Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara – 07 [The Burden of Venus]

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

And with this episode, my patience for Irozuku has started to run dry. It’s that, I learn very little about about them this week. The plot is on the standstill and it’s a whiplash that the cliffhanger for last week, namely Hitomi can see in colors, reverses back to the status quo. Which begs me a question on why they did that (gave her a brief moment of colorful sight) in the first place. Since the episode where Kohaku comes back home, all they have been doing are club activities that add next to nothing to the plot, in fact it feels as if our cast is in search for a plot. This week, Irozuku focuses on a side character, Kurumi and her little growing-up crisis. There’s some neat material here and there, as I can relate to her feeling inferior towards her older sister, and her issues of not having anything she could give her all to. But all this doesn’t necessary work out well in the end, given how little we know about her sister, or even herself, for that matter. Irozuku also develops the chemistry between her and Chigusa, her underclassman who is obviously has a thing for her, but the way Irozuku shows it leave a lot to be desired.

This issue is the show’s overall issue. For a show that is supposed to be a character-focus, Irozuku’s cast is underwhelming. They aren’t that deep and they act like one group’s personality most of the time. These characters are given space to develop only when the show decides to do so. Take Chigusa this week for example, normally he’s the most out-there character, but this episode because it’s Kurumi-focus so the show gives a lot of screen time for him and underplays other characters’ involvement. He has some nice chemistry with Kurumi, admittedly, but for me it doesn’t feel enough. That climax where they all run to catch up the ship (when they could easily take the pics on the other side of the bridge), tells you exactly all these problems. The group, smiles as they go along with Chigusa’s sudden decision, and at the end I feel like it wasted its 20 minutes.

Hitomi and Aoi takes one small step forward this week, as Aoi gives her the painting he’s currently working on. I don’t know why the show downplays the moment, and I’m sure as heck don’t know the significance of her telling her friends the truth about her colorblind. Look, she only has two secrets: that she’s colorblind and she comes from the future. When the group acted with little surprise and and treated her literally like nothing happen, I can see that this reveal ain’t going to affect them much. Which brings me to the next point: goddamnit Irozuku, make something, anything, happens. There’s a line between gradually build up and nothing moves at all. Irozuku for now, is too afraid to move the plot forward.

Banana Fish – 19 [Ice Palace]

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

Another week, another episode of Banana Fish, this time with 100% more depression! This week Ash starts to break, Yut gets what he wants and Eiji steps up to the plate. Lets jump in!

So in general, this week was weird for me pacing wise. Certain sections felt slow while others passed at a blistering pace. This week alone hit multiple plot points and resolved them in the same episode. No doubt this is an effect of the sheet size of Banana Fish’s manga and how much is getting adapted for this series. I enjoy that there isn’t much downtime, something is always happening in Banana Fish. But we have no idea what or how much is getting cut. If anyone has any idea how much is being cut, then please let me know down below. I am very curious how this adaptation is doing on that front. Now though, let’s get into details, cause a lot happened.

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Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai – 07[Adolescence Paradox]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai

So we are on to the next arc and the next girl with adolence syndrome and while I give this series credit for breaking LN cliches, I feel like we could have the cast not be predominantly female. Well at least they are not all in love with the main character so I can give it a pass. Well unlike the cliffhanger last episode would suggest, the next girl is not Shoku but is instead our resident science girl, Futaba.(This is the second glasses girl I encountered recently who is named Futaba. Odd.) Our adolescent syndrome factor this time is that Futaba now has an identical clone whose going around living her life. The science explanation for this one happens to be quantum teleportation where in it seems that Futaba’s cell structure was duplicated and teleported somewhere else but this seems like a rather flimsy comparison to be blunt. The cause for her particular bout this time seems fairly obvious in that the past few episodes have established that she is madly in love with Sakuta’s friend but cannot make a move on him due to him having a girlfriend. Personally I think the guy should dump that trash he calls a girlfriend and get with science girl but perhaps this arc can give more development to his girlfriend so that I don’t want to punch her face in every time I hear her voice.

