Just like how Thunderbolt Fantasy grabbed me for the summer and refused to let go, there are at least six different animes currently airing that have my attention. While none of them have even remotely gotten to their respective half-way marks yet, so far I'm enjoying each of these series immensely. Despite the fact that I don't tend to binge-watch any given program (unless it's that damn good/fun) to be completely blunt, I also haven't had much reason to tune in on a weekly basis for close to the last decade of my life.
Thankfully there are enough engaging shows this season to pull me out of that slump, and it's absolutely refreshing to finally be able to look forward to a multitude of episodes from several shows every week. My only hope is that each of these stories can maintain their quality and momentum for the duration of the fall season, because this is perhaps the most fun I've had all year, if not in years. Whether I'm alone or with friends, it's a great time when it comes to these animes, so much so that it's almost like this when we're watching them...
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| This is my jam! |
Now I want to clarify upfront that these are just my personal preferences for the season. Please keep an open mind, as I'm not making a definitive statement when I say that these are the most "entertaining" shows available. This is all simply a matter of opinion, but if you're willing to hear me out on some of them, you might find yourself checking a few of these shows out too.
There are a few honorable mentions that I want to get out of the way before I jump into the early impressions proper. While I may be a fan of the usual full-length series, I also have a slight affinity for micro-series. I feel a micro-series (if done right) can really sell an idea on the short hand, not too unlike that of a music video. These are just a few of the micro series that I'm watching to help stave off the occasional bouts of banal boredom. Most of these can be run through fairly quickly, as they're not huge time sinks or require that much investment.
Honorable Mentions/Micro-Series
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| Tawawa on Monday |
While I am enjoying Tawawa on Monday, I don't find it to be exceptionally special when it comes to other micro-series out there. What really sells this show to me is the excellent character designs, the bright colors, and the risque appeal of the animation itself. Beyond that I don't see this one being nearly as entertaining as Please Tell Me Galko-chan was from earlier in the summer. All the same, I'd still say it's worth a watch though.
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| Kaiju Girls |
I think something like Kaiju Girls may be more in a line with what I think a micro-series really should do, as it keeps the jokes coming and the premise simple. Irrespective of the obviously very limited animation of the shorts (which would normally turn me off as I'm a bit of an animation snob) I do find myself tuning in every time a new episode pops up. The overall designs of the characters are exceedingly charming, and the j-pop music is just too damn infectious for it not to have my attention.
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| Aggressive Retsuko |
It's a novelty gimmick for sure, but somehow the creators keep finding hilarious ways to have Retsuko freak out and go into a death metal tirade. I truly do find myself empathizing with her quite often though, as I've found myself having several of the thoughts she has as well, although probably not nearly as bombastic.
Now onto the Autumn Season Early Impressions!
Keijo!!!!!!!!- Hip Whip Girl
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| Summer never ends in Keijo! |
Based off the manga of the same name, Keijo is set in an alternate modern Japan, where at the turn of the 21st century, a new female-only gambling water-sport called "keijo" is launched. Since its introduction keijo has become a popular national pastime, with many of the athletes rising to major celebrity status. Matches are held in gigantic water arenas, and are performed on top of floating platforms called "lands" where swimsuit clad players compete to either incapacitate or knock one another off, and into the water, being allowed to only utilize their breasts or their butts to do so.
Now that the sport has been around for over a decade, many of the prominent figures have either moved on, or retired, leaving a new generation of girls to pick up the mantel. A gifted young gymnast, Nozomi Kaminashi, enters the keijo arena in hopes of winning the large amounts of money on offer to help pull her family out of poverty. Despite her exceptional gymnastic skills, Nozomi soon learns there is far more to the sport than simple hip whips. Only through rigorous training and the help of her friends at the Keijo Academy can Nozomi hope to best her rivals, and become the greatest Keijo athlete in the world.
Before anyone gets any funny ideas, let me make it known that I don't think this is a "quality show" by most conventional standards. Keijo is an unremittingly trashy show that's completely self-aware of how silly its premise is and what that premise is set up to do. With that said, I also want to say that there is a difference (to me at least) in regards to what makes a show "good" to what makes a show "entertaining."
A story can be implicitly doofy, but still be a blast to watch, either with friends, or as a solo venture. It's precisely for series like Keijo that I invented the whole "Craptacular" rating for my reviews, so I do think it's possible to enjoy a story that you know deep down is fairly schlocky. Regardless of objective qualities, we all can indulge in stuff like this as long as we're willing to be honest with ourselves about it.
Notwithstanding the overwhelmingly silly premise, at its core this is a sports show through and through. Filled to the brim with over-the-top action, bold black lines on the characters to emphasize power, vapor trails to sell speed, and the naming of legendary moves, are all anime sport tropes we've seen several times before. But Keijo has this way of employing all these tropes and turning them on their head. It's sort of like like watching Shokugeki no Soma (aka Food Wars) where something as benign as the culinary arts becomes almost completely sexualized. In the case of Keijo, it inverts a great deal of its sexual escapades by making the fanservice a far more serious element that's pivotal to the characters participating in the sport.
Due to the rules of the fictitious Keijo water-sport, a lot of the fanservice strewn throughout the animation feels somewhat honestly justified, and in an odd way makes the show less titillating and more engaging. Knowing that a character can only use certain parts of their body makes for some creative moments during the competitions so far, and it all culminates in a show that's hard to turn away from.
