Category: Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World – 12

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

This looks to be the weakest episode of Re:Zero to date which does seem to be a trend when it comes to the arcs of the series. When looking over these twelve episodes I have come to find that the weakest episodes of the series are the first episode of an arc which does make sense when you think about it. Subaru’s first runs are often fairly uneventful and it does highlight a weakness of the series in that Subaru really doesn’t have much of an objective. When an Arc truly kicks off Subaru is suddenly given an objective to break the loop and survive beyond it but when he succeeds his motivation returns to protecting or wooing Emilia. For the style of story Re:Zero is telling it requires groundwork to be laid down before the plot can begin in earnest so the story must be carried by it’s comedy and antics which are clearly not its strongest suits. It also doesn’t help that upon introduction Re:Zeros characters do feel very stereotypical, evidenced by a number of characters introduced in this episode whom are trope heavy in regards to first impressions. That said my first impressions of the characters of the second arc was much the same and Re:Zero managed to make them much more interesting as the arc continued.

We have a number of returning characters from the first arc and quite a number of new ones. Two standouts are Priscilla and her very dark souls design inspired bodyguard called Al. Priscilla is cocky and seems to believe that everything in the world works out in her favor. Whether this is just a misconception on her part or something with some degree if truth is still up in the air but if it’s the latter she should prove to be quite interesting. Al I find interesting mostly due to his design which does feel like a reference to Dark Souls. Many have made jokes claims about comparing Re:Zero to Dark Souls because of his very narrative nature being similar to the Dark Souls mechanics of repeatable facing death until you get the tools and knowledge needed to progress. I have heard that he should prove to be quite an interesting character and some information was present in a manga scene the anime skipped which boosted his significance greatly. Though I will refrain from revealing it as it is very likely going to be show in a later episode. The butler at the beginning whom Subaru spoke with was also intriguing as he was able to recognise that Subaru has gone through life or death situations, though this perhaps him overestimating Subarus worth as Subaru didn’t actually live through those situations. Felt is back and much as expected is a candidate for the throne or Dragon priestess as they refer to it. The reveal was fairly predictable as Felt kept getting mentioned as the episode continued.

Rem has certainly warmed up to Subaru but I must admit that I am worried that she might be a victim of a little thing I refer to as “Light novel heroine” syndrome. This is when a particular girl has the story focus on them for a specific arc or volume of a light novel to the degree of a main heroine. However once the arc is completed and the girls problems are solved then she is tossed to the sidelines to which she will be damned just be a rare pointless camo now and then. By far the biggest victim of this syndrome is Index of the Certain Magical Index series, whom despite the series being named after her, is only relevant to the plot in about 2 of the 24 light novels and likely still is irrelevant even in the new series of light novels. So far Rem is tagging along but I do hope that he plays a more significant role besides just an unimportant side character. The manga of the series at least showed her being more proactive than here as a scene was omitted when Rem comes to save Subaru from the bandits in the alley. It’s understandable why it was omitted but still rather a pity as it truly was a great moment for her. Either way even when put on the sidelines she still manages to steal the show…or perhaps that’s my own bias speaking. I am actually starting to wonder why Emilia was made the main heroine. Well there are special IF chapters which detail what would happen if Subaru got together with Rem so those could be used as a simulation of Rem being the main heroine.

Subaru got admittedly annoying here as while I know his mannerisms are a front to hide his insecurities, he can still get a bit overbearing. I also think he is misunderstanding his role here. This is a rather interesting  concept as Subaru actively has to force inself to get involved in important events. Normally a protagonist is automatically included in any important matters to the plot but due to Emilia’s objections, Subaru is finding himself getting pushed away from the royal selection which is no doubt involved with the next incident. We have a clash of white knight complexes here as Subaru is forcing himself to get into more dangerous situations for Emilia’s sake while Emilia is trying to keep him uninvolved in order to protect him. This is the first real crack in their relationship as the two clash when it comes to their objectives. However Subaru doesn’t quite get that he is not the person who saves the day but as was pointed out at the start of the episode, he is the one who sets things in place for the hero to save the day. But Emilia doesn’t quite get that having Subaru around is a valuable thing as the more he knows the better prepared he is if things go wrong. I do think it’s rather odd though for Subaru to be so intent to involve himself even when it clearly hurts Emilia to do so.

