Fall 2021 anime

Gyakuten Sekai no Denchi Shoujo: I actually forgot about this one. The director and the cast looks pretty solid and premier was fun (though, mecha fights were pretty plain). Unless it gets to serious, I should like it.

Edited by Nachtwandler on Oct 12th 2021 at 7:29:54 AM

First impressions for Rumble Garanndoll: Man, us mecha fans are eating this season. And I love my kooky anime plots, so I very much enjoyed this one. Giant robots followed by otaku passions! Funny. I think it's also amusing that while the government has outlawed anime/VG subculture they're chock full of anime tropes themselves. Agreeing with Nachtwandler above though, the fights need a bit more oomph. Or maybe more comedy, which would fit the Gundam SD aesthetic more. Continuing.

Battery girls: Ehhhhhhhh. Feels like a refugee from 2005, with the goofy personalities and battle harem setup. And I hate the whole "my interest is super-important but so oppressed" thing. That said, there's some decent design work (that very much does not include the robots) and the direction is decent. Might give another episode

Deep Insanity: Watchable whenever it's not in a fight. The fights are awful. Decent at maintaining a bleak mood. I think one of the characters might be a transwoman? Again, might give another episode, but I don't have high hopes

In second episodes, Kyoukai Senki is doubling down on the national persecution, Mieruko-chan isn't clicking with me (and has very clearly decided to be a fanservice series), and Irina is already showing production problems and turned LN-generic. All dropped. On the other hand, Takt Op's second episode was much more cohesive and really quite good

Still got Ousama Ranking and Lupin III coming up, but those aren't for a bit

Edited by Hylarn on Oct 12th 2021 at 10:48:38 AM

• Shikizakura: Another one I may or may not drop in the near future. First episode was fine, I guess? Though to be honest I can't remember a whole lot about the details. I just really need stuff to watch on Hidive, since just working through my backlog is apparently not incentive enough.

• Demon Slayer: Train Doesn't Get Suplexed Arc. The movie was pretty good, and I'm sure the writers of this episode had a lot of fun with Rengoku's promises to meet again and all that. At least I won't have to worry about keeping up for a couple months.

• Rumble Garandoll: Well this was a whole lot of fun. I will choose not to question why a mech needs to use a girl as a literal battery and instead laugh at commander Balzac's name. I like how stocky the robots are, though I can't place what they remind me of. Ah well, definitely sticking with this.

That about wraps up all I'm watching. Except for Komi, because goddamnit Netflix. Also, re: Takt.op: The fatal flaw of this show is going to be that humanity at large refuses to learn that you probably shouldn't play music in public, isn't it? If you really need to listen to Beethoven, invest in some goddamn headphones or an underground bunker, please.

Edited by TropayXion on Oct 12th 2021 at 9:11:15 AM

The mechs in Garandoll are probably inspired by SD Gundams. Similar design was used not so long ago in Granbelm.

Edited by Nachtwandler on Oct 12th 2021 at 7:27:36 AM

Granbelm, that was it.

First Impressions

• Kaginado: Fun watch for those who’ve watched Key stuff. I have confirmed that hearing the Clannad OST still gives me pangs of depression. Continuing.
• Deep Insanity: Feels like an adaptation of a B-tier JRPG I’ve never heard of. The MC’s only personality trait is “I want to be a hero”. That’s all he says. Furthermore, the setting lacks a sense of urgency. When the awful-CGI monster appeared they talked tactics for two minutes before jumping into the fray. And if your monster hunters have to talk for that long before engaging, then your organization has failed. The new recruits aren’t properly oriented and trained either, so no wonder a lot of them die. Trying until episode three.
• Shikizakura: Very typical. Monsters, sentai, yadda yadda. The 3DCG is decent, I like how it’s used in the action scenes. Continuing.
• Demon Slayer: Nice to see Rengoku again. What a nice lad. Now on to the Mugen Train. Continuing.

