Reviews for BNA: Brand New Animal

Alright alright. When I first took a glance at BNA, I felt that it was going to be something pretty cool and awesome. Well, was I wrong, or was I right? I’d say neither. BNA is a show that shows the darker side of the world if beastmen really existed. Firstly, I was pretty shocked to find out that BNA was 12 episodes instead of 24. The setting and everything made it feel like it would have lasted a lot longer than what it actually is. The world-building and everything made you have an easy understanding of what is going on with their world andI honestly appreciate that they used several episodes for that. The story is extremely simple and straightforward, with some things still left unexplained, such as how does Michiru has all these incredibly supernatural powers, even in a supernatural world. I personally enjoyed this show a lot, how you could have never dreamed of such a city being existent in our world. And that the balance between the comedy and the seriousness was of good standards. That dark feeling along with Slice of Life being the jam on top of it created that urban fantasy type of feeling.

Even though the story was shown in a straight-forward and simple way as it chooses not to be sophisticated, however, those final few episodes in my honest opinion wasn’t able to push out a darker feeling than I expected it to release. Like I said, Slice of Life is the jam, don’t forget what you’re eating is still the bread. I feel that a darker final few episodes, even if the resolution is still the same, would have impacted many more audiences, myself included.

Another thing that got me started on BNA was the pretty unique art style. Nowadays most modern anime (especially isekais) tend to adapt with that pretty generic art style which I don’t mean to be an elitist or anything, I don’t appreciate much. So having this unique curvy, joyful, and dynamic art style is definitely a plus in the art department. As for animation, I don’t have much to say, it’s Trigger. They've always been gorgeous when it comes to their style of animation. If they fail in animation, it’s the same as saying KyoAni produces shitty art—which in contrast, produces the most eye-candy art you'll ever imagine.

As for sound goes, I was pretty satisfied. Actually, I was more than satisfied, I was pretty impressed. The OSTs, OP & ED, all had that urban modern society taste imbued into them, along with a bit of a futuristic kind of feeling as well. This led me to really enjoy them and rock to the beat, although that is more of a subjective thing. One OST that impacted me was that song Michiru and Nazuna sang together, it reminded me of how special friends were, and yeah. That’s literally all.

The character development for the characters I would say wasn’t the most substantial, but it’s decent for a 12 episode series. Especially Oogami, his character development, backstory, and everything was really well-done and Trigger deserves a thumbs up for that. Michiru like what Nazuna always tells her hasn’t changed much. Well, I suppose that is pretty realistic, humans don’t change much over such a short period of time do they, especially for somebody as stubborn as Michiru. But the characters overall were really enjoyable and I had a really fun time watching them. (Especially my little precious bear Jackie)

Overall, I had loads of fun watching BNA, although story-wise it was not even close to what I had wanted, but I got something else that I didn’t ask for: Fun character interaction. Honestly, I’m satisfied with just that. So, you interested in BNA? Sure, go ahead, but don’t expect some crazy complicated storyline that even the great Hououin Kyouma can’t figure out. ;)

Having seen 6 episodes of this show thus far, I can certanly say that it seems promising! BNA is very much your usual Trigger show. The plot is all around not that hard to predict, but it's truely well done and presented in such a way that it's enjoyable to follow along with. Without going into to much details regarding the shows major plot points, it's something like a crossover between beastars and kill la kill. The wacky Trigger animation and storytelling methods in combination with a cast that can shapeshift into half human - half animal hybrids makes for some very interesting worldbuilding. TheMain character is Michiru Kagemori, a human that suddenly was turned into a beastman. In this world you are either born as a human or a beastman, so a human suddenly becoming a beastman is unheard of. It would be something like a human in our world suddenly turning into a dog or a cat.

Michiru is a very positive and cheeky girl, who can be a bit of a tomboy. She finds herself seperated from her normal human life, and must come to terms with the realities that face the beastmen of this world. She makes her way to Animacity, the only city in the world where beastmen can live freely and away from oppression from humans.

In Animacity she gets to interact with several interesting characters. Most notably she mees the half human - half wolf man Shirou Ogami, who is a detective/associate for the police department of Animacity. Together they work together to solve some of the crimes that Animacity faces, and at the same time try to figure out Michirus beastman condition.

It's a bit to early to give the show any kind of final score, but so far I am having a blast with it! If you like any of Triggers other works, you are sure to enoy this one as well.

Ps: The opening is a total banger.

Despite my negative comments below, I thoroughly enjoyed BNA, and so should you. Story: 7 As mentioned in some other reviews, the story becomes quite cliché as it moves on. There are so many questions that are left unanswered. BNA is a story that draws parallels between real-world discrimination and discrimination against the beastmen and also how money often drives horrible things that can happen in society. In trying to deliver this message through the story, Trigger did a great job, despite having a plot that is so obvious that it can be seen from a mile away. The story could have beenmuch better fleshed out and become much more comfortable and less rushed if the anime were longer than 12 episodes. I genuinely don't understand why they didn't bother making at least 24 episodes; I really would have liked some more slice-of-life sessions (such as the baseball arc) to break apart the fast-paced storyline, which would also have allowed the side characters to play a larger role in the story (Mink ex machina?). Sometimes I got tired watching the same people do the same things over and over again.

