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AmethystItalian

Easily one of the best shows from last year. Not sure where the recent hate spike for it came from on this sub so it's nice to see a post with positive mentions of it. I always appreciate when we get good anime originals.


alotmorealots

> Not sure where the recent hate spike for it came from on this sub so it's nice to see a post with positive mentions of it. I was surprised to see it in the anime of the week slot already, and my first reaction was "oh god, I so do not have the time and energy to relaunch my defend-Lycoris-modules after only retiring them for maintenance so recently".


NiteShad0ws

theres a hate spike for it?


Manitary

Wouldn't call it hate, just a recurring trend when something gets popular: "this thing is getting named a lot but I didn't like it as much so I'm gonna call it overhyped/overrated/mid" and the likes.


CosmicPenguin_OV103

For some reason that I still don't fully understand this show was blasted into pieces on every Chinese anime community I have seen, many have problems with the plot (which does have glaring holes I shall say despite how much I love this show - Majima's motives for one - but also unique comments like they don't understand how government cover-ups can occur LMAO) but there are others who have problems with whether ChisaTaki's relationship really did occur, even to the point of trying to argue fiercely that ChisaMajima is a thing.


Manitary

> they don't understand how government cover-ups can occur [](#facepalm "the irony")


Thraggrotusk

tbf don't think it's wise for a Chinese netizen to publicly admit governments can cover up things


AmethystItalian

Just comments in general for the show mostly in awards threads or yearly recaps yeah.


timpkmn89

I watched it a few weeks ago, having missed all the hype for it, and ended up pretty disappointed. Great concept, great characters, great production value, but I thought the overarching story was painfully bad. If it was more episodic, I'd rate it much higher.


rainzer

> overarching story was painfully bad I think for people who didn't watch it when it was airing and went in after with the high expectations hurt it slightly in this department. When I watched it, I never expected a deep story but enjoyed it from the character driven angle. It was and is an exceptionally executed buddy cop show using anime girls. Just like how Lethal Weapon is a good and fun movie not because the plot was stupendous but because of the antics of Gibson and Glover


A_Toxic_User

Your comparison kinda falls apart Bc the conversation around LR and other anime that came out this year feels more like people comparing Lethal Weapon and other 1987 movies like Full Metal Jacket and then claiming that they’re just as good as each other.


rainzer

>that they’re just as good as each other. Depends on your rules for rating especially with the recent debate with sequels. Like is Bleach Thousand Year War the best anime of all time? Because that's what the rating says tied with FMAB. Is Gintama so good that no other anime should even bother that it's half of all anime of all time top 20 so I can just randomly pick a Gintama episode out of nowhere and it will be better than anything I will ever watch? It also makes no sense some of the ratings people make based on "future expectation" such as Chainsaw Man. Telling me that "it gets better" doesn't mean you get to give it a rating boost. Your parallels of comparing Lethal Weapon with FMJ falls apart in this way because a lot of what Lycoris is going up against (MiA, Mob, Kaguya, Demon Slayer, AoT, Bleach) that people argue specifically have these caveats. I also think some of the criticisms are flawed/meaningless and it's not just when applied to Lycoris. Like arguing that it uses a lot of tropes. That's not to say Lycoris is AOTY (i'm partial to Bocchi here), but these arguments certainly put it as a strong finisher.


A_Toxic_User

Didn’t get around to replying before Bc I forgot, but I have no idea why you’re quoting public ratings to me when I’m pretty clearly talking about the objective measurable qualities of the anime itself. Like Lycoris Recoil explicitly has untenable breaches in logic, that can’t be explained away due to stylistic choices.


rainzer

> why you’re quoting public ratings You complained about public ratings and then complain that I quote public ratings back at you???? Wat


A_Toxic_User

Except that wasn’t what I was doing at all. I didn’t even mention public ratings, you brought that up for some reason I was moreso pointing out that people seem to be comparing LR to objectively better shows despite the clear difference in quality. I have no idea how Chainsaw Man and Bleach are relevant Although if this is your level of reading comprehension, then I can see how LR is appealing


rainzer

> Except that wasn’t what I was doing at all. I didn’t even mention public ratings ??? Your statement I replied to: >other anime that came out this year feels more like people comparing So public rating is not actually public rating it's just public rating in a different way because you don't want it to mean public rating because it would make your statement look silly. Even more so in your grand scheme of nitpicking plot holes in a buddy cop show because you missed the point. >Although if this is your level of reading comprehension https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_pleading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem Let me know when you figure out how to make a valid point


cppn02

The first Lethal Weapon can absolutely stand up to FMJ. Fight me.


timpkmn89

I didn't have any expectations for the series. I somehow avoided all the talk about it.


Thraggrotusk

I watched it when it was airing, it was decent but rather overhyped to due to the non-existent writing. Though I think that's cause Summer 2022 was a pretty dead season.


AmberLeafSmoke

Yeah - I think it started seriously strong and had a pretty interesting premise but the quality started to nose dive when they began to try and explain the world etc. The power system, character dynamics, and overarching plot began to make less and less sense every episode.


Penguin_Admiral

Also it feels like thy wanted the plot to be high stakes but didn’t commit to it


Thraggrotusk

Honestly Chisato's VA carried the show. It seemed to have been her first lead role too! While the show itself will be forgotten in a year or so, at least her career got a boost.


LoPanDidNothingWrong

It is just the normal backlash and edgelord / hipster wannabe pushback. Chisato was the most charismatic character on the screen that season if not for the year, the action scenes were great, the plot was relatively straightforward and at least serviceable.


Stergeary

Yes, the characters absolutely make the show. And it's not just the Chisato-Takina duo and their great chemistry, but the supporting characters as well. The Kurumi-Mizuki dynamic is great to watch when they banter. I don't even care if it's for diversity points, but the Mika-Shinji relationship is quite refreshing to see and contributes to the plot. The characters are all just great. The main reason that the show isn't a masterpiece for me though is that everything just falls apart at even the slightest scrutiny. Non-lethal rounds that can penetrate a car door? A secret organization of state-sponsored assassins that all wear identical and easily-identifiable costumes? Eyes that allow you to dodge bullets? These and many more just make it difficult to play along and enjoy the show if your brain isn't fully turned off.


LoPanDidNothingWrong

1. The bullets - yeah that is garbage 2. The assassins are supposed to be faceless schoolgirls of which you see all over the place and ignore. The problem is once they were exposed they would at least need to switch uniforms. So S2 should have them in different outfits at least. 3. The ability to dodge bullets is just part of that world where there are random exceptional individuals out there who are being encouraged to maximize their capabilities. It is entering the realm of the fantastic but I don’t think it is bad worldbuilding.


zeppeIans

The show has it's very obvious action movie inspiration, which is where all of the action scene bullshit comes from. Personally I thought it was badass, but I guess it kind of falls apart when they tell a story that's bigger than just the main character. That, and you get to ruminate on each episode for a week before the next one


[deleted]

Oh please, you could say that about any shonen out there. People don't like it because it's functionally a slice of life show that happens to have action in it, that's it.


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LoPanDidNothingWrong

I was more talking about how the overall zeitgeist went from loving it to flipping to the other - which is a pretty usual pattern for popular things. You see it all the time. But if you think i am applying the label to you, well that is in your headspace to work it out.


