And so… another season begins! Eight premieres so far, mostly decent or better. Hit the jump and let’s get the new season underway!
The shows that I’m 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.
Luminous Witches – Ep 1
Over at ANN, a reviewer called this a “roll call” episode… Which is an apt description and one I’ll remember. It basically introduced all the girls and demonstrated their defining personal trope characteristic… Most of which I’ve forgotten because there were so many.
Another reviewer likened the coming idol group to a USO tour… Works for me and actually makes sense.
Status: Meh, I’ll probably watch. Don’t know how much I’ll have to say.
Lycoris Recoil – Ep 1
Japan is a nation at peace – a peace ruthlessly enforced by a government agency that employs squads of schoolgirl assassins and SWAT/SpecOps troops. *Sigh* Only in anime, right?
But once you get past the premise, it’s actually not that bad. Chisato is billed as the most capable of the Lycoris – but she’s a loose cannon. So she’s isolated from the others, and has her own control and support staff. Takina is also extremely capable, but she’s more on the out-of-control side of being a loose cannon. So she’s been (in her view) exiled to Chisato’s unit.
Basically a “buddy cop” show? But who is supposed to learn from who?
And there’s an overarching plot I haven’t got a handle on yet… Something about a hacker and billionaire with his own agenda. And a nice “soft cliffhanger” tying both to Chisato… Or maybe it’s just a coincidence. (Yeah, right.)
Strongest premiere this season that isn’t Abyss. And I’m going out on a limb – if it doesn’t lose its way, we already have a contender for AOTS-that-isn’t-Abyss.
Status: Overall a strong premiere with a nice balance of action and character building. A little weak on the world building, but I think they’re slow walking it. Definitely watching.
Kami Kuzu☆Idol
Phantom of the Idol
Man, that was freakin’ tedious. I mean how often did the MC friggin’ repeat himself? And how in the heck was he even still employed in the first place?
Nope, I’m outta here.
Status: Dropped at the eycatch. I simply couldn’t bear any more.
MADE IN ABYSS: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun – Ep 01
MADE IN ABYSS: Retsujitsu no Ougonkyo
Abyss comes roaring out of the gate and punches the viewer in the gut – again. (Still? Has it ever stopped?)
As I said on Twitter:
There’s a ton to talk about, but I’ll confine myself to the high points…
– Half the show is dedicated to the voyage of the Ganja, who seek the City of Gold in the Abyss. They’re last seen boarding the bubble elevator that Riko, Reg, and Nanachi ride to the Sixth Level. The narration implies they reached the same place the episode ends. Is there a civilization in the Abyss?
– If the Ganja all entered the Abyss, and failed to return, who founded the city on it’s rim? What happened to the indigenous peoples? There’s a thread tying all these together, and all we’ve seen are it’s ends.
– The compass that Vueko carries. Is it the same compass that Riko has back in the first season?
Yes, Abyss is brutal, and sometimes has questionable taste. We need not dwell on that.
Anyhow, a classic set-up episode masterfully done.
Status: KEEPER. (As if there was any doubt.)
My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex – Ep 01
Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta
OK, let’s get what everyone is thinking out on the table first – yes, this show is horny, trashy, and stupid. And, at least for the moment, I’m OK with that.
I enjoyed Mizuto and Yume’s relationship… It’s pretty obvious that even though they’re broken up and regard their past as past – they still retain some degree of feelings for each other. And they’re smart enough to hide their past and the simmering anger/dislike from their parents. (Though it’s a sucker bet – that comes back to haunt them.)
And Yume, her comment about being a brocon… That was directed at Mizotu as much, if not more, as the losers who were trying to chat her up. I’m not sure how much he reciprocates though. He’s mostly in for the game of one-upmanship, at least for the moment.
And I think that both of them are somewhat socially awkward. Their only experience with more ‘normal’ relationships being their now over middle school romance.
Status: It did make me chuckle in spots, and at least so far it’s not as bad as it could be… So, guarded keeper.
Prima Doll
Currently… Schrödinger’s anime. It shows as aired on various sites, but it actually hasn’t. It’ll air and be available on HiDive on Friday (June 8).
Mentioned here mostly to ask that if you have seen it, please don’t spoil it.
Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 2 – Ep 1
Kanojo, Okarishimasu 2nd Season
Unexpectedly, my wife wanted to watch this. I’m not sure why I am… Chizuru is about the show’s only redeeming factor. Kazuya, he’s still pretty much a garbage human being with a heart of iron pyrite. (AKA Fool’s Gold.)
Status: Undecided.
Tokyo Mew Mew New~♡
TOKYO MEW MEW NEW
Not yet watched, so I’ll cover the 1st and 2nd episodes next week. (Sorry Lee!)
Uncle from Another World
Isekai Ojisan
Won’t be available on Netflix until July 20th. If you’ve seen it, please don’t spoil it.
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Not actually a bad start overall. Only one drop and a couple on the precipice, plus several decent starts.
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Speaking of summer, we’ve finally turned the corner here and it’s warming up and drying up. Hopefully we’ll be able to get out and enjoy some of these precious few weekends of good weather and long days.
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Anyhow, I’m caught up through Thursday with everything I’m planning on watching except for Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting. That’s an “us” show, so I can’t watch it until this evening. Or maybe tommorrow since Thursday is Anime Music Quiz night.
So how is your season opened? Anything Really, Really Good? Really, Really Bad?
Drop a comment and let’s chat!
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
No worries on Mew Mew New (or anything else), as I haven’t gotten the chance to watch anything yet. I watch new shows overnight Saturday night/Sunday morning. Keeping all my TV to the weekend helps keep me from being too lazy during the week. Well, most of the time.
