There are two anime that I have enjoyed above all others this season.
The first of those is CyberPunk: Edgerunners, which I reviewed a few days ago.
The second of these is Lycoris Recoil.
To be honest, I had no idea this anime existed until I heard all of the praise it was getting and decided to check it out, only to become hooked right from the first episode.
Created by Spider Lily and Asaura, and directed by Shingo Adachi, Lycoris Recoil is set in a Japan where the peace is kept by a secret organization known as the DA, which recruits teenage girl assassins known as the Lycoris.
One of these Lycoris is Takina Inoue (Shion Wakayama), a deadpan girl who very rarely lets her emotions out.
While on a mission with her squad, Takina makes a choice which results in one of her colleagues being saved but also ends up allowing the cash of illegal guns they were trying to capture get away.
Although, in my opinion, Takina certainly made the right call, she still takes the fall for the mission’s failure and is relocated to a cafe known as LycoReco.
This punishment is not all bad, however, because she gets to work with the greatest Lycoris agent, Chisato Nishikigi (Chika Anzai), who can literally dodge bullets.
Chisato is Takina’s exact opposite: cheerful, loud and insistent on using non-lethal bullets to incapacitate her foes.
The anime then follows the two girls’ adventures as they go on missions and hang out, with Chisato promising to help Takina get back into the DA, while also bringing the emotionally stunted girl out of her shell.
The bond that grows between Chisato and Takina is great, with plenty of wholesome, funny and emotional moments between the two, whether they be just spending time together or fighting on missions.
It is not just them, however, as the rest of the cast is just as great.
There is the main antagonist, Majima (Yoshitsugi Matsuoka), who has an interesting motivation and compelling interactions with Chisato.
Then there is Chisato’s mentor Mika (Kosuke Sakaki).
His bond with her is heart-warming, and this ultimately results in one of his final scenes presenting what is probably the most tragic moment in the entire show.
The last character I want to talk about is Shinji Yoshimatsu (Yoji Ueda), another character with an intriguing connection to Chisato, and his manipulative nature made him my most hated character in the show by far.
The good kind of hate, though, not the unintentionally bad character type.
Basically, there are a lot of great characters, and this makes things very tense in the last five or so episodes, where the stakes are so high.
These high stakes are accompanied by great action, which is present throughout the entire show, really.
I could watch Chisasto and Takina take out a room of armed goons like they are John Wick for a while, if there was more of it.
Speaking of which, please let there be more of it.
There has been a lot of speculation about a second season of Lycoris Recoil and there are two things which I think make this a distinct possibility.
The first of these is that the anime has done really well financially, obviously.
The second is that the ending left a few teases for future storylines that were not wrapped up.
This is not to say that the ending of Lycoris Recoil leaves dangling plot points, creating an unsatisfying ending; far from it.
The ending ties up most of its loose plot threads exceptionally well, while also hinting at a few more, just in case a second season gets the green light.
I think that most of us who have seen this show are hoping for that green light because Lycoris Recoil is a great anime.
It has fun action and animation, plenty of wholesome and funny moments, and a well done emotional connection between its two lead characters.
Bring on season two, please.
THE REVIEW MONSTER 