Genre: Drama, Adventure
Length: 13 episodes
Score: Good
Rating: 12 for fantasy violence
Tokidoki is a nice boy, a bit clueless, who needs to get better grades in history so he goes to a museum with a simulation of an ancient Japanese street (the overlaying VR goggles they wear are sweet!). But when he turns around, he finds that the street has become real, and some strange demon creature attacks him. The world he finds himself in is one with an ongoing conflict between multiple sides of humans and spirits, and several factions have an interest in him.
The premise above sounds like a boring shounen – a weak hero gradually gets stronger, lots of fights and a clear sense of who the bad guys are. Instead, the story takes an interesting direction: unique among the people of this world, Tokidoki doesn’t know which side is right. He stays physically weak, but instead uses his brain to try and see past the obvious. He annoys and worries his hosts by continuing to see the other side’s point of view. This isn’t easy, because the conflict is real and people do die.
The role Tokidoki plays is interesting. The fate of every person in the world is predetermined, providing no way out; but as a visitor from either the future or another world (it’s not quite made clear), Tokidoki has an undetermined fate – he gets called “the blank page” – and so is the one person who has the capacity to change history.
This short series is, I suspect, only the start of a much bigger story. It’s quite possible the rest will never get animated, which would be a bit annoying. There’s a lot left unresolved and the capacity for some really interesting stories.