Tag: Slice-of-Life

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First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2017 First Impressions – A Centaur’s Life/Centaur no Nayami

Himeno is a sweet, shy little centaur girl. In her world, everyone seems to be a supernatural creature, and all her classmates have some kind of horns, wings, tails, halos, or other visible supernatural body part. Despite their supernatural elements, Himeno and her best friends, Nozomi and Kyouko, have a fun and mostly normal daily school life! – MAL

Copyright 2017 (c) Emon Animation Company

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode 1 Summary: Himeno, Nozomi, and Kyouko are your normal, everyday high school students. In their world, however, “normal” means sporting some kind of super-human marker, whether that be animal ears and tails, extra limbs, wings, or other fantastic traits. Evolution took a vastly different course in this universe, and six-legged mammals eventually evolved into the variable humanoid sub-species that we might consider mythological. That said, Hime and her friends lead an especially average life, concerned with the things that might take up any student’s time and energy, like gym class or being in the class play during recital week. Of course, this present day scenario is downright idyllic compared to the atrocities and discrimination of the past, where centaurs were used as slave labor or were thrust into caste-like roles in society. But everything nowadays is fair and equal… or is it?

Impressions: I had every expectation that this show would be a silly, frothy, potentially (too?) fanservicey slice-of-life with some monster girls thrown in for flavor. What I didn’t expect was for there to be even the slightest suggestion of an unsettling backdrop to the story. While this isn’t an unwelcome variation on the theme, I’m concerned that the theme of the series might turn out to be a little bit too unsavory for my tastes.

Himeno and Nozomi kiss during practice for the class play. Copyright 2017 (c) Emon Animation Company

The first half of this episode is devoted to a story event already in progress. The students are putting on a romantic short play, and Himeno is tapped to play the princess. The gag is that this has been the role she’s played since she was in kindergarten, possibly due to a pun on her name (the “Hime” in “Himeno” meaning “princess”), but more than likely due to her good looks and delicate personality. There’s a vaguely comedic mix up when a male student tries to position himself in the role of the prince but is found out and one of Hime’s female friends gets the role instead (allowing for a girl-girl smooch that seems perfectly aimed at a presumed straight male audience hankering for some yuri action), as well as a moment of tension when the set piece upon which Hime stands collapses under her weight (she is half horse, after all). It’s mostly kind of goofy and dumb, and serves mostly to introduce the main characters and make a few jokes at the expense of the titular centaur.

The second half of the episode, though, has a much more sinister undercurrent. In science class, the characters learn about human evolution from their teacher. All the humanoid variants in their world are the result of fish that evolved to have six fins, which began mammals with six legs, and eventually humans with several different varieties of additional limbs, horns, tails, and other accouterments. Much like our own society, these various differences had the effect of causing discord and discrimination among the different tribes. This is all mildly interesting, and even sort of funny in that the assertion is made that four-limbed humans would only have been different in their skin color rather than their overall body composition, from which no sort of discrimination could possibly have resulted. Perhaps the creepiest part of this whole line of exposition occurs while two very shady individuals monitor the classroom from outside the door. Their faces are mostly hidden but they appear to be listening intently to what the teacher is saying. The line she speaks seems perfectly rehearsed; she proclaims that equality is ultimately more important than anything else, including civil rights. Barring the fact that those two things are pretty darned related, in my opinion, the entire scene feels like some sort of bizarre authoritarian propaganda report. And the creepy men outside the door seem pretty pleased by it.

Big Brother is watching. Copyright 2017 (c) Emon Animation Company

It’s difficult to know exactly how these statements are meant to come across. I interpret them as indicative of some kind of extremely subtle dystopian society, where personal freedoms have been traded for peace and control, and that unsettles me. I’m not sure if the creator is making these statements to criticize moves to legislate equality, as have been done via various civil rights acts in real life (to varying degrees of actual success); while I might interpret these laws as meant to protect marginalized groups via the (imperfect) legal system, others (wrongfully) might think that they’re being instituted to give some people “special treatment” (ugh). It could also be a statement about the harm that’s done when we’re made to think of everyone’s experiences as being the same, when in fact they’re very different based on a number of factors. There’s a large chance that I’m overthinking a small aspect of an otherwise goofy show, but I think there’s also the potential that the show is making an attempt to be political, and I have the feeling if it goes that route it’s going to be really ham-handed about it.

