Well, Tuesday is a bit of a break between waves of premieres, so it’s the perfect day to look at what I’ve checked out so far. (Not to worry, there’s plenty more coming!)
The Dangers in My Heart Season 2
Next to the continuation of Frieren, our most anticipated premiere… And it *absolutely* did not disappoint. No real surprises, but I didn’t really expect any. Like Tonikawa, Dangers relies on a careful mix of more-of-the-same and slow growth building on what’s come before. Sudden high drama moments are used sparingly and carefully, and setting the table for a new season didn’t need any.
Status: Solid keeper, looking forward to another season of these two adorable dorks.
But if HiDive keeps delaying the episode by 24 hours, I’mma gonna throw things.
Frieren 2nd cour
Another quietly strong episode, more of a continuation than a new opening. But this week, the character moment of the episode doesn’t belong to a core trio. Sein walks away with the prize and makes his totally expected departure from the scene. And it was perfect.
Status: It’s probably redundant to say that Frieren stays in the rotation. I’ll get another season of using this image, which I’ve posted frequently on social media:
Gushing over Magical Girls
If WordPress supported emojis, I’d insert a facepalm here. I kinda actually don’t want to even admit I watched this show…
Because honestly, it was garbage. I don’t mind horny shows, and I watch my share of ecchi series. But Gushing was just plain ol’ softcore porn with low production values and absolutely no redeeming qualities. If that’s what I want, it’s available on demand on YouTube without pretense or cluttering up my queue.
Status: I’ll just let this screenshot from the show itself sum it up.
A Sign of Affection
Somehow, despite my predilection from romances, Affection managed to avoid getting on my radar. But then Chris talked a little bit about it over on Facebook, I showed the trailer to my wife, and we decided to check it out.
I was crushing hard even before our two leads got off the train where the show opened. The show only got better from there. I love how realistically Yuki is played, and… What is with Itsuomi? I am compelled to learn more.
Status: As Itsuomi texted to Yuki – please, let us into your world. Solid keeper.
(Thank you Chris.)
Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!
In theory, an odd-couple romance should be right up my alley. And after last season’s Inexperienced Me/Experienced You, I find myself acquiring a taste for the gyaru archetype.
But…
Our milquetoast MC-kun is way too genre savvy, and the show itself is very paint-by-numbers. Even those shows can be enjoyable if produced with a deft touch and attention to the act of painting… But this show gets your attention with a sledgehammer and it’s paint is applied with a firehose.
Status: Keeper under the two episode rule. Which is a new rule I just now entirely made up and probably more than this show deserves.
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Here’s what I’m planning on checking out over the next week. I always pay attention to the buzz and the first impressions over on ANN, but these are the ones I’m specifically watching.
- Delusional Monthly Magazine (Weird workplace comedy?)
- Metallic Rouge (The trailer is interesting.)
- The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (I play a lot of tamers and summoners in various MMO’s, so right in my weak spot.)
- The Witch and the Beast (Which also has an intriguing trailer.)
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So, that’s it for me – over to you! What premieres have caught your attention through Tuesday? Drop a comment about them or anything else that catches your fancy.
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
No problem at all. I saw Sign on the LiveChart list and thought that at the very worst it would be a sad knockoff of A Silent Voice, which wouldn’t be terrible, probably. But then it exceeded expectations considerably, and knowing your predilections I had to point it out to you.
Gushing… well… um. I dunno. It’s so over-the-top that it has to tip its hand as a conscious parody really quickly, right? I mean, I sat through all of Spec-Ops Asuka with its softcore torture nurse who seemed almost like a magical girl version of Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS, only with a kawaii personality—though even that wasn’t as ridiculous as Gushing. I dunno, I’ll decide by next weekend whether I want to give it a chance. HiDive is advertising the shit out of it, though, trying to cash in on the notoriety.
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Oh-oh, you’ve done it now. Don’t go dissing on my girl Asuka! :) I thought Warnurse’s predilection for torture was just another example of how serving as magical girls – in her case her intelligence gathering role – twisted her personality way out of shape and her continued clandestine opportunities to torture etc twisted it still further. Warnurse, like the police torturers are shown as ordinary, even colorless people, much like how psychopaths and war criminals often were. Her veneer of kawai cuteness and friendliness belying her sinister and awful nature underneath. Was some of it gratuitous? Yes it was. Was it trash? In my opinion overall it wasn’t. (Needs a second series too).
Sorry for the rant. I think we all have a few shows we defend even though everyone else criticizes them, and Special Ops Magical Girl Asuka is one of mine. :)
Gushing etc however was trash and the ecchi was about as subtle as a brick and twice as unfunny. For me it was an immediate drop after the first episode.
One show I thought did have a good opening episode was Oroka na Tenshi wa Akuma to Odoru (According to Anilist “The Foolish Angel Dances with the Devil”)*. The first episode wasn’t the saviour of anime but if they keep up the current dynamic and direction between the leads, it may turn out to be quite entertaining yet. :)
Once I collect my thoughts I’ll post my thoughts about the other shows I’ve checked out later….
Your mileage may vary as to how accurate Anilist translations of Japanese titles are. I’ve thought them obviously and weirdly inaccurate in the past.