These two Futaba’s appear to be in the most part identical in both looks and personality. The defining difference her is that copy Futaba appears to be making an effort to pretty herself up a bit having switched to contacts and most noticeably, posting risque pictures to twitter. I admitly am having difficulty to understanding just why she is doing that but perhaps it’s some sort of confidence thing wherein she gets a thrill over people commenting on her looks.If I had to guess I would think that copy Futaba is the real one and has decided to take on a more aggressive stance to catching Kunimi’s attention but her mind is in two places about the idea which cause her to split in the first place.

Mai and Sakuto remain a pretty great couple with some excellent banter and I really like how their relationship is developing despite Mai not being the focus of the arc. But I really hope that small moment of her talking about her boyfriend to her producer doesn’t lead to what I think it might. I swear if I see some nonsense like her not being able to stay “Professional” due to having a boyfriend then I will have to strangle something. As a final note, the moment of ptsd Sakuto’s sister had when Mai’s phone rang really does leave a strong impression with how much her previous incident traumatized her. One moment is enough to show just why Sakuto threw his phone into the river. But of the love of god girl please stop with the incest jokes. I figured you aren’t serious but after long years of anime cliche I can never be 100% certain to rule out incest.

Planetes – 9 & 10 [Regrets/A Sky of Stardust] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Planetes, Throwback Thursday

Ah Planetes, one of the few things I look forward to every week since starting this. This time we have a number of background characters coming back in, Space continues to kill and Yuri gets some character. Lets jump in!

Planetes actually managed to surprise me this week, if I am being honest. I was not expecting the opening segment of the first episode to actually be relevant. Nor for Hachimaki’s previously unnamed mentor to re-enter the series. But continuing its streak of introducing or expanding on a new character each week, that is precisely what Planetes did. I will get into more depth on each of them later on, but right now I want to talk about a pattern I am noticing. Planetes keeps introducing these characters for one-off episodes, while still not having a central plot to advance. This makes me think that all of these characters are going to come back in the 2nd half. Aiding in whatever the final arc is. It’s a clever strategy, since it saves time on introductions in the future. I just hope Planetes manages to juggle them all well.

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Thunderbolt Fantasy 2 – 06-07 [A Poisoner’s Pride/ Bewitching Whispers]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Thunderbolt Fantasy

My apologies that I missed a post last week, it’s not due to the lack of interest of Thunderbolt given the show is as exciting as ever, but more about my hectic life. These past two episodes have many game-changing events, and many Gui Niao’s wittiest lines and expressions to boost. The moment the Vapewiz puts his finger to his cheek I know the show loses none of its charms. In episode 6, the monk Di Kong becomes more prominent into this whole affair. As we predicted, the monk can prove to be an interesting villain, given how immoral he is. That is not to say he loves to wreak havoc or seeks out for fame and power like the villains in the first season. It’s that he has no sense of judgement and justice and has no value of human life (even his own), and that could prove very dangerous if he falls for the wrong cause, or simply, if he can’t find the right path to lead.

When he meets our team Shang Bu Huan and Lang Wu Yao who are in pursuit of Princess Cruelty (more on her later), he decides not to help out our guys. That sets off the evil-detector of Lang Wu Yao, and he’s in killing mode again – or as Gui Niao puts it, it’s hard to deal with a person who doesn’t talk. Well, he might be right to assume that Di Kong will be dangerous, but there’s no way he can just blast off and determined on destroying people like that. Later on, he “sweet-talks” our Princess Cruelty (more like completely destroy her ego but you know what I mean) into re-access her whole philosophy of life. Well played, dude.

