Summer Season 2018 Preview

by AidanAK47, posted in Seasonal Previews

Like a backup singer coming on to do an encore, the summer season rolls in to leave us rather underwhelmed. Not to say there isn’t anything here as there are certainly two or three that I consider quite important, but after that Spring season any follow up is bound to disappoint. Some shows may have tripped along the finish line but it was a season bound to be remembered with quite a few shows that stood out. The summer season has some potential but I feel like it will be good R&R for those of us that fell behind on shows from the last season.

Usual rules still apply, I check out whatever source material I can and see what we might be in for. Poll is below where you can vote for the shows you would like to get covered this season, though take note that even if you vote Attack on Titan season 3 to the top, I am still not covering it. Maybe someone else will but I sure am not going to.

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What will you be watching this fall?
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Thanks to Wooper and Mario for contributing to the blurbs and for gathering the images. You know what you are here for so let’s get things started.

 

 

The sequels/Shorts I don’t care about

Ani ni Tsukeru Kusuri wa Nai! 2 (short)

Aru Zombie Shoujo no Sainan (ONA)

Baki (ONA)

Gintama.: Shirogane no Tamashii-hen 2 (sequel)

Free! Dive to the Future (sequel)

Joshiochi! 2-kai kara Onna no Ko ga… Kudattekita (short)

Marvel Future Avengers 2nd Season (sequel)

One Room 2nd Season (sequel)

Overlord III (sequel)

The iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls Theater 3rd Season (sequel)

Hataraku Onii-san! No 2! (short)

Neko Kikaku (ONA)

Oshiete Mahou no Pendulum: Rilu Rilu Fairilu (sequel)

Yakusoku no Nanaya Matsuri (ONA)
Yama no Susume: Third Season (sequel)

Yami Shibai 6 (sequel)

 

 

Series I don’t care about

 

Aguu: Tensai Ningyou

Studio: Studio DEEN

Director: Bob Shirohata

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Web Manhua

Ai is an ordinary girl, and a dancer. Her friend Machi is also a dancer, but Machi is a genius. Watching Machi’s talent often makes Ai feel down. But one day, Ai finds out Machi’s secret: the existence of the Aguu, palm-size entities who grant genius talent upon those who hold them. In order to save Machi, who has become a “Seamstress” who makes Aguu, Ai becomes a “Savior.” The Saviors are a group of people who have fought the Seamstresses for generations.

 

I can’t say I have encountered that many memorable Web Manhua. I think maybe Dice, The Gamer and Tower of God were ones I followed for quite a while but they all basically got worse as they continued. Funnily enough there was an awful lot of what we called pornhua where it was web manga which has a focus of a lot of sex scenes. Obviously this doesn’t fall into that category but I am just stating that I haven’t really encountered a manhua that made me wish for an anime adaption. Got no source for this one but I just get the feeling this won’t be on anyone’s radar. Director did Gravitation and Hetalia so indeed this doesn’t quite make me think this will defy expectations. Props to Deen for picking something unconventional but I think they went a bit too far off base for this one. We shall see how this turns out.

 

Back Street Girls

Studio: J.C. Staff

Director: Chiaki Kon

Script/Series composer: Susumu Yamakawa

Source: Manga

A group of 3 yakuza failed their boss for the last time. After messing up an important job, the boss gave them 2 choices: honorably commit suicide, or go to Thailand to get a sex reassignment surgery in order to become “female” idols. After a gruesome year training to become idols, they successfully debut, with overwhelming popularity, much to their dismay. This is where their tragedy truly begins.

 

I would applaud anything that takes pot shots at the idol industry, and an anime about Yakuza going transvestite to sell themselves as idols certainly has novel factor. Sadly that’s about all it’s got as the one joke can’t carry a story. I am reminded of Mahou Shoujo Ore where the show was less about using an absurd situation to pull off jokes and more about pointing out the absurdity of a situation and telling us to laugh. Comedy requires change and one the reasons KonaSuba works so well is that it changes up things all the time and has a whole continuity to use as comedy fodder. Telling the same joke over and over again just results in the joke getting more stale with each telling and while this may interest people at first, I feel that after one or two episodes most viewers will have moved on.

