The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made – Episode 1
It’s just….so boring.
It’s just….so boring.
Put on your earmuffs, because we’re headed square into dogwhistle territory.
The vampire dies in no time is no-holds-barred slapstick comedy. It’s a pretty good example of the genre, too, if you’re down for something manic.
If one good thing came out of Adventure 2020, it’s that it inspired Toei to take a chance on this series.
EX-ARM walked so Tesla Note could fly, and wow, what a brief, ugly flight this premiere is.
It’s the kind of thinly envisioned alternate universe that more or less directly replicates real history while stapling exactly one speculative element on top. But by the end, I was surprised to find it had won me over for at least another episode or two.
I’d assumed Mieruko-chan would be much more straightforwardly a zany comedy, juxtaposing the terrifying creatures of the beyond against Miko’s disinterest in engaging with them. But the pacing of this entire episode, and each individual apparition, leans way more on the horror aspect of this horror-comedy.
This is the sort of show people describe as “out there,” one that requires a certain tolerance for wacky hijinks and an appreciation of creators gleefully stacking concepts on top of one another because…well, why not? Have you ever seen a show about rollerblading DJ tokusatsu heroes before? Well, there you are.
BL and yuri fans, I think you all know how we roll the dice when the word “adaptation” comes around. For every given or Bloom into You that marries skilled adaptation with beautiful art direction, there’s an Otherside Picnic or No. 6 that struggles despite quality source material. Tricornered Window’s first episode unfortunately falls squarely into the latter camp, but its premise is solid enough to win out over its stiff production for now.
Come for the idols, stay for the idols because Selection Project is wholly a show about idols, and while things don’t completely go to plan for protag Suzune, the premiere had a lot of building blocks that hint at a dynamic series… if it can stick the landing.
Technically, the general rule at AniFem is that we don’t cover children’s programming, but if we can make an exception for dear ol’ PreCure I figure I may as well shine a spotlight on PriMagi and see what’s going on over there, too. If you’re hungry for more officially-licensed all-ages magical girl content, you might want to join me in the audience.
Media from all over the globe contains an abundance of pro-law enforcement storylines and themes. Anime and manga are not exempt from this, with some of the most successful franchises in both mediums espousing dangerous, pro-cop social politics. That’s why this piece aims to introduce new and old anime fans to the concept of copaganda, highlight some of the most popular ways the practice appears so that it can be regularly identified, and offer some direction on how fans can still enjoy the mediums in spite of these prevalent themes.
Weaving the many threads of the classic Japanese epic Heike Monogatari into a compelling, cohesive adaptation will be a challenging task, but this premiere is off to an impressive start.
Despite its social justice-minded storytelling, Carole & Tuesday can be a frustrating watch as it swings back and forth between exploring these characters as nuanced individuals and perpetuating harmful stereotypes of Black masculinity.