I’d almost forgotten about Appare-Ranman! to be honest.  It wasn’t that centrally located on my radar screen to begin with, and then took an extended hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic (which is distinctly worsening again in Japan).  But in a season with so few realistic blogging targets (I eagerly await the return of another marginal series, Fugou Keiji: Balance:Unlimited) I feel like I have to give this show every chance to win me over.

It isn’t bad, truth be told, but Appare-Ranman! probably isn’t a series I’d seriously consider blogging under normal circumstances.  The writing is pretty cliched and it doesn’t seem as if there’s that much budget.  Still, there’s just enough that’s modestly distinctive about it to make it interesting.  In addition to the morbid curiosity in seeing how it depicts early 20th Century America and portrays a Native American character, it has a premise that’s at least approachable and coherent.  And the side cast is modestly more interesting than the protagonists.

Jing’s story is bog standard anime fare – a busty bishoujo being treated like dirt by misogynist pigs trying to prove herself with the help of the good guys.  It lets an anime feel progressive while still objectifying, so a win-win – but hey, I’ve seen a lot worse examples.  The way this race played out was pretty predictable, right down to the team owner acknowledging reality at the end, but the execution was fairly entertaining.

All this is preamble, of course, to the main event – the cross-country race that’s very much the stuff of old Hollywood.  That will make or break Appare-Ranman!, but I get the sense that this series is well-suited to it – over-the-top and silly are areas of relative strength, and that’s what will be needed for the great race.  I still don’t like Appare as a protagonist but those surrounding him are tolerable, and if it can manage to deliver a little spectacle the race sequence might be pretty entertaining.