Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2019) – 05 [VS The Imaginator 2]

by SuperMario, posted in Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2019), Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense

Boogiepop’s this week further reaffirms what I really like about the show’s overall structure. Each week we have a total new perspective from the same arc, often with different level of impact to the main events. This episode, for example, is about two “lesser” interconnected plot threads compare to one last week, yet we still learn many new elements that could potentially change the tide of this sailing boat. We get another supernatural foe, but this time it seems like they are a small piece in the chess. We have more complex emotional range this week: from sexual to homosexual attraction (which the latter is actually pretty impressive). The main key here that can prove to be a crucial plotpoint, in hindsight, isn’t the characters that have their narratives this week, but Orihata Aya, the girl that dates Masaki, Nagi Kirimi’s little brother. It becomes clear that she has different values regarding her own, as she thinks it’s only natural to offer her body to guys, and think very little of her self worth. She comes off an inhuman vibe, but so far I can’t still put my fingers on who she really be. She could be another one of Towa Organization’s “terminal”, which kind of makes sense since that Spooky E is totally protecting her, but I feel that she’s carrying the bigger roles here. And she’s on the verge of breaking down now that she develops her feeling towards someone else.

Which brings us to the first segment where we get told in Masaki’s point of view. Masaki keeps his presence low profile, but he still ends up as a target of bullying amongst his class. The fact the he’s Kirimi’s brother also ties him into the bigger picture. Could it be that Orihata approaches him because of that? As the event progresses, his affection eventually reaches the girl, which I think will serve as a catalyst to the next big event. Asukai reappears to give these bullying guys justiced, and on the second segment it’s interesting to note that he regards the victim as “beyond cure”, which means that he believes his action as a way to cure the victims. At this moment we don’t see the aftermaths of the victims he touched so I can’t tell his version of “cure” would be like, but my gut tells me that it’s gonna be twisted.

The second thread is about Anou Shinjirou, Misaki’s classmate and as we soon learn, he has some physical attraction to him. I really like the way he behaves towards Misaki, you can see the whole waves of conflicted emotions this guy has towards Misaki. Trying his best to show some hesitant to the boy, yet at the same time stalks him and tries to approach him when there’s no one around. It’s creepy but Boogiepop nails his behaviors wonderfully. His stalking to Orihata (since he thought the girl has some hidden agenda) causes Spooky E brainwashes him and makes him one of his terminals. The highpoint of this episode for me is how despite him losing all his memories, his personality and his emotions, in some rare moments his real emotions surface. The scene where he looks at the painting “Snow falls in April” (which is definitely another important piece – who draw this painting?), for instance, evokes some kind of raw emotions to him. For the show that is on the emotional distance approach, it still doesn’t forget to let some emotions sip in.

Lastly, Boogiepop appears to tie up these stories and decides to banish Spooky E, however he escapes in the nick of time. I still think that some pieces are missing here, and until we learn the importance of Orihata’s role in this story, things will put into motion. 5 episodes in, the biggest strength of Boogiepop Phantom lies in its interwoven structures and it does a decent jobs to maintain the restless mood that prove crucial to its many mysteries. Well, viewers have to work way more than normal shows in order to be on track but for me it has been a rewarding experience so far.

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai – 03

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Romance, Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai

Kaguya-sama continues to pleasantly surprise me with each episode. Just as its two main characters attempt to trick one another into confessing their love, the series pulled the wool over our eyes this week by aborting its usual intro midway and getting straight to the good stuff. Its playfulness and experimentation reminds me of SHAFT’s older romcoms, and since that’s where director Shinichi Omata got his start in the industry, the feeling makes sense. More than his work on series like Arakawa or Denpa Onna, though, it’s his masterful adaptation of Rakugo Shinjuu (under the name Mamoru Hatakeyama) that makes me believe Kaguya-sama might have a future in the pantheon of great anime comedies. Omata’s method of bringing rakugo performances to life bears some similarity to the way he heightens the hormonal delusions of Kaguya and Shirogane – after all, they’re essentially performers in a grand farce, with the student council room as their stage. The two series share a scriptwriter in Yasuhiro Nakanishi, as well, so they likely forged a strong working relationship several years ago, and it’s paying off a second time in 2019. If you ever want to predict which anime will be great before the start of a new season, it’s the key staff members that are most important, as this show’s success can attest.

