Tag: 2017 Winter Anime

Little Witch Academia – 06[The Fountain of Polaris]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

I should start having more faith in Trigger. Just at the point when Akko’s mentality was starting to become a problem, she gets an episode dedicated to fixing that. After gaining shiny rod Akko was under the impression she was something special but now after failing in magic again she is finally acknowledging her shortcomings. I was getting worried as she began looking for a quick fix by finding the fountain of Polaris but the fountain itself only showed her that Shiny Chariot was once in her position. Thus Akko is ready to truly begin working hard at magic and accept Ursula’s help which I think could be the beginning to a real mentor and student relationship between the two. One thing I find interesting is that Ursula took away Shiny Rod when she rescued Akko and Andrew only to return it once Akko acknowledged her weaknesses and decided to do better. Also it truly is set in stone that Ursula is Shiny Chariot. Her hair has changed to red and she clearly knows far too much about the nature of Shiny Rod, the cards and Polaris’s protector. I am curious was to what prompted her to disappear and hide as a teacher in Luna Nova but there’s another moment I am quite looking forward to. Since the first OVA I always wanted to see the reaction Akko and Diana would have to Ursula revealing herself as Shiny Chariot. I don’t really expect it to happen until the very end of the series but I would love it to be a great epic reveal before facing off against the main villain.(If this series has one) It’s cliche and predictable maybe but I always did have a weakness for that kind of heroic reveal.

With the introduction of the Duke’s son comes a new concern. Romance in Little Witch Academia. Actually let me rephrase that. Plausible romance in Little Witch Academia. I know you Yuri shippers are shipping hard and I certainly have seen that Akko kissing Diana comic strip more times than I can count but come on. We both know the truth. Most you guys will get is slight insinuation if you are really lucky. As far as straight romances go it seems like Diana and Andrew doesn’t look likely as both know each other from childhood and don’t hold each other in high regard. Akko seems to have caught his attention though the two aren’t staring into each others eyes with deep red blushes. Truthfully I am not truly fond of the idea of romance in this show, be it gay or straight. If it’s featured it would need to be a very minor addition as I don’t want a Kiznaver situation where the plot grinds to a halt so characters can get shipped together. I highly doubt Little Witch will go down that route, for one it’s not written by Mari Okada, but yeah as far as romance goes I say keep it minor or keep it out.

It was around episode 6 that Kill La Kill dropped it’s episodic format for a more ongoing narrative so we may be seeing the birth of an ongoing plotline. The Duke himself seems fed up with Luna Nova himself and is looking to close it down. It has been repeated by now that magic is seen as out of date and useless by the modern populous but why is that exactly. By all accounts the magic shown in the series could have several uses and even as the duke berates it he is driving through a magic portal. Technology is undeniably useful but it seems odd for so many people to dismiss magic outright. So far the biggest problem with using magic is that you need to be near the Sorcerer’s stone in order to use it. That in fact may be the main reason why people consider it useless. I mentioned before that Luna Nova has a rather diverse student body but perhaps the reason for that is that Luna Nova quite literally is the only place on the planet where one can learn magic? The Sorcerer’s stone may be only one of a kind and in that regard magic certainly would be considered rather useless as even if you can perform miracles within school grounds. Even if you can transform rats into horses, the magic would likely wear off the minute you go outside the stones field of effect. Coupled with this is the Teachers traditionalist views and aversion to technology which could very well hamper any use magic has. Only thing I would could see magic having a use for is as an energy source but as already shown the stones effect radius is small and I doubt it could power the world. It’s still up in the air just how Akko is going to prove that magic is still needed but it’s clear that this will be one of the major themes of the series. So what I wonder is, where might we be going with this? Somewhere fun, I hope.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 19

