For our second (and likely final) Spring 2025 premiere review compilation, I’ll be taking a look at the introductions to Apocalypse Hotel, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof, and Mono.
Click here for the Week 1 premiere reviews. The Mono Episode 1 review will be coming along a little later. Update: The Mono premiere’s review has been added.
Apocalypse Hotel
Episodes watched: 1
Storyboards by: Kana Shundo
Episode direction by: Chengzhi Liao
Humanity has been driven off the Earth’s surface by a pandemic. Still, the robotic custodians of the Gingarou Hotel continue to keep the building up and running in the best condition possible, even as time claims their neighbouring surroundings and their own colleagues. Their routine has persisted for ages without any reward, yet the committed, human-looking “acting acting manager” Yachiyo retains faith that mankind will return one day and walk through Gingarou’s doors.
Apocalypse Hotel blends wistfulness and joy. You can see it in the background art (under the direction of Kohei Honda). It has that familiar reclaimed-by-nature look of many urban post-apocalyptic settings, which evokes the inexorable onslaught of time, but also a literal brightness that lends it an air of optimism and positive beauty.
The first episode shows us how Yachiyo and her comrades have toiled away in service of a hope that seems vain, with the majority having succumbed to time’s passage, but it also makes us laugh with its overzealous and accident-prone doorman and Yachiyo’s meticulousness. The second half delivers a strong burst of energy as a missing shampoo hat sends the usually composed Yachiyo into panicked overdrive. Also humorous, albeit in a darker manner, is the opening section’s contrast as it alternates between the scenes of the escalating pandemic and an advertisement of the Gingarou Hotel’s glistening facilities and functions.
Apocalypse Hotel’s premiere didn’t leave me with especially strong feelings, but it’s got charm and solid execution. Coupled with the appearance of a surprising visitor at the end, I have no qualms with extending my stay at Gingarou past the first episode.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
Episodes watched: 1
Storyboards by: Kazuya Tsurumaki
Episode direction by: Kazuya Tsurumaki
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX feels like two concepts smashed into each other. One involves illegal mobile suit prize-fighting — more mentioned than shown at this point — and the other an alternate version of the Universal Century where Zeon emerged victorious over the Earth Federation (though Char has gone missing). As of the first episode, the show’s precise identity feels a little nebulous, and the quick pace of the first episode adds to the blurry perception.
Despite this, what the premiere shows was just enough to keep me interested. The primary characters only have light introductions at the moment, but the sight of main protagonist Amate Yuzuriha nonchalantly head-standing on a jumping board with her schoolmates and teacher’s confused voices in the background, or running across the length of a Zaku arm without hesitation to leap into the cockpit of another, more viable mobile suit, allows the strength of her character to blast out of the screen.
Similarly, the episode doesn’t dive too deeply into Side 6 space colony, but seeing military police Zakus terrorizing a refugee residential section, up-close and as distant figures wreathed in orange smoke, easily adds weight to lines about the attitude towards refugees.
Mobile Suit Gundam GquuuuuuX’s premiere is visually pleasing, particularly the night scenes with their mix of heavy shadows and intense coloured light. I also derived pleasure from some of the character posing, like the depiction of Amate’s extended fingers as she pinches a suspicious item with just her thumb and index finger, or Amate’s almost sassy triumphant posture as she towers (by standing on a prop) over diffident co-protagonist Nyaan, a refugee who works as an illegal courier.
Speaking of Amate, even though Take’s character design for her feels like it’s one or two features shy of strong memorability, our protagonist still generates screen presence due to her face being such a perfect receptacle for the annoyed eyes she wears several times, as well as the height difference between her and Nyaan. Depending on the writing and events of future episodes, Amate, who’s shown to have some dissatisfaction about being stuck on a space colony, could easily be my favourite protagonist of the season.
A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof
Episodes watched: 1
Storyboards by: Yukihiro Miyamoto and Kazuya Shiotsuki
Unit direction by: Yukihiro Miyamoto
A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof’s premiere is the funniest anime episode I’ve watched, and I think there are two, non-mutually-exclusive reasons for that. One, its brand of humor speaks to the pitch darkness of my soul perfectly well. Two, the episode is crafted with expert pacing that delivers the jokes with the speed and precision of a master assassin’s dagger.
Much of the humor comes from the sudden and casual delivery of the punchline, which often manifests as violence. When the unfortunate, inadvertent runaway ninja Satoko Kusagakure passes out, there’s barely time to absorb the sight of her silly face before the cold-as-ice high school assassin Konoha Koga starts slapping her back into consciousness. Later, Satoko faces another ninja in a scene that’s lavished with playfully springy character movement and lively action animation, only for Konoha to kill the attacker in a one-second flash of red that leaves the flamboyant antagonist in a simple face-down pose.
However, another reason why A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof’s premiere works is that it’s not a one-trick pony. Often, the episode has Satoko’s face melting into a hapless but not over-exaggerated blob when faced with a troubled situation. Sometimes, it recalls Bocchi the Rock!’s gift for visual absurdity, like when it conveys Satoko’s blank reaction towards Konoha’s explanation of the assassin world by rendering her as childish chalk drawing, or when it utilizes frantic live-action footage, overlaid with other images, to drive home the gonzo nature of the spoken lines.
One of my favourite jokes is more low-key: when Konoha explains that she is terrible at cleaning up her kills, the storyboards show an overflowing rubbish bin, rows of trash cans, and an air conditioning unit (with the fan section being the focus). It may simply be referencing the dirtiness and inelegance of Konoha’s body disposal, but I’d like to think that it directly implies her “tools” for hiding just one body. No wonder Satoko’s ability to cleanly turn things into leaves is a blessing for the assassin.
I knew that A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof had promise after watching its main trailer, but I didn’t expect it to win me over so easily. I can’t wait for our unlikely duo to return next week.
Mono
Episodes watched: 1
Storyboards by: Ryota Aikei and Naoya Morotomi
Unit direction by: Ryota Aikei, Naoya Morotomi, and Yuki Nakagami
Mono is this season’s “slice-of-life-with-a-strong-animation-punch” title. Right off the bat, we’re treated to displays of gratifying walking animation, spirited movements, and more subtle and “grounded” motions. The animation remains a highlight until the end, and pairs with the cute and deformable character designs to create a visually enjoyable experience.
The show is also pretty funny — jokes include a cat repeatedly swatting away one main character’s hand while others converse and another main character being a chaotic, disastrous driver. My favourite is a section that focuses on how protagonist Satsuki Amamiya, as a member of the photography club, only snaps pictures of her senior snapping pictures.
However, I’ll need a few more episodes to get a proper feel for Mono’s premise and determine if it’s for me. I liked the early bits where Satsuki loses her drive after the aforementioned senior graduates and receives encouragement from her friend, An Kiriyama, but I’m more neutral about the main story having a manga artist who wants to use Satsuki and An Kiriyama as inspiration. It makes the premise feel a little unfocused, even though the episode does ultimately center around a 360-degree camera, and I’m not sure what I ought to be looking forward to in future episodes.
Mono’s animation production studio, Soigne, is a pretty young company (it was formed in 2023) whose other released works are short-form content like VSPO!’s “Hikaru Nara” cover video and Nadekomonogatari’s opening. It’s heartening to see its first TV anime series getting off to a strong start (let’s hope it stays that way), and given how its next long-form project has names like Kou Yoshinari and Yusuke Matsuo (Encouragement of Climb character designer) attached, I’m looking to seeing how things will turn out for the fledging studio.
