Tag: new anime season

2017 Winter Anime Season Preview

by AidanAK47, posted in Seasonal Previews

It’s that time of the year again. With snow on the ground and Christmas lights about but that’s not what we are here for. Anime be my bread and my wine, and my presents if luck be true. I am lamenting over not being able to get the Spice and Wolf Collector’s edition book. Living in Europe can be quite troublesome sometimes but hey at least I got a Fullmetal Alchemist Collector’s edition that has a replica of the gate which just looks beautiful. Who knows, maybe I might even get around to watching that stockpile of Blu-ray anime i have sitting in my room. After the steam backlog is done i will have time…hopefully. Moving on to what really matters, a new anime season is coming up and forgive me if this sounds uncharacteristic of me but this season is looking very promising. We got second seasons of great shows along with Trigger saving anime again and even some pretty interesting shows in the lineup. I got my eye of a few here and while we got the usual lineup of straight to trashcan anime, there’s quite a lot of good to make up for potential bad tidings to come. 2016 certainly ended on a ominous note.

Same rules apply as before. The poll below will be used to gauge what you readers want us writers to cover this season. Vote for as many shows as you like. In regards to opinions on most sequels, if you liked the previous season then by all means continue. As usual I have checked out every source I can find, read manga, light novels, played video games…If I can get my hands on it then I will look at it to get a better idea of what the anime can offer.

This poll is no longer accepting votes

What will you be watching this spring?
VoteResults

Once again thanks to Mario for gathering the images. With that let’s get this show on the road.

 

The sequels/prequels I don’t care about

Gintama(2017)

Reikenzan: Eichi e no Shikaku

Rewrite / 2nd Season Moon-Hen/Terra-Hen

SUPER LOVERS 2

Yowamushi Pedal: NEW GENERATION

Tales of Zestiria the X 2

 

Series I don’t look forward to

 

AKIBA’ S TRIP: THE ANIMATION

Studio: Gonzo

Director: Hiroshi Ikehata

Script/Series composer: Kazuho Hyodo

Akihabara, a broad-minded neighborhood where everyone from beginners to masters are welcomed. Even when you’re alone, if you go to Akiba, you’ll find someone who understands you. It’s a neighborhood where anything is possible, where anyone can do seemingly anything; a place where you can lay bare your body and soul. In this neighborhood of Akiba, which has everything including anime, games, maids, idols, secondhand parts, and cheap food, battles are fought against the “Bagurimono,” and a steadfast “boy meets girl” story begins!

Let it never be said that I am not through and to get an idea for what we are in for I bought Akibas’trip Undead and undressed on steam and played through it. Admittedly the story of this anime isn’t related to the story of this game as it’s the second game of the series and I see none of the characters in the promo art. But it does give me an idea of what we are in for. I was really surprised by how much the story of the game took itself seriously. The characters treat the whole idea of stripping vampires to expose them to the sun with a surprising amount of righteousness. However unlike Keijo which shines in not recognising the utter ridiculousness of it’s concept, Akibas’trip just becomes another supernatural battle story when it disregards the whole stripping aspect. It also feels like a tourism ad for Akihabara at times. In fact that description up there is more endorsement of Akihabara than saying anything meaningful about the show. I truly don’t expect much for this and having Gonzo at the helm doesn’t make me think this is going to change my expectations. Director is a newbie and the series composer worked on Relife and that’s about it.
Continue reading “2017 Winter Anime Season Preview” →

Occultic;Nine – 10[Another Girl, Another Planet]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Occultic:Nine

“As to her purpose, I am going to make a random guess that she’s the descendant of Nikola Tesla or something.”

I wrote this about Ryo-tas in the comments of the 04-06 review and now I say I goddamn called it. So now Ryo-tas has a point, in fact she is now the centerpoint of the entire story. For that all the writer needed to do was transplant another character on top of her and make it that her toy ray gun is…it’s the entire key to the…oh god it’s the entire key to the evil organisation guys plot. Oh for f*cks sake! My brain hurts from the complete stupidity of this show. I mean you go to so much trouble inventing some puzzle that the professor left behind which needed to be solved using Baudot code and whatever bloody stuff you googled for five minutes on the internet, yet when it comes to your main plot it’s just this utter wreck of nonsense. I know it’s likely obvious by now but allow me to be blunt with you. I hate this show. I hate everything about it. I have long stopped caring about anything that happens in it and at this point it has become truly painful to watch.