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

The Rakugo breakthroughs in this show always come from unexpected places. Yakumo had his breakthrough while crossdressing as a woman for a play. A second breakthrough with his shinigami story after the death of his dear friends. Meanwhile Yotaro has his breakthrough due to his Master collapsing and having to perform under pressure. Strangely this was the perfect way for Yotaro to work his Rakugo as he previously mentioned about wanting the characters of the stories to come alive instead of placing himself within the characters. Thus comes the moment when Yotaro literally cannot put himself into the performance. For Yotaro at this point in time is a complete nervous wreck over Yakumo’s condition. So against all odds, Yotaro not only manages to perform Inokori but does it magnificently. I like that he left out the introduction as you could tell he wanted to get through this performance so he could check on Yakumo. So he jumped right into it without pause. I was originally worried that Yotaro was going to tank this due to his mental state but it became clear as he continued that he was getting in the zone. Afterwards he even lamented that his master couldn’t see him give one of his best performances since becoming a storyteller.

With Yakumo unconscious for a week, Yotaro finds himself filling in for all his gigs and performing quite admirably. He proclaims that Yakumo will be back on his feet but truthfully this is a big wake up call to just how fragile he really is. Rakugo is in a dire state and already a gaping hole is left with Yakumo out of the picture temporarily. The future of an art could very well live or die and it rests in the hands of someone far past his due date. It’s clear what must happen, Rakugo must change and evolve with the times. But as the theatre owner laments how he must rebuild the theatre to meet new building standards for withstanding earthquakes, he does point out something important. Even if the theatre was flawed in many ways, it still holds a history that will disappear when it’s rebuild. This seems to mirror the very state of Rakugo, for to change Rakugo is to challenge that history and potentially replace it. Unlike a Theatre however, replacing Rakugo is no simple task. The rakugo world needs a Yakumo, it needs a Yotaro, it even needs a Sokuroku. None of these men can carry the art by themselves so we need new blood and their lies the paradox. To make Rakugo relevant again it needs new blood but to get new blood Rakugo needs to be relevant again. Perhaps this is the tragedy alluded to in the title Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu.

Saga of Tanya the Evil – 06[Beginning of Madness]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Saga of Tanya the Evil

This week’s episode is more focused on action so I have less to talk about. In terms of plot, we get the main gist that World War One is revving into gear. Dakia looks to be knocked out of the war, thanks to Tanya’s efforts and as predicted, her success has caused the top brass to use her battalion as their ace in the hole. Oddly enough, Tanya doesn’t seem all that concerned about it. Despite the fact that she is ordered into brutally killing people, Tanya seems to be enjoying herself. A lot of this episode was Tanya showing that she’s a badass who can chuck grenades into bomber planes and blow up observation stations attempting to gather data on her. In truth, while watching this episode I was starting to become concerned that we could have the same issue that Drifters had that nothing was really going to pose a tangible threat to Tanya. I have said it before, a one sided battle is boring to watch and makes it feel like the protagonist is never in a position of danger. If the remainder of the series is going to have episodes like this, then the enemy needs to get Tanya to work for her victory instead of getting curbstomped just to show off just how amazing Tanya is.

Thankfully, it looks like the show recognizes that disparity and Being X shows up to rain on Tanya’s parade. This is a break from their normal interactions as this appearance is much more provocative and malicious than previous encounters . By taking control over a dead body, Being X reminds her that even though she has won some small victories, she will soon be fighting the entire world. It is funny that Tanya’s very first response on his appearance is by shooting a round into the bod as she states that this was specifically the reason she carried her gun around everywhere. Being X could arrive at any time and when he does come, she wants a gun on hand to shoot him.  This seems to have give her no real self-satisfaction and his words definitely affect her mood. Before his arrival, Tanya was practically having fun managing the battle and becoming victorious, but her mood soured greatly after God showed up, to the degree that Viktoriya noticed her drop in mood.