The ideas in the story were quite inconsistent, and there were a lot of unexplained power-ups and ex machinas that could have been elaborated on.

Art: 8

Trigger has a very specific art style which is different from what we usually expect and pairs well with the lo-fi musical feel. It takes a moment to get used to, although I did tend to enjoy it more as time went on.

Sound: 9

Including the fantastic OP, the music has a great feel for the story and I enjoyed the lo-fi vibes even though this kind of music is actually not what I usually enjoy listening to. The voice actors were well-suited to their characters.

Character: 6

Although I really enjoyed the characters (especially Michiru, of course) all of them ended up as some stereotype or very close to one. There's nothing that's new or refreshing brought to the table in BNA; they could have done so much more with it.

Overall enjoyment: 9

I really did enjoy BNA. While the plot was a little obvious, I enjoyed watching the characters navigate the city and explore the world. The story is indeed obvious, but that's often because it often it's the best way to proceed. I particularly enjoyed Trigger's unusual animation style and the music! While there are some issues with the anime, they are not blatantly visible and are quite easy to miss if one isn't looking for them.

OK, so admittedly I am a huge Triger fan boy. Keep that in mind as i talk about this show. First off, my hype for this show was immense. Coming off the last Trigger show I saw, Gridman, I was ready for that sweet sweet predictable Trigger goodness. From here on out I'll break down the show in its components. Spoilers from here on thru episode 6. Story: The story so far, 6 episodes, feels not super linear. As in its not moving towards its main goal in a direct manner. Every episode, besides the first, feels as if it could be shuffled around and noteffect the overall story too much. At this point I have to assume this show will be around 24 episodes with the slow pace we have now, mind you the show is insanely enjoyable at its current pace. Almost every joke lands super well, and I smile for most of each episode. Overall I would give the story so far a 7

Art: the art is almost identical to the Trigger art style in Little Witch Academia. So its as simple as if you like that art style you will like this one. A couple asides from that though are; the backgrounds feel more 'there' then in LWA, as in they feel like they aren't just a 2d wall behind the characters it has depth and a significant amount of detail to it. Another difrance from LWA is the color is more vibrant, almost every scene will have colors that pop out, if that's your taste then even better. Overall I would give the art a 8

Sound: OK, so the OST for this show is inedible. The OST was actually one of the things I was most hype for going into this show. If you look who is credited with the music in the show it is mabanua. Now you probably do not know who mabanua is, well, he did the music for 'Kids on the Slope' a music anime that takes place in 50's ish Japan and is my favorite Josei show out there, also my favorite music show in general. The only other anime he is credited for, OST wise, is 'Megalo Box' the gritty futuristic world of boxing with probably one of the top 3 OSTs from 2018. Back to BNA though, every single episode has had one moment where the music kicks in and I cant help but think "holy shit thats a good track." OST gets a 10 from me.

Character: Lastly we have the character rating. As for the designs of the characters I think they each have a uniqueness that is overbearing, something Trigger has pretty much made a name for, and Each character design fits its characters personality spot on. The character personalities themselves are were the debate starts. I've seen people talk about how they don't like Michiru's personality, how she is completely oblivious to everything, and that's OK. Anime characters are allowed to be dumber or more exaggerated than you or me. Now if you are the type of person who hates this character arc-type then you'll probably get very annoyed by Michiru. I personally find her the be charming and endearing. Its 100% personal preference if you like her or not. The other polarizing character is Shirou, the over-powered secondary lead. I suspect later in the show we will probably get a full episode or its equivalent in time allotment for his back story. He is pretty OP and its would be ridiculous if he wasn't explained thoroughly, since he represents the wolf god. To be fair, I think it doesn't really make sense to rate the character personalities themselves until they each finish their respective character arcs. So for now I am rating Character as an 8. Mainly for the designs.

BNA is the new hotness by Trigger and if you've enjoyed any of their previous works this is right up your ally

B est N ew A nime 2020 I usually don’t like to hype up anime in previews since you never know how the rest of the show will go, but damn, I’ve been enjoying the hell out of BNA so far! I’m usually hesitant about anthropomorphic themes, but man, it really adds layers and originality to this anime. We’re still in the beginning stages of the anime, so the overarching plot hasn’t been fully fleshed out yet. It essentially revolves around energetic, sporty protagonist Michiru Kagemori’s quest to find out how and why she was transformed from a human into a tanuki beastman. There’s a lot of mystery andintrigue surrounding the show, and I’m excited to see where Trigger goes with it. So I was originally gonna discuss my thoughts on the current state of the narrative and world building in a lot more detail, but screw it, I’ll save the in-depth technical analysis for the critics when BNA finishes airing. Instead I’d like to talk about how frickin fun the show has been thus far! I mean we do get the basic “humanity discriminates against the beastmen” spiel, but so far the show has actually been mostly depicting the inner fighting between the shapeshifting people of Animacity. Thank goodness, because I’ve been getting tired of the generic “All humans bad, all monsters good!” plot point in shows like this. I’d rather watch a bunch of overly buff animal gagsters with guns get beat up by a wolf dude and a tanuki chick anyway!

