First things first, I don’t really care what the guy’s name is. Since I started out by calling him Thor, I’m just going to stick with that. If this was actually a show worth caring about, I’d try to get his name right. But it’s not so that’s that.
— Anyway, when we last left off, Thor was highly uncomfortable about the fact that he would have to room with Julie. Well, right from the very start of this week’s episode, our hero is dismayed to find that his Duo partner has sneaked into his bed yet again. But of course, sharing a bed with a pretty girl is the last thing that any teenage boy would want.
— I’ve mentioned this before, but most shows can at least get the food right. Hell, even the bad shows can get the food right. Absolute Duo, on the other hand, is not one of those shows. Blech.
— It’s time to introduce some more characters, so our Duo shares a meal with another Duo. For some reason, Tomoe can’t help but comment on the fact that the hero eats nothing but meat. I guess that’s her schtick or something. Honestly, there’s nothing appealing whatsoever about a complete stranger walking up to you, then criticizing your diet. But this is a harem anime, so I guess the harem lead needs someone to mother him.
— The anime does this thing where if any of the female characters so much as move even a finger, their breasts will quiver. And of course, the anime always has to let you know about each and every single quiver. That’s just good storytelling.
— The other girl’s schtick is even worse than Tomoe’s schtick. So far, she’s only known for the fact that she’s cripplingly shy, and that she has giant breasts. Characterization!
— Anyway, Tomoe would like to discuss the fact that a boy and a girl are sharing a room with each other. This is not a particularly hard topic to talk about, but that’s because we’re in the real world and shit. In anime world, the girls can barely choke the words out. And just look at Thor. He’s actually deeply ashamed or something. Out of all of the anime that we’ve seen this season, he has to be the most pathetic lead yet.
— Eventually, Julie unknowingly implies that she and the harem lead are having sex, so Tomoe now thinks that Thor is a pervert. Well, that’s just par for the course.
— Back in class, the Playboy bunny disguised as a teacher is really just infodumping on us about how the magic in this universe works, but the show tries to dress it up as something really silly and wacky. How? With moments like these. Unfortunately, this scene still ends up being incredibly boring. We also learn that Julie is bad at writing Japanese, and… no, it’s still incredibly boring.
— Later, we’re in a P.E. class, I guess, and Tomoe has finally heard from Julie that she has it all wrong: Thor would faint if he ever had sex. Nevertheless, Tomoe feels the need to prostrate embarrasingly:
Very embarrassingly:
Maybe she’s been watching Cross Ange, and she decided to take some points from Tusk. Not to be outdone, Thor has some tricks of his own:
But of course, he thinks that this is totally inappropriate.
— Later, Thor and his buddy Tora watches as Julie and Tomoe do a bit of sparring. Apparently, both girls can fight. Thor then proudly announces his intention to duo it up with Tora. Just look at the excitement on the hero’s face. He’s just dying to get with a dude.
— Tora responds by uke’ing it up for a moment, but he’s not going to concede the top bunk to Thor just yet.
— Yep, that’s some impressive sparring out there, boys. And the girls should know best.
— Later that night, Julie sneaks into Thor’s bed again, then cries out for her papa. Yeesh. Plus, do these people not get cold or something? Where are all the damn blankets?
— Somehow, we get a montage even though it’s just the second episode. We also see that nobody really likes Julie. Oh man, I really feel for her. Nevertheless, Thor is confident that she’ll Duo it up with Tomoe, so he’s free to buddy it up with Tora. He somehow doesn’t notice that Tora seems a bit apprehensive about a potential partnership between the two of them.
— On the day that you’re supposed to announce or sign up your Duo, however, Thor learns that Tomoe will naturally Duo with her best friend, i.e. the girl known only for her big boobs. Oh no! What about Julie!
— He goes looking for her, but he can’t find her somewhere. All of a sudden, he hears a bell ring… from up there?! Are you serious? Do you have the hearing of a bat or something?
— Long story short, Thor and Julie form a partnership yet again, and the moment is full of corny shit that I don’t want to recap. And later, they sleep in the same bed yet again ’cause why not.
— Outside, we see the Playboy Bunny be all sinister and shit. Aaaaand end episode. Exciting developments, boys. Very exciting.
Moe Sucks 
wow! the food looks like crap.
I’m inclined to think that’s not how clothes work.
Unless there’s like pockets for her boobs or something.
As if the people who animate these things have any concept of physics, clothing, or body possibilities, from having spent time around actual breasts. Ha!
