Chainsaw Man – 8 [Gunfire]

Welcome to this week’s edition of Chainsaw Man tuesdays and let me begin by saying this. Yes, that did actually happen and we are only getting started. Looking around you likely see a lot of comments stating that this is where Chainsaw Man truly begins though maybe a few over enthusiastic individuals have been saying that for each episode. Personally I would consider this the major turning point as I actively made clear in my other posts. I wouldn’t be surprised if up until this point people thought that Chainsaw Man wasn’t all that different from other Shounen. I actually watched a video on youtube from a fairly well known personality who claimed that the premise and plot structure of Chainsaw Man was identical to Jujutsu Kaisen. And then I thought “There’s a statement that will age like milk.” Not blaming them though as many were making that claim and even the mangaka himself once jokingly claimed Chainsaw Man was a ripoff of Jujutsu and Dorohedoro. Still things are going to change and this is where this show becomes something quite unlike any other. For this author is insane and nothing is off the table.

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Spy X Family – 9 [Nightfall]

Hello, and welcome to this weeks episode of SpyxFamily! This is an interesting week, as it introduces a whole new character to act as Yuri’s counterpart, just for Loid. Is she any good? Do the jokes land? Did something happen? Lets dive in and find out!

So starting off, overall I think this was a decent week for SpyxFamily. For the first time in a while we got an entire episode dedicated to a singular storyline, and I think it paid off. Sure, there was that extra bit after the ED, but that’s more like a cute excerpt to me, its fine. As for the storyline in question? The introduction of Fiona Frost! As far as introductions go, we’ve had a lot worse. Considering her character archetype, Yuri immediately comes to mind, as they share so much in common. She’s not perfect, and we will talk about why, but I think she has far more potential than Yuri did. Partly because this one isn’t incestuous, but also because she has more going on than just this love obsession. Or at least it feels like it.

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Mob Psycho 100 III – 8 [Transmission 2 ~Encountering the Unknown~]

Welcome everyone, to this weeks (late) episode of Mob Psycho 100! I’m not going to apologize for this one, it aired on Thanksgiving and I just got home, you should have expected this. I will say however that I was looking forward to this the entire trip, and I’m glad to be back to watch it. So without further ado, lets dive into the episode!

Starting off, we have to talk about the animation. This episode was storyboarded and directed by the absolute phenom that is Hakuyu Go, so right away you know it’s going to be beautiful. But instead of his usual explosive action set pieces, here we get to see his hand at character acting. And like kVin of Sakugablog fame says, it’s absolutely beautiful. The disorienting direction while lost in the forest, their unified individuality after finding the trail, the outrageous full-body character work present all throughout. And none of that even comes close to the trip and a half that is the ending sequence with Inukawa. While it wasn’t the kind of expressive explosion I was expecting from Hakuyu Go, it was certainly still one of the best and most visually memorable episodes of the season.

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Michiko & Hatchin – 1/2 [Farewell, Cruel Paradise!/The Brown Sugar Outlaw] – Throwback Thursday

Welcome everyone, to the next season of Throwback Thursday, Michiko & Hatchin! I hope you’re all having a great Thanksgiving. I hope I am, I’m writing this a few days in advance. We have a lot to talk about with this new series, and not a lot of time to do it, so lets jump right into it!

Starting off, lets talk production. I’m very split on how Michiko & Hatchin looks. The backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous, no question there. Whether it be the cheap “rich” inside of the priests house, with its fraying wallpaper contrasting the rich furniture, or the detailed and dirty city streets and all the graffiti present on the walls, it looks great. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a world so fully realized as this through just its background art alone. But the rest of the visuals… Something feels off. Michiko herself is fantastically animated at times, from the wind blowing through her hair as she rides her bike to her various gunfights. But something about Hatchin’s design, her face, the proportions, all feels off to me. Maybe I’ll get used to it with time and it won’t be an issue, but this early on there’s definitely something off putting about it.

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Spy X Family – 8 [Decipher the Perplexing Code]

Welcome everyone, to another week of Spy X Family! This is another pretty slow week all things considered, another pair of jokes without much going on. While rather cute in execution, I continue to want something a bit more from the series. I’m ready to have my heartstrings pulled again, you know? Anyways, without further ado lets jump into the episode, shall we?

