Random Curiosity

「友と勤労と虫刺されの夏の日」 (Tomodachi to Kinrou to Mushisasare no Natsu no Hi)
“Friends, Work, and the Summer of Bugs”

Can coffee make good jokes? We all know it’s alluring potential for getting girls into cute maid outfits and supplying bountiful yields of slice-of-life girl things, but slapstick humour is untested ground. Thankfully Gabriel Dropout tackles the big questions, where we find out how great a coffee café is through the adventures of our slothful little angel. It’s probably no surprise Gabriel Dropout takes the GochiUsa concept and thoroughly defiles it on the floor, but I must admit it was pretty damn funny watching it happen. The poor café owner never knew what hit him, between missed pleasantries, utterly wrong orders, and an adherence to honesty that hits close to the bone. It’s all hilarious bad when you look at it, but thankfully Vigne appreciates the finer things in life. Too bad Gabriel is beyond all hope with those microtransactions. Going full wallet warrior, pathetic.

Although centered around coffee, where this episode shone was in the one off moments. It’s no surprise Satania featured in damn near all of them again this week, where her taste buds gave her a hidden immunity to Raphiel’s playing and a curiosity for coffee winds her up in the position of ordering Gabriel around. Of course none of that tops Satania’s physical suffering, where she is beat not once, but twice at the hands of her self-declared rival. Personally I got a kick out of the door more than the gut shot, but that might be because of the heartfelt pang over Gabriel’s dismissal of poor Satania as unimportant. Silly Gabriel, don’t be dismissing the adorable dumb-dumb that easy, she is strong in her own way. Mostly failing at everything which comes across her path, but I’ll be damned if she doesn’t try!

While Satania may have been tormented as usual, we did learn a bit more about Raphiel on the side. I found it quite amusing how Satania did not immediately invoke domineering mode against Vigne, but stuck with some ridiculous roleplaying and bill paying games. Pretty clear the stalker only has talons eyes for an ever oblivious Satania. Also ridiculous was Raphiel’s movie tastes, which seemingly revolve more around the audiovisuals than genre differences. It somewhat fits with Raphiel’s image, although I definitely pinned her as a horror lover, not an eclectic connoisseur. Normally I’d question that fascination with subbing errors too, but it certainly meshes with Raphiel’s stalker tendencies. At least Vigne and Raphiel can bond over the mutual confusion of clothes washing.

With three episodes down, it’s pretty clear Gabriel Dropout will stick the short skit slice of life comedy going forward. For a Monday show this is the perfect stress reliever, although I don’t think I can honestly continue blogging this one weekly without something more to chew on. Nevertheless don’t expect this to be the last Gabriel Dropout post here. With humour this nice, it would be hard not returning to this one at season’s end.

Random Tidbits

The three years the oar; eight years the pole line is a Japanese saying stating patience and perseverance are required. A hilarious line to throw at the poor café owner given Gabriel’s terminal laziness.

Always trust in the holy light to keep things family friendly, especially when busting the fourth wall.

「Don’t stop me now」

One thing I’ve never really understood about the stereotypical witch: why brooms? Brooms, and pointy hats. Perhaps big hats are just fashion statements, and I can dig that because big hats are stylish (and useful!), but brooms? To fly on? Even when witches, as in Little Witch Academia, have shed the ‘old crone’ image they somehow still insist on brooms. Can nothing else suffice? Is there an ancient pact between witches and cleaning tools that give them flight? But if they’re allowed to steampunk their rides, why not go the whole hog and replace the brooms with something more practical? Like, something with a seat. Or at least a saddle. Brooms just aren’t designed to be sat on, let alone rode. But somehow, the entire witch community has decided splinters up the bum is something they insist on. It just seems to me, if all your magic is powered by a shiny rock, the peripherals should be negotiable. Look, I’m not asking for them to fly around on anti-tank rifles or anything. I’m just saying, considering the rest of the world has modernised the witches can at least afford to upgrade to flying vacuum cleaners.

Actually, wasn’t there a Zelda game like that? Anyways.

The episode? The episode was great, as usual, so nothing much to note here. Little Witch Academia is tapping into its strengths here with the broom relay, really making use of it snappy animation to express a sense of speed. As old Sonic games (and wrecked sports cars on the side the the road) still show, there’s just something exhilarating about going fast. And so the episode was great fun. Silly, but fun.

The silliness is something we should address though, as part of our evaluation of the series three episodes in. Now, the silliness is great. I’m all for it. It’s a cartoon, after all, so there’s really no need to be confined to reality too strictly. One of the great advantages of LWA over, say, the Harry Potter movies is that it is a cartoon, and can basically run wild with the imagination. Could another medium, outside of the most surreal comedies, have their protagonist die multiple times in quick succession? Animated cartoons invite us to suspend our disbelief all the more, and we let them get away with all sorts of things.

I also don’t want LWA to be entirely silly though. I also want plot and character development, which LWA does seem to intend to provide. If the show does get more serious, then it may undercut the silliness. We may have to actually think about things a bit harder and confront some hard questions about LWA like, for example, how most of the cast are in fact horrible sociopaths. Even our protagonist, Atsuko, underneath the childlike wonder and positive attitude (which is great) is at best a simple idiot who doesn’t really earn any of her relative successes except through sheer stubbornness. In fact, the most sympathetic character is arguably Diana, who may be over-privileged, aloof, and has terrible communication skills but is for for the most part a decent human being. And she’s like the only person in this entire broom race who just honest-to-goodness rides on her damn broom. And wins. So there ya go.

When the mood is silly, this all is fine. Cheat however much you want in the broom race, it adds character. The comedic sociopath is funny. But when the needle moves towards serious, then perhaps we have to wonder why all the teachers are so bad at their jobs. And I rather I didn’t have to. Mind you, this is not something I’m that worried about, but something to consider if we want to do a proper preliminary evaluation of the show. That’s only the kind of thing bloggers want to talk about, though. The rest of you may rightly not care, and go off to enjoy the show. It’s good! You don’t need me to tell you that.

