So Ginko really is a criminal-bear after all. I’m definitely a fan of how knowing she watched Sumika die (or “die”) complicates her character. It was a heartless act, and clearly reflective of how selfish her interpretation of love is, but it’s far from an irredeemable action. Ikuhara shows are full of characters with selfish or violent streaks that are nonetheless also full of humanity, and it wouldn’t be satisfying to see characters triumph if they didn’t start off in positions of great personal weakness. Ginko and Kureha each have their own forms of weakness, and with so much of Yuri Kuma’s worldbuilding secrets already revealed, I’m hoping the second half will spend some time building each of them back up. Let’s get to the gao gao.
Category Archives: Episode Writeup
Log Horizon II – Episode 19
The kids are killing it! This week’s episode easily topped last week’s already great conversations, with Tohya’s feelings on his place in Elder Tale being sharply highlighted by the fatalistic philosophy of the Odyssey Knights. Grim revelations and big character shifts and at least four contrasting parties (the kids, the knights, the Minami faction, and Roe 2) made for a heavy and solidly rewarding episode. My writeup ran long without even really digging into a full contrast of Log Horizon’s competing philosophies on the value of gaming and validity of this world in a personal sense – this show is now competing directly on SAO’s turf, and that’s always an interesting conversation. Much that was built up was resolved this week, but I’m still excited to see whatever next episode brings. We might even get some actual animation!
Nah, just kidding. But there’s definitely plenty to look forward to anyway.
My full ANN post is available here. Notes below!
Parasyte – Episode 18
And Tamiya’s story comes to an end. This episode was somewhat hampered by the aesthetic neutrality that’s weakened Parasyte all along, but its conclusion was strong enough narrative-wise that I couldn’t really complain about that. The anime is making me want to reread the manga – apparently we’re losing a lot of character texture, and the strongest thing here is the base material. But a great source adapted poorly can still be a pretty good show, and that’s where we’re at now.
My full ANN post is available here. Notes below!
Yuri Kuma Arashi – Episode 6
Here we are again. Five episodes in, and we’ve finally got both Lulu and Ginko’s personalities solidly established. Lulu’s driven by guilt over her brother’s death to the point of self-sacrifice, making a martyr of herself and assuming Ginko’s goals as her own. Ginko is in lust with Kureha, driven by a combination of a desire to “return to the love she once gave her” and something that seems a good bit more carnal. In spite of the strength of her feelings, they don’t really seem driven by any kind of understanding of the current Kureha – she wants to possess her, yes, but this doesn’t seem much like the love Kureha has lost. Kureha herself is in all kinds of turmoil, with only her own conviction to trust in. With Ginko in a moment of possible vulnerability, we might finally be moving towards a moment of greater honesty for both of them. Let’s watch some bears!
Log Horizon II – Episode 18
As I mention in my piece, this episode of Log Horizon was noteworthy mainly in that it managed to make one of Log Horizon’s general weaknesses into a strength – for once, the emotional problems of the younger set were actually handled with some real sensitivity. The unusually frank and extended nature of this episode’s core conversations really helped in returning a sense of humanity and consequence to the feelings of these characters, which I’d say made this actually superior to just another episode that simply avoided the problem of making these characters compelling for their own sake. And also it’s just nice to see Isuzu and Rudy being really cute together.
My full ANN post is available here. Episode notes below!
Rolling Girls – Episode 5
I felt kinda mixed on this episode of Rolling Girls, and it’s a little hard to describe why, because my biggest problem here was that the beats of this story just didn’t land in an emotional sense for me. The scenes all came in the right order, but they just felt a little too rote – I’m not quite there with Himeko at the moment. The actual story being told is a nice one, though – the rival family narrative and the father-daughter relationship narrative work very well together, there were still plenty of nicely surreal details, and the overall piece is certainly reflective of Rolling Girls’ coming-of-age focus. This was an episode I wanted to like more than I actually liked it, which I guess is still a good sign?
My full ANN piece is available here. Notes below!
Parasyte – Episode 17
We finally got a pretty solid rallying episode this week, after many weeks of subpar episodes. We’re not exactly at first-few-episodes strength again, but after the Kana arc and subsequent meanderings, this felt like a revelation. A solid fight scene, a coherent pulling together of several character arcs, and even some echoing back of the show’s early themes. Everything you need for a balanced breakfast!
My full ANN post is available here. Notes below!
Yuri Kuma Arashi – Episode 5
THE BEARS HAVE RETURNED. I am writing this piece in the midst of yet another actual storm, so once again, you may have to bear with me if stormclouds force me to paws the episode or something. Last episode was fantastic, and finally gave the show the sense of humor and humanity it was desperately needing – whatever else happens, we now at least know that Lulu is amazing. Hopefully this week will continue on the humanizing-this-cast theme, but who knows. The bear-filled sky is the limit.
Rolling Girls – Episode 4
Rolling Girls performed a semi-smooth recovery this week. We didn’t return to the high-energy mania and glorious animation of the first two episodes, but at this point, I think that just isn’t what this show is. What Rolling Girls actually is is a story of freedom and growing up and punk rock, more “Naota sleeping on the back of the vespa” and less “Haruka in a bunny suit slamming the guitar.” The show’s art direction remains excellent, but the key points this week were the quiet moments – both Nozomi and Chiaya’s conversations with their mothers, and the easy conversation about favorite bands that played the episode off.
In light of this shift, I’m not really surprised that a lot of people are jumping shift – the show tricked people, it’s not what it initially appeared to be. But fortunately for me, the show’s new thing is obviously well within My Kind of Thing, and so as long as the show maintains the easy grace of this episode’s last few minutes in its upcoming character moments, I’ll still be enjoying the ride. And either way, it sure is pretty.
My full ANN post is available here. Notes below!
Log Horizon II – Episode 17
Great episode of Log Horizon this week – there were some silly gags and not much animation, but the important thing was that we’re back into compelling ideas again. That one scene at the Round Table basically made the episode – dealing with income disparities within Akihabara is such a smart elaboration on both Log Horizon’s worldbuilding and the issues of gamer psychology it gestured at during the William Massachusetts speech that I really just can’t think of something I’d rather have the show explore. And the other stuff it’s exploring is also interesting! The kids’ story is actually coming together, and introducing multiple interesting variables! Including Nureha, who’s easily one of the most intriguing characters in the overall cast. Nice work Log Horizon, we’re back on solid ground again.
My supersized episodic post is available over at ANN. All my notes are below!