Author: SuperWooper

Wooper: Last week I said that we might be skipping our weekly recap for a seasonal check-in, but then Amun came through with some impressions to give us three whole writers in one post, and I couldn’t pass that up. We’re approaching levels of blog contribution that shouldn’t be possible! Next week will be our Fall 2020 State of the Season shindig, but for now, we’re here to gab about the newest wave of weekly anime. Enjoy!

Tonikaku Kawaii – 06

Amun: Not in my normal strike zone of shows, but I find myself watching Tonikaku Kawaii first on the weekend anime binge. With a simple premise and a tiny cast, Tonikaku Kawaii should fall under the category of show that gives you cavities and I avoid like the plague. Tonikaku Kawaii banks on, and makes light of, some common early onset romantic issues – but it’s done in such a light hearted way that you can’t help but cheer on our silly, spacy couple as they bumble through the beginnings of married life. I’m sure you could find some criticisms of the perverted bath owner or the meddling little sister, but for now, it’s cute and that’s all you really need to know.

Golden Kamuy S3 – 06

Lenlo: I never know what to expect with Golden Kamuy. Some weeks it’s light hearted gallows humor with a sprinkle of drama, other weeks like this one that recipe is flipped on its head. Sadly it’s in weeks like this that I really start to see the cracks in the series. Drama is not Golden Kamuy’s strong suit, to say the least. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, the sniper battle was fun. I really liked the double misdirect in regards to Ogata’s position, and how his strategy actually laid him flat for the rest of the episode. Pair that with Shiraishi’s introspection and you have some decent drama. But I didn’t care much for Ogata’s flashback, all things considered. It didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know about him as a character, and while it introduced a bit of guilt, it’s not something I really see it acting on. All in all it felt like it existed to pad runtime. Not in the worst way, it fit the show and reminded us just how much of a cold bastard he is. But it definitely wasn’t the most interesting thing in the episode.

Continue reading “Fall 2020 Summary – Week 6” →

Wooper: We’re down to just two writers for this week’s recap, which means we’re down a few shows, as well. Now that we’ve entered the second of this season’s three months, it’s only natural that anime will start to fall through the cracks. The State of the Season post is coming up, though (it may even replace next week’s summary), so it won’t be long until you hear from the whole crew on their midseason picks. Until then, Lenlo and I have got you covered.

Haikyu: To the Top Part 2! – 05

Lenlo: I said last week that as much as I love Nekoma, I want to get back to the Inzarizaki match. I still stand by that, I love Atsumu, but boy is it hard to not get hype about our boy Kenma. The relationship between him, Kuroo and Nekoma as a whole is always a treat. How they tease and respect each other, how Kenma fails or refuses to see his own growth (“guts”) etc. My only real complaint with the episode is that, outside a few of the big scenes, it once again looked kinda… eh? Production has definitely not been a strong suit for Haikyu this season. My only hope is that they are saving something big for the finale, because the narrative core is all there, it’s great. Furudate is a great writer. I just think the show deserves better than this sometimes.

Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken – 05

Wooper: Boy, did this episode look good. The bulk of it was given to a continuous fight against Hadlar, first waged by Avan and then by Dai. It was chock-full of shounen staples, from the sensei who sacrifices his life to the villain undone by overconfidence, but watching such a slick reboot of a classic title makes it hard to find fault with its adherence to genre conventions. I’ll confess to being disappointed that Avan’s life-offering final attack wasn’t enough to end the battle – giving Dai the crushing blow smacks of protagonist worship – but Hadlar is a major antagonist, so killing him off this early wouldn’t fit the template that this series was instrumental in creating. Great animation and a sense of high stakes going forward are two reasons to love this episode, as well as some justification for Dai’s overpowered forehead (which is apparently called a Dragon Crest). Seeing what an effect that glowing mark had on Hadlar was an indirect promise of things to come – I’m hoping we get some adventuring and party building first, though.

Continue reading “Fall 2020 Summary – Week 5” →

Wooper: Ask and ye shall receive; we’ve got mini impressions from not one, but four writers in this edition of our weekly recap. Feels good to have some company for this column! Lenlo, Amun and Armitage pitched in to deliver thoughts on a few of the fall’s bigger shows and sequels, while I’m still banging on about weird anime comedies and a stray shounen property. It’s the new and improved Weekly Summary, y’all – enjoy, and we’ll see you next time.

Kamisama ni Natta Hi – 02/03

Armitage: I was supposed to write entire full-length posts covering this show but turns out that the events of each episode don’t lend themselves to wordy breakdowns. Still, this is one of the major torchbearers of the Fall Anime Parade and I cannot in good conscience let it air without any coverage. Which means that from now on, I shall be using the Weekly Summary section to give my thoughts on it! So far, Kamisama ni Natta Hi has essentially played out as a gag comedy anime and a solid one at that. Episode 2 was especially great with its parodies of Armageddon, Edward Scissorhands and the gut-bustingly funny Rocky skit. I am the kind of person who rarely full-on ‘laughs out loud’ but yeah, this episode got that out of me. Episode 3 too had its nice moments with Youta’s suit and sparkling MSG but it didn’t work quite as well as its predecessor. The characters, while being really entertaining, have not yet come off as people you truly care for and I hope the show remedies that in the coming weeks. Lastly, I just wanted to give a shout-out to Natsuki Hanae, the VA for Yota, as he is the one who solely makes the show such a blast to watch, displaying a voice range on par with Mamoru Miyano from Zombieland Saga. Honestly, this show is worth a watch just to hear him say “IZANAMI-SAAAAAAAN” as anime Rocky.

Golden Kamuy Season 3 – 04

Lenlo: I’m not usually a fan of comedies, anime ones especially. Something about their humor or their aesthetic just falls flat to me. So it’s always a joy when Golden Kamuy gets me chuckling for its entire run time, week after week. Something about the mix of murder and humor lines up perfectly with my love of gallows humor. It helps that every single joke has layers upon layers to it, similar in a way to classic Simpsons, though not of the same level. Take the chase scene early on for instance, Koito’s section alone has at least four jokes in 30 seconds that all build on each other. We go from the Naruto run and leap, to him running in the air, to grabbing a branch which then snaps, to his silly landing, to the branch landing on his head. It’s all small stuff, but no joke exists on its own, always building to the next.

Alternatively Golden Kamuy also establishes these episodic comedic narratives inside its larger dramatic narrative. This episode it’s Genjiro’s saga with dancing girls. His failure to actually dance, being fawned over and encouraged by children only to get a riff on a romance or career drama thrown in for good measure. There’s just something funny about this massive muscular soldier in a tutu getting fawned over by children for dancing a side-bit, and without a doubt the reaction faces help it. Suffice to say I am continuing to enjoy Golden Kamuy. From military circus jokes to “I’m gonna cut it” jokes to just how petty Koito is willing to be over his tricks. I am not caring that much about the larger narrative but god damn if this show isn’t fun.

Continue reading “Fall 2020 Summary – Week 4” →