The after credits comedy scene worked really well here with Tanya remarking about the dangers of secondhand smoke that nobody in this timeframe is aware of. After all, it cannot be good for her to go to briefings filled with cigar smoke. It could really stunt her growth but that could be a plus on the other hand. As she stated herself, that small body of hers makes for a harder to hit target. With the appearance of God, this likely means that things are going to get a lot harder for Tanya and perhaps this could mean the birth of an archenemy is on the horizon. God does make a good villain but lacks presence to act as something for Tanya to fight against. What would be really cool now is for a kind of Joan of Arc figure leading the war on the other side. Something tangible for Tanya to take down and fight. Sadly, next week’s episode is a recap episode which doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. Considering the quality of the show so far and that this is a first effort by animation studio they have be straining themselves. Last week’s episode did show more signs of cutting corners in terms of animation and I personally would prefer a recap episode over a rushed-out mess.

3-gatsu no Lion – 17 [Silver Thread – Water’s Surface – Base of the Blue Night]

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

Wow, this episode! This is one of the strongest 3-gatsu episode that we’ve encountered so far, both rich in effective little moments, strong characters interactions and smart visual executions. Speeding up to three chapters per episode might be this episode’s most successful trick, because 1) these 3 chapters are interconnected by the same narrative themes and 2) it allows strong moments to sink in faster, and much sharper and 3) the amount of solid characters moments is definitely much higher than normal 3-gatsu episode and this is one of the rare times in 3-gatsu experience that I do feel like I’ve been sink at the bottom of the sea with too much of a good things, for good reasons. The episode produces one of the most breathtaking visual that directly convey the mood and themes of the story. The water motif have been applied effectively throughout the series’ run, but here it adds another layer: both Rei and Kyouko are lost deep within the sea of life, suffocated by the pressure of everything around. The dim lights of her phone to create that light waves of sea is one of the show’s most sensitive visual-storytelling for me. Or the moment the rain just stop after Rei noticed Souya is equally impressive. Shaft carries this show with style, and this episode especially they brings out the best from its source, even the lighter scenes are brimming with finely-tuned touch.

Harunobu, as long last, has catched up with Rei, not only in their professional ranking sense, but also about their maturity. As Rei struggled with his forms and several depressions, Harunobu makes one steady step forward at a time, while fixedly aim at his goal ahead. Harunobu has gained a lot of strong material here and as of now I don’t mind to have his accompany at all. On the other spectrum, the sudden appearance of Souya gives the show the almost dreamlike quality. Souya here is portrayed as someone out of this world, the one who can stop the time, who is unchanged in his appearance after 10 odd years, an angel that so pure and powerful that it brings the force of destruction instead. When people compare him to demon, guess what really remind me of? The old shogi player Matsunaga commented about Rei himself as a “beautiful reaper”. Guess there’s not much difference between Souya and Rei then.

Kyouko also makes the most out of her screen time this week and this might be the first time we have a full picture of Kyouko and her relationship with Rei. In this episode, she’s in her usual spiteful mood at one time, become spirited and playful at other and then deeply vulnerable the next. Her bashing out on the sisters is heavy and malicious, yes, but it comes from her own pain and belief that Rei was the one wrecking her family. What she said isn’t entirely wrong though, As Rei found himself very much at home at the sisters’ house, but still hearing those intentions from a dark and mean perspective certainly is hard. Afterwards, after staying over Rei’s house though, Kyouko amps up her playfulness and really that light tone between them isn’t something we see very often, if at all. The comedy mostly works here and they give off a great chemistry with each other. Kyouko then breaks down, she’s unsure about how to deal with her life. At heart, both of them are pretty insecure individuals, sharing almost the same pain of trying to figure out the way through life. Their relationship, moreover, become much complex and Rei remarks so true in the end “we also haven’t been able to become siblings nor remain strangers”. This was a beautiful chapter.