「Chapter.28 まぶしい闇 / Chapter.29 ほんの少しの水」 (Chapter.28 Mabushii Yami / CHapter.29 Honno Sukoshi no Mizu)
“Chapter.28 Blinding Darkness / Chapter.29 Just A Little Water”

That wasn’t what I was expecting at all from this week’s episode. But in a bittersweet way, I think this episode ended up being a lot more touching because of what happened.

Taking Losses in Stride

I don’t think we’ve ever seen Rei lose on-screen before. He’s had his stumbles here and there, but never in a million years did I think he’d suffer a complete and total loss with the final boss waiting for him right around the corner. But here we are, living in a world where a skilled player knocked the fighting spirit right out of Rei before he even realized what was happening. I don’t know about you, but there was something a little crazy about seeing Rei actually lose right in-front of our eyes. He’s been built up as this child prodigy that’s persevered through all kinds of nonsense and it really felt like he was on his way to hitting his stride. But then to see him fall from grace so quickly due to a myriad of problems that included his youth and shortsightedness really helped drive the whole point home — Rei is still just a kid that’s trying to take on the whole world and then some. And as difficult as it was to watch him lose faith in himself and what he’s worked for, it also felt strangely therapeutic. Therapeutic in the sense that life itself is an unforgiving bitch but there’s always a light at the end of whatever crappy tunnel you may end up in.

Overall, for an episode that revolved around Rei losing, I was surprised just how well it managed to hold up on its own.

Mentors

While we haven’t seen him in quite some time, I’m so glad that Hayashida-sensei was around for an episode like this. For me, up until Rei ended up at school, I was wondering if the show was going to bring out our three favorite girls to help Rei get out of his funk. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Momo, Hinata, and Akari wasn’t what Rei needed. Instead of being babied, he needed someone to help kick his butt and get him to keep moving forward even though he didn’t want to. Which is precisely why Hayashida’s timely appearance moved my heart quite a bit when he caught Rei crying. I’ve said this in a previous post, but Hayashida has been the best mentor Rei could have asked for outside the Shogi world. He goes out of his way to keep an eye on Rei while trying to drop just the right amount of advice when the situation calls for it. Toss in his obvious use as comedic relief in a show that doesn’t have a lot of humor going on and you start quickly wishing he’d appear more often!

(That and it takes a true hero to give up his freshly boiled ramen for someone besides family.)

Looking Ahead

With Rei at a new time low and the pieces to help him find himself all scattered around, I hope we get to see just how good of an influence Shimada and Nikdaiou can be on Rei when he opens himself to the people around him. Anyways, I’ll catch you guys next week where we’ll hopefully see Rei find a little more happiness. See you then!

Preview

「それぞれの哲学」 (Sorezore no tetsugaku)
“Each Philosophy”

Well apparently I’m dumb. Last week’s malevolent calamity was all Dezel’s handiwork, brought about by that commitment to eliminate Rose’s enemies in Lastonbell. Hard figuring out how I messed that one up, but at least the fight sequence proved its worth, with Lailah throwing around hefty fireballs and city walls satisfyingly crumbling. Beyond these first few minutes, however, Zestiria apparently is still in buildup mode, as a largely transitory episode fills in some blanks and establishes the next sequence of events.

The important expositions this week fleshed out the running theme of moral ambiguity, where Sorey, Rose, and Alisha—who finally appears—each come to terms with a world of hazy greys. Sorey was the surprise for me, what with his talk concerning the true role of the Shepherd and properly understanding Malevolence. I honestly wasn’t expecting Sorey to actively think about this, I was rather anticipating him coming to the dilemma through personal loss and/or shock. For me having Sorey already contemplate the meaning of Michael’s tainted heart comment certainly extinguishes a good degree of the naivety Sorey possessed in the first season. Might also help that Sorey’s introspection has seriously impressed Lailah.

While Sorey is uncommitted to a moral path, it’s pretty clear where Rose stands—wholly committed to her form of justice, supported by an ever reliable Dezel. At least we finally know how Rose and Dezel are related, and how Rose ended up leading a band of assassins. Although I also wound up wrong on Rose being able to see Dezel—she can at best feel his presence currently—the girl is quickly attuning to the presence of Seraphim, detecting Sorey’s Seraphim companions for the first time. Probably won’t be long until Rose can also properly perceive Dezel and the rest. What also likely isn’t far away is Sorey learning of Rose’s moonlighting job. Given the curiosity instilled in Sorey by Dezel’s attempted sanctuary destruction, Rose will have an increasingly hard time keeping her most important secret hidden.

Not to be left out of the fun is Alisha, who also has her own moral conflicts to deal with. Seeing your own people die twice certainly has the tendency to do that, especially when your greatest hater successfully manages to ostracize you. This is an intriguing development for Alisha, for like Sorey she now finds herself in a position where there is no clear answer and adhering to ideals may invite further suffering. I’m really curious seeing how this side of the story plays out, especially given Alisha’s desire to strong arm success by acquiring power. In a way Alisha’s temperament makes her more similar to Rose than Sorey, which in part may explain why Sorey cannot hear Alisha’s voice. I’m betting that simply becoming “more” of a Shepherd isn’t enough to turn just anyone into a good Squire.

With even more discussion out of the way, next week looks like the first real plot shift in Zestiria. Sorey finally leaves Lastonbell for Rolance’s capital, while Alisha heads back home to retake control of Hyland’s official residence. Hopefully we get something tangible beyond dialogue this time, because for all that I like the background information here, even I want some proper battles and climactic events soon. Will Zestiria answer the call? Just have to wait and see.

Preview

「常木耀 第3章 オトコユ」 (Tsuneki Yō dai 3-shō otokoyu)
“Tsuneki Hikari Chapter 3 – In the Men’s Bath”

Finally, it’s time for the conflict—though what that conflict is isn’t clear yet.

