First Impressions|Kemono Michi: Rise Up — Is…is this me…?
Haaaaalllooooooo~ It’s BAYOG’s resident hella basic Asian chick!~ It’s been a while fam! Today I’ll be talking about an anime! Woo! It’s definitely been a while since I did that!
If y’all didn’t know, we have do podcasts as well! It’s up on multiple platforms: [YouTube], [Spotify], [SoundCloud], [iTunes], and [Google Play Music]! I rarely have the time to join the podcasts, but I enjoy listening to the bros talk. The bros had an episode where they talked their first impressions on 2019 Fall anime~ So imagine my surprise when I suddenly hear Nick mention my name. He said he read about a show and immediately thought of me. I was like, “What the fuck?” 旗揚! けものみち/Hataage! Kemono Michi , or Kemono Michi: Rise Up. It was Kemono Michi: Rise Up. It’s based on the manga けものみち. I first heard the boys say something about a masked wrestler. I was like “What the fuck…? How does that sound like me…?? Why is this being deemed a Mindy Show…??” However, I heard something about a dude who gets stuck in another realm and loves animals. So I was like, I guess that sounds like me? So I gave it a try. Yeah. It’s me. It’s definitely me. Especially if you’ve been following our BAYOGsekai series. More on that in a bit. Let’s talk about the plot first.

PLOT
Meet Genzou Shibata. He’s a professional masked wrestler known as ケモナーマスク/Kemona Masuku, or Animal Mask. He has a huge hulking appearance, but he’s a softy for animals. The dude has an extreme love for animals. Like, EXTREME. However, Genzou suddenly finds that he and his puppy partner have suddenly been transported in another realm. They’ve been summoned there by the Princess. She tells Genzou that he is the strong hero she’s looking for to hunt the monsters or beasts of the land. Genzou, being the crazed animal lover that he is, knocks her out with a German suplex. Nah. Genzou refuses to be a beast hunter that would harm an animal. Nah. Bro decides he’s going to start a freakin’ pet shop.
So yeah, this series is very much me. This is also very similar to how I’ve played my character in BAYOGsekai. If you didn’t know what BAYOGsekai is? It’s BAYOG role-playing Dungeons and Dragons. We got hit by a truck, ended up in Faerun. Now I’m a happy, psychopathic, rusty axe-wielding druid who loves animals. So yeah. Go follow our adventures fam. I now see why they deemed this a Mindy show. Like as you can tell from BAYOGsekai, or though our posts and podcasts…there’s an inside joke that I’m a psychopathic axe-wielding murderer. I mean I do have a rusty axe. That’s pretty true.
PREVIOUSLY, ON EPISODE 2 OF BAYOGSEKAI
And that is how I acquired my bear-fwend, Beary~
Nick: So what do you want to do, Mindy?
Me: I want my bear friend. ʕ ᵔᴥᵔ ʔ
Nick: Describe to me, what would you like to do to obtain this bear friend?
Me: Can I cut off all their heads?
Loha: …Woooow…Holy shit…
Nick: You’re gonna initiate combat?
Me: I WANT MY BEAR FRIEND! One swipe across their necks~ ʕ •̀ ω •́ ʔ
When Minty wants a bear friend, she gonna get a bear friend.

It’s also a very well known fact that I love animals very dearly. Seriously, I love animals. [Most animals love me too]. I befriend them very quickly. I’m that friend that goes to a party, but you’ll find me in the corner playing with the cat or dog. I also go around befriending every stray cat and dog during my adventures. I love going out to see different animals too. My recent Thailand adventure had me befriend every dog and cat, but those weren’t the only animals during my adventure. There were plenty of fish, sea turtles, a baby whale shark, and even monkeys. Y’all. I was really in Faerun lol.
Seriously. I love animals. I love making animal friends~ I usually prefer animals over people too. Mostly because I’m introverted as hell, but also because animals can be so sweet and loving.

I admit that I am not as extreme as Genzou. Of course I’m also not a hulking masked wrestler. Still, we’re pretty similar lulz. I’ve played my BAYOGsekai character in a similar but more violent way. I admit when I started the show, I didn’t think it’d really be my kind of thing. I’ll be honest, the isekai genre isn’t usually my thing. Although, there’s an [occasional exception]. I’m usually into romance, supernatural, horror, comedy, and mystery kind of genres.

However, I knew I’d love this show immediately when I saw Hiroyuki, Genzou’s cute puppy. Like, look at Hiroyuki! SO FREAKIN’ ADORABLE. Like I think it wasn’t even a minute into the the episode. Still, I knew I’d stick around for this adorable pupper.

The show is also hilarious. Like homeboy really German suplexed the Princess because what he heard was, “Kill these animals for me.” Like nah. Loving animals are a bigger priority. Although, I will admit there are some moments that isn’t exactly safe for work. Nor is it exactly my kind of thing. Like fan service of very close up crotch and panty shots. A couple sexual innuendo jokes too. That’s just…not really for me… Especially when I’m watching this stuff while at work or around my family… (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

Nor am I really into bestiality(??) (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄) Like if that all that floats your boat, it’s ‘kays. It’s just not my thing (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)… Like, I love animals alot…but definitely not like that. I can still appreciate the humor though.

There is plenty of humor. I love how Genzou is able to quickly win over the beasts. It’s cute to see how he jumps in without a second thought, because he has that much faith and love in animals.
I love how he loves every animal. No matter how they look. Like that’s dedication man.
Also, I found myself thinking, “Man. That’s me, bruh.” Like I’d definitely choose befriending a pretty unicorn over a hot dude. I wanna live this dude’s life. I wanna make a bunch of animal friends. I think that’s what makes him such an enjoyable character. He’s this big strong dude who is a great fighter. Yet, he’s a softy with hella love for animals. I haven’t gotten that far into the series. It is my first impression. So I can’t really say I have much to say about the other characters yet. They can be pretty funny. Still, I haven’t really formed much of an opinion on them yet. To be honest, I was more focused on Genzou and how he befriends animals. I’ve also been hella behind on anime. I think it’s been a good…half a year or more since the last anime series I’ve watched? I’ve mostly been busy in Asian drama and movie land. Still, I think I’ll actually continue watching this series~ So are you watching this series? What do you think? Are you an animal lover, or nah? What’s your favorite animal?~

HEY! LET’S BE FRIENDS!

Wanna be friends and follow me on Instagram or Twitter?
Wanna know know where to watch/listen to BAYOG?
Wanna hang out with us in BAYOG’s Discord server?
I like to sing~ Wanna follow my covers on YouTube?
Perhaps buy your favorite Asian boba girl some boba through Ko-Fi?
I will forever appreciate your kindness (´。• ω •。`) ♡
Wanna see what kind of music I’ve been listening to lately?
Look no further! You can find all that stuff over (つ✧ω✧)つ [HERE]
Please and thank you~ (≧▽≦)/

2 Replies to “First Impressions|Kemono Michi: Rise Up — Is…is this me…?”