ANIME REVIEW | Magic & Misfortune in Silly "Acro Trip"
“Failing upwards” is a phrase that both hurts when it happens, but yet somehow leaves one in a much better situation than before. In real life, a good example of that is, say, doing a presentation, not getting the initiative passed, but impressing your boss enough to either get a promotion or a raise. It can happen in other situations, and it tends to result in more good despite of a bad outcome. In the case of Chizuko Date (Miku Ito), the main character in Acro Trip, her upwards failure comes from joining an evil organization for the purpose of seeing her favorite magical girl up close almost every day.
Well… I say Chizuko “joined” the villains, but in reality, she got pulled into it via a nasty guilt trip. Her favorite magical girl is Berry Blossom (Inori Minase), whose main nemesis is Chrome (Nobunaga Shimazaki) and the evil organization Fossa Magna. The problem with Chrome is that he’s a grade-A wussy, one who’d lose to the likes of Glass Joe from Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out in less than 20 seconds. Because of that, Berry Blossom’s popularity isn’t as strong as it could be, no matter how much video footage her familiar Mashirou (Kengo Kawanishi) submits to the newscasters showcasing her good deeds.
On top of that, Chizuko quickly discovers that her grandpa (Koichi Soma) has been housing Chrome and his Kuma Kaijin monsters in their home. Now holding that knowledge close to her, Chizuko has no choice but to deal with the utter embarrassment that is Chrome in her home. However, if it means giving Berry Blossom a push upwards towards worldwide superhero fame, then Chizuko will suck it up and join Fossa Magna. With evil backing her, she will come up with schemes in order to make her favorite hero look better in the long run.
There are a lot of shows that Acro Trip can be compared to, ranging from the brilliant-but-NSFW Gushing Over Magical Girls to the Kaiju-of-the-Week parody Miss Kuroitsu from the Monster Development Department. Where Acro Trip differs is in its win/loss record between hero and villain. Chrome and his Kuma Kaijin just can’t stop losing! Whether it’s because Berry Blossom throws a power attack or a plan just falls apart before it can even commence, the Fossa Magna minion can’t seem to get the break he needs.
For Chizuko, that’s a good thing! The more Berry Blossom wins, the more popular she becomes, so she’s happy to make it so the magical girl cranks up one victory after another. She’s a reverse Magia Baiser, taking more pleasure in seeing magical girls be victorious rather than…take way, way, way too much pleasure in making them lose. But even when Chrome and his team take their losses, she’s right there to be their source of comfort, even if she just wants to butter them up just so they can fail the next day.
As for Berry Blossom, she’s kind of forced to deal with her own day-to-day struggles. When not in magical girl mode, she’s either trying to be a normal school girl or out fishing for that night's dinner. The familiar Mashirou has his own share of struggles as well, ranging from filming and editing Berry’s adventures to having to put on events or manage her social media just to let folks know she exists. And when it’s revealed where Mashirou came from and why he’s helping Berry, it adds more hilarity to the situation!
It all goes back to the need of failure in order to find success. If Chrome defeats Berry Blossom, then there’s no more heroes for him to fight. Ergo, he’s got no more job! As such, even though he wants to win, Chrome’s failures allow him to have his villainy career for another day. The same goes for Berry Blossom, who gets to stay a magical girl if she doesn’t put Chrome in prison. And in the background is Chizuko, who does all she can to make both hero and villain look good so her favorite magical girl can reach worldwide popularity.
That synergy between hero and villain helps makes Acro Trip a fun watch. Chrome needs Chizuko to make his schemes more elaborate; Chizuko needs Berry Blossom so her days can be filled with sunshine and rainbows; and Berry needs Chrome so her reputation can skyrocket. All three will never admit how much they need one another, even though in some DC and Marvel series, there are some heroes and villains who exist just to be each other’s foil! And it’s this aspect that makes Acro Trip not just enjoyable, but also endearing.
Much of that endearment comes off strongly thanks to the voice cast. Ito revels in being both a magical girl fangirl and reluctant villain as Chizuko, delivering one solid punchline after another. Shimazaki balances poor schmuck with over-the-top villainy as Chrome, making him a very likable antagonist you want to root for. Minase gets the cuteness down pat as Berry Blossom, whereas Kawanishi brings humorous frustration as Mashirou. A special mention should go to Yuji Kameyama, whose performance as the Kuma Kaijin is as hilarious as one can be just by saying the word “bear” in different ways.
This is Voil’s first anime production, and for their first time it’s pretty good. The colors are nice, and they know how to draw cute characters. However, with it being their first-time in the anime big leagues, there are some animation bits that are very choppy in comparison to most other magical girl anime. With that being said, it’s a solid first time, and I’m interested to see where they go from there.
Electronica group Technoboys Pulcraft Green-Fund (Magical Circle Guru Guru), who this year celebrate their 30th anniversary, helm the soundtrack with mixed results. The battle songs are very good, but when the time to slow down hits, the music doesn’t do much to punch up the humor and irony of the characters’ various situations. Minase takes control of the opening theme “Fragum”, which is a solid magical girl theme that would feel at home with any Pretty Cure series. However, the real fun music can be found in KanoeRana’s end theme “Reversible Baby”, which captures the chaos and silly mayhem that occurs when villains are getting a plan underway.
Acro Trip may not be the prettiest anime of the Fall 2024 season, but it’s definitely one of the most fun to watch. The concept of failure for success plays strongly in this show, and it results in some big laughs and plenty of sympathy for our villains. Whether you are a good guy or a bad guy, it takes a lot of work and necessary obstacles to keep one’s job intact. As Acro Trip shows, the job of both hero or villain will always be open to those who agree to keep the success/failure balance in status quo!
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Acro Trip can be viewed on Crunchyroll, and has been licensed by Crunchyroll. Episodes 1-8 were observed for review. Promotional consideration provided by Crunchyroll.