Before anything else, there was a comment on the episode two post that you need to read. Deano’s comment on the classic seven-beat structure in developing a romance is a great rundown on how romance stories develop. Borrowing from that, we can see where in that structure this episode takes place: mostly in #4, the False Happiness, though at the end is dips into #5, the Last Obstacle. Or does it?

That’s what I found odd about this episode, in both a good and bad way. There were several times during the night pool scene where I thought “Here it is, the drama is coming!”—only it didn’t. “Do all girls lie through their teeth?” didn’t do it. Hikari suddenly having reason to suspect that Shouichi ratted her out didn’t do it—or not immediately, though I have a feeling that’s not the reason why she suddenly stopped talking to him. That would ignore the question of why she had a secret job in the first place, and that complex look she had upon seeing her friend dating Araki-sempai (though her friend seemingly lying to her would be enough—was she the one who ratted Hikari out, to remove a threat to her Araki-sempai pursuit?). I also think back to the day pool scene, when Shouichi was talking about her fitting in and it deliberately avoided showing her face. Maybe she doesn’t want to fit in? Or more likely, knows she won’t, since she’s an unwilling rumor/slander machine.

I said the episode was odd in good and bad ways, and the good is how they didn’t take the obvious routes, which makes Hikari less cookie-cutter and predictable. The bad is that I’m still not sure where they’re going with this, which made the cliffhanger lack impact—though maybe making us wonder without a ton of drama was the point, which would fit into Hikari’s character. In which case, mission accomplished, and the choice was more good than bad!

One thing needs to be noted now, and for anyone who’s going to whine about SJW/politically correct bullshit, you can skip down two paragraphs or kindly piss off, because I’m gonna say what I damn well please. Now, even though I feel like this shouldn’t need to be said—though I’m not so naive as to think that’s where we are—using homosexuality as a punchline like this, where the purportedly gay individual tries to creep out someone who is subsequently creeped out, is what’s called punching down [at a disadvantaged group] and therefore not cool. You might not see the problem, and it wouldn’t be a problem if this wasn’t how it’s almost always treated! It’s also lazy, when a “no thanks” or “that would be improper between a student and teacher”—or even just awkwardness due to the flagrant boner, which is always appropriate, because boners are weird—would have worked just as well or better. Some of you may be going “blah blah, don’t want to talk about this in my anime, lighten up,” and I can certainly let it go since I’m a heterosexual guy and all that, but I can see how this would be intensely annoying to someone who’s LGBTQ. They’re probably not watching Seiren though, so small mercy. Either way, I’m not asking y’all to get outraged or go on a crusade or anything. Just recognize how messed up it is that this is the go-to depiction of homosexuality in most comedies, frown, and then you can go back to enjoying cute anime girls.

(And if you’re going to whine or threaten to stop reading RandomC because I’m bringing this up? You’re free to leave. I’m not afraid to fire customers in my professional life, and I’m not afraid to do it here.)

Now that I’ve ensured some obnoxious backlash—an occasional hobby of mine—the most imperative issue to talk about is, of course, fetishes. For a seemingly milquetoast protagonist, ‘ol Shouichi spends a lot of time thinking about how depraved his fantasies are, from soles to bed wetting back to navels (this time with sweatpant marks) to definitely not smelling Hikari’s underwear (when did he even have the chance? Right then? Boy works fast). I kind of miss the laser-focused fetish scenes of Amagami SS, the back of the knees and the bellybutton and all that. It’d probably be passe to do all that over again, though, but—neeeee! I want it anyway. If you’re going to dangle these fetishes, at least have him kiss the soles of her feet or something, make it all deliciously awkward. That’s what legends are made of.

Also, porn. That’s what porn is made of. But that probably goes without saying.

What’s undeniable (to me) is that these last two episodes have done a good job of making me actually root for Shouichi x Hikari, even if that’s far more due to Hikari than it is Shouichi (though they’ve slid a little more characterization in for him too). It remains to be seen if Seiren will be able to match its predecessor, but it’s enjoyable in its own right, so let’s leave that for the final post. Which will not be the next one, ’cause I’m gonna pick this one up. Let the’s see how this arc ends, and what the two after that entail!

Random thoughts:

• Two other odds things I forgot to mention. First: Why not show Hikari getting dizzy? It robbed the scene of any urgency, since from the sound she made could have just been her splashing around.
• Second: the entire scene between Mako and sunglasses-sensei seemed out of place. It partially excuses the bath scene (with sensei lacking confidence overall), but unless his & Mako’s thread goes somewhere next week, it’ll seem like a waste of time.
• Take up Moe-nee on her wingman offer, Shouichi! Who wouldn’t be extra receptive when they stand a chance of getting Moe-nee as a sister-in-law too? The answer is the people who will go for Moe-nee instead, but they’re just smart. Still, this would be fun to see.

My SECOND novel, Freelance Heroics, is available now! (Now in print!) (Also available: Firesign #1 Wage Slave Rebellion.) Sign up for my email list for exclusive content. At stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: Starting a story with a bang—and when not to, If my mother was a politician, Why I never give characters temporary names, and Conflicted feelings on the Electoral College.

Full-length images: 11.

Preview

「サキュバスさんはいい大人」 (Sakyubasu-san wa Iiotona)
“Succubus-san Is a Real Adult”

Things keep on chugging along strong with this third episode of Demi-chan!

The Life of a Succubus

There was something really charming about how the show handled its introduction and personalization of Satou Sakie (Hikasa Yoko). At first glance, you might think that the life of a succubus would be one of fun and luxury with their ability to charm anyone with nearly no effort, but in reality it looks like the social repercussions of having the power to cause intense sexual desire in others is nearly as bad ( or worse) than the life of a Dullahan. You can’t touch anyone of the opposite sex without worrying about them turning into deviant, you’re stuck living out in the boonies in a crummy house since you can’t live in affordable housing that has lots of people in close quarters, and the worst of it all is probably the simple fact you’re not allowed to nap anywhere for fear of causing other people to have wet dreams. Also, it looks like you’re not even allowed to wear nice (note I said nice and not even trendy) clothing for fear of attracting attention and causing problem number one from occurring over and over. And don’t even get me started on the problems you’d have with romance, especially if you’re a romantic looking for some “true” love when you have no idea whether or not someone is really into you or just into you because of your powers. Overall, the life of a Succubus sounds pretty god awful if you ask me.

