Winter 2021 New Anime – Premieres for Saturday, January 9th, 2021

The first couple weeks of a new anime season sometimes feel like running a marathon – it’s a long haul task of watching new episodes, constructing coherent thoughts about them, and then moving on to the next one in a relatively short amount of time. From the outside it might seem like a pretty easy job to sit at a desk and watch anime, but as a lone blogger it can get pretty intense especially since I’m editing my own posts without the benefit of an outside force reminding me not to use certain pet phrases too much (for some reason, this season has been all about the word “albeit” for me, even though I haven’t used it that much in the past). The urge to self-edit in the midst of the writing process is tempting, because then the second pass takes less time. Unfortunately, it’s so easy to get hung-up on finding the perfect phrasing that I find that methodology to be more limiting. It takes training to let oneself word vomit to the benefit of the final product.

I hope folks are enjoying these little asides at the beginning of my posts; I have a difficult time getting started sometimes, and providing a window into my thought process seems to help me a get into a writing frame of mind. If you’re not keen to read vaguely-related personal things, it’s easy to just click the “continue reading” button and skip to the good stuff.

Use the links below to navigate to the review you’re interested in:

Horimiya
Dr. Ramune – Mysterious Disease Specialist
SK8 The Infinity

Horimiya

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 13

Source: Manga

Story Summary: Hori and Miyamura seem like complete opposites – Hori gets good grades, while Miyamura appears to be a sullen otaku. But each has a secret side to themselves that they learn about by chance one day after Miyamura helps Hori’s little brother. Hori spends much of her time keeping the house in order and taking care of her brother while her mother works. She’s also quite a bit more rough-around-the-edges than she appears to be at school. Miyamura secretly has several piercings and tattoos, and is more kind-hearted than he initially seems to be. The two classmates start to grow closer, though Hori has also attracted the attention of another suitor.

Impressions: Oh, my heart. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not feeling well or because I’ve been stuck at home for a while or what, but this premiere just got me feeling a lot of emotions. I think romantic stories are difficult to get right. Manga and Anime in particular are famous for having characters beat around the bush for 11.5 episodes before confessing their feelings for one-another, which is valid but I’m at the point in my life where I start internally screaming when characters just don’t communicate clearly with one-another. This episode features a little bit of that inability to speak up, but the bubbling misunderstanding seems to be mostly cleared-up by the end of the first episode which is a welcome deviation (though to be truthful, more and more modern anime romances seem to be eschewing this trope altogether). Either way, the chemistry between the two leads is apparent from the start.

This is a story about people’s hidden sides, which is a subject I always find interesting. I think all of us have feelings and traits that we don’t reveal to everyone we meet, but Japanese culture in particular has a focus on differentiating between tatemae – the opinions and feelings that we show to the outside world, mainly to get along and keep the peace – and honne – our true feelings and emotions. Both Hori and Miyamura are physical manifestations of this; Miyamura with his piercings and tattoos that I’m sure would not be welcome public displays in school, and Hori with her homebody lifestyle and responsibilities that run counter to her school image. Is the characters’ chemistry simply a result of their shared desire to keep a secret, or is it deeper than that? I suppose time will tell.

Pros: This is a gorgeous show with delicate character designs and a gentle appearance. I suppose in the past my friends and I would have labeled this sort of romantic aesthetic “shoujo bubbles” (even if that iconic manga-based effect wasn’t actually present). In the place of screen tones this episode uses colored silhouettes to suggest character emotions, which is a very effective way to indicate the emotional intimacy and the disconnection/reconnection the two leads have throughout the episode.

While there isn’t a ton of madcap comedy in this romantic comedy. there are some real standout moments. A scene that’s gotten famous on the anime-focused part of the internet involves Miyamura jumping over a fence to go buy eggs from the grocery store, spouting off the incomprehensible “sorry, it’s egg time” to another character he meets. It’s just absurd and I love it.

Cons: There’s a scene right at the beginning where the students’ homeroom teacher makes some off-color remarks about girls’ bodies, which is probably the only sour note I noticed throughout the episode.

Content Warnings: Sexual harassment by a teacher (one brief instance). Slapstick comedy.

Would I Watch More? – Yes, this hadn’t been on my radar but I’m really excited to watch more now.

Dr. Ramune – Mysterious Disease Specialist

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Story Summary: Dr. Ramune is an eccentric medical practitioner who deals with cases that baffle modern medicine. When people experience stress their bodies process it in many different ways, sometimes producing symptoms that defy convention. One day the doctor is approached by a child actress named Koto, famous for her ability to cry on screen. Except that now her tears are made from various condiments, including mayonnaise, ketchup, and soy sauce. It takes a while to identify the source of stress that’s left Koto with such unusual tears, but it seems like her mother may be playing a large part in the problem. Dr. Ramune uses his unusual methods to provide her with the insight she needs to help save her daughter.