Speaking of the female assassin, she’s vulnerable in every possible way. Beaten down by her enemy Shang Bu Huan, backstabbed and got sword-stolen from the corrupted cop, and now the monk mind-fucking her ego, she does what a loyal dog would do: bring the antique sword back to her Master. For a ruthless villain who only has a single mission of killing our hero, strangely I really feel for her struggles there. And that’s important that we feel sympathy for her because it justifies her action much later, which moves the plot in an interesting way: she’s drawing the Seven Blasphemous Deaths and ho boy, what a sword!! It enslaves the wielder and draws everyone’s desire once they look at it, and gain ultimate power with the blood it slays. While now, it proves to be the ultimate hazzard for our heroes, I still kind of feel bad for Scorpion girl. She won’t get out of this alive.

On the other side of the battle, that cheeky Gui Niao has his next target, the glassed cop. Curiously enough, that Dirty Cop has gained some valuable information about the Enigmatic Gale, which honestly make this game way more interesting now that they are on the same level. My biggest pleasure is to see Gui Niao fishes the information out of Shang Bu Huan, and honestly seeing their vibrant chemistry as they bounce back and forth it brings a warm feeling to me (and that fishing scene is pretty awesome too). This mind game between two unpredictable figures could prove to be as interesting as the devil Sword. Also special shout out for weapons that not only can talk, they make much more sense than the human counterparts. Thunderbolt is charging ahead in full gear now. There’s no stopping this puppet train now.

ps: why do people still hesitate on regarding Thunderbolt as anime?

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 7 [Bear Your Fangs at the Summit]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Welcome one and all! This week in Kaze Fui we meet the final boss, Kurahara gets a reality check and our team runs their first track meet! Lets jump in!

To start off, I have to say I loved the feel of Kaze Fui this week. Vague, I know, but hear me out. Kaze Fui did a great job with the atmosphere of the track meet. Everyone stretching, running, preparing. There was an air of tension as we jumped between some competitors. It also built on our character’s a bit with how they all reacted to it. Nico seeming to feel at home, Musa panicking, and Prince reading. All in all, well done there I feel. Kaze Fui also shined this week with the running animations, the 2D ones at least. Crunchy-Roll dimmed the scenes a bit sadly, but what we got still looked gorgeous. Their long limbs flowed and their hair tossing in the wind as they ran was fantastic. It’s only failure was the wide-shot CGI, which detracted from a number of scenes. At least the characters worked.

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Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-San – 6 [The Man with a Secret Power/Our Fair-Day War]

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

Welcome fellow book lovers, to another dip into Honda-San! This week was a bit dull as we learn about the difficulties of stocking, but the second half manages to pick it back up. Lets jump in!

So overall this week of Honda-San was pretty disappointing for me. Like usual it had some good gags in there, but nothing has yet to match up to the first episode. Take the first segment of this week for example. It was interesting for a bit. We learned about stocking books, and the magic of the Distribution department. But the jokes simply weren’t funny. It conveyed more technical knowledge than it did humor. The best part of it was the segment with the older customer and their love of a now deceased author. It was sweet, and something I am sure happens. But Honda-San is a sketch comedy series, and the comedy this week was simply not there.

The second segment was better. Once again the festival aspect, since we don’t have book store festivals in the West really, fell flat. However the turnabouts with the book-marks was humorous. Customer’s doing a complete 180 once they find out there was no problem at all. Then Honda basically being dead on his feet. There was some great visual comedy going on. I have said it time and again, but Honda-San is at it’s strongest when dealing with customers. I enjoy the rest of the cast, but every time we focus on them or the back, it’s more technical than anything else. The one time we focused on the back that was funny was the sketch about BL and porn. The reason that one worked was because the focus wasn’t on the technical aspect either.

All in all, while I still don’t think Honda-San wasted my time, it could be a lot better. It makes me very glad that the series is only an 11 minute short, as it would fall apart in larger formats. As is, Honda-San was just short enough that I managed to stick it through until it got amusing this week.

But what do you think? Is Honda-San losing steam, or is my taste in comedy abysmal? Let me know below, and I will see you next week!

