「PARADISE」

Cheesy, fluffy, and lighthearted it may be, cannot deny KnA knows how to pour some fuel on fires of complacency when it so desires. Any chances of reverting back to happy-go-lucky sci-fi certainly have been dashed after an ending like that, although to be fair you know the real fun is in those romantic proclivities. The boyfriend to girls everywhere? Now that’s setting the anime romance bar high.

Considering all the foreshadowing of killing, assassination, and Ulgar’s gun shown a couple episodes back it should be unsurprising we’re getting movement on that front now, although I still believe that Ulgar (and increasingly every other kid for that matter) won’t turn out to be the fox in the henhouse. Sure he’s got the gun, knows how to use it, and just came out with it planted firmly against Luca’s head, but considering the other information received in terms of Luca’s father’s position and his political leanings it all seems a little too perfect a setup. Something tells me this is more coincidental than arranged, an opportunity for Ulgar to exact revenge against a family who likely has something to do with why he and his own father are estranged. Sure it’s not enough to explain why the kid brought a gun in the first place, but when we’re dealing with attractive wormholes and mysterious “abandoned” spaceships (quotes mandatory) I expect the truth is less insidious than initially apparent. There’s more at play here than simple killing, and the answer likely lies in the backstories of the kids waiting their turn in the sun.

As far as that shining goes we also got a bunch of it this episode—and then some. The romance angle for example was always going to appear sooner or later (these are a bunch of teenagers barring Funicia after all), but I never expected the pairings to emerge so quickly, or for Yunhua to desire getting involved in the action to boot. It’ll be interesting seeing what guy Yunhua winds up leaning towards considering her personality (and which of the boys gets the shaft in the process), but the real fun of course is going to come with beating the obvious into Kanata because you know damn well Miss Spicy Level II isn’t through with her attempts, awkward questioning and all. For all of KnA’s straightforwardness its character interactions are hilariously on point, and with some seriousness now to help round out the lighthearted comedy, we’re certain to start seeing just what this series is made out of.

Only question is whether that’s before or after we inevitably get Ulgar’s backstory and life history next time.

「In The Air Tonight」

Now that’s what I call a return to form.

This week, Tilarna is back to being proportionately drawn, kicking butt, and taking names. She and Matoba arrived at the roof in time to find the fairy bomb that was to be powered by the latena of the royal fairy Tilarna had sworn to protect. The scene between the fairy and Tilarna where it’s revealed that Tilarna has known her since childhood was impactful in the sense that clarifying the bond between the pair made it easier to understand that the devotion Tilarna feels goes well beyond her duty as a knight, hence why she abandoned her sword. On top of that, it’s shown that she truly does trust Matoba as a partner when she returns from Semani to continue the case by his side. Maybe it was finding out he takes care of cats despite being allergic that pushed him firmly into her good books. It’s a pretty good indicator that he’s a softie, but if they’re going to be on such good terms now that she regularly refers to him as her partner it seems strange that she would still badmouth him in front of the medical examiner. As far as I can tell, it’s only in front of her that Tilarna has anything negative to say about Matoba, and considering he’s been pretty good to Tilarna I’m not sure what it’s is meant to accomplish. Surely they can bond other something other than Matoba. To that end, saving her from a blood-sucking vampire mummy will certainly be a good start. You do you, Tilarna.

The first quarter or so of the episode focused on wrapping up the first story arc, with Tilarna’s initial goal – saving the fairy- ending in failure. None of it was done poorly, it was just done a little too quickly. The battle didn’t last long enough to truly appreciate, which was a shame since Tilarna was beautifully animated during the sequence. There’s just only so long she can fight someone as frail as a Zelada, which was why he was more effective when paired with a younger villain. One hit and the battle was already done. Following that, there was a montage to indicate a short time skip that showed Matoba living his solitary life without Tilarna. This probably would have been more effective in one of three ways:

A) There had been more episodes to develop their relationship

B) Their separation occurred at the end of the previous episode, giving the viewers about a week to let it sink in and lending to the in-show passage of time

C) Throw out the montage and just show Matoba slowly going through the motions for most of the episode, followed by Tilarna appearing on his couch at the end.

Now, I would have to be blind not to see that this show is pushing Matoba and Tilarna as a couple. Even if Tilarna complaining about Matoba doesn’t make sense character-wise, it does make sense for the tsundere archetype. I would argue, however, that Tilarna doesn’t fit that particular mold. Sure, the show occasionally paints her in such a way that would suggest she does, but it shouldn’t. She’s dignified, focused, and brutal, but also playful, plainly affectionate, and sometimes naive. She doesn’t have to be anything else. These two don’t have an ounce of romantic chemistry together, but they do have chemistry as partners. Their bad cop/psycho cop routine is absolutely delightful to watch, so whatever happens, here’s hoping that remains the dynamic that receives the most development.

Preview

「体育祭何に出る?」 (Taiikusai Nani ni Deru?)
“What’s Your Sports Day Event?”

The progress that Hibiki has made along the way has begun paying off in this episode as she becomes more inspired to stick with the program and get fit enough to be within arms reach of her current goals. While the wheel of fate has other ideas in mind for how she should prosper and what the end results would be in her efforts, this episode gives us a glimpse of how her school’s Sports Day has helped open her up to the possibility of getting in shape.

