Category: First Impressions

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Light Novel

Episode Summary: Rio is an orphaned boy living in the slums, biding his time until he can find the means to avenge his murdered mother. One day after experiencing a fever, he begins to remember his former life as Haruto Amakawa, a 20-year-old college student in Japan who was killed in a tragic bus accident. Rio’s past and present lives begin to intermingle when, after an odd encounter with a group of women from the palace, Rio returns to find the group of bandits he was living with murdered. It’s at that point that his innate magical ability awakens, and he’s able to channel his former martial arts training to help rescue the kidnapping victim the bandits had recently brought home.

Rio’s ragged appearance and his proximity to the crime make him the prime subject once the victim, Princess Flora, is retrieved by her companions. After undergoing a round of physical torture, it’s only Flora herself who can manage to clear Rio’s name. This grants him an audience with the king for his heroism – but what might an orphan boy from the slums have to say to the country’s monarch?

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 13

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Uramichi Omota is the host of a children’s program. But as an early 30-something whose talents as a gymnast somehow brought him to this (as he sees it) dead-end, he’s beginning to let his frustrations show through on the air in the presence of the children who don’t yet know any better about life’s many challenges.

Uramichi isn’t the only cast member struggling to manage these dark thoughts, either; a couple of his former underclassmen who dress in animal costumes on the show are wrestling with both their own positions and their complicated perception of the classmate they formerly looked up to, and two of the other human character actors have landed in those jobs after failed music careers. Being a millennial is suffering – or at least it seems that way for Uramichi-oniisan and his crew.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – The Detective is Already Dead

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12 (The first episode is double-length)

Source: Light Novel

Episode Summary: Note: The first episode is double-length. I will endeavor to keep the summary concise.

Trouble seems to follow Kimihiko wherever he goes, so when he’s nabbed off the street and forced to carry a mysterious attaché case onto a flight, it feels like par for the course. But this is no ordinary plane ride – mid-flight he meets Siesta, a self-proclaimed detective, and involuntarily becomes her sidekick as she’s summoned to the cabin to help solve an… issue. There she faces off with an individual intent on hijacking and crashing the plane. Siesta correctly identifies that this man, code-named “Bat,” was put up to this by a certain organization, but that doesn’t stop him from brutally attacking them both with an augmented appendage. As it happens, the attaché case contains a special gun used to defeat this adversary. The fact that Kimihiko was forced to carry it onto the plane was all a machination on Siesta’s part.

After they land Kimihiko assumes his odd adventure is over. However, Siesta has other plans. Inviting herself into his home, Siesta eventually learns that Kimihiko’s school has been experiencing an odd rash of student disappearances that seem to be related to the Hanako-san urban legend. She poses as a student to attend the cultural festival, and manages to identify the real root of the problem. After all this, Kimihiko is still reticent to become her official sidekick, but an offer of protection pushes him over the edge. Yet their adventures are not all sunshine and roses, because… the detective is already dead.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – Getter Robo Arc

Streaming: HIDIVE

Episodes: 13

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: 19 years ago, a disaster destroyed cities and infrastructure all over the world. Now people struggle to afford food and essentials as the planet is continually attacked by invaders. Hayato Jin, pilot from the original Getter team, has spent the past several years attempting to develop a new robot (and a pilot) who can manage a win against these deadly enemies, but has thus far been unsuccessful. His most recent creation, Getter Robo Arc, requires three pilots to bring out its full power, and thus far he’s only been able to find one whose body can endure the strain piloting it causes.

It’s seemingly by chance (though it’s possibly by premonition) that Takuma Nagare and his companion Baku Yamagishi encounter one of the failed Getter prototypes once its pilot has been defeated. Piloting Getters runs in Takuma’s blood; his father Ryouma was the leader of the original Getter team. Takuma is also incredibly sturdy, which turns out to be a boon once he faces off against a member of the alien forces. But he can’t defeat it alone. It takes Shou Kamui, a half-dinosaur hybrid whose body can withstand the punishment of piloting Getter Robo Arc, to come to Takuma’s aid when the situation becomes grim. Could these two pilots working together possibly be the answer that Jin has been seeking?

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – The Duke of Death and His Maid

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: The duke of a certain villa is cursed such that anything he touches dies in his hands. Yet his flirtatious maid, Alice, sometimes gets much too close for the Duke’s comfort, and often acts in a way meant to specifically get a rise out of him. It’s not that he dislikes her attention, but he’s terrified that with one stray touch, the duke might accidentally drain the life away from the one person who seems to want to be around him.

When his childhood fried Phillip asks for a meeting, the Duke is momentarily excited. Phillip was a handful when they were both young, but he also never judged the Duke. Unfortunately over the years things seem to have changed, and Phillip arrives with an entourage of guards and seems terrified to be there. It turns out that he was asked by the Duke’s estranged mother to see if the curse had somehow been lifted; if not, then she plans to pass the family title down to her younger son. The Duke wishes more than anything that he could be normal. Not so much to retain his title, but to be able to live among other people and to put a ring on Alice’s finger by his own hand.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – Re-Main

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Half a year ago, Minato was on top of the world. He and his middle school water polo team were national champions. But a freak car accident left Minato in a coma, and now that he’s finally awakened he’s missing those memories of middle school and the sport he once loved. All he wants is a feeling of normalcy, and when he pledges to re-join water polo it’s because he wants his family to worry about him less. But his atrophied muscles and the fact that he still has to study for high school entrance exams mean that his promise to take up his formerly favorite sport again is one he likely won’t be able to keep.

