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First Impressions Reviews

Spring 2019 First Impressions – One Punch Man Season 2

An increase in villain activity has the Hero Organization worried that the “Earthdoom prophecy” will soon come to pass. In an effort to alleviate the overworked heroes, they turn to villains themselves for help. The decision looks ill-advised as at least one villain is more interested in helping the prophecy along than preventing it. – ANN

Streaming: Hulu

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Following Saitama’s climactic extraterrestrial conflict, things settle down a bit in M City. Saitama still serves in a mentorship role for cyborg hero Genos, though from the looks of it Genos is pretty capable of handling himself. Unfortunately, the appearance rate of lower-level baddies has increased quite a bit, so there’s little time for rest and relaxation. As they soon discover, a new S-Class hero named “King” has been getting quite the reputation lately. When King makes an appearance, his threatening aura intimidates evil-doers and excites his adoring public. Saitama is curious enough about the man that he decides to follow King and watch as he does battle with a giant, rampaging cyborg foe.

As it turns out, King’s reputation is just that – only a reputation. He just happens to be someone whose bad luck attracts bad guys, but no matter how many confrontations he has, it’s always someone else who punches out the antagonists in the end. Saitama uncovers this during a video-gaming session with King. In exchange, Saitama recommends a strength-building regimen to help the poser gain some confidence (this is, of course, as Saitama destroys a winged monster one-handed). In the meantime, the Hero Association is struggling to address the culmination of a prophecy, which seems imminent due to the increased criminal activity in the region. They choose to take an unorthodox route in addressing this by welcoming all of the city’s low-level thugs and inviting them to join forces. Some seem to be on board with this, but there are others whose motivations seem directly opposed to cooperation.

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First Impressions Reviews

Spring 2019 First Impressions – Fairy Gone

Fairies possess and reside within animals, granting them special powers. By surgically removing and transplanting the organs of a possessed animal into a human, humans can partially summon the fairy and use it as a weapon. Eventually, such individuals were used for war, and were called “Fairy Soldiers.” After a long war, these soldiers lost their purpose, and had to reintegrate into society. Nine years after the end of the war, Maria is a fresh recruit of “Dorothea,” an organization dedicated to the investigation and suppression of fairy-related crimes and incidents. Even in peacetime, the government is still unstable after the war. Many criminals still have lingering wounds from the previous conflict, and there are terrorist groups bent on revenge. – ANN

Streaming: Funimation and Hulu

Episodes: 24

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Several years ago, Marlya Noel witnessed the destruction of her home village and was one of only two survivors of the carnage. Nowadays she works as security, hoping to meet back up with Veronica, her fellow escapee. Backstage at an auction house, Marlya marvels at the fairy-related artifacts being bid-upon, though her distracting curiosity draws the ire of Free, the man running the security operation. As bidding commences on a page from a coveted underground tome, the action is interrupted by violence from the hand and heart of a beautiful blond woman. Marlya, as she defends the patrons, is shocked to discover that the woman is, in fact, Veronica.

There is no touching reunion, as Veronica seems uninterested in reminders of her former life. In the struggle, both Veronica and Free reveal their own powerful nature, battling one-another via their terrifying fairy avatars. What Marlya discovers is that, as a survivor of her village, she has this ability as well; she inadvertently joins with a fairy primordial when a fairy bottle breaks. As the violence dies down, Marlya learns that her very existence is illegal under the current government, but Free offers her an out; as an operative of “Dorothea,” he helps hunt down and regulate the use of this forbidden magic. Marlya chooses his outstretched hand – for the time being.

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First Impressions Reviews

Spring 2019 First Impressions – Midnight Occult Civil Servants

Arata Miyako is a new government worker assigned to the Shinjuku Ward Office’s “Nighttime Regional Relations” department. Each of Tokyo’s 23 wards has one such department, which were established to solve paranormal and occult-related events. Arata can understand non-human speech that no one else understands, and he encounters a yōkai (supernatural entity) at Shinjuku Gyoen park that calls him Abe no Seimei — the name of a historical Japanese occultist and diviner. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Arata Miyako begins his job without a clear image of what it might entail, but he soon realizes that he wasn’t hired to perform typical government work; the Office of Nighttime Relations is focused on maintaining the order of Tokyo’s many residents – including those of the supernatural variety. Arata begins his evening unaware of fairies and tengu, but soon realizes that the nighttime world is filled with those supernatural creatures, and many others.

The team has been summoned to the park in order to research some odd disturbances, and what they discover is that the tengu and angels are at odds over something. Arata happens to find out the source of the conflict – an angel and tengu have fallen in love, and neither of their families is happy about it. Arata learns this because he seems to have the rare ability to understand non-human language, though it takes some convincing for his colleagues to believe it. Arata is able to help the two groups reach a truce, though no sooner have they flown off into the night sky then he’s approached by an old tengu who calls him by an unfamiliar name.

