Lycoris Recoil

“You’re gonna become sad just so you can meet someone else’s expectations? That’s boring.” - Chisato Nishikigi Is there such thing as true peace in the world? Even if peace doesn’t exist though, should we be despondent and grow cynical of anything and everything? Lycoris Recoil, while at the surface, is about cute girls with guns, fighting terrorism, its true identity is trying to tell us, the viewers, how to approach living in a world where things aren’t as uplifting as they seem. It’s about a whole lot of things, such as how to live your best life every day, and how to live for yourself, and not for others. The main characters, Chisato and Takina, come from different walks of life, and have polar opposite personalities. Chisato is very positive and never lets anyone keep her from being as happy as possible, while Takina is very steely and keeps to herself. After these two meet each other and work together, you can see their personalities develop, and it makes for such brilliant chemistry that warms my heart. I have to admit, I dismissed this show as a “cute girls doing cute things at a cafe” show and didn’t even watch it at first, but after seeing the response in the anime community to this show, I had to try it out. The striking balance between slice of life and dark elements really works well. My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20 STORY: 19.3/25 The plot itself isn’t the strongest, as it can get quite ridiculous and nonsensical at times, but for this show, I think that’s fine. It’s more of the story about Chisato and Takina, rather than the overarching plot throughout the series. However, to give you a little overview, the plot is set in modern (or possibly futuristic) Japan, where a false sense of peace is instilled among the citizens. In fact, crimes and terrorism have never been more prevalent, so, to counteract this issue, a syndicate called Direct Attack (DA), raised orphaned girls called Lycoris, to assassinate these criminals. Following a mistake in action that resulted in danger, Takina Inoue, a Lycoris with great skill in battle, gets her transferred out of DA and into LycoReco, a cafe with a twist. It is here that she meets Chisato Nishikigi, a happy go lucky, but prodigious Lycoris. While Takina wants to do whatever it takes to get back into DA, Chisato teaches her that life is more fruitful than just killing, and that life can be beautiful. It’s the chemistry between characters that shines the brightest, and the plot is alright too, with its share of tense moments, combined with some cute slice of life elements. Some shows fail to execute these tonal shifts effectively, but Lycoris Recoil does these shifts in a very nice way. The slice of life elements get you invested in the characters, the comedy is fun, but the tense moments have you at the edge of your seat, wondering about each character’s fate in apprehension. The best thing is, this is an anime original, so no one knows what’s truly going to happen, and that’s the best part, the speculation, the potential deaths that may or may not happen… ART: 9.1/10 A-1 Pictures have really been on their game recently, with Kaguya-sama last season, and 86 last year. The animation is pretty solid, with vibrant colours and darker colours for different atmospheres. The action sequences are also done well. No complaints here. MUSIC: 8.9/10 The music compliments the show well, with slice of life music when it’s calm, and nice action or sentimental music when it’s serious. The opening from ClarIS is pretty good, and it gives a sense on how the show is going to go, and Sayuri’s ending was one of my favourites this season. CHARACTERS: 19/20 I believe it is the characters that are most worthy of the utmost praise in this show. Chisato’s character is brilliant, plain and simple. In a way, she lives as positively as I aspire to. She doesn’t care about the opinions of others, she doesn’t worry about things she can’t control, and she’s an incredibly positive influence. She has an interesting trait, which is valuing people’s lives. She doesn’t shoot to kill, contrary to any other Lycoris. She sees the value of human beings, because of various reasons in her past. While some people might get frustrated over her “stubbornness” not to kill people, it’s really a good writing decision in my opinion, as it’s a distinct personality that makes for good plot points. Takina, on the other hand, is a realist that desires results. She isn’t the most talkative, isn’t the most happy go lucky, and certainly isn’t as carefree as Chisato. Through working with Chisato though, she undergoes some changes in her lifestyle. She slowly opened up to her, trusted more people, and even developed a love for people. It goes to show what a positive influence Chisato can have on people. Aside from these two, the side characters and villains are alright as well. Kurumi and Mizuki have their comedic moments, and contribute a decent amount to the action. The villains are also quite memorable, because they have interesting intentions, and felt multi-layered. ENJOYMENT: 14.3/15 Most episodes were very enjoyable, even the slice of life moments. Every moment added to the story and I loved the chemistry between the characters. THEMATIC EXECUTION: 17.8/20 This show executes themes quite well, ranging from comedy, action, and emotional moments as well. The comedy works so well in this show, and for that, the voice actors are to be praised, as you can tell they’re passionate about their work here, and probably had quite the fun time recording their lines. The action is nicely done, and has tense moments. The emotional sequences, when they occur, are hard-hitting and feel significant. The one small flaw has to come from some of the more ridiculous bits of “plot-armour”, and no, I’m not talking about Chisato’s ability, it’s more the events that occur, such as the timing of certain events that were questionably executed. Overall, still quite thematically brillant. Great balance between the light moments and the dark moments, with tonal shifts that didn’t feel awkward. OVERALL: 88.4/100 Definitely one of my favourite shows from 2022 so far, and one of the best cast of characters I’ve seen this year. While it isn’t completely flawless, I still enjoyed it through and through. A-1 Pictures continues to deliver, and it’s great to see! Alright, time to see if I can create that LycoReco signature parfait…

