Author: SuperMario

Some Quick First Impressions: Dr. Stone, Enen no Shouboutai and Granbelm

by SuperMario, posted in Some Quick First Impressions


Dr. Stone

Short Synopsis: A teen self-proclaimed scientist and his loud sidekick try and revive humanity after being turned into stone for thousands of years. 

Lenlo’s review:

My biggest worry about Dr. Stone going into it was how the anime would adapt Boichi’s art into animation. For the most part, it seems to have gone well. Occasionally the complex designs get in the way, but Dr. Stone handled itself well. And in place of flashy animation, Dr. Stone has some clever tricks up its sleeve. Such as the timelapse near the end, which did more in 2 minutes than some series do in 23. Now, the only issue facing Dr. Stone is its slow start. The series doesn’t really get going until after this introductory arc, where Senku starts going wild and playing with science. The way it was handled in this episode though makes a good impression for the future I feel. Suffice to say, if your going into this expecting classic Shounen battles and such, then Dr. Stone may not be for you. However if you enjoy all the regular Shounen tropes and want a chance to watch them work in a mostly non-battle setting like I do, then I see no reason not to stick with it.

Potential: 75%

Armitage’s review:

This is a series which really needs no introduction. One of Shounen Jump’s most prized properties. A manga that seems to have only been growing in popularity since it started being published and one that barely misses out a spot on their Big 3 in terms of sales. But, that’s to be expected, as it involves some good ol’ Science!! Finally, we have Dr. STONE: The Anime. The story is actually pretty interesting and has a real catchy hook (not as much of a gut-punch as Neverland, but that’s an unfair yet inevitable comparison). Humanity being turned to stone, for thousands of years. Well, 3780 years to be exact. How do we know that? Because our boy Senku, counted every goddamn second! Yup. The kid’s wicked smart. 

His plan, is to revive all of human civilization and have them progress from stone age to modern day, but you know, at real breakneck speed. Looks promising! The art and animation too are mostly competent for most parts. My only issue is our other main character, Taiju, who seems to have been brought into anime form with the ‘Asta from Black Clover’ syndrome. He is obnoxiously loud. And at some points, that really started to get on my nerves. Also, I know that the early few episodes won’t be as stellar, since the manga goes through a soft reset in vol. 2 and from that point on, things really pick up. Still, if you can ignore these minor quibbles, this should be a fun ride!

Potential: 75%


Enen no Shouboutai

Short Synopsis: A new recruit joins a squad of supernatural firefighters in order to become a hero.

Lenlo’s review:

Whew, is it hot in here, or is that just Fire Force? Seriously, if nothing else, the show looks good. If David Production can keep this up for all 4 cours, I will be impressed. That said, it was a rocky start for me. Fire Force had a lot it wanted to get across in a single episode. From its tragic backstory and its world building, to not one but 2 fantastically animated fights. It tried to shove a lot in there and this resulted in some… sudden tonal shifts, for me. The actual content was fine, it’s mostly your usual Shounen fare, though with a rather interesting twist this time. It just seemed to me to be a bit cramped. However if Shounen or fantastic fight animation is your game, I think this series from the creator of Soul Eater will be right up your alley. I know it’s up mine. I mean c’mon, 4 cours of beautiful fire animation? I have to see this.

Potential: 90%

Wooper’s review:

I read the first volume of the manga for this one, and the anime adaptation is off to a solid start. That may seem like faint praise, but given the striking nature of Atsushi Okobo’s art, an accurate translation to the TV screen indicates a hell of an effort by the creative team. The linework in particular is really crisp, so the characters are fun to watch even during their tropiest moments. There’s a bit of SHAFT flavor here, too, as some of the people on staff are refugees from that studio. The shots that place pipes and other machinery in the foreground to obscure the characters provide a slightly darker atmosphere, and the morphing shadows of Shinra’s relatives amplify the cruelty of their gossip regarding his tragic past. And then there’s the main attraction. While there’s a smattering of computer-generated flames during the big fight scene at the end (as well as a couple backgrounds that are entirely CG), the show’s treatment of fire is awesome. Combustion this impressive-looking lends believability to the series’ Solar Era future, where people pray to the sun god and an unlucky few spontaneously burst into flames. Even if this premise fails to spark my interest going forward, the art and animation should carry me through.

