Acro Trip

Lighthearted, silly show for those who like cartoon frenemy dynamics such as Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf or LazyTown or Team Rocket. Despite the magical girl premise, the real star of the show is the hapless nominal villain Chroma, who is as handsome as Alucard from Castlevania yet as much of a mostly harmless softie as James from Pokémon. But only mostly, as he does win over his enemies every so often, albeit from his own evil organization rather than his supposed enemy Berry Blossom. In the end, this is not a show that is going to make big changes in the world or anything despitemisleading initial hype about this heralding a magical girl renaissance. In the tradition of many other gag manga (see also: The Way of the Househusband), all it wants to do is to put a smile on your face with its goofy, outlandish premise. Its roots are quite apparent in the way multiple episodes are really just a few short manga chapters strung together, rapidly jumping from one situation to another with only the thinnest veneer of an overarching plot. So maybe not something that necessarily translates the best to anime format, but it did make me want to check out more of the manga, so I guess, mission accomplished.

It does put a twist on the magical girl formula by telling the story not from the magical girls point of view or rather from the 'villains'' point of view but it was not that fun for me. The art style suits a magical girl genre. The three main characters were likeable. Mostly because I think this is truly meant for 13 year old girls. The show is very girly. The magical girl transformations and outfits were good. It probably is not a bad shoujo considering how rare the magical girl genre is. So I do appreciate when make these. My Rating: 5/10 (Mediocre)

Although long-form magical girl anime that aren't Pretty Cure have been on the decline in recent years, there has still been a few such shows that have come out that shook up the formula in different ways. One such magical girl anime is this year's "Gushing Over Magical Girls", which is basically about a magical girl fan who unwittingly becomes part of the evil organization that her idols are fighting against. It's an interesting concept, but given that it is also an ecchi anime, it also has a very high amount of fanservice to the point where it could be classified as a borderline-hentai; whileI still watched it and found some enjoyment in it regardless, there may be some magical girl fans who may want to see an anime with its basic concept but feel alienated by the egregious amount of fanservice. Before I even heard about Gushing Over Magical Girls, however, I had already made the decision to watch an anime that was essentially, as YouTuber Gigguk would later call it in a YouTube video, "PG-13 Gushing Over Magical Girls". Now that "PG-13 Gushing Over Magical Girls" has finished its run, however, I must really ask the question, "Can Acro Trip really be a suitable replacement for Gushing Over Magical Girls?" I may have described the basic premise of Acro Trip already, but of course, I should go into more detail. The magical girl fan here is Chizuko Date, a middle school student who is staying with her grandfather in Naniga City for a week. This week turns into an indefinite amount of time, however, after Chizuko witnesses a battle between the town's local magical girl, Berry Blossom, and the evil organization Fossa Magna; having become tired of seeing the same things over and over again in the multiple different places she has moved to, she becomes enamored with Berry Blossom and resolves to stay in town so that she can see more of her new idol's battles. Unfortunately, these battles gradually become less exciting to watch because of how pathetic of a villain Fossa Magna's mastermind, Chroma, is. Eventually, Chizuko encounters Chroma, and because of Chizuko's passion to make Berry Blossom stand out more and her ability to come up with ways to make his evil plans actually have a chance of working, Chroma recruits her into Fossa Magna. Although Chizuko initially refuses the offer....well, let's just say that fate has other plans for her, especially since Chroma's base happens to be underneath her grandfather's house. First of all, I should mention that apart from being a magical girl anime, Acro Trip is mainly a lighthearted comedy. In that department....well, it's just okay. I may have cracked some smiles or even chuckled a bit at some of the jokes Acro Trip tells, but I can't really think of anything that made me laugh out loud. There wasn't too much of a story, either; it was mainly Chroma and Chizuko getting into wacky shenanigans, mostly in regards to the former's "evil plans". It almost doesn't matter, though, as these two characters do have a fun dynamic with each other. I do wish that the series ended in a more satisfying way, though; I feel like whatever story was there could be wrapped up by something better than a standard hot springs episode. The original manga is already complete with only five volumes, though, so if this is also how the manga ended - I don't know if it did, since I haven't read the manga as of writing this review - there isn't really anymore material that could provide a more conclusive ending. Oh, well. The cast of characters present in Acro Trip are a bunch that can be amusing at times but also feel a bit lackluster. For example, as amusing as he can be as a(n incompetent) villain, Chroma doesn't feel like he has a real reason for why he wants to be the evil mastermind he is. One episode does have a flashback that shows what gave him the idea to become an evil mastermind in the first place, but it's the kind of thing that makes you think, "What? That's it?" I guess it fits him, since he is really not good at being bad, but there are at least some fictional incompetent villains who at least have a concrete reason for turning to the dark side that isn't just, "This guy wants to be an evil mastermind, so I want to be one, too!" Another character who I feel is lacking a bit is the magical girl fighting him, Berry Blossom herself. As cute as her character design is and as relatable as the insecurities she's shown can be, she's just not that interesting of a character overall. It is a little amusing seeing how much Chizuko freaks out when she's in close proximity to her idol, though. Voil is the name of the animation studio behind Acro Trip. If it sounds unfamiliar, don't worry; this is actually the studio's first project. It does show, however, as while the art is very colorful, the movement can be stiff at times. Well, I can at least praise how well Yone Sawata's unique artstyle was translated into an anime format; it couldn't have been easy! The opening and ending themes - "Fragum" by Inori Minase and "Reversible Baby" by KanoeRana, respectively - are both upbeat songs that fit the mood of the anime well. I especially liked the latter, given its cute animation sequence and the catchy song that has occasionally gotten stuck in my head. The voice acting was also solid, and each character was well-cast. I wasn't too sure if Miku Itou was really a good fit for Chizuko before the anime came out, but she did a decent job! Overall, Acro Trip is an okay anime. I personally prefer Gushing Over Magical Girls - mainly because it has better animation and a slightly more memorable cast - but if you're someone who likes the basic premise of that series but doesn't want to watch it because of all of the fanservice, I'd say that Acro Trip is a decent replacement. I may be incompetent at writing reviews, but I can at least say that much!