The second and final batch of first impressions… It’s a lean season folks, but we’ll make the best of it.
Let’s hit the jump and dive right in!
Azur Lane Ep 1
Shipgirls. (Seen it.) Reborn souls with Manifest Destiny. (Seen it.)
Meh.
And that’s without the usual problem of mobile game adaptations… There’s a huge cast, and they spent a good chunk of the episode introducing them. The other usual problem, that they assume the viewer is familiar with the game mechanics, is thankfully absent. (So far.)
Status: Even my well known soft spot for cute anime girls can’t quite make me like or enjoy Azur Lane… I’m not entirely certain why I haven’t already dropped this hot mess.
Kono Oto Tomare! 2nd Season EP 1
This has to be one of the oddest first episodes I’ve ever watched.
As expected, it picked up with the cliffhanger than ended the first season… And then preceded to wrap up the threads of the competition. Thematically, it felt more like a finale/epilogue than a first episode. You could argue that in a continuing series the two are one-and-the same… But usually the mid-season/arc climax is attached to the previous season, not the new.
Status: Why am I even watching this? The first season was so annoying… Oh, yeah, despite being something of a mess, they do manage to hit some pretty sharp emotional high points. Stand by for another season of alternating praise and despair.
ORESUKI: Are you the only one who loves me? /
Ore wo Suki na no wa Omae Dake ka yo Ep 1
I find myself annoyed and intrigued…
First up, the annoyance. The entire episode was essentially three repeated skits, with changes in the third. That was a massive waste of the viewers time.
Yet, there’s more here than that. The setup left us unprepared for the massive face-heel turn, even though there was a hint or two… (Though I have to say, I’m usually not fond of “everything you thought you knew was wrong”.) That leaves me intrigued.
On the balance, I think I’m more intrigued than anything else. Will Kisaragi get the comeuppance he deserves for being a manipulative ass? Will he embrace his dark side? I’m looking forward to finding out.
Status: Keeper.
Outburst Dreamer Boys / Chuubyou Gekihatsu Boy Ep 1
I have to say… Outburst Dreamer Boys has the best OP I’ve seen so far. The first episode is probably the best so this season. It’s fast paced, aggressively silly, and absolutely true to itself. I love shows that embrace their inner nature with no apologies.
Mizuki is the mystery here… My theory? She’s a chuuni too, but she desperately wants to hide it. With the madness of the boys around her she’s not going to be able to hide it for very long. Will they play it like Seki-kun, where Rumi tried to keep a facade of disinterest and disgust? Or will Mizuki burst from her shell and join wholeheartedly in the lunacy?
Though it doesn’t feel likely, there’s also a distant third possibility… The Supernatural Battles route, where their powers and “The Agency” are real.
It also occurs to me that Nanako (the class rep) keeps showing up all too conveniently…
I’ve seen some debate over whether it’s a reverse harem or maybe a rom-com. To me there’s no evidence either way, so I’m sitting that one out.
Also, my wife caught the last third and then watched the entire ep. This started as a ‘me’ show, but now it’s a ‘we’ show.
Status: Strong keeper.
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Sidebar: Getting back to taking screenshots after such a long break… I’m reminded just how crappy the Funi and HiDive web interfaces are. And it’s not just about screenshots, their navigation sucks rocks as well.
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There’s still two big premiers yet to come… (My Hero Academia, and Chihayafuru.) But those are a while off yet. I haven’t built a schedule yet, so I don’t know when I’ll be posting. I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up skipping the rest of this week and pick
up with weekly coverage sometime next week.
With the hiatus last season, I never got to summer’s Looking Back, so there’s that to look forward to as well.
Pretty much everything so far that I expect to watch has now premiered, so everything is fair game. Are there shows I’m missing that I should take a look at? Drop a comment and let’s chat!
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
I’m cautiously optimistic for Kono Oto Tomare. Hopefully it really picks up cause I’m rooting for it!
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When it’s good, it’s good… So I’m hoping for more of those moments.
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Honestly, I haven’t found a lot this season that I’m overly excited about. There’s some first episodes that look kind of like they might be okay but nothing has really made me think that I have to watch it. Of course, there’s still stuff to come but honestly I’m pretty much accepting this isn’t a season I’m going to be thrilled with. Then again, My Hero Academia is coming back so it isn’t like there’s nothing I’m excited for and Dr Stone has gotten much better as its first cour continued so I’m looking forward to it continuing.
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Outside of Bananya, there’s only two non-conditional keepers so far… So I hear you. Maybe it’s a chance to dive into my backlog. (Who am I kidding? Like that’s ever going to happen!)
You’re not looking forward to Chihayafuru?
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Never watched any of the previous ones so not a lot of point.
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I’m not really down for any anime this season. Weird, but that’s probably because the year’s been so strong. I’ll wait for MHA to start first I guess.
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I’ve said many times that every season isn’t for everyone.
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Azur Lane: I dropped that one almost immediately. War never changes. Girl stands around being cool. Other girl talks to her. All style (though not particular striking) and no charm, no intrigue. I’ve seen too little for it to be conclusive, but what I’ve heard so far, including now here, is not encouring me to give it a second chance.
Kono Oto Tomare: I thought it was a decent episode. My favourite part was the introduction of the weird guy who showed interest in Chika and won a prize. Other than that: business as usual.
