The suspension of student council president, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, has created a power vacuum at Basara Academy. Now, Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura find themselves vying for the top spot. But they aren’t the only ones with their eyes on the prize. – HIDIVE
Episode Summary: It’s election season at Basara High School, and the primary candidates are feverishly trying to drum up support as they work to replace the displaced student council president. The rivalries have even filtered down into some of the sports clubs, as the soccer team and baseball team fight over who has ownership of the practice field. As the argument gets even more heated, club leaders Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura decide to work things out the way they know best – through sports.
Their hot-blooded kickball game exists as a bit of a proxy war for the larger conflicts going on throughout the school. Candidates Tokugawa and Mitsunari use the event as a campaign opportunity as both teams prevent one-another from scoring any points. As the sun sets, Yukimura and Masamune go one-on-one to decide the victor, and with his master’s guidance Yukimura comes out on top. The competition is quickly made moot, however, as headmaster Oda Nobunaga puts an end to the game (and the entire playing field).
Minato Narumiya is beginning his freshman year at the local Kazemai High School. Mr. Tommy, adviser to the Japanese archery Club, is keen to recruit Minato, as well as his childhood friends Seiya Takehaya and Ryohei Yamanouchi. Ryohei convinces the reluctant Minato to attend the Club’s orientation, where he also meets Kaito Onogi and Nanao Kisaragi. Singling Minato out, Mr. Tommy introduces him as a rare Japanese archery talent and asks him to demonstrate in front of everyone. However, Minato’s arrow fails to hit the mark because he is afflicted by a serious condition. – ANN
Episode Summary: With a new school year comes a fresh start, and Minato needs one; after the death of his mother, most of the household responsibilities have fallen on his shoulders. At a new school where he expects to know very few people, he thinks he might be able to fade into the background enough to go home rather than joining a club (which he doesn’t have time for anyway). This plan falls apart quickly as several factors come into focus. First, his neighbor Seiya is one of the few people from his previous school attending the same high school, so they end up having to interact as a matter of course. Secondly, the two boys reunite with Ryohei, a friend from their elementary-school days who transferred away in middle school. Thirdly, the high school is hoping to resurrect its Kyudo – traditional archery – program, and Minato may end up right in the middle of it.
Minato has some history with the martial art, though he’s adamant that his domestic responsibilities necessarily keep him from getting involved in the newly-re-established club. His friends, suspecting that his internal desire might win-out against his perceived familial obligations, manage to get him to come to the first club meeting. But it turns out that Minato is carrying some additional baggage and the resulting anxiety results in missed shots and a some subsequent bad feelings. As he mulls the situation, he finds himself drawn to a hilltop Kyudo practice field within a shrine as the moon glows above. There he meets a mysterious archer, one with beautiful form and perfect aim.
Yū has always loved shōjo manga and awaits the day she gets a love confession that sends her heart aflutter with bubbles and blushes, and yet when a junior high classmate confesses his feelings to her, she feels nothing. Disappointed and confused, Yū enters high school still unsure how to respond. That’s when Yū sees the beautiful student council president Nanami turn down a suitor with such maturity that she’s inspired to ask her for help. But then the next person to confess to Yū is Nanami herself. – ANN
Episode Summary: Yuu has always enjoyed the romance in the manga she reads and the music she listens to, but has never genuinely felt those same feelings in her own life. Though one of her classmates confessed his feelings towards her after they graduated from junior high, Yuu’s answer has been up in the air since then because she hasn’t felt inspired enough to respond in the manner she feels is truthful. One day Yuu is “recruited” to help the student council, and wanders the school grounds looking for their out-of-the-way office. She witnesses a boy’s confession to an upperclassman who, though she answers in the negative, lets the young man down with such grace and dignity that Yuu is incredibly impressed.
