English Dub Review: Conception “I Want You to Have My Child”

Come together. Right now. Over you.

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

As Itsuki and Mahiru mentally prepare to get it on like a couple of Lannisters, a Star Child pops into existence. Yes, it seems that despite Mana’s constant unwarranted insistence, the “Love Ritual” does not involve sex, but rather a deep emotional connection in order to do its work. As such, we have Virgo, the first of many Star Children who will be spawned solely for battle and then discarded like scrap. Yeah, doesn’t sound so “loving” now, does it.

After we get a look at the OP (which is made up entirely of clips from this and last episode to show just how cheap this production is), Itsuki go to meet the other Star Maidens at a high school because of course, it’s a high school. One of them, Ruka the Maiden of Cancer, is being coached by Mana to put Itsuki in stock dating sim moments while also coaching Itsuki to charm the maidens in some attempt at being meta. You don’t get points for mocking tropes when you’re just as derivative. Yet Ruka seems reluctant to do the ritual with him even though her world’s survival depends on it and she’s going to look like a real asshole if she’s the only one who didn’t add to the army.

Anyway, after a handful of scenes forming a plywood bridge between their hearts, Itsuki convinces Ruka to do the ritual with him, producing Cancer (not the disease, we’re not that lucky). With two down, Itsuki decides it’s time to take a crack at the labyrinth again…and they get their collective asses handed to them. Guess it’s back to the not-fucking board.

OUR TAKE

You know, if you look at an anime (or really any piece of media) as a meal, stuff like story, characters, character arcs, pacing, and the like would probably be considered the more crucial and nutritional components that people trying to prioritize good things that go into their body (or in this case their mind). In this metaphor, fanservice is a condiment, similar to stuff like meta jokes or one-liners. It’s certainly possible to eat them on their own, and a bolder chef may be able to make a surprisingly fresh take with those ingredients like Kill la Kill or the first Deadpool movie, but more often than not, you’re just going to be eating the equivalent of five pounds of ketchup. Conception is that for fanservice, made almost entirely of a substance that is mainly meant to be used to heighten the flavor of an actual meal.

It was certainly appreciated seeing Itsuki have to seduce a girl who he wasn’t related to this week, but Ruka is practically the diet version of Diet Tsundere, meaning her moments of trying to cutely hide her feelings are wafer thin, and the point at which she decides to do the ritual is devoid of any real development on either or Itsuki’s part. No surprise, since making these children is kind of an obligation, but even the lowest of expectations for this premise made me think that reaching an emotional connection would require more than him just saying “hey, my first kid is lonely, I’d like another one”. Not to mention Cancer doesn’t even get a scene to show up like Virgo, meaning the staff may, in fact, care less about this show than I do.

Adding on the fact that so many scenes were either “hey this is a scene from a menu in the game” or the constant dead-eyed stares from characters, and this is looking to be a real slog of a series. And don’t get me started on what that “promise from ten years ago” Itsuki made to Mahiru is, because five bucks say it’s that he promised to marry her. So, get those “Dating Sim Bingo” cards ready, because you might win. Though it seems even they want to hurry things up because next week we get two love rituals for the price of one. Honestly, as an actual cancer survivor, I’d rather go back into chemo.