Month: November 2021

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Anime Reviews Reviews

God is Dead – The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace

This essay contains plot and thematic spoilers for the entirety of The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace. I would suggest a blanket Content Warning for the series due to its inclusion of violence, religion, rape and pedophilia.

Read my First Impressions HERE

I’m once again at that point where I’m playing clean-up with my anime seasonals in a mad rush as I find myself with a huge new batch of current series I’d like to watch more of. It’s the constant struggle of someone who watches way too much anime. Often when I’m in this hyperdrive mode, I find myself drawn back toward the anime series which I initially had ambivalent feelings about. I’ve always been that kind of person who pushes her favorite foods to the side of her plate in order to enjoy them last, so I suppose that this makes some sort of sense.

The Summer 2021 season had plenty of series that featured intriguing story elements and themes, but which were also hamstrung by some missteps that made them a little harder to love. The most iconic of these, to me, was The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace, an action series with a lot of cool visual style and a total banger OP, but also an off-putting reliance on some particularly violent and grotesque story elements. And yet, as I was settling in to play a little anime catch-up in preparation for letting myself continue some of the entries from Autumn, Idaten was the one series that I couldn’t get off of my mind.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Blue Period

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Yatora is a high school student making his way through life on auto-pilot. His studiousness makes getting good grades easy, and he spends most of his free time pulling all-nighters with his friends to watch soccer. He doesn’t see much value in more artistic hobbies, partly because there doesn’t seem to be much potential for financial success in pursuing them. His frenemy Yuka is also a member of his school’s art club, and her standoffishness toward Yatora definitely has had an influence on his preferences.

When the school’s art teacher assigns the students the task of painting a representation of their favorite setting, it takes Yatora a while to come up something that really sparks his interest. But several times, as he’s emerged from an all-night soccer viewing, he’s marveled at the beauty and quiet of Shibuya before it wakes up for the day. The soft blue color of the buildings as the sun comes up and begins to reflect off of the window glass helps him to feel a sense of peace. When he uses this an an inspiration for his painting, he suddenly finds himself drawn into art, something which he’d originally brushed off as boring and frivolous. As his passion for it reaches a fever pitch, he decides he’d like to try to enter art school. But to do that, Yatora has a long, difficult road ahead.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Taisho Otome Fairytale

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Tamahiko is the second son of a wealthy family, but when a car accident kills his mother and injures his dominant hand, his father and the rest of the children are all-too-willing to remove him from the family and abandon him to his own devices. Now a dyed-in-the-wool pessimist due to his circumstances, Tamahiko is more than a little surprised when a young lady named Yuzu shows up at his doorstep claiming to be the bride his father has arranged for him.

The situation turns out to be one of debts repaid and not necessarily one with Tamahiko or Yuzu’s romantic interests in mind, but Yuzu takes to her responsibilities in a diligent and kind way in spite of her new prospective husband’s poor spirits. Yuzu knows that this was all essentially a transaction between their parents, but in spite of that she wants to know the real Tamahiko and for them to fall in love with one-another eventually.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Komi Can’t Communicate

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: On his first day of school at Itan High, Tadano (much like all the other new students) is struck by the beauty of his classmate, Komi. Her elegant way of carrying herself and her reticence to speak give her a mysterious air that only seems to make her more attractive to those around her. Tadano’s assigned seat is right next to Komi, and this puts him in the crossfire of the other boys. That said, there’s definitely something odd about Komi – she doesn’t seem to want to talk much.

When Tadano finds himself alone in the classroom with Komi after a bout of unconsciousness, he discovers (as she writes it all out on the blackboard in chalk) that she wants nothing more than to make friends, but she struggles with an inability to speak to anyone out loud. This social anxiety has haunted her since middle school, and though she wants to overcome it she believes that no one around her likes her. Knowing this to be completely untrue, Tadano volunteers to be Komi’s first friend, and to help introduce her to even more.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Ranking of Kings

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 23

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Kings are ranked by their physical prowess and the number of knights and followers they have. Prince Bojji, heir to the his father’s kingdom, has none of those things. Deaf and unable to speak, he also bears the burden of bullying, snide remarks of the people he encounters. Many people think Daida, the second prince and son of the King’s remarriage, is much more fit to be the next king.

One day while Bojji is playing outside, he encounters a strange shadow creature named Kage who manages to talk him out of giving up his clothing for Kage to sell. But Kage and the Prince seem to be able to understand one-another. Though Kage’s past marks him as someone potentially dangerous, he follows Bojji back to the palace and witnesses his true inner strength begin to show itself. When Bojji challenges Daida to a sparring duel, very few actually anticipate the outcome.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Deep Insanity: The Lost Child

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Multimedia Project

Episode Summary: A mysterious ailment called “Randolph Syndrome” has started to affect the people of Earth. The suspected source is thought to be a recently-uncovered underground world in Antarctica, named the “Asylum,” populated by strange, mutated creatures and immense stores of natural resources. The brave souls who choose to explore this wilderness are there both to find a way to exploit these resources and the genetic material of the mutants, but also to find a cure for Randolph Syndrome.