But the greatest moments for me was when the sisters appearing while Rei and Kyouko having an arguments. At long last, the two forces of nature: the warm, light side from the sisters and the dark, destructive side from Kyouko finally collided and the result is a weird mixed of raw, dark feeling with surprisingly warm-hearted touch. Momo again steals her scene, Hina again is the voice of “follow your heart” sentiments and watching Hina fighting Kyouko might be the greatest pleasure ever (also: Momo calling her “witch”). Those contrasted forces produce such unique sparks that in my book this is one of the show’s brightest and most effective moments. 3-gatsu no Lion is going stronger than ever, and this solid episode comes totally expected because it draws from the current strengths the show has been well established throughout its run. The only downside with it is that now I won’t expect less from it. I know I have been spoiled with too much Kyouko’s and three sister’s moments but give me more doses of excellent characters writing please. Otherwise I would get really pissed-off, just like Hina-chan.

Scum’s Wish – 05 [Destruction Baby]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Scum's Wish

Boy, they actually did it; they actually went that far. And here I thought after introducing the cast and their dark love, they’d tone down on the “physical” aspect and focus more on the “emotional” part. Guess I’m already underestimated Scum’s Wish because they go all the way to this explicit sexual desires without hitting the brake. In this show, emotional pain IS physical pain, for rarely I see in other shows character cries when they’re having sex. All the characters keep holding their emotions inside that they need other for physical release. Sex here is more akin to pain than pleasure since those characters keep using it as a mean to escape their desolation.

“Did you know we’re never done it when you’ve wanted to before?

I’m glad that Mugi isn’t a clueless sad sack (unlike certain someone) who actually knows the true nature of Akame, but despite knowing all this he falls into her trap anyways. This revelation does add new layer to his crush with Akame, as deep down he knows -like Hanabi’s crush on sensei- that it would never work out as normal, healthy relationship. So in order to escape his hormonal needs he turns into his senpai Mei instead (and there I said last week we won’t see her again, ouch). It only makse sense that after Hanabi having an affair last week, now it’s Mugi’s turn to show us how much of a dickhead he is. For a really limited screen time, Mei is surprisingly vivid and sensitive. She understands his deal, and her comment above really signals us what kind of relationship they had before, and where Mugi stands right now. Remember Mugi reflected on her last week that she was incredibly lonely? Now he’s pretty much on that same boat. The affair here isn’t out of love, or even out of desires to be honest, but it was out of running away from current pain. Mei knows that full well so she fullfils what he needs, even when herself hurt so much she sheds her tears. Seriously she becomes my favourite characters out of this series (partly due to her limited appearance since it makes her pain more bearable compared to the rest of the cast).This section does Mugi’s current situation justice, both sheds new light to his hopeless crush on Akane, and further underlines his loneliness by jumping to physical means to escape his frustration.

“The number one thing I desire. Something that will break the mundane routine of everyday life. Freedom”

Akane is becoming a character that everyone love to hate. I actually feel for her character, I really do. Not by her fake charm of course but by her absolute boredom with the strictness of her surrounding. For her, time is a restraint, the way it dictates human to follow through their everyday life. Last week we learn that her bitchy act is the form of her enjoyment from attracting sexual attention from men and causing miserable for women, in this week we also learn that it comes from her thrust for breaking free out of her “boring” life. That’s actually something that I can relate to. And I’m pretty much on the same page with her regarding Narumi. He’s boring, and he currently drags the show down. I guess it’s all set-up for now so his arc begins now as all the sexual desires begin playing a part in their relationship and how he deals with the situation once he realizes Akame’s true color. But for now he’s terribly plain, he’s terribly uninspiring. It’s a bit whimsical to think that the whole situation changes by the mere slip of the tongue, but that also shows us how he truly cares for Hanabi as a true brother. And all Akame’s effort of enduring the guy just so that she can whisper that thunderous message to Hanabi’s ears.