~AidanAK47~

Mayoiga – 12 (end)

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Mayoiga

Mayoiga pretty much wraps up its story this week and for the series that focus much about anti-climaxes and inconsistency, this ending neatly conclude all of its main loose end. In the final twist of Mayoiga, it turns out that Koharun is God’s daughter (now I understand the inclusion of him in Mayoiga) and all she does was to prevent a Nanaki from fading so she could take her father’s Nanaki back. Sounds vague, right? But this is Mayoiga we talking about so I have no complain. The thing I notice in this last episode was the main confrontations this week: from Mistsumune and Hayato, Koharun and her father, to Masaki and Reiji; are not at all feel ridiculous but are quite emotionally effective. This result for me not come from the writing, but comes from the director who knows how to make a shot that bring out the most effective drama.

But also true to Mayoiga, the amount of ridiculous and (un)intentionally hilarious moments are still all over the place. Lovepon again proves that she’s one of the most consistent character in the show, with her remark “We’re going to be executed” while being chased by Hayato’s Nanaki. I also enjoy the way Dahara keeps betraying himself, telling people that he’ll stay one moment, then completely change to go back like nothing happen. Or the fact that Yotsun appeared in God’s house at the end credit, where previously he was stuck in the bus in the Lost Village, but then, Who Cares? Or many out of nowhere but equally hilarious punchlines “so her dark past was a boy” / “Guess I‘ll call off the engagement when I get back to reality” – “So you coming back?”/ “Koharun is a villain” that really explain why Mayoiga is one of a kind anime series out there. I also love the fact that after going through all kinds of Nanaki troubles, personal conflicts, all the cast reflect were people having the same painful experiences, so we might be not that unlucky to begin with. I’m still amazed with the train of thought this group has. Moreover, the decision to split, majority of them leave, some of them stay, was natural for me but seems so random as well.

So in the end, as far as the last episode goes, I’m happy to say that Mayoiga succeed. The episode tied up all the narrative loose end here, while still maintaining its own silly beat. All the things that shouldn’t work in other anime: namely the over the top characters, awkward conversations, silly themes and most of all ridiculous situations; all worked here. I won’t go as far as saying the whole thing is a success, because damn sometimes I still can’t put my finger on whether all the silly incidents are intentional or not; but it is really a feast to witness a series that offer something so different than the rest of your typical anime out there.

~SuperMario~

Joker Game – 11

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Joker Game

Sometimes I wonder if Joker Game is intentionally trying to kill my sense of disbelief as it really does pull out some mind numbingly dumb things from time to time. Today’s “What!” moment comes right at the start of the episode when a young Yuuki escapes imprisonment by blowing up a live grenade in his hand. That’s a rather suicidal way of going about things and I am not even sure just how he managed to get away alive. We do see Yuuki swung around the pillar and apparently used it to block the explosion but I say that’s just impossible. For one that pillar looks clearly wooden and I am not even sure how it’s still standing. Even humoring this assumption, the man someone managed to block out the pain of blowing off his arm and ran out into the snow. Through some miracle he didn’t bleed out or die of hypothermia. But yes that was the protagonist of the weeks first encounter with Yuuki and it took me a while to realise that was a flashback because the protagonist happens to have a subordinate who happens to look exactly like him in the flashback. Plus he somehow gained a prominent tan over the time.

