「181045」

Taking a ball a ball to the face is not fun at all. I speak from experience. Once upon a time a younger, fitter Passerby made football (soccer to the Americans, association football to the pedantics) his school yard pastime of choice. And you know how little kids are at sports. Boundless energy, zero discipline. It didn’t help that I was a zealous defender, always getting up in the opponents’ grill. Not like they cared; there’s only one thing kids want to do in football and that’s clearing the ball across the field whenever possible. But Passerby wasn’t going to let that happen! He’ll be marking you, ready to intercept. With his face. At point-blank range.

Brain damage, you say? Developmental issues, even? Nonsense. I turned out perfectly spatula.

Still, you’d think that demonic mind flayers would be more careful about preserving the skull-meats of their livestock. Why not just keep them indoors with mental exercises, instead of letting them run around outside where injury and concussions await? Is there more to their diet than the the tasty, tasty grey matter? Does free-range taste better?

I don’t know if Yakusoku no Neverland wanted us to think about these things, but there is some level of casual sadism that it invites us to indulge in. I’m never really sure whether I’m supposed to be horrified or intrigued. Sure, eating children is terrible but… what’s their recipe? This kind of complicit spectator perspective is enforced by the camera, which is often voyeuristic. Of course, part of the reason for this is that we know there’s a snitch, but we peek on the villains too. On that note, I’m glad Sister Krone is here because she adds much to the narrative. In stories like these, villains are always more interesting than heroes. The heroes are simple; they don’t want to get eaten so work to escape. But why do the villains do what they do? Were they humans once? Ex-orphans? What motivates their apparent cruelty? The entry of Sister Krone gives Mother (Isabelle?) someone to interact with, so we can see more of her business side. And we’re also fortunate that Sister Krone is actually insane and will freely monologue and even break into character-developing song. But even then, there’s only more questions. What do thse ‘plant’ hierarchies actually mean? What’s the use in climbing them?

But for now, I guess we have to worry about the snitch. Unlike the horrified Emma, though, I’m once again more curious. Does the snitch actually know the secret? Are they selling out humanity willingly? Or are they naive and being manipulated? And I really hope it’s not actually glasses girl. These things are no fun when they’re made obvious.

By the way, let me know in the comments what you feel about coverage of Yakusoku no Neverland. THere are a lot of great series this season but, as always, limited time, so if you have any strong feelings about this show then make sure you’re heard.

「問題は山積み」 (Mondai wa Yamazumi)
“A Mountain of Problems”

Whereas the last episode made a convincing argument to join the church of Miku, this time around, it’s Nino’s time to shine. But unlike the effective strategy to make Miku as adorable and endearing as can be, Nino will need a little time before she reaches any level of bearable. As the tsundere sister with far less tolerance for Fuutarou than Itsuki, Episode 03 explores the utter contempt that she has for Fuutarou and the resentment she has for him invading her sisters’ private spheres as their tutor.

That isn’t to say that Nino shouldn’t be celebrated because of her abrasiveness, but her role this early on is definitely adversarial as she proactively works to try to get her sisters not to take part in Fuutarou’s tutoring. When he swooped in to protect her from the falling books, she was also completely on-board with Itsuki framing him so that he can be kicked out of the house once and for all. At this point in time, she seems static in her development as her growth by the end of the episode arrives in the form of being openly oppositional to Fuutarou no matter what her sisters say. As opposed to Miku’s sudden epiphany to allow Fuutarou to tutor her, the story is willing to pace it out when it comes to Nino trying to swallow down the bitter pill that is Fuutarou’s tutoring.

There are hints of conflict on the surface that Nino refuses to acknowledge such as being upset with her father for hiring Fuutarou in the first place, but a bulk of her troubles are with how she interacts with her sisters. She spends the majority of the episode digging into Miku as she sees her as the only obstacle in getting Fuutarou kicked out. She tries to embarrass and humiliate Miku for the possibility of crushing on someone as dull as him, resulting in Miku pushing back. Nino and Miku’s cook-off might seem like an incidental attempt to get Fuutarou out of their apartment, but it’s also asymptomatic of Nino’s insecurities about whether she is a proper sister. While she assumes that Fuutarou is Miku, she tries to make amends for getting rough enough with her to challenge her to a cook-off. As the trial came to a close, Ichika opened up a sore spot for Nino by asking everyone to relax since they used to all get along better as sisters. Nino had constantly pushed the idea that Fuutarou was coming in to cause a rift between the sisters, but that rift was already there. His presence only called to attention the need that Nino and the sisters have to be on better terms with one another. Again, this wasn’t the episode to finish such an arduous conflict, but because it will take investment and self-awareness to be able to resolve, it will be something interesting to keep tabs on as Nino is better adjusted to both Fuutarou’s presence and her sisters’ attitudes towards his tutoring. For the meantime, there is plenty more to learn about the girls such as what they’re all doing on their own. While Yotsuba was able to make the basketball team, Ichika was off doing some work that should come into the fold once Fuutarou draws attention to it. But for now, we can relax knowing that Nino can comfortably hate him to her heart’s desire.