While the main plot is still developing, there’s a lot of sub stories that have taken place within the first six episodes. They explore the world of BNA and showcase the extremity of the anima society. There’s child slavery, mobsters everywhere, and death baseball. It’s crazy over the top and I just love it. Plus the anime has some great comedy too. I mean it has frickin Winnie THE Pooh getting his face smashed in by a baseball among other things. It’s hilarious. In fact, the entire baseball episode was a comedy goldmine. It’s reminiscent of older Trigger shows with it’s complete randomness, but it was great, and I loved how it portrayed the charisma and never give up attitude of Michiru.

Michiru herself has been a really enjoyable character to watch. She’s funny, capable, and full of life. Ogami is the other protagonist, and he’s a silent vigilante type who’s all about delivering that sweet, SWEET justice with his fists. The rest of the cast all have their quirks and keep things fun. Many of these characters have over the top mannerisms and ways of speech, which just enhances the entertainment value that they provide. Though the character who I’m especially interested in Michiru’s childhood friend Nazuna, who, despite her short screen time thus far, has been set up to be a sort of intelligent but misguided figure who may end up at odds with Michiru. She seems like she'll play a pivotal role in the narrative, and I hope that her character is handled well.

The audiovisuals are hella lit. I thought that Winter 2020 had a weak line up of opening theme songs overall, and BNA’s opening "Ready to” blows them all out of the water and then proceeds to throw them all back in the water and drown them. I’ve been listening to it on repeat while writing this preview because it’s frickin awesome! I also love how it’s performed by Michiru’s seiyuu, Morohoshi Sumire. Yes, voice actors sing the theme songs occasionally, but they’re usually no where close to being this good in quality, so a shout out to Sumire! The ending theme song is a great way to rap up each episode, and AAAMYYY (wow, even her name is over the top and hype!) does a great job with it. The song feels so relaxing and surreal, and it really pulls you into the atmosphere of the anime. And I just love the visual aesthetic of the ending theme. It’s stylistically amazing and I can’t stop watching it. Speaking of visuals, this anime thankfully utilizes the iconic cartoonish and over the top Trigger art. A lot of the studio’s recent works unfortunately adopted a different animation style, so I’m glad the studio went back to its roots for this.

It’s thanks to shows like this that I’ve been sticking with anime for so damn long. BNA just oozes with creativity and insanity, and it was shows like this that got me into the anime medium in the first place. BNA has the added bonus of being full of intrigue and has the potential to develop a truly memorable story and cast. Let’s just hope Trigger doesn’t once again go down the dark path of pulling an alien plot twist out of their asses at the last minute to try and explain everything while throwing the established narrative and world building out the window. Fingers crossed! But for now I’m having a lot of fun with BNA, which so far has Been Notably Awesome!

I'm convinced that Trigger has some of the most talented artists in the industry and some of the worst writers. Or pushiest executives. The show is gorgeous, vivid, and genuinely a breath of fresh air compared to some of the art styles of the modern era. The writing, on the other hand, really needs to have some more room to explore what it is its even trying to say. There is such a non committal game being played with the messaging and themes that it makes me believe an original story was had, and was great, but a room full of studio execs pulled itapart until it was such a shadow of itself that it became no longer recognizable. And it truly is a shame. Another victim of selective artistic expression due to a drive to be universally marketable from those who only see art as a commodity.

Hmm…let me see here. 2 Cups of Beastars 4 Tablespoons of Batman 1/3 teaspoon of Dorohedoro baseball 1 Dash of Elastigirl And last, but not least. Awesome-sauce. Gobs and gobs of awesome-sauce!Ever since the absurdest, laugh-inducing comedy of ‘Inferno Cop,’ Studio Trigger has gained the reputation of being the proverbial ‘devil’s advocate’ of animation studios. That is to say: Studio Trigger infringes upon the unwritten, ‘anime construct’ that governs the rest of the industry. Though, at the same time, utilizes the construct to subvert one’s expectations before it launches its satirical, action-packed juxtaposition. And this was certainly the case for ‘Inferno Cop’ and ‘Kill la Kill.’ However, for reasons unknown (due to my indolence in researching the topic), Studio Trigger abandoned this approach in ‘Darling in the FranXX’ and ‘SSSS.Gridman.’ Both of which underperformed due to the absence of wacky comedy, leaving a husk of tropes, banality, and disappointment in its wake.

But it appears Studio Trigger has found their form once again via BNA (Brand New Animal). An anime that features a spunky raccoon-dog, Michiru, as she seeks refuge in Anima city due to prejudice against beastkin (humanoid animals). Abruptly, she comes into contact with a Batman-esque detective, Shirou, as they unravel the mystery behind peculiar happenings in Anima city. Of course, you best forget everything I’ve said so far!—Because BNA’s plot and characters are superfluous in realization that it aimed at being a Looney Tunes-esque meta-comedy that transcends barriers of intellect to produce spurts of nostril-jizzing laughter. T-that sentence makes sense…and YOU KNOW IT!!!