The plot twists just make me want to shake me head and this show may have the worst direction I have ever seen. Other shows could be faulted for having direction which was dull and uninteresting but the direction of this show makes watching it a arduous task. This entire episode was filled with dutch angles which are normally supposed to instil discomfort on the viewer for a particular scene. But this episode was filled with them regardless of what was even on screen. There are shots where the screen is flipped 90 degrees for no reason. This episode went even further with the utterly outrageous shots were all spatial awareness is thrown out the window and they just put the two characters in the same shot regardless of their positioning in the scene. If I showed this to a film student I am certain he would start hitting his head off a wall at the seer incomprehensible incompetence on display. It’s one thing for a show to be bad but for a show to quite literally make the viewer physically ill from disorientation while watching it is a new low.

So what happened? Well Ryo-tas is now possessed by the spirit of Nikola Tesla’s daughter which he never really was supposed to have. How? We get a big old infodump which essentially says that ghosts can do this because shut up and deal with it. This is found out because the professor’s son happened to open a book that spelled out that Ryo-tas was a descendant of Tesla. That’s good but why is the psychometric girl also landing on the same conclusion despite her having no real reason to look into it? Then we have the curse girl and her “demon” which may actually be her brother now I think. There’s a guy in a creepy mask going around erasing the ghosts made by the mass drowning and it’s being suspected that he is the manager of the restaurant everyone goes to. He also kills two people somehow…moving on.  Apparently professor guy not only listed the names  of the people that drowned but also the medical data from the hospital they went to for various different ailments. This seems to be the reason they were picked out to drown because the hospital was testing if they were compatibility with magic ghost maker pixie dust. Also Doujin girl somehow faked her death and I surely look forward to how the writer is going to crowbar her into this whole mess too.

This show may be well on it’s way to being my worst anime of 2016 but it surprises me that it seems to be still getting a positive reception from some people. I normally would at least take others views on a show into account but if anyone tries to tell me this show is well written I would accuse them of being blind. The plot has long since stopped making any logical sense and the characters either infodump about a ludicrous mystery or throw some token angst. Mister blogger kids reaction to the ghost of Christmas Tesla could very well sum up my reaction to the series as a whole but regardless I still don’t get why he is even involved with all this. In fact why are any of these people involved with this? By my estimate over half the cast has nothing to do with the core mystery but perhaps they are there to remind us that even though no character bonding happened on screen that it did happen off screen. By now I just want this show to end, please just end. The time to stop has come and i don’t care if it means not airing the last episode. Just stop…before I strangle the director.

Drifters – 10[Baba Yetu]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Drifters

The black king is hinting it hard that he is Jesus that it would now be surprising if he wasn’t. All his powers seem to stem from miracles Jesus performed. The other ends remark that he is a tacticians nightmare in how he can provide an endless supply of food and heal soldiers quickly, thus allowing them to join the battle again. However based on how salt is dropping from him as he walked here, it seems his powers are not without price. He even said that unlike god he is not immortal so he couldn’t provide food forever. That said his powers are still nasty as he beats a dragon by giving it super cancer.

One thing that might not be clear is that after getting the dragon to join them, the Black King has his armour melting down his scales for weapons and armour. Based on how the scene was shown it took me a moment to truly recognise what was going on. Otherwise the Dwarfs have joined the Drifters army and the three transvestite Drifters are proving that they won’t be winning any fanclubs from anyone watching the series. All things considered the main count looks to have a good head on his shoulders but his group exemplifies the worst aspect of this show and are pretty down to death stereotypes which lack the charm of Puri Puri Prisoners overblown example of this character archetype.

As we have reached episode 10 and the end of this series draws near I have found that overlooking the series as a whole this was mainly a story about building up a conflict that we will most likely never see. If this is the only anime season we get of the series then the story will be rather underwhelming. As an example, a common complaint of Re:Zero was that it’s run was mainly a buildup for confrontations later down the line. However while it is true that the main plot of Re:Zero was unresolved, it did provide conclusion to it’s individual arcs. While loose ends were left, the conflicts introduced in the series were resolved before series end. Drifters on the other hand has been mainly focused on the Drifters and the Ends building their forces.

