Planetes – 17 & 18 [His Reasons/Debris Sections Last Day] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Planetes, Throwback Thursday

Hello and welcome to another week of Throwback Thursday, with Planetes! This time Planetes drops it’s greater themes for some character drama, but brings it back with one big hurrah for our team. Lets jump in!

In general, I wasn’t particularly impressed by this week. Every week I am waiting for something definitive to happen. For the series to kick into some final arc. And every week it gives us another character focused piece. Yeah, we moved forward a bit this week, but it just feels slow. The cast at this point is huge, and I just don’t understand why Planetes is still introducing new characters. I feel like it would be better spent focusing on the ones we have. There were glimpses of that, Gigalt has become an important recurring character, and the Ninja’s showed up for a brief moment. We even saw the return of the 3rd Division Chief, who I was sure would be a one off villain. When these instances happen, I love it. I love the callbacks and consistency. But the stream of weekly new characters concerns me.

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Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 11 [Overflowing Drops]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Hello and welcome to the last week of Kaze Fui for 2018! This time Shindo gets dumped, the team rallies behind him and Kurahara catches an older mans eye. Lets jump in!

First off, lets get the elephant out of the room. That’s right folks, no Kaze Fui until January 8th. Looks like they are taking a break between seasons. It’s not unusual for the Holidays, but it does mean less pretentious blog posts from yours truly. That out of the way, onto the actual anime. This was the first week Kaze Fui failed to ‘WOW’ me. It’s not bad by any stretch, I still love it. But it feels like the series knows about the 3 week break and is choosing to calm down for a moment before the Holidays. We got some development of Shindo, and it was good. We also get to see our team come together, even Kurahara joining in, to comfort him. But there were no big revelations or big paradigm shifts like the last few episodes. Maybe that’s for the best though.

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Thunderbolt Fantasy 2 – 11 [The Dignity of Evil]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Thunderbolt Fantasy

This week we see something that rarely happens: Gui Niao is in a fault mood. As it turns out, this little war between Enigmatic Gale and Dirty Cop is more about the Vape Wiz’s ego rather than the Glassed Boy. The usually collected-Gui Niao shows off a whole range of emotions this episode: from being a complete troller (his exaggerated reaction when he heard the “news” is priceless) to bewildered and finally frustrated with Dirty Cop’s decision. Everything goes according to Enigmatic Gale, but one thing that he hadn’t taken into account is that Dirty Cop has stooped so slow, he has no such “pride” whatsoever. Things go against his plan, his life is ruined but he shakes it off and moves on. Well, Gui Naio being a boy with huge ego, who enjoys crushing other boys’ huge ego, is taken a big backlash that he doesn’t want anything to do with Dirty Cop. Well, I must say while this turn of event is silly at best, it’s always welcomed to see the weak side of Gui Niao, the guy who live or die by humiliating other people.

It’s also very welcomed to see the ex-spear wielder now-swordsman Juan Can Yun from the first season back, now more responsible and all. Our Shang Bu Huan decides to leave the sword index to his old comrade, so that he can come back and fight against the evil sword, which for me is a very Shang Bu Huan thing to do. What cracks me up, however, is that the blonde one-eyed dude can hold the sword index… for a week. I mean, to walk into the hiding place, it already takes that amount of time. That aside, it provides a deadline for Shang Bu Huan to do his thing and come back to claim the sword index. Gotta say though, it still feels wrong the way Juan Can Yun wields a sword from his wife instead of his trademark spear.

Our Ginger Singer has an encounter with the Monk and his wife Sword, and I count it lucky when he can escape that fight without losing his life. He had a death flag all over when he decided to pursuit the villain alone, but I guess he’s too beloved to be killed off just like this. Apparently, he only appears in the side story, but because Gen Urobuchi loves his character so much he includes the bloke to this sequel. The way he fights based purely on his hearing proves to be a formidable thread for the Monk, but he himself is wise enough to deceive our Singer. At the moment, it feels like the last retreat before an all-out war, with pretty much everyone cools down or power up right now before the climax. This episode isn’t a game changer or anything, but it still maintains the endless fun of seeing these larger than life characters act and bounce off each other.

Banana Fish – 22 [As I Lay Dying]

by Lenlo, posted in Banana Fish, Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama

Welcome to what is, to me, a very contentious episode of Banana Fish. This time Blanca gets sentimental, Ash learns Japanese, and Eiji sets Ash on a Warpath through no fault of his own. Let’s dive in!

Overall, this was a good episode. It flipped everything on its head and, assuming Banana Fish doesn’t backpedal on it next week, really committed to it. With what has happened to Max and Eiji this week, it goes without saying that stake’s haven’t been higher than when Shorter was done in. Banana Fish also really slowed itself down pacing wise this week as well. For the past few episodes, we have burned through content at a breakneck pace. Freeing Ash, right into another gun-fight, into being captured again. This episode Banana Fish freed Ash and then gave the characters some much needed downtime. Establishing the final stakes and their relationships. With 2 episodes left, to clean up the series and give us some kind of epilogue with the double length finale, this is a good thing. Now, onto specifics!

