The Mononoke Lecture Logs of Chuzenji-sensei: He Just Solves All the Mysteries
The Premise
In post-war Japan, a young student finds that her teacher has a knack for being a detective. He also has a secret room near the library originally used for preserving literature and documents that the government wouldn’t approve of and would like to censor. It seems he has no time for the supernatural but when “supernatural” mysteries occur, he solves them and the credit goes to the student who explains the problem away by her being an “exorcist”.
It Gud?
This started promising. It’s a mystery set in the Showa era and the first mystery has a promising and classic puzzle set up; a purse is dropped and three people claim to be the owner. The resolution is a bit disappointing but hey, it’s just warming up. But the second mystery really isn’t a mystery at all, it’s set up. And really, it kind of lost me.
Overall, I like the conceit; a person who doesn’t believe in the supernatural solves mysteries attributed to them and the main character is the cat’s paw, claiming to be an exorcist to explain things away. But a couple things don’t work. The Sherlock-like character feels like he doesn’t gel. He’s completely straightlaced but for some reason they give him the “I’m actually a psycho” face when he’s simply giving a dishonest solution. His voice, completely dispassionate, doesn’t really match it.
Overall, I found the two mysteries not that interesting. Also, I’m so deeply confounded by the fact that the two characters caught in a lie didn’t backtrack but instead just curse them out with a “curses, foiled again”. It’ a really odd reaction and it doesn’t land. And I guess that’s it, there’s a lot of potential but some of the character decisions aren’t landing to cover up for the weaknesses of the mysteries. Maybe they get more clever but I’m not that interested in finding out.
#COMPASS 2.0
The Premise
It’s like DOTA 2 but there are avatars of real world people and some good character designs but mostly it sucks.
It Gud?
No it sucks. But it doesn’t suck because there’s a specifically annoying character (the characters aren’t interesting enough to be annoying) or is problematic. It’s just really dull. It’s clearly a commercial for a gacha game where the appeal, like Overwatch, is unique character types. In theory. But the character types basically just look like the Guilty Gear we have at home, which means, yeah, there are still some interesting ones but overall, nothing is interesting.
Worse… I think I would hate this game which has capture the flag qualities (defending certain points and such) but the series has no interest in any strategy or showing the appeal for the game, instead focusing on a generic evil horde attack. Shouldn’t a commercial for a game tell me what is appealing about said game? Show some cool strategy or something? It’s almost as if the team realized it’s a bad game and had nothing they could show the audience to make it interesting. If I’m wrong and it plays well, then someone is doing a bad job.
The absolute nothing of a protagonist choses what the series thinks is an interesting playable (a guy who acts like a generic TV jerk, but not in any interesting or edgy way and is smug). The whole human character is summed up with “half-closed eyelids” and all we get is some vague flashback in shadow echoing a character’s phrase and also he I playing this game during class. Great choice but it’s way too anemic for an introductory episode. Also the fantastical game world looks generic as Hell. This feels like what a techbro would point to as some sort of NFT paradise. No thanks.
Uchuujin MuuMuu
The Premise
An alien cat lands in the apartment of a young girl. He reveals that he was from an advanced race but their empire killed off all their intellectuals and sadly they don’t realize how their technology works. The cat’s mission is to learn as much as it can about human technology to help it learn about it’s own alien tech.
It Gud?
Boy is this a case where I like the conceit more than the execution. After a history of anime doing adorable cats, it is wild how uncute the design for the cat is. And specifically the give the cat two designs. There’s a goofier one which is serviceable but I kinda don’t like and then there’s the more commonly used one which just looks charmless. I just don’t like the cat.
But the problem is deeper than that. The idea is great; it’s actually an edutainment show. In learning about human technology, we get to learn about how microwaves and refrigerators work. I like that! It’s a fun way to teach, to show us how thing are made and how applications might work for other things. I’m pretty sure there are educational films with that premise but anime I have found can make edutainment really fun, like Dr. Stone.