The senpai, Nanami, is herself a member of the student council. She explains to Yuu that she’s not interested in romance and plans to stay single throughout high school. The two end up working together fairly closely over the next several days, until the time comes for Yuu to speak to her potential suitor. Due to Nanami’s influence, she’s able to reject him truthfully and with kindness. But a surprising transformation seems to take place – Nanami now seems smitten with Yuu, and confesses those feelings to her. As the days go on, that momentary awkwardness seems to fade into memory, but Yuu still wonders how to address them.
“Starlight” is the song and dance revue troupe loved throughout the world. Karen and Hikari make a promise with each other when they’re young that one day they’ll stand on that stage together. Time passes, and now the girls are 16 years old. Karen is very enthusiastic about the lessons she takes every day, holding her promise close to her heart. Hikari has transferred schools and is now away from Karen. But the cogs of fate turn, and the two are destined to meet again. The girls and other “Stage Girls” will compete in a mysterious audition process to gain acceptance into the revue. – ANN
Review:This review contains plot and thematic spoilers for the anime. Heavy spoilers are indicated; the section in question can be skipped.
Do you believe in fate? That once our life is set in motion, its pre-determined pathway is truly an immovable arc of destiny? Anime is filled with stories of prophesies fulfilled and traditions unbroken; it’s a theme whose expression allows us to believe in the possibility and comfort of things greater than ourselves. There are also plenty of anime, however, that dare to suggest that we, as human beings, are more responsible for our lives than some of us may be comfortable fully accepting. I tend to like these stories better, because rather than simply implying that our poor state of being is solely the result of our own mistakes, it suggests that we might also have some power to alter the flow of the river and set ourselves on a better course, given the opportunity and support of course.
Revue Starlight is, in its simplest form, a story about a group of girls choosing not to accept an exclusionary story – a fate which does not encompass the happiness of them all. Instead, they attempt to re-write the stage-play of their existence and to reinterpret their story as one which allows room for successful fulfillment of their desires.
What was supposed to only be an urban myth turns out to be very real when high school student Asuka Tsuchimiya and her friends open the door to a parallel world when they perform a ritual. – HIDIVE
Episode Summary: When the skies are clear, a group of five girls gathers at sunset to perform a ritual of their own making. In doing so, they hope to open the gate to another world, but thus far they’ve never been successful. After yet another failed attempt, one of the girls finds an odd crystal on the ground and utilizes it to operate a crystal radio. After a while all the girls swear that they can hear odd, alien noises somewhere within the static. The girls decide to make another attempt at the ritual, even though the skies are cloudy. This time, their makeshift prayers are answered and all five are transported to a strange golden world.
Unfortunately this world is a hostile one; creatures which first appear cute and harmless band together to become a mortal threat. The group is saved through the intervention of another girl who resembles Asuka, their bubbly ringleader. The mysterious stranger defeats the creatures and guides the group back to their dimension, ordering them never to set foot in the Twilight World again. Unfortunately, she collapses before returning to her own world and Asuka is left to take care of her. It takes Asuka a while to realize that this girl, also named Asuka, may be her equivalent from an alternate dimension. The next morning, Alter-Asuka is gone, but she’s left behind a locket with the photo of a young boy inside.
Impressions:The Girl in Twilight was one of the series I was looking forward to this season, if only because conceptually it sounded kind of interesting and I have a soft spot for original anime productions (though this one is also linked to an upcoming(?) smartphone game). The first episode is not necessarily mind-blowing, but it does lay a bit of groundwork for a story that might turn out to be fun and functional.
The group performs the 4:44 ritual.
I should mention that, for ostensibly being an ensemble cast series, this episode spends very little time developing any of the characters beyond Asuka. Asuka seems to be the one who’s central to the story, so it makes sense for her to be the focal point, but I’m left wondering about the other four girls and how most of what we know about them is that they don’t exactly seem to mesh well with one-another. Their dynamic feels like it would be more appropriate for a slice-of-life comedy; each of the characters seems to have a very trope-y personality (or at least an identifiable personality quirk) which is what one would expect for a series taking a lot of moé shortcuts. It’s easy to generate comedy when the characters are all lovable misfits with clashing personalities. This series feels like it’s supposed to be much more straight-laced, however, so the friction and dissonance feels like it’s getting in the way of something that ought to be more harmonious. I’m not sure if the other characters are meant to play equally important roles later on, but I’m left wondering how that will pan out when they don’t feel like they belong in the same anime series.
