Carrying on from Part One, here are some more thoughts about the anime series airing this season.
Lycoris Recoil
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Genre: Action
Streaming: Crunchyroll
In a futuristic Japan, the country relies on teen women called Lycoris from a mysterious organisation called the DA to manage their public safety, acting as assassins. Takina is disgraced as a Lycoris however and so is sent to LycoReco, a coffee shop run by other former members of the DA, and a famous Lycoris called Chisato. There she finds another way of safeguarding people – by dealing with their day-to-day problems. In the first episode the two act as bodyguards for a young woman who has been subjected to stalking but things rapidly get more complex. There are definite hints towards a darker plot going on in the background but so far this series looks to be a ‘crime of the week’ type show with extra intrigue and some cute moments. This show was definitely not as dark as I was expecting it to be however so far, and I personally wasn’t a big fan of the main two of the cast thus far but I think I would warm to them more over the course of the series. One to keep an eye on as it has the potential to be a great crime drama with some interesting world-building elements.
My Rating: 7/10
Engage Kiss
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Genre: Comedy, Action
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Not going to lie, I got the first two anime in this article mixed up a lot from their promo images as their protagonists have a bit of a similar look to them – likely due to the same studio working on both though in this case. I had also assumed that Engage Kiss was going to be the darker of the two so picture my surprise when I finally checked out both shows and discovered the opposite was the truth and Engage Kiss is actually more of a rom-com with some supernatural action thrown in. The main protagonist is a freeloader working as a demon exterminator, handily with a demon partner who takes the form of an attractive young woman. None of the characters are particularly smart or likable unfortunately and the nice animation is one of the only things it has going for it as even the comedy and romance are rather lacklustre. The series felt a little like it was trying to copy tropes from other series before it that have done better and the overall execution was just somewhat off for me.
My Rating: 5/10
Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer
Studio: NAZ
Genre: Action, Comedy
Streaming: Crunchyroll
What do you do when you wake up to find a lizard in your bed telling you that you’re a knight destined to save the world? You throw that lizard out the window. That’s what our protagonist does in this wacky fantasy show but unfortunately it doesn’t end up being as simple as that. Turns out the world really is under a real threat and Yuuji has for some unknown reason been picked out as one of its protectors – not to mention his next door neighbour just might be the princess all the knights serve. The manga adaptation for this one is highly rated but sadly the first episode of this series is lacking in spirit. The animation is subpar, and though the story and concepts are actually pretty interesting the execution is so bad it makes the whole anime suffer. Possible the animation quality will improve over the course of the season but at the moment, it might be better to stick with the manga series instead, especially as the series is actually fully completed.
My Rating: 6/10
Call of the Night
Studio: LIDENFILMS
Genre: Supernatural, Romance
Streaming: HiDive
When fourteen year old Kou Yamori can’t sleep he starts to walk the streets at night. What he finds there though is not an answer to his problems but a whole new set of them in the form of a vampire girl called Nazuna. The anime features some truly gorgeous animation (the night sky visuals alone are truly breathtaking), lo-fi style music and despite the subject matter is a surprisingly relaxing watch. The two main characters in the cast play off each other really well from Nazuna’s playful attitude to Kou’s struggles to understand what society wants of him. This show is probably my highlight of the whole season so far and one I would definitely recommend watching.
My Rating: 9/10
Uncle from Another World
Studio: AtelierPondarc
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Streaming: Netflix
Based on a web-comic, this anime follows a different take on isekai – what happens to the person who arrives back home after having disappeared from years on end? The result is a hilarious fish out of water show as the ‘Uncle’ of the series learns about all the things that have changed in time he’s been away and tells his nephew about what happened to him in the other world. It’s very culture savvy (Sega references all around and the company even sponsored the series), and makes a lot of meta jokes about anime, video games and the fantasy and isekai genre in general. The voice acting is top notch but the animation is sadly the weakest part of the show, with most scenes being just static scenes. Thankfully this is a show all about the dialogue between the characters and it’s a nice satirical take which is a nice break from the other more straightforward fantasy shows of the season. The humour is a little on the dry side though and probably won’t appeal to everyone’s tastes, given it’s heavy reliance on meta knowledge and the visual style.