Putting that aside, it’s nice to have an antagonist now who is close to Yuuki’s level as in today’s episode he managed to figure out and plan accordingly to counter him. Naturally Yuuki was one step ahead but it still nice to see someone coming close to giving the D-agency some competition. In some ways I find him more intriguing that our actual protagonists. Another surprise this episode is that this is the first time a D-agent died. Throughout the episode I was waiting for the reveal of the agent not being dead and somehow just playing dead. But the end of the episode seems to confirm that this agent is indeed dead for good. Though I still think there’s a possibility of him somehow showing up later. Now this may sound like the thing that proves these agents are not superhuman gods which I have been asking this series to provide but it’s not quite the case. This proves that D-agents can die but it doesn’t prove that they can make a mistake. I feel like the author was trying to address the criticism of the D-Agents being too inhuman so he had one die. However he still has far too much favoritism for the D-Agents so he has him die in an unpredictable accident. Even in death a D-Agent performs his duty without error and dies with a smile. Yes, this felt like the author was trying to have his cake and eat it too to which I give a dejected sigh.

The episode was mainly about the new antagonist trying to uncover a D-Agency spy from a trainwreck while all his subordinates are busy telling him there are no spies. In another show those subordinates would have a point as it is unrealistic for a spy to cover his tracks this much. Leaves aspirin on the floor, clearly planned. Doesn’t bother to dust the inside of drawers, clearly planned. In any other show you would just brush off the colonel as just being overly paranoid. Most of his supposition is based more on a hunch and feeling that this man is related to Yuuki. It’s good to have someone who can also peek at the script but lastly he isn’t in D-Agency and if you aren’t a D-agent then you don’t win. Yuuki manages to get away with a microfilm detailing all the spies within D-agency, which makes me wonder why he even had such a thing in the first place. I wouldn’t be surprised if Yuuki got them to commit it to memory. as opposed to having physical evidence. Not sure why he would even give such a thing to an agent in the first place. Either way the end of this episode is the same as all previous, D-agents win and leave the opponent to revel in awe of their majesty. Taking into account Japan’s position during WWII, I wonder if the D-Agents would make better villains than heroes?

~AidanAK47~

Mayoiga – 11

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Mayoiga

With the ending where every crazy idea has to wrap up and come to an end, it’s no surprising that Mayoiga has a lesser amount of goofy scenes and ridiculous characters compare to their previous episodes. But this is still pretty much a Mayoiga episode. I must tip my hat off for the creator of this series for making the whole thing ridiculous and unpredictable till the very end here. There are some interesting revelations this week, and I’m intrigued to see how the last 2 episodes can make use of that. First, for the first time in the series, there is an actual scene where the show goes for real emotion, aka the bus driver and his daughter. In that particular moment, things don’t go ridiculously, but actually very tender and honest. This seems really out of place with the tone that Mayoiga keep building for 10 episodes, but then again out of place is what Mayoiga known for. We also get another revelation about the nature of Nanaki, apparently some of them can be visible to other people and can talk because of… What? I honestly still don’t get it. So the Nanami can talk after people accept his/her own Nanami, but it doesn’t seem like the case with Masaki, and isn’t they going back to their real life? Duh. We also learn that Koharun had some kind of traumatic experience in the past, that’s why she can’t trust people she used to trust and tried to power up the Nanami. This is an interesting development and I can see her circumstances parallel with Masaki’s here. While it is revealed that Reiji is Masaki’s Nanami, it comes down to both Reiji and the person Koharun trusted were the people both girls care the most, and they lose it. Koharun for me is the wiser, more mature version of Masako, and might be represent what Masaki would have been if Mitsumune failed to help Masaki facing her Nanami.

But then, attempted to dig deeper in Mayoiga seems like a waste of time, as I can safely say that Mayoiga does not try to provide any deeper meaning behind its premise.  Not everything that add up in Mayoiga, like I still don’t know why introducing a “God” character, so late in the game here. It’s not like he could change anything. And the ridiculous gags keep popping up with so deadpan delivery that for me is purely gold. My favorite gags this week is how the bus driver keep appearing/ vanish like a badly-written ghosts (remember how he suddenly disappeared last couple episodes ago, made us feel like has was consumed by the monsters, to he reappeared this episode, safe and sound, and the vanished again at the end of this episode); or how a bunch of characters that the characters seems like get tired of them, so they literally put the cast to sleep. Their reactions to the ambush is so hilarious that made Mayoiga such a pleasant to watch. One of my favorite whimsical moments would be when God explains that he has tried to stop people coming to the lost village for years, and unfortunately on the day that the bus arrived, he fallen asleep. Typically, Mayoiga! Looking ahead, we have the big bad Nanami that Koharun had raised and Mitsumune team going to rescue our princess Nasaki. Things look brighter ahead and I expect things will blow up in the last 2 episodes.

