ohhhh my goddd i wanted to like this one but i hated it so much by the end.
i watched tengoku daimakyou because i heard someone say that it was an anime that explored gender and identity really well. and that sounds sick! by episode 4 i was thinking alright they could maybe be a little less weird and sexualizing about that one main character but whatever im sure they'll explore this character's identity in an interesting way right?
no!!! tengoku daimakyou features a guy whose mind has been transferred somehow into his sister (who he had a crush on or something for some reason) after and accident that killed one of them and injured the other, and it opens the door for really interesting explorations of how something like that could affect you. imagine living in a body that doesn't match how you feel! imagine others seeing you in a way that's incongruent with how you identify! wow i cant imagine what thats like, i hope the anime will explore it!! does the anime explore that? not really. everyone genders the character like a girl throughout the entire show and it doesnt seem to bother him too much. the character's complex identity hardly comes up beyond short scenes and jokes, except for at the very end where there's like a fucked up rape scene. it feels like this scene is supposed to be a huge climactic moment for the main character's identity issues, but when you haven't addressed those issues beyond jokes for the past 10 episodes, it feels dishonest. instead of a meaningful exploration of the character, it feels like an excuse for a shocking moment with a "wow thats so deep" cover.
there's also like an entire other plot and like, that one is also interesting! but it feels like they forget about the interesting core concept of like, the idea that human sexuality and romance is universal and would happen even in a society where it's actively hidden from you, and get lost in scifi nonsense that says nothing interesting. give me scifi nonsense that says something interesting dammit!!!
its just. there were so many interesting doors that were opened that they just barely even peeked inside of. maybe the manga gets better, and maybe an eventual season 2 would redeem it, but this was like the most disappointing season 1 of an anime ive ever watched. and a season 2 isnt even confirmed anyway!