Breast pockets are all the rage these days
Only on Playboy bunny suits
As a reader of this dinky LN, I don’t care how you call the harem lead, Thor is technically correct anyway, also as usual, there’s a bunch of differences between the LN and this adaptation, for example Tora was very pissed with Thor’s change of mind at last minute, here he don’t mind, he even encourages him to form a Duo with Julie.
“Outside, we see the Playboy Bunny be all sinister and shit.”
That never happened in the LN, cuz that was supposed to be a twist later on, oh well, in the end I don’t mind what they do with this shit, it’s just another cliche run of the mill LN/anime.
Not related to your post at all, E Minor, sorry! I have a friend who says you’re a feminist. Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Real feminists put their lives on the line for actual causes like combating sex trafficking. Sure, I believe everyone should have equal treatment, rights, and what have you, but sitting on my ass and mocking sexist cartoons does not and should not make me a feminist.
This deserves to be sentenced to the harem hill, unless you are not running that feature this season.
It’s gone.
Having two healthy teenagers of the opposite sex bunk together for the entirety of their school lives? Seriously?
That kind of thing would fall apart, and quickly, if the guys involved were anything other than stand-ins for insecure Japanese NEETs. The only other thing that would make sense is that this is a cynical ploy to reverse Japan’s declining birth rates.
Mein gott, the animation is horrible. Like, seriously.
I’m more happy than sad now, knowing you’ve done away with Harem Hill. I personally would get actually physically sick from having to watch a show like this und 4 or 5 more similar shows in one sitting.
In any case, the read-up was entertaining as always. Keep up the great work!
Today I learned that sometimes in art, bigger breast can work if your legs are longer.
“Just look at the excitement on the hero’s face. He’s just dying to get with a dude.”
I consider this support for my destined gay dragon theory.
Just why do LN writers feel like they have to pair combat with harem elements? Do they think that combining them will magically pop out a superior product? Have we seen an example of a show combining the two do well in either? Nope, I certainly haven’t.
What we have is a run-of-the-mill magic story with a danger that I couldn’t care less about, and harem antics that are copy and pasted from a harem genre manual.
So what about splitting them up? Do I have any faith in these LN writers to craft an epic struggle against Saurons and Vaders? Nope. Does going full-retard shounen really count? Making that stand out from Naruto, Bleach or One Piece takes more skill than what I can give to writers.
What about a wholesome tits and ass orgy of the harem genre by itself? Nope. Regular schoolgirls piling themselves onto the harem lead? I’m half-asleep already. Better add in some of that supernatural stuff to “keep it fresh”, like succubi and vampire ladies.
And the anime-isms really hurt:
Japanese gym clothes in NOT-Japan. Nah, we just really want to show off girls in impossible bloomers. Bloomers transcend realities and worlds.
Why not make sexy versions of gym clothes that fit with the world and environment? What? That requires work? Aight fine then.
Obligatory beta guy friend. For once, can we just have this guy just be “normal”? Like why does Tora have to be a dweeb with shitty hair and old-man glasses? The writer went a little overboard in making him BETA as fuck. He’s never going to see a vagina in his life.
I guess white/silver hair automatically marks you as special or something?
Let’s be super edgy here and mention…. “sex”. Oh my, how risque! My pure 2D girls don’t have REAL sexual desires. Why would you tease the audience with “sex” stuff? How lewd. People only do “sex” stuff when they’re older, not in high school! It’s as if puberty isn’t a real thing.
What’s the target audience here? 90%+ of the viewers already know what porn and hentai is, so why even bother waving out this tame shit? This isn’t pre-50’s where a woman showing off her ankle is hardcore.
So far this season has proven that you can actively destroy the attractiveness of breasts. They have achieved the impossible. There are other boob types out there than hot air balloon and none, people.
Grotesque-looking Harem Anime Food is a running gag by now, jeez.
They make a cute couple.
Seems Tora is the closest thing we’ll get to a passable male friend of the main character in this harem shows during the season (and this is me giving it a bit too much credit). Makes me miss Tokyo Ravens and it’s bromance……..
Also, really? does the oath have to sound like a freaking marriage vow? specially when apparently duos compose mostly or people of the same sex. How convenient.
There trying to promote same-sex marriage in this anime.
You know that was not the author’s intention.
hrhr… You know what promotes families?
Making sure the parents do not need to spend 14+ hours a day trying to earn a meager living that barely suffices to give them a somewhat acceptable live. Expecting them to put 3 children (because you’d need 3 per pair to make any noticable +…) in addition to living in the hell you build for them?
LOL.
Always funny.
so whos tora going to have for a partner?? or does he just disappears from the anime