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2024 has given us quite a few anime that I would consider to be fun, brain-rot. How I Attended an All-Guy's Mixer might not be as brain-rot as other shows like My Deer Friend Nokotan or ‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess, it's overall atmosphere is still goofy enough for me to consider it as such. While this anime doesn't do anything special or unique in terms of rom-coms, I still had a lot of fun watching this, which is important since we've gotten quite a few romance anime this year that absolutely bore me, and that's saying something since romance is one of my favorite ... genres in anime.

What makes How I Attended an All-Guy's Mixer fun to watch has to be all the goofy interactions and dynamics between all the characters. The six main characters - who are split between the male characters in Tokiwa, Hagi, and Asagi, and the cross-dressing girls with Suou, Kohaku, and Fuji - aren't that interesting of characters, especially when they fall into a lot of very common and tired rom-com tropes. However, these characters really make this show enjoyable when they're just hanging out and doing dumb shit for the sake of it. It's fun watching an airhead like Asagi misunderstand the context behind whatever unhinged shit Fuji is making him do. Hagi and Kohaku's fun and adorable romantic progression with one another breathes a ton of light-hearted charm to this series, and the typical shy interactions they have with one another made me feel at home with the genres this anime falls under.

Unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed with Tokiwa and Suou's dynamic. To me, their relationship felt the most bland and generic out of the trio of couples that this anime offers. I'm struggling to even find the words to describe the dynamic between these two because they're unfortunately the most forgettable parts of the show. That's not to say that the writing behind these two are appalling, it's more so that if these two ever got a series revolving around just those characters, I'm not sure if I'd be invested in their narratives. You could attribute that to the fact that this show has six main characters and three couples to focus on, which forces the writing to constantly shift focus on a set of characters so they're not left in the dark. I personally didn't mind it, but I can see it being an issue for other people watching this anime.

Overall, if you need a quick, easy, and fun comedy anime to turn your brain off to, How I Attended an All-Guy’s Mixer might be for you. I personally enjoy shorter anime like this every now and then, and it’s kinda the perfect type of anime to wind your long day down with.

Out of all the anime that was set to air this year, Dan Da Dan was the one I was looking forward to the most… for some reason. I honestly don’t know why that is, but I have said before that I really enjoy when animated projects, especially anime, fully embrace being goofy and allowing itself to go all out creatively. While I like good narratives above everything else, I also like when an anime is just unapologetically bizarre and fun, and that is exactly what Dan Da Dan is. Now, does Dan Da Dan have a good or well-rounded narrative? Not exactly. As a ... fan of this series, I understand and recognize that the overarching storylines revolving around trying to find Okarun’s balls is quite flimsy and shallow, however what really carries the writing are a few aspects: the overall tone of the series, the fun character dynamics, and the over-the-top action sequences.

As someone who is so tired of “hype” battle shonen animanga, Dan Da Dan felt like a huge breath of fresh air to me. The first two episodes of the anime did such an amazing job hooking me into the rest of this series that I decided to pick up the manga and was able to catch myself up with the source material before this season finished airing. The reason why this action anime managed to hook me in ways other battle shonen weren’t able to can be attributed to how this series tonally handles itself. I’m so tired of narratives within the shonen demographic taking themselves more seriously than they really need to be, like Demon Slayer or Jujutsu Kaisen, or not understanding which tonality to streamline itself in, like Kaiju No. 8. Dan Da Dan is unapologetically goofy as hell and I love it. Having a series revolving around a bunch of teenagers fighting both yokai spirits and aliens with unconventional abilities is pretty much everything I can ask for in both the action genre of anime and the shonen demographic. While there are other shonen anime that I greatly prefer over Dan Da Dan (i.e., Attack on Titan, The Dangers in My Heart, Frieren, etc.), I really like how this series just accepts how unserious the overall atmosphere is and doesn’t hold back in giving us some fun episodes and chapters that kept me engaged. However, that’s not to say that Dan Da Dan needs to be *all* serious. There are moments throughout this season - and more beyond this season - where we are given a very riveting and emotionally deep subplot related to the backstories of the yokai spirits, which I think is executed really well. Acrobatic Silky’s backstory was already very well executed in the manga, but the anime further elevated that subplot with some creative cinematography coupled with beautiful animation and soundtrack. While these moments are more emotionally driven than what the rest of the series leads on, I don’t mind the tonal shift since it’s very few and far between and it makes sense within the context of how humans who lived tragic lives end up becoming these spirits. This doesn’t take away or make the series tonally inconsistent, but rather adds depth to an otherwise pretty shallow series, and I welcome that.

At its core, Dan Da Dan is essentially an action adventure shonen animanga. “Adventure” in the sense that the characters take us to various locations that elevate the action of this series and help transport us viewers to this strange world of spirits and aliens. However, these adventurous arcs wouldn’t have been as interesting or entertaining to watch if it weren’t for the characters and the goofy dynamic they all share with one another. The main cast of Ken Takakura, aka Okarun, Momo Ayase, Seiko Aayase, Turbo Granny, Aira Shiratori, and Jin Enjoji, aka Jiji, are all massive goofballs in their own right, so when you put them together in chaotic situations like what this series throws at them, you just get an overload of fun in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I find the whole “loud characters” trope in shonen anime and manga to be quite annoying, but I like how it’s utilized in Dan Da Dan because the characters are such goofballs to be taken seriously like in other battle shonen. Are the characters a bit obnoxious? Sure. However, within the tonal context of this series, it works pretty well in terms of maintaining the overall insanity of this series. With that said, it’s not perfect. The “romance” for lack of a better term between Okarun and Momo is quite shallow and flimsy, but again, I don’t mind it in this context since these two characters are teenage loose cannons who are still trying to figure out their place in the world. Seiko and Turbo Granny are very similar to characters like Dimple from Mob Psycho 100 where they are good supporting pieces while having a fun spin to their relationships with the main cast. Aira and Jiji can be seen as annoying at first, however they are given enough room for them to grow or have an interesting dynamic with the main duo, although we will see a truer side to these characters in later seasons.

As mentioned earlier, the narratives in Dan Da Dan are elevated by the stunning animation, and Science SARU has knocked it out of the park for this anime. Not only was the Acrobatic Silky episode - at least in my opinion - a masterpiece in visual storytelling in animation, the over-the-top nature of the fight sequences in Dan Da Dan is further brought to life with the stunning visuals in the anime. Out of all of the action anime to air this year, I truly think Science SARU and Madhouse did it the best with both Dan Da Dan and Frieren respectively. Whenever Okarun uses his Turbo Granny form, it is pretty much guaranteed that the fight scene is going to be a visual spectacle. The directing for this anime adaptation elevates the source material to new heights, so much so that I truly think that this will make Dan Da Dan a household name when it comes to new gen battle shonen anime.

