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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Spring 2022 First Impressions – Kotaro Lives Alone

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 10

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Kotaro is a precocious four-year-old boy who moves into an apartment by himself. The landlords only seem concerned with whether or not he can pay his way, not with whether he can actually manage on his own, so he manages to clear that initial hurdle. Kotaro’s neighbor Karino is perplexed by this well-spoken kid, and wonders what may have happened to his family leaving him to survive on his own.

As Karino follows Kotaro around on his daily errands, he also starts meeting the other tenants in the building, who all seem to be people with somewhat complicated circumstances. The one constant between them seems to be Kotaro, who treats them all as neighbors, though also has very little tolerance for falseness in relationships. Karino, who also lives alone and has felt directionless in his manga career, starts to warm up to Kotaro, sensing some unresolved emotions and trauma in the kid.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Spring 2022 First Impressions – Thermae Romae Novae

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 11

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Lucius Modestus is the son and grandson of architects specializing in the design and construction of bathhouses. Because his father died on the job, Lucius is treated with a soft hand by his grandfather, which runs counter to the standards of what it means to be a Roman man. When Titus, the local bully, hassles Lucius at the nearby bathhouse (which was built by Lucius’ late father) and insults the building’s construction, Lucius vows to follow in his family’s footsteps and become a thermae architect.

Years later after completing his education in Athens, Lucius returns to Rome to make good on his promise to himself. There he meets Titus, a more mature family man, who apologizes for his past behavior. Lucius’ life seems to be looking up. But what of the strange childhood experience he had submerging himself in the thermae’s heated bath and resurfacing in a totally foreign place?

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – The Orbital Children

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 6 (irregular lengths)

Source: Original

Episode Summary: In a time where space, as everything else, has been filled to the brim with consumerism and advertisement, three children have won a contest to visit the first space hotel with facilities that cater to young people. Mina, an internet celebrity, her younger brother Hiroshi, and Taiyou, arrive at Anshin station excited to experience all of the wonders that corporate branding can provide in the world of space tourism. They’re set to join two children who know nothing other than living away from Earth – Konoha and Touya, who were born on the moon. Both Konoha and Touya experience the effects of gravity differently and are under constant medical observation. Touya is also a bit of an AI nut, using semi-illegal means to “broaden” the abilities of his personal AI drone, Dark.

As the contest-winners arrive to the station, a situation begins to unfold from within Earth’s orbit outside. A mysterious projectile is detected, and eventually station management learns that a comet is approaching the planet and the station. As the two groups of children meet and begin to work through some interpersonal and philosophical differences, they’re suddenly forced to brace for impact. It may now fall on their shoulders to figure out how to survive using only the tools and know-how they can cobble together. But will they be able to team up long enough to make this a reality?

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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 – 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 – 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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The Way of the Househusband – What Makes an Anime?

I tend to have issues remembering when Netflix releases their anime. I’m so used to the quarterly seasonal framework and the week-by-week single episode release schedule that most seasonal anime follows that when Netflix drops an entire cour’s worth of anime it’s almost always a surprise to me (even when I know it’s coming and have my Netflix notifications set up to remind me. Yeah, I know). I always think “oh, I’ll get around to it” and then in many cases I never do. I’ve been trying to remedy that lately by watching a little bit of (mostly) Netflix anime on my phone before I go to bed a few times a week. It’s been a fairly successful endeavor, even though I’ve realized I can get through maybe an episode-and-a-half of material before starting to feel sleepy. This shouldn’t be seen as a criticism of anything I’m watching – I fell asleep through the second half of Vivi -Fluorite Eye’s Song recently despite feeling very invested in it. My body just doesn’t seem to obey any “clean sleep” rules and gets settled into bedtime mode by watching videos or listening to the TV. Weird physical adaptation or ADHD side-effect? You decide.

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First Impressions Reviews

Netflix First Impressions – Hi Score Girl

It’s 1991 and the heyday of the 2D fighting game boom. Sixth-grader Haruo spends practically his entire day at an arcade in the seedy part of town, oblivious to the world around him. However, one day at his usual arcade, he encounters Akira, his female classmate with good grades and money. She may look out of place at the arcade, but she is actually a top-class gamer. Akira completely outmatches Haruo in one Street Fighter II round after another, and their relationship develops from this unlikely encounter. – ANN

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Haruo considers himself a pretty avid gamer. His current favorite is Street Fighter II, which he plays endlessly at the local arcade. Though he typically dominates the standings, one afternoon he suddenly starts suffering one defeat after another. Who could his new opponent be? Surprisingly, it’s his classmate Akira Ono – a quiet, refined classmate of his whose grades outshine Haruo’s by a mile. Haruo simply can’t stand being outclassed by someone who’s so clearly not the gamer “type.”

Haruo and Akira start to encounter one-another around town more often, where Akira continues to impress with her unusually good gaming skills, as well as her ability to shut down naysayers with her fists. After the kids find themselves sharing a Final Fight gaming cabinet after escaping a sudden rainstorm, Haruo begins to realize the extent of Akira’s gaming knowledge, as well as her inability to suffer fools during a heated co-op session. Though Haruo is still sore about his many fighting game losses, he begins to think he may be gaining a new friend in Akira.

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First Impressions Reviews

Netflix First Impressions – Forest of Piano

Kai was born as the son of a prostitute and he’s been playing the abandoned piano in the forest near his home ever since he was young. Shūhei, on the other hand, was practically breast-fed by the piano as the son of a family of prestigious pianists. Yet it is their common bond with the piano that eventually intertwines their paths in life. – ANN

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Shuhei transfers into his new elementary school class. Almost immediately the class bullies begin to pick on him because he plays the piano – something seen as effeminate. Kai, one of Shuhei’s classmates, is also a frequent target of the bullies, due to his family situation; his mother works in the sex industry and Kai’s father is not in the picture. He does have an interest in the piano, and offers to show Shuhei his piano; a piano sitting in the forest that’s rumored to be both broken and haunted.

Only Kai seems to have the ability to produce sound from the mysterious piano, which puzzles Shuhei, who’s been taking piano lessons since he was a small child. The bullies don’t believe Shuhei’s far-fetched story about Kai’s talent and continue to pick on him. Ajino-Sensei, the school music teacher, catches wind of the tale and wonders if it might have some truth to it. He used to be a famous pianist until he injured himself in a car accident, and got rid of his special piano when he realized he’d no longer be able to play it. But perhaps now the piano has chosen a new master.

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