You have the basic foundation for a series about a teenage boy whose misanthropy and pessimism feel all too real in 2021, all things considered. You also have the story of a girl who’s about to change his entire world… which also feels a bit too real in 2021, all things considered. Still, that could hypothetically result in a pretty heartwarming premiere… right?
WIXOSS DiVA(A)LIVE might look like it has potential, but don’t be fooled: it doesn’t.
The professional in me wants to talk about how this josei adaptation is a beautifully staged, pensive premiere that elegantly establishes its main characters, their relationships, and individual conflicts. The geek in me just wants me to holler about how unbelievably gay it is like y’all have no idea.
So I’m a Spider, So What? is a solid start to a series about one high school girls’ adventures… as an RPG-esque Spider.
I’ll tip my hat to this first episode: using the overworked cells of a failing body as a vehicle to tell a story about workers being crushed beneath the heel of capitalism is a solid choice.
Poor casting decisions notwithstanding, there’s a lot to like about this imaginative, good-hearted edutainment series about endearing coworkers and buck-wild animal facts.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say it probably wouldn’t have taken me six hours to watch this premiere if it hadn’t come out on the same day as an attempted coup, but I also can’t reliably tell you how much of that time was “anxious distracted doomscrolling” and how much was “if they throw any more technobabble into this toy commercial, I will gouge my eardrums out with my headphones.”
As a hodge-podge of familiar fantasy tropes, Hortensia Saga will need to distinguish itself with its characters and execution. Fortunately, it’s off to a hopeful start.
I★CHU kind of has the potential to slap, y’all. It’s not quite there, but… it could be. Maybe. I’m still undecided, even as I write this article. But hey, I’ve got hope… I think.
I don’t want to be so harsh on this series, but idol fans deserve a better story than this.
Yuri! And it’s sci-fi! And they’re adults! I KNOW!
I’ll give Boonies this: when three of the five named female characters end up showing some level of romantic interest in Lloyd in this premiere, at least I get it. He’s a sweet kid, even if he is a narrative black hole.
Once again I am faced with a title that should be extremely relevant to my interests—in this case, a lesbian vampire romance with a pretentious artsy streak—only to trash 90% of my built-in goodwill with fumbled execution.
A short show about the most exasperating 5 year old you’ll see in anime this year, probably.
Fall featured a lot of hotly anticipated titles from well-loved creators, but which managed to stick the landing?
I do sincerely think Skate-Leading Stars is at least trying to do its own thing, and by the end of this first episode it had convinced me to hear it out for two more.
The main question that both myself and other natives had after the release of Coco was, “who gets to tell indigenous animated stories without us being in the room?” These are the questions I asked myself while waiting for premiere for Onyx Enquinox; and after having seen the first episode, it left me feeling angry and tired.
There’s too darn many anime this season. Some of them are even really good! The team did their best, resulting in our longest check-in post ever.
D4DJ is like a swig of energy drink. It’s fun, colorful, high-octane, and I can already tell I’m going to have Rinku’s beloved dance track stuck in my head for the whole weekend.
One series out of Netflix jail and another delayed from the spring season ride in to save an otherwise slim summer.
