Ponkotsu Fuuki Iin to Skirt-take ga Futekisetsu na JK no Hanashi – 01

This show was pretty close to the bottom of the preview. But then Samu gave it a mention, noting that he really liked mangaka Yokota Takuma’s other series,  Sesuji wo Pin! to: Shikakou Kyougi Dance-bu e Youkoso. I started reading that one and must agree with him – it’s absolutely adorable and tons of fun. As such my interest level in Ponkotsu leveled up quite a bit.

My reaction after the premiere is, too bad it wasn’t Sesuji wo Pin that got the anime. I found none of the charm in this that I do in that series. Is it the fault of the adaptation or the source material? I can’t say with certainty not having read this manga. And there’s no denying the adaptation is fairly ow-rent and generally flat in terms of production. But the main issue for me is that the story and characters came off as cliched and tired. Every bad high school romcom trope was evidenced in plenty, especially comic violence. The premise is pretty much explained in the LN-length title – and if I didn’t know going in you’d have no trouble convincing me this was based on a light novel (and that’s not meant as a compliment).

I tell you, I really like that dance club series and I do wish that had gotten an anime (and it’s odd that a WSJ series that ran ten volumes never got one). I’ll finish the manga. Ponkotsu? I see no need to experiment further with it. Just not my cup of tea. Also, any rule that says high school kids can’t stop at Starbucks after school is a stupid rule.

Liar Game – 01

While it’s strictly coincidental, the scenario here is pretty much the complete opposite of the first scenario. That is, I’m trialing Liar Game despite really hating the mangaka’s other series. One Outs was awful IMO – a baseball series for people who hate baseball. I kind of see Liar Game as a series for people who love provocative realty television. Well, I love baseball and I hate provocative reality television. I think you can see where this is going…

This series has been compared to Trillion Game (and hey – Madhouse, “Game”, same director, I get it), but to me there’s a fundamental difference (among many). Trillion Game, fantastical as it is, evolves off a real-world situation. The premise in Liar Game – as in One Outs – has absolutely no reason for existing except as a pretext for supposed drama. Charitably one could call it a thought experiment, but that would require a writer with far more wit and subtlety than this one (again, in my opinion). It all plays to me as a fairly sad attempt to get people talking about how clever all this is.

So again, this is a hard pass for me and this particular digest is a total whiff. No biggie – it happens. Both these shows will have their fans and their opinion is just as valid as mine – it’s a “horses for courses” thing.