SEASONAL PRATTLE

Oddly enough, the melting pot of quirky personalities, bizarre plot beats, and eclectic humor is gelling together way better in practice for this week’s Nakanohito Genome than they appear on paper, or even during the premiere. This unexpected performance not only makes it arguably the most improved Summer work from week one to week two (Granbelm definitely provides some stiff competition in that regard) but also worthy to lead off our check-in. Raising Murasaki offered a lot more flavor than expected with Himiko, Makino, and Anya being surprisingly fun as a trio for episode two’s particular game – landing good comedic quips along the way and delivering from a variety of tonal platforms. Compounding on that, Yuzu’s material at the end offered a respectable amount of momentum to further sell the narrative’s base intrigue into next week. From a construction standpoint, Nakanohito Genome is still very rough fundamentally: Its off-course writing is shoddy when it comes to the conventional mechanics you would like to see – but it weirdly works with its brand. There’s enough going on between its over-the-top behavior and cast to be enjoyable, which is great return for a work where expectations had drastically dipped just seven days prior.

Dr. Stone (2)

Second time around and yet another applaudable showing! Dr. Stone doubled downed on a good handful of elements that made the pilot so enjoyable: The push and pull between Senku and Taiju, the quick humor, scientific touchstones, and its foundational sense of wonder for its world and progression are all accounted for in desirable quantities. Building off of that, episode two’s menu specifically offers nice pickups like clarity for our title and a welcomed lift for the work’s narrative value through Tsukasa’s debut and clashing ideology. Good stuff for an episode that’s very much a launching pad for future conflict.

Fire Force (2)

While this follow-up didn’t quite rise to the technical marvel that was produced from the first, dare I say this week’s Fire Force was the better of the two outings? Episode two still contained plenty of production glitz and glam, staying crisp in its vision of key sequences and mustering loads of impact when demanded – so it’s not even like its average level of craft depreciated that much. However, where it not only compensates for this but outshines, is on the textual side. From Arthur’s inclusion and associated shenanigans to a more soft tissue performance from this week’s Infernal, Fire Force is just straight up a better balanced and spirited display on both sides of the pen. Would love to see more episodes approached like this.

Kawaikereba Hentai demo Suki ni Natte Kuremasu ka? (1)

Fetishes and perversion are certainly not new to director Itsuki Imazaki, so his onscreen comfortability with this kind of material is no surprise here. However, Hensuki’s presentation through its first episode definitely is. Much of Hensuki’s opening material comes across as standard fare for a harem, just with a tacked on Cinderella gimmick, all the way down to the linear personalities of the girls and the flavorless MC that can’t recognize their thirst if his life depended on it. To the writers’ credit, our twenty minutes do a decent job of playing up its Cinderella mystery, but it’s an effort that’s ultimately eclipsed by its craft. Geek Toys has an extremely limited history as a studio, but their unit on this project is very clean and crisp in their handling. There’s plenty of times were smart embellishments lift would be stagnant scenes and add pop to routine interactions/dialogue beyond the genre’s average threshold. Not bad for the spaces it wants to occupy.

Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru? (2)

Informative second episode, but not having Akemi in this one full time and letting her shine in a similar fashion to the premiere really shows – and it hurts. Hibiki is displaying that she can only do so much on a scene to scene basis to engage, and while it’s nice to actually meet Ayaka, her presence and correlating material simply lack the comedic pop or energy to really invest in. To make matters worse, this time around seems to be heavier on the educational side, which isn’t exactly the most riveting avenue to go down. Looking to see if episode 3 can rebound with a bit more juice and recover from where it took a step back.

Granbelm (2)

With vastly more conventional telling, Granbelm didn’t deliver the flashiest episode, but instead, the one that the series critically needed. After a very vague narrative effort in its premiere, it was important for Granbelm to begin putting the textual building blocks in place as soon as possible – shaping Mangetsu and Shingetsu all while steadily demystifying pertinent touchstones of the overarching story. Thankfully, this task was executed with fine touch – primarily highlighted by the passive peeks at Mangetsu’s headspace in our second half. While there’s certainly more that could be done in this regard, it’s good to see we’re making strides in the right direction. Hopefully, Granbelm continues the effort from here and builds on this healthy outing.

