Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- Rhyme Anima

Episode 5

After an initial tease that we might get some "plot" this episode (that's not why any of us here), Hypnosis Mic pulls a sharp left for a ghOSt StoRy starring none other than Shibuya's own Fling Posse. Now, I'll admit, Fling Posse was sitting at the bottom of my fictional anime boy rap trio list. This was mostly on behalf of Ramuda whose nasally voice I find incredibly irritating. I'm also just not a huge fan of the whole Peter Pan persona. Then there's Dice who so far seems to have no redeeming qualities and is begging for an intervention. However, my opinion on Fling Posse as a whole definitely improved in this episode for two main reasons:

1. That teaser at the beginning suggests that Ramuda's persona is a bit of a lark and there's probably more to him underneath the frivolity.

2. I underestimated the charming Gentaro and his tall tales.

Fling Posse initially seemed like a gimmick. Well, all the character personalities in Hypnosis Mic have a tinge of Eau de Gimmique, just Fling Posse's trio seemed the least cohesive and the most irritating at the same time. Gentaro talks in Ye Olde English, Dice needs a loan, and Ramuda is *~sparkles~* incarnate. This episode didn't drastically correct that evaluation but I did get a kick out of Gentaro routinely getting the other members' goats by crafting a convincing ghost StoRy.

The shenanigans start with a bet. Ramuda is scared of ghosts but refuses to admit he believes in them. Dice decides spirits are real. Whoever is proven correct gets a reward so they head out into Shibuya (typically home of one of the most chaotic Halloween Parties) to test their mettle. In the process they discover a practically abandoned live venue house that's run by an emaciated manager. Fling Posse promises to help revitalize the venue (in exchange for cash) but no one shows up because it's rumored the location is haunted. With some help from Buster Bros., the group finds out that a rival venue is using the special microphones to cause hallucinations of ghosts to run the competition out of town.

Cue "Shibuya Ghost Night" which is a better musical turn than Fling Posse's last group effort in the series opener. It's not amazing, but the Halloween theme won me over. Maybe we can get a dub version someday and I can put it in the same rotation as "Monster Mash" and "Thriller".

This episode proved that Fling Posse does have some charm keeping the group afloat, and Ramuda's voice is significantly less grating as time goes on. Either Yusuke Shirai has scaled it back a bit or I'm just getting used to it.

Rating:

Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- Rhyme Anima is currently streaming on Funimation.