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Spring 2019 First Impressions – Cinderella Nine

Newly-minted high schooler Tsubasa has a plan: she wants to start a girls’ baseball team at Rigahama High. Unfortunately for her, instead of going through proper channels, Tsubasa lets her enthusiasm (and maybe her friend Tomoe’s words) carry her away, and she charges onstage during the club presentation assembly to make her call for members. Although her homeroom teacher supports her efforts, and despite getting two potential members in the form of super-shy Ukita and slightly-leery Nozaki, the student council remains opposed to the team. That’s not going to keep Tsubasa down, though – the girl’s nothing if not enthusiastic and devoted to her dream. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: TBA

Source: Smartphone Game

Episode Summary: Baseball is an uncommon school sport for girls, but Tsubasa aims to change that by forming a team at her high school. She commandeers the entrance ceremony to advertise this venture, drawing all of the wrong kinds of attention. She does, however, catch the eye of Ukita, a shy girl with an interest in baseball, and Nozaki, a girl with an uncomfortable past in team sports. Though both girls are apprehensive, the circumstances align and they join Tsubasa and her friend Tomoe for an informal practice session and pickup game near the river.

Truth be told, neither girl has the skills of a practiced baseball player, but they both show potential. Once Nozaki learns that she can play left-handed, her throws start to impress. And though Ukita definitely needs to work on her confidence, she has a lot of heart. When they play a game against a group of younger kids, all the girls start to get a sense of how fun baseball can be. The camaraderie, the cheer of the audience, and the sound of the ball hitting the sweet spot of the bat is addictive. Perhaps this club might have a chance at success.

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Spring 2019 First Impressions – YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of This World

Takuya Arima lost his mother when he was very young and his archaeologist father in a much more recent cave-in, so he now lives with his stepmother Ayumi, who manages an unpopular construction project near the archaeological site his father had been studying. Strange events, including accidents and unexplained lightning strikes, have been happening, but things get personally weird for Takuya when first a bizarre relic and then a treatise on parallel worlds gets shipped to him, apparently from his deceased father, all at the same time that a new transfer student arrives. Stranger still, he briefly meets a naked, elfin-eared girl at a time and place specified by his father, while one of father’s research associates demands the relic he has at gunpoint and insists that his parents are alive but somewhere else. After more lightning strikes lead to an apparent time-and-space shift, no one else present at the incident seems to remember it the next day. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll and Funimation

Episodes: 26

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Takuya recently lost his father, though considering the circumstances he’s dealing with it fairly well. His dad was a researcher who died doing what he loved, which is about as much as anyone could ask for. In the meantime, Takuya passes his time being the class goofball and engaging in lewd talk with some of the women whose paths cross his (including his teacher).

Takuya receives a couple of packages that say they’re from his late father – they contain a strange object and a book that speaks of strange things like parallel dimensions. A new transfer student warns Takuya that the construction project headed by his stepmother is treading in dangerous territory, which turns out to be true; in addition to strange earthquakes and lightning strikes, Takuya discovers that it’s also a focal point for his father’s research when his father’s research assistant confronts him there. He also encounters a mysterious elf-eared girl, and his connection with her (as well as the strange bejeweled object left to him by his father) initiates some sort of warp. When Takuya wakes up the next morning, no one seems to remember what occurred the night before; is it memory loss, or something more extreme?

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Spring 2019 First Impressions – Senryu Girl

Nanako Yukishiro is a girl who can only communicate what she wants to say by using senryū (a poetry style similar to haiku more focused on humor). Eiji is an intimidating but kind boy who is a member of the school literature club. The pair have cheerful everyday interactions through 17 syllables. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll and HIDIVE

Episodes: TBA (12 minute episodes)

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Nanako is a girl of few words, but those she does share are chosen very carefully. She expresses herself through Senryu poetry, a form that, much like haiku, is presented in 5-7-5 syllable format. While this can create some awkward situations (Nanako especially has trouble when asked a lot of questions in short succession), her friends understand her choice not to speak and enjoy her skill at sharing her thoughts and feelings in this unique way.

Nanako belongs to the poetry club with Eiji, a boy who’s often misunderstood as a bully with a scary attitude. His countenance is sometimes considered frightening, and his attempts at interacting with people are often thwarted due to this problem. He doesn’t seem to have much trouble getting along with Nanako, and the two make a cute pair. In fact, perhaps the two may have feelings for one another… but will they ever be able to properly express them?