The problem is as a comedy, it’s very unfunny. Like, painful. I really don’t care for the main character; anime has had a focus in the last decade of socially anxious protagonists but while some work (Bocchi the Rock, Komi Can’t Communicate, Hitori Bocchi), it is not hard to mess it up and have that character type be more irritating than engaging. I think it signigicantly hurts, though, that the wacky alien cat is decidedly unfunny and I just don’t want to see his antics, turning something that could have been a passable short into me looking at my phone as an escape for the majority.
The Dinner Table Detective
The Premise
A rich socialite lives a double-life as a police detective but when her worlds meet on a tough case, she gets help from an unexpected source… her new butler.
It Gud?
I’m really on the fence on this one and I will be watching episode 2 because the case is not resolved in episode 1. I’ll start with my negative. The series is humour forward and the humour… is a bit much. I don’t *hate* it but it doesn’t really connect with me and when the lead character gives wacky reactions I’m not feeling it. The much whackier character also doesn’t quite land. Voiced by the guy who was the manager in Zombie Land Saga, he goes similarly big. Instead of an aggro manager, he’s a failson super-rich detective (who is also hiding the fact that his top investigator is similarly rich) who no one takes seriously. Early in the case he has an idea that doesn’t *sound* bad but as soon as things aren’t going his way he desperately grasps at straws clearly is looking for results regardless of logic. It works at time but it’s also the most at the speed where it can be a bit much for me at times.
The main character is OK. I think the actress does a good job. I think the conceit of “not telling anyone I’m rich since I don’t want special treatment” doesn’t hold water when the people who do know are all the higher ups. But she’s competent but put-upon and in over her head only to find her butler, a superior detective, has some tsundere energy in trying to prod her toward the right solution. He’s clearly key to the series but they are clearly saving him a bit for a reveal so while key, I don’t know if it will go heavy with him insulting her and I want to see how that “feels” going forward. As in “just busting her chops” or “negging”, the difference between the two will be key to my enjoyment.
Again, a lot of this comes down to if the mystery is satisfying. I feel like it has all the parts; a prime suspect with an alibi (oh, a photo. Whether he did it or not, that’s definitely a clue), four suspects with the same description, the promise that if you really think about it, all the clues are there for YOU THE AUDIENCE to solve. So I think I can muscle through some of the not-landing humour (because it isn’t making me cringe) for the sake of a fun mystery. I’ll try it and see how it goes.
Anne Shirley
The Premise
In the late 19th Century, a young, imaginative and dramatic girl is adopted into her new Halifax home with the sibling pair the Cuthberts acting as her new parents. The problem; the two were expecting a boy to help out on their farm.
It Gud?
In the 1970s and 1980s, World Masterpiece Theatre was a series that was really doing something that anime often didn’t do and certainly does fairly less often now; create animated adaptations of classic works of literature for children. Such series included 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother, Daddy Longlegs and, of course, Anne of Green Gables. I suspect it is also what inspired other companies to make adaptations of Treasure Island and The Wizard of Oz.
I’ve always liked these adaptations whenever I’ve seen them. They often have decent animation and though in some cases they aren’t always following the story one-to-one, it shows a deep love of the source material. I’ve long wanted them to return to this and make more family-friendly adaptations of classic literature but I didn’t think the market would allow. But of course, Japan’s love of Anne of Green Gables is evergreen.
And this is a very strong adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. The animation is nice but it doesn’t feel like it’s adding huge frills to gussy it up; it knows the strength is in the characters and the directorial decisions are to benefit them. It’s a small stakes series but it never feels too quiet and really leans in our irrepressible and highly emotional but kind-hearted and creative girl. I know this story well enough because my sister used to watch the 80s TV mini-series a lot and am excited to see how it unfolds.
Apocalypse Hotel
The Premise
The world is beset by a pandemic that makes it unsafe to stay on Earth. The humans leave but the Earth is not without stewards… though not many. Specifically, a hotel in Ginza is entirely staffed by robots. Over 100 years later, the staff is still cleaning rooms, preparing meals and checking their website views. Things seem like they might stay that way forever. Until one day, something does change.
It Gud?