As for Fuutarou, his on-going battle with Nino did put his ability to communicate with the girls to the test. The trial was his most damning moment yet as he was unable to let the girls know that he was just trying to find his flashcards and that he was trying to save Nino from falling books when he accidentally fell on her. He was also unable to put Miku’s advice to good use in letting his natural side help him win Nino over. It’s a relief that his inability to win over Nino just yet indicates that the objective of the anime won’t be for him to win everybody over on an episode-by-episode basis. At the same time, it’s good to see that, as perfect as Fuutarou is with his academic side, it’s his emotional grasp on convincing the girls to accept him that creates a tougher challenge for him to face. As for the next episode, it’s looking like we’ll be seeing more of his sister, so it’ll be neat if she ends up playing a role in getting the Nakano’s better acquainted with him.

Preview

「この女触れるべからず」 (Kono onna fureru bekarazu)
“Do Not Touch This Woman”

While Netflix subbing shenanigans may be making this season more annoying than it should be (that day delay hurts my coverage choices let’s just say), Kakegurui isn’t about to let it impact its own fun and games if this week was any indication. With base premise and character introductions out of the way (mostly), it’s time to get down to brass tacks we’re all here for. Sit down and buckle up friends—it’s gambling time.

As is the case with series relying on psychological suspense for their entertainment, one of Kakegurui’s biggest difficulties is upping the ante with each new gamble. What do you do after threatening to chop off fingers? Well a little poison couldn’t go wrong. While Kakegurui has stumbled with this issue before in its previous season, the results so far are handling things nicely, especially considering the characters involved. It’s not often we see poor innocent Suzui involved in the game after all, and one with Yumeko mortally sidelined from the joys and pleasure of gambling at that. And top it off with Kirari’s timid twin sister and Meari (Pancakes spelling best spelling) joining at the last minute? Oh darling, we have a party on our hands. As Midari last week and now Runa here show the mixing of both main cast and student council members ensures plenty of room for some seriously entertaining stuff, particularly with the Momobami proclivity towards specific areas of interest helping set up the games. It may only be early days, but if the trappings of future Momobami gambles are as unique as the last two, we’re in for some fun gambling in the near future.

Of course what ensures things stay fun are the gambles themselves and in this regard Kakegurui is also running full speed. As the first season showed well the challenge of these games is not so much winning as encouraging your opponents to throw in the towel. It’s all pure mind games and mental calculations which makes even the most simple and fair competition into some seriously overbearing struggles. Suzui for example personifies the difficulty: do you play defensively in an effort to keep yourself safe, or aggressively to knock your enemies out? Each strategy has its merits and faults (hard to be defensive here without zeroes for example), and both depend heavily on what your opponents also intend to do. Reason wrong or misread/underestimate your opponent and a foolproof strategy could quickly turn into flaming defeat. It’s what our wannabe Lucrezia Miyo is probably going to learn the hard way about Meari. You think little miss blondie is really going to sacrifice Suzui (and by extension Yumeko) after everything they’ve experienced before, just to win a match she originally never had an interest in? Yeah, didn’t think so.

The Momobami clan may have skill and multiple areas of expertise, but when it comes to gambling they’re minnows in a pond full of sharks—and the first drop of blood has just hit the water.

Preview

「魔王ミリム来襲」 (Maou Mirimu Raishu)
“Demon Lord Milim Attacks”

I. Love. Milim.

After a bunch of serious episodes that really did some heavy lifting when it came to world building, it was real nice to finally get an episode that just was a huge package of fun. And by fun, I mean Milim’s introduction because as a character it’s really fun seeing someone stronger than Rimuru finally enter the picture. Not only does she provide a nice contrast to the stoic behavior of all our other characters who revere Rimuru, but you have to love someone who’s able to call Rimuru their friend. You know, if you really think about it, how long has it been since someone’s actually called Rimuru their friend? Come to think about it, has Veldora been the only one minus Milim who’s went and formally called Rimuru their friend? Also, was I the only one who was a little annoyed Benimaru and friends came in and interrupted Rimuru’s conversation with Milim? It’s not like they didn’t know who she was, and you’d think by this point they’d understand that Rimuru is capable of handling himself in the face of all things overwhelming.

Fun times aside, I also enjoyed the little bit of seriousness that the story sprinkled in right toward the end. Looking back at the short scene with the Demon Lords earlier in the episode, it’s actually kind of crazy how the balance of power works in Rimuru’s world. With vast nations controlling things at a political level, it makes you wonder what kind of balancing act those leaders are doing when it comes to making sure these Demon Lords don’t come and just obliterate things. Which then leads to the next logical question — why are the Demon Lords in a non-aggression pact with each other? Could it be the fact that the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction is at play here? Jokes aside, I do hope we get the chance to see some more of the Demon Lords since there are a lot of unanswered questions here — hopefully Milim will be the one who can get that ball rolling.

In any case, this week’s episode was just plain fun and I wouldn’t mind a few more episodes like these. However, based on Rimuru’s monologue toward the end of the episode, it looks like there’s something menacing is hiding over the horizon. Hopefully it doesn’t end up wrecking the town that Rimuru’s been spending his time building, but it looks like only time will tell. See you guys then!

Preview

「重ねる危険 ～変質～」 (Kasaneru Kiken ~ Henshitsu ~)
“One Danger After Another ~Degeneration~”

The Brits have a saying (and have since the 14th Century apparently), “as different as chalk and cheese”. It certainly applies to the twin pillars of anime 2019 so far, the two Monday late-night masterpieces-in-making Dororo and Mob Psycho 100 II. About all they have in common is that both are anime and both feature Ohtsuka Akio being brilliant (though his performances are chalk and cheese in their own right). Apart, of course, from the fact that both are stunningly good so far – better, in fact, than anything from 2018 that lasted for an entire cour or more.