Many of the past episodes show Hibiki being quick to undo any of the hard work or effort she puts into trying to slim down from exercise. However, Episode 05 flips the script by giving Hibiki far more leeway to gain some short-lived victories of her own. Because this episode’s main focus is on a relay race that Hibiki must prepare for, her current objective is to strengthen muscles that are pivotal for maintaining endurance during running enough so to push a surprise victory through. Although her excitement about working out rests on the fact that toned muscles that are beneficial for running also happen to be centralized in parts of the body that are considered attractive, she is thoroughly dedicated to keeping up with muscle-strengthening and cardio training for the event to the point where she would reflect on the hard work she did to prepare for the race as she pushes through to Second Place. Hibiki’s decision to grab the baton her partner was supposed to pick up might have gotten her disqualified, but it was still impressive to see Hibiki dedicate herself to actually building a regimen for herself to follow when past episodes have seen her struggle with commitment-phobia about exercising.

I don’t have much of a dog in the race in fact-checking the show, especially with an admittedly basic understanding of the fundamentals taught through physical training, but it is nice to see this episode spend time on weight-training exercises for runners. The anime retains its dedication to the gym by honing in on the leg curl machine as a means of strengthening hamstrings, quads, and other assorted leg muscles. They also made sure to reach out to those looking to exercise at home or on-the-go by stressing the significance of bicycle crunches to help give a boost to the lower back and hip muscles such as oblique abdominals or iliopsoas. This episode was pretty straight-forward with its advice though since their lessons were predominantly in exercises rather than nutrition, so it didn’t tip off any of my Spider Senses regarding whether it’s 100% by-the-book. Aside from weight-training, the episode dedicated a chunk of time to the benefits of a sauna, highlighting its usefulness as a means of promoting circulation rather than the illusion of weight-loss that burning off water-weight can yield. Funny enough, the anime gives us a warning for the first time not to recommend what the girls are doing when Hibiki dares her friends and teacher into an endurance contest on who can stay in the sauna for the longest stretch of time. Dumbbell‘s humorous side is always a pleasure to see too, whether it be the torturous session the girls face in the sauna, how Macchio’s body alternates between ripped and slender as he slips back into his track wear or the outright bluntness that Hibiki has on placing the most effort into her training as soon as she heard that the leg curl machine would help her achieve her ideal body. I’m still itching to see who the silver-haired girl is from the OP and ED, but for now, our current cast is still very fun to follow as they work to bulk up and trim down.

Omake:

「Shadow」

Now that introductions of the core three are out of the way, BEM is at last ready to propel its main story along. First, though, let’s dive into what had to be my favorite of these introductory episodes – Belo’s. If Bem’s episode had a very police procedural feel to it, and Bela’s carried elements of a slice-of-life high school teen drama, then Belo’s leaned heavily on the superhero genre. The villain of this episode was a ninja who took out his targets with deadly accuracy while proclaiming, “Nin!” at every opportunity. Given the generally muted color palette of the series and perpetually stoic demeanor of our monster heroes, every time one of those villains pops up to throw a bowling ball or feed a hamster sunflower seeds my head’s thrown for a bit of a loop. It’s like they decided to make this adaptation darker and more serious than the original, but copy-and-pasted the villains. The conceit of the series is actually quite unique. The monsters are the good guys, struggling for acceptance and companionship in spite of the seeming futility of their efforts, while the villains exist purely to be defeated. I’d even go so far as to say they’re the least compelling part of the series, but they’re also not a huge part. Their job is to provide conflict and die, which they have done admirably.

Seeing how Belo interacts with humans did a fantastic of – ahem – humanizing him. Whether he’s actually a child or just a small monster wearing a child’s face, it’s undeniable that when Bela mentioned he was bodyguarding last episode, she was talking about the children he spends time with at the arcade. Looks like he’s something of a gaming pro, using his mad skills to defend the right of the kids to play at the arcade whenever they want from other rival preteens. Although it was good to see Belo spend time in Upper, especially for worldbuilding purposes, the superhero elements of this episode doomed his budding friendship to failure. After everything Belo did to save his new friend’s father, a man who wasn’t as good as he’d appeared considering he’d already had two well-intentioned politicians assassinated, he was still blamed for the man’s death. To be fair, though, most people would have a hard time swallowing that the person standing naked and covered in blood over the body wasn’t responsible for the murder. One of the last shots of the episode was Belo immersed in his handheld video games, the kind that doesn’t require others to play, with his headphones placed firmly on his head to block out the world… or to cover up his ears. There’s something else going on with those headphones that I didn’t quite catch, but my gut tells me they’re for filtering out white noise so he can focus better. And also symbolic of loneliness and isolation. Naturally.

What I’m taking most from these three episodes is how much of a familial unit Bem, Bela, and Belo are. They’re constantly looking out for each other. It’s been apparent from the start that Belo doesn’t think they’ll ever be human, but he hangs out with them on skyscrapers and bridges anyway because he cares about them as much as they care about him. At the end of the day, that’s the dynamic I’m most interested in seeing grow and change throughout the series.

Was this an incredible episode? Probably the best episode so far within the summer season. How do I rate the adaptation of this episode? Not to be a pessimist or manga elitist or anything of the like, but I felt that while the first three episodes were a masterful expression of the original work, the fourth episode fell quite a bit short of what I’d hoped it to be. Of course, this episode was still amazing. That is something I could never take away from it with the sheer amount of quality animation coming from Wit, to properly back up the outstanding narrative that Yukimura has painstakingly crafted. But maybe it’s the curse of a manga reader to perpetually struggle in finding satisfaction, because I was left wishing it had been more. I suppose there was no issue with how they approached the intriguingly complex mannerisms of Askeladd, as well as Thorfinn’s subsequent descent into darkness. Those were conveyed with much emotional gravitas. But it was always going to be difficult, perhaps impossible, bringing to life both the martial prowess and dignified regality of Thors the Troll.

