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Sep 20, 2023
Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon seems like the type of anime that would be for me. It's got romance between adults, a historical setting with some fantasy elements, and good production values. The problem is that it lacks any real heart - not to the extent of completely ruining the anime, but it feels like a pale shadow of what it could have been.
Saying an anime lacks heart is a bit of a cop out answer, since it doesn't give any indication of what the actual problems are, so let me flesh those out here. First and foremost, everything is just a little too perfect.
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You see all the classic romance tropes showing up, from childhood friends, cool and aloof handsome heroes, the wicked stepmother, and pernicious politics to boot. The trouble is these tropes make the world feel like fiction. Even though they try at times to subvert some of the tropes, occasionally well, but mostly in a pandering manner that doesn't subvert anything, this doesn't solve the problem. Tropes are at their best when they let you elide some of the details that are inessential to the story, but where the story intersects each and every trope instead, all that remains is a plot festooned in cobwebs that are all too clearly a cheap decoration.
The tropes hurt the story most because the main characters themselves never manage to cast off their trappings. Yes, Miyo and Kudou manage to not be wholly defined by their tropes, but showing that you could have done better and chose not to is not a good look. You could have predicted their arcs from the beginning, and you wouldn't have missed anything important in the story. There's nothing done here that hasn't been done before and better. That's not to mention the side characters that either upstage the protagonists every time they're in the scene (Kudou's sister) or have no personality beyond advancing the plot however it's needed in the moment (Arata).
I do have to say that at least Kinema Citrus didn't skimp with the art nor the animation. The action scenes are crisp, and their are scenes of genuinely impressive animation that would have done more to elevate the material if there had been real material to elevate in the first place.
So pick this up if you want a run of the mill romance with good production values and some splashes of action. If this is your type of anime, you'll enjoy it - there are not major flaws here. You just won't find anything that you haven't seen before. I'm just disappointed that this was a weekday meal type of romance instead of the banquet I thought it would be.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 31, 2022
Too often OVAs are trite affairs laden with fanservice and inane comedy, but on occasion one transcends the mold. Happily, this OVA belongs to the ranks of the latter.
This OVA brings back everything lovable from the parent series, and executes it with greater skill. The three episodes comprise a tight-knit arc that fits well in the world of the story, without introducing any unnecessary contradictions. The story keeps a good pace throughout the OVA, leaving you eager for more after each episode. Beyond that surface accomplishment, the arc is surprisingly poignant, working well with the themes of Hakuouki: commitment to traditional values, life in an
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environment where every day is in peril, and the risks associated with modernity. While at times heavy, the mood is well-leavened with comedy and heartwarming moments, a choice well suited to a return trip to a well-loved setting and group of characters.
While full characterization is something this OVA lacks time to accomplish, the fruits of the effort of the primary series are well-used here. The story manages to give us time with most of the cast, without giving in to the temptation of giving them screen time for the sake of screen time alone. The story uses the characters well, and leaves a few by the side who would not fit well into this specific plot arc. The voice acting remains as superb as ever, quite the feat considering this OVA trails the original series by over a decade.
I should also point out that Studio Deen did a great job with the animation and art, considerably exceeding the effort put into the original series. We get actual well-done fight sequences, and while it's not eye candy at the level of the blockbuster shounen anime, it's definitely more than was required for a merely passing grade.
All in all, if you liked the original series, this is an OVA that you ought not skip.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 24, 2022
Coming to an end just prior the ten-year anniversary of Psycho-Pass, Lycoris Recoil is the most recent entry in the genre of gritty dystopian action thrillers, with a solid splash of cafe slice of life. This is both the appeal of LycoReco, and in the end it is the downfall, since the show is never able to blend the disparate flavors, leading to consistent problems in tone and a disappointing inability to propose any compelling ideological arguments. In the end, it just turns out that the show feels as fluffy and distractable as its central protagonist Chisato.
Let's start with some praise. LycoReco had a great
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hook, really selling both the uncanny feeling essential to a proper dystopia as well as playing the contrast between a bunch of cute high school girls and the price of that dystopia to the hilt. The first couple of episodes feel like they have real stakes, and that the show isn't going to pull punches when it comes to the risks of characters being injured or dying, nor the emotional risks associated with taking human life in the name of promoting peace. The DA feels enigmatic enough to make it an intriguing organization, and enough competition for its current monolithic control is hinted at to give sufficient promise of good things to come.
