Mayonaka Punch

Episodes 1-2

YouTube can mean many things to many people. For some, it's just a website where they go to watch videos – or else listen to videos while they do something else in another tab. For others, it's their primary source of entertainment, where they find not just news and commentary but a creative landscape distinct from traditional cinema's curated and highly-budgeted productions. It can be an oasis, a fight pit, a living hell, and often a combination of all three. More than any other web platform, it has defined modern culture and how nearly everyone interacts with the world around them. For better or worse, YouTube is a part of our collective culture, and Mayonaka Punch is firmly aware of the better and especially the worse.

Masaki is far and away the most interesting character in that regard, and I like how much of her journey mirrors the development of You- sorry, NewTube across the years. She used to be a loner who found solace in the different creators and videos she followed and made her first real friends bonding over their shared favorites, the same way teens might connect over their favorite anime or music. Through the unknowable graces of algorithmic curating, she and her former partners went from a group of friends having fun together to Professional Content Creators, with all the restrictions, expectations, and monetary concerns that entail. So much of Masaki's young life – friendships, finances, self-worth – is wrapped up in this notoriously volatile medium, and that offers fertile ground to explore through this series.

It's also broken her brain in very familiar ways to anyone who's ever watched a creator they liked have a publicly documented meltdown. That's a rough deal for Masaki, but pretty damn funny for the audience. Watching her continuously misjudge the tides of public opinion across episode one was hilarious and tragic. Regardless of whether or not she deserves it – it's still not entirely clear what led to the infamous punch – trying to bounce back after such a public meltdown is such a bad idea that you can't help but feel for Masaki as she digs herself deeper and deeper into that hole, even if she has every opportunity to put down the shovel. Even when she starts seeing success in episode two, she can't shut off the part of her brain that fixates on negative or dismissive comments. They fester in her mind's eye, a spot of black mold marring the gold-plated wall of enthusiasm for Live's vampire shenanigans.

Speaking of, Live is a much more simple character so far. She plays remarkably close to the classic "supernatural girlfriend" archetype in many romcoms, with her initial connection with Masaki being entirely transactional. Mostly, her role is to get the plot going and provide a ton of vampiric hijinks to complement Masaki's struggle for views, and in that regard, the whole colony of bloodsuckers does a great job. We're still getting introduced to the full cast, but Live's crew has already established themselves as a chaotic and rowdy bunch of losers, more than happy to adopt Masaki into their messy household. Ichiko's animated with just the right level of petulant indignity to be funny rather than annoying, and what little we've seen of Yuki as the babysitter for this batty belfry has been great so far. The full ensemble hasn't quite gelled yet, but there's a great mix of personalities, and once the vampires start crashing into the realm of online video fads, I'm confident we'll have even more laughs to look forward to.

What really hooked me, though, was when all the wackiness waned long enough for Live and Masaki to make an honest connection. As funny as her misguided online misadventures can be, Masaki genuinely wants to recapture what she lost – not the audience, but the friendships she built through being a NewTuber. Live is still thirsting hard for the other woman's blood (and possibly other bodily fluids) but she genuinely wants to know more about this new person in her life. There's just enough sincerity to offset the caustic humor, and it really clicks. If the show can keep striking that balance as it delves into the depraved depths of online fame, then we'll have something really special.

Now, if only they could change the shorthand for their channel name because mayonnaise is the devil's toe jam.

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Mayonaka Punch is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.