Oh damn, Granbelm, I watched that and remember almost nothing about it haha.

Tell me about it. Takt.op refuses to take its setting seriously, so it’s firmly in the shallow flashy action series camp.

I’m honestly not sure if ''Mieruko is supposed to be this fanservice-y or if it’s just a misguided director’s attempt at selling out. I dig the designs of the ghosts, but if they’re just going to be dressing for an ecchi series…

Mieruko started out as a bunch of twitter comics so the early parts of the manga do have a bit of ecchi in them. That being said:

1. This is only really relevant for the early manga. As more time goes on and even though you could argue that there's still some fetish fuel in Miko's crying faces as a whole the manga gets rid of pretty much all of that and starts getting focused on its story.

2. The anime is ramping up the fanservice by a shitton. What would be a far off panel of Miko backside with her pajamas showing her underwear line turned into the camera basically shoving itself between her crotch. Because of that some people are wondering if they'll be shoving fanservice even in later parts of the manga where they shouldn't exist which is a bit worrisome.

I won't say they are ramping the fancervice that much. It is just more prominent because of animation, sound and camera angles.

Kaginado is pretty fun, especially if you are familiar with all works parodied.

And I personally liked Granbelm, though, it was not for everyone's taste.

Edited by Nachtwandler on Oct 13th 2021 at 5:43:58 AM

Often I find unless it's a dramatic change, fanservice is just much more noticeable in anime compared to manga.

In manga you kind of just skim over it after a while, unless it's particularly prominent. Like whole page spreads.

In this case it's very much the anime ramping things up. I saw a post comparing the anime pages to the corresponding manga panels and it's pretty obvious that some parts are more horny.

Edited by Mami on Oct 13th 2021 at 3:10:08 PM

With manga, you also control how long you look at a panel, and it might be smaller compared to other panels on the same page, etc. For anime, the camera decides how long it lingers and how big the shot is.

Deep Insanity is a tie-in for a mobile game, just like Magatsu Wahrheit a little while back. The anime looks like it'll basically just be a poor man's Scarlet Nexus, so you might as well watch that instead if you want dark, video-gamey action-horror with lots of garish neon.

Edited by Iaculus on Oct 13th 2021 at 3:13:08 PM

I was sure the Mieruko manga wasn't that fanservicey. Sucks that the anime's ramping that up, you'd think the grotesque ghosts would be enough of a draw.

And there Komi-san has its' first episode released properly, and man did it deliver. Voices, music, animation, comedic timing, all on point. And there is more than enough material for episodes, so I wonder how long it will go on.

Initial Reactions: Ousama Ranking

Pretty heartwarming until I saw the stuff inside the castle and the warmth in my heart started to fade. I found Bojji pretty cute and innocent but also one that should not be underestimated, as is the MO of most shounen protagonists. I think this'll be a story that will definitely play with my heart.

First Impressions

• Megaton Musashi:This somehow feels lifeless. Easily the worst of the mecha anime this cour. Dropped.
• Ousama Ranking: Delightful tale of a deaf-mute prince with big dreams. Despite being widely mocked for his shortcomings, he’s determined to be a worthy successor to his father. Bojji is an immensely likable MC, with hints of badassery beneath his dorky smile. The animation is melted butter, and the painted backgrounds add so much charm to the medieval fantasy setting. This is a fairy tale classic in the making. Definitely continuing.

I liked the Platinum End source material but seeing all the scathing critique for it makes me question my opinion. Apparently the production values are also horrendous. Am I wrong and is it as bad as everyone says?

Have your own opinions on stuff, dude.

Don't let others influence yours.

It's very corny, needlessly edgy, and super preachy. I don't think it's good, it gets weirder as it goes on, but it's fun that way.

The ending is borderline nihilistic though.

And from what I recall it has the worst treatment of women from the author.

That is true.