They have had a skirmish but it is highly unlikely that they plan to finish each other off by the end of this season. From the looks of things the Orte will be the series finale and the ends will be left for another undetermined season. Maybe even then a second season would just build a battle destined for a third season. As an anime fan I have long since gotten accustomed to shows not having definitive endings. Though in that case I at least would wish the series provided enough highs that a second season wouldn’t be a necessity. With this show however what we have is mostly just the Drifters steamrolling the Orte which while not boring, is rather empty.

3-gatsu no Lion – 09 [Distant Thunder part 2 – part 3]

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

“The calm mind is the way”

It becomes true to both Rei and our old man Matsunaga this week, since their minds are totally tangled with so many unnecessary thoughts and feelings. In more than one way, Mr. Matsunaga is a stark contrast to Rei. While Rei is a young shogi prodigy who become a professional a bit too early, he’s the old man who still hanging on that shogi rope for a bit too long. Rei respects him for spending 40 years dedicated to shogi, whereas the man envies him for being too bright. A rising star vs. a faded star.

And they both have their issues before the match as well: Rei is occupied by the poisonous words from Kyouko: “strangle the old dog”. That first long, uncomfortable sequence of Rei standing on the train, together with frantic close up cuts are really spot on, that what Shaft does best of course but this is one of the rare times that their own style fit perfectly to the material of 3-gatsu. Mr. Matsunaga feels exactly the same way, and of course doesn’t feel really good about that. Well, I came to this episode expecting a tense and emotional match between those two, as a result I didn’t prepare myself for the silly, upbeat beat the old man behaves throughout this episode.

The older you get, the more childish you behave. This is true with Mr. Matsunaga here, as the show frames his behaviors as nothing more than those of a child. All his actions: his silly praying, his clumsy behaviors, his random shogi strategies, his bad manner when losing, his often-contradicted statements; all show his immature (or should I say: over-mature) side of him. The randomness of his shogi surely gives Rei a hard time, for how can you beat a person who you can’t figure out their motives? That gives the match a much more lousy and silly tones than you would normally have expected from any professional shogi match. (Thank goodness there were no jokes about the old man’s bad back, that joke is just… painful and insensitive. But we have him falling down instead. Ouch!)

But consider this, I used to play in competitive level sport before so I know this well: when is the time that you know your time in the sport has come? It is when you don’t have a drive to win anymore. Mr. Matsunaga knows this well, and he’s prepared himself for that moments to come. I love the moment he describes Rei as a “beautiful death god”, it’s just amazing how impressions often work in accordance with our own inner psyche. Except that just like facing with death itself, the closer that moment approaches, the more desperate you want to keep hanging on. His feelings are totally legitimate here, that makes him still feel like an actual human despite his often over-childish behaviors. So comes to my next point, is it really a good option for Rei to encourage Mr. Matsunaga to continue on shogi? As I said earlier I don’t think so, especially the old man even admits one of the reasons he doesn’t want to quit is because of the housework at home. This guy needs a good spanking in a butt.

Kyouko remains a force to be reckon with, as she knows exactly how to hurt Rei. Her calling to Rei to “comfort” his feeling is nothing but abuse his mind but this time only her plan backfires. It’s more about understanding other people, Rei is now more willing to trust and shares feelings with others and this is one step up from the former-Rei. I agree this episode is a minor episode for 3-gatsu, it doesn’t add much in the big picture and especially a let down from last week’s standout episode but it still does its job. Still the show remains incredibly sensitive when it comes to character’s drama so even with a lesser episode like this one, the characters still shines bright.

Flip Flappers – 10 [Pure Jitter]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Flip Flappers

So her whole life is a lie, huh?

Now that she realizes Yayaka’s friendship as a fake, Cocona’s partnership as a substitute, Flip Flapp organization downright used her for their gains, obaa-chan even betrayed her; Cocona is on a verge of complete breakdown, but who would’ve thought she transforms into the-other-dark-magical-girl-show level of insanity? Struck down your own house by summoning “meteors” falling from the sky? Floating from the ground so she doesn’t have to step on fallen pieces of the robots and her obaa-chan? Totally mean but serve you right, obaa-chan. But girls, here a lesson for you: if you want to confess your sins or tell your dear friend a secret, DO IT RIGHT AWAY; don’t wait until the robots attacking you and then they will somehow ruin the mood by spoiling what you’re about to say with such meaner spirit.