Lycoris Recoil is and anime that is prioritizing action and characters over a story and while there is nothing wrong with this approach, it still requires at least a bearable story which won't distract us with its flaws. Let's start with what this series does best which is characters, main cast is good. Colourful personalities and good interactions are the biggest strength of this anime. Antagonists while having flaws which I will discuss later, are made to challenge the ideas and motivations of our protagonist. We also see some growth in the side characters which was satisfying. High quality of production makes this show even nicer to watch. Animation is pretty soundtrack was ok and scenes of action had good choreography. Unfortunately while speaking about action it is important to bring up plot armour, which is big in this anime. As we are dealing with shootouts the aim in them depends on what story is demanding. If someone has to escape or live then its a series of misses, even if skilled shooters are involved. We need to get rid of cannon fodder? Then every shot lands. This is a big problem for me. Not only it is obvious what the authors are doing, pulling me out of the fight, but it also sucks all of the stakes out of the fight. Now to the main complaint, the story. Whole plot is depending on antagonists with stupid/generic motivations and on the most brain dead mob in the history of anime. The things that happen in the last episodes made me suffer a headache. We also need to deal with a hole lot of plot convenience in this show. At one point protagonists literally forgot about the main antagonist. Even worse Lycoris Recoil has an accidental strong pro censorship message. With how stupid the masses are and how quickly they descend into chaos in face of truth you start to think that it's better to keep those sheep in the dark. The fact that show presents undercover secret organization so simplistically is hurtful. To sum it up Lycoris Recoil presents you with great characters and nice, mindless action. Whether you will enjoy it or not depends greatly on how much weak plot can bother you. If like me you get bothered by those types of stories, don't watch it. Otherwise feel free to try it out, characters might make it worth it.

Sigh, tricked by the score. Here I thought it was something special because of how much attention it has clearly been getting. It was a bit painful to watch this trainwreck right from episode 1. Don't get me wrong, the animation quality, sound, VA wasn't bad at all. It was great. The problem is the story, seemingly a lot of people think that cute girls and action can justify such horrible writing. This anime is a mish-mash of clichés, cute girls doing cute things, stupidly illogical gunfights and one of the worst secretive organizations I've ever had the displeasure to be exposed to. It's idiotic on so many levels. We have the secretive organization that trains orphaned kids so that we can have high school/middle school girls(for some reason pretty much exclusively cute girls) running around with guns while using school uniforms and skirts while fighting crimes to pretend to be a part of the public. Oh, and of course they all use the same uniform all the time outside, as if to scream at enemies to attack them, so much for secrecy. These girls actively kill terrorists everywhere and "make japan safe and peaceful". I guess guys just aren't cut out for this(though the male version does show up in a minor version in an antagonistic fashion, they're still just kids though, stupid that there's an all female and an all male faction). Also, I guess immature kids in the midst of their teens(or preteens) are so damn well suited to special ops, they're not even well disciplined. Also, I guess adults just aren't fit for this either, gotta have cute, below 18 females, can't have any guys that aren't old and not a possible target for romance. This secretive organization is also so high-profile that there's no way it'd be a secret, it's run as if the leaders have shit for brains. There's clearly no proper structure. Then, of course, the super hacker, the best in the world, is a cute little loli that appears 10-12. I was of the impression from the dialogue that this person was present since long ago but I guess not, her reputation is insane, maybe she started using her laptop to hack stuff while in her mother's womb. Overall, she just acts like a typical cliché loli, except she's "sooo smart and collected". As usual the "hacking" is her playing it like it's a game, literally, even including game graphics and mechanics. photo analystics are 1 button auto, she can get everything she wants easily. Not a smidgen of realism. The other girls also act like typical high school girls in anime. Honestly, I can't stand the two main character girls. The black haired one show barely any emotions and is so stuck in her ways and inflexible it just makes her boring. The other platinum/blonde haired girl is the COMPLETE opposite. She's so high paced, hyper and my paced that she makes someone with actual ADHD look very normal and calm. I really dislike her moronic outbursts, extremely exaggerated expressions and gestures and I also hate that she refuses to kill people despite the kind of organization she is in and how dangerous the situations are, nothing more moronic than using non-lethal means that doesn't even knockout people properly, she's basically she's bringing a banana to a knifefight. Another thing about her, I just don't buy her ability to 100% avoid any and all bullets. Even rapid fire is avoided like it's nothing. I can kinda buy avoiding slow handgun fire by predicting the trajectory from the barrel position and hand movement, but what she is doing is a pure supernatural ability and that doesn't even explain how she can avoid strafing fire where there's no room to evade... These character templates aren't too bad normally, but the issue is that they're trying to bring seriousness into what is clearly a cute girls doing cute things anime. They fit more into a school setting. I've rarely seen animes that are so bad that I just feel the desire to drop them all the time. Anime that suck from the first few minutes all the all the way to the end. I fail to see what the hype was about. This is just plain bad, the 3/10 rating is just for the good animation/VA/Sound. I regret watching this.

