Tokyo ESP (Review)
Tokyo ESP Packs Plenty Of Power, but Nothing New.
Tokyo ESP is a series that ponders what might happen if superpowers suddenly appeared in mass. While the characters at the center of the story aspire to become heroes and protect the world, they soon realize that not everyone has such noble intentions. Of course, every hero needs a villain, but what happens when the villain is so far out of your league that any hope of victory seems futile?
With the likes of One Punch Man and My Hero Academia getting so much spotlight lately, I’ve started to realize just how many super hero inspired anime series there are. Tokyo ESP definitely takes a nod from the X-Men franchise, but instead of a mutant gene, the characters get their powers from odd “psychic” fish who take refuge inside people they come across and unlock amazing abilities. At the center of the story is Rinka (Sarah Wiedenheft), a girl who finds herself with the amazing ability to become intangible (much like Kitty Pryde). At first, she simply wants to ignore her powers, but when a classmate with mysterious powers (Adam Dahlberg) manages to convince her to become a hero she sets out to save the day. That is until it becomes clear that the real enemy is way too much for a high school student to take on, even one with incredible abilities.
The parallels between Tokyo ESP and X-Men borders on blatant plagiarism (though we’ll call it an homage). At least when it comes to the core concepts of the series. The good news is that this series picked one of the greatest comic book franchises of all time to take “inspiration” from. Like so many anime out there it follows high school heroes who want to try to make the world a better place. The real problems arise when they have to fight actual adults and one who is much better at gathering support for their cause (Jeffrey Schmidt). While the kids in the series are happy stopping muggers, the so-called Professor who becomes their mortal enemy seeks to change the world through acts of terrorism. The good news is that writer Hideyuki Kurata (the anime is based on the manga by Hajime Segawa) understands that battles aren’t won with moxie and it’s clear just how far out of their depth the heroes of the series are. Don’t give up hope though because, with some serious training and a lot of back up, the final battle between these forces is a sight to behold.
Tokyo ESP starts in the middle of the epic final battle between the heroes and the terrorist. In fact, the whole first episode is a part one with the second part being shown at the end of the series. In between these episodes the events that led to this confrontation are revealed to audiences. I really loved this disjointed narrative, because it reveals just enough to make some characters recognizable, but many of them are far from what they eventually become when we first meet them. Knowing what these characters eventually become makes their growth all the more compelling to watch and so many are much more capable than they reveal in the first episode. It’s because of this narrative structure that Tokyo ESP manages to avoid being just another superpowered anime series.
As fun as Tokyo ESP is though it’s far from perfect. At its core, it’s a solid series but there are too many frills that make absolutely no sense. The injection of a cute animal that serves as some sort of divine fish hunter trying to stop the spirits that give people powers borders on obnoxious. I’m a fan of penguins as much as the other guy but when you start giving them “lines” that’s a little too much to handle. There are also some odd design choices with a number of characters, including some whose eyes are either all white or all black for no apparent reason. Then there are the “quirks” given to some of the heroes. From a martial arts master wearing a panda suit to a glowing Super Saiyan-esque haircuts, it gets a little much at times. I think quirks are great for making characters more relatable and fun, but when they’re shoehorned in like a few of them in this series it ends up hurting more than helping.
With only 12 episodes, Tokyo ESP is easy to get through in a few days. The thing is that the ending is just so unsatisfying. There are questions left unanswered and nothing quite feels completely resolved for almost everyone involved in this story. However, it’s a solid series that easy to watch. It really takes time to explore a lot of the powers that the heroes have and come up with new and unique ways for them to be used, which is something I really appreciated. It’s not the best of all the superhero/psychic power anime, but it’s a good pallet cleanser to take in between heavier series.