Now, while I really enjoy this series, it isn’t perfect. Easily the worst part of this series has to be the fan service, both in the manga and the anime. I find it a bit uncomfortable when the main characters, who are minors, are being sexualized in a way that is quite suggestive in terms of the animated frames we are given in the anime. What’s worse is that the fan service is a bit more muted in the source material than it is here for some reason, which is a shame since I don’t see any reason to “enhance” this aspect within the adaptation. It was especially bad in the first episode/chapter, however, a good thing is that the fan service is not only very few and far between, but also non-existent moving forward past this season. If Dan Da Dan does get picked up for more seasons (which I personally hope it does), rest assured that this uncomfortable aspect of the series is not prevalent in the slightest moving forward.

I know other people will complain about the pacing and how short some arcs can be, but I honestly don’t mind the pacing since the more segmented form of storytelling helps keep the series fresh and new every few episodes. I really want Dan Da Dan to get more seasons because as a manga reader, I can assure you it only gets better from here, and the shorter arcs really become a treat as the series keeps us on our tippy-toes with fresh storylines and fun character dynamics to continuously gauge your interest. I understand Dan Da Dan might not be for everyone, but if you want a fun and silly battle shonen anime to watch, then check this anime out.

Whether it be in Hollywood or the Japanese anime and manga entertainment industry, the horror genre has really lost its touch for me. The creative juices of the horror genre have, to me at least, really ran dry mainly due to most entries in this section of storytelling have devolved to narratives - or lack thereof - focusing more on style rather than substance, whether it be endless jump scares that you can see from a mile away or overly grotesque scenes meant to make you look away in disgust all for the sake of shock value. To me, most modern pieces of horror fall ... into one of those two categories, and, unfortunately, the anime adaptation of Uzumaki slides into the latter. Now, I never fully read the Uzumaki manga, but I was blown away by the brilliant and truly eerie art style by Junji Ito, so when the anime adaptation was announced to be airing this year, I was fairly looking forward to it. I’ll admit that I wasn’t going in expecting a deeply riveting narrative, or any expectations for that matter as what drew me to Uzumaki was its art, so at the very least I thought that the anime adaptation was going to at least easily nail that part, and even then I’m somehow disappointed in the final result.

I will admit that the first episode was really good. The animation work utilizes a lot of rotoscoping (a little too much at times), but does so to illustrate how grounded both the characters and the setting are, which comes in stark contrast once all of the spirals, or “uzumaki,” come into play. The first episode perfectly captured the bizarre nature of the manga and, in many ways, felt like the pages were literally ripped from the source material and just given animation to bring them to life. Despite some pacing issues, Episode 1 was pure grotesque horror done correctly. However, the remaining three episodes in this anime don’t even come close to capturing that same vibe, which is particularly important since the narratives in this series aren’t particularly that great or noteworthy. With how flimsy the writing is in Uzumaki, the show could have at least made up for it with some well executed psychological and physical body horror, but the anime even then fails at that due to how amateurish the remaining three episodes felt. Both the animation and art style not only no longer fail to hit the aspects that made the source material memorable in the first place, but they genuinely look embarrassing. I won’t go over the production hell that this show experienced, but it really seems like the animators who worked on this were held back and not truly flourish at their craft, especially when we start to get scenes that genuinely look like PNGs moving across a static background. Whenever characters move, it just looks like someone highlighted the character drawing and just dragged the image from position A to position B on a photo editing software. Even the actual grotesque horror elements in the other three episodes are just slideshow transitions. I cannot express enough how embarrassing Episodes 2 - 4 looked, and I know a lot of people were saying that the finale was a step up from the previous two episodes, but even then it still looked like shit.

I don’t really remember much from the parts of the manga that I read, but I truly do not remember the writing being this fragmented and sloppy. I could excuse the first episode’s pacing because I thought it was a good way to set up the overall atmosphere of the series, but the story beats are far worse in the other three episodes. Each episode consists of various occurrences happening in the town of Kurouzu-cho that are all related to the spirals, or uzumaki. Whether it be sometime turning into an uzumaki slime or other supernatural occurrences related to the spiral, the show is just people losing their shit or being victims to an uzumaki-related curse. Each plot point in this anime has zero connective tissue to one another outside of the main characters of Kirie and Shuuichi being involved in one way or another. Shit just happens in this show, and it’s not like the plot points are hard to follow or anything, it’s more so that they are barely developed and just happen for the sake of having something horrific needing to happen to maintain some psychological horror quota. The Uzumaki anime is purely shock value just for the sake of shock value, and I guess there’s technically nothing wrong with that, but at least make the grotesque aspects visually shocking and not cheap like it looks like someone’s very first animation project right out of art school.

I really don’t like the saying of “what was the point?” The main reason why I’ve grown tired of that phrase is because that expression is usually said by people who just weren’t paying attention to whatever they just watched, and most pieces of fiction have a point, even in genres like slice of life. The phrase “what was the point” showcases a lack of basic attention span that even a five year old could maintain, but I feel like this anime was the perfect example of that phrase because honestly, what was the fucking point? If the whole point of this anime adaptation was to faithfully and seamlessly convert the art of the source material into an animated medium, then it fails at that miserably. If the point was to deliver on pure grotesque body horror, then you could make an argument that it did just that, but you have to sit through the most fragmented writing I’ve seen from this genre while having your retinas burned by cheap animation that gets progressively worse as the show progresses. This anime genuinely felt like a waste of time, and further made me lose even more hope in the horror genre of fiction, not that I had much of that to begin with for quite some time now.

The Summer 2024 season of anime has given us quite a bit of romance/rom-com shows, most of which kind of bored me out to be brutally honest. I didn’t finish most of them because of how cliche, boring, or just flat out annoying (looking at you Roshidere). However, the one that, in my opinion, stands above this oversaturated pile is Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! Where most modern romance anime focus on the will they/won’t they narratives, Makeine breaks the mold and focuses on the “losers” of these romance storylines, that being the characters who don’t get that fairytale ending that we typically see in ... movies and shows like these. Whether they are on the receiving end of being dumped by their S/O or being rejected, this anime takes a very unique premise and delivers what is, in my opinion, one of the best shows from this seasonal slate.

Since this show is called “Too Many Losing Heroines,” this does involve multiple main characters who experience the brunt end of a romantic happy ending. The main cast of Anna Yanami, Lemon Yakishio, and Chika Komari have either been dumped or rejected by the people they loved/had a crush on and typically, in most romance shows, we don’t really follow up on the ones who don’t get that happy ending, but Makeine fully delves fleshes out the after-shock and subsequent emotional journey these band of characters go through. The fourth main character that supports these girls in their arcs is Kazuhiko Nukumizu, who really is the real MVP of this anime. Despite being in the peak of his adolescence, Nukumizu has one hell of an emotional restraint to pursue any of the female characters in any intimate relationship and instead acts an emotional pillar to help them push through all of the feelings they are all going through. You’d think that a cast composition like this would entail some sort of harem, however that is not the case. If anything, the relationship that Kazuhiko forms with Yanami, Yakishio, and Komari is very wholesome as he just wants to be the friend who looks out for them after all of the emotional trauma they go through. That’s pretty much the main core of this anime’s storylines, and with all of the very well written character depth and dynamics we are given, along with the very fun comedy, this creates a very vibrant show, not too dissimilar in spirit to other rom-coms like Kaguya-sama: Love is War, an all-time favorite of mine.

