What starts out as a reverse-isekai setup — a mage from another world reincarnates into a Java sparrow in a pet shop in modern Japan — quickly becomes a secret battle between fantasy-based magic users and science fiction supernatural psychics. The Japanese version of the thematic Everyman becomes caught between these forces: The downtrodden salaryman. This is Sasaki and Peeps, featuring designs from artist Kantoku, the story of an odd friendship between an overworked, middle-aged office worker and his precious little pet bird.
At Kadokawa’s panel event at Anime NYC 2023, some of the main cast and the producer hosted a screening of the Sasaki and Peeps’s promotional trailer and the first half of its premiere episode. Many anime programs displayed the first two episodes at the convention for their January premieres, but Sasaki and Peeps made some news. We did not have a premiere date when J-List last covered this show, only giving a vague timeframe within 2024. So, then we knew that the sci-fi fantasy show would air during the Winter 2024 season. But the producers only showed the first half of a double episode! We also lacked how animation studio Silver Link would adapt Kantoku’s character designs from the light novel source material. Check it out!
Sasaki and Peeps — Technological Japan vs. Magical Worlds
The premise behind Sasaki and Peeps has been less novel recently in the anime world. Outbreak Company, GATE, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too, and Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement featured stories of traveling back and forth between parallel worlds. Saving 80,000 Gold and Outbreak Company focus more on getting wealthy by selling goods and services to the fantasy world. Outbreak Company was the isekai version of “Cool Japan,” while Saving 80,000 Gold mined gold through adventuring. GATE was the politico-military version of Outbreak Company with harem waifus. Meanwhile, Cheat Skill in Another World was a pure power fantasy of bringing riches and good looks back to Japan from the other world. Sasaki and Peeps is on solid ground following these past anime shows as Sasaki earns money and learns magic in P-chan’s parallel world.
Sasaki is like the Everyman hero, Itami, in GATE. Regular older guys who don’t get much credit should be relied upon because they can still achieve remarkable things! The wish fulfillment for recognition and gratitude hits you differently the older you get. The power fantasy of getting revenge on bullies and instantly becoming strong and good-looking becomes cringe-inducing, which is the energy behind Cheat Skill in Another World. We saw the same premise behind Fruit of Evolution before it became a slapstick harem comedy. I still enjoyed the smelly armpit jokes and female gorilla love story played for laughs.
The difference between GATE and Sasaki and Peeps is the sci-fi vs. fantasy element. One story only has a Japan Self-Defense Forces recruitment poster, while the other has paranormal power users. A secretive agency hunts them down. Sasaki and Peeps is a Men in Black mashup with an isekai medieval fantasy world.
Kantoku’s Art Comes to Life Again
We love Kantoku at J-List. He makes you want to cuddle the women he draws with big foreheads and bigger eyes. Sasaki and Peeps will have fun female characters to root for. We highlighted two of them in our last post. The producers introduced two more girls to watch at Anime NYC: noblewoman Elsa and Magical Pink. I can’t wait to see how Sasaki reacts to a mahou shoujo in the other world.
Sasaki and Peeps (佐々木とピーちゃん, Sasaki to P-chan) will stream on Crunchyroll this January 2024 in Japanese audio and multiple language subtitles.
Will you be watching Sasaki and Peeps? Are you a fan of Kantoku’s character designs? Which girl do you want to see the most? Let us know in the comments below or online on Facebook, Twitter, or Discord.
2024 is fast approaching, so if you want Kantoku’s art on your wall as you watch Sasaki and Peeps, you better hurry! Pick up Kantoku’s calendar soon so you can receive it before Christmas.
Source: Anime News Network
