Will these two shows work their charm on me? Or will they leave me drained and annoyed just hours before I hit the sack?

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Champignon Witch

Poor Luna just wants to help people, and she does! Her concoctions can heal all sorts of illnesses and ailments. Not only that, her literal presence helps filter out all of the accumulated toxins in an area. As you can imagine, a bustling town is full of toxins, especially when they carry out public executions. Unfortunately, people hate what they don’t understand, so the townspeople fear and/or hate Luna. It doesn’t help that merely touching her can kill you. It also doesn’t help that she leaves poisonous mushrooms behind with every step she takes. To make matters worse, there are constant witch hunts in this kingdom. Even the friendliest person in Luna’s life immediately wipes everything down as soon as she leaves his home. Way to make a girl feel bad about herself, Mr. Bookworm. But you get the picture. Our fungal heroine might have her animal friends to keep her company, but she’s essentially isolated from all forms of human intimacy. Naturally, this means she can’t fall in love. But what if she could draw a picture of a cute guy, and use her magic to make said picture come to life! Alas, everything comes with a price. Even a mere visual representation of a cute guy can kill the actual person. After all, it looks like the only reason it can come to life in the first place is by draining the guy of his life essence. As a result, Luna’s first love starts and ends before you can even blink.

I think if you just sit back and let the atmosphere of the show wash over you, you might have yourself one hell of a tear-jerker. But I’m a nitpicky asshole, so a few things bother me. First, I hate the incessant narration. I understand it’s meant to evoke the feeling of reading a fairy tale, but I don’t feel immersed. I feel the opposite, actually. There’s always this voice nagging away in my ear. Do you see how the witch is happy to see people rejoice over her medicine? Look how the witch is happy! Look, look! Do you see how the witch is experiencing love for the first time? Look how the witch feels love for the first time! I don’t read very many fairy tales, so maybe I just don’t get it.

Speaking of fairy tales, the romance fell short for me, because the guy was seen flirting with another woman shortly before he became aware of Luna’s existence. He just seems like a skirt chaser. Luna warned him over and over that it was dangerous for them to interact, but he insisted that everything would be okay. He had no clue what he was talking about, but he kept pushing anyway. That, to me, says he’s in it for the thrill of love, which admittedly feels awesome. But in a longterm relationship, things eventually settle down. I’m not saying that the passion goes away completely, but things simply moved too fast between Luna and Henri, so I don’t buy it. I don’t blame her, because she’s inexperienced. Even if she’s centuries old or whatever, when it comes to romance, she’s as clueless as a teenager. On the other hand, I don’t think Henri’s love was very deep, and as a result, their “tragically” short romance doesn’t move me. Better to get the first dude out of the way, I suppose.

Last but not least, I hope the next love interest isn’t that kid who came riding down the river with a knife in his chest. Not only is he all over the ED, he’s also the accursed narrator. Obviously, he’s the deuteragonist. But will he and Luna have an innocently platonic relationship? Or is it meant to become something more as the years go by? I’m hesitant to find out. I don’t want to waste time and effort getting invested in these characters if she’s going to end up with the shota-like character. I’m probably jumping the gun, because a single season’s worth of episodes would likely never reach such a pivotal moment in the story. On the other hand, we did just run through Luna’s first love like it was a 40-yard dash.

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The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife

An invisible man — a detective, if that’s important — takes an interest in Yako, his cute and blind… um, I think she’s a secretary? But the blind part is what matters, because the rest of her senses are heightened to make up for the fact that she’s visually impaired. For instance, she can sniff out Tonome’s location even when he goes fully invisible. Y’see, he’s not just invisible. He also has the ability to make his clothes invisible. This is perfect when Tonome needs to tail a person of interest for his job, but not so perfect because he can’t hide himself from Yako. Luckily, he doesn’t need nor want to. In a world full of people who literally can’t see him, a woman who can “see” him must then be special, right? It must be fate, right? And just like that, their courtship begins.

But again, I’m a nitpicky asshole, so let’s get right to it. When Tonome gets injured, you can see his wound pretty clearly. How come he can make his clothes disappear, but not his wounds? Yako supposedly has a keen sense of smell, which is how she can detect Tonome when nobody else can. But then we see her bump into Kirira, another employee in the office. So does Kirira not have a smell at all? I guess you could argue that Yako hasn’t catalogued Kirira’s smell, because she simply has no interest in him, but it still feels inconsistent. Anyway, since this world has an invisible man, it also has plenty of other strange and usual folks. We have animal people, cyclopses, and even aliens with fittingly advanced technology. Nevertheless, they need Tonome’s help in locating their lost daughter. Uh-huh… In the grand scheme of things, i.e. the burgeoning romance between Tonome and Yako, none of these issues really matter. But they still kinda bug me.

But sure, let’s talk about the romance. I’m glad to see that Tonome and Yako are adults, but we’re not out of the woods just yet. A big problem with adult romances in anime is that the couple will still often behave like children. Luckily, Tonome is brimming with confidence (at least outwardly). He doesn’t hesitate to ask Yako out once he’s taken an interest in her. He also doesn’t hesitate to compliment her, and he can do so without stammering like a schoolboy. When she coyly says, “I was thinking, ‘Gosh, it’s almost like a date…’,” he immediately dispels any doubt. Yes, woman, it’s a date! it Tonome even boldly lets Yako feel his pounding heart in the middle of a busy restaurant. Even if he was profusely blushing, we certainly wouldn’t be able to tell.

Yako, on the other hand, is little shy and unsure of herself. When Tonome tells her that he doesn’t want to hide his emotions from her, she later asks herself, “What did he mean by that?” You hear that slap? That’s me facepalming myself. But you gotta be patient with Yako, because she has no experience. Her first date with Tonome is admittedly the first time she’s ever dined alone with a man. In fact, we should be encouraged, because by the end of the episode, our girl actually takes the initiative and asks Tonome out for their second date. Already, we’ve made more progress in a single episode than the entirety of last season’s My Awkward Senpai. Dare I hope that this show will not end in marriage without the couple at least kissing beforehand? I mean, what’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s not like we’ll even able to see the kiss! Or at least half of it.

I’m not sure this show has enough meat for a weekly post, but I’ll keep watching it on the side.