The unadorned 2D aesthetic offers the animators flexibility in metamorphosizing the characters and their body parts in a fashion that does not appear janky or offensive to the eye. Plus, it permits copious amounts of asininity to keep the viewer off-balanced and unsure of what’s coming next. Which is the primary ask of any comedy-starved anime watcher. In regards to the action, do not expect a resemblance to Hunter x Hunter or Yu Yu Hakusho. But where BNA lacks in battle tactics and strategies, it makes up for in various animal transformations that make each battle incomparable to the last. And with the story integrating offbeat aspects — like an MMA styled baseball game — you are constantly bewildered as to what is going to happen next.

***As an aside. Which baseball game was better?—Dorohedoro or BNA’s?***

BNA’s Op, ‘Ready to,’ fits the series quite nicely, and is a fun jam that you will rarely skip before the start of each episode. Overall, BNA an amusing, quirky series in what looks to be a relatively weak spring anime season. And given the fact Studio Trigger’s record was a bit tarnished from its recent bungles, it is nice to see a thrust back to the thematic elements that made it one of the premiere studios in the anime medium.

Another good furry anime…my, oh my, how the times have changed.

I am what you can call a huge Trigger fanboy, so I advise you to cautiously take this as enthusiasm, as guidance, or even just as a piece of experience that a viewer had for BNA. BNA is a freaking delight, but for reasons different from my profile picture. If there's one thing that could overcome my furry bias, it is my appreciation for the craft of Trigger studio. That said, I know this anime has evident flaws, and I will be judging it appropriately... after I shower it with praise and love. Story (9/10): I believe there are legitimate grounds for saying that the plot of thisanime feels tame. I, for one, felt it too, but perhaps for reasons different than most. Upon the near end of the anime, I began to feel like this is a tamer version of the concept of Kill la Kill. It has been spurred strongly by the nature of identity and self-acceptance that BNA fiercely integrated within its story and very conflict. In hindsight, I think rather than as a flaw, it is more of a Trigger trope at this point.

Here is why I am embracing it instead. BNA did not feel pretentious. Much of the acceptance I felt from Kill la Kill (despite being about the strange connection with clothes), was translated very well in the format of beastmen in BNA. I believe this goes with the fact that the utilization of anthropomorphism did not feel like some random choice. It is tied very well with what the anime wanted to portray and wanted to be. BNA would not be complete without the beastmen aspect, much like Kill la Kill would not be striking without its recklessness with its clothes symbolism. It's a classic Trigger kind of exaggeration that feels strangely wholesome.

Character (9/10):

To relate with the previous aspect, I believe this is where the utilization of the beastmen aspect shines the strongest, particularly the philosophy of the characters and their ways of dealing with conflicts. This comes across especially striking due to the various natures of the character "types" being human, beastmen, hybrids and everything in between. This is where a lot of anime material aiming to be inspiration falls flat. However, BNA makes it so that the characters are grounded with reason and logic, where seeing both flaws and reality in character perceptions are able to be given empathy, but not necessarily agreement. This makes for compelling character dynamic, no matter how frustrating it gets.

That said, I am sure this will be a point of conflict for other viewers, because it does come to a point where it seems horribly cliche in nature. For me, going back, I think people underestimate the effectiveness of using tropes. People see it as an unnecessary format, but rarely see it as an effective means to convey story and build up in a more convenient way. This is especially important for BNA due to its short runtime, where much of the main characters main frameworks are quickly explained for efficiency, while still leaving room for the parts of mysteries and plot developments. Plus, Michiru is simply too memorable.

Sound (9/10):

Absolutely love the energy here! It goes very well with the Trigger dynamic, so the chemistry is strong and it is very infectious! I wish there could have been stronger song themes for the tamer parts of the anime, but this is enough for the wild pacing and setup of the anime!

Art (8/10):

If I have to pick one anime to introduce people to Trigger, this will be it. For the nth time of mentioning, Kill la Kill is obviously not for the faint of heart. BNA, on the other hand, will be holding a special kind of fondness in my heart, and probably even for other people. It's the now typical Trigger stylization, but somehow remarkably defined well with its integration of animal characteristics. It feels like a legitimate and respectful take on anthropomorphism without appearing as pandering (the fanservice in this anime is very mild). While not for every episode, there are some strong visuals here and there. I would have to criticize the studio for placing some obvious budget cuts over some particular frames (not necessarily animation itself, but it counts for an art critique), especially for a short anime that needed the most it can get.

Overall (9/10), I fully acknowledge and embrace my bias. Despite a good amount of flaws, my enjoyment far outweighs my sentiments for negativity over the material. I see BNA as a more family-friendly way of playing around with the theme of acceptance, as opposed to the aggressive take of Kill la Kill. But surprisingly, I don't think I will endorse this anime due to its "furry" aspects (Beastars, on the other hand...). I think it is a disservice to the anime to advertise this as merely that. It is a Trigger delight, much like the rest. It is a wild ride, and I will always be appreciative of anime that takes on the lesser uniform approach. I hope that more people will be involved with and look forward to more of their projects. They certainly delivered with this one!

