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.
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| Matenrou episode! |
Story
What the hell did I just watch? And I ask that rhetorical question in the best way possible. The choice of covering each division individually before getting into the plot was probably not the smartest move for bringing in new fans, but God, if this episode wasn't an absolute blast for pre-anime fans. It felt like the writers were thinking "what would these characters do in this very strange and unlikely situation?". Essentially what I'm saying is... This was just a very expensive crack fic... But it's canon. Doppo coming home to find a random dead guy’s body in his apartment and having wacky hijinks ensue because of it is completely on brand for HypMic, but I would have expected filler-esque content like that later on in the series while waiting for more story from the drama tracks and manga. However, I'm not complaining! It was hilarious.
Just a little disclaimer with this episode for anyone unfamiliar with the series, like a lot of other media in general, HypMic has some unfortunate flaws. There are parts that are pretty insensitive to serious subjects such as phobias, addiction, alcohol, depression, and in the case of this episode: stalkers. But I think that should be a given that it's a bit offensive, seeing as most of the humor in this episode stems from Doppo finding a dead body in his apartment. The premise of the episode was likely inspired off the original Matenrou introduction drama track, which also revolved around a stalker – only in the original, the stalker was attempting to kill Hifumi, not frame Doppo for murder. I've been assuming since the beginning that the anime is canon alongside all the drama tracks and the manga, and if that is the case, Hifumi is very VERY unlucky and should probably look into hiring a bodyguard.
I would have thought that Jakurai was acting out of character when dealing with criminals however, I don't think there has ever been a time in the whole series that they have shown him going against petty criminals, especially without his teammates around. He is normally calm, collected, polite, and sweet (dare I say... MILFy?) towards the average person, but who is to say he wouldn't use intimidation tactics to get the information he needs, especially when no one else is around to see. Intimidation tactics such as threatening to smash a poor fool's testicles with a pool ball after obliterating his teammates in front of him. I would get more into this subject, but doing so would enter major spoiler territory. Maybe in another post...
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| Who wouldn't want to be in this man's position though? |
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| There are people would pay to get their dick smashed by Jakurai. |
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| The name Tom Whisper Weathercock is probably English, right? |
Music
I'm surprised there wasn't as much rapping in this episode, but I am just going to assume, the less songs there are, the better the music will be. The composer only had to focus on one song and therefore was able to put all their effort into making it sound amazing. However, the lack of rapping at some parts led to some awkward and sudden transitions between fight scenes. Regardless, I'm glad they did it that way because I'd rather one high quality song than many mediocre songs.
There isn't much else to say about this now and I may just drop this section in future episodes unless we get multiple songs... Or God forbid... They play drops in the Fling Posse episode... However, I love the funky quick art style changes they do from time to time during the songs like shown below.
Animation
The animation in this episode wasn't anything too special. There was a very slight quality drop, but that's to be expected. The drop was so minor, you wouldn't catch it unless you're looking for it. There were a few scenes where Hifumi or Jakurai looked a bit wonky and off model or where the flowing of Jakurai's hair or coat looked stiff and unnatural. With quality drops like this, it's likely this episode was not as high of a priority as some later ones. That said, you will find a boost in quality in future episodes. Despite that, the composition, the dynamic camera angles, the color choice, and the lighting were still fantastic as always. Here's a select few shots I liked the color choice and composition of:
Final Thoughts
While I am a little disappointed that we will most likely have at least two more filler-like episodes, this episode was not a disappointment in the slightest (Besides lack of Ramuda, of course). If the Matenrou episode was this wild, I can't even begin to imagine what the Fling Posse episode will have in store. I'd give this episode a 8 out of 10 and probably drop the previous episode down a digit. I also appreciate the inside joke of people inside the HypMic universe trashing on Doppo and forgetting about him, seeing that Doppo is the most popular character in the series, among women at least. But it's his pathetic-ness and relateability that makes him so loveable, isn't it?
Next episode will likely be for Mad Trigger Crew, which is my second favorite division so you'll likely be getting a lot out of me. No Ramuda again so signing off with my biggest note of the episode: I'm sorry Doppo, but that guy was 10000% dead. I'm pretty sure Jyuto told them to tell him the guy was alive because he would be an anxious mess otherwise. See you next week!
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