OG’s Other Winter 2020 First Impressions

Time again to talk about the other shows I’m watching but not covering weekly and give my thoughts on them so far.

As always no manga/light novel spoilers.

BOFURI.

Let’s start with BOFURI, aka “I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense.”, aka “Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu“. Someone on Twitter described the show as similar to Gun Gale Online where the isekai stuff is more people playing a virtual reality game than being resurrected after meeting the “Truck of Doom”. It features a protagonist, Username: Maple, getting overpowered really fast by breaking the rules in ways I do not get. This bothered some viewers but to me it was like “Eh. It’s a modern isekai show. OP protagonists are par for the course”. Plus they addressed this at the start of Episode 3 in one of the best jokes of the show. So far to me the show is decent. The serious battles are cool but don’t get my blood pumping like in GGO. Still, I have enough interest to see what will happen to Maple, Sally and their soon to be party members.

Maple X Sally dinner date.

So far Maple and her bestie, Username: Sally, have potential but compared to the many other Winter 2020 couples and ships they have the weakest yuri vibes. The dinner date shown in the pic was cute but I need more. It’s only 3 episodes in as of this writing and I’m confident their bond will grow stronger over time. You never know.

Eizouken.

Next up we have Eizouken. So far it’s not yuri but it stars a trio of girls so it’s worth discussing here. Put simply Eizouken is one part “visual marvel” one part “Anime Ed, Edd n Eddy”. I will go more in depth when I review the show but the visual marvel refers to two of the three girls interested in animation. We already got anime about working in the anime industry and mangaka but Eizouken is about drawing anime and all the bells and whistles that go into drawing them. Best parts are when the girls use their imagination. What they do with concept art on the show is amazing. The girls themselves are great too. The one standing out the most obviously being the tall and lanky one that I described as “throwing Satsuki Kiryuin and Wario into a blender“.

Delmin (dragon), Ruhuyu (wolf) and Himeko (cat).

Third is one that surprised me. Show By Rock! Mashumairesh, aka Show By Rock 3. While I am sad we did not get a proper conclusion to Plasmagica’s story (specifically Cyan X Retoree) the new main band have proven to be more than worthy new leads.

A nice touch is unlike Cyan who was transported from the human world to the musical one, Howan (fox, I think) is a denizen of the latter so no isekai this time. Important characters remain the only ones with a humanoid animal form while everyone else are chibi animals. On stage performances are still in 3D CG Chibi though sometimes it is a mix between humanoid and CG Chibi. The new male band are not as manly as ShingancrimsonZ (Their manliness cannot be topped) they’re still pretty cool. So far there is no battle to protect the musical world. Maybe an enemy will pop up at some point.

The main love story is similar to SBR 1 and 2 as Himeko plays the role of Retoree here. The one difference being Retoree was a horny dog who couldn’t contain her love for Cyan in private (In S2 everyone pretty much figured it out) and Himeko is a tsundere cat having difficulty understanding her crush on Howan and hiding her embarrassment. Howan on her end appears to have no issue with potentially dating Himeko. Basically I am digging the new main couple. Delmin and Ruhuyu are emanating yuri vibes too so fingers crossed there.

When it comes to BanG Dream 3 it’s become clear the focus is on Poppin’ Party, RAISE A SULLEN and sometimes Roselia. Whenever the other bands get the spotlight it is only to remind viewers they exist. With S2 and (mainly) 3 having the goal of establishing RAISE A SULLEN I suppose it is what it is. Since I haven’t talked about the show in a while I might as well review S2 and S3 when the latter finishes. However, due to scheduling reasons and promoting the new Singles as soon as possible the 2nd half of S3 won’t air till late February if I’m not mistaken.

If it sounds like I dislike S2 and 3 that’s not true. It’s still good (except the O-Tae drama going on for too long).

All I want to say about Railgun T, aka Railgun 3 is Misaki being a fascinating creature. Ever since I first saw her in Railgun 2 I’ve been entranced with this enigma. The other Railgun cuties not named Mikoto or Kuroko are still wonderful. As for the main story I didn’t watch Index or Accelerator so I’m following it as best as I can.

Aoi’s magic eyebrows fascinate me still.

As for Heya Camp, it’s Yuru Camp shorts. It serves its purpose of a delightful little appetizer for the eventual S3 and movie.

Other shows I’m watching:

• Somali and the Forest Guardian (Fun and chill fantasy show but I have a feeling waterworks are coming)
• Ishuzoku Reviewers (Surprisingly good mega ecchi. Definitely not for ecchi haters.)
• Runway de Waratte (Good stuff.)

That’s about it.

Oh right. I know more people will probably ask why I’m not watching the Nekopara anime. My answer is, “Don’t force me to watch it. I’m waiting for the right moment. If it comes I’ll pick it up. If not, screw it.” I REALLY don’t like people telling me to do something I don’t want to.