Potential: 80%


Granbelm

Short Synopsis: A girl finds herself in the middle of cat mecha fight before pilots one herself.

Lenlo’s review:

Granbelm has me more than a little confused. It’s like Madoka Magica with a hint of Fate and a dash of chibi Mecha, all wrapped up in Re:Zero’s character designs. Yet with none of the magic those series had. It feels like it was adapted from a gacha game really. I can’t decide if it’s a terribly generic mesh of a bunch of successful series, or some authors attempt to stand out. Don’t get me wrong, Granbelm is pretty enough I suppose, it didn’t look bad in motion, though the Mecha felt pretty weightless. And the Re:Zero character designs still look great, regardless of what show they are in. Its just that there was never a single moment in this episode where I felt invested in what was going on. No singular aspect stood out to me as interesting. Maybe that’s just my predilection against Cute Girl shows. Maybe it’s the mecha designs. I dunno. Granbelm doesn’t look bad, it’s not the worst show I have seen so far this season. It’s just the most… average.

Potential: 30%

Mario’s review:

It’s rather refreshing to see hand-drawn mecha fights in the time where the industry tends to cut corners with CG animation… if only I have a reason to care about those fights. Having extended battle from the two sides we haven’t known, nor cared about, is a pretty bad idea. Add to that we have the plain main girl hasn’t established any distinct personality before being swept up to all this. The general plot doesn’t push the envelope as it goes pretty formulaic (for example the main girl is “the one” or she takes literally 2 minutes before mastering her moves), yet I don’t dismiss it entirely because the core concepts of these girls as mages piloting robots to retrieve magic could become epic on its own way. So in the end we have an episode with solid mecha animation, one-note characters all around and the plot that could go serious as the story pans out. I can see the ambitions from the staff, the question remains whether they can pull it off.

Potential: 30%

Some Quick First Impressions: Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e, Kanata no Astra and Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru?

by SuperMario, posted in Some Quick First Impressions


Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e

Short Synopsis: In the wake of a civil war, a squad of shape-shifting soldiers become murderous beasts, who are hunted by their former leader.

Amun’s review:
To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts starts off their first episode with typical war anime exposition and setting – supernatural squad turns around impossible situation with immense personal cost.  However, a twist! We now have our former war heroes become villains (with a side of an odd love triangle, which inevitably spawns the main big baddie). The daughter of a squad member also is innocuously introduced, implying immense imminent importance.

Overall, not a bad first episode – however, I’m wary since the quality (almost) always deteriorates after number 1. Personally, I think the fighting animation is fine (typical MAPPA), but the character designs are surprisingly from the wrong decade…I haven’t seen hair like that since the 80s X-men.  If you watched Fairy Gone last season, this will probably be very similar (thankfully without the random CGI). I’m also getting some real Darker than Black 2 vibes from the main character pairing and some whiffs of Golden Kamuy for the plot progression (probably without the humor, sadly). Overall, I would say this is shaping up to be your forgettable, albeit enjoyable B-tier action/revenge show for the season.
Potential: 50%

Lenlo’s review:
Holy exposition Batman! I joke, but this first episode was actually alright. It did a good job of getting me interested in the company and their plight. Introducing us to most of them first as people/characters before they become monsters of the week. Assuming Sacred Beasts uses them right, doesn’t make them all bloodthirsty monsters and properly explores aspects of the horrors of war and what is does to a person by metaphorically turning soldiers into monsters, I think there could be a lot of value in it. That said, its MAPPA, so I don’t expect any sort of consistency in production, and the Manga is still ongoing so we won’t be receiving a concrete ending anytime soon. Both of those make me hesitant to recommend it because I believe there will be better action fare this season. However, if your up for a war story and willing to take a chance, Sacred Beasts may fill that niche. At the least, I will be giving it a shot.
Potential: 55%

 

Kanata no Astra

Short Synopsis: A group of nine students get stranded in space on their school trip.

