Doctorkev’s Thoughts on the Autumn 2022 Anime Season: Crunchyroll
As 2022 crawls to a dark, cold, and wet end (at least in Scotland), what better way to keep warm in these depressing fuel-conserving months than to curl up under a blanket on the sofa with some of the very best new anime? Summer 2022 was a comparatively light season that punched above its weight with some truly fantastic anime, but so far Autumn 2022 has been filled with a phenomenal selection of incredible Japanese animated shows. Once again, as I’m watching more new anime than can be considered healthy, I’ll split my assessment of the season over two articles. First up — the anime streaming on the Sony-owned, Funimation-devouring monstrosity that is Crunchyroll.
Chainsaw Man — Tuesdays — watched episodes 1–6
First up, the single most apparently over-hyped anime of the year, studio MAPPA’s long-awaited adaptation of writer and artist Tatsuki Fujimoto’s staggeringly popular Weekly Shonen Jump manga Chainsaw Man. Does this murky, grimy and cynical rendition have a chainsaw’s hope in hell of fulfilling the hype? Of course not, nothing could. We’re at the point now where the hype surrounding Chainsaw Man actively detracts from the ability of new viewers to make honest appraisals of the show itself. As a fan of the manga, however, I am mostly very satisfied with the clear evidence of love and effort MAPPA have poured into every frame.
Much like the source material, Chainsaw Man the anime takes a long while to really get started. Even now at six episodes in, we’ve only just recently been introduced to some of the story’s major players. Thankfully, some of the extraneous events in the first few manga chapters have been wisely excised to make the story flow in more streamlined fashion, if such a grotty, grimy, earthy story could ever be squeezed into anything resembling “streamlined.”
Main protagonist Denji is a homeless, destitute teenage boy, orphaned and alone, who survives by selling his own body parts and hunting demons for the mob. In this world, demons are commonplace, violent, and hostile to humanity. Each individual demon is a manifestation of a specific human fear — for example, there are demons that represent the fear of bats, or the fear of blood. Killing a demon sends it back to Hell. Some demons choose to make pacts with humans, granting them use of demonic powers, for a price. In order to save his life following betrayal by his mob employers, Denji makes a pact with the desperately cute puppy-like chainsaw demon Pochita, who gives Denji the awesome (and ridiculous) power of chainsaws that he can summon to rip forth from his limbs and head, his blood spewing everywhere. Limited only by the risk of anaemia, Denji is procured by unsettling, pink-haired, female government executive Makima to fight the demons that threaten Japan.
Chainsaw Man takes the basic shonen template — plucky young protagonist awakens to incredible power then embarks on a journey to fight bad guys/develop as a person/realise his dream — and ruthlessly exploits and subverts it in weird and disturbing ways. Denji’s early life has been so impoverished that his simple drives “to touch boobs” or “to eat bread with some kind of condiment on it” would be funny if they weren’t so sad. That Denji is so easily manipulated by everyone around him makes the viewer desperately wish for justice and happiness for him. However, such rewards come at the cost of much blood…
Aside from the imperious, sexually manipulative Makima, the breakout female character is amoral and inhuman blood demon Power, a “fiend” — a demon that has inhabited a freshly deceased corpse, and therefore is in complete control of the body at all times. Power’s motivations are hilariously selfish, and her relationship with Denji is funny, sad, and evolves in interesting ways.
It’s hard to explain why Chainsaw Man is worth sticking with at this early stage without going into enormous spoilers about the incredible later plot developments. For the moment, I’d be satisfied with the deft character work, uncommon attention to detail, and phenomenal action scenes (yes there is some CGI, but after the first episode the transitions between 2D and 3D animation become much harder to notice, and some scenes that look like CG are actually incredibly detailed and smooth hand-drawn art). Trust me, although the start is slow, this will build into something really special later.
Do it Yourself! — Wednesdays — watched episodes 1–7
What a wonderful surprise. I almost gave this show a miss, yet another Cute Girls Do Cute Things/school club/slice-of-life show. Thankfully, I put on the first episode in a moment of boredom and was instantly hooked. I’d honestly put this so far on par with the very best of Laid Back Camp for its chilled vibes and fun characters. Scruffy protagonist Yua Serufu (a pun on the Japanese pronunciation of the English word “Yourself”) is a walking human disaster, perpetually covered in sticking plasters from multiple daily minor injuries. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a lead character so hopelessly clumsy. Serufu is (best?) friends with highly-strung tsundere next-door neightbour Miku Suride (nicknamed “Purin” for language-related reasons I don’t understand) who favours the use of technology to forever relieve human beings of the hassle of physical labour. She’s like every insufferable technological singularity cultist you’ve ever interacted with online. Serufu however, despite her life-threatening clumsiness, loves nothing better than to get her hands dirty making things herself.
