It’s that time of the week again.
The Klutzy Class Monitor and the Girl with the Short Skirt Ep. 4
Togo meets the rest of Poem’s family, and they all have silly names related to the literary arts, i.e. Lyric and Rhyme. I don’t recall the mother’s name, though. Maybe since she married into the family, her name is normal. Anyway, that is about all that I find interesting with this episode. Even the rap battle isn’t very impressive. Neither Togo nor his opponent has particularly good flow.
As an aside, people like Togo are weird, because I don’t think they truly understand right from wrong. Rather, they just have a fetish for following the rules. If the rules arbitrarily changed one day, I bet you Togo’s convictions would immediately change right along with them.
Farming Life in Another Season S2 Ep. 4
The entire episode is about a martial arts’ competition that the village is holding. The open tournament ends in a tie. Meanwhile, a spider takes the warrior tournament, because nobody can seemingly counter its webs. If I didn’t have two tall cups of coffee earlier tonight, I’d probably be asleep right about now.
LIAR GAME Ep. 4
The specifics of the plot, i.e. the strategy and tactics for winning every round, aren’t of particular interest to me. I’m sure Akiyama will cook his way to victory every time. Rather, what I’m more interested in is 1) why does this contest even exist, and 2) why does Akiyama care so much about what happens to Nao? Unfortunately, the first question is a dead end. The masked men simply tell the participants that they’re looking for the Liar King. Why? ‘Cause good liars are very valuable or whatever. I highly doubt this is the real truth, though. There’s some other reason for these Liar Games, and they just don’t want to tell us yet. Fine, keep your secrets.
As for my second question, one possible and simple answer is that he simply feels sorry for her, but that wouldn’t be very interesting, now would it? For me to keep watching this show, I need these characters to have compelling motivations. For example, right now, Nao is just helpless. She thinks for a bit, freaks out, thinks for a bit, freaks out. Rinse and repeat. It’s getting a bit monotonous.
MARRIAGETOXIN Ep. 4
This week, Hikaru gets to know Shiori, who stands to inherit a… party supply company? Her aunt is gunning for her life over party supplies? Is their market cap really that large? Sheesh, so much for blood being thicker than water. Point is, Shiori needs a top-notch bodyguard like Hikaru to protect her. But there’s something weird going on with her assassin. The guy can seemingly mind-control the people around him, and he’s already gotten to her relatives.
Moving right along, Shiori’s defining characterisitic is that she’s painfully shy. At a drinking party, she clams up when anyone tries to speak to her, so she always ends up making no friends. To help her break the ice at a drinking party, however, Hikaru shows off a very bizarre party trick. He should really, really never do that again.
Shiori would eventually get over her fear of talking to people by donning a costume and performing magic tricks. Usually, that would make people feel even more self-conscious, but maybe she really likes mahou shoujo anime or whatever.
Honestly, I would still prefer the story to stick to one girl (or guy). This should have been a romance between Hikaru and Mei, but Kyoko would’ve been fine too. But instead of getting to know either Mei or Kyoko on a deeper level, we’re diluting our attention with Shiori. She seems perfectly nice, but we already know that as soon as Hikaru solves her problem, he’s going to jump to yet another girl. How can you form meaningful bonds with anyone if you keep having these shallow encounters?
I Want to End This Love Game Ep. 3
This is why you don’t get dating tips from shoujo manga. I’ll give Yukiya credit for not showing up to his date with Miku in casual wear. I’m talking about the look you see nowadays in almost every romance series. The male protagonist will have a fanny pack strapped across his chest, then call it a day. Yukiya still has a bag, but at least he also put on a blazer. Unfortunately, he then drags Miku to a fancy clothing shop where he’s already made a reservation. He essentially negs her into changing her outfit: “Are you going dressed like that?” Ugh, cringe. Mega cringe. Not only that, the guy even picked out a dress for her, and it’s way too fancy for a first date. Her first outfit was perfectly fine for two teens going on their first date. Now she looks like she’s about to attend a freakin’ wedding. It’s certainly not amusement park attire. To cap things off, Yukiya sticks a tiara on Miku’s head at the end of the night. What is she? A 12 year old girl at her princess-themed birthday party? I know, I know, the point of this entire episode is that an inexperienced dork is trying too hard. So hey, if the story wanted to give us second-hand embarrassment, it worked.