“I hate pain, but it feels so good”

Here comes the strongest section of this episode. As much as Mugi and Hanabi all gone through the same problems, they can’t be able to express their mindset to each other, instead they use physical contacts as a mean to share their feelings. The excitement they have were a mixture of the pain when they know they being cheated by the other, the shame that they’re cheating and even the arousal feeling of being cheated. They’re all negative feelings, but they are strong and irresistible. That emotional pain, however, soon progresses into physical pain in the form of virginal Hanabi. They can’t go all the way because they don’t love each other,. They could if they forced themselves to, but then what is the point of forcing oneself to love someone? I had originally hoped that they could have a genuine relationship later on, but this kind of relationship won’t have a happy ending, ever. I’m digging the smart visual choice of this section as well. Not sure how the manga portrait the dark thoughts of Mugi towards Hanabi but the show really highlights that gritty thoughts by the use of split screens of Hanabi’s face.
The visual execution in the first sequence, on the other hand, is my least favorite part as “he brings the color to my world” is as obvious as the nose on your face. For the episode as heavy and explicit as this one, I understand if some viewers thinking it was too much. In that sense this week is a good barometer for viewers to see if they should continue to watch this show or not. I’m positive that the whole love affairs will get much darker, more explicit and much more disturbing later on. If you still decide to stick with it I hope you have a stomach to handle what come next.

ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. – 05 [Overlapping Footprints in the Distance]

by SuperMario, posted in ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept., Currently Watching:

Okay, this episode… just ends. Look, I normally don’t mind slow-burned story hinting multiple threads and this episode is clearly a set-up episode for upcoming major events, but at least the episode itself has to be completed. Leaving viewers hanging for incompleteness is just as cruel as terrible cliffhanger. Nevermind though, as long as set-up episode goes this week has a large amount of characters interacting with each other. Let first talk about the bureaucrats, as I still can’t put my finger on whether or not they’re a comic relief for the show, or the fact that they’re crazy about toast will be relevant in future events. While at it, the whole bread culture is running strong this week, as many characters express their blind love for breads. Cheers for Magi for being completely out of character, since he abandoned his spying job for the bread-tasting and making a friend in a process. Rail and Magi make up the most unlikely pair but really hooray the show for being so off the track. Well, I do enjoy the humor for this silliness so even if this side story doesn’t add up much, we will always have this companionship formed by the mutual interest of Lotta and toast. Lotta, likewise, do nothing this week except eating cakes, eating breads and having dinners, but weirdly she fits the story very well so I guess the actual coup d’etat might have something to do with bread and toast??? Cake fight? Then I’m definitely on it.

Kidding aside, the main development in this episode has to be that Jean finally exposes Nino’s spy cover. Lilium’s hint was really obvious here, as if his main objective is to decrease the influence of Grossular rather than assisting Jean. But I’m sure people will agree with me that the best part in this episode was the way both Jean and Nino handle the situation. They considered each other as friends at heart so despite blowing the cover up, they remain as close friend. After all, Nino ensures Jean that his main objective of tailing Jean wasn’t for ACCA anyways, so my guess is that his other boss directly tied to the coming coup d’etat. Jean doesn’t mind that he had been following all this time by Nino though, because he knows for sure that Nino will protect him whenever he’s in trouble, just like last week’s uprising. Nor did he give a damn about the reason why Nino rat out on him in a first place. I’m happy to see that their trust and understanding of each other have been very well fleshed out this episode.

This week alone, Jean has to go through two audits and I am a bit sadden that the show decides to rush through it. After all, the 13 districts in this Dowa kingdom are one of the most interesting settings we have in a while, and I would love to learn more about each district’s distinct traits. The two districts that we visited this week in particular have their own strokes of unique features here and there, Birra district is a self-efficient district, and despite its harsh weather with produce no wheat, beer or cigarette, they have oil as their main industry. Understandably Birra district doesn’t want to stay behind in danger should one of the 13 districts becomes dominant, so they’d use oil as their main weapon: control the oil, so that others can’t overtake them. Rokkusu district, on the other hand, is more mountainous and remind us a bit of the old West, as of now there’s not much details about the district. Seriously, even see the different settings, different customs and bread types is enough to get me satisfied, so I really hope the show spend more time to provide us just that.

