DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyMayonaka Punch
NOVEL ComedyMayonaka Punch

REVIEWS

• 

  RiPHopscotch

  92/100
  Farming Vampires for Content

  Having unlikable characters – honestly, having even one unlikable character – can be a death sentence for an otherwise promising series. People typically don’t want to consume media that centers around characters they loathe, and when talking about a slice of life show that relies on cast chemistry that only becomes more true. Heck, I remember a few years back I was talking to someone about a different show I was fond of, and they kept circling back around to how they felt the humor was too “mean spirited”. They didn’t really have any other critiques, because that in and of itself was a dealbreaker for them. If I had to guess, I’d say that person probably is not a big fan of Mayonaka Punch, or MayoPan for short. With the borderline-abusive “NewTuber” Masaki as the lead and a zany supporting cast of vampire girls, there isn’t a lot of wholesome sitting around a campfire and bonding going on. At the same time, the coarse character dynamics of MayoPan really worked for me, and between the comedy and the lovely visuals I came away pleasantly surprised that, yet again, another P.A. Works original had charmed its way into my heart.

  The series opens with Masaki as an about-to-be-ex member of a fairly successfully NewTube channel. After tensions rose during a livestream and her fist went flying into another person’s face, enough was enough and the other members of the channel decided to drop her. She subsequently proceeds to do herself zero favors and continues to dig her hole deeper, complete with the classic “apology video”. After everything is said and done, Masaki is left alone and bitter, doing little more than spiral into self-loathing and doubt while trying to cope with some alcohol.

  *That's just a juice box, right? Right???*

  A quick cut and the audience is introduced to Live, a vampire who immediately manages to set herself on fire by rolling into the sunlight. This drags her out of her 20 year-long slumber, and her friend/subordinate Ichiko comes to catch her up on what she missed. While showing her NewTube, Live sees a thumbnail with Masaki in it, becomes obsessed with her, and starts trying to track her down. The two end up meeting (mostly) coincidentally at an abandoned hospital, and after the initial confusion around Live being a vampire is resolved, they strike a deal. Live will star in videos for Masaki’s new channel, and in return will be allowed to “make a meal out of” her once they hit the goal of one million subscribers. Thus, the eponymously named “Mayonaka Punch” NewTube channel is born, reinforced by two more vampires, Fu and Tokage, as well as Ichiko. As the channel grows and grows the girls continue to overcome each hurdle they are presented with. However, for the vast majority of the show the only character with experience in front of the camera is left behind it.

  *Masaki's very own Vietnam flashback*

  For many, Masaki will make or break MayoPan. Even putting aside her violent tendencies for a little bit, she is extremely self-interested, generally controlling, and overall comes across as someone with a terrible personality. So then, why does Masaki work? What makes her a good character?

  The answer is multifaceted. The biggest thing is that Masaki works well as a comedic catalyst. While a lot of what she does isn’t directly funny, her selfish actions and the terrible choices she makes (or has made previously) cause funny things to happen. Her visit home in episode nine is a phenomenal example of this; over the course of the episode, the MayoPan members step in and pretend to be Masaki for a “home visit”, including pretending that her little sister is, in fact, their sister. What makes this repeated bit work for an entire episode is partially seeing the weird things the MayoPan members do, but also seeing Masaki’s little sister continually listing off the ways in which Masaki was/still is a terrible sister for the camera. All of the stories are funny on their own, especially with the stellar deadpan delivery, but it’s really the reactions to those stories that sell the scenes and make the episode so funny.

  

  It’s also just easy to empathize with Masaki. Throughout the story, elements that make the audience understand her are sprinkled in, making sure that the scales never tip too far towards the “contemptuous” side of things. In episode one it’s shown, rather viscerally, how online hate gets to her and makes her spiral, as well as how much fun she had when she started making videos with her friends and how she cherished those relationships. While showing the relationships gives fuel for the viewers to imagine how Masaki could have gotten to this point, the online hate getting to Masaki is what becomes a recurring theme throughout the narrative; even though she is suffering because of her own actions, the way the trolling is presented helps the audience understand what she’s feeling in the moment. An even better example of balancing Masaki between sympathetic and contemptuous could be episode four, when she massively oversteps in pursuit of a video opportunity, and subsequently gets called out for only caring about the video production. Despite it being true she was too focused on the content creation and neglected her friend’s feelings, Masaki’s overstepping led to a genuinely touching moment and some amazing development for Fu, with the whole ordeal also showing Masaki is capable of introspection and learning. Moments like this, scattered throughout MayoPan, help show that she isn’t an Eric Cartman knock-off, but that there is something a little more complex brewing beneath the surface.

