God damn you guys I am watching way too much anime. It’s currently almost noon on Wednesday, and I still haven’t released the Week in Review because I tripped and got buried under a pile of new episodes. Sure, I could maybe have planned the week better and gotten this work done some time before now, but then how would have I found the time to watch the latest Mob Psycho four or five times? It’s a conundrum with seemingly no answer, and considering this post is already late, we’re certainly not solving it today. Let’s roll out the list and burn down another week in anime!
The Magnificent Kotobuki continued in its stupendously entertaining way this week, as Mizushima embraced more classic wartime narrative conceits in his usual tongue-in-cheek way. Kotobuki’s stars don’t really have weaknesses – they’re not intended to be fully realized people, they’re just fun, endearing avatars intended to play various heroic roles in his little action sketches. In this week’s episode, it was Zara’s turn to be the star, and she absolutely killed it – watching her effortlessly dismantle this entire pirate base from the inside out was a hilarious spectacle. Perhaps the most consistently defining feature of Mizushima’s work is its effortless sense of comedy and inherent irreverence, and from Zara’s superhuman exploits to the Elite Squad’s silly gimmicks to Chika perpetually crashing and getting shot and yelling, there was plenty to laugh at here. I obviously love melancholy and psychologically rich works, but I’m grateful that Mizushima continues to celebrate the power of simple yet effectively written and utterly joyous adventures.
This week’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was, to put it bluntly, weird as fuck. The episode’s two halves each essentially embraced their own form of body horror, with the first half offering some bizarre Alien/Rosemary’s Baby-esque creepiness, and the second sticking to more traditional “there’s a monster hiding in the corner of my eye” material. Neither of these halves were really JoJo at its best, and the first half’s focus on “Bucciaratti’s baby” felt both conceptually incoherent and genuinely uncomfortable to watch. I can sorta see the concepts Araki was playing with here, but I feel like the thread of this Stand’s power somewhat got away from him, as none of the first half’s creepily specific baby-programming scenes seemed to have any bearing on Giorno’s ultimate victory. And when you couple that with the fact that this episode’s resolution essentially means Giorno’s already-bullshit Stand now also has Josuke’s powers, you end up with one of the weakest episodes of Golden Wind.
What can I even begin to say about this week’s Mob Psycho 100? This one was apparently handled by much of the same crew that made Fate/Apocrypha’s twenty-second episode such a marvel, and the results here are beyond stunning. The episode managed to cram the entirety of a brutally painful “trapped in an alternate reality” arc into a tight twenty minutes without feeling rushed in the slightest, which in large part came down to the profound acuity and intentional roughness of the episode’s first half. That half was basically The Flowers of Evil transformed into brilliantly fluid traditional animation, with both the storyboarding and even character designs adopting a distinct and often grotesquely realistic style. The potential cruelty of the world was illustrated with astonishing grace, making Mogami’s perspective as palpable for us as it was for Mob itself.
And then, the second half happened. Mob wasn’t saved by his inherent goodness or personal strength – he was saved by the help of a friend, who reminded him that there are plenty of people who do care about him, and who he cares about in turn. Through this, Mob Psycho lent even more weight to its underlying thematic argument, acknowledging that to single-handedly bear the unkindness of the world is a task too great for any one person, and that any of us could find ourselves in circumstances that don’t allow us to be our best or happiest selves. Mob’s ultimate strength was shown not when he bore Mogami’s suffering, but when he was able to take something positive from it – an acknowledgment that he has actually been blessed in many ways, and happiness at his ability to reach and change his tormentor. Accompanied by some of the most stunning fight theatrics I’ve ever seen, Mob demonstrated that his greatest strength might be his capacity to forgive. This was a stunning achievement for Mob Psycho 100, and a staggering early choice for best anime episode of the year. We are so blessed that the most beautiful shounen action show and the most thoughtful shounen action show are the same series.
Run with the Wind offered a fairly conservative episode this week, as we reaffirmed the team’s overall circumstances in the lead-up to the Hakoden qualifiers. It was a more classically sports drama-esque episode than the show’s usual fair, but Run with the Wind handled this mode well. There were still plenty of moments designed to emphasize how Haiji and Kakeru have both grown into significant emotional pillars for this team, but by combining those moments with lots of emphasis on the practical demands of prepping for a major race, Run with the Wind was able to emphasize how the team’s emotional growth and common trust are a key part of their strategic strength. And then in the race itself, that combined focus paid off wonderfully, as they exchanged pre-planned tactical beats all based in their profound understanding of each other’s strengths and emotions. This may not have been the show’s most visually impressive episode (and it still feels like the show has trouble conveying a convincingly painted grassy field), but Run with the Wind’s base floor of execution is quite high, and every episode is as smartly written as the last.
It’s starting to feel hard to genuinely critique The Promised Neverland, because at this point, it almost feels like it’s already made its bed. I’ve already written about this story’s generally-pretty-good thriller plot, and as for the adaptation’s unique choices, I’ve kinda covered my thoughts on those as well. The Promised Neverland has made some pretty serious visual concessions in order to turn the house into a genuinely usable set, and it’s making the most of that tradeoff through sequences like this week’s lengthy perspective stair climb. The biggest place I felt this episode misstepped was in its over-the-top characterization of Krone’s anger. I’m not sure why the show thought Krone would be a good way to add some comedy to this production, but layering pratfall horns over her smashing up a doll felt ridiculous in a way completely out of sync with the rest of the show. On the whole though, Neverland’s choice to focus on thriller tension over florid aesthetic means this adaptation is probably more exciting for anime-original fans – slowly turning corners isn’t that exciting if you already know what’s around them.
Kemurikusa’s fundamental premise has always been pretty close to “what if Kemono Friends’ lowkey apocalyptic setting was replaced by a highkey apocalyptic setting,” but never has that felt more obvious than during this week’s episode. It was very funny to me in a meta-authorial sense to think about how Wakaba was performing the exact same “humans have the power of strategic thinking” power as Kaban, except in the context of fighting a deadly robot with massive laser beams. That aside, this episode built on both Kemurikusa’s relationships and mysteries with relative grace, with the one weak point continuing to be Rin’s feelings for Wakaba. I’m not inherently opposed to a romance between Rin and Wakaba, but the problem is there’s just nothing there – they have no chemistry, Rin just blushes when Wakaba says something nice. I wouldn’t doubt that Tatsuki’s actually playing with our expectations regarding this thread in some way, but as is, the show doesn’t feel any stronger for including it.
