, that means fretting over where the other Cardinal Heroes have disappeared, where most of the Vassal Heroes of this world might be, and why a supposed ally has troops stationed suspiciously. For Naofumi, that means rounding up as many of the former Lurolona villagers who still remain enslaved as possible. Ironically, the Shield Hero becoming the lord for Lurolona has economic forces in motion which complicate that mission, leading to the nation of Zeltoble and some surreptitious arena fighting.

In other words, this is mostly a set-up episode for the events upcoming this season. It features cameo appearances by a number of individuals who, based on the new opener, are going to be regular players in events this season, introduces a new locale, and sets up a surprisingly complex economic situation; essentially, Lurolona has now become a figurative brand in slave trading thanks to the Shield Hero. I am interested to see how this plays out, especially how intricate the plotting gets and how many other moving pieces might be in play here, so there is reason for optimism after a mostly-disappointing second season.

Under Ninja

Streams: Crunchyroll on Thursdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

In modern Japan, there are ninjas. A LOT of them. And nobody knows who they are or where they are because they look just like average people and do Average People jobs. A true ninja blends in and does whatever is needed, whether it’s utterly-normal delivery work, walking on walls over a woman on a toilet to get a badly-placed roll of toilet paper, or preparing to fight a rival band of ninjas using out-of-date ganguro styles and make-up.

The subtle and not-so-subtle absurdity of these situations is the core of this debut, and it’s where the offbeat humor of this series lies. Much of what the first episode does may seem very random at first, but by the end of the episode events do seem to be gradually converging into a more cohesive whole, revealing a very abnormal but still coherent sense of logic. This is very definitely not going to be a series for everyone, as even aside from its weird structuring, it has a very earthy nature to it, but I could see this series gradually growing on people if they give it a chance.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 ep 13

Streams: Crunchyroll on Thursdays

Rating: 4 (of 5)

The first half ended with the College being both magically and physically locked down due to the spate of recent dangerous incident. The second half mostly consists of the fallout of that incident, primarily from the viewpoint of the students. Everyone in Chise’s main friend group is concerned about Philomela – even Lucy, who’s finally back in action – but they first have to deal with a combat exercise with the familiars of Zaccheroni, one where they must use weapons rather than sorcery. (Only Chise doesn’t need a weapon.) Despite performing quite competently, Philomela falls ill in reaction to the lesson on not relying too completely on sorcery. Meanwhile, Elias discusses further with Simeon what it means to be a friend and Headmistress Quillyn called in some outside investigative help concerning a certain missing book.

All-in-all, this is a fine start to the second half, including an interestingly different new OP and a solid but less impressive new ED. The combat exercise showed that the series may now have a few too many characters to manage fully, but the important ones get adequate shares of time and the most interesting case beyond Chise – Philomela – is starting to take center stage. So much is swirling around here that this looks to be a meaty second half of the season.

16 Bit Sensation: Another Layer

Streams: Crunchyroll on Wednesdays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

On paper, this looks like just another time travel jaunt; in this case, a game artist in 2023 finds herself back in 1992, at the cusp of the bishoujo game boom, after opening an old game obtained at a mysterious second-hand shop. That artist is Kaori Shimoda, who joined a game company with dreams of designing pretty girls for epic games, but laments when economic realities result in her working on basic ecchi games instead. Spilling her laments to the old proprietor of the second-hand shop sets up the chain of events which send her back to 1992. Once she overcomes her shock, she may well get the chance to fulfill her dreams, since she (literally) runs into the son of the owner of a small game design company at that time.

There’s absolutely nothing special about the visuals or premise, but this debut deserves credit for its surprisingly compelling earnestness and message. Saori’s laments may well be the laments of an entire industry, as the heyday of bishoujo games has been swallowed up by the rise of gacha games and much more complex video games. Epic bishoujo games like Kanon (which is featured prominently in the episode) just can’t get made anymore. The choice of the game Dokyusei as the time travel trigger is significant here, as is the fact that it takes Saori back to 1992, as that is when that pivotal release came out. (It established many of the standards for what would become dating sim games.) The series has a lot of other bishoujo cameos of more modern anime and games, too, including To Heart and Madoka Magika. Really, it feels like this series is trying to make a point rather than just tell a story, that is why I am very cautiously optimistic about it.

KamiErabi GOD.app

Streams: Crunchyroll on Wednesdays

Rating: 1 (of 5)

This is one of the few original series of the season, a creation by the director of the games Drakenguard, Nier, and Nier: Automata. It is also, sadly, the clear worst series of the season so far. The concept is a basic and familiar one: high school students randomly get involved in an app-based death game to determine who will become God. Then they go and kill each other. Unfortunately for protagonist Goro, a girl he’s starting to crush gets involved in this as he does and suddenly starts trying to kill him with a giant, cleaver-like weapon generated by stabbing meat. Oh, and for some bizarre reason he masturbates in front of her before this happens.

As weak as the premise is, the visual are the real problem here. The CG modeling is stiff and basic, the color designs off-putting (I can see what they were going with by only coloring relevant characters, but it looks gimmicky rather than cool), and who thought a uniform design which looks like a reject from a German elementary school was a good idea? There have been much better (and much better-looking) versions of this concept in recent years, so don’t waste your time here.

The Eminence in Shadow s2 (ep 21)

Streams: HIDIVE on Wednesdays

Rating: 5 (of 5)

I am giving this one a maximum rating because I simply cannot imagine how the return of this much-beloved series could have more perfectly encapsulated everything that this series is. It’s bloody, gratuitously sexy, chaotic, edgelord-styled dramatic to the point of self-parody, frightfully funny, utterly ironic, and in general just one big mass of darkly-hued fun.

It doesn’t take long to get to business, either. The episode’s single funniest moment comes only a minute and a half in, when Cid/Shadow dramatically says, “I smell it” (implying trouble in a report he was hearing) and all his minions react literally (as they always have!) and start checking to see if they have BO or open a window to air out the room. I laughed so hard at that one that I had to pause the stream, and it was far from the last time the episode exercised the franchise’s quirky sense of humor. One of the best later gags involves a red-haired vampire hunter spouting off a series of very generic-sounding dramatic warnings to Cid when he’s not-so-threatened by ghouls, and him taking such a fancy to those lines that he insists on repeating them to anyone he protects from rampaging ghouls as Shadow. The episode is just packed with all sorts of moments like those as Cid (literally) gets dragged by his sister Claire to Lawless City, where a bunch of vampires are unleashing a plot involving a Red Moon to awaken their long-slumbering leader.

I could write a whole essay about all of the fun stuff here, but let’s just leave it at how there’s all sorts of potentially interesting new faces popping up here as well as old faces doing what they do best, whether it’s Skel and Po making fools of themselves or Claire casually kicking the head off a ghoul before teaming up with the vampire hunter. Cid, of course, still thinks this is all his own fantasy playing out even though every bit of it is real, and it still looks impressive in a darkly flashy way. If you watched the first season, this episode will only get you hyped further for this one.          