~SuperMario~

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World – 11

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

A flashback before a arc finale certainly isn’t a new prospect but I at least can forgive it if the info provided is good. With this we learn of Rem and Ram’s past and with it comes a number of answers. My previous theory turned out to be off the mark but I am actually happy about that. So it seems from birth Ram had a massive affinity for demonic power, to a degree that she could accomplish practically anything with it. Everyone compared Rem to her sister and she felt inferior to her in everyway. Thus she has always pushed herself to do her best, not because she wishes to best her sister but rather because she wishes to punish herself for being happy that Ram lost her horn the moment it happened. Rem has been holding on to a massive inferiority complex this whole time which is rather strange when you consider that Ram is more likely candidate to feel inferior. It has already been established that Rem is better than Ram in practically every way. She’s, more hardworking, earnest, stronger and generally more proficient in every area. Subaru even points out that she beats her in the chest area as well. Yet Rem always measures herself up to who her sister used to be and always feels she falls short. Seems the ones that cut off Ram’s horn is a witches cult, sporting the ku klux klan hoods as well which cultists seem quite fond of. Some are theorizing that Roswell is the one who cut off Ram’s horn but this seems based on the fact that one scene shows a man cradling Ram who looks to be wearing Roswell’s attire. Looking over the scene, it’s clear that the one who cut off Ram’s horn was wearing different clothes than the person who was holding Ram in his arms. Roswell looks to have saved the two from the attack and then took them on as his personal maids. Part of this could be because of his eccentric mannerisms, his objective or what looks like Ram’s need to be supplied mana directly to her torn off horn.

The finale of this arc is Subaru’s battle against the Ma-beasts which does turn out to be him holding them off until someone who can take care of them comes along. I really like that Subaru is never the one who truly defeats the villains, rather he makes use of his limited skillset to buy time for someone who can. Ultimately Subaru gets off alive and looks to have won the heart of Rem. I am not too fond of the harem aspects of this series but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t moved by Rem’s smile. This episode looks to have won Rem a large fanbase and I even admit that when I see Subaru go back to trying to win Emilia’s heart I somewhat wish he would go after Rem instead. Maybe because I was never too fond of Emilia to begin with or maybe because I think Rem and Subaru make for a better couple but regardless you can consider a Rem fan from this point forward. Well more a Rem/Ram fan because what can I say? I am greedy. What I find most interesting from this point on is that Rem looks to be quite smitten with Subaru now and if she starts making moves to get closer to him, I could see problems arise. For let us not forget,(No matter how easy it is too forget) Rem did kill Subaru quite brutally in another loop. Rem may not remember this but Subaru certainly does and I doubt he’s pushed this out of his psyche quite so easily. But let’s not let that cloud this episode because this was a nice heartwarming victory. We do have some loose threads, namely that one of the children Subaru recused has mysteriously disappeared and that the Ma-Beasts were controlled by someone. My bets on the blue haired little girl. Roswell also mentioned that his goal is to kill the Dragon connected to the royal family which could out him as a villain but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Something tells me this dragon isn’t quite as benevolent as he’s described to be.

