Tag: 2016 Fall Anime

Magical Girl Raising Project – 12[File Not Found]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Magical Girl Raising Project

The day is saved thanks to Ripple and, well just Ripple. Snow White did help near the end by bringing the rabbit’s foot but other than that she pretty much won the battle royale by doing absolutely nothing. The final battle was somewhat anticlimactic and I do think that maybe with a higher animation budget and better fight animation this could have been a real great battle. However as is the battle is serviceable but I do admire Swim Swim’s ingenuity in choosing a battlefield suited to her abilities. She planned well all things considered and was only caught off guard by a sudden thunderstorm and Ripples flash grenades taken from Calamity Mary. Fav wasn’t foolish for thinking that Swim Swim would win, by all accounts she really should have.

Despite the main fan consensus of her being hated because of her tendency of killing off the more likeable characters, I at least will miss Swim Swim. I do think that she was a great villain that sadly didn’t get the development or opportunity to really shine. I have heard that the author makes a character like her later in the story whom might prove to fulfill the potential Swim Swim had. Sadly the show skimmed over what would be the big shock moment where Ripple would find out she killed a little girl by having her vision be obscured during the act and her reaction just briefly flashed on. I really thought that would be a much bigger deal that it turned out being and quite frankly the author missed a good opportunity there to make the final part of the fight a real punch to the gut.

It was somewhat satisfying to see Fav undone by the very things he gave the magical girls in the first place but his ending is rather anticlimactic. I don’t really get his reasoning for bringing Snow White to his side as revealing that the battle royale was essentially his and Cranberry’s idea only serves to get her all the more reason to not be his master. For the most part I think Fav didn’t actually think Cranberry would die and his efforts after were just his attempts at weaseling himself out of a bad situation. Like how he was doing when he realized that Ripple got hold of a weapon that could actually destroy him. Fav like more or less every other character in this series, only really started to get interesting just right before he’s going to get killed off. Seeing Fav panic really showed that he’s not quite as cool and in control as he pretends to be and Snow White could see right through him. In fact Snow and Ripple also only really started to get interesting just right before the show ended. Still there are talks of a Magical Girl Raise Project sequel and while this series isn’t perfect i do think there is potential for the writer to turn it into something great. Even the idea of continuing Snow White’s transformation from stereotypical magical girl to magical girl superhero could make for an interesting second season.

Zaregoto Series OVA – 02 [Day 3 (2) Assembly and Arithmetic]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, OVAs and Movies:, Zaregoto Series

The bomb has finally dropped as the murder everyone waiting for eventually come, but we still aren’t clear who the victim is. If there is one cliché about murders involving beheading, it’s that you can never be sure about the identity of the headless victim. The one you think is dead will return to the story near the end somehow, not only with his head intact, but with his evil grin as well. It appears for now that the body is Kanami’s, a genius painter, since the body is in her room and worn the exact outfit; in addition, based on the info I read somewhere her name is a wordplay that if you read her name in reverse it means: no head now. But it could be one of the maids. As of this moment we don’t get to know any of the maid so the main focus is still squarely on those geniuses.

One of the most important clue that we gained right now is how the table set up like a clock, with the host is at 12.00 o’clock and Tomoe is right opposite her at 6.00. We simply don’t have any clue to work with at this moment but I figure that in the future development this clue is going to be relevant. Another strange occurrent that happen on the night of the murder is the earthquake which resulted in the messy room we see at the end, or was it not? How the earthquake relevant to the murder is unclear, but for now I suspect that because the earthquake happened so randomly that the true culprit didn’t plan on this and thus left some evidences behind. Lastly, there were a mystery on this island that occurred before that caught Tomoe’s curiosity but for now we know nothing about it.

We got introduced to the last genius in this island: Yayoi the genius chief. Although she claimed that she has no natural talent, she can actually smell and sense a huge lot different tastes. Apart from having that absolute taste and absolute pitch, she appears to be the most normal out of all geniuses. Just really wonder why there is no one who commend about the foods that they eat, after all it’s Yayoi who cook all of them, right? Oh we also get to see the host Akagami, but apart from being a fulltime event manager and bragging about the new character to come, she’s just plain like a rice cake.

Not much actually happen beside all the chitchatting of course, but this episode sheds a new angle about Il chan relationship towards Tomoe. Maki (A genius fortune teller who know the past, the future, people and the world) really likes to scrub Il-chan the wrong way, but she seems to see through this guy. And because she understands his character she despites the way he’s doing things. She also digs a little too deep about his and Tomoe’s strange “friendship”. She’s something that he wishes he could’ve been and seeing her- despite all that- unhappy make him feel good. Those scenes in which he’s inside a TV-like box that Maki can see through him perfectly elevate the sense of discomfort of Il-chan towards Maki’s words. There’s still much more oil that needed to pump from their relationship of course, like what she thinks about MC and why she needs him to come to this isolated island in the first place.