SSSS.GRIDMAN – 06 [Contact]

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

“They shouldn’t making episodes without kaiju in them “
It’s very cheeky of GRIDMAN to meta-comment on this episode, as indeed there isn’t any big fight between Gridman and kaiju monsters this week. We still get an introduction of new kaiju, however, and the fight in human forms. That’s the thing about GRIDMAN, it’s a show that knows full well all the formula of tokusatsu genre, and it does something interesting with these formulas. The main characteristic of GRIDMAN so far is minimalist. There isn’t a constant background music in this show but once it’s there, it matters. There isn’t too many people in the show (my favorite bits are the ones where the cast riding an empty public transportation), but once you see them, they have an impact to the story. Even the angles in which GRIDMAN places its shots are decidedly deceptive as hell, in a sense that if you look at certain scenes in another angle, that world might appear to be a different world.

And with this episode, this sense of “off” comes into the forefront. In an essence, this is a rather interesting episode, not only because it shakes up its own usual recipe, but that it connects different pairs, parallel them in an interchangeable way (the use of the same settings and same plot device for example) so that all the dots are linked at the end. We have 3 interweaving meet-up from our three main characters: Yuuta with the mysterious kaiju Anoshiras (his name isn’t mentioned in the episode); Rikka with Anti that proves to be a nice contrast with how Akane treats him; and finally Akane herself and Shou. The same motifs are there: they all eat something, while being surveillanced by a member of the Squad, down to Yuuta – Anoshiras eating the same bread at the same place in the same shot as Rikka and Anti moments ago. Now, normally I wouldn’t appreciate the info-dump from a side character to the main lead like the way Anoshiras spills the bean about the Akane’s true nature (it’s screenwriting 101 that the main protagonist has to work to gain info by himself), this reveal succeeds in two ways. First, now it’s the first time that the Good side is on the same level with Akane, now they have the same amount of information regarding each other’s secret. Second, this reveal opens up to more intriguing questions, and hint that the battles we’ve seen so far are maybe just a proxy war for something much bigger.

So the meat of the episode is that Yuuta (and us) come to a realization that the world they’re living in now is purely Akane’s creation. In the same way Haruhi constantly demolish and rewrites her world, but for Akane it’s consciously. She has a bitchy attitude when she wants to destroy everything that she finds annoying, and she has the power to do so. This episode reveals, however, that the mastermind behind all this isn’t Akane, but the figure who always talks to her on her computer screen. Now Akane’s role in the story changes rapidly. She might be just a victim of this guy’s manipulation so it could mean she joins the good side at the end (well, the OP highly suggests this). The mysterious kaiju, on the other hand, explicitly states that he isn’t created by Akane and he helps Yuuta because his master owned Yuuta a favor. The stakes are getting much higher now that another important piece comes into the picture. This could be a a game-changer that changes everyone’s role in the story, but let’s wait and see how well GRIDMAN deal with this new development.

Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara – 06 [Golden Fish]

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

Irozuku takes us to episode 6 for something significant happen, but even then it’s decidedly under-dramatic. This week, we have a whole lot more of magical moments that certainly are the feast to the eyes, and develop many underlying themes of its narrative. The central of the conflict this week is Hitomi and Aoi, as Hitomi unknowingly sucked into his painting world. The result is one of the most gorgeous sequences I’ve seen in recent memories. It’s abstract, it’s colorful and it’s painting-like that opens to a world of of its own. What makes it ticks, in addition, is how well these elements Hitomi sees bode well to Aoi’s creativity struggles. She sees herself in the vast desert, a dead golden fish that signifies Aoi’s creativity block. That fish, as Hitomi soon finds out, was Aoi’s first creation way back to his junior year. She further sees a black figure who literally tries to recapture the fish, as he follows the fish he’s unknowingly sucked into the black hole. Once again, Irozuku triumphs in its visual department that speaks so well to the theme that its writing can’t never match. Indeed, once again, it’s the visual presentation – not the narrative Irozuku has been building up to – that grabs me the most in this episode.