Continue reading “Summer Season 2018 Preview” →

Darling in the Franxx – 23[DARLING in the FRANXX]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Darling in the Franxx

The longer this series goes on, the faster my goodwill disappears as this episode was terrible on many fronts. At this point I think we can admit that this series has been on a downward spiral since episode 19 and has only worsened with each subsequent episode. Part of the problem was 19 spilling all the beans on the world which it had kept relatively close to heart and the thing which truly sunk the ship was the introduction of VIRM. As I have thought over the events of the last few episodes, i have found that VIRM don’t really make much sense and as antagonists there goals and actions are just too vague and indistinct. Let us examine things by looking at their objective which is to pull all races into some sort of collective being and the question I have to that effect is…what is stopping them exactly? I mean I believe they just absorbed all the adults no bother and it doesn’t really seem like consent is an issue considering that the upper brass were not willing yet were absorbed regardless. So then, why can’t they absorb the children, nay why couldn’t they absorb the Klax when they first landed instead of asking for permission first and then going to war with them? What would winning a war even accomplish?

The second objective seems to be destroying Strelizia prime but again the only reason Prime exists is because they went to war with the Klax! I guess we could reason that in order to be absorbed they first need to get the race to enter those happiness machines they made but again if that was the case then why didn’t they take the same approach as they did humanity and infiltrate society to introduce the machines. I highly doubt that the Klax were the first to rebel against their intent. We spent the majority of the series with APE acting as the antagonists and they too were not great due to being faceless with vague motivations. However they still have a presence and mean something to the characters of the story. VIRM on the other hand is an unknown, faceless entity with a boring motivation that means nothing to the characters. As a villain they are literally nothing more than a plot device and they seem to hold no real threat having being beaten by the Klax and now being obliterated again with little effort. I just can’t see these guys as a legitimate threat, I mean they had Strelizia at their mercy for months and at best they only managed to scratch it. Our villains ladies and gentlemen, couldn’t even hurt an unarmed enemy for months on end.

But enough of that, what actually happened in this episode? Well this felt like three episodes all crushed into one as we had many a climatic development with none of it felt earned. We start the episode with the squad all playing around in Franxx in space..wait a minute.. how did they modify Franxx to fight in space without doctor Franxx? Oh I see Nana and Hachi (Wait a second, why the hell are you guys here? Aren’t you supposed to be on earth guiding all the children?) confirm that the Klax made it for them..wait…why would the Klax make space equipment for their enemies? No I don’t buy that bull about them somehow thinking that humanity would rise up and preparing equipment for that time. The Klax were fully committed to sorting this stuff themselves, the Klax queen made that very damn clear. Also they prepared a ship which is set to autopilot to Strezla prime(Then again, why are you here Nana and Hachi? If you aren’t driving the ship then what’s the point of being there? Moral support? To exposit that poor piece of justification for the space suits?)

Anyway the leader of the nines is acting as Hiro’s partner now to get him to Zero Two and oh no he sacrifices himself talking about how Hiro and the gang teaching them how to live…um sorry, when did that happen? Last I remember you were all throwing a hissy fit in the medical bay before you decide to go on this mission. Are you talking about those points you berated them for living like that? Wait Kokoro and Mitsuri suddenly love each other again? Zero Two pushed away Hiro and went off on her own despite being completely unable to move prime? Wait Zero Two’s body turned to stone? Wait Prime now is literally a giant Zero Two? Alright the mech science hasn’t being realistic for the whole series but at least it was consistent but this is just pure magic and makes no sense whatsoever. Wait you are planning a suicide attack on the alien homeworld by going through some gateway out of nowhere while using the Klax ship as a bomb? Can’t you launch it through the gate? Considering VIRM couldn’t make a dent in Prime I figure this won’t be much of a final battle. Oh no Hiro and Zero Two may never return and…again sorry I feel like I skipped to an emotional climax without any of the buildup.