Further, we're introduced to one of the best partnerships in recent anime history. Chisato and Takina have superb chemistry, playing off each others weaknesses with panache. Furthermore, this chemistry only improves throughout the series, quite the accomplishment considering that the duo had such a strong entry. Takina feels like a real person, with real internal conflicts, and while Chisato always comes across as a bit too artificial, she does have strong character moments and a compelling enough backstory that the artificiality of her persona is actually believable in retrospect. It's no understatement to say that their dynamism is what carries the show and makes it still something that can be worth watching.
The problems with the show stem from one primary error. If you're going to write a dystopian story, you have to have a compelling ideological clash driving the conflict, and LycoReco completely fails to deliver any sort of compelling ideology. When the most compelling ideology in your show is not killing people since you feel like you should be making people happy instead, you know that you have a problem with your dystopia. Now, I'm not saying that this doesn't have some value as a character's ideology, but it is simply insufficient to drive the conflict in a dystopia like LycoReco, especially since the conflict of not wanting to kill people is one of the most boiled over concepts in fiction. What's even worse is that this is the best the show has to offer. The putative antagonist Mashima has no ideology to speak of other than some weird wishy-washy new age survival of the fittest, and the real antagonist's ideology is so inane it isn't even worth mentioning, since no thinking human would ever adhere to it.
LycoReco further shoots itself in the foot by forcing us to suspend our disbelief left and right without ever really earning that suspension. You can't have a show be gritty and realistic while simultaneously giving characters super powers. Competence is once thing, but once you move beyond the realm of physical possibility it just isn't tonally functional. You also have to ding the show for laziness, since the last episode doesn't keep track of time an any believable way even when the time is a central feature of the conflict at hand (watch the countdown clock).
The tonal conflicts with the gritty dystopian feel are only further highlighted by the fact that the show tries to also be a cafe slice of life. This could have been done in an interesting manner, but instead it mostly manages to cause tonal whiplash and only has any sort of payoff toward the end of the show. The emotional payoff in that section does feel earned, so you can't totally blame the show for the inclusion of this aspect, but it is still a tossup whether or not this was a feature or a bug of the show.
Finally, the last problem with the show is that it is unwilling to fully commit to the relationship between Chisato and Takina. I understand that it might be a difficult marketing move to have a canonical yuri relationship in an action show, but it's simply time to bite the bullet and deal with it. The bait is tiring, and it weakens the chemistry between Takina and Chisato. The final conflict would have felt far more poignant if the love had either been discussed beforehand or was admitted as part of the climax, but in the end, we get nothing, and so this show spent a huge portion of its runtime building things up for now payoff whatsoever. That's simply a bad use of screen time and plotting. Bait's fine for fish, but don't forget that no one wants to be treated like a fish.
In the end, the flashy action and the fun banter between Chisato and Takina is not enough to make this show really enjoyable. It needed the backbone of the believable dystopia, and it simply didn't deliver. The gritty elements clashed with the slice of life elements, and never were well integrated. It sold us short on relationships between characters when that relationship was simultaneously the high point of the show. LycoReco could have been the second coming of Psycho-Pass, but instead we got a dime-a-dozen seasonal. It's just sad when a show that could have been more only can be sold as a fun watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 13, 2022
Diving into a brand new world and getting to see everything old through new eyes is one of the primary thrills of good fantasy. When we try to build a new world where the foundations are different, we discover much more of ourselves than we expect as we consider what has been assumed to be a constant in human experience and what has been left out as only being a function of culture. Throughout almost all fiction, exploring how we experience and form familial bonds is at the heart of this consideration, and the Deer King is no exception to this rule.
The world building in
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the Deer King was superb. Taking full advantage of the beautiful artwork, the Deer King was able to really follow the maxim that our understanding of the environment should be driven by things being shown to us instead of told to us. All the magical elements maintain a sense of mysticism that neatly contrasts the medical science being applied to solve the problem of the plague outbreak. Little hints are carefully dropped so that when the big reveals are made, they come gracefully onto the stage instead of crashing in out of left field. Historical information is purposefully vague, which was a graceful decision that allowed focus on the important interactions without certain conceits really feeling out of place in the context of the film. My one gripe with the world building is that at times the passage of time feels a little vague, especially in the second quarter of the film.