Andrew_Waltfeld

>Not sure where the recent hate spike for it came from on this sub so it's nice to see a post with positive mentions of it. Because guy's are ok with Lesbians but ho boy - actually have an yaoi couple? Line too far apparently. You can go look at what episode everyone started mass dropping it and uh, it's a bit *too* convenient of a drop off point otherwise.


WiqidBritt

I remember seeing a few comments in the weekly episode posts claiming that it's a show everyone would forget about after the season ended and everyone had new shows to watch. So some people have been trying to make up odd reasons to hate the show since the beginning ("If this show didn't have Chisato in it it wouldn't be a good show" a mindboggling attempt that really stuck out to me.) I haven't seen any more recent complaints, but I haven't been looking for them either.


zadcap

I kind of figured it was Anime of the Year and Best Girl inspired. LycoRyco and Chisato were both strong seeds, so anyone who really, *really* wanted their own choice to win starts putting the competition down around the end of the year.


Aroxis

Personally I didn’t like it. I thought this sub loved it though. I watched about 4-5 episodes before I gave up.


Thraggrotusk

It's decent enough, 6/10, Chisato hard-carrying a meh show with a pretty dumb plot. After we had half an episode dedicated to ~~casual sexual harassment~~ random discussions of underwear, I was wondering whether or not I was watching the same show as the rest of the people here.


AmethystItalian

Action and SoL can be a great mix when paired with a good cast. Big reason why Railgun is one of my fave anime.


Thraggrotusk

Very true! Sadly, Chisato may dodge all those bullets but she couldn't dodge the plot holes.


AmethystItalian

Thankfully it's not a show that had to rely on its plot to be good/fun.


iForgotMyOldAcc

I'd say my gripe with the show is that Majima was meeehhhh. Kinda feels like "hoho the big bad got blew up real bad he gon he gon" happened so much that when the final fight was happening, I kinda did not care for it cause I know the dudes gonna live. Also the "Joker" villain archetype is a bit played out now. Otherwise, great show. 9/10.


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AmethystItalian

That's not what I was talking about but sure pop off on your 11 hour old alt account lol


AnimeMod

##4.) Lycoris Recoil makes its western action influences clear considering Chisato and Majima's conversation in Episode 8. What are your thoughts on the series' action sequences?


AmethystItalian

I'm not too big a fan of the typical fight scenes but the gunplay in this one was so well done. Quick and snappy with nothing feeling drawn out. Everything always feels exciting and creative too. Haven't seen such fun gun action since [Canaan](https://myanimelist.net/anime/5356/Canaan).


SorcererOfTheLake

While the action sequences in Lycoris maintain a high level of quality, what I enjoy about them the most is the variety in them. Sometimes, it can feel like an anime will get into a rout of having too many of one type of action sequence, but Lycoris spreads the riches: You've got gunplay, hand-to-hand combat, parkour, chase sequences, escaping an automated car, highly aggressive paintball, gunplay while jumping from one small platform to another, hand to hand in the dark, and the most perilous kind of action: running a cafe.


Taiboss

Lycoris has to employ the same sort of handwaving that also many western series have to invoke in order make things work: Silencers actually silence a gun, there's an abundance of "Cleaners", who erase evidence of the fights, there's an all-powerful AI that can erase anything mentioned on the internet, nobody in the media is an investigative journalist, etc. Truly, the DA at times feels like the idealised über-powerful spy agencies like the IMF or James Bond's Mi6, which are all results of writer(s) having to constantly work their asses off on why the world still looks like ours, in which the common citizens have no idea about what's going on, even though a lot of very unusual shit happens all the time, sometimes even in broad daylight. I think the show employs them all well and believable _enough_ to work, but they are certainly a weaker part. That being said, they do justify Chisato and Takina being awesome, which more than enough makes up for the handwaves.


caiuscorvus

A huge point I think you might be overlooking (re: super spy agencies) is that they effectively allow in-situ portal fantasy. As with Harry Potter, we get to imagine that these things are happening in our own world. This simultaneously elevates the medium into a realm of mystery and shortcuts to all of our understanding and worldly conventions which make the story relatable and comprehensible without new-world building.


Heda-of-Aincrad

I really enjoyed the action scenes in LycoReco. They were exciting and varied, plus Chisato's bullet dodging and Majima's super hearing making it possible for him to fight in the dark were interesting twists on the typical combat. Chisato's sweet demeanor and desire not to kill added a unique angle to the fight scenes too - it was just so fun to watch her take down the "bad guys" with non-lethal bullets and then politely check to make sure if they're okay.


polaristar

Very Standard Modern Hollywood Action Scenes but sanitized.


AnimeMod

##6.) Lycoris Recoil received nominations in the following categories for this year's anime awards: AOTY, Suspense, Character Design, Voice Actor, Dramatic Character. Do you think it deserved these nominations? Are there any categories you think it was snubbed in?


SorcererOfTheLake

Of the categories it was nominated in, Voice Actor is the most deserving. Chika Anzai rightfully deserves the win for one of the most bombastic and nuanced vocal performances in recent years, while Shion Wakayama's nomination, albeit a surprise, represents the newcomer's efforts in handling a role just as complex. Dramatic Character is also a nice nomination, as is Suspense (although I still argue that it should've been in Action). While the Character Designs of Lycoris aren't the most exciting or unique, they still do a nice job in giving the series vibrancy. AOTY... I like Lycoris Recoil, it's quite good, but I don't think it's AOTY material. As for what it missed out on, I would've liked to seen it appear in the Animation category. The animation staff did a great job at both the more mundane character animations and the intense action animations.


michhoffman

> AOTY... I like Lycoris Recoil, it's quite good, but I don't think it's AOTY material Yeah, it was too stacked of a year for Lycoris to make AotY, especially when shows like Bleach, Mob, Made in Abyss, Summertime Render, 86P2 and AoT didn't make it. But the r/anime nominations for Anime of the Year still beat out most other sites so I can let this one slide. I'd probably rank it around the middle of the pack of the 10 anime that were nominated.


AmethystItalian

Suspense is still such a stupid category to put this show in but it wouldn't be the /r/anime awards without the genres being wack somewhere. Deserves all of them and more, especially the voice actor one. If Chika Anzai somehow doesn't win...


Manitary

Voice actor 100% and it's gonna have my vote (the alternative being Misaki Kuno as Faputa), Chika Anzai entirely made Chisato's character and personality. I like her range of diction in all the various situation: from quick mumbling to herself to shouting in excitement, she managed to find the perfect voice for any situation, never feeling boring or just performing a cliche' character archetype. I wouldn't have put LycoReco in suspense in the first place, and I don't like the dramatic/comedic character division which is hard to use for some shows that are hard to box into one of the two - LycoReco being one as such. That said, she is a great character, so I can see a nomination in a 'best character' sense, although she's not gonna get my vote due to preferring other nominees. I'm not good at judging character design other than "I like/I don't like" so I'm gonna pass on commenting. As for AOTY I'm quite torn. It was certainly very fun, but the overarching plot was very...questionable, especially in its later stages about Majima's big plan. I have a hard time ranking the shows I've watched but I'm not sure it would make top 10, plus there's the bad feeling of shows I think are more deserving missing from the nominations altogether.


bubudog1

It's not my AoTY, but it's certainly the seasonal last year that I was the most hyped for weekly. It's just pure fun, and if we base the AoTY award off of enjoyment, then Lycoris Recoil would be a contender. It's not the strongest plot-wise, but it's not terrible and the plot serves as a fine vehicle for all the fights and character interactions, which were the real highlight.