Purin attends an ultra-techy and modern girls school campus where the educational focus is on such subjects as machine learning and artificial intelligence. She rides an automated, driverless electric bus to school every day, while Serufu walks to her own more traditional, mainstream school, next door to Purin’s. Serufu is attracted to the “DIY” club that meets in a battered little shed on her school grounds. As is usual for such anime (and winkingly lampshaded by the show itself), the club is in danger of closing due to lack of members. Soon, new members with their own funny personality quirks join the club and light-hearted hijinks ensue, all the while Purin looks on from a distance, jealous and conflicted at Serufu’s new-found interests and friends.
I particularly appreciate the show’s subtle tensions between modern technological viewpoints and more traditional methods of problem-solving. Both are given their due — the show is clearly set in the near future, and features many fun and useful scientific inventions on screen — such as Purin’s jellyfish-like home assistant, and club leader Kurei’s motorised shoes/rollerskate-like thingies. However, the meat of the show is engaged in demonstrating the joys of simple handcrafts and tool use. Normally, DIY is a subject likely to induce a violent allergic reaction in my delicate nerdy constitution, but this show has me aching to grab the nearest electric drill and start making holes in stuff.
Mob Psycho 100 III — Wednesdays — watched episodes 1–7
After a slow start, the third season of this incredible adaptation of One Punch Man author ONE’s “other” manga easily equals the first two in terms of majestic, psychedelic spectacle. Although the character designs remain deceptively simplistic, Mob’s emotional maturity and technical wizardry elevate this wonderfully entertaining show into the stratosphere.
Over three seasons we’ve watched timid schoolboy Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama grow in stature as well as in confidence, guided by (unlikely internet sex symbol) conman-with-a-heart-of-gold Arataka Reigen and accompanied by a varied cast of misfits and wierdos. Despite access to godlike psychic powers, Mob is a good-natured and innocent kid blessed with uncanny empathy and wisdom. Even when faced with creepy supernatural cultists, mind-controlled masses, undead monstrosities and intimidating god-like broccoli(!) monsters, Mob treats even his enemies with kindness, patience, and understanding.
Mob’s not a total pushover, however, and even his emotions can be strained to breaking point — hence the underlying countdown of his rising stress levels throughout every episode, once it reaches one hundred, all bets are off as his powers are unleashed. It’s such a strange, goofy show, but its wonderful and empathetic human heart and Mob’s pacifist convictions make it something deeply special and memorable. I’m sad Mob’s story is coming to an end, but based on this first half of his final season, he’s going out with one hell of a bang.
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun season 3 — Saturdays — watched episodes 1–7
Another show that’s taken a while to really get started this season, Iruma-kun remains light-hearted, frothy and un-challenging fun. It’ll certainly win no anime of the year awards with its very rudimentary-at-best animation, and truly awful opening and closing songs, but it’s always entertaining and funny. This season has suffered from an over-long and unfocused training arc that follows too many characters, jumping from place to place without much in the way of plot development, and not enough time with the titular character. Also Best Girl Ameri Azazel has been conspicuous by her almost complete absence. This needs to change. NOW. Anyway, I’m still having fun with Iruma-kun, even if it’s been nothing but disposable fluff so far this season.
Bocchi the Rock!— Saturdays— watched episodes 1–7
Crippling social anxiety — the anime! As someone who is most definitely on the far end of the introvert spectrum, I love this show. Amorphous pink-haired moe-blob Hitori Goto (nicknamed “Bocchi”, in a Japanese-language pun on her name as “Hitori Bocchi” = “lonely” or “solitary”) loves playing guitar, alone at home, in her tiny closet. She uploads anonymous videos of her playing online (sans face or any identifying features) to acclaim from her small fanbase. When she somehow falls in with a plucky young band of wannabe rock stars, she finds her extreme introverted nature challenged as she is dragged further and further out of her comfort zone and towards public performance.