Seriously, from my perspective and based off how the manga went about business, Studio Wit certainly could have established a more formidable imagery of Thors in the minds of anime viewers that wasn’t so limited, impressive as it may seem. In the manga, Thors had a much more menacing and calculating poker face in the manga, keeping his worries buried deep beneath the surface without leaking hints of desperation like he did in the anime. You could feel it edge into him on the screen, whereas flipping the pages, you could see a much more stoic man who possessed nerves of steel. In the manga, Bjorn went at Thors a second time after getting knocked down by that hefty uppercut, with Thors putting him down yet again in an even more emphatic fashion. This was left out for some reason. And what disappointed me the most was that they didn’t animate what I would have considered the most iconic spread from the chapter which best encapsulated Thors’ personal philosophy – an all in one frame that showed him tossing the sword away without any trace of hesitation or fear or anger, fully accepting the cruel outcome that fate had prepared for him without complaints. Instead, this was all we got. Which begs the question from me, why focus on a shining sword, when its wielder had a far brighter resolve? I wanted us all to see Thors face as he threw it away, not the sword itself, if people understand where I’m coming from.

Askeladd respected Thors not because he sacrificed his life for the sake of others, he would have viewed that as foolish. It was because he realised that Thors had transcended earthly desires that was so typical among vikings, and faced death as an equal with such a proud and dignified demeanour. Offering over the leadership of his mercenaries, on top of being genuine awe at Thors inspirational strength and attitude, was hope that he didn’t have to kill such a great men who he respected. In fact, despite having only met Thors for this very brief moment in which their lives intersected, I would actually say that Askeladd already had a better understanding of Thors than both Floki and Thorfinn (who’ve known Thors more closely for a much longer time), representing something of a middle ground when it comes to the polarising spectrums by which they perceive Thors. I felt like the anime could have done more to hammer this home, because while Thors’ superior combative skills definitely played an important role in gaining Askeladd’s respect, it was ultimately his maverick outlook that permeated through to the otherwise remorseless and roguish mercenary leader.

Thors is dead and will no longer appear in the flesh ever again. Yet the examination of his legacy, specifically the emotionally substantive core of his philosophy and how it influences the other major characters, will continue being fundamental to Vinland Saga. We’re already seeing it. Askeladd heavily brooding – whereas he didn’t even spare a moment of conscience for any blood shed or lives previously lost at the hands of his men. And Thorfinn spiralling into a bottomless pit of anger, hatred and revenge upon those who cowardly conspired to kill his father. Guilt too with heaps of self-blame, because his father might have prevailed over the odds and not have died so unfairly had he not been taken as hostage. This turn in belief and personality surely can’t be what his father had in mind for him, but it’s certainly a natural reaction that can’t be helped and it may take him that journey of a lifetime to overcome this trauma which understandably seems to be defining his very being — to eventually comprehend what his father truly meant in saying that a true warrior needs no sword. After all, Vinland Saga will be the story of Thorfinn, son of Thors, and how he struggles and strives to come to terms with the pacifistic legacy his father tried to leave behind, in light of his own burning desire for revenge.

Sometimes, you know, you look for the words and they just don’t come easily. That’s what I feel like after this episode of Vinland Saga which, while it may have ended in a poetically predictable manner, executed the journey with a grace and dexterity you seldom see in anime or any other narrative art form. This series is very, very special, there’s no two ways about it. Nothing revolutionary or avante-garde – just brilliant traditional storytelling at its most breathtaking.

Given that we were looking at a three-week wait between Episodes 3 and 4, I did a staggered re-watch of the first three eps. Obviously because that layoff felt like forever, but also because I wanted to as closely as possible simulate the experience of going into this episode after a normal interval (like a starting pitcher doing side work when he has to skip a start on his regular rest). Honestly it wouldn’t have matted – as soon as #4 began I was immediately right back inside the story emotionally and intellectually, and would have been whether I’d rewatched the first three of not. The storytelling here is so articulate that it’s always crystal clear what’s happening at any given moment – and not having to scramble to keep up, your mind is free to grind on all the subtext (and there’s a ton of it).

In effect, this show is executed so eloquently that there’s not much left for me to do, really. I can gush of course – I’m good at that. And speculate. I’d heard over and over how the first part of the manga is – while still excellent – the weakest. I know some things were re-ordered for the anime but it’s hard to see how much better Vinland Saga can get, really. As I said last time I would gladly line up to watch any series with Thors as the protagonist – he’s an incredible man and an incredible character. But in some sense I think Yukimura Makoto intentionally embraced the much tougher task of writing a series with Thorfinn as the protagonist, because while Thors would have allowed him to deliver riveting drama, Thorfinn allows him to ask the questions he really wants to ask.

This was riveting, tense, exuberant and shocking from start to finish. Thors takes out an entire ship of Askeladd’s men – 28 in all, without killing a damn one of them (he even throws an oar to one man he knocks into the water). And that includes right-hand man Bjorn (Yasumoto Hiroki, not really that cool-headed here) who’s eaten a “berserker mushroom”. Yet all the time Thors is aware – and we are too – of the odds stacked against him. If he were alone he could take out as many men as Askeladd threw at him – he might need to resort to killing some, but he could do it. But he has two ships worth of farmers and green farmer’s sons – and one little boy – to protect.