Can either of these shows do that? I definitely have more confidence in this one, given that Dororo is two cours while Mob Psycho is 12 episodes, and the material is more of an enigma to me. I could do without both of them airing when they do, frankly, because that makes them Tuesday evening shows for me and I have a real job which gets me out of bed at 6 AM. I can never remember Monday being home to a season’s two best shows to be honest – in the glory days of NoitaminA Thursday was often an anime paradise, and in recent years the action has shifted mostly to the weekend.

Needless to say, I’m thrilled we’re getting two shows of this caliber whenever they’re broadcast, and it would be hugely ungrateful to feel otherwise. Seeing Dororo come out with a classic and have Mob dogpile right on top of it does remind me of those heady days of yore (2012 most especially) when that kind of stuff seemed to happen in anime a lot. Mob Psycho 100 is such a fascinating jumble of styles and tones, all over the map visually and otherwise, but ultimately it all comes down to Mob – because make no mistake, he’s very much a tragic figure at the heart of this series.

Maybe it’s fitting that Mob’s name is only one letter off from “moe”, because he’s one of those characters you just want to protect with all your ability. It’s the world’s blessing that it was Mob that was cursed with the powers he has, and they’re a burden on him. He’s forced himself to cut himself off from his emotions to protect those he loves, and indeed the world – but he’s a boy who feels emotions so deeply that suppressing them constantly is a curse in its own right. And now, when he’s finally coming to terms with the idea that he needs to allow himself to feel, he’s slapped in the face with all the darkness of the human soul – a reminder of the temptations that someone who can do what Mob can do will be faced with every day.

There are the bullies – typical lowlife spotty thugs Mob could grind to dust with one of his eyelashes. But he dare not, so he’s forced to allow himself to be humiliated – even as Dimple, then Ritsu, then the Body Improvement Club show up to (over)react on his behalf. Then a client drawn by Reigen’s 90′s-vintage website, who orders Reigen to curse someone for him. Reigen would never do that of course, but the man won’t take no for an answer. To Reigen, who’s both a good man and a con man, BS-ing a fake curse and refusing to take any money is a logical way out, but poor Mob sees the big picture – he worries about sending a man off into the world believing that he’s cursed someone (with good reason, as it turns out).

It doesn’t get any better from there. First we have another web referral, a woman who believes she’s being stalked by a spirit – but it turns out to be the pervert-next-door using OBE’s to spy on her. Mob is horrified to see the change in the woman’s tone when she finds out that her stalker was a human. And finally, some college A-holes who drag Reigen (and Mob) off into the mountains to protect them while they pose for a “spirit photo” at a supposedly haunted spot, then bail without paying and them the boys stranded. Worse yet, when they actually see a ghost (a young boy) in their photo, they insist that Reigen take them back to the abandoned house in the mountains to exorcise it – because it’s “creepy that it even exists”. Take note of the wonderful shots Tachikawa-sensei inserts of Mob in the back seat between the students – he looks so trapped. It’s a wonderful metaphor, since almost everyone can remember those moments as a kid, trapped in the back seat, powerless about where you were going…

For poor Mob, this is perhaps his greatest existential crisis as a psychic. These are not evil spirits, but a family who’ve stayed behind after dying tragically because they didn’t want to separate. Even when Dimple tries to goad the father into killing the students when they continue to insist on an exorcism (this seemed harsh on Dimple’s part, but in hindsight it was necessary), the ghost refuses to turn. Reigen is torn, not wanting to piss off the client and not quite seeing the magnitude of the problem. But for Mob, that magnitude is 8.0 – he’s being forced into a decision he should never have to make, another burden heaped on him because of his power.

Reigen is Mob’s great protector, no question, but he was pretty careless here. No matter how much empathy he has for Mob, he can’t truly understand the pressures Mob is faced with – and what might seem trivial or simple to Reigen is viscerally terrifying to Mob. He does realize this, just in the nick of time – and it’s reassuring to know he (and Dimple too) will always be in Mob’s corner. But I can’t help being gutted at what Mob has to endure, all because of something he never asked for and was given no choice over. The saddest part of all this is that no matter how much Reigen or Ritsu or anyone else may want to protect him, ultimately Mob has to face his terrors on his own – because he’s the only one who understands what it means to be the person he is.

Preview

「アンとグレア」 (Anne & Grea)
“Anne & Grea”

The long delayed Shingeki no Bahamut spin-off Manaria Friends is finally here, and it’s an odd one. Billed as a slice-of-life school story that just so happens to be set in the world of Rage of Bahamut, these dual purposes show. For a magical-fantasy-school-slice-of-life series, the setting and background seem far too lush and detailed, as is befitting of a story harvesting the assets of an existing IP. Not a bad thing! The setting and art are my favorite things about this first episode, because it makes everything feel so much more than a simple school life anime.

By the same token, following a pair of princesses in Anne (Hikasa Yoko) and Grea (Fukuhara Ayaka) is an odd choice for a slice-of-life story, because usually royal persons are meant for grander things within a fantasy adventure/high fantasy setting. Everything seems so grand, so epic, and then it ends up being rather mundane (for the setting), and it’s hard to see exactly what this series is going for? Though I put that down mostly to a first episode that’s only 15 minutes long, so when it stops where the introductions feel only half over, it sort of is.

