Category Archives: Episode Writeup

March comes in like a lion – Episode 25

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March finally pulled itself together this week, offering an episode that was strong in both comedy (!!!) and drama. The difficult path up out of depression was nicely illustrated through the contrasting halves of this episode, where Rei’s lighthearted shenanigans with the other shogi club members were brought to a shuddering halt by his memories of childhood bullying. Between that and seeing the sisters again, this episode seemed determined to remind me of all the things this show is actually good at. It was a very welcome reminder!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below.

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Chihayafuru – Episode 15

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Let’s get right back to Chihayafuru! Last episode put us halfway through the first duel between Chihaya and young Queen Shinobu, which already feels like the most dynamic and dramatically effective karuta match of the show to date. Chihaya has been against the ropes for basically the entire match, but the show still managed to make her slow defeat feel fresh and tense all the way through. After a long period of simply being overwhelmed by Shinobu’s ridiculous arm speed, Chihaya has at last managed to snag a couple cards, including one of her best single syllable cards and her signature Chihaya card. There’s pretty much no way she’ll actually win this battle (even if her opponent hadn’t been clearly framed as a far better player, there’s just no way Chihaya can beat the Queen at episode fifteen and still sustain a show afterwards), but if her slow losing stays this exciting, I’ll have no complaints. Let’s get right to it!

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Just Because! – Episode 4

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Just Because! went through a bit of a lull episode this week, biding its time until the twin confrontations of its final act. The show is pretty darn good at time-biding though, and I was happy to see Ena get a lot more material this time. In a sea of sullen or anxiety-prone protagonists, Ena is by far the most energetic and active member of this crew, and sometimes it feels like her prodding is the only thing pushing any of these people together. It sure is hard to be a teenager.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.

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Mawaru Penguindrum – Episode 21

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After the elegiac and atmospheric frozen world of episode twenty, Penguindrum’s twenty-first episode sees the show’s narrative shifting into high gear. The episode opens with Ringo being confronted by a tabloid journalist, who claims he has an important scoop regarding the Takakura family. Ringo pushes this man away, but his fundamental presence implies that the Takakuras’ fragile equilibrium is about to fall apart. Times have been desperate before, but the siblings have always had their home and each other to rely on. Now it seems like even that sanctuary may be crumbling down.

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Wandering Son – Episode 10

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Things do not go well for Nitori.

Wandering Son’s tenth episode opens with us looking down on Nitori, Maho, and their parents, seated at a table that’s framed like some kind of interrogation room. Top-down lighting enhances the sense of drama, while a ticking clock replaces last episode’s urgent cicadas. Nitori’s mom jumps swiftly from “are you being bullied?” to “Maho, you used to dress him as a girl. You’re a bad influence on him.” Nitori’s trip to school ends in the worst possible way.

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March comes in like a lion – Episode 24

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This episode of March comes in like a lion seemed in large part dedicated to humanizing Gotou, which was an inherently fraught and not terribly successful exercise. We didn’t really learn anything that substantively shifted our understanding of his character, and downplaying Kyouko’s depressed, dependent status through wacky visual comedy just felt like a terribly misguided call. Based on everything we know, Gotou is just a plain shitty dude, and this episode’s sympathetic framing made it just that bit harder to buy into the reality of its world.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.

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Just Because! – Episode 3

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Hey guys, it turns out Just Because! is a really, really, really good show. After two excellent opening episodes, the show continued with… an almost equally excellent third episode. The character acting has dipped a bit, but that’s to be expected of a mortal show, and everything else about the production remains absolutely stellar. We rarely get a show that so completely surprises me, but at the moment, Just Because! is on track to conclude near the top of my year’s rankings. Good times!

You can check out my full episode review over at ANN, or my notes below.

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Chihayafuru – Episode 14

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Let’s get back to Chihayafuru! Last episode saw the team competing in the team portion of the national tournament, where a sudden fever by Chihaya was contrasted against Arata’s journey to the tournament itself. Arata’s material there was both critical and very well-executed, simultaneously selling his complex relationship with his grandfather and his own multifaceted personality. The episode more or less shifted Arata from being a mythic, fated goal for Chihaya to being an actual breathing person the audience can truly invest in. Even a sports trope as hoary as “my passion for this sport killed someone I loved, thus I can never play again” can feel believable and emotionally charged with the right execution, and last episode’s mixture of warm memories and well-observed trauma fit the bill. Let’s see how Arata actually fits in to Chihaya’s present-day life!

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March comes in like a lion – Episode 23

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March comes in like a lion returns more with a whimper than a bang, dutifully walking us through two low-key chapters at the newly founded shogi/science club. This material was charming enough, and was certainly executed with plenty of visual flair, but felt totally misplaced as the first episode of a new season. It’s unfortunate that the show’s grand return is kinda undercut by its long-term structural issues, but as far as execution goes, these were definitely some nicely animated chapters. I’m sure the show’s production will fall apart again soon, but I’ll savor this while it lasts!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.

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Just Because! – Episodes 1-2

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The first two episodes of Just Because! were straight-up phenomenal, and I’m very excited to be writing about the show. As per usual for a first post, I focused this writeup more on sketching the overall style and goals of the show, rather than prioritizing an examination of the actual narrative events, and I’m pretty happy with the results. I hope you enjoy the piece!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode two notes below.

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