What did I do to deserve yet another anime series about teen boys being reincarnations? Seriously, which powerful but spiteful deity did I cross?
Petals of Reincarnation Ep. 1
On paper, retrieving a talent from your past life sounds cool. But if you’re just going to use this premise for a fighting anime, then that is not so cool. Unfortunately, this appears to be exactly what we get. Our heroine is supposedly the reincarnation of Miyamoto Musashi (weird how this historical figure always ends up being a girl), and she starts things off by dueling a cannibal who goes by the name of Fish — a reincarnation of Albert Fish, I’m assuming. Ma’am, it’s 2026. You don’t need a sarashi. You can just wear a sports bra. The show has a distinctive visual style, but my eyes are already glazing over due to the fighting.
Anyway, to unlock a talent from one of your previous lives, you have to slice your throat with a knife coined the Branch of Reincarnation. Senji Toya has always wanted a talent — any talent — because he grew up in his older brother’s shadow. When given the opportunity cut himself, Toya is more than happy to do the grisly deed. But the whole premise is on shaky grounds for me. Fine, it often looks like some folks are born with an innate aptitude for certain activities, whether it’s martial arts or playing an instrument. Plus, Toya’s been beaten down by his parents; they seem to despise him just for existing. He even got blamed for his brother dying young. I get why he’s got a complex. Even so, I feel like Toya’s got this backwards. He was just throwing random stuff at the wall in hopes of a talent emerging. Instead, you’re supposed to pick something you’re passionate about, then work hard at it. Talent is something that can also be cultivated. I don’t know what Toya is passionate about other than getting back at “them.” Maybe that’s it; maybe he’s talented at being petty and envious.
After using the Branch of Reincarnation, Toya awakens to a thievery talent ’cause he’s Goemon. But he can steal more than just the tangible. He can literally steal your talents a la Mega Man, so you can see why our generic-looking MC already has the potential to be incredibly overpowered. It’s also kinda fitting, because he covets. Rather than finding out who he really is as a person, he’d rather just steal the results of others’ hard work instead. Toya has no identity of his own.
Toya’s first assignment is to help Haito — again, the Musashi reincarnation — “eradicate” Vlad III. Y’see, geniuses can reincarnate, but not all geniuses have good intentions. Some geniuses are sinners! We wouldn’t want Hitler running around, now would we? Toya eventually steals Vlad’s talent, but that’s the thing: why does any of this have to devolve into physical violence? If this was like, I dunno, a battle of wits between two historical figures, that’d be one thing. But I’m not remotely interested in watching a pair of kids literally throw down with Vlad the Impaler. It just feels like such a waste of a concept.
Killed again, Mr. Detective. Ep. 1
Oh good, we have ourselves yet another show about a high school detective. I already kinda dislike Sakuya’s character design, because the white streak looks dumb. Plus, wouldn’t you want to be inconspicuous as a detective? But I digress. Lilithea, his assistant, is also a teenager. She is obviously in love with Sakuya, but he’s too stupid to realize it. How good of a detective can he be then? Maybe this is probably why Sakuya lives in his father’s shadow, who is also a detective — just a far better one. As a result, his dad gets to take on high profile cases like a plane hijacking 10000 feet in the air. Somehow, the culprit is a 9-year-old. Don’t ask, ’cause I don’t know. The anime doesn’t tell us. Meanwhile, our high school boy settles for jobs that aren’t quite so high adrenaline: tailing a potential adulterer.
The problem with our main character being in high school is that he somehow has the freedom to just hop onto an international cruise, but that’s not even the most unbelievable part about this show. Rather, it’s the fact that Sakuya can somehow bring himself back to life after being killed. To set the stage, this adultery case is actually far more dangerous than it seems. Not only does our high school detective stumble upon a dead body in the cargo room, a killer clown suddenly comes outta nowhere and stabs Sakuya right through the neck. Oof, brutal. But before we know it, he’s alive again in his assistant’s lap. Since we only get a single episode for the premiere, the anime has yet to explain how this is possible. Hell, it might never do so. Just leave us completely in the dark as to how Sakuya has magical, self-resurrecting powers.
So who’s the killer? When the clown bends down to pick up the first victim’s smart phone, it kinda looks like our culprit have the hands of a woman. So maybe it’s Yuriu, the young actress who claims to be looking for her producer’s cat. Or could it be this suspicious individual who directed Sakuya towards the cargo room in the first place? But why would the killer want to get someone else involved in the crime? We also meet a lawyer, but he seems like a potential recurring character for the series. Who knows, maybe there are multiple culprits!
Honestly, I have no clue who the killer is. That’s why I’m not a detective. I’m not sure why Sakuya is one either. First, he hates this sort of thing. He doesn’t want to get his hands dirty like his father, and honestly, few would. So why be a detective at all? Why not just be what you are, a high school kid, and go enjoy your high school life? Who honestly wants to write a will at such a young age? I’m decades older than him, and I still haven’t considered writing one. So that’s what I’m looking forward to the most in the second episode. Not the killer’s identity or even the killer’s motive. I’ve listened to enough podcasts and seen enough Youtube videos on serial killers and bizarre mysteries. I doubt anything about the crime here will surprise me. No, what I really want to know is Sakuya’s motive for sticking with this job when he doesn’t and shouldn’t need to.
Kirio Fan Club Ep. 1
Two girls are in love with the same guy, and even though they might call themselves rivals for his affections, it’s clear that this is a bonding experience for them. They have such silly, offbeat banter that you almost wish they would just ditch the guy and explore their friendship in other ways. Not suggesting yuri or anything like that, but surely, there are more to talk about then just Kirio, right?
Aimi, in particular, is kinda wild. She worships Kirio like a god. When listing out all the things they like about him, she jots down his organs. She even thinks she would be blessed to hear Kirio fart. At night, she tries to induce dreams of the guy. Finally, here’s Aimi attempting to puke in front of Kirio. This way, he’ll be so traumatized that he’ll have nightmares of her. The brilliant logic here is that any dream with her in it is better than no dream. Girl…
So considering all the hype, this Kirio guy must be one helluva dude, right? Well, when Nami does an impersonation of Kirio, I couldn’t help but think, Wow, he seems boring as hell. We then finally meet the guy himself at the end of the episode, and he even looks boring. I guess the girls’ inexplicable love for someone so mediocre is part of a larger joke, but this one falls flat for me.
So yeah, I dunno if I’ll keep watching. Aimi is so bizarre that she’s almost funny. I’ll admit I cracked a smile once or twice. But the premise itself is not interesting. I don’t have any unanswered questions. I don’t care if either of them ever gets with Kirio. I’m not exactly curious about their backstories either. None of this really matters to me.
