Summer 2023 anime

Speaking of Kyoka, she doesn't interest me in how the artist manages to draw her cute, but in a way that can also be menacing with an edge to it. Same goes for her contemporary Yosa. I suspect a lot of different artists would have drawn "more cute" or "more menacing", but this I think strikes a nice balance.

SUNSHINE in the MIRROR Episode 1: One of the two anime this season I'm interested in. Yohane's not my favorite member of Aqours but she is my second favorite. I kind of expected this to be an isekai but it being a straight fantasy is fine too. Not a lot happened this episode but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Hanamaru is somehow cuter here than she was in the mainline series. I will be watching.

Initial Reactions:
EDENS ZERO S2 2nd cour: Start of the Aoi Cosmos arc, and it was pretty chill. Nothing else to say.
AYAKA: Thrusting your partner in danger to get them to remember something? Yeah, don't try this at home, kids... That aside, ok, this is gonna be one hell of a supernatural series...
Jitsu wa Ore, Saikyou deshita?: So a guy that wants a lazy isekai life, but life in the isekai says otherwise... Nothing much beyond that, so this is just isekai dosage pills with little effects... This'll be a loooooong series...

Edited by thuse on Jul 2nd 2023 at 5:43:25 PM

Normally I like to have at least two things to say when dropping impressions, but the next show I'm interested in doesn't air until the 5th, so...

Atelier Ryza is just really blandly directed. The writing's not bad and there's clearly some budget here, but it's just not coming together. The animation is oddly off and the vibes aren't right

Bang Dream! It's MyGO!!!!! 1-3: Why three episodes at once? Actually that has a pretty obvious answer. New band huh. Amazing how this franchise has evolved, with the newer bands being built on the backs of the older ones. Chihaya feels different for the main viewpoint character with how adamant she is to be the vocalist along with the guitarist. Got some bad news for her. Everyone else feels like an entertaining group of miscreants, which should be a good time. And of course all the cameos and nods to other Bandori characters.

And then episode 3 happens. Is a high school band anime allowed to be this... artsy? It's just so different from everything else. Mostly from the presentation, with the entire episode happening from Tomori's first person perspective. But even the story itself was far more melancholic than anime Bandori fare. Turns out Tomori is the star of the show after all. This episode hit way above what this franchise does, and makes this show one I'm legit looking forward to next week.

First Impressions

• Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror: I kinda dig that the first episode spent its time fleshing out Yohane and how much she wants to be special. For the time being I'm elated to see the Quors gils again. I'm definitely looking forward to getting to the mahou shoujo stuff, though. Definitely continuing.
• Horimiya -piece-: Literally pieces of Horimiya we haven't seen before. The pilot mainly shows Miyamura and the boys being goofy high schoolers, which I did like. We also got a bit of romantic tension between Hori and Miya, and my main hope is that we get more of that, since I thought that was oddly lacking in the original anime. Continuing for the time being.
• AYAKA: One of those shows where the main conceit is gathering a bunch of hot anime guys together, which is also the type of show to sport some of the blandest direction and storytelling imaginable. I just watched it and the characters are already fading from my memory. I honestly have to ask if this even appeals to its intended demographic. If you want hot guys exorcising spirits, Jujutsu Kaisen is available this season. Gets the three episode rule.
• Jitsu wa Ore Saikyou deshita?: Passable only because it's not taking itself seriously. May drop at any time.
• Atelier Ryza: I knew what Ryza was popular for, and uhh they certainly catered to that crowd. I'm more a fan of the badass boyguard Lila myself. Anyway, while I've not played any Atelier games, I know they're supposed to be comfy, slice-of-life deals, and the anime evokes that feeling. I liked how we clearly see how Ryza gets interested in alchemy, ditto for her friends pursuing their respective interests. On the other hand, the writing is basically what you'd expect from a JRPG adaptation. The dialogue is a tad stilted, and they're fond of stating the obvious. Still seems like a nice pickup though, and it would eat up way less time than playing the games. Continuing.