No, this is only going to end one way, and I think it was Thors’ endgame all along even if he did try and miraculously avoid it. The challenge and the duel (which was a beautiful thing) was a desperation play, and Askeladd accepted because he knew he held all the cards either way. And because he’s too much of a badass himself to pass up the opportunity to feel the might of someone like Thors (as if there were anyone else) in battle. Even if Bjorn hadn’t roused himself and taken the dirty way out by holding Thorfinn hostage, Askeladd still wasn’t going to let Thors walk away with his ships and crews.

The funny thing, though, is that when Askeladd asked Thors to become the leader of his company, I feel absolutely certain he meant it (and his look when he realized that the answer would be what he knew it would proves it). The idea of serving under a man like Thors – to be in the presence of a warrior so strong and inspirational – was a once-in-a-lifetime shot for Askeladd, and he took it. A mercenary yes, but he’s neither a fool or a philistine. He knows greatness when he sees it and has the sensibility to want to be a part of it. But it was never meant to be, and he knew that.

Thors lived – and died – by the philosophy that came to govern his life after he fled the Jomsvikings. “A true warrior doesn’t need a sword” – these words confuse Thorfinn, naturally, and all the more as his heart is broken by the fundamental lack of justice in the world. What we see in Thorfinn is a boy who’s in the process of rejecting his father’s way and following his own. He’s always seen the way of the Vikings as the true path, and now that he’s seen his father struck down in cowardly fashion, his bloodlust has a firm and specific target.

Even if Thorfinn were to kill Askeladd in revenge for his father’s death (which it’s hard to imagine him doing as a six year-old, even if he did manage to stow away yet again and his sheer force of will commands their attention and Askeladd’s respect), his bloodlust isn’t going to be sated. But surely Thors’ words will forever be at the back of his son’s mind as he walks his own bloody path – a nagging presence he can never quite shake off, no matter how many men he kills and how many battles he wins, asking the difficult questions Yukimura wants to ask. And that struggle inside Thorfinn will, I suspect, be the spine of Vinland Saga through its entire narrative course.

「腕ずもう／大人っぽく／にがみ／自転車」 (Udezumou/Otonappoku/Niga mi/Jitensha)
“Arm Wrestling/Grown-up/Bitterness/Bicycle”

It’s a funny thing about this series. While there’s undeniably a certain “sameyness” to a lot of the material (let’s be honest, the same gag is basically repeated ad nauseam every chapter), sometimes it works better than others. There are subtle differences here, obviously – differences in tone and for lack of a better word, attitude – that seem to make a world of difference. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to see Nishikata-kun win once in a goddam while, but not all of his losses feel the same.

First off this week is arm wrestling, always a popular time-waster among middle-school boys. Nishikata finally sees some benefits from his self-flagellating push-up regimen, as he’s become one of the strongest among the boys, but that strength isn’t the sort he needs to best Takagi-san in arm wrestling. Let’s be honest, this is a rough scenario for the guy to begin with – valid or not, most teenage boys would have a hard going going all out against a girl in this situation, never mind one he was basically going steady with.

There’s a general “otona-poi” theme running through this episode, starting with Mina’s rather childish attempt to wax poetical on mono no aware using the theme of bananas and store-bought cakes. Chuuni kids are way too obsessed with this topic generally but I guess it’s understandable – they have the example of “childish” first-years to look down on now, and they’re constantly being scolded to act more mature. But what does it mean to act mature, anyway? That’s what the boys – including Nishikata – want to know (if they figure it out, I hope they let me know).

Sadly for Nishikata, coffee isn’t really it – though I applaud him for thinking and planning in advance here by drinking his mom’s coffee at breakfast. The big mistake Nishikata makes here is “taking the black“, when milk coffee of various shadings is eponymous in pretty much every jihanki in Japan. He’s a trooper and gets through it (I worked in the coffee business for many years and even I find Japanese black canned coffee unpleasantly bitter), but proves no match for the prospect of the dreaded indirect kiss, no matter how unpleasant the aftertaste might be.

Finally, there’s the bike story – and as usual, Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san saves the chapter with real movement for last. Nishikata is weak against cats (among other things) and Takagi playing hopscotch, but he stuck with his guns and trusted his gut with his answer. Once again we hear Takagi repeat her mantra about never lying to him, which as always rings a bit hollow to me. But it’s her “second reason” that’s the real point of this episode – and in this case, there’s no question she was being truthful even if Nishikata once again manages to limbo underneath it…

Welcome to another bi-weekly edition of “Up to Snuff”. As the season rolls into high gear, we’re once more taking the pulse of our readership – please vote!

Our writer poll this week is “Your top 5 series of summer so far”. So the vote is based on the 2-4 episodes that have already aired, not just this week’s episode. And of course recurring series are eligible. The results at the top are hardly surprising – even as much of the world suffers through record heat (again), snow and ice reign supreme in anime. The vikings were tough SOB’s, but climate change would have been a tough matchup for them.

“Ask the Readers” is back for its second appearance in UtS. This week we’d like to know how you consume your anime blog content – RC or (cough – LiA) otherwise. I think there’s a legit philosophical question in play here and I’m interested to see how our readers respond.

Roll up! It’s yet another case involving deaths, though whether these deaths are murders or not remain unanswered. Having said that, we can be certain that there’s strange magic involved. To paraphrase Sir Ian Fleming: “Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action and more must be the work of some nefarious magical entity or some shit”.