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Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara – 10 [Monochromatic Crayon]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara

Irozuku, as meandering as it always is, has some stunning sequences this episode. It furthers proves the fact that 1) the magical sequence is where Irozuku really takes off and 2) its strength always come from its visual department, not in the storytelling. Take the sequence where Aoi steps into Hitomi’s dream, for example. He sees the young Hitomi keeps drawing pictures of her and Mama drifting apart. As he draws several ways of her crossing the middle gap, she silently throws them away – refusing to accept at all. This single scene speaks to her insecurity and her afraid of using magic more than the last 9 episodes had ever conveyed. Or the image of stone-Hitomi gives you a good idea how she blocks away her own emotions. These scenes speak to the same strengths of Aoi’s dream back in episode 6 and I would argue that this is Irozuku at its best.

Another highlight for this week is when the club goes into the drawing that Aoi made. Not only the background designs alone are stunning, but its vivid colors help greatly of making that setting inviting and rich at the same times. It certainly reminds me a great deal of Mary Poppins when our characters flying away by using umbrellas, and the rainbow looks great as well. Before that, Hitomi also shines by committing to practise the spells of transferring them into the drawing/ pictures. Her fallen out/ reconcile with Asami doesn’t do much for me, unfortunately. It’s awkward to begin with, Irozuku approaches it way too clumsily and it has nothing interesting to offer to the table.

We now learn the reason behind Hitomi feeling afraid of using magic. Her mother (which will be Kohaku’s daughter) can’t use magic, which is a rare case in her family. The little Hitomi believes, thus blames herself, that it’s her performing magic was the main reason that her Mom left her. I would say that the stress causes her to lose the ability to see colors as well. It’s a sad little story (albeit still cliche) for sure, and it’s good to see her opening up to Aoi. Now that she can truly express the emotions she kept bottling up inside her, she’s (and by effect, us) facing the more important question: what is her true purpose of going back in this timeline? It’s about the goddamn time Irozuku needs to address it, shouldn’t it?

SSSS.GRIDMAN – 10 [Collapse]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, SSSS.GRIDMAN

After a crucial episode last week where GRIDMAN reached its highest bar to date, it’s understandable that everything that follows it would be a letdown. Nothing in this new episode can beat the moment Akane jumped off the crane last week in terms of sketching her depression. This episode is where the entire cast goes through some sort of existential crisis. Yuuta, Rikka and Shou are processing the thoughts that they might be some sort of non-playable characters, being created and programmed to in the service of Akane. The Neon Genesis Squad is also going through their own Gridman’s identity – are they Gridman themselves or just parts of it. Anti goes through crisis regarding his kaiju origin and finally, Akane for her very purpose of creating this world in the first place. Akane receives the most damage as it stands, but it doesn’t help us that the episode doesn’t get into her own point of view, as a result we’re more like observer from outside looking in. Nor does we gain any more characteraction from Yuuta, Shou and especially Rikka this week.

So, let’s start with the end of this episode, where we have a surprised cliffhanger: Akane takes the matter into her own hands. Yuuta gets stabbed, but I don’t think that’s the end of him, considering he might not be a real person to begin with. His backstory has always been fishy, and his life starts after the amnesia. Although we learn that he had some history with Rikka before his mind went blank, for Yuuta himself and for us, the audience, it might as well just be the memories planted by Akane. Although it’s now fair to say that Akane is the goddess of this world, there are still many elements that go beyond her knowledge, namely the existence of Gridman. Whether it’s Alexis who brings Gridman to this world, or possibly the wise kaiju girl who did it, still remain a mystery. By having her confronting Gridman head on, we might know then the reason behind all that, and even the long-awaited Akane’s backstory that has been hinted throughout the show’s run.

Anti sure is busy this week, and I’d say that it’s kind if abrupted the way he switches side from Gridman’s eternal enemy to GridKnight, Gridman’s sidekick. He has another encounter with Akane, where Akane finally acknowledges him, not as a kaiju, but a living thing with beating heart because “kaiju can read people’s heart”; so it’s up to him to find his own purpose. And yes he did by fighting against Gridman at first, then fighting to protect Gridman, all in the span of 10 minutes. The kaiju battles, in keeping with GRIDMAN’s tradition, are colorful, well-animated, short and sweet. The first one, the half-formed murk of clay, represents Akane’s half-hearted attempt since she’s in no mind to create kaiju anymore; but the second one is the manifestation of Akane’s heart: powerful, unpredictably and proves to be Gridman’s greatest threat, until Anti – argubly the only one who understands Akane the best, beats her. Not that she gives any of these much thought, anyway.

Still, there are some little moments that I greatly enjoyed throughout the episode. One of those is how whimsical it is that the gang decides to go to Akane’s house to confront her, and literally walks to the house next door (kudos to Amagi who picked it up as early as episode 2); or these side characters that were based on Amemiya’s previous web novel. We lost a bit of Rikka’s charm lately, unfortunately (those moments regarding Rikka going through her normal life remain my favorite parts of GRIDMAN), and I hope the show close off on a high note. One thing for sure, GRIDMAN can still manage to surprise us, and I believe it still has some cards close to its chest to pull that feat off.

