Autumn 2019 First Impressions – Part 3

It’s the most interesting time of the year in my home state, where the weather can whip-lash between 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) and sunny, and 30 degrees F (-1 degree C) and snowing in a matter of hours. Right now we’re in the snowing portion of the week, and with my partner gone for the weekend and a lack of motivation to leave the house, it’s time to dig into a few more first impressions!

Note: This post contains some mildly NSFW screen shots.

Val x Love

High schooler Akutsu Takuma has learned to accept his lonely lot in life and is content surrounded by his studies, but when the god Odin taps him to save the world alongside nine Valkyries fueled by intimacy, Takuma can say good-bye to his solitary existence. – ANN

Streaming: Hidive

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Takuma Akutsu bears the burden of the nick-name “Akuma” (demon) due to his large size and scary countenance. Luckily he feels as though he has no need for friendships, and would rather spend his time studying to fulfill the expectations of his late mother. Unfortunately his quiet home life is interrupted when several lovely maidens from his high school move into the large house which he previously had to himself.

More than that, these are no ordinary young women – they’re powerful valkyries an daughters of the great god Odin. They’re on Earth to fight demons and level-up, and as the chosen one it’s up to Takuma to help them do that. Valkyries gain their power through acts of love, and though Takuma is reticent to interact with girls, he’ll have to get over that in order to fulfill his god-given destiny.

Impressions: Anime sex hijinks aren’t really my preferred form of entertainment, but over the years I’ve managed to come to terms with their existence and accept them as something of an expected job hazard. It’s fantasy indulgence that, when dissected, often manages to emphasize that society still has a lot to work through in terms of sexism and gender roles, but even more mainstream entertainment shares those issues. What perplexes me though is when sexy entertainment misses the mark in the only area it really needs to hit, and this intro episode suffers a lot due to that creeping feeling of ambivalence.

One of the tropes I dislike the most in anime is the “understanding” that violence as a response toward perversion (even accidental perversion) somehow equalizes the situation. Takuma walks into his own house, a place where he lives alone and expects to be by himself, and discovers several female classmates undressing. Obviously everyone is startled, but Takuma is the one who gets physically attacked. In the aftermath, it just feels as though everyone handled the situation poorly. Later on when Takuma has to help release Natsuki’s powers (by touching her boob and kissing her), it’s clear that Takuma has no interest, Natsuki has even less interest, and yet it’s supposedly “love” that releases and enhances a valkyrie’s powers? I’m not convinced.

There’s also the matter of Takuma being bullied and misunderstood by his classmates. This casts a pall over the episode and it’s not really confronted or addressed seriously. It’s difficult to find entertainment in the more lighthearted elements of the episode with this depressing elephant in the room.

It’s this pervasive awkward feeling that knocks this one down from simply being an average harem sex fantasy to something that’s actively unsexy, unfunny, and uncomfortably gross.

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Pros: The ED is kind of poppy and fun.

Cons: The entire episode is just persistently unsexy.

Content Warninings: Nudity. Questionably-consensual sexual touching. Violent punishment.

Grade: D+

Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit

A long time ago dragons ruled a world of elves, dwarves, vampires, homunculi, and humans. In the present dragons have all but disappeared, so the ones left chose to live together, and their appearance came to resemble that of humans. The year 2×19 in Tokyo is mostly a time of peace, but a group called the Nine cause chaos in their quest to obtain the dragons’ powers and change the world. The police form a unit consisting of various experts to fight against Nine; the Special Crime Investigation Unit – Special 7 (Tokunana). – MAL

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 13

Source: Original

Episode Summary: When he was a teenager, Seiji Nanatsuki was rescued from a terrorist attack by a detective. This set alight his spirit of justice, and now as an adult he’s entered the police force. Unfortunately, this doesn’t save him from ending up getting caught in a crime-in-progress while he’s off-duty, nor does it keep him from ending up as a hostage himself.

A chance encounter with Ichinose, another police investigator, turns out to be fortuitous, as the two partner up with Ichinose’s special investigative group to take down the bank robbers. The robbers turn out to belong to an organization called “Nine” that’s looking to augment their own power. Now that Nanatsuki has inadvertently gotten involved with this special underground matter, he’s reassigned to the Special 7 investigative unit where he will work alongside Ichinose and several other detectives of various fantasy races.

Impressions: I talk a lot about storytelling tropes when I’m reviewing anime, because over the years I’ve become really familiar with many of the standard types of stories that the anime art form tends to gravitate towards. There are many stories revolving around average characters suddenly thrust into unusual or supernatural circumstances, special police, military, or investigative units, as well as stories involving different nationalities (or even different beings) encountering friction as their cultures clash. Off the top of my head Ghost in the Shell, Blood Blockade Battlefront, and Black Lagoon come to mind, but there are tons of variations on this particular theme. In short, this episode feels extremely familiar in its storytelling setup and execution.