Since I mentioned Love is War, apparently the same studio that worked on that anime worked on Makeine, and, as much as I absolutely adore Kaguya-sama, I have to admit that Makeine’s animation is just a little bit better. The reason why has to be how surprisingly cinematic this show is. I don’t know how to describe it, but a lot of the shots in this show use a very interesting mix of colors for scenes to add an element of groundedness to both the backdrops and anything that the characters are doing themselves. The first episode alone had great scene composition, particularly in the moment when Nukumizu met Anna for the first time in the show. The cinematography for some scenes as well just makes this show so visually pleasing to look at. For some reason, whenever the characters are in school, we get some great shots that perfectly capture the emotional depth of whatever the scene is. Again, this is a rom-com. The visuals didn’t need to go this hard, but they did. Hopefully, the team that worked on this anime takes whatever notes they took for this show and implements them back for future Kaguya-sama: Love is War seasons.

What really makes this show work so well has to be the writing. I really like how this show is structured with multi-episodic arcs that focus on each main female character and the emotional struggles they are dealing with. The first set of episodes introduce us to the main cast: fleshing out Anna Yanami’s, Lemon Yakishio’s, and Chika Komari’s love interests and how they “lost” in terms of not ending up with their respective crushes/boyfriends. After that, each character gets a set of episodes to fully explore how they’re feeling and fleshing out their background in terms of their livelihoods. Kazuhiko and friends all act as support and set pieces for the character progression for whoever is the main focus, with the final episode serving as a culmination of all of that development and the main lead of that arc finding some sort of closure. The final episode is an anime-original ending which felt very satisfying for all of the characters, and, despite this being a romance show, I actually like that Nukuzmizu doesn’t actually end up with anyone romantically. The whole point of this show is to focus on the side of romance that never really gets touched up on, that being when someone does not get the happy ending that we’re so used to seeing in stories in this genre. Having any of the characters, whether it be Anna, Lemon, Chika, or even Kazuhiko, be in a romantic relationship at the end of the season would completely undermine the entire point of the anime. It’s very fitting that these four characters, who have met through being dumped and rejected, are just really close friends who will be there for each other no matter what, which is perfectly reflected through all of the plotlines present in the show.

Makeine is a massive breath of fresh air for this genre of anime and just entertainment in general. I like focusing on characters who are put through the emotional ringer. I like shows that have a good balance between the whimsical and vibrant nature of high school with the mix of emotions one experiences in those years. I wouldn’t say that Makeine is a full-on coming of age story, rather it’s more so of exploring the “other side” of many cliche narratives tied to teenage romance. Within the past year, we were given The Dangers in My Heart, which is just pure diabetic in it’s writing and depiction of young love, while Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines delves into what the experiences of rejected - and even at times forbidden - love would be like at that age. The only gripe that I have with this show has to be that some seemingly important conversations between characters happen off-screen while other characters would be spelling out what *might* be happening in said conversation. We never really see Komari’s conclusion in full and instead have Nukumizu and Koto Tsukinoki just talk about what Chika *could* be talking about in that conversation Shintaro, her love interest. This is supposed to be a moment that wraps up Komari’s arc, but the show just simply implies to us what could be going on there. Ultimately, that isn’t a massive drawback for this show, and I still really like this anime. I’m a bit bummed that the anime-original ending kind of fully wrapped up this show in earnest, meaning we might not get a second season, but this was still a very fun watch regardless. If you love rom-com anime, then you’ll love Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! I truly think this is a spiritual successor of Kaguya-sama, so if you like that series, then you’ll feel right at home with this series.

When I first heard that Nier:Automata was getting an anime adaptation, I was excited, but a little skeptical. I’ve never fully played the game, but I do know a decent amount to understand that an adaptation that is streamlined like a TV anime would never do a game of this scale justice. I’m not even gonna try to compare it to the game because this anime was kinda destined for failure since it could never capture the immersive and *very* deep overall narrative of the game. What made Nier:Automata such a great game was its replayability, especially with its multiple endings. If anything, the game ... requires you to replay the story in order to get the full picture of what the narratives are trying to achieve. Now, with all that said, Nier:Automata Ver1.1a, especially Part 2, is still decent. Despite the more mainstreamed form of storytelling present in the adaptation, the anime was a fun watch (for the most part).

Before delving deeper into the review, I just want to preface this and say that I am only going to review Part 2. I have zero intention of doing a full-on review of Part 1 and that’s mainly due to how poorly put together that half of the anime was. Part 1 felt so directionless and that can pretty much be attributed to having so many plotlines trying to intersect with one another, but there was no clear focus on what the first twelve episodes of the anime wanted to hone in on. The former half honestly just felt like the writers were just throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks, which in that case was the dynamic between 2B and 9S, along with introducing A2. On top of the very shoddy writing present in Part 1, those episodes were marred with production issues, which led to many delays in 2023. Although I wouldn’t bring up production issues in a review, I will here and that’s because whatever was going on behind the scenes was absolutely felt here. The Nier:Automata anime used many assets that were directly ripped from the game and did nothing to polish up on the 3D models used for many of the Flight Units, mechs, and other elements that employed the use of CGI for the show. Because these assets were directly imported from the game to the anime, they all looked really weird when mixed with the overall 2D environment of the show. It’s kind of awkward to see 2D 2B and 9S and then see poorly rendered 3D models of their game counterparts in their Flight Units while in a poorly rendered CGI fight scene with other mechs on-screen.

The reason why I went on that tangent about Part 1 is to set the stage as to why Part 2 works. Everything that made Part 1 a snooze to sit through was pretty much fixed here in the latter half of the anime; there’s finally a riveting narrative to keep me engaged, the CGI doesn’t look like bad PS3 graphics, the fights are really good, and the characters are actually interesting (for the most part). I was genuinely invested in what Part 2 had to offer, from the very well composed fight sequences to some interesting character development that really hammers home the bleak atmosphere of Nier:Automata.

First off, the writing in Part 2 is an astronomical improvement over Part 1. Not only is there real tension present in these episodes, but the stakes help form a narrative that is unforgiving to its core, which is how it should be. I don’t understand why both writers and audiences want their post-apocalyptic stories to play it safe with the plotlines when stories set in this type of narrative should be bleak and unpredictable. Nier:Automata Ver1.1a Part 2 plays off of the very few narrative strengths of Part 1 and doubles down on it by showing us the full scale of the war on the machines and just how shitty the overall conflict is for both sides as well as how they affect our characters. Despite the main cast primarily consisting of androids, this series has shown us that they have personalities that can be expanded on, giving way for potentially good character arcs, and these sets of episodes do exactly that. Although 2B is a fan favorite, I honestly was captivated by A2 and her journey throughout these twelve episodes as she actually goes through a very interesting arc that expands both her character as well as 2B’s. It’s really weird how Part 1 lacked a lot of characterization for the characters we were to follow while saving all of that for Part 2 because I actually believe that if the earlier episodes did more to flesh out 2B and 9S, this anime would have been just a little bit better than it currently is. I would have preferred if 2B’s backstory was sporadically sprinkled throughout the entirety of the series as it would have, at least in my opinion, perfectly lined up with the current storyline thematically, almost in the same fashion that the Arrow TV show did for its earlier seasons.