The playfulness I mentioned earlier wasn’t limited to the fast-forwarded introduction. It can be found all over the three chapters adapted in this episode, especially the first, where Kaguya’s lack of sexual awareness causes all three council members to be plagued by self-doubt. The highlight of this segment was her roundabout plot to make the president confess, first by imagining his panic at never having been kissed, then assuming his thought process would lead him straight into her arms to rectify the situation. Anime’s prude take on romance can be frustrating at times, but Kaguya’s sheltered upbringing and Shirogane’s nervous bluffs just make things funnier for me. Fujiwara has to explain the mechanics of sex to her friend in the end, but her embarrassment doesn’t function as an excuse for anyone to be mean-spirited. Rather than tearing down its characters, Kaguya-sama is dedicated to building them up via small details, like the slow social evolution the vice president has undergone since joining the student council. Though Shirogane’s observation of this change serves as a simple catalyst for a game of 10 Questions (complete with an old western theme), it’s his understanding of her screwy personality that ultimately enables him to win. Even though they’re constantly trying to one-up each other, it does feel like they’re slowly learning more about one another.

That sense of impending closeness is given a boost by the conclusion to this week’s final chapter, where Kaguya gets to ride on the back of Shirogane’s bike (a big romantic flag in Japan) as he pedals furiously to beat the tardy bell. In the show’s most heartwarming turn of events so far, this event is only made possible by Kaguya’s accompaniment of a frightened young girl to meet her friend before school. Her original plan was to ambush the president on his normal morning route (which she naturally has memorized), but by taking the time to assist a crying child, she abandons that opportunity in order to help her fellow man. As a viewer, I was really satisfied that Shirogane’s lateness allowed her to meet him unexpectedly, as though she were being rewarded for her good deed. I also really liked the backgrounds during this scene, which nicely mimicked the style of the council room; though I doubt too much CG was involved for this chapter, the sterile layout of the city and slightly inky linework made it look consistent with the show’s normal one-room environment.

Speaking of CG, I’d get my head bitten off if I didn’t mention this week’s new ending theme, which starred Fujiwara doing a super cute dance that I suspect involved some extra computer assistance. Actually, my head might be in danger for bringing it up in the first place, since I didn’t seem to enjoy it quite as much as the rest of the Internet. Though it perfectly captures Fujiwara’s fun-loving personality (as well as her good-naturedness in releasing the cicada at the very end), I felt the uncanny valley creeping up on me as her eyes didn’t quite follow her head during her more elaborate movements. It’s a fine ED that contributes to the show in a meaningful way, so it’s good that so many people are raving about it, but I can’t count myself among them. Rip me a new one in the comments if you must!

Yakusoku no Neverland – 03[181045]

by AidanAK47, posted in Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense, Yakusoku no Neverland

Things are heating up as Neverland continues to up the stakes for our characters episode by episode. This particular episode had a focus on the new caretaker, Krone. Krone makes for an interesting juxtaposition from Mama as she seems much less interested in the more subtle management of Mama’s style and more focused on pure brute force. Caretakers may look like motherly figures which makes Ray’s wordless suggestion of killing Mama seem like one of the best options despite moral quandaries as Mama generally controls through psychological means. However Krone shows that even if the caretakers look like that, they most certainly are no slouches. Put simply, Krone is an absolute tank of a woman which she displays in full force. Emma makes the wise suggestion of training the kids to escape through a game of tag but Krone uses this opportunity to prove that she can catch all of them, all by herself if need be. Seeing her smash open trees and sprint after these kids like some kind of Victorian maid terminator shows well just how high a wall the kids have to scale.

