Tag: Autumn 2020

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Encountering Turbulence Atop a Witch’s Broom

This post contains spoilers for the anime series Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina. This series is available to Watch on Funimation’s streaming service in the US.

Last December, back when going to the movie theater was still a choice one could make on a whim, my husband and I decided to tag along with some members of the anime club who had planned a group viewing of the film Cats. We pretty much already knew what we were getting into; I’d read several reviews lamenting the truly weird design choices, mis-used A-list actors, and pressure that the animation team was put under to adhere to some unrealistic directorial choices. But I wanted to hang out with my friends, and going out to movies was at that time a pretty reliable way to see a bunch of them at once outside of anime club. The movie was definitely an experience, though I’d say the defining moment for me was near the end of the film where Judy Dench as Old Deuteronomy breaks the fourth wall, turning directly to the audience; I audibly gasped and hid my face (a friend of mine still teases me for this). For the most part, though, the adaptation was just a cavalcade of bad decisions and poor attempts at both humor and drama.

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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2020 First Impressions – Jujutsu Kaisen

Don’t go eating fingers you picked up off the ground…

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 24

Source: Manga

Summary: Yuuji is a high school student with an enviable amount of strength and ability in sports, but rather than join a sports team, he’d rather hang out with the Occult Research Club. It means he can leave school grounds at a reasonable hour, which is important because he spends that extra time visiting his dying grandfather in the hospital. One afternoon, after beating the track-and-field coach at his own games, he rushes away to buy flowers and put them in his grandfather’s room. His grandfather gives Yuuji some advice – do what he can to help people, or else end up dying alone. Unfortunately this fate comes to pass for his grandfather, who then passes away.

As he’s leaving the hospital, Yuuji is cornered by a man named Fushiguro who’s been hanging around the school grounds in search of a cursed object that he believes Yuuji might have. Unfortunately, Yuuji gave it to the upperclassmen in the Occult club, and they’re unsealing it as they speak. They rush to the school, but it’s too late – a lower-level (but still dangerous!) curse has discovered their folly and is now attempting to supplement its own power by consuming the cursed object. Fushiguro tells Yuuji to stay behind, but Yuuji feels he has it within his power to help his friends, so he rushes into the fray. Though he’s able to save the other club members, he finds himself about to be eaten by the creature. He then pulls one last, desperate maneuver and gives himself the finger – by literally eating the cursed finger. This gives him the power to destroy the curse, but has the added terrible effect of turning him into one. Will Fushiguro have to take him out?

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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2020 First Impressions – Tonikawa: Over the Moon for You

Fly me to the moon…

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Summary: When Nasa Yuzaki was born, his parents named him something that reflected their aspirations and ideals for him, and since then it’s followed him like a curse. Other people chuckle because it reminds them of the space agency “NASA.” In order to live with this burden, Nasa throws his heart into studying and training his body, his goal being to distinguish himself and overshadow his own name. Things are looking good for him until he sees a beautiful girl walking down the street one snowy evening. As he crosses the street to meet her, he gets hit by a truck. His body is a wreck, but he absolutely must know they mysterious girl. Delirious with pain, he asks her to date him. She agrees – but only on the condition that they get married. This is the last thing Nasa remembers before falling unconscious.

After his recovery, his school aspirations don’t seem quite as important. Nasa decides to go to work instead, and lives modestly on his own. One day he hears a knock on the door – it’s the girl he was so smitten with, and she’s come to collect on their promise. She introduces herself as Tsukasa, provides a marriage registration certificate, and leads Nasa to the prefectural office in order to legally formalize their union. While this is all moving incredibly quickly, Nasa seems powerless to resist (nor does he seem interested in doing much resisting). Tsukasa entered his life like the mysterious Princess Kaguya, and unlike the Emperor and Woodcutter, he’s not going to let this woman go.