Even with this once-a-month format Shaft still manages to stays behind schedule and and pushes back the next episode until January next year. As of now, things are moving so slowly and there is simply not much material to work with, but starting the next episode the plot might get a little more entertaining with the investigation now that the murder kicked in. In the mean time I might try to eat by using two pairs of chopsticks Tomoe-style, by the time the next episode begins I might have mastered that skill already.

3-gatsu no Lion – 11 [The Old Year – The New Year]

by SuperMario, posted in 3-gatsu no Lion, Currently Watching:

Christmas and New Year are on its way so it is very appropriate that we have a warm, sweet episode from 3-gatsu no Lion. After missing in action for the last few weeks, the Kawamoto sisters are back and they truly are a breath of fresh air from the heaviness of last week. While last week was about negative feelings Rei had to embrace and let it all out, this week was about positive feelings that Rei has to realize and share with those he loved. Being bed-ridden for few days without any food, medicine and cut off from the outside world, Rei absorbs on his own sickness that he doesn’t realize that there are still people around who care about his wellbeing. Akari brushes him off on “living on my own” feel so true that it makes him understand about his own thoughtlessness. As much as he always sees the line that separate him and his adoptive father, the father treats him like his own child and genuinely cares about him. The same goes with the Kawamoto sisters and that last scene of the new year eve is so heartfelt and emotional that I can’t help but feel truly sad for those characters. Trying to cope with your pain and loneliness takes a lifetime, so sharing those happy little moments together with the ones you care for is a step forward that both the sisters and Rei ultimately need to embrace. There’s sadness linger in every corner of this show.

This is the first time that the Kawamoto’s father is mentioned, albeit very briefly. Exactly what happened to him is rather vague right now, but judging from the way the sisters avoided to talk about him, I’d assume he runaways from home. Elope with another woman maybe. Also in this episode Rei has 2 dreams which are actually relevant to his mind state right now. The first dream of him going up in long escalator without a way back signifies the shogi path, and in larger extend, the life he’s taking right now. As of now he’s considering shogi as his life (the only life he has actually), and as the dream further reveals, it’s a long, lonely way up top and when he gets to the top, there is no turning back. The second dream is about his memory way back from his youth, as his sister and him got scolded by their Mom for putting up stickers on her table. As he soon realizes, he feels this Kawamoto sister’s house like his home, even though he just knew them for a short period of time. Finding the place where you belong is never easy, finding a place where you could call home is much harder. It’s still a progression from Rei as he recognizes the warm feeling he has and bit by bit he can consider the sisters as his family.

This episode also addresses quite sensitively about Akira’s own life. What is better  for her? Taking care of the house, doing house works all day; day by day the same process until she’s worn out? Is this occasionally dressing up to work on a bar to assist her aunt’s pub good for herself? As the fella who really care about woman’s life and issues, this surely piqued my interest. Akira has always been a responsible type so it’s no question that she will commit herself to fulfill mother’s role, at least at this stage. Personally I’d argue that this is not the best for her life, sometimes you should be a little selfish and do what you want to do, but leaving those kids and an old man behind is ruthless as well. She’s in a situation where she has no other choice but to commit to it, but the way she gives it her full without even have time to consider her own feeling or her own dream made me want to hug her so bad. This is again a very subtle character’s writing from Umino Chica. This work feels like a heart and soul of her. Halfway marks and I would say two of the show’s best strengths are the sharp and sensitive in its character’s writing, and the creative, thoughtful visual that really dig deep inside Rei’s depression by Shaft that we witnessed last week. That’s a great combination if you ask me and I personally don’t mind to follow Rei’s depressing mindscape for another season. Merry Christmas everyone!

Flip Flappers – 12 [Pure Howling]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Flip Flappers

We have a recap episode of sort this week as our new pair Papika and Yayaka had to travel pass the previous Pure Illusion worlds we seen throughout the season. It sucks for the Cocona-rescue team of course since the closer they get to Cocona, the more Mama Mimi made them detour around those worlds and of course fight more monsters. That means the awesome seductress villain from episode 3 is back, the giant mecha robot reappears, and those snow creatures return. Well, all the usual suspects. But Yayaka is even more kick ass than Cocona will ever be, so instead of spending the whole episode to destroy those monsters, the new team just takes mere minutes. Her fight between the seductress is pretty amazing as well, easily the highlight of this episode. But even someone as badass as this one still suffers from the usual’s villain pitfall: Talking way tooo much; so that Yayaka has a chance to blow her up… and then Yayaka transforms. With Cocona being Pure Blade (Red), Papika being Pure Barrier (Blue), of course Yayaka is becoming Pure Kick, and green is the color of the day (another basic color). I never would have expected to see another new transformation this late in the game, but wayyyy to go Flip Flappers because this transformation is a nice conclusion to Yayaka’s character growth throughout the series, and she freaking earned it.

