Summer 2017 Anime First Impressions Part 1
Hi everyone! StormingJ here again with the first of 4 posts I’ll be doing for my summer season first impressions. Let’s get started.
Kakegurui
Kakegurui is exactly what it says on the tin, it’s a bunch of beautiful, affluent teenagers gambling for obscene amounts of money and getting a clearly sexual pleasure from it. If like me you’re a fan of other gambling shows and stories like Kaiji, Liar Game, Alice in Borderlands, or Gamble Fish then this is an easy pickup this season. Kakegurui manages to toe the line with being highly sexualized without being animated in a traditionally sexy way (read: no excess panty shots of breast animation, OP and ED notwithstanding). I have some ongoing concerns that Kakegurui will never amaze me but so far it’s still managed to feel like a fresh take on the genre and has managed to surprise me so my hopes are high, this is an easy recommendation if you like the gambling genre.
Verdict: Worth watching
Knight’s & Magic
Knight’s & Magic seemingly has everything it needed to hook me, I’m a sucker for isekai, interesting magic systems, mechs, characters who are programmers, and characters who optimise and abuse the systems of their worlds to become more powerful than their peers. It’s hard to find a protagonist more likeable than someone so unreservedly in love with their circumstances and you can really feel the MCs passion for mechs as he tries so hard to learn about and explore their technology. Mecha shows have been ahead of the curve with CG animation and Knight’s & Magic doesn’t let itself down in this regard either. There’s no great direct parallel I can think of but if you like either fantasy isekai or mecha shows then you’ll probably find something here to enjoy. It’s probably not going to really amaze anyone or be particularly memorable but it should be enjoyable throughout.
Verdict: Worth watching
Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu
No YouTube link for the OP but you can find it on Dailymotion here
I originally intended to ignore this show because it was a video game adaptation, but on the recommendation of a friend who had watched the first episode 3 times I decided to give it a shot…
Turns out I should have trusted my original judgement, there was nothing truly offensive about Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu unless you count its mediocrity. In a time with so many great shows and limited availability to watch them mediocre just doesn’t cut it anymore. In its defence, Ufotable has such a mastery of digital effects that’s it’s beautiful to look at, but that doesn’t make the actual events being animated any more gripping. The animation is flashy but lacks substance and while the setting is is interesting the story fails to deliver anything worthwhile from it. Perhaps there’s something here for you if you’re a fan of the game but for anyone else I can’t say I’d recommend it, there are plenty of better shows both in general and this season. There’s no way this will end up making my cut, but you might be more lenient.
Verdict: Don't bother
Kappeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun
I was worried after the first episode that this show would only really have one joke and put off watching the later episodes until I absolutely had to in order to write this post, but I’m happy to say that scepticism was overblown. Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun manages to deliver decent comedy with a unique cast of characters and setting. It’s not the funniest show in the world but in a season that lacks any other comedic standouts, it’s worth a watch, especially if you like comedy as much as I do, over half of my 150+ completed shows are comedies.
Verdict: Maybe, check it out if it sounds like your kind of thing
Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou
Youkai Apartment has left me with mixed feelings, its ‘mysteries’ have me mildly interested and its wide cast of characters are certainly charming, but it just doesn’t really feel like that strong a choice. Ultimately this suffers from one of the same problems as Touken Ranbu, in a less packed season this would probably be worth keeping up with but if I end up needing to cut something I can see this being quick on the chopping block. In its defence, the lack of excitement for Youkai Apartment wasn’t quite as dull as my boredom for Touken Ranbu. At this point in time, I’ll probably keep watching this on a week by week basis, if I find myself short of time or if it fails to hold my interest it’ll almost certainly go.
Verdict: Maybe, check it out if it sounds like your kind of thing
Koi to Uso
As you might have picked up from my spring summary, I like romance shows. Koi to Uso started running straight out of the gate with a fully contained romance story in the first episode that sets up the rest of the series, which only got stronger into the second and third episodes. The ‘red string of science’ is a fascinating system to think about and the characters struggle to fight for the love they chose instead of the one picked for them feels instantly relatable, even if the backstory for that love isn't. While it’s too early to tell what’s motivating each of the characters actions and how it will play out, the events so far and twist at the end of the third episode give me high expectations for this show. Additionally, the physical intimacy in this show is exceptionally well done. I can’t remember the last show I watched where the kissing was so titillatingly well animated or contextualised, you can feel the characters lust for each other.
Verdict: Worth watching
And with that, we wrap the first six of twenty-three shows I'll be covering this season. Someone suggested that my spring roundup post was a little long so I'm going to try breaking these into parts instead, which will also let me stagger their releases. Next time you can look forward to my first impressions of Isekai Shokudou, Nana Maru San Batsu, Dive!!, Konbini Kareshi, Action Heroine Cheer Fruits, and Made in Abyss, which you can expect to see either this Sunday or next Monday.
I'm also still working on an introductory post of sorts where I'll discuss my favourite shows so you can better understand what I like and how I think, with any luck, I'll try and publish that on Friday to fill the gap before the next part in this series.
What do you think, have you watched any of these shows already or do you feel like picking any up based on my reviews? Let me know in the comments down below!