Witch Watch
Do you like Weekly Shonen Jump action comedies with a bit of manzai flavouring? Where the heroine has to be continually saved from her own ineptness by the protagonist? Then Witch Watch is the series for you. Just in the first ten minutes of episode one Nico the witch managed to crash through the window of Morihito, a descendant of ogres and her new bodyguard, destroy his favourite coffee mug to repair the damage she caused and turn herself into paper only to float away on a breeze coming through an open window. This sort of comedy can be painfully tedious but was handled well here, the quality of animation helping a lot in selling it. With Nico very much fancying Moi-kun as she calls Morihito and he knowing that there’s a very real threat to her life, there’s also enough substance to feed the comedy on. The original manga is by Shinohara Kenta, best known for Sket Dance; I can see some similarities in the sense of humour at work here.
Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi
She’s a ninja better suited for cleaning than murder, she’s an assassin who needs somebody to clean up her murder sites (not to mention her living room). Together they fight cri^w^w start living together in a mutually beneficial relationship. Satoko, the ninja, needed somebody to hide and feed her after she accidentally fled her hidden ninja village. Konoha, the assassin, needs somebody to help her manage the aftermath of her assassinations, if she wants to climb the assassin rank list (currently: #210). After a meet cute in which she kicks the starving Satoko and ruthlessly dispatches two other ninjas aiming to kill Satoko, she takes her in as her live-in housekeeper. The screenshot above shows off their relationship perfectly: cool, sadistic Konoha and butt of the joke, kind, naive Satoko. I was impressed both by the show’s cold opening, aping 1970s action anime in 4:3 format even and by the ruthless efficiency in which it introduces and then immediately has Konoha murder new characters. Based on a manga by “Hundredburger”.
Kowloon Generic Romance
This gave me strong Patlabor vibes; partially because of the character designs, partially because of the dude’s slight ineptness and partially because it seems to be an adult workplace romance set in a zeerusty future. Reiko and Hajime are co-workers at a small real estate agency in Kowloon Walled City, a Hong Kong neighbourhood that was demolished in 1989. Reiko likes Hajime but he’s indifferent and a bit of an arse. Things aren’t quite what they seem as they work on modern computers and there’s a Death Star like space station hanging in the sky. Because of little things like no longer needing glasses one morning Reiko gets the sense something is wrong and Hajime may know more about what’s going on. Kowloon as setting is very much another character here. The manga is by Mayuzuki Jun, who also was the mangaka for Koi wa Ameagari no Yō ni, about a one-sided love a high school girl has for her forty something year old boss at her parttime job. Some fot he smae melancholy sensibilities are on display here.
Zatsu Tabi: That’s Journey
Suzugamori Chika is a rookie mangaka who just won a newcomers prize but is now struggling with inspiration. On advice of her editor to go out more to experience live rather than stay cooped up making manga, she places a poll on her social media where she should travel: up, down, left or right of Tokyo. As “up” wins the poll, she travels to Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima, north of Tokyo. Here she wanders around town, samples the local specialities and checks into a luxury hotel/onsen for the night before the next day foolishly deciding to climb the stairs to a famous local shrine. this very much another tourist ad thinly disguised as an anime, with lots of pretty scenery but little plot. I like it though because it is all very pretty even if a bit soporific. Hopefully extending the cast in the next few episodes will enliven it all a bit. The manga is by another Kenta, Ishizaka this time.
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