My favorite moment all weekend was when one pair of daemons comforted another pair that had just lost their masters.
Black Torch Ep. 12
Amagi just won’t shut up. It’s the final fight of the final episode, and all he does is drone on and on and on about… I dunno, a bunch of bullshit is what it is — how he and Jiro are essentially two sides of the same coin. It’s nothing you haven’t seen or heard before. After all, it’s shounen. These are not brilliant stories with brilliant characters, and they don’t have to be. Because you typically spend a long time with these series, you basically grow up or grow old with them. Our friends, the people whom we would risk our lives for, are likewise just average people. They’re not great by any objective measure, but they’re there. You’ve been through hell with them. It’s not a tale that will be passed down for generations, but that’s not important. On the other hand, if a guy you just met last week rolled up and started spilling his guts to you, you’d be like, “What the fuck?” That’s all it comes down to. The shounen’s true power is its enduring longevity. It worms its way into your heart even if the characters and stories suck ass. Black Torch never had a chance. I wonder when the decision was made to cut the story short. Maybe around the time they revealed Reiji’s brother?
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 24
Hikaru butts heads with Gonzo, disagreeing with his father on, well, many things. He wants to spare Akio even though the former bodyguard tried to kill Asa, has killed a random gardener in his escape, and will probably be a menace to the family later. But what triggers the biggest fight is the decision to disappear the gardener. He won’t get a proper burial, and I get why that might bother Hikaru. But his argument — that his father’s strictness might have led to Akio rejecting them — is a bit ridiculous. No normal person would even entertain the thought of murdering someone just because the rules are too strict. Hikaru’s a misguided bleeding heart who isn’t cut out for this line of work. That’s why he’s drawing manga, no? And yet, if something were to happen to Gonzo, he’d probably end up being the new leader even if one of the other brothers would be better suited.
Gabby starts lecturing Hikaru on how the world is too shitty for his idealism. Yeah, she admits she’s also shitty, but c’mon… I don’t want to hear from people complaining about the shit sandwich when they made the shit sandwich. Asa seems like a nice enough girl, but her friendship with Gabby is a huge stain that I can’t overlook. Speaking of Asa, Gabby then literally kicks Asa in the ass and screams at her for feeling guilty. Basically, Asa blames herself for the gardener’s death. Y’know, when people get in their feels like this — even if they’re completely wrong — I still prefer to let them process their feelings and attempt to work their way out of it. I don’t immediately start screaming at them about how they’re completely wrong. I know stories like to highlight the fact that individuals are complex and oftentimes full of contradictions. Oooh, Gabby is a stone-cold killer but she’s fiercely loyal to her family and friends! Well, I don’t even think she’s a good friend. Also, she drools in her sleep.
We then get multiple flashbacks with the twins. Yuru has a bad dream of the time he had to kill an assassin after his own head, then dispose of the body on his own. That’s when it sank in that he was truly alone — that he no longer had his parents to lean on. On the bright side, he survived, which can’t be said about Asa’s flashback. Despite being under the Kagemori clan’s protection, assassins still managed to get to her and, well, kill her. She immediately came back to life with the power of Break, but it’s ironic, isn’t it? Their parents could only escape with Asa, but she’s the only one who has died.
The rest of the scenes are relatively uninteresting. The bodyguards share a drink as they commiserate over recent events. Azami is doing better these days even if she might still miss the village. Speaking of the devil, the guy is back to being a degenerate loser at the race tracks. He acts like he’s doing it to support the kids. Left and Right learn that they can just superglue their limbs back together — ah, the true benefits of a modern society. Hana gets called into a meeting with the rest of the Higashi agents, and her acting is just as bad as her crush’s acting (to be fair, he knows he sucks). Nevertheless, the show tries to leave us on a cliffhanger when the bad guys once again rely on bombs to take out their enemies. This time, it looks like Hana and her dog daemon might have gotten hurt, buuuuuuut… probably not, right? I’m sure if season two were to literally start tomorrow, they would both be fine. But shows like doing this shit, leaving its viewers in the dark for however long it’s going to take for the new season to come out, which unsurprisingly has already been announced. There’s no better way, I suppose, to get people to start reading the manga itself.
For me, Daemons of the Shadow Realm started out with a banger, then slowly petered out into a rather mundane story. It could’ve really redeemed itself with a huge climactic battle that ultimately reveals some major truths about the twins’ parents. But it felt like the fight against Ivan ended before it could really get going. He just fucked off, and we ultimately learn nothing useful. Oooh, the remnants of Nishino Village have revealed themselves. Whatever. But like I said up top, these stories don’t have to be brilliant. They just have to not give up like Black Torch did. The shounen protagonist’s strength lies in his indefatigable spirit. I’ve been torturing myself with Black Clover recently, and Asta loves telling us how his magic is never giving up. Well, keep at it, Daemons of the Shadow Realm. Maybe after enough episodes, even I might start caring about these characters and their fates.
Tomb Raider King Ep. 11
The MC is running around, trying to find a cure for Irene’s parents. Obviously, this involves relic-hunting. We even come across a worm whose services require an exorbitant amount of cash. But what would a worm even do with all that money? It’s not like it can walk into a store and start buying shit. What would a worm even buy anyway? All the hot compost it could ever want?
Anyway, the bad guys may have gone after Irene’s parents as well as the MC’s lackeys. Hopefully, the next episode is the last one.
I’m not gonna do a post for just Tomb Raider King alone, so the next Shounen Saturday won’t be until the fall season is in full gear.