A third potential interpretation, though, might not end up too bad. The creator could have set the story anywhere, but chose to use a high school as the backdrop for the story. We always hear about how the Japanese school system trains students in conformity and emphasizes sameness and group-think in order to maintain harmony. Knowing even what little we already know about what’s going on in the background of this society, that setup sounds kind of familiar, no? There are already tons of anime, manga, and films that criticize this type of school environment, so it’s definitely not the first (and probably not the best, either). But it does result in kind of an interesting variation on “cute girls with animal ears doing stuff,” so that’s a plus.

The show wastes no time getting to the yuri bait. Copyright 2017 (c) Emon Animation Company

Of course, there’s still a hefty dose of “cute girls with animal ears doing stuff,” for good or ill. There are some errant panty shots, a few suggestive yuri situations (basically the first shot of the show is two girls kissing each-other on the lips… but it’s okay because they’re in a play together), and lots of “girl talk” that feels pretty manufactured and occasionally needlessly voyeuristic about body functions. I’m sure we all have questions about how centaurs wipe their butts after going to the bathroom, but I don’t need a fantasy anime series to go into detail about those things when I just want to watch something dumb and silly. The up side, though, is that the characters are actually pretty cute. Somehow Himeno seems delicate despite being three times the size of her friends, and that in itself is amusing.

The character designs are cute, but the animation quality is mostly just serviceable. This is another Chinese partnership anime, and while this one in particular doesn’t feel like it was transported straight from the late 1990’s, I feel sad that seeing a Chinese hand in the production still seems to mean that the show is lacking in quality control somewhere or that the show isn’t given the resources and the time it might deserve. Then again, there are plenty of Japanese (and American) shows with similar issues, so perhaps picking on China in particular is wrongheaded of me.

This show isn’t life-changing and I don’t think it’s that “holy grail” monster girl anime that I’ve been wishing for ever since Monster Musume turned out to be a horny sex-fest of uncomfortable proportions. But if A Centaur’s Life devotes some time to the issues of its broader society (I’m not sure how much the manga goes into it, either), I think it could be kind of interesting in spite of its various issues.

Pros: The story might have more depth than originally indicated. The characters are pretty cute.

Cons: There’s some fanservice that doesn’t sit well with me and seems like yuri bait. The overall visual quality isn’t great. It’s hard to say if the setting and authoritarian rules might be suggesting something worse than “the Japanese school system sucks.”

Grade: B-

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First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2017 First Impressions – Restaurant to Another World/Isekai Shokudou

A restaurant called “Yōshoku no Nekoya” (Western Cuisine Cat Restaurant), which is located on the first basement floor of a building at a corner of a shopping district near an office area. While it normally feeds salarymen, there is a secret in Nekoya. Every Saturday when the shop takes a day off, Nekoya is teeming full of “special customers.” For the office workers, it is a familiar place with familiar dishes, but for these Saturday customers — “people from that world” — it is nothing but cuisine never seen or heard before. – ANN

Copyright 2017 (c) Silver Link

Streaming: Crunchyroll, with Simuldub on Funimation

Episodes: TBA

Source: Novel Series

Episode 1 Summary: Nestled somewhere in the city is a mysterious restaurant serving “Western” cuisine. What Western really means in this context is anyone’s guess; generally anything not “Japanese” in origin, coming from somewhere across the ocean, might be considered Western. What’s special about this restaurant, a little hole-in-the-wall with a cat on the door, is that one day a week its door opens into the “other world,” and fantastic creatures including elves, demons, werewolves, and even dragons enter to taste Earth’s delicacies. On one of these special days, a young demon named Aletta wanders into the restaurant and, hungry from not having any money or a place to stay, eats an entire pot of corn potage before falling asleep. Rather than punish her, the restaurant’s chef lets Aletta shower and then gives her a job as a waitress for the customers from another world.

Impressions: As a fan of both relatively-plotless low stakes anime series and anime revolving around food and drink, Restaurant to Another World is a rare instance of something that seems perfectly constructed to scratch multiple itches. The show also puts a bit of a twist on the popular Isekai fantasy anime subgenre by bringing the “other world” into ours, rather than allowing yet another character-less teenage guy have all the fun in a fantasy world of his imagination and invention. There’s a lot stacked in this show’s favor, and so far I’m having mostly positive feelings.