TL;DR first for those who don't want to read the whole rant (I understand, I wouldn't either): The show's production quality is top-notch. Top-tier animation, top tier action scenes, top-tier designs, STELLAR voice acting. HOWEVER, beneath that and except a few neat details, it's full of obnoxious characters, bullshit situations and plot holes. But apparently it seems like I'm more or less the only one bothered by that so you can give it a try I guess, at least it looks great. Onto the rant. (I'll give a warning for spoilers) You know, a wise vtuber said someday that recommending anime is hard, because every anime has some amount of anime bullshit and it's hard to know what someone's threshold for specific types of anime bullshit is unless you know them extremely well. And, well, I feel like LycoReco is the embodiment of that. On the surface it's a great looking and sounding show, but... little girls with guns? Seriously? AGAIN? When did it become a normal trope exactly? Ok, to be honest this is the least of my problems, even though I still find this out of place in the scenario of a show that takes itself relatively seriously. But it is an example of what LycoReco is riddled with: a lot of dumb stuff, some being in the category of anime bullshit that make me sigh but am somewhat used to, some that are a testament to bad writing and some that just plot holes, plain and simple (I listed examples of what I'm talking about in the end to prove I'm not talking out of my ass, but spoiler warning of course). Some people (most, it would seem) would be of the opinion that I am nitpicking. I like to think of myself as a fairly open person though, without to much issue with suspension of disbelief, but this show is asking too much of me. Because I on the other hand, fail to understand how it is so unconditionally loved, and why people defend it so vehemently. And it is a shame, really, because it has been crafted with genuine love, care and passion, treats progressive subjects with refreshing subtlety and god do I love Chisato's VA soooo much, but behind this is a barely believable story pushed by poorly written characters. I did still finish it, 'cause it's visually beautiful and it wouldn't feel right writing a review without knowing completely what I'm talking about. I wrote this on ep 12, and then ep 13 came and just confirmed all of my feelings and then some, leading me to downgrade my score from 6 to 5 SPOILERS AHEAD for examples of stuff that violently rustle my jimmies about this show: For anime bullshit, I'm talking about how the Japanese government had no issue in creating an anti-terrorist division exclusively comprised of schoolgirls (WITH A DISTINCTIVE UNIFORM), how the best hacker in the world is a loli or how boyish underwear triggers a diplomatic incident. For bad writing I'm thinking about how utterly incompetent the Lycoris organisation leader Kusunoki is, several times, without a single time doing anything to learn from her mistakes, how Robota is a painfully obnoxious ass every time he's on screen or how Yoshimatsu Shinji that huge bag of ass just decided out of nowhere that Chisato's talent is about killing, when it's merely about fucking dodging bullets and NOBODY HAD ANYTHING TO SAY TO HIM. And finally for plot holes I cannot help but wonder how Chisato shoots bullets that go through car doors like butter but are somehow non-lethal at point blank, how she dodges shots while hanging by one arm perfectly still, how a medical institution for a secret organisation just lets new hires examine agents on their first week without supervision. And I am not exhaustive, but I'll stop here.

I wanted to like Lycoris Recoil, but I found myself disappointed. Lycoris is a comfort show masquerading as a more complex one. The dystopia is not meaningfully examined, and the problems with it are scape-goated onto a “return to monkey” anprim idiot. For the main two characters, I could ship it, but they are a little generic, as are all the characters. The existence of Kurumi’s character, in particular, makes me want to commit hate crimes. It’s fine to write a silly show about cute girls doing cute things, but seeing Lycoris Recoil’s set up and promises of more exciting complexities while having characters dodge bullets on reaction time is infuriating. Watching it, I felt like I was watching something written but someone too scared to say anything for fear that it’d be polarizing. Lycoris Recoil’s cowardice leads to two big problems: 1) pro censorship and 2) it’s not gay enough. 1) The whole dystopia setting of Lycoris Recoil is used more so as an edgy backdrop than as the pretense for any real social commentary. This ends up as a big problem when the status quo of the world is one of censorship and main character Chisato explicitly defends the status quo against main antagonist Majima. It’s pro censorship, there isn’t any other way to read it than that. To me, it seems that Lycoris Recoil is too scared to say anything meaningful against the world it creates, trying to write girls that just want to live, it refuses to comment on the dystopia and ends up approving and accepting it. 2) Lycoris Recoil isn’t gay enough. I see this anime on all these gay lists, and everyone that I see accepts this anime as a fun little gay anime. Frankly, it isn’t gay enough. Yes, I do want these characters to scream from the rooftops that they are homosexuals attracted to each other. I’m somewhat exaggerating, that was a little hyperbolic, but my sentiment is sincere. Stories exist in the context of the world around them, and in our current world, I could fully see a homophobic idiot watching Lycoris Recoil and then coming away feeling happy about how cute these “two best friends” are together. I don’t want to get into an argument about whether this anime is supposed to be gay or not, and dammit, my subjective desire and wants tell me this anime isn’t gay enough. If you want to write a comfort anime about gay characters being gay, sure, but don’t try to use dystopia’s for their aesthetics, and it’d better be gay, damnit. BE MORE GAY!

Easy entertainment, so long as you don't think too hard about it. This show is basically the anime version of a summer blockbuster. Weak plot, shallow characters, cute girls, explosions, guns, appeals to woke culture by having all the heroes be girls and all the villains be boys, insert obligatory black character who looks like every other anime black character, add a "Lolita" adult who looks and acts like a child to appease the pedos, mix that all together and what do you get? Cotton candy! Light, fluffy, colorful, sugary, 99% air. For most people, it's all they need and they'll have a delightful time. If you're looking for substance, though, you'll find this show wanting.

