Author: SuperMario

Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2019) – 06-07 [VS The Imaginator 3-4]

by SuperMario, posted in Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2019), Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense

Boogiepop thickens its narrative considerably this past 2 weeks. Instead of peeling the skins to its already complex narrative, it feels as if Boogiepop adds more layers to it, each layer matters differently to the big picture. While I feel the first arc Boogiepop and Others suffers from rushing too much (it scraps many side characters for instance), this arc it suffers from totally opposite issue, it’s meandering quite a bit here. I don’t mind the way it jumps around between narratives to narratives. After all, it’s make the central mystery more intriguing, but I do feel that there is little progress in the last two episodes. News emerges that the next arc of Boogiepop: Boogiepop at Dawn will be a 2-hour OVA which will be Boogiepop’s 10th to 13th episode, it’s safe to assume that there are two more episodes to wrap up this current Imaginator arc and for me they certainly don’t need 6 episodes for this material.

To be more specific, Masaki and Orihata’s relationship makes up the main emotional core of this arc, but I feel the chemistry is stalled this last episode. Orihata is torn between Spooky E’s order and her genuine care for Masaki. Now that we learn that Orihata’s mission is to cross-breed to create a new non-human being, whatever that is. At the beginning of episode 6, Masaki finds her being manipulated by Spooky E but he manages to control him, and instead of making him his puppet, he just erases his memory. Orihata makes sure about his safety by playing along with Spooky E’s order, dressing him up as a fake Boogiepop to lure the real one, but at the same time protect him with all her might. While they certainly share a mutual chemistry together, and Masaki’s naive care towards the girl plays well against the dark tone of the series, I don’t feel like they provide enough reasons for me to care for their wellbeing.

It’s neat, however, to have one of our main character pulled into the heart of this story from the outside looking in. Kinukawa Kotoe, who is Jin’s cousin, reaches Suema to investigate about his strange behavior. What she witnesses afterward is something “creepy”: he performs a ritual to plug/modify highschool girls missing hearts, so that they feel “fulfilled” afterward. It’s a interesting concept, since it remains to be seen whether his action can be perceived as “savior” or “crime”. On the one hand, we have him going through some malicious intent and was on the verge of breaking down. On the other hand, the people he saved feels happy afterward. Too happy that they seem to lose their drive to live. Suema, in the meantime, bumps into Orihara whom about to jump of the building. As she proceed to talk her out of it, they also spell out loud the themes about Boogiepop franchise as a whole. That’s all these supernatural beings are the result of teenager’s growing up. As Suema frames it, Boogiepop is there to lend the helping hand to fragile young hearts that adults won’t provide, as adults they feel adolescence is just a phase everyone goes through, and will pass. Well, what do I say? Obvious issues aside, it’s nice to know what Boogiepop is really about, right? We need that for something as roundabout as Boogiepop.

Lastly, Kotoe makes up for the last missing piece of this chessboard. We learn about her affection towards Jin (since childhood, no less) until it gets abruptly interfered by Spooky E goddamn mind control power and now she becomes his copy – not a terminal- but a copy. Actually, I found those raw moments where the victims’ is completely erased, but in some rare moments their real feeling sip in one of the more effective moments in the series. Whether it’s Kotoe this week or Anou in the past few weeks, although with their identity erased, the feeling they had for somebody still remains within their conscious. That’s harsh, yet beautiful. It’s amazing that while the main conflict of the arc is between Imaginator and Boogiepop, neither of them appear much in the last few weeks.and I still don’t think that Imaginator is that bad, it’s Spooky E is the main villain here. He’s spook for sure, not sure what an E stands for anyway.