10/10 - You don't want to sleep out on this anime. While it may have only 6 episodes at the time being and more on the way, it left me wanting more after each episode. Pro's - Character Progression and Personality - OST and sound is amazing and great to listen to - Art and animation is very smooth and nice - Story Con's - None i can think of ATM.Overall while the story is straight forward there is still more episodes to go so there may be twists and turns along the way. Either way this is a very enjoyable anime to watch. Do try to ignore the lower ratings, most come from individuals who aren't to keen on anime that includes "Furry/Anthro".

*COMPLETE REVIEW OF EPISODES 1-12* First off, I want to mention that BNA is my first Trigger show, and I intend to share my thoughts on the show based on its own merits without this infamous studio’s work in mind. That being said, I’m definitely looking forward to exploring Trigger’s catalogue further. One more thing, this first bit is going be spoiler-free, but I’ll include some specific details at the end, so read at your own risk. Brand New Animal (BNA) brought up plenty of discussion among the community when the project first got announced. An anime-original story, backed with a Netflix release? That’s just unheard of!*Jokes aside, news about the show and its premise did pique my interest. Was I pumped for the show? Yes. Did I have a good time? Sure did. Was the hype warranted in the end? …Not quite, IMO.

Let’s get this out of the way: BNA absolutely nails its presentation. The art mixes overall vibrance with moments highlighting individual color tones, keeping the scenes looking anything but mundane. Animation here is free-flowing and complemented with careful shot composition, which makes the action and pivotal confrontations stand out. The sound design is great, and the score is really well implemented. The OP slaps, and I can never bring myself to skip the ED. Overall, these elements are executed incredibly well, making for a fun show that I can easily recommend.

With all that being said, I have a few problems with BNA regarding its writing and series structure. BNA’s premise is a big draw for the series, but unfortunately I never got the feeling that the show fully delivered on its potential. The broad issue I have is that the show’s overarching plot is too thin and stretched out, leaving little room for tension and only having a couple of compelling story beats. This certainly isn’t helped by the show’s unusual release schedule. BNA is essentially split in half and premiered the first 6 episodes back in March. I watched the show in-line with the Netflix broadcast, and it had this disjointing effect, with mostly inconsequential “filler” episodes frontloaded and more exposition-heavy material in the latter half. Note I say “filler” loosely (there’s only one egregious case)**, in the sense that the show raised some interesting ideas that didn’t really mean anything or arrive at a meaningful conclusion in the end. Our protagonist Michiru meets the indestructible badass Shirou and spend the initial episodes exploring the crime syndicate known as The Family. Through these experiences, Michiru comes to gain a grasp of the nature of Beastmen. That one tangent alone would have been sufficient to service a whole cour of the show, balancing that buddy cop relationship and character introspection for Michiru, the human-turned-beast. That was the show I was expecting, but then the show just leaves that thread hanging. Instead, the show chooses to shoehorn in new characters, giving the show a looser feel and lessening the impact of potentially strong material. While that in itself is not an issue, I feel that BNA is a bit of a tease for only briefly hinting at these ideas without committing to them. This lack of narrative focus may be less of problem if you’re binging the show and is mostly dealt with two-thirds into its run, so make of this mini-rant what you will.

Now, to quickly address a few specific problems, mostly having to do with the points mentioned above. The worldbuilding in the show varies quite a bit, as good ideas can get tossed in one episode while the next may see Beastmen doing human things the exact same way humans would. Conflict within the characters in the show seem inconsequential unless fangs are bared, with one exception coming at the end of episode 6. The characters themselves are fine and serviceable, not exactly bland but not interesting either.

TL;DR: What do I think of BNA? Although I’ve attempted to give this show a good bashing, that’s only because of what I thought it could have been. And I believe I’m not alone in thinking that BNA could have been so much more. Story threads that weren’t given enough room to grow, themes that weren’t comprehensively explored, and a world not fully realised hold BNA back from making much of an impact. That being said, solid production from a renowned studio and genuinely fun moments keep things engaging. BNA might not be a beast in contention for AOTY or anything, but it’s certainly fine for what it is. Trigger could have done a lot worse here, and there is always a place in the anime landscape for this level of creativity. BNA, for what it’s worth, is a fun ride, and I think in these times we could all use a little light in our lives. 6/10~

STRAY RAMBLINGS (SPOILERS):

- *that is, unheard of for roughly two seasons. The comparisons between this show and Carole and Tuesday run deeper than Netflix and the release schedule; C&T also has the pattern of episodic romps in the first half and a more plot-oriented second. However, with C&T the tone shift was more nonsensical, and it tried to go from Folk Tik Tok songs to… a discussion on immigration? Still trying to wrap my head around that one.

