Dropkick on My Devil!!

Dropkick on My Devil! never promised to be a sophisticated production. With its name and English content that immediately and blatantly tells you what this is supposed to be ("Dropkick on My Devil! is a violent slapstick comedy..."), there was no expectation of innovation or that it would be anything to write home about. Plus, as it is about the relationships between the different characters, it is reasonable to expect it to be very much a slice of life anime series. So I got what I paid for - a pleasant and occasionally amusing show with quite endearing characters, which was not spoiled by the fact that some things were quite repetitive (the viciousness and the subsequent punishment, the hungry Pekora...). The repetitiveness suited the slapstick vibe of the show, as well as the fact that the episodes and even the individual scenes in the episode did not seem that connected to each other. In fact, this time I knew exactly what I was getting into (since Everyday Life with Monster Girls I do not trust half-animal or monster girl anime series much anymore), because I had a cursory glance at the manga before the anime series started and I even kept looking at it while watching the show. I mean, I can compare and maybe slightly criticize that the opening sequence where they summon our dear Jashin, where they explain why the Evil God wants to kill Yurine, or even the introduction of some of the other supporting characters is kind of a pretentious blowhard sloppy thing in the anime series. It is almost as if the writers were counting on the audience having already read the manga series or deciding to read it out of curiosity... Still, I quite enjoyed this anime series and it certainly did not offend me in any way, I could even find a few other things to praise like the complete lack of fanservice, or perhaps the rather amusing breaking of the fourth wall (although it is certainly not at Deadpool levels, although it was still pretty good). So I cannot be too harsh, this endearing and occasionally amusing spectacle does not deserve that from me, however, I am not going to award this more than 6/10. I could easily handle the next season, and might even want to... (2021-08-22)

So there really is a second season, and to tell you the truth, I had not really expected it after the feedback on the first season, so it was definitely a pleasant surprise. The second season is similar to the first except it is a bit more polished. If I talked about the occasional breaking of the fourth wall before, well, they have completely done away with the fourth wall this season! In the first few episodes, they make fun of themselves practically all the time, the audience knows that the characters are aware that they are in a TV show, and they are often not afraid to advertise various things related to this anime series. I do not mind, on the contrary, I quite like it! The show is once again insanely random and you do not know what is going to happen episode to episode. It is also really endearing, which means watching it is still a pretty pleasant experience, and since I am a fan of all the gore and violence (of which there is noticeably less in this second season), then the "snake monster" is actually pretty much a winner for me. I guess in the end the biggest problem is the entertainment value. The ratio of good jokes to totally stupid, unfunny, or just weird ones is like thirty percent. In practice, this means that I laughed at something like two or three times per episode at most, which is quite a low amount for a comedy series. Also, the two new characters did not bring much new or fresh to the show, they were just there... I mean, the second season did not affect my rating, I gave it a go, it was quite an enjoyable afternoon, although I would not award more than 6/10. Is there a third season on the way? If we buy enough DVDs and merchandise and support the crowdfunding, there will be for sure, and I shall happily watch it again… (2021-08-22)

Season 3 didn't change my overall impression of the series, although the beginning seemed promising, and I had more laughs than I did in the previous seasons. I also liked the newly introduced characters (Lierre and Persephone I) including Hatsune Miku’s cameo. It was incredibly goofy, the fourth wall was broken more often than usual, there were plenty of pop culture references as well, and the blend of familiar and new characters worked well and presented more interesting interactions and relationships. From the sixth episode on, however, there came a part that I’d call "Jashin-chan travels around Japan", which I found much less enjoyable. It smacked too much of a travelogue for my taste, and some of the jokes referred to local folklore, so they kind of fell flat on me. I didn't get to laugh that often, and I didn't find myself particularly culturally enriched either. That said, the opening punchline about why the main character has to run away was pretty good. It's a shame that the conclusion of the story wasn't as original. The last couple of episodes were back to normal, and two new characters were added (Arte and Ecute) but they didn't get enough screen time for them to grow on me, and before I knew it, it was over. Plus, the finale which the writers should really put an effort into, seemed weak. As far as I’m concerned, it was one of the worst episodes of the series. Even though the quality of the episodes fluctuated, on average Jashin-chan comes down to 6/10 and I wouldn’t mind if there was another season… (2022-09-20)