“Starlight” is the song and dance revue troupe loved throughout the world. Karen and Hikari make a promise with each other when they’re young that one day they’ll stand on that stage together. Time passes, and now the girls are 16 years old. Karen is very enthusiastic about the lessons she takes every day, holding her promise close to her heart. Hikari has transferred schools and is now away from Karen. But the cogs of fate turn, and the two are destined to meet again. The girls and other “Stage Girls” will compete in a mysterious audition process to gain acceptance into the revue. – ANN
Review:This review contains plot and thematic spoilers for the anime. Heavy spoilers are indicated; the section in question can be skipped.
Do you believe in fate? That once our life is set in motion, its pre-determined pathway is truly an immovable arc of destiny? Anime is filled with stories of prophesies fulfilled and traditions unbroken; it’s a theme whose expression allows us to believe in the possibility and comfort of things greater than ourselves. There are also plenty of anime, however, that dare to suggest that we, as human beings, are more responsible for our lives than some of us may be comfortable fully accepting. I tend to like these stories better, because rather than simply implying that our poor state of being is solely the result of our own mistakes, it suggests that we might also have some power to alter the flow of the river and set ourselves on a better course, given the opportunity and support of course.
Revue Starlight is, in its simplest form, a story about a group of girls choosing not to accept an exclusionary story – a fate which does not encompass the happiness of them all. Instead, they attempt to re-write the stage-play of their existence and to reinterpret their story as one which allows room for successful fulfillment of their desires.
Tanisu’s parents are mad scientists who live outside of normal society. They locked up their own children up on an isolated island and did experiments on them in secret, turning Tanisu’s older brother and three older sisters into strange creatures. One day, their parents were arrested, and the siblings were moved to another island by the welfare office. The trouble is that none of the siblings except Tanisu know how to interact in modern day society… – Crunchyroll
Episode Summary: Tanisu’s older siblings are all the result of their mad scientist parents’ experimentation. They have special forms and abilities that distinguish them from normal humans, but they know very little about how to interact with society. Tanisu’s distinguishing factor is that he’s smart and kind, and he wants for his family to be able to live among others. As the only sibling without mutant abilities, he takes it upon himself to reintegrate them all while their parents are serving time for turning them all into scientific guinea pigs.
When the ingredients for their dinner are ruined, Tanisu suggests that they all go out to eat; a big deal when most of the family is unfamiliar with common social etiquette and can’t always agree on what to have for dinner in the first place. As they sit down to dim-sum, their various alterations are on full display. Transformation, photosynthesis, predatory tendencies… these things don’t mesh well with the polite restaurant atmosphere. The other patrons begin to chatter and make remarks and Tanisu becomes more and more upset with his family. It’s only after he has an outburst that his siblings realize how important being out in public is to Tanisu, and they work to use chopsticks, clean up their table manners, and keep their abilities in check. Integrating into society might be an uphill battle, but they are beginning to take the first steps.
Impressions: This series technically debuted in the Spring (outside the US) and it’s getting pretty close to the Autumn anime debut season, so I split the difference and decided to lump it in with the Summer anime. While I think many anime fans have some complaints about anime not being simulcast in a timely manner, personally I appreciate the fact that Crunchyroll (and other services) will continue to add to their catalog as they can. And really, do you actually have time to watch 30-60 series week-by-week as they’re broadcast? Speaking for myself, that answer is “no.”
I’ve written before about the rising popularity of international anime co-productions; I can say with complete authority that I know very little about the ins-and-outs, reasons, and mechanisms of these productions, but the fact that they’re becoming more prevalent likely speaks to several different factors in animation production. While I highly doubt there’s any shortage of Japanese manga or light novels to adapt into animated form, there are definitely some overused storytelling trends among them and I suppose production committees start to see diminished returns by the time they hit isekai series number 127. I’ve actually noticed this phenomenon in another of my hobbies – lolita fashion.
Aisley has a predatory side.
