Wooper: Even as much of the West plunges into the madness of the holiday season, Japan keeps pumping out the good stuff week after week. Mario and Amun are still high on their favorites of the season, but one of my early frontrunners might not survive as part of this column much longer if it keeps slipping each week. That’s alright, though – our attention will soon shift to season previews, first impressions, and AOTY discussion. For now, though, here are some thoughts on a few seasonal shows we’ve been digging!
Hi Score Girl II 6
Mario: It all comes down to this. After Haruo x Hidaka match, after Oono x Hidaka challenge, it’s fitting that the final showdown between Oono and Haruo is going to end it once and for all. It’s also very fitting that this final match will be a SFII tournament in Osaka, when Haruo won but utterly felt that he didn’t deserve it. It takes witnessing Hidaka hugging Haruo for Oono to strengthen her resolve regarding Haruo, and it takes seeing Oono’s sad expression for Haruo to be honest with his feelings. Despite all the teases, Haruo has a good number of good people who are behind his back, but ultimately it’s between the main players now. The stakes are higher than ever (even without Haruo knowing it, they’re high for him as well). I also really enjoy the way Oono’s sister behaves when she finds out about Oono leaving soon. She’s the most outspoken character of this cast but we can sense a lot of feelings flowing through her at that time: guilt that she dumped all the responsibility on her sister, the sadness on Haruo’s behalf, her own sadness as well. It’s hard not to root for them all (and maybe scream at Oono’s parents for being dickheads. :))
Mairimashita! Iruma-kun 9
Wooper: Ever since Iruma acquired the Ring of Solomon, there’s been a question of how his character could evolve without falling back on its all-powerful magic. This episode answered that question with a training arc dedicated to dodgeball, of all things. Rather than present Iruma with an obstacle that would require a magical solution, it created a clever mythology for “execution cannonball,” a modern version of an archaic contest once held by demons. Even though the game is essentially a human one, Iruma still struggles to master it due to his skill at dodging things. So we watch as he dodges, and dodges, and dodges, then finally catches a ball in his practice sessions – and that’s the majority of the episode. Apart from that fun initial concept, the actual meat of the thing is overcooked and unseasoned. I much prefer this show when it’s in comedy mode, instead of worrying about Iruma’s rank at school, but his conversation with Ameri last week hinted at a shift toward the latter. We’ll see rather the show can achieve a good balance to close out 2019.