Armitage’s review:
Alrighty, then! We have our first one of the most anticipated shows this season, in Kanata no Astra. And even though I am not familiar with the source, I know that it is regarded very highly in manga circles. The premise is about a group of teenagers who get transported to… nope, not another world. Space! Because if it ain’t isekai, it ain’t gonna sell! Nobody wants to watch a classic, by the books space opera. LoTGH, you say? Pfft! Boring. Though, in all seriousness, Kanata no Astra takes its premise and runs it home. I loved how some of the conversations were just called out for being cliche and also appreciated the comc timing of some of the jokes. Though, the manga is by the author of SKET Dance, so it’s no surprise really. The characters by themselves aren’t that memorable. Out of all, Kanata and Aries stood out the most. Though, over more episodes, everyone should get their time to shine. 

But for me, the highlight of the premiere was definitely the OST. Issogood! It’s upbeat and sort of Jazz influenced but it’s been a long time since I listened to an OST so memorable. I can remember four standout tracks from just one episode! That’s no small feat. My only issue with this premier was how the animation was lacking in parts. Lot of still frames and lack of character expressions at points. Now, Lerche isn’t exactly known for their fluid animation work, but if it gets too bad, it sort of distracts from the story.  Hope it doesn’t come to that. But all in all, I really liked this premiere! Can’t wait to see where Astra takes these kids! If nothing else, I hope we get a few more gems like “UNTIMUT DAIBAMOMO!!” XD
Potential: 85%

Mario’s review:
Despite the occasional hiccup, Kanata no Astra’s strong premise makes the double-length premiere well worth it. On the plus side, this show has a strong sense of direction (it knows where it’s going), and the thrilling part works decently most of the time. The main lead has a fair share of backstory in this episode, which I expect will be the case for the rest of the cast as we spend more time with them. They have already planted some dynamics between this diverse cast, which is nice, but it also leaves me many concerns in that regard. First, the comedic bits aren’t the show’s strong suits, as every time the characters make some silly remarks or reactions, it falls flat. Second, the dialogues aren’t that memorable either. Some are intentional (especially when it comes to Kanata the male lead), but overall these exchanges are rather typical. Consider how Kanata no Astra will rely on these chemistries between their characters as one of its themes, they will have to work more in that department. The action part is mostly well done, although at the expense of some logical leap. For example, they totally forget about “the rope” when the cast attempts to save the leads (Note: I just found out in the manga version the leads did use the rope. Aghhh. Stupid lousy alteration). Overall, Kanata no Astra is worth checking out and there’s still space (pun intended) for developments as we know the cast better in later episodes.
Potential: 75%

 

Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru?

Short Synopsis: Two high school girls join their local gym for different reasons, and develop an unlikely friendship.

Wooper’s review:
A show about cute girls lifting cute weights? My gym experience is limited, but I guess I’ll give it a shot. What’s that? The show is full of advice regarding exercise form, eating habits, and even workout supplements? The characters are super entertaining thanks to their fitness-related quirks and overreactions? The OP and ED feature a peppy personal trainer chanting English phrases such as “Yes muscle!” and “Nice form!” along with the music? Alright, you sold me. In all seriousness, this premiere was quite good, and a lot of it has to do with the characters. Things aren’t made easy for female lead Hibiki, who joins a gym in order to lose weight and snag a boyfriend, but discovers that muscle training is much more difficult than it looks. She reacts to fitness culture with a mix of confusion, intimidation, and horror, but by the end of the first episode, she’s already formed a bond with Akemi, a health nut with an amusingly intense muscle fetish. With a girl like Akemi around, the show’s exercise goals for Hibiki will probably deepen over time, which provides a clear road for its story to travel. The one criticism I have is that Hibiki looks like a typical slim anime girl for the majority of her screen time, despite the declaration that she’s on the heavy side. Maybe she’s just extremely body conscious? Even if the show doesn’t address this issue, the comedy is still strong and the visuals are above par, so I’m down to follow this for a full season.
Potential: 75%