Kemurikusa – 05

by SuperMario, posted in Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Kemurikusa

My apology for skipping over the other two shows and week in review this week, given I’ve gotten busy in the last week or so as my sisters come to visit. So for the next two weeks I won’t promise to blog regularly, but I’ll try my best. For Kemurikusa this week, the group reaches island 6 and encounter another one of Kemurikusa girl, whom we still have little idea about. One of the biggest reveal in this episode is the full function of Midori the tree. In Wakaba’s own words it is “to fix things”, but I still believe it goes broader than that, to heal things. Remember it heals Wakaba’s injuries in the first episode? It might sound like another one of tired game mechanics but I believe in this case it is for the show’s benefit. Speaking of Wakaba, although he’s represented as a human so far, upon close inspection I would say he has the least human traits out of all characters. He doesn’t sleep, he eats and drinks very little and he can manage to function various kemurikusa power. In this episode, he managed to sniff the scent of… a tram wheel!! If we take the ED literally, he might be born from Midori’s tree, hence that can explain how he has no prior memory in the first place.

This episode also raises another interesting threads regarding the robots/bugs. If we consider Midori’s power is to heal things, doesn’t it make sense that these Red Bugs are some sort of virus and Midori’s power can wipe that out? In addition, the little robot that helps and communicates to Wakaba feel like a relic from the lost era, which I suspect that all the robots are designed to support human in some sorts but they go berserk by the red power and destroy the humanity. The fact that it can communicate to Wakaba (it seems to understand what he says) and Wakaba can read support this train of thought. I wouldn’t be too surprised if the robot helps out mapping the unexplored Island 6 to our team.

This week, we have another brief mention to the dead members of Kemurikusa girls, this time revolving around two deceased Rinas. From the appearance of the other Kemurikusa girl though, I have high hope for the team to revive the dead members as some point in the future. Kemurikusa’s plot might be a bit slow at times, but I’m surprised to say that I enjoy every single episode so far. It reminds me a bit of Made in Abyss in the sense that it goes deeper (but more horizontal instead of vertical) and explores new settings with so much details put in the world-building. It might never reach the level of Made in Abyss but it does have the same kind of appeals, and I would be lying if I say that I’m not looking forward to what it does next.

Kemurikusa – 04

by SuperMario, posted in Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Kemurikusa

Kemurikusa just keeps getting better, huh? This episode does a pretty good job on establishing its world building, and we learn more about these girls’ special abilities, as well as the dead sisters (thanks partly to Wakaba this time). I really hope that we can see the dead ones in some ways or forms because based from the ED they aren’t just there as some backstory – they have their own designs, personality and special abilities. Last week we heard about Ryoku (God, their names are confusing) who knew best about the mechanic of this world and who teached Rin and Ritsu many “survival skills”. This week, we know more about the other two late members, Ryo, who were even better at combat than Rin and Riku, who can used all types of kemurikusa. We also see some of Rina(s) special powers. First, they can use parts of their body to move on their own (with prove to be more than helpful later on). Moreover, they eat stuffs in order to multiply and appears to lose their original memory. What worrisome, however, is one of them start to lose energy and I’m not so sure what going to be happen with that poor soul.

Even the settings on the new islands and the power of kemurikusa start to become clearer as well. Although he activates the kemurikusa power by pure luck, it further confirms that either there are more ways to activate the power, or Wakata himself is a key to all this. The big ass Nushi, however, is clearly designed to destroy the kemurikusa and I suspect that it killed one of the girls and that brings a huge impact to Rin. It’s interesting to note that as long as the girls’ leaf isn’t destroyed, they won’t die and they can regenerate their body. The question I have for now is whether or not these girls are organic (created by the tree and whatnot) or are they artificially made using the same technology that destroy this world? In this episode, when they move inbetween island, we can clearly see the signs, the billboard that clearly resembling the world we’re living right now. What the hell happened in that universe that kill the humanity?

It’s a lot to unpack regarding its ambiguous settings, I know, and I believe this is the right direction Kemurikusa is heading now. Exploring the world, at the same time pick up all the quirks and the functionality of each character has been a rewarding ride. On the production value side, if you get used to the CG models, there are a lot to enjoy here. The use of music, in particular, is strong and enhance the action sequence greatly. The strong use of color is another highlight and each color represents some sort of different power, so it has its purpose. Rin is also a character worth following around, since she has strong sense of what she wants to do and what she wants to protect. Island 4 is going to be a big task for the team, given we know that something is waiting for them there, and that something seems to be a really bad news.