Even a Replica Can Fall in Love Ep. 4
Nao only realizes her own self-worth by defending Aki. Everything she’s saying to him should rightly apply to herself as well. But is that a conversation she’s ready to have with Sunao? We’ll just have to wait and see, because this week’s episode is mostly about Aki’s personal triumph.
Instead of getting revenge the traditional way, Aki convinces Sanada to let him challenge Hayase to a 1-vs-1 game of pickup basketball. Watching Aki come out on top in the end, I wondered to myself, What does this really accomplish? Sanada didn’t earn this victory. Aki did. But Nao reminds us that the replicas have all the same flaws as their originals. If Sunao’s head hurts, then Nao’s head also hurts. If Sanada’s ankle hasn’t fully recovered, then Aki is equally hobbled too. But that’s the thing! Aki still managed to win despite the handicap! In other words, what’s Sanada’s excuse? For Aki, this is thus never about revenge. Rather, Aki wants Sanad to stop feeling sorry for himself and start living his life… even if this means he might erase Aki.
Sunao also realizes that her replica is carrying a heavy burden. It hasn’t been all fun and games for Nao. But they still can’t have their long, overdue conversation, because someone (probably Hayase) literally tries to murder Aki by shoving him onto the train tracks. Nao somehow pulls him back onto the platform, but this makes her take his place instead. But can a replica really die? Can’t Sunao just summon her back? I’m not expecting anything earth-shattering from this cliffhanger, especially since it’s only episode four. Nao can’t go anywhere. We’re not even halfway through the season! So yeah, I’m not too impressed with this cliffhanger.
Anyway, we all agree that the replicas deserve to live their own life, right? But how would that really work in practice? Right now, they’re just filling in for their “masters,” so nothing is out of place. But what’s going to happen when Nao or Aki finally decide to, for example, sign up for college? Or register to vote? Or go to the hospital? Whose records will they be pulling? I actually like this show. I think it’s one of the better series airing this season. But logistically… a happy ending sounds like a massive headache in the making unless we just want to reveal to the whole world that replicas exist.
Pardon the Intrusion, I’m Home! Ep. 4
Haruma is struggling to continue a particular subplot in his manga series, because he’s never had a crush on anyone before. You can already tell where this is going: he’s going to develop a crush on Rinko and thus get over his writer’s block. Not only that, this will finally kickstart his love rivalry with Akito. Predictable show is predictable.
I never understood this sort of writer’s block anyway. Like fine, when you’re just starting out, there’s a reason why people tell you to write what you know. But once you’ve become an established author — or mangaka in this case — then does personal, first-hand experience really matter anymore? How many authors out there have actually committed a murder? So are they not allowed to write stories about serial killers now? How many authors out there has ever lived in the 16th century? So are they not allowed to write historical fiction now? My point is, just get off your ass and do some research.
Eren the Southpaw Ep. 4
Just a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff about how a design agency operates. Honestly, I don’t find any of it compelling. I’m sitting here, waiting to see how Koichi’s life will inevitably fall apart, but I get a huge dose of Kamiya instead. And sorry, Koichi, but Eren’s right: your logo kinda sucks.
Always a Catch! Ep. 5
On her way home, Maria runs into a bunch of villagers crying out for help. Apparently, their chief’s daughter has gone missing, but the local lord won’t lift a finger. I thought Maria would get involved, but she just sends them to the palace to meet with Raimondo. That’s kind of anticlimactic. I mean, are we going to find out what’s going on with the daughter or what? Did she really get kidnapped? Or did she just run off to live her own life?