But the crazy parts don’t stop there. Mama Mimi’s getting more and more extreme by the minutes to the point of manipulating her only friend into submission. But the evil Mimi couldn’t control herself (to be more exact: her good self) to appear in front of Cocona, then Papika when it counts most. This turn of events isn’t unlike Deux Ex Machina in execution (good Mama Mimi: “hah! I just wait until all the fuss is over and then jump in and save the day!”), but anything that force Cocona out of that stone face is good on my book. You want something crazier? How about MUSCLE? Out of nowhere, Hidaka presses the button (he must carry it all the time since this is a new lab, right?), and Bu-chan got a whole new ridiculously muscled body, attached by- what I assumed- brains, just so the very next moment got swept away by the snow caterpillars. This moment was so Flip Flappers-y that I can’t help but cheers along the way. Just let the sequence writes itself and logic out of the window. Finally, what’s that in the end after their hands touch each other? Another new transformation, Cinderella-style with wings? OH MY GOODNESS. I would totally understand Mimi’s frustration here: Why so lame??? Why not something cool like a dress on fire? I come to believe that the main theme of this episode is about transformation; as our main characters are all “level-up” based on what they grow emotionally, by being able to address their own feelings.

The plot at this point pretty much reach its full potential that not much left really for us to say, but there’s still some interesting plot points going on. Namely, what Salt is up to with the ELPIS? In order to show Mimi something? (Also, that totally random bike is cool). For the first time though the show mentioned about Cocona’s father, so let see in the next episode whether or not Salt is her actual father. The twins also for the first time show some sort of personal feelings, which is always welcome and that third girl is still having a lot of fun screwing around at the moment. But her role is not purely a red herring though. Given the fact that they are the Amorphous child, it’s mean that they are somehow a part of Mimi so those Amorphous children are the key in order to destroy the Mama-knows-best Mimi for good. Only one episode left so whatever going to happen in that last 20 minutes, I know there’s going to be good times.

Yuri!!! on Ice (Fall 2016) Review – 83/100

by SuperMario, posted in Anime Reviews, Reviews by SuperMario

“Can you hear my heartbeat? Tired of feeling never enough.

I close my eyes and tell myself that my dreams will come true”

That’s exactly what Yuri on Ice offers, a heart-pumping ride to the sport of figure skating. Yuri on Ice’s current success and mainstream breakout is something that no one could have guessed before it aired; but here we are. As the show progressed, it picked up fans along its way, enthusiasm comments episode after episode, even the professional skaters are quite fond with the anime. So really then, how good is Yuri on Ice exactly? Well, let me put it this way, this show is vastly different than your regular anime out there, down from its sheer ambition alone (this is a passion project from one of the most promising anime director), the well-detailed struggling productions (which for me that doesn’t hurt the show, quite the opposite really as I find it adds to the show’s charms) and most famously the very positive portray of gay male romance and of characters from different backgrounds.

Yuri On Ice follows a season-long of Japanese figure skater Yuri after Victor- the current world champion skate figure- decided to take a year break in order to coach Yuri to win the world gold. He then trained and competed with other world class competitors from around the globe, especially with his rival: teen prodigy Yurio from Russia. I have briefly mentioned this before, but sports like figure skating or gymnastics or some performing martial arts are more akin to performing arts (think of dancing, acting or opera singing or ahem… band concerting) than the competitive nature of other sports. While other sports emphasis mainly on winning, those kinds of sports also aim for aesthetic and beauty. Beauty rules. Beauty rocks. Beauty is king. That’s why to do figure skating justice is a tricky job, as you have to both show artistic expressions of each individuals, as the same time still make the sport competitive. On that front, the show’s rather unusual approach of focusing entirely on the routines of each players elevate those parts I mentioned rather nicely, but writing-wise, it leaves a lot to be desired.

The show, at its core, is one huge theme about expressions, as expression is the very nature of figure skating, and through the performances the characters have a space to express their personalities, as well as their own struggles. Even our main character, Yuri, scrambles throughout the series to express his “love” for himself, for the sport and for his coach Victor. Many of the routines are of course over the top and hilariously silly (like the Italian’s sibling complex or the sex appeal ending routine of the Swiss guy, Christophe); but through those performances each player has his own little arc to dwell into and it’s certainly entertainment to watch both their smooth movements and their stream of thoughts from those guys. Every player, as a result, has certain unique traits and each of them add their own colors to this colorful world. I certainly enjoy the company of most of them.