Sigh. This episode was a mess. It feels unplanned and unjustified with all these nonsense story developments and sudden changes in tone to try and pull at your heartstrings. It’s feels like the writer wrote himself into a corner by introducing VIRM and now must work to resolve something that would take more than the last few episodes to resolve. Truthfully I question just how much of this story is planned for the episodes of the full series do play out haphazard and without strong continuity with an inconsistent level of quality. This last arc is mainly like a satire or homage to many other famous Mecha shows with none of the finality and with characters replaced with the Franxx cast. I just wonder what the point of it really was for I previously mentioned that Franxx could end in one of two ways, with the gang raising a new humanity or a final confrontation with VIRM. It was though they were going for a mixture but looks like they are going to cut out the final confrontation with VIRM after all and go right back to the setting up of new humanity. Franxx would need to pull out something real special to make all this worth it but considering the tend of these episodes, my expectations are certainly low.

Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory – 10[Onward, Onward]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory

Oh no. Well I suppose this was coming with all the news of this series troubles but it is disheartening to see it come to worst case scenario with the quality of this episode. This is the episode that announces without a doubt that this team is at the breaking point. Characters go off model several times, the animation get to levels of absurd with Sousuke running an obstacle course and his animation missing frames, audio errors like Sousuke kicking away a canister for it to make no noise whatsoever from the sound of the sergeants pockets being patted despite his hand currently lighting a cigar. Tessa eating a sandwich without even opening her mouth. Boy of boy, I don’t know if this episode was outsourced or what but you can just see the tremendous drop in quality. I don’t blame the animation team as it does feel like they were going above and beyond for this series and that finally broke them. I previously wished for a second cour but at this rate I should consider it lucky if we get to the end of this cour with respectable quality. Well after this episode there will be a three week break until the next one so I hope that would remedy some of the problems with production.

Despite this the story still holds up as we have Sousuke manage to fend off an attacker, Tessa dealing with insomnia and guilt of over the the stress and guilt of the situation and Chidori finding out Sousuke is still searching for her and finding herself wishing to disappear due to the trouble she’s causing others. Not to mention Kalinin revealing that he was a traitor to Mythril and a Amalgam spy. If this last revela felt a bit out of nowhere that would be because it was supposed to be revealed at the end of the Dancing very Merry Christmas volume which was skipped over by this adaption. So indeed the reveal here feels rather abrupt due to the fact that the audience should already know about it at this point but I kinda wish they gave the reveal a bit more gravitas. He wasn’t a major character but he did play an important role in the series, not to mention being a mentor for Sousuke so him being a traitor is sort of a big deal. Still they set him up well as a villain here what with him shooting a man and telling him that he will die in 30 minutes if not given first aid. Remarkably cold that upon being refused he just left him there to bleed out, not even asking him to reconsider.

It is rather funny that the fanservice moments of this episode were downplayed by the situation what with Tessa stripping down to rest only to be unable to eat, sleep and being racked with guilt all the while lying to her officers and pretending she’s fine. She’s still a teenager after all so no doubt this hits her hard and when Kalinin’s betrayal is revealed to her that’s gonna be devastating. Chidoris situation by contrast isn’t quite as dire and her scene felt a little more gratuitous with her jumping into a pool and swimming lengths in her underwear. Which gave her motivation because…hmm…I don’t quite remember her being on the swim team. I guess cause it reminded her of swimming class at school or that she just felt she needed to do something? Truth be told I don’t quite grasp the logic but whatever it was got her pumped to do something at least. I just hope her little angst moments are few and far between. Other than that we got some good comedy with Sousuke’s old sergeant who was drilling in a personal philosophy of being a soldier into him only fr Sousuke to literally get knocked out and the sergeant goes “Well I guess that happens” Also saying shit in Japanese is fine yet saying fucking in English needs to be beeped out? These censors need some fucking guts. Well we won’t be getting the next episodes for another three weeks so it will be quite the wait till I can close this one off. I am still waiting on SHaft to get those final Fate/Extra episodes out as well come to think of it. Hopefully they don’t all hit during a bad time.