Oresuki: I said that I don’t know what to think. I thought the repetitiveness was actually funny to an extent (but not outrageously so), and there’s this sense that this show’s deliberately courting a transperant 4th wall (without breaking it). The repetitiveness of the confessions, ending with the in-world deliberately staged bench in the library actually makes for an interesting set-up. The show drops plenty of hints (Himawari means sunflower, and the cosmos is also a flower in the sunflower family, while the pansy grows closer to the ground – with library girl being the obvious 4th-wall vehicle, both with the bench and the Jeckyll-Hyde book, which I noticed in the opening scene but forgot until the rehash at the end). None of that is particularly clever, but it does give a coherent picture. But then the characters (all of them, not just the main) are neither particularly likable nor particularly interesting (library girl is my favourite by far), and I don’t much care for the plot, so I’m not actually curious. Coming fresh off Hensuki, I’m also sort of burnt out on I-don’t-care-who-I-want-a-girlfriend guys, and this show is a much worse offender. It’s the most inconclusive premiere of the season so far.
Outburst Dreamer Boys is definitely a reverse harem (though you’re definition of a harem show is stricter than mine, so you might end up disagreeing with my assessment). It ticks all the boxes. I don’t think Mizuki’s a chuuni. My prediction is that they’ll go through all the boys harem style in the usual look-beneath-the-surface way. I like that the club is about helping people, but their quirks keep them going over the top. I find the boys sort of annyoing (except the game guy, who I’m okay with so far), but I also actually like them (except the glasses guy, who’s really just annoying but that may yet change). The show itself is good-natured and quick-paced and fun and likable.
Among the shows you didn’t watch most aren’t worth it anyway, but I had fun with Mairimashita Iruma-kun, which is cute, looks cheap but makes it up with good storyboarding (?) and bright constrasting colours. Nice doofus comedy.
And I liked the Phantasy Star Online 2 anime. I liked the other one, too, even though it was pretty bad, but this one actually seems to have an intriguing plot. Phantasy Star always gets nostalgia points from me, even though I never played any of the Online games (I did play the PS2 games, and the original four). The first episode was surpringly bloody; that’s not a style I associate with the franchise, but it works well enough. Characters are mostly types (true to the series), and the maincharacter is the brooding angsty type (amnesia), coming close to the annoying line, but actually taking himself back when he must, and there hints that he has other emotional modes. No masterpiece, and I’m a little worried about a CGI nausea, but if that won’t strike I’m in.
Some shows are still coming, most notably (for non sequels) Beastars.
Here’s a provisional ranking so far:
Haatage! Kemono Michi (not much upwards potential, likely to drop)
Bookworm (good upwards potential, minor danger of dropping)
Mairimashita Iruma-kun (If they don’t tone down the main character, it’ll drop a little; otherwise I don’t expect much too change)
Cautious Hero (huge danger of diminishing returns, but could also profit from more characters)
Outburst Dreamer Boys (I expect this to remain true to its premier all the way through)
Kono Oto Tomare (same old)
Phantasy Star Online 2 (Nostalgia; equal chance to rise and drop and stay level)
Bananya (May well rise when my disappointment fades)
Didn’t I Say to Make my Abilities avarage in the Next Life (Too early to gauge tendencies)
Null Peta (cute; it’s a short, and I don’t have enough to speculate on a tendency)
Actors: Song Connection (A weird mix of supernatural, school club and male idol show; avarage in execution, but all the people in there seem nice; too early to speak about tendencies – set-up’s not yet done)
We Never Learn 2 (I like all those lovable dorks; I don’t mind the ecchi jokes, but some of them make me roll my eyes hard – it’s season 2, I reckon I know what to expect)
Fairy Gone 2 (pretty good premier, but… it’s Fairy Gone)
Granblue Fantasy 2 (I didn’t think I’d be so fond of the returning characters; I didn’t like the show all that much)
Dice Club (will likely remain at the level of the first episode)
Mini Yuri (what you get is what you see)
Oresuki (might rise and fall with equal probability; I can’t tell at all)
Ahiru no Sora (the sort of sports show I watch for a while and then drop for no particular reason)
Africa no Salaryman (occasionally funny, often annoying – if I watch it, I’ll regret it; if I drop it, I’ll regret it, too.)
Val X Love (ecchi harem where for once the boy is the most interesting character; I don’t tend to last with sex-power-up shows, though)
Choujin-Koukosei-tachi (overpowered teenagers are being boring in an embarrassingly horny show; a prime candidate for a drop)
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re:Bookworm I saw the trailer yesterday (I hadn’t seen it before), and it does look like better things are coming… Just so long as it picks up the pace!
re:Orseuki
Not likeable characters are certainly a turn off… But not, for me, a major flaw. They’re the sour that goes with the sweet. I find stalker girl kinda interesting, but that’s mostly because she’s so over-the-top while being completely sincere. That piques my interest. Plus, seeing two manipulative characters bounce off of each other has potential.
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Forgot to add:
I didn’t mean to imply the episode was bad… By Kono‘s rather loose standards it was actually good. (And will Chika and Satowa just start dating already!?!) It just felt out of place compared to the usual order of things.
At least it wasn’t a recap!
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I dont think I’ve read another review on Outburst Dreamer Boys yet, and really didn’t know it existed until you deemed it a “strong keeper.” Is it a more plotless and over-the-top version of Chuunibyou at all?
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If you’re referring to Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusion, I’ve never seen it so I couldn’t tell you.
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Beastars – most interesting show this season. It’s like a dark zootopia!
Kandagawa Jet Girls – gutter trash with unintentional high art tendencies!
Kemono Michi: Rise Up – pure joy!
Everything else is either mindless but watchable… or mindless and not watchable :)
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I watched the first ep… and agree 100% with “trash”… great production values, but little else.
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Episode 2 is 5/10 terrible. 12 minutes of slow motion high speed jet ski riding and 4th wall breaking. None of the (probably accidental) moments of weird from episode 1. No one missing nothing :)
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