Mother's Basement: "John Wick, But Make it Anime", where Geoff Thew embraces the "stupid awesome" John Wick-like vitality of the anime. The Canipa Effect: "Lycoris Recoil is an Ideal Original Anime", where Callum May highlights the production team behind Lycoris Recoil to see what makes an ideal original anime. Hideo Kojima, creator of Metal Gear: "I stumbled upon Lycoris Recoil by accident, AND I LOVED IT." The show's title being accidentally discovered, that's reminiscent of the critically acclaimed 2021 film "Licorice Pizza" (“Licorice” and “Lycoris” are spelled identically in Japanese: リコリス in Katakana) while actually searching on Amazon Prime for the multiple Academy Award-winning film CODA. To only then read the synopsis about a girl working in a cafe with a license to kill, and thinking to himself if this is typical of Japanese anime standards, by which at that time, he already surpassed the 3-episode rule and was catching onto Episode 4 (where it was the now-iconic episode with the pair of boxers and the aquarium "date" with Takina's fish-posing "Sakana"), and made him remember when was the last time he went to an aquarium. In the end to finally close out, saying that he's definitely watching the rest of the show going forward. He's even now endorsing the anime's LN spin-off Lycoris Recoil: Ordinary Days (which has just recently released in Japan), commenting that: “I’ll Recoil my Lyco-like genes!“ These are just some YouTube videos and a Twitter tweet that have been making the scenes since Lycoris Recoil came out, and it's safe to say that in a sequel-heavy season that's full of long-awaited classics returning years after their original seasons first came out (only two are better but the rest are duds), this has been the anime, and I mean THE anime that has consistently charted as a top show of the season. Yes, that sequel gold medal belongs to the 2nd season of Made in Abyss: Retsujitsu no Ougonkyou a.k.a The Golden City of the Scorching Sun, but I'd argue to say that LycoReco (the show's title shortened for speakeasy) makes it on par being the show that's a no-brainer competition for Summer 2022's AOTS (and objectively AOTY masterpiece material). The 1st secret to LycoReco's wild, immense popularity and success is a great story and premise. And to put it simply, there is just no equal against LycoReco's setting, thanks in part to Asaura, the mangaka of Ben-To, and to date, his only reputation work that got a decent anime adaptation courtesy of David Production more than a decade ago. And as one such reviewer put it: "Ben-To is philosophy. Ben-To is art. Ben-To is everything, but bad for your health." Ben-To (that's a moniker for the iconic Japanese Bento food box) features an all-out action about a male MC and girls fighting to do whatever it takes to buy unsold bento boxes at discounted prices, and friend or foe, this battle fighting for honor, pride and dinner, there's only winners and losers in this frantic battle and the learning point of what it truly means to fight for food. Now take a look at LycoReco, and it's just about the same, or dare I say it's even better featuring Hideo Kojima's reminiscent Metal Gear trademarks of stealth and anti-terrorism themes about a secret organization/agency ("DA", Direct Attack) that keeps its setting of Japan crime-free that's doing a better job than the typical municipal police corporation, with their agents being girls that are orphaned and trained to their standards, giving them the "Lycoris" badge trademark that certifies them, that like a fire that should be put out immediately, to carry out assassinations with none the wiser. All of this is naturally made like cover-ups so as to not spread fear to the public and keep Japan safe and sound, but it also begets those in full rebellion over this top-secret "spy" agency to by hook or by crook, expose DA for their "nonchalant" claims about a "safe" Japan that isn't much discussed about until being made publicly with their terrorism acts. It's definitely a neck-and-neck experience of asking yourself: "Which side should I side on: the people working behind the scenes that I do not see even if they are perfectly camouflaged within the everyday groups of civilians, or the people inflicting and causing damages just so they could give a spotlight to those that have been working for their own purposes?" And regardless of what you think about both sides, they are both legitimate to exercise their own duty to preserve both peace and conflict respectively, no matter what it takes to brandish a whole new Japan according to their rules. And this honestly, just throws Ben-To's source material out of the wall, and Asaura may have found his one and only prized possession instead, 11 years after Ben-To came out for everyone to spike LycoReco with over-the-top (and moon), notched-up greatness. The 2nd secret to LycoReco's wild, immense popularity and success is endearing and beloved characters, with the designs provided by Imigimuru, the mangaka of one of my all-time favorite manga: Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru! (KonoBi) a.k.a This Art Club Has a Problem! At the start of the show, we are presented with Takina Inoue: an accomplished DA agent, whom amidst her serious and confident spirit, only demands perfection with her immense skills, and will constantly step in to finish the missions as a lonewolf. But when something like an extermination of enemies that's all in a state to save her teammate goes awry, she indiscriminately put everyone's lives on stake, that ultimately resulted in her immediate dismissal for neglect of duty. Down but not out, DA's Commander Kusunoki sentenced her to work at LycoReco, which looking from the outside, does look like a typical-looking cafe. But inside it, is another working branch of DA that houses the following: the Afro-American manager Mika, the typical worker Mizuki Nakahara, the skilled hacker Kurumi (also known by her codename "Walnut") and the lovable GOAT that is Chisato Nishikigi. LycoReco's manager Mika is a former DA instructor who left the agency for his own reasons, and this is in effect thanks to the other entity that would come to be known as the Alan Institute, an institution that conducts experiments to eke out only the best and greatest people that are worthy of its name. So, think of this as something very similar to You-Zitsu a.k.a Classroom of the Elite's "White Room" of sorts. Together with the cafe's regular customer that is Shinji Yoshimatsu, both men and Chisato share a bond that would help the latter to grow into the fine assassin that she is now, though their initial promise is to make Chisato as a mass weapon of destruction that Mika backed out of due to his change of heart. The cafe's worker Mizuki, she's just your typical lazy bum, but it's not like she's the average character, NOPE. Not at all. Instead, Mizuki is a fun addition to LycoReco's crew being all that "extravagant" of wanting to live the life of a married woman and not a spinster, even going as far as to get a job at DA in the hopes of getting married. But in all honesty, Mizuki's unmarried gag punchline is just as wholesome as it is hilarious to watch being everyone's joker that at times, excel at what she does and helps with the crew as much as possible. Kurumi or "Walnut" on the other hand, she is a reliable lonewolf hacker whom was once responsible for hacking on DA's AI system Radiata (which is known as Lycoris radiata a.k.a (Red) Spider Lily, which its name is credited as the anime's original work), but due to competition, risks her life to request asylum to be transferred to LycoReco at the cusp of her killing, initiated by yet another rival hacker, the Alan Institute's robot-shaped headgear worn Robota. Both her and Robota are great hackers in their own right, but they operate on both extreme ends in the typical fight against good and evil. That brings us all to the GGOAT/GWOAT (that stands for Greatest Girl/Woman of All T…