Luckily, Satou-sensei manages to keep a positive outlook on life even though she’s been dealt a pretty awful hand. Toss in that adorable look of hers when she’s knocking back a nice cold beer at night and the strong face she puts up at school and you have another character who adds a ton of charm to this already charming show.

More Questions about Vampires

As energetic as Hikari is, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing her get embarrassed around Takahashi when he ends up asking her questions that involve anything male and female vampires. Something about that shared sense of embarrassment with Hikari combined with Takahashi’s straight face and honest intentions just make for a cute and adorable situation even when the show does something as stupid (but hilarious) as repeat the word sex three times.

Questions about Relationships and Looking Ahead

While Hikari and Takahashi might have something special, it looks like Satou-sensei and Kyouko might be able to give them a run for their money. Seeing two girls just discuss their aspirations for romance is cute, but the added bonus of getting to hear Satou-sensei’s very contrasting inner (and sometimes verbal) monologue is like icing on the cake I didn’t even realize we were eating.

Anyways, I’ll cut things here before the post gets too long. See you guys next week where it looks like Yuki-onna-chan is finally going to get some time to show us just what’s on her mind. See you then!

Preview

「そのぬくもりに用がある」 (Sono Nukumori ni Yougaaru)
“I’m Here for that Warmth”

This week’s episode wasn’t nearly as impactful as the last, but still leaves a lot to be deserved with that cliffhanger. We’re introduced to two important characters this week – Ebato Sanae (Tomatsu Haruka) and Kamomebeta Noriko (Izawa Shiori) or Moka for short. Sanae is a friend of Hanabi’s (and possibly the only female friend she has) and if you’ve seen the entire episode, the cat’s out of the bag… she might have has a crush on Hanabi. Maybe “crush” is putting it simply, I think it’s closer to deep infatuation. On the other hand, Moka doesn’t try and hide her feelings by jumping straight between Hanabi and Mugi when they’re together. Moka makes her motives known by trying to drive a wedge between Hanabi and Mugi but what she doesn’t know is that they’re not in that kind of relationship anyway. While I was reading the manga, I thought Moka was a very stereotypical childhood friend with a crush on the MC that tries everything to get his attention… and if you feel the same way, I’d definitely put aside those impressions and try and keep an eye on her. While she might be annoying, I also think that she’s the most honest with herself and I give her full credit for that. She knows what she wants and goes for it (same with Sanae actually) and she’s very straightforward later on when it comes to confronting Mugi. I know that Sanae has the same straightforward approach to Hanabi, but she doesn’t exactly behave the way I think most people would.

At this point in the manga, I thought that Mugi was the hardest individual to read because his facial expressions (even in the manga) don’t say much about what he’s thinking. His seiyuu, Shimazaki Nobunaga does a great job at keeping his voice flat and indifferent too. While he likes Akane, he’s in this “relationship” with Hanabi and not receptive of Moka’s advances at all. He doesn’t straight-up turn her down either (which is something I never understood even when I was younger). If you know that someone likes you but you don’t return their feelings, why do you keep giving someone hope? Back-up potential? Having read all the manga now though, I can probably get a better sense of what Mugi is thinking but it still doesn’t excuse him of his actions. Hanabi is a lot easier to understand and read (she’s also the MC though) and I feel like her path in the story is a lot more direct. You also get a better idea of how she’s feeling and what her true intentions are as people start interacting too. Whereas Mugi… well his storyline gets a lot more twisted and his past is all sorts of interesting.

This week’s episode was relatively more tame than last week’s; which might have turned off everyone thinking that this is “hentai“. Let me help redefine the word hentai for people that might not understand. In Japanese, the word actually means “weird” or if you read Wikipedia, it means “perverse or bizarre sexual desire or act”. For some reason, in America, the meaning of the word seems to be associated with a genre or type of manga/anime which is more like pornography. Kuzu no Honkai is neither hentai in Japan OR in America because I don’t consider this word reflective of the story’s plot or meaning at all – NOR is it a genre. A better way to describe its demographic would be to label the manga as a josei or seinen because it deals with more mature topics in a relationship that adults or older teens might understand. There will obviously be more “detailed” images of kisses or implications of sex and sexual activity but that’s not the intent of the story. These scenes are created to demonstrate this side of romantic relationships; and if you’ve been in a romantic relationship, the physical interaction is indeed a part of it. It’s not like Mugi and Hanabi simply want to bang their teachers and move on so don’t misunderstand. I hope this clarifies things a bit for people that are turned off. I’m not saying it to defend Kuzu no Honkai because it’s not the greatest anime ever, but it’s a shame if people didn’t give it a shot for those reasons. I think it says a lot for people that might have been in similar situations where they feel like they’re in one-sided relationships and they may or may not be oblivious to others that like them.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: What a cliffhanger for #KuzuNoHonkai! Well obviously you can’t just have two unrequited feelings…but four now! Oh the irony is real. Two new characters- both in love with our MCs with unanswered feelings. This will surely complicate their relationships.

「#3」

Layers, and layers, and layers of drama.

Just like last week, I thought I had gotten the full understanding of this episode, but upon further reflection and re-watching, it’s clear that once again in Rakugo Shinjuu everything is always more than it seems. If I had a single complaint for this episode, it would be that the pacing was a tad bit fast – I don’t know if that comes from the original panelling in the adapted chapter, or that the episode itself adapted more than usual. But that doesn’t detract from the quality, especially since it only felt fast due to how many key scenes there were crammed one after the other. It was a thrill ride, where the 23 minutes zoomed by without warning, and I was left dwelling over just how damn good this show is. It’s still the same Rakugo Shinjuu with its detailed drama, where every scene is vital and the atmosphere is both inspiring and uncomfortable. It’s a relief when great things remain the same, even after such dramatic shifts in time and changes in the main cast.