- **my GOD I hate the baseball episode, why does it exist

- I want to punt Jackie across a room, why does it exist

- Said it once and I’ll say it again, “NIGHT RUNNING” deserves to be put on loop. Spotify, we’re waiting.

- The Nirvasyl flashback sequence in Episode 8 was really good. Great idea to switch up the art style, there was a frame or two in there reminiscent of Genndy Tartakovsky’s best work.

- Best Girl: If I had to choose, probably Nazuna. Her interpreting being the face of a cult to her aspirations of becoming an idol is probably the most interesting idea in the show.

- In A Nutshell: Zootopia meets the Powerpuff Girls (with a dash of Major 2nd**)

- Greetings Internet! Just a small-time anime fan here, I’m trying out some stuff in this community and sharing my ill-informed opinions. This is my first review and at the moment I’m satisfied with it, although I have a feeling I’ll regret this whole idea a week from now. Looking forward to doing more of these reviews here and there, I don’t watch a ton of shows seasonally though. In any case I hope you enjoyed this piece and that it gave you something to chew on. I do want to get better at this, so if you have any feedback feel free to let me know, peace!

I feel likes shows with animal/beastman have been coming out a lot in medias this pass years. I started realising this after Zootopia, they use the difference between species or canivor/herbivores as a tool to talk about the issues of our society. At first, I was scare that BNA fall into that, because I don't think this trope has more to bring to the table. Unfortunately BNA fall into this trope, but at my surprise it has so mush more to offer. ( Explanation of the trope in the case of BNA: There is a conflict between human and beastman, and by that Imean that a lot of human want to see the beastmans dead. Depending on your point view you could actually interpret this as a metaphor for racisim or the scare of difference, similar to Somali and the forest spirit)

I would say that the conflict of human and the beastman serve more as a toll for the setting of the world than the subject of the story. For fact the main character has no intention/goal of changing anything about this (at least for the moment). She want to change her current status and become like she was before, and that my friends is were this show is more thought provoking than the others Trigger shows. The mains characters are all selfish in their own ways, even in their altruism. It was pointed out by Nazuna that Michiru (MC) is actually selfish by jumping on assumption and acting on it and help her ego by being the hero. When You think about it, everything she do is for her (not that it's a bad thing). Mostly she want to cure her disease and become human again, but she able to forget about her goal if there is something more fun to do. This place Michiru in a quite childish light, but at the same time, she is courageous and can show some maturity through her childish act. I need to give that to them, Michiru is quite a good representation of a teenager ( I feel that the line between too mature and to childish while creating a teenager character is very tight and Michiru is right in the sweet spot).

In the case of Ogami, his selfishness (or maybe childish side?) is represented in is mantra of protecting the beastman community, everyone going against the good of the beastman will be treated indifferently even if they are beastmam themselves. (When I think about it, the way he do his justice is similar to L) He is quite mysterious and there's definitely something special about him like our MC when it come to their abilities.

Directing:

The show is made quite episodic with the main plot going on it the background or the mystery. I would say it is a step up from Kill la Kill and little witch academia, but it's too soon to actually make a proper verdict. Didn't Really see something that stick out has exceptional, but the fak that there is not major directing mistakes is good.

Enjoyment:

I am totally loving this show. It's fun visually, with the aesthetic of Trigger that I always appreciate (colourful and explosive). I enjoy the main character, I don't know how to describe it, but it just pure fun following her adventure. (Her face is so hilarious too). The baseball episode was amazing, it was like is own little thing with is own conclusion and character development.

Edit: I just realized that I didn't talk about character development! It's too see a proper development, the only evolution would be that Michiru has pass from wanting to transform or becoming human again tk actually liking her beast form. (To be expected)

Spoiler/ speculation ahead!!!

Just want to come back on something:

The plot with the main character being Yokai beastmans spice the thing, a bit like Tokyo ghoul, but this time you're wandering if there is some kind of Doctor making super beastman (because we didn't see one yet). I thought at first that Michiru was going to be all the animals at the same time by the way she transform, but seeing Nazuna being a Kitsune, Michiru is probably just a Tanuki that can change form like the yokai in the Japanese folklore.

Honestly this show is certainly fun and enjoyable! It's made me so hype for when the next episode comes out! So already from that basis, you should check out the show yourself! It's a blast, so give it a go! But here is why! The sound...While the sound hits most marks when it comes to certain scenes, what I really love is the opening itself. It's catchy, is great to listen to. I hope other shows this upcoming season's openings are just as good. The art style is so colourful and bright, so pleasing to see. They've really done a good job on making sure the artlooks so dazzling. I'm sure it's gonna look even more good as future episodes come out.

The characters and story in general. We're presented with a poor treasure that is Michiru, whom is just a blessing. She's upbeat, she's determined, and easy to root for. Such a pleasant character. Combine that with the serious and dedicated Shirou, along with more characters that really mesh well together. You're in for a treat honestly.