This is probably the breakout series of the season. I was in as soon as we met the cast of sweet robotic oddballs. The breakout character is Doorman Robot, a giant Megaman villain type whose only point for existence in his 1 ton frame is too open and close doors and every day he does that, the strain nearly destroys him. And yet, he must. They all… must. Despite the title, this is sweetness and comedy first. Don’t avoid it if you think it is going to be a downer. But it still does confront the darker elements.
The sadness of the humans being gone isn’t “poor humans”. It’s the sadness of these robot servants, their purpose defined by making people happy, have no people to make happy. Always at the ready for a future that will never arrive. And they might be robots but they are getting older. Some are not as effective as they used to be. Some are on indefinite leave. And our lead character is clearly traumatized by this and is throwing herself into her work with unholy zeal to avoid having to deal with it.
This alone would be enough to get me onboard; a workplace sitcom where the workers work for the sake of work and no one will enjoy what they do. It’s funny and sad all at the same time. If it was 12 episodes of this, I would be happy. But the final scene has a reveal that changes the trajectory of the series immensely. And I don’t hate that either. It means it will be very different than the first episode but the first episode is also key to establish the characters new status quo and perhaps despite the fact that it could on the surface means it will justify their paths, perhaps they will still look inwards to find something new. Guys, this one is THE one to watch.
Food for the Soul
The Premise
A shy girl who loves food decides to join her old friends food culture club. The problem? The club is just a front for lazing around in their own room.
It Gud?
@Tegan pointed out that the quasi-genre of cute girls doing cute things has a pejorative nickname in Japan; Girl Zoo. Many of these shows are slice of life series and like magical girl series often have a team of 4-5 personality archetypes. That doesn’t mean it isn’t strong within that framework. Shows like D.I.Y. are in there and are really solid and pretty comfort food shows.
Interestingly in Japanese series “social anxiety” characters have been driven to the forefront. It makes sense to have them over a more bland “point of view” character or relentlessly optimistic and ties into some real feelings. Actual success can very; it’s not easy to do something that hits like Bocchi the Rock! and having a character afraid of engaging, if poorly done, can be tiring and frustrating.
Food for the Soul is, as the title might suggest, real comfort food. It’s certainly isn’t as wowing as Bocchi but it doesn’t design to go real “hard.” It’s a real cozy series and it manages to be quiet without being dull. It’s continually engaging and it doesn’t make it all about social anxiety. It’s about food and it spends it’s food time well. This girl zoo makes me want to have a meal. It doesn’t break the mold but it’s consistently funny and has the comfy chill vibes I’m looking for.
Kowloon Generic Romance
The Premise
Kowloon, the Chinese Walled City, is a superdensely populated city in China in the future. A guy and a girl work in real estate in the city that is both impoverished but has people living with optimism and joy despite it. They want to make the people happy and are also developing a mutual attraction. But something is strange. This is the future. And Kowloon was destroyed in 1993. And a strange machine is stuck in place high above the city. And when the girl discovers a picture of the guy with his “old girlfriend”, her sense of reality is tilted on its head.
It Gud?
Kowloon Generic Romance is a very unique series. It isn’t just the setting, it’s the fact that it is a sci-fi mystery romance series that very slow plays things. Not as much as the manga; apparently episode one completely covers the first volume. But while it’s big mysteries are there, it is primarily a melancholy slice of life romcom about nostalgia. And early on, it’s a beautiful nostalgia, living in the moment of a place unchanged. But soon questions emerge and you ask “just what is going on”?
There’s a box in the sky. A waiter in a restaurant the lead recognizes her but she does not him. She can’t seem to find a restaurant from the night before. These mysteries are there but much of the first episode is mild but palpable yearning, the feel of the city (the heat, the people, the smells of food) and the strange tone that feels happy-yet-sort-of-sad. This is a talky series but it isn’t an exposition-heavy one. It’s a vibes series in the heat of summer.
