Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Suisei no Gargantia – Episode 3

Posted on by

Gargantia!

Man, I have been eagerly awaiting this episode. That dramatic finale last week has proven the unstable nature of Ledo and the Earthlings’ temporary peace, as well as given the Earthlings (I should probably switch to “Gargantians,” but referring to them as Earthlings remains funny to me) a much sharper understanding of what they’re truly dealing with. Did his obliteration of the pirates violate some general understanding of acceptable violence in their world? Will they try to use him now, or assassinate him in some way that prevents retaliation? They still don’t necessarily believe in the existence of the AI – I could see that truth become clear to them in dramatic fashion if they try to go behind Ledo’s back. But this is all conjecture, and this show is awesome, so I’m just gonna get right to it.

Episode 3

0:10 – Wow, we’ve never gotten a full pan of the city like this before (probably because the show’s been trying to keep us mentally trapped with Ledo on that crane arm). It’s beautiful

1:00 – I think this is the first time I’ve heard “____ no baka!” in response to pirate genocide

2:32 – God this show is gorgeous. How does Urobuchi always gets these incredibly colorful, very distinctive art pallets? Do talented artists just flock to him?

3:40 – I really like that our heroine is smart enough to immediately recognize her own partial culpability in what happened. “Help us” was something that needed to be translated across cultures, not just languages

4:42 – Consuming carcasses left and right. Ledo’s a champion

6:20 – Pff, everybody contributing to a humane, prosperous society? We don’t need none of that commie-talk here, Bellows

8:28 – Ahaha, my god, those trollish pirate thug designs

13:53 – This is a little weird. I just can’t feel much tension here when Chamber exists as a being of essentially limitless power in their world. And obviously the show knows that – but it’s dragging out this conflict quite a bit considering the context. Perhaps the tension is more supposed to be drawn from him using this conflict to make or break his alliance with the Gargantian commanders? If so, I’m not sure that’s being entirely successfully conveyed

14:48 – This I like. Using Ledo/Chamber only as support, because what the Gargantians really need to convey is the normal fleet’s willingness and ability to fend off the pirates themselves

18:25 – It’s weird seeing Urobuchi’s staple ideas and storytelling get mixed with more lighthearted stuff, like a freaking pirate queen riding a surfing lobster mech

20:30 – And now they’re spinning the lobster in circles while politely asking it to surrender. Okay, I’m totally on board with this

And Done

This show is so great. This episode got much sillier than I was expecting, but it totally worked – at this point, considering how rarely the tone has gotten all that serious, I’m thinking this might be something like Urobuchi’s stab at a Ghibli-esque production – just a wonderful, continuously enjoyable adventure in a vivid, beautiful world

This is what pure entertainment looks like to me. It’s light, and it’s happy, and it’s propulsive, but it’s never stupid – the writing never betrays your trust in the characters, world, or storytelling. This is entertainment done right

Attack on Titan – Episode 3

Posted on by

ATTACK! On TITAN!

Pointless intro paragraph deleted. There’s no time for that, there’s Titans at the gates! Let’s do this.

Episode 3

2:55 – Already liking this episode. Getting its Full Metal Jacket on all over these pigshits from shit city.

5:35 – Wow, the reports of Potato Girl’s fantasticness were not exaggerated. I think the last expression was a little more absurd and hilarious in the manga, but using this anime’s super-dramatic pans and close-ups to heighten the tension of Potato Girl’s Last Stand was pretty amazing

7:00 – And here’s another scene I like – the cadets all crowding around to ask for scenes from the war front, since it’s still just a far-removed adventure to them. I really enjoy when this show just re-contextualizes classic war film tropes into the Titan world – they’re familiar, but they’re well-written, help to ground this world in something tangible, and help to round out the personalities of our suddenly formidable cast of characters

9:00 – Maybe it’s just the highlighted lips, but I feel they’ve made Mikasa more classically anime-beautiful than she was in the manga, which I don’t really like

10:40 – “Is this… BREAD?!” I’m so happy this show’s aware of the way drama can turn to silliness with these melodramatic close-ups, and is actually using it that way. If you understand the effect of your own shots well enough to use them for comedy, you’ll probably be fine when it comes to actual drama as well

12:12 – Eren what are you doing that is not how you belt-fly.

