Houkago Teibou Nisshi – 07
Wooper: This episode was a reaction face gold mine. As Hina gets more comfortable around her new friends in the Breakwater Club, she’s less cautious about letting her feelings show on her features, which means her hero worship of Oono and disdain for Natsumi have become obvious to everyone. This week’s stories shone a different light on each of those characters, however, poking a hammer-shaped hole in Oono’s athletic image, and revealing the booksmart side of Natsumi’s personality. Though there was nothing visually noteworthy about Hina visiting her friend’s house to study, it was still my favorite of the two halves because of how it treated their friendship. The reveal that Hina had never visited a friend’s house before was thankfully a casual one, but I’m sure she appreciated the chance, and Natsumi’s pre-midterm helpfulness and interest in her friend’s handicraft hobby were really kind. Now that we’ve seen this side of both girls, I’d like to see a softening of their teasing dynamic during club meetings and fishing outings – though I’m sure the relationship will work either way going forward.
Japan Sinks – 06
Mario: This episode wraps up the Shan city arc and ho boy, it’s not great. I see a lot of lost opportunity here in this arc, and I question the roles of many characters here as well. Take Daniel, for example. His placement in this arc feels really odd for me. Is he supposed to be an outsider (his nationality) to signal the Mutoh family about how he has no place to return to? Then why does he fit the living style in Shan city like a glove? And then the cult leader. Are we supposed to take her superpower seriously? What is the meaning behind exploring the cult’s strange activities and worships and then proceed to end it with an earthquake? And then the poor boy who just says that one line before the huge rock falls over his head. I don’t know if we are supposed to feel shock, but there was good comedic timing right there.
Appare-Ranman – 06
Mario: And just when I have almost given up on Appare-Ranman, it has one of its most solid episodes. It gives something that the show has been lacking so far: some emotional resonance, especially from the main cast. Granted, it feels OBVIOUS the way Appare acts out of his reasons, but at least now he feels like a proper human character and not the robot. The same extent can be said for most of the cast this week, as we see the softer sides of them. It’s not necessarily complex development, but it’s a much needed spice in this action-packed car-racing show.
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi – 04/05
Mario: As much as I like the core concept (of these two visiting multiple bizarre versions of their shopping arcade), I must admit that the humor is pretty juvenile and random to the point that sometimes it is hard to take the story seriously. WIth episode 4, the duo finds themselves in a HongKong-style shopping arcade, as a result we have heaps of… Bruce Lee references, random panda appearances, Chinese costumes and all that. Episode 5 is even more bizarre, with the prehistoric world featuring dinosaurs. Yep, they are good opportunities for the creators to go crazy with references and basically just have fun with the settings and silly boob-grabbing humors, but I do need some more substances from the show to keep me from getting bored by it.
Aoi Hana – 04/05
Mario: As the kids preparing for the Wuthering Height play (and the young ones doing The Little Prince and Little Women as well, all impeccable choices), we get to know more about these core cast, and if the poster and the OP wouldn’t spoil me about the romance between two lead girls, I wouldn’t have a clue watching the first half of this series. And for me that is a great sign, as there is a concentration on these characters and their growth, both in their relationship and in their own development. The pacing is slow but gradually, but if I have a minor complaint that would be I found Fumi and Sugimoto’s relationship progresses a bit too quick. The rest is near flawless though. Akira and Kyouko remain my favorite characters and they each handle the Fumi and Sugimoto’s dating differently but totally convincing and in-character. It’s so soft and delicate and there isn’t anything flashy about this series.
Shounen Onmyouji – 01-03
Mario: Firechick recommended this series and so far I can see its appeal. There are certainly some intriguing ideas and the show isn’t afraid to go dark in some instances. While the set-up is a bit shonen-y, such as we have a typical “young boy with hidden talent”, I really like the chemistry between him and Guren. As Masahiro is just an apprentice for now, sometimes he must fight the monsters that are stronger than him, and the unpredictability of those monsters’ skills make the fights interesting and gripping. We learn more about who Guren is, and with the brief appearance I already like the Princess. It looks to be quite a thrilling ride ahead.
One of the worst things I hated about Japan Sinks is how contrived every death feels. A disaster movie needs to give a sense of unpredictability, that anyone can die in one of these natural disaster, that even the assholes in these films have to at least care enough to not die and save others, but every on-screen death present here feels less so, and more like they’re obviously terrible people who got what they deserved, whether the cult members, or the nationalists or the rapist, and the one time they tried to include a sense of unpredictability (the boy who died from getting crushed by a rock) is so oddly timed that it comes off as comical instead when it should’ve been jarring and disturbing.
Eeeeeee!! I’m so glad you’re checking out Shounen Onmyouji!! It’s okay if it’s not to your taste, as everyone has their preferences, but if you do want to check out the rest of it, it does start off cliche at first, but it REALLY gets going when the second half of the show starts. That’s where the anime is at its best! I’ve watched it several times, in Japanese and in English, subs and without subs, and even own all of the old Geneon DVDs before they went out of print! Definitely keep up with it if you want to! If not, that’s okay too.
And yeah, Japan Sinks really shot itself in the foot with the cult arc, which I already talked about in my own personal review of it here on my LJ: https://joyousmenma93.livejournal.com/477996.html.