Kijin Gentoushou
Short Synopsis: A 19th century swordsman trains to defeat demons in an effort to protect his village’s priestess.
Lenlo: Honestly, Kijin had me in the first half. I was invested in this cast, the setting, the leads conflict between personal love/desire and his duty to the village, all of it. Sure, the hour-long premier felt really slow. I agree with Wooper that it probably didn’t need to be this long, despite the fact that it actually used that hour pretty well, showing us the cast’s entire history and setting up the rest of the show. But I was bought in, Great Value Kimetsu no Yaiba had my attention by actually spending time with and focusing on the cast’s relationships with each other. But then it got into the fighting and overarching conflict, which it definitely doesn’t have the production to support if this big special hour long premier is anything to go by, I sort of just… lost all interest? It killed off half the cast, removed one of the most interesting relationships to me, and turned into this “Journey across the country to hunt a demon” story we’ve seen dozens of times before. Maybe it can do something interesting with the antagonist and their relationship with Jinta as it goes, but with how bluntly Kijin is written and how black and white their conflict is, I’m not interested enough to stick it out.
Potential: 25%
Wooper: Kijin Gentoushou is the latest anime to receive a one hour premiere, and I have to say, it used those additional minutes effectively. That’s not to say I personally enjoyed its whopper of a prologue, because I didn’t, but the extra time spent on the characters’ histories should alleviate the series’ need for disruptive backstory going forward. Those histories involve the sword-wielding protagonist Jinta and his two sisters, one biological and possessed by a demon, and one adopted and sworn to protect their village from demons. That’s not a bad setup by any means, but the storytelling is so stark that it ended up losing me halfway through. Whether its characters are meeting for the first time, confessing their love, or betraying one another, they act as though they’re mere agents of fate, giving the story an inhuman feel. The premiere’s climactic moment sees its major villain deliver the line, “Screw this world! AND SCREW YOU!” which should give you an idea of how blunt things can get. With its overarching conflict established, Kijin Gentoushou is now free to tell the tale of Jinta’s 170 year journey to the present day, which could result in some worthwhile individual episodes. I can’t say that I’m interested in the story as a whole, however.
Potential: 20%
Once Upon a Witch’s Death
Short Synopsis: A young witch learns she has only a year left to live, and to lift this curse she must travel the country collecting tears of joy for the ritual to undo it.
Lenlo: I don’t understand the need for the whole “Death curse” portion of the show. Do you really need an excuse for a teenage witch to travel around a fantasy world, getting involved with all manner of trouble and exaggerated cast members? How am I supposed to take this seriously when everyone treats it so relaxed, not even bothering to tell/prepare her until a year before it goes down. Maybe if Aru Majo took a Frieren approach, focusing on appreciating your life and all the people that make it what it is, this could work. We could have gotten almost the thematic flipside of Frieren, seeing how someone young interprets the world rather than an elf. I guess it tries to do that with little Iris, but it feels very surface level. I spent almost the entire runtime looking at my watch marveling at how slowly time moved when watching something with no passion or interest behind it. If you’re really desperate for a cute witch show, maybe Aru Majo will be of service? Personally though, this feels vapid even for that.
Potential: 1%
Catch Me at the Ballpark!
Short Synopsis: A concession worker and a pair of security guards go about their days at the baseball stadium where they’re employed.
Wooper: Every once in a while a show will debut that reminds me of Giant Killing, which is still (15 years after its initial airing) the sports anime with the widest ever scope. That soccer series centered around a manager and his team, as you might expect, but it also made time to tell stories about their fans, the team’s ownership, and the sports media. Ballpark de Tsukamaete takes an even less common path, to the point that it’s not really a sports anime at all, but a workplace comedy starring a beer girl that happens to be set at a baseball stadium. Its premiere tells of her flirtatious, cringe-inducing quest to secure her first regular customer, along with a slightly better side story about a pair of security guards who help her handle a lost child. It could go the Giant Killing route and deepen its cast to cover multiple aspects of its sport, but even if Ballpark pulled that off, its poor visuals would keep it at the bottom of the league. Bargain bin animation is one thing, but if your story is set at a baseball stadium and you can’t manage to make it look remotely appealing, nobody is going to pay your ticket price. And just look at the second screencap above – I don’t think an art department has ever struck out harder in their attempt to depict a baseball field in an anime.
Potential: 0%
Lenlo: Wooper basically hits the nail on the head. Ballpark fails in basically every area a sports show usually excels in. The flirtatious beer girl is a miss, neither cute nor fun to watch, and the baseball is so dull ugly that I’d honestly rather watch actual baseball, because at least then I’d have something moving on my screen.
Potential: 0%
The post Spring 2025 Impressions: Kijin Gentoushou, Once Upon a Witch’s Death, Catch Me at the Ballpark! appeared first on Star Crossed Anime.