With so many comparisons to make, a series with this many familiar building blocks has an uphill battle to distinguish itself. After one episode, what I can say for certain is that the series seems like it could probably be pretty okay… possibly. I don’t like to make season-level judgments, but I have to say that the pickings have been a bit slim so far and I’m really on the lookout for something wow-worthy. This first episode is competent, kind of humorous, has some decent action, and introduces an intriguing cast of characters, but much of it feels rote at this point. The character archetypes have a variety to them, but the characters themselves feel as though they’re off a checklist. The visual atmosphere of the series doesn’t do much to capture the underlying fantastical origins of the populace and the color scheme is dull. The two (so far) central characters seem to have a buddy cop odd-couple dynamic, but there are no sparks flying yet. I feel as though I’m waiting for something big to happen.

I like stories about elves and vampires and such, and think that the setting of the story has potential to look deeper into racial and cultural relations in an urban setting, but I feel like I might be desperately trying to put words in its mouth by suggesting that. In terms of “wow-worthy” entertainment this season, I’m still looking.

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Pros: The setting provides some interesting potential avenues for storytelling.

Cons: Much of the episode feels rote. Uninspiring visuals.

Content Warnings: Gun violence. Terrorism.

Grade: B-

Africa Salaryman

The comedy follows a lion, toucan, and lizard as they live the lives of office workers in a capitalist society in Japan, while also dealing with their unique situations as animals living beyond the savanna and the food chain. – MAL

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: A lion might be the king of the savannah, but in modern society he sits atop the corporate ladder rather than the food chain. As a department boss at a typical company, Lion-senpai constantly deals with the antics of his underlings, including a loud-mouthed toucan and a put-upon lizard.

Toucan and lizard have particular misfortune with women, encountering a couple of conniving high school girls on the train, and having particularly poor luck at a mixer. Besides that, they live out their days as typical (though distinctly non-human) office workers.

Impressions: *sigh*

I was encouraged when this episode opened with an extended visual parody of The Lion King. For me, funny animals in human situations are a total comedy short-cut. Unfortunately this series appears to embrace a distinctly cynical point-of-view that ends up undercutting most of the potential humor.

Aggretsuko this is not, so if you were expecting more sharp commentary on office politics using animal characters you might be in for a rude awakening. Whereas Aggretsuko was perceptive about toxic workplaces and specifically workplace sexism, Africa Salaryman trips itself up by embracing sexist myths and neglecting to adequately comment on its character’s bad behavior. Possibly the worst moment occurs in an early segment where Toucan and Lizard ride the train to work. As they’re riding they encounter a couple of high school girls who attempt to falsely accuse them of groping, which is assumed to be in pursuit of a big financial payout following a civil lawsuit (or whatever the rough equivalent would be in Japan). While things like this might happen, the assumption that they’re common and that people looking to falsely report are doing so by predating on random men everywhere doesn’t match with the facts of real life and only helps to perpetuate terrible myths about people who do come forward with assault accusations. Cynical humor is really not my bag, doubly-so when it appears to revel in its own lack of awareness.

On the plus side is the animation, which is an interesting blend of CG motion-capture, some hand-drawn comedic character reactions, and some truly trippy avant-garde stuff (like the sample image above). I gather from reading some of the comments below the episode video that most people aren’t a fan of the visuals, but I enjoy it when character animation looks a little off-beat. I also enjoyed the final segment which focuses on the high school Lioness and Gorilla characters. The high point is a reenactment of the iconic “late to school” type scene; rather than a piece of toast in her mouth, the Lion girl is gnawing on a zebra leg. The implications of this in a world when many of the animals are anthropomorphic are a little horrifying, but that’s part of what makes it funny.

Unfortunately this episode’s missteps are too large to overlook. Much of the humor just seems mean-spirited and it assumes the worst of its own characters. That’s not really the type of tone I prefer.

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Pros: Interesting character animation style. The final segment with the high school characters is amusing.

Cons: Overall the humor is very cynical, and embraces the terribleness of the characters.

Content Warnings: False assault allegations.

Grade: D

Babylon

Zen Seizaki is a prosecutor with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office. While investigating illegal acts by a certain pharmaceutical company, Seizaki stumbles across a conspiracy over an election for an autonomous “new zone” established in western Tokyo. – ANN

Streaming: Amazon Prime

Episodes: TBA

Source: Novel Series

Episode Summary: Zen Seizaki, a member of the Public Prosecutor’s office, participates in the raid of a pharmaceutical company accused of wrongdoing. In the midst of the investigation, he and his partner Atsuhiko Fumio discover a strange document covered in blood and marked repeatedly with the letter “F.” The paper leads them to a University doctor, but when they go to question him about his connections to the company, they discover him dead by apparent suicide under very suspicious circumstances.

