Wooper:<\/b><\/span> Happy November, all! Though behind the scenes we\u2019re catching up on anime from all throughout 2025 (AOTY season isn\u2019t far off), Lenlo and I still made time to type a few words about currently airing series. Actually, \u201ccurrently airing\u201d may be a stretch (or an outright lie) for some of my selections, but they\u2019re accurate in his case. I\u2019m hoping to keep these posts on a biweekly schedule from here until year\u2019s end, so enjoy this first of four-ish posts, and we\u2019ll see you in another 14 days or so.<\/p>\n Lenlo:<\/b><\/span> Up until last weeks episode, Sanda<\/em> was in a really weird place for me. Very much a Paru Itagaki creation, the author of Beastars<\/em>, it had this weird obsession with underage sex. From child marriages to Fuyumura seemingly having the hots for\/finding comfort in a 60+ year old man, I wasn\u2019t sure what to think. But episode 5 really brought it together for me. Sanda<\/em> is less about kids getting it on and more about the odd obsession people seem to have in controlling who children are, how they grow up, and what they should or should not feel, including Paru herself with her personal focus on children going through puberty and their sex drives. It\u2019s\u2026 interesting. Weird, you can definitely see the resemblance to Paru\u2019s other work, but not nearly as off putting to me. I like how each of the kids are interacting growing up in different ways. Fuyumura isn\u2019t concerned about it at all because to her, growing out of her lanky and awkward body would be a blessing, to Ono it\u2019s terrifying because no one else is changing around her, to Sanda it\u2019s about taking on responsibilities and leaving behind that carefree life of a child, while to Principal Ooshibu it\u2019s the most terrifying thing imaginable. Sure, Santa Claus is an odd metaphor to channel it all through, but like\u2026 I\u2019m kinda into it. Combine all of this with a solid production and some of the most striking character designs of the season, and I think Sanda<\/em> could end up as something great. I just need it to not get to weird with it like Beastars<\/em> did.<\/p>\n Wooper:<\/b><\/span> \u201cA Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin\u2019 in the Schoolyard\u201d is the first of eight stories adapted in this selection of Tatsuki Fujimoto\u2019s pre-Chainsaw Man (and mostly pre-Fire Punch) oneshots. I haven\u2019t read any of them in manga form, but if their anime versions are on par with this opening installment, we may have an all-time anthology series on our hands here. Set in a future where aliens have supplanted humans as Earth\u2019s dominant species, yet wholly adopted human culture for themselves, Clucking Chickens makes the most of its opportunity to showcase a wide range of monster designs. Gigantic naked police officers, muscular sailor-suited schoolgirls, friendly green cyclopean classmates \u2013 the imagination on display here is surprising, but what makes this episode legitimately impressive is how these aliens are brought to life through animation and voice work. In the span of less than 20 minutes, we see them exhibiting near-human behavior while living as ordinary students, transforming into living nightmares while slaughtering humans, and eventually battling each other over the fate of a single human girl. There\u2019s action, absurd humor, deft use of flashbacks, and the use of color phases between harmonious and violent according to the needs of each scene. I really can\u2019t say enough good things about it, so while I don\u2019t expect all of the remaining episodes to be on the same level, I\u2019m quite excited to see what else this series has in store.<\/p>\n Wooper:<\/b><\/span> Just like the original, this volume of Star Wars Visions kicks off with \u201cThe Duel,\u201d now with an appended \u201cPayback\u201d to signify its sequel status. I wasn\u2019t particularly enamored with the original Duel short, which was thin on both story and characters, and although this one had 60 percent more runtime to work with, those issues remained consistent. The Grand Master (a cyborg antagonist capable of teleportation) was of some interest to me, particularly because of his Jedi-gone-bad backstory and the visualization of his ability, briefly leaving behind lineart whenever he jumped through space. His grudge against the Ronin was hardly explored, however, and I struggled not to roll my eyes at yet another Star Wars baddie using robotic arms to wield multiple lightsabers (Anee-san, the episode\u2019s Twi\u2019lek foe-turned-ally). As with the first Duel short, there was a major emphasis on terrain during combat, especially during the Ronin\u2019s fights against the other two duelists while perched atop overturned AT-AT legs. For those viewers who place a premium on modern SW choreography, Payback may be your jam, especially if you dig its monochromatic color scheme. Personally, though, I\u2019m eager to move on to better installments of this series.