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As I said the Chis, Asuka missed a huge chance to bring those issues to the fore and make them key to whole plot… It just kept (frustratingly) hinting at them.
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You can read all of that into Asuka, and honestly I would be happy to because that was what I was hoping to get at some point in the series, but the show itself doesn’t do a lot to support that reading, at least in the anime. What we see on screen comes across more gratuitous, including requisite panty (or underwear generally) shots and lovingly gazing at the infliction. That said, I did finish it, which is not something I can say about some series, like, say, Wish Upon the Pleiades. Personally, I think that Yūki Yūna managed the child soldier/PTSD thing a lot better by physicalizing it, at least when the series wasn’t distracted by worldbuilding. (And, to be clear, I love YūYūYū, but at times I feel like it lost its way in pursuit of showing off some cool corner of the setting instead of concentrating on the story. At least Madoka shuffled all of that sort of thing into a side story so that people who care can take the time and those who don’t can whine about Rebellion or whatever it is they do. I probably should stop with the hot takes while I’m already behind, right?)
Anyway, on Gushing, my understanding is that the manga is much more abstract about those scenes, so I am wondering what is going on in the minds of the anime creators. It has to be a deliberate choice, and it may very well be for purely prurient (or promo through scandal) purposes. I still dunno, still thinking about if it’s worth slogging through more of the same to get to a point that might never arrive, or if maybe there is a real purpose there that is worth it. Maybe I’ll give it three episodes to give it the opportunity to get past the shock value.
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Oh, and also I should say that I would watch a second Asuka series without a second thought. Again, it was no Pleiades.
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Asuka had at least something of a plot and the ecchi/porn wasn’t really the whole point… Gushing on the other hand, the ecchi/porn is both the plot and the point. There’s really not much else there.
Which is kinda sad. Like Asuka not dealing with the PTSD issues it hinted at in the opening eps, a major missed opportunity.
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It does look like that, but is it really the case? I dunno yet. I’m thinking I’ll probably give it some episodes to get past that opening shockfest, with a clear eye toward dropping it if it just keeps being more of the gratuitous same.
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I wrote up a comment yesterday but couldn’t post it, because my internet connection gave out.
Dangers in My Heart: It’s exactly the show I remember. In fact, I probably should have rewatched the last episodes of the first season, as they alluded to stuff I’d forgotten and only remembered when they made it clear (for example: broken arm and photo connection; I was briefly confused until actually remembered what happened). I adore them; they’re both cuties.
Frieren: Again, same as always. Love the show to bits.
Gushing over Magical Girls: Yeah… Um… Well. It’s not quite the total miss for me that it’s for you; I sort of like the evil mascot, for example. But the turn-off factor is huge. I’m just not into sado-maso ecchi. That said, I dislike crazy face, and yet I’m not as put off by the protagonist losing it as I normally would be. Not sure why. I’m not sure I’d call it a parody like Chris Vermeers did; it’s definitely a comedy though. That’s pretty neutral for me, though, as I neither find it particularly funny nor unfunny… That said, a screenshot at anifem showed me something I missed: a cameo of the two protagonists from Pop Team Epic. My first impression on spotting them on that screenshot was: figures. Yeah, I can see that.
Hokkaido Gals: It feels like the marriage of two stereotypes: Hokkaido Folk are outgoing, gals are outgoing, so what about Hokkaido gals. I’m fine with it. There’s no turn-off for me so far, like there was with last season’s gal show, but at the same time there’s nothing particularly attracting me to the show either. Which is fine. It’s entertaining enough, and a pleasant enough show to spend half an hour on.
A Sign of Affection: I like our female lead, but I’m not quite sold on the male lead. I need more time to see how things work out. I didn’t initially like the character designs, but they grew on me fairly quickly; they’re both distinct and expressive. Yuki’s happy bounce near the end of the episode is among the most adorable things I’ve seen this season so far.
As for shows you don’t watch: no standouts whatsoever, though plenty stuff is fun. I think my favourite premieres of new shows would have been Fluffy Paradise (cute), Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic (I’m getting don’t-judge-a-book-by-it’s-cover vibes from the first episode; and the show might be about some sort of Red Cross-like organisation in the middle of a war between demons and humans – I really hope they don’t mess that up), Mr. Villain’s Day Off (it’s what Kawisugui Crisis should have been but wasn’t), and maybe Sasaki + Pii-chan (there are elements I’m not fond of, but so far the fun stuff dominated). None of these shows have convinced me yet; all of them have shown potential to go off the rails just as much, as they have potential to be fun.
Honestly, it really does look like the top of the season’s going to be mostly sequels and carryovers. No standout surprises so far.
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Re: Dangers Yeah, we ended up rewatching the first season because we had time on hands and it definitely helped… Especially with some of the side characters. (Notably Hara and Kana.)
Re: Affection
It ranks pretty much up there in most adorable things ever I’d say. Making the Japanese body movement for “OK” with that beaming smile says so much about her character. That was almost my screenshot for the episode before I reminded myself there were two leads… Remarkably, it was actually kinda hard to find a good one with both of them.
Not disagreeing… But let’s be honest, the sequel and the carryover are two top tier shows. There’s been few seasons where they’d see significant competition. I mean, Dangers held it’s own even against Skip and Loafer and Insomniacs.
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