While Waver investigates the case based on what he feels like an obligation owed to the surviving brother of the deceased Sola-Ui (not to mention the possibility of obtaining a spot in the upcoming Holy Grail War), the Mage’s Association sent its own independent investigator to ascertain, perhaps even unfairly manipulate the outcome of the situation in a way that they desire. What we know so far is that the land is situated upon a faulty leyline, and the instability of the magical energy is such that even Reines experiences intense agony and glowing in her magic detecting eyes. To that, I would ask, might this simply be a naturally magical phenomenon resulting from supernatural entities, as opposed to a human magus murderer? I’d say definitely not. There has to be a human component, a motivation somewhere in the mix that is resulting in such a disastrous outcome. Why? Mainly because I think a novel writer of this calibre certainly wouldn’t want to chalk it down to some kind of coincidence.

It certainly seems fishy that every trace of Trevor’s soul has been obliterated into oblivion. However I wouldn’t feel so quick to suspect his son Wills or the investigator Adashino. They might have some suspicious personalities and mannerisms, which seems common for most of the mages who have appeared in the series so far. But what the series has been good at doing so far has been throwing us for a loop, and hitting us with unexpected surprises. At least from my perspective. Nevertheless, I’d feel reluctant to put it down to a mere accident with the supernatural. There’s got to be something more to it than that. Only I can’t put my finger on any particular individual. Maybe it might be like the previous two episodes, where they don’t show up until the very end.

To wrap off the episode, it seems that Waver figured something new about the magic at large before going to sleep, and that Wills former fiance and cousin (who hated him for spurning her) has now become the latest victim in this sequence of bizarre deaths. There are really so many questions I want to ask, but it feels like I have almost nothing to go off of because the series has kept many cards tightly hidden under the wraps. Anyhow, I’m extremely excited to see where this case goes and I think the fairy that appeared will be the lynchpin in figuring this one out. As always, thanks for reading my post and see you next week for what should be another excellent payoff to a well constructed mystery premise!

「うおちゃんの分ですっ！」 (Uochan no Bun Desu)
“This Is For Uo-Chan”

I’m not ashamed to admit it — I cried a bunch during this week’s episode and I’m proud of it.

General Impressions

I hate it when people use the phrase “healing” for anime since it for some reason has a really negative connotation in my mind. However, after this week’s episode epic conclusion to Uo-chan’s back story, I’ll admit that the phrase has slowly grown on me. With that, let’s just jump straight into the sappy post.

As I said last week, I love it when a shoujo-based show dives into the back story of protagonist’s friends. Usually filled to the brim with sadness with just a twist of intense pain, something about Uo-chan’s story really hit me right in the chest as we got to see her overcome the hump of all the problems she internalized because of her rough childhood. Filling me with an intense mix of sadness and happiness, I can clearly remember the intense pressure building up in my chest as we got to see more and more of Uo-chan climbing out of the dark abyss she once thought was inescapable.

What I was probably most impressed with Fruits Basket’s execution though was just how well it used a second episode to show us each step in Uo-chan’s journey. Going through all the typical fixings of what happens when someone tries to fix their reputation, I loved how we got to see the difficult things like her self-doubt when it came to being around Tohru or the beating she took to get out of the gang she was in. Moments that probably wouldn’t have had enough weight to be an episode by themselves, but needed more time than just a single episode to really have an impact on us. Because if I’m being honest, I think the last thing we needed would have been to watch Uo-chan go through another bout of confusion and sadness right after overcoming those exact things.

Luckily we were given an amazing mix of cute moments that really demonstrated just how much Tohru’s friendship and Kyoko’s mentorship helped Uo-chan find her way in the world. Which overall made for an amazing two episode ark that just may have found its way into a permanent place in my heart. God, after a story like that I feel like I don’t even want to go back to the main story (I’m joking). Anyways, see you guys next week!

Preview

「狼煙をあげろ」 (Noroshi wo Agero)
“Fire The Smoke Signal”

Just a quick pop and a snap.

General Impressions

Holy. Crap. Did this episode really just end the way I think it did? Did the main character of the story just get the connection between his brain and his body literally smashed and destroyed? Like, even though I don’t know what the story is going to do, I’m sure that this can’t be the end of Senku. He’s (I’m assuming) our titular character who will one day be called Dr. Stone as well as the source of all knowledge and the ability to move civilization forward. That said, what happened at the end of the episode seems pretty definitive. Before we dive into that though, let’s take a second to look back at everything that happened before that since I thought it was really, really interesting.

Starting with Yuzuriha, I was blown away with just how brave and courageous she was. As a new character who we know literally nothing about, this week’s episode did a fantastic job at fleshing out her values and beliefs. I mean, I think we all knew she had a kind heart based on her literally copying what Taiju did when they found the petrified pigeons. But who would have thought that she’d also be a selfless individual who would sacrifice herself for the guaranteed success of humanity? God just thinking about it gets me all worked up. And as if that wasn’t enough, how can you not love that she also has a good head on her shoulders as Senku noticed when she brought up the whole notion of flint and the dangers of having Taiju pack their first attempt at gunpowder? Man as much as I have problems with some characters having too many things packed into them, I must admit that this show has a way of making it all work well.

Heading back to where we started though, I have to admit that I’m more than just a little surprised that we watched Senku literally die in-front of us. Then again, after watching his flashback of how he became one of the smartest (if not the smartest) individuals in all of Japan, it’s not too hard to see how his personality evolved in the way that it did. While I would have loved to see his hair be the outcome of his zealous attempts at learning, I’ll give it a pass to see just how supportive his father was at cultivating that natural sense of learning within him.

All that said, it looks like we’re in a real interesting spot now. Senku is apparently gone and we have a morally broken strongman looking to take over what little there is of civilization. Luckily it looks like there are some others out there in the world, but we won’t get to see just what they’re up to until at least next week. Hopefully the story gives us a good answer about how Senku is going to get out of this one because I for one can’t imagine this show without him.

