A Jackass with Opinions

I watch the first episode of each new anime and write about it here. Nothing past the first episode will be spoiled.

[i-hate-anime]

Maybe I’ll actually try to use this dumb blog again. I want somewhere to complain about Mieruko-chan.

[i-hate-anime]

Deca-Dence

Monsters have driven humans to the brink of extinction. The only surviving humans live on a mobile city known as Deca-Dence. Warriors known as Gears use flight equipment to defend the city from monsters, while the inhabitants of the city, Tankers, take on the support roles.

Natsume dreamt of becoming a gear, but an injury as a child disqualified her and she works in armor repair instead. Her boss is a quiet, surly man who is a lot more than meets the eye... especially in regards to his work in the shadows.

Very interesting.

Overall this episode introduced the world and characters very naturally. Despite the classroom scene being some clumsy exposition, it did a great job with everything else.

Absolutely stunning animation. I'm not expecting many battle scenes with that quality, but each episode will still be beautiful. Natsume's expressions are a joy to behold.

Natsume is immediately likeable, as is her boss Katsuragi. The character and creature designs are varied and aesthetically pleasing.

The music at the end felt out of place to me, along with the concept of the city punching monsters to death with a giant fist. But the music towards the end of the action piece was pretty good.

Even without the mystery of what is really going on in the world, this would make a good story. Throw that intrigue in and it's even better.

I really don't have much to criticize. It's thoroughly good.

[i-hate-anime]

The God of High School

While dark political machinations and otherworldy powers lurk outside the public's perception, Jin enters a competition known as God of High School, an ostensibly martial arts tournament where high school students use any method or weapon at their disposal to fight and defeat each other.

Very basic action bonanza. Possibly a high school power wank.

Take a middle schooler and introduce him to some very action-oriented, entry-level anime. Now, tell that kid to make the coolest anime ever. This is what God of High School feels like.

Everything screams immaturity.

I loathe the character designs. I knew I wouldn't like this anime the moment I saw the main character. He looks like the worst generic high school powerwank guy ever.

There's of course a girl competing in a martial arts tournament wearing a skirt, but is still bashful about people seeing up her skirt.

Why do characters have bracelets with HP values and their level? This is the most out of place "video game in real life" I think I've ever seen.

As far as I can tell, I could enter this tournament with a shotgun and just shoot my opponent in every match and win.

There does not need to be magic powers in addition to everything else. But there are.

A pet peeve of mine is that when they realize it's a battle royale, nobody asks the test administrators how victors will be determined. How many advance past this fight? Is it more important to last until the end, or take out more enemies?

The selling point is supposed to be the animation, which is... honestly I don't like it. Things move around with a lot of frames, but there should be more to the visuals than that. I was going to compare this to Chinese anime quality, but to actually I like Chinese animation more than this. Chinese animation feels like passion trying to overcome a lack of experience, while this feels like a lot of experience disguising a lack of heart.

The action very frequently involves people leaping dramatically into a different position in a few frames. The "camera" can be erratic at the same time, maybe to make those jumps look better, but it gets jarring.

It uses a lot of close-ups to put fighters out of the frame so there's less to animate. This also makes action hard to follow.

Most importantly, there's nothing of substance to animate. The fight choreography is awful. "Choreography" might be giving it more credit than the show is due. It's mostly just large flailing movements and shouting.

I think that this sounds like I despise God of High School, but honestly it's more that I find it mediocre drivel. It has some popcorn entertainment value, and one or two funny moments. It could have been a lot worse.

[i-hate-anime]

Monster Girl Doctor

In a world where humanoid monsters coexist peacefully with mankind, the human Dr. Glenn and lamia Sapphee run a clinic specialized in treating monsters. Glenn goes beyond a doctor's responsibility to help his patients with whatever problems they have.

Trash.

I almost called it a hentai, but that's an insult to hentai. However, hentai is what this wants to be. It begins with the doctor fondling a minotaur woman's breasts while she pants and moans. At one point, the centaur woman is moaning, so the lamia uses her tail to plug the centaur's mouth. It's tasteless, honestly.

There's not any redeeming qualities in this. I wasn't a fan of Ishozuku Reviewers but I could at least see the appeal. This has no appeal. Any attempt at humor is a gag that was done to death last decade. It's not that full of fanservice either. It's most certainly not a compelling story with complex characters.

Don't waste your time on this one.

[i-hate-anime]

The Misfit of Demon King Academy

Alright I'm using English names, or nicknames, from now on. This proper title is ridiculous.

Two thousand years ago, the demon king wiped out the gods, and humans, and then left the world to be inherited by his descendants. Now, he has reincarnated and enters the Demon King Academy, where he can prove who he is.

He immediately makes an enemy of the nobility, and after being attacked, he is disappointed to learn that modern demons have lost much of their former strength.

A passable power fantasy.

