Things are beginning to look up for me this year I think; personal real-life things, that is. That basically means that I’ll feel far more positive than I have been in the past year or so. Regardless, for this Spring season, I’d like to do something I haven’t done in a long time, and that’s to stick to show genres that I know I’ll enjoy. That way I won’t have to fret and worry and panic over whether I’ll drop shows or just cover them for the sake of covering them. I’ve been with The OASG for a good long time now, and have covered several dozen shows and movies here, of assorted genres. I know the kind of shows I like, and I don’t plan to tune into season 2 of Dr. Stone or the latest installment of Demon Slayer. Or the first season of the last part of the final season of Attack on Titan (yes, that is where it is at now…) either. But a couple of shows have been pretty hyped up for the Spring, and some are ones I know that are up my alley.
But I have some other news to share with you as well. This season will also be the last one I will be covering with The OASG. It’s been really great to be a part of this site, and I’ve enjoyed writing the Otaku Theater column alongside some review posts here and there. I’ve actually lost count of all the shows I’ve covered here, but I’m very eager to move onto other projects, plus my personal life is beginning to catch up with me. Sad news to hear, but I want this Spring season to be a really positive one for me, so I don’t feel so depressed about leaving this way.
Also due to the coronavirus outbreak that happened in the A-1 Pictures animation studio back in January, I’ll be finishing up the final episodes of NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a here in this season as well. So what are my four final shows here?
Skip and Loafer
Studio: P.A Works
Begins: Tuesday. April. 04
(Available on Crunchyroll)
Knowing their back catalog, school shows are nothing new for P.A Works, but the animation style here in Skip and Loafer looks very different than what they have done before. Instead of stand-out colors and the occasional lens flare, animation looks far simpler and more minimal, better suiting the mood of the manga itself.
Grade-A student and country girl Mitsumi Iwakura has long had dreams of leaving home, living in the big city and going to a prestigious university to become a civil servant. But when the chance comes and she moves to a Tokyo high school, the sudden shock of being in a city hits her like a wrecking ball; she’s been so focused on her end goals that the regular day-to-day life of a high-schooler has just been put on the back end of the room. She’s able to make friends with incredibly laid-back Sousuke Shima after getting lost on the first day; a guy who is someone who totally contrasts her over-prepared and organized personality. And so the naïve Mitsumi has to either continue on with her end goals and be known as the hyper-focused girl in the class, or readjust to this new way of life, in the big city.
Skip and Loafer acts more like a coming-of-age story than what some people might perceive as a school rom-com. Mitsumi is in an entirely new environment and her country bumpkin attitude makes her stick out like a sore thumb. But her commitment and devotion to become a civil servant/government worker is absolute, and with the manga telling her story of adjusting to a new world with a different kind of people, I believe this show’s story has more to do with the kind of thing P.A Works are better known for than people might think. Shows like Shirobako, which follows 5 high-school graduates as they try and work their way through 5 separate areas of anime production, or even A Lull in the Sea, that tries to build a close relationship between two entirely different communities (sea people and surface people) during highly turbulent circumstances.
The story in the manga also goes further than just simple school slice-of-life. It highlights other, more personal aspects of what it’s meant to be to be a teenager with a rapidly-changing body and unpredictable emotions. It is something manga reviewers rave about when they think of Skip and Loafer apparently, and so I hope P.A Works are able to reflect both the drama and the comedy that is in the manga and translate it well for the screen.
Picking an anime genre that is kind of tried and tested for my final season, huh? Well, better that than to leave with something I might potentially feel uncomfortable in watching, right? So to my second pick, which was a total no-brainer for me:
Tonikawa: Over The Moon For You Season 2
Studio: Seven Arcs
Begins: Friday. April. 07
(Available on Crunchyroll)
Oh where were we when we left these two adorable muffins? Ah, that’s right. Nasa and Tsukasa had gotten more settled into married life, and told each others’ families about their sudden wedding. And while Tsukasa’s family were very reluctant to accept the news, Nasa’s family were more than thrilled. I distinctly remember the episode where Nasa’s father gets on his hands and knees and thanks Tsukasa for saving his only child’s life (right at the beginning of the show).