Megalo Box – 70/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Megalo Box, Reviews by Lenlo

Ah boxing, the quintessential manly man sport of beating each other unconscious. In anime, the sport was first forged in the fires of Ashita no Joe, and some would say later perfected by Hajime no Ippo. Both fantastic series in their own right. Both filled to the brim with epic clashes of wills, phenomenal characters and some of the best fight scenes in anime. Some would probably count Megalo Box among them, near the top of sports anime. I am not one of them. For you see, Megalo Box is not a boxing manly mans sports anime. Megalo Box is a character drama. With boxing.

Lets jump in!

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Megalo Box – 13 [Born to Die]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Action, Megalo Box

Its finally here, the finale of Megalo Box. And what a finale it was. Lets just get right into it.

Cutting right to the chase, I think Megalo Box was golden until the last 6 minutes. Everything was going great, I had no complaints, and then… Megalo Box anti-climaxed itself. The final 6 minutes simply didn’t fit with the rest of the series. It’s not a bad ending per-se, the status quo has changed and arcs have all been wrapped up. It’s simply an ill-fitting ending. I can understand why they went this way to. They didn’t want to copy Ashita no Joe, they wanted to set themselves apart from it. And I can appreciate that. However I think they went to far away in their quest to be different. Ashita no Joe’s ending is memorable even to those who only see a 5 minute clip and nothing else. Its so beloved for a reason. This? This feels less like an ending and more like groundwork for a second season.

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Steins;Gate 0 – 12 [Mother Goose of Mutual Recursion -Recursive Mother Goose-]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense, Steins;Gate 0

Hello everyone and welcome to the midpoint of the season! This week we have the weirdest game of anime telephone I have ever seen. Lets jump in!

So first off, the big thing, Steins;Gate 0 this week is a B-plot. A side-story almost irrelevant to the main story. Its cute, its fluffy, it gets a little dark at the end and it all wraps up in a single episode. Thats not necessarily a bad thing. Its pretty clear that Steins;Gate 0 is going for a time-skip, we already skipped 2 weeks. Instead of jumping straight there it looks like they are taking the chance to tell some side stories. Considering how “finale” episode 11 was, the timing works out. Its just… it wasn’t the best episode. The problem with B-plots like this is they don’t really push the story forward. We get context and moments of certain relationships which we really needed, we will talk about some of those later. But what really happened this week? A glorified game of telephone, that’s what.

Continue reading “Steins;Gate 0 – 12 [Mother Goose of Mutual Recursion -Recursive Mother Goose-]” →

Legends of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These Anime Review – 80/100

by AidanAK47, posted in Anime Reviews, Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These, Reviews by AidanAK47

This is a remake of a series made way back when which is one of the most highly acclaimed anime in the medium. It is of legendary status but you would be hard pressed to recommend it as to many the barrier of entry is too high to consider. A 110 episode OVA with dated animation and art is hardly an appealing show looking from the outside. Thus we have Die Neue These, a remake which takes the story of LOGH and sticks closer to the original source material of the novels. Acting as a small offering of what makes this series so highly regarded. LOGH is a story set in the future that plays out like actual history, for the stage is grand and the cast is huge. It is about a war between the Free Planets Alliance and the Goldenbaum Dynasty, one being a democracy while the other a autocracy. The series explores these two systems exposing the ideals and flaws of both as while there are large space battles, the true worth of this series is the great amount of politics that surround this war. Even though the story was made over thirty years ago, it’s messages still ring true today making it excellent food for thought.