Winter 2019 Summary – Week 3

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Weekly Summary

We get to the third week of this Winter season where I will cut down some slacks and settle in with the ones I pick. In general, this season has been a solid one for me. Mob Psycho 100 in particular hasn’t had any bad episode yet, Kaguya-sama keeps sharpening its claws, and even something nobody care for like Rinshi Edoka-chan still delivers with grace (the only reason I don’t include Edoka-chan here is because it’s only 3-minute short, WHAT CAN YOU SAY OF A 3 MINUTE SHORT EVERY WEEK?). Anyways, read on to see which shows that still make the cut for the rest of the season.

Domestic na Kanojo (ep02-03)


Curiosity got a better of me and I checked out Domestic for my own dose of suffering. Needless to say, I’m still on the fence whether I’m going to watch it or drop it. There’s a clear set of what I enjoy in the show and what it falters. In a positive spectrum, the situation the older sister Hina finds herself in is frighteningly real and weighty. Having an affair with married person is messy, as in the three-way central romance, and what she’s suffering through is grounded and believable. In addition, I found Rui and Natsuo’s chemistry to be solid so far, as both have the same concerns towards their sister’s affair. On the opposite spectrum, the comedy bits are distracting and most often the time they feel awkward. Natsuo’s best mate is the worst offender as at no point I feel he belongs to this story or even feel like real person. Natsuo’s behavior can be grating at times and I know it will get worse as the story gets messier.

Continue reading “Winter 2019 Summary – Week 3” →

Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai – 03 [Rachma’s Longest Day]

by SuperMario, posted in Finished Series: Action, Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai

It’s clear after the first three episodes that Kotobuki isn’t a show that focuses much on any thematic depth, nor is it a character piece. It has some nice settings, it has one core concept of these Kotobuki team members doing air combats against pirates, and it has extended well-choreographed flight sequences to back it up. It’s pretty telling how they sacrifice 2D character models so that they can go all out with the aerial combat set pieces. In terms of sound and sight, Kotobuki has its chops. It’s not in the level of extraordinary, mind you, but to animate those long battle scenes in every single episode and makes it as appealing as what we got so far is no small feat. The problems lie in the lack of actual story, or even characters that we feel worth spending time for. This week, I still don’t warm up that much to the characters. I do learn more about two of them. Reona (in red uniform), the leader of this group and the voice of reason as opposed to the impulsive Kirie and Chika last week, and Emma (the blonde) who frankly criticizes the mayor before gets rescued by him later on. I don’t mind this “you pick up on character traits as you go along” approach Kotobuk’s currently implementing, but I can see that this approach could turn viewers off because they don’t have a reason to care for the story.

It doesn’t help the case that the story this week is as bareboned as it can get. Rachma, their town was attacked by air pirates who calling themselves “Elite Industries”. The CEO, who acts as over the top as one could, is eyeing the town’s Raiden fighter, and fires off as warning once the town refuses to do the trade. I’m a bit let down by the way Kotobuki clearly makes a ruthless villain we all love to hate, and there is a clear black and white here. The other development this episode focuses on, however, is the town mayor’s indecision to make a final call. This thread works better than the punchable face CEO, but still leaves a lot to be desired. The small town villagers get a sense that they need to participate (and not relying on the girls) to protect their hometown, and the mayor, in a spur of a moment, decide to ride his Raiden and saves Emma, although at the cost of the Raiden.

So yep, story-wise and characters-wise, Kotobuki offers surprisingly very little to hold on to. What it sells so far is the presentation. CG planes look cool in motion and we can feel the impact of every hit the air jets receive. I also quite enjoy the rapid-fire conversations and clearly each girl sounds and behaves different, although to be fair it’s all style with no substance right now. The only way the show could improve is that they need to get more constructed, as fighting pirates week-to-week, quite fun to look at, gets dull rather easily.

Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2019) – 05 [VS The Imaginator 2]

by SuperMario, posted in Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2019), Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense

Boogiepop’s this week further reaffirms what I really like about the show’s overall structure. Each week we have a total new perspective from the same arc, often with different level of impact to the main events. This episode, for example, is about two “lesser” interconnected plot threads compare to one last week, yet we still learn many new elements that could potentially change the tide of this sailing boat. We get another supernatural foe, but this time it seems like they are a small piece in the chess. We have more complex emotional range this week: from sexual to homosexual attraction (which the latter is actually pretty impressive). The main key here that can prove to be a crucial plotpoint, in hindsight, isn’t the characters that have their narratives this week, but Orihata Aya, the girl that dates Masaki, Nagi Kirimi’s little brother. It becomes clear that she has different values regarding her own, as she thinks it’s only natural to offer her body to guys, and think very little of her self worth. She comes off an inhuman vibe, but so far I can’t still put my fingers on who she really be. She could be another one of Towa Organization’s “terminal”, which kind of makes sense since that Spooky E is totally protecting her, but I feel that she’s carrying the bigger roles here. And she’s on the verge of breaking down now that she develops her feeling towards someone else.

Which brings us to the first segment where we get told in Masaki’s point of view. Masaki keeps his presence low profile, but he still ends up as a target of bullying amongst his class. The fact the he’s Kirimi’s brother also ties him into the bigger picture. Could it be that Orihata approaches him because of that? As the event progresses, his affection eventually reaches the girl, which I think will serve as a catalyst to the next big event. Asukai reappears to give these bullying guys justiced, and on the second segment it’s interesting to note that he regards the victim as “beyond cure”, which means that he believes his action as a way to cure the victims. At this moment we don’t see the aftermaths of the victims he touched so I can’t tell his version of “cure” would be like, but my gut tells me that it’s gonna be twisted.

The second thread is about Anou Shinjirou, Misaki’s classmate and as we soon learn, he has some physical attraction to him. I really like the way he behaves towards Misaki, you can see the whole waves of conflicted emotions this guy has towards Misaki. Trying his best to show some hesitant to the boy, yet at the same time stalks him and tries to approach him when there’s no one around. It’s creepy but Boogiepop nails his behaviors wonderfully. His stalking to Orihata (since he thought the girl has some hidden agenda) causes Spooky E brainwashes him and makes him one of his terminals. The highpoint of this episode for me is how despite him losing all his memories, his personality and his emotions, in some rare moments his real emotions surface. The scene where he looks at the painting “Snow falls in April” (which is definitely another important piece – who draw this painting?), for instance, evokes some kind of raw emotions to him. For the show that is on the emotional distance approach, it still doesn’t forget to let some emotions sip in.

Lastly, Boogiepop appears to tie up these stories and decides to banish Spooky E, however he escapes in the nick of time. I still think that some pieces are missing here, and until we learn the importance of Orihata’s role in this story, things will put into motion. 5 episodes in, the biggest strength of Boogiepop Phantom lies in its interwoven structures and it does a decent jobs to maintain the restless mood that prove crucial to its many mysteries. Well, viewers have to work way more than normal shows in order to be on track but for me it has been a rewarding experience so far.

Kemurikusa – 03

by SuperMario, posted in Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Kemurikusa

DISCLAIMER: this is an original review of an original show from one of our own reviewers. His ignorance of future characters and plot points may limit his perspective on the series as it unfolds. Proceed with caution!

At there episodes mark, Kemurikusa’s strengths weaknesses are more in clear view now. In a positive side, the world building proves to be ambiguous and compelling. I’m always a fan of a near apocalyptic world where human race has regressed and declined and somehow lose many historical and technological context from its ancestors (many of my favorite anime has this settings: Humanity Has Declined, Sora no Woto, Girls’ Last Tour). This week, we have a glimpse of the next island and it appears to be ruins from our very society. There’s a amusement park, there’s many abandoned buildings that could be the what left of a catastrophe we haven’t yet learnt about. One interesting fact is that the girls regard themselves as human, even though they have their own kemurikusa leaf inside their body and just drinks water to survive. It’s fascinating because with that one remark we get a good idea that these girls have never encountered any real human being before, not up to this point anyway.