Maria then comes across a bunch of bandits robbing a carriage headed for the capital. It also belongs to a noble, so it’s filled to the brim with luxurious goods like fancy jewelry. This time, the crown princess gets involved. Maria flexes her might and beats them up. I know, I know, stealing is bad. You shouldn’t do that. But it just feels weird to watch the people suffer while Maria defends the wealth of the already rich and powerful.
Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku!? Ep. 4
No real plot this episode or anything. It’s just Takuya doing stuff with the two gyarus. First, there’s a sports festival, so Kei gets to show off her basketball skills. Then they belt some songs at the karaoke bar. Somehow, these gyarus are impressed with Takuya yelling an anime theme song at the top of his lungs. Sure. It’s a wish fulfillment show, after all. The episode ends just as we’re about to get a beach episode. I gotta commend the anime for showing some restraint, though. The girls’ swimsuits are pretty normal. It could’ve been a lot worse.
By the way, I have no clue how Takuya and Kei could both mistake this guy to be Kotokoi’s boyfriend. He looks old enough to be her father. It turns out he’s an older brother by 18 years, so again, old enough to be her father.
Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ Ep. 4
I watched the latest episode, and by the time I finished it, I realized I didn’t have much to say. That’s why I decided to stop dedicating a full post to this show every week. Basically, Natsuki and Tatsuya finally hash things out. Natsuki insists that he hasn’t done anything wrong. In a sense, this is true. It isn’t Natsuki’s fault that Uta likes him. She can like whomever she wants. Tatsuya also doesn’t automatically deserve her just because he liked her first. But that wasn’t even the problem in my eyes. My whole beef with Natsuki is that ever since he turned back the clock, he’s focused on just the girls and the girls only. He says he wants to be pals with Tatsuya, but all he’s done is shown the guy up. That doesn’t seem like a bro to me regardless of what or whom they’re fighting over.
In the end, Natsuki tells Tatsuya to just win Uta’s heart if he wants her so badly. She, however, has been listening in (along with the rest of the girls), so she tells Tatsuya flat out that she doesn’t see him that way. Nevertheless, before the guy walks off, he swears that he won’t give up on her. Weird, and that’s putting it lightly. I mean, if someone doesn’t like you, then they don’t like you. Learn to take no for an answer. There are plenty of other people to fall in love with.
Petals of Reincarnation Ep. 4
There are so many characters and so many different battles happening at once. You know how you speed read? By learning how to filter out unnecessary details. And boy is this episode full of them. As a result, I’m going to apply the same tactic. Everything Hitler says in this episode — yeah, that’s right, Hitler — is just noise. “Well, he’s explaining the limitations of Einstein’s powers!” Who fucking cares? By the time the series is at its end and we’re at the climax of the story, you won’t even remember that this scene occurred. The snipers duel? Same thing. Just more noise. What’s actually important? Does Touya still intend to be a villain? Why do the Sinners want to recreate every historical disaster? And why would any decent person want to join that cause? Since this episode doesn’t answer any of these questions, I’m going to disregard it entirely. Speed watching!
The Barbarian’s Bride Ep. 3
I don’t think I mentioned it before, but why do they speak the same language? I mean, barbarians literally got their name because the ancient Greeks thought their language sounded like gibberish. Ah well, nothing in the show makes sense, like how Veor’s voice is affected by his facial hair.
Like usual, Serafina has all these weird prejudices about Veor’s culture only to be proven wrong over and over. This schtick is getting kinda old. Though to be fair, one of the women she meets immediately gropes her. Gotta admit that part is pretty barbaric. But this is just that stupid anime trope where unwanted same-sex touching is somehow played off for both laughs and titillation. I’m too tired for this shit. At this point, I rolled my eyes and put the episode on 4x mode.
Serafina learns that a bunch of kids lost their fathers due to her kingdom’s constant “expeditions” (read: invasions). She tries to tell herself that there’s no need to feel any sympathy for her enemy, but her resolve wavers the more that she spends time with them. She then jumps to their defense when this bird dragon thing randomly attacks the village. Even so, Serafina’s just so damn unlikable for a protagonist. Nor does she have any self-awareness. “I had to secure resources for muh people!!!” Pfft. C’mon, your kingdom and its rulers suck ass, lady. Get it through your head already.