Manaria Friends is an odd duck of a series, and at ten episodes with only fifteen minutes per, it won’t be around for long. It’s pleasant enough, though, so I’ll definitely check out a couple more episodes myself. The setting is beautiful enough that I’ll tune in just to look at the pretty art.

My second novel, Freelance Heroics, is available! (Also available: Firesign #1 Wage Slave Rebellion.) Third book in progress now! Sign up for my email list for updates. At stephenwgee.com, the last two posts: Celebrities’ Political Opinions, An Author’s Review of: Freelance Heroics.

Epilogue:

ED Sequence

Preview

End Card

「寿海の巻」 (Jukai no Maki)
“The Story of Jukai”

This week’s Dororo explores the origin story of the country doctor Jukai and his search for redemption. It takes the concept of seeking atonement for past sins and explores it in-depth with the struggles that Jukai faces to come to terms with the lives he had taken and the violence he had caused.

Whereas past episodes showed Jukai while he placed prosthetics on dismembered dead soldiers to honor their lives, the first scene of this episode flips the script on Jukai by showing him brutally killing people for Lord Shiba. Brutal and gory scenes of him severing limbs and fingers as he nailed soldiers to crosses set the tone for the life that he had lead up. Seeing a fleeing woman get stabbed in the chest was what changed him from that day forward as his failed suicide attempt caused him to lead a new life as a country doctor who gave people prosthetic limbs so they can return to their old selves. The ghosts of his past, however, would continue to follow him as his apprentice leaves him upon finding out that Jukai’s army had killed his father, and his attempt to raise Hyakkimaru resulted in only teaching him how to kill.

Jukai’s guilt and search for redemption are complicated and nuanced since he clearly has emotions and a conscious, but the fact that he had helped commit several atrocities weighed down on him to the point of causing him to never be able to see himself as anything beyond his older days. Because Jukai loathes who he used to be, the guilt keeps following him in spite of the many lives that he has improved along the way, and even though he raised Hyakkimaru to keep him healthy and alive with his missing body parts, helping Hyakkimaru with his destiny to hunt and kill demons only reminded him of the suffering he once caused. The episode ends with him wandering in the rain, but by raising Hyakkimaru, it solidified why Jukai decided to spend the rest of his life trying to take responsibility for his actions and place more value on the lives of others.

Additionally, it was interesting to see the quick juxtaposition between Hyakkimaru and Tahoumaru. The attraction that demons had to Hyakkimaru had forced Jukai to raise him to defend himself against demons. As a result, much of his childhood and adulthood was spent training in combat using the only senses he had, leaving him to face years of rigorous training just to be able to fend for himself. His limited senses had restricted his ability to grow attached to anyone or anything around him beyond the human-shaped gray blob that cared for him. While Hyakkimaru’s birth was seen as by his father as a fortunate omen to be discarded, Tahoumaru’s birth was a blessed day that was only offset by the omen of the destroyed statue in their estate that was left during Hyakkimaru’s nativity. The anime highlighted their differences by comparing the difficult training that Hyakkimaru faced with the light-hearted practice that Tahoumaru took part in to hone his sword-fighting abilities. With a loving father and mother praising his every move, he seemed to have it relatively easy except for the foreboding feeling that the destroyed statue gave him. But at the moment, the sheltered nature of Tahoumaru’s childhood is contrasted with the uphill battle Hyakkimaru faces as he grew up only knowing of the demons that follow him, the threat they pose to him, and how he needs to kill each of them, especially if he wants to restore his body parts.

Flashback episodes tend to break up the momentum of a series sometimes, but the third episode of Dororo is impressive in giving Jukai a thorough and hard-hitting backstory that sets the scene for how Hyakkimaru came to be who he is today. The direction of telling this week’s story in black & white was impressive as were the events the lead to Hyakkimaru and Jukai going on the paths they presently face. Although Hyakkimaru was blessed with the curse of feeling physical pain, it should give him the development he needs to search for meaning as he slowly transitions into a fully-functioning human.

Winter 2019 is in full swing now (only Piano no Mori left to premiere – thanks, Gaina), and this week’s voting is all over the map. Way more series got votes than ever, though the ones at the top remain the same as opening week.

A couple of twists to the format make their debutante appearance this week… First, “Ask the Writer”, where we put interesting questions to the RC staff and get a peek inside their minds* (if you have questions you’d like to see answered in future Up to Snuff columns, post them in the comments – if we like ‘em, we may answer ‘em). Next, I offer the first in our “Dark Horse” category – shows which we think have a chance to surprise this season.

Without further ado, here are Winter’s premiere results:

*may not be suitable for children

• Guardian Enzo’s Dark Horse Series: Domestic na Kanojo – Let me be clear, I fully expect this series to crash and burn spectacularly at any time. But as dark horses go it definitely qualifies, because TBH I was expecting to hate it right out of the gate and (I almost can’t believe I’m typing this) the first two eps were really good. The premise is an affront to human dignity waiting to happen, but so far it’s being handled with shocking restraint and even some class, and the characters are quite authentic and sympathetic. Following this show goes way beyond walking through a minefield (I see way more mines than field) but for now, damned if I don’t like it. A lot.