Have u ever feels regretful after finished a series? that's what i feels today come to watch this series simply because of A-1 studios, also with my free time gets a little bit expanded since i only do my final project on my undergraduate. i watch Aldnoah Zero S1 & S2, 86, SAO, Kaguya-sama, and that experience make me feels that the studios always success to deliver some good stuff, at least at their standard that i familiar with. that's why i had some curiosity whether this studio will continue their success to deliver good visual & animation or even fail a little bit in this show (and engage kiss too) but after finished this series, I feel regret, i feels naive, knowing that "it's okay to watch anime just for the visual" Let's make it clear, 1. the Plot is simply generic, nothing special, just like isekai that had been milked for some years Cute Girl Doing Cute Things, that's what this series all about (also add some gun action) imagine, having adult failed to do their job? then simply let the kid do your job, oh don't forget make them "cute", so people wouldn't realize they are the actual "hero". 2. low quality of characterization, definitely 0 interest (even empathy too) on any character almost all the character are designed to be "cute", simply just another cheap-waifu-bait (feels good not to get the bait, that's why i hate this show) 3. The ending just meh, not the worst but definitely generic AF this was my biggest regret, since i do slightly expect the ending will be some plot twist, especially about the final villain. but it's seems like the director are afraid AF to do some move, they just make sure "everybody happy" at the end. 4. Music is just mid, nothing special some people might notice this series have some gay element, and yuri too but since the plot is just trash, i don't care at all TLDR, all i feels is just regretful, knowing i spend around 30 minutes every week just to watch this generic show never do this again Story: 4/10 Animation: 8/10 Characters: 3/10 Sound: 6/10 Entertainment factor: 4/10 Enjoyment: 3/10 overall Score: 5/10 (helped by animation only)

If you like slice of life with cute girls and an action twist, this show is great... for about six episodes. The last four episodes are a boring mess where the show throws out every strenght it had in exchange for "spetacle" and a terrible plot. A finale so horrible that it makes the first half of the show worse in retrospect. To make matters worse, if you want to get invested in this for the action, this show is going to bait and switch you *hard*. It starts ok and gets worse as the show goes, and on top of that, there are full episodes that are all slice of life and drama. All in all, I walked into this show expecting some dumb fun. I ended up falling in love with the characters hard for the first six episodes or so. And then it was just a downhill slope. I'm never going to rewatch this, I never want to see a season 2. I can't recommend it for anyone.

Englsh. A series that I expect nothing from it, I received nothing from it and I don't expect anything from it in the future, many people in my social circle recommended it to me as an entertaining series in addition to having a good story but when I started watching it I was very lazy keep watching it, the story is not interesting at all, besides being very predictable, I think I'm sick of seeing protagonists who are the best at what they do and defeat anyone, look at it and I'm sure many will like this series because I have verified it by my friends that it is so, but I found it an insufferable series, I think that it does not risk anything in the genre and also does not innovate at all, that is if there are many characters that are not at all relevant and quite clichés, the which do not contribute anything to the plot and are only to make the series more attractive, I think that if the series wants to survive today it must be more innovative or die into oblivion. I do not recommend it, but if you want to give it a try there will be no problem. Español. Una serie que espere nada de ella, recibí nada de ella y no espero nada de ella a futuro, muchas personas en mi circulo social me la recomendaron como una serie entretenida ademas de tener una historia buena pero cuando la empece a ver me dio muchísima flojera seguir viéndola, la historia no es nada interesante ademas de muy predecible, creo que ya estoy harto de ver a protagonistas los cuales son los mejores en lo que hacen y derrotan a cualquiera, miren se y estoy seguro que a muchos les gustara está serie porque lo he comprobado por mis amigos que es así, pero a mi se me hizo una serie insufrible, creo que no arriesga nada en el genero y ademas no innova en nada, eso si aparecen muchos personajes que no son nada relevantes y bastante clichés, los cuales no aportan nada en la trama y solo son para hacer mas vistosa a la serie, creo que si quiere subsistir la serie en la actualidad debe de ser mas innovadora sino morir en el olvido. Yo no la recomiendo, pero si quieres darle una oportunidad no habrá ningún problema.

The art of the anime original has almost been lost these days. With production committes preferring to adapt popular visual novels or manga, it’s rare to see an anime original show with staying power. That’s exactly what Lycoreco is, the show that took the world by storm. Admittedly I did not have very high expectations for Lycoreco coming into it. A-1 were coming off their 86 masterclass and I thought this was the time for correction, time for the law of averages to balance things out as it were. I could not have been more wrong. Not only did A-1 stay hot, they showed everyone that they can make a truly iconic anime original series. What makes Lycoreco so special is its character interactions and cute intimate moments. I’ll be honest, the plot here is subpar at best. It started out with some promise, but fell apart in the final half with a rather week villain, subpar motivations and weak characterisation, the spotlight was clearly on the girls. Takina and Chisato have one of the most fun and organic relationships you’ll see in the medium. Takina going from a cold and distant person who doesn’t understand the world or how people really work, to an extremely empathetic/kind soul who’s willing to do anything for her friend was quite a treat to see. Every week we were able to really see that relationship slowly develop, whether it’s through mundane tasks like shopping for clothes or cooking at the shop, the seeds of growth were being laid slowly but surely. Pacing is always a challenge with anime original content, but I think they got things perfect here. We were really able to take our time and get to know Takina and Chisato, but also the side characters. By the end of the series, we definitely knew what made everyone tick. If I had to change anything with the structure of the series, again it would be to flesh out the villain more. He had a lot of promise, but then just fell flat at the end and his motivations seemed pretty weak. If you’ve been on the internet at all this season, you’ve likely seen art that ships Takina and Chisato or at the least hints at it. The show definitely plays to the Yuri bait strongly. They’re clearly aware of their audience and know that’s what people want to see. Unfortunately it never fully goes that way and is basically a massive tease. That said, even without the Yuri bait, they’re relationship is super cute to watch play out and you can’t help but wish them the best. In typical A-1 fashion. The art, character designs and animation are all top notch here. Spider Lilly really did some amazing designs for the show and I’m looking forward to seeing more of their work in the future. The sakuga during the big fights is really impressive. We know by now that A-1 has a tremendous amount of talent, and it seems like it’s starting to come together more consistently now. While Lycoreco has some amazing character dynamics, awesome designs and literal anime John Wick scenes, I can’t say that it was the best show this season or my favourite. Objectively, it’s one of those shows that you can certainly see why people like it so much and why it’s so popular, but it was not even the best A-1 original of the season for me. Chisato and Takina’s relationship may be iconic, but the plot certainly wasn’t. That said, I did really enjoy it and the memes from this show will live on for many years to come. Lycoreco gets 9 out of 10.