Delicious, glistening teriyaki chicken. Copyright 2017 (c) Silver Link

The dishes featured in this episode aren’t necessarily anything out of the ordinary; within the first few minutes we get to see restaurant customers ingest teriyaki chicken, curry rice, katsudon, and beef stew (while also arguing about which goes best with white rice). This might seem like a fairly typical conversation to be had among friends, but the twist is that, to the individuals sampling these dishes, these relatively commonplace foods are strange, delicious delicacies from our world that aren’t easily obtained in their own. There are times where I’ve daydreamed about what it might be like for someone from our distant past on Earth to be brought suddenly into the present day; what might they think about our technological progress or the strangeness of our popular culture as compared to our own? What’s fun about this episode (and by extension, likely the series as a whole) is that it speculates on the reactions of people to whom our world, customs, and favorite foods are completely foreign. It’s difficult to say exactly what a lizard man might think about the ways in which we prepare chicken, but I appreciate that someone has tried to speculate.

The first episode also devotes a little time to the subject of prejudice, and how even a world about which we might fantasize could still have some of the same types of discrimination that we’re still working hard to identify and mitigate. The way that this is approached is pretty obvious and somewhat ham-handed; Aletta is a demon, and so the humans of her world don’t want to be around her or let her have a job despite her harmlessness. It’s the type of situation that pretty much anyone, aside from the most fervent racists, would identify as being wrong, so there’s a definite lack of nuance that doesn’t result in the type of meaty commentary that the creators might think that they’re providing, but I’d be curious to know if it’s a subject that comes up again and if so, whether it’s examined in more depth.

Aletta starts her new job at the restaurant. Copyright 2017 (c) Silver Link

I’m a bit amused by where the show’s staff seems to have devoted the most visual resources. Most of the character animation is functional but unremarkable. Even the depiction of what seems to be a relatively important (and incredibly sexy) character, the female dragon who seems to own the magic restaurant door as one of her many treasures, is mostly serviceable rather than eye-popping. But when it comes to the food, I can’t say I have any complaints. The glistening, darkened skin of the chicken, the crunchy fried katsu coating, the fluffiness of the fried eggs… almost all the food we get to see throughout the episode is incredibly appetizing and makes me want to pull out the pots and pans and cook up a feast for myself. I may not have been hungry before I started watching, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t develop a bit of an appetite after getting an eyeful of juicy deliciousness.

Unfortunately (and along those same lines, to some extent), this anime suffers from something that I’ve refrained from commenting on too much as of late (because of reasons). Though the show’s focus isn’t exactly on the humanoid characters for the most part, it seems like there’s an exception when it comes to the women of the show. Both Aletta, one of the few named characters, and the powerful dragon who seems to have ownership over the restaurant, are both subject at various points in the episode to the camera leering over their questionably-necessary nudity. I’ve gone from a near zero-tolerance policy on this kind of material to something of a more grudging acceptance of it in certain small amounts (believe me, when you’ve seen some of the vile anime I’ve seen throughout my time as an amateur reviewer of anime, there are a lot of things that suddenly become tame in comparison), but there’s never a point at which it doesn’t rankle me a little bit, and in this case it feels really out of place. The narrative doesn’t seem constructed to appeal to a primarily straight male audience otherwise; on the contrary, it’s these types of iyashi-kei series that I often think of as being almost universal in their potential appeal. So why waste multiple camera shots lingering over nude bodies when there isn’t otherwise a focus on titillation? It’s frustrating and jarring in a way that it wouldn’t be if this were just another in the endless string of fanservice vehicles.

All of our faves are problematic, though, and while I can’t quite place this premiere among my favorites yet, I do think the basic setup allows for something mostly pleasant and kind of unique to come. If the show can play to its strengths and stick to the food rather than the fanservice, I think this could be a nice low-key addition to my Summer queue.

Pros: The food looks delicious – it’ll whet your appetite! The show might have something to say about prejudice (albeit in a simplistic way).