I do think Asuka is a fun heroine. Her “genki” attitude gives the impression that she might be more of a side character, but in this case her peppy inclination and willingness to believe in the supernatural is what gets the plot moving. She also serves as a sharp contrast to her alternate-universe self, which is obviously intentional; I believe we’re meant to ask what sort of horrible things could have happened to such an upbeat, bubbly character to cause her to become grim and sullen. Clearly her younger brother(?) is gone in both universes; why has she accepted this and gone one to live a typical life in our universe when her alter-self has become so worn-down? I suspect the story may be moving to answer this very question.
The visual style leaves a bit to be desired. The animation quality isn’t bad by any means, but I wouldn’t have identified this as an “Animax 20th anniversary project” just by looking at it. The character animation is somewhat inconsistent throughout the episode, though I do have to call out the fact that all of the characters have enough differences in their facial features that they’re not suffering too horribly from “same-face” syndrome, as tends to happen when multiple female characters share the same anime space. The Twilight realm utilizes some 3D animation which looks fairly decent; in one scene a group of sinister snow bunnies combines to form a multi-headed serpentine creature, and the visual is fairly effective. I feel like it gives those scenes some dynamic movement that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. I do have to question the choice to make the Twilight Realm quite so yellow; I realize it’s supposed to emulate the evening sunset but the effect is low-key nauseating rather than tense and mysterious.
Is there a universe where he still lives?
What I am pretty jazzed about is that this dimension-hopping sci-fi story stars a cast of women. I feel like these types of stories tend to be the purview of young male characters. Steins;Gate and Erased immediately come to mind, as well as this season’s RErideD to some extent. Time travel plotting so often seems to revolve around men and their pain – lost loves, missed chances, the desire to save others. Orange comes to mind as an outlier, but even that dealt much more with character drama than with the details of the time-manipulating mechanic that allowed the heroine’s letter to travel into the past. With the genders (and the gender balance) reconfigured, somehow a series that doesn’t otherwise stand out all that much feels a bit fresher and more interesting. While that’s not a trait that can sustain the narrative all the way through, I think it does provide something unique for the viewer to latch onto; it’s a storytelling angle that’s sorely lacking in a lot of other anime.
I’m definitely not blown away by this episode, but I do find it encouraging in many respects. While I have nothing against slice-of-life anime, it does become a little exhausting when those are the only types of series in which one can typically find several female characters of any importance. Rather than just observing the characters existing, I would rather, sometimes, watch them acting and doing. The selection of this type of anime gets better and more robust all the time, but that doesn’t mean we should stop celebrating it when it arrives.
Pros: The main character is engaging and fun. It’s nice to have a sci-fi story with so many young women.
Cons: The cast thus far are under-developed. There are some iffy aesthetic choices.
“Starlight” is the song and dance revue troupe loved throughout the world. Karen and Hikari make a promise with each other when they’re young that one day they’ll stand on that stage together. Time passes, and now the girls are 16 years old. Karen is very enthusiastic about the lessons she takes every day, holding her promise close to her heart. Hikari has transferred schools and is now away from Karen. But the cogs of fate turn, and the two are destined to meet again. The girls and other “Stage Girls” will compete in a mysterious audition process to gain acceptance into the revue. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: Karen Aijo, despite being a goofball and a little bit of a sleepyhead, is one of the elite students at Seisho Music Academy, a training ground for musical actresses and theater professionals. She made a promise with her friend Hikari when they were children that they’d each become actresses, and Karen has been living that promise to the best of her abilities. It’s been years since Karen has seen Hikari, but as fate would have it Hikari has recently transferred to Seisho after having lived several years overseas. Karen is overjoyed, but Hikari seems distant. When Karen follows Hikari back to school one evening, she discovers a secret hidden below the halls of Seisho. There, Hikari is involved in what appears to be the battle of her life with another of the students as part of an audition for the role of top actress in the Starlight musical. Karen, being who she is, can’t help but don a costume herself and intervene.