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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2020 First Impressions – King’s Raid: Successors of the Will

The demons return after a century long slumber…

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 26

Source: Game

Summary: A century ago, the Kingdom of Orvelia quelled a demon invasion. Since then, the country has been peaceful, and that’s the only world that apprentice Knight Kasel knows. His biggest concerns are whether he’ll complete his apprenticeship with his mentor, the Knight Clause, and whether his dinner (usually something like cooked spider that would make most folks turn up their noses) will upset his stomach. His friend, a local priestess named Frey, is one of the few people with whom he shares these feelings.

But the nobles of Orvelia are beginning to hear rumblings of a new demon invasion at the borders of their country. There’s some disagreement about how to deal with this, but one rogue noble offers a suggestion – hire the mercenary group Black Edge, comprised of Dark Elves willing to fight for a price. Unfortunately, racism against Dark Elves runs deep in Orvelia, and the other nobles aren’t convinced about letting them fight on behalf of the nation. The Dark Elves also have their own goals; as a reaction to the suffering inflicted upon their people by the humans of Orvelia, they’re out to seek revenge. With demons now responsible for taking out an entire Orvelian scout party, what choice will the country ultimately make?

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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2020 First Impressions – Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Light Novel

Summary: As a young girl, Elaina reads stories of a traveling witch’s adventures. She asks her parents if she can become a witch too. If she studies hard and tries her best, her mother says, then she might become a witch someday. Elaina works hard and practices her skills, then becomes the youngest student ever to pass the magic exam. She just needs to find a witch who will take her as an apprentice so that she can be acknowledged as a full witch within society. Unfortunately, the local witches aren’t interested in dealing with a young prodigy, and Elaina worries that she’ll never complete her training.

She’s tipped off to the existence of a mysterious new witch who’s taken up residence in the local forest – Fran, the Stardust Witch. Elaina assumes she’ll have the same trouble with this newcomer, but surprisingly Fran offers to take her on as an apprentice. Elaina looks forward to honing her skills even further, but as the weeks go by her only tasks seem to be running errands and dealing with Fran’s immediate needs. Just as Elaina is about to flip her lid, Fran challenges her to a duel. Elaina is handed a quick defeat, and it’s then that she learns the truth; Fran was hired by Elaina’s parents to teach her a lesson about humility and learning to deal with and accept failure. Now that Elaina has felt failure firsthand for the first time in her life, the Stardust Witch can begin to pass on her teachings in earnest. After a year, Elaina has nothing more to learn and is acknowledged as Elaina, the Ashen Witch. Some time later, she sets off on a journey, much like the witch who inspired her as a child.

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Uncategorized

Autumn 2020 First Impressions – HypnosisMic: Division Rap Battle – Rhyme Anima

The spoken word is mightier than the sword.

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: TBA

Source: Mixed-media franchise

Summary: After the devastation of World War III, the Party of Words takes over the world government and mandates that all traditional weapons be destroyed. In their place are the Hypnosis Microphones, powerful weapons that do not inflict direct physical harm, but instead attack others using the power of rap lyrics.

Some three years later, various factions have begun to crop up across Tokyo, each with the ability to sling devastating words at one-another. As the different groups vie for dominance, certain terrorist groups begin to appear that reject this new world order in favor of the violence-based domination reminiscent of the old system. As these groups duke it out, the leaders of the Party of Words observe from on high. While the different factions are busy fighting one-another, the world government is able to exist comfortably above the fray.

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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2020 First Impressions – I’m Standing on a Million Lives

Can a loner learn to work as part of a team?

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Summary: Yosuke Yotsuya is a bit of a loner. He lives in Tokyo, one of the most populous cities in the world, and yet his desire to spend his time on his own and play video games has become almost a compulsion at this point. One day after school, he notices two of his female classmates, Shindou and Hakozaki, waiting around and casting glances in his direction. Suddenly the girls disappear and the blackboard Yosuke is cleaning becomes filled with mysterious imagery.