World building is an essential in quality fantasy, but the Deer King doesn't lack for deeply human characters either. Every character felt like they had natural, understandable motivations, with those motivations increasing in depth and detail as they grew closer to the heart of the cast. While there were a few token antagonists, the lack of a true villain at the heart of the narrative was also a fruitful choice in terms of characterization, since that let characters more clearly frame themselves in terms of the central conflicts of colonialism and man's struggle against nature. It also was delightful to see that characters were able to shine for their respective humanity instead of as a function of their prowess in combat.
At the heart of this character interaction is the budding familial relationship between the gruff Van and Yuna, a small child brought into his care by the winds of misfortune. Haunted by old demons, Van is able to finally reconnect with his humanity as he slowly falls into the role of a father to Yuna. The best scenes in the entire movie hinge on this relationship, and because of the time they spend carefully setting up the relationship they hit home solidly. Yuna also managed to be a proper child character instead of simply acting as a moeblob as can be common in anime adaptations of children. Heartwarming and deeply human, this relationship carries the film.
With the warm relationship at the heart, the body of the plot is the interaction between the political Zol empire and one of their client kingdoms. This kingdom previously felled the empire's complete domination due to the outbreak of a plague, and that same plague is returning. Plagues in fiction are at their best when used to pry open the cracks in the afflicted societies, and we luckily get that treatment here. The politics is suitably fraught and internally consistent while not overshadowing the heart of Van and Yuna's relationship. Instead, we get an organic look at how the grand choices of empire influence the small lives of their citizens, and how seemingly innocent actions can have dire consequences because of the human lives carrying out that will.
Before I wrap up, I want to give a special mention to Hossal Yugraul, a character I haven't mentioned yet. Scientists in fiction are often portrayed as cold and calculating, concerned only with their understanding of the world. Doctors can fare a little better, but it's rare to have a a character filled with warm humanity, stalwart confidence in science, and deep bravery flowing from these commitments, so Hossal Yugraul is a welcome relief. Even though he serves as our narrator of sorts when the world building can't be shown, he still is a fully developed character in his own right, and I hope to see more of his ilk in the future.
In the end, I have no major complaints about the Deer King. Excellent fantasy, excellent character dynamics, and beautiful art. To ask for more would simply be greedy.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 5, 2021
Shirobako: The Movie is very aptly named. It takes the basic plot arcs from the original series, and applies them to the making of an anime movie, in a movie. If you think that this sounds like playing it safe, you're absolutely right. Shirobako: The Movie is playing it safe, practically guaranteeing that those who enjoyed the original series will enjoy this movie, but at the price of not really letting characters progress like they might have or really innovating in terms of plot. Shirobako, the anime, was truly an original work; Shirobako: The Movie, far less so.
Let's at least start by giving credit where
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credit is due. Shirobako: The Movie has absolutely stellar animation. First, P.A. Works flexes and provides a wide variety in animation styles to suit individual scenes. When you can see the CG, you know that your ability to see the CG is intentional on the part of the animators. Further, while staying true to its slice-of-life roots, Shirobako: The Movie manages to include some excellent action scenes, animated well throughout. The art backing up the animation is similarly excellent.
As I previously mentioned, the general plot arc of Shirobako: The Movie does not deviate too far from the plot arc of the original anime. This does provide the strengths of familiarity, but in the end it manages to hurt the movie more than it helps it. The primary issue here is that the time constraints of a movie are drastically different from the time constraints of one-cour of an anime. One cour of anime gives you about 2.5 times more time than a 2-hour movie, and that's before considering that Shirobako: The Movie happens to have a fairly long introductory sequence before moving into the primary arc, so in reality we get all the plot of a full anime cour crammed into about 1.5 hours.