But the hot of Yuri on Ice lies on the “bromance” relationship between our two men: Yuri and Victor. Week in, week out, the exclamations of many passionate fans: “Did they or didn’t they…?” would float up and soon become a massive storm of all kinds of responses. While this sucks that the show as brave as this one wouldn’t go all the way to announce their romantic relationship, it’s all clear in the context. I would say that this series greatest’s strength is the show’s positive depiction of same-sex relationship between two men. Positive but not realistic. I will get to the unrealistic part later but for once, this romance feels exactly how the two persons attracting to each other, the way they cling to one another and try their best to surprise the other partner. I’m glad the show see them as real characters, and describe their relationship not for the shake of shocking the anime world (although it did). More importantly, this homosexual relationship is a positive and necessary statement to both the sports community and the countries where those characters are from; as sports have history of homophobia from way back and the real life gay figure skater Johnny Weir, struggled to this very issue throughout his whole career. In addition, Russia specially also has a history with homophobic and Japan themselves is still debating on legalize gay marriage in their country (well, Australia is still debating as well. What’s wrong with you people? If someone want to marriage, give them the rights to!), so in episode 10, when Yuri and Victor giving rings (even in the name of good luck charms), it is a clear message for gay rights and I honestly wouldn’t wish it other way. If only other shows willing take such risks like that.

As for the unrealistic part, I’m going to be brief but the premise alone about Victor “suddenly” visits his hometown and declared to be his coach is really a wish-fulfilment plot device. We did learn in the end that Victor was swayed by the drunken Yuri but really this is something that only works in fiction. Even setting aside the mechanism, Victor willingness to see Yuri as his partner at all cost, while fun to watch, isn’t seem real at all. Furthermore, their relationship is depicted mostly in positive light, but when you think about it, putting two people with different backgrounds will of course result in culture shock. Even a small gesture from one side can be interpreted different by the other, but the show brushes any of that off and even more conveniently they made those characters communicate well to each other like they are all come from the big Japan. They do argue with each other but after a while they are overwhelmed by other’s feeling, as I take it as they are still on the early stage of relationship. If they truly can stay together, they will need to see the dark, vulnerable side of each other and as of now I don’t see any of that being shown in the series. Call me cynical guy but yeah while I still enjoy their relationship, it’s just not the real presentation of what true relationship is.

Another strong point that I am personally digging it from the show is how they handled the characters from different backgrounds with stereotype-free for the most part. Like how when you think about an anime American character, you’d think of the blonde, ruthless money-obsessed guy, but the American we got from this anime is the Mexican-background Leo de la Iglesia. Or for the country that is hot and wet all year and don’t even have snow in winter like Thailand, skate figure is the very unnatural sport, but to present a Thai character who is proud of being the first Thai to reach the final stage? That is a phenomenal touch and that approach strangely makes those characters feel so rich and universal.

But because of the show’s choice to concentrate on the performances, many problems arise. First, in order to be more focus, they can only emphasis on the Yuri’s growth and his relationship to Victor, and most of other parts are either undercooked or being neglected all together, especially for those non-professional characters. Remember Yuko? Or Minako? Of course not because basically after the first few episodes their roles are basically over, and the show reduces them to crazy bitch fans. How about their dogs? What happened with Victor’s dog afterward? Also, that part where Victor had to rush home for his dog is poorly constructed so that it feels very forced. Yurio gets some more screentime than the rest, and I particularly enjoy his moments with his grandpa, and with Otabek, but I feel his rival with Yuri is underdeveloped, especially towards the end when the person Yurio often pissed off weren’t Yuri but Victor. Also, I find the ending is so rushed that I would love for some more time to see the aftermath of those main characters.

The repetitive nature of those routines is also their drawbacks. Although of course they are slightly different, with the jump sequences are changed each time and we can see the character’s progression after each routine, it still can’t hide the fact the we listen to the same music, see the same performances for a good number of time. I have lost counts on how many times I’ve seen Yuri perform his pieces (by my count right now, 5 times for each program), as a result it makes the story as a whole rather predictable. There are also some sequences that I can see the huge graded down in terms of quality, but as I said earlier for those parts that did work, the choreography of the performances is something to behold, the animation is one of the fluidest I’ve seen this season and those shaky productions still managed to maintain my attention throughout the show. The music is all around great and creative, and further assist to make all the characters so distinguishable with each of them have their own unique theme song that speak a lot to their characters. I would definitely buy their soundtracks if it ever releases as a physical CD.

As a final impression, I am glad that we have this show. Yuri on Ice stands out in more than one way and if anything, its unexpected mainstream appeal means that Sayo Yamamoto will have more artistic control over her next project, which is a huge bless for everyone. As for the show, they’re not quite there to make history yet, but there’s no denying that Yuri on Ice is a special show.