The story, the way it presents itself. Just leaves me wondering what else this world offers. If you're into corruption in higher ups, general mystery in surroundings when it comes to certain things such as the city itself, or characters backgrounds, or curious on interesting worlds in general. Then you'll love this show, as it offers much interest in so many ways as I've just described. If an anime always leaves you curious and interested in whats going on, then it's doing it's job.

Defo gonna keep watching, and you should too!

Trigger made a fantastic story again! I really enjoyed watching it and I love everything about this show : Music,Animation,Art,Voices. Michiru’s Seiyuu voice is something brand new! Despite of new animal theme, it was a real classic trigger series. You see, here we have : 0.Rocking Opening 1.Genki/Clumsy/sometimes sad main female character who doesn’t understand many things at the start, but in the end she finally gets everything and grows up.2.Funny animation

3.Difficult relationships between main characters

4.Crazy,confusing plot twist in the final episodes.

5.Amazing soundtracks

6.Relaxing/melancholic Ending

I like to compare Michiru with Ryuuko and Atsuko/Luluco.

Jackie and other poor bears are something similar to Mako Mankanshoku or her family.

The only bad and at the same time great thing about trigger shows is they never have second season because they don’t need them, they are full stories with out understatement.

Most anime about the future shoehorn in some sort of "technology can have drawbacks" or "we need to be careful not to lose our humanity" subplots. BNA goes very much in the opposite direction. Can't say too much because that would be spoiling the plot, but BNA is of the opinion that genetic modification is awesome, people should have whatever bodies they want, and being something other than human would be pretty damn cool. Plus, it's animated by Studio Trigger, of *Gurren Lagann*, *Kill la Kill*, *Darling in the Franxx*, and *Little Witch Academia* fame, so there's tons of awesome action shots. (The plot andcharacters are pretty good too, but frankly that was secondary to my enjoyment.)

If you enjoy transhumanist themes, you will enjoy this anime. If you're a pansy ass luddite, go back to watching your zoetrope.

Studio Trigger is back at it again. Everything the studio touches seems to either hit or miss. This was definitely a hit. The art is easily deserving of the 9 I've given it. Out of all the shows whilst excluding movies, this show looks slick and the characters move creatively in the classic Trigger style. There is a very effective use of colour and sound, especially in the earlier episodes. The atmosphere gets built well throughout the course of what we have thus far, especially the city-scape vibe it seems to put on you as you watch. Locations become familiar and scenes last just theexpected amount of time.

The only setback is that episodes will take a while to release, and we won't have Netflix viewing until late 2020. The release schedule is a drawback that was originally unanticipated.

Some of the characters lack in depth or personality, and the lead character acts too often on the trope of "what she thinks is right". Some characters seem comically invincible at times, along with the fact that depth is missing in some aspects.

Overall, a very good series, especially out of what we have this season. I'm excited to see what Trigger does next with this.

To the question of whether BNA is a *smart* anime, I answer with this: there is a three-second crowd scene in the first episode, unrelated to the main plot, showing an anthropomorphic rock band in Sgt. Pepper uniforms and vaporwave sunglasses. A horse plays lead guitar and has hooves for hands. A rooster has wing-mitts and plays bass. A cat's on the keyboard, and a terrier's on drums. The horse has three ponytails. This is, by far, the most thought-through scene in the entire series. To the question of whether BNA is a *fun* anime, I invite you to re-read this paragraph. In short, yes. StudioTrigger is all about fun, and they've used their love languages of dynamic action, bright color, and cheeky sentiment to speak on the genre du jour: animals, aka anthropomorphism, aka animal-human relations, aka third-wave furries. There isn't too much horsepower in BNA's animal/human story engine-- Trigger's real contribution to the topic is their top-tier animation, particularly in action and comic scenes, excellent OPs and EDs, and a sumptuous pink/blue color scheme, which warms my heart to see in an action-oriented show.

Scene by scene, BNA feels less manic and improvisational than earlier Trigger works like Kill La Kill, Inferno Cop, and Space Patrol Luluco, and mercifully less self-important than weaker Trigger efforts like Darling in the FranXX or Kiznaiver. BNA's closest relative inside Trigger would be Little Witch Academia, because both are a solid success in what they set out to be: a garland of light adventures, strung together loosely but comfortably.

As always, here are some alternative and follow-up shows:

If you want a story with stronger use of animal elements as a lens for differences of power, gender, and class, look to Beastars.

If you want more goofy buddy-cop dynamics, try Cop Craft, though the flavor is elves rather than animals.

If the impactful action scenes moved you, try Trigger's movie Promare, or predecessor works like Kill La Kill or Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

For a kid-friendly show by the same folks cruising at more or less the same gear, try Little Witch Academia.

I want to base this on what the anime IS rather than what it could have been. That said, I really enjoyed BNA. The characters were compelling, the universe was intriguing, the art was stunning, and while the anime didn't accomplish anything particularly revolutionary, I thoroughly enjoyed every episode. It was a good concept with some parts that could have been elaborated on or explored more, but in 12 episodes, I still got a good sense of the world at large, the challenges characters faced, and the overarching themes. For a 12-episode anime, the plot was really well-done with a good amount of build anda satisfying (although some might say lackluster) resolution. Character design was 10/10 with diverse body types and a stunning lack of hyper-sexualization. Music was very good. Art and animation, incredible, especially during the scenes with more action. Some heavy topics such as prejudice, discrimination, and eugenics, but they didn't feel glossed over or heavy-handed which was refreshing.

