Cencoroll Connect

I found Cencoroll, like I assume so many others did, through Demo’s Should You Watch, and upon finishing the 25-minute short, my though was that “this is pretty good” but then I kind of forgot it existed. It’s not like it’s bad or anything, but it’s so short, and so few people ever mentioned it that I was shocked when I found out that Cencoroll 2 came out, especially considering that at the time of Demo’s video he said that the sequel was going to come out that year – that was in 2014.

The first thing you need to know about the sequel is that ... the first 25 minutes are just Cencoroll 1 again. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that. It’s literally, shot for shot, the exact same film for the first 25 minutes. You don’t have to watch Cencoroll 1 before watching this film, I would actually advise against it. This is probably why the film marketed itself as Cencoroll Connect instead of Cencoroll 2. Does that mean that this film is worse by any means, no. But it sure is a weird choice to release it that way. I guess once they finished the sequel they just figured that since the first one was so short anyway if they just add that on at the beginning they can market it as a movie instead of another short film, but if you were one of the people that had become a fan of the original during the decade between the films releases then this might come across as disappointing.

This is especially true considering how good the new content is. The screen time for Cencoroll 2 is almost double the length of the original short, meaning that you get more time to care about the new characters and their circumstances, more time to see how these new characters interact with the old ones we already care about and more time to develop intriguing but underutilised elements of the first short. Answers to questions like who even are the bad guys get answered, while still leading the viewer to want to know more information which will hopefully be answered in the announced third film. (post credit scene).

Honestly, anything else I would want to say about Cencoroll 2 can be said about the first film, which was summed up perfectly in that Demo video. If you’re still not sure about whether or not I like this film then bam

8/10

This Review is actually the script to this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R56MEUbu1h0

Check that out and subscribe to the channel if you want to see more reviews like it.

Cencoroll Connect is often advertised as a sequel to the original, but it's really a facelift of the original, and then an expansion beyond the 30-minute battle fest, ending with several new characters, a more complex plot, and new battles. I'm assuming Cencoroll 3 will be a true sequel to Connect, but this looks like it could easily (and should) get its own TV series—it could easily be the next Parasyte... or maybe a slightly grown-up Digimon (the creator worked on Digimon Adventure tri., actually).

The original Cencoroll still holds up well all these years later in terms of the visuals, but this new style ... is smoother and flows better during the animated sequence. I'm not fully sure if it's a complete upgrade without a side-by-side comparison, but the visuals in Connect are excellent, and I really can't imagine a better aesthetic to go along with the squishy designs of the alien critters and the immense scale of the battle sequences. There's no issue with skipping the original Cencoroll, though it is solid, albeit, less complete and not as refined production.

There's not much context given as to why the aliens inhabit earth or how they got there, and we don't learn too much about the motivations of any of the characters or the group investigating the aliens. As for a summary: a Huge alien goes King Kong on a building, and Tetsu is looking to have his alien, Cenco, absorb the larger alien—presumably, for the sake of becoming stronger. Along the way, Tetsu gets involved with a female classmate, Yuki, who learns of Cenco/Tetsu's secret; Shu is another experienced... alien stand user... and he becomes the antagonist. In the second half, an organization that uses aliens for combat and is investigating aliens for whatever reason are looking for Tetsu and trying to retrieve Shu. The latter being an ornery member of their team who absconded without permission with one of the aliens.

It's ultimately a pretty simple production without a whole lot to say: that's not really a slight against it, but I'd say this feels more like a glorious second pilot film to pitch the director's idea for as big of a budget as possible and to get another chance to finally complete the story he had in mind... rather than a fully fleshed out film. But what's there is charming. The archetypal characters are likable and have amusing interactions—plenty of these interactions being carried out not solely through dialogue, but instead by murky and shifting alliances, and their connection to each other through the aliens and with the aliens. There's a surprising amount of emotion on display for what is today's equivalent of the old OVA format of the 1980s-1990s.

The battles are also great and far more creative than your typical shounen. Charismatic and well-animated aliens. Lots of transforming, stretching, uh... gentle vore (it's really not done in a gross way, and the interiors serve as another battle field in some cases)... :\

There's really not a lot to say. It's just a well-made sci-fi/action anime that may or may not have added depth with its next incarnation.

The anime opens strong, interesting world and possibly an interesting MC, but the moment Yuki enters the picture, she's just the epitome of a frustrating character. Any attempts by the writers to make us like her are overshadowed by the blatant stealing she's doing without repercussions.
Putting the Yuki problem aside, the story wasn't bad, and it had a unique vibe, which helps cement itself as a solid anime. The art style is a bit more retro, which certainly fits the feeling of the show.
I would have loved to see the world and the characters without Yuki, but this is not gonna be a ... pleasant memory like this.
If you can, just watch Cencoroll (first 22 minutes), then do yourself a favour and do not watch it further.