Masamune-Kun's Revenge Episodes 1-2 (Review)
By: Mithrandiel[yasr_multiset setid=11] As a former fat kid, Makabe Masamune was tormented mercilessly by his classmates. A particularly traumatizing encounter with Adagaki Aki, otherwise known as the "Cruel Princess", completely demolished his self esteem and devastated him for years. Now, having changed his last name and undergone a dramatic transformation into a handsome high school student, Makabe plans on having the girl who broke his heart fall in love with him so he can return the favor ten-fold!
Masamune Kun's Revenge starts off well: within the first minute you get a feel for Makabe's character as he revels in his "final form", exchanging banter with his sister as he refuses her offer of junk food. The story is admittedly shallow, but that's kind of the point: while you're rooting for Adagaki to get her comeuppance for her cruel treatment of others, you don't really see Makabe as a shining beacon of justice.
Episode 1 introduces us to Makabe and Adagaki, with one of the highlights including a stinging rejection that Adagaki delivers to a fellow classmate in front of the entire student body. Detailing his love of fanfiction in which he writes himself in as a gender-swapped character, Adagaki takes great pleasure in assigning demeaning nicknames to her suitors and enemies alike.However, Makabe discovers soon enough that the cruel princess is not infallible. After stumbling across her eating lunch with her personal attendant in an abandoned storage shed, Makabe notices that Adagaki eats quite a bit of food in an effort to keep her stomach from grumbling.
Using this newfound social capital, Makabe grows closer to Adagaki, furthering his goal of capturing her heart only to shatter it into a million pieces.
While Makabe seems to be making steady progress, episode 2 shows that Adagaki isn't going down easily. After agreeing to exchange email addresses (apparently a pretty big deal when it comes to budding relationships) Adagaki sends Makabe on a wild-goose chase throughout the classroom before having him rush to the window with her final message.
With this latest rejection, is it back to square one? We'll find out in a few days...Overall, Masamune Kun's Revenge is certainly an excellent title to add to your regular lineup - particularly if you're looking for some quality comedy this season. The animation is crisp, the OP is one of my favorites so far this season, and the story, while shallow, still holds together much better than the chaotic comedy styling of Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto and similar series.You can catch new episodes of Masamune Kun Thursdays on Crunchyroll!