I dropped after the first episode but picked it back up after seeing the high review score. That was a mistake and a letdown. If I had to describe this in one word, it would be dull. Its basically about a couple of girls trying to pick up the pieces of their lives after having been kicked out of the main plot. Young assassin/gunslinging girls is a plot that’s probably been done to death. This anime attempts to try something new by crossing that genre with a slice of life story about two girls trying to find meaning outside of the organization, but it really just fails at both. Very little story at all- just odd jobs, banter, with some occasional action thrown into the mix that you never really care about and are never really drawn into. Visuals were appealing, but the characters themselves were largely uninteresting. I thought it would get better after the Spike Speigal looking character was introduced, but that hope slowly dwindled. No idea why this is rated so high, it’s a waste of time imho

Hmm, Lycoris Recoil, an original, the potential seemed huge. And yes, it was a great anime one could say, till probably episode 5. Girls with guns is an idea which would ofcourse, sell a lot. But by the end of it, it became so unrealistic that it became hard to cope. Well yes, anime isn't supposed to be realistic, I do get it, but there is a difference between fantasy and 'omg the main cute gal has to stay alive even if the plot is to be fucked over'. The government-controlled media plot was actually genius, and the show seemed to be going good, but then the last episodes started to air. Plot loopholes? Cute girls with guns! Zero backstory? Cute girls with guns! how to sell an anime 101? Cute girls with guns!!! I feel like I'm a 6 year old again, watching those shows where no matter how fucked up the protag was, they'd always win. This show is as idiotic as they could make it, since the entire point was, yes you guessed it, cute girls with guns. Other things to talk about, the animation is excellent, no doubt it's one of the best animation quality I've seen. The music and episode pacing are really good, as in they do good to hide the absolute mess of a plot the show has. In all honesty, it's not bad per say, but it's not that great either. Entire show is ridiculously predictable after episode 5, and the parts you can't predict, are so bad one has to cringe (unless ofcourse, you love cute girls with guns.) It's definitely worth a watch, but don't expect something much from here, the entire anime feels like wasted potential because the studio was afraid to kill off the 'cute girls with guns' for plot development. Overall opinion - Cute girls with guns! (but really the plot was quite close to reality and they used bogus stuff to cover it up and fuck it up) (No physics was hurt in the making of this show)

Is Lycoris Recoil a good show? No. The better question is, will you enjoy watching Lycoris Recoil? The answer to that is probably yes. A common trend I've noticed in quite a few bad anime or anime that become bad later on like Attack on Titan is that the protagonists aren't very likable or good people. Lycoris Recoil is somewhat guilty of falling into this trap, not really with the main cast but with DA itself. DA is basically an Orwellian group that covers up all sorts of crime and terrorist attacks in the name of brainwashing the sheeple into thinking that Japan is a safe haven where nothing bad happens. DA isn't necessarily shown as being good for doing this, but they also aren't condemned. There's a lot of unfortunate implications from this fact. The main villain so to speak, isn't really any worse morally than DA. He's definitely morally a worse person than Takina and Chisato, but that's about it. Most of the characters are pretty good. I do enjoy them quite a lot. Except Kusonoki, she just reminds me of one of those teachers you'd have at school who would give you a B on a paper you worked on for a week because it "didn't feel like an A." Chisato wanting to save lives and not take them plus her character development in the second half was really good. Majima is a great villain and honestly a more likable character than the leaders of DA. Mika is such a great father figure character, and even though the backstory with Shinji was kinda gay, I have to admit it was a very interesting plot twist. Takina isn't a super interesting character in the beginning but she definitely gets better as the series progresses. The other girls in Lyco aren't really good or bad, they're kind of antagonistic in the beginning but then after getting shown up by Chisato they kind of just fall in line. The animation is really good, and I like the character designs a lot. A-1 Pictures really did a great job with it. There's so many action shows with lackluster animation, so having an action show with very fluid animation earns Lyco some credit. The comedy is really funny. The villain screw-ups and the comedy with Chisato always got a good laugh out of me. This show is really good at balancing emotional, serious, and funny moments. The action varies a lot in quality. Some scenes are pretty cool and others are pretty cringe. Some people thought the whole thing with Chisato dodging bullets was stupid, but honestly I don't really understand the complaints. Sure it's a bit unrealistic, but that's the beauty of anime. Things aren't realistic. I don't really think Chisato dodging bullets should make or break the show for anyone. As for what's wrong with the show, I've already discussed the worst part by far, which is DA's malicious control over Japan. The ending of the main conflict is also incredibly stupid and anti-climatic, moreso than Chisato dodging bullets. Bystanders would never buy the claim that the government gave, it goes against human nature. Also the plotholes and characters not noticing things that should have been obvious really bugs me. Pretty much any time Majima is on screen all logic is thrown out the window. Which is a shame because he's a great character, but it somewhat ruins most moments with him. I also think some of the "mean spirited" moments are kind of cringe. A-1 Pictures has a very obnoxious trend of having an antagonistic character who's mean to the poor wittle defenseless protagonist for no reason just to make you empathize with the protagonist without having to give proper character development. It's really overused and just kind of annoying. There's also a lot of things especially towards the end with Shinji that just never get explained, I get that the show was just trying to wrap up quickly but not enough was explained for me to entirely understand what was going on with him. If you do choose to watch this show, you can probably expect to enjoy it, but it's definitely not a "good" show in the way that One Punch Man or Steins;Gate are.

