Wooper: There are still a few final episodes left to air this season, but this is our final recap post of 2020. With the new season preview finished, our attention will soon turn to winter first impressions and the Anime of the Year post due in mid-January. Before that, however, Amun has a bone to pick with a handful of second stringers he’s been watching, and Lenlo and I give our final verdicts on the usual summary post suspects. (There’s no Blurb on Titan this time around – make your voice heard if you want Armitage to keep writing about it, even in this column’s absence.) Thanks for reading, and happy holidays!

Fire Force – Since I stopped blogging about it

Amun: I stopped my weekly review of Fire Force around episode 11, but I’m back with an update on how the rest of the season went. In two words: the same. There were instances of absolutely ridiculous animation quality (see the last couple of episodes)….and a whole lot of weird service and head scratching plot directions. At no point in the season did I feel that Fire Force found its groove or even understood the kind of show it wanted to be – comedy? action? horror? ecchi? Strange to say about an anime, but Fire Force never took itself quite seriously enough, which is a shame. The random edginess was unenjoyable – not sure about Uncle-Shinigami-who-was-really-into-little-boys. The Maki storyline was fine I guess, and Tamaki sort of got a redemption episode? Just overall, I can’t help but be disappointed in the unfulfilled potential – looks like instead of the meh ending (like Soul Eater – by the way, what was up with that moon?), we got it here in the middle. Rumour has it the next season is the last, so hopefully it finishes strong – but I would be surprised.

Taiso Samurai – 11

Wooper: Barring a couple of Big Bird’s loony appearances, this finale was wholly unenjoyable and unsatisfying. The Jotaro/Leo connection was unimportant in the end, as Leo’s last-minute spectatorship of his friend’s routine created a brief feel good moment and nothing else. Jotaro’s successful quadruple flip and ensuing victory over Tetsuo were a surprise to no one, I’m sure, and the last-ditch effort to make Tetsuo a human being was too little, too late. The whole sequence with Rei running through the airport to stop Leo from leaving made me wonder why their previous conversation in episode 10 was necessary. If he was going to be convinced by an extended reference to his favorite ninja movie, couldn’t the show have pulled off the same thing without the prelude from the previous week? I like the concept of Rei quoting her mom’s signature film both to motivate her friend and reaffirm her interest in acting, but the moment came across as pretty limp given Leo’s recent irrelevance. We only got to see two seconds of his ballet performance before cutting to a truncated credits roll, for crying out loud. But hey, at least it’s over – the greatest gift I’ll receive this holiday season is never having to write about Taiso Samurai again.

Continue reading “Fall 2020 Summary – Week 12” →

Wooper: Just two more weeks until 2020 can finally be put to rest. Here at Star Crossed, the Winter Preview is a key step in bidding farewell to each calendar year, so we’re hard at work on that project as you read this. But that busyness couldn’t stop us from offering our thoughts on these penultimate seasonal episodes – we had to lay the foundation for our final verdicts, after all, which ought to arrive next week-ish. See you then!

Golden Kamuy S3 – 11

Lenlo: Jesus, Golden Kamuy, that was easily the tensest episode of the season and possibly of the year. I really don’t know how to describe this without spoilers, so let’s just say everything came to a head this week. Sugimoto and Asirpa finally meet again, which means so does Ogata and Sugimoto, and Tanigaki and Kiroranke, and basically every character combination you can think of. Combine that with a treasure hunt that only one person knows the answer to and a whole bunch of guns and you have something going on. All in all, I loved this episode and I don’t know how to talk about it without spoiling everyone.

