This first episode is such an eclectic mix of plot points and character beats that I suspect everyone is going to have a different reaction to it. My advice? Go watch it. At worst, it won’t make you angry, and at best, it may just charm the leotard off of you.
Dee, Chiaki, and Mercedez look back on the 2020 Summer season!
When the writing is willing to shut up and breathe, it unearths a kind of camaraderie in the face of despair that I have no doubt it plans to return to. Unfortunately, those two minutes are preceded by 20 minutes of noise.
The tone is soft, the art is gorgeous, and it’s never afraid to dive a step to the side of realism in the name of visual metaphor or setting up atmosphere. And yet, at the same time, this premiere is oddly and satisfyingly down-to-Earth. The dreamlike visuals go hand in hand with the subtle characterization, even if they—like the characters themselves—might seem at first like an odd couple.
Akudama Drive comes in like a robot boxer: moving fast, swinging hard, and covered in LED lights.
A beary cute fantasy premiere that showcases charming animation and promising characters, but is ultimately threadbear on plot and sadly, bear-ly leaves a mark with its unfortunately okay first episode.
Apparently the market for manhwa adaptations is considered unreliable enough that we are now here, staring down the barrel of a 2020 anime based on a series that began running in 2007 (and was in fact, the first Webtoon title translated into English) and feels every inch its age.
Our Last Crusade feels more like an MMO world that refuses to admit it’s just the Light Novel author’s MMO fanfiction.
It’s not a terrible premiere, but it felt like the series was more interested in throwing us into the chaotic world of Ikebukuro without establishing why we should care about any of these characters.
Yes, Moriarty the Patriot is terribly competent, and that is its greatest failing.
Caught between insomnia and boredom, Princess Syalis takes on crafting projects to improve her life in little ways and help her pass each day. We’ve had some Peak 2020 anime this year in the form of post-apocalyptic hellscapes, but folks? Sleepy Princess might be the most relatable yet.
Iwa Kakeru follows one girls’ foray into rock climbing, and honestly? Well…it doesn’t rock, but hey: it’s still an okay watch with some potential.
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina answers the question, “What if Kino’s Journey was magical?” with a beautiful and endearing premier about a girl who wants to become a travelling witch.
I have a tricky situation on my hands here, gang: as a reviewer, I want to give you as much information as possible to pique your interest and get you to check this show out if you think it sounds fun. However, the really intriguing factors are all woven into a twist that only rears its head in the final moments of the episode.
When you have an isekai show so aggressively by the numbers, even the cast points out it’s all just a cliche, you can’t help but wonder if this is a covert call for help from the production staff at Maho Film.
The frame narrative that bookends the episode introduces us to an entirely set of new characters who are color-coded like the original cast but otherwise presented to be accessible to a new audience. And then the middle twelve minutes or so of the episode is a good ol’ game of “Hey kids, remember Inuyasha?” To which my answer is a hearty, “boy, do I!”
TONIKAWA: Over the Moon For You skips dating and heads straight to marriage in a solid first episode that promises more as the story develops.
Though not entirely free of pro-military political messaging, this is overall an entertaining premiere about four ace pilots fighting to save the earth.