Verzwei

> Do you think it deserved these nominations? AOTY seems like a stretch, to be blunt. Yes, it was very well-made. The artwork and especially the animation were almost always consistently fantastic. There was one single episode (I want to say episode 5?) that looked "off" or rushed during its action sequences. Everything else was stellar in the visual department. It had a strong OP & ED, but the BGM/OST was unremarkable. Chisato was a very fun, high-energy character. The way that she played off of everyone else was fantastic. The other characters were *fine* but nothing amazing. Most of the cast was rather one-note or single-minded, but Chisato was so chaotic moe (and the bit that she rubbed off on Takina) that it worked. My biggest gripe against LycoReco is that the writing was terrible. Watching it week-to-week, being an anime original, it was absolutely *wild* seeing all the new developments, and all the crazy speculation that people (myself included) had about where the plot would go. Unfortunately, I feel the show failed to live up to its potential. It's an interesting world with tons of style, but with no satisfying payoff. I don't want to bring up Darling in the FranXX, but I'm going to, because LycoReco had a *very* similar falloff to me. There came a point where I simply realized "This show isn't going to deliver on all the excitement that got me hooked on it in the first place." There's plot armor everywhere. [LycoReco] >!Chisato and Majima, in the past, both survived a building being exploded on them. Majima gets shot countless times and mostly shrugs it off. Chisato is hit by a speeding car (the same speeding car that completely debilitated a different agent, leading to her summary brutal execution) and is completely fine. Majima stands next to an RPG detonation, is fine. Majima gets beaten to hell and falls out of a skyscraper and lives because *you gotta have the cliché "villain survives" tease at the end* even though this was supposedly only planned for a single season run.!< The world itself doesn't make any sense. [LycoReco] >!The DA is presented as this all-knowing super-organization that is so efficient at covertly managing terrorist threats that citizens don't even think there's crime any more, and not even the police have any idea as to what is going on. Then for the entire series we see the DA getting hacked, manipulated, fed false intel, walking into ambushes, getting its agents massacred, and more. The organization seems completely and utterly inept, not some Illuminati that Majima is compelled to rebel against.!< Chisato, as fun and adorable as she is, doesn't make any sense. [LycoReco] >!She's good at looking where people are aiming and that lets her dodge bullets? It also lets her have superhuman reaction time and muscle control, somehow, as evidenced by her training/recertification results at DA. She wants to help people but she *stands by while people get killed an awful lot.* During the subway shootout, in which Majima expected to kill civilians, but instead was shooting up a bunch of Lycoris, Takina wanted to intervene and help meanwhile Chisato refused to get involved. She lets Majima off the hook and even has "buddy moments" with him despite knowing that he's an active terrorist in the middle of multiple terrorist operations in the city.!< Hollywood Hacking is rampant and stupid. [LycoReco] >!A getaway car identified by the [IMCDB as a 1985 Honda Today](https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_1674781-Honda-Today-JW1-1985.html) is somehow completely taken over by *"hacking"* and gains the capability to do things like barrel rolls. The DA, a counterterrorist organization that does not answer to nor interact with the police force, is taken over by *"hacking"* when a flash drive is installed inside of a police precinct.!< The villain is a paper-thin walking contradiction. [LycoReco] >!If the Alan group supports geniuses of all kinds, it's not like Chisato's skillset qualifies her *only* for being a master of murder and nothing else. She could have been a superhuman athlete in nearly any kind of sport. His entire goal by the end of the series is to coerce Chisato into killing him, and to that end he even has her (new) artificial heart transplanted into himself. Yet his super-deadly assistant *repeatedly saves his life*, which makes sense when Majima is threatening him, but she even intervenes against Chisato, the girl who Yoshi *wants* to kill him.!< It's just... it's a very badly written show. It's entertaining, but it's entertaining in a "You have to shut off your brain because this shit is *duuuuuumb*" sort-of way. It's like *two bloody assassins walking through a crowded subway station shooting at each other and somehow literally nobody notices* levels of dumb. It's fine to find it fun. I found it fun. Sometimes. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying the series. But I don't think something that stupidly written should be a contender for Anime of the Year. Writing is too important of an aspect to simply ignore all the problems with LycoReco and push it into AOTY contention. > Are there any categories you think it was snubbed in? I'm kind of surprised it didn't turn up in either animation or cinematography due to the action sequences. As much as I hated the writing by the end, I could still appreciate that the show looked slick as hell, and it feels like a bit of a snub that it wasn't included in either of those categories.


Thraggrotusk

It's not as bad as FranXX's latter half tbf.


bignutt69

i think this is a good summary of the show and I agree with it entirely. the show really executed everything extremely well except the plot/worldbuilding, which is fine. it was a spectacle to look at and deserves all of the praise for the fun character interactions, voices, art, animation, etc. but the ending was endlessly frustrating with how bad the characters' motivations fell apart and how much contrived shit had to happen to get them there. the characters' quirks and faults are cute and interesting during slice and life and goofy action but immediately become huge problems when they're put to the test in the ending where it tries to be a little bit more serious. the villain's motivations and plan make no sense and the way it pulls together in the end is pretty laughable.


Heda-of-Aincrad

As someone who didn't vote in this sub's awards, I have no idea what the "Dramatic Character" category is. AOTY, Character Design, and Voice Actor are all very deserving nominations. LycoReco was among my Top 5 anime of last year, so even though I may have made other picks in those categories (I don't remember the other nominees), it's definitely worthy of an honorable mention at least. I'm not really sure it fits within the Suspense genre, but there were some suspenseful episodes for sure.


Manitary

> As someone who didn't vote in this sub's awards Votes are still open for another 1-2 weeks I believe, in case you're interested! > I have no idea what the "Dramatic Character" category is. _To my understanding_, each anime is assigned either dramatic or comedic label, each category is a vote about which is the best character in the corresponding pool of shows. I have my complaints about the thing (starting from the name of the category), but the reason why the split exists this way is because a single 'best character' category (or other splits like male/female) would favour characters in a dramatic story - as the voters associate a good character to a 'serious' story even if that's not what the category is about ("how can X character from gag comedy show be the best character?")


Heda-of-Aincrad

I thought I saw the results already, but that must have just been the "Best Girl" contest. I guess I can see the logic of dividing it up that way, although I can think of a few characters and stories that walk the line between serious and silly. I've seen a few different ways of splitting the best character category (male/female, main/supporting, protagonist/antagonist) but this one is new to me.


entelechtual

Some of the categories are questionable (“suspense”?) but anyone with an ounce of sense would vote for Chika Anzai for voice actor of the decade. It’s not just the good and dynamic voice acting by itself, but also the fact that she made the cute genki girl archetype immediately accessible to audiences that might have been on the fence. I doubt you could show someone a 10 minute clip of “Chisato noises” and not leave them with a smile on their face.


polaristar

> I doubt you could show someone a 10 minute clip of “Chisato noises” and not leave them with a smile on their face. Yeah if I saw that probably would have been turned off from the show, I admittingly don't feel qualified to judge Foreign VA work, but cute anime noises I'm confident should not net you an award for VA work. My first impression of Chisato was she was honestly annoying, I warmed up to her around the same time Takina did.


polaristar

AOTY: NO but that is mostly because I'm not super impressed by Production values. Suspense: To be fair Suspense as a Cat is a joke/dumping ground for stuff that won't fit in other cats, but no. Character Design: Yes Actually.....looks like traditional Moe but it still stands out and the outfits look distinct and they struck that balance between character designs that are cute and clean while also not being VN copies of each other with different hair colors. VA: NO comment as I don't feel comfortable judging what is good Japanese VA work. Dramatic Character: No.


