Requiem of the Rose King – Episode 1
Ah yes, the queer gothic series I’m obsessed with and have a very hard time recommending.
Winter 2022 Tag
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Miss KUROITSU from the Monster Development Department – Episode 1
Over-the-top sentai flourish aside, the charm for KUROITSU comes from the mundane existential dread of working in an office with demanding bosses and a limited budget.
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Akebi’s Sailor Uniform – Episode 1
Akebi’s Sailor Uniform is a beautifully-put-together show with a voyeuristic undercurrent, that doesn’t necessarily affect the overall experience but leaves it (at least, leaves me) feeling… off.
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The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest – Episode 1
I can tell you right off the bat that this show isn’t interested in reinventing the wheel.
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My Dress-Up Darling – Episode 1
This has the makings of an exceptional rom-com, with a couple of caveats.
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World’s End Harem – Episode 1
I was honestly expecting to be laughing my way throughout this premiere, because who read the synopsis and didn’t laugh? But then I had to sit through the whole thing.
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Cue! – Episode 1
Cue is a perfectly fine anime that offers up a solid enough premiere that’s well-executed, mildly memorable, and promises more in the coming weeks as the plot finds its legs.
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SLOW LOOP – Episode 1
There’s nothing wrong with Slow Loop (except some potential yellow flags in the dynamic between these soon-to-be stepsisters, which I’ll get to in a second) but it just doesn’t earn the kind of gold star I know this genre can.
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Girls’ Frontline – Episode 1
Personifying war machines (or just putting cute girls in them) is a trope by this point, and I want to say it’s not inherently harmful in and of itself. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that the very premise of this show relies on detaching killing machines from their historical (or current!) context. Yes, these girls represent assault rifles and are shooting assault rifles, but don’t worry about it, they’re only using them to shoot evil robots. And don’t they look cool?
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In the Land of Leadale – Episode 1
A simple, laidback isekai that never touches on the ableism of the actual isekai-ing of its protagonist.
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Police in a Pod – Episode 1
Police in a Pod is copaganda dressed up to look nicely animated and “funny”, but remains copaganda nonetheless.
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Orient – Episode 1
So what’s the verdict for Orient? A strong OK. It ticks off the general checklist of what you might expect of a shounen series.
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Tokyo 24th Ward – Episode 1
This episode lost and won my trust probably about six times in the course of 48-minutes, and I’m still not sure what to think of it beyond a general “alright, I’m listening.”