We have two arcs done and I am quite satisfied with how Re:Zero has turned out. If this was the end of the series then I would certainly rate it highly and put it in my best of the year. But we haven’t even reached the halfway point and have a whole fourteen or so episodes to go and a brand new arc starting. The sceptic in me says that plenty of series have fallen down in the second half but I want to hope with this. For one White Fox is promising they are bringing their best with this and based on the quality so far that’s certainly exciting. Even the author is hyping up the next arc having more Subaru suffering. I have even heard that the third arc of the series is has the worst sales, not by being bad but rather because readers couldn’t handle the level of suffering Subaru was experiencing. Seeing as I happen to be the soulless monster that I am, I take my potato chips and eat them in glee at the prospect. Who knows, maybe his suffering will become too great even for me to watch on. I actually have a high level of confidence on the quality of this series continuing but I am concerned about how it will conclude. Perhaps this new arc will give the series a main goal it has been missing since the start but considering the amount of material left to adapt I wonder whether it will provide a good conclusion which leaves room for a potential sequel. While there are a total of eight light novels, those light novels are adaptations of a web novel which is much further on.  Basic on rough estimate and machine translation there are a total so far of 6 arcs with the sixth currently still being written. However future arcs are much longer than our current one. Web novel wise the second arc which we just finished is 50 chapters long. The next arc is 84 chapters long with the fourth arc after that being a massive 130 chapters long. Given White Fox’s number of sequels made i have doubts we will even make it to the fourth arc. (White fox has made a total of two sequels. One a movie for steins gate, another a second season of Jormungand.) Unless this turns out to be a real hit I think we will need to rely on translators to see the conclusion to this story.

~AidanAK47~

Joker Game – 10

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Joker Game

Today we have an episode about the past of Yuuki, finally a time to see how the man came to be the ultimate spymaster and superhuman extraordinar. Well maybe because at the end of the episode we can’t even be sure if the backstory was made up or not. Because Yuuki apparently figured that someone would connect his name to some kid at a military academy and pretty much set up a massive fake backstory for the servants to tell anyone who happened to look into it. I am beating a dead horse here but bloody hell perfection is boring. The minute I started this episode and seen this guy attempt to pry into his past I knew exactly what was going to happen. For Yuuki is a fellow who likely has seven contingency plans for when he runs out of toilet paper when on the can. Let me go off on a tangent for a moment and bring up batman. Do you happen to know what is one of the most highly regarded Batman graphic novels?(Comic arc?) One that often appears on a best of list is Frank Miller’s Batman Year One. It is a story not about Batman facing off against a member of his famous rogues gallery but rather a tale about Batman’s first days of stopping crime. In it Batman is more inexperienced, less confident and more clumsy. Batman makes mistakes and even against low level thugs he has a hard time. One of the best scenes from it that I recall the most is Batman fighting desperately on a fire escape against three men. At the end of it all Batman slumps down and thanks god that he got lucky and won. That is why this comic is so well regarded, as it shows the grown of a man who would become legendary within comics.

Now let’s fast forward to Yuuki here as he effortlessly excels at everything. He absorbs information like a sponge, he rarely fails and all the girls fall for him. This episode didn’t humanise Yuuki in the slightest but rather made him even more Alien. Even assuming of course any of this story is true. Before we saw Yuuki as a top level spymaster and now we just see he was exactly the same when younger. Almost as if the moment Yuuki exited the womb he planned out his life to the finest detail so that he could become a badass Japanese spy. That to me isn’t a interesting person for to them excel is normalcy. I praise the carpenter who sheds blood sweat and tears to craft a perfect chair and not the machine that tosses chairs out enmass on an assembly line. I would like to see the thing that gives Yuuki an emotion besides calm indifference and a smug smile.

So our tale today is that a man tried to look into the origins of Yuuki and in doing so was fooled into a trap while the D-Agency passed themselves off as Military police and stole his wedding ring. Why the wedding ring, well that’s because his wedding ring contained a microfilm of all his contacts and informants. How did D-Agency know this? Hell if I know. Dolphins likely told them. I originally thought his wife was going to turn out to be working for Yuuki but the end of the episode says otherwise. So our protagonist of the episode gets stripped of all his info he gathered over years but everything is alright cause Yuuki let his wife know where to find him. Another day, another win for D-agency.  We have reached the tenth episode and unless this show has a secret second cour that means that this show has been for the most part a waste of my time. Neither laughable horrible or exceling in an area, just forgettably mediocre. Which as you can likely tell by the post size, makes for hard to review episodes.

