Can Monogatari top last week’s thrilling twenty-minute monologue? It seems difficult to imagine, but I guess we’ll see. Personally, I’m kind of set for this arc – that episode was impressive enough to cover my “wacky formal experiments” quota for the moment, and it also focused on one of the most interesting and emotionally charged relationships in the show. So I guess I can accept it if Mayoi has to go and regain consciousness or something.
Category Archives: Episode Writeup
Kill la Kill – Episode 6
Holy shit you fuckers, it’s Thursday. Time for friendship and violence and the power of questionable empowerment. Last episode was great, Ryuuko and Senketsu’s friendship is beautiful, and Mako was glorious as always. I am ready to be dazzled.
Kyoukai no Kanata – Episode 6
Well, at this point I think I’m ready for Kyoukai to impress or disappoint or whatever. Clearly expectations are antithetical to the various pieces KyoAni are putting together here, so I’m just giving up on them. Other shows can worry about being insightful or creative or ambitious – as long as KyoAni keeps making this stuff entertaining, I guess I’ll be fine.
Monogatari S2 – Episode 18
Look, the arc’s damn title is “Shinobu Time.” I don’t care if Shinobu already stole Mayoi’s actual title arc. Shinobu’s just a way better character than Mayoi, and if Mayoi ends up stealing this one, I will not be pleased. I don’t watch Monogatari for Mayoi/Araragi’s rambling, pointless conversations or “haha Araragi’s a pedophile” jokes – shit like that almost had me dropping Bake right in the middle of Snail, and has always been the centerpiece of the “in spite of…” list that silently follows any “Monogatari is fantastic” statements by me. Yeah, I know some people like it – they have that right. Personally, I’m hoping even Isin isn’t troll enough to name the arc Shinobu Time and then screw me like this.
Super mad about cartoons! Alright, let’s watch some damn Monogatari.
Kyousogiga – Episode 4
I’m guessing it’s time for a Yase episode. Eager to see how her own feelings reflect on those of her siblings – Kurama and Myoe each want out of the Mirror Capital for their own reasons, and I assume Yase will have a still different take. Let’s find out.
Kill la Kill – Episode 5
Alright. I’m not sure this is the episode to do this, and actually hoping it’s that episode probably borders on masochism all by itself. I’m fairly confident this is the show to do this. Fraying anyway, might as well commit, right? “Kill la Kill might be the show that finally drives me crazy!” Haha funny laffs. Yeah. Okay. Let’s see if we can just maybe hold it together.
Kyoukai no Kanata – Episode 5
And we’re back! Excited to see where this goes. Last week’s episode did a lot of work to bolster my faith in this series – I didn’t really care about Mirai’s sadsack past in the first half, but the second established a legitimate bond between the main two, giving Mirai a little substance and retroactively adding some interesting undertones to Akihito’s upbeat facade, pursuit of Mirai, and other relationships besides. A lot of efficient work for one I CAN’T CONTROL THE RAGE INSIDE ME RAAAH light novel sequence.
Speaking of which, yeah, this is obviously all Dark Flame Master as fuck. That doesn’t really matter to me – virtually every plot is a variation on other plots, and all I care about is the execution. Will they sell me on these characters to the point where I care, where I feel? Will the scenes be visualized and directed in such a way to create a compelling mood, tone, or world? Will it be about something, and will what it has to say be articulated well enough to have some resonance, or even some truth? This all seems like a very calculated effort, but in practice it really isn’t – if these things work, I’ll know they’re working because I’ll give a damn. Because in spite of all crustiness to the contrary, I’ll naturally care about what’s happening, and what this piece can show me.
Alright, enough of my own melodrama. I’ll let the show handle that.
Kyousogiga – Episode 3
Not sure how I’m gonna format this. Kinda just want to watch this show straight through. We’ll see!
Monogatari S2 – Episode 17
That’s three top-tier arcs in a row. Monogatari, I don’t know what they’ve put in your drinking water, but I like it. This arc is ostensibly about Shinobu, who’s one of my favorite characters, but I’ve heard it’s actually heavy on Mayoi, my least favorite, so I guess we’ll see if they keep it up. But this season has given me no reason to expect disappointment – Monogatari is one of the most compelling anime of the last few years, and S2 has been far and away the strongest set of episodes. Bring on Shinobu Time.
Nagi no Asukara – Episode 4
Last week’s episode was wonderful. This show has actually jumped over the hypewagons (this week’s incredibly Kill la Kill notwithstanding) to be one of my favorites of the season – hopefully it stays this smart and well-paced. We’ve already run through a massive amount of development for Hikari, and it seems like he’s already gained the maturity necessary to let go of Manaka, so I’m eager to see where it goes from here.