Armitage’s review:
Right. So all you body-conscious girls and boys, raise your hands, if getting off your ass and going to the gym sounds like a pain!… No? No one? Oh, right. Raising your hands is kind of a workout too. Ah, my kind of people. So, here we have our run of the mill cute-girls-doing-testosterone-fueled-masculine-exercises anime of the season. You know, the usual. We have our MC, Hibiki who just wants to enjoy her 6-7 meals a day, stay slim and have a nice ass. Is that too much to ask for? Nay, I say! But still, as our goddess Britney Spears has aptly mentioned in her popular hymn: “You want a hot body? You gotta work, B**ch!” 

So, Hibiki decides to join a gym. You know, the girly kind with slender, pretty trainers and couples clicking selfies. But the gym she ends up enrolling herself in, turns out to be quite the opposite. And what we get in the rest of the episode is some pretty neat information about gym exercises and correct posture. That too is presented in a very non-male-gazey way. Except for when it’s played for laughs (which works hilariously). So, yeah. All in all, I had a real good time with this premiere. This very well has the potential to be the sleeper of the season! And hey, if nothing, we’ve got two really upbeat songs as the OP and ED to listen to. while working out at the gym. Whenever that happens. (In the near future, promise!)
Potential: 80%

Fruits Basket (2019) – 12 [You Look Like You’re Having Fun]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Fruits Basket (2019)

More than any other episode, this week is where Fruits Basket embraces its two opposing spectrums the clearest: it’s reverse-harem hijinks of highschool life and romance and its dark drama about the Zodiac members. By that light, we can be able to see this adaptation’s quality by this episode alone. For example, this 2019 is at its low point when it comes to comedy. With this kind of over-the-top humor the visual presentation (and editing) have to be snappy enough, Fruits Basket the 2019 instead relies static shots. The 2001 version benefits neatly from Akitaro Daichi’s direction (disclaimer: this writer hasn’t actually watched the original Fruits Basket, but he watched Fruits Basket’s cousin Kamisama Hajimemashita directed by the same director), and this current adaptation just doesn’t have the comedic chops to pull off. The result is that all the hijinks of new Zodiac members joining school, and the Student Council members, fall right flat on the floor.

The drama bit works much better in comparison, though. This week we have a proper introduction of Akito, the head of the Souma family and the antagonist of this show if it ever has one. The most interesting bit isn’t the fact that he meets Tohru face-to-face (in which the show smartly underplays it), but his power towards Yuki that makes Yuki trembling with fear. As we learn from the flashback, he had been mentally abused Yuki to the point of submission, and that he always considers Yuki to be his. There’s some nice conflicts for sure that would be a seed for Fruits Basket overarching act, between the dark, toxic force from Akito and the bright, attentive side from Tohru. In fact, Fruits Basket’s writing strength has always been exploring the gap between what on the surface (mostly the Zodiac’s characters), and their hidden feelings and personality behind that mask.

That is to say I expect a hidden, more vulnerable side of this Akito guy as well. It’s obvious from this week that he brings fears, as well as hatred, to many members of the Zodiac, but he too is suffered greatly. For Tohru, she might be simple and forward, but her determination contrasts nicely to the dark force of Akito. Hence, the best moment of this episode is when Tohru instinctively pushes Akito away from Yuki, because she knows that Akito is hurting Yuki. It’s a nice clash between two extremes, and I can’t wait to see more of this conflict. Just remember Fruits Basket, tone down the over-the-top comedy.