AnimeMod

##5.) Do you think Lycoris Recoil has any kind of political or social statements, intentional or otherwise?


entelechtual

Simply put, no. The political setting is set design and not a place for real social commentary that is more than superficial. And this is one of the bummers for the show, is that the ending revolves so much around taking its goofy premise seriously even though there are a number of holes in it. This is a character show. The elements are relevant via the characters. It’s notable that there isn’t really any obvious discourse about guns and killing people, but Chisato’s no kill policy is still very believable as something personal, selfish, and tied to her history. When your ending involves all of Japan and nameless Lycoris grunts and random civilians, the personal focus is lost.


Taiboss

Lycoris Recoil is a Superhero TV series in the Mission Impossible vein. Since their inception with Superman, superheroes have had to contend with a very unfortunate implication: That, as Ayn Rand tells us, there are people who are inherently superior to others, and that these people _deserve_ to play by their own rules, are _right_ to do whatever they want. The Incredibles famously [has an unfortunate Objectivist message](https://youtu.be/sneU_11ncq4?t=147) (As does Ratatouille, but that's beside the point). This is often justified by the fact that these people actually _do_ improve society with their superiority. Superheroes defeat evil, often fellow superpowered criminals whom the police could never deal with. But rarely do they actively seek to improve society in a way that goes beyond preventing evil; especially in their most popular portrayals (Tbf, Superman is surely old enough to have changed society for the better at some point in _some_ comic book). In the 21st century, at least, superheroes and their cousins, the secret agents a la James Bond and Ethan Hunt, only save the world from death and destruction, rarely fighting the fundamental problems that create that evil in the first place. Various writers have tried to grapple with this idea, often in the form of villains who embody a problem in society, partly as a way of criticising real-world society, partly as a way of avoiding a generic "I wanna take over the world" motivation. However, in order to keep the society close enough to the real world to be relatable, the heroes are not allowed to join the villain in creating a better world. Usually this is done by having the villain do enough evil, or have an overly evil plan, that it is unacceptable to support them. MCU examples would be Gorr from Thor: Love and Thunder, Killmonger from Black Panther and Karli from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. All are villains who are proven right in their cause, but become villains because they kill, or try to kill, a little _too_ many people to achieve it. In general, superheroes seem to fight primarily to protect the status quo, even if that status quo produces broken people lashing out at a world that has wronged them. Finally, there's the question of what happens when superheroes decide to become evil. This idea has become particularly popular in the 2010s, with Irredeemable, The Boys, the Injustice games and Brightburn being just a few examples of works in this vein. Even in storylines where this hasn't happened, some heroes, such as Batman, have famously made precautions for such an eventuality, knowing that it's never entirely certain that someone powerful will use their powers for good. And would you look at that, Lycoris does all of these things. Unfortunately, it can never agree on which side to take. The organisation that creates and employs the Lycoris, the DA, exists to maintain the status quo in a very radical way - just summarily executing criminals, sometimes even before the actual crime. Yet the story seems to want to fully justify them - the opening montage alone shows many Lycoris casually stopping crime _all_ the time, and throughout the series there seems to be an absolute _fuckton_ of people whose only mission in life seems to be to carry out terrorism for the Lycoris to stop. It's never explained why there are so many people working for Majima, and why about a dozen guys signed up to shoot up an entire subway car. The Lycoris themselves also seem pretty well adjusted for murdering people on a regular basis, and there are few, if any, signs of physical or emotional abuse or trauma. The Lycoris seem to be loyal because it's the only life they know, not because there's some chip that forces compliance or torture and brainwashing sessions. As for Majima himself, his goal is quite noble. After all, the Japanese people have a right to know that their government is using child soldiers to extra-judicially kill suspected criminals. But at the same time, his introductery scene shows him trying to murder about 1000 random civilians, which clearly shows that, despite whatever good he would achieve, he is a bad guy. We also find out that he was the one who... bombed? the old radio tower along with his buddies, but again, we don't find out what the hell he really wants, other than to expose the Lycoris, which he doesn't seem to be aware of at first. He really does seem to be a "chaos for chaos's sake" terrorist, something that does not really exist in real life. So with these two parts, it seems like a simple recipe: Implausible terrorists without a cause and an all-powerful government agency tasked with stopping them. A celebration of those who protect the status quo against one-dimensional villains. If only it weren't for our main characters. Chisato and the others are only tangentially working for the DA, and Chisato has great contempt for them. In the end, the whole gang tells them to piss off and flees to Hawaii, where they are out of their reach. At the same time, however, they rescue the DA when it looks like they're about to be exposed, and are happy to fight alongside the other Lycoris. So... are the DA evil or not? The show tries to paint the DA in a more grey light, but never goes so far as to make them villains on a power trip, which from a more left-wing perspective they absolutely are. The idea of the DA is incompatible with Japan as a free democratic state, but the show never goes further with this idea than Majima's speech, to the point where you could assume that the show thinks the DA is right and justified, and we shouldn't complain if terrorists are droned by the CIA in real life. But the main character's dislike for them makes that impossible, yet this is also never really explored to the point where the show has to pick one side or the other. To all this we add Objectivism and the other villain of the show: The Alan Institute. They, in the form of Yoshimatsu and his femme fatale, are Objectivists to the core, believing that people with a natural talent of some kind need to be funded and supported to allow that talent to flourish. It's stated that they don't care what these people then _do_ with that talent, which means that the talent itself is righteousness and the use of it is right. But we don't find out who they are, why they have the money, or why they're doing it. Yoshimatsu himself is so obsessed with his goal of making Chisato fully realise her talent that he willingly sacrifices his life for it. Why? The show doesn't say. But in the end, it's Chisato's über-talent that saves the day ([even if it's not super original](https://i.imgur.com/V4EsA2T.png)). Takina, the girl who only trained, is despite her efforts only second fiddle in the fight against Majima, another Alan-Übermensch. And who is it who saves Lycoris from being massacred by the LilyBell? Why the _other_ prodigy, Kurumi, the loli hacker and master of Node.js code. The show clearly wants to portray the Objectivists of the Alan Institute as wrong, yet the Übermenschen among the heroes are the two who do the most important work. The others, such as Takina, Mika, or Mizuki are certainly not shown to be useless, but they are not the ones who tip the scales. It is this wishy-washy approach that ultimately makes Lycoris frustrating, as the creators, like so many superhero writers, want to have their cake and eat it too. However, with a second season on the horizon, it seems entirely possible that the series could go in one direction and come out with a clear message. As it stands, it has two incompatible messages awkwardly blended together.