Kidding aside, everything starts to make sense now that we know the true nature of who Coconami…uh… I mean Mimi is. That’s Cocona with long hair and red collar. She seems to be the first one who can enter Pure Illusion world, who partnered up with Papika(na) and young Salt in the process. It leaves another clue to Papika as somehow she hasn’t aged since that time and started to regain her memory once the fragments were completely collected. Which still doesn’t explain how she screws up on answering that simple question from Cocona’s (and ours for a full three weeks): “Who’s Mimi” that leads Cocona to completely distrusts everyone around her. I wonder, instead of that 5-minutes flashback (I counted it), Papika could have just answered: “She’s your Mom” and all the misunderstanding will be resolved in a flash. You can argue that she lost her memories but the fact remains that Cocona is an exact replica of Mimi so it’s not hard for her to reach a conclusion, ya’ know.

Okay, I’ll be serious now. I swear I have heaps of fun talking about this episode. The sad news is, with the fragments collecting comes to an end, it means there could be no more Pure Illusion world for us to enjoy. I already missed those adventures where under the surface might or might not have a deeper meaning, but it sure is fun to talk about those worlds. Admittedly, I think we will encounter the ultimate Pure Illusion world, which I guess the clue of that world is the big painting from Iroha-sensei that Cocona was quite interested in. Now, the Cult going full force in order to capture Cocona so that they can complete the mission and step up to rule the world, and that new amorphous girl is yet to reach her full potential so I expect the match between her and Cocona in coming episodes.

Looks like we will learn a bit more about the backstory of Papika, Mimi and Dr. Salt in next episode, but judging from the brief flashback couple episodes ago, Dr. Salt was already mature at the time of the “incident” so it would be 4,5 years after this week’s flashback; and the baby that Mimi hold is none other than Cocona. It’s pure speculation but I guess something happened in the Pure Illusion world and Mimi was shattered into fragments, one of which implanted inside Coconas thigh. That might be the reason why Cocona is rather famous in that world: is totally controlled by fake life, fake friend who was assigned to be near her to keep an eye on the fragment and that might be the reason why she was chosen by Papika in the first place. This episode surely is a life-changer in terms of plot, connecting all the connective tissues and making it a collective whole. For one thing Flip Flappers might be one of the rare shows that you won’t see what come next, it could go west or east or up the sky depending on its moods and I’m totally fine with that. Let’s hope this wacky little show ends on a high and conclusive note.

Sound! Euphonium 2 – 10 [After-School Obbligato]

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

This season surely gives us too much of Kumiko-cuteness versions. After the fluffy little Kumiko last few weeks, the bedridden sore throat Kumiko, the surprisingly “always listening – always understanding” (such a pretentious slogan) Kumiko last week, what shades pf Kumiko is in store for us this week? Of course it’s an emo teary-eyes Kumiko. As much as a blank emotion when we first met her, this episode in particular shows us that she can express her own emotions, and on top of it actively resolves conflicts because she really wants to. That’s quite a development for our girl Kumiko to be that emotionally honest and I’m sure she deserved all the praise she got this week.

As contrasted to the Kumiko – Asuka showdown later on, Kumiko and Mamiko’s conflict was pretty quiet, soft but full of honest moments. The sisters don’t really make conversations to each other for so long, and the last times they talked there were a huge influx of misunderstanding from both sides, but to resolve the matters like this show how much maturity they both have become. It’s like the first time that Mamiko treats her sister like a companion, frankly tells her sister her issues in exactly the way she feels. That scene is layered by Mamiko literally cleaning up her mess (way too subtle KyoAni!), while Kumiko just stands there, cooking and listening. This is the most appropriate way to end their conflict like this, because ultimately Mamiko doesn’t need her sister’s help, she just needs her to understand. Like Asuka’s last week insecurity about being Eupho-girl, Mamiko was a bit jealous of Kumiko because she could do what she wants; while we know that Kumiko was thinking the opposite. The play of perspective is there to show us how they’re struggling with their own images. Speaking of perspective, my favorite moments out of this little drama has to be just after Mamiko said she was about to move out and said she’d be a little sad (don’t know about you guys but I personally find it real hard to talk about emotions to my siblings, just like Mamiko and Kumiko here), she looks at this little corner and knows that the place where she spend her childhood as home will be no longer her home. That feeling rings so hollowly true here.

