Summer Season Impressions

 Bokutachi wa Remake

One of two shows that had a one hour special as a the first episode. I think Bokutachi was really well paced and used this one hour episode really well. It established the main character quite well, it explores the crossroads that Kyoya finds himself in after the company he worked for went under and he has to return back to his hometown. At his home town he mulls over a decision in the past he never took which could have meant his life was different. However, after getting a contracted job things look to be getting better for him until the project he is working for is shut down and his contract is suspended. This disappointment and seeming lack of control of his life only increases his regrets over the past. This is a nice build up of tension to the premise of the series - that Kyoya goes back in time 10 years and can change the key decision that shaped his life. 

 Overall, I think it established the main character quite well and gives hints of the struggle he will face to change his life. The animation is also good and the fact other characters at the university/ college speaks different dialects makes the story more grounded and believable because of the diversity of dialects in Japan. Overall, this series has a great start.

Rating - B

The Detective is Already Dead 

The detective is already another show that had its first episode be an 1 hour special. In general, the episode is a set up for the story and to showcase the character of Siesta and Kimi as well as cast some light on how their relationship began. 

In general the episode is just satisfactory because whilst it establishes the overall worldview and main characters. I can not say it was in a way that interesting and in a sense this is really a prequel to the actual series that will begin next week which I hope is more satisfying. I did expect better animation and a more quirky style for this series, so I am somewhat disappointed especially since its a good light novel. 

Rating - C

Drugstore in Another World

I was pleased with the first episode of this series, in particular with its visuals. I thought EMT Squared was a good studio choice because of their work on Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear which had a pleasant colourful palette that matched the more vibrant, happy and comfy atmosphere of the series. In here, it is even more colourful and it is perfect because this series is probably even more comfy than Kuma. The music was happy and upbeat, it also cutely provided information of ingredients with marks and it even had this musical-like moment. These are all matched alongside a very cute aesthetic especially for the female characters which just makes the whole series visually pleasing. 

Story-wise they skipped a lot of the starting bits of the light novel, so it can feel a bit weird since it dumps you into the middle of the story without really introducing the characters. It is not that much of a problem for a series that has no real plot and it might do so in future episodes, so I will not judge it harshly for that. Aside from that, the first episode had a very simple comedic story which was alright but for me that standout feature was the aesthetics of the series over anything else.

Rating - B

Tsukimichi - Moonlight Fantasy

This was one of the Isekai, I highlighted for this season as possibly being good. The first episode kind of disappointed me, I felt the episode progression was a bit off at times with its shifts especially at the start. It makes the flow of the series feel weird and overall this makes the pacing leave things to be desired.  Aside from that the animation quality was a bit subpar overall, some scenes looked good whilst others felt not so great. This is normal for anime, so i will not harp on about it especially since this show is more comedy orientated.

So let's touch on the comedy then. This show has a lot of meta jokes on isekai which I do not remember being in the original work. This was one of the earlier isekai to take off in 2012, so It did not quite have those jokes yet. So these are added by the anime writer and I do not think it is a bad take because the series is placed into a context of many other isekai series that is trying to make these inside jokes for fans of isekai. So in this aspect it adds to the series but overall I still think the episode was a bit poorly paced. 

Rating - C

Kanojo Mo Kanojo 

An romantic comedy series that seems more like a joke on the genre because the main character simply decides to date more than one girl at once solving all harem issues present in romcoms for the most part. The comedy of this series comes mostly from this somewhat absurd situation in contrast to other romantic stories that the main character and his girlfriends find himself into. The first episode in a sense worked as it introduced the characters even if simply and serves most to give a taste of the comedy of the series and what's expect going forward. Its a simple series comedy series that clearly wants to be sort of like a parody of other romance comedy series.

The series is quite colourful, and I found it visually appealing to the eyes even though the animation is not necessarily great. Overall, I found the series to be competent at what it tries to do, which is to be a romance story which needs beautiful female characters aside from that the animation does not need to be standout. 

Rating - B