In the dream world, dreams give people the power to live, but the world is threatened by dream-eating beings known as “Yumekui.” In order to save the world, princes from all kingdoms must join their power. The butler Navi and Prince Avi of the knight kingdom Arstoria travel the world in order to save it. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: The Dream Royalty bestowed the ability to dream upon the people in order to brighten their lives, but the Dream Eaters soon came to steal it away. If a Dream Eater were to consume all of someone’s dreams, then that person would be cursed with eternal slumber. In order to fight the advance of these terrifying enemies, a group of princes banded together to defend their kingdoms. One by one, the princes were sealed inside of beautiful rings, only to be awakened by the right person. When the right person appears, however, she doesn’t believe a word of it. Having lived her entire life in our world, she’s not inclined to believe the words of a “butler” (who looks like a stuffed animal) telling her that she’s the Princess of Traümere, a member of the Dream Royalty who has the ability to unseal these princes. But soon enough she does just that, awakening Prince Avi to accompany her. In a nearby town they identify a flamboyant young man peddling ill-gotten wares, including another such royal ring. After a battle with some Dream Eaters, though, it appears that Kiel, as he’s known, might have some royal history as well.
The whole world was devastated by the nuclear war. Under the strong rule of the World Empire, people are all suppressed and deprived of their own lives. A resistance team secretly keeps fighting to break the suppression while everyone is forbidden to possess any force of arms. The team arms themselves with “antique guns” that were left as works of art, and the incarnations of those antique guns are called “Musketeers” appear and join the team, as if they responded to the soul of the resistance. In their battles with the incarnations of contemporary guns who represent and are dispatched from the Empire, the “Musketeers” turn their “Absolute Noble” mode to give a powerful boost to themselves, and bring hope to the world. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: Dreams of world peace were shattered when, after years of nuclear war and an alteration of the world’s climate, the World Empire took over and subdued the populace by force. Their rule is harsh and tramples over the very dignity of the people. But a resistance has formed in the underground, supplemented by the talents of a group of weapons-turned-human. These individuals have the power and personality of the antique weapons from which they were formed as well as a certain “x-factor” of absolute nobility in the face of danger. Many of the new recruits are forced to attempt a dangerous mission to save a resistance politician being transported to the capital. When the situation seems dire, one of them expresses their nobility and is given enough power to shoot down the Empire’s soldiers. But then he collapses on the battlefield – is this a doomed mission after all?
Impressions: The various ToukenRanbu anime incarnations made their marks by featuring a cast of characters based on personifications of various famous weapons (mostly melee weapons) that appeared throughout history. The Thousand Musketeers attempts to do the same by focusing solely on firearms and attempting to draw forth some kind of identifiable character personality from each classic, historical, or antique weapon. Thus far the end product is a very mixed bag of simple-yet-confusing plot elements and a cast that’s jam-packed with characters that are often difficult to distinguish from one-another.
Napoleon – a fancy gun with a fancy hat.
The opening scenes of the anime present several characters back-to-back in quick succession, each with a title card and a short description of their origin as a famous gun. This is, of course, while they’re all having conversations related to their general duties as agents of the rebellion, their “master” (who is unnamed and has not been shown on screen as of the end of the episode), and other info-dump-type material that might be important to take in, but is difficult to pay enough attention to as one is trying to read everything on the screen. I eventually started pausing the video after a while to make sure that I could read all the character info (not a favorite thing to do; I prefer to take in episodes in real-time), only to find that it was all too easy to forget about everything immediately afterward. Could I tell you who most of the characters’ names were? Absolutely not. Though I do remember Napoleon, whose ridiculously boisterous and snooty personality arrives immediately like a fart and is the one character who manages to leave an impression. There’s also an American one whose visual motif includes stars, stripes (pink instead of red), and pigtails, and while he’s definitely one-of-a-kind in terms of character design his name completely escapes me.
