Lycoris Recoil was my favourite anime to come out from 2022. I watched it on a whim and couldn't be happier.
The story follows Takina and Chisato. They are secret agents, known as Lycoris, for the government responsible for taking down crime and hiding it from the public to maintain the public perception of a peaceful Japan. There's plenty of great gun-fu action and takes a lot of inspiration from many classic western blockbuster movies like Die hard, and John Wick. But the action isn't what makes this anime great, its the characters. The dynamic of the two main characters, Chisato and Takina, are just so heart warming and adorable. Chisato is an incredibly fun and peppy girl who loves what life can offer. She is a little odd, shes incredibly selfish, she believes that doing what you want comes first, yet all she wants to do help others, make people happy, and have fun. She's chaotic ball of energy and joy and while her choices in how she lives her life may be perplexing to others, its her choices to make, its her precious life. Takina is a stoic and pragmatic soldier who doesn't what it means to live. She is incredibly earnest, and fiercely loyal, she never understood what it would mean to be lonely until she met Chisato, the first person she'd make a real connection with. Her growth alongside her new partner Chisato is to be a wonderful journey.

The premise of the story goes as follows. Takina is part of Lycoris, a collective of orphan assassins that were raised by the government organisation, Direct Attack (DA) to dismantle crime and hide it from the public to maintain the status quo of a peaceful Japan. After a botched interception of a illegal gun deal, Takina is forced to take the blame and is demoted to a Special Division for the "problem children" of the DA. This 'Special Division' is known as Cafe Lyco Reco, spear headed by the strongest Lycoris, Chisato, whose mission l is help people in need, doing what you want, and value life, even if that life is an enemy's. They tackle missions such as, serving coffee to their loyal customers, taking care of pre-schoolers, teaching foreigners japan language courses, and protecting the public from harm. Chisato takes an instant liking to her new partner, and decides that she's going to show Takina just how fun life could be, that they are more than just weapons, and that there are things you can gain from losing something.

There's a lot of really sweet and funny moments in the anime, one of my favourite episodes centres around a shopping trip and aquarium date Chisato and Takina go on together, its hilarious and sweet, funny how some of the best moments of such an action packed show comes from the little moments from the moments of brevity that comes between the action. The story really follows a few plot threads that converge with one another, one of them being a terrorist scheme to bring chaos to Japan which is what drives a lot of story forward. Most It never gets very complex, and truthfully isn't the most interesting of plots, however, while its what propels the story forward, don't be fooled into thinking all what the story has to offer, rather watching how the characters circumstances are impacted by the conflict is what makes the story very gripping, its really hard to have fun and value life when there's a lot of terrible things happening all around you. The characters are child soldiers for an uncaring organisation and must put their lives on the line regularly. Its a very cruel and unfair world and accepting and living with problems you can't solve is tough, so how can you continue? You do what you can. There are some shocking twists and revelations that shook me, some making me tear up too. I've left out a lot of information surrounding the story because spoiling would diminish the impact of the twists, so you'll have to find out for yourself!

The supporting cast is overall very good, the rest of the Cafe Lyco Reco squad are a lot of fun and are all distinct, and the main antagonists provide a lot of nail biting tension. The anime starts a little slow and easy, with the first two episodes being about introducing the cast and their motivations, and a good helping action to go with it. Then from episode 3 is when I think most people will start to love this show, as that's when the show really begins to show its hands. So give it a try, at least 3 episodes, and most importantly, have fun! It's also worth reading the manga adaptation if you enjoyed the anime since they add some really cute extra bits unseen in the anime