Tag: First Impression

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Jolyne Kujo’s life seems to be over at the ripe old age of 17. After taking the blame for a hit and run accident she didn’t commit, as well as for the disposal of the resultant body, she finds herself sentenced to serve hard time in Florida’s Green Dolphin Street Prison for 15 long years. As it happens, her defense lawyer and her (ex?) boyfriend Romeo, the actual driver of the car, colluded to have her take the fall in exchange for some financial kick-backs.

Jolyne learns this after pricking her finger on a strange amulet left to her by her father, Jotaro. After the injury, she seems to gain some strange abilities – super hearing, a sense of the future, and control over a blue thread that springs from the wound on her finger and seems to obey the will of her emotions. Whatever the source of this power, Jolyne knows one thing for sure – there’s no way she’ll sit and rot in prison for 15 years.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Super Crooks

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 13

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Johnny Bolt lives at home with his single mother in an arrangement that consistently pits them against one-another. He’s unhappy about her many trysts and she’s frustrated by his constant presence (thus making those trysts less frequent and more complicated to manage). One evening as he’s being yelled at for existing once again, Johnny discovers a secret that might turn the tables forever – he’s developed the power to control electricity, putting him on the same level as the superheroes he admires.

This power proves to be helpful in many ways; Johnny can switch traffic lights to his convenience, and he’s able get back at Dave, the school bully. But what he really wants is to be a hero, so with the help of his friend Tom, Johnny develops a heroic persona called Electro Boy which he plans to debut on the first day of Summer vacation as all the local kids are gathered at the pool. But Johnny forgets that water and electricity don’t mix, and when his grand entrance is fouled-up by his bully, it ends in several electrocutions, traffic accidents, and the inadvertent demolishment of many buildings in the vicinity. The trauma of the situation hits Johnny like a truck; however, it also opens up a new path for him to use his powers to his own benefit in a much darker way.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Blade Runner: Black Lotus

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 13

Source: Original (based on Blade Runner franchise)

Episode Summary: A young woman awakens in the cargo hold of an autonomous transport vehicle having lost most of her memories. The only item she has with her is an electronic device she can’t seem to unlock. As she enters Los Angeles, she has a sense of where “home” is, but the city has changed since she last remembers being there and she’s not quite sure how to navigate it. A group of thugs picks up on her confusion and, seeing the valuable tech she has in hand, they begin to pursue her.

As she fights off these organized criminals she begins to remember bits and pieces of things, including her name – Elle. In exchange for more information about the technology in her hands, she offers a local dealer named Doc Badger protection from the thugs that are hassling them both. Swordplay and martial arts seem to be part of Elle’s repertoire and she easily dispatches them all. When Doc Badger reveals that he’s been unable to decipher locking mechanism on her tech, he offers to take her to see a man named J who seems to have more of a specific knack for that sort of thing. But J is awfully familiar…

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Blue Period

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Yatora is a high school student making his way through life on auto-pilot. His studiousness makes getting good grades easy, and he spends most of his free time pulling all-nighters with his friends to watch soccer. He doesn’t see much value in more artistic hobbies, partly because there doesn’t seem to be much potential for financial success in pursuing them. His frenemy Yuka is also a member of his school’s art club, and her standoffishness toward Yatora definitely has had an influence on his preferences.

When the school’s art teacher assigns the students the task of painting a representation of their favorite setting, it takes Yatora a while to come up something that really sparks his interest. But several times, as he’s emerged from an all-night soccer viewing, he’s marveled at the beauty and quiet of Shibuya before it wakes up for the day. The soft blue color of the buildings as the sun comes up and begins to reflect off of the window glass helps him to feel a sense of peace. When he uses this an an inspiration for his painting, he suddenly finds himself drawn into art, something which he’d originally brushed off as boring and frivolous. As his passion for it reaches a fever pitch, he decides he’d like to try to enter art school. But to do that, Yatora has a long, difficult road ahead.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Taisho Otome Fairytale

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Tamahiko is the second son of a wealthy family, but when a car accident kills his mother and injures his dominant hand, his father and the rest of the children are all-too-willing to remove him from the family and abandon him to his own devices. Now a dyed-in-the-wool pessimist due to his circumstances, Tamahiko is more than a little surprised when a young lady named Yuzu shows up at his doorstep claiming to be the bride his father has arranged for him.

