Even though it’s cool and grey outside, it’s Spring 2020 by the anime calendar. That means it’s time to dive in and check out the first batch of new shows. Hit the jump and let’s see what survives my first encounter.
The shows that I am watching are in bold, shows my wife and I are watching together are in bold italics, strikethrough marks dropped shows and (*) marks shows that are watched but not regularly reviewed.
Tamayomi: The Baseball Girls
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A pair of childhood friends reunite and bond over a shared interest… Yeah, I’m just going to stop myself right there. We’ve all heard that one before.
And with the exception of mentioning the sometimes dodgy animation, that sums up Tamayomi in a nutshell – painfully generic. I don’t know if it’s going the CGDCT route, or aspires to be a serious sports drama, but it’s off to a very shaky start.
Status: Tentative keeper, I’m going to give it a few episodes to see how it shakes out.
Kakushigoto
After being hit over the head with same jokes for the umpteenth time and not even being to the eyecatch yet…
Status: Dropped ten minutes in without a backwards glance or the faintest shred of regret.
Listeners
Not a show that was on my anticipation list, so other than a quick skim of the premise I knew nothing about it going in. Which meant I was not expecting a show with an unpromising (and thin) premise to feature mecha! Unfortunately, that startling reveal was about the only surprise to be found here… Most of the rest of the story beats were long familiar to anyone who has ever watched anime, cartoons, movies, basically any media.
On the other hand, the characters are a little quirky and just a little off the well trodden path. Echo is the reluctant hero, skilled but doubtful of himself. Myu is a genki girl, unrestrained and as certain of herself as her all-too-convenient amnesia allows. I think my favorite is the world weary Mayor. He’s seen some shit, and his desire to protect the people of the town from further shit has lead him to some very dark places.
Status: Tentative keeper. Much will depend on the growing relationship between the two mains, who the predictably mysterious characters at the end turn out to be, and if the overall characterization can continue to rise above the norm.
Nami yo Kiite Kure (Wave, Listen to Me!)
Every so often there comes a premiere episode that me go “WTF did I just watch?” Wave is just such an anime. Is that a positive or a negative? Too early to tell.
The main interest is Minare, the protagonist. She’s pissed. Pissed at herself, pissed at boss(es), pissed at the world – and at the same time, weary and lethargic inside. It’s an odd mix, and I’m curious to see more.
Most of the episode was a stage setting flashback establishing where Minare came from and where she is now… Without giving us much of a peek at what’s coming down the pike. So far, a one trick pony, but the manga wouldn’t be up to sixty chapters if there wasn’t wasn’t something to the story.
Status: Curious as to where this going. Somewhere above tentative keeper yet below solid keeper.
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So, that’s the start of a new season… Not entirely promising so far, but there’s a raft more coming.
I’m caught up with all I intend to watch through Friday (PST, GMT-7). Anything that’s already aired is thus fair game. What are your thought so far? What’s caught your interest or caused you to fling the remote at your TV? Drop a comment and let’s chat!
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
Agree with you on Tamayomi. That was a generic and bland episode with not much going for it. I’m giving it one more episode before I make up my mind whether to watch it or not.
I’ve not watched the rest yet but hopefully I’ll get around to them today!
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I might give it a few more, but it’s definitely going to have to make significant progress in quality. There’s so many premiers for me today, I’m going to have to make a list!
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Yeah definitely! Oh wow good luck!!
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My favourite premier so far is definitely Kakushigoto, but that was to be expected; I’m not surprised. I’m also not surprised you dropped it, and it’s probably for the best, because I’m not expecting much development.
Tamayomi… is probably going to be better than Cinderella Nine, but that’s a rather low bar. It’s not going to be a show I’ll have much to say about, but it’s watchable.
Listeners was interesting; it’s the type of show that’s either going to be mildly entertaining or a mid-season drop. There’s an off-chance that it’s going to do something that catches my interest, but i’m not holding my breath.
Nami yo Kitte Kure is… definitely its own thing. I’m intrigued, but I’m also worried that I’m going to be listening to non-stop ranting, and if that’s the case, I’m probably gone.
Both Listeners and Nami have their own art style, which I appreciate.
I’m going to keep an eye on Kami no Tou. It’s a generic shounen fighter, and it’s very stylish. I like the monster and character designs. The story’s nothing to write home about so far, but if it’s at least servicable, I’m going to have a pretty entertaining fighting anime.
And once Netflix releases BNA, you should definitely check that out. Though it’s probably going to be a while.
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re:Kakushigoto
You have a better appreciation of some forms of comedy than I do… So not surprised you enjoyed it.
It was the (practically) non-stop ranting, balanced against the rare views of her interior monologue, that caught my attention. Especially when she tried to walk back her ranting. So long as there’s some form of balance and growth it’ll probably keep my attention.
(And I about choked on my coffee… “better than Cinderella Nine, but that’s a low bar”… Indeed!)
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Tamayomi – A cute girls yuri show with no personality of its own. It’s not really my niche to begin with, but even then it just looked off.
Kakushigoto – I’m always weary of Dad/Daughter shows because anime has a hard time being normal. I wouldn’t say it has crossed the line yet but it easily could. They did a skit in the back half with a queer man chasing around a bunch of kids which was in poor taste imo, and I’m not that interested in seeing if it improves.
Listeners – A pleasant surprise for me. I saw the trailer and I was like “oh no, it’s going to be a perverted mecha isn’t it?”. And well, it does make one or two sex jokes, but it didn’t make me angry as I expected. The main duo are entertaining together, and every other character behaved like adults which is a bonus. It has charm similar to Carole & Tuesday, but maybe that’s a bad omen because I never finished that show.
Wave, Listen to Me! – Too weird for me. I also didn’t like how the broadcast guy seemingly recorded her and put her on air without consent. Oh, and the director seems a bit obsessed with her butt.
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Not only on the generic side plotwise, but the character design and animation were bargain basement too.
re:Listeners
And even then they didn’t linger on them, which I appreciated. They just fired ’em off and moved on. That being said, I’m not sure how much they contributed to character development. They didn’t exactly hurt, but they didn’t exactly help either. But they did fit in with the generic approach many of the story beats had.
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