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• Studios: Madhouse
• Source: Original
• Genres: Sci-Fi, Super Power
• Synopsis: “Empty classrooms, boring days. It was supposed to be a normal summer vacation just like any other. Suddenly, the school begins to drift through another dimension, and 36 boys and girls are left there, awakening to their supernatural abilities. Amidst the whirlpool of questions that come to mind one after another, survival in a supernatural world begins.” -MAL News

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First Impression:

It’s been a while since we’ve seen anything from Madhouse, who is usually the fan favorite each season. Madhouse makes an unexpected return this Summer season with an original anime no less! There’s little known about Sonny Boy but with Shingo Natsume (Director for One Punch Man) as the writer and director, we can expect a high quality show with a memorable story. Let’s dive in!

There’s this immediate sense of bewilderment and all within the first few minutes of the episode. The void that surrounds the school, the disproportionate backgrounds (not pictured), and the strange sense of calmness that the students evoke all contribute to this uncanny scenery that is slowly being shown to the us, the audience. So many questions pop in my head: Are they in a different dimension? Why doesn’t everyone have super powers? Where did the cats come from? Is the a bigger force controlling things in the background?! With such an ambiguous setting, I’m curious to see how the story will unfold!

The composition for the show is breath-taking…to say the least. The the juxtaposition of different subjects, the clear definition of fore ground and background, and of course the nice art style which reminds of the 90s anime aesthetic. I’m getting the feeling that certain elements that the show spontaneously focuses on, which at the time may seem random, have a much more meaningful purpose down the road. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

Ah yes, a character that is actually trying to process what’s happening! Though that probably means that the story may be bigger than what it already seems. Giving away hints freely like this makes it easy for us to understand but sometimes takes away the “fun” of figuring it out ourselves, but something tells me that the process of unraveling the plot will actually unveil a much more complex issue. It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a thought provoking anime!

Like I said earlier about the 90s art aesthetic, it’s probably most apparent in the backgrounds. The way they are colored almost like paint on a canvas give it a really nice aesthetics that

Animation Checkpoint!

I love this camera panning in particular because of the exaggeration of Caps stature. One of his key features is his height so keeping the viewing angle low (around his waist line) give it a more dynamic feel and really highlights just how tall he is. Pair that with the background that is constantly changing it’s horizon line to keep up with the viewing angle and you have one of the coolest animation sequences I’ve seen in a while! I we get to see much more dynamic animations like this (just not of Cap, cause he’s kind of a tool…)

Recommendation:

YES

Sonny boy will most likely fall underneath your radar, but I do think that it’ll be something worth watching. From the ambiguous story line to the unorthodox animation, there’s a lot to discover if you’re willing to take the leap!

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