Presented with no further comment.
There’s an attempt to lay out some character relationships throughout the episode, the most memorable of which are between a couple of weapons that were on opposing sides during the American Revolutionary war. The extent of the bickering (especially when the American one busts out an American flag and threatens to hang it up where they’re all bunking together) adds a little levity to what is otherwise pretty bland and frothy entertainment. To be honest, considering how things have been going lately in the US, anything that can make fun of how ridiculous we are here in a way that gets me to chuckle even mildly has earned a point in my book. One thing that wasn’t made especially clear and which may not matter that much (unless you’re a gun collector or historian) is whether or not the boys-who-are-guns are actually using the rifles in battle which they themselves represent. Since all the firearms, as little as they’re actually on screen, seemed different from one-another, I would speculate that the answer is yes (and perhaps that’s something appealing about the game on which this is based). I think it would have made an interesting aside or a cool illustration for the commercial break screens to provide some more information about that.
The rescue operation begins.
Because most anime is based at least partly on some sort of fantasy premise or at least asks the audience to accept things that differ from reality in various ways, one measure of a “good” anime in my book is its ability to suspend the viewer’s disbelief. I’m a little more liberal of an anime consumer than a lot of folks and tend to get really rankled when others start complaining about minor deviations from reality, especially when the series in question is full of supernatural nonsense, magical powers, or fantasy worlds. But occasionally I’ll get caught on a detail and I can’t let it go. In the case of this episode, we’re to believe that the characters are part of a rebel underground where they’re in hiding from the government and living in fear of being discovered. That’s fine and dandy, but there’s a goofy scene partway through where one character offers to make the others “honey crepes.” There’s an entire montage at the beginning of the episode that talks about nuclear devastation, and a lot of the other imagery implies that the quality of life in general has gone way downhill after the literal collapse of society. So where are these resistance fighters, who are, I remind you, living in a deteriorated bunker of some sort, getting things like honey, processed flour, eggs, or milk? Sweet stuff is typically a luxury item in times of scarcity, so I wonder just who their supplier is (though considering that their “master” can take guns and turn them into hot guys, perhaps it’s not that hard to believe they might have some way to produce it). I’d also love to know where they’re getting their clothing, considering that everyone else is practically dressed in rags. Also, how rifles where the user has to arm them with gunpowder and pellets by hand every time can take out soldiers that look like cyborg police. But that might be asking for too much realism.
Speaking of montages, there’s a comically-unconvincing training montage where the newer recruits prepare themselves to carry out the rescue mission. They’re show running through the forest with their guns in had (probably holding them in a manner which would irritate actual gun owners, I’d wager). I was actually taken aback by the fact that, half an episode in, we were already treated to such a goofy and cliche presentation device, but the more I think about it the more it seems appropriate for such a goofy show.
Despite my obvious eye-rolling towards this episode, I can’t say that I wasn’t entertained. Even if the entertainment value was mostly unintentional and based on the fundamental weirdness of the premise, I still don’t feel like my time was wasted. And if I had to choose between The Thousand Musketeers and Upotte!!, the female expression of a similar idea, you’d better believe I’d choose silliness over sexualization. If your tolerance level is higher than mine (or if you’re thirstier for a variety of bishounen characters, I suppose), this might provide some entertainment.
Pros: The premise is mildly educational in a silly sort of way. The episode uses its resources wisely, saving some of the nicer-looking animation for the action in the second half.
Cons: This episode is a confusing character dump of epic proportions. I have a hard time believing that an underground resistance movement could afford such luxuries as honey crepes and fancy outfits.