I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness

Streams: Crunchyroll on Wednesdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

This light novel adaptation has easily the longest and cheekiest title of the season, but based on the first episode, it’s also going to be one of the season’s most fun titles. In it, Allen Crawford is a sorcerer with such a contrary disposition that he’s referred to as the “Demon Lord” and lives in a mansion deep in the forest. One morning he happens across a young woman who’s collapsed in the forest after spending the night fleeing from soldiers, rescues her from said soldiers, and after hearing her sad tale about how she was framed by a foreign prince who sought to get rid of her (she was his long-standing fiancée), decides to make Charlotte into his housekeeper – even if that means using her faultlessly-kind disposition against her to coerce her (by putting a death curse on himself until she agrees). Since she has not been treated well even beyond the false charges, Allen decides to spoil her by treating her to all manner of naughty habits. 

Despite the title, this is a surprisingly clean, cute, and even mildly sweet tale, and definitely a funny one, too.  Though Allen can be a bit of a jerk (one of his favorite hobbies is gleefully poking holes in research papers on magic), he is also a victim of past mistreatment by others, so he sympathizes with Charlotte’s plight more strongly than he may realize and seems to take joy in showing Charlotte that life doesn’t have to suck. Nothing is even the slightest bit lewd or fan servicey about this, either, which may be hard for some to reconcile with the fact that Allen’s seiyuu just got done portraying past-life Rudy in Mushoku Tensei (and Tomokazu Sugita is using practically the same voice and delivery here).  It’s only about average on technical and visual merits, but that’s fine for a series like this. This has the potential to be one of the season’s surprises, so i

Bullbuster

Streams: Crunchyroll on Wednesdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

This season’s dedicated mecha entry is a decidedly unconventional one. Sure, it still has mecha fighting large monsters, but these are tractor-sized mecha which, in the cruder versions, look and feel more like actual construction equipment. Even the new, titular model is not the elegant knight of the battlefield so commonly-seen in mecha series. And this is, I think, the point.

Bullbuster is less a true mecha series and more a workplace comedy/drama which happens to involve mecha. The titular mecha is the newest model being leased to a small extermination company, and its hotshot pilot/developer is woefully unprepared for what Namidome Industries is exterminating: giant beasts which have apparently taken over a formerly-inhabited island. (Nothing about how this happened is explained in this episode.) Enthusiam runs headlong into teal-world practicalities, like whether or not the newcomer has all his paperwork in place before going out on his first job, and the advantages/ disadvantages of bipedal vs. track-based mecha come into play once the action hits. The series looks pretty good (despite the ill-defined CG monster), and all the cast members introduced in the first episode are clearly-defined right from the start, making for an efficient and effective opening episode. You might not necessarily need to be a mecha fan to appreciate this one.

Paradox Live the Animation

Streams: Crunchyroll on Tuesdays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

This is the anime branch of a mixed-media project with singles dating back to 2020 and albums dating to 2021. In the anime, a legendary hip-hop club and the legendary duo who run it have resurfaced and declared a music battle for four invited groups, with the winners getting a massive cash prize and the right to duel the legends on-stage. The extra gimmick here is a special metal which allows performers to manifest illusory visual effects to augment their performances, though there is some suggestion at the end of the episode that these effects are linked to past trauma.

In other words, you have colorful CG performers duking it out musically with all kinds of fancy visual effects. The CG actually isn’t bad, and the one group shown performing (apparent central trio BAE) does have some snappy performances. Some hints are dropped about bigger plot points and mysteries, but this one’s mostly about the performance pieces. I found it a chore to watch, but have to acknowledge that it’s pretty well-done for what it is.

The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent s2

Streams: Crunchyroll on Tuesdays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

Despite being an isekai series featuring an OP heroine, the first season of The Saint’s Magic Power largely avoided many of the common complaints which come with such series because it was careful to show that Sei, despite being the most powerful magic-user in the land, couldn’t do everything on her own. Her powers are geared entirely for support roles rather than offense, so she excelled best with a capable contingent around her. Signs of that continuing are already apparent in the first episode, which features Sei establishing her own trade company in order to market her cosmetics. Of course, the work of setting it up and running it is left to the experts; Sei is only the idea person behind it. The romantic aspect also gets addressed as Sei as a pleasant café visit with Commander Hawke, and that’s where the vague mystery aspect comes in: the new “foreign drink” is actually coffee. That gets Sei interested in finding out if rice also exists in this world, which mean a visit to a port city is on the agenda.

In other words, nothing terribly exciting happens, and the port city excursion provides the only vague hint of a future plot. The whole business with setting up a trade company – which would be an episode or more-long affair in many other isekai titles – gets glossed over too slickly, but unlike something like Parallel World Pharmacy, that isn’t the main focus of the story so it’s partly forgivable. Nothing has changed on the technical front, either, for better or worse. On the whole, the series remains as pleasant as ever and should be a fine continuation for established fans.

I’m in Love with the Villainess

Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

This one isn’t subtle about its focus; Ii wastes no time in getting straight to the heart of its title. The instant a female office drone finds herself inside the otome game she obsesses over, she immediately declares her love for Miss Claire, the noble who serves as the game’s villain. No amount of bullying conducted by Claire in the slightest discourages Rei; in fact, the latter eats it up to a masochistic degree, which utterly throws Claire off her game. So what is a somewhat principled bully to do when all of her efforts are having the opposite effect?

The result here is easily the funniest debut so far this season. I’m not a fan of this subgenre of isekai, and I’m definitely not a fan of that drill-like hairstyle, but I still had at least a smile on my face practically the whole episode. Additionally, I find the notion of an otome game being upended by the player’s character suddenly taking a hard lesbian turn to be quite amusing.  The English dub also strongly hits the mark in all cases. I’m not sure how long this humor thread can continue before wearing out its welcome, but so far it is exploiting its comedy base for all it’s worth.

Playthrough of a Certain Dude’s VRMMO Life

Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays

Rating: 1.5 (of 5)

To a certain degree, I can see where this series is coming from. As a long-time RPG gamer,I haven’t always ruthlessly min-maxed my characters, instead sometimes making class, skill, or spell choices just to fit a theme or see if they will work. Sometimes they do beautifully; other times, they get thrown in the trash bin. The unnamed protagonist of this series seems to be in that mode by default. He’s just playing to play and see if he can get odd combos to work, and just happens into the right skills when a crisis arises in the game or players are seeking something different. That’s totally fine, but that doesn’t make for an exciting view.

And that’s the main problem with this light novel adaptation: it’s more boring than bad. Nothing all that interesting actually happens, and there’s certainly nothing about the protagonist and his practical-minded approach that makes him compelling. Easily one of the weakest artistic efforts of the season and bland world-building for the VRMMO setting also hold this one down. Maybe this will be of interest to those who are looking for a series about a guy just doing random things in a VRMMO setting, but even then, there is far more interesting fare out there.

Shy

Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays

Rating: 4.5 (of 5)

A hero is able to save everyone during an amusement park calamity, but because the hero can only ferry down one person at a time, the last person gets badly injured when the calamity compounds to the point of straining the hero to her limit. How responsible should the hero be? How responsible should the hero feel?