Anos, the main character and reincarnated demon king, is unfortunately the type of overpowered protagonist who will flaunt his power and then never truly use it. Where he could erase his attackers with barely an effort, he instead lets himself be attacked so he can try to teach everyone a lesson about family. The people who's lives he is sparing most definitely deserve to die. It's infuriating. The episode ends with everything cheery and hunky-dory.

Aside from how utterly generic that aspect of Anos is, the characters aren't half bad. Anos is blunt, straightforward, and somewhat twisted. The female lead Misha is surprisingly charming, and their relationship is significantly more likeable than I would have expected from this kind of anime.

I am concerned that there is no hint of plot in this episode. Nothing was really set up to be a goal for Anos. It feels like it might end up being way too much of a high school anime.

If you like power fantasy anime, it's not bad. Though it's not a stand-out, either. If you don't enjoy the OP MC trope, there's really nothing for you here.

[i-hate-anime]

Lapis Re:LiGHTs

Why can animes not have normal titles? What is with the capitalization?

Country girl of perhaps some importance, Tiara travels to the city to enroll in an academy for witches. There she can learn any magic she likes, from stoneskin to levitation to exploding arrows.

She's assigned into the same group as her longtime friend, Rosetta. Then she learns that the all of them, Tiara included, are going to be expelled unless everyone's grades improve.

Bog Standard CGDCT

The girls, characters, and dynamics between them are all very generic CGDCT tropes. It's not especially cute or funny. The setting is at least interesting, but that doesn't help a lot.

Exposition is rather clumsily done and the plot threads introduced in the first episode look very predictable.

Apparently it's going to become an idol anime too. That's... something.

Not remarkable but if you really like CGDCT it's not bad either. Personally I'd rank it below Koisuru Asteroid, if that helps.

[i-hate-anime]

Dokyuu Hentai HxEros

The whiplash I got from watching Fire Force and then this.

Aliens have semi-secretly invaded Earth to consume the will of humans to procreate. Saving humanity from extinction, HxEros fight by harnessing their own erotic energy into power (at the cost of vaporizing their clothing).

Awfully Generic.

To the surprise of no-one, I'm sure. It does have a few moments that are funny, like when an alien explodes because the girl is too incredibly lewd. Really, it's only ever funny because it's so bad. And also because of the boob physics.

The few hilarious moments are drowning in a sea of tedium. It's filled with the overused tropes that bog down every bad semi-echhi high school anime. Y'know the one where the girl hits the guy for basically no reason? Like that.

The fanservice isn't really that great either. It's not particularly well drawn, nor memorable. Except, uh, except for the boob physics.

You and I know what this show is. It's an excuse to have girls on screen being naked. Just go watch a hentai, my friend.

[i-hate-anime]

Olympia Kyklos

Oh shit apparently this aired and I didn't notice.

Dude just wants to paint in Ancient Greece, but while being hounded to join the Olympics he gets struck by lightning and time travels to 1964 Tokyo.

Kinda weird, kinda funny.

Seeing clay animation is at the least pretty cool. Especially with the over-exaggerated anime facial expressions. The humor is mostly typical, but with some unexpected moments.

The whole thing is very campy. If you like campy humor, check out episode 1. It's only five minutes long.

[i-hate-anime]

Great Pretender

Masato prides himself as the greatest conman in Japan, which he may or may not be. He's got skills for sure, but his targets are foreigners and the elderly.

But he is bested when he tries to swindle Laurent, a foreigner, and plays right into Laurent's hands. Manipulated into becoming Laurent's assistant in LA, Masato is thrown into the deep end when they start by scamming the mafia.

Flashy and over the top without much substance.

This episode looks good, visually. It goes very over the top at times. I get the feeling Netflix threw a lot of money at the studio and told them to go overboard.

Behind the spectacle it is incredibly empty. At least, that's the feeling I get. It's even hard to give this a proper rating because I feel like I only saw half an episode worth of content. It's entertaining enough to consider watching more, but bland enough that no aspect aside from the animation really stood out.

It's not bad, at least. If you want to watch something a bit funny and exaggerated, it should scratch that itch.

[i-hate-anime]

Zashiki Warashi no Tatami-chan

Tatami-chan the sardonic spirit moves to Tokyo and is immediately bothered by the ghost haunting her apartment, the unpleasant landlady, and busybody neighbor.

Short and average.

It’s a four minute gag comic animated in Microsoft PowerPoint. It’s pretty rapid-fire with jokes. Most don’t land, but some are unusual enough to be funny, like when Tatami threatens to curse the landlady. It’s a kind of premise that could set up the kind of bizarre jokes I really enjoy, but it’s also not very funny anyway.

Not worth recommending, but I really love comedy and I don’t mind cheap short-form anime. It’s only four minutes, so it’s personally worth it for one or two funny gags.

[i-hate-anime]

Fugou Keiji: Balance:Unlimited

Using two colons just makes this title look weird.

