A-Channel – 09

「プレゼント – Abstract Art」 (Present)
“Present – Abstract Art”

While I can’t put my finger on it, something didn’t feel quite right this week. Unlike Nichijou which survives off of its unique humor and extreme randomness, A-Channel just doesn’t feel right with all these different random elements coming into play. At the same time, I wish that they’d integrate the “different then the norm” pairings. Instead of seeing Nagi with Yuuko and Tooru with Run, it was really fun watching things get jumbled up.

Isn’t it interesting how plans amongst friends can come from literally onthing? Somehow, a Halloween party that was inspired from a creepy looking squirrel doll almost turned into a snack eating party but instead became a pancake making party. As random as that sounds, it’s a pretty good depiction of how plans work in real life. Things that are planned out never go exactly how they intend to and watching how that unfolds can be pretty interesting. At the same time, this week’s episode felt like it was lacking something. I couldn’t really put my finger on it, but something just wasn’t there. It’s probably because Tooru wasn’t being her usual trollish self.. probably.

But what was done really well this week had to be the dynamics between our main cast. When there’s no Yuuko to torment, it’s fun to watch the more innocent side of Tooru come out. It’s a stark difference between how she normally is and clearly indicates that she isn’t just some sort troll all the time. While it probably helps that Nagi and Tooru are on the same wavelength, I’d love to see them together more often. They seem to bring out the best in each other.

With Yuuko and Run, it’s just fun to watch how hard Yuuko tries to deal with her. Remember, while attempting to act cool, it probably helps if you can actually do that cool move (right Run?). At the same time, I’ve noticed that Yuuko is a pretty observant person. With memories of her attempt to prevent Run from falling down while napping in class, it surprised me to watch her actually save Run from dropping the pancake batter. How often do you actually get to witness a successful save attempt? Too bad it didn’t matter in the end.

At the end of the day, it’s fun to watch how A-Channel changes things up ever so slightly. While the general dynamic of the show is still the same, it’s fun to watch the same characters we know do different things. That said, I know that I smiled a bit when I heard Yutaka and Miho’s voice chime in during the preview. I can’t wait for the perfect combination of our main and side cast to appear all together in a single episode!

INS8: 「オカシナ時間」 by るん, トオル, ナギ, & ユー子 (Run, Tooru, Nagi, & Yuuko)
Watch the 8th INS: Streaming ▼

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