Acro Trip

Due to her mother's work, Chizuko Date has never remained in one place for long or grown attached to anything in particular. However, while temporarily staying with her grandfather Suikyou, she witnesses something extraordinary: a magical girl named Berry Blossom fighting against Chroma, member of the evil organization Fossa Magna. Seeing Berry Blossom save the day ignites a passion in Chizuko, and she swears to be a fan of the new magical girl in town thereafter.

As time passes, Berry Blossom's popularity dwindles due to the incompetence of her opponent. When Chizuko randomly encounters Chroma himself, she does not hold back her complaints against him. For his part, Chroma does not enjoy being defeated again and again; moreover, Fossa Magna will force him to resign if he continues losing. In desperation, Chroma begs Chizuko to become his second-in-command and help him with his evildoings.

For the sake of Berry Blossom regaining the spotlight, Chizuko must question whether it is right to join forces with the magical girl's sworn enemy.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kurozane, Chroma Main

Shimazaki, Nobunaga Japanese

Date, Chizuko Main

Itou, Miku Japanese

Noichigo, Kaju Main

Minase, Inori Japanese

Mashima, Mashirou Main

Kawanishi, Kengo Japanese

Kuma Kaijin Supporting

Kameyama, Yuuji Japanese

Hugh Supporting

Koyasu, Takehito Japanese

Yogo, Masamune Supporting

Iwasawa, Toshiki Japanese

Kokoa Supporting

Hanai, Miharu Japanese

Date, Suikyou Supporting

Souma, Kouichi Japanese

Tsuki Supporting

Sawashiro, Chiharu Japanese

Konishi, Yuuki Producer

Kotake, Ayumu Director

Tanaka, Ryou Sound Director

Minase, Inori Theme Song Performance

Reviews

Dec 12, 2024

Azuchi

Recommended

The animation was mediocre or said, the same as many others. Quite nice magical moves and artwork. Don't care much for Date's eyes being weird though. The music and back round sound was good with opening. The ending could have been made better. Voice acting and other sounds could have been done a bit better but we can't always have what we want.

Quite the weak series in my opinion but I'm glad I didn't skip this. Grandfather being weird and despite there being very cute but massive bears called Kuma Kaijin, it does not raise my opinion of this series. Chroma being absolutely useless was ... quite funny though. His magic doesn't last long at all.
Comedy wise, the bears got most of my attention. They were cute and Chrome being the way he was was enjoyable but that was basically it.

Overall, I think this was as said earlier, quite weak series. There were too few comedy parts despite being a comedy but this is obviously a personal matter. I feel like the cute Kuma Kaijin bears could have had more screen time which might have raised my own score for this. It will have to stay at somewhere around 6/10 for me but don't let me stop you from watching this. If you've watched Gushing over Magical Girls, give this a chance.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Nov 3, 2024

CorrectorYui

Recommended

Preliminary (6/12 eps)

While this type of premise may have been overshadowed by the more adult version of it in Gushing over Magical Girls,
Acro Trip is definitely a series that deserves your time. The visuals and voice acting are great with voice actors coming from well known fun series like Bandori, Hamefura, and the Disastrous Life of Saiki K. The character designs are incredibly pleasing to the eye and make the manga come to life with the skill of Kawamura Toshie who's worked on 3 Precure seasons. Overall, it is a visual and auditory treat.

But, considering this is a comedy, the writing is the trait that must ... be looked at. And I'd argue it holds up. The comedic timing of the protagonist Chizuko is so fun and she plays an amazing straight man to contrast Chroma's idiocy, and sometimes Berry Blossom's. Chroma's voice actor being in an iconic comedy like Saiki K greatly helps his performance as he is great at delivering a fun and pathetic villain who wants so badly to be evil. Berry Blossom's voice actress also being in Precure previously helps her give the performance of a standard up-beat magical girl and how that trope is poked fun at by the story. Even the side characters such as the "animal" mascot Mashirou or Chizuko's grandpa are a treat and overall, the chemistry and timing has me smiling every time I tune in.

However, I will say that comedy is subjective and the very fast-paced and at times absurd comedy may not jive with some viewers so if you aren't feeling it after 2 or 3 episodes, then it might not be the show for you. But, if you are a magical girl connoisseur who enjoys some teasing and parody here and there in the genre, you will enjoy this light romp.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Dec 11, 2024

HidamariSeashore

Mixed Feelings

Although long-form magical girl anime that aren't Pretty Cure have been on the decline in recent years, there has still been a few such shows that have come out that shook up the formula in different ways. One such magical girl anime is this year's "Gushing Over Magical Girls", which is basically about a magical girl fan who unwittingly becomes part of the evil organization that her idols are fighting against. It's an interesting concept, but given that it is also an ecchi anime, it also has a very high amount of fanservice to the point where it could be classified as a borderline-hentai; while ... I still watched it and found some enjoyment in it regardless, there may be some magical girl fans who may want to see an anime with its basic concept but feel alienated by the egregious amount of fanservice. Before I even heard about Gushing Over Magical Girls, however, I had already made the decision to watch an anime that was essentially, as YouTuber Gigguk would later call it in a YouTube video, "PG-13 Gushing Over Magical Girls". Now that "PG-13 Gushing Over Magical Girls" has finished its run, however, I must really ask the question, "Can Acro Trip really be a suitable replacement for Gushing Over Magical Girls?"