~AidanAK47~

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World – 10

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

Out of everything I watch in a week, nothing quite gets me excited than to see another episode of Re:Zero and nothing leaves me quite as wanting as when the end credits role and let me know of the week long wait till the next episode. I actually visibly shouted “No!” when I seen those end credits roll. To those in the future who happen to have all the episodes ready to marathon through, know that I envy you. I also hope that general consensus of the second half of this series is quite positive too as there have been beloved darlings of mine that slipped up in the second cour.(Oh Fate/Unlimited bladeworks, so close yet so far.)  I even admit that part of the reason why I hunger for the next episode is to see that cliffhanger resolved, only to get left with another cliffhanger. While not a bad way to get the viewer hooked, ending each episode on a cliffhanger can lead to inflating expectations(As evidenced by Erased) or just escalating the story to silly levels when it attempts to one up its cliffhangers constantly.(As evidenced by Code Geass) Considering that Re:Zero is a light novel adaption I am hoping it will manage to avoid both of these missteps. But let’s move on to the actual episode.

So surprisingly, Subaru did not die but this brings up a new problem. While I think we near the end of this arc; Subaru looks to have gotten a new save point. One that puts him in a much worse position than before. Now having been bitten and cursed by a number of dogs, he must killed those dogs or else die when they drain him of energy. In a desperate attempt to save Subaru’s live Rem has ventured into the forest and is killing every dog she sees in berserker mode. Leading Ram and Subaru to go in after her before she gets herself killed. We learn a number of things from Ram about the twin maids, namely that Ram and Rem are Oni. Ram however does not have a horn like Rem does as it was cut off in the past by from what the flashback suggests, Rem. Oni generally have two horns, however twins are born with one each. So twins are normally ostracised from the village. Use this info I think I got a theory on just what happened with Ram and Rem. Basically I believe the two left their village and ended up settling near a human village related to the witch’s cult. Ram tried to get along with the villagers and village did something unforgivable to Ram which pushed her into berserker mode. When the village was in flames Rem came up to Ram and cut off her horn to break her out of it it. This would explain how Ram thought the tale of the Red and Blue Oni would upset her sister and why Rem was particularly distrustful of Subaru. Though we shall see how much of that turns out to be correct.

I have really come to adore just how human Subaru is for a protagonist. It’s true when compared to the power levels of all the cast he’s barely even noteworthy and often fairly useless in a fight. But he has a vulnerability and emotional drive that makes him such a great protagonist. For example, Beatrix was surprised to see Subaru unaffected when she informed him that he would die in half a day and even seemed somewhat impressed. Though we know that Subaru isn’t affected not because he doesn’t fear death or has courage but rather because he’s used to it. He’s experienced death so much that the prospect of dying doesn’t so much as make him flinch. Rather it’s just business as usual. What does make him flinch is Ram using her wind powers or Rem flinging her mace, which does look to be them slightly triggering his PTSD. He brushes off his situation by comparing it to a game or cracking meta jokes but he is truly shaken by it. It makes him unmistakably human. Even at the end of the episode when he had a perfect moment to hit Rem’s horn, he chickened out at the last second. Let’s be honest, in that situation when you had to run up and hit someone who could kill you in a millisecond, we would do the exact same thing. That’s what I love about this guy, he isn’t some perfect superhero who can perform on command with no hesitation. This is just an ordinary guy trying his very best to overcome a dreadful situation. I find it most amusing that he’s given a sword and it breaks before he even gets a chance to use it. Looks like the only thing you can depend on is your fists Subaru, though speaking of which.

