REVIEW: ‘Psyren’ Episode 1 — “Urban Legend”

Psyren is the latest mystery Shonen action series, based on a 2007 manga that was basically canceled three years later. Despite this, the series received its first-ever anime adaptation almost a decade later. Psyren Episode 1 excellently engages viewers with its many unique properties, including its mystery elements, animation, narrative, and more. It showcases some of the best of the series, even as it leaves some questions unanswered.

Psyren follows pseudo-delinquent high schooler Ageha Yoshina (Rikuya Yasuda), who helps others resolve issues, mostly violently, for ten thousand yen. One night, after finishing a job and hanging out with his friends, Ageha finds a ringing phone booth and decides to answer it. He instantly sees a mysterious white figure appear and quickly disappear before him, and shortly after, he receives a red telephone card labeled “Psyren.”

Psyren Episode 1 establishes a lot without feeling rushed.

The next day at school, Ageha learns the urban legend of Psyren. It’s revealed that an occult group is obsessed with uncovering the mystery behind it and the mysterious figure known as Nemesis Q. According to the rumors, Psyren is a secret society that promises to take those tired of modern society and all its issues to a new paradise. As a result, several groups are hell-bent on getting there, and it’s revealed that people tied to Psyren often disappear mysteriously.

The first half of Psyren Episode 1 does a fantastic job establishing several aspects of the anime in quick succession without feeling rushed. It highlights Ageha and his sisters’ personalities, his background and family life, humanity’s current discontent with the world, and why people are so obsessed with Psyren.

These core aspects lay the foundation for the mystery, which only deepens as the episode raises more questions. It also highlights the anime’s excellent art direction, specifically its distinct character designs, fluid animation, and detailed backgrounds.

Amamiya tries to warn her classmates about Psyren and its end-of-the-world danger.

While the episode has no action scenes, the anime’s opening shows fluid, impeccable animation from studio Satelight, including strong choreography you can expect in future episodes. However, while detailed, the character designs aren’t very unique so far and feel quite bog-standard, likely due to the source material’s age.

Back at school, it’s revealed that Ageha’s classmate Amamiya Sakurako (Mayuko Kazama), who’s not very liked for her cold demeanor, has ties to Psyren and even once warned her classmates about its end-of-the-world danger. After helping Amamiya recover her purse from bullies, Ageha discovers that she also has the red card. He asks about it, and Ageha, panicked, demands he forget it while also sadly asking for his help after he asks if she’s in trouble.

Amamiya mysteriously disappears the next day, and to find out how to help her, he uses his card back at the phone booth where he found it. This prompts a long, mysterious interview process to determine whether Ageha is qualified to “go to Psyren.” Frustrated, Ageha ends the interview, but the next day fake police officers chase him and demand his card. While struggling to evade them, the calling card activates, and Nemesis Q transports Ageha to a mysterious world, where he reunites with Amamiya.

Psyren Episode 1 is an excellent premiere.

The last few minutes of Psyren Episode 1 answer many questions while raising new ones, adding to the anime’s engaging mystery. It raises questions like why the occult groups are so interested in Psyren, what this mysterious world is, what the death game the episode ends with entails, and its purpose. The first episode establishes these mysteries fantastically and gives viewers reasons to tune back in for future episodes.

Overall, Psyren Episode 1 is an excellent premiere that highlights the anime’s best aspects and introduces interesting mysteries that hopefully will be resolved in an equally engaging way in the coming episodes.

Psyren Episode 1 is streaming on Crunchyroll.