Lured by a recruiting commercial and his desire to be a hero, Shigure joins the few, the proud (and the short-lived) “Sleepers” who explore this underground world. It’s not long before he’s sent, mostly unprepared, on his first mission. As his party encounters some of the horrors to be found below, he learns quickly that survival is the rule above all, and that accepting fear of death is the only way to survive.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Rumble Garanndoll

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Episode Summary: The military government rules over Japan with an iron fist. The one place allowed a bit of freedom is Kabukicho, which remains a hotbed of adult entertainment. Hosomichi is a host at a host bar, banking on his own inability to be insincere to the customers, though in reality he’s barely eking out a living. When the authorities discover hidden messages from the underground rebellion buried within the code of a bootleg eroge, the trail leads back to Kabukicho. This, of course, means that the hammer of authority must come down hard.

Hosomichi finds himself in a pretty tight spot until he’s approached by an apparently pilotless mecha. When he takes refuge inside and dons VR goggles, he finds himself face-to-face with an odd little super-deformed character whose moods seem intimately tied to the way in which the mech is powered. Hosomichi is dead-set against indulging this strange creature’s whims, but when push comes to shove he allows some of his latent otaku past to show itself and is able to successfully fight back. It’s only after the encounter that he learns his cartoonish companion actually represents a real-life battery girl who’s none-too-pleased with his behavior.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Ancient Girl’s Frame

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 24

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Reika Minamiya’s family has been deeply affected by the use of Divine Grace Energy, a form of energy used by humanity to start colonizing space, but which also exposed them to the wrath of the Nergal, hostile alien life forms. Reika’s older sister Reiu was lost due to DG energy, and this has made her parents very protective of her. Because of this, Reika sneaks off to apply to join the Ancient Girls squad with her friend in secret.

At the interview, she’s confronted by Judith, one of the faces of the program, who tells Reika that she’ll never be allowed to join the Ancient Girls. However, after the excavation of a new G’s Frame, one of the only weapons able to hold back the alien attackers, the Earth is attacked by a group of Nergal. Though the AG program didn’t accept her, the newly-awakened G’s Frame seems to have no misgivings about her abilities; it draws Reika into the cockpit where she’s able to fight back until Judith arrives to finish the job. Later, just as Reika receives her rejection letter from the program, her family is approached by military personnel who seem to be offering her a different option. As Reika arrives to join the others in the AG unit, Judith wonders if there may be consequences from allowing Reiu’s sister into their midst.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Shikizakura

Streaming: HIDIVE

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Kakeru Miwa was the lone survivor of a major disaster in Obara 8 years prior. Now in high school, his class is set to attend a museum exhibit commemorating the rebuilding of Obara. On the way to meet up with his classmates, he encounters a beautiful (and very lost) young woman named Oka in need of some directional assistance. As he peels off to help her find her way, the rest of the class views the images and relics of past destruction on display.

When Kakeru finally arrives, he can feel that something is wrong. His inner voice speaks to him in harsh tones, questioning why he was the only person who survived the disaster. As he struggles, terrifying beasts start to spill into the room and he’s nearly eaten. Luckily a group of individuals dressed in futuristic armor, along with Oka, arrive to fight back against these horrors. An accident causes Kakeru to fall to a lower floor, where he finds himself face-to-face with a real oni, one who inhabits a similar super suit. As the other struggle, Kakeru rushes into the fray, mentally battling with this oni as he uses its power to fight back. As he helps the team to a messy victory, Kakeru believes he’ll be asked to join their team, but the others question his trustworthiness.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Build-Divide -#000000 Code Black

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Multimedia Project (created alongside a card game)

Episode Summary: In Neo Kyoto, one’s place in the world is ruled by the game Build Divide and by the King who sits atop it all, there to grant the wildest wishes of the top players. A mysterious young man named Teruto meets a young woman named Sakura in an alley after she’s attacked by a wandering thug. Teruto seems to have possession of a set of Build Divide cards but has no idea where he got them or why.

Curious, Sakura challenges Teruto to a match, explaining the rules of the game as they play. But fragments of memories remain in Teruto’s mind and he suddenly recalls the true depth of the power he wields in his own two hands. As he defeats Sakura, she decides to put all her faith into his ability to usurp the King. But the King may be prepared for his return.

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