 

Ask The Writers

• Choya: I think Attack on Titan is probably the main one because the more spoilers I read, the less interested I am in continuing it. It’s not often that a big spoiler would ruin a series or film for me. With Shingeki no Kyoujin, it was a series of spoilers that ended up lessening my interest in continuing the series. After reading about the on-going events of the Marley arc, there is no reason for me to want to catch up to it at all.
• Zaiden: Star Wars Episode VII (editor’s note: not an anime!) – Spoilers don’t usually bother me as an individual — the journey is more important than the destination. I’m usually more intrigued about why things will pan out the way they do. But there wound up being one exception to this. When Star Wars Episode VII came out, which fan wasn’t excited? I didn’t use the internet to avoid all spoilers. But a cheeky banner at school the next day had other ideas. I’ve never been the same person since..
• Enzo: Little Busters Refrain. I was blogging it at both sites and it was a miracle I managed to stay as unspoiled as I did. But that show was so mystery-reveal driven and so emotional that even partial spoilage kind of really sucked.
• Passerby: Back in my day we didn’t talk about anime. When you meet with a stranger obscured by a broad hat and a tall collar and he presses a dusty VHS cassette into your hands, he will not tell you what it’s about nor should you ask. No, you tuck it into a deep pocket inside your duster jacket, away from the prying eyes of the innocent, and you smuggle it home with you. Then, you wait. You wait until the dead of night, to the hour referred to in hushed whispers as Geisterstunde, when all would sleep but fear and shadows, and with them as your witness you shall watch that anime. By the light of your CRT screen shall you burn it into your memory forever, so that when comes your time to pass that tape on to another fan, they will look into your eyes and understand.
  So, no, there were no spoilers. Only omens.
• Stilts: I was spoiled on a certain car-related event in Kanon. It didn’t matter. Possibly it made it worse. I still bawled like a baby, one of the best cries I’ve ever had.
• Takaii: Spoilers don’t really bother me all that much, but if you do it on purpose, I’ll murder you.

OP Sequence

OP: 「ソラノネ」 (Soranone) by ZAQ

「さすらいの6人」 (Sasurai no 6-ri)
“The Wandering Six”

It’s interesting that Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai‘s curious mixture of 2D and 3D animation can reveal to us about the anime production process. Last week there were some comments asking about why some characters were 3D and some were 2D, why some were ostensibly more important than others. Here’s something I should have noted then: the captain guy was 2D, but sneakily, in the OP he was already 3D. Usually I would attribute this discrepancy to a matter of timing; 3D models take time to make, and perhaps they just didn’t have his finished yet. The OP/ED are usually one of the last things produced for any anime while the pilot is logically one of the earliest, and it’s entirely possible that the models for some of the supporting cast were given lower priority. The episode 00 of Seikai Suru Kado also had its protagonsit in 2D only to give him an extra dimension later so the practice is not unheard of. But here, in episode 02 of Kotobuki, we witness an interesting phenomenon: characters sliding back and forth between dimensions. That’s… peculiar, to say the least. Anime isn’t made entirely linearly so it’s possible that some of these scenes were produced much earlier than others. Or perhaps it wasn’t always intended that this show have 3D characters, so we have leftover scenes. Or perhaps Kotobuki is not entirely comfortable with its 3D technology and what it can do with it so falls back on 2D now and again. Were the crutches too difficult? Surely it wasn’t the high kick? Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. Whatever the case may be, it’s still a concern for me. An anime that changes its art style at the drop of a hat for no discernible artistic purpose would be thoroughly distracting, and what Kotobuki does it similarly so. I hope they don’t make a habit out of it.

But enough about the characters. While this week does feature an arc for two of them (one of which we’ve only just met and already annoys me), let’s not kid ourselves. They’re not really the stars of the show. Everyone’s here for the planes! And accordingly, this week we get a bit more fangirl action over the Hayabusas. Considering how fond the director was for the CV.33 back in Girls und Panzer I would assume he has a thing for neat but ultimately defunct war machines and he demonstrates it once again in Kotobuki. If you’ve watched The Wind Rises you’ll have heard all the talk about elegence in design before. But the Americans offered a strong refutation back in WWII: you don’t need elegance if you can just slap in a bigger engine. If I was a daredevil mercenary fighting sky pirates on a dangerous fronter I would probably want for something better than a Hayabusa, but I suppose you have to work with what you’ve got.

On that note, here’s another barrier Kotobuki raises, besides the aesthetic: aeroplane knowledge. I don’t boast extensive knowledge myself and only barely managed to follow along as characters rattled off models to each other, and I imagine the completely uninitiated would rightfully have no clue what a ‘Hien’ is and why it matters. Though I suppose it’s not a huge deal that we can’t; all we really need to take away is that the ‘pirates’ showed up with fancier gear than anticipated. But we shouldn’t forget that Kotobuki was obviously made with a very specific sort of nerd in mind, and they will be the ones to extract maximum entertainment from the show. For the rest of us, Kotobuki has plenty of old-fashioned storytelling in it as well, so no worries there. There’s some mention of fringe politics and economies on the frontier collapsing and tensions rising in general, and admittedly I don’t know what’s going on there either but I assume it’ll all be fleshed out when the plot is good and ready.

For now, let me know if Kotobuki is the kind of show you want to see continued coverage of. I’ll give it at least another episode but I sadly don’t have as much time for blogging as I’d like, so your input will be paramount in deciding what makes the cut.

ED Sequence

ED: 「翼を持つ者たち」 (Tsubasa wo Motsu Mono-tachi) by The Kotobuki Squadron (the main cast girls)

Preview

「烈日の騎士」 (Retsujitsu no Kishi)
“The Relentless Knight”

I knew those two “sisters” looked too suspicious.