So what about now? How does their story continue? Well they have new people to meet, new places to go and have cute dates on, and even a housecat to dote on. I think one of the biggest strengths that Tonikawa has is that we are able to love both Nasa and Tsukasa immediately. Nasa is hard-working and incredibly selfless for a person his age, putting the welfare of others before his own; I remember making the point when I covered season 1 that he was an absolute catch. Meanwhile Tsukasa swoops into Nasa’s life like some kind of Princess Kaguya. She herself is mysterious yet warm-hearted. She comes from a very wealthy family, and yet chooses to live the average housewife life with her new husband instead of a big mansion.
Followers and critics were quick to point out that Tonikawa‘s story acts quite like an autobiography, of how the mangaka’s new marriage life was like, or at the very least what he envisioned it to be. And so now that our main characters have been well established, and our secondary cast play a solid role in the story, how will this second season play out exactly? Will it act like a ‘part 2’ or a continuation of what we have already seen from season 1, or will it delve into new territory? Either way, I am not fussed. Tonikawa made my top 5 when it came out, and I have no reason to worry that it’ll go into a totally wild direction.
Just as Skip and Loafer will hopefully give me a tried-and-tested school show, Tonikawa will bring back two characters which reinforce my love for simple and uncomplicated slice-of-life. I think that if I did decide to cover something like the new season of Demon Slayer, then I would be approaching the show like a rabbit in headlights, and in the complete unknown…and I don’t want that. Heck, I’m not even sure if I even want to get into Demon Slayer at all.
And so to the show I have been looking forward to the most not just for this season, but this year so far:
Oshi no Ko
Studio: Dogakobo
Begins: Wednesday. April. 12
(Available on HIDIVE)
Dogakobo have been around the block for a while, and have largely stuck with the one singular genre of cutesy comedies (Yuru Yuri, New Game!, Anima Yell). They’ve dabbled into drama every now and then, but those shows never really hit the mark. Oshi no Ko, on the other hand, is on its own level.
Famous idol Ai Hoshino arrives at the clinic of a countryside doctor, heavily pregnant with twins. She forces herself to give birth away from the big city so she can avoid the scandal that would no doubt follow her. But just as her due date comes, the doctor is found murdered by one of her crazy stalkers…and when he reawakens, he finds himself in the arms of Ai, reborn as her son Aquamarine. Now Ai must juggle being a mother with showbiz idol life, along with the grotesqueries that are associated with it: bribes, blackmails, and stalkers. And the reborn Aquamarine decides to dedicate himself to making sure his mother makes it to the top, and stays at the top. But what about his new twin sister, Ruby? Is there more to her than meets the eye? Did she arrive in the world in the same circumstance as he did?
I already knew about how well the manga was received, and how anticipated this show was. Streaming services were itching to get the license for this I understand, but HIDIVE ended up winning in the end. Everywhere I look, I see rave reviews of the manga, which has only recently begun English translation (volume 1 came out in January of this year). According to them, we are lulled into a false sense of security of sorts with the cutesy art, and then the story turns incredibly dark when we least expect it. Outside of the opening synopsis, I have absolutely no idea of what to expect, and that is what is the most exciting for me. I have already said how I want to end the season on shows I know for sure I’ll like, but at the same time, what I have read so far about Oshi no Ko has really hooked me in hard.
What surprised me also is that the story is by Aka Akasaka, the same person behind Kaguya-sama: Love is War. With that being their most notable work (or other one, if you count this), I’m suddenly curious on this shift from quirky school comedy to drama-mystery. I will admit that the story concept in Oshi no Ko of a main character being reborn into another life like some isekai character being hit by Truck-kun feels a little…strange to me, and in any other circumstance would turn me off. At the same time though, I want to know how Dogakobo, who have a gigantic resume filled with cutesy comedy shows, tackle a dark drama mystery story like this that dabbles in the supernatural in this manner.
