Psyren’s first episode is a solid start, even if it didn’t quite blow me away. The long-awaited anime adaptation of Toshiaki Iwashiro’s cult classic Shonen Jump manga is finally here, bringing a series that has maintained a devoted following long after its conclusion to the screen. It is nice to see a manga get this opportunity so many years later, especially one that fans have spent so long asking to see animated.
There is an interesting legacy behind it, too. Iwashiro mentored several creators who would go on to make major names for themselves, including Black Clover’s Yuki Tabata, Kaiju No. 8’s Naoya Matsumoto, and Beelzebub’s Ryuhei Tamura. Tabata worked as an assistant during Psyren, while Tamura worked on Iwashiro’s earlier series Mieru Hito. Matsumoto has specifically cited Psyren as a significant influence. Between the manga itself and the talent Iwashiro helped nurture, there is a history here that makes its belated adaptation particularly interesting.
The first episode introduces Ageha Yoshina, a high school student whose discovery of a mysterious red phone card draws him towards the urban legend of Psyren. His childhood friend Sakurako Amamiya’s disappearance gives him a personal reason to investigate, with an apparently ordinary school setting giving way to something considerably more dangerous. Without getting into the reveals, it is a setup built around unanswered questions, and there is enough mystery there to make me curious about where it is heading.
Ageha has the makings of an easy protagonist to follow. His willingness to throw a punch and his instinct to help people give him a familiar shonen combination of rough edges and a good heart. Amamiya offers an interesting contrast, with her withdrawn manner and the suggestion that something has changed from the person Ageha once knew. Neither feels fully established yet, but their shared history gives the central mystery a more personal hook. I’m interested to see their relationship developed beyond the questions surrounding her.
What stood out most to me was the decidedly late 2000s, early 2010s shonen vibe. That makes sense given the source material, but it is still an appealing quality to find in a new anime. It feels like something I would have picked up during that era and happily given a few episodes to win me over. The familiar character types and mysterious setup contribute to that feeling, and I enjoyed settling into it.
Visually, it is solid without being especially impressive. The animation isn’t anything that will blow you away, but it is effective and serves the episode well enough. The clean art style helps, giving it a nice overall presentation even without any particularly remarkable animation. I liked how it looked, although I’m keen to see whether the production can deliver more memorable moments as the story develops.
As a first episode, it does a decent job of setting the stage. I was still waiting for that extra something that would really make it stick with me, but the premise and central characters give it a foundation worth building on. My reaction was more interested than immediately hooked, which is a perfectly reasonable place for a series to leave me after one episode.
Ultimately, Psyren has earned another episode. Its history makes its arrival worth celebrating, while the first episode itself offers a welcome older shonen flavour, clean artwork, and enough intrigue to keep me watching. It hasn’t made a huge impression just yet, but it is a solid start. Now I want to see how it develops the characters and delivers on the mystery it has introduced.
Psyren is simulcast and available for streaming on Crunchyroll.
