Secrets of the Silent Witch Ep. 13: Greater than the sum of its parts

Bart the thief finally gets his grungy hands on the magical artifact, and not only does it immediately start talking to him, it’s also yandere. Well, it’s a good thing I don’t wear jewelry.1 I’m curious what the magical artifact must have said to Louis if this is how it reacts to the thief. Also, do I want to know why the magical artifact has a will of its own? Did some poor woman get turned into jewelry? Or perhaps her soul got trapped in one? This pretty much gets confirmed near the halfway point of the episode. It’s such a shame. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, even my worst enemies.

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SPY x FAMILY Ep. 38: More superfluous fun

The Forgers are on yet another family outing. Y’know, for the mission. It’s always for the mission. But seriously, I feel like Loid will never confront his actual feelings unless his family is in danger, both literally or figuratively. Of course, most people never want anything bad to happen to the Forgers and for good reason. They’re a cute, wholesome family even if they’re all lying to each other. Personally, however, I would like to see them put under a bit of pressure just to see what happens — just to see what comes out.

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Sanda Ep. 1: Why is Santa a sex symbol?

Right off the bat, a girl who looks like a character straight out of a Tim Burton movie threatens a boy with a knife. Her name is Fuyumura, and she hasn’t been the same since her best friend Ono disappeared over six months ago. Ono has been declared dead, but Fuyumura isn’t convinced. She thinks her bestie is still out there waiting to be found, and she knows exactly how to do it: ask Santa for help. Santa just happens to be the boy she’s threatening to stab. What a strange concept for an anime. I’ve never heard of the original source material. I simply wanted to watch this show for two reasons: 1) the premise is weird, and 2) Science SARU is producing this show.

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May I Ask for One Final Thing? Ep. 1 & 2: Punch-out queen

Want to watch a heroine beat people up while her love interest giggles on the sidelines? That’s pretty much what it feels like to watch this show’s first two episodes. Like most anime, May I Ask for One Final Thing? starts us off with an all too familiar concept just to then add a twist or two. Scarlet, a young noblewoman, is unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé Kyle in front of a bunch of nobles at a party. The haughty prince then proclaims his love for Terenezza, accuses Scarlet of bullying his new woman, and thus labels her a villainess. I think I’ve seen several isekai series with this exact setup. The most recent one that comes to mind is I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss. The heroine in that show goes from one brother to another, and funnily enough, it looks like our Scarlet might be doing the same. So what’s the twist or two that sets this show apart from its ilk? First, this is surprisingly not a story about a girl who has been isekai’d into her favorite otome game despite its painfully clichéd prologue. Second, Scarlet doesn’t do the typical thing of running away. Instead, she does her talking with her fists, and I won’t lie: it’s kinda refreshing to see.

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