I previously complained about Subaru showing a level of superhuman strength, as shown here as he tosses Ram several feet away. However I noticed someone bring up that upon coming to the other world Subaru got a slight strength buff. Whether this is actually true is up for debate as the only evidence is Subaru claiming it when he punched out the thieves on his second run but I am willing to accept it. It’s plausible and happens to negate my complaints about the feats he can accomplish which would be beyond human capacity. So going forward I will assume this is the case, even though it could just be adrenaline and self confidence. Major props to him thinking of using his curse of not being able to talk about responding to his advantage. That was some really clever thinking on his part. Pity he overestimated Ram though and she ran out of juice before she could take them all out. I previously stated that Ram was the more dangerous of the two but considering her lack of stamina it looks like Rem truly beats her in every area after all. Despite that Ram is determined to live up to the expectations of her sister. Yet again I am left hungry for more as I don’t know what this trio will do once they knock Rem back to her senses. Her berserker mode is certainly needed if they plan to get out of this situation. Some other last notes on this episode, fight animation remains excellent and flying Ram made my day.

~AidanAK47~

Mayoiga – 10

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Mayoiga

It is a feast to see a show that still remains very unpredictable till its very end. Yes, this episode put the silliness to the max and I prefer it this way. Now to think about it I think this might be one of the best way to approach Mayoiga. They consistency screw up our expectation, twist any ordinary convention by making things as insane and as little sense as possible. So kudos to Tsutomu Mizushima for remain really consistent for composing things inconsistently.

Because for me, the fun of watching Mayoiga is to experience the ridiculousness of the episode, and this week it’s choke full of absurd and nonsense sequences that  today instead of reviewing the episode, I will rank them in order of RIDICULOSNESS:

Mayoiga 10-10Mayoiga 10-9

For number 10, we have our Yotsun back (which makes the total body count a big ZERO). This is a good introduction phase to our GOD, which later we found out that “a long time” means 3 years ago.

For number 9, we learn that Mitsumune indeed returns back to the real world. We witness one of the most bizarre parental guidance (“You can leave home and come back any time”), and even a more chilling confession above. It’s a shame because after nearly 10 years of imposing his dead brothers, Mom just decided to not getting better. And what they mean by getting better? Accept Mitsumune as Tokimune? Yuck.

Mayoiga 10-8Mayoiga 10-7

At number 8 and 7, we have two out of nowhere backstory mean to freshen out Yotsun and Lion, respectively, which at the end we learn nothing new from each of them. Who are the people with those cello? His parents? Over the rap career? Lion said nobody believe her but she did build quite a strong following so I’m just not sure what she complaining. Also her gift is quite vague: she can see dead people? She can see the people who about to die? She can see people that might not die? Oh god. This adds up to nothing, which also means Mayoiga at its best.

Continue reading “Mayoiga – 10” →

Joker Game -09

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Joker Game

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at this outcome, after all the idea that this story would let anyone outshine the D agency for long is rather foolish when you consider everything so far. Wind agency certainly didn’t last long and you could foretell their fate right at the start of the episode. I certainly did as I noticed that while Wind agency was moving in for the kill, not a hide or hair was seen of D agency. For a show that puts them on so high a pedestal that that you could call it a tower of babel that is certainly very odd. I had firm suspicions of the houseboy and old man that appeared in this episode and I turned out to be completely right. To me this episode symbolises everything that’s wrong with Joker Game, in that it loves its protagonists far too much. D agency is  can do no wrong and is always smarter, stronger and better than everyone else. D agency is perfect and isn’t that just dreadfully boring? With Sakamoto desu ga the premise of someone being perfect at everything is a joke and that joke works because it turns that joke up to a thousand. But here we have prefect superhumans played straight and it expects us to root for them. I expects us to be interested in a battle were the outcome has already been decided. There is no tension nor suspense, just the inevitable victory of D agency.

