Category: Weekly Summary

Mario: With this last week, bring the first taste of the new Spring season (or in my case, Fall season) and a lot of finale on Winter season’s shows. Sorry for the delay but I decided to finish Kuutei Dragon first to include it here. Other writers have already done a good job of giving our thoughts on the Winter season’s shows. For me, it’s Eizouken and Dorohedoro that are leagues above the rest, but other shows like Kyokou Suiri and Kuutei Dragon still are still worth the time. I still need to finish my own blogged show Jeweler Richard (yeah it will come) and Blade of the Immortals, but for now enjoy one last breath of cold Winter before we all head to the new Spring season. Enjoy.

Oshi ga Budokan – 12 (end)

Wooper: OshiBudo began its life as a satire of the idol genre – that was the impression I got, anyway, after its premiere demonstrated a willingness to mock its obsessive protagonists. After a few more installments, though, that facade gave way to a straightforward celebration of idol culture and consumption. There was a joke this week about idols not using the bathroom, which would have felt equally at home in the first episode (poking fun at purity expectations) as it did in this one (unironically espousing puritanical values). Images of Eripiyo juggling stacks of CDs, once viewed as pitifully excessive, verged on heroic in the last leg of the story. You can even put aside any tonal interpretations and look at this episode’s subtitles to see where the show’s values ended up. “I’m so happy that I’m an idol.” “The world of idols is huge, but I’m so happy that [name] is my favorite.” If the idol sphere is really such a big deal, why not write a story that depicts it as such, instead of making shallow purchases and handshake events the climactic moments of so many episodes? I’m sure there’s a good idol show out there somewhere, whether past or future, but this wasn’t it.

22/7 – 12 (end)

Mario: Out of all the finale this week, I was eagering for 22/7 the most, given how it wraps up will justify the whole season. In the end 22/7 can’t make up its mind on what it wants to be. It’s uneven in every sense of the words, both have some cynical views on the idol industry, but at the same time gives it exactly what we want as the girls get together and become independent from the Wall’s order. It’s a mixed bag but this finale does have some sparks of brilliance, so to highlight its inconsistency I will rate its moments from scale 0 point to 10 points, with 0 being the worst and 5 as the average. Spoilers ahead so skip it if you don’t want to get yourself spoiled. Let’s go:

Continue reading “Winter 2020 Summary: Week 13” →

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” →

Mario: Next week, we will publish our seasonally State of the Season post, so remember to check in. Like Amun, real life stuff has eaten me alive but I still managed to keep up with current shows, and watched the Oscars yesterday. PARASITE wins. Honestly I’m still overwhelmed by that historic fact and honestly this is one of the best decisions Oscar has ever made. Parasite wins, and nothing else really matters anymore. But enough about Parasite and let’s dig in for anime time this week:

Somali to Mori no Kamisama – 05

Mario: Well, this easily is the best episode of Somali so far. The trick here is that the show does shake up its usual formula. I will start with the lesser success first. While the background designs of the various towns and locations the show displays have been its big strength, this episode is the first time it delves into the local custom of the town where Golem and Somali visits, thus making the settings feel lived-in. It also helps that later on when the group passes the forest, there are many fantasy animals (sand whales) that are pure feast in the eyes (albeit they are lacking in animation). But the real winner here is how it adds some urgency to the road trip of our main characters. We have a couple who are intriguing in their relationship (although the way the Harp girl keeps bringing up her love for her human companion gets repetitive at the end), and the fact that they are willing to harm Somali for their own gains. At least they have their own reasons to do so and I can see and understand that.

Rikei ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumei Shitemita – 06-07

Wooper: Both of these episodes were pretty meh, but I watched them in time for this post, so I might as well throw my thoughts into the digital abyss. The kissing experiment in episode 6 wasn’t a bad plot – I’ve seen that kind of barebones chemistry test pulled off before, but a show’s ability to do so hinges entirely on its cast. So far, RikeKoi has shown itself to be premise-driven, rather than character-driven, so the story didn’t quite fit. There was one brilliant mix of those two modes on display here, though: Yukimura’s promise to give Himuro “a kiss of the highest theoretical value.” Since the series is all about hot nerds trying to quantify love, that kind of declaration is both a strong relationship builder and a clever fulfillment of the show’s goals. As for episode 7, I found its reworking of fairy tales and folk stories to be its saving grace – everything else was pretty bad. When Himuro gets drunk and acts super lovey-dovey towards Yukimura, we don’t learn anything new about her (since it’s already clear that she likes him). But if the show puts a mathematical spin on stories like Cinderella and Kaguya-hime, that’s worth a chuckle or two.

Continue reading “Winter 2020 Summary: Week 6” →

Mario: It’s time for another weekly summary. Geez, time sure flies fast. We’re nearly at the midseason already, can you believe that? Seasonal shows this week are… decent, I guess? Often the time this is a low period in seasonal anime, where anime studios rush and try their best to stay in schedule. We have a new show featured this week, and Lenlo is off to play volleyball rather than watching one. Enjoy! 

Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu – 04

Wooper: All this talk about Cham Jam “believing in their fans” and the glorification of unhealthy lifestyles lived in the name of idol appreciation are too much for this normalfriend to handle. I can tolerate sincere otaku fandom in small doses, but OshiBudo puts it front and center. This episode starts with a dramatic flashback to an encounter between Reo (during her time as a filler member of her previous idol group ‘Melty’) and Kumasa, her biggest fan. We’re talking “omit a key line during the conversation so that it can be revealed during the episode’s climactic moment” levels of drama, here. It ends up being a request for her to believe in him, which Reo passes on to Maina so that she’ll believe in her biggest supporter, Eripiyo. Meanwhile, Eripiyo is running herself ragged working three part-time jobs so she can buy dozens of Maina’s CDs and bump her numbers in the group’s popularity poll. That’s right, this week’s plot circles around to a popularity contest where supporting your favorite girl is viewed through an impossibly noble lens. The show still takes the odd dig at its dead broke otaku heroes here and there, but never with enough sharpness to puncture the balloon of idol worship at its core.