Sound! Euphonium 2 – 12 [The Last Competition]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Sound! Euphonium 2

This could very well be Sound Eupho confessional episode. We get all the confessions of sort, for better or for worse. This is an episode that gives satisfied conclusions to many ongoing plots. While it also means that the show pushes forward Reina’s feeling for Taki-sensei for literally everyone to hear- which as of now we can pretty much take it or leave it. I will leave it at that- other pay-offs, particular Kumiko’s and Asuka’s, are intimate and heartfelt. Kumiko’s longing for her sister on the performance day is easily one of my favorite Sound Eupho moments. Sometimes you just need to say what hold you back out loud to the one you love. The fact that her sister played music, and to this extend, came all the way to see her play matters to her. The whole sequence was animated quite brilliantly as well, followed Kumiko as she rushing to catch up with her sister. I haven’t really sold on Kumiko’s sudden development for the last few episodes, but this moment comes just so natural and ties very well with her growth that it rings so true to me; not because it reminds me of my own story but because this is what I truly know Kumiko would behave. This is the kind of character moments that I’ve been looking for in the show.

The national performance is decidedly low-key. Very low-key indeed. We have been spoiled too much on Sound Eupho that we would expect another full-blown performance from the band, but this anti-climax approach is actually very fitting with the second half of this season: as the show progressed, they shift the focus on the musical performance to character’s arcs drama, that of course brings a fair share of both good and bad points. On the positive notes, this approach makes the show feel fresh with their attention is squarely on other issues. Do we really need to watch another 10-minutes performance again? Why don’t the show, instead of repeating the same approach, focus to something else entirely? And that’s precisely what happened: instead of that big performance that everyone been waiting for, their very next cuts show the members of the band sitting and interacting with each other after the performance (I love Reina’s just sitting quietly and reflecting here- “Sometimes I sit and think. Sometimes I just sit”-type of situation). I know I’m in minority but I actually enjoy all those small moments here, every member that we all know and care for all have their moments to shine through (but, where are Yuuko and Natsuki??).

This choice, on the other hand, makes the stake of national competition surprisingly low, even much lower than the local competition. I’d rather prefer of instead of that Reina episode last week, they could focus more on the third years feeling towards their very last performance. As the result; even though the band only achieved bronze, we don’t really feel they’ve earned it. Furthermore, that Reina confession sure feels awkward, as she repeatedly banging her head against thick wall. Taki-sensei actually did his best to deal with her confession. He could just easily laugh it off, or right out scold her; but he acknowledges that he appreciates the thoughts but he won’t advance the matter anymore. Now if only that love story is the central theme of the show’s next season.

Shuichi finally has a real moment with Kumiko we’ve been waiting for. This poor guy was shut down from Kumiko just because she didn’t care too much about him. Forget about him being a romantic interest to Kumiko, Shuichi is actually one of those few people who really understands Kumiko, especially about her and her sister’s relationship. Many readers think of him as one of the most underdeveloped character out of the show, especially when it comes to his fruitless childhood crush towards Kumiko. While I partly agree with this, just keep in mind that in actuality many of our characters just hang in there because they don’t have enough material to grow. Reina had been in Kumiko’s shadow for a good number of episodes before reaching her arc, and most notably Sapphire and Hazuki appear so far and few between for main characters. Actually, I don’t even know why they’re still labeled as mains in the ED. I just read through one Ayano Takeda’s interview, the writer of the books that this show adapted (a really informative interview I would add), and in there she said that the main purpose of Sapphire was to elevate the material until Taki-sensei arrived, because otherwise people just lose their interest prior to the band deciding to practice for National competition. That explains a lot on how their roles are minimal this season.

In the end, this episode actually addresses many character arcs quite nicely, but at the same time I wouldn’t blame people who think this episode is a disappointment. I would just say that your feeling towards this episode entirely depends on how you feel about the second half of this season. Seems like we ending the third book by this episode and the next one will be the anime-original episode so who knows what will going to happen, but it’s the more reason that the final episode is a must-watch for every fan.

And let the final piece begin…

3-gatsu no Lion – 10 [Something Given part 1 – part 2]

by SuperMario, posted in 3-gatsu no Lion, Currently Watching:

The lion is roaring loud this week, both figuratively as the show comes back strong after an unremarkable episode last week, and narratively as this is the first time we see Rei breaks down and screams out loud. I have always enjoyed Shaft’s deliberate pacing for this show, not only because the material is slow-burn in nature, but this pacing really demands us not to look away from the Rei’s raw emotions. Whenever he’s alone, he is in deep, dark and depressing thoughts that if the show rushes over those inner feelings, those emotions can become lousy. Even when Shaft decides to take extra time focus on “nothing happened” sequences like Rei riding train or the match of him and Mr. Yasui; which you can easily tell that part wasn’t in the manga (beautiful score by the way); they nail the mood so right that we can feel the feeling Rei has going to the match. While the way Shaft sometimes focus on quick cuts of extreme close-up shots is somewhat questionable, the pacing is one of those parts that Shaft actually improves on its source material. I’m quite satisfied knowing that the show is in good hands.

