Spring 2022 First Impressions – Ya Boy Kongming!

Streaming: HIDIVE

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: General Kongming, a brilliant military strategist during the time of the War of the Three Kingdoms, wished on his deathbed to be reborn into a peaceful world. He awakens on the street in what he believes to be “hell,” but what is really Shibuya at Halloween. The tides of the crowd bring him to a dance club where he’s suddenly drawn in by the sublime voice of Eiko, one of the club employees and part-time singer. While the rest of the crowd couldn’t care less about what’s happening on stage, Kongming is moved.

Eiko wants more than anything to become a successful singer, but keeps getting rejected by agents. Kongming, lost in this strange futuristic world. knows one thing for certain – Eiko has talent. With his skills as a strategist (and his status as Eiko’s number one fan), Kongming vows to help her gain an audience and achieve stardom.

Impressions: From their earliest days, human beings have made music. Whether tapping on stones, blowing into reed flutes, or programming music into synthesizers, music is one of the more truly universal creative urges of the human race. It’s how we celebrate our victories, mourn our deaths, and simply have a good time. In fact, even Chinese generals from centuries ago can appreciate modern music, despite the medium’s many changes and transformations over the span of 1800 years or so. Or at least, that’s the assumption that this series aims to convince us has merit.

And to be fair, this episode does a marvelous job in its convincing. The premise here is silly, to be sure, and some of the humor relies loosely on knowledge of a place and time in history that most Westerners (including myself) are unlikely to know much about. Yet this issue is solved by Eiko’s presence – she’s not stupid, but she’s also not a Three Kingdoms otaku the way, say, her employer is. So her confusion mirrors our own confusion in a great way (although I’m sure there are a few of you reading right now that are likely experts on the subject and don’t really need any hand-holding). Aside from the very specific Three Kingdoms gags, though, Kongming is simply the latest in a long line of endearing “fish out of water” characters whose ignorance of (and quick adaptation to) modern culture fuels their particular charm. His formality is goofy and unfamiliar, but his reactions and mannerisms are genuine – this is why he works so well as a character.

Eiko, for her part, serves as an excellent “straight man,” becoming flustered over her strange new acquaintances pure ignorance of the modern world (which she continues to assume is just an act taken too far). What makes this contrast work is Eiko’s kindness and empathy – in short, she’s never too mean, even in cases where one might be really, really frustrated. And, as an important character trait, she keeps pushing forward even when it might feel right to give up. Her motivations at this point aren’t complicated, but in that sense they’re universal. She just wants to achieve her goals but doesn’t have a clear path forward to do so.

This episode was a real charmer, just one of what I assume will be many pleasant surprises this anime season. If the Funimation/Crunchyroll merger has gotten you down, this is a great reason to pick up an inexpensive HIDIVE subscription to check it out.

Pros: Have I ever mentioned how I enjoy anime “musicals?” While there are very few anime that I’d categorize as musicals in the typical storytelling sense (meaning that the characters move the plot forward by singing rather that simply speaking lines), there are several anime that punctuate emotional moments using insert songs, and this appears to be one of them. I really enjoy this; it tends to break up some of the dialog and provide variety while I’m watching. Of course not every type of anime lends itself well to this sort of thing, but as a story focused directly on music it would be stranger if this one didn’t incorporate any singing.

The visuals of the series are bright and fun. The neon lights and the bustling atmosphere of Shibuya’s nightlife are portrayed in an appealing way. Eiko’s acoustic guitar-backed singing in her apartment is punctuated by the early evening light of the setting sun. It’s a very nice looking show.

Cons: While just a minor issue due to other factors that offset this, I still think knowledge of the Three Kingdoms saga would help people get a fuller grasp of some of the humor. It’s obviously not deal-breaking but I think a lot of folks may end up shrugging their shoulders a time or two. On that note, the narrative does poke fun at Eiko’s boss a bit, who’s a consummate Three Kingdoms otaku, so it’s at least a little aware of that as a factor.

Content Warnings: Mild nudity. Depiction of a past suicide attempt (nearly jumping in front of a train). Alcohol use.

Would I Watch More? – This was a charming premiere that does a lot with a premise that, at first, I wasn’t sure about. I’m definitely a sucker for “unique” anime series, and this one was definitely that! I’m really interested in watching more.