Author: SuperWooper

Yesterday wo Utatte – 09-10

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Romance, Yesterday wo Utatte

I’m not the sort of person who chooses #teams while watching love triangle plots, but after this pair of episodes, if you put a gun to my head, I’d pick Haru. She’s received much less screen time than Shinako, but that only makes scenes like her hug with Rikuo on the apartment landing more rewarding. Their contrasting heights and levels of enthusiasm made for a great shot, and their follow-up conversation was one of the best the show has orchestrated in weeks. Even if we still don’t really understand why Haru likes this dude so much, she’s straightforward about her feelings! She keeps stopping by his apartment because, in her words, it’s “more fun than waiting” for him to contact her or reciprocate her crush. She’s clingy, but she’s also way more honest than either Rikuo or Shinako, who keep dancing around each other like teenagers (ironically, Haru is the only teenager among the three of them).

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Kaguya-sama S2 – 07-08

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Comedy, Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai

I might just do two more of these doubleheader posts to close out the season. The recent trend among Kaguya-sama episodes has been to combine three or four segments of similar enjoyability, whether they’re all great or all mediocre. When we hit one of the mediocre combinations, it leaves me with little to write about, so packaging my thoughts in bulk safeguards against weak standalone posts. That’s my justification for my forthcoming June laziness, anyway. Read on to see which chapter was my favorite during the second half of May (plus thoughts on all the other losers).

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BNA – 04-06 [Dropped]

by SuperWooper, posted in BNA, Series which were Dropped

It’s been nearly a week since Asenshi released episode 6 of BNA, but I’ve delayed in writing this post because I wasn’t sure how to approach it. If you’ve read the title, you know I’m dropping the series – but I wondered about my lead-in paragraph. Should I beat the dead horse-shaped argument of completing anime versus dropping it? Should I caution against studio worship, given that Trigger’s reputation caused many viewers (myself included) to set their expectations for the show too high? Or should I lay into the series for being a disappointment on its own terms, which would demand a more thorough breakdown of each episode?

As the week dragged on, I realized that it didn’t really matter what I led with. Most people won’t remember this show in three years, and they’ll certainly have forgotten my posts about it long before then. I haven’t enjoyed the series since its second episode, and I don’t want to watch it or talk about it anymore. This post just needs to be farted out so I can forget about BNA, and continue enjoying the few solid anime this virus-stricken spring season has to offer. So, in the spirit of abandonment, here are my brief thoughts about episodes 4-6.

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Yesterday wo Utatte – 08 [Innocent Blue]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Romance, Yesterday wo Utatte

How could you screw up this badly, Rikuo? Shinako just got finished telling you to be more assertive in episode 7, and now you bail at the first sign of hesitation after she’s invited you up to her apartment? I know you’re both awkward as hell, but all the situation called for was a reminder of her earlier request. Just teasingly say, “You’re the one who said I ought to be pushy,” give her a smile, and you’re probably golden. Even if you can’t manage that kind of line, at least generate some conversation as she’s leading you upstairs. For Pete’s sake, do *anything* other than what you did at the start of this episode!

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Yesterday wo Utatte – 04-07

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Romance, Yesterday wo Utatte

Yesterday wo Utatte is my favorite spring anime, so please don’t take my delay in covering it as a sign of disinterest. It’s one of only two shows that I watch on the day it releases (the other being Kaguya-sama). Its ability to introduce new characters and immediately dimensionalize them is exceptional, as it demonstrated in two of these four episodes. It also has a keen sense of where to aim its lens each week, using individual spotlights or telling stories in parallel to get the most from its cast of characters. Yesterday wo Utatte deserves better than this post (and this author), but here we are, a month behind due to self-quarantine blues, and I’ve got to publish something or I’ll never escape this rut. If you’re digging this show as much as I am, hit the jump for abbreviated thoughts on episodes 4-7, in that order (no lazy list post this time).

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State of the Season – Spring 2020

by SuperWooper, posted in State of the Season

Amun: Welcome to this lost spring of anime 2020. I hope everyone is staying safe and watching this B-team of a season. While we didn’t get the heavy hitters of Yahari Season 3 or Re:Zero, there are still some bright spots – Kaguya-sama S2 and the surprise newcomer isekai: Hamefura. Despite my early criticisms, Tower of God has gained some traction – fellow writers seem fairly positive on Yesterday wo Utatte. So this season isn’t a complete wash! We have turtles, villainesses, crows, books, and zodiac animals! Join us humble Star Crossed writers as we take a look at the good, the bad, and the funny of Spring 2020 anime. (But seriously, Hamefura is really good, go watch it).

