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The Spring 2022 Preview Guide


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residentgrigo



Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 2404
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 10:36 am Reply with quote
The schedule: https://myanimelist.net/anime/season A season for me it seems.
Dance Dance Danseur, Kingdom, Kotaro Lives Alone and Spy×Family are all fine but nothing special.

Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 S2 drops on May 23rd and I wonder what the real story of this incarnation is about. The trailer is about WW V breaking out. (IV happened right before most versions of GitS begin). How timely…

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These Gekitotsu will amount to 24 eps by the end. I am pretty sure that this will form 2 12 ep cours and not an uninterrupted run. 8.5/10

Spriggan finally drops on June 18th. That CG is chef'skiss.meme and comparing the Noa´s Arc segment from the trailers to the somewhat changed movie scenes leaves a respectable impression. Metal Gear Shounen here we come. I wonder if Kojima will mention it on Twitter.

Thermae Romae Novae adapted up to chapter 17 (of 38) while skipping chapters 6, 8, 10 and 14. The noticeably weaker 1st and 7th episodes are anime only and 7 of the episodes are based on 30-page chapters so the content is expanded beyond reason at times. The anime also invents its own epilogue that makes the time travel romance that begins in chapter 18 of the manga and then continues for the rest of the series impossible. So this is half an original anime with a somewhat changed characterization of the now more buffoonish protagonist. I could have lived without some rather jarring CG use and the show looks a bit too “yellow” at times but the end result is superior to the no-budget adaptation from 2012 and whatever the hell those movies were. Not a replacement for the award-winning manga but a fine watch anyway. I wouldn´t mind seeing the rest adapted but don´t expect it to happen. 7/10

Ultraman S2 finally releases in mid-April. S1 was better than the manga despite a much faster pace and due to plot chages. The arc this will adapt is the best part of the manga. I wouldn´t mind if the anime makes up a sort of ending this time as the manga´s well is clearly running dry after the America arc.

Ya Boy Kongming! The manga/anime´s premise comes together way too fast and it should have been set in China. The few bits of fanservice are totally out of place but the anime axed those it seems. Good. The story is about music so an anime makes perfect sense. P.A. Works is a boring studio but I can´t see them mangling a slice of life comedy and I like that the songs are in English. 7/10

Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island releases in June and will remake the infamous ep 15 of the original show instead of adapting the identically named prequel manga about the titular Cucuruz. I don´t get it and I don´t get the logic behind most Gundam anime of the last decade.
Odd Taxi Movie: In the Woods The shortening and reworking might or might not improve the plot of last year´s under the reader darling but the new epilogue is desperately needed either way.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 11:04 am Reply with quote
Kongmin was fun, but did it really have to be about him being a manager. Before it started I though it would be maybe be about him becoming some CEO or politician or maybe some low life bum, all those scenario would have been interesting. But no, manager for an extremely generic singer. Neutral
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boldulysses



Joined: 21 Apr 2020
Posts: 87
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:06 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
The other great thing about the episode is that it understands that the most important thing to have in a show about an up-and-coming singer is the music to match. If the songs don't wow you, you can't believe that the supposedly talented singers will make it big, robbing the show of its drama.


Bingo. That was my big concern going in, and something that's not an issue for the manga, since it's just words + pictures on a page. Eiko's singing has to be able to move people, starting with Kongming, and I was very happy that the premiere got that right.

Eager for more!
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everydaygamer



Joined: 10 Jul 2009
Posts: 928
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:38 pm Reply with quote
The first episode of Thermae Romae Novae is definitely the least interesting and mostly just establishes background info on the characters. The rest of the series is alot of fun especially when it comes to the MCs reactions to what he sees and how he interprets them. Definitely recommend checking out at least episode 2.
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jroa



Joined: 08 Aug 2012
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 2:05 pm Reply with quote
I'm enjoying Estab-Life and I'll keep watching although without any sense of real urgency. It is indeed what many viewers would call lightweight material, but I tend to have more appreciation for those sorts of shows than other commentators. "Just okay" anime series can be pretty relaxing. I usually like Shoji Gatoh's comedy-oriented writing too. Cast might be lacking depth at the moment, but they work well together. As far as the preview guide impressions are concerned, the most common criticims mentioned aren't something that would bother me in the first place.

Last edited by jroa on Fri Apr 01, 2022 2:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
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wolf10



Joined: 23 Jan 2016
Posts: 898
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 2:34 pm Reply with quote
Ya Boy Kongming! was unsurprisingly excellent. Been waiting a long time for this one, and it hit all the right... notes. Laughing

And for hot takes on stuff I haven't watched:
Executioner sounds like it would be interesting, but also sounds like it's still tainted by the misandry of yet another male edgelord author who wants all his waifus to hang out without any yucky men going where he can't. (There's also my usual general aversion to murder, especially when I'm supposed to think someone "deserves" it.) I may still keep an eye on the inevitable streaming coverage to see if it proves me wrong on either count, but right now I'm sad just thinking about it.
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Cutty Mink



Joined: 13 Feb 2022
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 2:40 pm Reply with quote
The first episode of Romae Thermae does a disservice to the rest of the material. I also found the first episode rather middling, if not flat out "meh" in quality.