Before we start off, let me take this moment to bask in the glory of thinking those two girls were too damn suspicious. Besides being outside during an emergency where there could have been monsters from the Dark Territory wandering around the Cathedral, I had a feeling their weapons looked a little too nice for simple sisters. Thank god my senses were right since the two were really getting on my nerves by the time we understood just who and what they were. That said, I have to give credit where credit is due since Eugeo got completely caught off guard by their whole ploy. Not only were both girls able to cleanly stab our boys, but their “act” right up to that moment was pretty darn good. Luckily Kirito was on the same train of thought as I me and was able to prepare some countermeasures to Linel and Fizel’s sneak attack.

But as if that in itself wasn’t cool enough, Kirito really took things to a whole new level this week as he took on the second-ranked (maybe created is more accurate) Integrity Knight. Fighting against the power of the sun itself, I can’t imagine how painful it was for him to literally get pierced by the power of the sun. A point that leads me into a small secondary point — have you guys noticed how well Kirito and Eugeo have been able to shrug off pain recently? Looking back to the early episodes where Kirito’s face looked like he was about to die after getting smacked by an Orc’s club, it feels almost a little odd that he’s been able to shrug things off like getting serious burns or having something pierce completely through his body. Sure I could chalk it up to his power level going up which could mean various objects have less overall “impact” on his body, but it’d be nice for the show to address it.

All that said, not too bad for another setup episode where we met a handful of characters. Luckily it looks like we’re going to be in for a treat next week when we get to see just what special powers Kirito’s blade has since the episode conveniently cut off right before we could see just what Kirito could do. In any case, see you guys then!

Preview

「かぐや様は交換したい／藤原ちゃんは出かけたい／白銀御行は隠したい」 (Kagu ya-sama wa Koukan Shitai/ Fujiwara-chan wa Dekaketai/ Shirogane Onkou wa Kakushitai)
“Kaguya Wants to Trade / Chika Wants to Go Somewhere / Miyuki Wants to Hide His Ignorance”

We’re only two eps in, but I can already tell Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai is going to be a vexing series for me. Some shows are slam-dunks one way or the other, some you feel indifferent about, but this is one of those that pulls you in two different directions. It’s a matter of whether you’re willing to take the bad (as you define it) with the good – whether the toll to cross the bridge is worth paying or not. Or you hope that things improve enough that it becomes a moot point.

A few things strike me after watching the second episode:

• The first 4:15 of the episode was almost entirely narration and EP, and if that weren’t enough it was pretty all recycled from the first episode. That’s certainly easy on the production budget, but I sincerely hope it’s not going to be the case every week (apparently this was content from the first chapter after the series changed publications – though choosing to leave it in was a fairly bogus move by the anime staff).
• This is basically a gag comedy, and it seems to fall into the bucket many gag manga adaptations do – some of the gags work a lot better than others. I haven’t hated any of the chapters so far, but it’s two weeks in a row where only one of them really made me laugh hard. Still, any comedy that can make me LOL is unusual. But that’s the nature of comedies that take the volume approach – throw a ton of jokes out there and some of them are bound to hit the target (unless the writing is incompetent, which is not the case here).
• Last week it was the bento chapter that really made me laugh, this week the love advice chapter. Commonalities:
  1. Very little narration. Is that a coincidence? Surely not.
  2. Major focus on non-protagonist characters. Coincidence? Almost surely not.
  3. Third and final chapter of the episode. Probably a coincidence (but that’s not as obvious as it might seem).

One thing is clear, this is certainly a change of pace for Hatakeyama Mamoru after Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu. Very much a return to his roots in fact, which is not entirely a boon for me but will surely please fans of Shaft, because for all intents and purposes Kaguya-sama is a 100% Shaft series in terms of style, just with a better director and less corner-cutting on production. That is what it is, and it seems very unlikely that it’s going to change. That means it really comes down to how funny the gags are, and how one feels about the two protagonists.

That’s a complicated question, in point of fact. In using Miyuki and Kaguya as leads, is this series committing itself to basically using them as objects of ridicule – on other words, is the humor here effectively at their expense? Or is a matter of them becoming more likeable as the series progresses? They’re both pretty pathetic to be certain, but that’s surely part of the joke if not all of it – these elites held up as paragons of grace and maturity by their classmates, but in point of fact both clueless and petty when it comes to romance and totally unmade by their feelings for each other.

That last part would be another reason why the “Confession” chapter worked so well – it perfectly epitomizes the disconnect between the perception of Miyuki (and by extension Kaguya) and the reality. The first two parts are more or less just two petty children trying to outdo the other at making their rival uncomfortable, with Chika being cute and silly in the background. What worries is that might be the meat of what Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai is, for the most part – and anything above and beyond that an occasional exception.

*Note: The irritating subbing decision were Miyuki and Kaguya addressed each other by their names rather than titles was fixed – and apparently retroactively for the first episode too. A good response to be sure.

ED Sequence

ED: 「Sentimental Crisis」 (センチメンタルクライシス) by (halca)

「スパークシグナル」 (Supaakushigunaru)
“Spark Signal”

Hmm what’s that, you wanted the Index WW3 arc? Well too damn bad, it’s Academy City time! Magic and associated shenanigans can wait, we obviously haven’t had enough of spec ops Accelerator and the unfortunate drug mule Shiage who no matter that growing heart of gold still winds up with the crap jobs. It may be back to “side”-story galore as the likes of confusing acronyms and Academy city underground make their second appearance, but never say a bit of Schroedinger’s panties ever went amiss.