I may have described the basic premise of Acro Trip already, but of course, I should go into more detail. The magical girl fan here is Chizuko Date, a middle school student who is staying with her grandfather in Naniga City for a week. This week turns into an indefinite amount of time, however, after Chizuko witnesses a battle between the town's local magical girl, Berry Blossom, and the evil organization Fossa Magna; having become tired of seeing the same things over and over again in the multiple different places she has moved to, she becomes enamored with Berry Blossom and resolves to stay in town so that she can see more of her new idol's battles. Unfortunately, these battles gradually become less exciting to watch because of how pathetic of a villain Fossa Magna's mastermind, Chroma, is. Eventually, Chizuko encounters Chroma, and because of Chizuko's passion to make Berry Blossom stand out more and her ability to come up with ways to make his evil plans actually have a chance of working, Chroma recruits her into Fossa Magna. Although Chizuko initially refuses the offer....well, let's just say that fate has other plans for her, especially since Chroma's base happens to be underneath her grandfather's house.

First of all, I should mention that apart from being a magical girl anime, Acro Trip is mainly a lighthearted comedy. In that department....well, it's just okay. I may have cracked some smiles or even chuckled a bit at some of the jokes Acro Trip tells, but I can't really think of anything that made me laugh out loud. There wasn't too much of a story, either; it was mainly Chroma and Chizuko getting into wacky shenanigans, mostly in regards to the former's "evil plans". It almost doesn't matter, though, as these two characters do have a fun dynamic with each other. I do wish that the series ended in a more satisfying way, though; I feel like whatever story was there could be wrapped up by something better than a standard hot springs episode. The original manga is already complete with only five volumes, though, so if this is also how the manga ended - I don't know if it did, since I haven't read the manga as of writing this review - there isn't really anymore material that could provide a more conclusive ending. Oh, well.

The cast of characters present in Acro Trip are a bunch that can be amusing at times but also feel a bit lackluster. For example, as amusing as he can be as a(n incompetent) villain, Chroma doesn't feel like he has a real reason for why he wants to be the evil mastermind he is. One episode does have a flashback that shows what gave him the idea to become an evil mastermind in the first place, but it's the kind of thing that makes you think, "What? That's it?" I guess it fits him, since he is really not good at being bad, but there are at least some fictional incompetent villains who at least have a concrete reason for turning to the dark side that isn't just, "This guy wants to be an evil mastermind, so I want to be one, too!" Another character who I feel is lacking a bit is the magical girl fighting him, Berry Blossom herself. As cute as her character design is and as relatable as the insecurities she's shown can be, she's just not that interesting of a character overall. It is a little amusing seeing how much Chizuko freaks out when she's in close proximity to her idol, though.

Voil is the name of the animation studio behind Acro Trip. If it sounds unfamiliar, don't worry; this is actually the studio's first project. It does show, however, as while the art is very colorful, the movement can be stiff at times. Well, I can at least praise how well Yone Sawata's unique artstyle was translated into an anime format; it couldn't have been easy! The opening and ending themes - "Fragum" by Inori Minase and "Reversible Baby" by KanoeRana, respectively - are both upbeat songs that fit the mood of the anime well. I especially liked the latter, given its cute animation sequence and the catchy song that has occasionally gotten stuck in my head. The voice acting was also solid, and each character was well-cast. I wasn't too sure if Miku Itou was really a good fit for Chizuko before the anime came out, but she did a decent job!

Overall, Acro Trip is an okay anime. I personally prefer Gushing Over Magical Girls - mainly because it has better animation and a slightly more memorable cast - but if you're someone who likes the basic premise of that series but doesn't want to watch it because of all of the fanservice, I'd say that Acro Trip is a decent replacement. I may be incompetent at writing reviews, but I can at least say that much!

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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	Poll: Acro Trip Episode 2 Discussion KANLen09 - Oct 2	42 replies	by RGreatDanton »» 5 hours ago
	Poll: Acro Trip Episode 1 Discussion Stark700 - Oct 2	41 replies	by RGreatDanton »» 6 hours ago
	Poll: Acro Trip Episode 6 Discussion Serafos - Oct 30	22 replies	by kirakiradeths »» Dec 22, 11:02 PM
	Poll: Acro Trip Episode 12 Discussion KANLen09 - Dec 11	33 replies	by Ryu-B »» Dec 15, 5:13 PM
	Cover the whole manga ? xnub - Dec 11	5 replies	by deedan06 »» Dec 12, 6:25 AM