Fall 2020 Summary – Week 11

Wooper: Just two more weeks until 2020 can finally be put to rest. Here at Star Crossed, the Winter Preview is a key step in bidding farewell to each calendar year, so we’re hard at work on that project as you read this. But that busyness couldn’t stop us from offering our thoughts on these penultimate seasonal episodes – we had to lay the foundation for our final verdicts, after all, which ought to arrive next week-ish. See you then!

Golden Kamuy S3 – 11

Lenlo: Jesus, Golden Kamuy, that was easily the tensest episode of the season and possibly of the year. I really don’t know how to describe this without spoilers, so let’s just say everything came to a head this week. Sugimoto and Asirpa finally meet again, which means so does Ogata and Sugimoto, and Tanigaki and Kiroranke, and basically every character combination you can think of. Combine that with a treasure hunt that only one person knows the answer to and a whole bunch of guns and you have something going on. All in all, I loved this episode and I don’t know how to talk about it without spoiling everyone.

Maou-jou de Oyasumi – 11

Wooper: After cameos in episodes 8 and 9, Cubey finally revealed herself as a succubus who admires Princess Syalis for her popularity, not her evil counterpart from a parallel universe. I suppose it’s better that the show kept it simple, since it allowed the quest formula to be maintained after a few leaps in logic. Syalis’ ruthless training of her new body double ironically ended in her own death, which wasn’t tough to predict, but it’s the way she died that really sold the segment: drifting off to sleep while plummeting toward a fiery lake, satisfied with a job well done. Of course, the castle’s cleric revived her in time for the next chapter, where the other characters got a peek into her dreams. This was the spot where her relationship to the Hero was revealed to all parties involved, giving him a bit more to do than usual. As a matter of fact, the Demon Lord confronted the Hero face to face in this episode, though it was just a small gag about the man’s willingness to trust an obvious enemy. I haven’t mentioned the Hero in these miniature blurbs much, which is due to a lack of column space and his distance from the main characters, but also because I don’t find him especially funny. I’ll be interested to see whether his character “works” in next week’s finale.

 

Attack on Titan S4 – 02

Armitage: Coming off of the heels of a stellar and ambitiously produced premiere, there was every chance that at least on the technical side of things, some unevenness might creep in. The odd still-frame which lingers on for too long, off-model character designs – the kind which have become far too commonplace this year cough Haikyuu cough or in general a studio cutting corners to use their resources for the money shots. But it seems like MAPPA is trying their best to assure fans of Studio Wit’s work on the series that they are up to the task and so far, they seem to be succeeding in their attempt. This series has never been known for delivering Ufotable or peak-Madhouse levels of eye-candy but so far it’s great to see S4 hold up to what has come before, even with MAPPA’s well-documented production issues.

As for the episode itself, it was low on action and was meant to serve as a bridge for what’s to come. While Isayama has always been far from subtle when it comes to character interactions, the one thing he excels at, apart from being almost peerless at world-building, is character development. And Reiner is easily the most fascinating of these out of AoT’s vast supporting cast. A true warrior unafraid to lay his life on the line for the right cause but one who’s now started to believe that his cause may not be right at all. The commentary on the nature of fascism and blind nationalism has never been this prominent and naturally, the Holocaust comparisons are bound to become apparent. Isayama is walking a tightrope here and I hope that going forward he is able to give such a sensitive subject matter the care it deserves.

Haikyu To the Top S2 – 11

Lenlo: For all that I bemoan Haikyu’s production this season, and it has a lot of issues, Production IG has managed to land the big moments. Not because they are insanely well animated, though the quick rally with Karasuno speeding up was clean, but because they nail the direction and composition of the shots. Sure, they have it laid out for them from the manga, but they still make them work. And in doing so they give me some of my favorite scenes of the season. Whether it be Hinata’s slow and high receive, Tsukki gazing at Inarizaki’s banner or the final point reflecting in Kita’s eye. These are provocative shots! They are striking and the kind of things you remember once a season is over, at least as much as the shitty production.

Beyond that, I will always love Haikyu’s themes and how it uses them. The contrast between Inarizaki’s “We don’t need the memories”, who cares if they were number 2 yesterday, always trying new things or approaches, and Karasuno, who are built up by their past experiences. How the captain of Inarizaki, Kita, is the personification of daily rituals, of building on every day that came before, in stark contrast to the team’s motto. In Atsumu as a setting contrasting and forcing Kageyama to grow. Even the shaky production couldn’t ruin those for me. And it’s because of those that I still really enjoyed this episode, even if it had some jank.

Gal and Dino – 11

Wooper: Dino usually brings a fun and friendly presence to his own show, but this week he was judgmental, impatient, and an electricity hog – and I loved every second of it. There’s something satisfying about discovering the flaws of a superficially “good” character, especially when their lack of human speech directs all their feelings straight to their face. Of all the minor sins Dino committed in this episode, my favorite was the array of sour expressions he wore while eavesdropping on Shouta’s phone call to Kaede. We’ve known since the start of the series that Shouta’s torch for her still burns, but Dino was new to human relationships at that point, so he didn’t know to be disdainful of clingy exes. Now that he’s up to speed, his disgusted reaction to Shouta’s cloying drunk dial was glorious. Honestly, this could have been one of the better episodes of the show if not for a lackluster live action segment, which put the main characters in an amusement park and simply filmed them riding various attractions. That concept might have been more appealing in a pre-COVID world, where Kaede and Dino could play off unsuspecting attendees, but here the park was a ghost town, which made the segment feel more than a little empty.

Heaven’s Official Blessing – 08

Lenlo: The major thing HoB taught me this week is that this is NOT a night show. Everything was just way too dark, nothing was properly lit. I understand the desire to sell the darkness, to make it oppressive. But you have to balance with your show actually being watchable and HoB largely… wasn’t. It was difficult in almost every scene to understand what was happening, which is a damn shame because when it is well lit, the show looks good.

Beyond that we got a bit of action animation early on, along with some suitably creepy monsters like the garden man. The actual moment to moment content wasn’t bad. The overall story is starting to grate on me though as nothing really happens week to week. Hopefully it finds a satisfactory way to end with the 3 episodes left, but I’m not holding my breath on that.

Taiso Samurai – 10

Wooper: Was it just me, or did this episode feel super long? The All-Japan Gymnastics meet was a drag to begin with, due to the emphasis on the broadcasters rather than the athletes (a problem that recurred from episode 5), but the final scene where Rachel pleaded with Leo to stay in Japan felt downright superfluous. After watching Jotaro kick ass across multiple events without sparing a thought for Leo, shifting away from gymnastics at the end left me nonplussed. It was all so straight-faced, too! Learning about the main characters’ histories last week was serious enough, but now Leo is taking all the wrong lessons from Jotaro’s tragic past and playing the overburdened hero. The Tetsuo focus did nothing for me, either – watching him choke each of his routines at the last moment felt patronizingly simple, especially when contrasted with his rival’s unexpected success. I’ve got no faith that Taiso Samurai’s conclusion will be worth watching or writing about, but even I don’t drop anime when there’s just one episode left, so I’ll see you at the funeral next week.