Fall 2019 Summary – Week 6

Wooper: I have good news and bad news, everyone. The bad news is that there won’t be a Weekly Summary next Monday. The good news is that our quarterly State of the Season post will be taking its place for one week only, packed with takes of all temperatures on the fall’s anime offerings. We hope you’ll be entertained by our divergent opinions and questionable tastes. In this week’s post: Mario drops a commenter favorite, amun continues to insist on the greatness of NGL, and Wooper assumes Immortal duty.

Hi Score Girl II 1-3

Mario: Hi Score Girl is back and it picks up right away. It’s a neat trick to start the season from Oono’s perspective, for example, since she’s a stoic character who doesn’t mutter a single word (how funny that she also participate in vulgar shiritori with her sister and Haru’s mom), and because the rest of these three episodes focus more on Haru – Hidaka dynamic. Out of the three mains, Hidaka remains the most sympathetic character, mostly because she is true with her emotions and the sad situation she’s in (the cursed third wheel). Her emotional progress towards Haru is believable, and her push towards Haru through physical means just signifies how desperate she is now. At the same time, there’s plenty of arcade games and its cultures throughout these episodes. There’s an original-content bit that I feel is well done as it strengthens the charms of this coming-of-age show. Haru’s taking part of Shibuya crowd is a bit to rush, though, given we see very little of how he spends time with them. All in all, Hi Score Girl is back in full force.

 

Kabukichou Sherlock 5

Wooper: I was waiting for this episode. Ever since we learned that Kabukichou features five detectives apart from Sherlock, I’ve been wondering when we’d get a case where he’s not at the center of things. Turns out it happened relatively early in the show’s run, as Sherlock didn’t make an appearance until the 11 minute mark here. Lucy is the primary investigator instead, and even though the title character solves the case of the swindled sumo wrestler before she does, she’s the one to confront the criminal, who also happens to be her former idol. That’s an important detail, because it makes the episode more personal for her. There’s a flashback to her early childhood (which is marked by tragedy and abandonment), and we also get the story of the future thief who saved her sister upon their arrival in East Shinjuku. It’s the first real showcase for any non-Sherlock character, and given how early it arrived in the series’ two cour run, it’s unlikely to be the last.

No Guns Life 5

Amun: NGL is 5 for 5 in solid episodes. I think just about every other non-sequel should take a look at these first episodes as a masterclass on pacing and character introductions. It’s the 10 second sequence of Mary doing knee surgery or Juzo’s 5 second difficulty in handling Scarlet’s overt affection – NGL has chemistry in spades. And every bad-a needs a good barber…even if you happen to have a cylinder instead of sideburns. I just adore how the barber (bald by the way) does Juzo’s oiling and maintenance. Even Blue booty girl manages to be more than a pair of authoritative hips and has believable non-physical personality – how often do you see that? If you’re sleeping on this show, don’t – this is probably the best of the non-sequels I’m watching this season (and probably better than a few sequels…)

 

Babylon 6

Mario: So this episode functions more like a debate session through the implication of legalizing suicide law. While Itsuki’s (counter)arguments have its points, and I certainly agree to some aspects of it (moral code changes depending on the era and the society we live in, for example), he doesn’t have a full argument to expand on those ideas. I don’t even know how to respond with the twist at the end (it relies on him predicting three steps ahead of the game, which for me is a huge stretch), and the same could be said for Seizaki’s plan of bending the law to kidnap Itsuki (the fact that everyone in the police team agrees of this plan is beyond me). Also, the visual department doesn’t look very good. I still don’t understand the various panning shots towards the debate as it distracts the hell out of me. As of now, Babylon is a mixture between ambition and just pulp. It has something interesting to say, but in an over-the-top serious manner that beg you to believe that it’s smartly written. Well, it is not.

 

Mugen no Juunin: Immortal 6

Wooper: I haven’t read the Immortal manga, so my take on Mugen no Juunin will be a bit different from Lenlo’s. Sure, I’ve felt that some scenes have been strained due to the adaptation’s speed, but as long as each episode has a central theme or character, and we learn enough about that central mechanism for it to stay with us afterwards, I’m happy. The show was able to generate that staying power for me this week, as a haunting figure from Rin’s past appeared: the principal rapist in the attack on her family. What complicates the situation for her is the presence of his son; were she to kill his father, the boy would be thrust into the same cruel situation that she experienced just two years prior. Though she demands an apology and nothing more, he ends up dead thanks to a mixture of pride, bloodlust, and fear that his son will discover his true identity. On top of a son losing his father, though, there’s a second misfortune at play – Rin’s obsession with revenge leaves her unable to properly console the boy in the aftermath of it all. These dual tragedies gave this episode that memorable quality I look for in anime.

 

Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo 6

Mario: And with this episode my journey with Ore wo Suki has reached its end. It concludes the second arc with an addition member and a core cast grows stronger together. The show is still funny on occasion, but most of the times it becomes the very show it pokes fun of. Take Main-kun, the show tells you many times that he’s that of a background character, but somehow he’s the lead boy of a school festival and three girls who dance with him have feelings for him? The twist regarding the new character isn’t that refreshing compared to the first act, and in these last few episodes the main girl’s role is very limited. At this point I believe I’ve seen enough of Ore wo Suki and bid it au revoir (and never come back).

 

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun 6

Wooper: Iruma’s constant fretting about blending in with demon society gets tiresome after a while, but his nervousness is only natural. After all, he’s attending a school whose anthem encourages human consumption, and he hasn’t got a drop of magical blood in his veins to assist him in his classes. Enter the show’s most important plot device thus far: the Ring of Solomon, which has been infused with grandfather Sullivan’s magic. The opportunities for quick thinking and/or dumb luck to save Iruma’s skin have been greatly reduced, now that he has a get out of jail free card for every situation under the sun. The still-unnamed student council president is wise to his humanity, however. She looks like a male fantasy come to life, but Iruma has already Nice Guy’d his way into her shoujo-obsessed heart. Hopefully her imposing stature and strength are eventually put to better use than this episode would indicate.