If my first year of AniTAY was figuring out where exactly I fit in at this oddball consortium of anime opinions, my second year at AniTAY would be defined by figuring out what kind of writer I wanted to be in the new decade. In addition to publishing my own self-contained reviews, pursuing my passions, and following up on stories by “keeping them honest,” I wrote a whole lot of things with my fellow collaborators. Let’s take a look back the year:
Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun (Winter 2020)
Genre: Supernatural, Mystery, Shonen, Comedy
Where to Watch: Funimation
Spoiler-free Synopsis: “Hey! Did you hear the rumor? It’s about the third stall of the third-floor girls’ bathroom in the old school building. They say if you knock three times and ask the spirit of the girl who died there for a wish, she’ll grant it…”
Kamome Academy is home to many mysteries and unaccounted stories. Among the famous Seven Mysteries of the school, there exists one that is rumored to grant wishes… at a price. Longing for a boyfriend and true love, high school first year Nene Yashiro seeks out the seventh wonder known as “Hanako-san of the Toilet.” But when she knocks on the toilet stall and discovers the rumor is true, she gets more than she bargained for when the ghost who appears is a boy.
This is the story of a girl and the guardian specter who watches over the students and the sprits that inhabit the school.
Why You Should Be Watching: Over the years, Lerche has built quite the reputation, having worked on several remarkable titles (Assassination Classroom, Kino’s Journey) and quickly becoming one of my favorite animation studios in recent memory. Following up from last year with two of my personal AOTY nominees, Lerche’s latest work is an adaption of Iro Aida’s manga. A supernatural tale based on folklore and other infamous ghost stories, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun tells the story of a high school girl who seeks out the titular apparition, only to become his assistant following a lifechanging event.
Beyond its gorgeous artwork and visuals, Hanako-kun sets itself apart from the traditional “Seven School Mysteries” stories and tropes by inversing them and giving them an extended background or playing them up for laughs. Starting with Hanako, who is revealed to be a boy instead of a girl in this iteration, he quickly establishes himself as a whimsical teaser who enjoys watching humans as he monitors the world around him and the other “supernaturals” who call the academy home. But behind his mischievous demeanor lies a complex character who longs for company and has at least one literal skeleton in the closet, though his true motives remain a mystery. Despite being a mystical wish granter, Hanako is quick to determine Nene’s wish for “true love” was superficial at best as he attempts to opt for more practical solutions before she hastily consumes a love charm without learning how it worked.
Lead heroine Nene plays the love-stricken but normal human spectator, alternating from playing the “straight man” to Hanako’s playful nature or the source of hilarity as her bold personality and rose-colored optimism prevent her from seeing the heart of the matter initially. Upon eating a mermaid scale without learning the full conditions to how it worked, she decides not to use the second scale on her crush to complete the curse after giving Hanako’s words some thought, transforming her into a goldfish and attracting another apparition. Granting her a second wish, Hanako takes half the curse on himself to change her back “in exchange for her body” (much to Nene’s bewilderment) before revealing he meant as an assistant.
Between the back and forth chemistry between its leads, the world building and true nature of the school’s supernaturals, and a delicate balance of fantasy and humor, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is shaping up to be another solid anime adaption among studio Lerche’s growing portfolio.
Kakushigoto (Spring 2020)
Genre: Slice of life, Comedy, Family
Where to Watch: Funimation
Spoiler-free Synopsis: “It was an extremely boring manga. There were no swords or magic. Nothing exciting happened. It was just a story about a father, mother, and daughter living out their mundane lives. But that mundane life was everything that I’d ever dreamed of.”
Kakushi Gotou is a single dad raising his daughter Hime while working as a manga artist. Best known for his dirty, inappropriate, and provocative works, he made the decision to keep his occupation a secret from Hime, fearing she would grow up to be ashamed of her father. Posing as a salaryman, he takes extreme measures to ensure his secret is safe, often pulling himself and the people closest to him into his strange delusions. For Goutou, life as a mangaka and a father are one in the same as all manga and children eventually outgrow their parents. In due time, his current series will end and Hime will grow up. This is a story of familial bonds, love, and a secret ambition that ties them together.
Why You Should Be Watching: Based on the manga of the same name, Kakushigoto: My Dad’s Secret Ambition (a wordplay on “Secrets” and “Drawing”) is a show of dualities that are not obvious from the promo art. Single parent Kakushi Gotou is a somewhat famous manga artist known primarily for his adult humor and art style who places raising his daughter at the upmost importance. While much of the show’s humor is built around Gotou’s antics and paranoia over keeping his profession hidden from his oblivious daughter, such as having his assistants run errands, disposing of merchandise or work documents, or underselling his drawing ability in one episode when asked to help with Hime’s homework (while hurting his pride as an artist), the anime avoids framing him as a one joke character by emphasizing his role as a provider. A recurring gag throughout the series is the women in his neighborhood commonly mistake his comments and “plight of being a single dad” as flirting while Gotou is lost in thought at how to resolve Hime’s latest dilemma.