While this could perhaps have worked had they done a good job of trimming the side plots from the main plot arc, they chose to cram a large number of these in as well, meaning that the entire latter part of the movie moves a breakneck speed. Not only does this render the character beats hard to follow, but it also kills any of the tension that is supposed to exist. To be fair, the familiarity does make this speed more coherent and tolerable, but it still feels like the plot would have been far better serviced had it been given a full anime cour instead.
The introductory portion of the plot does do a lot better than the main sequence, since they allow the plot enough space to breathe and develop. We get a brief tour of where the main five are now in their lives, along with a chance to spend some time with Aoi, who is going through a difficult time. The ambient mood of this introduction is superb, right up until the end. At the end of this sequence, a musical dance number was selected to tie things up and get things ready for the next part of the plot. That choice was certainly a bold move, but in this case it fails since the music disrupts the mood, leading to it being intrusive instead of cathartic.
In terms of sound and music, the overall quality was very high. Voice actors all did a great job reprising their roles, and the music generally fit well, with the exception of the two musical dance numbers that were added. The second admittedly was far better than the first, but it still felt a little out of place, though that was probably more due to the pacing of the story than the music itself. All in all, the soundtrack wasn't the type that you'll download and listen to on a regular basis, but it was fully serviceable.
Character was the arena where my personal view may be the most disparate from the average viewer. For those who just want to see the cast back together, you'll be generally well pleased. There are no bold moves in terms of characterization, but that ends up being my precise problem with how they did it. Shirobako: The Movie takes place a full four years after the original animated series. The problem is that none of the characters really seem to have experienced the weight of the years. Certainly, they've all had changes occur in their lives that were necessary in terms of the plot, but they didn't grow or mature at all beyond that. Considering that P.A. Works has Nagi no Asu kara in their repertoire where they managed to use a time skip to fantastic effect in part because they included these character dynamics, I was certainly let down here. Nothing changes us as individuals as much as the slow passage of time, and when that change is forgotten the results are jarring to me.
All in all, Shirobako: The Movie was a very enjoyable film, but it was not the sequel I would have hoped for in the franchise. Significant pacing problems really hobble the show in terms of emotional weight, a problem compounded by the missteps in characterization. Still, I don't regret seeing the movie at all, and hope that the next entry in the franchise (if we are so lucky) manages to learn from these mistakes and soar to the heights of its potential once again.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 28, 2021
This review contains spoilers! Read at your own risk!!!
When I was young, I tripped, cutting my chin open badly enough I needed stiches. Getting the stiches put in was relatively painless, but getting them removed was a quite unpleasant experience, despite the doctor's attempt to numb me. Once I got home, my dad realized that there was still one stitch left in my chin. Since the wound had healed, the stitch left behind would only impede the healing it had once helped, so it had to go. Still to this day I remember struggling as my dad worked to remove
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it, since I was still too scared of the pain and too young to really understand why it was necessary. Luckily, he managed to get the stitch out, but to this day I still have a scar on my chin to remind me of the experience.
Fruits Basket: The Final, parallels this story from my childhood. Once upon a time, long ago, bonds were formed to help heal emotional wounds. Time flowed ever forward, and those wounds were healed, yet the bonds remained. Eventually, the bonds started to twist and tighten, fraying with their age, and the wounds that at one time were healed by the bonds were reopened, even as the bonds slowly start to snap.
And what are these bonds? They are love. Here the symbolism of Fruits Basket deeply enriches our understanding. The bonds of love come in two forms: by will and by constraint. Love, at its best, is the bond of two people simply giving each other a hug, or holding hands. The tie is completely unforced. It can end at any moment, yet it is all the sweeter for its impermanence.
Those of the Zodiac are denied this love, constantly reminded that they aren't free because they are bound by another love. For them, love is a rope, holding them together despite their individual will. While the zodiac bond is mystical in Fruits Basket, these bonds of love are very real. Consider the marriage turned sour or the child abused. Jealousy, infidelity, and abuse, all fruits of bonds of love by constraint, are all explored in the anime as well.
Still more subtle are the bonds of love that bind us only with our own consent. The loving hug ends, but sometimes we deceive ourselves and hold more tightly than we ought. Salient in this season is Tohru's bond to her mother, her promise to her self to put her mother first that she must break in order to accept her budding love for Kyo. By breaking this bond, does she love her mother less? No! She simply learns anew that love's bond is sweetest when it is filled with freedom.
