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?
Category Archives: Episode Writeup
Active Raid – Episode 4
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.
ERASED – Episode 4
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!
Hyouka – Episode 13
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.
One Piece – Volume 1
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.
Dagashi Kashi – Episode 3
Dagashi Kashi’s third episode came and went with little fanfare or incident. This episode is very watchable, but that’s about it – the jokes aren’t generally that funny, and the structure’s a little samey. That said, I was very happy to see this episode’s second half actually start to make Hotaru feel like a real person. Shows about wacky comic instigators I could take or leave, but shows about awkward kids who inherently lead to funny situations through their weird passions? Yeah, that I can deal with. Hopefully this wasn’t just a one-off thing.
You can check out my full episode review over at ANN, or my notes below.
Hyouka – Episode 12
Well, it’s finally arrived. Hyouka’s first arc was in truth about Chitanda’s uncle, but its impetus was the creation of a club magazine for the cultural festival. The second movie arc took place over summer vacation, and concerned getting a different club’s project ready for the festival. And now, at the beginning of Hyouka’s second half, the stage is finally set for the show’s third and most ambitious arc, the festival itself.
ERASED – Episode 3
Man, this show sure does know what it’s about. Nearly every moment here works hard to facilitate drama, atmosphere, and beauty, creating just the strongest possible sense of a specific time and place. Anime is eternally hung up over nostalgic youth, but ERASED’s setting feels real, feels like the actual uncomfortable, seemingly endless procession of days that are childhood. Anime is also normally a compromise between adaptive vision and original work mediocrity, and that doesn’t seem to be a problem here either – this is a nearly flawless adaptation of a legitimately good story. I really hope ERASED stays this strong to the end.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!
Active Raid – Episode 3
Active Raid continues with an episode featuring annoying moe apps, nefarious hackers with willing harems, and dancing idol mechas. And yet, in spite of that, it’s apparently also trying to be some kind of political drama. I don’t really know how Active Raid’s many ridiculous and often contradictory variables will shake out, but so far I’m actually having a solid time with it. It has a sense of fun, which shouldn’t be underestimated – many of the jokes feel fresh or endearing, and the characters are building up well. It’s a mess of a show, but it’s an enjoyable mess.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!
Dagashi Kashi – Episodes 1-2
Dagashi Kashi is… watchable? It’s not really much more than that yet, but it’s a pleasant enough time for twenty minutes a week. I’m frankly a little unsure what I’ll have to say about it each episode; I feel like this first writeup sort of covers everything the show has to offer, but I guess we’ll have to see where it goes. I suppose I could always just go deep in describing exactly how the show evokes Hotaru’s candy lust each week, since that does seem to be where the show’s own staff are putting their focus. And actually, there’s always room for a formal breakdown of why manzai is bad. So yeah, probably won’t have a problem after all!
You can check out my first review over at ANN, or my episode two notes below.