Behind the humor, however, there is larger narrative that tips off where the series will eventually end. Early on, we get a glimpse of an 18 year old Hime who is looking through a number of boxes – a box marked for each birthday with a gift or necessary “rite of passage” to mark the milestone – with the majority of the series taking place sometime in the past. There is a noticeable shift in tone and color indicating that a major event has taken place by this point in time and each episode ends with a brief glimpse of what’s to come as Gotou’s career as a mangaka and parent come full circle. In some ways, I can’t help but draw comparisons to last season’s Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and Somali and the Forest Spirit with the way the story handles both of Gotou’s roles simultaneously. While not quite as nuanced in detailing the creative process of its main character’s profession or exploring the darker side of parenting of each of those series, Kakushigoto is committed to its ordinary setting, seamlessly weaving both into its comedy while building towards its inevitable conclusion.
As I started this write up, I thought a lot about the quote above from a recent episode. Every season, there tends to be one or two shows that get overlooked or simply aren’t advertised enough that makes it easy for someone to lose track of what’s right around the corner – myself included. Like finding a new favorite manga at your local bookstore or a hidden shop in your neighborhood for the first time, Kakushigoto is this season’s best kept secret.
The God of High School (Summer 2020)
Genre: Shonen, Martial Arts, Action
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
*Note: Fellow AniTAY contributor TGRIP originally wrote the synopsis portion for this collab. The following is an unused synopsis I had drafted up at the time.
Spoiler-free Synopsis: Jin Mori is a 17 year old high school student and martial artist who seeks to challenge himself by facing tough opponents. When fighters from all over the globe are brought together to participate in The God of High School tournament, he eagerly accepts the invitation, no questions asked. With the grand prize of “any wish granted” on the line, Mori, along with two other South Korean fighters he befriends, prepare to enter the ring, unaware of the sinister organizations behind the scenes and the true purpose of the tournament…
Why You Shouldn’t Be Watching: The God of High School had a lot going for it in the weeks prior to its debut. Backed by Crunchyroll as their latest “Crunchyroll Original” and produced by MAPPA following the excellent Dorohedoro, GOH started off on the right foot with its pilot episode, promising high-octane fights and over-the-top encounters, with a dash of comradery and friendly rivalries to accompany its high production values. Taken at face value, this should have been a clear knockout. But, once the gloves come off and the characters try to do anything outside the ring, GOH’s redeeming qualities cannot conceal the latest Crunchyroll Original as anything more than another paid advertisement, running the gauntlet off a never-ending checklist of bland shonen tropes, rushed pacing, and weak narrative cohesion to make up for its baffling writing the moment anyone opens their mouth.
If GOH was simply aiming to be another “dumb” action show in vein of Baki or Kengan Ashura, I’d end this conversation now. Hell, I would welcome it! Yet, the show continues to lose track of its main objective, the fighting tournament, in favor of cult nonsense, new character introductions, and deaths with little to no emotional impact. Moreover, convenient or missing plot holes undermine character moments that could propel the show beyond knocking the shit out of each other. Protagonist Jin Mori’s signature line is “Do whatever you want,” which might as well be GOH’s official slogan because that seems to be the approach it’s taking. Remember when Mori interrupts an official fight because he didn’t like one of the fighter’s techniques? What about Mira’s priceless sword in episode two, only to be completely discarded after it is stolen by episode four? Let’s not forget the complete backstory of Daewi, who, in the course of an episode, we both learn his reason for competing and have that reason completely ripped away with the barest of momentum. And that reason was…. friendship? I couldn’t tell you, not just for spoiler reasons, but because the show certainly forgot to in the middle of a cool fight scene.
These are just a few of these deadpan moments that ultimately amount to nothing beyond some great animation and fight choreography, all of which the show severely undermines t each time it tries to build towards anything resembling a story. Nowhere is this more apparent than its three main leads. GOH wants you to believe in Mori, Mira, and Daewi’s motivations and supposed “best buds” status, but continues to tell rather than show at every opportunity through condensed flashbacks and enabling Mori’s absurdity as the sole voice of reason. If you look at some of the greatest fighting games of all time that heavily inspired the manhwa (notably Street Fighter, Tekken, and The King of Fighters), most would tell you that memorable characters are just as important to a series as the technical components. But when you look at The God of High School and its complete lack of focus, electing to dump new, irrelevant plot elements, and failing to develop its cast behind its high budget visuals, all that remains is another successfully mediocre shonen punching below its weight.
Deca-Dence (The AniTAY Review)
Every season, there is usually at least one show that comes out of left field, where I have absolutely no idea what direction it might take. Deca-Dence is a bit of a difficult show to describe, and that’s before we get to the major plot twist that kicks off in episode 2. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans are on the brink of extinction due to air pollution and the threat of the alien lifeforms known as Gadoll, massive corporations are brought in to combat the Gadoll and protect the last remnants of humanity.