Man, that looks from those kids really kill me. For those kids at that time shogi means acceptance from their father so it’s very understandable that those kids were hurt. You can blame the father for being so insensitive but I can understand his point of view. Usually the parent only wishes for one of their child to follow their footstep, and out of the three children obviously Rei fits the bill the most. That’s also the reason he wanted Kyouko to quit shogi. After all, there are many other things outside of shogi they can try out and be good at, right? He certainly undermined the feeling of his own children but I wouldn’t blame him for that. Speaking of Kyouko, she backs again too soon this week to gives Rei another hell. Her own ambiguous relationship towards Rei is one of the show’s rawest and most complicated one. I take that there are two things from Rei that she despites him the most: the fact the he became a member of her family (“you took someone else’s father”. Man, that’s harsh) and his shogi, so when it comes to those two things, she’s as dangerous as a snake and willing to hurt Rei because his very presence hurt her. The hatred becomes too deep that she abused him when they were living together. But I also sense as she growing up now she grows to care for Rei, although just a little bit. After all, many of her little actions suggests that: she fixes the scarf for Rei and came to his apartment to check on his well-being. It seems like her real intention for her venomous talk is not for Rei to lose (she knows Rei’s talent too well), but for Rei to feel guilty if he wins. Every step he walks forward to the path of shogi, she makes sure that Rei FEELS the bones and fleshes of those sacrifices that paved up the path.

The story this week is about Mr. Yasui, who normally a modest guy but when he loses he goes berserk. Unlike the happy ending last week, this time Rei could not improve the situation: it’s his last Christmas with his daughter, but if he loses it mean he’d be in bad mood and really Rei had nothing to do about it. It’s interesting to see Mr. Yasui’s personality through the shogi play, as at first he was composed because he didn’t want to lose, but with one mistake he basically gave up the game. Things never work out the way we want and I’m glad that there is no happy ending for this episode. Actually, when I think back of last episode, the outcome of Mr. Maysunaga makes the result of this week even more impactful. Rei can’t make people happy all the time, and playing great shogi certainly isn’t his crimes. I hope we know about the conclusion of Yasui’s daughter but really even want to know that mean the story already affects me emotionally.

Again, Rei suffers through a hell lot this week. That twisted relationship between him and Ryouko isn’t one-sided after all. He’s all too aware that those words would pierce through his heart but he can’t help but wanting to listen to these. He tries to do something different but those words come back to haunt him, moreover when the consequence plays out exactly like he fears, he feels like he’s a beast who eat up everything in its way. He looks at that hand, the hand of a death god who take away happiness from others, until he can’t take it anymore and explodes. The final sequence is one of the highlight moments not only for this episode, but for the whole season so far. What he screaming might not as relevant to his nature, but the fact alone that he expresses his emotions out loud is something we don’t see very often. He might feel down now and collapse out of sorrow, but one of the best quality that human have is the ability to stand up and walk again after falling down. That I can look forward to.

Flip Flappers – 11 [Pure Storage]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Flip Flappers

What a gripping episode! With this we almost clear about Mimi, Papikana and Salt’s past and the show sets things up nicely for a final showdown. For a show that have always been light on plot progression, this episode took me by surprise how neat every single variable develops, from what happened in the past that lead up to the characters as they are now, the twists and turns of this Mimi/Papika villain and the ultimate approach on the identity and individuality theme again. In a nutshell, Flip Flappers is a show about adolescent and self-doubting when growing up, and it’s only fitting now that Cocona’s identity is again swapped by her mother Mimi, even Mimi herself seems to be possessed by her darker side. Even the show goes all-out with the theme, as at one time Mimi makes it clearly: “People have several faces, and they’re all true” and that optical illusions we see in the screenshot there.

This episode sure is a stunner. The visual again is wild and crazy and stand out but at the same time it actually elevates the theme and the development of our characters. I mean, how impressive is that to witness Mimi killed off the guards by planting flowers all over their body; and that flowers were the ones we seen on the first time Papika recalled Mimi? Flip Flappers always has that dreamy side of them, and even in the episode that doesn’t feature any Pure Illusion world like this one, that quality still sticks out a mile. This episode jumps freely between the present and the past, between what happen in real “life” to inside the consciousness and then mix them all up together, but we never feel any sense of lost because the themes are progress gradually and the emotions are all there. This episode is also an emotionally charged one as we here to see every single one of them proceed to losing their minds. Cocona losing herself is nothing anew, but even Mimi’s losing it and Papika is starting to (Well, technically, she did lose her mind before but this is another kind of screwing her mind).