Cons: There are several lingering shots over female nudity that are distracting and don’t serve a purpose.

Grade: B-

Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2017 First Impressions – ACCA: 13 Territory Inspection Department

In a world separated into 13 wards, with each ward having an observation division controlled by the organization known as “ACCA.” Jean is known as the craftiest member of ACCA. – ANN

Streaming at: Crunchyroll

Number of Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Summary of Episode 1: The Dowa kingdom has been experiencing a period of unprecedented peace for many years. The king is celebrating his ninety-ninth birthday and there are no signs of political unrest. This makes the government’s observational division, known as “ACCA” obsolete, or so say those in charge; without a need to utilize the employees of ACCA to help maintain political control, why not just trim the budget and get rid of them? Jean Otus is one of ACCA’s most recognizable members, known as the “cigarette peddler” for indulging in a smoke here and there while on the job. ACCA’s imminent closure doesn’t come as a surprise to Jean, and he has the family business to fall back on. But after being sent out on an audit and discovering some hints of low-level corruption within his organization, he learns that ACCA is to remain open. Jean also begins to notice that he himself is under observation. What could possibly be churning behind the scenes to prompt the change?

Impressions: Though my interest in anime and manga tends to be pretty broad, I do have a small stable of creators whose work I follow more closely. Most of these are the more auteur-style anime directors, such as Masaaki Yuasa, or Akiyuki Shinbo (though his actual directorial involvement is questionable – I just really like the Shaft aesthetic so take that how you will). Natsume Ono is one of the few manga-ka whose body of work has really resonated with me, though unlike Yuasa her particular style is a bit harder to define. Aside from her character designs, which most people can identify by their general lankiness and round, almost protruding eyes, the settings for her stories run the gamut from Asia (modern and historical), to Europe, to the fictionalized nation depicted in ACCA. The unifying trait between her many disparate works is difficult to point out from the surface, but it’s definitely there in the pacing and feel of her stories – they all tend to depict adult characters involved in often mundane, slow-burn drama (romantic or otherwise). This type of character-based drama is something I seek out, and it appears that ACCA will likely demonstrate that sort of structure. In short, ACCA, with its lackadaisical pacing and (currently) low-stakes drama is (maybe counter intuitively) just the kind of thing that gets me going. That said, this is also the type of opening episode that’s likely to turn away a large portion of the anime-viewing audience, because it doesn’t have a lot to offer upfront.

Very little happens in this episode, plot-wise. We’re introduced to the setting via a fairly standard “as you know…” info-dump, presented to a sub-set of characters who would likely not need to hear the basic breakdown of how their society works. I’m always a little bit amused when this happens, as the Japanese language is based so much around inferences and indirect, implied meaning; it’s always seemed odd to me that the plots of so many anime are blurted-out awkwardly rather than revealed organically. In any case, we’re introduced to Jean Otus, a protagonist with a cool demeanor who leads a relatively unassuming life. He shares an apartment with his sister; their family serve as landlords for their luxury apartment building, which they’d otherwise be unable to afford. Jean is good at his job as an ACCA observer, and he’s also known for his smoking habit (tobacco is an expensive luxury in their society).

The primary bit of drama in this episode comes as the result of one of Jean’s audits, during which he discovers some low-level illegal activity cropping up from within the organization. The resulting kerfluffle isn’t huge – even the highers-up don’t appear to be all that concerned about it – but during the fallout it’s revealed that Jean is actually surrounded by an air of suspicion and that there are some people in positions of power that suspect him of some sort of wrongdoing. He remarks that he feels as though he’s being watched, and while it’s not quite obvious whether or not anyone is yet, it’s at this point that the show establishes an unsettled feeling in the viewer. Is this setting really so peaceful and bland? Will the entire series be just a serialized account of Jean’s travels with bureaucratic commentary thrown in? I doubt it. There’s also an odd sort of separation between the audience and Jean right from the get-go. While he’s ostensibly the focal character, it feels as if we’re looking at him from the outside, seeing him from the POV of the other characters around him. It’s a bit disorienting, but I can’t help feel like it’s intentional.