At the centre of all this drama is the silent toddler, Shin-chan. This adorable kid is still too young to speak his mind, but he’s the catalyst for all of the conflict this episode, and I wonder what he would say if he could speak what’s on his mind. His moments with Konatsu are touching and whenever he and Yotaro share the screen it truly feels like the best father-son relationship, even if they’re not blood related. It’s an odd family dynamic by any measure, but the lack of sex and romance between Yotaro and Konatsu doesn’t make their partnership any less special. I’m likely not alone in rooting for them to properly become man and wife (although the marriage has already been made official) in more than just titles and promises; handholding is the first step but even Konatsu isn’t ready for that quite yet – she’ll be the one to initiate, she claims, which is such a Konatsu thing to say. But in a story like this that spans years and decades, not mere weeks and months, it really hits you that this is perhaps the slowest burn in anime romance history. It makes my love life seem like wildfire and fireworks in comparison!

We also got a reveal that I wasn’t expecting so soon: Shin’s birth father, although we don’t get much of a sense of Konatsu’s true feelings here. Is she embarrassed about the whole situation? Merely concerned for her child? Does she still have feelings for this boss who is apparently a friend of Yakumo’s, if she ever had in the first place? As is pointed out, there are mysteries that are left untold, and unless we get concrete answers (and we don’t need to) it’s all up to interpretation based off what we see on-screen. At the very least, she wants to remove herself from that environment once her maternity leave ends, which indicates that she wants to move on to other (and better) things, for her, her child, and her family going forward. She may have tsundere tendencies, but labelling a character as rich as her with that archetype is near blasphemy. She’s warmed to the idea of this new arrangement, and now that the confrontation is over and done with between the two dads in question, she is likely hoping to move on from this and live the best life she can, listening to Yotaro’s new age of rakugo along the way.

But I must talk about how brilliant that confrontation was. While Rakugo Shinjuu may have stellar art and directing, it’s typically not a great source of sakuga. This, however, was perhaps the best animated sequence of the show, as the camera spun around Yotaro as he screamed out his deepest feelings, delivering every word with the punch and pace you’d expect from a skilled rakugo performer. It’s in moments like that you are so immersed and impressed by what you are seeing and hearing, that you have to give credit not only to the animators who made this a moment to remember, but to Seki Tomokazu, for delivering voice acting that matches with that of Ishida Akira, who also showed off his chops by embracing an older Sukeroku performance that was modelled after and matches the layout and animation of that performance given earlier in the first season.

Even without the audiences and stages to set the rakugo routines, we see the characters showing why they’re great at what they do. And not only that, but Yotaro understands why the characters say what they say; he’s no longer just repeating the words he’s taught, but can put himself into his characters in a way that will hopefully make his path to finding his own rakugo style that much easier. I’m excited for what’s to come with this cast, and by the looks of Shin in the preview, it appears we’re jumping several years once more. In any other show I would be nervous at the thought of timeskips every episode or two, but I have faith in Rakugo Shinjuu that it will continue to deliver excellence from start till finish.

Preview

「この紅魔の娘に友人を！」 (Kono Kurenai ma no Musume ni Yuujin o!)
“A Friend For This Crimson Demon Girl!”

Pyrrhic victory, thy name is Megumin.

Behold Yunyun (Toyosaki Aki), Archwizard of the Crimson Demon clan and Megumin’s eternal rival (self-declared)! For those who watched the OVA—which I didn’t blog, because I’m terrible—you’ll have met Yunyun before, but for those who didn’t, you’re in for a treat. Apparently this episode actually predates the OVA, because in that she just sort of showed up, whereas here we see their first meeting since Kazuma’s arrival. Not that it wasn’t instantly apparent what the two girls’ relationship is like.

What I love about Yunyun—aside from her hopeless personality, cute reactions, and basically everything—is the change she inspires in Megumin. When interacting with Yunyun, Megumin becomes spiteful and dismissive, which changes her from a frequent victim of her own (Explosion-related) and/or Kazuma’s antics, and makes her the aggressor in the relationship. It’s refreshing, adding a new layer to the comedic dynamic! Plus, it’s just flat out funny.

Of course, there’s the fact that Megumin spent much of her childhood basically bullying Yunyun, which, even if it was out of desperation, isn’t a good thing to do. We can agree on that, right? It’s like Kazuma saying he fights back if he’s the victim of unjust romcom violence. We can agree that violence is generally bad, right? Including the aforementioned romcom violence. (Kazuma calling Megumin’s bluff, however, was amazing.) Everyone here is a broken, horrible person, except for Wiz and Yunyun. They’re just broken. Especially Yunyun. Which is what makes KonoSuba fun!

Fortunately the show is firmly on the side of Megumin as a horrible person, since the victory she attains in the duel with Yunyun is as pyrrhic as they come. Yunyun might be forever alone, but Megumin’s done some shit in her time. We probably shouldn’t be laughing at poverty any more than bullying, but Megumin is just so prideful most of the time that I can’t help it! (With Yunyun, we’re probably just bad people. We’d it right in with Kazuma & co, clearly.)

If that was all, this would have been a hilarious episode, but we also got a reprise of the toad incident with a bonus Sena along for the ride. Poor Sena-san, she’s going to regret being involve with Kazuma’s team.

The only part that was weird was Chomusuke showing up out of the blue. KonoSuba is a comedy, and a lot of randomness can be forgiven (and justified) in the name of comedy, but that was pretty abrupt. Probably it’ll feed into a joke later on, so it’s fine. For now, I think we can all agree that being Yunyun is suffering, being Megumin is also suffering (her fault), and that they probably should have taken turns in the bath instead of what ended up happening, even though it was funnier this way. LoliNEET, hah!