But I’m also happy that heaps of things have been clarified after this episode. Now we know that Papika is indeed reverted back to her kid form with her memories “sealed” away (I prefer her kid version much better than her adult counterpart). In one of the Pure Illusion world, they “accidentally” modified something inside Dr.Salt’s father subconsciousness, as a result he became even more overly obsessed to the possibilities of Pure Illusion. The show doesn’t confirm though on how Cocona was born, so at least for now I ain’t buying it that Salt were her father. I love that the cult organization turn out to be completely useless and easily disposable (a true red herring) because I always feel their roles in the story to be very vague and weak, so it’s better not to give them any significant role in the climax at all. Most importantly it is now confirmed that the Pure Illusion is linked to each individual’s consciousness (We all guessed it but it’s always nice to get a confirmation), but that also means the last Pure Illusion world they gathered (episode 9) was Yayaka’s? Hard to tell but consider she got a major development that week, it’s safe to assume it was hers.

But what really wow me over is how this episode a natural progression of everything that come before. Many of those elements had been hinted well in previous episodes and now they take a massive payback. We saw Cocona as a villain way before in episode 3, brainwashed by the insecurity of herself (also, did everyone see the masks the scientists put on the girls a resemblance of Cocona’s evil mask?). We see that thing wrapped up Papika’s ankle before but now we know what its main purpose is. We witness how Cocona and Papika could change a person’s mind through their trip to the Pure Illusion, so the reveal that Mimi and Papika did the same to Salt’s dad feel like an appropriate step. We see the garden of Mimi and the gang hang out and enjoyed their times before, so when Mimi uses that lethal floral as her weapon, it’s again a nice development. We get a sense that the first Pure Illusion world was the representation of Cocona, so it feels only right that she feels at home with that world. We also know that only Yayaka and Papika see Cocona as who she truly is, so it makes a lot of sense that they are the one who will bring the real Cocona out. Flip Flappers is the show that knows how to use its creative visuals right, as those motifs not only hinder the characteristics of our characters, but also a way to signal the character’s progression as well.

Frankly this episode exceeded my already impossibly high expectation as it consistently topped itself week after week. I heard this show isn’t sell well at all, which is a real crying shame because sometimes anime need shows like this: creative, inventive and willing to let itself loose to bring something fresh instead of sticking to the well-worn formula but also never forgets to be fun. Count me in as one of its fan now.

Sound! Euphonium 2 – 11 [First Love Trumpet]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Sound! Euphonium 2

At long last we have a whole episode focusing on Reina after being sidelined for the whole season. I had my fears going to this episode as developing her crush on Taki-sensei isn’t the direction I want the show to focus on. As it turns out, the episode’s execution is quite good as expected from KyoAni, and they did what they could to close this little Reina arc down nicely before the National competition, but I can’t help but think that this is their worst effort of this second season, especially in a narrative sense as it adds very little to the show’s main narrative.

So the main reason Reina was so cold last week is because she knows that Kumiko’s hiding about Taki-sensei’s wife. Poor Kumiko who got betrayed by none other than Hashimoto-sensei (remember he was the one who spilled the bean to Kumiko as well. Girls, if you want to find out any secret, ask this guy!). The sequence where they are up there in the mountain is played out slowly and steady and I love the direction of this sequence, remind us of course to that terrific episode 8 of last season. Reina is the kind of person who knows what she wants, but when the thing she wants isn’t what she thinks it is, she feels weak and vulnerable. It’s pretty understandable for a girl her age to feel insecure about that. But she also walks a thin line from being completely rude by asking her sensei about his late wife, in an expense of Kumiko no less. That’s Reina for you. Always head on to do things, regardless of how everyone else feels.

By giving Reina a flashback on her first-time meeting Taki-sensei, it actually justifies her actions a whole lot better. So apparently, Reina had an issue of getting along with other people ever since she was a kid because she was… eh… rich. She met Taki at that time and it’s him who encourage Reina to play better. In Reina’s eyes, Taki was like a prince riding horse out of some fairytale and she did attend this school because of him (she mentioned that before but now we know for sure). I guess the time that Taki gave her a music piece was the time that his wife just passed away. Hearing him talking about her with such sad and sweetness is quite touching, and seeing him now try to accomplish her dream is sad in its own way. The problem with that is after he achieving all this, what’s left for him? Hmm, I don’t really see the point of visiting grave from the person you don’t know, but that scene is still a nice closure for Reina to really accept it and mature a bit after this.

With that we get to an end of all those character arcs and with two episodes remaining we will now focus wholeheartedly to the National Competition. I haven’t really noticed but the last half of this season we didn’t get to much band practicing, even at all. In a way, this show is a nice contrast to Yuri on Ice in terms of their approach: while both shows concentrating on the competition aspect, Yuri on Ice spends its time entirely on the performances and the character’s personality and growth are showcased completely during the performances (which actually very fitting to figure skating sport), whereas Sound Eupho focuses strongly on the band’s music practices and personal dramas within the members of the band.