Scenes from Awajima Ep. 3
We go through generations of women, and I can’t tell if they were ever happy. Katsurako sadly couldn’t reject her grandmother’s nastiness. She instead absorbed it and became another version of the bitter crone. As we’ve already seen, Katsurako would then project that same nastiness onto Emi. Her mother Ruriko wanted a family that was truly her own, because her mother Natsuko, i.e. Katsurako’s grandmother, never loved her. So why didn’t Ruriko separate herself from Natsuko after getting married? Maybe if she did — if she had prioritized protecting her daughter — then Katsurako wouldn’t now be living a life full of regret. Maybe Katsurako would’ve instead ended up being a happy child who didn’t bully others. But this is just cultural expectations working its “magic,” right? You’re not allowed to ditch your family, especially your own damn mother. Filial piety and all the bullshit that comes with it. Confucius is still haunting us from the grave over a thousand years later. But look at the damage Natsuko’s done. I just don’t know what else to say, man.
This is one of those shows that you can acknowledge is really good. It’s just damn good storytelling. At the same time, however, I doubt I would ever wanna rewatch it. Every episode has been such a downer.
Killed again, Mr. Detective. Ep. 4
We’re on our third case, and yet, Yuriu is still here! So is that lawyer guy. Surely this can’t be a coincidence. Not only that, the victim this time is her own damn manager. We get all these clues about how the hotel they’re staying in used to have connections to a crime syndicate, a family was murdered years ago, a threatening letter about a bellboy, etc. But honestly, I’m more interested in why Yuriu keeps popping up everywhere Sakuya and Lilithea go. Is she secretly a villain stalking the detective or what?
The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten S2 Ep. 4
Mahiru and Amane wake up in the same bed, so he tells her that they had a wild time last night. She immediately checks goes and check under the covers. Uh, did she honestly think he meant sex? It’s not like she was drunk. If they really did do the deed, why the hell would she not remember it? Especially since it would be her first time, too. This show, man…
Anyway, every episode is the same; these two just talk about their relationship non-stop. The outside world might as well not exist. School, friends, future plans, et cetera — just forget all about that stuff. What a one-dimensional show.
Speaking of which, I never finished Horimiya, and I don’t remember why I stopped watching it. There was a period of time where I just watched anime on and off without any real consistency, so if I didn’t have strong feelings about the show, then I probably didn’t stop because I hated it. I should revisit it.
Snowball Earth Ep. 4
Well, some explanations are in order, so I’m not surprised that we get an episode full of flashbacks. First, the chief (of accounting), i.e. the silver-haired girl, tells Tetsuo all about what transpired ten years ago. A strange, humanoid kaiju emerged from the ocean one day (we saw this guy at the end of last week’s episode). It then sent out massive snowballs, which proceeded to flash-freeze the entire planet. Welp, at least everyone’s death was quick and painless, right? I mean, it sounds like being a survivor is a billion times worse.
Naturally, humans congregated around malls, because that’s just what you do. In every post-apocalyptic fiction, malls are where survivors can find a bunch of ready-made goods waiting for them. But how do they keep themselves warm? To answer that question, we get a second flashback all about Ao — again, the silver-haired girl — and how she got her powers. She and a bunch of people partook in kaiju meat in order to survive. Gotta eat somethin,’ right? Somehow, they all got sick and died except her. Instead, she got the ability to telepathically communicate with another kaiju. It became fascinated with human knowledge and emotions, so it decided to help her and the survivors out by using its latent heat to continually warm the entire mall. So uh, where does it get the energy to do this? Does it ever stop to eat? Why did she survive and everyone else died? Can other people get the same power? And if it can communicate with Ao, has it told her anything else? Like what even are the kaiju? Where did they come from? Why are they here? Do they have an organization or some sort of hive brain controlling them? Ah well, I guess that can wait for another episode. There’s only so much you can explain in ~20 minutes.