I do appreciate this shows adherence to the show don’t tell rule however this episode was one of the first times that came back to bite them. The anime goes to extra lengths to not show us a single characters inner monologue and while showing through animation is a good stance, there are things which do require more of a inner approach. The biggest misstep here is Krones monologue over how she sees this as an opportunity to overthrow Mama and become the new Mama of the farm. There isn’t anything wrong with this concept in general as it shows that Krone isn’t a complete ally to Mama and having her declare this to a doll she delusional thinks of as her child shows a degree of mental instability in her character. The problem is that Krone is shouting her declaration to betray Mama, at the top of her lungs and with ridiculously theatrical vigor. The kids are also guilty of this lack of situational awareness as they discuss their plans often at dangerous locations or even within sight of their enemies. It’s a wonder that Norman seems to believe that they are being in any way inconspicuous. Not to mention Emma speaking out loud about the transmitters in front of another kid who has no idea of the farm which goes against her character.

Not that it would matter as Mama confirms to Krone that she knows full well about them and if anything that revelation should not even be a surprise. This woman has been playing 4D chess for a long time and considering how big of a mistake krone sees this as, it’s worth betting that Mama is in no way treating this matter as some small threat. With the reveal of the transmitters location comes the problem of how to destroy them without alerting Mama which ultimately seems to be only able to be done at the time of escape. But the biggest problem to the group is the reveal of a traitor who is reporting to mom. This traitor is an interesting prospect for do they know the true nature of the farm? Are they perhaps unaware of their very status as a traitor and just manipulated by Mama unknowingly? The visuals seem to hint heavily at glasses girl being the traitor but she may be a bit too obvious. But the final shot of Emma truly goes to show just how much the knowledge of someone selling them out is devastating her. Her goal is to save everyone but the idea that part of that everyone could very well be working against her is a dark prospect indeed. Out of the main trio she is the one who hangs on to idealistic notions but this may be the thing that forces her to break away from her moral righteousness. She was the only one of the tiro caught be Krone thanks to her need to protect the others and everyone seems to be pointing to her forsaking her morality for the sake of survival. As a last note, that scene with a kid getting hit in the face with a ball was both unnecessary and hilarious.

Paranoia Agent – 1 [Enter Lil’ Slugger] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Paranoia Agent, Throwback Thursday

Hello all and welcome to another round of Throwback Thursday, with this seasons special guest, Paranoia Agent! Satashi Kon through and through, lots of weird beautiful things are happening, so let’s jump right in!

Starting off, some details for how this is going to go. Planetes was a 26 episode series, so we did 2 episodes a week so we could get through it in a season. Paranoia Agent is a 13 episode series, so we will be doing 1 episode a week. A nice and easy pace. As for Paranoia Agent itself, you can tell its Satoshi Kon right from the get go. He has a very personal, odd style, which I love. I think you can see it most in his focus on lips and mouths, faces in general. You can see it to a great extent in Tokyo Godfathers, but his faces are always… not droopy, but fluid. Detailed in how the mouth and the skin around it moves. It could almost be described as plump on some characters. Regardless, it’s an iconic and brilliant style that I love.

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Kemurikusa – 03

by SuperMario, posted in Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Kemurikusa

DISCLAIMER: this is an original review of an original show from one of our own reviewers. His ignorance of future characters and plot points may limit his perspective on the series as it unfolds. Proceed with caution!

At there episodes mark, Kemurikusa’s strengths weaknesses are more in clear view now. In a positive side, the world building proves to be ambiguous and compelling. I’m always a fan of a near apocalyptic world where human race has regressed and declined and somehow lose many historical and technological context from its ancestors (many of my favorite anime has this settings: Humanity Has Declined, Sora no Woto, Girls’ Last Tour). This week, we have a glimpse of the next island and it appears to be ruins from our very society. There’s a amusement park, there’s many abandoned buildings that could be the what left of a catastrophe we haven’t yet learnt about. One interesting fact is that the girls regard themselves as human, even though they have their own kemurikusa leaf inside their body and just drinks water to survive. It’s fascinating because with that one remark we get a good idea that these girls have never encountered any real human being before, not up to this point anyway.

