Brief Synopsis
Released: Jan 11, 2022 - present
Episode Count: 5 (to date of post)
Rating: PG-13 (MyAnimeList) / TV-14 (Crunchyroll)
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll (and Netflix)
“A plague-like wind blows across the arid, sandy expanse of a post-apocalyptic Japan. As it sweeps over the living and nonliving alike, rust is all that remains in its wake. The cause of the catastrophic state of the world is believed to be mushroom spores. Bisco Akaboshi, known as the "Man-Eating Mushroom," is a wanted criminal archer whose arrows instantly grow mushrooms wherever they land. However, he is in truth a "Mushroom Protector," a person who spreads fungi in order to enrich the land and return it to its previous state.
Alongside the crab Akutagawa and young doctor Milo Nekoyanagi, Bisco ventures through the wastelands of Japan searching for the legendary "Sabikui"—a panacean mushroom said to devour all forms of rust.” (Source: MyAnimeList.net )
Chest Thoughts
This show checks a lot of boxes for me. Sci-fi? Post Apocalyptic? Desert-Punk style? Bow and Arrow fights? It's got it all and more. I randomly bumped into this anime when I was browsing around Crunchyroll looking at new shows out and coming soon. Saw the title card, read the premise, and said “let's give it the 5 ep test” (to an empty room, it was just me there.)
Quick note for those not familiar with this sort of test. A lot of anime watchers have an episode limit to see if they will continue a show, usually ranging from 3-5 episodes. If the show hasn’t grabbed them by then, well, no hard feelings but they’re moving on. My test used to be 3 eps but some Kolb hard logic got me to adopt his 5 ep test.
So here we are, it’s been 5 episodes of Sabikui Bisco as of February 7th.
Does it pass the 5-Episode test?: Yes it does!
This show is just fun y'all! I mean read the synopsis from MyAnimeList; you’re going to see a hero who rides a giant crab and shoots arrows that sprout into giant mushrooms.
It really is shaping up to be a good anime. I won’t get spoilery in this review but from episode one we meet the majority of the main characters and are introduced fairly shortly after that to a classic “going on a journey/quest” plotline, where the main characters have a bunch of mishaps, adventures, bumps, and laughs along the way.
It’s got a good cast of characters and I haven’t found anyone I particularly dislike. The dynamics work well and there's good development happening so far. The action is fun and fast with good, creative fights and very interesting world-building happening in almost every episode. The creators are definitely having fun with this one.
The only time thing I’ve had that was a slight drawback was that there's a decent amount going on so this last episode they rushed through a plot that I thought could have been developed more and would have been fun to see be a little longer. That however is probably just my personal taste.
So in conclusion, if you’re looking for a new show to check out and you like Action Anime with a Desert Punk style you will love this one. Definitely give it a look!
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