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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2022 First Impressions – Spriggan

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 6 (45 minutes apiece)

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: The ARCAM organization is guided by the writing on a mysterious golden tablet, imploring anyone who might read its words to protect the artifacts and technology from the ancient world from being misused. When an altar is found beneath Mount Fuji that seems to have connections to an ancient civilization which had the power to control the volcano’s eruptions, ARCAM seeks the help of young linguistics professor Yamabishi to decipher its cryptic writing.

Of course, Yamabishi’s skill and the potentially limitless power offered by this altar also draws the attention of several other factions, including those out of Russia looking to claim the power for their own world-dominating aspirations. Luckily, professor Yamabishi falls under the protection of Yu Ominae, ARCAM’s elite fighter, code-named “Spriggan.” With his orichalcum body armor and keen fighting sense, Yu is a force to be reckoned with. But Russia has its own elite forces – will Yu’s abilities be enough to prevent the power of Fuji’s Flame Serpent from falling into the wrong hands?

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2022 First Impressions – Yurei Deco

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: TBA

Source: Original

Episode Summary: On Tom Sawyer Island, love is a ruling force. Or at least that’s the ideal – as people interact with one-another, the love they share with one-another and/or put out into the world is converted into points, which can then be used to upgrade one’s user experience and enhance one’s “Deco” (both the tool used to virtually interact and the outward-facing appearance one has). Berry and her friends are somewhat less inclined to buy into the utopian message that the authorities are selling; what interests them more are stories related to a mysterious figure known as “Phantom Zero” whose actions cause havoc within the Deco system.

Berry’s Deco has been acting-up, but this turns out to give her an advantage; with her malfunctioning right eye, she can perceive cloaked items – and people. She discovers a piece of odd origami stuck to a pole, and soon after encounters a mysterious person who she assumes to be Phantom Zero. After a lot of running around and a couple of confrontations, this mysterious individual draws Berry into a completely separate, truly virtual(?) world where they’re both soon pursued by formations that have the ability to destroy pieces of their Deco. After being forced onto a rooftop, a floating figure descends into view – the real Phantom Zero.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2022 First Impressions – Bastard!! Heavy Metal Dark Fantasy

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 24

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: 400 years ago, humanity reached the apex of its own evil, drawing forth the power of Dark to destroy the world. But before the human race could be destroyed, a huge creature in the form of a white dragon arrived via a pillar of light. The battle between these godlike entities caused several continents to sink into the sea. After it was all over, the remaining humans passed this story on over the years until the line between reality and legend blurred.

Now, in a world of dark fantasy, the country of Meta-Licana finds itself under attack from followers of the late Dark Schneider, a wizard who wielded terrible evil power before being sealed away. A young woman named Yoko, guardian to Lucien and daughter of the head priest, holds a special power – the power to awaken a force sealed away in Lucien. But when the situation looks grim and she unleashes this power, it turns out that Lucien was the reincarnation of Dark Schneider all along. Dark Schneider has plans to destroy the world, but Yoko may have more sway in preventing that from happening than she realizes.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2022 First Impressions – Lycoris Recoil

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 13

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Japan has been considered the worldwide #1 safest country for several years running, but while the general populace may understand this to be simply due to inherent aspects of Japanese culture, the truth is that the Lycoris, trained assassins, are tasked with addressing crimes before the public becomes aware of them. Takina is one such Lycoris, who goes rogue during a high-risk operation involving a huge weapons sale. Because of this, she’s reassigned to a different area in order to learn from Chisato, one of the Lycoris stationed in her new region.

Chisato is Takina’s total opposite – bubbly, outgoing, and personable in contrast to Takina’s subdued nature. As Takina job-shadows Chisato, she realizes the type of work she engages in is quite different as well. Rather than assassinations and arrests, Chisato’s daily workload involves helping various people around the neighborhood doing odd jobs, making deliveries, and generally making their lives better. This goes against everything Takina knows and because of this she wants more than anything to get back to the familiarity her old job, especially once an escort mission they’re engaging in is resolved in a very non-traditional way. Is there really anything Takina can learn from this unusual Lycoris?

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First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2022 First Impressions – Engage Kiss

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 13

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Baylon City is ground zero for the mining of the mineral orgonium. Of course, as with the extraction of most natural resources this one comes along with some unintended consequences, one of which is the release of demonic entities who cause destruction around the city. Shu Ogata is a former employee of a private military/security company experienced in dealing with these demons, but after setting out on his own his costs quickly got out of control and it’s become a struggle for him to simply keep the lights on. The only thing keeping him afloat at this point is his relationship with a girl named Kisara, who seems to be attracted to Shu in spite of his many flaws and helps to pay off his debts.