That’s a heady moral quandary to dump out in the first episode of a new super-hero title, especially when the hero in question is Shy, an aptly-named 14-year-old who’s relatively new to the business. Since no one else at the scene could have acted quickly enough, and since the girl would have clearly died if Shy had not found a way to stop the runaway coaster car, she shouldn’t feel guilty, but she does, and the media isn’t kind, either, in the way it emphasizes her failure rather than her success. (But that’s also realistic.) She has to find a way to accept what she can and can’t do and move on, because a hero cannot be a hero if she’s afraid to act.

This provides a rock-solid foundation for a fantastic first episode, then follows it up with the twist at the end that the injured girl becomes the heroine’s new classmate. As intriguing a turn as that is, though, it’s the emotions behind Teru’s actions – and the way we get an in-depth look at her right from the start – which drives this episode. Strong production values certainly don’t hurt, and this is directed by the same person who led quality titles like School-Live! and Scum’s Wish, so the potential for the quality effort is certainly there. This one has plenty enough of the right spirit to be a keeper for me.

The Demon Swordmaster of Excalibur Academy

Streams: HIDIVE on Mondays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

A thousand years in the past, the undead Leonis, last of the Demon Lords, faced eventual defeat in the face of the Six Heroes. Since he had not yet fulfilled a promise made to his goddess, he chose to undergo reincarnation rather than battle to the end. When awakened what he presumes to be a millennium later by the pretty young human woman Lisella, he discovers that he has been reincarnated as a human child and much has changed, including magic being lost, human civilization having advanced dramatically, and humanity being besieged by a threat from Voids, who may be the aliens. Seeking more information (and only that, he assures himself), he secretly saves Lisella’s life when she is mortally wounded defending “Leo” (whom she assumes is an amnesiac child) from a Void and decides to go with her.

On the surface, this sounds like a variation on The Misfit at Demon King Academy crossed with the ‘90s post-apocalyptic series Blue Gender. And indeed, a lot of the story and visual elements here feel very familiar from other series, too. However, the series does look pretty good (Lisella being a total anime goddess of a design certainly doesn’t hurt!) and have some potentially intriguing hooks, including the strong suggestion that Leonis was a fallen Hero before he was a Demon Lord and that the Voids could be the beings “from another world” that his goddess warned him about. I’m not ruling out that this one could descend into being just another bout of Magic(ish) Academy blandness, but I see enough signs of hope here to at least check out more.

Ron Kamanohashi’s Forbidden Deductions

Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

The format of an eccentric detective being paired up with an oft-flabbergasted straight man is a staple of the mystery series format across all media, and anime is no different. This manga adaptation is just the latest such entry in that field. In this case, young, ineffective detective Totomaru Isshiki is sent to call on a veritable hermit, Ron Kamanohashi, who is trying to lead an indolent, contactless life because he cannot help but get passionately involved in a mystery if he hears about one, and that’s led to fatal consequences in the past, to the point that he was banned from investigating mysteries. But “Toto” happens to be the right kind of naïve fool to get Ron back on track, in this case to solve a serial murder about men turning up drowned despite not being near any body of water.

Admittedly, Ron does have a decided flair about him that even extends to the way he moves, and that can be interesting to watch. The series isn’t badly animated, either. Even so, I just can’t see Ron’s peculiar style being enough to attract in viewers who are not normally mystery fans, especially with “Toto” being as generic as they come for a sidekick.

Migi & Dali

Streams: Mondays on Crunchyroll

Rating: 3 (of 5)

In 1989, an older, childless couple seeks to adopt one child from an orphanage. They wind up being impressed by a beautiful 12-year-old boy named Hitori and choose him. What they don’t know is that instead of just getting one boy, they actually got two – identical twins, in fact, who regularly trade places to make it seem like there’s just one person.

That’s the entire premise of what is easily the most bizarre series concept to come up so far this season. The whole episode is about how slickly Migi and Dali trade places, work together, and study their new parents to utterly ingratiate themselves to the old couple, sometimes resorting to acrobatic-level feats to pull the stunts off. A wonderfully creepy musical score gives the whole thing a certain flair, and viewers also have to always watch carefully for where the second twin might be hiding to listen in/await his opportunity. (The name choice they use for their apparent singular identity is also significant, as “Hitori” means “alone.”) Be sure to watch for the post-credits scene, which shows how thoroughly they scheme. Though a neat concept, I have to wonder how far the gimmick can actually carry the series.

Overtake!

Streams: Sundays on Crunchyroll

Rating: 4 (of 5)

This season has two series about auto racing (the other being MF Ghost). Based on first episodes alone, this original effort is, by far, the superior of the two. Overtake! focuses on a washed-up photographer’s discovery of Formula 4 racing, which is an actual open-wheel racing league which serves as a sort of minor league to the more famous and illustrious Formula 1. This means it features primarily younger and/or newer drivers and operates on a lower budget which makes it more accessible to companies which are wholly-dedicated race teams, though (as one character points out) money is still a significant factor. The first episode provides an introduction to this type of racing and how it’s often used as an undercard for GT racing, while also focusing on photographer Koya’s growing interest in one particular minor team and its driver, young Haruka.

Really, literally everything the first episode does is anywhere from a little to a lot better than MF Ghost. Koya has a much more compelling backstory, with suggestions that a past tragedy involving filming has left him reluctant to photograph people, while the way Karuka brusquely insists that he doesn’t even need applause to support him suggests that he has his own issues. The character design work and animation is also far better, and so it the commitment to showing some actual racing. F4 is not that much different from Indy Car races (which I am somewhat familiar with) in the way the cars look and work, and the racing sequence towards the end of the episode beautifully captures the energy and intensity of those racing moves without being needlessly dramatic.

I probably won’t be keeping up with this one myself, but if there is only one racing series you watch this season, it should probably be this one.

The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch eps 1 and 2

Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End having a multi-episode debut is understandable, and Ragna Crismon have a double-length debut was an absolute necessity. Why this gag comedy series debuts with two episodes, though, is far more of a mystery. What it is and what you’re going to get is clear from the first half of the first episode.

Coincidentally, this is the second fantasy series already this season about an unlikely parent raising a foundling daughter who turns out to be quite powerful and almost obsessively adoring of her parent. Whereas My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned as an S-Ranked Adventurer is a fantasy RPG-influenced series with some comedy elements, though, this one is a pure sketch comedy in a fantasy setting. Both episodes consist of short vignettes where the running joke is that the childish-looking one is actually the two-century-old mother and the buxom, adult-looking one is actually the mentally-immature 16-year-old. This does mean a lot of boob-related humor, as well as several jokes about how mother Alyssa is concerned about guys going after her daughter, while Viola is much more concerned about guys going after her mother. A phoenix who looks like a child’s drawing who becomes Viola’s familiar is also a recurring character, as is a very muscular female shopkeeper who served as Viola’s wet nurse.