The series mainly follows the two heroes representing each side, with Yang Wenli being the believer of democracy and a man who seeks a easier life but is pulled time and time again into historic battles due to his talent for strategic combat. Reinhard is the young upstart of the empire who wishes to rise through the ranks to reform the heavily corrupt society of the class system of the empire. The story can be a bit erratic as it jumps forward in time and it can be hard keeping track of the large cast of character which just seems to expand infinitely. The space battle remain the weaker aspect of the series and from word of mouth it appears the strategy employed is only base level tactics. There is also a common factor of highly incompetent people in high positions that gets reused time and time again as justification for the actions of the plot though not necessarily unrealistic. Also is the factor this is very much only a tenth of the full story of LOGH and when this show reaches its final minutes you may not even realize that it has concluded for the story just cuts off like someone slamming a book shut while you were in the middle of a chapter. There is plans for movies to continue the story but you will be left hanging quite a bit if you don’t intend to watch the original OVA.

Presentation wise aside from some rather odd character designs this series is leaps and bounds over it’s older counterpart. Thus I can conclude that this series is the prefect means to recommend this series to a newer fan of anime to encourage them to check out some of the older greats the medium has to offer. Even after all this time this series remains a standout tale within animation and one anime fans should at least attempt to watch in their lifetime. It loses points for being only a part of a story which has barely begun but for those seeking something that’s away from high schools and teenagers with more mature themes then LOGH is right up your alley. Perhaps even sparking an interest in shows of a bygone era.

Legends of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These – 8-12

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These

Well this is rather embarrassing. Believe me when I say I fully intended to cover every episode of this series but life finds a way of ruining your plans. So rather than waste a post just talking about what happened in these past four episodes, I would think it better to just give my thoughts on the series as a whole and follow it with a review. Even then i don’t think it would take too long to summarize the bare bones of what happened here as it was basically the FPA deciding to invade the Empire despite literally not being able to sustain one all because the top brass wanted to scrape a win to improve their chances of reelection. An idea so dumb that even Truniht the snake that he is, saw it as doomed. The army gets dragged into this dumbass plan, the flaws in the plan become apparent immediately from the start and Reinhard shows up with his army to give the FPA a whooping they ain’t gonna forget. In some ways it’s painful just seeing this whole plan get pushed forward despite everyone and their mother seeing it as a terrible idea and when looking at the series it does seem that incompetent people in high positions is abundantly a common factor here. Aside from the main character it honestly seems like any side character is just a bumbling idiot which could be a flaw of this series…if it wasn’t a rather accurate portrayal. More than once in recent times we had top officials pushing for plans which everyone clearly saw as bad ideas, yet were pushed through regardless. It is funny seeing someone like Folk who is basically a high commander and main originator of this stupid plan be someone so ill suited to his position that he has a mental condition that literally means he will go into seizures if things don’t pander to his ego.

As far as adaption goes this is a very good adaption. Of course loyalists to the OVA will find flaws with it and even I feel the OVA had the time to focus on the small details like that one episode that showed things from the ground view of that whole revolt due to Reinhard’s scorched earth tactics. A particular moment that stands out to me is the FPA preaching to the people of the first planet they took from the empire of how in democracy they have freedom and the response being “Well that’s great and everything but we would prefer if we could have food and water.” Indeed it didn’t matter who was in charge or what platatues they offered as people will ultimately be concerned with their own survival over idealism. As well as pointing out that Rienard may be a genius tactician but his methods certainly are morally questionable as well as his ruthlessness in killing an army who are only following the orders of idiots. But back on adaption this is indeed a pretty version of LOGH that seems to be loyal to the books and in that regard makes for an excellent introduction of the series to a modern audience. The themes and messages of LOGH are just as relevant today as they were thirty years ago, maybe even more so. To the anime community LOGH is very much a white whale of a series for as acclaimed as it is, it is about as appealing to a newer anime fan as vegetables are to a lion. Not to slight newer anime fans as the artstyle of the OVA is rather outdated, the animation is bare and a 110 episode series is a huge time investment. In that regard the new LOGH of twelve episodes and a more polished presentation makes for a far more digestible offering, at least to the level that people could give it a chance.

