The Lost Village First Impressions

The Lost Village wastes no time introducing us to the plot. Thirty young men and women, looking for a new start, ride a tour bus to a hidden village known as Nanaki Village. Rumored not to exist on maps, people run away to Nanaki Village to create brand new lives, free from the rules and constraints of modern society. Not even the police can find this village. The ISG has found it, with the help of a “certain individual”.

The amount of characters introduced before the opening credits is overwhelming.

Mikage Yura - Works in trading company, declares “I guess you can call me an elite”. He’s meant to inherit his father’s company, get married, and have children, but he's there because treading the beaten path was not appealing. I don’t find him appealing.

Jigoku no Gouka - “Life is all about survival! That's just a fact, and it's not going to change!”

Soy Latte - Hold on, did she just say “Soy Latte”? Okay… She’s looking for a fresh start in a new place, and hopes to find her path.

Toriyasu - I have no idea what this guy is even talking about. He’s excitable.

Yottsun - Life in shambles. Threads snapped. Now he's all alone. He's a soulful rapper.

Wankoro Mochi - Doesn't have long to live, wants to do something interesting. I sense this one may be dangerous.

Hyokutsu no Judgeness - A dramatic one. Made peace with the world being shitty.

Narna - Aw. She's cute. Dried up from Tokyo desert. Has vitamins and candy and will share.

Jack - Creepy? Doesn't have anything to say.

Dozaemon - Wants to get out of hum-drum “Dozaemon” lifestyle. He also wants candies.

Yuuna - She ran into sexual harassment and bullying at work. Wants to create a world where women can live truly meaningful lives as human beings.

She's then interrupted by a girl who is also Yuuna, by online nickname. Original Yuuna insists she's been Yuuna for six years. Another girl stands, saying seniority shouldn't allow her the name. She’s also Yuuna.

The tour guide then settles the matter for them, deeming them Yuuna, Yuune, and Yunno.

Toshiboy - Doesn't think he ever was who he truly is. Well he’s gonna go all in from now, so we should be ready.

Manbe and his destined wife Pittan - a Romeo and Juliet story, they're here because their parents would never let them be together. She wants kids. Is this meant to be hilarious because it is.

Nanko - a famous PI.

Maimai - dealing with friends and stuff has gotten annoying lately. She wants to go all out somewhere new!

Puuko - She wants to be Eve in this genesis story. She's on the lookout for potential Adams. Boys get excited.

Nyanta - Gun lover. Wants to be able to shoot her guns without people getting mad at her. Shes gonna shoot everything up from now on! Who let this chick through the screening process?

Mitsumune - Most likely our protagonist.

Speedstar - Perhaps one punch man has ruined me, but already I can't take this guy seriously. Speedstar? Why. Mitsumune calls him “Hayato” later, so perhaps that’s actually his name. He's intrigued by this village.

Nettaiya - Possibly on relaxers. She's here to get away from a stubborn stalker, or at least, she guesses. Okay.

Lion - Pronounced “lee-ohn”? She looks like our Rei Ayanami stock character of the show, but with a bit more creepy sprinkled in.

Varukana - This guy is intense, likes to yell. Immediately calls out the people there for fluff reasons, and let's them know it's not so easy to turn over a new leaf and start over. He's gonna make sure things stay under control. No one is impressed.

Pink Goddess (Yamauchi) - No longer taking care of his parents, he’s kind of a shell of his former self. He just wants to live a carefree life.

Masaki - Nice to meet you! She’s cute, but later we discover rather strange.

Lovepon - She joined to protect her identity. She’s intense.

The opening song is a pleasant choice. I like that the opening reminds you of who’s who, though at a speed that might not be as much help without repeat viewings, it’s still nice. I enjoy the style of it, and it’s fun to watch. Mitsumune definitely seems to be our main dude, with Masaki as the main lady. Speedstar seems to be the lancer to Mitsumune’s hero. We will have to see if that’s how it actually plays out.

The rest of the episode spans the time it takes to make the trip there. We spend most of the episode in the bus, but luckily, not all of it. The episode is concerned with getting you familiar with the mass amount of characters.

Both Mitsumune and Speedstar don’t seem to be what they portray. Mitsumune, while happy-go-lucky, appears to have a darkness to him. Speedstar looks serious and cold at first, but gives off a certain innocence. While Mitsumune is looking forward to this adventure, Speedstar only came to prove it a ruse.

And then we have Masaki. She’s a strange one, but Mitsumune has still taken a liking towards her. Possibly crazy, though her crazy seems to be harmless. I have no doubt we’ll uncover hidden depths with this one as well. I’m not sure what to make of her yet, but she’s cute.

We see a bit of Maimai. She gave the impression before that she might like Mitsumune, but later tells Puuko that she feels quite the opposite. Maimai sounds like trouble. What little we’ve seen of Mikage, he seems like… well, an unpleasant and annoying person. Lion comes off as a bit creepy, throwing out ominous statements such as “I hope we don’t end up cannibalizing each other”. Interesting. She also gives us possible foreshadowing that Mitsumune is the one to watch out for.

The dream sequence in the episode really spices things up. These scenes must tell us something, but it’s hard to tell what this anime plans to throw at us. I really enjoyed these scenes, as it injected a bit of surprise into the episode, while giving enforcing the underlying creepy tone of the otherwise quiet episode.

I really don’t understand the bus driver storyline. This guy has some issues. He starts driving erratically, terrifying our cast, and says “Then let’s just all happily die together in an accident!”. Jack stands up to monologue his hatred for adults, and attacks him. The chaos ends with Masaki throwing vomiting on the driver. THEN THEY START APOLOGIZING TO HIM?

DO YOU ALL HAVE AMNESIA HE WAS JUST HEAVILY IMPLYING HE PLANNED ON TAKING YOU ALL WITH HIM MURDER/SUICIDE STYLE.

Okay. I guess.

After this, we are joined by a young girl named Koharun. She approaches the group by singing a very creepy nursery rhyme about Nanaki Village. She seems pleasant otherwise. Koharun is apparently our “certain individual” that told this company of the village’s location. We also learn that she’s never used foundation a day in her life, something she seems to be proud of. Is this plot relevant? Only time will tell.

We are left with the bus driving across the bridge that leads to Nanaki Village. This bridge seems very obvious and not hidden at all, but what do I know.

The episode did what it could, having to shove a lot for us to wrap our minds around. I enjoyed it, though more for the potential of what will come. The animation is well done, the style is aesthetically pleasing, and the voice acting sounds great. I’m looking forward to having some light shed on what this show is really about.

This of course, is just my opinion. Tell me what you thought of it!

#LostVillage #Anime #Review