Summer 2018 First Episode Impressions (Pt 1)

This thing was over 2000 words with extensive editing, so I’ve split it into 2. Part 1 covers the top half of premieres. Part 2 (on the 10th/11th of August, depending on your timezone) covers the bottom half, unranked shows and, of course, Muhyo and Roji’s (which could land anywhere, to be honest).

Reminder this goes best -> worst and only covers the first episode/turning point of the season. Anything that isn’t here is either out of reach, legally speaking, I haven’t started it previously or I wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole…but since this season was pretty bad, I watched a lot more anime that fulfil resolutions and didn’t make the initial list (in bold). If it’s not here, it may be in the next post.

Speaking of part 2, “unranked shows” in the opening description refers to first episodes of shows seen through the anime club, like Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai in spring. This week that’s Grand Blue, but if you want to look out for any updates, watch this tweet…

Magical (best of the best)

• Angolmois: This show was my lowest non-resolution ranker that wasn’t HiDive territory, so it’s pretty impressive that it’s this high. Aside from Teruhi being a clichéd damsel in distress (there is Kano though, plus it looks like Teruhi will become badass from promo material) and that strange filter that makes everything look like it’s got extra pencil lines, it’s pretty solid for a show full of chopped heads and blood.
• Cells at Work!: It’s adorable and educational…the perfect combo(?) for someone who Googles stuff while they watch. Plus, it says everything in layman’s terms so you don’t have to worry about not knowing much. Also, I’ve really taken to RBC even though she’s a useless heroine (even more so than the platelets, which says something!).
• (Boku no Hero Academia went down a spot due to the break. The show definitely hit its stride this past season and Room King wasn’t entirely fluff like the pool episode, but I feel like the show might be constrained by genre limits at the moment. Also, lately I’ve been getting less tolerant of Mineta and his perv antics…must be all the Moe Sucks and Anime Feminist I’ve been reading…)
• Phantom in the Twilight: Aside from the next-ep chibi segment (it reminds me of online dress-up games) and the fact the dudes act a tad too much like a military squad, I think we’ve got quite the winner here. I like the protag and her friend a lot, although her booty shorts vaguely annoy me – doesn’t she ever get cold running around in those? The reason it can’t go higher is the fact it’s the first Chinese coproduction to make it to the seasonal list, ever.
• Planet With: Ume’s here! That aside, the fact Souya is meant to oppose the supposed heroes is an interesting twist. I don’t really like the fact Sensei is a pervert (to one of Mizukami’s other works’ heroines, to boot), but…he’s a purple cat! That sentence is so stupid-sounding, it goes right back to “silly”! Also, this thing somehow feels like Star Driver (in more ways than one) and has a slightly old-school feel, so it’s kind of operating where Saiyuki Reload Blast was last summer. If I have any gripes, it’s CGI – possibly too much might result in clunky visuals – plus Souya’s flatness (“wants to eat meat” and “amnesiac” are kinda bland). Why do some people who’ve done first episode impressions call Souya “Ginko” (Ginko = maid) though…?

Meh

• Angels of Death: If you think of it as a mystery, it’s actually pretty good. However, as a horror there are a few moments where my eyebrow was raised in scepticism, although I can extrapolate themes really easily from this (when I can only pick them up from the end of a typical show). The backgrounds look good but the occasional CGI looks a tad weird. It’s good enough to keep for now, but it’s probably going to get lost in the rabble later on. The only reason this ranks above Hanebado! is…I have more gripes with the latter.
• Holmes of Kyoto: This first episode was mostly setup/flashback, but there does seem to be something boiling under the surface, to the point where I may be able to call this “a sleeper anime”, at the very least…? The best part was I could guess some stuff correctly before I let Kiyotaka say it, but that’s just a habit from consuming too much Detective Conan. The charm lies in how Holmesian Kiyotaka’s analysis is and how details seem to be grounded in real life (because a search reveals the woman alludes to the Aoi Festival), although the show does withhold a clue or two on that front (the counterfeit guy doesn’t say anything about Osaka). Kiyotaka’s line near the end slayed me though…haha, that’s so me…I do have a Sherlock Holmes book on hand though, so if future episodes have better comparisons between Kiyotaka and Holmes, then all the better for me.
• Tsukumogami Kashimasu:…that’s a tough one. On one hand, I’m squicked out by potential romance between Seiji and Okou. On the other hand, there was a lot of talking (I don’t mind that), but the logic behind these mysteries didn’t quite make sense because the emphasis for this show is the supernatural (also not a dealbreaker). The narrator’s helpful, but a tad intrusive to the story’s flow, plus it’s kind of hard to see where conclusions were made due to even more problems explaning logic (in parts that are meant to explain logic, notably the part with Yuunosuke’s friend) than Holmes of Kyoto. It’s meant to be charming, but if I keep going through the show with not that much emotion, it’s probably destined fo the drop pile…welp, can’t be too indecisive at the end of the season. A straggler causing me a lot of indecision is giving me The Reflection flashbacks, which is the reason this is going on hold.

Later in the season:

• Satsuriku no Tenshi got a bit grating with how many times Rachel asked to die, so it’s on hold (at ep 2).
• Holmes of Kyoto didn’t really get any better, but didn’t really get any worse either so it went on hold (at ep 2). The romance subplot people have been picking up on in their first episode impressions is more obvious…and not just because I read so many impressions posts before getting to episode 2. I’d love for the show to get better, but the second case was only tangentially related to the antiques shtick and the only progression it saw anyone having was Aoi getting a friend…yeah, it’s kind of hard to comment on, let alone make entire posts about. If I do get back to this show, it might be a Tsukigakirei-type thing where I complain about it a lot yet still like it on the whole.

As of the 26th of July, the top 5 shows were almost set, so here’s how they looked:

• Angolmois (2 eps)
• BnHA 3 (1 ep of second cour)
• Phantom in the Twilight (2 eps)
• Hataraku Saibou! (2 eps)
• Planet With (2 eps)

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So that’s all for now. The predictions aren’t set in stone until Muhyo and Roji’s places somewhere, so the list I’ve got right now (final dotpoint list) are only ones with the highest potential so far.

What did you think about these shows? Once again, if you didn’t see your favourite seasonal here, it might be in Part 2 but otherwise, the season’s looking significantly better than I thought it would be…