This seems to me like the type of anime where the viewer really has to be willing to read between the lines to gain a sense of what the story might involve. I’ve seen quite a few complaints aimed at ACCA about how “nothing happens in the first episode,” and yet to me the entire set up seems inherently intriguing and I feel like the groundwork is solidly in place. I also admittedly enjoyed watching Jean perform his mundane job duties, since my day job sometimes involves auditing and performing tasks in line with strict procedural outlines, so there’s a certain familiarity there that I’m guessing maybe a lot of anime fans might not connect with as well. This isn’t to say that I think I have every detail of the show nailed down simply because I’m an adult with a compliance-focused job – I’m definitely left with a lot of questions on my mind, too, and I feel like there are still a lot of hidden details that haven’t come to light. But rather than being frustrated about that or feeling as though the show hasn’t provided me something to which I’m entitled, I feel drawn in by the mystery and even just the sheer openness of the various directions the series could take. I’ve never been shy about saying that I find very few anime series directly relateable, since most anime just isn’t made to directly appeal to adult audiences. When something like this comes along that seems to be aiming for more mature appeal, I just don’t feel bad about it.

If I had to point out something that I did find frustrating, it would probably be the occasional tonal shifts throughout the episode. The bulk of the episode reads as tonally serious to me, not in the sense that major things of gravity are happening all the time, but this definitely isn’t meant to be a funny series. There are a couple of scenes, though, that read more like an office ensemble slice-of-life comedy, since several of Jean’s coworkers are very focused on their ten o’ clock break time and eating cakes from the local patisserie. These scenes do a good job of establishing how mundane things currently are, but I find that it’s rare when comedy and drama in anime truly mesh, so while it wasn’t a complete turn off, it was a little eye-rolling.

If I haven’t made it clear by now, I’ve pretty much already bought into what this anime series is selling. That’s a confidence that only really comes as a result of having meshed with the author’s style many times in the past and appreciating being in the target demographic for once. I will say, though, if I were trying to trick an apprehensive fan into giving this show a try, I’d definitely mention that the series director also directed the (also quite excellent) One Punch Man. It’s a bit tricksy, since the shows otherwise have nothing to do with one-another and are profoundly different in plot and style, but I’m admittedly kind of hoping that we might get some moments of very neat, more subdued character animation out of the deal. From what I understand, people like working with Shingo Yamamoto, so we’ll see.

There are times where I get kind of bummed that other fans don’t seem to get much out of certain anime series as I do (*cough* The Lost Village *cough*), but there are also times where I completely understand, and I’m not too torn up about it. This is one of those times. I really appreciate the slow pace and the little mysterious bits floating beneath the surface, but a lot of people likely won’t. I’m looking forward to seeing the story unfold.

Pros: It has a unique look and setting. There are inklings of unrest beneath the calm exterior. There’s a level of separation between the viewer and the main character that feels somewhat intentional.

Cons: There are a few tonal shifts that seem unnatural. There’s some “as you know…” info-dumping. The episode is slow-paced and not very much “plot-y” stuff happens to draw people in.

Grade: B

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First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2017 First Impressions – Interviews With Monster Girls

Tetsuo Takahashi is a teacher working at Shibasaki High School and specializing in the physiological studies of demi-humans. His students include Akira Takanashi, a vampire and lover of tomato juice; Kyōko Machi, a dullahan; and Yuki Kusakabe, a yuki-onna. The school also employs math teacher Sakie Satō, a succubus. – ANN

Streaming At: Crunchyroll

Number of Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode 1 Summary: The new school year is starting, and biology teacher Takahashi-sensei is starting to think about doing some work on his graduate thesis. He’s nurtured an interest in Demi-humans for a while now, and though they’re no longer a persecuted sub-section of humanity, they can be a little hard to find. Takahashi is resigned to the fact that he’ll have to do some legwork to find Demi-humans willing to sit with him and be interviewed. At least, that’s what he thinks until realizing in short order that he’s literally surrounded Demi-humans in school. The school’s new math teacher, Satou-sensei, is a succubus who doesn’t exhibit many of the stereotypical traits one might expect of such a sexually-focused being. There is also a vampire, a dullahan (an individual whose head is separate from their body), and a snow woman (a Japanese yokai) among the student body, and none of them keep completely hidden. After opening up a line of communication with outgoing Hikari, a goofy vampire with a taste for tomato juice, Takanashi-sensei starts to gain some insight into these people he has thus far only been observing from afar.