P.S. I also forgot all about Taiju’s non-confession at the beginning and just wanted to point out that he’s such a stand up guy. He knows that there’s not really anyone else that Yuzuriha could ask out AND nowhere for her to really run to. God, I LOVE THIS GUY.

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Preview

「ゴールド・E[エクスペリエンス]・レクイエム」 (Golden Experience Requiem)
“Golden Experience Requiem”

「眠れる奴隷」 (Nemureru Dorei)
“Sleeping Slaves”

After enduring a long wait, that last chapters ofVento Aureo have finally been adapted, closing out Part V of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure through two pairs of episodes. Although some might have been itching for the conclusion to come right away, the inclusion of the final “Sleeping Slaves” chapter is what holds the two together, and ultimately ties Bruno to his untimely fate.

The first of the two episodes closed out the Diavolo fight by showing us the full extent of what Gold Experience Requiem did to him. His final fight does fall under the DIO syndrome of not showing us the full extent of his powers while he’s exposed. Unlike Kars or Yoshikage Kira, who had not only showed up to torment the main JoJo’s regularly, making their powers look far more fearsome in comparison, DIO’s presence in Part III is comprised of his influence on the hitmen he sent after Jotaro’s party and the final fight where he is regularly one-upped by Jotaro until Star Platinum’s time-stop ability made quick work of DIO. Diavolo had a better excuse to hide in the shadows since he stealthily sniped Bruno, Narancia, and Abbacchio, but he often hid under the guise of Doppio. By the time we saw Diavolo’s true form, he lost his composure on a regular basis, whether it be through Silver Chariot Requiem’s powers or his frantic desperation to try to get the Stand arrow from Giorno. What we’re left with as a general impression of Diavolo’s real self isn’t the menacing figure that we’ve followed for most of the anime, but a dopey opportunist who constantly bites off more than he can chew, culminating in getting punched into a river.

That’s not to say that Episode 38 was weak, however, since they did an awesome job with the influence Gold Experience Requiem has on Diavolo’s life from now on. It was genuinely terrifying to see how far we get inside of Diavolo’s head as he’s killed over and over again. The karmic retribution was clear when he was stabbed by a man living under a bridge who was addicted to the same drugs he pushed out on the streets, but it reached completely different territory when he was fully conscious during his autopsy. Where you can tell Araki’s love of horror influenced the nightmare fuel that came from Diavolo writhing in pain as an incision is made in his chest and his organs are slowly pulled out. With how much the anime reveled in the torment that Diavolo was facing in this situation combined with the filters that distorted the color palette of Diavolo’s world, they were able to capture the full extent of the neverending fear of dying that Diavolo would be facing from now on.

The episode dedicated to “Sleeping Slaves” was also poignant in showing how much guilt Mista has been carrying with him about the possible circumstances that may befall on Bruno based on their interactions with the Rolling Stones Stand. The prophetic nature of Rolling Stones made for a fearsome yet mournful series of moments where Mista did his best to try to prevent Bruno from having his death become a reality only to prolong it for so long until Diavolo dealt the blow that he would eventually succumb to. The chapters did have two of my favorite Mista moments packed in with the anime doing great justice to his speech on how he would never worry about resorting to cannibalism because omnivorous/carnivorous animals were designed to taste terrible and the moment where he and Trish have a good laugh about his lack of personal hygiene. While the ending originally felt abrupt in the manga, the anime helped at the very least tie together both Mista’s interactions with Rolling Stones and Giorno’s resolve as he plans to use the Stand arrow to pave a more optimistic future for all of Italy. What will he do with the Italian mafia now that he was able to slide into the pilot’s seat without a problem? Will he continue all of the seedier mafia activity as long as it doesn’t involve drugs? It may be up in the air, but with Giorno’s influence, he hopes to help Bruno’s dream become a reality by at the very least making sure drugs stay out of kids’ hands.

Final Impressions:

Back when I first read Vento Aureo, that particular part drew me in with its loveable cast and inventive fight sequences. As far as JoJo parts went, it started out as one of my favorite ones along with Battle Tendency and Diamond is Unbreakable and Guido Mista quickly became one of my favorite characters in the series with his sense of humor and his willingness to place himself on the line in nearly every fight he’s involved in. There were a couple of issues I had such as the wonkier fan-translations in English, Bruno being far more suitable as a main character than Giorno, and the conclusion feeling abrupt in swiftly coronating Giorno as the new head of the Mafia with little clue on what his future faces. But in spite of that, Vento Aureo was still a fun and thrilling experience to read, brings out some of the coolest Stand abilities to make every battle engaging and nail-biting and is easily the best part to read if you want to watch some inventive, crazy fights unfold.