This little Reina act is the total opposite with Yoroizuka act, as in Yoroizuka act we have a heightened drama; where the character changed sharply after it ends; on a secondary character we don’t pretty much care about, this act is about our core character with very little resolve to work with. For those reasons, I would say Asuka act is a definitive act of this season. Then again, relying too much on character’s development acts might be this show’s weakest approach; as for me my favorite moments in this episode are when the show explores little moments between various characters: Yuuko with Reina (Yuuko is actually the best thing this season had developed right now) and Akusa with Natsuki. It’s those moments that remind me that every character in the show have their own lives and issues. They’re not some stage characters who just sit there and don’t do anything when they’re off the stage light.

As a very unrelated note, I got bored and searched for the Daikichi Mountain the girls went up to this episode and it was real.  In fact, that school Kitauji High School is real (down to the uniform), so are every other schools (the marching band school) and settings. That fact seriously blows my mind! With all the RPG fantasy anime, harem anime and limitless amounts of high school anime, I take it for granted that everything there is a work of fiction, of someone’s mindless wet-dream so I don’t prepare for the show that based everything on its real settings. I always know that this show is realistic but now it’s the whole other level of realness, don’t you think?

Magical Girl Raising Project – 11[Server Down for Maintenance]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Magical Girl Raising Project

I will give Mahou keikaku credit in that I knew that after getting a flashback of Cranberry’s past that she was up on the chopping block. But how she died still took me by surprise. It was a pleasant surprise though as there is just something so satisfying about the smug ever so confident Cranberry being one hit killed by Tama. Essentially someone who was considered weak and incompetent moments before by Cranberry. So it is that Cranberry joined this battle to fight strong magical girls and is promptly killed by someone she considered weak. I have a certain love for such poetic justice and it isn’t the only example in this episode. It is also rather funny how both Cranberry and Fav set up this Battle Royale to get strong magical girls and yet Snow White is on the verge of coming out the victor. Despite being not only the weakest but also the only one who didn’t fight or participate. All things considered, Snow Whites beliefs managed to keep her alive the longest albit with some sacrifices on her behalf. While thematically it does have value, it doesn’t really fix that she is still a rather bland character that did pretty much nothing the entire series. It’s clear that this is supposed to be the beginning of her character arc, but I doubt we will be around long enough to see her develop into someone more interesting.

So at this point Swim Swim is the only character left that I actually care about and she killed the last character I started caring about. I still think Swim is a great antagonist and as the final enemy of the battle royale she’s a better option than the rather one dimensional Cranberry. I am a little annoyed that right after Tama’s big moment she killed her over an arbitrary rule. However it does fall in line with her mindset as she follows a rulebook she doesn’t quite understand. Not to mention Ruler likely changed that rulebook based on her emotional state though speaking of Ruler this episode went and showed that she did care on some level about her underlings. Going so far to write a rulebook and then teach Tama when she admitted she didn’t know some of the kanji she used showed that while she was stuck up about herself, she at least cared about them. Other than that though, showing Tama’s backstory after she had been decapitated by Swim only served to develop a character you just killed off. I also happen to notice that this show relies a bit too heavily on flashbacks to develop its characters. All things considered Tama’s flashback didn’t really give much insight into her character that we didn’t already know. Unlike the attack against Cranberry which showed that if Tama had been more merciless than she could have been one of the strongest magical girls in the running. After all her digging holes ability is essentially a one hit kill move and with some training she could be one hell of a powerhouse. Hardgore might have even had trouble with her but well now she’s gone and I am rather annoyed about that.

So that leaves Swim, Ripple and Snow White. Ripple is out for revenge against Swim so Fav has essentially let the game continue so she can get it. But it’s clear that Fav has another agenda as now that Swim is his master he finds her rather uncooperative. I would like to think that Swim actually recognises Fav as completely evil and that’s the reason she refuses to work with him. There are also moments where she regrets killing Tama. One detail is that the kanji she is practicing stands for “Friend”. So seeing as Swim isn’t playing along he has pushed her into accepting meeting RIpple and thrown some hints to Ripple on how to defeat her. It’s a pity but I don’t think that Swim Swim is going to make it out of this arc and it’s possible that these two will kill each other leaving Snow White as the victor. A strange detail is that on going to fight Swim Swim after renouncing her identity as a magical girl, RIpple gets a transformation sequence. This could be the shows way of saying that Ripple is the magical girl this show needs and the kind that Snow White needs to grow into.  Next episode is the finale of the series so I wonder just how this whole thing will wrap up. I can’t say it’s the most memorable show but it did try at least to do something different.