Category: Weekly Summary

Spring 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 2

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Weekly Summary

Jellyfish Can’t Swim at Night – 2 [Mei the Fangirl]

Jellyfish was fantastic this week. I’ll admit, early on I was a tad put off. Mei was such a fangirl, so obsessive and weird, that I really didn’t like her. And I feared that Jellyfish would somehow end up supporting her antics, justifying them or having Kano give in to her demands to get her working with them. Luckily, Jellyfish did nothing of the sort. It still made Mei sympathetic, but instead of excusing her obsession it instead sought to explain how she got there in the first place. How she was desperate for a friend, for acceptance, for some kind of human connection, and she found that in Kano, known as Nonoka at the time, by going to one of her fan events. It was the first time someone was genuine to her, accepted her hair color and mannerisms, even seemed to like her. Watchin Mei’s room slowly fill up with Nonoka merch, over taking the trophies and book, it was really sad but really effective. Jellfyfish didn’t excuse her behavior, only made us understand it. And by the end? She had walked it back a bit, coming to view Kano as her own person and not as her obsession. Meanwhile Kano came to realize that she can’t just deny her past, that while she may not want to continue it anymore, her work as Nonoko is still part of who she is and touched a number of people. I really liked that, it worked for me, and by the end I found myself enjoying the episode a lot.

Continue reading “Spring 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 2” →

Spring 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 1

by Lenlo, posted in Weekly Summary

Bucchigiri – 12 [Fateful Duel! Beyond the Gyoza Dumplins]

And so ends the final seasonal of Winter, barring Dungeon Meshi which still has a whole other cour. I gotta say, Bucchigiri was a lot of fun. The finale wasn’t perfect, Arajin returning to his age old “I want to lose my virginity” after finally progressing to a realer, more person wish was a tad disappointing, as was Senya’s return in the final scene. I think they undercut a bit of the emotion of the episode. Even with that though, the final confrontation between Ichiya and Senya, and then Matakara and Arajin, was fantastic. I loved how both relationships figured their shit out and reconciled, Senya realizing he was holding back against Ichiya, who felt insulted and betrayed by his closest friend. Arajin figuring out Matakara has felt alone this whole time, the hospitalization of his brother only worsening that, and how he sought to become strong to fill that hole in his hurt. Plus the fight itself was just really cool. Not the best choreography of the show, but the effects were nice and I think it sold the emotion of the climax really well. An all around great way to end the season, I’m going to miss not having Bucchigiri to watch every week.

Series Score: 8/10 – Overall great, a couple of awkward points here and there but easily one of the best Winter shows.

Continue reading “Spring 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 1” →

Spring 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 0 (?)

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Weekly Summary

Hello all! This is a bit of an odd week, what with one season ending and another beginning. We’re mostly wrapping up what was left, with only Bucchigiri and Dungeon Meshi continuing to next week, but then we will start to get new shows as well. In the mean time, make sure to check out the First Impressions that are going up every day or so! Also, wanted to let everyone know, tomorrow I will be building a new PC from scratch. This means I have a metric shit ton of programs to reinstall on it, settings to update, data to move such as website backups, etc etc. What I’m saying is, if things get delayed a bit, that’s why. With any luck though it shouldn’t take too long and once I’m done I’ll have a shiny new box. Woo!

Bucchigiri – 11 [Unanswered Wishes! Sudden Crab Fried Rice]

Bucchigiri once again escalates the conflict as Matakara takes down Ken and Arajin finally steels himself to for the fight to come. Overall the episode worked? I really liked the buildup with Ken, both the flashbacks to Matakara’s brother, Mitsukuni, asking him to take care of Matakara as well as his first spoken words in the series being out of concern for others. Really drives home that he isn’t really a delinquent at all, just a man born in the wrong era. His fight with Matakara was cool too, I’m always a sucker for the indomitable human will and refusing to fall even while defeated. It’s a classic for a reason. As for Matakara, we see him fall further and further into the darkness, even absolutely brutalizing his old friend Zabu who tried to stop him from going to the fight. Easily the most brutal fight we’ve seen yet, if only because Matakara doesn’t hold back at all. Finally we get a bit more to the Senya/Ichiya backstory, which seems like it’s setting itself up as Ichiya being upset Senya was holding back on him and not giving him the true fight he desired. I wish Arajin and Senya had had this fight earlier, not only because Arajin not having Senya would have better justified him staying out of the conflict but also because him losing/reuniting with Senya in a single episode felt a tad fast. Still, the idea is solid enough, and the presentation is great, so I’m still enjoying it.