However, the following episodes were a treat. My wife and I were thoroughly entertained by the journey of Lucius as he rises through the ranks of life as a bathhouse architect. We enjoyed how informative it was, loved learning about the culture and bathhouses of Rome and Japan, and also adored the live-action segments where the author goes on her Bath house adventure. It was just so endearing.

I plead that anyone here deciding to write off the show based on the preview guide please give it a chance. I'd easily give it an 8.5/10 and was highly entertained the whole way through outside of a couple less interesting momentts.
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings



Joined: 04 Jul 2013
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 3:06 pm Reply with quote
wolf10 wrote:
And for hot takes on stuff I haven't watched:
Executioner sounds like it would be interesting, but also sounds like it's still tainted by the misandry of yet another male edgelord author who wants all his waifus to hang out without any yucky men going where he can't. (There's also my usual general aversion to murder, especially when I'm supposed to think someone "deserves" it.) I may still keep an eye on the inevitable streaming coverage to see if it proves me wrong on either count, but right now I'm sad just thinking about it.


This is where I am basically. It sounds like something that was written by someone very insecure and very angry that a type of fiction they didn't like was popular, so they wrote a story where killing troubled kids who *may* do something bad in the future (so literally the Sibyl System in Psycho-Pass) is considered justified and possibly even heroic, and also they're all male because of course they are. The fact there's also the "classic" predatory lesbian character is only further evidence.

And I have zero reason to believe the story has any interest in questioning that gross worldview, so count me out.
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lossthief
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 14 Dec 2012
Posts: 1380
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 3:28 pm Reply with quote
ThatGuyWhoLikesThings wrote:
wolf10 wrote:
And for hot takes on stuff I haven't watched:
Executioner sounds like it would be interesting, but also sounds like it's still tainted by the misandry of yet another male edgelord author who wants all his waifus to hang out without any yucky men going where he can't. (There's also my usual general aversion to murder, especially when I'm supposed to think someone "deserves" it.) I may still keep an eye on the inevitable streaming coverage to see if it proves me wrong on either count, but right now I'm sad just thinking about it.


This is where I am basically. It sounds like something that was written by someone very insecure and very angry that a type of fiction they didn't like was popular, so they wrote a story where killing troubled kids who *may* do something bad in the future (so literally the Sibyl System in Psycho-Pass) is considered justified and possibly even heroic, and also they're all male because of course they are. The fact there's also the "classic" predatory lesbian character is only further evidence.

And I have zero reason to believe the story has any interest in questioning that gross worldview, so count me out.


Y'all should probably actually watch that first episode, honestly. At least in this premiere the show definitely isn't bitter or resentful. Menou kills the Lost Ones because they've been given powers beyond their control, and has seen firsthand that they can wipe out countless lives entirely by accident. She directly says she doesn't hate them and blames the corrupt nobles who keep summoning unwitting teenagers to be their warrior-prisoners.

Nor are the Executioners only killing men. The first Lost One we see is a guy, yes, but that's part of the bait & switch it's using as introduction where he's meant to seem like the prototypical isekai hero. The other two we see in this episode are girls, one of whom dies. If your definition of "Misandry" is that a woman kills a man for any reason in a piece of fiction, well, you're gonna have trouble finding much action anime to get into.
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings



Joined: 04 Jul 2013
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 3:53 pm Reply with quote
lossthief wrote:
ThatGuyWhoLikesThings wrote:


This is where I am basically. It sounds like something that was written by someone very insecure and very angry that a type of fiction they didn't like was popular, so they wrote a story where killing troubled kids who *may* do something bad in the future (so literally the Sibyl System in Psycho-Pass) is considered justified and possibly even heroic, and also they're all male because of course they are. The fact there's also the "classic" predatory lesbian character is only further evidence.

And I have zero reason to believe the story has any interest in questioning that gross worldview, so count me out.


Y'all should probably actually watch that first episode, honestly. At least in this premiere the show definitely isn't bitter or resentful. Menou kills the Lost Ones because they've been given powers beyond their control, and has seen firsthand that they can wipe out countless lives entirely by accident. She directly says she doesn't hate them and blames the corrupt nobles who keep summoning unwitting teenagers to be their warrior-prisoners.

Nor are the Executioners only killing men. The first Lost One we see is a guy, yes, but that's part of the bait & switch it's using as introduction where he's meant to seem like the prototypical isekai hero. The other two we see in this episode are girls, one of whom dies. If your definition of "Misandry" is that a woman kills a man for any reason in a piece of fiction, well, you're gonna have trouble finding much action anime to get into.