Much of the humor is on the silly level, and the first episode in particular succeeds more on volume than quality. The series gets markedly funnier in the second half of episode 2 with the introduction of the elf merchant Fennel, who is sweet on Alyssa (who sees him as  a little brother) and combative with Viola; this was enough of an improvement for me to raise my grade a notch. Overall, this series may serve as a light diversion, but it’s not can’t-miss viewing.

Berserk of Gluttony

Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

Among new series this season, this is the one besides Frieren that I was most looking forward to, primarily because I have read and enjoyed it first few source light novels. It is a purely fantasy series (albeit with game-like mechanics) which focuses on Fate Graphite, a “have-not” who is barely eking out an existence as a substitute gate guard because his gods-given skill – Gluttony – not only seems useless but also leaves him perpetually hungry. That starts to change the night he helps a Holy Knight thwart a burglary by killing a fleeing thief and discovers that his skill absorbs the stats and skill of those he kills rather than giving him the experience to level up. He gets a further boost when a seeming trash sword he purchases turns out to be the sentient weapon Greed – almost like it was waiting there to be found by someone with Gluttony. . .

Despite being a highly-anticipated series for me, I approached this episode with some trepidation after seeing a far-less-than-stellar-looking trailer for it. Sadly, that concern proved to be true. This is not one of the better-looking or better-animated debuts of the season – in fact, its animation is depressingly limited – and there’s only so much that its dark tones and edgy visual style can do to compensate for that. At least the episode does clearly-establish the contrast between the good Holy Knights (the angelic Ais Wallenstein Roxy) and the bad ones (the abusive Vleric siblings) and provide some vague hints about the greater scheming of the latter, though it does not go far enough to get into the moral quandaries that Fate is going to face.

This is one of the darker and more edgelord-leaning titles of the current fantasy crop, and the first episode does that just well enough for this to be worthy of a mild recommendation. But I had hoped for better.

Shangri-La Frontier

Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays

Rating: 4 ( of 5)

The premise to this light novel adaptation – a high schooler who specializes in beating crappy VRMMO games decides to try a top-tier one for a change – is so basic that I wasn’t expecting much out of this one, and a girl who’s secretly crushing on him probably seeking to meet him in the titular game barely rates as a twist. But this is from the same director/studio combo which brought us the expectation-breaking Handyman Saito in Another World earlier this year, and it looks like they may be pulling off their magic again. This is a far, far stronger first episode than it has any right to be.

Certainly, a surprisingly high level of visual quality in both design and animation has a lot to do with this. Even in ordinary scenes, the episode looks great, but the action scenes in the games are where the animation really shines. They use a dynamic visual approach which shows that the preciseness of the character’s moves have been carefully thought out, and that combined with deft use of camera angles provides a thrill factor even to a basic encounter with an introductory goblin mob. The episode also finds the right balance between game minutiae and action, partly by having protagonist Rakura/Sunraku be a “dive right in” type of player, and even works in some non-intrusive narration by making it partly a humor element. Perhaps most importantly, the episode maintains a thorough but not too exaggerated spirit of energy and fun. It even has some “Mini” bits at the end to follow up on points in the episode.

This title was decidedly not on my radar, but it is now. Even in a packed season, it’s worth a look.

MF Ghost

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays?*

Rating: 3 (of 5)

Note: This title was listed as airing on Sundays, but it debuted a day early.

Apparently this new car-racing title is distantly-connected to Initial D, arguably the most iconic of all car-racing anime; my impression is that it might be a “next generation” situation. However, the first episode does not give the impression that any familiarity with its predecessor is expected. Though one probably has to be a car enthusiast to fully appreciate it, it is easily accessible to newcomers.

That’s because the first episode spends its time purely on set-up. In the near future, a road-racing circuit called MFG has emerged and gained world-wide popularity. Half-Japanese rookie Kanata has come from England partly to find the father he doesn’t know and partly to race, and Ren, the daughter of his host family (who works as one of the girls who holds the timing signs up at the start of MFG races) is instantly smitten. She also finds the notion of helping him find his father to be romantic. Kanata’s mechanic and a veteran racer who takes to mentoring Kanata also get introduced. However, while the potential romantic aspect and certain mysteries about Kanata’s father can provide an alternate hook, this series is clearly going to be at least as much about the cars. Not enough of them is shown in action in this episode, but what is shown demonstrates meticulous attention to detail that will doubtless be the series’ hallmark.

This one sets up well enough, and ends at a dramatic enough point, that I will probably check out the second episode, but I can’t see this being a long-term keeper in a crowded season.

Ragna Crimson

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

If ever a series fully needed the double-length debut it got, it’s this one, as cutting this one off at a mere 22-23 minutes would have been a narrative catastrophe. Taken as whole, the debut presents a surprisingly dramatic and engaging shonen action-esque start, one which takes a much different than normal angle on creating an OP protagonist and raises some intriguing questions.

In a setting where dragon-hunting provides livelihood for adventurers, Ragna was a boy who seemed cursed to attract dragons but always survive while those around him died. He has fallen in as an assistant to Leo, the 12-year-old prodigy girl, but laments his powerlessness and suffers from terrible nightmares of Leo’s impending death, even though she seems indomitable. When the moment finally comes, he essentially makes a pact for power with his future self, who went on to become an all-powerful killer of dragons but always regretted not having the power to save Leo at that time. That allows him to harness his future power when dragons go on a rampages at the order of the Dragon God, but at what ultimate cost? And who is the mysterious figure whom Future Ragna associates with and how will she encounter Current Ragna?

So yeah, he powers up, by harnessing his future power raises all kinds of interesting possibilities for future consequences. We also get cameos of all of the dragon bad-asses that he’s probably destined to fight, too. For all that this feels liked a retread of standard shonen action themes, though, this one might have a little more to it. I am dumbfounded that Leo – a girl with a scar running across the middle of her face – does survive this (rather than her death again being Leo’s inspiration to get stronger), but she is fun to watch and seeing how the sudden flip-flop in the power balance between them affects their relationship could be interesting. The real strength of the first episode, though, is its pacing and dramatic staging. This content shouldn’t be as effective as it is, but it admirably captures the sense of urgency and desperation that the concept requires to work. Saturdays in particular are probably going to be much too packed for this title to make my regular viewing list, but it isn’t for lack of effort.

Firefighter Diago: Rescuer in Orange

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

I haven’t been much interested in firefighter drama since the movie Backdraft, and based on the first episode of this one, this series isn’t likely to change my mind on that. It’s well-made on the narrative front, provides a lot of behind-the-scenes details on firefighter training and activities, and looks surprisingly good in designs, coloring, and animation, but I can’t see it sufficiently keeping my attention in a season so loaded with premium titles.

It certainly tries, though. It opens with an in media res sequence of firefighters engaged in high-stakes rescue efforts in a major, city-wide disaster, presumably in order to get audiences pumped up on rescue theatrics before flashing back a few years to the training of the three central raw recruits: titular character Diago, viewpoint character Shun, and Yuki, the sole female recruit in training for the elite rescue corps. The rest of the episode concentrates more on the training regimens than getting to know the characters well, though the opener suggests that each has a particular reason to be a firefighter.