What show are you enjoying that you’re not reviewing?

Amun: I’m liking Tower of God quite a bit. Feels like every episode fleshes out the world, develops the characters, and pulls you deeper into the tower. Animation is hit or miss, but the story’s moving along nicely now. Little concerned about character creep, but that’s a minor gripe.

Mario: I’m going with Yesterday wo Utatte. Sure, there are other two shows that are equally impressive (Kaguya-sama 2 and the other one down the list), but Yesterday wo Utatte keeps surprising me every week. 4-way star-crossed romance isn’t normally my thing, but so far the show hasn’t put any wrong step, and the characterization for the main cast is off the chart. There’s a lot of details put into their mannerism, figure of speech and their movements. Hopefully the main relationship doesn’t get too convoluted for the sake of drama.

Lenlo: I’m not actually watching much this season. The only non-cancelled seasonal I still keep up with is Kaguya, and BNA I suppose, but I haven’t been enjoying that. Regardless, it is a decent enough rom-com, and I hope that we will actually get to the point where they make some actual progress in a relationship. Rom-coms are only good if you actually include the romance.

Armitage: I love grounded character dramas more than any other genre in anime. Though, such shows have gotten ever so rare these days. That’s why, to see Yesterday wo Utatte do what it does week-in, week-out gives me hope that more such series can be produced down the line. It’s a mature show which cares for its characters and that, in turn, instills a sense of sincerity to the story it’s telling. More importantly, even if it doesn’t stick the landing by the end of its 18-episode run, it might end up paving the way for the adaptations of the many other stellar seinen manga just begging for an anime.

Wooper: Kakushigoto. The show’s absurd flavor of comedy is nicely balanced by its familial themes, and that combination makes it a pleasant weekly watch. Its sixth episode is what really sold me on the series, though, telling one connected story instead of splitting itself into chapters, and really getting to the heart of Goto’s relationship with his work. I’d say it’s the show that has improved the most since its premiere.

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Kaguya-sama S2 – 03-04

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Comedy, Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai

In opting to cover three series this spring, it seems my eyes were bigger than my stomach. The whole self-quarantine thing increases free time, but it also decreases motivation, at least in my case. In order to get back in the saddle, I’m going to start with some low-hanging fruit and make a list post, ranking the six segments in these two Kaguya-sama episodes from worst to best. It’s very possible that my ordering is just the inverse of the conventional one (since I’m indifferent to, or simply dislike, the parts of the show for which others go gaga). If you’re prepared for Wooper’s Kaguya-sama Catch-up Session, hit the jump and get to readin’.

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Yesterday wo Utatte – 03 [What Is Love?]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Romance, Yesterday wo Utatte

If Rikuo and Shinako were the main characters of episodes 1 and 2, respectively, then it’s only right that Haru got her turn with episode 3. I’d say this installment was the most laser focused so far, with Crow Girl being present in nearly every scene. Only the Rikuo and Shinako ‘sick with a cold’ bits distracted from Haru’s story this week, and they still fed into her failed movie date later in the episode. Honestly, those back-to-back colds gave me the impression that distant chapters were combined in order to achieve this timeline, but maybe late 90s manga just leaned on illness for everything. Either way, the show pulled it off thanks to its measured, dialogic storytelling – in Yesterday wo Utatte, everything falls into place if you put the characters’ conversations at the front of your mind.

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Kaguya-sama S2 – 02

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Comedy, Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai

Kaguya-sama’s second season is off to a good start after two episodes, but of all the positive signs we’ve gotten thus far, my favorite is that Masayuki Suzuki returned to sing the OP. The man’s voice has a magical quality to it, to the point that even a brassy opening theme like “Daddy! Daddy! Do!” sounds as smooth as silk when he’s on the track. Suzuki is known as the King of Love Songs in Japan, so when each episode of Kaguya-sama opens with his voice, it’s a reminder that underneath all its exaggerated antics, the show has a romantic heart. That’s a reminder I sorely needed this week, since a lot of this episode’s caricaturish behavior rustled my jimmies (I’ll try to dedicate no more than a paragraph to explaining why). On the whole, though, I’m very glad that the show is back, and looking as fresh as ever – hopefully it survives the current wave of TV anime delays and finishes in June as scheduled.

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