I really want this show to do well, and this is one of many shows that will highlight 2023 anime for me. I wonder though if HIDIVE will change the name of the show on their website. The phrase ‘Oshi no Ko’ can be translated many ways, you see – ‘Her Fans’, ‘Their Idol’s Children’, ‘My Idol’s Child’, and many others. Personally I hope it just stays as Oshi no Ko, as that is what the fans would better know the show as. And from what I know, episode 1 will be an extended one, lasting 90 minutes, so this will mean that on release I’ll be devoting a whole post just to that first episode. I don’t want to worry about just writing a handful of paragraphs about the debut and potentially skip a lot of possibly important plot points and moments-to-look-out-for. And I know that there will be a lot covered in the debut.
I chose not to do a poll for my out-of-season show once again for this last season. I had to think long and hard for a decent one to end on, and while my first thoughts were on classic ones, it occurred to me that there’s been a very recent one that everyone and their grandmother had been raving about (and still are) that I just have not covered properly…
Lycoris Recoil
Studio: A-1 Pictures
(Available on Crunchyroll)
Lycoris Recoil made many followers’ and critics’ top 5 of last year. I had watched a couple of the first episodes and just never got around to watching the rest. But thanks to the power of social media, I sort of know where the plot goes (emphasis on ‘sort of’).
In an alternate future where orphaned girls are recruited and trained to become assassins and spies under the name ‘Lycoris’ (named after the poisonous spider lily flower), the show tells the story of Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue. Takina is transferred after she disobeys orders in a dangerous mission, to be partnered with Chisato, an elite and well-known Lycoris agent who approaches her missions in the most unconventional way. To keep a low profile, the two operate undercover in a café called ‘Lycoreco’, with Takina trying everything she can to be reinstated to the main branch. Chisato has some secrets of her own, and when a sadistic terrorist arrives in Tokyo hunting down Lycoris agents, the two of them work together to not only lure the threat out, but to find out more about themselves.
I know too well that Chisato and Takina become an item; that is pretty much the first thing that comes up when people research the show. But I’m certainly curious as to how the dynamic between the two of them will be like exactly. From the looks of it, Chisato is definitely the one leading, with Takina being the one dragged in. There’s also the matter of the secondary cast too; I know very little about them, and I hope their character designs will be just as strong.
This is a show that firmly fits in the ‘girls with guns’ category, and that will be how I will approach it. One of my non-anime friends even recommended this show to me back in last summer, with him calling it ‘anime John Wick‘. Coincidental then that I have only just recently gone and seen the new John Wick movie as I am typing this, so a bit of a high bar has suddenly been set here. At the same time though, I’m a little concerned that while it became hugely popular both in Japan and the West over the Summer 2022 season, it kind of glorified political violence a little. Lycoris is a group that is sponsored by the Japanese state after all, and I do hope that there is much more to see in the story than just cute girls shooting at bad guys with a cutesy electronic soundtrack in the background. Then again, the opinions of professional critics and fans can often be two totally different things. And so as this will be my final out-of-season show for Otaku Theater, I’m going to do my best to write up decent opinions and criticisms of it. I also know that a future ‘animation project’ for Lycoris Recoil has already been green-lit; whether it is a second season, an OVA or a movie remains to be seen though.
There have been plenty more that I want to watch but will probably not do a week-by-week thing for here, since it would very likely wipe me out covering them all on a regular basis. The second cour of Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, season 2 of Birdie Wing!, Yuri is my Job!…I may even decide to catch up with Vinland Saga since a lot of people have been raving about it. Also, the four I picked all have debut dates far apart, which isn’t exactly ideal for the column but by no means not the end of the world; I can easily adapt.
And while this Spring season will be my final one for Otaku Theater, that doesn’t mean I’m leaving the site completely. The OASG overlords have something else in mind for me to do; no it isn’t just making the coffee, but it’s something I won’t share just yet…