More is always better.
Episode 1 spoilers ahead!
Summary:
- Sasaki and Peeps is a fresh isekai series.
- The first episode was longer than usual.
- It was a great decision, and it made the viewers want to keep watching.
Sasaki and Peeps (Sasaki to Pii-chan) has just started airing, and if you haven’t seen it yet, this is your sign to do so.
The series follows a middle-aged office worker who visits a pet shop because he longs for a companion. That’s how he meets Peeps, a mysterious talking bird that gives Sasaki the ability to travel between worlds.
We all know that the first episode of a series is extremely important, and Silver Link (Sasaki and Peeps’ animation studio) seems to know this well. We recently discussed how premiering Solo Leveling with just 20 minutes wasn’t enough, and it’s just the same for Sasaki and Peeps.
The anime needs more time
Sasaki and Peeps shows a lot of interesting information in its first 20 minutes, and it seems like the main conflict is already revealed, which is Peeps coming from another world, and Sasaki being able to visit this world now, too. Still, it leaves you with “and now what?” after watching it.
This is where the second part of the episode shines, as it introduces another conflict and lets you know that there are people with supernatural abilities in the world. Moreover, there’s an organization that works on magic related cases, and this organization notices Sasaki and decides to recruit him.
Slow start
The series starts pretty slowly, and some fans admit to getting a bit bored at first, so the episode had to last longer (50 minutes instead of typical 20+) to make the viewers interested in the story.
Watching the first half of the episode, you think this is going to be another isekai with an exhausted and lonely protagonist who just wants to find happiness and his purpose in life in another world. A chill and relaxed slice-of-life series.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but some fans are getting tired of this isekai trope, so they’d naturally want to drop the series right there.
But the second half of the episode shows that Sasaki and Peeps is more than just a regular isekai, and it has plot twists and curious ideas.
That’s why it was an amazing strategy to release 50 minutes of the series instead of a small episode. It let Sasaki and Peeps shine and attracted the audience’s attention.