Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Dagashi Kashi – Episode 5

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Dagashi Kashi was generally enjoyable again this week, if not so consistently funny that it actually felt shorter than twenty minutes like last week’s. I frankly kind of expected the show to peter out in the style of the third episode, and rely on a bunch of unfunny repetitions of the same one or two ideas – but the show is both varying its style of humor and actually making its characters more likable by the episode. Both Kokonotsu and Hotaru have exceeded my expectations as characters, with Kokonotsu in particular going far and above the general “straight man MC” template I’d pinned him for. The show is warm and funny and easy to watch – it’s not great television, but it’s never something I feel bad about watching.

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

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ERASED – Episode 5

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ERASED finally had an episode where its weaknesses sadly overwhelmed its strengths. That likely comes down to the fact that this was apparently an outsourced episode – left to a new studio with very few credits to its name, it’s very easy for ERASED’s delicate balance between atmosphere and theatrics to lean into either melodrama or monologue-heavy doldrums. So I guess the good thing about this episode is that it reminded me how difficult it is to actually pull off a show like ERASED when it’s working? That’s an awkward silver lining, but I’ll take it.

You can check out my oversized review over at ANN, or my episode notes below!

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Active Raid – Episode 5

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Active Raid had another episode in what is turning out to be its usual pattern – fairly boring episodic thriller, reasonably compelling worldbuilding/thematic background details. These procedural plots just wholly lack the creativity, narrative momentum, or aesthetic execution to sell their own stories, but the most of the ways they reflect on this show’s world are pretty interesting. Active Raid isn’t really a good show, but it’s the kind of mediocre show I don’t have any trouble watching, because the stuff it’s bad at is the stuff I don’t tend to prioritize anyway. It’d be nice if all these neat little ideas had a story that could actually support them, but I wouldn’t be watching anime if I didn’t like broken stories that still have glimmers of beauty in them.

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

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Hyouka – Episode 14

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Hyouka’s fourteenth episode opens with a set of slow, silent establishing shots, evoking all the hushed solemnity of a funeral. The first line tells us the reason for this framing, as Mayaka’s “I couldn’t find it” is contrasted against the disappointed faces of her underclassmen. Blinding morning light from outside casts the manga society in unnaturally gloomy shadows, and Mayaka’s face is deliberately hidden for two shots before she becomes visible only when she prostrates herself before her classmate. Close, shakey-cam, bokeh-heavy shots of the victorious party are followed by a transition to Kouchi’s feet, sticking us directly in Mayaka’s position. But surprisingly, Kouchi doesn’t rub her victory in Mayaka’s face. Instead, she simply drops the issue, telling Mayaka to get started on the posters with an “is that all?” tone. And then Mayaka realizes her supposed enemy remembered the manga title.

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Dagashi Kashi – Episode 4

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Dagashi Kashi really surprised me this week. I’d expected the show to be no more than reasonably pleasant from start to finish, with some occasionally effective jokes – but this episode was actually funny, featuring confidently constructed half-episode conceits with strong fundamental ideas and consistently inventive comic flourishes. The second half’s silly race in particular was one of the better-executed comic sequences I’ve seen a while now, offering both many incidental gags and a strong fundamental absurdity that the show wisely avoided actually pointing out. Having Kokonotsu actually be willing to play along with Hotaru’s schemes pretty much instantly improved this show, and I hope they maintain a real friendship going forward.

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

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Eureka Seven – Episode 1

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When I initially opened the Current Projects, er, project, one of my biggest concerns was that everyone having their own favorite shows would mean I’d end up watching a whole bunch of solitary first episodes, which as a general rule don’t tend to give you a solid impression of a series. I’ve largely avoided this issue so far by skipping between the most consistently funded show and smaller self-contained projects, but with Hyouka support slowing down a little, I’ve decided it’s time to skip around a bit and charge at some of those first episodes head-on. So how does Eureka Seven pan out?

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Active Raid – Episode 4

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Very little to report for this episode of Active Raid, unfortunately. The show itself is in a holding pattern of sorts (aw yeah, dunking on the episode by making use of its title, classic critic trick), slowly elaborating obvious relationship beats and generally just idling until its main narrative can actually start. Active Raid’s episodic stories are just not interesting, and that becomes a real problem when any given episode fails to entertain in other ways. Hopefully the characters actually learn to work together soon, because their bickering is not particularly engaging, but they’d probably work pretty well as friends. Or failing that, just give Asami and Rin the spotlight again – they’re way more interesting than this episode’s leads.

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

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ERASED – Episode 4

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ERASED remained relatively consistent this week, offering way too many cute moments with Hinazuki just in time to drop the hammer. I knew it was coming, but man, that birthday party was just a step too far. He gave her fuzzy mittens, ERASED. HE GAVE HER FUZZY MITTENS.

The rest of this episode was more dedicated to articulating the weaknesses of Satoru’s position, which I certainly appreciated. Though the show can get over-the-top in its overt dramatic peaks, the ways it’s reflecting on Satoru’s issues are actually quite subtle, and come through more in the overall context of the story than any overt lines. It’s a good place to be.

You can check out my full writeup over at ANN, or my notes below!

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Hyouka – Episode 13

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The festival is in full swing now, and each member of the Classics Club have their own giants to slay. With Chitanda on site procurement, Satoshi on promotion, Oreki on sales, and Mayaka dealing with her own manga club troubles, episode thirteen bounces back and forth across characters, portraying the individual dramas of each member across the course of the festival’s entire first day. But that doesn’t mean I have to bounce around. The episode’s structure is intelligent; by shifting continuously between characters, it keeps tension high, builds meta-narratives across multiple individual conflicts, and even results in cute scene transitions like Satoshi’s thoughts about Oreki leading to Oreki being up to no good. But I’m going to disregard all of that effort and take this character by character, starting right where the episode does, at Satoshi’s much-anticipated quiz competition.

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One Piece – Volume 1

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So here I am, embarking on a journey through the first volume of one of the longest and most storied shounen manga out there. I have to assume this is some kind of ploy – funding just the first volume of a monolith like One Piece only makes sense if you’re assuming it’s a strong enough hook to do the rest of the work by itself. I’ll read the first volume and then get dragged along by my own momentum, trapped in the story that has become almost synonymous with manga itself. I’ll start One Piece and that will be the end of me.

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