After 8 months of studying and rehab, Minato is accepted into a perfectly average high school that’s close to his house. Moments into his first day, however, is when he starts getting bombarded by requests to join sports clubs, including the water polo club. Jo, the head of the club, recognizes Minato from his middle school days, and Eitarou (Minato’s biggest fan) corroborates this against Minato’s will. As Minato runs from his two pursuers, he discovers one more forgotten relationship that may have once held a place of high importance for him.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 13

Source: Light Novel

Episode Summary: Kazuya’s grandfather implores him to start a family so that he won’t be alone in life, but once his grandfather dies, Kazuya finds himself without anyone else in the world. As it turns out, his purpose in life may actually exist elsewhere, because he’s summoned to the Elfrieden Kingdom by a powerful spell and deemed its “hero.” Yet, he holds that position in name only, as he’s actually meant to serve as a valuable trade item with the Gran Chaos Empire, which is owed financial aid in the continent’s ongoing war with the demon realm. Having studied to become a civil servant, Kazuya proposes a different solution – he’ll look through the Kingdom’s finances and try to figure out another way of repaying their debts that doesn’t involve his being traded like a pawn.

What Kazuya doesn’t expect is for the king to suddenly abdicate the throne and make him the new leader, along with arranging an engagement to his daughter, Princess Liscia. When Liscia returns from her military duties to protest this situation, she finds Kazuya about to collapse under a pile of paperwork. Kazuya recruits her to his cause and outlines his fundraising plans, which involves selling off some of the kingdom’s treasures in exchange for some short-term financial stability. This goes against Liscia’s military training, but for Kazuya he’s looking toward the long-term – feeding the kingdom’s people and preventing a revolt. His actions may seem unorthodox, but his plans may be what Elfrieden needs to position itself as a stable and resilient land, prepared for whatever the demon lord may bring down upon them in the future.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – Kageki Shojo!!

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 13

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: The Kouka Revue was created in the Taisho era, and featured unmarried actresses in all theatrical roles. The otokoyaku (male performers), with their suave, gentlemanly presentation, stole the hearts of female fans. Eventually an elite school was established to train actresses in this art form, and aspiring students compete each year to be among the 40 lucky few to be accepted.

Ai, a former idol who “graduated” (forced to retire) after a run-in with a fan, is one of those aspirants. Her talent means that she’s a veritable shoo-in and her fame means that most of the other potential classmates already know who she is, but she still doesn’t expect to draw the attention of beanpole (and complete weirdo) Sarasa. Sarasa is loud, goofy, and lacks the typical traits of a Kouka actress, but has a certain something that allows her to stand out from the crowd (and it’s not just her unusual height). She aspires to be a top star and play Lady Oscar in “The Rose of Versailles.” Yet thus far, Ai only sees her as a nuisance.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – Girlfriend, Girlfriend

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: After years of knowing each other, Naoya asks his childhood friend Saki to go out with him. Their relationship is very… competitive and passionate, mostly due to Naoya’s extreme sincerity. Naoya may seem like an uncomplicated man, but his situation becomes uncharacteristically messy once a second girl, the quiet Nagisa, also confesses her love to him. Naoya is taken, but Nagisa is so incredibly cute. What’s a guy to do?

Naoya’s answer is to beg Saki to let him date both her and Nagisa, and after some protracted begging she relents. The three then begin living together under one roof (Naoya’s parents are out of the picture). At first things don’t seem half bad – Saki hates chores and Nagisa’s a great cook. But when the discussion turns toward the girls’ sexual expectations, suddenly they find themselves in the middle of another blow-up argument. Is this an arrangement that can actually work?

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – The Case Study of Vanitas

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: TBA (a second cour has already been announced)

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: The vampire Vanitas was born under the inauspicious sign of the blue moon, causing others of his kind to shun him. In order to seek revenge, Vanitas created a powerful grimoire with the goal of eliminating other vampires. Noé, a young vampire, travels to Paris in search of this grimoire when it suddenly falls into his lap (in a manner of speaking). As Noé attempts to help a young woman who has collapsed on the deck of the airship he’s riding to his destination, he’s attacked by a young man in black who comes crashing through the windows of the airship.

The woman is a vampire who’s been attacked by a malady that steals vampires’ true names, thus corrupting their power. The brash young man in black uses the power of the grimoire he holds to heal and return control of her body to her. He claims to be a vampire doctor operating under the name “Vanitas,” although he was given this name and the grimoire from his master who formerly held both. Is Noé’s encounter with this Vanitas fate or luck working its magic? As Vanitas hassles Noé to become his meat shield, he wonders just with whom he’s become involved.

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