Like I said, the characterization in Part 2 is a massive improvement on pretty much all aspects. I really like how some set pieces introduced in Part 1, like Pascal and their village, contributed a ton to the character development that A2 would go through, while still fleshing out 2B, despite her being long dead at this point in the story. The overall dire state that the main characters find themselves in further serves to flesh out and enrich the setting of Nier:Automata while delivering some fitting conclusions to any subplots left from Part 1. Both the Resistance and Pascal’s village are fleshed out and made into real characters instead of cardboard cutouts like in Part 1. These groups of side characters are given more than sufficient screen time to feel like actual characters which is important in the case of this show since giving these seemingly insignificant background characters room to be fleshed out does help with the various character dynamics between A2 and the many people she comes across in these episodes. When we first meet A2, she’s your typical stoic and socially removed character who on the surface probably only cracks badass one-liners and nothing else. However, once the show slows down a bit, we spend a lot of time with A2 learning about 2B’s past while interacting with the non-violent machines that populate Pascal’s village. What I really appreciate about these scenes has to be how subtle A2’s development is throughout these episodes. This show could have played it safe like most anime these days and just verbally spoon feed what A2 is thinking and feeling, but the interactions she has with Pascal, the villagers, and the Resistance all contribute to her growth, going from an honestly over-the-top typical stoic and moody character who hates all machines to someone who has quite a bit of nuance to their characterization.

The character writing is what really makes Part 2 a massive improvement over Part 1. In this heavily character-driven story, focusing on the characters themselves to progress the plot along forward is key to making a narrative like this work. Nothing in this half of the anime can progress further without the characters pushing the story forward, which makes sense since this is an adaptation of a game. On top of the improved writing, the overall visuals are a big step up. Although still not perfect, the CGI in Part 2 doesn’t look out of place when inserted in the 2D-dominated environment of this anime. There are a few fight sequences that are almost entirely made up of 3D models, and they actually don’t look like shit for once. I know that this anime was worked on by A-1 Pictures, but apparently the same production team that worked on 86 also worked on this anime, which at first seemed fitting, however I honestly couldn’t believe that going off of Part 1 alone. However, Part 2 does bring out some of that animation that made 86 criminally underrated with some beautiful cinematography and a competent blend between 2D and 3D animation. Although not as visually stunning as 86, Nier:Automata Ver1.1a Part 2 is definitely very pleasing to look at.

Now, despite Nier:Automata Ver1.1a Part 2 being an actual competent piece of TV, it’s still far from perfect. First off, 9S really drags this show quite a bit. I didn’t mind his character in Part 1 and I honestly prefer him in those episodes compared to here since he had an interesting dynamic with 2B, however 9S in Part 2 is just annoying. I get that he saw 2B die right in front of him, but his whole revenge-fueled plotline felt a bit too contrived at times since this comes in stark contrast to the 9S that we’ve been following so far up until that point. It honestly felt like A2 and 9S swapped character writing quality in that A2 started receiving a lot of depth to her while 9S just loses any and all nuance left to this character. The ending also felt just a tiny bit too rushed as well. I do like how bleak the last few episodes felt leading up to the finale as I thought all of the plot points were handled really well. I’m not a fan of every character being killed off because sometimes writers use that only as a form of shock value instead of a contributing factor for the narratives, however all of the deaths in this anime felt natural and properly paced. That said, all of that led to a somewhat anticlimactic ending. The final fight between A2 and 9S ended a bit abruptly and the epilogue felt a little too contrived due to how weirdly paced it was.

Overall, Nier:Automata Ver1.1a Part 2 really shocked me as to how good it was after a very boring and directionless Part 1. I honestly didn’t really have that strong of an intention to continue watching the anime and just do a playthrough of the game (which I will still do), but I’m glad I decided to pick it back up and catch myself up in time for Part 2 to air. Out of all the anime that aired during Summer 2024, this was one of the very few that I really enjoyed from this season and easily belongs on my Top 10 Anime of the Season list, which is really saying something because I honestly hated most of the anime that was being hyped up for this seasonal slate. Now, with that said, does this mean that Nier:Automata Ver1.1a is fully saved? Does this serve as a fitting alternative for the game? No and no. In order to experience Part 2, you need to sit through Part 1, and I wouldn’t blame you if you dropped this anime 3-5 episodes into the first half. The anime adaptation also lacks the insane depth and complexity that the game offers as well. If anything, I feel like this anime serves as a gateway for those who want to experience a miniscule fraction that the game offers; an appetizer before you get to the main dish. If you liked this anime, play the game. If you didn’t like this anime, I’d still say try the game out. The game is a real masterpiece and nothing this show has done will ever come close to that.

Ok right off the bat, what the hell is this series name: Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction. From here on out, I’ll just refer to this anime as either Dead Dead Demons or Dededede. I’m not typing the full name out every single time.

Anyways, Dead Dead Demons was an anime that completely flew under almost everyone’s radar, unless you read the manga (which I haven’t). This sci-fi anime was initially released as a movie, which I haven’t seen and probably never will see, mainly due to the fact that this exists and the movie apparently ruins the pacing of the story. After finishing the ONA ... that just recently wrapped up airing on Crunchyroll, I can absolutely see why this had to exist, because there is no way you can fit this story into a feature length film and expect it to make sense. Regardless, Dededede absolutely floored me. This anime revolves around the lives of two girls and their hardships of finding their place in society in the midst of an alien invasion. The premise alone didn’t sound intriguing, however after watching all 17 episodes + Episode 0 that aired before the official start of the ONA, I still honestly can’t believe that a story like this got me 100% invested.

This anime has a very unique concept in that instead of being the typical action thriller set during an alien invasion, Dead Dead Demons focuses on a group of nobodies and how they live their typical everyday lives, while still maintaining that backdrop of an apocalyptic doomsday invasion. Because of how different this premise is, I don’t expect most people to be interested at all in a series like this. When a story is set during an alien invasion, most people would expect to see bombastic characters in a grandiose narrative maneuver through the intense and over-the-top action sequences, not knowing whether the main cast will make it out of the disaster that is unfolding in front of them. However, this series completely subverts that, and does so in a way that is fresh and justified in its writing. Since this anime is basically a slice of life (for the most part), we get a lot of depth given to both the characters and the setting.

Dededede’s story centers around Kadode Koyama and Ouran Nakagawa as they traverse through the many emotional hardships of their adolescence while the world descends into chaos due the appearance of an alien mothership. FIrst and foremost, the writing is really good. There is so much attention and care given to almost every aspect of the narratives here; I don’t think there is a single aspect of the story that isn’t enriched with some great storytelling depth. Kadode and Ouran’s relationship with each other evolves through many different stages, and I really like how, despite all of the sci-fi elements introduced into their lives, their dynamic still remains very grounded and real. These two main characters do simple everyday things like going to school, talking about their crushes, hanging out with friends, and playing games. However, the dormant mothership that occupies the skies of Tokyo puts an interesting spin to not just their lives, but everyone else’s. Kadode and Ouran meet new people who are either related or impacted by the mothership, and as the gigantic saucer slowly loses its permanence in the sky, the world further descends into madness, which obviously impacts the main characters and their livelihoods. The slice of life aspect of this anime is executed perfectly as we’re given a lot of screen time to not only get to know these characters, but to fully understand how their mundane lives, hopes and dreams, are completely shifted due to the backdrop of the world’s current predicament. In some instances, this aspect of the writing felt a little too real, as most common folk go about their everyday lives while horrible and sickening events take place around the world, some of which may or may not help descend our real world into its own madness, but I’ll touch up on that later.

