Category: Currently Watching:

DanMachi2 – 6 [City of Lust (Ishtar Familia)]

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, DanMachi

DanMachi, as an anime, grew up this week. From the show that brought you the cosplaying mechanic of the “Hestia ribbon” comes an episode dealing with largest taboo in hero anime, and in some ways, Japanese conservative culture as a whole. Watching DanMachi this week is like this: you have a friend who you hang out with for laughs, but one day they come up with something profound and life-changing out of nowhere. You remember it, just because of the juxtaposition with their normal personality; it’s jarring.

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Cop Craft – 06 [Need For Speed]

by SuperMario, posted in Cop Craft, Currently Watching:

Cop Craft mixes up many unusual elements such as porno magazines, gay policeman, car chases and even romance into its trip this week. The result is that while it’s light in content, it proves to be more entertaining than when it deals with serious plot. While at this point I still prefer the relationship between Kei and Tilarna as partners, Cop Craft leans forward to the feelings Tilarna has for Kei, or more like how she wanted to be his equal. I have a good laugh of the running gags of her destroying his cars in pursuit for the chase. hey, she did the job marvelously, and Her facial expression is still as cute as ever. They still bounce off each other nicely at this point. In fact, their casual remarks and attitudes to each other makes the whole thing fun to watch.

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Kanata no Astra – 08 [Past]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Kanata no Astra

There sure is a lot to unpack in Kanata no Astra this week. Kanata no Astra loves to give clues, and with every reveal it opens up more questions and make it think how all these puzzles fit in a big narrative frame. I must say that I am enjoying the ride so far, it’s these clues that make the guessing game much interesting as a first timer like myself, and can prove to be rewarding for those who know what comes next (but please, DON’T SPOIL). We will start with the basics first, the (cheap) clifthanging last week is resolved quickly this time, with Charce reveals that he’s also a transfer student just like Aries, and he comes from a royal town Vixia. I absolutely love the world building details regarding the country that still retains its monarchy system, while at the same time becomes a popular tourist spot. What we learn from his backstory is another case of struggles between him and the family – an outcast so to speak. The intriguing part here is the common girl he used to play with, Seira, who looks uncannily like Aries (if the names are any indication). What does that mean then? I’m guessing for now that Aries is the reason why he comes to this trip in the first place, and Aries’s memory is wiped off, as well as her photographic memory ability is gained when she was transferred out of the hospital.

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Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – 6 [A Girl, a Department Store, and a Gift ]

by HelghastKillzone, posted in Currently Watching:, Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note

It turns out that next week will be the beginning of the adaption of the source material of volume four and five and this episode marks the end of original anime content. I rather like this episode as it breaks away from Waver solving cases and has a fun little shopping adventure with the three main female characters of Grey, Reines and Luvia, The classroom lesson about wealth coming from the underground and Grey’s curiosity about Waver’s past is just a thin cover for Studio Troyca to play dress up. I don’t mind the fun cutety stuff but it turns into a literal slideshow and I would like to see to see a little animation in those scenes. Thankfully, the story goes back to the main points of Waver’s past and a bounded field going up.

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DanMachi2 – 5 [The Hearthfire Mansion (Home)]

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, DanMachi

DanMachi, you have me scratching my head. It takes you less than 20 minutes of air time to wrap up a 4 episode built, fortune changing battle – and then you spend the next 20 discussing Hestia’s Homebuilding. And what’s more – it was a very enjoyable Fixer-Upper-At-Your-Enemy’s-Expense episode. Just…a bit puzzling pace. Let’s take a peek (>_>).

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Fire Force – 5 [The Battle Begins]

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, Fire Force

For the second episode in a row, Fire Force has quietly impressed me. Obviously the episode of the week would have to go to Yaiba (see Lenlo’s excellent post on it!), but Fire Force turned in an admirable performance. With the mess of Episode 3 still looming, I was quite happy to see an episode without much to complain about (and a lot to praise).

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Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – 04-05

by HelghastKillzone, posted in Currently Watching:, Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note

As the first multi-episode mystery, Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo does all right in setting up its case while having all sorts of Fate crossover from every series in its main timeline. From Fate/zero to Fate/hollow ataraxia, there is plenty of connections to make if you are an avid follower of Fate with the discussion of the two mages that the clock tower is sending over to fifth Holy Grail War and Kairi Shishigou becoming involved in the case. If you liked Sisigou in Fate/Apocrypha, then he’s pretty much the same person you know and love in this iteration, albeit without Mordred. Other characters like Reines shows why she is the equal counterbalance in the partnership between her and Waver. In her first case, she is shown to be witty and playful by enticing Waver to come into her bed for the sake of advancing her magus bloodline while heaping insults on his third-rate magical circuits. It’s not just her personality that she brings to the table as the mystic eyes that she processes is a necessary part in how the case moves forward. Continue reading “Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – 04-05” →

Kanata no Astra – 05/06 [Paradise/ Secret]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Kanata no Astra

I guess we can’t truly escape the beach/pool episode curse, doesn’t matter what anime we see featuring high school kids these days. As such, we have a beach episode with girls in bikinis and boys (briefly) having a hot for each other in a show that clearly doesn’t need ones. I must say that the sheer commitment for Kanata no Astra to embrace its anime tropes is something worth… pointing out for. I was expecting that the journey gets grimmer the more they go, so this Paradise planet/ island really caughts me by surprise, not in a good way. The drama in these two episodes, as a result, isn’t about men vs nature but more about the dynamic between team members themselves and their relatives back in their home planet. In a way, episode 5 is the first time we get a perspective outside of these kids and head towards their parents during the search for their lost kids. They are in a real bind as well as they are considering to go through the process of declaring them legally deceased. Except from Aries’s Mom who opposes the idea, the others are composed, too composed, in fact. There’s certainly something beneath the surface regarding (some of) the parents here, and with many of them have high social status (Ulgar’s dad is a vice-president, Luca’s dad is an infamous senator, Yun-hua’s mom a famous singer, and so on), they certainly can pull something as big as sending their kids for experiments, but for what goals?

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Cop Craft – 04/05 [In The Air Tonight/ Lonesome Vampire]

by SuperMario, posted in Cop Craft, Currently Watching:

Even though the production values took a nosedive ever since episode 3 (and still isn’t recovering), and even though Cop Craft still has issues with its overall pacing, I have come to enjoy what the last two episodes have to offer. If you want to peep at the series’s quality in one single episode, all its strengths and weaknesses, there is no better place to look than episode 4, as it wraps up the first arc and quickly opens the door for the next one. My opinion on the first arc remains baffled to say the least. There’s undeniably many strong elements here and there, but when it’s told in that breaknecking-fast manner it fails to leave any impact. For instance, the prior chemistry between Tilarna and the kidnapped fairy, as well as her drive to save the fairy at all costs are all solid character developments. If only Cop Craft would spend more time to properly build-up that thread, the ending where the fairy sacrifices herself for Kei would make a much more powerful punch. Likewise, Zelada is an interesting antagonist, but through this rushed len he comes off more like an one-dimensional evil lord. Kei finds himself on the verge of death is interesting if not for the fact that it only takes mere minutes for him to get saved by Tilarna.

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