The whole thing has the feel of an older shonen action series, and indeed, the most direct source manga is a recent sequel to a manga that originally ran in the late 1990s (which focused on Daigo prior to him making it to the rescue corps). I am a little concerned that over-dramatization could make it hard to take this one seriously, but the first episode has enough going for it to be worth a look if firefighters are your thing.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Streams: Crunchyroll on Fridays

Rating: 4.75 (of 5)

Note: The first four episodes are actually immediately available. This preview covers only the first two.

This adaptation of an acclaimed shonen manga was widely-regarded as the most-anticipated new series of the season, and it lives up to that billing in all senses except maybe artistry. It is an utterly different kind of fantasy series than the norm and defies all normal expectations for shonen manga, as it almost entirely eschews action content in favor of asking bigger, tougher, and longer questions and spending its time wholly focused on exploring the answers to those questions.

The defining question at the core of the series is, “what happens after the heroes have triumphed and now must move on?” Several other titles in recent years have broached this question to some degree – including the likes of Classroom of Heroes, Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero, and perhaps most pointedly, I’m Quitting Heroing – but none even close to doing it to the degree that this series does. In this case, the story focuses an essentially-immortal elvish wizard who was part of the Hero’s team during the ten years they spent combating and eventually defeating the Demon Lord. While that was a life-defining event to others, to her it was but a brief time. Only as she sees her previous companions die of old age decades later does she start to realize that she undervalued her time with them. As she starts trying to relate more to those she meets, she winds up tutoring a war orphan who is a budding mage and eventually becomes her traveling companion, too.

The biggest difference between this and other series with a similar gimmick is the long view it takes. The first two episodes play out over the course of 76 years, during which time we get to see some characters grow up and others grow old and die, all while Frieren remains (outwardly) unchanged. This and the use of flashbacks to Frieren’s time in the Hero’s party lend a hefty dose of sentimentality to the proceedings, which blend seamlessly into Frieren’s endless hobby of collecting new spells big and small and the exploration that entails. The first two episodes also find time for lighter moments – Frieren getting caught in something with only her legs exposed and kicking futilely is a recurring joke – though those moments are handled in such a matter-of-fact fashion that they do not disrupt the gently caressing spirit of the story at all. And while Frieren is not herself the most dynamic of personalities, her quirks and emotions do show through in smaller, sometimes subtler ways, which, combined with the humor, still make her a fully-engaging character.

The one possible knock against the first two episodes is some quirks in artistic style, especially in some of the character designs. However, any artistic shortcomings are balanced out by other truly lovely shots and the way the generally-soft looking artistry and coloring complement the tone of the series. The music is also particularly effective at this, and both the regular OP and ED (especially the latter) are good enough that they could pop up in year-end awards in their categories. With the emotional weight that these two episodes can pack, this is a legitimate contender to be one of the year’s top series if it can maintain even close to the impact and quality seen in these two episodes.

A Girl & Her Guard Dog

Streams: Crunchyroll on Thursdays

Rating: 2 (of 5)

Isaku lost her parents at an early age and was raised by her yakuza grandfather – or, perhaps more precisely, mostly by Keiya, one of his younger subordinates. As Isaku hits her teen years, she enrolls in a high school far away so that the stigma of being from a yakuza family doesn’t dog her. But she gets a dog of a different kind when her long-time caretaker – the now-26-year-old Keiya – poses as a high school student to join her at school, for the reason stated in the screenshot. Getting Keiya not to be over-protective proves even harder than making friends, and harder still is that she can’t shake her not-so-familial affection for Keiya.

This one would get an even lower rating if it wasn’t for a couple of genuinely funny moments, but it has a mountain of problems. It adapts a shojo manga and, for better or worse (worse in my opinion), it retains many characteristic shojo style points. There are also a couple of points beyond that which are just off to me; the mouth design, maybe, and certainly how Isaku’s body dimensions seem to vary some. Keiya also looks way to old to convincingly pass for a high school student (even when he actually was that age!) and his shift between overboard antics and (later) pouting wears thin fast. The big point for some will, of course, be that she’s in love with the guy who basically raised her. I struggled to sit through the whole first episode, so this is a hard pass for me.

My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Ranked Adventure

Streams: Crunchyroll on Thursdays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

Swordsman Belgrieve was a good enough adventurer to earn the title Red Ogre (for his red hair and beard), but losing a lower leg forced him to retire to a village. One day he finds an abandoned baby, names her Angeline, and raises her as his daughter. She leaves at age 12 to follow in her father’s footsteps, and after five years she’s become an S-ranked adventurer – the highest ranked the Adventurer’s Guild bestows – and even has her own party. The problem is that the constant demands on an elite adventurer make it difficult for her to get back home for a visit, and things just seem to come up each time she tries. Will Ange’s temper boil over if she keeps getting keeps getting thwarted on her visits?

So goes this (at least so far) mostly light-hearted fantasy light novel adaptation. Even though Belgrieve’s efforts to raise Ange get summarized into just a couple of minutes, Ange still gets effectively established as a tomboyish Daddy’s Girl and there’s a certain sweetness to the way they stay connected through letters. The first episode is split about evenly between focusing on Ange and on Belgrieve, which I feel is a good balance since Ange’s shtick could get old quickly otherwise. Another potential interest factor is the vague implication that Ange may not have been an ordinary foundling, a mystery I assumed will get explored eventually. While the first episode does have some action elements, this is not a series that’s going to sell itself on its visuals or (lack of) creativity on monster designs, hence the conservative score. Still, the first episode establishes enough potentially-interesting characters and story hooks that this one may be worth following.

This 12-episodes Summer 2023 series adapts a light novel series which is yet another alum of the Japanese writer-incubator website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. Though it came in largely unheralded – and was not popular enough to get picked up for episode reviews by Anime News Network – it featured an interesting spin on a standard romcom premise: the male co-protagonist fell in love with the female co-protagonist during middle school and doggedly pursued her even into high school years, without success but to the entertainment of their classmates. However, one day he had the epiphany that his unrequited pursuit of his idol might be just a nuisance to his idol, so he decided to back off and just admire and support her from afar. His decision seemed justified when she soon gathered a gaggle of classmates around her, ones who had been keeping their distance because of him. But though she benefited in some senses, is that what his idol actually wanted?

In an age when stalking is an all-too-real problem, seeing a young man realize on his own that he’s going too far and back off is heartening. However, that alone wouldn’t make for a series, so the humor and light drama which follows builds on how protagonist Wataru Sajo’s change-up affects relationship dynamics for both him and Aika Natsukawa, the subject of his affection. For Wataru, not obsessing over Aika opens him up to potentially-romantic encounters with at least three other girls (four, if you’re interpreting liberally). Two of these come about because of a job he gets to replace all the time and effort he was spending on Aika, and the third (and possible fourth) result from him being approached by another girl who basically saw an opportunity once he no longer seemed fixated on Aika. (And this is discounting one girl who seemed interested in briefly testing the romantic waters with him after a break-up with her long-time boyfriend.) None of those ever gets serious (though he technically does go on a daylong date with one of them) and the crushes are mostly one-sided towards him, perhaps because he hasn’t entirely let go of Aika. Watching Wataru’s interactions with these girls is usually the less interesting side of the series, though his flippant style of doing things can have its appeal.

