Mario: Only one week left before the end of this season. We got to the finish line of a couple shows this week with Eizouken in particular ending on high note. With the world currently in total lockdown I do feel like we are in some sort of post-apocalyptic world in anime where humanity has declined. It might sound depressing but hey, at least it’s an once-in-lifetime experience, right? Stay safe, by which I mean stay home and do nothing, to save the world.
Somali to Mori no Kamisama – 11
Mario: Somali and Golem reach their most dangerous journey so far, with the “monsters” hunt down the human child and Golem is on self-destructed mode in order to save Somali, but this higher the conflict, sadly the more clumsy the show gets. There are 2 main messages the show wants to transfer across in this hunt, First, the human race brought it all to themselves since their racist behavior is the main reason other races turn against them, and second, humans taste delicious and these two thoughts don’t really mesh well with each other. Imagine the flow of dialogues moves from “It’s all human fault” in one moment, followed by “I will have her brain”, and you get the idea. The whole ambush plan has a lot of flaws as well, so you need to turn off your logical sense and just roll with it. Sure, the stake is higher than ever but sadly I am already tuned out by what was happening onscreen.
Oshi ga Budokan – 11
Wooper: Wow, that episode really just ended with a series of tweets set to a warm, uplifting string accompaniment. Is there any more appropriately vapid choice that a show about idol culture could have made to conclude its penultimate episode? Seriously though, this whole episode was a miss for me, even if you set aside the silliness of its final minutes. The series’ typically well-animated performance scenes were nowhere to be found here, with a series of panning stills replacing their practice sessions, and a miniature clip show intruding on their weekly concert. Movement was pretty limited in general, actually, except when Eripiyo was screeching about her love for Maina. Eri’s VA was at her least tolerable this week, delivering throat-shredding screams about how her favorite idol is the cutest in the universe. You know what tone of voice makes a convincing case for cuteness? Literally any intonation except that one. Even when a female coworker came over to her place to watch ChamJam’s two second TV appearance, Eripiyo couldn’t settle down. At least she’s consistent, though – that’s more than I can say for Oshi ga Budokan itself.
ID:Invaded – 13 (end)
Wooper: This episode opened on a strong note, with nightmarish imagery in full effect: a man’s skin turning to paper and shredding itself, giant dogs with human faces, a giant baby in a tub full of blood, etc. Kiki’s world of projected dreams has so much visual potential that it’s a shame the show was tasked with concluding itself here. I guess it technically accomplished that mission simply by finishing its final episode, but whether that conclusion made sense is another matter. All of John Walker’s dialogue was ripped straight from a Villainy 101 textbook – “you and I are the same”, “justice is relative”, “let’s have a little chat”, and the list goes on. Even less convincing was the way in which he was apprehended, awakening in the past moments before he committed suicide, in the perfect position for Sakaido to tackle him and save the day. And then there’s the whole ordeal Momoki had to go through, getting drugged up and defibrillated in his hi-tech suit so he could have a fruitless conversation with Kiki before a predictably circular ending. I’m tempted to label the series a failure, but it was never boring, so it was a success on at least one level. Hooray?
22/7 – 11
Mario: Hot damn THE WALL SPEAKS. That son of a gun who screws everything up at will. If in the next episode, the Wall just says “everything is part of a plan” and brushes everything off, I swear I’d bash my head against my pillows. Thankfully though, except for that head scratching cliffhanger I quite enjoyed this episode. This week the focus is on the last member of the group, Nicole, and her relation to Miu and the idol dream. The girls’ flashbacks have always been the biggest strength of 22/7, and this one is no exception. Looking at her now, we can’t even imagine she used to be stuttering and shy, and like many previous flashbacks the events that happened in their childhood inform the personality traits we see them today. The present events are not on the same level. A month has passed and they all find themselves going back to that room and crying and all that jazz, but for an idol show, 22/7 doesn’t really focus at all on idol activities, which I am glad about. I’m still not sure how it wraps up. It’d probably be a happy ending but secretly I hope someone just gets a goddamn sledgehammer and smacks the Wall into pieces before it utters any more nonsense.
Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun – 10-11
Mario: These two episodes are amongst the darkest of Jibaku and I understand why the show would use this arc to wrap this season up. All the usual suspects have their roles in this one, Tsukasa being an amoral villain who manipulates others for sports, and Mitsuba has gained his literal roles (although by force). The way Tsukasa toys with Mitsuba, and the gruesome death of Three, are certainly alarming, and despite all that the relationship between Mitsuba and Kou shines through. While this arc is Jibaku at its best, it’s still not enough to warm me up to these oddball characters. From what I gathered the anime skipped some chapters in this run and there’s enough material for another cour, and if that’s the case, good on Jibaku, but I know the next episode is a perfect stopping point for me.
I don’t think the whole “eating humans” thing from Somali is meant to be some kind of message. The series already established in early episodes that humans have been eaten by the monsters, to the point of being close to extinction.
Someone compared ID to that of a William S. Burroughs novel since it was written by a well-known maverick in Japan who did stories like Drill Hole in My Head, Asura-Girl, The Dragon’s Dentist and Jorge Joestar, which are also known for their bizarre plotting, theming, structure, transgressive elements and occasional stream-of-consciousness narratives. Much like Burroughs’ works then, it’s certainly not going to appeal to everyone. And honestly, I’m inclined to agree with that, though I certainly enjoyed the show a lot more than Wooper did.
ID:Invaded did appeal to me, though. It had my favorite premiere back in early January (above even Eizouken and Dorohedoro). The idea of visualizing and exploring the minds of murderers was a cool spin on the precognitive detective genre. As the season wore on, though, it drilled numerous holes in its own concept with inexplicable plot developments (bordering on magical) and embarrassing dialogue. If Magia Record didn’t exist, it would certainly be my pick for most disappointing winter anime.
Speaking of fictional parallels (the Burroughs comparison), Mario mentioned to me that Fukuda closely resembles the protagonist from Darren Aronofsky’s debut film, Pi: an obsessive number theorist who drills a hole in his head to alleviate his suffering. Seems like an interesting watch for fans of ID:Invaded, and Otaro Maijo’s works in general – he was more than likely inspired by that film, given the level of overlap there.