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Spring 2019 First Impressions – Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu

Bocchi Hitori, a girl with extreme social anxiety, has had only one friend throughout elementary school. When Bocchi learns they’ll be split up after graduation, she makes a promise to her: “By the time of my middle school graduation, I’ll make friends with everyone in my class.” And if she can’t do it they won’t be friends anymore. But Bocchi has a hard time talking to people. When she gets nervous, her legs cramp. She can’t look other people in the eye. She doesn’t even know how to make friends. Every way she thinks of to make friends ends up failing. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Bocchi is exceedingly shy, so when she and her elementary-school friend end up at different middle schools, she feels like her life might be over. Her friend tasked her with forging relationships with all of her classmates, but it’s a goal that seems impossible; Bocchi is unskilled in conversation, and anything more emotionally-complicated that that is surely off the table.

When her half-baked plots to avoid fulfilling her friendship quota go awry, Bocchi resigns herself to a school life of loneliness and isolation. Against all odds, though, she manages to find opportunities to interact with Nako-chan, the girl sitting in front of her in class. Nako first seems standoffish, but her inherent kindness gives Bocchi the opportunity to open up, and suddenly a new friendship begins to blossom between the two.

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Spring 2019 First Impressions – Ao-Chan Can’t Study!

When Ao was in kindergarten, she smiled ear-to-ear as she told her classmates how her father (a bestselling erotic author) chose her name: “A as in apple and O as in orgy.” That day still haunts her ten years later as she studies with a single goal in mind: get into an elite university and achieve independence from her father once and for all. She has no youth to misspend and no time to think about boys until her classmate, “King Normie” Kijima, approaches her with a shocking confession of love. She tries to lose Kijima, but he just can’t take a hint and as her mind runs wild with impure thoughts, she realizes her father has totally influenced her. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll and HIDIVE

Episodes: TBA (13 min episodes)

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Ao’s life changed forever once she realized that her name, chosen by her father (an erotic author), referred to an “O-face.” Having grown up in an environment where her one male role model was a lecherous old man, Ao decided to point her efforts toward her studying, thus providing her a way to escape her family once and for all. In school she does everything she can to earn top grades, avoiding any kind of socializing.

What she doesn’t realize is that Kijima, a popular boy and the only person who really tries to talk to her, has feelings for her – a fact she discovers after bringing Kijima his school uniform in the nurse’s office. Ao believes all men to be lecherous perverts with one thing on their mind, but despite her best efforts, she can’t seem to get her mind off of Kijima.

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Spring 2019 First Impressions – We Never Learn: Bokuben

Yuiga is a student who is aiming for a scholarship because he comes from a poor family. His school gives him a condition: he can have a recommendation for a scholarship if he tutors his two beautiful classmates to help them get into the schools of their choice. Ogata may be a science genius and Furuhashi a literature prodigy — but Ogata is aiming for a liberal arts school and Furuhashi is aiming for a science school. And they’re both clueless outside their fields of expertise. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Yuiga isn’t the best student, but he studies hard and has high aspirations. When his principal offers a scholarship recommendation in exchange for Yuiga’s help tutoring some fellow students, Yuiga jumps at the chance. When he discovers that these students are none other than Ogata, a mathematical genius, and Furuhashi, an eloquent writer, he’s puzzled.

As it turns out, while the two have their talents, their passions lie within the subjects that they find more challenging. Yuiga invests a week in teaching them, but when their scores don’t improve he tries to call it quits. It’s only after learning each girl’s reasoning for trying to go outside their comfort zone that Yuiga recalls his father’s wisdom regarding learning and talent.

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Spring 2019 First Impressions – Kono Oto Tomare! Sounds of Life

Takezō is the last remaining member of the Koto club, a club dedicated to the traditional Japanese string instrument. If he doesn’t find new members, the Koto Club will be terminated. One day, Takezō is alone in the club room when a student barges in and demands to join. The student is delinquent Chika Kudō, a boy who even scares delinquent upperclassmen at other schools. – ANN

Streaming: Funimation and Hulu

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: As the last remaining member of the koto club, Takezo is in a tough position. If he doesn’t find some new recruits, the long-running club will be disbanded. However, the koto club room has been infested with ruffians and bullies and Takezo’s insistence that they leave has turned him into their target. When Chika Kudo, a delinquent whose history precedes him, tries to join the club, Takezo won’t accept it. This leaves Chika to use his threatening aura in order to get his point across.

Takezo soon learns that Chika’s reputation is unwarranted and the result of a grave misunderstanding by both the police and other adults. When history repeats itself and Chika is blamed for an attack on Takezo and the koto club room, Takezo insists on speaking the truth. This provides Chika a pathway to koto club membership, though his shaky relationship with Takezo may need as much nurturing as any musical ability.

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