The pacing in Dead Dead Demons might be a bit slow at first, but I really like how the story is structured, as the alien mothership’s inevitable explosion serves as a literal ticking time bomb for everything and everyone in the show’s narrative. As the alien spaceship further devolves onto itself and more debris from the spacecraft falls onto Tokyo, the story moves along in many different faucets. I did mention that Dededede is focused more on the slice of life elements during an alien invasion, but Kadode, Ouran, and their group of friends aren’t the only focus of this anime. The writing also sheds a lot of light on other groups of people in this story, whether it be the scientists working on secret projects and technological innovations that could potentially counter the aliens that have arrived on Earth, the aliens who try to find a place to live on Earth and determine if this planet is a viable option to coexist with its current inhabitants, politicians who further escalate the overall abysmal atmosphere due to the appearance of the alien ship, activists who speak out against their government’s warmongering policies, or just the everyday citizen whose life was flipped upside down due to this literal out of this world presence disruption and uprooting their livelihoods forever. Every subplot is given just enough room to be fleshed out in order to further enrich the core narrative of this story, that being how does everyday life be affected by a massive occurrence like an enormous alien ship appearing out of nowhere.

What surprised me the most was how deep the commentary was on so many different things. Because Dead Dead Demons puts the everyday lives of its characters front and center, we get to see subtle shifts in their daily livelihoods as the narratives progress, and as the doomsday event, known as 8/32 (or August 32nd), in this story draws closer and closer, the melodramatic elements of Kadode and Ouran’s lives are further amplified by the impending disaster, forever impacting what they considered to be the last summer where they were happy. However, an underlying theme I took note of while watching this show on a weekly basis was how desensitized normal citizens, like the main cast of characters, are to massive events taking place in their world. Now, that’s not to say that these characters need to be glued to every depressing piece of news that is being fed to them on a daily basis, but this aspect of Dededede serves as a commentary on how mainstream media, especially news outlets and media groups that report the news - which even includes the governing bodies of society - have desensitized horrible real world events that should be taken more seriously, which is very topical now in 2024. With constant news of military threats and actions taken between certain countries and political battlegrounds taking shape right in front of our eyes, both domestically and internationally, the overall setting of Dededede surprisingly is eerily true in its depiction of social media in its role of desensitizing historical and very serious real world events that have lasting repercussions in relation to the overall political and social climate of our world. However, this is not the only piece of commentary that reflects the real world as well.

Dead Dead Demons obviously features aliens as a massive part of the story, however these extra terrestrials also have some compelling writing behind them as well that also further adds another layer of commentary to this anime. Apparently, the aliens that arrived on Earth were actually the original inhabitants of our planet, having left this big blue and green rock for a new home. However, the planet they settled on after leaving Earth became uninhabitable for them, forcing them to return to their original home. This narrative is quite sad as humans, without trying to communicate with the aliens, already view them as a threat and do so by constantly blasting their mothership with new and innovative technological weapons, forcing the aliens to retreat and descend to the surface of the planet, only to be further snuffed out by the ground forces deployed on such extermination missions. The aliens come in peace, wanting to see if the planet they left so long ago is habitable again for them, as well as whether they can coexist with humans or not. With how brutal the human characters can be towards the aliens, as well as the political and social debates and protests that take place in this show, many of the issues that are touched up on through this plotline relate to the real world topics in regards to things like immigration and even colonialism. This storyline is even more relevant now with certain events that have happened throughout human history, and are still happening even to this day. I won’t name drop any countries because I don’t want to open that can of worms and maybe start a political and/or social debate off of my review, but if you’ve been following the news and what is being reported on social media, then you very well know what the writing here is referring to.

I think it’s more than apparent that I really like this show. I really like analyzing the underlying themes while engaging in a very interesting plot that ultimately leads to the end of the world and the subsequent winter that follows. However, while I really like this anime, it’s not perfect. To me, there are two things that held this anime - at least the ONA version - back. The first aspect has to be the ending. For me, the ending felt a little too emotionless. What I mean by that is once Kadode’s dad regains his body back, meets up with his daughter’s friends, and is sent even further back in time, he decides to stay in Kadode’s life instead of leaving for work. Apparently, changing this aspect of the timeline for some reason drastically shifts the future, in that the aliens never show up, Kadode still becomes friends with Ouran, even though the alien appearances is what helped bring these two together, and 8/32 never happens, leading to all of the main group of friends living their lives to the fullest. I don’t really understand how Nobuo, Kadode’s dad, staying home somehow completely changes the events of the story, so much so that the aliens just never bother to visit Earth. Maybe I missed it in Episode 0 or in a throwaway piece of exposition, but that just felt a little off for me. Nobuo rarely even has a stake in the overall narratives in Dededede, but him not going to work apparently has a monumental change in the timeline for some reason, which felt a little forced for me. I also mentioned Episode 0, which is the ONA’s prologue to this story. However, Episode 0 takes place many years after 8/32 and right before Episode 17. I honestly regret watching Episode 0 first since it somewhat spoils the events of the anime. It didn’t ruin it a lot, but it did kind of spoil how some of the events will unfold in the latter half of the show. I would have greatly preferred if Episode 0 was structured to air and consecutively be listed after Episode 16, since the “prologue” does show the state of the world in the many years since the mothership’s explosion. Episode 0 also directly leads into the finale, so I further didn’t see the point to open the anime with this massive spoiler bomb. Neither of these issues really hold the anime back for me, but it would just be things I wish were done differently.

Overall, Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction (still a horrible name) completely blindsided me. I was planning on watching this anime since both ano and Lilas Ikuta of YOASOBI were the main cast of Ouran and Kadode respectively, and I did read reviews of the movie being a bit of a let down when compared to its source material, but I did not expect the ONA to go this hard. To be honest, this anime has become one of my favorites of this year so far, and dare to say this *might* go on my Top 10 Anime of the Year ranking for 2024. So yeah, go check this show out.

Out of all of the “hype” anime that have been released and will be releasing this year, My Deer Friend Nokotan has to be the strangest out of the bunch. The only real reason why it even became popular this year was because the trailers for this anime, which also featured the OP, were so goofy that people were flocking to see this once it actually aired. Now, with that in mind, I hate to be that guy, but My Deer Friend Nokotan is… okay. It’s fine.

I’m gonna keep this short because I don’t have a lot to say, but this anime is absolutely overhyped. ... What further drove the hype train for My Deer Friend Nokotan is that this anime is basically Nichijou 2.0, but with deers, and I guess you could call it that. This anime is just pure brain rot and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with having a movie or show, especially an animated project, being completely goofy and devoid of logic. I’ve said in other reviews that I actually prefer if comedic animated movies and shows, especially anime, fully embrace the comical nature side of things since you can do more in an animated medium over an on-screen, live-action venture. My Deer Friend Nokotan 100% accomplishes that quota, however, that doesn’t automatically make it “peak.”