This review is pretty scattered, but in short, certainly not the best anime in the world but definitely worth watching.

In the last few seasons there has been a strange new trend of making anime with humanoid animals. It began with Beastars last year, last season had Seton Academy and this season has Brand New Animal, or in short BNA. Netflix snatched this new anime thus how this anime is releasing is a mess. But for now, after watching 6 episodes, do I think this is worth it? Well, let's talk about the first thing that is Obvious about the anime: The artstyle and animation. The anime looks gorgeous. The character designs are stellar, the city is so lively, the sakuga is amazing and just everythingfeels fresh.

While that is to be expected of Trigger, but how is everything else? Well, I think it is just fine.

This anime is about a humanoid Tanuki, named Michiru in a world filled with humanoid animals. She lives with Shiro, the wolf detective. This anime all about the world building and puts a lot of focus on how humanoid animals and humans would live alongside eachother. Animal traficking, racism, gambling, all kinds of issues are brought up. While I can't deny the world is kinda interesting, the world just feels kinda flat in comparison with other anime worlds featuring humanoid animals, like that of Beastars and even Interspecies Reviewers. BNA's world is a bit too simple and predictable, but it isn't bad by far. It's just aight.

I already mentioned Michiru and Shiro, and both are fine characters. Michiru gets the most spotlight and she is your typical goody two shoes who tries to get no one killed and always tries to help people. She also has Looney Tunes powers, so there's that. Shiro is the stoïc overpowered main guy. He wants the best for all humanoid animals and he does whatever he can to stop crime. He is alright and his action scenes are great, but he is not that special. There are other characters, but overal it is pretty standard cast.

Other things to mention: This anime can be fucking crazy at times. Sometimes it has some ridiculous moments that I can't help but smile. The humor is also pretty good and the ost is meh.

Overal, an alright anime. I expected more from Trigger but that doesn't mean that what they made is bad. Give it watch if you can.

If you’re watching this show for deep nuanced story about politics, racism, and furry rights you’re going to be deeply disappointed. This is a trigger show, and one written by Kazuki Nakashima (the mind behind kill la kill, promare and most of gurren lagann) nonetheless, so if you came here for the raw energy inherent to shows like Kill la Kill, Gurren Lagann, Inferno cop etc this is going to suit you just fine. Story & writing: As stated in a plethora of other reviews the story is a bit cliché and the characters are a bit generic. But it is a means to an end,the story purpose is to string together a bunch of amazing looking set pieces together in a somewhat coherent manner. The rule of cool runs through the core of this show a dictate everything happening on screen. But this is nothing new, trigger shows are built upon this concept. The show makes just enough logical sense for the writing of the story and characters to take a back seat because as I said before strong writing isn’t the point of this show.

Art: The art style is very similar to yoh yoshinari’s previous work little witch academia. The backgrounds pop and feel incredibly vibrant all the while employing a vaporwave-esque colour palette. Everything animated moves incredibly smooth while maintaining the trigger flare which the company is known for. But there are only so many ways I can say that this show is a visual treat.

Sound: The intro and outro songs are downright addictive, although the show does seem a bit fond of its outro, not to the point that it is overused but it is in a fair few scenes.

Enjoyment: While the cast are generic and the story predictable everything “bad” about this show is good enough while the everything “good” about this show is excellent. Your enjoyment from this show while vary depending on what you want from this show.

-Just finished watching this on Netflix and I started with pretty low expectations, but I ended up really enjoying this anime- Story: (7) I agree with what others say that this was a very short anime at only 12 episodes so the actual substance to the plotline and main conflict was kinda rushed in the last few episodes. Also, it would've been nice to get more background on the characters and the show's setting. However, I did enjoy the storyline. I thought that it was engaging and different than a lot of other animes I've seen out there. Also, I have to give them props fordoing a beastman show that wasn't creepy like Beastars was.

Art: (9) I thought the art style of this show was amazing, and honestly, that's the thing that caught my eye and got me to watch the show. I think the creators did a great job animating this. It was super colorful and I really liked the character design as well.

Sound: (7) Not much to say other than the music was good. It was catchy but nothing that blew my mind.

Character: (8) I think overall all of the main characters are likable. I enjoyed the character development as the show progressed as well. I just wish they went into more background on them especially the main character Michiru. All we really found out about her past was that she used to be human; so basically nothing lol.

Enjoyment: (9) Really enjoyable show. I ended up watching the whole thing in one night and would've loved to see more. It had some good action scenes as well as plenty of comic relief.

Overall: (9) The art was amazing, the characters we loveable, and I had fun watching it. I've been getting tired of the same anime premises that are popular lately so I found this show to be really refreshing. I would recommend this show to anyone who wants a short anime that is funny and has some good action as well.