As the fashion became popular in the West over the span of many years, Japanese brand dress releases were always the most coveted. They were expensive, often difficult-to-get, and featured quality materials and construction. I always felt that there was an element of copycat-ism to Japanese releases, though. If one brand released a certain print motif (chocolate, for example), variations on that became a trend for a while. Cutlery prints were popular, there have always been a lot of floral prints, and “old school” styles (solid colors with contrasting details and lace) continue to feature in brand releases to this day. There are always sailor-themed lolita dresses released in the summer time. It’s not that these prints were or are bad, but they do start to blend together after a while. The last several years, though, have shown a rise in the variety and availability of lolita fashion from worldwide indie brands, and brands from places like China, Hong-Kong, and Korea. They’ve taken the shape and general aesthetic of lolita fashion from Japan and incorporated many new and fresh ideas, from prints that feature unusual items or themes (jellyfish, bread, and I even own a Chinese dress that incorporated Egyptian iconography) to sub-styles that mimic traditional Chinese clothing. This isn’t to disparage the Japanese brands – they continue to do good work and their output was and is foundational to the fashion. But sometimes a fresh perspective is required to inject some vitality into an art form that has gotten a bit stuck in its ways.
In the case of Frankenstein Family, the typical Japanese anime format and style has been coupled with a setting that has a distinct Taiwanese flavor, thanks to its primarily Taiwanese (I think?) production staff. The character designs and animation style are all what one would expect from a Japanese anime; it’s in the small details, like the architecture, foods, and customs (such as when Tanisu taps his first two fingers on the table when his waiter is pouring the tea), that the series reveals its origins.
Content-wise, I think this first episode is an intriguing and somewhat uncomfortable (not in the bad way) blend of tones. Because the siblings are all socially-untested and display a wide array of different abilities and traits that distinguish them from typical humans, there are lots of opportunities to demonstrate just how atypical their situation is. I think my favorite character is Snow, the older brother who can transform himself into a dog. The results are as you would expect – he’s comically food-motivated, and he’s very much a lovable, clumsy ding-dong with a good heart. Spider-sis Aisley is constantly on the prowl for prey. Ashise is half-plant and would rather bask in the sun than eat human food. And nothing is a surprise to Suishi, who has psychic powers. This odd blend of characters provides many comedic moments throughout the episode, but there’s always an undercurrent of sadness and it crops up fairly often and unexpectedly.
The siblings have a long road ahead.
Honestly, the siblings’ situation is pretty horrific. Their mad scientist parents used them as experimental subjects, fiddling with their genetics to provide them with traits that make it incredibly difficult for them to get along in any sort of social context. They were kept isolated from others and then abandoned when the parents were (rightfully) sent to jail. Tanisu occupies an odd position in this mess, being the only child who wasn’t the target of his parent’s special brand of bad parenting, though it’s clear that he’s absolutely experiencing emotional after-effects of the experience. I think that’s one of the most effective parts of this episode; the sadness and horror creeps in unexpectedly, casting a pall over the characters’ everyday lives. I liken it to my experience of depression, which lurks in the background of my life until something seemingly innocuous (or, honestly, sometimes nothing at all) triggers it and it becomes a shadow that saps color from the world.
This is perhaps what’s special about the final scene, where the siblings walk together as the sun sets in a rainbow of colors. Life has been needlessly dark for them, and they had little to no choice in the matter (to some extent they don’t even seem to realize that what happened to them was wrong). But there’s some hope that, now that their situation has changed, perhaps there’s some new light to be found in the world. Many parts of the episode have a watercolor washed-out feel to them; most of these moments are asides or references to memories or past events. But this final scene in particular has a definite Makoto Shinkai influence, its magical-realism providing emphasis to what might be to come.
While the anime portion itself is actually pretty good, it comprises only one part of the episode’s run time. The rest is taken up by a couple of in-real-life voice actor segments that don’t really add much (I know there are some fans who enjoy that sort of thing, but they don’t really interest me). There’s also a really awkward part of the conversation during which one of the actresses insists multiple times that, if she could be anything she wanted, she would want to be a boy. I’m not sure if she’s genuinely indicating that she would want to change genders, or if it’s a sentiment that’s just kind of lost-in-translation, bu there’s a lot of time spent on it and I didn’t really know how I should react. I think the series would be better served by sticking to the in-anime segments and leaving the voice-actor stuff out, but I might be in the minority. I also didn’t watch another episode to see whether it carries through or not, so it might be a one-shot issue.
While this has all the hallmarks of a typical slice-of-life series with some fantasy elements sprinkled in for fun, it also has a certain freshness that I believe is due to its multi-cultural origins. These types of productions haven’t always been that successful, but I have noticed that they’re on the path to getting better and I think this series looks and feels fairly competent and distinct.
