Category: Currently Watching:

Beastars 2 – 08 [Laughing at the Shadows We Cast]

by SuperMario, posted in Beastars, Currently Watching:

After the big reveal in episode 7, we go away from Riz for a more mundane school life story. I’m quite amused by how Legosi gives very little attention to Tem’s killer this week, and like I mentioned in my last post Beastars has this “one-minded” and oblique approach to it. It’s apparent in the way that after the big events, everything just reverts back to normal like nothing ever happened (the end of season 1 to the beginning of this season is one prime example). It’s visible in the way that some characters just disappear for a while and then pop back like normal and it’s apparent in the way Beastars keeps changing the focus from the murder mystery to the school events to the star-crossed love. The shift is jarring at times, but looking deeper it fits to the context of its universe. The normalness of Cherryton Academy is just the facade for the unspeakable tension between the carnivores and herbivores. It’s a crack beneath the beautiful pie which gives you a faux sense of peace on the surface, but crack through it and you can see the tension boiling up.

And the short sweet one-off segment of Shiira the leopard and Peach the sheep further examines that sentiment. Here in Cherryton, it’s trendy to have a selfie of carnivores and herbivores together, and Shiira isn’t comfortable with that as she thrives for more intimate relationships. Comes her sudden impulses of inviting Peach for their shopping mall trip and their bond over the dress code. This segment might be unrelated to what Legosi and the cast has been going through, but it’s a perfect examination of the carnies-herbies relationship and their attempt to go over that facade.

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Beastars 2 – 06/07 [Fly, O Corrupt One/ Unforgettable Sweetness]

by SuperMario, posted in Beastars, Currently Watching:

Beastars throws a big curveball these past 2 weeks, with the revealing of Tem’s killer. Honestly, it came out of left field that it actually takes me by surprise how straightforward and quickly Legosi resolves this. But as with the nature of Beastars it’s more about the implication behind the killer’s motive and not really about who the killer is. Before we get to the meat of the mystery, however, let’s wind back to episode 6 to see the calm before the coming storm.

It remains true that this season of Beastars is interested in delving into the duality of Louis and Legosi’s fate as they embark on two opposing roads. Episode 6 finds Louis ends one relationship and opens up to another one, both herbivores who are living in a carnivore world. Both ends the way that is beyond Louis’s calculation. His father Oguma doesn’t budge when Louis points the gun at his face. He regrets the lack of emotional attachment between them and still offers Louis a place to come back to. For Cosmo, she blatantly asks him to run away from Black Market while he can. Everyone knows he is stepping to the land of mine here.

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Wonder Egg Priority – 07 [After School at 14]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Wonder Egg Priority

Hot damn, my favorite girl is back with an overall fantastic episode, in fact this is my favorite episode of Wonder Egg. Like Ai last week, at the end of the episode, Rika becomes stronger. But unlike Ai’s development last week (which I’m not that keen about), what she arrives at is emotionally wrenching and wholly rewarding. Out of all the four girls, Rika is the most vulnerable: the disparity between what she appears on the outside and what she feels inside is wide. This week we get to know about her tension with her Mom, and I love every minute of it. Turns out that her father’s advice that she keeps mentioning is the only memory she has of him. She wants to meet him, but her drunken Mother isn’t helpful (in Mamma Mia’s fashion no less). She despises her Mom, but at the same time she afraids to end up like her. At some point, self harm becomes self defense, as she feels cutting herself as an escape. I can see why she turned into an idol to get out of all this – such an achievement in character writing right there.

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Wonder Egg Priority – 05/06 [The Girl Flautist/ Punch Drunk Day]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Wonder Egg Priority

Welcome to the critical original darling of the season. If you read our midseason’s checkout you’d notice that all 5 writers uniformly regarded Wonder Egg as the top priority (pun intended), and for good reasons. Something as daring, original, emotional raw like this doesn’t come very often. It’s also fair to say that it has been walking on tightrope, yet somehow still manages to do the tricks. Take the events surrounding Sawaki-sensei for example. I (and I believe a lot of people) suspected him involving in Koito’s suicide, but I would never expect Wonder Egg to spell that out in that laid-back manner in episode 5, and as we soon learn in episode 6 it’s more because he’s dating Ai’s Mom. I will get more to that later, but my point is that Wonder Egg continues to change its shape and form but still manages to retain its unique personalities. What a feat that is.

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Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 -21 [Reunion of Roars]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

I have started every recent Re:Zero post commenting on the thirty minute runtime but at this point I think I will just accept it as granted for the rest of the cour. Still I do admit that for such a long runtime it doesn’t feel like much happened in this episode as we have quite a lot of talking. The vast majority being dedicated to the verbal tossup between Emilia,Ram and Roswaal which I can say that I may be beginning to agree with Lenlo on this, at least in regards to this episode. Arc 4 in general does have rather weak pacing with Teppei even cutting it down for the light novel but it’s still the longest arc out of the story so far. I do still say though that this episode did engage me and those thirty minutes felt more like five which is often a sign of a good time. But it is one of those things that makes the week-long wait for each episode a rather detrimental aspect as with the story moving forward so slowly, having to wait a week for essentially a small step forward is frustrating. I am sure to those of the future who have all the episodes ready to binge though this is a weak complaint but it is indeed the case that Re:Zero may be taking its sweet time too much.
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Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 -20 [The Beginning of the Sanctuary and the Beginning of the End]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

