I had a whole lot to say about this one! Episode ten really dug into the general societal concerns that seem inherent in ONE’s work, from his diagnosis of a callous meritocracy to his framing of the proles forced to work in such a system. It’s not the most complex of setups, but there’s still plenty to dig into there regarding ONE’s own perspective. Also a bunch of psychic people beat each other up!
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Romeo and Juliet is not a play about love. Its stars are in their early teens, and Romeo begins the play by pining over an unknown “Rosaline” in the same way he’d eventually worship Juliet. That doesn’t make its characters’ feelings meaningless, but it does change the context of the tragedy – instead of being about a loss of the greatest love that ever was, it’s about two teenagers who fell in lust and senselessly died for it. Romeo and Juliet’s social circumstances left them no way to get to know each other, maybe see how they felt about each other after a few months, and go from there – it forced them to act in the greatest of secrecy upon the highest of passions, resulting in tragedy for all.
Orange finally challenged the supremacy of “we have to save Kakeru at all costs” this week, which was an incredibly welcome change of pace. It was great to see Suwa’s friends articulate all the ways his mission of self-sacrifice wasn’t necessarily the right call, even if he ultimately couldn’t deny his fundamentally charitable nature. Kakeru doesn’t necessarily need a cute girlfriend – he needs a support group who are willing to accommodate his needs and assure him they’ll be there for him, but also give him space to sort out his difficult feelings. As easy as it is to assume romantic melodrama is the solution to everything, sometimes there are other options!
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Nichijou is coming. Nichijou out of the floorboards, Nichijou out of the cracks in the walls. Nichijou is in your home, whispering in the corners, watching as you turn out the light. Nichijou is close now, its breath cold on your cheek. NICHIJOU IS HERE.
Alright let’s get right to it.
Planetes’ eleventh episode was easily the series’ high point so far, a thoughtful meditation on the inequality of space colonization that ended in a firm restatement of the series’ ultimately hopeful worldview. In light of that, it’s not too surprising that the followup episode is a much lighter adventure, focusing on such frivolities as romantic misunderstandings and international terrorism.
Mob Psycho 100 played it reasonably cool this week, letting the first few minutes of Mob’s rescue and Ritsu’s escape largely speak for themselves. That was fine, though – even in the absence of anything as visually thrilling as last week’s spectacle, we’ve still arrived at an exciting narrative with an engaging cast of characters. Mob’s complexity as a person means his one-sided battles still have at least a bit more intrigue than Saitama’s deadpan victories, and Ritsu’s relative vulnerability actually led to a tiny bit of Hunter x Hunter-style power-plotting this week. Overall, I’m still very much enjoying the Mob Psycho ride.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below!
WHAT THE HECK IT’S NICHIJOU AGAIN. Nichijou remains an incredible, impeccably crafted ride through its fifth episode, and so I’m here to make my drooling way through its various treasures. We’ve got some thoughts on the show’s pacing this time, as well as more of the usual elaboration of the precise dynamic created by the three leads. It’s all heady, serious comedy craft here in Nichijou-land, and I urge you all to take it very seriously. NOW LET’S WATCH SOME SILLY CARTOONS.
In Penguindrum’s ninth episode, the action pauses for a moment. In keeping with its title, “Frozen World,” the trials of Ringo and Shoma are briefly set aside, and we return back, back, back to the beginning. Back to the first episode of the show, as we experience that fateful day at the aquarium from Himari’s perspective. Back before that day, to Himari’s own childhood. And back before Himari’s childhood, back to our own world, where the terror and violence of 1995 hang high above the events of Mawaru Penguindrum.
What the hell it’s more Nichijou. The show has established as much of a rhythm as something this ridiculous can, but there’s still plenty of fun craft to poke at and uncover. Though comedy being highly personal is a general truism, I personally find the craft of comedy one of the most rewarding things to talk about. Comedy is like music, or language – there’s a clear rhythm to it, and internal narratives of tension and release that give it a real sense of cohesion and beauty. So let’s ponder the beauty of comedy as we watch a show about a talking cat and a girl with a key in her back.
HOLY CRAP THIS EPISODE OF MOB PSYCHO WHAT THE HELL. This week’s fight felt even MORE impressive than the Hanazawa fight, somehow, amazingly, holy shit. It wasn’t as directly tied to cathartic emotional moments as that one, but given it came right after a wonderful reunion between Mob and Ritsu, I couldn’t feel that mad. I was actually kinda worried going into this episode that Ritsu was going to become a villain, in fitting with ONE’s general downer attitude. That fortunately didn’t happen – Ritsu has made bad decisions, but he’s still the same person he always does. It’s actually pretty satisfying to see one of the “heroes” make such ugly decisions, and then so quickly realize what he’s actually done.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!