That’s why David Production really outdid themselves in translating what made Vento Aureo as awesome as it was into anime format. All of the pulse-pounding action that this part is known for excelling at is turned up to eleven with slick visuals and brutal beatdowns. Memorable fights such as the ones against Grateful Dead & Beach Boy, White Album, Metallica, and Green Day & Oasis were an absolute blast to see unfold in all of its animated glory. In addition to bringing the manga to life as it did with previous arcs, it continues the trend of fleshing out the material given by doing justice to details that were otherwise left out of the manga or not as fleshed out in the past. Scenes like the dance montage that turned a few panels into a trippy, funky music video and extended sequences with La Squadra operate as a team showed just how much David Pro was dedicated on making the Vento Aureo anime a memorable experience. Seeing everything in action also gave weight to many of the emotional scenes such as Abbacchio’s past flashback from his time as a cop, when Abbacchio reunites with his departed friend, and when Bruno decides enough is enough and turns against Diavolo. Not only did Vento Aureo show us the growth that Araki underwent as he started to see how deadlier fights would unfold with more lethal, situational Stands, but based on this anime adaptation, it also shows how far David Pro has come in creating material for the JoJo animes that remains faithful to the manga and gives us further insight that was otherwise left out of the original story, yet fits like a glove. They have gotten far busier with Fire Force and I wouldn’t want to put pressure on them to get Part VI of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure ready as soon as possible, but I’d be excited to see how they pull off Part VI once they plan to cross that road. But for now, arrivederci!

In the space of a single episode, the issues of the mysterious Soma faction and the incarceration of Lily are resolved in one fell swoop. While it may have been quite fast, I felt like JC Staff managed to touch upon most if not all of the important stuff. And what made this episode so great was that Lily gained heaps of incredible. character development.

We can see that Lily had an extremely difficult time within the Soma familia. She was horrifically abused and exploited, yet she was trapped in the circumstance because of her addiction to Soma’s liquor. She finally found it in herself to escape her plight, but when Zanis threatens her newfound companions in Hestia and Bell, she doesn’t want harm to befall them and surrenders herself back to the Soma familia. Blackmail so to speak. But what I find the most admirable was her unconquerable soul. When coerced into consuming Soma’s liquor, despite feeling the irresistible effects, her undying will to do what she could to save Bell and the Hestia familia, overcoming her earthly desires. She was able to beseech Soma despite the state she was in and convince him to call off the yard fight and allow her to convert to Hestia’s familia. And Hestia deserves credit too. I just love Hestia’s Hestia’s, her belief in Bell and her pluckiness when faced with difficulties. She went out of her way to hatch a plot to save Lily which actually succeeded, and I thought her grandstanding with Apollo at the conference of god was pretty amusing. Sadly, it’s very unfortunate she ended up with the least ideal war game. But insurmountable odds exist to be broken and that’s precisely what’s been making Bell’s journey exciting so far. At least I know he’ll never back down, because he is utterly devoted to Hestia and ardent in his pursuit of Ais. His training seems to be going really well so far, and I’m excited to see the fruits of his progress once the war game actually rolls around.

It seems like we’re blitzing through the source material at quite a blistering pace. This is JC Staff we’re talking about, so I’m not surprised. I suppose it hasn’t become a hatchet job like Index yet? So I’m happy to give them some benefit of the doubt, though it’s a pretty fragile trust given they haven’t exactly had the best track record. I’m still fuming over Sword Oratoria. But so far, I’ve really liked the spirit of the source material they’ve conveyed through this specific adaptation. Bell is still going from strength to strength, I absolutely adore Hestia, and Lily’s gone through an incredible character development arc in the space of a single episode. The future looks brighter with Welf and Mikoto potentially coming in on a loan from Hephaistos and Takemizuchi on the hero transfer market, though I’ll cautiously reserve judgement until the War Games arc actually delivers. Anyway, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss. As always, thanks for reading my post and see you next week for (hopefully) the start of the War Games!

Every week, I like to have a show that I can fall back onto for soul healing and relaxation. Uchimusume is meant to be that show. This week though, it took an extreme turn into darker territories. It was painful to see such a cute, happy and innocent child like Latina being reduced to a morose and suicidal state by the indescribable hatred and racism that was inflicted upon her. Talk about emotional agony! Of course, the teacher’s inappropriate reaction was explained by the fact her family were killed by devils. While I feel kinda bad for the teacher, and I can understand why there would be hatred in her heart, there’s absolutely no excuse on her part to take it all out on an innocent little kid. Worst of all, this could have been prevented if not for the corruption of the clergy. This wasn’t the first time, with the head priestess covering up for the previous incident and permitting this teacher to become a repeat offender in racially abusing and inflicting violence upon a student. There was an institutional failure and I think that while the teacher became the scapegoat, the school itself should have been held to a higher accountability for its own ethical transgressions.

People might find it difficult to reconcile Dale’s two sides of ruthlessness and doting, myself included. But they came together beautifully in this episode, where he showed absolutely no mercy in destroying the perpetrator’s life because he’s an overprotective and angry daddy bear. Do I feel slightly sorry for the punished teacher? Kinda. The Church was probably this teacher’s everything after she lost her family, and she got thrown out by them. While I think she deserved to be punished, this is a woman who clearly went through a PTSD saga not dissimilar to Goblin Slayer and carries a similar emotional wound to him. Some people cope better, and some people completely give way to their negative feelings, which is why I’d personally hoped that perhaps some degree of leniency could be exercised – e.g. some kind of punishment that wasn’t so extreme then hiring her to take part in devil slaying missions where she clearly has a lot of motivation to do the job.

Anyway, it’s a great thing that Latina recovered! I definitely think it’s the case that intelligent kids really overthink themselves into depression in this day and age. But with Dale’s support and love coming from the tavernfolks too, I was extremely happy to see her bounce back, though my heart will continue to ache for her permanently damaged horn and the pain it brought her. That said, I’m mainly relieved to know she’s in a better place emotionally. With great friends at school who are willing to stand up for her, and a highly powerful guardian who will pull out all the stops for her sake, I’m confident for now that she should be in safe hands for a long time to come. Anyways, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss. As always, thanks for reading my post and I guess this means I’ll stick with this show for the rest of the season.