But the most brilliance thing is how her sister’s drama helps supporting Kumiko in her “Operation Bring Back Asuka-senpai”. The event last week, powerful as it was, isn’t enough to bring Asuka back to the band. After all, Asuka’s main intention to invite Kumiko last week was because she needed someone to hear her out, not to resolve her conflicts. In her minds, the best solution has always been cutting herself off from the band, that’s where out Kumiko steps in. Yes, Asuka isn’t wrong about all that, but sometimes, just follow what you’re most passionate about regardless of any other things might be the best course of action. It’s no points to continue what you ain’t love doing. Be honest to yourself. Be a KID!! The showdown is atmospheric, tense and I love how Asuka lays bare what she thoughts about Kumiko. On that showdown, we have many shots from multiple perspectives: most of the time from Kumiko’s point of view, sometimes they pull out from different angles, sometimes they don’t even show the girls’ faces at all. Those shots aim to show us how much Asuka was still in control of the situation until Kumiko’s breakout. Kumiko’s body expressions after that talk is priceless. I can see so much efforts were put to make her gestures as expressive as we see here.

To align with the tone of this second season, this episode also leaves Reina absent for most of the time to do god-know-what from He-must-not-be-named (AKA spying from her teacher) and it looks like the next episode will focus on her crush issues with Taki-sensei. To be honest that arc might be the one I least interested in, because we already know the outcomes of this crush. Despite that, it also means we will have more Reina’s time so I remain optimistic about that arc might turn out worthwhile. Maybe.

Occultic;Nine – 09[Future Days]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Occultic:Nine

The presentation of Occultic;Nine is starting to remind me of speed Racer, an anime from a bygone era which had a rather infamous dub. Basically due to the literal translation, the way which Japanese can say more with less words and the speed of dialogue it required the dub actors to say a large amount of words as fast as possible. This resulted in a dub to one of the very first anime localized in the US and quite possibly the worst dub ever to grace the medium. You see when you are so focused on spitting out the script at high velocity it’s difficult to truly emote or present said script in a watch that can be engaging. Even Bakemonogatari takes moments to slow down to get the emotion out while Occultic;Nine attempts to have an emotional reconciliation in the span of thirty seconds. This is just abysmal, on all fronts besides animation and art. I don’t blame those guys as purely on animation and art this show has been rather impressive, I even found the point of view shot with Miyu walking down to the boys killing room to be really well done. But direction, editing and dialogue is just a pure trainwreck.

But let us try to piece together just what is going on here. Well first Miyu is a goddamn moron as just from a text message from her old friend she decides to go to a secluded location where she previously met the murderous kid, down into a secret passage that opened out of nowhere and through an incredibly ominous tunnel that screams get the hell out to any sane individual. I understand that grief can have an effect on people but this…this is just nonsense. I would believe it if she was going there for revenge but she truly believes her friend was alive despite seeing the bloody remains first hand. There is overcome with grief and then there is being an utter moron, you have fallen into the second category. But with this we get some insight into who this boy is and the Kotoribako. Basically this boy is a living person who has been  killing people because he sees them as rare cards somehow and he makes people into kotoribako because he wants to get rare cards. So to summarize the above, the boy and Kotoribako…are absolutely irrelevant to the main plot. The only thing this whole side plot did was give the main characters some exposition to figure out a bit of the evil organizations plan, exposition which the child knows because…he’s a rich kid? Um…I…bloody hell…just…just what is this? How is this writer getting work? What editor approved this? This development adds nothing to the narrative but more plot-holes! This is what this writer utterly infuriates me as it reminds me of the asinine stories I used to write between classes when i was a teenager. I know this logic, the reason this boy is in the story is because he wanted a psycho boy in the story. For that’s what he thinks is cool, logic be damned.