If I end up being wrong, I'll absolutely admit to that, but it's easier to imagine the myriad of ways this can go wrong than thinking of the ways it can go right. Keeping up with seasonal anime is tiring as well, so it's just way easier to see what other people say about it later than give it the benefit of the doubt immediately only to find that I wasted my time.

And FWIW, one of my favorite anime protagonists is Satou Matsuzaka, so that should tell you that I'm more than capable of enjoying main characters that are awful people who do bad things, male or female. But like, there's an art to it.
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q_3



Joined: 02 Sep 2015
Posts: 129
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 3:58 pm Reply with quote
I enjoyed Executioner less than I was hoping from the premise. Largely due to Momo, parly because it reminds me of Talentless Nana which was executed way better (pun intended?), and also that it seems to unironically emphasize a bunch of isekai elements that just bore me (like arbitrarily complicated magic systems).

Kongming, on the other hand, takes an already-great premise and improves on it in just about every way.
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wolf10



Joined: 23 Jan 2016
Posts: 898
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 4:09 pm Reply with quote
lossthief wrote:
If your definition of "Misandry" is that a woman kills a man for any reason in a piece of fiction, well, you're gonna have trouble finding much action anime to get into.
Dude, really? The oversimplification is hardly called for. The series is also very heavily advertising its all-female cast, much like every other isekai-or-not that just happens to have a massive (sometimes exclusively) female cast that is entirely done for "plot reasons." I'll concede that "misandry" isn't the best word for describing the systemic way men are taught to hate other men, but I'm open to suggestions.

My grounds for comparison are shows like Symphogear, which balances its yuri elements with male non-combatants who are generally good dudes, or even Cross Ange, which yes, had quite a bit wrong with it, but the one surviving guy got off an "I fucked your waifu" speech as a direct condemnation of plot-enforced female purity.

(I'm also spoiler[gay, and a Yuuma stan], if you've made any assumptions on my perspective.)


Last edited by wolf10 on Fri Apr 01, 2022 4:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Takkun4343



Joined: 19 Jul 2007
Posts: 1493
Location: Englewood, Ohio
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 4:14 pm Reply with quote
Is it wrong for me to be annoyed that Ya Boy Kongming! premiered a whole five or six days ahead of schedule because of a single Japanese streaming service (ABEMA) and the U.S. licensors are just rolling with that? Even I know it shouldn't, and yet it is. Everything pointed to an April 5th premiere date, so unless I missed the early premiere announcement, I call false advertising!
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meruru



Joined: 16 Jun 2009
Posts: 470
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 4:21 pm Reply with quote
Anyone else feel like this season's theme is a couple of weirdos make weird attempts at dating / romance? Kaguya-sama, Science Fell in Love, Love after World Domination. Heck, even Spy X Family feels a tad on theme, except it's a weird found family rather than romance. Not that I'm complaining, because I like all of them.
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Nev999



Joined: 05 Aug 2021
Posts: 118
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2022 4:42 pm Reply with quote
wolf10 wrote:
lossthief wrote:
If your definition of "Misandry" is that a woman kills a man for any reason in a piece of fiction, well, you're gonna have trouble finding much action anime to get into.
Dude, really? The oversimplification is hardly called for. The series is also very heavily advertising its all-female cast, much like every other isekai-or-not that just happens to have a massive (sometimes exclusively) female cast that is entirely done for "plot reasons." I'll concede that "misandry" isn't the best word for describing the systemic way men are taught to hate other men, but I'm open to suggestions.

My grounds for comparison are shows like Symphogear, which balances its yuri elements with male non-combatants who are generally good dudes, or even Cross Ange, which yes, had quite a bit wrong with it, but the one surviving guy got off an "I fucked your waifu" speech as a direct condemnation of plot-enforced female purity.

(I'm also spoiler[gay, and a Yuuma stan], if you've made any assumptions on my perspective.)


Where are these exclusively all girl isekai you're talking about that don't have a male mc living that harem life, I'd love to see 'em? I think Bofuri is the only recent example I can come up with, and that was pretty wholesome.

And yeah, 'I don't want male characters to interfere with my personal sex fantasy because to have another man put his hands on them would taint them, but girl on girl is hot" doesn't strike me so much as 'misandry' as the other thing. The core of that issue is fetishizing lesbians.

That is the main thing I'm actually concerned about with this show, I couldn't care less about whether it meets whatever the acceptable quota of sympathetic male characters that 'balances out' lesbians is, but If there's a gropey girl that's actually a red flag, so I'll wait to hear if the relationship between the main girl and mc falls into any pitfalls. I'd really like a interesting dark twist on isekai that acknowledges how a world might be damaged by a teen just barging in with no idea what they're doing or how said world works, and I especially want some good wlw content, but it's that content that could get tropey and rote and I'm gonna wait and see on that front.
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