Watching - Winter 2019 Anime

My first impressions based on viewing the first episodes of the six anime that I am interested in following this winter 2019 season.

'Mob Psycho 100 II' - Crunchyroll

Much in the way the first season had a frantic pace to the narrative and how sharp the humor was both from a dialogue perspective and from an action based perspective, this new season retains those qualities in spaces. As a result of the animation being somewhat crude, compared to some of the more polished looking anime, Mob Psycho has the benefit of being far richer in its moments of sakuga, and the switching up of styles ranging from pencil sketches, paint on glass and even to some of One’s original artwork from the webcomic.

The show picks up shortly after the events of the previous season, and all the secondary characters are just as sharp as they were in the previous season—the Body Improvement Club in particular. As far as a first episode goes, the one shot narrative was quite emotional and heartwarming to see. The opening for season one was incredibly creative and frantic, and the Bones Studio has managed to create an opening that is just as creative while maintaining the same level of energy.

'My Roommate Is a Cat' - Crunchyroll

This is a show produced by studio Zero-G, the studio behind the shows, Dive and Battery. The basic premise is that of a mid twenties writer who has recently lost his parents in an accident finds himself adopting a cat. The moment the human and the cat are brought together, there is an interesting dynamic already formed. This show manages to make the cat far more relatable than the actual human in the show, at least from viewing the first episode. The human on the other hand is stretched to a ludicrous extreme which makes for comedic effect yet makes him less relatable.

The show takes the perspective of both the human and the cat, revisiting events to show the mindset of both. The animation looks what one would expect from a traditional anime look, as opposed to something experimental like Mob Psycho or Night is Short, Walk on Girl, however despite this the first episode manages to give us a variety of characters that already feel distinct from each other.

What is also surprising is that this show does not take place in high school, which is always a welcome change to the setting. In addition despite the humor, the show, especially when it comes to the perspective of the cat, gets surprisingly emotional, and by the end of the first episode, we are introduced to a budding touching relationship. The opening is fun in its own right, translating the fun and bright colors that is to be expected with this anime.

'Kaguya-Sama: Love is War' - Crunchyroll

This is the third comedy in a row in this list, and is one produced by A-1 Pictures. The basic premise is simple enough—two students like each other and are interesting in dating. However, unlike many other anime where they drag the courting process to the breaking point, this show manages to get around that problem, by having the characters play mind games on each other to get the other to confess their love first as a result of them associating power and dominance over the one who breaks down and asks first. It reminded me of the mind games Light and L would play in Death Note, only here it's a colorful Rom Com.

Based on the first show, it was hilarious. The setting is simple, and the show manages to stretch the concept to a ridiculous extreme making things all the more funny. In addition to dialogue driven humor, there is a lot of visual humor, driven by expressive, dynamic characters, combines with interesting camera movements. The show creates creative backgrounds depending on the characters thoughts and their train of thought, which makes the screen a constant visual treat. It does not hurt that the episode traveled at a break neck pace covering multiple scenarios in the first episode alone.

This is all reflected in the just as hilarious opening to the show, which literally depicts this war of the minds as a war with an assortment of weapons the Expendables would blush over.

'Boogiepop and Others' - Crunchyroll

Boogiepop is a mystery, horror anime that is produced by the legendary Madhouse Studio. What this first episode did was creating intrigue, raising the audience curiosity. While we were explained what Boogiepop is, we were not revealed anything of the larger narrative in the first episode. Thus far we have two interesting characters that have a great chemistry, and a premise.

The tone is quite grim, serious, dark, and at times gritty, accompanying a very down to earth feel devoid of any humor. Despite not much having happened in the first episode aside from establishing character, there is a sense of unease through the background throughout, and there were occasional cut away moments that had some visceral and gruesome imagery perhaps a prelude of what to come. Boogiepop’s character design is quite unique and the two leads stand out in the crowd despite the majority of characters looking somewhat similar.

The opening is fantastic, the music setting the tone perfectly for the show, and the visuals hinting towards explosive moments later on in the show where we get to truly see how powerful Boogiepop actually is.

'The Promised Neverland' - Crunchyroll

The Promised Neverland is an adaptation of a Shonen Jump manga, and is probably the most different work to be published in Jump over the past decade as it is the furthest thing from the likes of One Piece, My Hero Acadamia, and the like. The show is adapted by CloverWorks, the same studio that developed last season’s fantastic Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai.

The intro prior to the opening creates a sense of intrigue as to what these children’s situation is and what the setting is. Once the opening is finished, the start of the episode is truly heartwarming with the orphanage children interacting and their parent figure Mother all getting breakfast together.

The animation in the show is incredibly fluid with both 2D and 3D animation being integrated together seamlessly for the most part. There are moments when the distinction become noticeable, however never to the point that it took me out of the show. The characters movements, expressions and designs are all animated well making them all distinct and stand out form each other without over shadowing the others.

The show takes a grim turn revealing a somewhat hostile world outside the orphanage walls which is implied to be inhabited be creatively designed monsters. In addition it is not afraid to show things one might fight uncomfortable such as the depiction of a character and the sheer brutality of the implied violence.

The opening is visually interesting with a roll call of the characters in the show, yet at the same time it felt quite cinematic as a result of the different aspect ratio it was composed in compared to that of the actual show.

'Dororo' - Amazon Prime Video

Dororo is a co-production between MAPPA and Tezuka Productions, which adapts a fifty year old horror, period manga by the God of Manga himself, Osamu Tezuka. Dororo is about a young boy named Dororo and an orphan named Hyakkimaru, who’s father is a Japanese lord that bartered his sons organs to (in the anime) twelve demons for personal gain.

The animation is updated from the original works to a more modern look, despite this it shows off gruesome, demonic and nightmarish imagery throughout the episode in fantastically animated frames. The colors all throughout are muted to reflect the unforgiving setting that the story is taking place in, alongside the grim tone that is hanging over the show throughout. From the moment we are introduced to Dororo he is instantly likable and as the episode progresses he becomes more so.

The opening is interesting because it has a texture to it that makes it seem as if it's all animated in aged paper. Aside from that it is a great opening to listen to and watch.