First Impressions: Banana Fish, Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro, Satsuriku no Tenshi

Banana Fish Episode 1

During the Vietnam War, US soldier Griffin starts shooting his own squadron before he is stopped by his friend, Max. Griffin collapses and utters the words "banana fish." In New York City, young gang leader Ash Lynx encounters a dying man who gives him a mysterious substance and an address before uttering his last words "banana fish." The next day, Ash goes to visit Dino, the mafia boss with whom Ash has a complicated past. Dino figures out that Ash has the substance and knows about "banana fish" and sets about stopping Ash from finding out more. Meanwhile a Japanese photojournalist, Shunichi Ibe, and his assistant, Eiji Okumura, arrive in New York to do a magazine piece of the local gangs. This brings them right up Ash's alley, whom they interview. Unfortunately, Ash's rival, Arthur, in connivance with Marvin, Dino's right-hand man, chooses this moment to attack Ash. They go after Skip, an African-American kid who is a member of Ash's gang, but end up kidnapping both Skip and Eiji.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Okay. The premise of a 17-year-old gang leader acting like a li'l shit around a Mafia boss is a bit preposterous. But I'll let that slide. I am drawn in by the good visuals and the series' brand. It's supposed to be really good, but the plot isn't really doing it for me. I mean, I'm no stranger to gangster media and the stories there were so intricate, Banana Fish seems tralala in contrast, but like I said, I'll give this a try. This is supposed to have queer content so I'm there for that. 

Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro Episode 1

Chio-chan has been up all night, playing a game of assassins. This causes her to wake up late and then to fall asleep outside the house on her way out for school. This in turn leads to her running late for school. She doesn't want to be late as her school tends to shame late-comers by making them line up with the school's delinquents. But Chio-chan has an idea: if she can just take the usual route to school, she can still make it before first class. Unfortunately, the road is closed due to construction going on. In a stroke of brilliance, Chio-chan applies what she learned from her videogames and climbs up a pole onto a neighbor's roof and takes the "high" way -- literally. After several close calls, involving an old man brushing his teeth and a snob in an armani suit, Chio-chan just barely makes it to class. The next day, Chio-chan decides to leave for school early, only to encounter Hisokawa, a popular girl in school. Chio-chan gets social anxiety and accidentally dives head first into a pile of garbage to avoid being embarrassed by greeting back Hisokawa by mistake. She and Hisokawa end up walking together to school anyway, with Chio-chan agonizing over what to say. When Hisokawa's friends show up, Chio-chan takes this chance to disappear to a nearby bathroom where she waits until Hisokawa and friends leave. But when she comes out, Hisokawa is still there waiting for her, forcing Chio-chan to accept that Hisokawa is truly a nice person.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
My god that was hard to summarize. I enjoyed this anime. The opening sequence made me laugh out loud and Chio-chan's antics are truly hilarious. I absolutely do not regret watching this show.

Satsuriku no Tenshi Episode 1

Rachel is a patient in a hospital, being treated by a doctor named Danny. She wakes up to find herself alone and unable to remember anything but that she was being treated in a hospital. When she steps out of the room she was in, she finds that she wasn't in a hospital. She soon finds a room with a typewriter, which starts typing questions for her to answer. After she answers all the questions, a door opens, which leads to an elevator. Rachel gets on and a voice through the PA system announces that a sacrifice has been made. The elevator goes up and stops at Basement Level 6. Rachel gets off and starts walking around. She soon finds out that she's not alone on that floor as a man, covered in bandages and carrying a large scythe, starts chasing her. Rachel gets back on the elevator and moves up to Basement Level 5. Here, she encounters Dr. Danny who appears normal at first before progressively becoming creepy as he keeps referencing Rachel's beautiful eyes. It soon becomes apparent that this Dr. Danny is unhinged. He harasses Rachel and tells her that her parents are in hell. This causes Rachel to go into a shocked state, which delights Dr. Danny, remarking on her eyes once more. He is interrupted however by the masked man who stabs him with his scythe. The masked man then tries to attack Rachel but is disappointed to find that she is not even moving. The voice on the PA system announces that a resident from B6 has just killed another resident from B5 and that he must be turned into a sacrifice. The masked man takes no heed of this and tries to use the elevator. Rachel soon recovers and follows the man to the elevator.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Is this about MPD? Sure seems like it. I don't know if I like. Maybe I'll give this a 3-episode try?