Continue reading “Spring 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 0 (?)” →

Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 12

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Weekly Summary

Dungeon Meshi – 13 [Red Dragon III/Good Medicine]

What is this, 3 weeks in a row? Dungeon Meshi has been killing it lately, and this episode is no exception. The first half was unexpectedly terrifying, “introducing” our new big bad and final goal, the Mad Magician who created the dungeon. This was a really cool twist, and something I think Dungeon Meshi setup well. Everything from the ghosts to the painting to the structure of the dungeon/castle itself feels obvious looking back, but it’s only with the Mad Mage’s arrival that I finally put together that this is the same castle. That some tragedy occurred and, in attempting to divert or undo it, the Mad Mage created this dungeon. Every ghost is a citizen of the kingdom, every monster or trap something created to keep out looters and ne’er-do-well’s. And should one of his bigger pets, like the dragon, get slain? Well he shows up to deal with the problem himself and set things back until he figures out how to save his king. Great stuff, really horrifying imagery, absolutely love all of that. As for the second half, it’s all about our team recovering and realizing they are in way over their head. Chilchuck’s inner conflict of not wanting to see his friends die, but expressing it as his own cowardice, and subsequent conversation with the white orc was really good. Also the white orcs design is great for a one-off, really hope we see more of her in the future. Anyways, it’s a nice way to reset, get them out of the dungeon, gather more allies, and dive back in for another run. All good shit. My only complaint is that Falin’s “kidnapping” feels like a “Your princess is in another castle” situation. Yeah, her getting resurrected alongside the dragon in the same body or whatever is cool, good use of resources/magic. But we literally just got/saved her, can we not spend some time with her before she disappears as a character again? Aside from that disappointment, I thought it was a fantastic episode. Really excited for the second cour.

Continue reading “Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 12” →

Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 11

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Weekly Summary

Hey all! Apologies for the delay on this. Can’t lie, I’ve been caught up playing Dragon’s Dogma 2 plus some grad school work. Hopefully things will relax around May, cause dear god am I busy haha. Anyways, here’s this weeks episodes!

Dungeon Meshi – 12 [Red Dragon II]

First up this week is, once again, Dungeon Meshi. While not as bombastic and action packed as last week, this was still a very emotional and well paced episode. The early tension around resurrecting Falin and Marcille’s “dark” magic, all the preparation putting together bones to make a skeleton, and then the climax of the ritual itself. It was all really good, a nice and satisfying way to wrap up the arc. Dungeon Meshi was even considerate enough to use the second half too cool us down. It spent a lot of time on their reunion and individual relationships with Falin. We got to see once again how protective Laios is of her, how similar the two are in their adventurous spirit and test for food and, most important, the one true OTP of Dungeon Meshi: Farcille! Their scenes were really cute, especially them cuddling in the bed and just talking. The bath stuff could have been a bit much, but Dungeon Meshi didn’t go overboard or do anything to fetishize it, they took a bath together nothing more, so I think it worked. As for what’s next? Well we’ve gotten some setup for Falin being empowered because she was resurrected using dragon flesh, as well as the crazy dark skinned elf from the paintings apparently following, and finally finding, them. Don’t know where those will go, but Dungeon Meshi has earned my trust by this point, I’m excited and looking forward to it. Just give me more Farcille and I’ll be happy, seriously.

Continue reading “Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 11” →

Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 10

by Lenlo, posted in Weekly Summary

Thanks for the well wishes after last weeks post everyone. Can’t say things are great, in fact I’d say they are falling apart, but this is a nice bit of consistency in the storm.

Dungeon Meshi – 11 [Red Dragon I]

If you’ve seen the episode then it should come as no surprise that Dungeon Meshi is #1 this week. It took everything I love about the show, the detailed world building and ecology, the animation and expressiveness of the characters, even the uncommon bouts of serious drama, and dialed them up to 11. The detail? We got to watch the party skin and butcher a dragon piece of piece, walking us through its digestive cycle and how it breathes fire. The animation and expressiveness? This is the best Dungeon Meshi has looked since Episode 3, everything just moves beautifully. From their expressions even to how it was shot. Just look at any of Senshi or Laios’s scenes across the entire episode and you’ll know what I mean, an absolute powerhouse of dynamic movement and camera work. And the drama? God the second half it… It got me. The building desperation to find even a shred of Falin’s corpse, the flashback to when they were children, and especially the reveal with the skull. Something about it just… It worked, and was simultaneously incredibly dark and yet hopeful, because now they can maybe pay to resurrect her. So as far as climaxes go? This is going to be hard to top, because that was an absolutely stunning episode. Continue reading “Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 10” →

Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 9

by Lenlo, posted in Weekly Summary

Hey all, wanted to let you know real quick here at the top that posts this next week may be late or skipped entirely. Had a death in the family on Friday and it’s been a busy weekend. I need to fly home for a funeral and such. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine, just wanted to give you all a heads up. Now on with the post!