Edited by fillerdude on Jul 2nd 2023 at 1:31:49 AM

Went ahead and made a thread for Reign of the Seven Spellblades. I don't know if a lot of people have read the books, but I hope some have.

Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn got me intrigued. It is your typical Fate but now with Naritas take. To bad the actual series won't air anytime soon.

By the way, is there a dedicated Fate thread? All I keep finding is the one for video games.

Its the Type Moon thread in Visual Novels.

First Impressions

• Mushoku Tensei: We're back! Well, it's more of an appetizer. I appreciate that we learned more about Sylphy's situation. She's certainly got herself embroiled in something huge. I thought there would be a deeper explanation for why her hair turned white but it seems to just be from overexertion. Anyway, glad to have this back, warts and all. Absolutely continuing.

Edited by fillerdude on Jul 2nd 2023 at 7:33:36 AM

SUNSHINE in the MIRROR Episode 2: Things are moe along at a steady pace. A good episode for getting Yohane aclimated to the town and introducing more of the cast. I haven't read the manga so I don't know how serious the plot is going to be but that cliffhanger was unexpected. Hopefully it won't take too long to get the group together.

Was wondering why there's already an episode for Fate/strange fake out. Anyway, that was great. Narita's style shines through, I love how he's upped the insanity of the Holy Grail War. Not a fan of seeing Gilgamesh again but I'll live.

Edited by fillerdude on Jul 3rd 2023 at 12:45:28 PM

FSF was gorgeous but unfortunately my faves only had a brief post credit scene, I'll have to wait until the anime proper before I can heal my praises on my babies.

Gil's presence facilities one of the funniest moments in the entire story (at his expense) so I'd say you should look forward to that!

The special covers the only parts of Strange Fate I actually like

Why Ayaka is blond here? Is there an explanation for it?

1. That's hair dye.

2. That's not the Ayaka from fate/prototype.

There's more to her whole deal but that's too far into spoiler territory

Edited by Mami on Jul 3rd 2023 at 10:07:08 AM

First Impressions

• Oooku: My personal struggles with the Netflix "drop everything in one go" model aside, the first episode was a decent watch. It's quintessential court drama— backstabbing and other sorts of sneaky politics abound. The gender reversal introduces a fresh twist to the affairs; it's not a shallow gimmick as I'd initially feared. It's a shame this clearly did not get a lot of funding. But it's good for what it is. Continuing.
• Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero: They got me, this ain't half bad. The animation is less cheap than what you usually see from this kind of comedy anime, which lends the physical slapstick some extra gusto. The demon lord and the hero already have a nice dysfunctional friendship going, too. This might have a good chance at actually making me laugh. Continuing.

Initial Reactions:
Lvl 1 Room: This seems like it'll be a chill, comedy-filled, not-so-much an action series with the standard levels of possible adult-level fanservice... Nothing much of note on my end, but let's see...
Mononogatari S2: Starting off calmly with some intro to some new charas, and then, going a bit deeper into someone involved in Hyouma's backstory... Let's hope I can understand much of it this time...
Okashi na Tensei: This is definitely gonna be sweet, but the bitter part about this is that streaming will be 1 week earlier than the TV broadcast now, and lest I wanna spend more on streaming (which I can't do), I'm gonna be behind by a week, and I hate having to think of being behind by a week!