The more interesting side of the series is Aika’s situation and what Wataru backing off may or may not mean to her. At first, it looks like she’s just thrown off by not having to deal with Wataru’s persistent attention anymore, to the point that she asks if something is wrong with him, but even early on some suggestions are dropped that she might not have minded the attention as much as she let on. As the series progresses and more of Aika’s backstory gets revealed, the series’ greatest conceit comes into focus: ironically, Wataru’s semi-stalking may have actually benefited her in the long run. She was certainly feeling isolated in middle school because her home situation (having to look after a young sister while her apparently-single mother worked), and she may have gained her best friend Kei’s attention because of Wataru’s openly-displayed interest in her. In high school, Wataru’s open pestering called enough attention to her that she soon picked up a circle of sympathetic classmates once he clearly backed off. Though the way he did it was less than ideal, he did, effectively, forcibly drag her out of her isolation, and even if she doesn’t openly admit it, she seems to intuit and appreciate that.

Frankly, this sends a mixed message, as Aika’s continued interest in Wataru could easily be interpreted as Wataru getting rewarded for behavior that even he admits was stalkerish. This is a romcom rather than a drama, however, so the writing is clearly not interested in serious exploration of that aspect. Aika spends the rest of the series dancing around whether or not she has real feelings for Wataru and to what degree. The end of the series leaves this frustratingly ambiguous – they’re clearly at least friends, but are they more? – but that may be the point. If the series has an underlying theme, it’s “you have to develop a new dynamic on how to relate to others as your relationship with those others changes.”

Wataru is a bit of a character himself; he’s smart-mouthed in a way reminiscent of Sakuta in Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, but far less sardonic. With Aika mostly being a reactive character, the weight of keeping things lively falls more to Aika’s friend Kei, who is much more keenly perceptive than either Wataru or Aika and seems to delight in teasing both and poking at anyone else who comes within her range. Wataru also has to deal with a somewhat imperious older sister and a Morals Committee member who alternates between trying to hook Wataru up with her shy friend/underling and trying to recruit him; she’s one of those proper types who easily gets flustered when teased even a little. And of course there’s Aika’s kid sister, whose cute factor is so overwhelming that even Aika can’t resent her for the impact she unwittingly had on Aika’s middle school social life. The boyfriend Aika later picks up seems terribly bland by comparison (which, again, may be the point), while other girls Wataru deals with vary between being precociously social, painfully shy, and looking and acting more mature than she actually is. The only pairings which have real romantic vibes are the central one and a side couple who become a factor in the plot at one point, however.

While the storylines and characters have some merit, the series is crippled by one of the season’s weakest artistic efforts. (And yes, I’m aware I’m saying that in a season which has visual disappointments like My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even At Level 1.) Character and setting designs are pleasant enough, but the animation effort headed by Studio Gokumi regularly struggles to stay on-model, which gives the artistry an overall rough look at times. The series doesn’t need stellar art or animation for what it’s doing – it has hardly anything which could constitute an action scene, for instance – but a certain minimum standard could at least be hoped for here. This is, for better or worse, also a visually tame series, with even swimsuit scenes for beach episodes looking very mild. Musical support, meanwhile, is fully adequate but also fully unremarkable.

Overall, this series is by no means a flop, but I can’t help but feel that a better series was possible here. The series struggles for energy whenever at least two of Wataru, Aika and Kei are not involved and perhaps spreads its focus a little too thin. Still, the atypical dynamics of its central duo lend the series enough appeal to make it watchable.

Overall Rating: C+

Posted: 9/10/2023I

n anticipation of the upcoming release of what may well be Hayao Miyazaki’s final movie, Fathom Entertainment is rereleasing many of Miyazaki’s past films in American theaters as one-night-only events. Last month, they did so with Porco Rosso, The Wind Rises, and Princess Mononoke. Since the latter is near and dear to my heart (and since I don’t have good topics amongst newer anime to write about this week), I’m going to use my visit to its special showing as an excuse to do something I was never able to do during my time at Anime News Network: write a full review for it.

In terms of anime titles that are intimately important to me, Princess Mononoke may rank second only to Akira (my gateway title). It was my first Miyazaki film, the first anime I ever saw in a theater (during its 1999 theatrical release in the States), and my first anime on DVD; in fact, I bought my first DVD player for Christmas in 2000 specifically so I could play that acquisition. I also consider it the best of all of Miyazaki’s films; Spirited Away has better visuals and technical merits overall and a more widely-accessible story, but Princess Mononoke is no visual slouch and has the most mature, thoughtful, and cohesive story of all of Miyazaki’s works. (I should qualify here that I have somehow missed seeing both The Wind Rises and Lupin III: The Castle of Coglisotro, so I have not truly seen all of Miyazaki’s full-length productions.)

At 133 minutes, Princess Mononoke is the longest animated project Miyazaki has ever directed. It tells the story of Ashitaka, the last prince of the isolated Emishi people. (This was an actual ethnic group which fought against the establishment of the Yamato Empire empire during the 8th century A.D. but was largely integrated, pushed out, and/or wiped out by the early 9th century. They were renown for being masterful mounted archers – as Ashitaka is in the film – but they rode horses rather than elks.) His time is one where ancient Beast Gods still exist, and he is pushed into action when a corrupted boar god attacks his village. In slaying the boar, Ashitaka is tainted by its corruption and becomes cursed himself. Though the curse gives him great strength, it will also eventually kill him, and his one hope to avoid that is to travel west in search of the source of the iron ball found in the boar’s body, which apparently drove the boar god mad. In his travels, he first comes across the monk Jigo, then later San, a human girl who seems to be living with giant wolves.

Those encounters, and the discovery of some badly-injured men, lead Ashitaka to Iron Town, a walled village led by Lady Eboshi and built around the smelting of iron ore. There he learns that Lady Eboshi and San – whom Eboshi refers to as “Princess of Beasts” (aka “Mononoke-Hime”) – are mortal enemies in the struggle between the Beast Gods who seek to protect the forests and the humans who seek to expand and secure their industry. A third faction is a samurai warlord who seeks control of Iron Town’s profitable iron, while the monk Jigo leads a fourth in the form of agents of the Emperor seeking the head of the Spirit of the Forest, which is said to grant immortality. Within these conflicts, Ashitaka must struggle to find if there is a way for him to live and a place for San, who is caught between the beast and human worlds without fully being part of either.

