Fugou Keiji – 5 [If Money be not thy Servant, it will be thy Master]

by Lenlo, posted in Fugou Keiji: Balance: UNLIMITED

Let’s cut right to the chase, because this was a big week for Fugou Keiji. Not because of any great narrative events, though we are seeing the beginning of something greater. Rather because Fugou Keiji seems to have decided what it wants to be. Until now it has been struggling with an identity crisis. Is it a comedic and ridiculous romp, riffing on rich superheroes like Tony Start and Bruce Wayne? Or is it a serious detective story with a touch of the fantastical in Daisuke? This week Fugou Keiji seems to have decided on the latter. There was very little levity and the series seems to be setting up some rather serious and impactful arcs to come. Some jokes were still there of course, but almost all of them were worked into the story. Were tinged with something more serious. So with that in mind, lets talk detective stories.

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Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 06 [The Maiden’s Gospel]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

It’s been six episodes and Re:Zero has yet to have an episode that doesn’t go beyond industry standard episode length, on top of excluding the opening and ending just to have more content. I love that these episodes end when they want them to end and if it requires extra work then they are putting it in. Tappei Nagatsuki should be thanking his lucky stars that he has an animation team that cares this much about his work and with hope they might care to adapt the entire story. All the more considering how much current circumstances have affected the animation industry. Frankly, I think we should give this animation team a hand for pumping out another great episode..
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Gunslinger Girl – 8 [Il Principe del Regno Della Pasta (The Prince of the Pasta Kingdom)] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Gunslinger Girl, Throwback Thursday

Another week another slightly late Throwback Thursday post of Gunslinger Girl! I really need to get my schedule figured out, but for now lets talk about child soldiers. This week we get another standalone episode, and for all the issues that brings it was an interesting look at the Brother Sister relationship. So without further ado, lets dive in!

Starting off, this was another weird week for Gunslinger Girl. Once again we are given a standalone episode that has absolutely nothing to with the greater terrorist plot. It could have slotted in anywhere in the story and done the exact same thing, it feels disjointed from the series primary plot. That said though, it was a really good episode. In fact I would go so far as to say that these one-off stories are Gunslinger Girl’s best episodes. The focus on the Brother/Sister relationship and look at its overall life cycle was great. I loved in particular how it started us with Henrietta. Showing us her concerns on the subject before switching over to Angelica, who is nearly at the end of her cybernetic lifespan. Its a good look into the final fate that awaits our cast, even if it doesn’t slot neatly into the overall story.

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The God of High School – 06 [fear/SIX]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Action, The God of High School

The God of High School? More like The God of High Speed. This installment introduced so many new stories and characters that I’d need five hands to count them all. The unmasking of the religious cult from several weeks back has begun, plus we were treated to reveals of “The Six,” a group of elite martial artists, one of whom became integral to the plot merely by implication. And hey, we’re already moving on to the next phase of the GOH tournament, so we got to meet a bunch of the high schoolers from other Korean cities who will be taking part. Oh, it’s also a team tournament now. And the pointy-nosed announcer from the previous phase? He was blind. I say “was” because he’s dead, as is the green-haired tournament organizer with the scythe-wielding spirit fighter. They were both killed by the same guy, a fire user from the cult I mentioned previously, and –

Is this sounding like too much material for one episode yet?

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Summer 2020 Summary: Week 5

by SuperMario, posted in Weekly Summary

Mario: Like I said last week, with this thin season, it’s a good opportunity for me to check out some lost gems – one of those shows that are lost in the sea of forgotten anime. Click down to see what those two shows are. I want to pick up one more so if you have some recommendation you can shout out in the comments. Conditions apply: you can only recommend shows that aren’t considered as “classic”, or maybe better that you recommend the ones you enjoy that need more attention. The older the anime the better. Now, let’s run them down.

Houkago Teibou Nisshi 5-6

Wooper: Another week, another pair of Cute Girls Catching Cute Fish episodes (that’s CGCCF for short). The show has gotten a little louder since the introduction of Kotani-sensei, sponsor for the Breakwater Club, which wasn’t to my tastes. In addition to her duties as club advisor and school nurse, she’s an obnoxious drunk – hence the loudness – but even high volumes levels could ordinarily be forgiven. What’s unforgivable is her regular hijacking of the girls’ seafood snacks, which they catch and fry with their own blood, sweatdrops and tears! Add Natsumi’s regular teasing of Hina to the mix, and there were moments where these episodes grated on me, which isn’t what you want from a slice of life club show. Thankfully, we ended on a nice story where Hina heads out to catch some horse mackerel for her family’s dinner, and learns a few new things after Natsumi tags along. It’s always nice to see noisy anime characters prove their worth as main cast members.

