Lycoris Recoil | First Impressions

Overall I’d say that Lycoris Recoil has been one of those anime I’ve come to really enjoy and I’ve only watched three episodes. The concept itself seems straightforward. The story takes place in Japan where we have girls known as ‘Lycoris’ (individuals who were orphaned at a young age) taken in by the DA and trained up to be the keepers of peace for the country.

Now we don’t know much about the ‘Lycoris’ or the reason real reason why they’re a thing. All we know is that these girls are trained assassins and go on missions to route out evil within the country. Something I would love to see as the episodes go on is more of an origin story pertaining to the Lycoris. Why did they come to be? Why do they consist of orphaned girls? Why must their identities stay hidden? All valid answers, all of which hope get answered in the coming episodes.

For me, what has made Lycoris Recoil worth while has been its characters because they’re very interesting individuals. I say interesting because they’re the exact opposites of one another. Chisato and Takina have been characters that I’ve quickly grown fond of simply because of how different they are (as previously mention), Takina is the quiet person. She’s the one who does what she’s told to do, the model student if you will. Then you have Chisato who is neither one of those things. But she is something that every other Lycoris is not, she is the strongest and most skilled Lycoris and it isn’t even close.

I found that to be pretty cool because of how subtle it is, Chisato doesn’t boast about how well trained and skilled she is. Chisato just shows it during missions, which I love. She made everything seem so easy and effortless, almost as if Chisato is floating. Her ability to predict where the trajectory of a bullet(s) is going and to avoid it before it hits her is actually one of the coolest thing I’ve seen so far.

What I’m very more impressed about has been the character progression that has already taken place. We have Takina, someone who disobeyed orders to save a comrade which ultimately meant she was kicked out of the DA as a result. When you’re an orphaned child taken in by the DA trained up and grew up under the organization. To then have the rug pulled under you because you chose to save your comrade when the DA chose to standby and wait. Sounds like a very rough time. Takina basically had her whole being ripped from her because the DA is all she’s ever known.

Enter Chisato who had the same upbringing and who shared many of the same feelings Takina felt. The only difference being, Chisato saw something far greater than being a slave to the DA. She understood that there are far better ways at keeping the peace than just being an assassin following orders and it starts with the smaller things in life. Personally I love that. Three episodes into the anime, Chisato helps Takina realize that. While Takina lost something very important to her, she gained something even more important and more valuable and that is her friendship with Chisato.

I’m very much looking forward to the next mission Chisato and Takina will be heading on. I mean, we were also already introduced to who could be the main antagonist in Mr. Yoshi so it cannot be long until we see some real action.