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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Karakuri Circus

Masaru Saiga is a fifth-grade boy who aims to become a puppeteer. After Sadayoshi Saiga — the CEO of the giant home telephone maker Saiga and Masaru’s father — passes away, Masaru inherits 18 billion yen. Masaru is targeted for his wealth, and is saved by two people. Narumi Katō is a man who has studied Kung-Fu and has a weird illness called “Zonapha Syndrome,” and Shirogane is a silver-haired woman who controls the puppet “Arurukan” (Harlequin). Together, Masaru, Narumi, and Shirogane get thrown into various conspiracies by those who would try to steal Masaru’s fortune.ANN

Streaming: Amazon Prime

Episodes: 36

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Narumi is a martial-arts expert, but you wouldn’t know it from his day job as a costumed advertisement for a circus. As he’s handing out flyers to passers-by, a boy runs into him with his luggage. This young man, Masaru, is on the run from several very threatening men-in-black who seem immune to physical attacks. Narumi and Masaru escape from them onto a train, but their safety is only temporary; these dark figures, who are soon revealed to be puppet-like automatons, attack their car and derail the train, crashing it into Narumi’s circus tent.

Inside, Masaru and Narumi find themselves cornered, until a silver-haired woman wearing a sparkling unitard descends from a tightrope above and takes control of the huge marionette in Masaru’s luggage. This woman, Shirogane, has a long-standing commitment to Masaru’s family, and uses her skills to rescue him. Still, she doesn’t know much about the lay of the land, so as Masaru receives medical treatment, Narumi and Shirogane reach an uneasy truce.

Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2018 First Impressions – As Miss Beelzebub Likes it.

Mullin lands his dream job with the demon king he’s always held in awe, but when his tenure begins, it turns out the demon king isn’t quite what he expected. Beelzebub is a hardworking female demon but her dedication to her job is only rivaled by her love for everything fluffy.ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Though human beings have many myths about Hell, in truth it’s a very pleasant place, populated by demons who don’t appear as sinister as expected. In fact, they’re actually fallen angels who still (in some ways) serve God, and they’re led by the intelligent, powerful, and cuteness-obsessed demon Beelzebub. Beelzebub’s assistant, Mullin, has always looked up to his leader (and might even have feelings for her), but can’t reconcile the image he had of her with the reality of her personality. In truth, Beelzebub is very capable, but her comfort around Mullin manifests as laziness and continued expression of her love of soft and fluffy things.

Their relationship is a bit of a tug-of-war, which blows up when Beelzebub wanders off in Hell Ginza and gets lost. Mullin worries that, in spite of her battle prowess, she’ll end up getting mugged – or worse. When he finds her, he lets his emotions show, and Beelzebub doesn’t know how to react. The real problem is that she’s started to feel feelings she doesn’t have the experience or the vocabulary to define, and it seems to be Mullin’s fault.