Autumn 2020 First Impressions – HypnosisMic: Division Rap Battle – Rhyme Anima

The spoken word is mightier than the sword.

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: TBA

Source: Mixed-media franchise

Summary: After the devastation of World War III, the Party of Words takes over the world government and mandates that all traditional weapons be destroyed. In their place are the Hypnosis Microphones, powerful weapons that do not inflict direct physical harm, but instead attack others using the power of rap lyrics.

Some three years later, various factions have begun to crop up across Tokyo, each with the ability to sling devastating words at one-another. As the different groups vie for dominance, certain terrorist groups begin to appear that reject this new world order in favor of the violence-based domination reminiscent of the old system. As these groups duke it out, the leaders of the Party of Words observe from on high. While the different factions are busy fighting one-another, the world government is able to exist comfortably above the fray.

Impressions: Screen captures are taken using the official legal stream of the series, when available.

While I wasn’t exactly waiting in rapt anticipation for this series to drop, I’d been tipped off by a few friends following my Autumn Anime Preview that it might be something worth watching. I’m not typically that interested in male idol group-type shows, or anime series that feel like they’re based on games (this one isn’t, but it definitely has that “look” [Editor’s Note: There actually is a game, I just managed to overlook that fact in the multiple places I looked for information]), but the idea of literal rap battles as a mode of conflict resolution did sound fairly entertaining to me. It was with that state of mind that I entered into this viewing almost entirely unprepared for what I was about to experience.

There are definitely criticisms to be made about this episode, and I’ll get to those in a little bit, but I’d just like to say that it’s very rare for me to catch myself grinning like a complete fool while watching anything. I watch a lot of anime on my own, and without a certain group mentality I find it difficult to outwardly express how I’m feeling about something in the moment. Yet with each ridiculous character introduction and musical interlude, I could feel my cheeks burning and my mouth curving into a smile. I don’t want to paint myself as a curmudgeon or anything; I definitely enjoy watching anime whether that’s obvious or not. It’s just out of the ordinary for me to feel it at my core quite so much so soon. This episode was entertaining for the entirety of my viewing, which is honestly a pretty rare and magical thing.

One of the things that impressed me is that, in addition to the theme songs, there are a 4 solid music interludes sprinkled throughout the episode, one each for the 4 groups that are introduced. And in most of these cases, the characters are flinging words at a fairly rapid pace, so there are a lot of lyrics that needed to be assembled. Each music number is supplemented by an extreme amount of on-screen text rendered in thematically-appropriate colors and fonts, as well as imagery that represents the weaponized nature of the sorts of violence produced by the microphone tech. At times it’s a blinding orgy of images that makes things more confusing and cluttered than it needs to be, but that’s not a huge detriment to what’s actually happening – it’s ridiculous enough on its own that it stands out no matter what words are flying by.

I also want to make note of the translation, which definitely isn’t shy about using crass language to make an impact. One aspect of early fansubs that I still recall is their propensity to dial up the use of the F-word to absurd amounts. One might have gotten the impression that the Japanese language was as riddled with swear words as English, when in fact the manner of cursing in Japanese is actually different, for the most part. The beginning of this episode warns of TV-MA rated content contained within, and while for the most part I didn’t really see that reflected in the content itself, the subtitles definitely had me getting nostalgic for those profanity-ridden unofficial translations of old.

As gleefully entertaining as much of this episode was, the issue that I suspect will go unsaid elsewhere, is that the world in which the story is set seems to have a real woman problem. Obviously most of the main characters are hot guys, because that’s what the show is about. The issue is more that the women who do exist are thrust into somewhat problematic roles. The ruling party are thinly-veiled fascists, exerting their power in the background (also, apparently being an authoritarian means that you have huge boobs for some reason). I can’t tell if this is something that we’re just meant to accept as a ridiculous bit of world-building within an already ridiculous anime series, but I find the fact that this basically goes unaddressed to be a little unsettling.

There’s a mistaken idea that some folks opposed to feminism believe which is that women seek to solidify their own rights in order to someday violently supplant the rule of men in the world. In reality, I’d say the majority are just looking to be treated equally, and work toward a better world in which women and men can live their best lives and have equal opportunities to achieve happiness. This episode paints a picture of a ruling class of women who use the rules established by the patriarchy (i.e. taking power by force) to take over and create their own different-but-still-equally-nasty version of the world, and I’m curious as to where this particular aspect of the story may have originated within the chain of creators. That said, this entire production comes across as so goofy that I highly doubt that anyone is actually intending to promote woman-centric fascist thought (I hope…). But as always it pays to be vigilant.

Overall I was impressed with how fun this episode was. The upbeat music kept things interesting, and the silly premise managed to be a benefit to the bare-bones story, rather than a detriment. I have my misgivings about certain aspects of the show and I’m hoping those bits will stay relegated to the background in favor of the general goofiness that the production seems singularly equipped to present.

Pros: The episode is almost gleeful in its ridiculousness. The onscreen text is well-matched to the action. The translation style is nostalgic.

Cons: There are some weird misogynistic undertones to the portrayal of the authoritarian women.

Content Warnings: Strong language. Violence.

Grade: B

• 

• 

• 

• 

•