Kyoukai Senku more of the 2d mecha animation (the only one this year?!?!), less of "foreigners bad", Heike Monogatari is actually enjoyable to watch since I started writing down people's names and relationships, Ousama Ranking was my favorite premiere this season (with this and Heike, I hope looser character designs become more common), 86 is more of the same which is a good thing in this case, The Vampire dies in no time isn't really my thing comedy wise and the animation is just there but the armadillo is funny, Kimetsu was pure Rengoku fanservice I needed, Komi's first ten minutes makes me excited for the show, Faraway Paladin cleared the extremely low bar I have for an isekai , Sakugan threw me in a loop with the finale of the 1st episode and Vampire Cosmonaut is something I guess. All in all probably the strongest start to a season since I started watching seasonal anime.

Just to repeat myself, I am loving the O Ps this season even with shows I'm not watching. The Assassin isekai OP is so damn stylish with its black and white aesthetic

Edited by AbrahamOmosun on Oct 16th 2021 at 7:28:49 AM

Ousama Ranking: I suppose it's well made, but it's waaaaaaaay too sentimental for me

Lupin III: Uh, I like the OP? It's just... kinda mediocre in every aspect otherwise

In second episodes, Sakugan feels beginner-ish. Weird mishmash of tones and ideas. Not bad, but could be better. Selection Project remains a questionable idea executed well. Though it's funny that they want us to be tense over which team will get written out when one of them has the only two interesting supporting characters and the other's most striking character's personality is "likes food". At least they're not pretending the main characters might lose

So, I guess this gives me a watchlist of Paladin, Selection Project, Takt Op,YuYuYu, Sakugan, and maybe Shikizakura or Garandoll. Might go back to Ghost Game or Mieruko-chan if I end up dropping too many. IDK

Overall theme of the season seems to be "interesting but flawed". Not much that's completely bland, but not much that's entirely good, either

Edited by Hylarn on Oct 16th 2021 at 12:05:55 PM

First episode impressions for the new Lupin is well... it's Lupin. You know what you get. Goofy car chases and thievery. The depiction of Sherlock Holmes as a more mellow, wiser individual, taking care of his foster daughter, and seemingly mourning the loss of Watson, which apparently has something to do with Lupin is interesting. Continuing.

Meanwhile, dropping:

• Tesla Note: It's alright, if a bit schlocky, but I already read the manga for it, and the 3DCG is underwhelming. Shikizakura trumps it in combat animation and that ain't a looker either.
• Sankaku Mado no Sotogawa wa Yoru: This is terrible in every way. It provides BL and nothing else. I'd like to tell the writer you need an actual story to get your viewers invested in the characters and their romance.
• Mieruko-chan: There's much less titillation in the third episode, which is nice, but uh, I think I've had my fill of watching this poor girl get haunted. The formula doesn't change much from skit to skit. And the third episode basically establishes that Mieruko won't have a way to repel, or dispel, or have any way to couneract the ghosts anytime soon. Seems like if I've seen the first three episodes, I've seen it all.

Considering dropping:

• takt.op: The second episode was so boring, and the setting is so flimsily constructed. The only good part is the fights which I can just watch on Youtube, or sakugabooru.
• My Senpai Is Annoying: The lead girl drinks beer, sure, but aside from that she's a transplant from some random 4-girl CGDCT anime. I actually wonder why they didn't just make this a high school comedy. I do like the B-couple slowly forming in the background, though.

And talking about some of the threadless shows I will be continuing:

• Heike Monogatari is lovely, and is making me want to go read the original text. I already miss Shigemori.
• Selection Project: I agree with Hylarn, it's funny that they think they're ratcheting the tension up. It's either that the team with the actually interesting supporting characters will win, or that they both pass "for the first time in program's history". Either way, I think I'll still tune in for the surprisingly good CG performances and songs.
• Blue Period is introducing more supporting characters, who sort of prove that artists are a little cuckoo. And that our MC has a ways to go. Good stuff.

Edited by fillerdude on Oct 17th 2021 at 9:14:49 AM