Many of Miyazaki’s movies have environmentalist themes as a crucial element, and nowhere in his body of work is that more foundational to the story, or more smoothly integrated into it, than it is here. The central theme – the struggle between nature and man – plays out in the most literal sense here, with a setting on both the figurative and literal border between the decline of the ancient Beast Gods and the rise of humanity. One of the most interesting aspects of the movie is that it largely does not play favorites here. These are life-or-death struggles for both sides, and both sides have their sympathetic elements; like most of Miyazaki’s movies, there isn’t really a true villain. The Beast Gods can’t be seen as evil because they are just protecting their long-standing homelands, but neither is Lady Eboshi a true villain for using her guns and tactics to drive them away. She can be harsh when circumstances demand bold leadership, but her compassion is beyond reproach, too; in Iron Town, she has made a home for former prostitutes and lepers, and she is much beloved and respected for this; they may jokingly say that she wants to “rule the world,” but she is clearly devoutly determined to carve out a place for humanity and advance her people into a new era. If any character who actually appears is a villain, it’s Jigo, who seems to have the most selfish motives but, again, calling him evil doesn’t quite fit.

Some themes, story elements, and artistic stylistic elements present here carry over from Miyazaki’s 1984 movie Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, to the point that calling Princess Mononoke a more refined version of Nausicaa wouldn’t be a big stretch. Whereas Nausicaa was capable of being fierce, she usually only used violence as a last resort, but that’s San’s default nature. San is also a much more flawed and reckless character than the almost-too-perfect Nausicaa, which has long made me wonder if Miyazaki didn’t eventually realize that he had idealized Nausicaa too much and designed San specifically with that in mind. Unlike Nausicaa, this one also has a male co-protagonist; in fact, the viewpoint is much more often Ashitaka’s than San’s. Though he has one of the milder personalities in the movie, Ashitaka nonetheless serves well as a noble figure who doesn’t hesitate when action is required and can provide an outside perspective to those caught in the entrenched beast-vs-human conflict. Though he proves to be an indomitable fighter, he is ultimately more valuable for recognizing where priorities should ultimately lie and convincing those on both sides (who often wonder about his motives) to do what’s really necessary to survive.

Another marked difference is that, unlike Nausicaa, Princess Mononoke is primarily a pessimistic tale. It may be awash in natural beauty, but a lot of bad things are happening, whether it’s samurai attacking a farming village, landslides long having wiped out another, the death and destruction from the human/beast battles, or the suffering on all sides. The movie even climaxes in an essentially apocalyptic scenario. A recurring theme is “life is a struggle, but you have to find a way to live,” whether it’s San’s situation, Ashitaka’s curse, the beset citizens of Iron Town, or the disease-ravaged lepers. This is most embodied in one beautiful scene midway through the movie where the Spirit of the Forest heals Ashitaka’s grave injuries but does not remove his curse; Ashitaka may have earned some grace, but he still has to solve his own problems. (This lends a great irony to the climax of the movie.)

If the storytelling has a flaw, it’s in the romantic aspect. Ashitaka is clearly struck by San at first sight, and San more gradually grows to appreciate him as well, but the story just doesn’t have room for their relationship to develop much beyond reciprocation and working together for mutual interest, and truly tender moments between them are few. That makes San’s semi-confession to Ashitaka at the end of the movie ring a bit hollow. But the movie isn’t meant to be a love story at its core, so this isn’t a big problem.

The beauty and impact of the movie shows most in its artistry and animation. Small animation flaws can be spotted if one looks closely, but this is still an impressively-animated endeavor, whether it’s the jaw-dropping complexity of Ashitaka’s early fight against the corrupted boar god (where the corruption constantly squiggles all over the boar like a wave of greasy worms), the terrific fight scene between San and Eboshi in Iron Town, the graceful movements of the wolves and elk contrasted to the lumbering movements of the boars, or the incredible imagery of the Spirit of the Forest approaching the wounded Ashitaka, where every one of its steps causes plants to quickly grow and then decay. The settings are also equally beautiful, whether it’s awe-inspiring primeval forest, the bold functionality of Iron Town, the scenic vistas Ashitaka travels across, or even all the little details of the Emishi village at the beginning. Character animal, and spirit designs have some typical Miyazaki flavor but also shine and carefully distinguish source cultures with even simple differences in clothing design; my one slight gripe here is that San’s apparel seems a little too neat for the way she lives, but she is also one of the most unconventional-looking of all of Miyazaki’s heroines, with the image of her face stained with blood from trying to suck out her wolf mother’s wound being a common advertisement. (The cute little kodoma spirits were also enormously popular, but, frankly, I found them more creepy than cute.)

While many of Miyazaki’s films have substantial action components, Princess Mononoke is easily his most graphic film. Limbs get torn off, decapitations happen, one character gets shot in the back with a firearm, and numerous humans and beast get killed. There’s probably also more blood in this one than in all of Miyazaki’s other movies combined, as well as some occasionally somewhat racy dress for some of the ex-prostitutes. This movie pulled an official PG-13 rating in the States, but consider the movie at the high end of that range; rating it R would have probably been justified.

As beautiful as the movie looks, and as strong as its themes are, the musical score by long-time Miyazaki collaborator Joe Hisaishi binds it all together and elevates the content further. This is also my favorite soundtrack out of all of Miyazaki films, and I still to this day have the official OST in circulation in my musical collection. It soaring orchestral themes and dramatic or melancholy numbers perfectly capture the tone of each scene, whether characters are awed, alarmed, or frightened by what’s going on. Hisaishi has done a lot of great work over his long career, but this is definitely some of his best.

The theatrical event I saw used the English dub made for the movie’s American release. As was common for anime movies at the time, it was given an all-star Hollywood cast rather than done through normal anime dubbing channels (although a few familiar anime dubbing voices do pop up in minor roles, like KT Vogt), with somewhat mixed results. Great casting choices and performances include Billy Crudup (later Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen) as Ashitaka, Minnie Driver as Lady Eboshi, and Jada Pinkett-Smith as ex-prostitute crew leader Toki. A more questionable choice is Clair Danes (who had become a teen star for the TV series My So-Called Life and the movie Romeo + Juliet) as San. Her acting isn’t horrible, but her voice is too deep and rough and she only fully hits the right notes in San’s fiercest scenes. Billy Bob Thornton is also a mixed bag as Jigo, but the problem there may be the English script; he sounds fine in the role, but at times it feels like he’s rushing to get in more dialog than what actually fits the scene. The biggest trouble spot is Gillian “X Files” Anderson as the wolf Moro. Her voice doesn’t fit, and she never truly sounds like she’s embodying the character, but this was also a weird casting choice in Japanese, where her voice sounded more male. (The Japanese voice actor was a relatively famous drag queen.)

I have found that this movie is not necessarily to everyone’s tastes, especially if they are not at least borderline anime fans, and anyone who expects more typical family-friendly anime fare from animation may be in for a big shock. (Disney certainly was when they acquired the title back in the late ’90s sight-unseen, which was probably why its theatrical release at the time was so limited in both theaters and promotion.) Still, it stands as a legitimate animation classic in general, and is one that every anime fan who’s a teen or older owes it to themselves to check out if they’ve never seen it.

Rating: A

Posted: Saturday 8/12/23

I had intended to have this review up last week, but a certain large gaming convention and the hectic start of the school year got in the way. Hence, I will still take care of this first and then do the mid-season Isekai Round-Up next week.

