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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Selection Project

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 13

Source: Multimedia project

Episode Summary: Ever since she was young and bedridden in the hospital, Suzune Miyama has admired the Selection Project idol Akari Amazawa. Years later, Suzune has the opportunity to compete as one of her region’s representatives during the 7th season of Selection Project. However, Suzune isn’t alone; she’s joined by talented girls from around the country who are all vying for the same distinction.

As the regional finals near their conclusion, the competitors are all asked to sing a final song – Akari Amazawa’s debut single, as a tribute to her after her untimely death in an accident a few years prior. Suzune’s pure voice is striking, but as the song nears its climax, she nearly passes out on stage. Whether this is what prevents her from winning her group is debatable, but she leaves the competition to walk home, defeated. But is this truly the end of Suzune’s quest to follow in Akari’s footsteps?

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – The Heike Story

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 11

Source: Novel

Episode Summary: Biwa witnesses the murder of her blind father at the hand of the powerful Heike clan, thus leaving her an orphan. Yet it’s a member of the Heike, the subdued, practical Shigemori, who apologizes for the crimes of his brethren and identifies a similarity between himself and Biwa. Both possess a heterochromic eye which has granted them psychic powers. Shigemori is cursed to see the spirits of the dead all around him, but Biwa’s eye allows her to see the future.

Shigemori chooses to adopt Biwa and raise her alongside his own sons; Biwa’s father had disguised her as a boy to help her survive, and she has no interest in living as a girl, so this arrangement is helpful. Yet, despite his kind overtures, Biwa refuses to tell Shigemori the one thing he’d truly love to know – what will finally bring downfall to the Heike clan, and can he help prevent it? As the clan begins to grow bloated with its overwhelming power and corruption creeps in, can either Shigemori or Biwa truly do anything to stop the Heike’s fall?

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Playing in Another’s Sandbox – “Wonder Egg Priority” and Finding Personal Meaning in Messy Storytelling

As I sit here once again looking forward toward a new anime season (October is coming up faster than you think, friends), I find that more than anything about to show up on my streaming services in the coming weeks, I’d rather look backwards. Several weeks ago the long-awaited (and troubled) finale to the Winter 2021 season anime Wonder Egg Priority was released, and while I was looking forward to finally being able to watch the remainder of that story, my weak, indulgent nature exposed me to some of the internet blowback it was getting. On the whole it hasn’t been particularly complimentary to the work. I gave myself the luxury of a few days away to allow the furor to calm before I watched the episode myself.

I should really say “episodes,” because I’m perpetually behind and I heard about the delay of the finale before I’d gotten around to watching the 12th episode. I figured that it would be helpful to have a bit of a lead-in rather than attempting to go in cold after months of waiting. Whether that was a better choice or not I can’t say; at the very least it kept me from having to wait and hope for weeks on end without knowing the outcome. Needless to say, after watching the episode(s) I ended up on an emotional journey that I didn’t entirely expect.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – The Dungeon of Black Company

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Kinji Ninomiya has finally achieved his ultimate dream. After investing his allowance and making money day-trading, he’s made himself into an independently-wealthy NEET. As he looks down from his penthouse apartment on the sorry masses below, though, he’s suddenly sucked into a gateway and deposited in a fantasy world that immediately sets him back to square one. This new world is run by mining demonite, and after Kinji takes out a loan it’s indentures servitude in the mines for him and many other unlucky souls. The mining company assures compliance by working its employees to the bone, and Kinji wants nothing more than to find a way to reestablish his lazy lifestyle.

That’s something easier said than done; money leaves his hands to pay back his loan just as quickly as he receives his paychecks. He works 16 hour days with no days off. But a lucky discovery gives Kinji an idea, and he manages to rope a fellow laborer Wanibe into the scheme. But as they take a shortcut to the lower level of the mine, they’re confronted by one of its guardians – Rim, a hungry dragon. Not to be deterred, Kinji makes a deal with her – if she doesn’t eat them both and promises to defend them from even scarier creatures, he’ll ensure she’s well fed. That becomes a failed scheme, as does another major manipulation that takes advantage of some magic items and Kinji’s coworkers. Kinji’s ideal NEET lifestyle seems farther and farther out of his reach with each passing day.

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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 – 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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