The situation turns out to be one of debts repaid and not necessarily one with Tamahiko or Yuzu’s romantic interests in mind, but Yuzu takes to her responsibilities in a diligent and kind way in spite of her new prospective husband’s poor spirits. Yuzu knows that this was all essentially a transaction between their parents, but in spite of that she wants to know the real Tamahiko and for them to fall in love with one-another eventually.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Komi Can’t Communicate

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: On his first day of school at Itan High, Tadano (much like all the other new students) is struck by the beauty of his classmate, Komi. Her elegant way of carrying herself and her reticence to speak give her a mysterious air that only seems to make her more attractive to those around her. Tadano’s assigned seat is right next to Komi, and this puts him in the crossfire of the other boys. That said, there’s definitely something odd about Komi – she doesn’t seem to want to talk much.

When Tadano finds himself alone in the classroom with Komi after a bout of unconsciousness, he discovers (as she writes it all out on the blackboard in chalk) that she wants nothing more than to make friends, but she struggles with an inability to speak to anyone out loud. This social anxiety has haunted her since middle school, and though she wants to overcome it she believes that no one around her likes her. Knowing this to be completely untrue, Tadano volunteers to be Komi’s first friend, and to help introduce her to even more.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Ranking of Kings

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 23

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Kings are ranked by their physical prowess and the number of knights and followers they have. Prince Bojji, heir to the his father’s kingdom, has none of those things. Deaf and unable to speak, he also bears the burden of bullying, snide remarks of the people he encounters. Many people think Daida, the second prince and son of the King’s remarriage, is much more fit to be the next king.

One day while Bojji is playing outside, he encounters a strange shadow creature named Kage who manages to talk him out of giving up his clothing for Kage to sell. But Kage and the Prince seem to be able to understand one-another. Though Kage’s past marks him as someone potentially dangerous, he follows Bojji back to the palace and witnesses his true inner strength begin to show itself. When Bojji challenges Daida to a sparring duel, very few actually anticipate the outcome.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Deep Insanity: The Lost Child

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Multimedia Project

Episode Summary: A mysterious ailment called “Randolph Syndrome” has started to affect the people of Earth. The suspected source is thought to be a recently-uncovered underground world in Antarctica, named the “Asylum,” populated by strange, mutated creatures and immense stores of natural resources. The brave souls who choose to explore this wilderness are there both to find a way to exploit these resources and the genetic material of the mutants, but also to find a cure for Randolph Syndrome.

Lured by a recruiting commercial and his desire to be a hero, Shigure joins the few, the proud (and the short-lived) “Sleepers” who explore this underground world. It’s not long before he’s sent, mostly unprepared, on his first mission. As his party encounters some of the horrors to be found below, he learns quickly that survival is the rule above all, and that accepting fear of death is the only way to survive.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Rumble Garanndoll

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Episode Summary: The military government rules over Japan with an iron fist. The one place allowed a bit of freedom is Kabukicho, which remains a hotbed of adult entertainment. Hosomichi is a host at a host bar, banking on his own inability to be insincere to the customers, though in reality he’s barely eking out a living. When the authorities discover hidden messages from the underground rebellion buried within the code of a bootleg eroge, the trail leads back to Kabukicho. This, of course, means that the hammer of authority must come down hard.

Hosomichi finds himself in a pretty tight spot until he’s approached by an apparently pilotless mecha. When he takes refuge inside and dons VR goggles, he finds himself face-to-face with an odd little super-deformed character whose moods seem intimately tied to the way in which the mech is powered. Hosomichi is dead-set against indulging this strange creature’s whims, but when push comes to shove he allows some of his latent otaku past to show itself and is able to successfully fight back. It’s only after the encounter that he learns his cartoonish companion actually represents a real-life battery girl who’s none-too-pleased with his behavior.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Ancient Girl’s Frame

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 24

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Reika Minamiya’s family has been deeply affected by the use of Divine Grace Energy, a form of energy used by humanity to start colonizing space, but which also exposed them to the wrath of the Nergal, hostile alien life forms. Reika’s older sister Reiu was lost due to DG energy, and this has made her parents very protective of her. Because of this, Reika sneaks off to apply to join the Ancient Girls squad with her friend in secret.

At the interview, she’s confronted by Judith, one of the faces of the program, who tells Reika that she’ll never be allowed to join the Ancient Girls. However, after the excavation of a new G’s Frame, one of the only weapons able to hold back the alien attackers, the Earth is attacked by a group of Nergal. Though the AG program didn’t accept her, the newly-awakened G’s Frame seems to have no misgivings about her abilities; it draws Reika into the cockpit where she’s able to fight back until Judith arrives to finish the job. Later, just as Reika receives her rejection letter from the program, her family is approached by military personnel who seem to be offering her a different option. As Reika arrives to join the others in the AG unit, Judith wonders if there may be consequences from allowing Reiu’s sister into their midst.

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