While Index is pretty much predicated on a magic-science dichotomy playing out in real time, the series for me honestly works best when focusing on the science of Academy City and its various practicing denizens. The show may be rushing like a madman with more names, plots, and spontaneous developments than even the most prolific of light novel readers can handle, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t fun at a base level. Maybe it’s Accelerator pulling the (anti)hero with his newfound sense of purpose, maybe it’s the likes of Saiai finally receiving a bit of the personal attention previously lavished on Mugino and Frenda, but in practice? It’s a setting which simply works. No matter the issues with Index’s current love of getting through as much material as physically possible, the attention lavished on arguably minor characters is a treat to see, especially when the personalities are so different from everyone so far seen. It may be plot-induced whiplash from here on out, but hey, you cannot deny it’s fun in its own right.

As for that Mach 3 speed story we’re currently witnessing, well, I imagine there won’t be too many surprises. Much like with the previous (and just as ludicrously paced) Battle Royale arc, small group organization politics and shenanigans are the name of this game, with the remnants of everyone’s favourite SCHOOL, ITEM, MEMBER, and associated partners being put on the case of yet another terrorist bunch who naturally have nefarious plans in mind. Or, you know, something actually dealing with the director board, a thing called DRAGON (and Spark Signal), and one Stephanie Gorgeouspalace who we’ll soon find out has one specific reason for taking on her appointed task. It’s pretty much the same format as previous Academy City arcs, but when scenes like this keep making an appearance, I don’t think I’ll be growing bored any time soon. There’s a lot of battling yet for our ragtag teenagers to engage in before the dust settles (and we return to the magical Chomper and her Fist of Justice), but you can bet the results will be a blast.

After all, when it comes to Index, there’s never a moment to sit back and smell the roses.

Preview

「微笑みの兵士」 (Hohoemi no Heishi)
“The Smiling Soldier”

So, I guess we have a good idea of the dynamic between the Kingdom and the Empire now. The Kingdom is Athens, the Empire is Sparta. Athens has superior arts and sciences, whereas Sparta makes nothing but supersoldiers and that works out pretty well for them. At least I think they’re supersoldiers; each one is a veritable Sagara Sousuke, crack shots, expert mecha pilots, master infiltrators, trained in hand-to-hand combat and information warfare alike. And this is supposed to be one of the less reputable squads of the Empire so just imagine what their crack agents are like.

Historically, in the Athens vs Sparta sibling spat the Spartans may win but we usually sympathise with the Athenians more. A large part of this is legacy; the Greek contribution to human civilisation is by and large associated with Athens while Spartans and their skill with pointy sticks became defunct pretty fast. And so from Athens we got philosophy, drama, democracy, mathematics and more (including history, which is quite helpful for their case) while for Sparta I suppose there’s a few movies about shirtless men fighting in slow motion. ‘Sparta’ needs a bit better characterisation, is what I’m saying, so Egao no Daika goes out of its way to dedicate an episode to the Imperials, in particular the Imperial we’re supposed to care about. I’ve was hoping that Stella would be introduced more dynamically than Yuki (who, thus far, is little more than a cute prop) and, thankfully, she actually goes around and does stuff. It’s all still rather heavy-handed development in the end — I mean, seriously? War orphans? I guess next episode Stella will have to put down her dog then send money back to her sick little sister — but at least we now have a better idea of the complexities of her character. This is good, because she’s supposed to be the protagonist and we should know what makes her tick (more likely than not PTSD). Of course, we still don’t know why she’s the protagonist yet — she’s just one soldier, after all, fairly stuck in her ways, and has yet to receive a call to action — but she’ll probably have some big propelling moment like Yuki did (i.e. someone’s going to die) and then we’ll probably be done with Act 1.

On that note, I probably won’t be blogging the rest of Egao no Daika. It’s not a bad show, by any means, but it does have its flaws. There’s the obvious technical ones here and there (like inconsistent art quality) but I’m not bothered too much by those. More problematic, perhaps, is the pacing, which we talk about every week. Egao no Daika is slow, even ponderous. Consider this: three episodes in and the two leads-apparent have not even met yet. At this point I must assume that they’re simply not supposed to. But I don’t know that for sure. And that’s the point, really; which how little we really know about the plot at this point it’s difficult to commit to blogging all of Egao no Daika, especially if it’s going to take more than one cour (and at the rate we’re going, it most certainly should). On the one hand, it’s a good thing that Egao no Daika feels comfortable taking its time to set up all its pieces, but it does require a higher level of investment than many other anime.

And while, again, Egao no Daika is not a bad show I’m not sure it’ll ever be a ‘great’ one. At the risk of sounding snooty, it’s a bit too much craft and not enough art. The writing just feels too… functional? Everything seems too obviously designed to either move the plot in a certain direction or to impart some piece of information to the viewer. Joshua’s telegraphed death (seriously, is he dead for real?), the contractually sad orphans, every line where a character deliberate drops or name or repeats something they already know, having another character tell us directly that Stella is a few marbles short of a checkers set — there’s so many little things where the story purpose is too obvious. The art of fiction, really, is obfuscating the hand of the writer and that takes wit, and unfortunately that’s where Egao no Daika is lacking. The dialogue could be snappier, perhaps, or maybe have the camera indulge more in some clever shots. A bit of flair is all I’m asking for.