In term of the big picture though, what do we have so far? We’re pretty much in dark about the details that Jean got out from Suitsu (damn, they’re keeping their cards too close to their chest), so as much as I want to root for Jean, he’s an unreliable narrator at the moment. He did receive one more cigarette, that “from whom they sent those” and “why” are still unclear. This is clearly a calm before the storm moments, but the problem is that with no clear indication on what’s about to come, it’s hard for us to know how big the storm gonna be, so there is no real threat here. Maybe in that sense it’s not so bad as the harder we figure out the real plot, the more interesting we find ourselves into the story, as with me I found myself liking ACCA more and more. At last, Jean is going to meet Grossular so we…

(to the spirit of the ending of this episode, my post ends here)

3-gatsu no Lion – 16 [Running Through the Night – Middle of the Slope]

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

3-gatsu had another solid episode this week, which for now was exactly what you would expect from this show. Rei’s getting more social life, and this episode demonstrates the importance of the tutors’ roles, as both Hayashida-sensei and Shimada continues to guide him to improve himself, both in his personal life as well as his professional shogi life. But “solid” and “expected” also means that I don’t really have a lot to delve into, so instead of doing an usual format, I will try something different this time, running the episode down by key moments and giving you my thoughts on those. Notes that this is just one-off, mostly for the sake of trying something different.  

If you really think about it, this “arson club” is the kind of club that Rei would never be a part of. They are as different from Rei as chalk and chesse. The club is noisy, active and silly, Rei isn’t. They try to make soap to attract girls, the kind of thing that Rei would never dare to try. Yet, they’re getting along well, because the club is determined to help Rei out. This section gets as silly and light-heart that it could get, but this is the light-heartedness that I wanted to see. Like Hiyashida-sensei, just watching Rei enjoying himself with other people is rewarding enough.

But here, we have one of the most satisfied life lesson that one could learn from his sensei for a long while. Heck, this life lesson still resonates well even to me, more than 10 years older than Rei right now. You need to rely on others sometimes in things that otherwise difficult when you do it alone, because then people can rely back to you. Rei is the kind of person who doesn’t want to trouble his friends for his personal problems, which is fair enough, but by doing that he creates a border that others can’t cross, and in turns they keep their distance with him. I haven’t really talked about him in details before but Hiyashida-sensei proves to be one of the most reliable tutor Rei could’ve had for guiding him to be more open in his social life. Rei needs more friends, that’s a given, and seeing him slowly realize the significance of opening up to someone else is really satisfying.

Continue reading “3-gatsu no Lion – 16 [Running Through the Night – Middle of the Slope]” →

Little Witch Academia – 05[Luna Nova and the White Dragon]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

Well there goes my character focused episodes theory unless the purpose of this episode was to introduce Fafner the dragon. I think only trigger can manage to turn a situation with dragons stealing a magic stone into a tale about the academy trying to pay off a debt owed to to a dragon who works in the stock market. Dragons in particular are known for hoarding treasure with Fafner being a dwarf who turned into a dragon and guards his treasure hoard. So a modern interpretation of this being a dragon who acts as a loan shark while working digitally with the stock market is a stroke of genius. If you’re unfamiliar with the stock market, platforms like IG Review can offer insights into how the stock market works. I certainly wasn’t expecting that after a powerpuff girls reference at the beginning of the episode. The Dinotopia reference with dragonese being essentially footprint alphabet I didn’t catch until reading discussions. Also found out that dinosuar show I watched way back in 2002 was called Dinotopia and was based on books. I will be damned. Other than that this did give the troublemaker trio of Amanda, Constanze and Jasminka some time in the spotlight, especially Constanze who has likely won more fans with this.

In my book any character than can pull out a Spaz shotgun and shoot down dragons is a character worth remembering. The diversity of nationality is pretty unheard of for an anime as well with Akko being Japanese, Lotte being Finnish, Sucy is from southeast Asia, Amanda being American(Considering her second name is O’Neill, she’s most likely part Irish too.), Constanze is German, Jasminka is Russian, Diana is British and even the announcer from the broom race looked Africain. I can’t think of many anime with a cast like this other than maybe Jojo and that anime that represented each country with an anime character(Helalia was it?)  Considering that Little WItch Academia appeals more to a western audience than a japanese one this could be fanservice on Triggers part and boy do I love them for it.