Kuutei Dragons – 02

Mario: After one third of the season done, I just remember a little show with no sub in which I enjoyed its premiere, Kuutei Dragon, so I decided to check the second one out, even with the 60 fps fan version (my first experience with 60 fpr and I still don’t get why people do that). Gotta say I still find this show charming. Whereas in Dorohedoro the characters share their chemistry by their love of food, in Kuutei Dragons it has only two things in mind: dragon hunter and dragon cuisine. The quest to enjoy this mystic beast’s meat is strong and it’s fun to watch. I also like its tongue-in-cheek humor and it has the same appeal of The Magnificent Kotobouki last year. I will check out the next episode, and if it proves to be as entertaining as the first two, then I’ll be happy to hop in for the ride.

Continue reading “Winter 2020 Summary: Week 5” →

Mario: Apologize for posting this Weekly Summary a day late, as I was away last long weekend. Seasonal anime has passed its first 3 weeks now, which means they more or less show their true colors as this point and we writers more or less settle down on shows we will be watching through the rest of the season. 22/7 and OshiBudo have their first appearances in this column, but it remains to be seen whether they can hold our interest. Without further ado, read further to see what we say about them this week:

Haikyuu: To The Top! – Ep 3

Lenlo: Content wise, I think this was a good week for Haikyuu. It was nice to see Hinata figuring out what it is he lacks. Figuring out the smart way to play the game vs his previously purely instinctual methods, then slowly merging the two. He has yet to actually play, yet he is learning just by observing, which is something Hinata hasn’t really done till now. Being more focused on DOING. That said, it still feels like it lacks something visually. That being the sort of crisp visual style of previous seasons. It just sort of feels… flat? Like the spikes lack impact, the color doesn’t pop in places it feels like it should, and sometimes the faces feel off, etc. It’s still good, but coming off of previous Haikyuu seasons it feels a tad underwhelming. Granted, I watched all of those 2 weeks before the season started. So it’s a bit fresher for me than most others.

Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu – 2-3

Wooper: OshiBudo is approaching its central premise with less irony that the first episode led me to expect. Comedy is still a part of the show’s M.O., but the relationship between Eripiyo and Maina is disappointingly straightforward in its use of misunderstandings and unrequited longing. The aftermath of the tanzaku plot, for example, relied just as much on Maina’s love for her number one fan as it did on Eripiyo’s intense approach to idol fandom. That love has been teased as romantic a few times now, and while I think that development could take the show in an interesting direction, it’s probably just bait. There was a more credible bit of yuri between two Cham Jam members in episode 2, so who knows where the show is willing to go? Hopefully it keeps creating humorous setups, no matter what tone it settles on. Eripiyo’s shampoo-related tanzaku flying into view as her “fan letters” were scattered to the wind comes to mind as the comedic bar the show ought to be shooting for. If it continues to skew in a less playful, more sincere direction, though, I don’t know that I’ll make it through the whole cour.
Continue reading “Winter 2020 Summary – Week 4” →

Mario: Welcome back to our Weekly Summary Column, I am the new host for this season, Mario. After a frantic first impression period, we are getting more stabilize now and starting to settle on our weekly offerings. I still need to catch up with leftovers from last season such as Blade of the Immortals and Babylon (yep, that Whore of Babylon) and maybe some other shows this season like 22/7, but that’ll be for the next post. Enjoy the roundup and tell me which shows you are following this season or even which shows you want us to cover here. We’ll take that into consideration.

ID:INVADED – 2-4

Wooper: ID:Invaded is my pet show of the season (not to be mistaken with my Pet show of the season). It’s not a critical darling like Eizouken or a surprise hit like Somali, but its high-concept procedural story and unconventional character designs have led me to favor it above most of this winter’s offerings. The plot: brilliant detective Sakaido solves his cases by entering the subconscious of serial killers, rendered as fractured, perilous mindscapes which he must navigate to uncover their identities. One of the things I appreciate most about Invaded is that, despite the magnitude of its premise, the characters aren’t swallowed by it. They have existing workplace relationships and personal histories, even if they’re not the focus of the show. Sakaido’s relationships with the more traditional cops and analysts on his team provide a nice foundation for his bloody backstory, which becomes clear in episode 3. After we learn what horrors he’s experienced, the show begins to demonstrate the influence and the existential detachment that comes from diving into people’s unconscious minds. The show is too verbose at times, and not every subconscious world is as interesting or well-designed as the last, but it has me intrigued enough to consider it a priority watch each week.

Somali to Mori no Kamisama – 2

Mario: I consider Somali episode 2 better than the first one (the premiere has a clumsy exposition part that nearly turns me off for good). The second episode has our Golem and Somali meeting other casts, so we both learn more about the world, and see how the chemistry between them all play out. The end of the episode also reveals more about Golem’s health and that adds to some urgency in regards to their journey. Golem and Somali also has a solid relationship where they grow fond of each other. But saying all that, I still can’t fully embrace the show and I do feel it loses its steam even after just 2 episodes. The fact that Somali is human could pose a potential threat given other beings are likely to consume her should they know – and I think the show will go there, but for now, we don’t sense any of that danger anywhere. And I know I just mentioned about the “urgency” but in truth, I don’t feel any sense of “hurry” at all. If I have to put my finger on why I’m still skeptical about the show, I’d say that its formula is too safe and predictable for now that it never full grasp me. Shake things up a bit would do the show better, I reckon.

Continue reading “Winter 2020 Summary – Week 3” →