Mario: Only one week left before the end of this season. We got to the finish line of a couple shows this week with Eizouken in particular ending on high note. With the world currently in total lockdown I do feel like we are in some sort of post-apocalyptic world in anime where humanity has declined. It might sound depressing but hey, at least it’s an once-in-lifetime experience, right? Stay safe, by which I mean stay home and do nothing, to save the world.

Somali to Mori no Kamisama – 11

Mario: Somali and Golem reach their most dangerous journey so far, with the “monsters” hunt down the human child and Golem is on self-destructed mode in order to save Somali, but this higher the conflict, sadly the more clumsy the show gets. There are 2 main messages the show wants to transfer across in this hunt, First, the human race brought it all to themselves since their racist behavior is the main reason other races turn against them, and second, humans taste delicious and these two thoughts don’t really mesh well with each other. Imagine the flow of dialogues moves from “It’s all human fault” in one moment, followed by “I will have her brain”, and you get the idea. The whole ambush plan has a lot of flaws as well, so you need to turn off your logical sense and just roll with it. Sure, the stake is higher than ever but sadly I am already tuned out by what was happening onscreen.

Oshi ga Budokan – 11

Wooper: Wow, that episode really just ended with a series of tweets set to a warm, uplifting string accompaniment. Is there any more appropriately vapid choice that a show about idol culture could have made to conclude its penultimate episode? Seriously though, this whole episode was a miss for me, even if you set aside the silliness of its final minutes. The series’ typically well-animated performance scenes were nowhere to be found here, with a series of panning stills replacing their practice sessions, and a miniature clip show intruding on their weekly concert. Movement was pretty limited in general, actually, except when Eripiyo was screeching about her love for Maina. Eri’s VA was at her least tolerable this week, delivering throat-shredding screams about how her favorite idol is the cutest in the universe. You know what tone of voice makes a convincing case for cuteness? Literally any intonation except that one. Even when a female coworker came over to her place to watch ChamJam’s two second TV appearance, Eripiyo couldn’t settle down. At least she’s consistent, though – that’s more than I can say for Oshi ga Budokan itself.

Continue reading “Winter 2020 Summary: Week 12” →

Mario: With Jibaku entering its 2-part episodes, I will skip it for a week. Other than that, it’s business as usual here. We nearly reach the end of this Winter Season now, and with the coronavirus glooming around the corner, schools, works and shops shutting down, I wish you guys stay safe and maybe spend these extra free time to catch up with anime that you have missed.

RikeKoi – 11-12

Wooper: This show stopped being fun the moment it entered dramatic territory. Himuro’s jealousy of Kanade and embarrassment at breaking her present for Yukimura were both painful in their presentation. Episode 11, in particular, was so bad that I had to avert my eyes from the screen multiple times just to get through it. The explanation of Himuro’s fateful trip on the stairs (which caused the present to break) was pitiful, as well. As it turned out, everything that happened in episode 11 was according to mangaka Yamamoto’s master plan, except for the moment when Himuro slipped and fell. When Yukimura points out that her scheme would have failed if not for that coincidence, her response was, “But she *did* trip, so there!” Pretty lame for a series with a science-based gimmick. The kiss in episode 12 (and the post-kiss analysis just before the final moments) fared much better, but the lousy setup that brought the show to that point prohibited me from sharing in the main couple’s happiness. At least the show is finally over, I guess.

Oshi ga Budokan – 10

Wooper: There was some nice animation in this one. ChamJam’s comeback performance, characters swooping across the frame in anticipation of Valentine’s Day, Kumasa fretting over his secret being revealed – it all looked great. Maina’s internal monologues might be unbearably saccharine, but there was plenty of humor to make up for it, the best of which was Eripiyo’s voice-replacing whiteboard. Why don’t more comedies make use of the sore throat trope, I wonder? Having people write instead of speak presents all sorts of opportunities for wordplay, character-breaking expressiveness, inadvertent reveals, etc. On the more dramatic side of things, we got another Maki/Yumeri scene that pushed their relationship into “perhaps it’s not just bait” territory. The only way I’d watch more of this show is if those two got their own spinoff. That’s not likely to happen, but based on the next episode preview, it seems that Maki will be getting a minor spotlight next week, so I’m actually looking forward to it!

Continue reading “Winter 2020 Summary: Week 11” →

22/7 – 09

Mario: 22/7’s attitude towards the idol industry is amusing. Cynical, but also accepting the fact that “being an idol is all about being exploited”, this attitude, plus the fact that they are willing to be manipulated by the orders of the Wall (yeah, the Wall is a massive jerk this week), make the cliffhanger very intriguing. How these girls deal with the new order will tell you exactly the ambition of this show. As for the main story this week, well, Ayaka is the main focus this week and as per 22/7’s standard, the flashback is way more interesting than the current event. In fact, except from taking open air onsen and eating hot pot, our girls do nothing. Ayaka’s flashback though, about her chemistry to her sisters is much more well-developed. Depending on how you look at the show, 22/7 is either smarter than it lets on, or blindfolded by how it does acknowledge the exploitation aspect of the idol industry, yet does nothing but accepting it.