Perhaps in the most poignant scene to grace anime, we watch the Zodiac and Akito weep as the curse is finally laid to rest. Why? Breaking a bond is always a painful experience, even when you know that it is for the best. As humans we naturally center our lives around love, regradless of the source, and when that love ends pain is inevitably part of the process. Sometimes we dedicate ourselves to the shadow of love, as in Kureno's case. Sometimes we rip it apart just so we can reform in according to our will, as with Shigure. At times we simply stand at the edge, waiting for our lives to move on, like Ayase. The bond breaking may leave us lonely, like Momiji. We may be so full of self-hatred, so racked with pain already, that we don't even notice the moment it breaks, like Kyo. Still, when it breaks, we cry, mourning all that was, and all the might have been.
This is the triumph of Fruits Basket. It shows us love unflinchingly. We get to bask in the gentle warmth of Tohru's affection. We see the full wrath of jealousy in Akito, while Shigure shows jealousy's more crafy face. Kureno depicts the agony of abnegation. Yuki sings the spring song of first love. Momiji the dull ache of unrequited love. We see parental love, overprotectiveness, jealousy, and accusation. Perhaps the only kind of love not well explored is platonic love, but to be fair, this is a shoujo romance!
All in all, Fruits Basket: The Final is a resounding success. There is no part I would want to try to change for the better, since it all served a purpose in demonstrating the wondrous magnificence of romantic drama done correctly. Love it the antagonist, and love conquers all in the end. Truly, these characters have earned their happily ever after.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jun 18, 2021
Finding our identity as an individual is a journey we all embark on in life. This journey is unique, but for many its most tempestuous years take place while we are teenagers. Who do we want to be? Who does society want us to be? Who do we look up to? How do we take the best we see in others and incorporate it into ourselves without compromising our individuality?
These are the key questions explored by Mashiro no Oto, as we follow the life of a budding young shamisen player, Sawamura Setsu. At its heights, Mashiro no Oto explores
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this with delicate grace, effortlessly playing the strings of our emotions, but in its valleys it struggles with the selfsame question.
Mashiro no Oto started amazingly strong, with one of the best first episodes I've seen to date. Sawamura Setsu's struggles following the death of his beloved grandfather are brilliantly realized, taking us both through his pain as well as giving us a glimpse into the potential Setsu has as a shamisen player. The storm and tempest in Setsu's heart spills out spectacularly, blazing a unique trail that left me filled with hope.
Sadly, at this point Mashiro no Oto hits its first internal identity crises, the one that continues to plague it throughout the remainder of the series. Does Mashiro no Oto want to be a brilliant character drama, or a run-of-the-mill shounen? We're flung from the initial splendor into a lackluster school setting, filled with the obligatory beats of rivalries, high school clubs, and competitions. To be fair, Mashiro no Oto tends to use many of these tropes well in developing our main character, but it fails to be brave enough to fully tame the tropes to the beat of its drum, leaving us to deal with bouts of tonal dissonance.
Nowhere does this tonal dissonance show more than in supporting cast. Setsu remains a remarkable well realized protagonist, but too many of the side characters can simply be written up as tropes. You have the passionate rival, the quirky genius, the earnest girl, and so forth. Some get decent development, but only one or two manage to feel like actual human beings. They exist only to serve Setsu, and would be utter disappointments were he less well developed than he is.
Still, swooping to the rescue of this series is the gorgeous sound. I came into this anime knowing nothing about the shamisen, and I leave it with deep appreciation. The music is simply fantastic, and the art used in support of the music does a great job as well. My only quibble is that at times they try to explain the music a bit too much instead of just letting it speak for itself, but the music is good enough that this small misstep cannot overshadow its brilliance.
All in all, I highly recommend Mashiro no Oto, despite the flaws that present themselves from its shounen background. Had the story been allowed to grow naturally instead of being forced into a mold, it easily could have been a masterpiece. Yet, in its youthful folly, it is yet charming, demonstrating by its own nature the themes it tackles. As always, art imitates life.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 27, 2021
It's the middle of summer. Blistering heat fills each day, relieved each evening by the coming of the night. In fact, tonight you're extra excited, since your town is doing a firework show that evening. As the sun slowly drifts toward the horizon, you notice towering cumulonimbus approaching. The winds and rain end up cancelling the firework show, transmuting your eagerness into heavy disappointment.