~~ A HellBent Half Arsed Review™ ~~ Overall Rating: 9/10 ----- Reason for watching? ----- gay girls innit (gigguk recommendation) ----- Reason for finishing? ----- The most invested I've been in any anime in a while. Also gay girls innit ----- Story: 6/10 ----- The story is fine. It's certainly no masterpiece of fiction, but it does what it needs to do and has a few cool twists and turns. I don't really care that it's not immensely complex nor is it realistic in any sense of the word, it's fun when it's fun and it's dramatic when it's dramatic. The plot moves forwards which is more than I can say about quite a few targets I've scratched off of The List™ recently, so it gets points for that too. Really the plot is secondary at best, the characters are what drive the story which either you're into or you're not, it just happens to work for me. ----- Art: 9/10 ----- It's gorgeous. It's not quite drop dead gorgeous like some I've seen, certainly not on par with the best of the best but it beats out a majority of the slop I've been subjecting myself to. I can't even quite explain what it is, there's just moments where the animation of the characters is so full of life and you can tell the animators really put their all into it. Very refreshing to see it keep that consistency from start to finish too, rather than slowly dropping in quality like many shows I've seen. ----- Sound: 7/10 ----- The VA's popped off, this show is fantastically casted and performed. The ost was fine, I don't remember any of it really after finishing which is a shame but there was nothing offensively bad either. The sound design of the gun fights was very satisfieng, I'm not even sure what it was about them - potentially the badass matrix style gun-fu is skewing my memory of that but it is what it is~ ----- Character: 10/10 ----- I. Love. The. Characters. Oh my god I love the characters. The main duo is one of my favourite pairings in recent memory, and it's not even close. Chisato is hands down my favourite protagonist in recent memory, possibly ever - she's just so endearing and loveable and goofy but also a determined badass I don't see how I would ever not adore her. It's not only the main duo either. I can't even remember the last time an entire cast completely clicked with me like this, everyone is a complete banger (besides an obnoxious side character here and there), including the villain who was just charming and a love to hate them kinda person which I'm a big fan of. Obviously in 13 episodes there is a lot to be desired in terms of depth in a large cast, but what we did get very much satisfied me. ----- Enjoyment: 10/10 ----- At first I was watching with a silly grin enjoying the fun and thrill of it all, by the end I was having borderline heart palpitations since I went in completely blind and had no idea where the plot was going. Every action scene was awesome, every quiet moment was goofy, cute or downright touching. I found myself not wanting it to end by the end, but also being satisfied with the way things were loosely tied up. Sometimes a simple ending is all that's needed to give at least some closure (which again, more than I can say for MOST other shows I watch) ----- Rewatchability: 100% ----- Yeah definitely rewatch this one when you have the time future me. I'd be curious if it was as entertaining without the biting stress of not knowing what's gonna happen to the girls or the world around them, but regardless it's some pure dopamine to ingest at a later date ----- Afterthoughts ----- Am I swayed by the implied yuri? Yes, yes I am. Am I sorry for that? No, no I am not. I've also enjoyed plenty of hetero shows, and likewise despised a good chunk of 'yuri' ones, so I stand by my judgement for this one. Is it for everyone? Ehhhh.. Maybe not. However between the cast, the action, the humour, the tenderness, the drama the style everything - it does feel tailor made for me specifically and I'm grateful for it. If it had a more solid finale and/or a more memorable OST, it'd probably land itself a 10/10. ----- Disclaimer ----- A HellBent Half Arsed Review™ is for my own benefit, since I have a hard time remembering shows or why I liked them and I wanna document the journey through this massive anime watch list. To anyone other than future myself who stumbles across this somehow: I don't recommend you listen to me, I'm a dumbass

Well, this anime goes from 0 to 100 very quickly. Here, you'll find cute girls with weapons killing everyone, but the anime isn't heavy. In fact, it's not that amazing because the anime "normalizes" it, even though it's not normal at all. The true charm of this anime lies in the duo of Chisato and Takina. On one hand, there's Chisato, who lives life as if each day were her last, always happy and trying to make others happy. On the other side, there's Takina, who didn't know what it was like to live until she found her partner. She only thought about work and her duties. The contrast between them gives rise to incredibly emotional and even funny scenes. As the anime progresses, you can see their relationship evolving, and you think, "Wow, what an incredible friendship." I believe the most important lesson I learned from this anime is: Don't change who or what you are for anyone, and don't let anyone change you. If you think you're amazing and happy being yourself, then continue being yourself. You can watch it in one day, and if you have nothing to do, I recommend watching it. Anyway, see you guys in Hawaii :)

Gunslinger Girls, but with less trauma, less thoughts... It's cheap, off brand, temu Gunslinger Girls. More plot holes, absolute zero understanding of hacking - what was funny in Cowboy Bebop doesn't work anymore. Many annoying things. Budget went mostly for first and last 4 episodes. Tropes. Not the worst case but if you've seen a couple of action/cgdct you'll roll your eyes. If you are tech savvy beyond incorrectly putting batteries into remote, your eyes will hurt from rolling. If you understand basic physics, you'll hate this show. If you know anyone after heart surgery you'll facepalm at certain plot points which could have been omitted with single internet search. Soundtrack is generic and safe, with perhaps one or two tracks being a bit better. Backgrounds are ok. Chara design works but it's clear which character is what (more tropes), and annoying girls got that tired edgy, brushy fighter girl half-buzz cut overused in the past 3 or 4 decades now. It's ok show, got its moments. There's action, easy to follow story, plot twists made by a 4 year old child, and that's that. Or just watch "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA mite kure" memes.

