Author: Lenlo

Shangri-La Frontier – 13 [Only Resentments About the End of Life Remain]

We got a lore dump episode! Getting some hints as to the creation of the origins of the Seven Colossi, like calling Lycagon “Sooty” implying it was not only someone’s pet but that Setsuna was aware of it’s existence thousands of years ago, as well as some prep for the Wethermon fight. Speaking of Setsuna, we meet Setsuna of Bygone Days, an NPC required for summoning Wethermon and apparently a ghost from a previous civilization. There’s a lot of little hints here about more Shangri-La lore, but what I liked the most was Pencil opening up a bit and getting involved in the game. I really liked how the PKing madwoman has a soft spot for something like this, is still able to get emotionally invested in a game and take it seriously. It’s nice that Shangri-La isn’t forgetting that while this is a game, it’s a piece of media first and foremost, something people can get invested in and can mean special things to the right person. I liked that. I also really liked Sunraku and Katsu’s argument. Hell the relationship between all three of them is just great. They really feel like a group of gamers taking the piss out of each other but still able to be serious and emotionally available for each other when it matters. I guess the best way to say it is that Shangri-La went all in on the emotions this week, and it really worked for me. Plus we got to see Sunraku’s family, which was cool. I swear to god I thought they were all dead or something.

Continue reading “Fall 2023 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 13” →

Heads up, with some shows coming to an end I’m going to slip some tentative final scores underneath their section. These are very loose, not exact at all, and really more of a general “How I feel” sort of thing. Don’t take them to seriously, most of them, and this post, is off the cuff.

The Apothecary Diaries – 11 [Reducing Two to One]

I KNEW IT! I CALLED IT LAST WEEK! I knew Jinshi was Ah-Duo’s kid. Sure, Apothecary Diaries doesn’t say it outright, but the implication is clear and it’s doing everything short of telling us what happened. That Ah-Duo knew her child would always be playing second-fiddle to the Empress’s kid and so had them swapped. That’s how Jinshi grew up in such an important position despite his young age, why they look so similar. And you know what else? I think Jinshi knows, because he was clearly crying at his mother having to leave the palace, why else would they be having a late-night drink. FURTHERMORE, and this is where I get really conspiratory, I think Ah-Duo killed the Empress’s child, the one now being raised as her own, on purpose. She did it to ensure Jinshi’s place even if they were found out, which they were and that’s why Mao Mao’s father was expelled for not noticing. She didn’t cry for the loss of her son, but because she murdered an innocent child to secure her own child’s future. Do I think Fengming was in on that last bit? No, not really. She probably legitimately thinks she killed Ah-Duo’s son, and has regretted it ever since, that’s why she was so willing to take the deal Mao Mao offered where she kept quiet about the honey in exchange for Fengming coming forward on her own.

Suffice to say, this was all great. I absolutely loved all of this. I’m not normally that interested in politics in anime. But Apothecary Diaries managed to make it really interesting and it presented it just subtly enough that the viewer got the core of what was going on, the important stuff required for the story to continue, while hiding even more just underneath the surface for those paying attention. I really like that, it makes all of these characters so much more compelling. Same with getting the see Jinshi’s vulnerable side, like him and Mao Mao in the shadow of the wall, or just how tired Ah-Duo’s face was in those flashbacks. Some really good characterization from Apothecary Diaries this week. Finally it even sets us up for future plots, such as the implication at the end that Mao Mao’s kidnapping wasn’t quite as “random” as we may have thought. Was it perhaps done on purpose to get her into the rear palace? I suppose we will have to wait and see. Whatever the case though, the conclusion to this political plot has made me a lot more comfortable trusting Apothecary Diaries moving forward.

Continue reading “Fall 2023 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 12” →