Carole & Tuesday – 11 [With or Without You]

by SuperMario, posted in Carole & Tuesday, Currently Watching:

Even with Carole & Tuesday standard, this episode is a letdown with many forced developments to move this predictable story forward. These include 1) Tuesday injures her hand but still manage to perform and win the bracket 2) just right at the moment Tuesday said no one in the family care for her, she gets “kidnapped” by her Mother 3) all the subplots about finding the letter bomber, like come on, we all know from day 1 it was Cybelle. Add to the disappointment, I was expecting Ertergun commenting on Carole & Tuesday performance, which I initially thought will be a decisive factor for the duo’s win. Turns out we just have a brief glance at his comment, not about the performance itself, but about the professional attitude. Alrightttt. Is it just me who isn’t sold about Catherine’s argument when she decides the winner? The song’s lyrics seems to be about Tuesday’s own situation, but hey it doesn’t really connect to the “nervousness” theme that Catherine was talking about; and if she meant by the nervousness from their performance, then I’d argue that they would just accept all the performers with stage-fright as “perfectly captures the nervousness” themselves.

I might sound harsh on this, but it’s also true that Carole & Tuesday has failed to give a proper resolve to many conflicts it raised. The worst aspect is that this injury seems to be one-off, given Tuesday can be able to perform in the upcoming week. One factor I do enjoy in the episode, is that Angela immediately suspects Mama and her manager as the ones behind the scene. Well, the latter feels a bit half-baked but I was enjoying the bit when she confronts her Mama and it turns out that they were referring to different things. It serves as a vessel for Angela to rethink about the people supporting her, especially about the hapless young manager. At the same time, there’s some neat point of representing Cybelle thread as it’s a waking call for Tuesday that she needs to voice her opinions more, and that relationships in general can take a dark turn at any time. But the manner Carole & Tuesday depicts is somewhat underwhelming. It’s too quickly for one thing that doesn’t seem to leave a lasting impact, and it’s clumsy for the other as the show gives some obvious red-herrings before that.

Finally, we have some moments where Carole & Tuesday alone to reflect these things together. The show would benefit much better if they can cut down all these unnecessary subplots in order for the duo’s tender moments like this. Tuesday gives some sad reflection about the place she called home, but again all these quiet moments are sabotaged by the obvious kidnap that is meant to raise the stakes again. Carole & Tuesday writing has always been generic and too accessible, but with this episode it goes a step lower by forcing the plot instead of properly developing it. As a result, it often feels like the titular characters get swept away by random events and they have no real personality at all.

Sarazanmai – 11 [I Want to Connect, so Sarazanmai]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Sarazanmai

I must admit that days after watching this finale I still can’t wrap my head around all the events happened in this episode. Sarazanmai ends in a happy tone, something I didn’t expect from Ikuhara to be honest. On the most surface level, it’s a rescue mission from Kazuki and Enta to bring Toi back. Toi has lost all the hope after the death of his brother, and with the influence of Otter, ha’s about to erase his own existence from this life. This finale saves much of its budget in the first half (hey, I have no complain. It’s an artistic choice) by recycling all the events happened before with Toi’s slowly spirited away. Before this finale, I was thinking Sarazanmai would delve into physical desire vs love conflict, but turns out it’s more about existential crisis, about the desire to live in order to make connection, knowing that it will hurt. That might sound abstract but hey, even the Otter mutters that he is a concept (I have a good laugh here because it could apply to all of Ikuhara’s works). This time we have a musical number playing in full, prince Keppi resolves his own issues by literally embracing his dark self, Reo and Mabu come back like a light, and the trio taking shirikodama out of butt for the last time.

If we split this finale in half, there are some interesting parallels interplay between these two. Just as the first half concerns with flashbacks, the latter half brings us to its flash-forwards about possible futures of the trio. These flashforward images aren’t the happy ending though, as we see either they have to face the harsh truth (Toi is in the youth detention for his actions), the disappointment (Enta still can’t express his love) and the pain as well (Kazuki breaks his leg that caused him not to play football again). Keppi sums it nicely with “Hope and despair are both one with life.” Also metaphorically, the two halves have the motifs of these boys diving down the water. The early half is when they face the circle of connection, and the second half is when Toi jumps off the bridge and meets the others there. Well, I said “metaphorical” because it otherwise makes no literal sense to me why Toi jumps.