Impressions: Monster girls seem to be anime fandom’s current fetish-du-jour, and while I do somewhat share that affinity, I haven’t really been impressed by why anime has had to offer so far related to the topic. Specifically, I found Monster Musume, the de facto flagship monster girl title, to be uncomfortably weird and sexual without actually being sexy. It gave an in-universe reason why the main characters weren’t supposed to have sex, but then pushed it anyway, making everything feel very discordant and uncomfortable in the process. Interviews With Monster Girls takes a different angle and removes the vast majority of the sexual content in favor of focusing more on the day-to-day culture of monster girls in the process. For me, at least, this makes the resulting product a lot more pleasant and endearing.

I think it was the correct choice to focus on a character like Hikari first. I love how her straightforward and outgoing nature serves to lay everything out right away. There’s a deceptively simple scene partway through the episode where Machi, the dullahan, is talking with some friends in class, and they conspicuously avoid the topic of her detached head. I think this is something that many people are inclined to do, especially when they exist within the majority (racially, sexually, able-bodied, size-wise, etc.) – they feel safer and as if they’re being more polite if they just don’t call attention to the differences expressed by the people around them. “I don’t see color” is one of the phrases that comes to my mind, and represents the inability for the majority to acknowledge how differences affect those around them (especially negatively). Hikari comes back later on and blasts straight on through that veil of propriety, talking with Machi about keeping track of her head on the bus while also carrying her school bag, and other things that would likely affect someone with disconnected body parts. It’s not just an ice-breaking moment, it also seems to prompt at least one of Machi’s classmates to “get over it” and stop treating her with kid gloves.

Hikari’s first one-on-one with Takahashi-sensei is entertaining as well; when he suggests that her latent blood-sucking fascination that’s focused on Kusakabe (the snow woman – vampires get hot easily and a snow-woman’s body is nice and cold) could be interpreted as erotic, she reacts like many teenagers would when it’s suggested that they actually have some sort of budding sexual feeling – namely with embarrassed indignation. While I think that anime often goes in the wrong direction when specifically portraying women’s sexuality, depicting is as being comprised primarily of shame and humiliation (gross), I think this scene has the right combination of innocence, humor, and respect for Hikari as a character to steer it away from that particular cliff side. She seems to me very genuinely like a teenager just beginning to confront some of those complicated emotions while still being unable to truly define what they are; the fact that the scene comes across as humorous rather than disgusting gives me hope that the show will continue in the right direction.

It’s worth mentioning as well that, despite being a token male surrounded by young women, Takahashi-sensei doesn’t seem to be serving the role of harem lead, which is refreshing. His interests in Demi-Human culture seem to be without ulterior motive; even when prodding Hikari about her bloodlust I didn’t interpret him as behaving inappropriately. This is, of course, up to every viewer to construe in their own way and I suspect that, as usual, life experience and comfort level with the general topic will play a large role here. But speaking for myself, I felt that his character and interactions stayed well within the realm of appropriateness and scientific inquiry, which left me feeling pretty good about the whole thing.

I’m a bit less sure of this when it comes to Satou-sensei, the succubus. Succubi are beings explicitly defined by their sexual nature, so Satou’s avoidance of the subject all together via her choices to dress in shapeless clothing and avoid direct contact with other adults gives me the feeling that there actually is some sort of shame involved in how she feels about herself. It’s clear that this is all intended as a joke based around subverting expectations, and that Satou means to avoid the trouble of any misunderstandings or sticky situations (pun not intended) related to who she is, but I’m wary that this quest for a one-note gag will serve to define her character. I would much rather hear her talk about what it’s like to be a succubus than see her continually running out of the room to avoid conflict.