Is White Fox trying to make thirty minute episodes the new standard? For if they are I am most definitely not opposed as I like having a meaty episode to dig into each week. We also have the appearance of the new ending for the cour which admitly is far better than the new opening. Looks to be representing the more hopeful outlook of the second cour and the song has a nice beat that reminds me of the first ending but more uplifting. Otherwise today we have yet another flashback which I previously stated White Fox would be better avoiding as things have been slow with numerous flashback episodes. That said today’s episode was good and perhaps the change of scenery mitigated the stagnation of another flashback episode. Regardless this looks to be the end of all the flashbacks and we can finally move forward with resolving the problems of the Sanctuary.
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Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 19 [The Permafrost of Elior Forest]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

It’s another thirty minute episode this week but at last we finally get to see the new opening at the halfway point of the second cour. An opening which all I can say is that it’s fine. Look I am not going to give White Fox grief for a lackluster opening which they barely even use and I honestly would say it’s good that they didn’t put too much effort into it. Though my fellow writer informs me that according to the credits they had around 2 unit directors and 14 key animators who worked on it so I guess they did work hard on it? I have doubts on that, not to dismiss the song as the song is good but the visuals are more or less recycled footage with a bit of special effects. There are bits of original content but I spotted quite a number of familiar shots. However I must repeat that I am in no way upset about this as really what is the point of putting effort into an opening that’s barely seen? The content of the show is what’s important and White Fox has not disappointed on that yet.
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Beastars 2 – 05 [Call it Like it is]

by SuperMario, posted in Beastars, Currently Watching:

Well, this episode certainly caught me off guard. As Legosi decided to enter the Black Market last week, I didn’t expect him to go back to school this soon, although it makes sense in retrospect. The plot threads of Beastars race and Tem’s culprit are still in there, after all. But more than anything presented so far in this second season, for me episode 5 best captures the essence of Beastars’ second season themes: the duality between Legosi and Louis as they are chasing different paths. There’s an interesting parallel between Legosi’s and Louis’s actions for the past several weeks, and this week it becomes predominant. As Louis is forced to eat meat to retain his social status, Legosi trains himself to go full vegan. As Louis determines to clear every ties to advance his ladder (and to prevent them from getting hurt because of him), Legosi tries to live in harmony with the herbivores. The roles have switched between these two, as Louis thinks and acts like a carnivore, and Legosi behaves like a herbivore.

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Wonder Egg Priority – 03/04 [A Bare Knife / Colorful Girls]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Wonder Egg Priority

Billed for many as the most ambitious anime of this Winter season (myself included), Wonder Egg captures difficult, heavy topics with striking imaginaries and raw emotions from its characters, and by the process captures viewers’ hearts as well. I can see why many don’t tune in its heartbeats, as shows like Wonder Egg tend to be for acquired tastes. These two episodes introduce the remaining two lead cast members and Wonder Egg does wonder as presenting them as archetypal types at first, then adds more layers to their personality, making them as compelling and heartbreaking as any victim they are trying to save.

It’s clear from episode 3 and 4 – as we get past the introductory first 2 episodes – that Wonder Egg starts to get less focus on the victims’ cases, and more on the journeys of the main girls themselves. By that I mean the two fangirls that Ai and Rika are trying to save serve most as comedic reliefs – and even to this point I still wonder why they’re needed to be saved to begin with. Unlike other victims they don’t go through any traumatic experiences, making their situations at odds with other characters. I guess it’s supposed to strike a balance with another victim, Miwa, who gets introduced in episode 4. Her case is downright unsettling and heavy, as she is sexually assaulted by the adult. Like I mentioned in my previous post, with subject matter as disturbing as this, it’s the approach that counts – insensitive and too heavy-handed will carry the risks of overly-preachy and emotionally-manipulated. Thankfully, this episode avoids that pitfall by starting it with a  consultant. It gives us time to hear the victim out, listen to their cries and feel it under their shoes.

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Beastars 2 – 03/04 [Changes / Entangled]

by SuperMario, posted in Beastars, Currently Watching:

Things escalate quickly for the last two episodes of Beastars, too quickly in fact that we are now moving from school settings to the Black market. Haru and Legosi’s relationship remains in the back seat so far, because this is Legosi’s own journey through and through.

Legosi’s investigation comes to a standstill where he’s pretty much sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong. First, he questions the carnivore members as he thinks they (including himself) are the main suspects for Tem’s murder. It’s one of the “taboos” that no one likes, and dares, mentioning so it doesn’t surprise me that the group members feel unsettling about it. He then encounters – or to put it more correctly, is ambushed – by the culprit and it confirms 2 things, at least for now: 1) Legosi IS NOT the killer 2) the killer is ridiculously strong, even with Legosi he beats our poor wolf to a pulp. Even then, Legosi manages to bite his neck, that means that whoever has that neck injury could be the main culprit, but I have a feeling that this sets up to be a misdirection.

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