Impressions: I typically enjoy supernatural anthology series, though they’re definitely a mixed bag. For every Mononoke or Gegege no Kitaro there are 10 or 12 other anime that try to incorporate supernatural subject matter without really capturing what makes those things spooky, or comical, or compelling. I think some of the better stories from this genre are told through the point-of-view of a main character who mostly gets out of the way. While we might be curious about what drives the Medicine Seller from Mononoke to do what he does, the stories are all about the people he encounters, mainly through their own words. The reason that I mention this is because this series appears to believe the opposite, to its own detriment.

Dr. Ramune isn’t just the title character, he’s also a loud, obnoxious, immature goofball who takes center stage. His assistant, Kuro, is the emotionless type which I assume is meant to serve as a balance to Ramune’s bad bedside manner, but it doesn’t really help; Ramune just appears to be a know-it-all with little actual empathy toward the case he’s handling. Unfortunately, since the situation in this episode involves a kid – more specifically a child-abuse situation – the yelling and big emotions at play inadvertently turn the situation uncomfortably comical. The tone of the series seems ill-equipped to handle such a serious situation, which is too bad; I think the premise itself is sound, it’s just being handled in a graceless manner.

Pros: I like that the solution to Koto’s situation isn’t immediately obvious. Her symptoms are weird and silly, but the basis for their appearance is not and it takes a little digging to discover what’s causing her unusual tears.

Cons: Ramune uses deception to perform further research on what’s ailing Koto. He gives her medicinal tea and a tea pot, without telling her that whatever drink is brewed in the pot will cause the person who imbibes it to be unable to tell a lie. This puts Koto in danger with her mother, who is already emotionally abusive. Ramune also uses tools to spy on the family without telling them. It’s creepy, and not in the fun way.

Content Warnings: Emotional abuse of a child. Body horror.

Would I Watch More? – Normally I’d just drop this and move on, but the scenario for the second episode… well, I encourage folks to look into it. It’s got me curious and I’m hoping it might be kind of funny.

SK8 the Infinity

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Story Summary: Reki eats, sleeps, and breathes skateboarding. He works at a skate shop and spends evenings participating in an underground extreme downhill skateboard race called “S” that can sometimes leave its participants injured (or worse). He barely notices when Langa, a half-Japanese returnee from Canada, transfers into his class, but the two bump into one-another while Langa is out looking for employment. Reki’s manager hires him for a time-sensitive delivery job, requiring him access to the next S race. One thing leads to another, and the inexperienced Langa ends up in a race with the infamous Shadow. But Langa isn’t as inexperienced as he looks, though his specialty lies not in skateboarding, but snowboarding.

Impressions: There was a point during this episode where I was a little bit disappointed in the direction it was going. I fell into a trap of assuming the entire thing was going to be non-stop ridiculous racing antics (per the trailers I’d seen) and wasn’t initially all that excited about the character introductions. Then Langa performed his downhill miracle, and the entire episode kind of clicked with me. Part of this is just sports anime played straight, but part of it feels like the build-up toward something very different and exhilarating.

Hiroko Utsumi, the director, is well-known for having directed the first season of Free! and this episode definitely displays a kinship with that series in the way it portrays the characters’ focus in an almost meditative way. Langa’s vision of a snow-covered mountain as he races down a rock quarry in tropical Okinawa is reminiscent of the Iwatobi swimming boys sliding through the water like sea creatures. That said, this definitely doesn’t feel like just a copy of another successful work. The funky setting and over-the-top personalities add an element of danger and excitement. When I first saw Shadow in one of the trailers I jokingly thought that he looked like a Jojo villain; the joke’s on me I suppose because we get glimpses of mysterious, shadowy guy who looks a lot like DIO, too. So far this feels fun and yes, also kind of ridiculous. But in a season with so many other solid choices, this one still absolutely manages to stand out.

Pros: This is a bright, colorful episode with many flamboyant characters and some truly excellent animation. The 3D background animation during the races allows a view down the track that shows just how dangerous it is, with rocks and other things creating obstacles for the racers. I was in awe, though, of the portion of the track inside the warehouse; the rusted, broken railings covered in graffiti really felt lived-in and dangerous, and made a cool backdrop for Langa’s debut race.

The relationship between the leads seems basic, but their personalities play off of one-another well. It’s pretty standard to cram a brash character together with a quieter one, but then again, why mess with success?

Cons: There are only a few women in this episode and they’re pretty much all arm candy. I don’t really have high expectations when most of the cast is men, but when the only women around seem to exist as decoration (or to be mildly mistreated by the “bad guys”) I start to wish they’d just never been there in the first place.

Content Warnings: Use of a gender-based slur. Women as “decoration.” Miscellaneous skateboarding injuries.

Would I Watch More? – It’s already been added to my already-ridiculous AniList watch list, haha.