Aside from the other characters, who thus far haven’t received a lot of screen time or focus, the charm of this episode comes from the little bits and pieces we get to hear about how Demi-Humans or “Demis” exist within human society. I think this is more the type of material that I really wanted from Monster Musume, but which was hidden beneath all of the goofy sex stuff. I like to hear about the fictional cultural aspects of the different monsters, as well as some of the more boring bureaucratic drudgery that comes along with being a community within a broader culture, examined in such a way as to not be directly related to any real culture (hey, anime isn’t subtle entertainment; for various I don’t usually trust it to handle racism, sexism, or any other “ism” properly). For example, I’m by no means a vampire “fan,” but the logistics of vampirism are always a question that I have when vampires are part of the equation. Sometimes the logistics are resoundingly hopeless, as with the anime Shiki – the existence of vampires is ultimately unsustainable because humans are consumed and more vampires are created at a pace that outpaces human reproduction and replacement. In short, everyone ends up sad. In the case of this show’s universe, vampires are provided a blood stipend by the government each month (assumed to be sourced from donations) and can also exist on regular food. Hikari in particular likes tomato juice since drinking it roughly replicates the “feel” of ingesting blood. It’s little fact snippets like that which I think will maintain my interest even if the show sticks mainly to regular slice-of-life stuff.

I wasn’t expecting much from this, so color me pleasantly surprised that Interviews with Monster Girls was so charming and cute in its introductory moments. I’m happy that monster girls have become popular enough at this point that there are  shows revolving around them that don’t rely directly on fanservice and misguided in-your-face sexualization. I’m hopeful that this show will continue to be a fun slice-of-life outing with some creative cultural inventions and endearing characters (that just happen to live a slightly different existence than you or me).

Pros: The show nudges up to the topic of budding sexuality without being gross. There’s a moment that portrays the dominant culture’s discomfort with racial otherness in a surprisingly subtle and nuanced way. The characters are very cute and charming.

Cons: I question the portrayal of the succubus character, who seems to be afraid or ashamed of her sexuality (or others’ perception of it).

Grade: B

Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2016 First Impressions – Sweetness and Lightning

Sweetness and Lightning CoverMath teacher Kōhei Inuzuka is a widower with a young daughter named Tsumugi. Inuzuka isn’t adept in the kitchen but with the help of his student Kotori Iida and his daughter, he embarks on a culinary adventure. – ANN

Streaming at: Crunchyroll

Number of Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Summary of Episode 1: Kyouhei Inuzuka is a high school teacher, but he’s also a single father to his young daughter, Tsumugi. It’s been six months since his wife died, and he’s just trying to take each day one day at a time and make sure he can take care of Tsumugi. Unfortunately, he’s often out late and more often than not resorts to grabbing convenience store bento for dinner. While out in the park flower-viewing, they happen upon a young lady weeping over her rice balls. She’s not sad, just moved to tears over the delicious food that her busy mother prepared. It just so happens that her mother owns a restaurant, and she passes along a business card. A couple of days later, Tsumugi is really feeling sad over the lack of home-cooked meals at their house, so Kyouhei does something impulsive – he races to the restaurant, daughter in tow, in order to provide something warm and nourishing. One problem – the owner is out and the restaurant is technically closed for the day, but Kotori, the owner’s daughter and coincidentally one of Kyouhei’s students, offers to cook up something simple. That night, they enjoy hot rice together, and Kotori asks that they join forces and learn to cook with one-another.

SweetnessLightning01
Kyouhei pieces together Tsumugi’s lunch using store-bought pre-prepped side dishes.

Impressions: I have a major soft spot for stories that involve parenting and genuinely cute kids. Not because I have any of my own, but likely because it’s such a unique occurrence in anime. I remain a big fan of Bunny Drop (hey, it was a really excellent 11-episode anime and an equally good 4 volume manga!), enjoyed Kotetsu’s relationship with his daughter in Tiger & Bunny, and in general am impressed when the parental relationship is depicted as being substantial rather than as some afterthought in an anime full of teenagers (I don’t really have time to get into the related issue of dead moms in anime, but that’s certainly something to note). In any case, anime series that consider the parents’ point of view and depict that trials of trying to bring up a young person in an environment which makes that difficult are some of the anime I find appealing.

So far this show has a lot going for it in that regard. Kyouhei is depicted as a genuinely good person who has his daughter’s best interests at heart. It’s the specifics of their situation, as well as perhaps some residual depression following the death of his wife, that creates a lot of challenges for him to try to overcome. For the most part, Kyouhei seems fairly on top of everyday life; he makes plans to do the laundry with Tsumugi that weekend, they get out of the house to spend time together, he gets her dressed and out the door in the morning and generally arrives in time to pick her up from daycare. In short, he’s loving and competent, and while obviously any single parent situation is difficult to manage, there’s a decent amount of realism in his ability to juggle all these things and it’s clear that Tsumugi is grateful.