「四凶の符(ナンバーズ)」 (Nanbaazu)
“Numbers”

Somehow I never anticipated Fridays actually being a problem, but between work, after work social affairs (read: drunk and disorderly partying) and a crap ton of shows to watch, something’s got to give, and Accelerator wound up being the victim. Not that it’s a really big deal mind you (well, for yours truly), because with the wave of violent vector shenanigans about to come our way, an extra night’s wait makes the experience all the more better.

Being only a single season affair it would be easy to dismiss Accelerator as a quip blip of rushed Index goodness setting up for better things later on, but I’ll be damned if the show so far isn’t successfully holding onto the pacing reins. Much like Railgun a lot of the chopping and breakneck pacing is nonexistent, with the plot (so far) keeping to a digestible state worthy of a 30 minute segment. Sure, we may not really know what’s going on so far or exactly why our enemy of the moment is doing what they’re doing (and the longer that ambiguity goes on the worse the later info dumps become), but so long as Accelerator can keep up its current expository drip feed I have no doubts this one will firmly make up for the sins of Index III.

Helping on that front in particular as well is Accelerator’s current story, and I imagine there will be no real shockers here for any Index fan. Our new sidekick Esthelle for example is likely not entirely of the science paradigm, because geometric scribbles and outright necromancy certainly don’t lean towards that when you’re dealing with lingering memories, bodily resurrection, and the very concept of souls. Oh yes, artifical souls might have some basis in Index’s variety of science, but you can bet your Last Order that somehow, someway, magic has its fingers firmly in this pie. After all, Accelerator doesn’t later get involved with Tsuchimikado for any old reason (spoiler alert). The real fun though will be with what DA and its various form of mad scientist has planned with Esthelle’s learnings, because besides the obvious indication of using it for justice dispensing Wunderwaffen (and that stuff never gets old), we also have DA’s thorough understanding of Accelerator and their plans for Last Order.

There’s plenty of entertaining tidbits still needing to make their appearance here before the main show kicks off, and only so many ways for it to play out. We’ll just have to wait and see what Accelerator has planned for when the curtain finally rises.

Preview

「本という存在」 (Hon to Iu Sonzai)
“The Purpose of Books “

Literature is like a series of doors that hold multiple truths, multiple realities, and multiple philosophies. This week’s episode explores how convenient it is that the story takes place in a Literature Club with the girls starting to realize that their current interpretation of reality is seen through their collective experiences with books. But whereas they only thought they’d be consuming fiction as joyous time-filler, they come to terms with the realization that they will have to reflect on their past readings in order to find the answers they are looking for to their troublesome questions.

In an unpredictable turn of events, Rika turned out to have the quickest transition into the popular crowd as her new make-over had attracted the attention of her peers who have otherwise been cold or aloof about her existence. I really enjoy the character of Jujo because the newfound appreciation that her classmates have for Rika’s new looks gave her an opening to be more earnest about trying to befriend her. She’s bluntly lacking in self-awareness and is gleefully oblivious to seeing how she’d be seen as awkward for proactively attempting to hold a regular conversation with Rika, but from her responses to her more malicious friend and the fact that she brought her lunch today of all days, it seems like she wants to make an effort to turn over a new leaf now that she’s being out-in-the-open about wanting to know more about her. But there are only so many new tricks that an old dog can learn as Rika is still unable to shake off the abrasive parts of her personality, especially since she’s still used to the idea of being a social pariah. It’s at this point where we see a poignant turn for Rika as Shun makes good on his word for completing her “writing assignment”. Stylistically, the anime pulls off something impressive as the cruelty her peers have given to her is quickly washed away by his words “cute” raining down upon her. While the show is heavily focused on sex, with Rika’s arc, it takes a far more meaningful turn by shifting her development towards the idea of being accepted by her peers and being seen as not so much as desirable, but rather as someone who isn’t absolutely undesirable.

Momoko also has some time to shine within the episode as we’re finally given her perspective on the worries that she has about sex taking over her life. She has the same worries as Kazusa about whether every romantic interaction she has will devolve into pressuring her into sex, but for Momoko, things are a bit dicier. She’s attracted attention from Sugimoto, a boy who has had a crush on her since they were kids and ends up exchanging phone numbers with him after he opens up to her away from the disastrous karaoke session she was invited to. But her worries about being disinterested in sex or boys, in general, are something that weighs down on her and based on her reactions to Niina offering her friendship as well as her connection with Kazusa, it’s easy to deduce that she’d be more interested in either of the two girls. It’ll be interesting to see where her story turns out and whether that hunch would be accurate or if Sugimoto is everything she would’ve ever hoped a guy would be like.

But while Rika and Momoko had some neat developments, Kazusa is still going through the same pattern of fawning over Izumi, which isn’t helped by his interest in talking with Niina. Meanwhile, with Hitoha, the story takes a turn for the unrealistic with how much is thrown into her side-story. The rest of the girls feel like they could be your average high schooler, but Hitoha is already an author with actual books released on store shelves and is seeking arousal from Milo-sensei to inspire her work more. Milo is somewhat understandable as someone who took to books while he was ill as a younger teen, but I’m not a fan of how unusual their side of the story is. Where Hitoha reads Milo’s discomfort and disinterest in teen girls as demoralizing and taking his critique of how her writing is similar to an older man as a slight against her lack of experience. It all feels skeevy, unrealistic, and more suitable in a shlocky erotic thriller than a coming-of-age story. Hopefully it’ll begin shaping up on their ends, but for now, it’s still a very enjoyable and intriguing anime.