When Shu manages to snag a contract (by severely undercutting his competition), he has to call in some favors simply to prevent himself from getting immediately killed. But the biggest favor is one given to him willingly, because Kisara happens to have incredible power at her disposal. The only issue is that, in order to release that power, she and Shu have to “reinvigorate” their contract on a regular basis via the power of a passionate kiss.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Spring 2022 First Impressions – The Executioner and Her Way of Life

Streaming: HIDIVE

Episodes: 12

Source: Light Novel

Episode Summary: Menou is both a priestess and an executioner, tasked with protecting her world from the destruction wrought by outsiders summoned from Japan. When the noblesse – the rulers of her country – complete their most recent summoning, Menou spends little time with their latest discarded “Lost One” before discovering that his destructive power has the potential to be extremely deadly. After executing him she learns that he wasn’t the only one pulled through the dimensional gate.

Menou has odd dreams that almost feel like memories, of being in Japan, going to school, and being friends with her classmates. But there’s always one mysterious figure just out of sight that she knows in her heart was her best friend. Even her priestess training never managed to erase these odd partial recollections. When Menou confronts the second Lost One to arrive in her world, the girl seems to be incredibly familiar.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – Shenmue the Animation

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 13

Source: Video Game

Episode Summary: Ryo is an accomplished student and well-known as a martial artist. The training he received from his father allows him to lead his high school’s Karate club to victory. When Ryo returns home to his father’s dojo, however, he notices a conspicuously open door and finds his father fighting a losing battle against a man dressed in striking green kung-fu robes. The man blames Ryo’s father for an individual’s death, all while demanding the location of a mirror his father possesses. After learning its location, the man dressed in green finishes off Ryo’s father.

The aftermath of this incident is confusing – who was this man and why did he label Ryo’s father a killer? Some folks around town suspect the Chinese Mafia based out of the port of Yokohama might be to blame. It turns out that Ryo may not have known his father as well as he may have thought. As he begins to put the pieces together, Ryo finds himself under attack again, though this time his father’s teachings and wisdom prove invaluable. Rather than continue on to college as he’d planned, Ryo decides to use this time to learn more about his father’s dealings and perhaps gain more insight into his family’s past.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – FreakAngels

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 9

Source: Webcomic

Episode Summary: 6 years after the apocalypse, Britain’s citizens live out a hardscrabble existence amongst the rubble and ruin. While most folks simply try to get enough food and clean water to live out their lives, this world is also populated by 12 individuals with certain psychic gifts, called the “Freak Angels.” Their benefits vary, but they’re all powers of the mind. Despite that, though, their users often find themselves bickering amongst one another rather than collectively joining forces for anything constructive.

After an encounter that resulted in the death of her brothers, Alice enters White Chapel in search of the Freak Angels – and of revenge. What she learns is that her memories were likely tampered with, and that a man named Mark, whose relationship to the Freak Angels seems strained at the very least, may be responsible. The Freak Angels call a meeting – quite the task considering that getting them to tolerate one-another in one room is a feat in-and-of-itself – but soon find themselves under attack and on the defensive. As their hideout crumbles all around them, it seems this issue with Mark may be an even bigger deal than it appeared to be at first blush.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – Delicious Party Pretty Cure

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: TBA (but these series generally run for a full year or so)

Source: Sequel of long-running franchise

Episode Summary: Yui Nagomi is an active girl who’d be right at home on the soccer team, but the reason she participates at all is for the delicious rice balls to be had afterward. As a resident of Oishiina Town she has her pick of delicious foods from around the world, and Yui wouldn’t have it any other way; as the daughter of a restaurant owner and someone who appreciates a scrumptious meal, she’s definitely in the right place.

When Mari, a citizen of the Cookingdom, arrives in Oishiina Town in search of some missing recipeppi fairies, they soon encounter Yui who revives them with some food. But not far behind are members of the gang who’ve been trapping the recipeppis and using them for their own dastardly ends. Yui gets wrapped up in the battle, and there she transforms into Cure Precious, a hero powered by the energy of delicious food!

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – Tales of Luminaria: The Fateful Crossroad

Streaming: Funimation and Crunchyroll

Episodes: 2

Source: Smartphone Game

Episode Summary: The Empire has enjoyed the benefit of a device called the Piliar, which draws forth mana from fossils within the Earth. Because of this, they reap the positive effects of almost limitless power, medical advancement, and food production. But the dark side to this is that the mana drain has had a terrible effect on many smaller surrounding communities, leaving them unable to provide for themselves and creating many refugees in the process.

Leo, Celia, and their instructor Lisette, have been coopted into the fight for the fate of the world, using their prowess in battle to help escort a scientist and his specially-modified key to the Piliar in order to stall its operation and reverse its negative effects. Unfortunately there are multiple factions after this key, including Hugo, who was once one of Leo’s closest comrades. When Hugo comes out victorious and utilizes the key in the Piliar, however, they all discover that they were simply the pawns of a much larger, and much darker, force.

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