Pros: The show has a good visual style and uses color well. The blend of slice-of-life comedy and darker moments replicates the feeling of depression well.
Cons: The voice actor segments don’t add much to the episode.
As someone who writes first episode reviews (and tends to take a long time writing them – thank you for your continued support of my slowness!), there’s nothing quite as panic-inducing as moments and events that signal the changing of the seasons. In my area, kids are starting to go back to school, the anime club I attend (which is associated with a local university) is planning its Fall Semester anime showings, and the nights have started to get much cooler (thankfully; I can’t sleep in a hot room). I’m starting to see a lot of news about upcoming anime, too. I’m not even done talking about Summer season anime! Unfortunately the march of time waits for no one, which means I’d better get my act together and get some words on the page.
This time we have a very “alphabetical” set of follow-up series. Below/within are spoilers for subsequent episodes of Angolmois, Asobi Asobase, Banana Fish, and Chio’s School Road.
Going through this process once again has reminded me of just how much interesting anime there is out there to watch, and how little free time there is to follow everything that I would like to follow. When you haven’t sampled a little of everything, it’s much easier to look from outside and decide that this show or that show doesn’t really look that interesting. Watching it, though, causes you to invest yourself sometimes, if even just a little bit. Of course, being invested doesn’t always mean that the investment is going to pay off; in the words of Kenny Rogers, sometimes you have to “know when to walk away, and know when to run.”
In this entry, I’ll be checking out some more of Island, Phantom in the Twilight, Planet With, and Angel of Death. If nothing else, this definitely gives us a taste of many genres!
It’s been a long journey making my way through the Summer anime season already, but the party’s not over! Getting a taste of so many anime has really only whet my appetite for some of them. Sometimes the first episode was so good that I’m dying to see more. Sometimes I’m somewhat intrigued and need some more information to make a final decision. And sometimes I feel like there might be a train-wreck brewing, and I need to sate my curiosity in some way. Whatever the reason is, I’ve put together a list of series I wouldn’t mind watching some more of, and I’ll be sharing my thoughts about them over a few different posts (one post would just be unwieldy). You can expect about four series per follow-up, in no particular order. It should go without saying, but below are spoilers for all the series covered (Mr. Tonegawa, Hanebado!, Harukana Receive, and Cells at Work!).
Now that all the available first-run anime has been taken care of, I thought I might do a compilation post of all the sequels and miscellaneous short anime available this season (at least those which can be had legally at the time of this writing). Some of these are sequels I’ve been anticipating quite a bit, and some of them are sequels of series that I’m not familiar with – there isn’t anything that’s a short that’s not also a sequel, and it appears that there wasn’t really any “stuff” (what I call anime made for kids that won’t hold much interest for most adult viewers) to speak of this time. I know my providing commentary on something I have little context for will be controversial to some readers, but I plan to approach it from the angle of whether I would want to go back and watch the previous episodes or not. Apologies to anyone who feels that I’m misrepresenting any series here; I imagine I’m not the only person in history who’s approached longer-running anime this way, though.
It goes without saying, but there are likely spoilers for every series written about here; if you’re not caught up on your favorites, you’re likely better off waiting until you have time to get up to speed. Also, I skipped Overlord III because it seemed more like a split-cour continuation rather than a true sequel… and I watched about three minutes of it and had no idea what was going on!
EpisodeSummary: Muhyo, a diminutive child-like individual, and Roji, his put-upon assistant, work in supernatural law. Muhyo is a famous executor who punishes spirits for encroaching on the lives of human beings, his looks and foul temperament belying a savvy expertise. Roji is an apprentice hoping to learn the trade from the very best. One afternoon a young student named Rie approaches the professionals to seek help. There’s a ghost haunting one of the platforms at the local train station, and Rie believes herself to be responsible for its existence. She was very close with her friend Taeko since they were both outsiders at school. When Rie joined the volleyball team she began to disconnect from Taeko, and their last meeting ended when Taeko fell backwards onto the tracks and was killed. Now her ghost is unable to let go of the human world and has been grabbing other passengers by the ankles, searching for Rie. Muhyo agrees to take the case. After nightfall, the three travel to the train platform and wait out the ghost, which doesn’t take very long. As suspected, the creature is an amalgamation of many ghostly grudges with Taeko’s death being the catalyzing factor that’s drawn them together. Muhyo calls upon Hades himself to capture the monster and draw it to Hell. It’s only Rie’s insistence on holding Taeko’s hand that allows Taeko passage into a kinder afterlife. With Taeko now at peace, Rie can live her life normally again.