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| These matches get intense. This is some next level stuff. |
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| Like I said, vapor trails and bold outlines. |
This could be one of those rare situations where I think Keijo may be one of the best modern examples of how to implement major amounts of fanservice into a narrative without it being distracting. I don't know if I would say it's outright case-study material, but it's certainly one that potential fanservice storytellers should be taking notes on if they want their respective works to take things to the next level.
Keijo is totally unapologetic for its content, and more-so comes off as truly believing in its concept. To be frank, I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. Much like another fanservice laden anime I reviewed (Manyuu Hikenchou) the charm of something like Keijo is that its lighthearted tone, combined with its never-say-die message, create an infectious vibe that's hard to shake. You find yourself starting to believe in the inherently silly sport of Keijo, because the characters themselves believe in it with all their hearts. Seeing characters get serious in the heat of a match is legitimately enthralling, and besides, who can't love a show where they have a move called the "vacuum butt cannon" or a girl who's butt attack has a dragon spirit attached to it? It's moments like this throughout Keijo that truly make the show charming as hell, if not downright magical to witness. Keijo is exactly what I want from a fanservice focused romp.
If anything else, I simply love Keijo's summer spirit. As I've been watching these first few episodes, it's almost like I can smell the water on the beach, or feel the cool summer breeze in the air, or taste the gellato the characters eat. Keijo is (in a weird sort of way) essentially pure, distilled summertime fun, and it's for that reason the show will forever have my vote for evoking those nostalgic sensations within me.
Tiger Mask W
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| The King of the Wild shall be crowned! |
In a world where kayfabe is real, and pro-wrestling organizations fight for complete dominance, Naoto Azuma and Takuma Fujii are two young trainees at the small promotion Jipang Pro-Wrestling. When a rival promotion (called Tiger's Den) crushes JPW in a less than honorable series of matches, both Naoto and Takuma make it their life's mission to avenge JPW by destroying Tiger's Den at all costs.
Naoto trains for three years at the base of Mt. Fuji, assuming the mantle of legendary wrestling hero Tiger Mask, while Takuma deliberately joins Tiger's Den, taking on the name Tiger the Dark, in hopes of destroying the organization from within.
As Tiger's Den re-emerges onto the wrestling scene under the new guise of Global Wrestling Monopoly, both Naoto and Takuma set their plans in motion to topple Tiger's Den once and for all. With the odds stacked against them, can these two heroic tigers hope to defeat the maniacal GWM, and save the sport of wrestling before it's too late?
This probably comes as no big surprise to anyone, but I'm a huge pro-wrestling fan. For as long as I can remember I've absolutely loved watching matches take place in the squared-circle, and I don't see that love disappearing anytime soon. The two aspects I've always loved the most about pro-wrestling though is easily the gimmicks and the storytelling that happens in matches as a result.
While I'll be the first to admit that most storytelling in wrestling is (or at least can be) overly melodramatic, if not an outright joke, I also will say that's sort of its appeal and charm. Despite how the majority of wrestling stories have a penchant leaning toward goof-ball shenanigans, there are a select few that hit the mark just right, and elevate into something legendary. Not too many other mediums of entertainment available out there can honestly hope to ever tap into such gratifying visceral potential, but one of those few is Shonen anime, so if anything else, something like Tiger Mask W fundamentally has my full attention in spades. Much like Keijo, the overly campy dialogue, combined with the earnestness of the cast congeals into a winning combination that makes the show so incredibly fun to watch.
The character designs are classic and distinct in the best way possible. Seeing the static roaring face of the iconic Tiger Mask is gloriously cheesy, and getting to see a darker/edgier version in Tiger the Dark is just as glorious. Seeing all the different wrestler gimmicks and how they are all so over-the-top only adds to the charm, never mind that each one is painted as a bigger, more menacing threat than the last.
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| Tiger Mask, the legend returns once more to save pro-wrestling from tyranny and evil! |
Unfortunately for all Tiger Mask W has to its credit in charm of character, it's lacking in almost every other department, thus keeping it from legitimate greatness so far. The largest elephant in the room is Toei Animation as the studio behind the show, and for those who don't know, they have a bit of a rep when it comes to cutting corners in regards to animation budgets. While I can't say that any of the animation is objectively terrible, it is lacking by many modern standards. Several times throughout the aired episodes we have characters going slightly off model, still shot action beats, and some overall janky movements that just don't look natural. Worse offenders exist out there for sure, but in a world where the caliber of animation standards have been somewhat raised (by studios like UFO Table) I feel Toei should've at least upped their game a little bit. This level of animation probably would've been exceptional in the early 2000's, but today it just looks cheap.
What ultimately keeps me coming back to Tiger Mask W is once again its uproariously hammy nature. At many intervals during my time with the show so far I honestly felt like I was watching a time capsule piece that was right out of the 80's, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Never mind the fact that several prominent wrestlers from New Japan Pro-Wrestling (a promotion I absolutely adore) are featured as major characters who either help or hinder our titular Tiger Masked heroes. Whether it's Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata, or Togi Makabe on screen, I'll be completely honest in declaring that I totally geek out seeing these guys as anime characters.
At the end of the day I think Tiger Mask W just takes me back to a period when wrestling (while undeniably ridiculous) was simply a blast to watch. The heroes were virtuous and mighty, going up against the slimy and conniving villains. It's not Citizen Kane, but it doesn't need to be. Tiger Mask W is an anime that makes us remember a time when wrestlers weren't just performers, they were living legends.
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