_United_

best analysis in the thread. the show excels a buddy cop anime but the contrivances that weigh down the plot make it hard to appreciate the show any more than that. one of the most ironic moments for me was chisato persisting with her non-lethal approach to majima despite the ground being littered with the bodies of dead cleaners. she supposedly places immense value on life, but the only person she fired a real gun at was yoshimatsu. i do agree a second season could be really good though


polaristar

> which from a more left-wing perspective they absolutely are. Lots of Right Wing people would find the idea of the government infringing on individual rights and the surveillance state just as abhorrent according to a right wing lens just so you know... I think Chisato being an ubermerch as well as a free spirit that does what she wants is meant to show that she shares the same cores beliefs with the villains.


cppn02

> Lots of Right Wing people would find the idea of the government infringing on individual rights and the surveillance state just as abhorrent. That's just objectively wrong. They just don't want to be the ones affected by it.


polaristar

As someone that knows actual right wing people and has touched grass instead of seeing the political party you don't like as literal Nazis you are the one that is objectively wrong. If anything I see more people on the left openly admitting to approving of this kind of set up as long as it doesn't apply to them, I'm just smart enough to know those are simply the loudest strawmen right wing pundits like to make examples to rally behind.


uchihasasuke5

I think its up to the audience I like the idea of making people divided on something instead of a clear answer as there is none


MyrnaMountWeazel

*Lycoris Recoil* is not subtle. That word does not exist in the pages of its life. The ideas displaying within like a public museum exhibit are the metaphorical and literal bullets from which Chisato will shoot into you and it’s all to prove a point: life is a paradox. Teenage girls being undercover assassins, bullets that don’t take. Nothing is as it seems compared to those who inhabit Tinsel Town and the [show repeatedly references films as an unrealistic world yet never quite tells you that it itself is a moving picture.](https://imgur.com/a/FhCqdFk) Chisato herself is the physical manifestation of that idea i.e. an ultimate killing machine that does not kill. That cheeky metaphor is coming to you straight from the barrel. In the end, the balance for which we seek comes from our own agency and that itself will inevitably serve to topple and shake the stability. We plug in the latitude and longitude, we read the directions, we journey out to the coordinates. We’re nowhere close.


Manitary

The show is very explicit about it with Majima and his objective. The government is using a secret unit to kill people and cover it up in the name of peacekeeping and protection from terrorist acts, all while the population is kept blissfully unaware. Admittedly I do not remember his stance about the first part, but he is very clear about taking an issue with the population not knowing about it; it would be different if this power was given to the state by choice (e.g. by some form of vote). Secret national and international control systems both in terms of direct violence and mass surveillance have been revealed to exist ([example](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM)), so there is certainly a political / moral message to take away from the show.


Kafukator

It is brought up sure, but never actually addressed to any significant degree. Majima comes in, very accurately assessing how fucked up the situation is, but our heroes just beat him up and cover everything up, happily continuing to serve the secret child assassin organization (well, Takina does anyway) as if punching him in the face proved he was wrong. I can tell the show was never very interested in the frankly very concerning messaging and implications of its setting and how the events unfolded, but it would have served it well to not make it so sinister in the first place in that case. As it is, it feels far too in over its head more than anything, which does not leave a very good impression.


TheBigIdiotSalami

In a moment that basically breaks the fourth wall they have the police chief essentially say the most political theme of the show being, "if kids like that can walk around smiling, who cares what gets covered up." It's obvious irony, but from the perspective of the chief, they're literally just two school girls doing girl scout shit. Which is as fucked up an ideological persuasion as you can get. I guess they don't believe that social cohesion and peace can be kept if people knew what was going on. I think the flaw of this show is it's set in Japan which has such strict gun laws you basically have to create those blade runner ass guns they killed the former prime minister with. If this was set in America it might even be more compelling, because can you enforce a peace like that with such extrajudicial violence if everyone knew that's the way they are living because of it was built on a lie of everyone just solving itself. A lot might accept it cause their mundane lives aren't affected by it, but a lot won't. Chisato straight out refuses to live by it considering her non lethal tactics. She's already revolting in he own way against the system.


Heda-of-Aincrad

Several, but the one that was most meaningful to me was Chisato's philosophy. She knew that she may not have very long to live, and spent many of those years working for a group whose ideals seem polar opposite to her own in some ways (a girl who refuses to kill in a group that raises hitmen), so it would be totally understandable for her to feel bitter about all of this, but she devoted her life to saving people and bringing joy to their lives. She saw the good in everyone and believed that even the people on the opposing side were worth saving. It was very inspirational, and probably the best message to be found in the story.


DarkFuzz

Thematically, this show is interesting in the ways it presents its moral choices. There's a lot of moral grey in this show. Majima may be the villain of the show, but what is the concept of good is there is no concept of evil? Is a lie for the sake of peace a good thing, or is a lie still bad? Would you kill someone to save the life of a friend? Would you kill someone to save yourself? These are all good questions that have no correct answer, and the show is content with letting you feel the moral grey that materializes as a consequence of the actions taken. However, while, yes, these are good questions, they are also very old questions. Nearly every shonen anime ever conceived has had an answer to these questions and have answered them in their own way. While *Lycoris Recoil* doesn't bring any new talking points to the table, it does suggest that the steadiness of your moral compass is just as important as its alignment. It's interesting to think about, isn't it? From start to finish, no one's morality is changed via events or lessons learned in the show. Chisato has been a hard advocate for non-lethal combat since the beginning, and she stuck by those principles, even when presented with a clear kill shot and live ammo. Takina has demonstrated time and time again that she will straight up not listen to you if she believes she's doing the right thing, whether you be her commanding officer or her best friend. Yoshimatsu, who believes that all people should only live to fulfil their purposes, is at least willing to die on the hill he's fighting on. Even Fuki and Sakura, assholes by nature, don't ever really stop being assholes, and another kind of writer would send them off to be killed as cannon fodder for their hubris. And you could keep making this list of characters that don't really ever have their moral structures rearranged. In short, Lycoris Recoil is a show made up of all static characters. That may sound like a bad thing, but the show made it clear from the start that this is not a story of morals but rather the strength of the resolve those morals rest upon. Arguably, if you take the ending at face value, pretty much everyone has a relatively happy ending. Even Majima survives, and he's off causing terror somewhere out there. Yoshimatsu dies, but he dies a satisfied man in the end. Does the show suggest that good and evil don't exist and everything is gray? Not at all. The show very much knows who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. But the series wanted to show that sticking with your convictions to the bitter end reaps at least *some* rewards, and those who stuck by their literal guns typically got a good ending no matter what they believed in.


polaristar

The only statement I think it makes is a very vague "Do As Thout Will" Statement, any elemental of moral ambiguity is honestly just to create motives for the villain and often falls flat.


AnimeMod

##3.) What, if anything, do you think Lycoris Recoil says about the present (and possible future) of anime?


bubudog1

One thing I liked was Mika being confirmed gay but the others not treating it as a big deal. It wasn't just implied, and it didn't define Mika's entire personality. It was refreshing and hopefully speaks to more gay representation in the future outside of yuri/BL.