It’s between DIY and Bocchi this season for the most creative and beautiful anime presentation. No matter how technically accomplished Chainsaw Man, these two cute little shows about cute, odd girls doing cute, odd things both look amazing. Bocchi in particular employs all manner of ridiculous animation effects to demonstrate the dazed and confused interior mindscape of the poor terrified protagonist. She literally melts into goo or degenerates into squirming scribbles when terrified. It’s the most visceral, accurate and painful representation of crippling social anxiety I think I’ve ever seen.
What’s really special about Bocchi though, is how non-judgemental it is. Hitori has a mental illness. She doesn’t choose to act like this, and she needs help. There’s not a single mean-spirited joke in this anime at her expense. Yes, it’s funny when she freaks out, but she’s not portrayed as annoying, or somehow pathetic. The other characters find ways to work with her, encouraging her to break out of her safe zones, to grow in ways she never expected. It’s absolutely wonderful — an unexpected highlight of the season.
My Hero Academia season 6 — Saturdays — watched episodes 1–5 (dubbed)
I’m a little behind on this season of MHA. Because I’m watching it with my youngest son, who can’t read subtitles fast enough, we’re following the dub broadcast, which is two weeks behind the sub. As always, it’s a fantastic dub with impeccable casting. For some reason, none of the on-screen text is subtitled, which can make minor character identification difficult, and battle plan text impossible to decifer. I haven’t checked the sub version to see if that text is subtitled there, but it seems like a big omission on Crunchyroll’s part.
Season 5 of MHA was underwhelming to say the least. Their choice to mess with the chronology of the adaptation compared to the manga was baffling, and overall the season was mostly setup and little else. Well, with season 6, the setup is over and our beloved hero characters are thrust into all-out-war with a growing army of villains. With barely a quiet moment, any chance of boredom is catapulted far away, replaced by wall-to-wall action sequences, bloody violence, heartbreaking character deaths, and creeping horror. MHA is firing on all cylinders again, and it reminds me why I loved the first couple of seasons so much. It’s honestly painful waiting for each episode to release, I expect this would work extremely well when binged.
It’s testament to the original writing that the huge ensemble cast carries the show so well, as for most of the first few episodes, main character Midoria is hardly seen at all. The show takes pains to show the roles of each of the main professional heroes — their strengths and weaknesses — and how these affect their life-and-death battles. It’ll be good to see more of Class 1-A later, as I’m sure they’ll be dragged into the apocalyptic conflict’s centre soon.
Spy x Family part 2 — Saturdays — watched episodes 13–20
Mixing screwball comedy, occasionally violent spy shenanigans, light-hearted slice-of-life family hijinks and slightly deranged posh school drama, Spy x Family effortlessly balances its myriad disparate elements with heart and style. Pink-haired psychic moppet Anya continues to have the very best reaction faces while being perhaps one of the most convincing child characters in anime. Homely murder-princess Yor Forger remains both Best Anime Wife and Best Anime Black Widow, while perpetually exhausted Loid Forger/Twilight is Best Hot Anime Dad. Add in Best Good Boy Bond, the enormous precognitive dog, and the central quartet is complete. Together they make an incredibly strong cast for one of the funniest, most heartfelt anime comedies of the past few years.
As a fan of the manga, I’m beyond delighted with the care and attention that Wit Studio and Cloverworks have lavished on this wonderful adaptation. At the pace of adaptation (about 1.5 chapters per episode) I can’t see them getting further than the end of volume 6/beginning of volume 7. Hopefully a second season can’t be far behind, there’s probably almost enough source manga for them to make a start on production sooner rather than later.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury— Sundays — watched episodes 0–6
This has been the first Gundam anime I’ve watched since Gundam Wing on Toonami back in the early 2000s. I enjoyed Gundam Wing enough at the time, but thought perhaps I hadn’t paid enough attention and that was why I had no clue what was happening or why most of the time. Having recently attempted to re-watch Gundam Wing recently with my youngest son, I have come the the conclusion that actually it was just very incompetently written. I did try watching some of the mainline UC continuity Gundam on Netflix, but honestly all it succeeded at being was a spectacularly effective insomnia cure.
Sunrise, the company behind the Gundam franchise, are clearly aware of the barrier to entry, especially to younger people who perceive Gundam as a relic of a bygone age. Hence the existence of this new iteration of Gundam, laseer-targeted towards younger viewers with its own timeline and therefore requiring zero background franchise knowledge, and set in a high school full of attractive characters. Hell, I don’t think I can possibly stretch to identifying as “young” any more, but I’ve been sucked in along with all those unsuspecting little zoomer anime fans.