Haru is a detective who got bumped to an insignificant division after his strict sense of justice interfered with his work. When he catches wind of an assassination attempt, he’s joined by an ultra-wealthy detective who solves every problem by throwing his money at it. The two work together despite their completely opposing views of justice.

Stupid beyond description.

This episode exudes a lot of confidence in itself, and yet is somehow beyond stupid. The production quality is so good that I almost thought I must be mistaken, but no. This was really bad.

Presumably the show is supposed to be about these two characters with conflicting views of justice, but Haru must be a moron while the rich guy is both a moron and an actual psychopath. They’re both so terribly written. Well, everyone is terribly written here. The only interesting characters were the amateur thieves, and I don’t think they’re even going to be recurring characters.

It’s a struggle not to go on and on about all the stupid moments in this show, but I’ll just talk about one. Two amateur thieves steal a van to make their getaway, but they don’t realize it has a bomb in it. The rich guy uses his money and influence to manipulate traffic and guide the van to a bridge, while also getting every other cop stuck in traffic.

WHY?! A police car could have just used speakers to tell them a bomb is in the van. Plus, now the only one that can see the van is the police helicopter. If the thieves notice the bomb, it’s more likely now that they could toss it out the van and nobody would know.

If for some reason you actually want to watch this, just don’t think about anything that happens.

[i-hate-anime]

Houkago Teibou Nisshi

Hina gets forced into joining the school’s fishing club to prevent it from being disbanded, but she really can’t handle critters. Touching live fish and bugs freaks her out. When she goes to the club to quit, she meets a childhood friend and ends up having fun after giving fishing a serious try.

Boring and very cliche.

It was a struggle to write a summary for this episode that didn’t sound stupid. This girl lives and breathes arts&crafts, but ends up joining the fishing club instead after having an alright time doing it once. That annoyance aside, it’s mostly just boring. It’s not particularly funny, and it’s definitely not inventive.

At least it’s not actively awful, though.

[i-hate-anime]

Shadowverse

This kid looks like Yugi with a different palette.

High schooler Hiro finds a box with a smartphone in it and he’s finally able to play the deck building game Shadowverse. The best girl at school loses to someone who steals your phone when you’re defeated, so Hiro defeats that guy to get the phone back.

Aggressively terrible.

It’s just so stupid. Take my word for it. There’s not a single redeeming aspect.

[i-hate-anime]

Princess Connect! Re:Dive

Yuuki awakens in an RPG-style fantasy world with amnesia. He’s immediately found by an elf girl named Kokkoro who was instructed to guide him. As he levels up in the world, he’ll unlock the powers he once had.

Alright.

It’s a lot like Konosuba, but not nearly as funny. A very similar RPG world, a party clearing quests, an atypical protagonist. In this case, the main character is useless. When given money to buy food, he tries to eat the money instead. Again, it’s not as funny as Konosuba, but it IS funny.

The production quality was better than I expected. Kokkoro’s expression makes me chuckle every time it happens. The wolf monsters are hilarious to look at.

My biggest worry is that it’ll run out of stupid things for Yuuki to do. That, and Yuuki basically has no personality. He barely even speaks. But, on the other hand, the wolves and mushrooms were both funny, so there is room for more jokes to be made as new monsters appear.

I’m not nearly confident enough in the show’s humor to recommend it, but I enjoyed it enough to keep watching and find out.

[i-hate-anime]

Shironeko Project: Zero Chronicle

After losing his village to a monster attack, a young boy meets a dying knight and is chosen to be the successor to the King of Darkness. Meanwhile, a the Kingdom of Light fends off attacks from the Kingdom of Darkness, hoping that someone will replace the insane current King and restore balance.

Mediocre.

It’s at least a decent premise. Unfortunately, it feels very generic to watch. It was mostly boring and there isn’t much of note to talk about.

The scene where the knight meets the boy is... something... though. It sounds like that stupid meme “will you fight or perish like a dog?” A lot of pretentiously nonsensical dialogue. It’s almost kind of funny.

I wouldn’t recommend it, but it might be an alright “turn your brain off” show.

[i-hate-anime]

Yesterday wo Utatte

After completing college, Rikuo realized he has nothing he wants to do, so he just works in a convenience store. He never confessed to the girl he liked either. But after reuniting with her, he starts to challenge the lies that he tells himself to be satisfied with this life.

Good.

These kinds of shows I find difficult to describe. A “coming of age” story, maybe? It’s very well animated with an interesting and grounded cast of characters. There’s a couple times where they don’t exactly talk like real people, but all in all it was a good episode. 

This has potential to be one of the best of the season.

[i-hate-anime]

Shachou, Battle no Jikan Desu!

Well, this got put on x2 speed instantly.

Minato becomes the president of an adventuring company. Portals to dungeons appear across the world and his job is to direct the adventurers through the traps and battles to retrieve the loot.

Danmachi, but incredibly boring.

So boring. It’s not funny, designs are bland, it’s stupid, and it’s generic. There’s no reason to watch this at all.