Last time, Tumblr flagged my post for inappropriate content. I guess Ichika’s butt is just that strong. So to avoid further trouble, let’s focus on the boys this time around.
Black Torch Ep. 4
It’s the episode where Jiro gets to meet the rest of the gang, and unfortunately, there’s some unwritten rule that the next male character always has to have a bone to pick with the shounen protagonist. We had like… Bakugo being a bitch boy against Deku? Rudo and Zanka had friction. Dead Account had Soji and Kukuru bickering. Tougen Anki had Shiki and Jin being pissed off at each other. It took a while for Vegeta to show up, but he and Goku are a classic example. Point is, shounen series feel cookie-cutter for this exact reason. They can’t help themselves. They always have to jam these boring, “enemy to gay lovers in fanfiction” character dynamics into every shounen series. The fujoshi in the audience are already drooling with anticipation. But it’s cool, ’cause there’s always a silver lining: I basically don’t have to pay much attention to this bout between Jiro and Reiji. I mean, who gives a shit? Who honestly gives a shit how it plays out?
Eventually, the boys stop rough-housing long enough for the plot to move incrementally forward. We’re fed exposition about how mononoke like Rago can end up losing their memories. We also get a glimpse of the potential big bad. Jiro is such an idiot that he has to tell Reiji to slow down with all the information. Dude seems like he gets overwhelmed just trying to operate a microwave. Luckily, all he has to do in life is throw a punch, so we have our next foe lined up already. Not only that, Ichika and Ryosuke can’t lend a hand, because a very powerful barrier has suddenly appeared. They’re also being accosted by a rival division. Very convenient stuff.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 16
This episode is a whirlwind of events unfolding at the same time. Left and Ivan start fighting, but his weapons are Daemons that can constantly regenerate themselves. Meanwhile, it feels like he’s slowly chipping away at Left and Right. Well, they’re in it for as long as it takes to get Yuru back. I can’t imagine this fight against Ivan wrapping up without Yuru getting a crack at the guy, especially after we find out that his weapons carry the stench of Yuru’s parents’ blood on them. It would be incredibly anticlimactic if it was just Ivan versus Left and Right the entire time. So are Yuru’s parents dead or what? C’mon, they won’t tell us. This is the carrot-on-the-stick that they’ll keep dangling in front of us for a long, long time. Just like how the story won’t kill Yuru in order to unlock Seal, we won’t find out about the twins’ parents’ fate anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Asuma and his uncle try to convince Yuru that he needs to leave Higashi Village behind and embrace Seal. These conversations are always lacking in crucial details. Sure, Yuru can’t trust Higashi Village, but why should he trust them? Second, they keep talking about conquering the world, but what does this even mean? How do you actually do that? How do you intend to go against armed forces? How do you intend to enforce your rule with simply a pair of kids who have powers? It’s all just vague, unsatisfying talk. Without a plan — and you need something solid and well thought-out if you’re going to convince people to work for you — these idiots just sound like larpers.
Likewise, Dera gets into an argument with a guy affiliated with Higashi Village over the same thing: we need the twins to conquer the world! Give me concrete details or else you just sound like a bunch of clowns. Why should I take a handful of people and hicks up on a mountain seriously even if they do wield Daemons? A lot of those Daemons aren’t even useful in combat. On the other hand, do you know what armies have? Literally missiles flying at you faster than sound.
At some point, the Kagemori elder shows up, and I guess he’s got an entire zoo of Daemons working for him. He’s a veritable one man army. But the average normie can’t see Daemons so it just looks like a senile old man running around, throwing punches at the air. Dandadan also did something like this. And I don’t know if it’s clever or a cop-out. Maybe both. After all, we live in the 21st century where almost everyone has a mini camera-slash-camcorder in their pockets. Anyone can whip out their phone and create the next viral video. If normal people could see Daemons, spirits, or whatever, it would spread like wildfire. It’d be easier to just make the supernatural invisible to all but a select few, then we can focus on telling our story. At the same time, however, this refusal to engage in a potentially interesting scenario because you don’t know how to write your way out of it… well, like I said, it’s kind of a cop-out.
Last but not least, one of the Kagemori men looks like he’s about to attack Asa with a crowbar. Really? That’s it? Doesn’t she have the power to blow her enemies the fuck up? But this is our cliffhanger.
Tomb Raider King Ep. 3
A new tomb has appeared, so Joo-Heon is racing to get his hands on the relic before the agent from the Republic of Bent does. Still in awe of that nation’s name, by the way. Anyway, same schtick as before: rather than complete the relic’s quest, Joo-Heon simply screams and grunts until the Muramasa obeys him. I guess I’m glad he didn’t kill the innocent bystanders. Only the agent meets his end. Yeah, this isn’t very exciting to watch.
Knowing that the Republic of Bent has a girl who can see the future through her relic, Joo-Heon’s next course of action is to lure her out. I’m not exactly sure what his original plan for the girl was, but he inadvertently charms her instead. Apparently, this is a very handsome mug that will make all gyarus fall in love. Uh-huh. Wait, how old is this girl? What do you mean you’re going on a date?