With the introduction of wind agency I was hoping for the D agents to finally face conflict. Something to challenge them and reveal that despite their master over a particular set of skills, they are still human. But instead we had an episode trying to put Wind agency as a potential threat, only to have them get completely demolished in the very next episode. They were never a threat to begin with, everything was according to the keikaku. I am glad to see Yuuki again because he’s pretty much the only D agency member I can recognise but his berating of the wind agency captain for even attempting to top D agency was just self congratulatory to the point of being sickening. I found the wind agency’s methods to be truer to that of a real spy and having Yuuki berate them as wannabes just makes me angry. Killing is the worst mistake a spy can make because it compromises your identity when an investigation is started to look into the death? Hogwash. Revealing your face and identity to people is far more compromising and the D agents certainly make themselves look as suspicious as possible. To add insult to injury, the boss of Wind agency is so shamed by Yuuki that he ends up killing himself and that’s irritating. I actually want to start cheering for the bad guys now as it would be satisfying to see someone take D agency off their high horses.

Half of this episode was dedicated to Yuuki schooling the Wind agency captain on how he screwed up his mission. While he did indeed make grievous errors, I think Yuuki was being a bit too smug for his own good. After all part of your plan to inform Shirahata was apparently to get an attendant to ring him to say his houseboy was goaded into getting drunk which apparently is a massive red flag for him. Not sure why that’s a red flag, was the identity they made for him that he wasn’t a drinker. Then it would make sense but still it’s a lot of faith to pack up and leave because of a phone call which could very well be a misunderstanding. I am certainly regretting picking this up to blog as much like Gangsta it feels like a great idea was wasted because it wanted to appeal to a general demographic. Not that my second choice to blog Mayoiga faired any better but at least that is entertainingly bad. This show however is just competent and boring at this point. I am tired of seeing D agency win no matter what nonsensical method the author comes up with to let them do so. Conflict is entertaining when both combatants are on even terms. A one sided slaughter is no fun for anyone watching.  The animation is nice and the music is quite stylish but the plot leaves much to be desired.

~AidanAK47~

Mayoiga – 09

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Mayoiga

Now the trick to enjoy Mayoiga is to expect the unexpected. Anything could happen, and probably will. The series has successfully tweaked our noses weeks after weeks, then if Mayoiga stops being ridiculous and becomes conventional, I would be very disappointed. The fun is again on par this week and we have one of the most bizarre flashback of the show (which already a high bar), together with ridiculous monsters and crazy character’s interactions. In other words, AWESOME.

Let’s get to the ridiculous part of this episode, shall we?  The biggest revelation this week is of course, Hayato’s past. Prior to this episode, Hayato seems to be one of our most sane person on this colorful group, except for some motherly attitude towards Mitsumune, he might be the one who keeps our insane cast a balance. Well, maybe not. He turns out to be as insane as Lovepon’s level, wanting to keep Mitsumune as his pet. I believe his very existence in the series so he could murmur this speech: “I realized that I need a puppet of my own”. It makes sense. Hayato behaviors and his past fits like a glove to what Mayoiga has been established so far. And Hayato got an extra point for his trauma past (the over-control of the parents is totally different from his fear (his grandma’s picture, which was another victim from their parents), I’d be damn if he could ever resolve his own issues. But the crowning achievement for me is Valkana with his line: “I managed to escape because it was kinda surprisingly low”. The delivering is just pitch-perfect and deadpan, especially from the serious guy Valkana.

Many ridiculous unresolved plot lines appear throughout this episode like a spider-web. The tunnel scenario ended with the Driver again being the most childish and stubborn man of the series by doing exactly what others say not to do. He himself was vanished afterward but it seems like no one care at this point. The Lion group contains of Lion, Maimai and Nanko tried to investigate the tunnel (which ridiculous method, putting Maimai into the tunnel to see if she still sees the monsters) and get interrupted by Jack, who then was interrupted by an unknown man, presumably Masaki’s uncle. If all of that doesn’t make any sense, then I do this series justice.  I have to say the monsters appear to be more like a mascot characters this week, they not actually scary and they at least don’t mean any harm. Maybe they are just like a device for characters to look through their darkness, then perhaps they will get back to the real world? That a sense I get from Mitsumune waking up at the end of the episode, but we will soon know the answer next week. At this rate if next week we find out that Nanko and Koharun (the only two left who still act like normal human being) turn out to be insane, I wouldn’t be surprise at all.

~SuperMario~