<\/p>\n Lenlo:<\/b><\/span> I\u2019m so torn on Tojima<\/em>. When it\u2019s firing on all cylinders, loving Kamen Rider<\/em> and just having a good time, I love it. Watching this cast beat up Shocker combatants to solid music with a clear passion for the series is an undeniably good time. It\u2019s everything else that\u2019s the problem though. Outside of the fights Tojima<\/em> doesn\u2019t know how to handle character interactions or any semblance of a plot. Not to mention the abysmal treatment of the female cast, making every moment on screen about their bouncing breasts and fat ass, going so far as to frame their face between their massive tits for a reaction shot instead of say, I don\u2019t know, just showing us their face? Look at episode 3 for example, where even as Tack wins the fight she smashes into her opponents breasts because why not I guess. It\u2019s such an incredibly disappointing way to portray your female cast while your male lead gets to just be a jacked otaku. I\u2019ll continue watching it, because I\u2019m locked in and have that much fun when it\u2019s an action show centered on beating up Super Sentai villains and nerding the fuck out about Kamen Rider<\/em>, but I think all of the big problems I have are baked into the show\u2019s core, and that\u2019s a shame.<\/p>\n Wooper:<\/b><\/span> One nice thing about a \u201ctoo big to fail\u201d franchise like Pokemon is that there\u2019s always money lying around to fund smaller creative projects. The video games have been scraping the bottom of the barrel for ages now, and the TCG is plagued by scalpers, but it feels like we get a well-made miniseries almost every single year, and in 2025 that means another four episodes of Pokemon Concierge. All four appeared online in early September, so it\u2019s not technically a fall series, but it\u2019s bound to appear on my year-end list, so I figured this column was as good a place as any to throw it. As with the first batch of episodes, the stop motion animation is excellent, using a wide range of materials (felt, clay, resin, etc) to accurately depict an even wider range of creatures. One thing I noticed about this return episode was the camera\u2019s focus on nearby Pokemon whenever human exposition was being delivered, keeping visual interest high even during the talky bits. Getting both airborne and terrestrial creatures involved in the \u201cturn on the generator\u201d plot was a good idea, and the slow motion domino effect of Pokemon-related mishaps midway through the story was also a highlight. With so much focus on Psyduck and friends, the character work for Haru is slight, but it\u2019s good that the script makes the attempt, as Concierge might otherwise feel overly indulgent. Good stuff all around \u2013 I look forward to taking in the remaining three episodes at a Slugma\u2019s pace.<\/p>\n Wooper:<\/b><\/span> This show is quite the odd duck \u2013 a series of three minute shorts about the life of Isobe, a middle manager for a tokusatsu-style evil organization. In these three episodes, we follow him in the aftermath of his group\u2019s defeat: on the train, at an oden stand, and to his apartment, where he finally takes off his mask for his wife. Isobe is something of a scumbag \u2013 in addition to working for a company bent on world domination and constantly grumbling about his heroic nemesis Hopeman, the show hints that he may have groped a young woman on the train in its very first episode (the two groups subbing this series disagree on that point, adding to the ambiguity). Not an aspirational figure, then, but the series\u2019 somewhat sour tone is part of the appeal, perhaps reflecting the author\u2019s view of life (and particularly work culture) in Japan. Visually, the art and animation are indistinguishable from that of a full length TV series, making it a rarity among short anime, which are usually stylized to compensate for their lower production values. I particularly like the look of the characters, which is more aligned with the exaggerated style of an older gag manga than with modern trends. Three more episodes have already been subbed, so it looks like at least one group will continue with Ganglion through December\u2019s end, and I\u2019ll be along for the ride.<\/p>\nSanda \u2013 2-6<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\nFujimoto Tatsuki 17-26 \u2013 1<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\nTojima Wants to be Kamen Rider- 2-6<\/h2>\n
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\nPokemon Concierge \u2013 5<\/h2>\n
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\nGanglion \u2013 1-3<\/h2>\n
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\nHyakushou Kizoku S3 \u2013 1-3<\/h2>\n
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