In an antique shop in Kyoto’s Teramachi Sanjō shopping district, high school girl Aoi Mashiro unexpectedly runs into Kiyotaka Yagashira, the son of the shop’s owner, and ends up working part-time at the shop. Kiyotaka is called the “Holmes at Teramachi Sanjō,” and he and Aoi solve odd cases brought to them by various clients. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: Aoi Mashiro is in need of an antique appraisal, and the antique shop she finds is staffed by one of the best in the business, though she doesn’t realize it initially. Kiyotaka Yagashira is known as a bit of a Sherlock Holmes (“Holmes” is a pun on the characters that make up his name) who has an intuitive knack for sniffing out counterfeit items, uncovering the histories of genuine ones, and knowing just what his clients are looking for. He deduces soon enough that the art scrolls Aoi is trying to sell don’t really belong to her, but that she seems like a good person and her situation must be desperate for her to be taking such extreme measures. Though he won’t buy the scrolls he does offer to appraise them, and they turn out to be quite valuable. One of them even has a history that causes Aoi to think twice about spending her money the way she intends. “Holmes” offers instead to give her a job so she can earn the money she needs, though by that point she may no longer feel it necessary to spend it.
Yuuto Suoh gets more than he bargained for when he joins his childhood friend Mitsuki Shimoya in testing out an urban legend. When he uses his phone to take a picture of himself with the local shrine’s divine mirror, he is whisked off into another world – one heavily steeped in the lore of the old Norse myths. Using his knowledge gained from school and from his solar-powered smartphone, he has the chance to bring the Wolf Clan, the same people who cared for him, to prominence, all while earning the adoration of a group of magic-wielding warrior maidens known as the Einherjar. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: It’s been two years since Yuuto was accidentally whisked away to an unknown bronze age society, but in that time he’s managed to become the leader and patriarch of a powerful clan. His goal isn’t exactly to gain control of the entire land, though that might be the unintended consequence; he wants to bring about peace to its various warring groups so that he can then concentrate on finding a way back to his native time and place. Luckily Yuuto still has the use of his smartphone, as it gives him access to military tactics and other knowledge he’s able to utilize to gain an advantage over almost any adversary. His most recent victory is over the Horn Clan, and the leader chooses to become his “sister,” a term for a subservient position beneath the patriarch. Soon after their alliance is solidified, another group makes moves to attack the Horn Clan’s homeland. Though the ink is barely dry on their alliance, Yuuto chooses to honor it by sending his armies to aid his new subjects.
Fukagawa ward of old Edo (present-day Tokyo) is prone to fire and flooding, so residents rent everyday items like pots, futons, and clothing from shops instead of purchasing them, so as not to impede them when they flee. Okō and Seiji, an older sister and younger brother, run one such rental shop called Izumoya. However, mixed in with their inventory are tsukumogami, objects that have turned into spirits after a hundred years of existence. The siblings sometimes lend these sentient items to customers. Both Okō and Seiji can see and talk to these spirits, and other tsukumogami often come to the store after hearing of the famed siblings. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: Siblings Okou and Seiji manage a rental shop in Edo called Izumonya. While their bread and butter is based around renting everyday objects to customers, they also hold onto an inventory of tsukumogami, well-loved items that have gone on to develop souls. Though they try to keep a lid on this strange specialty, word tends to get around; they’re called upon by a man about to marry into a wealthy family who’s lost a particular family heirloom. The mouse netsuke (charm) that’s gone missing is said to have sprouted legs and run away, and while the siblings are coy about the possibility of it being a tsukumogami (or even acknowledging that tsukumogami are real), they soon employ their own tsukumogami to gather information about the situation. What are eventually discovered are some half-truths about the impending marriage, as well as some fuller truths about the groom’s relationship with his older brother. There might also be some complicated feelings between Seiji and Okou, who aren’t related by blood.
Streaming: HIDIVE