The Drops of God Ep. 3
The search for the first “apostle” is on, and Kanzaki’s biggest clue is an amnesiac woman. She has apparently tasted the same wine, but she no longer remembers what it is. So here’s the big “problem:” if she digs up her past, it might make her want to leave her current life where she’s an artist married to a doctor. Would I want to dredge up the past if I were in her shoes? Hell yeah. In fact, I’m surprised she hasn’t done it earlier. You wake up, and the only damn thing in your possession is a diamond ring on your ring finger. And you don’t wanna know why it’s there? You don’t want to know if you have had a past lover who might very well still be alive? I dunno, man, I find that odd. If anything, she waited too long.
Also, what about missing persons reports…?
Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring Ep. 5
This episode delves into Hinagiku and Sakura’s pasts, how they came to know each other, etc. Again, just depressing stuff. Hinagiku is an affair child, so the village shuns her. Her dad ain’t much of a peach either. Sakura likewise was abandoned by her parents. To make a long story short, adults suck. What are we going to do about it, though? We’re five episodes in, but there’s no real plan other than wandering around the wintry countryside, performing rituals to restore the spring season. We’ve identified all these problems, but have made no headway towards really fixing any of them.
The strongest job is apparently not a hero or a sage, but an appraiser (provisional)! Ep. 5
Hibiki and Emalia’s completely separate stories continue to play out in parallel. Hibiki gets his money stolen, which somehow leads to him cross-dressing. But hey, at least he finally puts his appraisal skill to good use. Y’know, the one thing he’s supposed to be good at? Meanwhile, Ivel just ditches Emalia after getting some information about a voice in the forest. To be honest, I haven’t been paying particularly close attention to their journey, because we see the girls so sparingly compared to Hibiki.
It’s really odd to me that they’ve done this with Hibiki and Emalia — “they” as in the LN author. Usually, you want the protagonist and deuteragonist to bond a little before splitting them up. Maybe go through a harrowing trial or two. Something like that, y’know? This way, I would (in theory) be attached to their relationship, so when they are finally split up, I can’t wait for the duo to reunite. In actuality, however, I don’t give a damn about Hibiki and Emalia’s relationship (or either character, to be frank). It feels like I’m jumping back and forth between two completely unrelated stories with no real rhyme or reason. Will Hibiki ever see Emalia again? Eh, who cares?
Mistress Kanan Is Devilishly Easy Ep. 4
Kanan is so top-heavy, she looks like a Nikke character. Anyway, Ami tries to get Kanan and Youji to get physical with each other, which works to varying degrees. It’s basically a fetish episode. Smell fetish, ear-cleaning fetish, swimsuit fetish, so on and so forth. Even a sports mat… fetish? Whatever, man. At least it’s not armpits or feet. Anyway, Kanan is somehow satisfied with Youji simply poking her cheek. What’s the point of having a succubus-like demon for a character if she’s going to be this painfully innocent?
Scum of the Brave Ep. 15
I was sort of expecting a twist or betrayal of some kind, because a dark lord is leading this raid on another dark lord. So far, however, the raid has been pretty straightforward. So instead, we get demonstrations of some rather goofy powers. For example, one guy can “swim” between floors, because he’s a scuba diver. We take things very literally here. Meanwhile, an underaged-looking girl — I don’t know if she’s actually underaged or not — can compel you to look away lest you see her prepubescent chest. You get compelled so hard that you’ll snap your own neck. Better dead than a pedo, I suppose. Too bad that can’t happen to all the pedos in the world.
Eventually, we get to Yashiro and the girls facing off against the dark lord and his bodyguards. The girls’ complete inexperience rears its ugly head, which is not very surprising. I mean, they’re kids. I know they insisted on coming, but they really should’ve even be here in the first place. As for Yashiro, he’s all, “I don’t care about them,” but they inevitably get hurt. This then prompts our morally gray hero to ask himself, “Why am I worried about them?” I’m so tired of tsundere characters.