The airing of this reboot of the original 1996-98 TV series has been quite controversial in some circles, to the point that Anime News Network isn’t covering it at all beyond a news article about its premiere at Anime Expo. I understand why and cannot fault their reasons¹; indeed, the series’ baggage makes me uncomfortable, too. However, I also feel that this is too big and important a title to entirely ignore. Hence, I am going to review it based on what it is and leave readers to decide if the baggage overrides everything else.

Really, it’s a shame that the series is saddled with this baggage, as through the first six episodes this has proven to be a sharp and mostly satisfying remake. The story follows Kenshin Himura, who was a manslayer on the Imperial side during the Meiji Restoration in Japan (i.e., 1868). Ten years later, he’s but a humble wandering ruroni (essentially, a ronin), who has forsworn killing and lives a peaceful life as much as possible. He winds up getting involved with a dojo headed by Kaoru Kamiya and at least temporarily settles down there. Soon they are also joined by the proud, short-tempered orphan Yahiko and the brash, challenge-obsessed warrior Sanosuke. Despite Kenshin’s efforts to be peaceful and happy, challenges still arise that he cannot ignore, including con men, thugs, yakuza, an overly-aggressively police unit, and even another former manslayer from the other side of the political fence.

In other words, this is a fairly standard shonen structure, with its main distinguishing point being its historical context; nearly all of the characters who actually appear may be fictional, but the names and events referred to and the issues that are shown are very much real. However, this makes for a big difference, as it helps give the series a grounded, authentic flavor that most other shonen series cannot even come close to matching. Mostly eschewing the slapstick elements which characterized the first series also helps, as the more serious air it gives the series allows Kenshin’s contemplation of his past and his very conscious efforts to stay cheery to carry more weight. That isn’t to say that the series is entirely without humor; bits do still show through, but they are much more restrained and distract less from the broader tone of the story content.

Of course, standard shonen tropes like named special movies still apply, and what would a shonen action series originating from the ’90s be without the lead female character getting kidnapped or otherwise imperiled on a regular basis? That Kaoru doesn’t do more herself is the most annoying aspect of the series so far, but her kind heart does also lay at the core of the series. The normal process of introducing and establishing core cast members also takes up the bulk of the first five episodes, with a real advancing storyline only beginning with episode 6 and the appearance of the rival manslayer. This brings up the question of whether someone who has renounced the ways of the manslayer can still stand up to one who never gave it up, and I look forward to seeing how the series handles this.

On the technical front, the LIDEN FILMS production looks great, with designs and backgrounds that are maybe even a step above the original. The animation takes shortcuts, but does better than most at feeling exciting despite its limitations, and has maintained good quality control so far. The musical support has also been solid, although the hard rock-themed open “Hiten” is going to be very hit-or-miss.

If you can set aside the baggage (or it doesn’t bother you in the first place) then this is one of the season’s better action series.

Rating: B+

1. Original manga-ka Nobuhiro Watsuki was charged and fined for possession of child pornography in 2017/18, so some feel that any promotion of the title amounts to supporting a convicted possessor of child porn. ↩︎

This is an ONA series consisting of six episodes – a 45-minute first episode and five additional episodes ranging from 27 to 30 minutes long – with a total run time roughly equivalent to an eight-episode TV series. It is based on a pair of novels by Carlo Zen, the author of the Saga of Tanya the Evil novels (which is probably why it got made in the first place) and debuted on Netflix back in May. I did not get to it at that time because I was way too busy with other things and then, frankly, forgot it existed until recently. Hence, consider this a make-up review.

The story is set in an indeterminate year “decades” after an interstellar Trade Federation came to Earth, overwhelmed it with superior technology, and subjugated it. Now, Earth as a whole is equivalent to a Third World country, with its citizens not considered “beings” by Trade Federation standards and its only exports being food and mercenaries, derisively called Yakitori. The death rate for Yakitori is so high that an ethnically diverse squad of five newcomers is assembled into unit K321, with the intent of training them a different way. After a year of said training, K321 is shipped off to Barca, a planet that the Trade Federation is “aggressively” negotiating with, where they get their trial by fire. Different training does, indeed, wind up getting different results, though not necessarily in the way that was intended – or was it?

Carlo Zen’s specialty is detailed descriptions of military minutiae and tactics, especially how advanced technology (or, in the case of Saga, magic) can affect both, and that stamp is evident throughout this series. That helps flavor what is otherwise a fairly conventional tale about a bunch of misfits thrown together who must learn to use creativity and teamwork to survive. Personality distribution is also fairly standard: nominal protagonist Akira is the angry guy who always wants to do his own thing but can be a decisive leader when he commits, Zihan is the analytical woman, Amalia is the snappy Brit usually at odds with Akira, Swede Erland is the peacemaker, and American Tyrone is the affable buddy-type. While the conflict on Barca plays out, the writing intersperses battle scenes with flashbacks showing how the group came together, trained, and eventually came to understand that they had to work together to succeed, including a showdown with one of the most stereotypical drill sergeants imaginable. They all work for a slick recruiter (who has a Russian accent in the English dub) who constantly gives the impression of scheming something and regularly interact with a military AI name Hatsune who’s a blatant rip-off of vocaloid Hatsune Miku.

A healthy chunk of the content is action scenes, and that’s where the strength of the series lies. Battle choreography is crisp and detailed, with the best scenes featuring conflicts with very nimble spider tanks. The all-CG animation is smoothest in those scenes, while depictions of character movements (especially for human characters) can sometimes look a bit stiff; essentially, if you normally are bothered by CG animation, this series’ visual effort probably won’t overcome it. Also expect plenty of bloody content; the animation does not revel in it, but this is still on the harsher side of the sci fi action genre. The closer also features some very involved animation of a mouse-themed Hatsune dancing to an electronica version of Mozart.

In fact, that’s the one visual aspect which could throw viewers off even if the CG animation isn’t a problem: all of the alien races are anthropomorphized Earth animals. I can tolerate a lot from alien designs, but especially given how detail-conscious Carlo Zen’s writing is, this just seemed lazy. It heavily interfered with my sense of immersion when the series has zebra-people keeping records in a trial and various different breeds of dogs (among others) as soldiers, though the bulldog commander Rimel did at least make a positive impression as a character. Having the population of Barca be all rat people was a little more effective, but the design elements just made the whole thing feel like more of a joke than it may have been intended to be.

The series is offered in the normal array of Netflix dub and subtitle options. The English dub is a mix of newcomers wand long-time veterans, but all of the roles are cast well. Performances are generally good, though a few awkward pauses were noted as voice actors stretched to match lip flaps. Interestingly, the AI Hatsune is still voiced in Japanese even in the English dub, perhaps because the actual voice of Hatsune Miku is used for the role.

Overall, the series provides decent but not spectacular military-themed sci fi action without requiring a big time commitment, Don’t expect much of anything for depth or extensive character development and this makes for matchable (but ultimately also disposable) entertainment.

Overall Rating: B-