Tokyo ESP

Anime Review

Tokyo ESP - Screenshot

First impressions should not be everything when it comes to judging whether or not an anime is worthwhile watching. That being said, starting off with something memorable does certainly help. When Hajime Segawa’s action manga Ga-Rei was adapted into a prequel anime (Ga-Rei-Zero), the first episodes left an impression by jumping right into the action mid-story before beginning the actual tale. Not only did the action reel me in, but I was left with an eagerness to see both beyond what was displayed and the events leading to that point. A similar approach has been taken with the adaptation of Segawa’s other manga series – Tokyo ESP – and deserves recognition for an approach which has once again reeled me into watching an entire series in one sitting.

Tokyo ESP follows Rinka Urushiba, a normal high school girl who one evening encounters a penguin flying in the sky amongst a school of glowing fish. Curious about this supernatural phenomenon, she follows them until one of the fish enters her body. The next day she wakes up by sinking through her apartment floor – having little control over her new supernatural ability to travel through inanimate surfaces. Although understandably shocked about her powers, she quickly aligns herself with her classmate, Kyoutarou Azuma, who has the ability of teleportation. While initially dragged into a few of his charitable venues as the masked hero “Crow Head”, they are slowly drawn into more serious events which emerge. The appearance of the fish serve as a catalyst for a rise in the number of what are labelled “Espers” across Tokyo, and not all are friendly… especially when a man referring to himself as “The Professor” begins making threats against Tokyo’s Governance and wider population.

First of all, it is refreshing to see a writing team work with a group of youth whose supernatural abilities aren’t over-the-top. Rather than there being a team of characters who can bend elements to their will or take out a foe with a few spells – the main cast have simpler abilities like teleportation, psychometry and limited precognition. While some might call them less useful skills at first, these are used and developed in different ways throughout the show, and are coupled well with each character’s innate abilities and personality. Things do actually get quite interesting when the characters are faced against antagonists who can utilise illusions, mind control and pyrokinesis.

Tokyo ESP - Screenshot

One initial concern I had about Tokyo ESP were the sheer number of characters featured on its DVD/Blu-ray cover artwork. For a twelve episode anime… I was left wondering if I would be inundated with characters that I would neither learn anything about or care for. Fortunately most characters on the cover were minor antagonists or side-characters, with the main and secondary cast size being more manageable in number. The characters themselves were interesting, and while some like Murasaki Edoyama and Ayumu Oozora (Both of whom align themselves with Rinka in the first few episodes) don’t receive much development, I wasn’t left feeling like they were being ignored. That being said, I would have appreciated a few additional episodes to learn more about the characters.

The actual plot of Tokyo ESP however was just average in my opinion, and really could have used more time to build the core plot, develop its characters and construct a more immersive world. While everything might feel slower and duller initially when compared against the first episode, it eventually felt like I was being rushed along the story.With no sign of a second season of the horizon yet, I am also concerned that Tokyo ESP will be another anime franchise left incomplete. This season is only an adaptation of the first manga arc, with many references in the finale linking to events which presumably take place in the second arc and beyond.

Although the design itself isn’t anything special and overall animation quality sometimes varied between scenes, I still felt that Tokyo ESP was an adequately designed anime. There were several moments which were presented with just the right degree of visual intensity, some good environments and solid character designs/animation.

Tokyo ESP - Screenshot

As with almost every anime published by Funimation Entertainment in North America, Tokyo ESP comes loaded with both the original Japanese dub and a newly commissioned English dub. While personal preference will likely be a core factor in deciding which voice-overs you will listen to, the English dub was satisfying. Sarah Wiedenhelt and Adam Dahlberg (Making what seems to be his anime VA debut) handled the roles of Rinka and Kyoutarou well enough.  Lara Woodhull also shone as Murasaki, while Morgan Berry continues to do well with younger boyish voices in her role as Ayumu. However, the true stars of Tokyo ESP in my opinion were Bryan Massey as Rindou Urushiba and Jenny Ledel as Kobushi Kurou – both of whom really got into their characters.

As this is an anime handled by Funimation, it should come as no surprise that they have included some next extra on-disc content to watch post-show. As usual, the main highlight of this assortment were the audio commentaries. The audio commentary for Episode 2 features ADR Director Tyler Walker alongside Adam Dahlberg and Sarah Wiedenheft, while the Episode 5 commentary provides insight from Walker alongside Jenny Ledel, Jeffrey Schmidt (The Professor) and Mallorie Rodak (Minami Azuma). This is in addition to smaller extras including DVD/BD Spots (Japanese), a Commercial (Japanese), textless opening/closing sequences and the US Trailer created by Funimation Entertainment. As usual, there are also trailers for other series.

Tokyo ESP’s storyline was likable enough, presented some good ideas and for the most part was enjoyable. However, it did come across as a little rushed, and I worry about the plot being left incomplete without at least a second season in the future. Outside the narrative, the series is complemented by adequate designs, a good musical score and some nice voice acting whether you opt to watch in English or Japanese.  Not the best series I have watched in recent months, but not a bad choice for those who like supernatural action shows in my opinion.

Tokyo ESP is now available for purchase in Australia and New Zealand from Madman Entertainment, and in North America from Funimation Entertainment.


A review copy of Tokyo ESP was provided by Australian anime publisher Madman Entertainment for the purpose of this review.

All imagery in this article is sourced from Tokyo ESP – ©2014 Hajime Segawa/KADOKAWA/Tokyo ESP Production Committee


Review Score

Storyline / Character Development: B-
Design: C+
Music / Voice Acting: B
Extras: A
Personal Opinion: B-

Final Score: B-

This review is currently being transitioned over to the new review system.



Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

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