Wooper: Setting aside the three sequels that have yet to air (two of which we’ll be blogging), the fall season is in full swing. We’re giving regular coverage to a lot of continuations and sequels at the moment, so we’re bringing back the Weekly Summary feature as a way of broadcasting our brief thoughts about everything else. Some of these series will show up here every week; others may appear in some posts and not in others. The unlucky ones may be dropped, never to be mentioned on Star Crossed again. Which series will still be standing come the end of December? Keep checking back to find out!
Mugen no Juunin: Immortal 3
Lenlo: I have to say, Immortal really stepped it up this week. This was really good. From the fights to the direction to the new character, I think it nailed them all. Sure the animation was rather limited at times, but they really did their best with what they had and I think it worked. I loved the progression of 2 plots side by side with Maki. The odd sort of parallels between the two, her growth, and the actual defeat of Manji. The continued use of flower imagery, and our leads budding relationship with Manji. I sort of wish I had blogged it for my full length posts right now, but boy would that be a lot of work. As is, I will have to settle for some surface level praise about how good this week was. That said, still worried about pacing. This one episode was like… 200 pages of manga content. That’s almost an entire volume, in a single episode. There is no way all the episodes will work as well as this and I can’t imagine how much was skipped over.
No Guns Life 2
Amun: Alright, so NGL’s second episode wasn’t quite as hype as episode 1. And you know what, that’s 100% okay. What we got instead of the bikini battle was a good guy (girl actually) introduction, bad guy introduction, and a bit of worldbuilding. And apparently these cigarettes are a major plotpoint, can’t forget those. One of the things that I am absolutely respecting the ever living gunsmoke out of, is how they’re making their MC an actual bad, bad…gunhead. Lots of shows try to do a tough guy (I’m even looking at you Trigun) and tend to make a mockery of it. NGL, so far, has actually made a real wiseguy. The other respectable point here is a villian actually acting (semi) intelligently – buying up all the cigarettes was a nice move. NGL enters their third week with the hype train still going strong – unlike the one that ole’ Revolver head just broke.
Kabukichou Sherlock 2
Wooper: Given how envelope-pushing its premiere was, there was a 50% chance that Kabukichou’s second episode would be an incomprehensible mess. Luckily that wasn’t the case, as the show eased itself into a weekly formula while staying glued to its characters. Sherlock’s eccentricities are still one of the show’s main draws, but the cast stars five other detectives who take or leave each case based on the size of the reward and their personal investment. The fact that they can either compete or cooperate with one another will surely allow for some fun spotlight episodes. This one brought plenty of twists on its own, with a (relatively minor) betrayal and a gender reveal that kept me on my toes. Broadening the cast helps the show escape its Holmesian roots, as does the introduction of a benevolent high school Moriarty, who became the show’s most interesting character in the span of one episode. Now I can look forward to the next one without fearing a trainwreck!
Mairimashita! Iruma-kun 2-3
Wooper: I was less enamored with these episodes of Iruma-kun than I was with its first. It still has the same comical premise, the same colorful backgrounds, and the same gleeful innocence as before, but at this point I doubt the show is set to evolve in any interesting ways. The second episode introduces a Severus Snape type antagonist who Iruma accidentally summons as his familiar – this is a gold mine both for the show’s joke supply and as a breeding ground for change in their relationship. However, the third episode brings him back for a one-off gag that doesn’t do its two-part structure any favors. It also spends way too long on the green haired girl, whose genki nature dominates both segments, despite being thoroughly dissected in the first. It may be that I’m setting the bar too high for a kids show, but given the wealth of characters and topics that could spring from its demon school setting, I’m looking for a bit more variety than it showed me here.
Babylon 2-3
Mario: I agree with the general reception that after 3 episodes Babylon is still as baffling as it was in the premiere. Now they drop the election subplot and go for “mankind evolution” direction which is much much more ambitious but equally as stupid. In Kado the Right Answer it makes sense given that we have an entire alien race that invades the Earth. Here though it feels like a big stretch when we have a 30 year old dude declaring to advance mankind with the “right to die” by having people… jump off the roof, and this ultimate shapeshifting femme fatale who can talk/ drug you to kill yourself and ahh I don’t know what to think anymore. In addition, the drab visual doesn’t grasp the show’s ambition, and so far I consider the main character a lesser-Shindo (from Kado the Right Answer) version, and Shindo is hardly a complex character in his own right.
Ore wo Suki 2-3
Mario: The first 3 episodes wraps up the first arc of Ore wo Suki, and as a whole while this show is by no means special, it succeeds on what it set out to do. There are two elements that contribute to why it works: 1) the show consistently twists our expectations of certain characters tropes, not for the service of “depth” but more like poke fun of them and 2) they use repetition to amplify the ridiculousness of the situation. On the other spectrum, for the life of me I can never understand having the love interest showing her big tits and her beautiful face to prove the main character… something. Judging from the OP there will be tons of other female characters so I’m not confident that the show can handle them alright. Nevertheless, if you want to see this show is up your taste then these first three are perfect entree.
Hataage! Kemono Michi 2
Mario: I gave these three isekai below another episode in hope that I can pick one to follow for the rest of the season, but so far none of them catches my interest. The problem with them all so far is that there’s nothing much interesting going on once they sold their pitch after their first episode. In this case, in Hataage the pro sumo dude continues on his quest to “conquer” beast monsters, as in cuddle them, sniff their anus and so on so forth. The second episode is a variation of that concept with him trying to get as much rewards as possible so that he can buy a house to store these beasts. One aspect it goes differently from that formula is when he has a quest regarding the ogre, whom for him is more human side than beast. His solution (further implies how silly this show is), is to have a fist fight with them and then of course they become bros after the fight. I’m already feel tired after 2 episodes. Skip next to…
Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! 2
Mario: Watashi for me feels like Endro earlier this year with all the isekai tropes and much less funny. The jokes here rely all on how our main character is way overpowered and she does her best (read: most clumsy way) to hide that fact. It doesn’t help that so far the core cast doesn’t rise above their established tropes and the way we know that she’s superhuman means that there is no tension whatsoever when it comes to them doing their quest. It’s your typical wish-fulfillment fantasy.
Honzuki no Gekokujou 2
Mario: Finally, Honzuki’s second episode proceeds slowly with her quest for book and writing and frankly I find the core premise don’t hold much interest to me anymore. The first half establishes her supporting characters (even her 6-year-old love interest, yike!), and we slowly head towards the main plot as she learns to write in this foreign language. Unlike Watashi above, there’s certainly a catch of witnessing her go from “in no way she can obtain a book or paper” to writing a book/ making a library on her own in the future, but that premise is held back by the below-average production. Sometimes, the show uses super-deformed art style which for me works for the show’s benefits so far, given it’s an effective way of cutting-corner and gives a certain charms to the characters. As a whole, however, I don’t find it compelling enough to follow it every week.
Rifle Is Beautiful 2
Mario: My weak spot at the moment because objectively this show isn’t that good. Just up there I complained about Watashi’s plain cast but, if you paste these characters to this show, with the main character is actually average, nothing is amiss at all. We have the same red-headed girl with almost the same design and personality for Christ’s sake. But despite all that and despite it’s not focusing on the sports I still enjoy it. The comedic timing is sharper for once, and so far I like the chemistry that all members of the club have. If I have to pick one guilty pleasure for this season to watch every week this would definitely be the one.