  

  On the topic of surfaces, MayoPan’s is absolutely gorgeous. The palette is primarily pastel colors, which are not only somewhat unique and immediately eye-catching, but serve to make the show feel livelier while simultaneously working in both well-lit interior and darker exterior shots. The characters are not only incredibly expressive, with faces really being used to sell the comedy, but the character designs are also phenomenal, with the eyes tying everything together. They stand out against the more muted palette and are always bringing the attention back to the faces. The background art is solid, the weight of impacts is portrayed quite well (important in a show where there is a surprising amount of high-speed movement and crashing into things), and the way NewTube comments and livestream chats are seamlessly integrated with the rest of what’s happening couldn’t be done better. Some of those things are less about the visual design and more about the direction, but either way MayoPan is an absolute treat to watch.

  

  The sound design and voice acting are also solid. Generally speaking the sound effects are spot on, which is important given how much variety in settings there is in the show. With that being said, the voice acting really stands out, which is sorely needed because the comedy relies so heavily on the delivery. Hina Youmiya as Fu also has one of the best character songs in recent memory, and on a more personal note I thought it was hilarious that Ikumi Hasegawa voiced Masaki – my brain hearing Kita from Bocchi the Rock! when Masaki was getting drunk really made me laugh. With that being said, the OST did leave something to be desired. Both the OP and ED were great, tonally perfect and fun, with really great animated sequences to boot. However, the actual soundtrack of the show was, at times, dull. There are several times where the audience is shown a montage of the girls filming various shots, however those sequences feel boring because the cut has the most generic beat, bordering on elevator music, playing over it.

  *Kita??? What happened???*

  Before wrapping up its worth it to (very) quickly compare MayoPan to one other show, Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai (Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night). At a glance, these are somewhat similar: 2024 anime originals about creatives making something, with a lot of care put on making catchy, eye-popping visuals. Both shows also have leading characters who were kicked out of groups for violence, and both characters have to deal with the aftermath of their actions. However, while MayoPan manages to stick the landing, Jellyfish struggles, and feels like it left a lot of potential to be great on the table. So why is that? In a word, vision. Jellyfish wavered between drama, romance, and idol show, never really finding its identity and leaving shaky pacing and messy characters in its wake. Too many voices, too many ideas, too many things going on that it could never hope to wrap up neatly in 12 episodes. MayoPan, however, never really wavered from comedy/slice of life, knew where the characters were going to end up, knew what they wanted to leave the audience with, and then worked to get there. At the end of the day, MayoPan’s consistency in so many ways – in terms of narrative, characterization, and even visuals – is the reason for the success of such a goofy, silly show.

  

  In spite of that overall success, MayoPan isn’t perfect. There are issues I had with some things even besides the OST, and despite the ending of the show being everything it needed to be and then some, I think an episode 13 could have been useful to help flesh out one more member of the supporting cast. So, even though I loved MayoPan, I do still want to know what that person I talked to about “mean-spirited” humor would say about the show. I think I have an idea as to how they’d feel, and what they’d say, and I doubt they’d be alone in having those opinions. After all, who would watch content centered around someone they loathe? And how could people be okay with being a terrible person in the pursuit of content? While MayoPan does actually answer both of those questions, my answer is to the second one is a little simpler: sometimes you just gotta do it for the vine.

  *Why be nice when you can be this pretty?*
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• 

  dabage

  85/100
  This GIRL makes videos with VAMPIRES?? *NOT CLICKBAIT*

  From the Dead of Night: A Mayonaka Punch Review.

  

  ---

  Mayonaka Punch is unique; and that might be an understatement. If I told you the one sentence summary was "Vampires make videos with a cancelled YouTuber to reach 1 million subs", you might think I was taking the piss here. Despite that, MayoPan delivered a fun, emotional story that won't pull punches (pun intended) with it's lovely visuals and diverse cast of characters. Yet again, P.A. Works has pulled off another great anime original.

  The series centers around Masaki Sonoue, a recently cancelled "NewTuber" (this world's version of a YouTuber) after she punched her friend and co-member of a successful NewTube channel on a livestream. Forced out, Masaki will need to establish her own channel to achieve her longtime goal of reaching one million subscribers. Unfortunately, the backlash from her scandalous departure has led to Masaki becoming depressed, and frightened to ever show her face on camera again. However, in the dead of night in an abandoned hospital, she meets Live, a vampire that has recently awakened from a 20 year slumber, after dreaming of sucking the blood of a girl that looks like our main character. In this fateful, confusing meeting Live strikes a deal with Masaki: She will appear in videos on Masaki's NewTube channel, and in return she wants to "suck her out" once the channel reaches one million subscribers. From there, the channel "Mayonaka Punch" is born, and would soon be joined by Ichiko, Fu, and Tokage, longtime vampire friends of Live. Despite this new windfall of luck, Masaki is still terrified of being in front of a camera, and becomes a producer behind the camera as the group of vampires (and human) face the obstacles of video content creation.

