A number of people have criticized the current Fall season of anime for having too many cliched shows, too many moe shows, and most important of all, for having no giant robot shows at all. “Where are the good anime that’s meant for us?” they might lament. Well, Trapeze is here to tell you that it’s different from the rest, but to some it might be a little too different.

Whereas Kaiba was the kind of highly artistic anime which could still attract viewers with a strong plot, relatable and interesting characters, and a visual style which, while unusual, is still clean and pleasing to the eye overall, Trapeze (or “Kuuchuu Buranko”) has none of those “concessions,” and just straight up presents itself as a bit of a nonsense show, even if it actually isn’t. Don’t be fooled by that cute blond in all the promotional images, this is not a show about a kid who loves to dress silly.

You might ask, “Why would anyone watch it, if it’s got not much of a plot, no good characters, and is ugly?” Well, that’s the reason Trapeze might not be for you the anime fan, whether you’re the type of fan who is looking for sweeping narrative and grandiose storytelling, or you’re the type of fan who mainly cares about the characters themselves. In fact, it’s kind of hard to actually call it an “anime” at all. Now, you can be an anime fan and still like Trapeze and quite a bit, but you’ll have to be aware of the likely possibility that you’re not gonna like it as you would most shows.

The way I would describe Trapeze would be 1/3 Shinbo Akiyuki (director of Zetsubou Sensei and Hidamari Sketch), 1/3 Yuasa Masaaki (director of Kaiba and Kemonozume), and 1/3 Tom Snyder (creator of Home Movies and Dr. Katz). Does that make it a good show? Honestly, my opinion is still up in the air after only one episode. What I will say though is that while I enjoyed the first episode, it’s the kind of show that probably wouldn’t be good to marathon. It’s kind of an intentionally abrasive show, and I don’t know how many people could handle that. It’s like eating corned beef hash; tastes great, but eat a little too much a little too often and you suddenly start to get sick of it.