But those mysteries. Are they ghosts? Is the entire city a Matrix-like simulacrum from the main character (he goes on quite a bit about nostalgia)? Is the lead character missing her memory or is she simply stuck in the wrong universe. This series is beautiful and I’m excited to go on the journey of either finding out or falling into a deeper, perhaps never quite solved mystery. Also, it’s an anime romance series where the characters are in their 30s. That doesn’t happen often.
Lazarus
The Premise
In the near future, at least one big problem is solved; a safe painkiller. Or so we thought. The genius creator of the drug who disappeared years before re-emerged to announce that the drug was a Trojan horse and everyone who has taken the drug will start dying in thirty days. He promises the only way to find a cure is to find him. And the people sent to find him as a ragtag crew of secret agents, experts and a master escape artist who escapes from jail for fun.
It Gud?
Yes. This is that thing from the Cowboy Bebop guy alongside Adult Swim who really wants another Cowboy Bebop. In many ways, it’s comparable. A hypercompetent badass with an incredible skill (instead of Jeet Kune Do, it’s parkour) with cool music and amazing set pieces. There’s actually a lot of exposition in this one but it’s one of those shows that manages to avoid the pitfalls of that issue and overloading the audience. There’s a lot but there are also incredible action that is dynamic and it’s all well-balanced.
While it certainly isn’t as revelatory as Bebop was this isn’t a re-hash. In fact, while I don’t think it is going to let itself get bogged down in the themes, there are some relevant ideas. I have no doubt a show about a painkiller that will kill the users is related to our current concerns. But I feel like it might be heading somewhere else, too. What do you do at the end of days? There isn’t a purge here (though things might go crazy when things get down to the wire later on in the series), most of the people are just doing “life goes one” with one guy saying “Uh, I think I’m done with school”.
But while there are some big ideas, it’s also a series of rich visual humour, excellent fights and while the characters haven’t been fleshed out yet, I have a lot of faith the creator of Cowboy Bebop is going to dive into each one of them for sad, engaging stories. I’m also curious what is going to happen when we get to the last stage of the series because that’s where the juice of the movie will be if they don’t fuck it up. But as is, it’s a top tier series. Hopefully Adult Swim doesn’t Uzumaki it up.
Mono
The Premise
Two girls have a photography club and after their president leaves decides to do start experimenting. With cameras. Not each other. Sorry, yuri fans.
It Gud?
Our second Girl Zoo is Mono and I will say, I didn’t have big hopes but the first half of the episode is quite strong. It’s funny and cute. I find the cast and setting charming and appropriately humble. And the first bit of business after the introduction is “let’s put a gopro-type camera on a cat” which is a fun bit of business. I thought, “this is going to be a decent season for these shows. Not the powerhouse of DIY/Bocchi but still”.
The second half, though… kinda lost me. It wasn’t bad and there were a couple cute gags but it’s slowness in this one, focused on time lapse photography just wasn’t quite as charming or fun. Even more than that, it is revealed the series is actually the inspiration for a comic that a mangaka character does and it’s a bit of meta stuff that doesn’t feel earned.
Overall, I liked it. I suspect I’d be more forgiving of the second half if this was one of those 12-minute episode series. Some slice of life series or comedies simply don’t work as well in a full half-hour. But while this complaint has made me drop otherwise OK shows in the past, the first half was a positive enough experience that I’m happy to stick with it.
Once Upon a Witch’s Death
The Premise
A young witch discovers she has 1 year to collect 1000 tears of pure joy or she dies. In this economy?!
It Gud?
Overall, this is a fine little bit of fluff. Mostly, it’s light comedy and slice of life, and also taking a lot of time to set up the rules of the series. In that we get some back and forth between the main character and her aged mentor (whom I have a theory about) and the latter half is her first mission. In terms of structure, it’s doing well and the idea of every story being about eliciting tears of joy makes a promise of some emotionally cathartic viewing.
So the reason I’m not sticking with it is I just wasn’t really moved by the big emotional moment of the episode. I think dealing with a death is a good place to start because it promises the character will (or should) undergo an arc where she has a better understanding of death and people. But the story is just competent storytelling that lacks the juice to make me feel. And I very much want to feel. I don’t even mean the show needs to go hard or dark but the series LITERALLY promises to be a tearjerker. And if they can’t sell that in the first episode, I have no real interest in sticking around.
