Hey everybody! Today we’re beginning a journey through a show I’ve actually been meaning to rewatch for a long, long time. The last time I watched Toradora was almost a decade ago now – in fact, it was possibly the first show I ever watched along with its active broadcast, back in my junior year of college. At the time, my overarching impression of the show was that it was essentially the adolescent romantic drama that all the other ones were trying to be – insightful, emotionally rich, solidly produced, consistently rewarding. That year was a very difficult time in my life, a time when my social life had just dissolved into painful, identity-shaking backbiting, and I mainly just distracted myself through lonely hours in my dorm room. Most of that year sucked, but Toradora was a very welcome comfort.
Category Archives: Episode Writeup
Scorching Ping Pong Girls – Episode 3
It’s time for another episode of Scorching Ping Pong Girls! The show’s second episode was a big step up from the premiere, offering a very satisfying match, some nice animation highlights, and plenty of sturdy setup for the payoff of Agari and Koyori’s initial rivalry. I was particularly impressed by the show’s illustration of Hokuto’s unique ping pong powers, which was not only just engaging in a visual sense, but also very clearly conveyed the tactical back-and-forth of the fight, and even ended up underlining Hokuto’s emotional shift throughout the match. The show’s character writing is still only so-so, and Koyori hasn’t quite come into her own as a person, but this arc is clearly centered on Agari’s anxieties, so that’s understandable. Koyori is the intimidating new villain in Agari’s life, and at long last, the time has come for the two of them to truly duel. Let’s see some sparks fly in Scorching Ping Pong Girls!
Chihayafuru 2 – Episode 1
What the heck you guys let’s watch some more Chihayafuru. Chihayafuru has become one of my steadiest comfort projects in recent months – it’s always a joy to watch, and every episode offers plenty to talk about in a craft sense too, whether it’s through the show’s character work, overall sports drama structure, or the individual choices that bring its matches to life. Though the show certainly has its share of dramatic and aesthetic problems, it nails that ineffable “just one more episode” appeal that is incredibly difficult to achieve and incredibly valuable to possess.
The show’s first season ended on a somewhat unusual conflict, as instead of watching Chihaya herself compete, we last saw the Queen and Master each defend their own titles. In a practical sense, that was pretty much the inevitable result of a faithful adaptation of an ongoing manga – but it also conveniently set the stage for our heroes’ next challenges, and also brought Arata back into the foreground. At this point, my only source of hesitance in starting this season is the fact that we’re probably going to be changing opening songs, and Chihayafuru’s first opening song is one of my all-time favorites. But to live is to change and to change is to suffer, so let’s just accept what we must and GET ON WITH THE KARUTA.
Chihayafuru – Episode 25
Let’s finish the first season of Chihayafuru! This show has been a wonderful ride so far, building up an incredibly charming cast and methodically establishing karuta as a robust sports drama platform. Its matches have slowly but surely laid the groundwork for battles that are now both totally comprehensible in a tactical sense and also inherent reflections of their participants’ styles and personalities. And at this point, the cast is broad enough that the show can pull off exciting matches that don’t even even include any of the main characters.
The show’s weaknesses are equally clear. On the narrative front, the Chihaya-Arata-Taichi love triangle exists in a wibbly-wobbly shoujo romance space that is just never as compelling as the karuta-related drama. Though the show has worked to humanize Arata, in an immediate narrative sense, he’s still framed as some kind of lofty goal for Chihaya in a way that doesn’t really invite any sympathy for her situation. Beyond that, the show’s visual style reflects its director’s fairly one-note vision, bathing everything in golden light and generally aiming more for “functional” than “beautiful.” But the story being told and the matches being played are so enjoyable that I’m not really put out by Chihayafuru’s various issues. Let’s check out the Master finals, and finally see the mountain our boys have before them!
Flip Flappers – Episode 9
Flip Flappers has explored Cocona’s feelings and general mindscape from every conceivable angle, excavating her self-image, interrogating her feelings towards Papika, and generally articulating the richness of her personal world. We’ve also received some insight into Papika’s character, who has expressed herself consistently and opened up to Cocona in spite of still being a relatively mysterious figure. But Flip Flappers’ third pole has never been granted the luxury of understanding. Yayaka’s character has been articulated largely in contrast; her suspicions towards Papika, her would-be rivalry with the two other leads. Yayaka’s feelings have been as assumed by the narrative itself as they often seem to be by Cocona; but here in episode nine, Yayaka’s world is finally the focus. So what lurks inside Yayaka’s head, what animates her most deeply held feelings?
March comes in like a lion – Episode 38
March had its last pre-hiatus episode this week, and basically just gave us a check-in with a few of the show’s recently underserved characters. It was very nice to see the Kawamotos enjoying themselves again, and even better to see Nikaidou having finally (for now) recovered from his illness. I can’t say where this story might head next, given we’ve just wrapped up basically all current plot threads, but I do hope Nikaidou is somehow involved.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.
One Piece – Volume 16
One Piece’s sixteenth volume opens with the team in crisis. Having sailed to the island of the former Drum Kingdom in search of a doctor, they discovered the only doctor here lived on top of a towering mountain. Strapping the sickly Nami to his back, Luffy set off with Sanji at his side, fighting through snow drifts and giant killer rabbits on the way to the summit. But then, before they could arrive, their movements prompted a mighty avalanche. And so we find our heroes sprinting back down the mountain, time ticking down with the storm at their backs.
Scorching Ping Pong Girls – Episode 2
Alright, let’s get right back to Scorching Ping Pong Girls! The show’s premiere was mostly just fine, succeeding well enough as a genre setup, but not really excelling in terms of either its aesthetics or its storytelling. The show’s greatest quality so far might be its charming character designs, but those aren’t really a strength that will keep paying new dividends in future episodes. My main hope for the show is that it will double down on its sports drama pretensions, as everything related to ping pong in the first episode was better than pretty much everything related to slice of life or comedy. Agari has already been set up as a satisfyingly flawed competitor with plenty of room to grow, Koyori stands as a fine foil, and the premiere’s brief tidbits of actual strategy implied to me that this show genuinely cares about making its ping pong matches parsable and exciting. I love it when things are parsable and exciting! Let’s dive right in to episode two, and see how Agari handles no longer being the team’s unquestioned darling.
Chihayafuru – Episode 24
It’s time for Chihayafuru! The last episode was mostly just a check-in episode that pushed all the characters slightly further down their non-karuta-related personal arcs. It wasn’t a standout, but those rarely are, and I’m guessing it’ll take Arata actually returning to karuta in a big way to make his drama feel that satisfying. At the moment, we’ve currently got one show that’s an urgent and exciting sports drama, where Chihaya and her clubmates all apply their unique talents to satisfying karuta matches. At the same time, we’ve also got a Kimi ni Todoke-style slow-burning shoujo love drama, without the endearing face-to-face scenes or strength of characterization to really make that work. I can’t really invest in a romance between two characters who were friends as kids for a couple on-screen episodes, and since then have exchanged maybe a dozen lines in total with each other. Fortunately, I’m guessing last episode’s subdued nature means the show will start revving up into karuta matches again soon, and with two episodes left in the first season, I have to assume that even the Arata drama will start paying off soon. Either way, I’m loving this show in spite of my complaints, so let’s see what episode twenty four brings!
March comes in like a lion – Episode 37
Rei had his long-awaited first match with Meijin Souya this week, which turned out to be a bit of a pleasant anticlimax. This episode certainly followed through on Souya’s generally mythic presence, but the actual match was nearly over before it began. Still, both that match and the later material between Rei and Souya were entertaining in their own way, so I can’t really complain.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.