Yosuke finds himself drawn into a mysterious void with Shindou and Hakozaki, where he faces a strange being with half a face who provides him with some difficult-to-parse information about the situation in which he’s now involved. He’s become part of a game – one that echoes the fantasy RPGs that Yosuke likes to play. But his class roll is dismal – Farmer – and his other party members are almost as pathetic in their lack of ability. Their quest to destroy some goblins goes as poorly as it possibly could, and a chance encounter with a giant troll leaves Shindou dead and Hakozaki missing a hand. Unfortunately, the other part of their team’s assignment is to fulfill a quest for the local villagers, and that quest is to destroy the very troll that nearly obliterated the party the previous night. It’s then that Yosuke takes it upon himself to “level up” on his own. If his own playing style is any indication, doing things without others’ help is the way to go.

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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2020 First Impressions – Assault Lily Bouquet

Girls battle against an alien threat and become partners destined for one-another.

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: TBA

Source: Original (part of a mixed-media franchise based on a line of figurines)

Summary: Half a century ago, Earth was attacked by terrible monsters called the “Huge.” Humanity’s only defense were the powerful Lilies, young women able to fight using weaponry called CHARMS, fusions of magic and Science. Riri Hitotsuyanagi was rescued by a Lily during an evacuation two years ago, and was inspired to become the very thing that she idolized. Unfortunately, her untrained skills meant that her entrance into Yurigaoka Girls’ School, a “garden” that raises future Lilies, was anything but assured. Luckily, she managed to make it off the waitlist and begin onto the path toward achieving her dream.

As Riri makes her way to the campus entrance ceremony, the politics of Lily life become apparent. The girls vie for partnerships with their powerful peers, while also-rans like Riri sit on the sidelines. Soon news of an escaped Huge specimen makes its way to the new students, and those with battle experience are called upon to help. Riri finds herself swept into the action with Kaede and Yuyu – the very girl who came to Riri’s rescue two years ago. Though Riri is inexperienced, her natural talents prove to be valuable and the threat is vanquished. Kaede is suddenly smitten with Riri, while Yuyu is left to ponder some complicated emotions.

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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2020 First Impressions: Higurashi: When They Cry – New

A totally normal story set in a totally normal town… or is it?

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: TBA (at least 14)

Source: Visual Novel (re-make of 2006 TV anime)

Summary: Keiichi Maebara returns to his home in the tiny town of Hinamizawa following a family funeral. There he reconnects with Rena, Mion, Satoko, and Rika, four girls who form a very informal (but in their minds, extremely structured) after school activity club. Keiichi enjoys his afternoons with the girls, despite the fact that they often make him into the butt monkey of the group.

As he and Rena are walking home one evening, they stop at a garbage dump where Rena goes digging for “treasure.” While he’s waiting, Keiichi meets a photographer who implies that the town may be hiding a few unsettling secrets. However, when Keiichi asks Rena for more information about this, her demeanor changes abruptly and he drops the subject. Over the next couple of days, Keiichi learns a few details about the town’s fight to prevent some developers from building a dam which would have flooded the town upon its completion. Mion insists that there was no violence involved in the town’s eventual victory, but Keiichi’s chance discovery of an old magazine article tells a very different story. It also appears that his friends may have a vested interest in keeping this all a secret.

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Previews Reviews

Autumn 2020 Anime Preview

Now that Summer is over, we’re starting to trudge into the weeds of a few anime series that were bumped later due to Covid-19. Add to that the anime that was meant to premiere during Autumn all along, and we have a pretty healthy crop of new anime series to sift through. There are lots of websites that do very comprehensive rundowns of soon-to-be-released anime; I value their contributions, but I don’t have the time or resources to go all-out in that way. But I do get excited about new anime and enjoy picking and choosing a few of my most anticipated titles to feature here.

As usual, these are just my personal opinions and are limited by the amount of information I have to work with. These are also (mostly) based on what looks cool to me; as always, it’s good to remind ourselves that anime series that look great in preview form might turn out to be mediocre, while those that might not appear to be that interesting might turn out to be more than meets the eye.

Below are the resources I used to help put this together:

  • ANN’s Fall 2020 trailer watch-along (this was a stream on their YouTube page which appears not to be recorded – I suspect they might not have the rights since there were PVs from several different companies and sources)
  • AniChart for Fall 2020
  • MAL chart for Fall 2020
  • The ANN Encyclopedia pages for series and their sources, if applicable
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