It’s a little early to call this a demerit to the show but if not remedied soon Akko’s attitude could become a problem. Akko’s main gimmick is that she is a girl with incredible passion and daring which will most likely cause a change in the magic world. Right now however when Diana was laying into her about her faults I found that I agreed with her 100%. Akko doesn’t think about how her actions affect others and despite talking up about how she is going to be the best that ever was, she never makes a real effort to try. Ursula is more than willing to give Akko the help she needs but she is getting shunned or ignored fast by Akko. The big factor in this episode is that Akko placed her friends in real danger just by butting into a problem which would have been resolved without her. As I said it’s a little early to call this a flaw as Akko’s development is clearly going to be a big part of the series but she is going to need to at least start changing a little. One thing that constantly had me wondering while watching this is that Akko and her friends went to take on dragons and for some reason Akko did not bring along Shiny Rod. She was lucky in this case as the dragon in question didn’t intend to hurt them but to go up against a dragon without the deus ex machina stick isn’t bravery, but pure foolishness.

Fafner does bring up a point which is likely to play an important role in this series, namely that magic has become outdated for the modern world. The luna nova teacher state that there is a decline in students and it doesn’t help that they have proven themselves fairly incompetent so far in the series. Magic does look to have great benefits like with Diana reforming the potion that broke during Akko’s and Amanda’s fight. However those benefits come with an immense downside as the witch’s can only use great magic within the grounds of the school. In that regard just what does one gain from studying to be a witch? Constanze has proven it well enough that technology can not only do what magic does but it can do the job better. So the big question is what caused of the decline of magic? For Shiny Chariot could once use great magic outside of school so what exactly changed? Could it have anything to do with that star shaped scar on the moon? For that scar doesn’t appear to be on the moon in the very first episode during Chariots show. Perhaps the fall of magic could be related to why Chariot gave up being an entertainer and lost the power to wield Shiny Rod.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 18

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

The opening of this episode starts us off with an ominous note as Sukuroka’s eyes are shown with a deep blood red. Perhaps it is a sign that the reaper has come for Yakumo, but I think it’s too early for that yet. On Yotaro’s side of things, something I previously suspected was brought up as Yotaro still hasn’t found his Rakugo and I think that until the writer gives him some new material, he won’t. One thing he did realize was that s and his and Yakumo’s approach to Rakugo are different. Yakumo tends to push his style as a performer onto all the characters he portrays while Yotaro wishes to become the characters themselves. It’s an important step for Yotaro as it means that he is moving away from simply copying his master to developing his own style. Considering the events at the end of the episode, I hope he doesn’t regress back from this step forward. It was indeed a very unfortunate timing for Yotaro to have this revelation.

The final scene reminds me of a moment during the first season, when Miyokichi claimed that she would haunt Yakumo in episode 9. In a way she has done just that, so perhaps it gives her joy in the afterlife. Is this truly the ghost of Miyokichi come back to torment Yakumo or simply a hallucination due to his failing health? It really is up to the viewer, but it is rather interesting that Yakumo was telling a story about a man meeting his loved one by lighting incense and making the story more dynamic by having Konatsu light the incense. For the ghost of Miyokichi to appear from incense lit by her daughter, who just so happens to still hold a grudge against Yakumo is rather intriguing. As I stated in the title, I don’t think this is the end for Yakumo. Things may look grim but he still hasn’t hit the apex of this character arc yet. He is essentially the main opposition for Yotaro and for the writer to kill him off now would leave a gaping hole in the narrative. I think this near death experience should give him some perspective though. One thing that really caught my eye was in how Yakumo reacted to Yotaro calling Rakugo fun. Once upon a time Yakumo found Rakugo fun, but it seems after Sukoroku died, that event killed Yakumo’s enthusiasm for it. Rakugo is just a job for Yakumo now and I think this marks a turning point for him to regain that love he once had.