As a whole, even with me as a hard Ikuhara fan, Sarazaimai’s events sure are hard to pin down and make sense of it all. I enjoy the ending well enough as I think it does wrap up the story nicely, and for me Sarazanmai is a tad bit better than Ikuhara’s previous YuriKuma. I will give this show a rewatch once the year ends to see if the story holds up by then, and this is a kind of show that requires multiple viewings (and reading, too), but as far as this first watch goes I’d safely say that Sarazanmai once again proves Ikuhara as one of the most original anime directors in our lifetime. Full review will come shortly.

Introducing youngbloods, Vol. 2: Armitage!

by SuperMario, posted in About, Special Articles

Target acquired, lock, engage. Joining my brothers in arms, it’s your girl, Armitage! 😀

Hey, everyone!! After days of brawling and bloodshed, I have finally emerged as a joint victor of the Battle Royale for the coveted position of ‘New Blogger’. I am grateful to the brave fallen and look forward to making acquaintance with the living, here at Star-Crossed Fleet.

I am in my final year at Uni but I have decided to instead follow my passion for stories. I will be pursuing my dream to be a novelist, you see. Ever since I was a little child, I have loved fictional characters and the incredible lives they lead. And anime was one of the first mediums to make me feel that way. Hence, I have decided to give blogging a shot.

Some of my favorites include: Hunter x Hunter 2011, Honey & Clover, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu and 3-gatsu no Lion. I look forward to talking about seasonal anime and more with you all and vow to fight to death, defending my shit taste over yours! 😛

Thanks for having me!! <3

 

Fruits Basket (2019) – 11 [A Really Wonderful Hot Spring]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Fruits Basket (2019)

Fruits Basket gets a bit better this week, though not by a wide margin. This week is a return of Momiji, the most childish character we’ve seen so far in this show (until we learn that he’ll reach high school next year). The White Valentine approaches, and he wants to bring Tohru to the onsen as a thank-you gift. Fruits Basket so far has been, for me, formulaic. Not in a way that it repeats its structure, but more in a way that it uses established tropes for its main events (or is it the one who invited all these tropes? It’s hard to tell but one thing I can say for sure is that it feels dated nonetheless). So a hot-spring/ beach episode would be right in its money. As a whole, I don’t mind this episode as it still provides some solid moments, but I still have that feeling of Fruits Basket padding its material too thin. At this point the trio’s dynamics are pretty much in the balance now, and unless something significant can throw off the balance, they don’t progress as much as they hope to. Drama, after all, is an essential part of character development.

It’s Momiji’s involvement that gives this episode a change of fresh air. While he isn’t the character that I’m particularly fond of (at this moment we just see the childish side of him), his narration regarding the grim story that his class read, remains the best moments of the episode. As per Fruits Basket tradition, one of its strengths is the way it can draw out the emotional tale based on its flashback or story-within-a-story like this one. The content is certainly grim and dark, but it’s the way Momiji reflects on that story that we have a glimpse of his deeper feeling here. It’s not a totally convincing storytelling though, as it OBVIOUSLY allures Yuki and Kyou to Tohru’s current selfless act, but by its own it’s a perfectly fine story that would fit nicely to any Andersen’s sad fairytale classic.

The other nice moment that we don’t see very often, is when Yuki getting loose and laughs at Tohru’s clumsiness. As he remarks “I have never laughed like this even to my parents”, we could see the way his tight upbringing has a profound effect on him, and how with Tohru he becomes much more relaxing and just being himself. That comes with a cost, though, when you think about it, that he will become more emotional dependant on Tohru, and who knows what would happen to him if Tohru’s going away for good. There’s a romance in the air as well as Yuki making a really romantic gesture (that makes our Tohru blushing) before faking it as a joke. Go all the way, dude!

