Anime Column] Anime Writers' Summary Review of Summer 2017 Anime! Made in Abyss, Hebot! and 5 more!

A comprehensive review of TV anime completed in September 2017. Adventure fantasy "Made in Abyss," Sunday morning kids' anime "Hebot! , original anime "Re:CREATORS," based on the original story by manga artist Reihei Hiroe, "Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomodachi," based on the popular novel "Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomodachi!" and "Nobunaga's Ninja", a period drama short anime!

Maid in Abyss

An anime adaptation of a popular comic serialized in Takeshobo's "Comic Gamma". It is an adventure fantasy of a girl, Riko, and a robot boy, Reg, who aim for the bottom of the Abyss, a huge cavern. The cute character designs are captivating, but their adventures are always fraught with danger. Injuries and bloodshed are realistically depicted, often making you want to turn away. The story is relentless, with the characters losing various things as they dive deeper into the abyss.
The monsters that appear in the Abyss are so powerful that they seem to really exist and their smells are palpable. The upper levels of the Abyss are depicted as lush and natural, but the deeper levels become darker, stirring the viewer's anxiety. Despite the hard worldview, Rico's positive attitude and Reg's hard-working character make it hard to take your eyes off the adventure. Don't miss the end cards by manga artists associated with Takeshobo, including Mikio Igarashi, Nobuyuki Fukumoto, and Masashi Ueda. They are dream appearances with unexpected characters.

Hebot!

A media mix project centered on Bandai's "DX Hebot! is a media mix project centered around the "DX Hebot! Although it was a kids' anime broadcast at 7:00 a.m., it attracted attention for its high-tension, high-speed gags, storylines in which unidentifiable characters suddenly appear and repeatedly digress, parodies that even adults cannot identify the source of the quotes, and the chaos that resembles a dark pot.
Although the toy anime also features products in the main story, the characters who were not made into products formed a handsome idol group, and the "Imochin," a snack food, was revealed to be made from corn, despite its name. The characters who were not commercialized formed a handsome idol group, and so on. In the end, a Bandai employee who planned and developed the product appeared as the most important character, and surprised fans by acting as the voice of the character himself. The main story, however, is surprisingly serious. The DVD box set is only 3,000 units away from its final target, so keep your eyes peeled to see if it reaches its goal. All eyes are on the DVD box set to see if it will reach its goal!

Re:CREATORS

Re:CREATORS is an original work in which characters from anime and other dramas appear in the real world. Characters from various genres appear in this work, including a pilot from a robot anime, a wizard from an RPG, a princess from a chivalric fantasy, a ruthless boss from an action manga, a magical girl from a girls' anime, and a heroine from a bishojo game. Possessing powers beyond human understanding, they are divided into two camps and clash with each other, eventually facing the danger of the "Great Collapse," in which the world will cease to exist.
The story is told by the creators of the characters, who hold the keys to the story, and their power is increased by the "power of approval" that comes from the sympathy of their fans. However, the two worlds of play within a play and reality in this work are somewhat reminiscent of the relationship between the original work and the anime. If we consider the manifestation of the characters as an animated adaptation of the original work, the changing personalities of the characters living in the real world can be seen as a metaphor for the fact that the original work also changes under the influence of the animated version. The final scene, in which the characters return to the world of the story, is similar to the feeling one gets when the anime of a favorite original work reaches its final episode. The characters continue to live on the other side, and the original story is still going on, but I am filled with a sense of loneliness that those festive days are over.

Another world goes with the smartphone.

Novelist! is based on a popular fantasy serialized in "Shosetsu-ka Narou! It is a standard practice in the trendy genre to incorporate some originality to distinguish it from other works. This work, too, is a story about surviving in a fantasy world by making full use of a smartphone brought from the real world and the advantages of civilization. Most people's expectation that this would be the case is quickly confirmed by the depiction of the smartphone as a magical tool that can do anything. Rather, "Icesma" is a rare work that achieves originality by exposing the template without modifying it.
The main character Fuyuyoru Mochizuki is, as usual, the strongest character in the series, but he is so powerful that even episodes that would take several episodes in a normal anime are resolved in just a few minutes. In the first three minutes of the first episode, the protagonist accepts his death and is reincarnated, giving it an extraordinary sense of speed. It blows away the process that other works have tried to cover up, and makes the audience think, "That's what otherworldly reincarnation anime is all about, after all. Fuyuyoru's acceptance of polygamy in the final episode is nothing short of a revelation of the harem anime system. The primitive "curry is spicy" gag in episode 7 is also more than destructive enough to threaten our perception of laughter. After watching "Isesma," which is even critical of anime, we are not sure if we will be able to enjoy the work as much as we have in the past. It is one of the most frightening films in recent years.

Nobunaga's Ninja: Ise/Kanegasaki Arc

An anime adaptation of a historical comic serialized in "Young Animal. The 52 episodes depict the 10 years from the Battle of Okehazama to the Battle of Anegawa, in which a young Iga ninja girl, Chidori, serves under Oda Nobunaga. The story is filled with many fascinating characters, including Chidori, who looks cute but is extremely strong and beats all her enemies to death. Especially noteworthy is Hideyoshi Kinoshita, who has an immortal body that does not die even when pierced by arrows, and is on his way to success in the world. After his marriage to Nene and his appointment to the position of Samurai General due to the construction of Sumimata Castle, he is entrusted to protect his retreating comrades in the Battle of Kanegasaki.
In the 45th episode, "Tono is a lord until he returns home," he delivers a grand speech in front of his men to continue defending the battle. The serious scenes of Hideyoshi, who is usually a comedy relief, combined with the passionate performance of Kappei Yamaguchi, who voices him, create a persuasive power that only a work that has been built up over a year can have. This work ended 10 days before the battle of Anegawa, and expectations for further anime adaptations are growing.

(Text by Katsunori Takahashi)

(C) 2017 Akihito Tsukushi, Takeshobo/Made in Abyss Production Committee
(C) BNP/BANDAI, HEYBOT! PROJECT, Nagoya Broadcasting Corporation
(C) 2017 Reihei Hiroe/Shogakukan, Aniplex
(C) Patra Fuyuhara/ Hobby Japan/ Principality of Brunhild
(c) Naoki Shigeno/Hakusensha, Nobunaga no Ninja Production Committee