Bubble (2022):

Bubble (2022):

“Hibiki plummets into the sea but is saved by a girl with mysterious powers.”

Hibiki belongs to a parkour team in post-apocalyptic Tokyo after Tokyo becomes filled with bubbles and cut off from the rest of the world. His team is called the Blue Blazes, or BB. They battle other teams like the Under Takers, or The Mad Lobsters in this Capture The Flag parkour sport. One day, Hibiki falls into the ocean water while playing, and swears he sees a mermaid.

This mermaid is actually a feral girl who he names Uta, with a strange secret. She acts like a cat, and has a strange attraction to vortex patterns and The Little Mermaid fairytale. Stranger still, when she hums a tune, the bubbles react to her harmony. Later, she joins the parkour team and helps them defeat a technologically advanced team, The Under Takers, by using the bubbles as stepping stones.

The Under Takers want revenge, and so kidnap Makoto, one of the team members, and challenge BB to a death match. Just then, Uta starts to come apart literally. She's made of bubbles! The team and the morticians have to come find her as the world around them is ripped apart by a vortex of angry bubbles. And soon, Hibiki discovers Uta dissolving into seafoam, just like the mermaid in the story.

Bubble is a very peculiar anime. On one hand, it's a sports drama in post-apocalyptic Tokyo. On the other it's a romantic fairytale bursting at the seams with poetry about the transitory nature of existence, and how all things return back to their source: stars, water, plants, bodies, seashells. The vortex pattern is everywhere.

In particular, I liked that Bubble had good disability representation. Hibiki is shown as having some form of audio sensitivity. But, despite this, he can hear the song of the bubbles. In addition, his friend and mentor Shin has a prosthetic leg, which plays further into the theme of the body as transitory. But, does it add up to anything? Well, I suppose it depends if you like romance. If you do, I recommend this one. For me, personally, I say give it a watch on Netflix. If not for romance, then sci-fi sports action!

RWBY: Ice Queendom (2022)

RWBY: Ice Queendom (2022):

"While Team RWBY studies to become the greatest Huntresses the world of Remnant has ever known, they are faced with a horrifying threat."

Weiss gets possessed by a nightmare Grimm that threatens her dreamworld. After recapping little bits of RWBY Vol.1-2, the story then shifts to Team RWBY trying to save Weiss from this Grimm. It's good to see RWBY finally in anime form, but I don't think it covers enough new ground. It answers the question of why Weiss suddenly gets along with the rest of her team. I like some of the new clothes.

Overall, Ice Queendom is just OK. Basically, Team RWBY was defeated by Nightmare Weiss, and they figured out their dream versions can't defeat her, so they have to figure out what she wants and enter the dream again. They're bringing Team JNPR this time. I don't know how I feel about it. Like, obviously, 90% of animes are about power vs. friendship, and I'll always love the setup of RWBY, but 1.) I kinda feel like I've seen this all before, 2.) even if you're a new RWBY fan, it doesn't work without knowledge of the main series.

I don't feel like they created enough new stuff. And the dream world thing is such a cowardly way to say "We're not sure if this is canon yet." It's literally the "It was all a dream" trope. Good to see the RWBY gang as always, but not enough new. I suppose it's just as well, since RWBY started as a Final Fantasy 8 ripoff...which is fine by me. But, enough was different that the characters became their own. Ice Queendom is stuck somewhere in the middle.

It's ok for what it is, which is a recap of the main series for Japanese audiences without committing to canon. The visuals are pretty good. If you have good snacks, you can enjoy it. But, I can't help but feel I've seen it before. If you haven't, watch it. If you have, you can probably skip it. But, it does add nice little details to the beginning of the main series.