Japan Sinks – 02-05

Mario: I know my fellow Lenlo already gave a full review on this and trashed it like crazy, but if you want a weekly tracking on how Japan Sinks stinks then this column is the perfect chance to do so. And after the first half, I am still pretty much on board with how things progress so far. The event that happens at the end of episode 2 is really a game changer, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I did find the Shan city segment a bit overlong, and there’s this growing sense of something deeply wrong with this cult town, but I am not sure how the show will deal with it. The same growing sense of something wrong can be said for our characters as well, as Ayumu’s wound is open and no one seems to care. In addition, for a character that appears right at the beginning, Haruo doesn’t really add anything to the table. It remains to be seen how the second half of this will be.

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Lupin III The Woman Called Fujiko Mine – 3 [The Lady and the Samurai]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Lupin III - Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna

Welcome to episode 3 of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine! Apologies for the wait on this one. This is the only series I dont have a schedule for so I want to wait to write until I know what to write, if that makes sense. This week, just as I predicted this week we meet Ishikawa Goemon, get a fun train heist and just a liiiiitle bit of romance. Just a tad, I promise. So without further ado, lets dive in!

Starting off, lets talk Goemon, because this man is a complete and total Chuunibyou. The way he acts and over-dramatizes everything, taking it far stricter than the situation calls for, is fun. The way he cuts into the mountain, or does a dramatic flourish as he cuts a hole in the top of the train. He just amps everything up to 11, almost as if just to look cool. But what makes it work is that Goemon himself seems unaware of this. He takes it all incredibly seriously with a great degree of sincerity. And the best part is that unlike a vast majority of the Chuuni archetype, he actually has the skills to back it up. One could argue this disqualifies him from being a Chuuni at all, but for the sake of quick descriptions I think it still fits. Overall, he’s a fun character in this wacky series.

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Fire Force S2 5-6 [Corna/Secret Plan, Time to Choose]

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, Fire Force

Ensembles.  Everyone loves Ensembles!  When your main characters are feeling stale, bring back some likable side characters, amp up the enemy difficulty, make some convenient plan using all your powers combined – profit.  Oh, and did I mention, change up the scenery with a trip?  This is basically Fire Force’s plan for the rest of the season.

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Fugou Keiji – 4 [Nothing makes a man so adventurous as an empty pocket]

by Lenlo, posted in Fugou Keiji: Balance: UNLIMITED

Fugou Keiji is a ridiculous show, there is no getting around that. Yet this week surprised me by stripping away all of its crazy, ok most of its crazy, and giving us something… wholesome. So lets dive in and talk about what is Fugou Keiji’s most sincere episode yet.

As I said, this was a very calm and wholesome episode of Fugou Keiji. There was nothing overt or over the top about it. No money-based gags or super serious story lines, though it tease one at the end. It was just a focused character drama, a day in the life of our leads, and you know what? I think it worked. I think Fugou Keiji did some good stuff with Daisuke here. The growth isn’t huge, no sweeping changes were made, but it is the start of something. With this episode Fugou Keiji made the promise that Daisuke would grow as a character. That he wouldn’t sit statically just to be a gag for the show. And if the series can live up to that promise, can give us tangible growth for his character, I think it could be great.

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Gunslinger Girl – 7 [Protezione (Protection)] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Gunslinger Girl, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all to the halfway point of Gunslinger Girls! This week we go to Florence, appreciate some art and shoot some bad guys. All in a days work for a child soldier really. So without further ado, lets dive in!

Start off I want to talk about Gunslinger Girls production a bit, because I think it looked pretty good. For instance just like last week Gunslinger Girls opened dramatically, with a beautiful shot of Florence. Having been there myself, the opening on the Duomo made it immediately obvious where we were. The Fountain of Neptune only adding to that, setting the scene/location really well. On top of the setting though Gunslinger Girls also nailed the gunfights this episode. Every shot felt crispy and clean, managing to really bring you into the scene. The only real complaint I have about the episode production wise would have to be the cars. I understand that cars can be hard, what with the rapidly moving backgrounds and portraying momentum. At times however they felt like still 2D images sliding into one another and it really took me out of the moment.

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