The ED that appears this week, along with some passing comments from the girls, do an amazing job of fleshing out these kemurikusa girls’ backstory. We soon learn that there were more team members and many already died before the start of this event. If this ED is any indication we also know about the order of their disease as well. There was a girl called Ryouko whom Rin and Ritsu are quite fond of. She was seen as the one who teaches these girls all the basic survival stuffs. Then there were Ryou and Riku, and two of the six-pack who bite the dust (one of the Rinas died in the first episode). Based on what I heard the OVA and shorts did include them, and I don’t know about these kemurikusa girls enough to know if they can be revived in any way. So far though, I feel a clear sense that the body count will likely to increase as the girls moving to several islands now. The box of grey urns have the same number of the girls who passed away, so it makes sense for me why Rin treasures them so much.

We also learn about “The First Person”, the one that gives birth to all the girls. For now, my theory is that this person learns about the human destruction so they creates this new humankind to survive. While nothing is concrete yet I have a sense that this world is a result of advanced technology went berserk that destroys all the lives on earth. It comes for a reason that these girls function like a plant, one of the most natural resource of them all. Like I said, this world is so layered and intriguing that so much has been discussed, yet there’s still more mysteries around the corner.

In a negative side though, Wakata is still the weakest link but he isn’t the dealbreaker for me. The dialogues aren’t that good to be honest, and it feels rather clumsy the way Rin already develops some physical feeling to Wakata. Many has argued that if Wakata were a girl, we wouldn’t consider him as annoying in which I say, NO. The truth of the matter is that he doesn’t feel like he belong to this world, and while part of the narrative is designed that way, I can’t help but feel Kemurikusa deserves a much more tolerable male protagonist.

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 14 [You’re Not Alone]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Welcome all to another episode of Kaze Fui, Best Boy Simulator 2019. This week we have some more qualified times, lots of wholesome bonding and a hint mystery. Lets dive in!

Starting of light and happy, I loved Kaze Fui’s attention to detail this week. All of our boys, aside from Yuki and Prince, tanning from all their running in the sun. Makes it clear time has passed, to go along with the running montage they had. We also get to see how this has started to effect some of our boys, such as Kings short interview segment. He seemed to sit up straighter, with more confidence, and the Ekiden line is a real conversation starter for an interview. While I am sure Haiji didn’t intend for this to happen, not entirely, it is not to see King’s job search getting addressed. Seeing him move forward on that front. Lastly, I am pretty sure Kurahara was smiling throughout this entire episode, and I loved it. Our boy deserves a little happiness after all his emotional struggles.

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Dororo – 3 [The Story of Jukai]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

Airing at the same time as Mob Psycho, completely independently, Dororo also managed a somber, character driven episode. This week we learn more about Junkai the prosthetic doctor, Hyakkimaru’s past, and the world at large. Let’s dive in!

Dororo started off in a very dark place this episode, which contrasted oddly with the beautiful sunset behind it. Before I get into the story aspect of that darkness though, I want to talk about the visuals. A large portion of this episode was in grey scale, or with lots of browns. As effective as it was in some scenes, I was largely not a fan of it. It made multiple parts of the episode visually dull, and this is a visual medium. Especially when compared to the striking reds and oranges that Dororo opened with or we sometimes saw in the middle. Could it be argued the grey scale is what helped those scenes stand out more? That helped the important parts rise higher? Yes, easily. Its a strong argument. I just don’t know if the across the board grey scale was worth how much it provided those scenes.

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Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 3 [One Danger After Another ~Degeneration~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Another week, another episode of Mob Psycho, though this week is a little different. Last time was all action and comedy. This time, Mob Psycho takes a more somber, character driven tone, and I love it. So that said, let’s dive in!

Like I said, this week Mob Psycho was much more subdued than previous episodes. There were very few flashy lights or pretty sequences, instead focusing almost entirely on Mob’s character development. Since Reigen is with Mob virtually all the time, it also helps build his character as well. A sort of 2 for 1 deal. Personally, I loved it. It really helps Mob Psycho be more than just another Shounen series. This character focus makes the action sequences mean so much more, especially since the biggest ones are tied to Mob’s emotional state. Gives it a depth that other series can’t reach. With all that said though, how about we hop into some specifics now?