On the upside Ryo-tas looks to be getting a point. Seems her bouncing about like a preschooler was all just an act and she seems to be the mysterious Zonko which has been communicating with the blogger kid all this time. I would like to say this means she’s no longer pointless but well Zonko hasn’t contributed to the plot much either. She told the kid to pull out a tooth and helped him figure out a puzzle with the ceiling. If anything this brings up the very good question that if she knew everything that was going on then why did she spend the last 9 episodes saying and doing nonsense when everyone else was trying to figure out what’s going on. There’s going to have to be a very good reason as to why she kept all this to herself and considering the answers we got so far I say it’s going to be nonsensical. Also oh god the detective mentions that the ghost guy(Another pointless character up to this point) can time travel.

Oh no! No! Hell no! You can’t just put in a throwaway Steins;Gate reference and expect me to swallow that. There are two things which can turn any story into an utter mess and those are alternate dimensions and time travel. Occultic;Nine is already a clusterfuck so this is really the last thing it needs. But most of all…if this all ends with a time reset I will be goddamn furious. The time reset is the get out of jail free card of every hack writer. It is only acceptable when time travel is an integral part of the narrative. Otherwise it’s a cheap method of avoiding consequence in storytelling which renders the entire plot moot. Other than that we just find that the evil organization plan to end the world it seems with this new world plan which I guess involves killing everyone on the planet so they can live as immortal ghosts? But then what about the mind control plan? Is that still in effect? Well tune in next time and prepare to see none of the occult stuff in the opening as well as any occult in general. Couldn’t even live up to the name…I have a headache now.

Drifters – 09[Serious Bomber]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Drifters

Drifters is at it’s best when the Orte are getting trounced and they are certainly getting a beating here. I could complain over how the Orte are one dimensional villains but after the master race bull and the concentration camp here they are quite literally Nazi’s at this point. Nazi’s are the one type of villain that always deserve a good beating. However it would be good to see the Drifters having some challenge here as the Orte are posing as much of a threat as rubber ducks. This is in part due to the drifters making use of actual tactics when the Orte are following the bare necessities of leading an army. Seeing Nazi’s get killed is hardly a unsatisfying experience but a one sided battle is a rather dull watch. I did think the Orte might actually put up some sort of fight when they brought out the heavy armored knights but that was quickly taken out with Olminu’s walls and gunpowder. Speaking of which I thought Oda’s gunpowder would require a year for the materials to be produced. Was there a time skip I was not made aware of?

Olminu must have a hard time off screen as it seems that all she is to the characters is a walking boob joke. It’s unfortunate when your mentor is praising your talent and calling you a prodigy only for him to remind us that she has breasts. She certainly does but really what does that have to do with anything? I say the Drifters crew need to take a look over at Occultic;Nine as there is a much more deserving target for the boob jokes. Ryo-tas could use some mockery over her design because it is certainly driving me insane at just how no one in the show remarks about the girl who looks like she got a XLL size breast transplant. Olminu is at least proving that she has an actual point in the series besides being a pin up girl and it would be nice to see her get some respect for it. That and the boob jokes got old fast.

Oda is once again flabbergasted over technology as he marvels over the communication device which is a orb that essentially acts as a transistor radio. His revelations over how this device would revolutionize warfare also brings up a fair point about Murasaki’s actual job. I for the most part assumed that this battle was essentially a minor spat between EASY and Murasaki for entertainment but there is a question about Murasaki’s actual job. This episode seems to suggest that Murasaki takes Drifters from other world to provide perspective and innovation to another, hence preventing stagnation. It’s possible this was the original purpose of Drifters which has been turned into a war between EASY and Murasaki. It doesn’t excuse the fact that these two are wreaking a unrelated world over a personal grudge but it does give some light into why these two even exist.

On the ends side of things the black king is teaching the monsters agriculture which might explain as to why they didn’t send their full force to kill the Drifters. They mentioned this before but the ends intent appears to be only killing off humans in order to hand the world over to the monsters for them to take humanity’s place. So essentially the ends are saviors to the monsters who are wiping out humanity to give them a chance at a better life. The contrast is rather interesting. The ends are teaching their side agriculture and farming whereas the Drifters are teaching their side war and weapon making. Makes one wonder who is the true villain.