That's how I feel about Golden Time. Everything was lined up for a beautiful spectacle, but instead we got a dime-a-dozen summer thunderstorm.
Golden Time is one of the rare romantic comedies taking place with adult characters instead
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of children. The college setting is definitely a welcome change of scenery, refreshing in the wake of commonly hashed out tropes and events. While this does lend a unique atmosphere, Golden Time betrays its premise by primarily hashing out the same events in a new wrapping. High school clubs are replaced with college clubs, Culture festivals with school festivals, etc. While it certainly isn't one-to-one, Golden Time fails to use its unique setting to greater effect.
Golden Time also struggles to use its characters effectively. Some are well fleshed out and feel pretty unique, like Kaga Koko, Nana -senpai, and Oka Chinami. Some are bland but effective, like Tada Banri and Yana Mitsuo. One is a trope, 2D-kun, but worst of all one seems to be lifted from other works by the author, Linda-senpai. For this type of romance to work, Linda-senpai needed to be a well-fleshed out character instead of a carbon copy, but her weakness as a character causes the whole premise to fall flat instead of hitting home.
Golden Time took a big risk by using the amnesia trope, and I'm sorry to say that it is a risk that never should have been taken. I'm not going to argue that the trope is completely unrealistic, since I have a friend who lost the part of his memory in which he started dating a girl and that ended up ending their relationship. The trouble is that Golden Time makes the amnesia vaguely supernatural in an otherwise realistic world, which breaks immersion. It further refuses to explore any interesting facets of the amnesia and only uses it as a convenient tool for heightening the drama. For drama to be effective, it needs to feel real. We can tell when it is being manufactured, and the amnesia-related drama always feels like a plot crutch.
Worst of all, the amnesia-related drama takes precious time, and this anime needed more Golden Time in order to shine. The first half of the story, influenced by amnesia but not afflicted, flows well, certainly working as an above average romcom. The second half, now afflicted by the amnesia, often stumbles, fitfully dashing between plot points and lingering in malaise. Make the amnesia more forgettable, and the plot and pacing would not have suffered. Instead, we're bashed over the head with amnesia and by the end wish it had been induced.
In the end, Golden Time certainly gave us a show in the sky. I just wish it was the show I was expecting and that it hadn't left me soaked to the bone to boot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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May 7, 2021
Mystery. Alongside romance, mystery propelled the rise of genre fiction. For all its growth throughout the years, the genre has generally remained focused on the mysteries associated with crime, but when people think of mystery fiction, instead of remembering the clever case or the horrific crime, they gravitate to the great detectives (Holmes, Poirot, Marple, and their ilk,) or the grandiose deceivers, such as Moriarty. Thus, at its core the mystery genre is perhaps more truly defined by the character - both those who seek to peer into the hearts of men to satisfy justice or curiosity, and those who hide behind
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its veils seeking their own pleasure - than by the crime, which often serves but to titillate.
Thus the Koten-bu series stands proudly in the ranks of mystery, despite its mundane problems. Indeed, by removing the lurid frills and garish petticoats of crime and malevolence, it is able to focus on the simple, lovely form. We spend every watching the world through the eyes of the characters, simply going about their daily lives. While the problems to be solved may be trivial at times, they are never quotidian, because they are important to the characters, who serve as the true heart of the story.
Four characters form the backbone of the story. First, we have our detective, Oreki Houtaro. A self-avowed energy conservationist, Oreki toes the line of laziness, habitually avoiding any significant strain to his mental or physical capacities. Despite his aloof air, his intuition and unconventional observation skill let him plunge the heart of the matter, that is if he can be persuaded to bother. Though we spend the most time looking out of his eyes, Oreki remains the most mysterious character himself, veiling his motivations and desires behind his oft-reiterated philosophy. Chitanda Eru alone can consistently draw him out of his fortress into daily life.