In the year 2045, the world has been contaminated by Irōsu (mysterious invaders who suddenly appeared), and humans find themselves restricted and contained. Standing boldly against these invaders are ordinary girls everywhere, without a powerful army or even weapons. The Shinjugamine Girls Academy is a school for these “Hoshimori” (Star Guardians) destined to fight the Irōsu. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: Miki and her classmates at Shinjugamine Academy are trainees in the fight against the Irosu, alien invaders who arrived mysteriously, appear randomly (signaled only by a miasma that precedes their arrival) and who keep humanity contained and frightened. The girls lead typical lives, but are called up on when needed to invoke the powers given to them to fight and win against the Irosu. Unfortunately as of late, the classmates have been having trouble working harmoniously and seem to be phoning it in a bit. Not knowing just where or when an attack might occur, this makes the individuals running the program a bit nervous. The girls are ordered to undergo another round of training; it’s here that they’re surprised by an injection of new blood – a new member named Misaki.
Impressions: There was a time when I’d be immediately wary of an anime with a cast larger than about four or five main characters, but I’ve been proven wrong too many times to default to that position. Shirobako introduced an entire company full of animators, producers, and staff members while they sat around a table eating; by the end of that episode I definitely didn’t know many of their names, but the show never really suffered for its truthfulness about how much manpower goes into creating an anime. The Lost Village‘s internet-influenced bus full of misfits worked around its large cast size by giving each character a chance to prove how distinctly misanthropic or mentally-ill they all were, to (in my opinion) successful ends. So I’m no longer immediately put off by a cast of thousands, as even shorter anime series have proven themselves capable of using large groups for productive means.
The second round of training begins. Copyright 2017 (c) Silver Link
This show introduces a number of characters during a chaotic battle in the first half of this episode. Each character gets a snappy line of dialog and the nature of voice-acting being what it is, that’s generally enough to leave a small impression on the viewer of the person’s basic personality. Whereas other series have counteracted the disorientation of these sorts of madcap intros by providing something else to grab onto, say an unusual plot element or interesting variation in tone, this one ends having not left much of an impression.
There are some vague references within the character dialog to the forever-looming threat of the Irosu, this anime’s malevolent foreign invader antagonists. Though not particularly creative, the idea itself is perfectly serviceable as something to challenge our heroes and serve as an ultimate goal. The issue is that throughout the first episode, several references are made to how poorly the characters are working together and how their power as a group is unfocused and lacking, and yet there’s not any situation where the beasts with which they’re engaged are shown to pose any kind of mortal threat to the characters. There’s not element of danger or any indication that any of the characters might lose out or become injured, and so it’s really difficult to stay engaged. I found my mind wandering over and over again as I resisted the urge to check Facebook or get up for a snack, and this was all while characters were in battle – ostensibly the most dynamic parts of the episode. it’s a bit maddening just how dull the experience is.
f*f – Idols and heroines. Copyright 2017 (c) Silver Link
This show also seems to be an awkward genre mashup, as at least a few of the heroines appear to moonlight as idol singers, and the franchise’s Wikipedia entry seems to make reference to several different (internal?) idol groups and songs. This isn’t bad in itself, but I have to confess I’ve never really been a fan of idols or idol culture so the fact that that aspect seems shoehorned into this action series doesn’t really appeal to me personally. It also has the distinct air of trying too hard to appeal to too many different demographics at once which is almost always a poor choice; of many of the anime series I like the best, one commonality between them seems to be that the creators aimed to appeal to a certain fan group, made a product that has high quality attributes (story, animation, characterization, theme, etc.), and ultimately broadened the appeal in that way. From Yuri!!! On Ice to Puella Magi Madoka Magica, to Haikyu!, this has proven to be true. So I can’t really buy when a series seems to haphazardly take shots in several directions without hitting a target.