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A cell phone shot of Tsumugi during her first (and only) experience with dad’s cooking.

What left an impression on me after the first episode, though, is its (and by extension, the show’s) focus on food and meals as they relate to family life. In flashback, we learn that Kyouhei’s late wife Tae was quite the experimental chef, and her meals were beloved in the household. Because of the food lifestyle I (mostly) adhere to, I’m used to hearing the refrain that “food is fuel” and that we should strive to remove the emotional aspect from it (as in, try to stop emotional eating and listen to your body’s hunger signals instead). That’s fine on a logical level, but for me in particular food and meals have always served the purpose of showing love to those I care about and bringing together friends and family around a shared table. Tsumugi is a generally happy, bubbly youngster, but her sadness at eating convenience store bento boxes while her dad catches up on his classroom work is obvious. To her, meals are something that she wants to share with family, and a home-cooked meal trumps anything from the microwave (though her dad’s early attempts at home cooking so far have left a little to be desired, judging by her reported reaction).

I think this episode does a good job of explaining (without explicitly doing so) why Kyouhei hasn’t taken up cooking, and in fact has outright avoided the task. Aside from the fact that he doesn’t have much cooking experience and his first attempt was a major bomb (seriously, that photo of Tsumugi making a disgusted face is hilarious), it becomes clear that the subject of cooking is too strong a reminder of what’s missing now that his wife is gone. Trying to do something that was so closely associated with someone who’s now gone has got to be incredibly painful; each dish, whether successful or a failure, is just another way of pointing out the empty space left behind. It wouldn’t be unusual for Kyouhei to avoid cooking out of respect for his wife’s memory and a desire to keep from feeling as though he were trying to replace her. All of this is interpreted from what’s written between the lines; unlike a lot of anime, this one so far is a little bit more “show” and a little less “tell,” which in itself is nice.

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Kotori crying while eating in the park.

Lest everyone think this is a show all about doom and gloom and death, let me mention that I found the first episode to be incredibly cute and also pretty funny. Tsumugi is at that particular age where emotions are still shared right out in the open, and social norms don’t necessarily play a large factor in everyday interactions. She says what’s on her mind and expresses her feelings without worrying what others might think, and that’s one of the things I find cutest about little kids (well, until their emotions go into overdrive and devolve into tantrums; then I’m quick to leave the area). I enjoyed how she declares her love for her dad, and also how she had no qualms about approaching Kotori (at that time a total stranger) in the park to comfort her and ask why she was crying. There’s just something really heartwarming about the earnestness of children that gives me that warmhearted feeling.

I’m guessing that any “concerns” about the direction of this show that one might have would be due to the fact that one of the three main characters is a high school student of Kyouhei’s. Maybe it’s my cynicism talking, or maybe it’s just anime’s propensity for being willing to go in distasteful directions, but I’m wary of the fact that Kotori is likely going to be spending a lot of time with Kyouhei and possibly filling part of the role that Kyouhei’s wife used to and of the fact that the Wikipedia entry references Kotori’s possible crush on her teacher. The anime seems fairly cute and innocent so far, and Kotori’s attitude seems innocent enough, but I’ve been burned in the past and just don’t want such a cute series to go down that dark road.

I’ve been feeling kind of crappy the last few days (bad allergies are keeping me medicated-up and I’m having a hard time staying awake and focusing on anything), so it was nice to take a moment to sit down with something that’s very cute and heartwarming while trying to unwind. For now, rather than worry about what direction it will take, I’m going to accept the show at face value and just appreciate the fact that anime is a medium with so much variety in story and character and that there are still series that are made to appeal to people my age. I was impressed with the first episode’s ability to demonstrate its cuteness without being overly saccharine, as well as how well I gained a window into the protagonist’s feelings. I’m calling it – “feel-good anime of the season.”

Pros: Kyouhei’s life and choices are explained well through the narrative. The episode is genuinely cute and heartwarming.

Cons: Kotori’s “crush” on Kyouhei, though mostly unexplored thus far, has me feeling wary.

Grade: B+

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