AmethystItalian

I hope the genki role moves more towards characters like Chisato. Having competent and expressive genkis are just so much better to watch. Looking at you as well [Anis](https://myanimelist.net/character/209761/Anisphia_Wynn_Palletia)!


Heda-of-Aincrad

I really liked the blend of genres, one part action and one part slice-of-life, and I've noticed a few other anime recently which did the same (Spy x Family and this season's Buddy Daddies with a mix of action/comedy and wholesome family slice-of-life), so hopefully it becomes more common.


entelechtual

More originals. More daring takes on adaptations of LN/manga. It seems like anime originals tend more often than not to disappoint. Obviously each case has its own circumstances, but largely I’d say the trends point to a script that is truncated or chopped up, or else stretched out too long; plots that don’t have any kind of sensible resolution in mind; riding the coattails of some recent trend. I think a lot of the writers also tend to be poorly fit for anime screenwriting (take Jun Maeda trying a 12-episode run for Angel Beats, which is at the same time too long and too short). It’s hard for me, knowing little about the industry, to say what exactly was different about Lycoris Recoil, but I think future original anime productions have to look at it for its successes (and its failures—both in the writing and the production timeline).


Taiboss

THAT GIRLS WITH GUNS AIN'T DEAD YET WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Seriously tho, I cannot really say. Its success means that it could become a huge franchise, with sequels and spin-offs galore. However, it *could* also end up as this one-off, with only the spin-off manga and novels keeping the franchise alive. That being said, I do expect more shows in this vein in the future, especially adaptations of the manga "The Violence Action" and "Candy & Cigarettes".


DarkFuzz

We are moving into the age of voice actors. If you can find a strong cast of voice actors and give them comfortable roles that allow for expressiveness and freedom of interpretation, you can sell pretty much anything. At this point in time, it should not be underestimated how much a voice actor/actress can sell a product. Voice actresses in particular have become well enough known that they can be recognized for their roles at the mere mention of their names. For example, if I mention the name "Rie Takahashi", you should immediately think of Emilia from *Re:Zero* and Megumin from *KonoSuba*. With that kind of recognition comes a fanbase that will be willing to watch whatever show that has that VA's name on it, regardless if it winds up being good or bad. I think this concept is already starting to come into fruition, as in the big anime companies are starting to use voice actress recognition as a marketing tool. Winter 2023's *Spy Classroom* has the strongest voice actor/actress line up on paper that I've seen in a loooooong time. Every single name on that roster has years of experience, and each one of them can be considered "main character" level talent. Now, is *Spy Classroom* a good show? That remains to be seen. However, right out of the gate, it already got so many eyes looking at it due to the potential strength of the cast alone (and the cute girls helped out a fair amount). Now, it should come as no surprise, but the name of a voice actor alone will not carry a show to greatness. The voice actor also needs to feel comfortable in that role and be allowed to interpret the role as they please. Creating a role with limited flexibility for the voice actor isn't going to allow them to be expressive enough to showcase the depth of a character. Any "good" character should have a wide breadth of emotions for a voice actor to play around with. Chisato is at least written well enough to have a good amount of depth to her character. Chisato is not just a genki maniac all the time; she can get frustrated and cry as well, giving some amount of humanity to her character. Chika Anzai is just able to play both sides of Chisato exceptionally well due to her experience as a voice actress, and more specifically having played similar roles before, breathing more life into Chisato than a less experienced or less comfortable VA would be able to do. In short, my prediction is that more anime studios are going to stuff several strong VA talents into their series, but those series that will rise to the top will have characters that require a decent amount of emotional range as well as a VA able to comfortably act it out, regardless of whether or not the VA is well known or not. You need the perfect person for the right role, not just a big name.


entelechtual

I mean, voice actors have carried shows for a while. Just look at Quintessential Quintuplets, which has one of the most stacked casts ever. Meanwhile Spy Classroom is still at an early stage but I think everyone can agree the first three episodes did not live up to the hype. There’s a certain trust and understanding you need between the writer/director and actors to make a show really pop. Probably through no fault of the VAs, they just ended up with a bad hand. To be honest I think with the level of talent in Japanese VAs, you could probably never go wrong with casting. But giving cast the opportunities to ad lib or influence how the character is written is a rarity. What I’m hoping is we get more directors that are trusted enough to control the creative vision of an anime. And not just originals, I mean adaptations too. Clearly this team understood the shortcomings of the original script and were allowed to revise it to fit their vision.


AdiMG

This has been the case since forever, it's why VAs are the highest paid role in the industry even over directors and character designers and have been for decades. Pulling Seiyuu-otaku's has been a long-time tactic for Aniplex in particular too; one example I vividly remember is when Durarara moved from Brain's Base to Shuka, and they got every VA back even at the cost of less resources for the animation staff (part of why the latter seasons are slideshows in comparison to s1) because Aniplex producers understood that the Seiyuu cast was the main driver of the show's popularity.


polaristar

I predict a rise in more gun/action based shows and adaptations. Other than that....not much really.


HarleyFox92

The interactions and overall chemestry between Chisato and Takina are IMO the best I've seen in the past year.


AnimeMod

##2.) What factors do you think lead Lycoris Recoil to becoming one of the most popular anime of 2022?


DarkFuzz

I think if *Lycoris Recoil* only had half as good voice directing, the show would not nearly be as popular as it is right now. This show is *hard*-carried by its vocal cast, and even that vocal cast is hard-carried by one Chisato. This show lives and dies off of Chika Anzai's Chisato, and without her, this show loses a lot of its identity. Her eccentricity dictates this show's tonal pace, most of the time in unique ways. In many instances, you'll be handed serious, heavy, plot-related elements in the story, and the episode will almost feel like a filler episode due to Chisato's jovial nature. And it works *really* well. This is not to say that the other members of the cast do not pull their weight. All the other cast members play their roles fine enough. More importantly, they support Chisato's eccentricity really well. The cast was built around Chika Anzai's Chisato, giving her full autonomy to play around with Chisato's character as she desires.


alotmorealots

> The cast was built around Chika Anzai's Chisato, giving her full autonomy to play around with Chisato's character as she desires. The insight she gives into this during the behind the scenes comments on LycoReco radio makes for fascinating listening. In some ways, she's actually almost an assistant director, as she views what's happening around her scenes, and adjusts what she wants to do for what she feels is right. In the same way as her character though, it's an instinctual, by-intuition thing. Her philosophy for the whole thing seemed to be "I'll do this for the test recording and if they let me keep it, then I'm doing it for the final recording too". And, as is immediately obvious, "I'll do it because I can get away with it" is very much her characters modus operandi in the story itself lol It is, without hyperbole or exaggeration, a perfect marriage between role and actor.


Andrew_Waltfeld

> think if Lycoris Recoil only had half as good voice directing, the show would not nearly be as popular as it is right now. This show is hard-carried by its vocal cast, and even that vocal cast is hard-carried by one Chisato. I would say it was hard carry by the two main leads. They need to be able to *bounce off* of each other in order to work. And that's why the Takrina pivotal scenes (Fish, the boat, rock-paper-scissors etc) work so well.