Still, those are relatively minor concerns. Functional is still better than dysfunctional, after all, and no matter Egao no Daika‘s issues are now it can certainly rise above them once it’s done with its hefty orientation. I dare say that it has been getting engaging as we go and there’s a lot of promise, still. I won’t be blogging Egao no Daika but I’ll still be watching it with great interest.

「日常と戦友」 (Nichijou to Sen’yuu)
“Daily Life and Comrades in Arms”

We may only be two episodes in but I’m pretty sure we won’t be running into any surprises when it comes to MSTA. The story has been laid bare, the plot (and the other plot) is up for all to see, and you can be sure this show won’t be sparing any effort when it comes to slyly debasing cute girls with magical powers. Cute mascots and smiles to protect? Please, it’s pure cutie breaking from here on out.

The part which drew me to MSTA in the first place was the potential of its story and so far at least it looks to be holding up its end of the bargain. Petty terrorism and nationalist desires are (as probably to be expected) only the tip of the iceberg, as teasers and foreshadowing point to a different sort of threat on the horizon, one I’m betting a more than few people didn’t predict coming in. Magical girls as the antagonists? Definitely one way to liven things up, especially when thanks to a companion magical mascot it appears our new yandere in the making (guaranteed) is not part of the Magical Five. It’s clear that MSTA plans on making the most of its concept here, as if the enemy is a different breed of magical girl, then Asuka (and friends) must not only contend with a world used to their existence and holding expectations of their power, but reconciling their desires with that of their opponents. As the girl herself describes power in all its forms will change its wielder, and often not for the better. You can never predict what you’ll do with power until you have it, and these magical girls won’t be any different. We won’t know where MSTA plans on going with this until the enemy and their objective is properly revealed, but there’s plenty of potential to take the concept and run with it.

Where the real fun for the moment lies however is on the good guy side. Besides the darkly humorous implications of guardian holding a spare key, best friend father engaging in happy go lucky torture, and the likelihood of what happens to the poor bastard leaking a magical girl’s identity—seriously, I doubt those rumours are entirely false—we also have new girl Kurumi and what certainly will be some fireworks in the near future. While scenes like this may just be for the usual yuri baiting, when Kurumi suddenly transfers to Asuka’s school after seeing her and looks to emotionally coerce her back into military fold it’s very likely she harbours more than simple friendship for Asuka and plans on acting on it. We’ll naturally have to wait and see if it holds true, but you can bet if Kurumi is a believer of wholesome love there’s going to be trouble when it comes to Asuka’s new group of friends, and with powers like this, it won’t even be a fight.

Stay tuned boys and girls, the mahou shoujo shenanigans are ready to begin.

ED Sequence

ED: 「Rebel Flag」by GARNiDELiA

Preview

Full Length Images: 12

「偉大なる死(ザ・グレイトフル・デッド) その①」 (Idai Naru Shi (The Grateful Dead): Sono 1)
“The Grateful Dead Part 1″

This episode’s fight with Prosciutto marks off the beginning of the trend where Mista survives gunshots that should have killed him. Bullets have hit Mista before, but Prosciutto shooting him point-blank in the head three times is a new record. In fact, the battles have been continuing to raise the stakes on the risks they all face as Mista not only has to take several bullets in one fight, but Bruno is also tearing himself apart to get through his round with Prosciutto.

The synergy between Grateful Dead and Beach Boy is a deadly combination, but Pesci’s emotions can interfere with the overarching goal that Prosciutto is trying to achieve by activating his stand on the train. Because of this, it keeps feeding into Prosciutto’s “big brother” complex he has with Pesci as he lectures him on carrying himself about while forcing his face uncomfortably close to his. For all of the “mammoni” insults that fly from Prosciutto’s mouth and all of the times he kicks him in the face, he dotes on him quite a bit and tries to coddle him as a way to get him comfortable with the idea of being confident in his abilities. With the level of comfort and fear that Pesci gets from Prosciutto, it creates a double-bind where he relies on Prosciutto yet also fears his presence if he makes a mistake. They’re a lethal duo, but their dynamic does create an Achilles heel that can get easily exploited if they were to be separated or if fear ends up throwing strategy right out the window.

Mista’s ability to still recover slightly after getting shot in the head comes from the quick thinking that Sex Pistols has with the six stands having minds of their own. They do their best to pull their weight in this episode as they are shot into Mista’s limbs twice to try to stop Beach Boy’s hook from hitting any risky body parts, hone in on the ice that Pesci was stockpiling to instill fear in him, and even hold onto enough ice to help keep the bullets away from Mista’s brain. As the fight continues, another part of Sex Pistols has the intuition to approach Bruno to deliver him ice and give him the chance to one-up Prosciutto and Pesci before they attacked Coco Jumbo. Sex Pistols’ instinctual impulse to turn the tides is impressive as is Mista’s willingness to do bodily injury to himself to escape a dicey situation.

However, Bruno also deserves kudos as well for how quickly he decided to use his zippers to put himself in harm’s way as well. Part of his conversation about Trish’s selflessness was to try to convince her to let them risk their lives for her instead of risk having her rapidly age, but his decision to put himself in deadly situations for everyone else’s sake mirrored Mista’s approach. Namely, when Bruno used Sticky Fingers to open up a huge chunk of the train that he and Prosciutto were standing in, baiting Prosciutto into falling off of the train along with Bruno. While the episode ends on a cliffhanger as Bruno drags Prosciutto off of the train with him, it will be neat to see how the anime captures the conclusive note of this fight.