So, uh, two episodes left? Apparently reports of the season’s ending have been vastly exaggerated. Not that I’m complaining – two more episodes of self-actualized Hanekawa, grumpy hero Kaiki, and crazy-ass Nadeko sounds good to me. Let’s roll!
Category Archives: Episode Writeup
Kyousogiga – Episode 10
All good things must come to an end. I think I’ll be able to take this one a little more gracefully than Uchouten Kazoku – at this point, it’s actually a nice feeling to see great shows finish strong. That doesn’t end our engagement with them – the best shows can be watched again and again, our relationship with them enriched by sharing them with others. Additionally, sales or no sales, Kyousogiga marks the creative debut of a great new director, which is always something to be celebrated. I don’t want this story to continue – it’s come back around to where it began, and I’m very ready for it to end well.
Kill la Kill – Episode 12
Oh shit you guys it’s happening. The battle’s been set and the stakes have been raised – time for Trigger to kill everybody.
Or not. Who knows!? The old rules don’t apply anymore – Honnouji Academy has in one character reveal switched from antagonist to uneasy rival (OR POSSIBLY ALLY?????), and Kill la Kill will never be the same. Personally, hey, I’m ready for some blood. As long as it’s not Mako’s.
Never Mako’s.
Kyoukai no Kanata – Episode 12
Alright, KyoAni. Let’s do this. There’ve been stumbles in the past, crippling, foundation-withering stumbles, but these last two episodes have been pretty goddamn kickass. Last episode’s finale in particular was a real standout sequence – if you build on that, you can at least make a respectable landing. This show ultimately failed to be the show I was looking for, but… but goddamnit, it’s still a show! Let’s finish strong.
Monogatari S2 – Episode 24
Enough dillydallying! Time to discover the secret of Nadeko’s closet!
Kyousogiga – Episode 9
Oh jeez, two episodes to go. Last episode made me a little worried about this series’ conclusion, but I’ve heard this one steers the focus back onto the family, so that’s a relief. It’s honestly kind of terrifying to me to watch a show as good as this one as it’s airing – as with my OreGairu writeups, I pretty much approach every episode praying “don’t screw up, don’t screw up” to myself. The easiest way for this show to screw up would be for it to forget its own strengths – its careful character focus and ability to build intimate family moments. And it wouldn’t be at all hard for the show to do this – finales naturally tend towards bombast, the original ONA for this series was bombastic as fuck, and the busyness of the conflict with Shrine and need to save the Mirror City could easily overwhelm the small character conflicts the show spent its first six episodes building. To stick the landing, this show will need to avoid indulgence and keep the focus on its fundamental emotional truth. Many shows feature a lot of busy stuff happening – few shows are able to make their events mean something.
Kyoukai no Kanata – Episode 11
And we’re back. Last episode was quite an upset – plot-wise and direction-wise, I thought it was actually pretty fantastic. Atmospheric, creative, full of nice little details… on its own, I felt it was a very strong episode. That said, I’m pretty much never a fan of this “care about characters in retrospect” style of reveal – of all the things to keep as a secret, I think “the reason you should be invested in what’s happening” is about the worst possible choice. Felt it was a bad choice in Fate/Zero (I found that show’s entire first half pretty much emotionally sterile, and scattering the events of the longer flashback sequence from season 2 throughout would have probably fixed that entirely), felt it was a bad choice here. The only way I feel it can work is if you’re already invested in the characters involved – and that not being the case here was pretty much the fatal flaw for what was in the abstract an extremely compelling episode.
But negativity aside, great direction and smart storytelling are nothing to sneeze at, and last episode had plenty of those. I’ve also heard this episode has animation out to here, so that should be fun. Let’s get to it!
Kill la Kill – Episode 11
Were you expecting some funny announcer? Too bad! It’s me, Bobduh. Can’t keep that shit up all season!
You guys excited? I’m excited. Ryuuko looks excited. I guess we’re all excited. The Elite Four likely defeated, new characters introduced, the secret behind Senketsu possibly revealed – we’ve got all kinds of crazy shit on the table. It’s a battle between Satsuki’s ideals, Ryuuko’s hot-blooded spirit, NUUUUUUUUDIST BEEEEEEEACH, and a new challenger, and I have no fucking clue where they’re going with this. Let’s Kill la Kill!
Monogatari S2 – Episode 23
Have you guys seen this OP? Seriously guys. Holy shit this OP. Ermahgerd. I’m not gonna be able to say anything worth reading until we get through that beautiful ridiculous thing, so let’s just start the show.
Kyousogiga – Episode 8
The family’s all together now, and Koto’s enthusiastic break-in has apparently heralded the end of the world. Turns out Dad wasn’t lying after all – he did come back, and he did indeed bring with him the beginning and the end.