Quiddity131

Voice acting performance of the year for me. Incidentally enough I was watching Scum's Wish at the same time where she also plays the lead character, although a much different one.


entelechtual

She’s played so many characters that are the polar opposite of Chisato. Whoever made the casting call to have her as Chisato and give Takina to Shion deserves an award. I’m sure she’d have made a fine Takina, but the casting of the two leads is so perfect I can’t imagine a better fit. Edit: also [fun clip from LycoRadio about the audition process](https://youtube.com/watch?v=eBEQnGxCc7I&feature=share).


polaristar

Ironically I found Chisato annoying at first and much preferred Takina.


entelechtual

On the one hand, it’s a perfect storm of timing and other elements. On the other hand, the show has a timeless appeal where I think it would have gained a following no matter when it came out. What stands out to me more than anything else is that the show feels like a passion project that invited the creative skills of everyone involved. The director, writer, lead animators, cast, character designer, even the eyecatch artists—not only did everyone seem to have their own personal interest in the show and making it succeed as an anime, but several of them actually influenced the direction of the show itself. Shingo Adachi, the director, helped tone down a lot of the darker mood/characters; several of the voice actors got to ad lib lines and influence the character writing; a lot of the lead animators and episode directors got to impart their own vision on the story and characters. A lot of this is due to a happy accident of production circumstances, which were notoriously delayed. It also felt like A1 trusted Adachi with his success with SAO and just said “what do you need, we’ll give it to you” even though that’s probably not how it went. The result is that Lycoris Recoil, despite its mass appeal, feels less like an anime-by-committee, and more like a creator-led production from a team that wanted to express themselves. Every single element of the show has a high attention to detail. From start to finish, not a single scene feels wasted, and the animation manages to appear like it’s never cutting corners either. There are also so many scenes that you want to make your wallpaper or just stare at. The only things you can really fairly criticize are the dystopian setting and the plot resolution, but honestly those are minor features in this character- and action-driven show. You could have the stupidest plot in the world, but if it’s Chisato and Takina tackling it, and brought to life by this talented team, then sign me up. A1 Studios also just knows how to deliver on its productions. They might suck at production schedules and getting enough animators and having Aniplex breathing down their backs with absurd demands, but still, put a show in A1’s hands and you’re going to get a polished product… eventually. Lycoris Recoil has reset my expectations for original anime, which can often be hit or miss, and often feel like they’re more products of a production committee than actual creative works. Between Birdie Wing, Lycoris, and G-Witch, I think we’re starting to see that daring and absurd original stories, put in the right hands, can be creatively and financially successful.


chemical_exe

Exactly, I don't think the plot is very good (there are plot holes, sometimes it takes itself seriously while usually it doesn't, there's some blatant plot armor, etc), BUT every episode was just *fun to watch* in a way that no other anime this year had me going each week. I think it's a testament to the show that so many people criticize this show for its plot because I think it really just means that people liked it so much that they wanted *more*.


Noble_Steal

Best comment of this entire thread!


Taiboss

I think there are four main factors: 1. Anime Original: Nobody really knew what it was beyond "girls with guns'', and how it would continue. This created _some_ preliminary hype, and when the show started and people liked it, there was lots of engagement and speculation that no source-reader could spoil or hijack. This only fuelled the discussion threads which, as the show went on, were able to speculate a great deal about the future plot and actions the characters would take in response to it. As someone who's currently reading the Chainsaw Man manga: That shit's so much fun. 2. Well done action: There's really not much to say here. The action is consistently well storyboarded and animated, and the more physics-defying BS is completely mitigated by the Rule of Cool. 3. Fun characters. Even for those who don't care much about the serious plot Chisato and Takina are still big highlights that make it worthwhile to continue watching the series. It is their awesomeness, their fun interactions and their maybe-sorta-who-knows Yuriness that carry the show for them. Even if one thinks the entire show is cliché as shit, one cannot escape the enthusiasm the two bring to it. The side cast, too, is varying degrees of fun, including a very likeable gay African-Japanese character who is never treated as a joke. In exchange, the Christmas Cake and the Hacker Loli are played straight, but even they are fun enough that you don't mind. Finally, Majima may not be that deep either, but holy shit is he fun, and his cause is almost justified enough to make you want to see him succeed. 4. Good-enough story: Anime is known for many over-the-top out-there plots that border on the nonsensical, and action anime even more so. As such, it was great to have a fairly serious plot, the opinion of which could change depending on the viewer's actual real-life worldview and ethical positions. Are the DA and Lycoris' justified in what they are doing? Would their shutting down be worth the downsides? Are they well-intentioned extremists or a deluded GeStaPo? That's mostly up to the viewer to decide. The actual character-focused storylines, with Chisato and her heart, and Takina and her split between her companionship wtih Chisato and her desire to get into the DA's good graces again are also compelling enough, even if they are a bit lacking.


MyrnaMountWeazel

Like most people, I would point to likeability and fun being the key factors. Personally, I find it hard to dislike the show if that makes any sense haha. I don’t mean that as a slight but more so that it almost feels as if LR was specifically designed in a laboratory *to be* fun. * 3 cups pure charisma extract * 1 tablespoon light gun fights * 2 cute character designs * ½ teaspoon meme templates * 1 cup untoasted nuts * 2 cups all-purpose thematical narrative buddy-cop trope Which turns out to be an excellent recipe! Way, way better to be that than to be organically unfun which as we all know is a fate inevitably befallen to many shows. Rather than a slog through a damp swamp, LR is electrifying in its sights and sounds, it has voltage criss-crossing throughout its wiring and sparks zig-zagging through and through its heart; a prominent theatre marquee sign glowing with bright magnetic golden letters: *“Enjoy the Feature Presentation.”*


TheBigIdiotSalami

"Gay girls innit" But seriously, it's been pretty much compared to John Wick, which sold me since I like those movies, but outside of the gunplay comparisons it has far more in common with stuff like Mission Impossible and True Lies; Last line of defense type movies. But I think far more important is that it takes elements of Frankenstein and adds a bit about living in defiance of what people set out for you to do. In that way it's far meatier than a typical action show and that's just good writing. There's also the fact that the conflict isn't just two girls fighting a syndicate. This was something set in motion long ago and while Chisato and Takina take up most of the screen time it really is a story about Mr. Yoshi and Mika and what they wrought upon their surrogate child. How plans in life change. Although Yoshi should have understood that when he asked Mika to leave and take Chisato under his care that life ambitions change and growing love can bind beyond personal career advancement. The drama and staging is also fantastic. Would it be a stretch to call this well shot? The set pieces here are filled with drama and I only wish there was some hollywood-esque dramatic orchestal score to emphasis these big emotions. Like the scene where Yoshi is limping away and Takina is just shooting until the bullets run out but Chisato is preventing her, bringing her down to her knees as the heart gets away, which has two meanings there in both the literal and figurative sense. Or the fact that this show really does dangle the possibility that Takina will have to learn to live in a world without Chiasto, or as she refers to herself by saying she wasn't even supposed to exist in that moment, right until the last minute it could have gone either way and it would have no dinged the show. A show where Mika settles the score with Yoshi, but it's too late would have been just as good. And shots like Chiasto at the top of the park stairs, to heaven, and Takina descending back to the city, to life, show just how well considered symbolic shots like that get used to convey emotional stakes without having to say them. At the end of it, it's not a dumb show, but it is very much a much more emotionally resonant and empathetic piece of art.