But indeed, this is just a small portion of the story which brings me to what is undeniably the greatest flaw of this series. People give Re:Zero grief for being a “Prologue” of the story but I have always said that while it does set up things for future story arcs, the arcs in the anime itself do have conclusions. LOGH on the other hand is a story far too big for a twelve episode series and when this series reaches its final episode the story doesn’t end, it just stops. Now there is word that movies are going to be made to continue the story but that is also something I find concerning as this story was too big for a one cour series so having a continuation be in a even smaller format is unsuitable. Let me put it this way, the original OVA took nine years to reach its conclusion so how long will we have to wait to see the new series reach the same end? Wouldn’t it just be as inaccessible as before if the series is chopped up into movies and anime cours? The benefit of this is higher production values but the minus is a story that no matter how good, could lose people due to time between releases. Sure one could go to the OVA if they get impatient but I feel this series would only be worth getting into once the entirely of the story has been covered. But will the entire story be covered? Well who knows really.

Hinamatsuri (2018 Spring) Review – 79/100

by SuperMario, posted in Anime Reviews, Hinamatsuri, Reviews by SuperMario

Comedy anime doesn’t always yell out confidence, so imagine our hype when there’s one that been on everyone’s lips since the manga come out, Hinamatsuri. The show starts with simple premise: a girl with supernatural power unexpectedly drops into the house of a yakuza, hilarity ensues. This concept sums up very well the source humors of Hinamatsuri. We have seemingly stock characters at first, put them into some bizarre situations where they are out of their comfort zone, and observe how they react. As such, Hinamatsuri is at its best when it turns these absurd events into unpredictably directions; and when the show uses these absurd elements to flesh out the characters. It’s so succeed in giving hearts to the characters that, for me, it stops being a laugh-out-loud show somewhere in the middle and now in the end, I’m not quite certain if I still consider Hinamatsuri a comedy show.

But stop being an all-out comedy show isn’t a bad thing at all. One of Hinamatsuri’s best assets has always been a strong and memorable cast, especially from the younger ones. Hitomi and Anzu, in particular, make one hell of an impression. They embrace these two qualities I mentioned earlier, not only it’s hilarious to see how these girls behave when they’re thrown out of their elements, but also throughout those bizzare events our girls have matured right before our eyes. We have the always kind-hearted girl Hitomi finds herself making cocktails in an adult bar (and eventually come to love that job); to the bratty Anzu finds the meaning of responsibility and home in homeless group. Some segments just are down right heart-warming that they ring sad and sweet in equal measure. Even a proper drama show can hardly do that right, let’s alone a comedy one like this.

Other characters still manage to make an impact just from the little segments they’re in. The trick is that they all have different voices and add different energy to the show. It’s no coincidence that Hinamatsuri is fond of introducing new characters, even late in the game. Being said that, the central relationship between Nitta and Hina isn’t as well-developed as say, the developments of their side characters. At the end of the journey, when Nitta thinks about their journey so far, it just hits me that we haven’t really invested to them much. If we’re looking for a parental bond we’re set to be disappointed. If we’re seeking for a buddy bond, it was underwhelming too. Their relationship is some kind in the middle, where they can easily ditch each other but there’s still something that bring them back together.

In term of visual execution, feel does a pretty decent job of transferring the essence of the manga to this adaptation. The visual hits its mark whenever it embraces the quirky visual that only Hinamatsuri can do. I’m talking about whenever these girls doing their supernatural power, or when Hina just floating around in the air in the middle of a conversation. That brings me to another complaint. By design, this whole season is about these “gifted” girls accustomed themselves to the new, ordinary world. As a result, there’s simply not enough crazy, wild fights. This lack of truly over-the-top superpower hurts the show’s chance, as Hinamatsuri has a knack of bringing whimsical humor by their visual. Secondly, the lack of these supernatural power means that the show’s more content for traditional slice-of-life shenanigans, which in truth countless number of anime shows doing the same thing.

