Spring Season 2020 Discussion

[Manimal]

https://myanimelist.net/anime/season

Here is the general discussion thread for all things from the Spring season 2020.

[Manimal]

Appare-Ranman! : First Impressions



PA Works coming at us with a new series about racing in the street. Set in 19th century America a brilliant engineer and a timid samurai find themselves drifting across the waters to Los Angeles where they take part in a massive race across the country. This episode sets things up with Appare and Kosame as they make their way to America basically by accident. Appare is sort of a wild figure in an otherwise normal Japan full of tradition. He works on various inventions and his calm intelligent demeanor makes him stand out from everyone else. His weird jester like appearance helps that. He is a sort of 2000's era anime character that I haven't seen in a long time. Kosame is a great foil to this as a man more set in tradition who's more of a coward that doesn't have the same sense of adventure. 

This was a pretty great first episode, it set everything up well and showed a fun premise. The characters are very distinct both in design and personality. The animation conveys a lot, Kosame has explosive body language and you get a feel for his personality right away. The other racers teased in the beginning seem like a colourful bunch and it should be interesting to learn more about them. The old America setting is neat and in the first episode there was a nice contrast between old Japan and Appare. Very nice colours and general animation. Of course the CG vehicles are not great but...that's how it is nowadays.

From this first episode I think this should be a fun series. It was a very good start so let's just hope it keeps it up.

[Manimal]

Listeners : First Impressions



A Rock 'n Roll anime fantasy of sorts of a place called...Liverchester...that was devastated by an incident 10 years ago. Now music no longer exists (hhhm AKB0048) and the people work sorting through heaps of garbage for scrap metal. Echo is a boy fascinated by the Players, people with audio jacks in their back who plug into amps and pilot giant robots to fight creatures called the Earless who terrorize the world. One day Echo finds a mystery girl who's a player with no memory and their adventure begins.

This was a very fun first episode, naturally framed by a Rock music theme there are a lot of small subtle references. Shop names like Oasis, Dream Theater and The Yardbirds. Soundtrack that sounds like classic Rock songs and character names like Jimi Stonefree. The main theme of Echo and Myuu's adventure seems like it will be good. I liked both characters right away and I love their dynamic together. Echo has dreams for more but also feels trapped like he can never get out of the town he lives in. Myuu doesn't remember anything and wants to figure out who she is and go on an adventure with Echo. I instantly liked what these two characters had going, and the good old boy meets fighting girl story is always something I seem to like.

This first episode was good, like all the other shows it has CGI as we have to get used to, and the character designs are alright. I like all the references of course and it's fun to try and spot them all. I think this will be a fun show to keep up with.   

Kakushigoto : First Impressions



A single Dad makes dirty manga and doesn't want his daughter to find out. A very idea and a very fun and wholesome first episode. Kakushi doesn't want his daughter to learn what his job his for her own sake so he leaves home in a fancy suit with his briefcase and does a Superman style change into his casual clothes to work on his crude comedy manga. It's basically just about him making sure his daughter never learns his secret, so he goes through comedic lengths to ensure this.

There was a great scene in Starbucks where he warns his daughter about "the fancypeep" monsters that roam downtown. The tone is very light, much like the simple artstyle, and it promises to be a very wholesome feel good series. The idea makes you go...hhhm...then you watch it and it makes sense. I have a feeling this will be a good show to keep up with every week if it can stay as amusing as this first episode.

[Manimal]

Sing "Yesterday" For Me : First Impressions



I'd rather sing "I've Just Seen A Face" but sure. Yesterday wo Utatte or Sing "Yesterday" For Me is a show about characters that are out of not only high school but college! A show about people who don't know what they're doing with their lives and are forced to confront various aspects of themselves and have observational talks about life with each other? We're off to a great start. Rikuo is a guy with no ambition who works a dead end part time job after graduating college. One day he crosses paths with a weird bubbly girl Haru who has a pet raven and Shinako a love interest from high school. Things start moving in his life again.

This was an excellent first episode, not only the best of the few I've seen but better than anything I've seen in a while. This is my kind of show and I'm so down for this sort of thing. I love the characters and their interactions right off the bat. Haru is very interesting and Rikuo is a great lead who's easy to relate to. The show has a good tone with nice character designs and animation. I think this will prove to be an interesting character study type show. I love that the characters are out of high school, there are so few shows that are about young adults like this. I'm very interested and hope this show keeps it up for the next 12 episodes. This is why Slice of Life shows are my favorite, it focuses on mundane elements of our lives and has great character details. This is what this first episode presents. 

In other news Yahari season 3 is delayed from Rona Season. I can only wonder what will happen with the other shows but we'll find out. Let's just enjoy what we can.