There’s another newcomer to this cast. The frail innkeeper, in a typical Fruits Basket character stock, is a mixture of two extremes. Frail and vulnerable at one moment, aggressive and violent when it comes to Kyou (many characters in Fruits Basket seem to be overtly aggressive towards Kyou alone, huh?). She’s actually a mother of an original Zodiac member, Ritchan the Monkey. I’d say that we will have a proper introduction of this Ritchan pretty soon, probably in the next episode, and I hope that he will be a worthy addition to this ensemble cast.

 

Sarazanmai – 10 [I Want to Connect, but I Can’t]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Sarazanmai

The body count keeps rising up in the final stretch of Sarazanmai. With this episode we get to the end of Reo and Mabu’s pair, and it’s certainly a bittersweet experience. As it turns out, we eventually learn that Mabu sacrifices his “desire” to Reo in order to physically stays behind him. So it’s Reo who upsets by Mabu’s change and ruins their relationship. Their star-crossed love certainly touches on many Sarazanmai’s core themes, those being the desire to connect with the one they love but even to their best interest, they’re still failed to reach it. Well, there’s this evil Otter who asserted himself as “desire” and “take whatever form others desire the most” that always want to mess with others, but Mabu’s final confession to Reo, knowing the outcome, that is emotional powerful and closes their relationship in a bitter end. For Sarazanmai, although the term “connection” is shouted by all the characters, Sarazanmai’s philosophy isn’t simply about the ability to connect (although there are plenty of these – take Haruki and his younger brother, for example), but it’s also about the love vs desire, the feeling of love vs physical temptation – and more than our trio, Mabu & Reo relationship is a perfect illustration of that theme.

With the cops’ relationship, while they fully love each other, evil Otter is the one who exploits their desire from each other. What Otter believe is that love and desire can never be in conjunction with each other, and that the desire is some form of sin (to extract love or desire – if you hit “desire”, you’ll turn into kappa zombie). With that I can understand the condition he gave to Mabu: if Mabu wants to stay with Reo, he has to give up love. Sarazanmai further explores that central theme by having the Evil Otter in the form of Reo going on top of Mabu. It’s all the fitting (and bittersweet) that when Mabu decides to embrace his true feelings with Reo, his heart explodes. Although now in retrospect, I would love to know more about the Cops (who we learn used to be kappa themselves), especially in the first half we barely know about them, the show did wrap their tragic story in an emotional note.

At the same time, we get the reveal where that Dark Kappi in cage is our Kappi split in half. While I don’t mind this flow of information, the manner in which Sarazanmai displays, info-dumping us with details we can’t figure out by ourselves, is a tad bit disappointment. I have never been fully invested by the Kappa vs Otter war, and now I have come to believe the show has the same opinions because they are hardly relevant in this final stretch. Otter turns out to be a manifestation of each character’s desire, but where exactly does he born and how many of them?

In a way, I still think that the 1-cour structure fits Sarazanmai’s story neatly, as the show resolves the Mabu-Reo conflict one episode before the finale, which means that the last episode is when the spotlight again squarely focus on our main trio. And what a series of twists and turns in the final moments when Toi shows up to demand the Golden Dish, when Kazuki in on his verge of reviving Enta. The after-credit scene immediately resolves this conflict, but at a price of Toi being exploited by Evil Otter. Toi is broken at the moment, which serves as a perfect victim for Otter. Only 1 episode left, Sarazanmai is on its way for an ultimate roller-coaster ride.

Carole & Tuesday – 10 [River Deep, Mountain High]

by SuperMario, posted in Carole & Tuesday, Currently Watching:

“Do the gravity bounce?”