Rock is a Lady’s Modesty
The Premise
A young woman is one of the most popular at a super exclusive school for the poshest and most proper young girls. But while she puts up a front that says “perfect princess”, she actually comes from a low class background and is working hard to keep up the illusion of perfection. She even put aside her passion playing guitar. When she meets a seemingly more perfect girl, she is shocked to learn she is a rocker, too. And not just in talent, in her twisted, “go-fuck-yourself” punk rock soul. Soon the two have a relationship of both wanting to dominate each other… musically.
It Gud?
A sort of cheeky take on Maria Watches Over Us, this also is a very gay show set at a cartoonishly fancy school (this time for the ultra rich rather than simply fairly rich and religious). It has a fun start with the lead character desperate to hide her being a normie by really overplaying her untouchable princess vibe while desperately staying one step ahead of everyone.
It’s not too big a mystery about where it is going when we get to meet the second major character and she drops her badass guitar pick with a flaming skull but when she gets to reveal her “Ima fuck you up” side, it’s not just yuri, this is going to be a “two tops collide” situation and a battle of wills and skills to one up each other while making beautiful music together (in the literal sense).
The visuals are pretty strong (though the ridiculousness of the main character’s hair is a bit much, especially when it is revealed she had it BEFORE joining the school), especially the music-playing scenes. And it’s clearly aiming to have a lot of fun with not only it’s kinkiness but the main character having to play the role while juggling playing hard rock. I’m really looking forward to this one and hope it doesn’t drop the ball?
Teogonia
The Premise
In a fantasy world, a small tribe/kingdom of people feed off the hearts of their inhuman enemies to gain magic powers. Those with higher status gets more heart goo! The main character, a poor young man, decides to steal some for himself. Also, this is an isekai, I guess.
It Gud?
It’s pretty generic. And also… part of it is it is taking me a long time to finish these things but really, I barely remember this one. Basically, it just felt like a generic fantasy series. Not even generic isekai. It’s trying to do the isekai part as something of a reveal but it all feels so samey, who cares. And in the realm of isekai, it’s a bit power fantasy but it’s trying to hew closer to regular fantasy rules rather than video game rules.
Now you think that would help. As would the fact that one female character noble must stand up to her patriarchal system to get shit done. This all seems to point in a right direction but really this was all quite bland. A flavourless series in an overcrowded market. I give isekai a hard time but the problem isn’t “the genre”, but the approach and so many are just so deeply samey, even though it feels like it’s drifted into many subgenres of the subgenre. Teogonia at least is trying to be something closer to an old-fashioned fantasy. But beyond that, this is a series with not a lot under the hood.
The Gorilla’s Go-To Girl
The Premise
In a fantasy world were everyone gets a boon from one of the special animal spirits, one girl is gifted with the rare gift of gorilla strength. She soon is asked to try out for the knights due to the battle applications but she would rather not embrace her powers because she finds the connection to a magic ape embarrassing.
It Gud?
It’s fine for what it is. It’s not an isekai but it has those similar vibes, what with taking place in a generic fantasy realm with a character who gets wildly overpowered abilities. But in that, this isn’t bad. This one is definitely aimed at the fans of girls surrounded by sext potential male suitors and the suitors are also… somewhat charming, particularly the himbo dog boy who is immediately the lead character’s biggest fan.
There’s nothing wrong with it… but it also lacks enough right to make me excited. I was really excited by the premise, less in seeing the trailer but it evened out to fine in watching. But I’m not really excited by the main character’s journey. I feel like it is lacking something. Maybe it’ the main character’s dilemma; her power is cool but kind of embarrassing to her and her journey is to make piece that gorillas are awesome and being supah-strong doesn’t make you any less of a woman.
Not a bad message, I suppose, but she also sort of coasts through the adventure. I don’t even just with her powers. There’s not the kind of opposition, even in paper tiger form, that makes it super satisfying when she wins all the contests with ease. There’s a mean girl at the start of the episode… and even then she didn’t seem that mean by otome standards. It’s fine but I’m not excited by this journey, so I’ll bow out.