The ED that appears this week, along with some passing comments from the girls, do an amazing job of fleshing out these kemurikusa girls’ backstory. We soon learn that there were more team members and many already died before the start of this event. If this ED is any indication we also know about the order of their disease as well. There was a girl called Ryouko whom Rin and Ritsu are quite fond of. She was seen as the one who teaches these girls all the basic survival stuffs. Then there were Ryou and Riku, and two of the six-pack who bite the dust (one of the Rinas died in the first episode). Based on what I heard the OVA and shorts did include them, and I don’t know about these kemurikusa girls enough to know if they can be revived in any way. So far though, I feel a clear sense that the body count will likely to increase as the girls moving to several islands now. The box of grey urns have the same number of the girls who passed away, so it makes sense for me why Rin treasures them so much.

We also learn about “The First Person”, the one that gives birth to all the girls. For now, my theory is that this person learns about the human destruction so they creates this new humankind to survive. While nothing is concrete yet I have a sense that this world is a result of advanced technology went berserk that destroys all the lives on earth. It comes for a reason that these girls function like a plant, one of the most natural resource of them all. Like I said, this world is so layered and intriguing that so much has been discussed, yet there’s still more mysteries around the corner.

In a negative side though, Wakata is still the weakest link but he isn’t the dealbreaker for me. The dialogues aren’t that good to be honest, and it feels rather clumsy the way Rin already develops some physical feeling to Wakata. Many has argued that if Wakata were a girl, we wouldn’t consider him as annoying in which I say, NO. The truth of the matter is that he doesn’t feel like he belong to this world, and while part of the narrative is designed that way, I can’t help but feel Kemurikusa deserves a much more tolerable male protagonist.

Winter 2019 Summary – Week 2

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Weekly Summary

Welcome to the new weekly section where I will cover current season’s shows that I’m still following that haven’t been blogged by us, the leftovers so to speak. That way readers who watch these shows below can keep tabs on how we feel about them. At the moments aside from the top tiers shows we blogged, there are 7 other shows in which I will drop 2 in the next week depending how they perform. Ideally this post will be at the beginning of the week. Without further ado, let’s jump in

Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue. (ep02)

Doukyonin is a healing show. Well, it’s a different kind of healing show where the two lonely individuals try their best effort to understand each other. It offers you a specific kind of mood and the second episode is a worthy follow-up to its premiere. Structure-wise, it follows the same pattern as the first where we at first follow the writer’s point of view before switching back to the cat. What makes it enjoyable is that the show nails its tone from start to finish. I enjoy the little gags of everyone keeps asking Subaru about his cat’s name and what makes this episode work so well is how the cat thinks totally differently from what we assume (Haru means food, simple as that), yet in the larger picture it just fits. Doukyonin is sweet and pleasant.

Continue reading “Winter 2019 Summary – Week 2” →

Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai – 02 [The Wandering Six]

by SuperMario, posted in Finished Series: Action, Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai

Many of you might wonder why I decided to blog this show, despite the first episode spent two third of its time in one single aerial combat, which can be fascinating to watch but bring extremely little to talk about. While I agree that Kotobuki has its fair share of underwhelming aspects (which I will get to that later), it’s the presentation so far that makes it unlike any other show this season. First, it’s a new project from veteran director Tsutomu Mizushima, whose has directed a modern classic Shirobako, but perhaps is more well-known for his own take on genre-anime, to a varying degree of success, such as Girls und Panzers, Another, Mayoiga, Prison School and xxxholic.

Kotobuki’s premise reminds us strongly to Girls und Panzers especially, being another cut girls with military vehicle. So far it does well to differentiate itself from Panzers. The CG visual, for example, is a bold decision and so far it’s a hit-or-miss for me. Whenever it’s CG planes hitting each other it’s a delight to watch and hear. It’s also worth mentioning that Mizushima himself is in charge of the sound mixing, and sound in Kotobuki is anything less than spectacular. When the bullets the air jet, for instance, we can hear the metal sound clashing instead of explosions like other anime tend to do. The CG character designs, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired. Generally they look okay, not in the same level of Sanizgen’s designs, but not awful either. But the moments their faces move or we have a close-up from lower angle, the CG is distracting and it looks jarring and unnatural.

