Tag Archives: Anime

Zenshu Ep. 5: Predictably arrogant

Natsuko is pretty unlikable in the latest episode. With her help, the city is surviving through every recent Void encounter without a single casualty. Pretty big wins, right? The problem is that they’re Natsuko’s wins. It doesn’t look like the rest of the Nine Soldiers get to do much of anything. Hell, the only other contributor at this point is QJ’s radar and only his radar. Sadly, our heroine isn’t the least bit gracious about her spate of good fortune, posing like a huge dork before the adoring crowd. Oh, how quickly she’s adapted to her new post-apocalypse home. Sure, the henshin stuff is amusing since Zenshu airs on the same day as that sentai isekai. But in general, her behavior is not a good look. I personally don’t find it endearing. Naturally, pride comes before the fall, so Natsuko quickly finds out that her latest creation is no good when the Voids attack again at the very end of this week’s episode. Past conflicts have been introduced and resolved in one tidy episode, so it’s about time we end on a cliffhanger. But that’s not really the point. The main problem here is that our heroine’s hubris is finally biting her in the ass, and this has been predictable from the first moment we met her. We already know that Natsuko has no leadership skills; she simply refused to delegate work, and as a result, her grand film project is in trouble. This week’s episode follows up by piling it on rather thick with yet another glimpse of what it’s like to work with our rising new star. Where’s the HR department when you need one?

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The Daily Life of a Middle-Aged Online Shopper in Another World Ep. 2-4: Isekai bros

Why am I writing about this show again? It’s not that I like it, but sometimes, my brain will draw a connection that I can’t ignore. Luckily, this blog is a ghost town nowadays, so I can write down whatever nonsense I come up with. But first, let’s get the boring plot out of the way.

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Going against my gut instincts by chugging down more Honey Lemon Soda

I think of romance as a guilty pleasure. It’s something to make you smile and feel all warm inside, especially when the past few days have been nothing but a relentless assault of not just bad news, but absurd news. But I won’t get into that; this isn’t the time nor place for it. Rather, I want to talk about my ambivalent feelings towards Honey Lemon Soda. I always go into every new season hoping for a chill, relaxing romance to follow, but as I watch this show, I find myself frequently rolling my eyes at Uka’s love life. But am I being unfair? Do I have a problem with taking shojo romances seriously?

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What’s really Natsuko’s problem anyway? Some thoughts on Zenshu

Our heroine Natsuko gets isekai’d into her favorite childhood anime, but that’s not all. She’s also a director who is really up against the clock. Even though she’s already had her breakout work — some mahou shoujo series that looks as silly as can be — her house of cards can all come tumbling down if she goofs up her next big project, a romance anime film about first love. But unfortunately, Natsuko’s got a creative block. For whatever reason, she can’t put pen (or pencil) to paper. Why? Is it because she’s never experienced love so she can’t craft the storyboards necessary to get the film started? Maybe, but I don’t know if firsthand experience is all that necessary. I mean, is the romance in Twilight remotely realistic… or even healthy? But it has spawned a hit series of books and movies nonetheless. It’s no more realistic than, say, a romance between a young girl and a goddamn spirit of the Kohaku River. In saying this, I’m not trying to debase Spirited Away or lift Twilight up to one of the best anime films of all time. I’m just saying that realism doesn’t really matter. Go pop in a Makoto Shinkai movie or whatever. Or park yourself in a manga cafe and check out a few fresh series. Inspiration can come from anywhere and it doesn’t need to be real.

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Not isekai shows! Just a pair of generic adventure anime instead

Like a broken record, I’ve always said that there’s little to distinguish isekai anime from just regular adventuring ones. And well, these two shows pretty much prove that point for me.

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