Catching up on the premieres to date… This will be the final standalone update since the first of the 2nd episodes drop tomorrow. So, hit the jump and let’s run ’em down!
Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle
Maou-jou de Oyasumi
This is the show I didn’t know I needed this season… At first I thought the premise was kinda thin, but as the show progressed I started to grin and then laugh. Poor Demon King – locked in his castle with a Sleepy Demon Princess!
After watching, I knew my wife had to watch it… and as soon as she did, it got promoted from a ‘me’ show to a ‘we’ show.
Moriarty the Patriot
Yukoku no Moriarty
I found the concept interesting, the execution less so. It didn’t take much to see the endgame coming either. The only thing I missed was how Earl what’s-his-face was going to get his comeuppance. That part was a bit of a surprise, but it’s a plot device that’s going to wear thin before too long. I’m in my 50’s, and I’ve seen way too many “anti-hero brings justice where the authorities can’t or won’t”. It’s not a particularly original conceit and not one that interests me.
First episode status: Dropped.
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
Frankly, kind of, well… dull. Not that there was anything particularly wrong per se, it was just there. No particular energy. Nothing really to catch or engage me. The reveal at the end that she had a nickname and was actually kinda expected to do something crazy was particularly lame. Wouldn’t it have been better to set up the audience’s expectation at the start?
In a world where Bofuri exists, you have to do much better than that.
I know one of my regular readers is planning on watching, if they do I’ll keep my eye on it. Otherwise…
First Episode Status: In a less crowded season, I might have kept it. Given everything else, dropped.
Strike Witches: Road to Berlin
Dai-501 Tougou Sentou Koukuu Dan Strike Witches: Road to Berlin
By the franchise’s standards, this was a pretty slow opening episode. No real combat, and a little shy on the fanservice. Given the cliffhanger, the former won’t last. Given the OP, I’m guessing the latter will pick up the pace when the 501st re-assembles.
First Episode Status: Keeper.
Adachi and Shimamura
Adachi to Shimamura
With it’s non linear narrative format, it took a bit to pick up and follow what’s happening… And I didn’t expect it to be strictly from one character’s POV. Bold choices both, but they’re working so far. I hope they’ll be swapping between the leads as the story develops…
I’m hoping there’s a little more backstory. I can’t get a read on Adachi yet, but there’s certainly more than we know about Shimamura. She’s gotten into casual delinquency, but there’s more to the story.
First Episode Status: Strong Keeper.
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In terms of shows I’m watching, and possibly in terms of the season overall… Man, it sure seems that Funi has Crunchy on the mat. Which is going to suck, because getting screenshots from Funi is a massive PITA.
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Anyhow, as I said this will be the last stand-alone preview post. I should be back on Tuesday with the Week 2 post. (Crossing fingers.) I’m shooting for Tuesday because there’s a number of shows I don’t want to be too late in posting about.
But… Assuming no further pickups or drops, I’m watching thirteen shows this season. Something has to give. So, some shows may get one-liners or no comments strictly to maintain my sanity.
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So, that’s it for now. I’m caught up through Thursday (PST) with anything I’m planning to watch, so everything up to now is free game. Over to you, drop a comment and let’s chat!
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
@Sleepy Princess: Ooh, that was fun. I think my favourite scene was the Demon King lurking around the corner watching the hero retrieve the shield with childlike excitement, only to witness a wtf-reaction (because princess has destroyed the shield). This one’s just such fun. Also, I really like the colours in this one.
@Moriarty: Yeah, the concept’s getting sort of old. I find the show decent, though, so I’m going to stay a while and see if it’s going anywhere, or if it’s going to be crime-of-the-week. I hear this is going to be 24 episodes long, so I’m not likely to stick it out if it’s a crime-of-the-week format.
@Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear: The whispers from the peanut gallery say the show started somewhere in the middle. If so, I’m surprised she can log out; I thought it would be a trapped-in-the-game kind of show? Anyway, this could have been better, but I like Yuna, so I’ll stick around. Maybe it was just me, but after the break they switched bears, yet they then arrived at the village with the original bear-rider pairing? Did I mix this up, or did the show? In any case, I’ve seen no signs that the show will be anything other than what you see here. The only thing I’m curious about is the ending: is she making her family money on the stock market and her grandfather’s worried about her not going to school? Are they actually going down a don’t-isolate-yourself-via-gaming route? I’m not expecting much, but that did throw me off a little.
@Adachi and Shimamura: I didn’t expect the show to start with a chibi-astronaut floating down a river muttering a single word (?) over again. I was immediately reminded of Denpa Onna. Then, as the show went on: wait a minute, don’t the character designs look a little like that show, too? (Not the characters; just the design elements – like the eye-mouth combination.) And doesn’t the characterisation have the same somwhat melancholic, matter-of-fact feel to it? The same magical-realist, surreal undercurrent in the narration? After the episode was done I headed over to ANN to check and sure enough… Nobody told me the source is by the same writer as Denpa Onna. This would have shot straight to the top right away. I loved the first episode, and there’s a good chance it’ll top out even in this season. The social dynamics this episode were great.
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re: Sleeping Princess It is indeed a fun show… And yeah, the Demon King is something else. I loved how he kept being charmed by her sleeping and couldn’t bring himself to disturb here.
re: Adachi and Shimamura I hope they have a good explanation for the chibi-astronaut, it was a seriously jarring element. Absent that, I agree, this has a good chance to be among the top this season. Though, to be fair, there’s not a lot of competition. This is a busy season, but it’s mostly average shows. (Especially considering the season that’s coming down the pike… I sometimes feel we’re just marking time waiting on Winter 2021.)
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I’m not sure you can expect a good explanation. In Denpa Onna things were kept deliberately ambiguos often, but it gelled very well with the mood, and everything was actually better the second time I watched it. (It’s not a full adaption, though.)
I actually really like the season, but that might be in comparison to the one that just passed. I actually really like both Majou no Tabitabi and Tonikaku Cawai.
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