Random thoughts:

• Warn inside the toad? Megumin, no… >_< (Doujins undoubtedly incoming, unfortunately.)
• Chomusuke has good taste in oppai. I’d give that cat a medal, but here’s already tasted far better.

My SECOND novel, Freelance Heroics, is available now! (Now in print!) (Also available: Firesign #1 Wage Slave Rebellion.) Sign up for my email list for exclusive content. At stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: Starting a story with a bang—and when not to, If my mother was a politician, Why I never give characters temporary names, and Conflicted feelings on the Electoral College.

ED Sequence

ED: 「お家に帰りたい」 (Oie ni Kaeritai) by Amamiya Sora, Takahashi Rie, Kayano Ai

Preview

OP Sequence

OP: 「JINGO JUNGLE」 by MYTH & ROID

「神がそれを望まれる」 (Kami ga sore o nozomareru)
“Deus lo Vult”

Introductions continue apace as Youjo Senki fills in the remaining backstory gaps this week, although with a more sinister, antagonistic tone. This week is all about the forced conversions, where God makes another appearance in the name of instilling some faith in our atheistic salaryman. The emerging fight between Tanya and God is quickly becoming my favourite part of this show, buoyed—as discussed last episode—by the changes made to Tanya’s meetings with the omnipotent individual. There is no face to face meeting with Grecian god figures or ascendant Buddhists, just a freeze in time and some choice words for our little loli. It adds a degree of power and fear lacking in the source material by showing God to truly be beyond all understanding.

What particularly helps the burgeoning spat too is how personal it is becoming. God apparently never got the memo that forcing someone to pray will likely not encourage them to believe. Yeah you might get a prayer or two, but don’t expect any serious instilment of faith—unless you’re apparently a mad scientist with visions of grandeur. God’s deliberate focus on Tanya is also anime-original, as God never took a personal interest in Tanya in the source, and made the computation jewel function there mostly because of coincidence rather than deliberation. The emotional shift works here though because of that hefty bit of irony coming from God calling the computation’s device “success” a miracle. Either this guy is truly too ignorant to realize the semantic difference between miracles and curses, or we have one hilariously talented troll on our hands. Either way is equally disturbing, but both alone irritate the hell of Tanya and get her wanting explicit revenge against our faceless God. I cannot wait for the next inevitable meeting between the two.

Tanya of course remains devoted to her path of easy living, regardless of God’s new obstacles. While I had a chuckle at trying to downplay her excitement for receiving that training/R&D role, I definitely got a kick out of that chat regarding Viktoriya’s recommendation. Making Tanya appear caring and human indeed, which while fitting with the persona, is only half the explanation. Viktoriya clearly possesses a modicum of skill Tanya recognized, something which if nurtured could help grease the machine propelling Tanya to the top—it’s always good having friends in important places remember. Our salaryman is not a vindictive man after all, personal vendettas for him only sap resources away from the tasks at hand. A useful cog is something to be abused, as Viktoriya will likely discover the hard way.

Next Time: Murphy’s Law in Action

Although Tanya may be headed back to rear lines for training, don’t expect that to last for long. The Empire General Staff are in need of a rapid response unit, and some “mysterious person” just so happened to point Tanya’s file out to them. Our little loli is likely not long for the comforts of quiet nights and soft beds, the horrors of war demand their sacrifice.

Random Tidbits

Deus lo vult as seen here is grammatically incorrect Latin, it’s a Catalan lower class (i.e. non-ecclesiastical) corruption of the correct deus vult form. Edward Gibbon actually discusses this in Chapter LVIII of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

For the curious, Italian Red Devils are red-painted grenades used by the Italian army in World War 2. Their notoriety stems from the uncertainty of whether the one you’re holding will spontaneously blow up in your hand without warning.

Tanya’s nutcracker is hilarious when you remember Youjo Senki’s producers are Studio NUT.

Full-length images: 11.

ED Sequence

ED: 「Los! Los! Los!」 by Tanya Degurechaff (Aoi Yuuki)

Preview

「ライブ!」 (Raibu!)
“Live!”

I don’t know what to say — this episode was done quite beautifully and left me feeling like everything in the world of Fuuka is going in the correct direction.

Love Triangle? HAH!

While it remains to be seen whether or not Koyuki will come rampaging back in the future, I must say that the resolution that came out of this episode left me feeling surprisingly full with joy. Seeing how our titular character is probably the one who Yuu will eventually end up with (at this point at least), I’m so happy that we got to see both sides of a complicated misunderstanding. Starting with Yuu and Fuuka unable to even hold a simple conversation, I was loving the amount of teen angst that was flowing out of my screen. With Fuuka and Yuu unable to find common ground to even express their feelings, the tension was getting so thick you could cut it by simply swinging your finger around. And typically, it’d be at this point where there’d be some crazy plot point that would attempt to bring the two together and eventually leave us with a half-assed answer that partially fixed things without actually addressing what happened. Instead, the best wingman in the world named Mikasa managed to get our two love birds to express their true feelings to one another. Sure, there was a little bit of deception in play but there’s no denying how effective it was.

All of which eventually lead to everyone ending the episode on a high note. Something that I didn’t expect even by the halfway mark and was happy to see since there’s enough shows out there that try to build up romance based off of impossible anime-logic.

The Band!

While the drums might have been a dead giveaway, I’m confident that most of us realized that Yassan was some sort of influential drummer. His hair, the goatee, and that body build just screamed like he could have been part of a band that may have gotten its name from a spiny mammal that sometime is colored blue with red shoes. What was a wee bit surprising though was seeing how their homeroom teacher was also a part of HEDGEHOGS, which in hindsight explains a lot but in any case was a fun little surprise. At this point, I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised since the story needed a really good way to get some music guidance into Yuu, Fuuka, and Mikasa and what better way to do so than with some professional musicans?

Also, even though I wasn’t expecting much in terms of animation, the impromptu performance actually looked pretty good! If I had to rate it, it was a bit better than what we got for K-ON! season one’s performance right before it ended. But honestly, the expressions on everyone’s faces a they performed (and Yuu literally not playing at all) really sold it for me.