Chitanda Eru straddles the line between foil and fool. Chitanda lives with her heart on her sleeve, constantly curious about the world around her. Even the smallest questions catch her eye, and once she settles on her prey, she pursues it tenaciously. Intelligent in her own right, Chitanda nevertheless struggles with the application that Oreki achieves so elegantly. Foil in demeanor, Chitanda further is a foil in essence to Oreki. As Oreki's thoughts are revealed to us, so are Chitanda's feelings. As Oreki's heart is veiled, so is Chitanda's mind. Chitanda's emotional core also serves to play the fool, grounding Oreki when addled with delusions of grandeur, while simultaneously demanding he soar to the heights of his ability.
Fukube Satoshi comes into the cast as master of minutiae, filled with the facts most leave beneath their notice. As Oreki's old friend, Fukube also takes the role of Watson. Sharp himself, Fukube works well with Chitanda to keep Oreki focused on the problem at hand. Despite his impressive memory and gift for deduction, Fukube struggles to see the big picture, though not for a lack of trying. Wavering between admiration and envy or Oreki, Fukube wants more than any other character to be a detective. The mystery at Fukube's core is his identity itself, pulled tight in a web of dozens of interests and unable to settle on who he really wants to be.
Finally, Ibara Mayaka rounds out the cast as a young incarnation of the classic beat detective. Feisty and headstrong, Ibara always come back to her core ideal of justice, applied as harshly to herself as it is to those around her. Like Chitanda, she doggedly pursues an issue until it is set right, yet she does so with a fierce independence, unwilling to trouble those around her. Ibara's blunt nature leaves little mystery about who she is, leaving the mystery in how she manages to fit in to society around her without yielding to their whims.
Together, the cast anchor the story, despite often clashing with each other. If you find these characters intriguing, then you will love this series, since they are both its backbone and its lifeblood. They mature as we would, growing throughout the story, both individually and in their relationships with each other. Once again, the Koten-bu series delights us both through superb character work and as a refreshing expression of the genre. Crimes merely create cases; people are the real mysteries.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 1, 2021
Mild spoilers - no specifics, but some general issues.
Urasekai Picnic had the potential to be an elegant "picnic" indeed: ice-cold lemonade, artisan bread, cold chicken, and fresh berries. Instead, its fear of committing to what could have made it great left us with lukewarm drinks and lackluster sandwiches.
Let's start with the anime's strongest point: the characters. Sorao and Toriko both feel pretty fresh, neither so hyperbolic nor so bland that you can't imagine meeting them in real life. The start of their relationship feels a little improbable, though at least that problem is addressed in retrospect. By the end of their
...
relationship, they really do make a great pair (both as friends and romantically.) Yet, despite the good start and decent relationship progression, the characters lack sufficient individual progression for the anime to be realistic. To be fair, it would all be fine in most genre, but the Lovecraftian/urban horror here demands more character work than the average anime, which leaves the anime feeling more flat that expected in this realm.
On to the horror aspect. First, the monsters were for the most part very well designed and felt both new and decently thought out. In the moment, they generally generated appropriate tension (though the sound detracted from this more than added.) The problem lies in the lack of consequences. Horror that is always escaped or overcome in the nick of time ceases to hold the power to horrify. Lovecraftian horror without the slow degradation of sanity also misses the mark. Urasekai Picnic's monsters stayed safely behind the screen, giving you a PB&J in lieu of Philly cheesesteak.
The slice of life aspect was similarly lacking. Including slice of life with horror is in my opinion a brilliant move, since the slow warping of the fabric of everyday life makes the horror hit home with devastating effect. Yet here the slice of life was all pretty bland, which may have been fine if that were used as impetus to drive the heroes toward the Otherside, but that didn't seem to be the case. In the end, adding lukewarm milk to the lukewarm coffee still fails to make a better drink.
Finally, all these problems could have been ameliorated by a solid story, but the episodic nature of the show shot that potential in the foot. Further, the few times that episodes end up connected, the links that should have left us eager for more were tenuous at best. The world building also had its share of holes that left some of the stories weaker than they should have been (in particular, the glitches were poorly thought out.)
In the end, Urasekai Picnic is another case of good and great ideas that were poorly handled. The process of putting the ingredients together is what makes or breaks the final dish, and here the final product fell far short of the quality of ingredients.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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