Kaiju No. 8 episode 1 review

Okay, so the first 20+ minutes of this episode were just Attack on Titan. There was literally no difference between this show and your average AoT episode. In fact, you could probably have inserted this show into AoT and you probably wouldn’t have noticed. Even Levi had more personality than the two characters who get the most screen time in this episode. And we get little kids who lost someone/something to the enemy and now want to grow up to fight against them. It’s literally just AoT. And probably wildly popular, just like AoT, the most overrated anime of all time.

But at least the final minute or so gave me hope. No, it wasn’t the fact that we got to see the female character in her underwear. It was the idea that perhaps having sister and brother as enemies could provide a dynamic that at least allows this show to survive past the 3-episode rule.

Remember! The 3-episode rule states that if you watch an anime, you must give it three episodes before dropping it. You can choose not to watch any of it, but if you watch one episode, you have no choice but to watch three. At that point, you may choose to drop it at any time you wish. Meaning, you can drop the show after episode 4, but not after episode 2.

So far, this show is in grave danger of not making it past the third episode with me. I don’t want another AoT. We don’t need it. And there’s no reason to copy off something that has already exhausted the genre of all cliches.

Best girl of the episode: Well, there was only one, so…

Episode rating: 5/10

Tonbo! episode 1 review

Available on Amazon Prime, Tonbo! is my latest sports anime choice. Why? Well, I love golf. And Birdie Wing was amazing. So, might as well try out a new golf anime.

This one, though, is one of those “not much happens” anime. A golfer named Igaiga (or Igurashi) comes to an island, where he meets a girl named Tonbo. Tonbo introduces him to a golf course on the island, and then the two of them play a little golf. Tonbo plays every shot with a 3-iron, which if you know golf, is useful for shooting out of the fairway and rough, but not so good for drives or putts. All along the way, Igaiga tells her to stop calling him by the name “Igaiga.” Eventually, he relents and just accepts his name. All that is to say, well, not much happened.

This show definitely has promise and potential. The question really is, is this going to be a slice-of-life golfing anime, or is there going to be something more to it? Because that’s the difference between this being a mediocre show and a good one, unless you’re a big slice-of-life fan. For me, I need a hook. This first episode failed to give me a hook. Maybe that 3-iron has some magic, though.

Best Girl of the episode: Tonbo (almost by default)

Episode rating: 5/10

Konosuba season 3 episode 1 review

So, Konosuba’s back, after the highly successful Megumin spinoff which made even me a fan of Megumin (who I hated beforehand). What’s not to like about the show coming back? You get Darkness, Aqua, Kazuma… and yes, even Megumin.

This episode starts out very funny, but as it went along, it kind of lost the funniness. The whole gag with Kazuma not wanting to help out a cute girl because he knew it was a villain was amusing, but also highly predictable. The best gag the rest of the way was probably Aqua offering Kazuma toilet paper. Bathroom humor.

Now the gang is going to meet Iris, whoever that is. Princess Iris, in fact – are they referring to the Crown Princess of the Midgar family? Because that’s an Iris I wish would get more screen time in The Eminence in Shadow. For now, though, Konosuba is back, with a lightly humorous start, and the potential of all kinds of good stuff to come.

Explosion count: 1

Best Girl of the episode: Aqua

Rating: 7/10