With a script by the Code Geass movie trilogy’s Ichiro Okouchi, who also wrote two Revolutionary Girl Utena tie-in novels, this is a fascinating show that is essentially “what if Utena, but in space, with robots”. Sheltered, innocent main character Suletta Mercury is sent to Space School by her (traditional for Gundam) metal-helmet-wearing mother along with a mysterious totally-not-an-illegal-Gundam-honest robot. Whilst there she’s irrisistably drawn into a bizarre culture of robot duels with snooty rich kids who are all stuck-up heirs and heiresses to various multinational/multiplanetary megacorporations. Somehow, after winning a duel, she ends up “engaged” to another female student, the spiky-personalitied Miorine Rembran, in a very Utena-like twist.
The Witch From Mercury leans heavily into teen melodrama, but there’s a rich background of political machination and adult skullduggery, along with a brutal plot twist or two. Suletta’s mother is definitely up to something, and something about Suletta’s robot is wrong. Also there’s hints that Suletta herself may not quite be who we’re lead to assume she is. It’s all very intriguing, it looks beautiful, and the characters are fun and empathetic. I’m enjoying it far more than I ever expected to.
To Your Eternity Season 2 — Sundays — watched episodes 1–4
Fushi, immortal orb-dude, is back and this time he’s middle-aged! Yeah, in the first episode of this second season it’s clear that several decades have passed since the end of the first, and in order to spare himself the pain of making and then losing friends to the hideous “Nokkers”, Fushi has become a hermit and let his main white-haired boy body age into his forties. The rest of the world hasn’t forgotten about the strange immortal boy though, and soon he’s dragged back into adventures in a medieval-esque world not quite our own.
Although I felt To Your Eternity season one started off strong, it did seem to peter out towards the end with a less-interesting story arc that dragged on too long. So far, season two has proved more interesting with the introduction of various characters with surprising links to Fushi’s past, and others with designs on his future. It’s shaping up to be a much more intriguing direction for the story than hinted at in the first season. I’m not totally sold on the extremely flamboyant and camp Prince Bon Tasty Peach who seems like he’s wandered in from a completely different genre of anime, but perhaps he’ll expose hidden depths later on. The manga is still ongoing, so it doesn’t look like Fushi’s adventure is due to conclude any time soon.
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss! — Crunchyroll — Saturdays — dropped after 2 episodes
Only the second anime in a predicted deluge of villainess-themed isekai adaptations, I’m already quite happy to say I’m bored of this already. The original, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! had a fantastically funny first season, while the second dropped off a cliff in terms of relevance due to needless repetition. This blatant copycat show is just boring. I gave it two episodes and I was out. I can hardly even recall much of it now, it left almost no impression. Don’t bother with it.
Other shows of interest:
I’m more pushed for time this season due to horrendous work pressures (also the reason I’ve not had time to write anything else in weeks), so there are a bunch of shows I’d really like to watch that I just can’t find space for in my schedule. AniTAY podcast host Requiem (and a few others in our Discord server) swear blind that the irredeemably trashy-sounding More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers is worth the time, but I can’t bring myself to be debased by watching what sounds like ridiculously contrived (and overly horny) romantic comedy. Last season had too many of those and I’m burnt out. But hey, if you’re a degenerate, them maybe it’s right up your street.
Requiem also recommends Raven of the Inner Palace, and this one doesn’t sound trashy at all. A historical drama set in a palace in China, it’s apparently full of mystery and intrigue. I’d really like to try this one at some point. Apparently comedy ninja show Shinobi no Ittoki is pretty funny, but to me it sounds aggressively mid.
I greatly enjoyed Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, and according to Marquan’s recent article, I should probably give the superficially similar Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out a try, as season two is currently streaming. Finally, AniTAY’s other podcast host (and premier boob-artist) Hybridmink continually recommends The Golden Kamuy. I think maybe he just likes watching manly men with their shirts off and comparing dick sizes with one another. Anyway, season four of that is currently streaming. Maybe one day I’ll watch the first season.
That’s it for Crunchyroll at the moment. I’ll be back again very soon to talk about this season’s shows streaming everywhere else!
