Anime Summer 2024: MAYONAKA PUNCH, Content Creator and Vampire, Together Again
An unlikely pairing will test each one's creativity, in a funny new series, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
The goal: one million subscribers. The reward: all your blood.
Mayonaka Punch
The first two episodes are now streaming on Crunchyroll. Subsequent episodes will debut every Monday.
Frankly, the first episode drove me up a wall with its frantic, manic energy; it felt like an all-out assault on my senses. The second episode, however, down-shifted to where it didn't feel like a nightmare anymore, and actually became enjoyable.
Per Wikipedia, Dōga Tōkō Shōjo created the anime original, which is "directed by Shū Honma, with Hideaki Shirasaka serving as screenwriter, Ryōta Arima adapting Tsukasa Kotobuki's original character designs for animation, and tape and Raku composing the music." The show is produced by P.A. Works, which has made a number of other anime originals.
As noted, the first episode is aggressively strong, following the travails of Masaki as she is canceled by the two other members of the Harikiri Sisters, a "NewTuber" livestreaming team that has its own popular channel. They have all lived and worked together in solidarity, so Masaki feels as though she's been exiled to a distant, lonely planet after she's thrown out of the group during a livestream, no less.
Perhaps the high-strung, in-your-face nature of the first episode is meant to approximate the nastier elements of the internet online world. If so: ugh Well done!
After that bit of nastiness, Masaki comes into contact with Live, a hungry, hungry vampire searching for blood while living in the body of a similar-aged teenager. Just as Live is about to take a big chunk out of Masaki, the human makes a desperate plea to exchange all her blood so as to make a success out of Live's desire for her own NewTuber channel. Watch the clip below to see how the episode concludes.
Soon enough, two more of Live's friends, who transform from bat form into young schoolgirl form, join the team. While not a complete success, I found the second episode to be much less frantic and (somewhat) funnier, with a touching emotional component rising to the fore. I've added it to my watchlist, in the hopes that it will continue to manifest a broader range of emotions and a more intriguing story.
The character designs and animation are good, which gives the show a good foundation to draw upon. We'll see where it goes from here.
Summary: Promising.