So like I said, this week was another pair of gag episodes, with the first half being all about Anya exploring Loid’s job. This was cute! There were some fun gags in here, a cute Sherlock Holmes outfit, some spy shenanigans. As far as comedy goes, I think SpyXFamily nailed a lot of the jokes here. Perhaps my favorite was Yor’s imagination of taking Anya out and showing off her own job. Not working at the capital building, but being an assassin. The little ninja run, Anya’s smaller version of the outfit, the brightly colored blood. It was a great sequence, with some good action animation for Yor. Beyond that though? There wasn’t really anything of substance. Nothing narratively noteworthy or important. Just a bunch of amusing jokes for a wholesome episodic experience. Like I said last week, for some that’s going to be great. But I need something more.

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Chainsaw Man – 7 [The Taste of a Kiss]

Welcome to another Tuesday and to when we get weird and wacky with Chainsaw Man. You thought it was that already? Oh my sweet summer child, you have yet to see. We got a mix and match of action and somber times. The eternity devil meets its end and Denji has a drinking party with his coworkers along with an unforgettable night. Indeed, one could never forget this…no matter how much they want to. Overall impressions, a fine episode. Did what it needed to do but I admit that I am more interested in what comes next. The pacing is still a matter I am mixed on but it’s very much a manga reader thing. Character moments still remain gold and the humor does consistently bring out a smile. I would say the antics of the group on screen only grow more endearing the more we see of them with even the two with the worst first impressions getting some degree of redemption. Something Kobeni certainly needs as she received quite a bit of hate for the last episode’s antics.
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Mob Psycho 100 III – 7 [Transmission 1 ~Winter Break~]

Welcome everyone, to what I hope is the latest Mob Psycho 100 post you will ever see. Sincere apologies for this. There was simply no motivation to write this week, for various family related reasons. Still, the show must go on. So lets see if I can get this out before the next episode!

Overall, this was a pretty simple episode. Much like SpyXFamily, Mob Psycho is giving us some much needed time to rest and destress after the big emotional rollercoaster that was the Divine Tree arc. However where SpyXFamily largely uses that time for Anya gags, which are still fun don’t get me wrong, Mob Psycho uses it to explore it’s cast of side-characters. In this case, the Telepathy Club. This is an interesting choice, as these guys really haven’t been relevant since the first season. They’ve been in the background, Tome appearing here and there. But they haven’t really been what one would call “characters”. So Mob Psycho picking them up and deciding that now was the time to change that is really interesting. The question becomes though: Is it time well spent?

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Midseason Musings

Hello, and welcome to an unscheduled, random post from Amun!  As we reach the halfway point of one of the most hyped seasons in recent memory, I wanted to check in and see which shows have met expectations, which have disappointed, and if there are any gems in the crowded field.  Without further ado, here’s my take on the shows I’m watching this season!

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Spy X Family – 7 [Operation Revenge on Desmond]

Welcome everyone, to a (very) late episode of SpyXFamily! Apologies for that, I had to finish the His and Her Circumstances review, checking it over until I was happy. Still, that’s done and ready to go up Thursday so it’s time for some good old family fun! So without further ado, lets dive into the episode.

Overall this was a pretty slow week for SpyXFamily, with neither episode really furthering anything plot wise. Instead they were just 2 cute, longform gag sequences. This is fine enough, it was certainly cute. But there was nothing really… noteworthy. Nothing particularly heartwarming nor narratively important enough to get invested in. I’m sure for most this is fine, I want to be painfully clear that this was still a fun episode. But I’ve heard some gripes from friends and colleagues about how they found it to be rather dull, and I can’t bring myself to disagree. Still, every now and then this kind of break from the serious stuff is good. You can’t keep your audience tense all of the time. So long as this doesn’t become the new status quo, I’m sure it’ll be alright.

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Chainsaw Man – 6 [Kill Denji]

We hit the halfway mark of Chainsaw Man and I wonder if my exclamation of “No!” at the moment the credits show is a good sign or a bad one. It’s good that this show can engage me to a level where I don’t want it to end with me even knowing how the story will go. However I also find these cliffhangers to be aggravating and I had thought that we would have time to see the fight between Denji and the Eternity Devil. On that, yes devils are not just limited to objects and animals but even abstract concepts. So things like heights or thalassophobia can indeed have devil representatives which I am honestly curious as to how they would look. But back to the topic of these cliffhangers, I haven’t been this bothered by them since Code Geass about…16 years ago(Oh my god. It’s been that long) and I do kind of feel they are a double edged sword. Without doubt they do ensure viewers will stick around to the next episode and they become a non-issue once the series is out in full. But for weekly viewers it can be annoying to be promised something only to have it suddenly taken away. Like reading a good book only for it to be yanked out of your hands with someone saying you can continue it in a week. Though being a manga reader and knowing what’s coming next makes this all the worse as I really was looking forward to that fight.

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