Narrative-wise, it’s another bold decision of Kotobuki to throw the introduction / info dump parts down the sewer drain. As a result we pick up the information as they go along, usually with rapid-fire and heaps of talking. While normally I enjoy these kinds of narrative choice, it does it at the cost of the characters themselves given the fact that I can only remember 2 or 3 characters at best and the rest is just blurred somewhere in the background. It’s certainly the show that demands our attention through its natural and quick dialogues to pick up pieces of information or character’s traits through what they say and act. Finally, Kotobuki seems to make up its mind that their central of focus is the lengthy sequence of battles on the sky and in that respect the show fulfils its beautifully. The combats are well choreographed, sometimes it can be a bit difficult to follow but it’s always success of pulling you into the atmosphere.

In term of plot, so far we learn about this Kotobuki squad that consist of 6 female team members, which Kirie and Chika are the ones who tend to do things on their impulse. In this episode Kotobuki attempts to flesh out its world building by investigating the fact that the loss of its industrial cause many abandoned cities. There’s also something going on beyond our team’s knowledge given the squads they were up against are skilled and wasn’t on the mere amateurish level, which for me this win feels like one step forward before a big regression in the future. Kotobuki’s aesthetics might be a hit-and-miss so far, but it still remains a fun action show full of spectacular moments.

Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2019) – 04 [VS The Imaginator 1]

by SuperMario, posted in Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2019), Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense

It starts with a girl jumping off the building.
I’m always a sucker for this sort of opener (clue in to Lain and Satoshi Kon even though Kon never technically did that for opener), and it feels like a decent start for the next arc to come. It basically repeats the same formula as the first three episodes, albeit more to my likings. The biggest distribution to that is that this episode more coherent than the first arc, while at the same time remains ambiguous. So far, Boogiepop introduces 2 new characters, both of them prove to be significant to this arc.

It starts with a girl jumping off the building, yet she isn’t literally dead. As we soon learn, she is another non-human villain whom Boogiepop is here to destroy her, and whom Boogiepop refers as “The Imaginator”. Who or what exactly she might be is up to the air right now, and the moment she falls down from the building she disappears to thin air. It’s worth noticing that the Imaginator (in the body of Minahoshi Suiko) is voiced by the recognisable Hanazawa Kana, which for me is a strange choice. She is later referred herself as “a future that’s taken form in the present, or a hypothetical possibility given substance”, which basically just pretentiously BS for me. What I do understand is that unlike Manticore in last arc where he eats human to survive, this supernatural being’s motive is unclear and it mighj not be necessary a bad cause. At the moment she seems to progress human’s strength by giving them a push, both mentally and supernaturally.

And her first prey is Asukai, a school counselor who can see what missing in people’s heart in the form of flowers. That makes it two series this season that a character can see the insight of people that naked eyes can’t (the other one is Dororo), and while it’s certainly an interesting concept, visualize people’s heart is a flower is a bit simplifiable for me. Isn’t it a bit too convenient that “this girl’s flower has no root” or “she’s nice but she has no bud” where there’s no deeper attempt is made for how they are the way they are? What I do enjoy though, narratively speaking, is that it becomes clear as we witness Asukai going through his routine that he’s nearly his breaking point. He can see people’s heart but he has no resolve to it. He’s over the edge of his psychological breakdown and all Imaginator does is push him down the rabbit hole. She appears before him in multiple forms, first as a floating being, and then as she possesses girls around him. The deal-breaker event comes when she possesses a drug-addicted ex-student of Asukai, in which her argument is basically “it’s more justifiable to kill them right away rather than let them suffer” before gives him the power. I expect next week we’d see more of him going berserk and how it pulls other main characters into this whole mess. I’d say this episode is much better and leaner than the premiere in terms of setting up the plot and introduces new characters more methodically, and thoroughly.