Frieren – 26 [The Height of Magic]

Funnily enough, the most enjoyable part of Frieren this week had absolutely nothing to do with Frieren. Don’t get me wrong, the fight with the clone was cool enough, but it felt very… Flashy for flashiness sake, if that makes sense? What I mean is, compare it to the demon fight back in the mid-season climax. While both are very well animated, the demon fight felt smooth and purposeful, Fern was showing off, you could still make out and understand what was happening. Meanwhile this battle, aside from the very end with Frieren’s mention of “I haven’t had to use that in 80 years”, felt like it relied way more on effects work and bright lights and so just wasn’t as interesting. Still fun and flashy, but not the highlight of the episode for me. So what does that honor belong? Ubel. Something about her flashback, the conflict with Sense’s clone, this addendum to the “Magic is about imagination and visualization” rule showing us just how powerful a sociopath can be. Cause when you think about it, it makes sense. Cloth? Hair? People? Those can be cut, duh. Magic barriers? Well that’s magic, can’t cut that. But a dude in a cape? Sure why not. It definitely runs on some “Rule of cool” logic, Frieren is without a doubt a soft magic system on the Sanderson scale. But it’s presented in a cool manner, and Ubel is this great mix of “Don’t cut me” scary and “Step on me” hot. Still, even with that critique I want to make this very clear: Frieren was fun and definitely the highlight of the week. Just because it wasn’t as good as one of its best episodes doesn’t mean it was bad. Overall, I’d call this 2nd test a success.

Continue reading “Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 9” →

Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 8

by Lenlo, posted in Weekly Summary

Undead Unluck – 21 [Memento Mori]

It’s simultaneously fantastic and depressing just how good Undead Unluck is when it’s not poorly paced. Seriously, this episode was brilliant. Spending 20 minutes with a young Andy who doesn’t know about his powers? Watching him go from this dour person unable to find joy in life to one strong enough to face tomorrow? That one Fuko line about how learning about Andy meant learning about the numerous farewells, something obvious in hindsight since he’s functionally immortal? I loved all of it. Honestly, between this, Frieren, and the Wolverine comics I’m reading right now, the “Immortal finds purpose through the transient lives of others” trope might be one of my favorites. It’s ripe with potential, and each of them is hitting it in a different way. I also loved that we saw the beginnings of what has been holding Andy back power-wise. How he views death as “The brain stops functioning”, which inherently limits his “Undeath” to negating just that. But if he broadens his mind a bit, views death like Fuko does, as “When you’re forgotten”… What will that do to his negation ability? What will that do to his personality? Only time will tell. And then Undead Unluck just has to cap it off with a beautiful confession scene, tying a nice little bow on one of the best episodes we’ve gotten in weeks.

Continue reading “Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 8” →

Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 7

by Lenlo, posted in Weekly Summary

Hey all! Real quick, I am aware that I am ludicrously late on both the 2023 Anime of the Year awards and the preview for the next season and some reviews. Don’t worry, I’m workin on them. I have just been… So ludicrously busy outside of the blog and it’s taking everything I have just to maintain what we have now. Hopefully things will calm down soon, but know that I haven’t forgotten about them, or you. Thanks! Now lets check out this week.

Dungeon Meshi- 8 [Raspberries/Grilled Meat]

Another absolutely great episode of Dungeon Meshi this week. Split down the middle between Marcille’s first meeting and budding friendship with Falin and a fight with an Undine, it had a perfect mix of emotional development and action for me. The flashback was great because, so far, Falin hasn’t really been a character. She’s someone we hear about through other peoples stories. And while this is no different, this one is more of a regular day-to-day for her. We get to see how she’s different from the other students, how she focuses more on life experiences and what she learns in the natural world than books. It’s that difference that makes her more specialized, but far more skilled at what she’s passionate about than Marcille’s broader skillset. It’s also just a really cute scene of the beginning of their friendship, and the detail that goes into the environment and ecosystem of this cave is simply brilliant. As for the second half, this looked fantastic. Incredibly expressive, Marcille getting her own 1v1 fight was cool too, from a visual standpoint I loved everything about it. Dungeon Meshi even managed to fit in food in an episode where they didn’t kill anything, cooking meat to help Marcille recover some blood. Just good shit all around, I continue to enjoy Dungeon Meshi a lot.

Continue reading “Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 7” →

Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 6

by Lenlo, posted in Weekly Summary

This was a good week for the season. I don’t think there was a single bad episode, from any show, across the board. Some were better than others sure, but I enjoyed every last one of these, and that’s a treat. Really happy with this week.

Shangri-La Frontier – 18 [Putting Feelings Into a Moment, Part 4]

Daaaamn, Shangri-La got hands this week. And by that I mean, for the first time since the premier, Shangri-La actually looks pretty damn good. Director Toshiyuki Kubooka and his team over at C2C went all out this week and it shows. Sunraku’s movements were fluid, the effects on Pencil and Katsu were awesome, and Wethermon and his crumbling armor looked absolutely incredible. And as if that weren’t enough? The actual content underneath those visuals was great too! I loved watchin Sunraku face this “unbeatable” mechanic head on, using all of his resources as he slowly figured it out, eventually timing all of his buffs and shit to maximize his parry chance. Dude basically solo’ed the encounter since the other two were dealing with the mount, Kirin. Is it convenient how all of these systems come together for his specific build? Obviously, yes. But that doesn’t make it any less fun, and Shangri-La executed on it perfectly such that it all worked anyways. Plus Wethermon’s line at the end about their brilliance was pretty great to. An all around fantastic end to Shangri-La’s best arc yet. I love these gamer assholes.

Continue reading “Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 6” →