Witch Watch
The Premise
A young teen descended from ogres is tasked with acting as the body guard of a clumsy witch.
It Gud?
So far… so-so. Really hit or miss. The misses aren’t painful but they are a bit bland. I’m told that it eventually becomes a parody of battle shonen as well as being an actual sincere battle shonen. The animation is good though not as eye-poppingly gorgeous as the incredible opening credits sequence. But as it is, it’s more a traditional rom com with a bit of extra goofiness.
I do think the way it presents the magic shenenaigans that it also structurally is sort of similar to Doraemon, replacing future gadgets with magic spells and the elementary school dipshit with a cool dude and his magic cat with a silly witch. OK, maybe my comparison went to far afield but it's like "magic = antics" and that's sort of similar to Doraemon, I guess. And Bewitched. And it works OK in that format. But as a comedy, it was only sporadically funny and the rest in the realm of fine.
But I will give this one a chance. I could see it getting weaker but I could also see it getting a lot of fun when it actually gets to a plot. I already have scene a wild selection of characters coming up. My hope is this is one of those series that overcomes my initial hesitation and wins me over. But as it stands, I like it OK.
EDIT: I actually like the next two episodes better, even though it really leans into "hey, we just made an anime/manga reference". (And some are deeper cuts for young and non-Japanese fans).
Yaiba!
The Premise
A young boy taught kendo in the jungle with his dad accidentally get sent to Tokyo where the boy lives with his dad’s kendo rival and his daughter. He goes to her school’s kendo club and battles the captain, an act that ends up having cosmic repercussions for the world.
It Gud?
This really doesn’t deserve to look this good. It brings to mind adaptations of older stuff, stuff with… some pedigree that looks so cheap. The last Shaman King anime was a pretty poor product (to be fair, the source material had great art and character designs and a weirdly ambitious way to conclude a battle anime in some ways but was not actually that great). There are a surprising number of Osamu Tezuka series that are lacking in one way or another (Dororo was pretty good with some terrible animation errors).
But Yaiba is the series that the Detective Conan guy did before Conan. And I’ve read a lot of it in university and my verdict is… it’s fine. Kinda funny Dragonball knock-off but knows enough to keep it pretty light even when the stakes are THE WORLD. It’s a very silly series and while I never got to the second half of the series (I imagine this one will just cover the first half), I remember it as silly villain of the week before moving onto the next baddie. So… why does this look SO GOOD? Despite the pedigree, it feels like it would have been easy to fart out something passible.
But Wit doesn’t do things half assed, so now we get a gorgeous and dynamic Dragonball knock-off with a sword Goku (down to feeling up a girl because he doesn’t know what a girl is. It… it hasn’t all aged well). It’s a series that has a slight story but it’s all about the fun ride, complete with wacky animals and wacky new friends! And having a soft spot for old shounen (when it doesn’t suck… OK, also sometimes when it does), I’m definitely in for this one!
Moonrise
The Premise
The colonies of the moon wage ware on Earth, resulting in mass devastation. The wealthy children (including an adopted one who was once a poor orphan) decide to look into it after their parents are killed.
It Gud?
….Yes? OK, here’s the deal, I watched so many of these that we are on episode four of most of these shows and I’m still trying to write from the point of view of watching only one episode. Granted, so far I still have only seen one with this one (even though I think all the episode are available) so I only remember a bit. What I remember is this; the first action “in media rez” scene of the characters fighting robots bored me, despite it aiming to be a tension filled romp.
But when the show does slow us down and moors (mores? The boat one) us to the story and the characters, things pick up. It’s clear the moon’s cause is the more sympathetic one (there are shots comparing the poor moon to the rich and pampered Earth types) but they are also being lead by someone willing to do some atrocities. Despite the leads being wealthy and pampered, I think it does a good job making us like them OK. I don’t know if we’ll have time for the character building I suspect Lazarus is probably going to do but I was more interested in watching the show by the end than I was at the beginning.