 

Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo (2)

The more I watch of Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo, the more I wish it was just a pure comedic piece that ditched the other genre tags. Reason being, this show is just so blatantly stronger through that lens so far: The dexterity to set up and deliver jokes with little misstep, good grasp of timing, sound voice work to emphasize punchlines, malleable reactions, etc – Araburu has a bunch of seductive facets to its comedy toolbox that makes its humor land well and a lot of them turn up in this second showing. Sadly though, the same thing still can’t be said about its dramatic strokes – which noticeably features our set of girls doing so much knee-jerk running away from boys that you can lose calories just watching them. Fortunately, those parts are minimal so two ends up as a nice turnout by credit roll with just a little homework to hopefully straighten out by next week.

Given (1)

Good start to Given, providing reasonable narrative ground for Mafuyu and Ritsuka to stand on while ticking off a slew of other boxes opening episodes should typically accomplish. For that, this premiere is very much a conventional introduction with little blatant hooks – finding most of its value in its second half jam session and the radiance from Mafuyu’s warm personality. The series appears to have a decently high ceiling all depending on how it plays out its hand dramatically, and fine sound design to fall back on as a consolation if it does go awry. Interested to see how it finds its footing towards higher grounds next week.

Machikado Mazoku (1)

Machikado Mazoku had a cute and easy-going start, walking a lot of the common ground you should expect from a 4-Koma adaption with its genre tags, but still managing to bring its own sprinkle of charm where it counts. Yuuko is already shaping up to be a good lead for the tonal spaces this show wants to reside in – she’s not stiff at all as a source of comedy and can turn on the adorable at the drop of a dime – and Momo isn’t too shabby as a co-lead herself so far. Structurally, this show is pretty lightweight, operating with a quirky enough premise and narrative density to buy-in but not drag its telling or comedic sensibilities. Solid showing for its intended audience.

Okaasan Online (1)

Given what Summer has offered as far as Isekais are concerned – Okaasan Online actually feels like a breath of fresh air. Immediately, it’s easy to see that the show isn’t the smoothest mechanically: Our twenty-something minutes feels like it’s in a hurry to go through the motions, more concerned with quickly nailing tired Isekai touchstones and its mother-son gimmick rather than painting its world or any other related elements. Be that as it may, episode one does a sound job at characterizing arguably the series’ most vital piece in Mamako. You really get the sense that she cares for Masato on an intimate level, and viewers are even treated to a finely executed emotional pull from her to solidify that. There’s a lot that’s dull around the edges, but if Okaasan Online can polish certain aspects it could potentially be a decent watch for its genre.

DanMachi 2 (1)

In a splendid display of uninteresting scripting, DanMachi returns with a premiere that elevates the fear of its second season becoming another Sword Oratoria from doubt to an actual possibility. Key chunks of this start come across as fast and thoughtless but are ultimately overshadowed by how dry the vast majority of its content is. The only real spark of life through this lackluster affair appears in the form of a surprise proposition from a villain that feels ripped straight out of ALfheim – and even that wasn’t built to or executed gracefully. Disappointing.

Isekai Cheat Magician (1)

Well, this was a completely phoned-in effort from Isekai Cheat Magician, doing nothing even mildly notable to separate itself from the abused carcass that is modern Isekai storytelling. Encourage Films does absolutely no favors in elevating any of the material shown as numerous scenes play out clunky with little creativity in their implementation, and the same can be applied to episode one’s dialogue – which is full of uninspired choices that feel pulled out of the early 2000s. Our lead duo’s lack of imagination is the final nail in the coffin, falling prey to the same level of writing and care of its low-effort surroundings. Very underwhelming.

Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (1)

Between the terrible CGI, dirt level writing and wannabe Kaneki acting edgy to the point that it’s laughable – I don’t think there’s a big enough garbage can to contain Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou’s first episode. Almost every immediate aspect of this premiere is flat out bad as viewers are greeted with a string of events that are poorly directed and bloated with D-rate Isekai hallmarks: The monsters and labyrinth are stock effort, the cast of characters shown all feel copied and pasted from elsewhere, party member roles are basic and even the skills so far are pretty flat. Throwing fuel on the dumpster fire, Arifureta’s start struggles with even the most elementary storytelling devices – barely being able to pull off a flashback with any weight. It’s a wonder that this episode even got the green light to air with how much of a rough draft it feels.