Midterm Review of Spring 2020 Anime by Anime Writers [Anime Column].

An interim review of notable titles from the new TV anime series starting in spring 2020. The lineup includes the Sunday morning Sanrio anime "MUCCLE DREAMY," "Houkago Teibo Nisshi," a fishing comedy about four high school girls, "Bessatsu Olympia Cyclos," an anime adaptation of Mari Yamazaki's latest novel, "Takuboku Tori Detective Place," based on a mystery novel by Sogen Souryi Bunko, and "Haxon Daimao 2020," a joint production by Tatsunoko Production and Nippon Animation. Haxon Daimaou 2020", a co-production between Tatsunoko Productions and Nippon Animation.

MUCCLE DREAMY

The story follows Myu, a stuffed animal that falls from the sky, and Yume Hinata, a cheerful and energetic first-year junior high school student, as they enter the world of everyone's dreams and solve their problems. The story is about Myu, a stuffed animal who falls out of the sky and Yume Hinata, a cheerful and energetic first-year junior high school student, enters the world of dreams and solves everyone's problems. The first thing that is shown in the main story is a townscape of cloudy and rainy weather, which does not seem like an anime for girls, and this is enough to get our spirits up.
In the first episode, Yume's mother leaves work early, exhausted from hard labor. She goes on a shopping spree for brand-name goods and goes on a binge eating and drinking spree. When Yume's mother falls asleep stress-free and looks into her dream, she sees people at the mercy of hard work. ...... pays homage to the forced labor scene in the dystopian 1927 film "Metropolis," but the comically depicted dream scene has a greater impact. While paying homage to the forced labor scene in the dystopian film "Metropolis" released in 1927, the dream scene depicted comically has a great impact. Even though the program is sponsored by a staffing agency, we are impressed by their aggressive attitude without any discovery. I am sure we will continue to enjoy unpredictable stories in the future.

After School Teibo Journal

This is a club activity anime in which the main character, Tsurugi Hina, who moved to a country town by the sea when she entered high school, starts fishing for a certain reason. The first episode depicts how Hina, who wanted to join the handicraft club, is dragged into the "Teibo club" by the trickery of high school senior Yuki Kuroiwa, and the story opens with an impressive transition from doll-making to fishing, a hobby that uses thread.
The motif of the threads even takes on a somewhat bondage-like, bewitching atmosphere as the octopus, which is supposed to be the result of the fishing, becomes entangled in Yonagisa's leg. The eroticism of this scene made us realize that the magazine in which the original story was published was not Manga Time Kirara, but rather Young Champion Isetsu, which also published a gravure with a bound-in-bag illustration. The contents and internal organs of the octopus are neatly depicted in the anime adaptation, and its grotesque beauty also enhances the work.

Bessatsu Olympia Cyclos

Demetrios, a young man from ancient Greece, travels back in time to Tokyo in 1964, the year of the Olympic Games. In this short animation, he deepens his knowledge of ancient Greek and Japanese culture by comparing the two. While the live-action film "Thermae Romae" cast actors with thick faces to give the appearance of ancient Romans, this film uses plaster-like clay animation to portray ancient Greeks. The film is intriguing from a visual standpoint as well, as it contrasts favorably with the flimsy Japanese people depicted on paper.
Daisuke Ono, who plays the lead role, has played the Roman god of war, Mars, in "Plaster Boys," in which plaster busts are used as idols. In this film, he gives a good performance as a timid herbivorous man with exceptional physical abilities. As a leading plaster character voice actor, he demonstrated his abilities without regret. As the title "Bessatsu" suggests, the film is more comical than the original, but the intellectual atmosphere of the film is probably due to the fact that the ideology of the work is well present. This is a film that makes you want to use Greek words that you do not understand.

Takuboku Tantei Shojo (The Takuboku Bird Detective Place)

An animated adaptation of a mystery novel in which Takuboku Ishikawa, a Meiji-era poet, and Kyosuke Kindaichi, a linguist, become a detective and his assistant to solve crimes. Things that are now gone are lovingly depicted, perhaps because Takuboku, who died young at the age of 26, is the main character. The Asakusa Ryounkaku building, which later collapsed due to the Great Kanto Earthquake, the Camellia cigarette offered by Kyosuke to Takuboku, and the Milk Hall where the literary scholars gather to discuss the issues are all carefully researched and depicted in the finished product.
The small size of Takuboku's room (3 tatami mats, 1 tatami room) leaves an unforgettable impression. The scene shown at the end of the first episode, in which the room is shown from the perspective of an empty bookcase, also evokes nostalgia.

Haxon Daimaou 2020

Tatsunoko Production's most famous gag anime is back after 50 years. This is not a remake but a legitimate sequel. This time, Akubi-chan, the daughter of the Daimon King, comes to the home of the grandson of the previous work's hero, Kan-chan, to challenge the training of the queen. Daima-oh and Akubi-chan are surprised at the generation gap when they arrive in the human world for the first time in half a century. Daima-ou is arrested as a suspicious person from the very first episode, and his efforts are sure to bring tears to the audience's eyes.
The Daima-Ohs appear in each episode with a life-size realistic touch, and the differences in common sense between 50 years ago and today are explained in an easy-to-understand manner. The two-headed Akubi-chan in the human world is cute, but her portrayal as an adult woman is also attractive. Koichi Yamadera was cast as the Daima-Oh. The way he makes her cry, "Oloron," sound sad is just wonderful. In the sixth episode, Noriko Hidaka plays K-chan's mother, a Showa-period idol.

(Text by Katsunori Takahashi)

(C) 2017,2019 SANRIO CO., LTD. copyright Sanrio MUCCLE DREAMY Production Committee
(C) Yasuyuki Kosaka (Akita Shoten) / Unno High School Teibo Club
(C) Mari Yamazaki, SHUEISHA/"Bessatsu Olympia Cyclos" Production Committee
(C) 2020 Kei Ii, Tokyo Sogensha / "Takkuboku Tantei Sho" Production Committee
(c) Tatsunoko Productions/Yomiuri TV