Episode 1 of Sonny Boy received an exclusive sneak peek on Funimation’s YouTube channel, giving fans a chance to watch the entire episode before its release on July 15th, 2021.
Shingo Natsume (One Punch Man) directed the anime and wrote the original script. Studio MADHOUSE is producing the series, and Sonny Boy is their only anime airing in the Summer 2021 season. The art style is different from the typical anime style, but it works well with the story. Do keep in mind most of the episode takes place inside the school, so probably didn’t get to see the best of it. The animation has interesting perspectives and angles that complement the setting.
Since the Sonny Boy story is an original work, we didn’t have a lot of information to go on by. On a seemingly normal August day, a group of high schoolers somehow gets teleported into a mysterious dimension. Although their school building is also there, it seems like this phenomenon didn’t affect their teachers or other school employees. Upon arriving, they start getting superpowers. Some of them can control electricity, some can manipulate sound and space, while others have seemingly no powers.
This soon devolves into a Lord of the Flies situation. While the school is getting destroyed by superpower accidents, the Student Council decides to do something. They end up holding a vote, to elect a leader – a popular baseball player who goes by Cap. However, Cap is merely a puppet, seeing as the true mastermind behind this system is another student – Hoshi. Hoshi seems to know more about how the mysterious dimension works. He is also is quite skilled at manipulating others. But, not everyone is on board with his ideas, which leads to more problems, especially with Asakaze.
Our main character, Nagara is one of the students that have no superpowers. He spends his days lazing around and hanging out with Nozomi, who is a recent transfer student. Nozoki is different from most of her classmates. She doesn’t own a smartphone and acts like a rebel. Nozomi also seems to have an idea about how the dimension they’re in works, but she’s staying quiet about it.
The total number of students in the school is 36. Some are them will likely play more important roles in the future, but during the first episode, there was simply no time to introduce them all. One such character is definitely Mizuho, the cat lover who stays by herself most of the time. We actually saw her a few times in this episode, but she never interacts with others.
The end of the first episode of Sonny Boy reveals a whole new world. The dark nothingness is gone, and students face a new world. This new world is filled with lush greens, a sea, and a mountain island. Furthermore, it seems like the superpowers are somehow connected to the world itself. Anyone can make up rules and enforce them. Few of the students definitely seem to understand that.
Then there’s also Nagara, seemingly a completely ordinary student. One of the things that stick out in this episode is his exchange with Nozomi. She asks if he wants to be somewhere else, moments before the change happens. He may not be aware of it himself, but there is a high possibility that he is somehow responsible for the situation they’re in.
The first episode of Sonny Boy definitely sets the stage for the rest of the season. Although we didn’t get to learn a lot about the mysterious dimension the characters are in, the episode dropped some pretty big clues. It will be interesting to see how the story develops and what actually lies behind these events. Given that the characters are already clashing, this might evolve into some kind of Battle-Royale survival story, especially since they are now on an island.
The anime begins airing on July 15th, 2021, but you can watch the first episode on Funimation’s YouTube channel for a limited time.
All images via legal streams
©Sonny Boy committee