There’s an odd bit of pandering in this episode that I feel is worth mentioning as it didn’t land very well with me. For whatever reason, I’ve noticed over the last five or so years that the amount of low-grade yuri content in otaku anime seems to have seen an uptick. Shows like Sakura Trick and Yuruyuri make very mild plays at same-sex female relationships, not really to advocate for those relationships, but to provide them as another option for fetishization in shows aimed primarily towards male otaku viewers. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the shows are without other merit, or might not also have appeal to people who identify with those relationships, but I don’t think their use is meant to be enlightened or representative of ally-ship. The two overt idol characters, Kanon and Shiho, are introduced as kind of an “are they or aren’t they…?” couple in this episode, and some romantic aspect to their relationship is implied over the phone. Not only does this feel forced in a show that’s already got too much going on, there’s literally no other reason one would care about the characters at this point so it feels as though someone, somewhere is just checking off of a list.
Friends, companions, or… lovers? Copyright 2017 (c) Silver Link
Needless to say, this isn’t really a standout entry in the season, and there’s not much reason to recommend it over other, better-produced game-based anime like Touken Ranbu or some past examples like the Rage of Bahamut series. It’s probably more interesting if you’re a fan of idols or have some interest in the voice actors providing the dialog (of which there are many, considering the size of the cast). Add to that the fact that this is a HIDIVE exclusive, which makes it prohibitive to check out if your budget only affords one or two of the big streaming services, and this makes Battle Girls High School pretty skippable.
Pros: It’s a mostly inoffensive first episode.
Cons: Attempts to flesh-out characters feel forced, the antagonists don’t seem to pose a real threat, and the mix of genres is scattershot.
The “local heroine fighter” of a certain city became popular and a national star. Because of this, “local heroines” debuted in various other places, and their action live events became a hit trend nationally. In Hinano City, high school girl Misaki Shirogane and other girls become local heroines (at the urging of Misaki’s aunt, the prefectural governor) and vow to produce action live events. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: Mikan Kise and her sister are huge fans of Kamidaio, a city heroine who’s gone on to be famous across Japan. Nowadays there are many cities who utilize these mascot heroines to promote tourism in their area, but Kamidaio is by far the most famous. Now she’s slated to come to Mikan’s hometown of Hinano during the local Sakura Festival, and she’s definitely not going to miss this chance. The day of the anticipated performance, however, brings bad news; some sort of scheduling incompetence on the part of the organizers means that the Kamidaio show is canceled without any further explanation, and Mikan’s sister is heartbroken. Mikan makes a hasty promise to bring Kamidaio’s show back to the city in a week, but she’s not quite sure how she’ll accomplish such a thing. The answer lies in fellow student An Akagi, a former rhythmic gymnast and unabashed Kamidaio fan who seems game to put together a rollicking hero show for the local kids. Mikan and An work all week, practicing stunts, building costumes, and choreographing the show. At first the audience seems highly unimpressed, but eventually get caught up in the spirit of the show. After the home-made production gets put online, the girls get an unexpected call from Misaki Shirogane, student council president at their school and action heroine enthusiast. She’d like to help give Hinano City its own action heroines – and wants Mikan and An on board.
Impressions:Action Heroine Cheer Fruits is fun surprise wrapped in an initially unappealing package. Part “working women” tale a-la Sakura Quest or Shirobako, and part tokusatsu show, the premise sounds pretty ridiculous on paper. It seems sort of as though the creators wanted to take advantage of the popularity of idol group anime like the ultra-successful Love-Live! and sprinkle in a bit of something creative to set it apart. The resulting production ultimately seems much less commercial and a great deal more kind-hearted than I would have expected.
