BOCCHI THE ROCK! – Episode 1
Your mileage may vary with this one, and whether Hitori feels overly twee or relatable will depend. But I say give it a shot: I found her unexpectedly funny and relatable.
Your mileage may vary with this one, and whether Hitori feels overly twee or relatable will depend. But I say give it a shot: I found her unexpectedly funny and relatable.
I really wanted to like this one, but it’s off to a disappointing start.
I’ve been hungering for a hobby show this year, and I’m hoping Do It Yourself!! might do the trick.
I’m a bit conflicted on this one, and it mostly comes down to the character of Kazuma Jun.
It’s made more of an effort to establish conflict than other isekai shows that just want everything to be easy for their male leads, which certainly makes it a more engaging viewing experience. It is, however, still falling back on familiar, gendered tropes, with the female characters thus far largely existing to provide motivation and exposition.
The sci-fi setup and superpowered sporting element help Extreme Hearts to stand out. That being said, its combination of genres may lead to a narrative identity crisis that the writing can’t quite support.
Because it can’t convincingly answer the question “Well, why DON’T they just tell each other how they feel?”, it comes off contrived and dull.
It’s competent. It’s fine. It’s nothing to write home about, unless you want to report on the familiar patterns emerging.
In 1969, Edwin Starr asked “war! What is it good for?” His answer, in the next line of the song, was “absolutely nothing.” Many years later, an alternate answer might be “speculative fiction anime starring pretty young women.”
As the fifteen exclamation points in the title might imply, Teppen has ENERGY!
As fiction has told us for many years, no one makes a better assassin than a sixteen-year-old girl.
Spy x Family is a great example of how a story might have queer resonances and queer themes even if it cannot be classed as queer fiction.
I think how you feel about this premiere will largely depend on a few things: how you feel about the “two characters who don’t really like each other get handcuffed together and must go on an adventure” trope (magical edition), how you feel about goofy fantasy comedy, and how you feel about Carla.
If you want a woman-led sports anime that makes you ask “what the hell is going on?” at least once every five minutes, consider checking out BIRDIE WING.
There’s something nice about the idea that an artform like song can have physical, literal healing powers—maybe that’s the vibe the series itself is going for. A little bit of simple, yet effective, emotional healing against the backdrop of the world, perhaps.
Trapped in a Dating Sim offers some potentially interesting ideas but is helmed by a disagreeable protagonist and, through him, a general sense of disdain for the genre it’s supposedly inhabiting.
Even if there’s something kinda funny about seeing realistically-rendered horses next to stylized anime humans, the aesthetic of the show overall is really nice.
If it can get back to business and commit to being silly, Novae might hit its stride. But aside from offering me an artistic glimpse into the ancient world, this premiere hasn’t done much.
When they go to a games arcade after school and Aharen smushes her chubby cheeks up against the glass of a crane game machine, it looks more like Raido is babysitting a young relative rather than… setting up the initial character beats of a rom-com. I hope I don’t have to explain why that’s an issue!
As an initial vibe check, I’d describe Kotaro Lives Alone as “deeply odd, but potentially (???) charming”.