Maou-jou de Oyasumi – 11

Wooper: After cameos in episodes 8 and 9, Cubey finally revealed herself as a succubus who admires Princess Syalis for her popularity, not her evil counterpart from a parallel universe. I suppose it’s better that the show kept it simple, since it allowed the quest formula to be maintained after a few leaps in logic. Syalis’ ruthless training of her new body double ironically ended in her own death, which wasn’t tough to predict, but it’s the way she died that really sold the segment: drifting off to sleep while plummeting toward a fiery lake, satisfied with a job well done. Of course, the castle’s cleric revived her in time for the next chapter, where the other characters got a peek into her dreams. This was the spot where her relationship to the Hero was revealed to all parties involved, giving him a bit more to do than usual. As a matter of fact, the Demon Lord confronted the Hero face to face in this episode, though it was just a small gag about the man’s willingness to trust an obvious enemy. I haven’t mentioned the Hero in these miniature blurbs much, which is due to a lack of column space and his distance from the main characters, but also because I don’t find him especially funny. I’ll be interested to see whether his character “works” in next week’s finale.

Continue reading “Fall 2020 Summary – Week 11” →

Wooper: In case you’ve been living under a boulder, you ought to know that Attack on Titan returned to the airwaves three days ago, and Armitage has thoughts about the new episode. So do Lenlo and Amun, I assume, but you’ll find them talking about different series after the jump, plus a few contributions from yours truly. It’s our biggest recap post in quite some time – hopefully we can keep this momentum going as the blog’s busiest season looms ever larger!

Attack on Titan S4 – 01

Armitage: I can safely say that I have not waited for an anime with this much anticipation. Ever. I wasn’t nervous this much-awaited return would be underwhelming, I was downright afraid. In entertainment media, Attack on Titan is one of the few shows that’s bigger than the medium they inhabit. One that most people who are even remotely interested in ‘Japanese cartoons’ have at least heard about. So, you can imagine how skeptical its fans were with the studio change announcements and a new director and staff at the helm. MAPPA had pulled the shortest of sticks by volunteering to follow the massively successful Studio Wit in producing the final season of Attack on Titan. So how did they do in their first at bat? Well, to my and almost every other viewer’s pleasant surprise, they knocked it well and truly out of the park.

This was easily the best season premiere this series has given us since its very first episode more than 7 years ago. Instead of wasting precious minutes with exposition and recaps, we are thrown headfirst into the action, a whole new cast of characters is introduced within seconds and the show expects us to be well-caught up on previous events to follow character motivations. While none of our original main cast shows up we do get to see Reiner and Zeke kicking some ass. And what glorious ass-kicking at that. We had actual good CG, fluid character movement carrying through the weight of every Titan’s attacks and set-pieces as bombastic as they have ever been, all accompanied by a thunderous background score. The barrage from the sky even reminded me of the Chimera Ant arc from Hunter x Hunter 2011. My only fear at this point is that in the process of hitting an opening Home Run, MAPPA may have broken their bat altogether. But as an anime-only who has somehow managed to avoid all spoilers about what’s to come, I am honestly more excited and way more optimistic than I ever was.

Continue reading “Fall 2020 Summary – Week 10” →

Wooper: Dragon Quest? More like Dropped Quick. We’ve got an oddball series in its place for this recap post, plus some thoughts on a handful of seasonal anime. Has Haikyuu season 4.5 finally turned the corner onto Sakuga Street? Will China’s latest sleeper series maintain its momentum? Should I have put a third question after the first two? You’ll have to read on to find out!

Gal and Dino 8-9

Wooper: If you’re one of the 12 people who were watching Gal and Dino before COVID kicked it half a year into the future, here’s your alert that the show is back – and better than ever, honestly. It’s found a sweet spot between Pop Team Epic’s absurdism, Galko-chan’s friendliness, and Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro’s chill vibes. Episode 8 put emphasis on the show’s warmth, as the gang celebrated Dino’s birthday with trick candles and gifts of cup ramen (to his unceasing delight), before transitioning into a bonkers live action scene that parodied Detective Conan, Mission Impossible, and Haruhi. Episode 9 moved in the opposite direction, going from PTE levels of mixed media (including simulated chalk animation and a marker-illustrated dream sequence) to a lovely confirmation of Dino’s happiness at Kaede’s apartment. Most people didn’t care about this show when it dropped back in April and won’t care about it now, but it’s got more heart than they’ll ever know. I love little things like Kaede carefully stepping over Dino’s tail (after injuring him several weeks ago), or Nanami working up the courage to ask a new friend over for dinner. Gal and Dino is both strange and sweet – a winning combination in a year that’s otherwise been uniformly bitter.