  ---

  _Masaki has a damn good right hook._

  At the beginning and for much of the show, Masaki is a terrible person: being a self-centered, greedy, and erratic individual that at times overworks her vampire co-members for the sake of views and subscribers. Despite these shortcomings, it's hard to not show empathy for Masaki. Her confidence is shattered from the constant online hate she receives, and while she is at times rude to the vampire group, she's well intended and only wishes success for both them and the NewTube channel. MayoPan sets up her character from the beginning as a journey to learn from her mistakes, and ironically become more human learning from the experiences she has with her vampire co-members. Throughout the show we learn more about Masaki and her life through bits and pieces, and makes for some touching moments between Masaki and the various vampire characters. Her selfish actions and blunders, along with the clueless group of vampires makes for a funny dynamic, that never ends up being too annoying or random. I applaud this show for making the most interesting character in MayoPan the only human of the group that never shows her face on camera, despite the vampires being the main stars of the fictional "Mayonaka Punch" channel. It's a shame though that while MayoPan valiantly tries and somewhat succeeds to fit its story in 12 episodes, I do think the show needed a bit more time to fully develop its characters and story, and with the trend of P.A. Works doing "one and done" series, I think we won't see any new movie or season that would be very much welcomed for this anime.

  ---

  What should instantly stand out to people about Mayonaka Punch is how colorful the show is. The use of a pastel palette, in contrast to how vampires are usually portrayed as dark and gloomy makes for a unique and lively style. The characters are very expressive throughout, using faces and actions to drive comedic points, once again never going too overboard or random with it's funny moments. The show also has some surprisingly good action scenes, showcasing some punchy (pun also intended) animations. While it's overall visual design is nothing to write about, several aspects of its direction make for a great watching experience. What also stood out to me was MayoPan's fantastic voice acting and voice direction. Ikumi Hasegawa, previously of Kita fame in Bocchi the Rock!, does an excellent job as Masaki with her extensive voice range. But the seiyuu that truly stood out was Ai Fairouz voicing Live, in arguably one of the best voice acting roles I've heard. She perfectly sells Live as a character, and I was often left impressed by her acting performance throughout the show. MayoPan's OP and ED are fantastic in both their unique ways. The opening sequence is a complete love letter to YouTube culture and videos, with eyecatching visuals, a catchy song and hilarious references to mukbang or Japanese foil balls. The ending sequence is beautifully animated and has a peaceful vibe, complement by a great vocal performance from Ikumi Hasegawa.

  _hilarious Bob Ross reference here_.

  ---

  MayoPan isn't perfect, and while I think it needed more time to develop, I still thoroughly enjoyed the ride this show gave with its ridiculous premise. P.A. Works set out to create 3 anime originals this season, and while I think they mostly failed to meet expectations with Sakuna and Narenare, Mayonaka Punch was a surprisingly great show that ended up flying under the radar this season. After all, content creation is hard whether you're an anime studio or a YouTube channel: but being unique can go a long way in making something truly special.

  _Mayonaka Punch!_
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• 

  Icy0

  80/100
  Vampires,Influencers and a surprising gem of an anime.

  

  At the end of a personally disappointing season of anime Mayonaka Punch was an admittedly surprising little gem, I initially brushed this off, seeing the concept as uninteresting with its elements being weirdly disconnected from each other. After giving the show a shot, I was shocked at how it gripped me instantly, becoming one of the few shows this season that I'd make an effort to watch as soon as each new episode was released.

  The show features an ensemble cast but manages to keep each character unique, being given their own time to shine and justify their inclusion, each one makes a lasting impression,they are all unhinged in their own special way. Masaki in particular was a pleasant surprise, she's terrible and I love her. Masaki is a unique character that we don't see too often in anime like this, she's vane,egotistical and narcissistic, and honestly down right horrible in some scenes, you can tell deep down she's a good person but its undeniably entertaining to see her act like a bastard and eventually learn and work through her issues. She’s honestly a gem of character and an archetype we arent lucky enough to see in comedies like these or in anime in general, atleast not done well, but she’s done phenomenally perfect for the comedic scenes and the many more human and down to earth scenes there are, atleast and human and down to earth as a show about influencers and vampires can get.

  

  Visually the show is a treat, the art style is vibrant and downright beautiful. The various expressions and experimental styles the show uses really make it worth checking out for the visuals alone, with many shots and drawing that make me want to rewatch it already just to see them again. I can definitely see myself coming back to this one just to try and mimic the expressions of some of these characters in my own drawings. The few action sequences the show has are surprisingly energetic and punchy, characters move and express themselves in a way that feels human or at times bubbly and cartoony and the best way possible. It really does want to wow you, punches are powerful with weight and strong impactful sounds, city scapes are colourful and ever expanding and just simple still shots of these characters interacting are enough to make you smile.

  
  

  This one thats definitely worth checking out trust me, I was initially put off by the concept and the overall disappointment I had with other shows at the time that I almost missed out on this gem.
  -Also the opening,”Gimi Gimi” , and ending ,“Henshuten”, are great, and I think the contrast between them speaks volumes about the two tones that this show has,

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