Once again it’s GGK’s performance becomes my favorite of this week, and Angela’s style still is too mainstream for my taste. With the pacing of this episode I am more certain that this Brightest Mars competition is gonna take up the first half of the series. Things don’t look good for our duo, though, with a string of mishaps that go against their way period to their semi performance, some of them are good, some are cringe-worthy. On the positive side, Etergun becomes this round’s guest judge is an interesting move that I’m eager to see him facing up Carol & Tuesday again. Although I still find it strange that Ertegun still has no idea about the contestants at this point. On the opposite spectrum, Tuesday’s whatever-reason she’s still hang up on Cybelle is stupid, which makes it worse by the way the show intensifies that as the way the duo is “out of sync” (the bit where they’re just barely missed each other in the elevator is just dumb). Then we also have Carole failed give her birthday gift to Tuesday (why? You had all the time in the world since basically you’re living on the same roof now). Then as if the show doesn’t feel these are enough, they make sure to give Carole and Tuesday hell by having Tuesday injured by this bomb present box or whatever the hell it is. Sorry to be grumpy but all these developments are way too half-baked.

As for the performances themselves, Angela changes her song at last minutes (thanks to Tao’s godsend gut feeling) and shows the judge that she has range. I find the bickering between Gus and Angela’s Mama through Roddy is amusing. They sure get along well. At this moment I have no idea how the show handles Cybelle and Tuesday relationship. I hope I am in the wrong but it’s more likely that the one who sent the bomb gift was Cybelle, since she knows about Tuesday’s personal information. If that is the case, the show’s handling of Cybelle character is indeed very shaky. Well, not much else to say in this layer-thin episode beside that with Benito’s head over heels with Pyotr’s performance, I suppose Catherine will pick Carole & Tuesday and that would make Ertegun the one who holds the decisive gun regarding the duo’s fate. We all know the result but let’s see how the show handles all this.

Fruits Basket (2019) – 10 [It’s Valentine’s Day Afterall]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Fruits Basket (2019)

It’s Valentine’s Day for Fruits Basket, although in this episode the actual Valentine isn’t the main focus. It’s another week of “I wish something major happens” for me. At this point, I have come to believe that follow the manga’s structure stall the pacing for me, as the show pads out its material way too thin at this moment. We need new blood or some compelling drama. This isn’t to say this episode doesn’t provide any dramatic reach. Shigure’s complexity has been planted before in previous episodes, but only this week do we see the extent he’s willing to do to reach his goal. For whatever goal that is we’re pretty much left unknowingly. This episode we only aware of his childhood dream, the dream which still pretty much stay inside his adult self and guides him forward, even if it means that he would hurt the ones beside him, especially Tohru. I suspect the seed that he planted is to allow Tohru to stay over Souma’s house, which in turn change fundamentally both Yuki and Kyou. We also know that he harbors hatred towards Akito, probably for the thing he did regarding Hattori. We don’t know much about Akito’s situation but we can see he’s in pain right now, and Shigure’s hatred can come as far as enjoying Akito’s pain. This is some neat material right there.

Another significant action that Shigure did this week is when he challenges Kyou, and as he knowingly put it later on, he “went too far”. There seems to be an underlying reason that Kyou seems to be in conflict Yuki’s rat status, and that might have to do with Kyou’s violent flashback when he got out of control, somehow. There are still many things left unsaid here, and like what Shigure puts, they are merely a ripple on the water at the moment. Kaguya appears to Kyou for a Valentine double date, but surprisingly we get very little out of that date (which for me is for the better). The only detail that we gathered is an action anime they see in theatre, which ironically have more animation than the actual show.

It’s important to note that all the core cast of Fruits Basket have some sad memories about their childhood that perfectly form their personality and their motivation as they are now, which makes for a meaty drama. And I still consider when it comes to executing the drama, Fruits Basket rank amongst the best of its genre. The problem for me right now is that they need to move on from the status quo, and put our main cast into more conflicts. As of now if they all stay in balance, they have a tendency to become tropey (Tohru is the worst offender), so let’s hope that Fruits Basket will head to some meaty material soon.