Mikan and An have a fateful crash in the school hallway. Copyright 2017 (c) diomedea
The first episode introduces a couple of different relationships that I assume will probably maintain some degree of importance throughout the series. The first is the sibling relationship between Mikan and her younger sister. Mikan seems to go beyond simply caring for her younger sister out of sisterly obligation; she seems genuinely concerned with Yuzuka’s happiness and well-being. She’s heartbroken when the Kamidaio show doesn’t happen, not so much because she missed it, but because Yuzuka was looking forward to it so wholeheartedly. While the characters themselves are pretty typical for an ensemble series, the way that their relationship is portrayed adds an extra dimension of kindness, which I really liked.
The other important relationship is the one that develops between Mikan and An. They might be fellow students at the same school, but they’ve never really interacted with one-another aside from knowing each-other’s name and crashing into one-another in the hallway between classes, as this episode demonstrates. But as two people with different personalities, they seem fated by the anime-writing gods to mesh well in a team setting and build upon each-other’s strengths. Mikan brings the kindness, An brings the spunkiness athleticism, and together they create a winning combination. Again, on paper this all seems pretty obvious and neither character feels very fleshed-out yet (and with a promo pic crammed full of several other girls I feel like full-on characterization might not be this show’s forte, in the end), but I like how the conflict between the two is kept pretty minor and their interactions quickly turn into something very harmonious. I think it speaks well for the show so far that there’s not a lot of time spent with the characters trying to struggle and assert their big personalities; with such a goofy title and premise, I think it’s imperative that at least some facets work well from the get-go in order to keep the audience engaged.
It’s a fighting montage (montage!). Copyright 2017 (c) diomedea
It’s fortuitous that the show wastes no time cultivating a fun atmosphere and making us all feel good, because there are some other technical areas where it’s definitely not as accomplished. The production house, diomedea, has been involved in a long list of animation projects, but mostly as an in-between studio. Of the few times it’s served as the headlining animation production studio, I’m only really familiar with The Lost Village (which was much better than most people gave it credit for; I will fight you) and Girlish Number, which I’ve watched more recently. The latter seemed particularly well-planned, and it probably had to have been; in order to portray the main character’s sour face and attitude, as well as the parody-style industry bits and the so-bad-it’s-good anime series the characters are a part of, it takes some good animation chops. This show already has more of an action-focus than either of those previous series, but the production values and animation consistency already seem kind of middling. There’s a lack of dynamic movement, as well as a few quality control problems with character animation in some of the slower-moving moments. The show seems a bit washed-out most of the time, too. Part of me tends to think that anime original series are where production studios tend to shine, even if they might often be vanity projects; in this case it doesn’t appear that that rings true.
Something worth mentioning, in the grand tradition of reviews on this website; due to the type of action being portrayed and the environment in which the characters are practicing their moves, there are a couple of up-skirt shots with underwear. I tend to think they were more incidental than anything else, but I also believe they’re always a choice in animation since someone made a storyboard and then someone else had to draw the frames. In a show where the characters read as being younger, I found it a little bit startling. Why choose to show underage girls in their underwear (or in the bath tub, hot springs, etc.) when you could choose to not show underage girls in compromising positions and potentially irritate fewer viewers? That has always been my question (and please don’t answer it for me, I realize there’s this notion that you “have to” include fanservice to love-bomb viewers into watching your show – I don’t subscribe to it).
Criticisms aside, I left this episode with a really warm feeling. I love being pleasantly surprised by an anime about which I had only very basic expectations; often times anticipated shows turn out to be duds, so it’s nice when it goes the other way! I think the show has a lot of heart and I always like the idea of girls banding together to accomplish some sort of goal, even if it’s kind of a silly one. This might be a good option for folks who enjoy magical girls, but are not as huge of fans of the “dark magical girl” trope that’s taken over in recent years. It seems very focused on its feel-good atmosphere and presenting the ideals of teamwork within a plot that’s a little bit silly, but considering Japan’s penchant for anime-related tourism, not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
Pros: The first episode is kind-hearted and feel-good; the conflicts are minor and reasonable to overcome. The character relationships are warm.
Cons: The production values are a little bit off. There are a couple of underwear shots that are made more distracting by how young the characters look.
