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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew it, My Life Had it Made

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Light Novel

Episode Summary: Seiichi Hiiragi is the target of his class’s bullying, and when a literal god decides on a whim to transport the entire class to another world, this doesn’t change. While his classmates buddy-up into parties and arrive in a local castle town, Seiichi ends up in the middle of the wilderness. Despite his luck stat starting at “0,” though, he seems to have at least a bit of it on his side; he happens to find a “fruit of evolution” on the ground which he eats to fend off starvation. Though it tastes terrible, it seems to set the stage for his future success.

The mechanics of this new world are awfully game-like, and somehow Seiichi finds himself defeating monsters, gaining more skills, and “evolving” – a painful process where his body actually physically changes. Gone is the heavy-set kid he once was, replaced by a more average physique. After several months, word of his power gets out, and Seiichi is suddenly confronted by Saria, Kaiser of the clever apes. She immediately seems smitten by Seiichi’s show of power, and though she fights to kill, Seiichi’s survival skills win out – and win Saria’s heart in the process.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Takt op. Destiny

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: TBA

Source: Part of a multimedia project which includes a game.

Episode Summary: One fateful day a black meteorite fell to Earth and unleashed the D2, creatures who hate the sounds that humans make, especially the beautiful harmonies to be found in music. Now, playing any sort of music runs the risk of attracting swarms of D2, so there are many people who no longer even remember what music sounds like. But just as humanity began to lose all hope the Conductors and Musicarts appeared, using the power of music to defeat the D2.

Takt and Cosette are a partnered Conductor and Musicart, although their ability to work well together is somewhat lacking. Their de facto handler, Anna, does her best to wrangle their disparate personalities in service of a shared goal – to reach New York so that Cosette can be “repaired” by the Symphonica there. Their journey eastward is bound to be dotted with challenges, not the least of which is their ability to effectively combine their powers and achieve their goals as one.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Muteking the Dancing Hero

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Offshoot/remake of Tondemo Senshi Muteking

Episode Summary: Muteki arrives in Neo San Francisco to live with his grandmother and doesn’t have a lot of money in his wallet. But what he does have is a good sense of rhythm, something which both allows him to save an old lady crossing the street (using dance!) and also draws the eye of a man named DJ who is, unsurprisingly, a DJ. DJ develops a bit of a fascination for Muteki, who isn’t very happy for the attention from such a strange source. DJ’s obsession with analog sound technology is also a bit against the grain – Neo San-Fran is also the home of a famous tech company with its innovator CEO (literally named “Ceo”).

Muteki is excited to attend a local music event after finding out about it from a flirtatious waitress, but as the main act takes the stage it’s immediately clear that something strange is going on once a giant monster attacks. DJ comes to Muteki’s rescue and provides him the power of Muteking, a transforming hero on roller skates. Once the situation is resolved, Muteki finally reaches his grandmother’s house, only to discover that DJ has already “infiltrated” her home.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Waccha PriMagi!

Streaming: HIDIVE

Episodes: TBA

Source: Related to PriPara, based on an arcade game series.

Episode Summary: Matsuri is a huge fan of Jennifer, the previous PriMagi champion. She wishes that she had the courage to compete to become a PriMagi superstar, but that dream seems to be nothing but a far-off possibility until a magical being named Myamu arrives through a mystical portal from her magic-suffused world and pegs Matsuri as a potential PriMagi competitor.

Matsuri is initially weirded-out by Myamu, whose forward nature and blathering about the differences between the “Treasured” (those who can use magic) and the “Earthly” (those who can’t) is creepy. Yet, Matsuri just can’t let go of her dream, and once she realizes the true extent and importance of that dream to herself she rushes to submit her application to the PriMagi competition. Luckily she seems to have the inherent gift of performance required by such competitors, and her initial success helps Myamu regain some use of her magic powers. But Matsuri isn’t the only person vying for this distinction, so what sort of challenges might she face in the future?

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Mikado is a bookstore employee with a strange affliction – he has the power to see the dead, and he’s continually haunted by creepy, threatening apparitions. Enter Hiyakawa, an exorcist whose methods are somewhat unconventional. Hiyakawa involves Mikado in an exorcism, which is so intense that it leaves Mikado unconscious. When he awakens, Hiyakawa nearly demands that Mikado come work for him. Their souls happen to be very compatible, he says, and this bodes well for the possibility of combining their powers.

Mikado is apprehensive, because he wants nothing to do with the ghosts he’s been trying to avoid. The actual act of exorcism, however, turns out to be somewhat erotic, and Mikado is eventually won-over. Eventually Hiyakawa is contacted by the local police to aid them in the search for the remains of several missing and murdered women, and Mikado soon learns what sort of power he and Hiyakawa can wield if they allow their souls to combine.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Mieruko-chan

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Miko is a seemingly ordinary girl whose daily life would be familiar to most. She wakes up, goes to school, spends all day in class, and then takes the bus back home again. As uninteresting as that may seem, Miko’s days are defined by one very specific quirk of hers – she’s able to see and sense apparitions all around her, wherever she goes.