Looking ahead

Boy, I thought I was going to have some real choice words for this post when the episode started. Amazingly it turned around quite quickly and actually turned into one of the best things I’ve watched all week! Man for a third episode (I know it’s the 4th, but technically it’s the third week) I have to commend Fuuka for doing such a great job at staying true to what drew me in. Anyways, I’ll see you guys next week. Ciao!

「疑心暗鬼」 (Gishinanji)
“Suspicion Will Raise Bogies”

It may have taken three weeks but I finally felt like I watched a true Ao no Exorcist episode.

No More Rin Hating

They say too much of anything is bad for you and all this self loathing and Rin avoiding has definitely overstayed its welcome. With almost everyone acting like dummies whenever Rin’s face appeared I was starting to get sick of everyone just laying back and not doing anything about it. Don’t get me wrong either, I understand that as members of an organization that is actively fighting against Satan among other things it’s a little tough to have his son as a part of your group. But god damnit, this is the second season and no one has time for these shenanigans. Which is why I was so happy to see it come to an abrupt end. Jarring or not, it’s about damn time everyone admits that they’re being stupid when it comes to ignoring or acting foolish around their own teammate! While it remains to be seen how people like Suguro or to a lesser extend Konekomaru will handle this, it feels like things are at least heading in the right direction.

Also, before anyone accuses me of not liking hardship and some instability between characters, I live for those moments when they’re executed well and don’t last for-freaking-ever.

The Actual Story

With that off my chest since it took me a while to figure out what was bothering me with this sequel (Rin’s a saint for not walking up and punching someone straight in the face), let’s talk a little about the actual point of the show! With the Right Eye of the Impure King being sought after by unknown forces and the story focusing our attention on possible culprits, let me play detective and give some of my opinions since we’re lacking any substantial information.

Obviously, it looks like Suguro’s dad is being painted as the main culprit behind the whole thing. Not in favor with the members of the Myoda Sect and having shade casted at him whenever someone gets the opportunity, I don’t think anyone would fault you for automatically assuming he’s guilty. However, just like I said last week, it’s tough not to think the story is just trying to throw you off with superficial information. And after taking some information from this week’s episode into account, I can’t help but feel like someone at the top (minus Suguro’s dad since he isn’t a member of the Cross) has to be pulling the strings. I mean, how easy would it be to throw suspicion onto someone else when you have people like Shima’s brother and Snake Girl to do all the work for you?

In any case, I still maintain my opinion that Suguro’s dad is being used as a decoy for all of this. Hopefully I don’t end up being completely wrong, but so long as we have a enjoyable ride to the reveal I don’t really mind what happens.

Looking Ahead

With the preview throwing a ton of action at our face, it looks like things are about to get real. Also, Suguro seems to be on the verge of returning to speaking-terms with Rin — a win-win for everyone in the show as well as for us watching. Anyways, I’ll catch you guys then. Hopefully.

Preview

「吉乃のマジックショー」 (Yoshino no majikkushou)
“Yoshino’s Magic Show”

Three episodes in and MnR is certainly getting interesting. The basic romcom setup continues apace with Masamune moving surprisingly quickly on Aki, although the first signs of MnR’s darkness are emerging. MnR’s revenge premise is plenty dark by itself, but considering the comedic nature of the show—especially based on episode one—I assumed the premise would remain a means to push Masamune and Aki into some funny situations. We still see that here, with Masamune scholastically battling it out with Aki to see who’s the smartest one of the bunch, or both winding up on a date which descends into something more awkward than originally intended. What’s changed is the nature of the relationship. As highlighted last episode, Aki definitely likes Masamune—evidenced by her reinforcing the good-natured jest of that email rejection and Masamune’s reaction here—but not as a potential lover. That changed by the end of the date. Aki’s spontaneous lap pillow shows a clear change in her perception, indicating a new infatuation with her old childhood friend. It’s only a fledgling attraction currently, but Masamune has successfully broken through Aki’s “bitch” barrier.

Masamune too is not immune from the effects of love, clearly smitten with Aki’s cute side, but doing everything in his power to avoid falling into the pitfall of puppy love. The risk of Masamune actually liking Aki gives MnR an interesting twist, as that whole revenge plot suddenly becomes thematically relevant. Masamune’s revelation here quickly brings up the forgotten question of consequences regarding Aki’s rejection. Yeah the girl certainly needs (and deserves) a wakeup call, but is publically humiliating her the right path? Yoshino through her trust can already manipulate Aki into doing just about anything, while Masamune is already having an impact on Aki’s actions. The effects may be small at the moment, but over time they do add up. I really hope Masamune does end up attracted to Aki—if only briefly—just to explore this dilemma because it offers a piece of drama not requiring some mundane misinterpretation to generate.

Of course all of this ignores the little monster in hiding that is Yoshino. While Yoshino has her head on right regarding her reason for siding with Masmune, there’s no denying she is probably the most dangerous one currently. Yoshino follows her own schedule and does what she thinks is best, Masamune’s capabilities/opinions be damned. This one more than Aki will likely be the crack tripping up Masamune at some point, likely over something Yoshino gets Aki to do that Masamune is unable to properly take advantage of. Not like I’ll complain though, watching Aki flail around with Masamune is pretty damn funny, especially when she doubles down on incorrect knowledge; having both Aki and Masamune screw up with each other—all due to Yoshino—would be the cherry on top of this revenge scheme disaster in the making. Consider this one picked up for coverage, I’ll be damned if I’m starting to get into it.

Random Tidbits

Aki’s first date PreCure cosplay is doubly hilarious when noting such a thing actually exists. In pickup circles the concept is called peacocking, originally invented by self-described “pickup artist” Mystery who wore outrageous and overly flamboyant outfits to attract attention and/or break the ice. Of course it’s designed more for guys and club settings, but Yoshino’s assistance is ironically factual.