3-gatsu no Lion – 08 [Image – Distant Thunder part 1]

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

We’re back with 3-gatsu no Lion after a week hiatus from sick leave (I know everyone got sick last week, be it in springtime in this corner of the world, or the start of winter elsewhere) and I’m glad that the show returns in good form. Kyouko might be the most distinctive character the show has created so far. Like a true femme fatale, her sheer present demands our full attention, her sparks gleam that we couldn’t take our eyes off, and her venomous words keep sinking in Rei’s heart. Rei aside, I’m pretty sure that we’re having a good time here.

Harunobu continues his self-assigned mission as “Rei’s best friend” to full extend, both having fun showing the magic of shogi, and later crashing on Rei’s couch that night (except that it’s Harunobu’s brand new futon couch so why complaint?). We heading on from last episode’s “shogi for dummy” with all the warrior cats making fancy moves and dancing around. While it sure is cute to see shogi explained in such simple and funny way, this part is obviously my least favorite of this whole season. Look, whenever this show focus too much on the mechanics of shogi, it fails because the show is ultimately a character’s focus piece. Later part where Issa and Smith remarked on Harunobu’s passionate commentary feel oversold as well (I thought they tried to bring a point that Rei’s move wasn’t that bad at all but that isn’t the case). But later when it comes to his own reflection towards Harunobu’s action, it again picks up its steam. The overly enthusiasm from his friend makes him feel lousy, because that energy is something that he doesn’t have. But it’s great that Rei’s taking one step at the time, as of now he even hates himself for feeling that way in front of his friend.

We have a nice flashback from Kei over his “image” of his father. I love that little moments so much as the little Rei tried to get better at shogi just to observe that raw expression of his own father (stripped down from all social’s niceties). That again gives us two things about his relationship with shogi. First, as the show already pointed out before, the very reason Rei got into shogi was not because of his love for shogi, but because he wants to spend more time with his father. Here in this episode, we learn that he wants to be really good just purely to get that expression out of his father. Second, he sees himself as a person who now continue in the world of shogi that his father had always yearned for. Those two points tell us a very personal but ultimately troubled perspective of Rei. For once, unlike Harunobu, he isn’t that happy to play shogi; he doesn’t even love shogi that much (that was pointed out by Kyouko later), as of now he’s just hanging there, playing shogi because it’s the only way of living he knows. And even imaging himself as the son who accomplish his father’s unfulfilled dream? That seriously is a troubled thought because unless he plays shogi for himself, he will always be stuck (like he is now) and can never get forward to his way of shogi.

That distant thunder we saw couple episodes back has finally appeared in the form of goddess Kyouko. The reason why her roles are such compelling in this show is because she has very conflicting emotions towards Rei, and all her actions aggressively contradict each other from time to time, sometimes even in the same line of exchange. While Haunobu and the shogi-sensei represent a bright, full of energy side and the sisters represent a warm, caring side, Kyouko is Rei’s utter dark and stormy side, and it only makes sense that her appearance is in late at night. We don’t really know much about her in this episode; considering that we look at her this time through Rei’s perspective, and for Rei, Kyouko is a totally mystery; but there’s still heaps of thing that we can take out from her night of visit. He doesn’t know how to deal with his sister, but her words often pierce through his heart the deepest. It’s so obvious that she still brings a deep hatred towards Rei, the way her bitterness towards Rei’s moving out on his own, and most noticeable of all, her plain resentment towards Rei’s shogi. When you think about it, it all makes sense. The kids fight for their father’s attention through shogi, and it’s that shogi that break them apart. She’s unsurprisingly know great details about his next opponent, and she’s trying to manipulate him to give that match up. Such a sly move but Rei won’t grow unless something directly challenged him like this occur so the next match will actually be a fight inside his head. Can’t wait for it.

Some of her actions, on the other hand, signal how much she grows to care about him. Keep in mind that you won’t spend the night with someone you hate, given that she could’ve slept in her friend’s house and not necessary Rei’s. Maybe the reason is she wants him to get back to the house, since she knows that it would make her father happy, but I don’t think that’s the case as well. I love her remark that after 10 years living in the same roof, she didn’t know Rei much, because even realize such things mean that now she actually cares a bit more about him, but then she’s able to recognize the new futon doesn’t have Rei scent yet. Her looking straight through his eyes and checking if there’s any scar is one of the most powerful scene. After all, wound can be healed but scars will always remain. Whatever her motivation is, she remains the most striking character out there in this series and her presence alone is something Rei ultimately needed in order to break out of his shell.