ID:Invaded – 11

Wooper: I’ve got to hand it to whoever is handling series composition for this show: they’re bending over backwards to tie all of its illogical developments together. Every time Sakaido said “which must be why” during his fits of mid-sandstorm rationalization, I lost five IQ points. After every reference to Fukuda or Hondomachi’s brain holes giving them convenient mental functions, I took a shot. Every time John Walker was painted as a mastermind despite the impossibility of his influence, I fell deeper into an anime-imposed stupor. After half the episode, I was dumb, drunk, and drowsy – the perfect state of being to watch ID:Invaded. But hey, we learned John Walker’s true identity and saw Kiki wearing a bio-suit in a state of suspended animation! At least the show is playing its strongest cards at the appropriate time.

Continue reading “Winter 2020 Summary: Week 10” →

Mario: It’s me and Wooper again contributing in this column for “less popular” shows this season. Many of them are falling apart as they wrap up, but that to be expected with any season. If we’re lucky, we have golden eggs but most of the time they are forgettable fluffs. Well, enough with metaphysical nonsense and let’s scroll down to see what this week has to offer.

RikeKoi – 10

Wooper: While watching this episode, I was surprised at its level of commitment to the characters’ academic presentations. We’ve only seen two Ikeda lab members pitch their research, which means we might spend the last two episodes watching the rest of the cast do the same. Before that, however, Himuro and Yukimura will have to work out the misunderstanding that threatens to drive a wedge between them (ruining not just their relationship, but their joint presentation). Yukimura giving a cortisol-lowering hug to Kanade just before her turn was an innocent gesture, but it’s a terrible betrayal in his partner’s mind. That plot is pretty stupid when you type it out, but I did pick up a hint of interest from Kanade, mostly based on her senpai’s unflapability. Girls do love confidence in men – could Himuro have detected something between the two that they’re both unaware of?

Somali to Mori no Kamisama – 08

Mario: I’ve come to realize that Somali the show fares much better when it focuses on the side characters instead of the main leads. The reason for that, I suppose, is that Somali and Golem’s chemistry is solid but has only one shade. By focusing on their relationship it becomes repetitive and gradually loses its impact. By examining other characters’ relationship towards the human race, or towards the person they love (like last week), the show draws out more context and dimensions to the central leads’ fondness for each other. This episode is entirely in flashback from a witch’s point of view, and that segment says so much about humanity’s frailness and skepticism when it comes to accepting other races. In addition to that, the witch’s world is gorgeously detailed and becomes my favorite setting out of this show. Somali’s looking good heading to the last stretch of its run.

Continue reading “Winter 2020 Summary: Week 9” →

Mario: Welcome to week 8 where we somehow only have one month left before the new season starts. Crazy, right? I still have lots to catch up on, especially Kuutei Dragons and Blade of the Immortal, so hopefully I can watch those in time for the next post. For now, enjoy our thoughts on these second tier shows.

ID:Invaded 8-9

Wooper: I had a good handle on episode 8 as I watched it. The show spent a great deal of time in Momoki’s desert psyche, which functioned as the setting for Sakaido and Fukuda’s miniature buddy movie. Moisture conservation tricks, quicksand escapes, and encouraging banter got them to their destination: a cockpit with Kiki Asukai’s name on it. Surely Hondomachi and Sakaido would meet up in Kiki’s mind this week, I thought, and get to work on another mystery. Nope! As of yesterday’s episode, this show has become Inception: Serial Killer Edition. It turns out that Kiki is really Kaeru, whose dreams play host to murderers summoned by John Walker. Sakaido is caught somewhere between half a dozen dreams, all of which take place in the past, giving him a chance to catch the Challenger before his family is murdered. There’s no time for celebration, though. His new mission is to kill all the serial killers who are conveniently attracted to Kaeru’s brainwaves. This wasn’t just a conceptual left turn – this was a deliberate swerve off a cliff. Is there any hope of coherence for the last four episodes? Guess we’ll find out soon enough…

22/7 – 6

Mario: I only had time for episode 6 of 22/7, and it’s easily my least favorite episode out of this show. To its credits, I found the show’s characterization a tad bit more grounded than typical idol shows. I suppose the reason is that they are based on real idols instead of fictional ones, there’s a ring of honesty in the characters. Like the beginning of this episode where baby Reika fighting for her life feels genuine. In addition, I’m glad we get into the conflict as trivial as this one because when you think about it, teenage girls are usually fret about these tiny little things. But it doesn’t lessen the fact that this episode is boring and insignificant as hell.

Continue reading “Winter 2020 Summary: Weeks 7-8” →