Aki has competition with Kojuurou over food it seems. No competition over who’s the designated bottom though, especially if newly revealed BL lover Futaba has anything to say on the matter.

I’m not sure a maternal outie is called “son of a bitch”, but I’ll eagerly take the JoJo reference regardless :P

Full-length images: 3,21,31.

「件が彼らを嘯く」 (Kenga Karerao Usobuku)
“Sumo Sticker”

Last week, in the CHAOS;CHILD pilot, we talked about how paranoia is the most powerful tool of any good horror. This week, we see how that’s used in storytelling. ‘But Passerby!’ I hear someone cry, ‘This episode was hardly horrifying at all!’. Well, Greg, that’s sort of the point. In practice, horror is not that different from all other kinds of story. Tension has to rise and fall; a show be always trying to scare us all the time. For one, we’d get bored unless the show is able to deliver bigger and bigger scares continuously, which is untenable. It’s a sort of horror-inflation; if we’re inundated with the scares all the time, it’ll eventually become worthless. That goes for any other kind of excitement. So, every once in a while, there must be calm, to ramp the tension back down, so the next spike of tension will feel greater, by comparison.

Horror gets to do extra with this lull in tension because, again, paranoia. Even when the scary horror thing—let’s call it ‘the monster’—is not on screen, humans are pretty smart cookies. We understand object permanence. We know that the monster is still out there. Plus, we also know that we’re watching a horror anime, and know that it’s going to throw in a scare at some point. So we anticipate the monster. We look for it in every shadow, suspect every character as the next victim, jump at every sudden noise. Let’s face it, no matter how well a show designs its monster, nothing compare to our ability to scare ourselves. It’s why phobias exist; pure, irrational fear can be formed only from within. The imagination is a powerful thing. When the monster is on screen, and has form, we can sort of rationalise it, maybe think about how to defeat it or escape it. When the show plants the idea of the monster in our heads, though, our imaginations run wild. An idea is shapeless and perfect; in our imaginations, the monster is the scariest thing possible. And it’s much more convincing too, since it’s the product of our own minds. By building the sense of paranoia, the audience is roped into playing an active part in convincing themselves that the horror is real. There may be nothing to fear but fear itself, but that can actually be terrifying.

So yeah, that was a very long-winded way to try to explain the lull in episode 02 of CHAOS;CHILD. You’ll find that almost all episode 02s of any show will start by bringing things down from the big opener of the pilot, whether they deal in horror or not. One should note, though, that CHAOS;CHILD its fellow Science Adventure series—the semicolon titles—are not pure horrors. They, as one may expect, have a science-fiction/mystery angle. Even in the face of the terrifyingly supernatural, we are invited, through our protagonists, to seek answers and explanation. Science! The true horror, the crushing of the spirit, will come in the middle of the story arc (I suspect), when the answers do not come, our science seems to fail, and without it we become powerless.

So, mostly slow-ish setup, still, without the full paranoia kicking quite yet (though our protagonist is already suffering). The quiet seems better used to lull us into a false sense of security, to shock us all the more. Wait, is she really dead? Isn’t she a main character? She may yet survive, or perhaps we can’t believe everything we see, but what will it mean if CHAOS;CHILD is willing to kill a female lead just like that? We question. And we don’t know if there will be answers.

「第二のドラゴン、カンナ！（ネタバレ全開ですね）」 (Dai Ni no Doragon, Kanna! (Netabare Zenkai Desune))
“Second Dragon, Kanna! (We’re Totally Spoiling Here)”

I want to believe, as untrue as it is, that someone at Kyoani reads Random Curiosity and took into consideration what we said in the post / comments.

Let’s Talk About Pacing Redux

I know that breaking up segments with a literal transition isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but for Maid Dragon I think the use of literal breaks really helped with the pacing. Instead of diving from segment to segment like last week, you could literally feel the rhythm the episode was following. Alternating between somewhat serious and hilarious moments, the high points hit harder and the lull in-between those highs avoided feeling like one long joke that just blurred together.

Pacing aside, I loved how the material itself was just fun to watch. As I said last week, I was hoping that the story would really kick into gear after laying down the foundation last week — and it definitely did. I suppose you could chalk it up to the pacing itself, but it felt like the story wasn’t afraid to just do whatever it wanted to do. Unlike last week where we had the same type of joke (or specifically the same framing and shots) repeat one after another, the variety and intensity of everything was so varied that it just felt right. I also loved how we had a few serious moments woven in-between all the humor as well. With just enough focus on the issues and insecurities that might plague a dragon, it makes you wonder what other troubles someone like Tooru might have deep down inside.

Overall, I think I have to commend this second episode for coming full circle when it comes to the story and the pacing. Good on you Maid Dragon!

Kanna is Life

I hope I’m not alone in this, but god damn I wasn’t ready for the amount of cute Kanna was about to bring into the series. Retaining everything that made her such a cutie, her transition into an animated character made her ten times cuter. From the way she moved to the way she spoke, there was almost too much cute in all of it. And to top it all off, seeing how she fills in the “younger” character role (makes you wonder just how old she really is though), how could you not love any moment that involved Kobayashi’s tenderness as she tried to be an “older” sister for Kanna? God, as much as I would love to go on and on about how great Kanna is as a character, I’ll let you guys post more things down in the comments.

Looking Ahead

For a slice-of-life that involves Dragons, this second episode probably had more magic and action than most shows in the fairytale / fantasy genre. Anyways, I’ll catch you guys next week where it looks like a few more dragons make their appearance and we’ll hopefully hear the edgiest Ono Daisuke ever. See you then!

P.S. I’m a little disappointed they didn’t throw Fafnir into the ending sequence. ONO DAISUKE’S CHARACTER NEEDS LOVE TOO.

ED Sequence

ED: 「イシュカン・コミュニケーション」 (Ishukan • Komyumikeeshon) by トール、カンナ、エルマ、ルコア (Tooru, Kanna, Eruma, Rukoa)

Preview