The best scene that comes right to my mind is the image of the black figure. His back bends because of the burden he feels, and as he approaches the dead golden fish, it’s clear that he has lost sight to the big picture. The later magical sequences when Hitomi sees that golden fish again, and suddenly regains her color are also spectacular in every possible way. It’s the narrative that is still not quite there for me. Again, we have another moments where Shou having some time alone with Hitomi, in which again our poor girl Asagi just happens to be there to witness the whole thing. Again we have club activities that move the story very, very slowly. I also feel that Aio’s issues don’t really connect to me on a personal level due to how little screen time we have regarding the boy. Aio’s struggle always have to do with Hitomi’s own growth so he never really resonates to me in any way.

Nevertheless, Irozuku develops that Aoi – Hitomi relationship quite neatly this week. Aoi has his first conflict with our girl, more because it’s too personal for him to face those issues, and it’s clear by now that Hitomi has some feeling to the boy. Later on, when Hitomi runs away (in a stupid manner I have to add), Aoi chases her down and promises he will get over his own issues and shows her his new painting once it’s finished. That promise, I suspect, is what cause Hitomi seeing the world in colors again. As this is the first time for a long while that she’s truly experiencing life. In this case, experiencing first love.

Zombieland Saga – 04-06[Warming Dead SAGA/The Nice Bird SAGA in Your Heart/Because It’s Sentimental SAGA]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Zombieland Saga

Forgive me for my lack of coverage on this series but you may have guessed that my enthusiasm for it has died down considerably. I always felt that Zombieland Saga was in danger of losing what made it great in its first two episodes and sadly that has come to pass. This show has ultimately become that which it wished to parody. I will preface this by saying that at least the show hasn’t become bad for it’s still pretty watchable and decently enjoyable. But the spark that was in the first two episodes has sadly died out with this show is not having any more surprises under its sleeve. We have a bit of a formula created with each episode starting with Miyano the necroducer doing his jam and introducing the episodes gimmick. Sadly the freestyle performances are gone and we have gone straight idol much to my dismay. With the comedy generally being hijinks related to them nearly being found out to be zombies.

So far the group dynamic seems to have saved the show as it is somewhat interesting to see how they individually interact with whatever they face. Yugiri i find the most fascinating as she is essentially from a completely different time period and has more or less decided to just roll with whatever is going on. She has no real idea how to approach anything so she just goes with whatever she knows and hopes for the best. The latest episode does bring up an interesting point between the conflicting nature of old and new idol culture represented by Junko and Ai’s conflicting views. With Junko representing the old style of keeping an idol at a distance where Ai is more on the modern end with a Idol interacting with her fans on a more personal level. While the show looks like it’s going to push Junko towards Ai’s perspective but I gotta say that she’s got a pretty good point. The barrier between idol and fanbase is important as it’s a reminder of the positions of the two but with the advent of the internet and social media, idols are encouraged to close that gap between the two. Ultimately what AI is talking about is fostering parasocial relationships which isn’t a good thing because it’s predatory to the fanbase and absolutely life ruining for the idol.

There does seem to be more intrigue into the circumstances as well for despite the comedic nature of the show there are some oddly dark aspects here. In particular the means which the nercoducer keeps the girls there seems oddly restrictive with them not allowed access to the internet or otherwise. How he managed to get all this girls corpses as well is certainly a point of question as they all seem to have died in a variety of ways. With it revealed that Junko died in a plane accident while Ai went out in the most metal way possible by being struck by lightning while performing. If she was in a rock band instead of an idol group that would be the most legendary way to die. The next episode holds the cliffhanger of her possibly meeting her old idol group which is certainly a reaction I want to see. i mean dying by lightning and then returning from the dead to perform again? Seriously if Ai wasn’t an idol singer this would be one legendary badass comeback. I really do miss the spontaneous nature of the show as it looks like I won’t be getting the Thriller performance and the narrative does look to be going in a more sincere and serious direction than I would have liked. It’s my hope that at least it doesn’t downgrade itself further or maybe brings back a moment of the potential it had in the beginning before it reaches it’s end.