What really holds back this anime has to be the actual comedy itself. This show is yet another self-aware comedic TV show that breaks the 4th wall a lot. I don’t mind when the writing is fully self-aware and understands just how stupid the overall atmosphere is, however there is a point where it becomes tiresome and over-bearing, and My Deer Friend Nokotan crosses that threshold over fifty times over. What I mean by that is every episode has both the characters, the narrator, and the overall setting of the show break the 4th wall in almost every other joke. I think it would’ve been fine if the show implemented this form of comedy sporadically and through what the characters do, but this anime utilizes this comedic element in almost every nook and cranny in the writing. Again, I fully understand that I’m supposed to turn my brain completely off while watching this anime, however there are times where I got annoyed with this show and how the comedy is implemented. If the characters are constantly talking about being *in* an anime and being a part of legacy TV media in every episode, it gets to a point where I’m just turned off by the show because it’s conveying how the peak level of humor that My Deer Friend Nokotan can muster up has to be constant 4th wall-breaking dialogue. The novelty wears off by the halfway point of the season and it just becomes very repetitive.

Speaking of repetitive, the characters and character dynamics are very monotonous. Don’t get me wrong, the comedy does have a bit of charm at first, but when the characters have the same interactions in almost every episode, I just lose interest because there is rarely anything unique or surprising that stood out to me or made it memorable. The two main characters, Noko Shikanoko, aka Nokotan, and Torako Koshi, aka Koshitan, share a lot of screen time with one another (obviously), but most of the scenes they do share are super formulaic and loses its charm very early on; Nokotan does some goofy shit and Koshitan acts surprised and gets mad at Noko. Other characters like Anko Koshi and Meme Bashame don’t really add much to the show as well because they have only one almost only one personality for like 90% of the show. Anko *really* loves her sister Torako and threatens anyone who so much as says anything adjacent to what can be perceived as negative to Koshitan while Bashame eats, grows, and talks about rice 24/7. I’m not looking for character development, but I really think that there could have been a fun and unique spin to all of the scenes with these characters so that the content written for them isn’t repetitive by the fifth or sixth episode.

Now, with all of that said, I don’t hate this anime. Despite all of the paragraphs in this review so far, it might seem like this anime is repulsive, but it’s really not. In fact, with how terrible the Summer 2024 seasonal slate has been, My Deer Friend Nokotan definitely adds a ton of life to my seasonal watch schedule. There have been moments where I did let out a slight chuckle, and the pop culture references are goofy and surprisingly implemented really well. Despite not being a massive fan of the comedic content in this show, I did have “fun.” Whenever the anime isn’t breaking the 4th wall, I was admittedly enjoying myself, however that really happens only half of the time.

I know this review might seem overly negative, but overall, My Deer Nokotan does achieve at being goofy fun and not shying away from that. Even though I really did not like the self-aware moments in the show, it still filled my fix for a goofy brain rot anime to watch. However, My Deer Nokotan isn’t really *that* funny. A lot of the jokes get very stale by the sixth episode or so and that can be attributed to how unoriginal and repetitive the quipping can be. Constant 4th wall breaking elements loses the specialty of being a self-aware comedy, but again, this is just a dumb goofy school anime featuring a human-deer hybrid. That said, there has been another anime that aired earlier this year that had similar tropes, but executed it just a little bit better, that being ‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess. That anime was just a tiny bit more smart with how it wanted to implement its comedy and I honestly had more fun watching that over My Deer Friend Nokotan. Again, this anime isn’t bad, but it isn’t really the “peak comedy” that it was hyped up to be. But that’s just my opinion.

Shoushimin: How to Become Ordinary is a mystery drama series from the same author of Hyouka, which I admittedly haven’t seen or read yet (I plan on it at some point). Because I haven’t seen Hyouka before, I honestly didn’t really know what to expect from Shoushimin, but this show really clicked with me.

This anime revolves around Jougorou Kobato and Yuki Osanai as they enter their first year of high school with a promise: try to be ordinary. Kobato is known to be a nosy individual, getting himself in and solving mysteries he never really should get involved in. Alongside Osanai, they agree to try ... to become ordinary teenagers in this new phase of their lives. However, things don’t go according to plan as these two once again find themselves involved in various incidents that once again throw them back into their mystery-solving ways. The overall concept of this series is quite interesting and I really like how unique it is to follow characters who solve normal and mundane mysteries that, for the most part, aren’t super over the top thrilling like in most mystery movies and shows nowadays. The theme of trying to become normal individuals while handling very normal mysteries synergizes really well for this show and creates an overall grounded, realistic, but intriguing show. Kobato and Osanai aren’t very expressive characters, nor are they very ambitious, which might seem boring for some, but, for me at least, this fits the overall subtlety of the anime. I know most people don’t like forcing themselves to sit through shows like this, but I like it when a movie or show isn’t afraid to just slow down and have characters get involved in the most inconsequential things. The mysteries that Kobato and Osanai solve aren’t that life changing for the most part, but they flesh out how the characters want to live their lives and how they want to move past the melodrama of the past. The final two episodes take things up a notch, ultimately putting the relationship between the two main characters at a crossroads.

I wouldn’t say Shoushimin is currently at the stage where I could say that this is a coming of age story, especially since this show follows an episodic format, but it more or less showcases an attempt of transitioning to a new phase in life while being caught up by the habits of the past. The effect that this aspect has on both oneself and with other people around them is very clearly conveyed through Kobato’s relationships with both Osanai and Kengo Doujima. The latter is a childhood friend of Jougorou’s who finally reconnected with him once they both made it to high school. The stark contrast in Kobato’s relationship between Osanai and Doujima does a great job ironically fleshing out the complexities of trying to become “ordinary” and turn a new page in life; while Osanai seemingly wants to fulfill the same wishes that Kobato wants, Doujima almost always drags his elementary school friend back into the habits of the past. Although not clearly apparent, this becomes more of a thorn on Jougorou’s side, as his plans to hang out with Osanai are constantly interrupted by a new mystery that Doujima needs help solving. Ultimately however, Osanai herself has a side to her that also is detrimental to the goal of becoming normal high school students, as she has schemed and methodically planned her kidnapping to frame and put a group of people she feels threatened by behind bars. The aftermath of this incident separates the two main characters of Kobato and Osanai as they realize that they cannot achieve their goals of becoming ordinary due to how they always end up reverting back to their old selves, preventing them from reaching their ideal livelihoods. The realization that Jougorou and Yuki are the biggest problem in each other’s lives felt very real and was executed very well, especially for two characters who aren’t even the slightest bit romantically involved with one another. Although somewhat sad, I felt more empty than anything since you have two friends who willingly break off from one another. The dynamic between these two isn’t the most vibrant per se, but these two genuinely care for one another, which ends with them agreeing that it is best for the both of them to be more independent from one another.