But as the ages pass and technology becomes more commonplace, the entity that governs the newly formed haven of Deca-Dence begins to shift its focus on maintaining a natural order in the wake of the Gadoll. Organizing the select few humans who can fight into Gears, they venture into the wastelands and exterminate the Gadoll while the non-combatants called Tankers maintain and repair the mobile fortress.
On the surface, Deca-Dence is a familiar post-apocalyptic story dealing with your trademark themes of survival and conformity vs freedom. Despite treading familiar ground, all of it serves as a backdrop for the series to explore the relationship between spirited Tanker Natsume and veteran handyman Kaburagi. As the pair’s ideals and views of existence come into conflict, with Kaburagi notably detached from the world around him as he settles into a routine life, their mutual bond of student and teacher becomes the driving force for each of them to reevaluate their priorities and reject the roles that the establishment would have them carry out. But even after their rejection of the powers that be, Deca-Dence leaves no bug unchecked as the truth about their world threatens to upset more than the balance of power, leading to a much more startling revelation about their own existence.
If I’m purposely being vague, it’s because Deca-Dence carefully balances the state of uncertainty through its colorful environments and surprisingly upbeat cast given the circumstances. Though this series is often compared to Attack on Titan with a focus on aerial combat and maneuvers, I can’t help but see a little of Gurren Lagann’s framework with its optimism and fierce cast of fighters eager to challenge the status quo. I’ve been emphasizing a lot about the show’s thematic elements up until now, but make no mistake, Deca-Dence is very much self-aware about its own visual aesthetics, no doubt in large part thanks to Studio Nut’s handiwork. While no two viewers will walk away with the same experience, Deca-Dence is truly this year’s most decadent original anime, eager to indulge your wildest expectations.
TL;DR: Whether you are here for the slick visuals and incredible score or just want a deeply driven narrative about being more than just a cog in the machine, Deca-Dence soars to newfound heights as one of the best anime of the year.
Talentless Nana (Fall 2020)
Genre: Shonen, Sci-Fi, Psychological, Thriller, Supernatural, Mystery
Where to Watch: Funimation
Spoiler-free Synopsis: At a select academy located on an uncharted island, the next generation of superpowered children work diligently in their studies and training. Tasked with fighting back against the Enemies of Humanity, these special class of students called Talented hone their unique gifts in preparation for the upcoming battle. In the current school year, new student Nana Hiiragi enrolls at the academy with the same goal in mind. Introducing herself and her Talentless ability (mind reading), she quickly befriends her fellow classmates as they trade stories and show off their Talents. But when a series of bizarre incidents begin to occur on the island, the class is put on high alert, unable to see the coming danger hidden within the campus grounds. It seems the Enemies of Humanity are already on the move…
Why You Should Be Watching: Prior to coming across a single advertisement for Talentless Nana, my fellow AniTAY colleagues who had already watched the premiere gave exactly one piece of advice: “Watch the first episode. Don’t even bother looking up info – just watch it.” Being the more skeptical type, I dove straight right in with absolutely no context of what I was walking into. Perhaps it’s the last two weeks of having to deal with G/O Media shutting Kinja down and being sleep deprived from archiving everything I’ve ever written in the last four years, or maybe I’ve just gone soft the past month on account of not being as active, but I have concede that it was sound advice. In fact, skip my section and watch the first episode right now – after you’ve finished this article of course!
Still here? While it’s impossible to get a “feel” for an anime solely based on the first episode, Talentless Nana is one of the rare exceptions that will either click with you by the time credits roll or will have you completely speechless as to chain of events that transpired. Based on the manga written by Looseboy and illustrated by Iori Furuya, Talentless Nana starts off as a very garden variety superhero shonen reminiscent of My Hero Academia – only to completely throw out the playbook and then bury it into the nearest pit. Our story centers on the titular Nana as she plays a deadly game of cat and mouse against the invisible predators who lurk on the campus grounds.
Despite being the most underpowered student at the school, Nana’s precise intuition, highly developed analytical skills, and advanced social engineering put her on a level that would rival most shonen leads who prefer brains over brawn. Every episode introduces a new threat or obstacle that pushes her to test the limits of her talents without giving away her sleight of hand as she learns the twisted history of the academy and what its inhabitants have been doing when the world stopped watching. Kyōya Onodera is another transfer student who is socially distant, but surprisingly sharp and observant as the school grounds gradually begin to morph into something unrecognizable. Without giving away his exact role, his tough, quiet demeanor serves him well as he begins to deduce the truth and the story builds around its central conflict and escalating its mind games, keeping them – and the audience – continuously guessing right up until the very end of each episode.
With its deceptive introduction, tense battle of wits, and deadly consequences, Talentless Nana forgoes genre formalities by simply smiling while eagerly plotting its next move, marking a fantastic thriller anime for those who don’t mind the darkness. Talentless Nana isn’t a complete reinvention of shonen – it’s an extension of the kind of stories that can only be told with a thorough background, a willingness to experiment, and an understanding of what makes the genre special.
Dark Aether is a writer/contributor for TAY and AniTAY. You can check his previous writings here, Medium, or follow him on Twitter @TheGrimAether. Not Dead Yet.
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