It’s all that Miko can do to keep herself from running away screaming at every turn, but she has come up with a way to cope – as long as she doesn’t acknowledge these supernatural beings or let on that she can see them, she believes that they’ll eventually leave her alone. However, keeping up this act may be more than she’s able to bear.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 Premiere List

It’s only as I’m starting off Autumn season reviews that I’ve realized I never managed to put together a handy-dandy Summer compilation post. Since I’m hoping to go back and do these for all the seasons that I’ve covered in the past at some point, I figured it was better late than never.

At this point I’ve already finished a few of the series on this list, and there will likely be some writing about them showing up soon. The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace was definitely something worth talking about. I also completed The Duke of Death and His Maid, though with a second cour of that to come I’ll probably wait to say more until the story is complete. Kageki Shojo!! was also such a wonderful experience, but I’ll have to figure out if I feel equipped to say more about it than just wordless squeeing.

I’m partly through several more series – The Case Study of Vanitas, Fena: Pirate Princess, and Sonny Boy. Each definitely has their charms although the one I’m most gung-ho about finishing is definitely Sonny Boy. I’m also planning to blast through a few more before a convention coming up in a few weeks – The Aquatope on White Sand (despite the fact that it won’t be finished by that point), Re-MAIN, and Remake Our Life. Though with the new season now in full gear and new episode reviews coming up starting soon, I’m definitely going to have to work to carve out the time (if only I weren’t making myself so busy on the weekends, but I’m kind of making up for lost time in that regard).

Anyway, links to all Summer 2021 First Impressions are below. As usual, I’ve used their official US English language titles (or something close to it). What Summer series did you end up enjoying?

The Aquatope on White SandBattle Game in 5 SecondsThe Case Study of Vanitas
D_Cide Traumerei the AnimationThe Detective is Already DeadDrug Store in Another World
The Duke of Death and His MaidThe Dungeon of Black CompanyFena: Pirate Princess
Getter Robo ArcGirlfriend, GirlfriendThe Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the KingdomThe Idaten Deities Know Only PeaceKageki Shojo!!
Life Lessons With Uramichi-OniisanMother of the Goddess’ DormitoryNight Head 2041
Peach Boy RiversideRe-MAINRemake Our Life
Scarlet NexusSeirei Gensouki: Spirit ChroniclesSonny Boy
Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy
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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Selection Project

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 13

Source: Multimedia project

Episode Summary: Ever since she was young and bedridden in the hospital, Suzune Miyama has admired the Selection Project idol Akari Amazawa. Years later, Suzune has the opportunity to compete as one of her region’s representatives during the 7th season of Selection Project. However, Suzune isn’t alone; she’s joined by talented girls from around the country who are all vying for the same distinction.

As the regional finals near their conclusion, the competitors are all asked to sing a final song – Akari Amazawa’s debut single, as a tribute to her after her untimely death in an accident a few years prior. Suzune’s pure voice is striking, but as the song nears its climax, she nearly passes out on stage. Whether this is what prevents her from winning her group is debatable, but she leaves the competition to walk home, defeated. But is this truly the end of Suzune’s quest to follow in Akari’s footsteps?

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – Fena: Pirate Princess

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Fena Houtman drifted ashore on a certain island many years ago. Orphaned and alone, her prospects were limited. About to make her debut as a sex worker, her unusual looks mark her as a particularly prized conquest and the highest bidder is a man known to be particularly indulgent of his libido. But this is all a part of Fena’s not-particularly-well-thought-out escape plan; passage on a ship off the island costs money, and money is difficult to come by for people like her unless they’re willing to manipulate from the hands of those who have it.

What Fena doesn’t realize is that her hazy past is about to come into sharp focus. She’s intercepted by two elderly men who she eventually recognizes younger and more svelte attendants from her childhood. Though their sense of direction is flawed they eventually manage to leave the confines of the city and head through the woods toward a waiting ship. But when a group of bandits attacks and attempts to kidnap Fena, she’s saved by a mysterious armored man. Could this man, whose dark eyes shine in spite of his helmet, possibly be Fena’s long-lost friend?

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 11

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: 800 years ago, humanity was at the brink of extinction. The humans pleaded with the heavens to save them, and the Idaten battle gods arrived to defeat and seal the evil demons causing problems on Earth. Young Rin was left in charge of monitoring the integrity of the seal and training the next generation of deities, should things happen to go South again. Unfortunately the “next generation” is comprised of a few lay-abouts who don’t see much value in training to defeat an enemy they’ve never encountered. Ysley only really cares about studying, while Paula enjoys animals and nature. Only Hayato really has any fighting chops, but he’d rather goof off then get beat up on by Rin in the name of “learning.”

Unfortunately, laziness is quickly taken off the table when the gods catch wind of a contingent of soldiers poking around the Arctic. They seem to have uncovered some sort of ancient demon called Gyudo, and are working quickly to thaw it out of its icy prison. In particular, Dr. Obami, a scientist accompanying the exhibition, seems to know more than a typical human should about the workings of ancient gods and demons. When Hayato is finally able to trounce Gyudo he follows the Dr. as he attempts to escape, only to discover that the Dr. is nothing more than a robot body being operated remotely. Perhaps this twist on typical human mortality may explain Obami’s oddly-specific knowledge of the world’s gods and demons. Meanwhile, far away, civilization is beginning to deteriorate into abject savagery, where not even a prayer to god above can save the believers.