Akane-banashi Ep. 4
Ahhh, this show is so anime. And you might think, Well duh, you’re watching an anime. I am, but sometimes I wish anime would just rein itself in a bit, y’know? For instance, Akane is having her first performance since taking the part-time job at the izakaya. Basically, she’s about to show off everything she’s learned. So it would be nice if we could just sit back and take in her performance from start to finish. Watch her do a bit of crowd work at the start to get to know her audience, then launch into her story with gusto. But no, we can’t have that. Instead, her mentor is off to the side, constantly feeding us commentary on how Akane is doing. “OMG, she’s increasing the tempo!” Bro, shut the fuck up and let me watch the girl do her thing! You don’t need to explain the “action” to me like a fighting anime. How will I ever come to appreciate this artform if it’s constantly being interrupted?
When it’s Kyoji’s turn to take the stage, she does the same with him. She even has to tell us that “every word and gesture is meticulous.” Bah.
Well, at least Kyoji gets on Akane’s case for not studying.
Ghost Concert – missing Songs Ep. 4
This show gets weirder and weirder. Alright, so to reach MiucS, they have to claim more territory. I’m still not entirely clear on how this exactly works, but let’s just roll with it. This time, however, there will be no fighting nor singing involved. Instead, Seria has to draw the interest of a homosexual shogun. Draw the interest, I must emphasize. Nobody said anything about actually sleeping with him, but as always, villains do be lyin’. As a result, I had to sit and watch uncomfortably as our heroine was about to be raped. Luckily, the monk shows up disguised as a hot guy and absconds with the shogun. Ugh. Bring back the shitty fighting and singing, please.
Mission: Yozakura Family S2 Ep. 3
The first half of the episode is the same fillerish nonsense we’ve been getting since the start of this season. Not much to say about it.
In the second half, we finally get to the meat n’ potatoes of the plot. Tsubomi, the first head of the Yozakura family, appears to Taiyo in a dream, and tells him to kill her. But of course, this won’t be simple. First things first, he’ll have to become a silver rank spy. The notion that these top-secret, extralegal individuals still need be certified by some sort of governing body is ridiculous. It also annoys me that Taiyo won’t explain why he’s doing all of this to the family. Maybe they wouldn’t believe him, but he could at least try.
Wistoria: Wand and Sword S2 Ep. 3
Oh man, the story is really dragging this out. Apparently, killing Rosti isn’t enough (though I doubt he’s dead because you would have be a real person first to die). Workner also gets a gaping hole in his chest, but he’ll somehow survive. No balls, man, no balls. Just kill the bastard. Look, if you want the story to have real stakes, you gotta get rid of some of the characters — real ones and not pitiful nobodies with barely any screentime. Honestly, I hate this half-assed shit.
Anyway, 90% of the episode is just nonstop despair as we see several defensive fronts crumble. No one can stop the Devander, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, yeah, just get on with it already. So Finn finally shows up and tells Will that the kid can cast magic all along: Courage!!! Holy cornballs. Why did Workner keep this from him anyway? Either way, “Ultra Instinct” Will finally shows up, zips around a bit to take out all of the monsters by himself, aaaaaaaand… the episode is over. We’ll have to wait yet another week to see how this incident ends. In all honesty, I just expect him to beat the Devander, which will then prompt the rest of the bad guys to leave through magic ass portals while proclaiming victory. I would love the show to surprise me, though!
Everything else about everything else:
Still busy as hell, still stressed as hell. But hey, all the stuff they announced at the FFXIV Fanfest was pretty cool, right? Hopefully I’ll still be alive in nine months to play the expansion.
I’m still playing Hades II, but I only have time for maybe one or two runs a night. I’ve gotten over the Chronos hurdle, but everything on the surface does massive damage to me. Basically, I still can’t consistently beat Prometheus. Oh well.
