HypnosisMic -Division Rap Battle- Rhyme Anima Episode 2: MANGO REVIEW

Preface

    These reviews are written in a way that can be enjoyed by fresh new and crusty old fans alike, and written by an avid fan that very familiar with the series. There will be no major spoilers for the main HypMic storyline in these reviews.

Buster Bros episode!

Story

    Judging from this episode, it's likely they will have one episode per division before actually getting into the nitty gritty of the plot. For the new fans, that's probably a smart move, seeing as it fleshes out the characters more past the shallow introductions of the first episode. This gives the new viewer a reason to like the characters and understand their motives. For the older fans, it can appear a bit tiring and redundant, since we already know who these people are and what they stand for. 

   Starting the premiere with an episode per division before getting into the actual story is a risky move, seeing as this is to be a 13 episode season. But this is assuming they're planning on covering the plot, rather than making it an episodic series (which would be a disappointment to quite a few long time fans). Fortunately, seeing as series director Ono said that they will be respecting the fan's decisions on the original tournament results, it appears they are very likely following the original storyline. Fans should not worry too much about the length of the season though. With how popular the HypMic series in Japan, it's likely it will continue on for well over just one season.

How can you hate this series when it's like this?

    As for the actual episode, it was so damn cheesy in a good way. "What's that? Jiro and Saburo are being jumped by a large gang? Better go save them. But first, I'm gonna rap while slowly dancing my way there". This is just West Side Story with rap, isn't it? Also... is anyone going to question how he just teleported to them all of a sudden? I'm sure they did it just for the aesthetic, but honestly, I'm not even going to question it. With everything else in this damn series, the idea of Ichiro having the power of teleportation doesn't even phase me. 

"HOLY SHIT DID THAT GUY JUST TELEPORT I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE"

    This definitely wasn't a bad episode, especially considering I'm not a huge fan of Buster Bros unless they're interacting with the other divisions. I'll probably have a blast if they have a Fling Posse and Mad Trigger Crew episode, but nothing would be better than an episode revolving around the good old crazy HypMic main plot. Ono stated the events of the anime may differ from events of the main story since it was being produced concurrently with many other albums since 2018. However, this is the same year the drama tracks "Know Your Enemy Side BB vs MTC" and "Know Your Enemy Side FP vs M" were released, so it is entirely possible they could cover the events of these dramas.

    Before I move to the next section, I would like to note these new characters. Who are they? What are they doing? My brother-in-law assumed they're there to pull the events of the story together, which makes sense! For an unfamiliar watcher, it's a lot to take in, so having an unfamiliar third party looking in to converse with eachother and bring everything together is a pretty smart idea. Not a huge fan of their designs, but that's just my personal tastes. So what are these new folks names? T-rex... Okay. Iris Innocent Traitor? That's... Kinda suspicious and sounds like a google translate jumble of words, but I guess it's acceptable. Let's look at the last oTOM WHISPER WEATHERCOCK? The writers of HypMic are notorious for hilarious misuse of English words, the top ones being God Asshole and North Bastard, but TOM MCFRICKEN WHISPER WEATHERCOCK WINS ITS PLACE AT THE TOP OF THE LIST. 

TOM WHISPER WEATHERCOCK

Music

    I don't have a lot to say on this. The music in this episode was great. "Ore ga Ichiro", the song Ichiro was rapping while his brothers were being attacked is still one of my favorite songs in the series, so it was a very pleasant surprise, even if it felt a bit out of place. If they do this for all four of the leaders, I love you guys and will miss every one of you because if "drops" plays from beginning to end while I'm watching with my partner and his brother, I will implode on myself and form into a black hole from shame. 

    As silly as the robber was, he probably had the best parts of the whole episode. But I'm also a sucker for angry gravely rapping. These were definitely better than the first episode's, but it's to be expected since the composer and writer only had to focus on one, rather than four completely different songs.

Animation

    I am blown away. If you read my episode 1 review, you'll remember I said the quality would either go up or down depending on the direction. Episode 2 was definitely an increase in quality. While it's no Ufotable or Trigger, it was still pretty damn gorgeous. Everyone on model (this is pretty important to me), fun changes in style for mood, beautiful color choice, and dynamic camera angles at appropriate moments. 

 

    One of my biggest worries at the announcement of the anime was how they would do the fight scenes, and I couldn't have asked for better than what they gave us. I love the fact that they bring in a new environment with their speakers. It brings in an atmosphere that just glowy static floating speakers can't compare to. They change size depending on the environment and alter the setting they're in. I still have no idea how using a microphone does that, but who cares? It looks cool! I also like the fun little visualizations on each character's verses. You know it's not actually happening, but it adds character and is something visually stimulating to look at! I'm still in shock that the explosion sounds in the drama tracks were... actual explosions... I really don't know what I expected.

Final Thoughts

      No Ramuda in it, so I rate this episode 0 out of 10. But if Ramuda was in it: 7 out of 10. Some of the bias is still probably because I'm a huge fan and never expected we would get an anime so soon. There's still no sign of the actual plot so far besides the short appearances of Chuuoku in the first episode, and it felt like filler despite being only the second episode. But as mentioned earlier, it's likely to give new viewers a reason to relate with or become attached to the characters and understand their motives. 

Here's to hoping for the continuing climb in quality this episode gave us! See you all next episode! As there was no Ramuda this episode, this is my parting gift to you:

"Hey Sensei, your old teammate is being held hostage" "Don't worry he'll be fine"

"OH GOD THIS IS THE WORST PAIN I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED IN MY LIFE"