Flip Flappers – 09 [Pure Mute]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Flip Flappers

Again this week, Yayaka takes up the stage and by the end of this episode her arc is basically over, now that she is abandoned by the Cult and is taken over by Cocona and Papika. But what an emotional ride this episode delivers. I’m particularly taken not only by the action and consequence she ultimately took, but by how the show frames these through its visual and symbolism. Watching Yayaka smashing the mirrors of her childhood friendship’s memories in pursuit for “what more important” resonates with me a hundred times more than she says it out loud. Watching the wrapped bud changing shape according to Cocona’s emotions tell me a lot about how these two forces matter to her. Watching the two unlikely friends sitting back to back to each other talking about food brings warmness in my heart more than anything I’ve watched this season. That is one of the strength of this medium, an ability to convey theme and message through impressionist, abstract images that added much more layers to the context.

But first, it’s hilarious to see Cocona gets so worked up over the randomness Papika murmuring last week. After all, calling out wrong name is a serious crime, but the way Cocona reacts make it clear that their relationship is not unlike an actual couple. She being difficult further reflects her insecurity towards her relationship with Cocona (the more hilarious when at the end Papika declared that Mimi was her partner). But what surprise me were even when they having a fight, their impedance is stable enough for them to get through the Pure Illusion world, and one of the Pure Illusion world is… outer space (because when you think about it why the hell not? I swear we will get an underwater Pure Illusion world sooooon enough). In other notes, last week shows us how confident the show handle their fighting scene, and this week viewers who look for spectacular fight won’t be disappointed. All the fights have great energy and the choreography is remarkable, and I have to hat off to the music during that second fight, which totally intense and thrilling and I can sense the sadness behind the score as well.

Per usual, what do we have in this week’s world? We have the most simplicity world, a vast, empty, pure white world (with ceiling on top!) with no place to belong to that really for me represents the blank state of emotions and the tough spot Yayaka is currently in. As soon as Cocona and the twins reached the fragments, the place closed up which for me signifies the confused state of Cocona over which friends she had to choose. The inside of the place where Cocona and the twin got trapped, as contrast to that empty world outside, is like a cozy, warm and dark room with some decors. Comfortable but again completely isolated. I have to say that Cocona being “trapped” inside is pretty much the show’s motif by now. As long as she decided who she stands for, the thing broken apart and freed them. I also really like the idea of them swapping pairs this time, so we have the very unlikely but hilarious moments of Papika and Yayaka, and the brief but peaceful moments between Cocona and the twins. Actually, Yayaka and Papika are getting along surprisingly well. Though Cocona is an only mutual link they share, they actually have a great chemistry together. Yayaka knows how to “handle” Paprika and Paprika knows how to bring emotions out of that girl. This duo is priceless.

But Yayaka and her relationship with Cocona again shines the brightest this week. We get the flashback of the two meeting together, symbolized heavily by that pink flowers (which I don’t know the name of). Maybe the flowers symbolize their friendship? We already see Flip Flappers pulled this off on episode 6 when the duo role represents the lonely, entrapped situation of Iroha-chan, but this episode is much more emotional because we follow Yayaka and her struggles throughout the entire series. Her place in her own organization is pretty much unstable, and her best friend Cocona is further and further away from her. Speaking of that it seems that the two young girls were tested for the organization? That last fight between Cocona and Yayaka is without a doubt a highlight of this episode, most notably on how Yayaka desperately try to get what she wants. As I said above, the mirrors that reflected their own relationships being shattered brings so much raw emotions to their bonds, and although I would prefer much better if she indeed stabs the girl to get the fragrance, the way she couldn’t bring herself to do it, and later shields herself to protect Cocona, is emotional satisfy that bring tears to my eyes.

For the third time in a row, the show ends with that “Mimi” cliffhanger, now that Yayaka arc is over, this is the damn time now that you give us something more than just a tease, don’t you think Flip Flapper?