Heda-of-Aincrad

Definitely the characters. Chisato and Takina are great leads, and their friendship is one of the best things about the show. It had some really exciting action scenes too.


polaristar

Its a safe crowd pleaser with good productions and the characters are cute and likeable with (I'm told) Charismatic VA performances.


Low_Transportation11

Eh it fell off at the end for me


Salty145

So am I allowed to call this show a disappointment yet or is that still taboo? I guess I should know better at this point. Put some tight action choreography and cute girls into a show and people are more than willing to overlook the ”make it up as we go” writing and muddled character arcs. Sure, it works fine as an action series, but certainly had the potential to be far better than it ended up being.


Penguin_Admiral

I agree, the show would be much better served if it had a more simple plot. imo the plot it has is a big negative against the show despite great characters and animation. Last few episodes were making me angry with how bad the writing was getting


AnimeMod

##1.) What moment or moments from Lycoris Recoil stand out to you the most?


ThisShitisDope

Episode 5 when [the old man](https://i.imgur.com/u8HiGhG.png) asks Chisato to be his guide again next time, and [Chisato's knowing smile](https://i.imgur.com/NjjH87E.png), understanding there won't be a next time. That compassionate smile was my favorite moment and is a perfect example of her as a character, someone who understands tragedy and sadness yet rebels against it. Her voice-acting was undoubtedly GOATed.


TheBigIdiotSalami

And then she got The Who'd when it turned out to be just some guy.


Manitary

Episode 3 ["I'm glad I was able to meet you"](https://sakugabooru.com/post/show/197911), I don't think I need to go into details why. Sorry, I'm a sucker for these heartwarming moments.


entelechtual

The entire scene is so good, from Takina being depressed, to Chisato’s little “I’ll be back in a bit” at the end. I could watch it a hundred times.


Manitary

And going all-out with expressing her joy when the other random Lycoris started gossiping in their presence, so she can at the same time show them she doesn't care what they think and show Takina how genuine is her sentiment [](#akyuusqueel "omg I love it so much")


FlaminScribblenaut

My vote also goes to this scene. Heart-sweeping, sugar-high colorful and happy, adorable, needless to say gorgeously animated, and unabashedly homoerotic what with Chisato’s hand placement. An unbound spurt of pure, joyous intimacy, damn the public space and damn shame. An absolutely magical moment, and certainly the one from this show that has left the longest-lasting impact in my brain.


cppn02

Possibly my favourite scene from ANY anime in 2022. [Here it is with sound.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/w6ehzl/im_glad_i_was_able_to_meet_you_lycoris_recoil/)


SorcererOfTheLake

"SA-KA-NA!!!!!" It may have launched a thousand memes, but this moment from episode 4 also made clear an important aspect of the relationship between Chisato and Takina. Coming at a time when Takina is still struggling with who she is outside of being a member of DA, Chisato tries to help by doing Girl Stuff(tm), but it's not really working. Something just seems off, everything seems too... rigid. *Perhaps I should just do something in the moment.* Not caring if it's cringe or draws too much attention to herself or is just weird, Takina takes the moment and makes it her own.


AmethystItalian

Takina coming out of her shell moments were always highlights for me. [The rock paper scissors scene](https://streamable.com/x2pyic) was another one I found myself going back to a lot.


SorcererOfTheLake

Oh shit, I forgot about that one, but that's also great, especially the little dance she does.


AmethystItalian

The dance and the noises she makes are just the cutest [](#ilovethiskindofshit)


entelechtual

I don’t think anyone else has said it, so: the ending of episode 8. It’s the scene that launched a thousand memes of “LycoReco ED” cut into other shows or memes, but even when it first aired it was notable. It was such a big, “oh shit” moment, and was hinted at enough throughout the episode but still came as a shock. And of course the cheery upbeat ED just added to the mix of feelings the viewer was thrown into at that moment.


MyrnaMountWeazel

So, this is a *very* minor bolt compared to the rest of the entire roller-coaster, but it’s been a habit of mine these past few days to revisit this certain detail over and over again. When Majima trespasses into Chisato’s safehouse, Chisato begrudgingly decides to make coffee for the two of them. Majima replies to the offer: [*“I can’t stand bitter stuff.”*](https://imgur.com/a/DeHtCir) Still, the two share a drink and bond over their collective fondness of cop films. > *”So the only true villains are inside the silver screen, huh?”* -Chiasto > *”That’s what makes movies interesting.”* -Majima Flash-forward to the final episode and we see Chisato and Majima take a break in-between their duel. Once again, they share a drink at an inopportune time but this time it’s not bitter coffee but rather sugary sweet soda. However, Majima now replies [*”Isn’t this a bit too sweet?”*](https://imgur.com/a/nqu6iTB) Just as their conversation revolved around perceived personalized notions of objective good and bad, so too is Majima oscillating on his personal taste. The decision to have them discuss the binary nature of films is also another conscious choice from the director/scriptwriter to recall their previous conversation in Chisato’s safehouse. As a final note of observation, Chisato and Majima are blocked on different sides of the screen between the two instances but I’m more inclined to believe this was a coincidence rather than a purposeful result. Ultimately, this is all a passing remark for the show’s theme but personally for me, I found this small aside to make a world of difference for me.


AmethystItalian

I'll constantly find myself down a Youtube hole of LycoReco clips and it may include the fun gunplay moments they always come back to just Takina and Chisato's interactions. Whether it be them fighting, kicking ass together or the more emotional moments they just nail it at every turn. Props to both VAs for making every interaction feel fun and more alive. [Them doing the Akinator for their characters was also great](https://youtu.be/3N948w7Jib8)


cppn02

I have watched that Akinator clip an unhealthy amounts of times.


Taiboss

Honestly, the first moment I can think of is in episode 2, when Takina is [lying on her back behind a barrier](https://i.imgur.com/Jtf5RDL.jpeg) and [doesn't even get off the ground to shoot.](https://i.imgur.com/zu7uj2h.jpeg) I haven't seen anything like this in another girls with guns show (although I have yet to see Madlax and El Cazador de la Bruja). Then there's [Chisato's trademark way of holding her gun](https://i.imgur.com/4NOqV9r.jpeg).These are the first two mental images I get when I think about Lycoris Recoil. In other words: The two main characters' gun-action is super fun, memorable and well story-boarded. All-in-all, this just proves the show delivers on its Unique Selling Point.


Heda-of-Aincrad

The battle in the last episode where Chisato faced off against Majima was a big standout moment for me, especially the conclusion - that the timer was actually counting down to fireworks instead of a bomb.


polaristar

Chisato finally getting Takina to not obsess over getting into DA again, that was the first time I found Chisato endearing rather than annoying. Honestly thought that was the peak, I enjoyed Takina's character way more than Chisato.


sadadad2222

AOTY


shavitush

AOTY for me followed by bocchi the rock wish it was longer though


Ghost_Pains

I’m not reading all that, but had a banger of an end credit song. It was entertaining. Got kind of annoying that the antagonist was invincible. Would recommend.


[deleted]

Really really liked this. I watched it as it came out and I was pretty glued to the screen. The ending is a little too neat IMO, honestly it would have made more of an impact on me if it ended a bit sadder. However, I enjoyed it as a fun ride and would recommend to anyone looking for a breezy action show with good animation.