New anime are on the horizon, and a good chunk are already here baby. It’s a time of exploration to see what you’re interested in and what looks like trash. Make no mistake, I was interested in Sono Bisque Doll…wa Koi wo Suru… okay I’m calling this shit “Doll Boy” from this point forward. I was interested in Doll Boy right off the bat from the cover art and the fact that it was being animated by CloverWorks, the studio that did Horimiya aka the best romance I can recall for a minute. Point is I was definitely hoping for some good stuff, but THEN…then Kinky informed me that people are already claiming this to be the anime of the season. Uh oh. On top of that, when I looked on AniChart the anime was sitting at the third spot in terms of popularity, only falling behind Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan. Against my better judgment, my expectations for the first episode were now sky high. But did it manage to meet them?
Fuck no. Listen I don’t know if it was the expectations or not but this shit had a bland ass start. You got all the basic romance tropes imaginable so far. The MC is an outcast with a weird “girly” hobby who has trouble relating to other people. Talking to girls is just so hard for him! The main love interest is an outgoing, popular girl who is loved by her peers. Oh but of course she also secretly loves anime shit and cosplaying (are you interested now, boys?). We’ve got some early panty shots in the building as you can tell from the cover image, and while her ass IS looking bootylicious, it really doesn’t scream “anime of the season” to me. In fact the whole episode I was waiting for any hint of quality writing, complex characters, unique plot progression, or fucking any element to see why it’s been hyped up so much. And there’s my fucking problem. God damn dude, it’s the first episode, chill out.
Uh oh, our MC is confused because he thinks something sexual is happening, but it's all a quirky misunderstanding! Incredible!
In anime it’s common practice to watch the first three episodes before making a conclusive decision to pick up or drop a show, this gives it proper time to set up the world and characters and distinguish itself from other anime out there. However, I was promised anime of the season material so here I am criticizing everything I can and hoping for this to be a grand first episode that redefines what you can accomplish in twenty minutes. Hell, my current anime of 2021, Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song didn’t even get amazing until the second episode. The worst part is, I KNOW it’s bad to let expectations take over when you’re about to consume a new series. But I can’t help it, when a ton of people are hyping something up and saying it’s godlike…well bitch I’m about to put on my analysis glasses and find out if they’re full of shit or not. Problem is, that act of trying to over-analyze a piece often ruins the enjoyment you’d otherwise get from it. Not always, but I’ve been there before for sure.
Maybe couple of the season is a more attainable goal guys.
So am I dropping the anime and saying it sucked? No, I’m definitely going to give it the normal three episodes and see if the future installments prove my initial assumptions wrong. Plus I’m going to try and remove the thought of a bunch of people mindlessly claiming something is the best when it’s not even two weeks into airing from my mind. The goal will be to watch it and evaluate it for what it is, not what the people online or I myself would like it to be in order to be “correct” regarding its quality. Are you watching Doll Boy? Have expectations gotten in the way of you watching an anime before? Paint a doll, sew some clothes for it, and share your thoughts in the comments below!
