So, here come some new shows to cover here. Or rather, the last shows to cover here. NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a is still delayed, and now I’m beginning to wonder if it’ll even come back any time soon. There might even be the off-chance that this Spring season will end and the show will still not have finished. In that event, then the show won’t be remembered for having good animation or being loyal to the game, but by being delayed so much.
I will make a start on the shows that have begun though, it’s kind of strange how far apart their air times are. This is the main reason why this column’s publication time has had to change a little.
Skip and Loafer Episode 1
Emphasis on this opening episode of Skip and Loafer is put on first impressions: something that’s extremely important on a first day at school, especially in a brand new environment. The same goes for anime and so what were my first impressions about these characters?
It’s curious how when starting this show, I immediately think on one older school show, 1998’s His and Her Circumstances. The two lead characters are both overachievers who keep massive secrets they want no-one at school to know, and fall in love as a result of opening up. Fast forward 25 years later, and while Mitsumi and Shima are pretty polar opposites, it still feels like something they each hold close to their chests will be the one thing that will unite them.
We get to love Mitsumi straightaway. Unlike in some other school shows that highlight overachievers, she comes across as someone who doesn’t plan on being obnoxious in going about their master plan in becoming a grade-A student. She stumbles and overthinks things, and her social anxiety kicks into overdrive the moment she steps onto a subway train, but she remains devoted and committed to the civil service career she wants when she graduates from Tokyo University. We didn’t get this gigantic internal monologue from Mitsumi about how she wants to approach her new life in Tokyo and in a new school, which I thought was a relief.
I think what is getting to me the most is Shima. Even though he comes across as this incredibly laid-back stud of the class, I still felt there was something off about how he was presented in this episode. He seems to have won over the entire class with his good looks, but compared to Mitsumi, I know so little about him so far. I’m hoping that future episodes will highlight him far more. Speaking of which, I do like how focus on characters in the show is being spread out. The writers could have easily made Mitsumi the central character, but we get plenty of scenes with characters surrounding our main two that are padded out well. I may say all this criticism of Shima, but I do think that so far he keeps a good balance and counter to Mitsumi’s overachieving. The people the two will meet will have all sorts of opinions when it comes to living school life, from strict and rigid, to mellow and laid-back. But that’s a good thing.
I think that Skip and Loafer is going to be the kind of show that will stand out because of a number of reasons. One being that it doesn’t seem to be turning our main protagonists into comic characters or stereotypes. Another being that it’s doing a good job at showing us the worries of a brand-new highschooler without dramatizing them too much. Also there’s the fact that it knows the people around Mitsumi and Shima have just as important a role in shaping who these two become in the future as well.
This was a very strong debut for P.A Works’ new show. The art style has already grown on me, and the characters we’ve seen so far are all people we actively want to know more about. Pacing has been done incredibly well, and that is a major bonus for me; I hope we get this level of great pacing in every episode. I also like that it won’t be diving straight into slice-of-life jokes; from the looks of it, our characters might end up giving us some interesting drama. But having not read the source manga, I know none of this. The only thing I can do is just wait and see.
Tonikawa: Over The Moon For You Season 2 Episode 1
I realize covering this second season of Tonikawa is going to be a little awkward considering that the official sub-title of it is Fly Me To The Moon. So why won’t I be adding that in my coverage? I’m not entirely sure myself, to be honest. I think it’s just that much easier for me to simply refer to this as season 2.
This opening episode pretty much picks up exactly from where we left off. This tactic can be risky for some shows I think, especially considering the long gap we’ve had. The studio are going by the assumption that the viewer remember every single caveat of season 1, if they’ve even watched it. I have to say, it took me by surprise a little, and I had to think back on what significant things happened then…aside from Nasa and Tsukasa marrying.
Well there was them meeting each others’ families; while Tsukasa made a fantastic impression on Nasa’s parents, her family still gives him the cold shoulder. There was also the matter of their home burning down, meaning they have to live in the small building at the back of the bathhouse Nasa’s kouhai Kaname works at. I know it’s going to take me some time to get back into the groove of this show, but I’ll be glad when I do, considering how invested I got into season 1.
So what happens now? Well the two are still like love birds, but are both very unknowledgeable when it comes to being married. For this episode, the subject of holding a wedding ceremony is brought up, and seeing Nasa’s reaction to finding out that ceremonies cost more than ¥150,000 (around $1,200) is pretty priceless (no pun intended). It’s interesting though how they begin to question why bother with all the stress and expense just for one day? Sure it’s meant to be the happiest day of your life, but if you consider your happiest days to do the things you love the most with the person you love the most more important, then perhaps an expensive wedding ceremony really isn’t worth it after all.
Because of the long gap between seasons, I think we are meant to believe that a significant time has passed, and that Nasa and Tsukasa have been married for a while, when that is far from the truth. I like that they agreed to pause and wait until the right moment in their lives before thinking about having a ceremony…because that’s what sensible and responsible adults do, right?
Towards the end of this first episode, we are teased with some new characters, one of which could be a serious barrier in their marriage. I’m interested in who all of these new characters are, and what kind of impact they’ll have on Nasa and Tsukasa. Will they help the two of them make sensible decisions, or just act as comic relief? All I want really is the same vibe I got from season 1; if I get that here in season 2, then count me a happy viewer.
Lycoris Recoil Episode 1
And so to the out-of-season show. Everyone and their grandmother was talking about this show in the summer, and while I did tune into the first few episodes, I didn’t really take the time to look deeper into them, as I had hoped to catch it another time and at my own pace. But now’s as good a time as any to cover this well-applauded show here.
I won’t be wasting too much time in talking about our two main characters in detail, as a lot of us know who they are anyway. Takina is the Lycoris agent committed to her job, only for one mission to get out of control meaning she has to be transferred…even if that mission saved her fellow agents’ lives. At her new post going undercover in a café, she is assigned to be Chisato’s partner. She herself is well-known among the Lycoris agents, for her unconventional approaches to missions.
I really liked how they introduced Takina to us in the opening episode. She is devoted to her job as an agent, but does not come across as being too cold or rigid. On the flipside, the way Chisato was introduced felt very strange in comparison. The organization could have easily gotten rid of Chisato for being the problem child, but we find out she played a significant role in quelling a terrorist plot. So why is she being shelved and hidden away in a café as well? We grow to like both characters, for two very different reasons. And it will be those two different reasons that will bring these two closer together. We can all guess that Chisato will be the one to defrost Takina, but what I want to see is a relationship that goes both ways. Right now, it feels like Chisato is the one who is doing the pushing, and Takina is the one receiving.
The world-building in the show feels a little rushed in this first episode as well, but at the same time I’m very eager to know more. What really happened in the Tokyo Tower incident? What is the Alan Institute? And what made Chisato change her mind about not killing anymore?
You know ‘girls with guns’ is pretty much its own genre in not just anime, but other media as well. The story in Lycoris Recoil could have been a much darker one too. Despite the solid character design and interesting story, the first impressions I’m getting here is that we’re watching two shows at the same time. What plot line will it be to make the orphaned secret agents vs. international terrorists/weapons dealers, and cute girls doing cute things in a cute café work together? Interesting to find out.
My third seasonal show, Oshi no Ko, won’t be starting until next week, and will have an extended length opening episode. This’ll mean that I’ll be devoting an entire post to it, since I’m eager to talk about every little thing I see there. As for NieR: Automata, well at this point I think we’re just going to have to put it on the shelf and simply wait for A-1 Pictures to say they’ll bring it back.