Review: Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa

Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa, also known as The Chronicles of Middle Manager Tonegawa, is my favourite Summer 2018 anime, second to Shingeki no Kyojin Season 3. It is a spin-off series, with the original being Kaiji. The series follows the life of Tonegawa as the middle manager of Teiai Corporation and it is set before he meets Kaiji.

You should watch both Kaiji Season 1 and Kaiji Season 2 first.

I love this anime because it’s hilarious!!! This series is nothing like Kaiji. You shouldn’t compare the two because this anime does not involve gambling. The goal of it is to make you laugh, and it certainly succeeds at making me laugh.

Synopsis: President Hyodo orders Tonegawa to organize an entertaining game. Tonegawa takes on the task and leads a team of men in black. Remember the games in Kaiji? Well, those ideas didn’t appear out of thin air. They were carefully planned by Tonegawa and his team! Tonegawa faces many obstacles, from having troubles remembering the names of his men, to having to please President Hyodo.

Watching this anime has made me like Tonegawa. He is one of the antagonists in Kaiji, and of course I was not on his side when I was watching Kaiji. I hated him in Kaiji. However, Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa shows us many sides of Tonegawa that we have never seen before. We even get a few shots of his muscular build. More importantly, Tonegawa actually has a heart! He is hard-working, cares about his men, and does what he says he will do. Tonegawa is a likeable and relatable character in this anime and I see him differently now.

I give Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa a thumbs up! Nine episodes have been released and I’ve enjoyed all of them so far. This comedy series will have 24 episodes.

Seasonal Anime Impressions – Summer 2018

Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan Season 3 

I loved the first season, but thought the second season wasn’t as good because everything was condensed into 12 episodes. For the third season we will have 24 episodes, which sounds promising already. Attack on Titan lives up to the hype.

As of right now, three episodes have been released. The season started off with a strong beginning. It was different, but different in a good way. The first two episodes were filled with action, and the animation is amazing. Levi didn’t get a lot of scenes in the second season, but his fans will be very happy with this season. Yesterday’s episode (episode 3) didn’t have a lot of action, but it gave us important background information. It was still an enjoyable episode. Attack on Titan Season 3 is definitely my favourite anime from this summer season.

 Satsuriku no Tenshi/Angels of Death

I dropped this show after four episodes, but heard that the fifth episode was better. From what I heard, it’s still not a very good anime. If you want to read a more in-depth post on my reasons for dropping this anime, click here!

Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes/Holmes of Kyoto

I am enjoying this anime, and am caught up (five episodes have been released so far). I am aware that some anime bloggers think the show is boring. It’s not the most interesting show, and it does have its dull moments. However, I’m learning about Japanese artwork, artists, history, and festivals from watching the show. It is informative, and it’s a pleasant watch. If you’re into this sort of thing like me, then you might like it.

Hataraku Saibou/Cells at Work!

This is one of the more popular shows from this season. Watching the show motivates me to take care of myself more because the cells are doing their best. I thought the first episode was extremely predictable, but I still enjoyed it.

It is educational too. The Infinite Zenith wrote a post on the anime’s accuracy after I asked him to take a look at it. Please check it out! It’s extremely detailed and it’s one of my favourite blog posts.

Platelets are adorable

Banana Fish

I liked the first episode, but I will wait until all the episodes are out because I don’t want the hype to ruin for me. It happened with Yuri on Ice… The anime is based on an older manga from the 1980s. The clothing style, architecture, art style and general vibe were refreshing to see in a new anime.

Happy Sugar Life

Misleading photo

I’ve only seen the first two episodes, but I’m enjoying it. The protagonist gives off Yuno Gasai vibes (from Mirai Nikki) but I love yandere characters. ^_^ Although the title sounds sweet, it’s twisted and all the characters are messed up. It’s ridiculous but entertaining. It does have disturbing scenes so if you are young, do not watch this!

Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia 3rd Season (continuing)

I stopped watching this because of the summer anime season, but I will continue it once all the episodes are out. I think I’ll enjoy it more once the excitement over it dies a little… It is a great shonen, and there are many likable characters.

Angels of Death – Impressions

Episode 4 was released today and I have to say… I am very disappointed with the series overall. This anime series is based on a game.

Synopsis

Rachel wakes up in a creepy room and quickly learns that her life is in danger because a killer is on the loose. She discovers that every floor has a killer and in order to escape the building she is in, she must go through each floor, with a different killer waiting for her.

The first killer is Zack, and due to reasons he joins Rachel. They work together to escape the building.

I loved the first episode, probably more than a lot of other bloggers did. I thought the premise was interesting, and thought Zack looked cool. I liked his craziness and thought that Rachel was a level-headed character. There were graphic scenes in the first episode, so I thought the series would be scary.

Sadly the first episode raised my expectations too high, which led to bitter disappointment with the later episodes. Let’s start with the main characters. Rachel was like a normal person in the first episode, running for her life and hiding from the killer. At the end of the first episode, she lost all her personality and became listless. I found it extremely hard to relate to her character, and increasingly became more and more irritated with her. She doesn’t have any drive and doesn’t react to anything. It’s kind of tiresome to watch her, honestly.

For the first three episodes, I liked Zack. He was a huge reason for continuing the show, but the fourth episode was a disappointment because I realized how stupid he is. I don’t have strong opinions on the antagonists either. None of the characters are likable, and that’s really important for any story.

Now let’s talk about other elements of the anime. Any scariness in the show was in episode one. The rest of the episodes so far have been lackluster. I think the problem is that they try to be funny which takes away from the experience. We are reminded that we are watching something, rather than letting ourselves be absorbed with the show.

Instead of throwing up a rainbow, why don’t you show me actual vomit

I tried really hard to like this show. Even when other anime bloggers were expressing their dislike for the show, I was more optimistic. However, the fourth episode was terrible and I’m thinking about dropping it.

What are your thoughts of Angels of Death so far? Will you be continuing it or dropping it?