One thing that threw me through a loop this episode was before Yakumo collapsed, he looked at Konatsu and repeated “My Beloved, My beloved.” I personally saw the relationship between Yakumo and Miyokichi to be one sided. Unless that flashback was Yakumo playing unreliable narrator I don’t think Yakumo truly loved Miyokichi. He may have cared for her but often his more intimate moments with her felt like he was just indulging her. Of course time is a fickle beast and it’s possible that looking back over his past that Yakumo’s affection for Miyokichi could have grown into love. It was a long time ago and she was clearly the woman who made the greatest impact on his life. But perhaps there is something more to this. Perhaps Yakumo was hiding something that he didn’t tell Yotaro and Konatsu. What that could be is anyone’s guess. As a nice bit of symmetry this episode is the fifth episode of the second season which could potentially be Yakumo’s end as a Rakugo performer. The fifth episode of the first season was where Yakumo crossdressed for a play and discovered his talent with could be considered his beginning in Rakugo. In that regard this could be the beginning of great change.

Saga of Tanya the Evil – 05 [My First Battalion]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Saga of Tanya the Evil

The only one thing I dislike about this episode was that we didn’t get into Tanya’s thoughts very much. I really wish I could have heard what she was thinking while training the troops because it would have been undoubtedly hilarious. It is clear by her reaction that she didn’t expect any of them to continue and was just waiting for them to drop out. From what I hear, we actually got the abridged version of her training as in the LN and manga, as she shot even more artillery shells at them after the original thirty-six hour time limit just to mess with them and then went through the list of the world’s most hellish training regiments. Of course, her efforts backfired as the harsh treatment of the troops gave the impression that she would kill anyone who dared tries to quit. It’s a common theme for Tanya to see things in terms of loss and gain as her previous life as a salaryman made her highly logical but apathetic.

Tanya only sees things from her perspective without taking into account the time or the mindset of others. In truth, Tanya’s mistakes are normal due to her misunderstanding of other people. To truly defeat God, she needs to stop focusing on her own goal and expand her worldview and the utter glorious tragedy of it all, is that Tanya is the kind of person so caught up in her own ideals to ever truly consider it. Despite being a clever individual, Tanya is quite childish and short sighted. After all, the main reason she is in this mess is because she prattled on to God without thinking. Tanya, to me, is how a villain should be written, not some unfazeable egoist mastermind sitting atop a tower saying everything is according to plan. Instead, she’s just a capable individual with a flawed personality and ideology, essentially making her human.

Thus, with the battalion formed, the group receives their first mission fending off an invasion by the kingdom of Diakon. I don’t know who this nation is supposed to represent but they seem to have not updated their war tactics from the 19th century. The lack of air support and rudimentary defense against mages makes Tanya sigh at their incompetence and the ensuing battle couldn’t really be called one but rather, it was a wholesale massacre and devastating defeat for the kingdom of Dakia. It seemed all too easy and I thought that God might throw a wrench into the works, but this battle does truly highlight just how ruthless Tanya really is. Her assistant Viktoriya has been acting somewhat of a moral counterpart, but even she doesn’t chastise Tanya for her level of ruthlessness.

Out of everyone in the world, she seems to is the one that knows Tanya the best as when battalion was given an explanation by their commanding officer about shelling them with artillery, Viktoriya had already begun digging a hole to avoid the bombardment. I certainly wasn’t expecting Tanya to pull out that little girl voice to announce the attack on the capital but that was certainly underhanded and remarkably clever. No doubt, this victory will push her reputation even higher which may have slipped her mind during this mission. After all, Tanya is thinking of war in terms of the modern world, so the massive numbers of Dakia troops doesn’t impress her. However, to the various militaries of this world, the news that she defeated an army with a single battalion, will no doubt have her superiors pushing her into much more dire straits.  Finally, we can see that Tanya is making use of her previous life’s knowledge as the speech she gave her battalion is almost a word for word quote from Full Metal Jacket.