In term of segments, I noticed that the anime adaptation change the order from the manga, which I think work for the show’s benefit. We have more direct continuation from Anzu and Hitomi, for example, and so far I can see the love from the creators to make this show as memorable as possible. Only one plot thread I feel rather weak and uninteresting in general is the Nitta’s yakuza part, which rank amongst my least favorite segments. Hina has become more active in the second arc, despite my early criticism that she might not hold her own. This series, as entertaining, whimsical and surprisingly heartfelt as it might be, might never seen the day of life for another season. While personally I’m not over-excited about this show, it still remains a solid offering. The show that has its own voice and visual quirks. That alone make it a far better show than your average anime crop.

Golden Kamuy – 12 [Trickster Fox]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Golden Kamuy

Before I start, I just want to bring up the news that indeed, Golden Kamuy will have second cour, airing in this Fall season. For now I can’t say for sure if I’m up to cover the second cour, it’ll have to depend on the crop of Fall season. As a result, this final episode doesn’t even attempt to have any kind of closure. New character again get introduced, and again, this new blood is awesome. Western genre in general doesn’t have a good track when it comes to female character, and so far I wouldn’t say Inkarmat a great character, but hell does she leave an impression. Although everyone save Shiraishi make it pretty clear that they think fortune-telling is rubbish, she knows more than what she lets on here. For now I can’t say for sure if she’s an ally or a foe, but based on my impression she will be the one who chip in at unexpected time to help Asirpa and Sugimoto on their quest.

This week, we also get another unlikely setting that you don’t see often in anime that era: horse-racing; and in turns we have more screen time from Kiroranke. I still don’t trust him that much to be honest, and the events led to him become a temporary jockey isn’t subtle at all, but we still learn a bit about this guy’s own character. He’s the man who has his own justice and doesn’t afraid to do what he likes. Regarding his influence to the gold chase plot, I have a feeling he’s in for the gold for something not for his own gain. He has a special bond to Asirpa’s father so it might be the main reason he’s involved in all this.

Speaking of another ally, Shiraishi proves to be a guy you can’t fully trust. Not because he has any dark motive, but more because he’s prone for trouble and he just isn’t capable of making the best decision out of the situation. This week, we see him offering another way out, another way to get rich without risking his life. And in a way, he’s right. The prospect of gold is tempting, true, but if he can be rich through other means why the hell not? I’m really digging the way he sells out the tattooed skin, he does it to save his skin without harming his comrades. That’s a very Shiraishi thing to do. Sugimoto understands this, but he’s too deeply involved now. The quest isn’t only about him getting rich to pay for his friend’s wife hospital fee anymore, but also about accompany Asirpa and find out more about her father’s mystery. He would say time and time again that he’s immortal because he has nothing to lose, but now he does have something to protect. Asirpa. Whether that remains his strength or his weakness remains to be seen.

The first cour of this acclaimed manga adaptation has come to a close, and we’re nowhere to the finish line. Heck, I don’t even think the second cour gonna cover all of its material. The 3 month break is necessary, however, for Geno studio to improve the production aspect. The visual has been unfortunately quite bare-boned with limited animation and some certain unBEARable CG design. Hopefully the creators take note on these criticism to improve it better. For now, Sugimoto and Asirpa have established a strong chemistry all around, and while I think the plot wanders around too much, I can’t deny that meeting those twisted gruesome side villains have a charm of its own. This show has a huge pacing issue, humors can be a bit on a missed side for me, and I would prefer it much better without all these Ainu-centric cuisine, but I also know it’s part of Golden Kamuy’s identity so I guess I’ll just roll with it.