Haikyu To the Top Part 2 – 09

Lenlo: Look, there’s only one word I can use to describe this episode, and you all already know what it is: HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPE. I’ve been really critical of Haikyu this season up until now, rightfully so I say. The tension has been lacking and the production has been inconsistent to say the least. So you cannot imagine how relieved and thankful I am that they managed to nail this episode. Inarizaki’s motto has always stayed with me more than the other schools. Just like Atsumu, I didn’t really get it at first, but it was this scene in the manga that always made it work. “We don’t need the memories”, forever pushing forward, the depiction of the team, the discussion about hunger and how it feels to watch someone enjoy a good meal. It’s one of the best in the series for me. And the receive, oh god the receive. This is what the ballboy arc was building towards, this singular moment, and it was beautiful. The voice over, the momentum of the ball and Hinata’s flip, I love it. It’s competing for my favorite episode of the season off of those two scenes alone. So yeah, it was a bloody good episode of Haikyu. But you already knew that.

Armitage: Yup. Easily S4’s best episode yet. The shot of Hinata’s trembling hands after completing that receive is up there with the very best climactic moments Haikyuu has given us. Please let the rest of the season be this well-animated, anime gods.

Continue reading “Fall 2020 Summary – Week 9” →

Wooper: After making way for our quarterly State of the Season post last week, the recap post has returned with a value-sized installment. I might fall down on the job where my episodic reviews are concerned, but the weekly summary arrives on time, come hell or high water. There’s a new show under Lenlo’s microscope before the jump, plus double episode impressions for the usual suspects afterwards. Have at ’em!

Heaven’s Official Blessing – 4/5

Lenlo: A new addition to the lineup, by popular request! This was a slow but important two weeks for HOB. Where the first arc sought to establish the world and the setting, this one dedicates itself entirely to character relationships. Specifically between our lead and Xie Lian and our Antagonist (?)/Love Interest (?) Hua Cheng. And across both of these episodes I can say… it did a pretty good job of it. I’m not a big fan of BL, mostly because romance isn’t my genre. But the interplay between Lian and Cheng was rather interesting. Lian, a heavenly official trying to suss out who Cheng really is, and Cheng who could be simply playing with Lian or legitimately interested. This early into the series it’s too early to truly tell one way or the other. But for what I expected to be two boring episodes, HOB did a great job playing them off each other and establishing this relationship and I am looking forward to more.

Oh and one last thing of note that I almost forgot, there was some great visual alliteration in these two episodes. I especially liked the story of how Hua cheng earned his name with the white flower, both speaking to his own history as well as to when we first met him a few episodes ago. How he helped Lian, leading him through the forest under his umbrella. It was well done!

Kamisama Ni Natta Hi 06/07

Armitage: To paraphrase one of Shakespeare’s most well-known sonnets, “Thou art a Lolicon, yes?” In all seriousness though, this show is best when it’s not being serious at all. While we finally got back to the shady boy-hacker from Episode 3 and were presented with a head-scratching reveal at the end to tide us over till next week, I don’t know exactly how I feel about it. I mean, I guess this isn’t a fantasy show anymore. Well, it was always just winking at that possibility but now, it’s pretty much embraced the sci-fi genre altogether. Which I mean… yeah, sure. Feels a little shoehorned but the red herrings were there too. There’s also a love triangle being set up at the heart of our narrative though unlike other love triangles (read: Harems) in anime, I actually don’t mind multiple girls falling head over heels for our protagonist, as Sota is a very likeable one. Though, honestly if you were to ask me to choose between this show trying its hand at new ways to incorporate drama into its story or the viewers being treated to 12 episodes of Sota and co. shooting a movie, I’d choose the latter all day, every day.

Continue reading “Fall 2020 Summary – Weeks 7-8” →