In short, this ‘Lycoris Recoil’ does not tell a reasonable and continuous story. It is not recommended to watch this anime to appreciate its story. Also, for those who have a strong desire for Girls' Loves, it is strongly not recommended to watch the last 3 episodes of this anime. The series composer and director don’t have enough skills to deal with esoteric philosophy arguments. The characters show a kind of naive and vain justice.Their beliefs and activities are not logically self-consistent. This inconsistence began to appear concentratedly in the 11th, 12th and the 13th episodes making the watching experience fall straight into the hell. And the final ending dose not make much sense; it creates a feeling that the author wants to give a happy ending just for the ridiculous pure goal of having a happy ending. Although the heroines’ love is romantic and sweet, and the animation and characters’ visual design is wonderful, still, it is very hard to say that this anime is good. The good performance in the first several episodes has not been kept all the way to the end. This anime does not escape from the curse of original anime, which is that they will start in heaven and fall into hell eventually. Its drawbacks overshine the advantages, in the last several episodes. A fundamental requirement for a good service (yuri, moe-moe or ecchi) anime is to have no plot making the audience feel stupid. Clearly, this anime dose not fulfill this requirement. Thus, it is ultra non-recyclable trash from the point of view of both service and story.

Lycoris Recoil is an entertaining, yet flawed fusion of the Girls-with-Guns and Slice-of-Life genres. The characters are generally likeable and interesting. Viewers will want to spend more time with them, swayed by their invigorating personalities. Yet, the cast is one-dimensional and most characters fail to diverge from common stereotypes and clichés. It's not all too bad though, unless you seek a philosophically-engaging portrayal of the human condition, in which case, you should look elsewhere. As a whole, the characters don't develop too significantly, but some characters much develop more than others, leaving a gulf between them in the way of development. The action scenes are extremely fun and well-animated. Past the dazzling gunfights, one gets the impression that the show isn't really about counter-terrorism. It appears to use the 'Girls-with-Guns' genre to counteract the stagnating tendencies of the 'Slice-of-Life' genre, almost bolting one genre onto the other. In the end, the anime becomes a composite of two contrasting (potentially three) genres, at a boost to shallow entertainment value. This also makes the experience extremely jarring at times, as our lead characters leapfrog from being deeply affected by their duties as 'Lycoris' to suddenly switching on 'LycoReco' mode. The 'true' focus is the relationship between Chisato and Takina. Potential viewers should consider this the absolute selling point of Lycoris Recoil. The animation quality is high and the art is wonderful, as you'd expect from A1-Pictures. The soundtrack isn't too bad either, despite being a little forgettable. If you value production value highly, you will not be disappointed. Lycoris Recoil has several tendencies/characteristics that'll drive away more detail-oriented, rigorous viewers. A notable issue is the blatant, recurring use of 'Plot Armor'. Strangely, for a show that introduces high-stake story arcs and indulges in the knife-edge world of counter-terrorism, one gets the impression that the main cast is invulnerable. This may be due to the series writer's change in plot direction, having opted for an 'optimistic' outlook, over the original 'darker' tone, which is great news for invested viewers, and bad news for viewers seeking a more poignant experience. Plot conveniences are also plentiful, and many characters are stuck by 'Stormtrooper Syndrome' when the story calls for it. Once again, this will annoy and disillusion demanding viewers. Despite all of this, I've elected to score this anime a 6, and it comes down to the same reason why I've chosen the 'Mixed Feelings' option. This is a show that strongly depends on what you value as a viewer and how much cognitive labour you dedicate while watching. The less you think about the specifics, the more enjoyable this show becomes. If you've read through this, and still feel unsure about whether to watch Lycoris Recoil, it's probably worth trying. But, in the end, Lycoris Recoil is ideal for viewers who are seeking a simple, light-hearted but high-octane viewing experience. Viewers seeking a 'deeper' experience will likely walk away disappointed.

Wasn't going to write a review on this, but I figured I should type out something quickly. Despite the constant statements of shippers online, this isn't a yuri anime. The two main characters aren't physically affectionate at all, and merely have a close friendship. There isn't even any sexual tension. People on the internet will turn any same-sex friendship into boys love or girls love these days it seems. That has nothing to do with the rating though, it's a show that does somethings right and somethings wrong. The villains are interesting, there's basically 3 of them and have their own motivations that sometimes come in conflict with each other. The story is somewhat captivating and I liked Chisato, her ability and the story around her. It made for an enjoyable watch. The things they got wrong though are difficult to overlook. Lycoris' purpose isn't questioned. It's methods of using high school aged girls as assassins seems ridiculous. The protags are mostly all female while the villains are mostly all male, which while I'm not demanding a 50/50 split, does seem a bit out of place. I didn't really like the slice of life moments, I kind of found them to be pretty run of the mill and a bit like padding from the main focus of the story which should be the action. Unlike bad anime where the author has no clue what they're doing or are just horribly executing it, Lycoris Recoil had a lot of promise to be even better than it currently was. If they made lycoris not all high school girls, if they questioned lycoris' morality, if they refused to fall back on tropes and maybe made the world a little more bloodier and dangerous (won't say why due to spoilers, think Evangelion) it could probably be a 8 or a 9 for me. The make or break for most people will be whether or not you like Chisato. If you do you'll likely rank it higher, maybe even higher than me. If you don't you'll rank it lower. I think a 5 fits it perfectly. Would I recommend it? Yes, provided you're looking for something decent and not something that's going to be your next favorite series.