To me, Shoushimin asks a few questions like “what does “ordinary” mean?”, “how does one become ordinary?”, and “can one become ordinary after being so set in their ways?” The more I dwell on these questions, the more I ponder more on what can “ordinary” be? Is Kobato and Osanai solving mysteries their “normal?” Can they ever achieve becoming ordinary teenagers? What if they are fated to live their lives investigating the normalities of a mundane life? I might be making this show way more profound than it really is and needs to be, I like that the grounded aspects of this show makes way for the plot points to spawn questions like these. To me, Shoushimin: How to Become Ordinary embodies liminality as the events that take place in Season 1 showcase a point in both of the main character’s lives where they are in this liminal space between the past that they have seemingly buried and the future they are striving to achieve. They haven’t reached that end place yet, but they also try to convince themselves that they have moved on from the habits of the past, despite their actions saying otherwise.

I like this anime if you can’t tell by now. That said, it’s far from perfect. Some of the mysteries that Jougorou solves are paced in a somewhat unsatisfying manner. Sometimes some exposition that characters spout don’t relate to the actual mystery at hand, while other plotlines are resolved by some outside factor that we have never seen nor have been introduced to before. Regardless, Shoushimin: How to Become Ordinary was an interesting watch. As I am writing this review, I’m taking a much more introspective dive into this show than I did as I was watching it, which I guess is the effect that the themes have on me after the fact. I really like the idea of solving mysteries that aren't world-breaking or anything adjacent to that, like in other mystery stories. The simplicity in the mundane plotlines that we’re given in each episode ironically makes way for some deeper and introspective insight to the overall characters and setting of this series. I am fully interested in what Season 2 gives us.

This anime is awesome. That’s it. That’s the review.

But in all seriousness, I was somewhat intrigued by Terminator Zero, but I wasn’t necessarily excited for the show to come out, especially with how milked this franchise has become lately. When I say that Terminator Zero is the best entry in the Terminator franchise since Judgement Day, that isn’t really that much of an achievement considering how forgettable all of the movies and shows have been since, but this anime is genuinely a really good entry that has breathed new life in this IP.

Even though Terminator Zero employs the typical time traveling characters to change the ... future of their timeline, this show reinvents that tired trope in a way that is fresh and philosophical(?). Yeah, what makes this show stand out from every other entry in the Terminator franchise has to be how it handles its morality and interjects themes that challenge the typical concepts of time travel and the existence of AIs coexisting with humans. The main narrative revolves around Malcolm Lee, who develops an AI, Kokoro, to act as a counterbalance to Skynet while also convincing his own sentient creation why it should help in his struggle against the infamous artificial intelligence from the other movies and shows we all know and love. The actual plot of the anime itself is quite interesting and executed really well, as Malcolm fights a philosophical and ideological battle against his own AI in order to help convince these machines that humanity is worth saving, however to counter this slower element of the show, the anime features the classic Terminator hunting down its targets while a Resistance fighter protects said targets in a cat and mouse chase. The action works really well and it retains the gritty and brutal fight sequences that fans of this franchise are all too familiar with. That said, all of the plotlines come together really well, which, for me at least, can be attributed to the great pacing of the anime. The first couple of episodes start off a bit slow, but I actually don’t mind that, especially in the context of this show. These episodes are mainly setting the lay of the land, which might seem a bit odd to do in a long-running franchise like Terminator, however it makes sense to do so here since Terminator Zero, despite having elements from the larger franchise present like Judgement Day, is far removed from the affairs of the Connor family, especially since this story is set in Japan, instead of California where both John and Sarah Connor, as well as Cyberdyne Systems, resides.

As mentioned earlier, this anime features an entirely new cast of characters never before seen in this franchise, such as Malcolm Lee, his children Kenta, Hiro, and Reika, their caretaker Misaki, the new AI Kokoro, and the Resistance fighter Eiko. All of these characters add a ton of new perspective into the Terminator franchise, with plotlines revolving around Malcolm, Misaki, and Eiko showing us a side of the Future War we’ve never seen before, which further enriches the plot points in later episodes. The moral debate that Malcolm has with Kokoro might seem a little half-baked to some, but I really like how concise and straight to the point their conversations are as it maintains the pacing of the show, despite this season only having eight episodes. The scenes between Malcolm and his AI creation also introduce us to a very unique POV to elements of the Terminator mythos since these characters are offering an outside perspective to aspects like Skynet’s existence and Judgement Day that add a ton of vibrancy to the writing. The back and forth arguments between these characters might not be as profound as the show makes it out to be, it still adds a great level of depth to apocalyptic events like Judgement Day in fiction, and Kokoro’s entire argument for humankind’s destruction is fleshed out very well, and even when they finally decide to fulfill Malcolm’s wishes, the writing makes sense due to the sufficient information we know of this character within the confines of this show.

Terminator Zero also challenges the concepts of time travel and how it impacts the overall timeline in the franchise. The Terminator series has introduced the idea of a predestination paradox, which to oversimplify is the concept of a closed time loop, meaning that all of the events that happen to a time traveler - or time travel in general - were predestined to happen. The most famous example of this would be the existence of John Connor, who came to be when his future self sent Kyle Reese back to 1984 to protect his mother, Sarah, while ensuring that the two would eventually help give birth to John himself. While these elements are present in this anime, such as Eiko being Malcolm’s mother, they aren’t as crucial to the main storyline of Malcolm being hunted by both the Resistance and Skynet to stop Kokoro. Terminator Zero introduces the concept of a time traveler arriving in a new timeline the second they travel back to the past. I really like this concept and it finally is a good sign that this franchise is trying something different while also having meaning to it. This isn’t just trying something different for the sake of being different, as this new concept helps characterize some of the main cast in ways that help progress the narratives. Characters like Eiko are given more depth to their motivations through this plot device and it works really well to further enrich the overall story of this anime.

Now, despite the very unique elements present in Terminator Zero, there are some very minor aspects of the narratives that just didn’t really work for me. First of all, some decisions that characters make either come out of complete thin air or have the most egregious stretch of logic. For example, Malcolm constantly refuses to give the full details of Judgement Day to Kokoro in their conversations. Despite the AI being fully aware that Malcolm knows more than he lets on, Malcolm still refuses to tell Kokoro everything that he knows until after Judgement Day, which somewhat makes his entire plan a bit of a failure since he didn’t fully prevent Judgement Day from happening, despite allowing Kokoro to save Japan from nuclear winter. After knowing of Malcolm’s backstory in the later episodes, there isn’t a really good reason for this character to hide some very crucial details which would have at least would have somewhat changed Kokoro’s mind to help humanity against Skynet becoming sentient. As for stretching the show’s logic, there were moments where characters like Reika would come to the most insanely BS conclusions to their assumptions/deductions. For example, Reika had this pretty convoluted conclusion as to where Misaki, Hiro, and Kenta were heading based off of what the latter two would *think* she herself would go. It just seemed a bit ridiculous for a character of that age to come to some conclusion like that. There were other elements of the story, like revealing that the Terminator that was sent back was from future Kenta, feeling a little forced and unnecessary.