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Winter 2019 Summary – Week 2

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Weekly Summary

Welcome to the new weekly section where I will cover current season’s shows that I’m still following that haven’t been blogged by us, the leftovers so to speak. That way readers who watch these shows below can keep tabs on how we feel about them. At the moments aside from the top tiers shows we blogged, there are 7 other shows in which I will drop 2 in the next week depending how they perform. Ideally this post will be at the beginning of the week. Without further ado, let’s jump in

Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue. (ep02)

Doukyonin is a healing show. Well, it’s a different kind of healing show where the two lonely individuals try their best effort to understand each other. It offers you a specific kind of mood and the second episode is a worthy follow-up to its premiere. Structure-wise, it follows the same pattern as the first where we at first follow the writer’s point of view before switching back to the cat. What makes it enjoyable is that the show nails its tone from start to finish. I enjoy the little gags of everyone keeps asking Subaru about his cat’s name and what makes this episode work so well is how the cat thinks totally differently from what we assume (Haru means food, simple as that), yet in the larger picture it just fits. Doukyonin is sweet and pleasant.

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Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai – 02 [The Wandering Six]

by SuperMario, posted in Finished Series: Action, Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai

Many of you might wonder why I decided to blog this show, despite the first episode spent two third of its time in one single aerial combat, which can be fascinating to watch but bring extremely little to talk about. While I agree that Kotobuki has its fair share of underwhelming aspects (which I will get to that later), it’s the presentation so far that makes it unlike any other show this season. First, it’s a new project from veteran director Tsutomu Mizushima, whose has directed a modern classic Shirobako, but perhaps is more well-known for his own take on genre-anime, to a varying degree of success, such as Girls und Panzers, Another, Mayoiga, Prison School and xxxholic.

Kotobuki’s premise reminds us strongly to Girls und Panzers especially, being another cut girls with military vehicle. So far it does well to differentiate itself from Panzers. The CG visual, for example, is a bold decision and so far it’s a hit-or-miss for me. Whenever it’s CG planes hitting each other it’s a delight to watch and hear. It’s also worth mentioning that Mizushima himself is in charge of the sound mixing, and sound in Kotobuki is anything less than spectacular. When the bullets the air jet, for instance, we can hear the metal sound clashing instead of explosions like other anime tend to do. The CG character designs, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired. Generally they look okay, not in the same level of Sanizgen’s designs, but not awful either. But the moments their faces move or we have a close-up from lower angle, the CG is distracting and it looks jarring and unnatural.

Narrative-wise, it’s another bold decision of Kotobuki to throw the introduction / info dump parts down the sewer drain. As a result we pick up the information as they go along, usually with rapid-fire and heaps of talking. While normally I enjoy these kinds of narrative choice, it does it at the cost of the characters themselves given the fact that I can only remember 2 or 3 characters at best and the rest is just blurred somewhere in the background. It’s certainly the show that demands our attention through its natural and quick dialogues to pick up pieces of information or character’s traits through what they say and act. Finally, Kotobuki seems to make up its mind that their central of focus is the lengthy sequence of battles on the sky and in that respect the show fulfils its beautifully. The combats are well choreographed, sometimes it can be a bit difficult to follow but it’s always success of pulling you into the atmosphere.

In term of plot, so far we learn about this Kotobuki squad that consist of 6 female team members, which Kirie and Chika are the ones who tend to do things on their impulse. In this episode Kotobuki attempts to flesh out its world building by investigating the fact that the loss of its industrial cause many abandoned cities. There’s also something going on beyond our team’s knowledge given the squads they were up against are skilled and wasn’t on the mere amateurish level, which for me this win feels like one step forward before a big regression in the future. Kotobuki’s aesthetics might be a hit-and-miss so far, but it still remains a fun action show full of spectacular moments.