Planetes – 15 & 16 [In Her Case…/Ignition] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Planetes, Throwback Thursday

Hello and welcome to perhaps the most intense week of Planetes yet. This time our Temp Worker gets some history and Hachimaki develops space PTSD. Let’s dive in!

Off the bat, I want to apologize again for this being late. Work and doing 4 shows at once has slowed me down a bit. That said, for these episodes, I thought one was fantastic and the other serviceable. It should be rather obvious which is which. When Planetes focuses on its bigger themes, of borders and space, it’s fantastic. But this week the focus on a side character with barely 2 lines an episode, while not bad, simply wasn’t up to snuff. I will get into more detail in just a moment, but the fact is, it was simply too little to late for her character. We are more than half-way in now, we have a strong and fleshed out cast. Why are we introducing the backstory of a character who has done basically nothing until now? It boggles the mind.

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Goblin Slayer – 09[There and Back Again]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Goblin Slayer

We reach the end of the water town arc and Goblin Slayer killed some goblins. I am not sure what else I expected. I must say that animation wise for a series heavily focused on action, the action itself is rather static. Sadly some of the more impactful panels of the manga were cut from the adaption and I find that whenever Goblin Slayer kicks into gear, the action itself is rather flaccid. Take note that this is mainly whenever the Goblin Slayer himself starts fighting as when other characters fight the action is fine. The conclusion to the final fight is rather simple with Goblin Slayer causing a cave in and using the gateway mirror as a shield to protect them. I felt that he could have at least killed the champion orc just for finality sake as this does feel like a bit of an anticlimax to the whole arc with what could be considered the main villain getting killed offscreen.

So that last conversation between Goblin Slayer and Sword maiden was a confusing one and likely an explanation is needed as even I had trouble following it. The basic rundown is this, the demon lord sect, the one that was previously shown being defeated by the hero in a previous episode, set up a mirror under water town which would transport goblins under the town. The only killed some women in the town to gain the attention of the Sword Maiden. Now if it was known that the women in the town were killed by the demon Lord sect then that would mean that Sword maiden would be forced to go into the sewers to confront the goblins and due to Sword Maidens PSTD she was absolutely terrified of goblins. So Sword maiden blamed the killings in town on Goblins, hoping this would push the army into mobilizing against them. Unfortunately the army deemed that goblins were not worth dealing with which left Sword maiden in a bad position. She set her familiar(The alligator) down in the sewers to prevent adventures from stumbling into the place and stop Goblins from advancing further. Then she heard of Goblin Slayer and set about hiring him to take care of the goblins for her.

This whole conversation was certainly misleading as on hearing it myself I was mistaking it for Sword Maiden placing the mirror down in the sewers in order to show people the threat of Goblins? When in reality it was just Sword Maiden admitting to lying about the demon sect just so she would avoid facing goblins. This would be a first where I say that White Fox messed up in regards to conveying the situation. But I will say that Sword maidens fear and desperation were portrayed a lot better her than in the bedroom where she finds solace in the Goblin Slayer promising to always be there to hunt goblins, even in her nightmares. Well we are reaching the final arc of the series and to give an early verdict on it, it’s fine. I appreciate White Fox’s efforts to tone down the rape aspect but frankly the story itself is just a bit too simple for my liking. There is only so long I can watch a man kill goblins.

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteru – 10 [Our Speed]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Welcome one and all, to the most wholesome episode of Kaze Fui yet. This week Prince and Kurahara finally connect, Hana cooks dinner and a track meet comes to a curious end. Lets jump in!

Kaze Fui continues strong this week, not content to sit back and simply milk Haiji’s condition. No, instead of spending an entire episode hemming and hawing about it, Kaze Fui focuses instead on its consequences. We see how Kurahara does truly step up to lead, and learns in the process. The rest of the dorm also got to see just how much Haiji did for them. From the twins and Hana cooking, to Shindo and Yuki with leading their exercises. I liked how Kaze Fui spread out the effect of Haiji’s sickness to hit each of them. Yes, Kurahara and Prince are the central figures of the episode, but Kaze Fui didn’t forget the rest of the cast. And its details like that which make me love each and every member of the cast.

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Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-San – 9 [A Book about Life, Death, and Rebirth]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Comedy, Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-San

Hello and welcome to perhaps the best week of Honda-San yet. This time we get one long skit, clever writing and well mixed in education. All in a 10 minute package! Lets jump in.

To me, this was the best episode of Honda-San since the first. The gags were clever and the single topic allowed for them to build on each other. For instance the topic of the week was the Life Cycle of a Book. Had this been a normal 5 minute segment, we would have gotten maybe a single joke on each part of the cycle. Surface level at best. Instead, this longer time span let Honda-San hit each from both the comedy and educational sides. For instance I had no idea about “dead books”, that got eventually removed from the shelves. I just assumed they sat there are got sent to the back, until they sold. But that it is actually a struggle, and someone is in charge of making that decisions? And that it was presented in such a funny way? Fantastic.

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