With all of that said, Terminator Zero’s minor flaws don’t hold it back enough from being not only a great and needed entry into this franchise, but just a great show in general. From the well executed action sequences to the fairly deep writing present in the narratives, this anime has has finally achieved something that most movies and shows in this IP have failed to do, that being maintaining the identity that made the successful entries work while also spinning those tropes in a way that is fresh and unique that ultimately enriches the story as a whole. Now, despite thinking that this anime is a hit, I can definitely see why some people would be turned off by this anime. Terminator Zero is much more grounded in philosophy, and while there is sufficient enough action to balance out the dialogue heavy scenes, the fights aren’t the forefront of the show, unlike in most Terminator storylines where the fight sequences are filled with the over the top Hollywood schlock in newer entries of this franchise. If that’s what you’re looking for, then this show might not be for you. However, if you’re looking for an actual good entry in the Terminator franchise without rewatching the first two films for the millionth time, then Terminator Zero might just fulfill that need.

Recently, DC has seemingly been making a slow but steady comeback in terms of mainstream media. DC shows have been surprisingly really good lately despite going under the radar for most people, whether it be what I like to call the “Superman renaissance” with shows like Superman & Lois and My Adventures with Superman, or with the newest DC animated series, Batman: Caped Crusader. It really seemed like DC was on a roll with their mainstream media… until Suicide Squad Isekai came out. I know most people are tired of seeing the Suicide Squad everywhere, especially with DC’s weird obsession over Task Force X in ... their marketing within the past few years, and even now in 2024 after that horrible Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League game. Me personally however, I was really looking forward to it the Suicide Squad Isekai anime since I really liked both The Suicide Squad (2021) movie and the Peacemaker show, and after watching all of the PVs for this anime, it seemed like this show was going to take what worked in those pieces of media and insert it here. Unfortunately, Suicide Squad Isekai was a disappointment on so many levels.

If I were to point out this show’s biggest drawback, it’s that it is super inconsistent. First off, the animation for this series is done by WIT Studio, which is one of my favorite anime studios in the Japanese animation industry, however this has to be one of the weakest projects I’ve seen from them in a really long time. For some reason, this show feels like each episode was done by an entirely different production team from one another. What I mean by that is some are beautifully animated with some really good and seamless fight sequences, while others look so unpolished, that it took me out of the show at times. Whenever the Squad was going up against a boss or some big monster, the animation quality was really nice and kept me engaged throughout the entire sequence. However, when characters engage in a 1v1, the animation looks like it’s collapsing on itself. The most egregious example of this had to be the Harley Quinn vs Katana fight in the first episode, which relied way too heavily on rotoscoping, which made many of the character movements within that scene look too slow and unnatural. To stay in line with the inconsistency of the animation quality in this show, the use of 3D CGI is easily one of the most jarring I’ve seen from a production like this, with the final episode being a glaring example of this. The finale has some really flashy fight sequences with the power up suits that the Suicide Squad all receives, however that comes in stark contrast with the CGI skeleton monsters all of the main characters were fighting earlier on in the episode. Now, stepping outside of the animation for a bit, the visual design is actually really good, and I liked the designs of all of the main characters of the entire main cast. Even though I want DC to move past the Suicide Squad, I will say that the character designs for these characters have gone better and better since that horrible 2016 movie, which had terrible and unrecognizable designs. The 2021 movie, SSKTJL, and now Suicide Squad Isekai all have very creative designs that work really well within the realm of possibilities for these characters. It’s a shame the janky and inconsistent animation doesn’t match the great visual design for this show.

Most importantly however, what really holds this show back is its writing. Look, as much as I absolutely adore the James Gunn 2021 Suicide Squad movie, I’m not expecting every Suicide Squad content to be on that level of quality in terms of writing. That said, all I’m asking for is to accomplish the bare minimum and then some, and to be honest, this anime struggles at doing that. I honestly can’t even really decipher what the whole point of the main story was because of how unnecessarily convoluted it is. The Suicide Squad was sent to the other world to gather resources by teaming up with and establishing good relations with the main kingdom of the other world by trying to stop the Empire (they’re literally just called that btw). However, the queen of the kingdom turns out to be the demon king and seemingly orchestrated the entire war between the two factions because… I forgot. There isn’t much to this narrative, but I do like how the Squad influences some of the political workings of the kingdom due to their unconventional nature, so that was nice. However, all of this was so unengaging because most of the show is just the characters dicking around fighting monsters. Now, that might seem fine for a show like this, but all that this show really was are the characters doing a bunch of side quests because they don’t have a high enough level to progress to the next questline in their adventure, while occasionally running into some sort of boss. As for how inconsistent the writing can be, the bombs that are implanted in the entire Squad, which by the way is the main driving force behind everything these characters do in any Suicide Squad story, flip flop between lethal or not in almost every other episode. What I mean by that is that the characters will point out that the bombs are about to go off if they don’t complete the mission, but then in the next breath talk about how the bombs won’t affect them because the signal on them will not work since they are in the other world, but then the show goes back on that and the bombs do work, only for the characters to have no sense of urgency to complete their mission despite now knowing that the bombs can go off. Literally the bomb implants are the most easiest narrative piece to get down in any Suicide Squad storyline since this is the single motivating factor for these outlaws to complete whatever mission that Amanda Waller sends them on, but this anime somehow finds a way to fuck that up. On top of that, the big plot twist that the Joker was the one causing war between the kingdom and the Empire, as well as masquerading as Katana, makes the writing make even less sense. I get that Joker wants chaos wherever he goes, but why would he fight Harley Quinn over all of this, especially with how close the two characters are in this iteration of this couple? If Joker knows what Harley Quinn has been up to in the other world, why even bother trying to run an opposing faction against her and the people she is now friends with? Joker’s inclusion in the main narrative seemed way too forced, and I think that’s a sign that DC really needs to move on from the Harley Quinn/Joker relationship.

Now I will say that some of the character work is done really well, especially for characters like Harley Quinn. I like the over-the-top showman for Clayface and King Shark is the typical dumb loveable goofball. However, other characters like Deadshot and Peacemaker seem a bit redundant when they are both inserted in a narrative like this. Harley Quinn really is the sole character carrying this entire show to be honest, which shouldn’t be a surprise nowadays considering how good of a character she has been in recent media she’s shown up in. Sure, DC is pushing her in a lot of their newer content really hard, but I don’t mind because she is the goofball that DC really needs to add some level of vibrancy to their stories. However, some of the character dynamics in this show are a bit annoying, mainly due to the fact that all these characters do is quip to one another, which I don’t mind since I like it when weird characters constantly bounce off of one another, but in this show, 90% of what these characters do when they are around one another are just spit out nonstop quips. Not even the 2021 Suicide Squad movie and the Peacemaker show had this level of character quipping. It even reaches to the point where there are some moments between characters where I’m just waiting for the scene to end.

It really is unfortunate that Suicide Squad Isekai turned out the way it did. I really wanted to like this show, and there are some aspects that worked for me really well, such as the overall unconventional nature of the series, the individual characters themselves, and the visual designs behind them. However, this show is so inconsistent, it’s hard for me to stay fully engaged from start to finish. Suicide Squad Isekai is easily the worst DC show this year, but hopefully, later shows this year like The Penguin and Creature Commandos bounce back hard.