As the investigation into the pharmaceutical company continues in the background, Seizaki and Fumio look further into the suicide, and discover that a mysterious man the doctor was speaking to a few months prior to his death is connected to a current political candidate. At each turn the case seems to get more complicated, but the mystery becomes personal after Seizaki discovers the sudden death of someone close to him.

Impressions: The escalation of tension is an art form, and not every creative person can accomplish it effectively. But when it happens it’s certainly worth noting. This episode begins and ends as a police procedural, following the steps in an investigation as the characters uncover clues and discover new questions that require more and more complicated explanations. While this might seem dull, as each step leads into the next one, the episode really clamps its hooks into place until I felt myself resisting the urge to let the next episode play.

This series seems fairly dialog heavy (if this episode is representative of the whole) and its action is mostly based in reality, so I suspect it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I know I’ve met people in the past who’d prefer that stories that could easily be filmed in live-action stick to that format, and I can kind of see where that opinion comes from. Because this episode covers a lot of ground in an incredibly short span of time (there were even points where I wondered whether it might be skipping too quickly through plot points – I now believe that this was necessary to reach the “hook” when it did), I feel like capturing that frantic pace would be more difficult in live-action. In any case, the tension throughout the episode increases like a heartbeat until an incredibly shocking final scene. In my opinion, it’s well-crafted.

It bears mentioning, though, that the story already deals with some pretty heavy and dark material – teen prostitution, government corruption, suicide, pharmaceutical abuse… there’s a lot going on and much of it is really distasteful stuff. I think viewers looking for something light and entertaining are probably not going to enjoy this. As someone who enjoys most kinds of stories (as long as they aren’t hateful or overly-cynical), I really enjoyed this episode. Bonus – Amazon posted the first three episodes at once, so at least one can resolve the first cliffhanger right away.

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Pros: The first episode is quickly-paced and increases tension well. The central mystery is intriguing. The first three episodes are already available.

Cons: Very much a “real life” thriller, so it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Deals with some heavy subject matter.

Content Warnings: Prostitution. Suicide (by hanging and by drug overdose).

Grade: B

Actors: Songs Connection

Private Tenshou Gakuen is the seventh of ten school districts circled within a 130-meter tall wall with restricted entry and egress aside from officials. The academy is fully autonomous by the government but to strive for independence, the school allows students to engage in club activities after school, which comes with a strangely unique system. Each club is ranked according to its overall accumulated points gathered from various club activities and school events. Points can also be received by winning at the school’s periodic Tenshou Gakuen Singing Contest, where many students compete. The members in the clubs work hard to win the contest for their goal. – MAL

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Original (based on Vocaloid music)

Episode Summary: Saku Otonomiya is about to transfer into a new high school. His transfer was postponed due to his sister’s health, but her condition has stabilized for now. As soon as Saku starts school, his old friend Hinata begs him to join the singing club. Saku has great singing skills and the group would love to win the next song contest. Unfortunately Saku would rather keep to himself, and caring for his sister takes up a lot of his free time.

Hinata wants the singing club to sing a particular song for the contest, but the songwriter (Sosuke, who also happens to be a fellow student) doesn’t believe that any human has the correct range to do so since it was written with Vocaloid voice synthesis in mind. However, Sosuke happens to hear Saku singing the song by a river after school, and Sosuke practically begs him to join the club and sing it in the contest.

Impressions: This episode is definitely something of an oddity. One kind of big item I left out of the episode summary is that the city in which the students live is surrounded by a huge white wall, and communication between the inside and outside seems very limited. There already seems to be a bit of a sub-plot brewing in which one of the students and his teacher are attempting to open up some other lines of communication or potentially figure out what’s going on behind the scenes. It adds a little bit of a conspiracy element to a show that I thought was really just a vehicle for some vocally-talented voice actors to make some money.

The question is really whether that awkward combination is successful, and thus far it’s honestly really difficult to say. Much of the episode unfolds like many a male ensemble series aimed at a female audience – all the characters are introduced in short succession so it’s difficult to keep track of who’s actually important, but they’re all a bit quirky to a small extent so it’s easier to pick favorites. It’s when the show attempts to defy expectations that it starts to feel as if its storytelling ambitions might be a little too, well, ambitious. Did I mention that the first episode features a musical number?

Obviously Saku’s situation requires a little bit of a call-out, since his struggles and inner turmoil come at the expense of his sister, who’s dying of an unfortunate case of Anime Girl Wasting Disease™. It would be great if anime mothers, sisters, lovers, and female childhood friends would unionize and demand better fates than to end up as a middling source of motivational man-pain, but that may be a lot to ask.

This episode is just weird enough that I’d be willing to watch more just to see what kind of intrigue might be bubbling beneath the surface, but I suspect my curiosity might end up encountering a dead end.

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Pros: There seems to be a bit of a sci-fi element to this series.

Cons: Too many characters are introduced at one time. Saku’s sister suffers from anime girl wasting disease.

Content Warnings: None.

Grade: C+