Edited by thuse on Jul 6th 2023 at 1:45:55 AM

First Impressions

• Okashi na Tensei: Pretty amusing how everyone is praising the MC for having the forward thinking of a future feudal lord, when in fact all he's doing is planning how to bake sweets. Predictably the MC also has a lot of magical power and such, but it's not at the point that he's steamrolling everything in his way. When they had to fight off bandits, they actually had to employ a modicum of war tactics. Now the only major thing I'm waiting to see is how the patissier stuff will be baked into the story. Continuing.
• The Dreaming Boy Is A Realist: The MC undergoes a major personality shift a couple of minutes into the episode, and the only explanation I can think of is that a personality from a parallel universe took over. Or brain damage. Either way, that's a very bad sign for characterization, and that also hurts the premise. Why should I care that MC stopped being obsessed with the tsundere when we barely saw him being obsessed? Giving it another episode, but will likely drop.
• The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses: The premise doesn’t even make sense. If your eyesight is that bad, it’s impossible that you would forget your glasses. The main girl is the artificial kind of airhead and the main guy’s entire personality revolves around liking the girl. Not even kidding, this might be the worst thing I’ve watched so far. Shame, too, since GoHands seems like they finally learned to hold back a bit. They still indulge in excesses here and there (like animating a hundred strands of hair) but it’s not nauseating like their previous works. Dropped.

Edited by fillerdude on Jul 4th 2023 at 9:35:13 AM

Initial Reactions: Jidou Hanbaiki ni Umarekawatta Ore wa Meikyuu wo Samayou
Hereinafter, "Ore Jihanki".
Ok, I think I can see the appeal of this isekai anime. It's great comedic fodder, at least, if Jun Fukuyama being Jun Fukuyama + a side chara with a Kansai accent is good enough...

After a some early chapters where it still was trying to find it's footing, The Girl I Like Forgot her Glasses becomes one of the fluffiest and most adorable series I have read (it's like cotton candy, but a very nice one), and I really like it. However, despite knowing that Go Hands has been worst in the past (haven't seen those cases), this art style doesn't complement the series at all, and makes it appear as something that it isn't, which makes me sad, since I feel people won't give it a chance (if it looked like "My Clueless First Friend" or "Kubo-san Won't Let Me Be Invisible" it would fit and help the viewer get the appeal of the series).

Jihanki: Watchable? The narration-heavy style doesn't work great in animation, but the source material is strong enough that it's still decently amusing

Murder Farce: Good! Good animation, excellent direction, solid writing. This seems to have a much better grasp of what it's doing than the manga version does

First Impressions

• Vending Machine Isekai: Isekai are wont to ignore their own premise in favor of making yet another OP protagonist with a combo platter of skills. So it’s a breath of fresh air that this one commits to its hook. Our MC is a vending machine and most of his newfound magical abilities are related to being a vending machine, like changing the prices of his wares. He can only use preprogrammed phrases to talk, and he can’t move on his own. It’s rather refreshing and I am honestly excited to see how he expands his skill tree to better serve his customers. Continuing.
• My Happy Marriage: A romance drama that leans heavily on the drama with 90% of the pilot episode dedicated to beating the main girl down. At least the marriage she’s been forced into will, obviously, end up working out. It’s personally not my thing but my girlfriend is eating it up, so… Continuing.
• Undead Girl Murder Farce: It’s always to treat to watch something by a director with a distinct style and clear vision. Seriously, the scene composition is fantastic and full of creative shots, such as having the undead girl recount the story of her decapitation by transitioning from her head being lifted to showing the blood beneath it. That dynamic direction also livens up an episode that was mostly conversation between our two leads. Even better, the dialogue itself is good. It’s smart. Despite the talking being done by a half-demon and a talking head, it feels as natural as two humans bantering, and they’ve organically set up both characters’ motivations and informed viewers about the setting, particularly how the supernatural operates in that world. The strongest pilot of the season so far. Definitely continuing.

Edited by fillerdude on Jul 5th 2023 at 7:09:58 AM

Initial Reactions:
Jujutsu Kaisen S2: All the stops pulled as expected! I'm definitely gonna get my eyes on Touji because goddammit him animated has been one of my most anticipated things for this cour!
Rurouni Kenshin (2023): I think the ~de gozaru is gonna infect me now... Apart from that, not that much hooks yet ... maybe save for Souma Saitou's voice acting. Maybe later on...
Seija Musou: Thank the heavens I can at least catch the early streaming of this; although, I'm not sure if that's saying anything really... Like with RuroKen, no hooks yet.

Edited by thuse on Jul 7th 2023 at 1:44:36 AM