Bucchigiri – 12 [Fateful Duel! Beyond the Gyoza Dumplins]
And so ends the final seasonal of Winter, barring Dungeon Meshi which still has a whole other cour. I gotta say, Bucchigiri was a lot of fun. The finale wasn’t perfect, Arajin returning to his age old “I want to lose my virginity” after finally progressing to a realer, more person wish was a tad disappointing, as was Senya’s return in the final scene. I think they undercut a bit of the emotion of the episode. Even with that though, the final confrontation between Ichiya and Senya, and then Matakara and Arajin, was fantastic. I loved how both relationships figured their shit out and reconciled, Senya realizing he was holding back against Ichiya, who felt insulted and betrayed by his closest friend. Arajin figuring out Matakara has felt alone this whole time, the hospitalization of his brother only worsening that, and how he sought to become strong to fill that hole in his hurt. Plus the fight itself was just really cool. Not the best choreography of the show, but the effects were nice and I think it sold the emotion of the climax really well. An all around great way to end the season, I’m going to miss not having Bucchigiri to watch every week.
Series Score: 8/10 – Overall great, a couple of awkward points here and there but easily one of the best Winter shows.
Wind Breaker – 2 [The Hero of My Dreams]
Wind Breaker continues to surprise me by just how earnest it is with Sakura. Yeah, it has a bunch of comedy, mediocre jokes about a Chuuni acting like a Chinese Leonardo DiCaprio or Nirei being an absolute klutz, stuff like that. And they aren’t great! But after each one Wind Breaker turns around and shines a spotlight on some… important theme of the episode. For instance, this week was all about perception, and how we judge people. Sakura’s been judged his entire life for his eyes, his hair, his general demeanor. So much so that he’s come to believe it himself, being shocked and put off when the local community not only likes him, but rewards him for the same behavior he’s always had. Only here, due to the Bofurin, this community has learned to see past the rough exterior of the delinquents to see the true “heroes” inside. I really like how Sakura isn’t immune to this either, immediately judging Nirei by how he looks and his past experiences, instantly calling him a coward showing us that he’s just as guilty of snap judgements as those who previously judged him. But he’s willing to change, to admit he’s wrong, because he understands how shitty that is. He sees Nirei fight back, despite his weakness, and acknowledges him for it. Yeah, a lot of anime do this, so very many shounen have that weak info-dump klutz of a side character who exists as little more than a gag, a tool for the story. Wind Breaker makes it work however by first engaging with Nirei as someone in a similar situation to Sakura, connecting this whole episode with this idea of how we perceive people, and only then does it use him as the tool he is. I like that. I like that Wind Breaker is engaging with Sakura and his hangups in so many different ways. Makes me excited for what is to come, especially if the big fights remain at episode 1’s level.
Dungeon Meshi – 15 [Dryad/Cockatrice]
Dungeon Meshi is back to the weird this (read Last) week and it feels pretty good. The Dryad flowers are both inventive and terrifying, and the whole thing with the Jojo face pumpkins was weird but made for some good comedy. The whole fight, Chilchuck helping Senshi by acting as his eyes despite the pollen, Senshi still thinking Chilchuck is a kid despite him probably being the oldest among them, Marcille trying to teach Laios magic so they have someone else capable of doing healing and such. All good stuff. It also helps that the entire episode looked great, very animated with some good expressions, that’s always nice. The second half with the Cockatrice was a more standard fare as they deal with a classic monster, with the meat of it being dealing with Marcille getting turned to stone and trying to cure her. Again, some funny stuff here as she gets stuck in a silly position and the gang each try their own cures. Is it the best episode of the series ever? No, not really. But it’s still pretty damn good and tired Marcille is my spirit animal.
Bartender: Glass of God – 2 [Old Friends/One for the Road]
Bartender continues to be solid. It’s very slow, very dry in spots, and it’s definitely one of those series where if you don’t have at least some interest in its primary activity (Recreational drinking) you probably won’t get much out of it. As luck would have it though, I am interested. I enjoy watching Sasakura pick the right drink for each person, figuring out who they are and how they are feeling at that very moment, then explaining why his chosen drink is good for that situation. It of course helps that the situations we’ve seen so far have been sold in their own right. An old man visiting the bar his friend ran on the anniversary of his death, taking the piss out of any drinks a bartender serves him as a way of honoring that friends memory? Only to then be served the exact same drink his friend used to make, reminding him of their time together and dubbing this new bartender as his “New old pal”? Or what about a lawyer who has had a shitty day dealing with shitty people, coming in and acting like everyone else is just as shitty as them? Then being given a low-alcohol high-sustenance drink to take the edge off and warm her to her core? Good shit! The only real issue I have, aside from Bartender not really looking that great, is that I think it assigns a tad too much important to the role of a bartender, it really dials that self-importance up with things like the “First impression for foreigners” and such. Still, good time. Looking forward to hearing why he won’t join the hotel, as well as how he inevitably does.
Astro Note – 2
This episode was even better than the first. Seeing things from Mira’s side, what she’s doing here, how trapped she feels by her position and the joy of exploring human society, was great. Some of the comedy missed for me, like the unemployed guy or the MC’s over the top reaction to every little thing, but by and large I enjoyed this more… Not necessarily serious, but focused episode. It’s clear that for all of its absurdity, Astro Note does still have a story it wants to tell, a plot, and it’s weaving that into the absurd daily lives of this ragtag bunch of characters. So far we don’t know much, just that Mira is from the planet Wid, is Royalty, and is looking for a special key that will make her the Queen. Meanwhile aliens from the planet Hub are doing the same, trying to take over the planet. If the names don’t give it away, it’s a pretty straight play on Husband and Wife, which considering the MCs infatuation with her and how we meet Mira’s Fiance this episode, is going to be a reoccurring thing. I don’t mind that, in fact I’d say I’m looking forward to it if Astro Note continues to nail this balance of comedy, story and classic 90s rom-com fun. From the meaning of plums to Mira’s desire to live her own life, there’s more to Astro Note than I originally thought.
Train to the End of the World – 2 [Suppose, Maybe, Presumably]
Train was a bit of disappointment this week. So much of it was just uninteresting, pointless banter as the girls sit on the train and just… drive. Some may find that interesting, but for me? I just wanted Reimi, the blond, to shut the hell up. The episode got a little interesting in the middle as the fog rolled in and there were hints at something more nefarious occurring, but that quickly got replaced with some weird old guy in a duck boat that wasted far too much time. There was also a fun scene near the end where some EDM starts playing and they have to Tokyo Drift a train to escape a tsunami, but the fact we had to sit through 20 minutes of nothing for 2 minutes of fun was just not worth it. Hopefully something happens next week.