I’m not sure if Prima Doll is airing a week later here, or if LiveChart simply got its info wrong. HiDive has been pretty clear about it starting the 8th all along.
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My understanding is that Prima Doll streamed exclusively in Japan on the 2nd, and everyone else gets it a week later.
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Yeah, that makes sense.
I know you don’t like to do it, but I’ve already penciled in 5 shows for Autumn. In part, that’s because we’re getting a prologue for The Witch from Mercury this season, so obviously that’s on the list. And of course, SPY×FAMILY.
Anyway, my list for this season includes: I’m Kodama Kawashiri -The Dissolute Life of a Dangerous Lifehacker- (which has something like 5 more episodes to go), Delicious Party♡Pretty Cure, SHADOWS HOUSE, Waccha Primagi!, Tokyo Mew Mew New, Prima Doll, Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun, The Devil is a Part-Timer!!, and the aforementioned Mobile Suit Gundam – The Witch from Mercury – Prologue.
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All right, now I’ve watched them.
I have a theory that just popped into my mind about Made in Abyss, which is that Ozen was once Vueko. From there, the statement that none of them made it back from there has to do with the changes that they undergo as they embed artifacts in themselves in order to avoid the curse, and of course they can embed the artifacts by making use of their white whistles. We know that Ozen and Bondrewd have the same sort of artifact embedded in their bodies (though I don’t know if that’s true of any of the other bodies that Bondrewd takes on; maybe he gets them from his previous body and re-embeds them).
Prima Doll was definitely inspired by Violet Evergarden. We’ll have to wait and see if the stories live up to the inspiration.
Tokyo Mew Mew New is exactly what I was hoping it would be. It’s pretty bulletproof for anyone who likes that sort of thing. It seems like a straight reboot of the original series with more current animation and art styles. And yes, one of the Mews is named Lettuce (Retasu).
SHADOWS HOUSE is off to a great start, so let’s hope they can keep the momentum going. I look forward to learning more about Barbara/Barbie, but I still don’t trust Star Bearers. I had a bit about Maryrose/Rosemary spoiled for me, but I don’t think it’ll ruin anything, and I won’t pass along the spoiler in any case.
Waccha Primagi! is still running strong, and I loved the duo episode with Miruki and Lemon. I’m still angry at Sentai for making the decision not to subtitle the songs in the episodes, though, and that continuing mistake was especially apparent in that episode, where there is some actual discussion between characters of the value of the lyrical content of the specific songs.
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That… makes a lot of sense actually.
Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to watch Mew Mew New today, I don’t want to get too far behind.
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Honestly, nothing new so far caught my interest, though some shows are okay. I don’t think I’ve seen Prima Doll; if I have it wasn’t memorable.
Lycoris Recoil was okay, but I’m struggling to talk about it. I was fine with Kami Kuzu Idol, but again not a show I have to say about.
Made in Abyss is Made in Abyss; I’d be very suprised if anything else ends up anime of the season. (I was a little curious about the nobody-ever-returns line; isn’t that basically the concept of the Abyss? You go down, but going back up kills you eventually. So, yeah, you won’t return, but shouldn’t that be expected? Maybe something changed?)
My Stepmom’s Daughter is My Ex was pretty decent. I actually have a good idea after this episode why they got together, and also why they split up again. One of the better premiers so far.
So far, this season’s pretty much a dud for me. Except for Abyss, there’s really nothing I’d miss so far. I’ll be watching the Yakuza Babysitting show soon. Hopefully, it’ll be cute.
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Yup… Something else would either have to be VERY good, or Abyss would have to somehow flame out. Neither is a safe bet.
Could it because Ganja were the first “civilized” people to dive the Abyss? Or maybe they went beyond however deep the indigenous people reached (and returned from)? The old man who asked for the Star Compass, he looks to me like he could have been altered by the Abyss.
I’d be curious to hear your theories…
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@Stepmom: Well, they both seem non-popular, but not exactly unpopular kids. I imagine they found each other easy to talk to, and with awakening hormones among a girl+boy=romance stereotype, it’s easy to mistake that ease for romantic attraction. You see that one flashback, where our heroine has that plain-girl stereotype look (braids and glasses), which she no longer sports, while our main character pretty much remained the same. Combine this with their various moments of friction over how our main character is the shoganai type, and you can see how a relationship would have been difficult. She’s trying hard to fit in, and he’s not interested. It’s not so much (or not only) that he’s holding her back, it’s that others don’t see the good side of him and he doesn’t bother to help them see it. Those are very different social approaches; he’d appear lazy or indifferent to her, while she’d appear a nag to him. Note that her trying to fit in is not a shallow attempt to be popular; she wouldn’t have called herself a brocon before those boys. It’s deeply ingrained different social approach that drove them apart. I clearly don’t have any details yet, but that’s roughly how I imagine their relationship based on brief flash-back scenes and current friction.
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Oh, and while I’m at it: I’ve just found my show of the season that isn’t Made in Abyss so far, in a place I didn’t expect. It’s… Chimimo. Imagine a cross between Ika Musume and Bananya, only more deadpan than either of the shows. Give it a try and if it doesn’t get you immediately you can drop it: what you get is what you see. I find it adorable.
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That makes sense… And works with my theory about their social awkwardness.
I did catch the plain-jane, but not the importance(?) of it.
She is attempting to fit in/be popular though, but not trying to “catch a boyfriend” (the two are not the same). Look at her conversation with the girls in the classroom.
Chimimo does sound interesting, will check it out this weekend.
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“contender for AOTS-that-isn’t-Abyss.”
That made me LOL.
It’s Abyss’ title to lose, isn’t it? And so far, it shows no sign of letting go.
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Ayup. And it’s hard to imagine it stumbling the way SPY X FAMILY did or (even worse) blowing it entirely as Promised Neverland did.
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