Wow, the last thing I expected was an episode full of actually pretty solid jokes. I also appreciate that they’re using the 25 episode runtime to dedicate serious minutes just to establishing their system of training and combat, so when shit goes down, it’s not just “woo, crazy action, woo,” you actually understand the stakes and powers of our protagonists, so you’ll know when something is impressive, dangerous, or foolish in the terms of their world. As I’ve said before, action scenes are just noise if you can’t tell who’s winning or losing

14:51 – Damn, Potato Girl is getting a dramatic workout this episode.

I don’t even know what to say about the drama to comedy tonal shifts going on here – because the humor is mainly created through setting these scenes with the same dramatic tricks the allegedly tragic scenes of the first two episodes used, it seems like the show is kinda making fun of itself. Which is a weird place to be

17:30 – I really like this guy’s speech. I really like a lot of things about this episode, actually; it might be the first one that’s really sold me on this show as its own thing with its own tone and ideas, and not just this season’s action spectacle

18:15 – This show keeps hammering in that theme of not being truly human if you don’t have the strength to choose your own destiny. Very interested in seeing where they go with that – this show is too dark and has too many long, character-focused conversations for an idea as simplistically optimistic as that to go unchallenged for long

21:35 – Okay, now I’m starting to see the JoJo argument as it applies to this show – it goes crazy with its dramatic angles and reaction shots, but it’s still honestly committed to those scenes, and understands it’s kind of going overboard. The contrast between those scenes, the comedy scenes where it actually makes fun of that kind of trick, and the actually very traditionally effective quiet drama scenes, is a little jarring, but I’m not against it – the show is doing its own thing, and I always appreciate that

And Done

Fun stuff! I had some misgivings about the way the comedy and drama bounced off each other, but by the end I think I just had a better grasp on what this show is actually about, and so all that stuff kind of fit into place. Overall I very much enjoyed this episode, and it gave me a great deal of confidence in the show going forward. I’m interested to see if they maintain this seemingly self-aware tone (well, the comedy makes it obviously self-aware, at least) going into more dramatic stretches, or if this was just to build a false sense of security – I honestly hope it does, cause I think I personally will enjoy the show more if it tries to have a little fun with its storytelling, and doesn’t try to make us feel the weight of all this tragedy all the time.

Bakemonogatari – Episodes 9 and 10

Posted on by

Nadeko’s OP is my clear favorite of the season (though the Fire Sisters both kill it dead).

So, as I mentioned in the last discussion, I wasn’t actually planning on rewatching this after having watched the whole series so recently. But as SohumB pointed out in the last thread[1] , these Nadeko episodes play in a really weird sexual space that has definite relevance to my thoughts on Nise – so I’m watching that pair specifically to see what I think.

And my first impression, only a few minutes in, is that the cinematography in this show is much more often interested in pacing than Nise’s constant emotional inference – though obviously both are still in effect, many of the shots seem designed more to keep the visual narrative constantly flowing than to impart a great deal of context.

“Being kind to everybody is irresponsible, after all” – now I actually do want to watch the whole series again, in search of all the ways they articulate variations on this theme. Making one of the core narrative issues of the harem genre a core, overt characteristic of this very self-aware show’s protagonist is one of the greatest successes of this series.

Alright, here’s the scene, Nadeko in the bedroom.

Hm. It’s tricky to say exactly how this scene is supposed to be played – there are a lot of variables involved. Yeah, it’s partially Araragi’s perspective. Yeah, it’s partially also just this season’s more jumpy and propulsive style of visual storytelling. And importantly, this scene also serves a lot of narrative purpose that needs to be conveyed visually – the actual, narrative plot of this scene is her revealing the curse on her body, so a great deal of the visual storytelling is dedicated to clarifying what’s actually happening in the story. Most of what I was discussing in Nise basically contrasted the visual storytelling against the narrative storytelling – here, they’re kind of too muddled together to be playing off each other.

In the next episode, it seems more overtly clear that Araragi’s deeply uncomfortable with this situation, but is maintaining the banter of 9 and the exposition of 10 to keep it from getting any weirder than it has to be.

Hm… that WIDESCREEN scene where she’s getting dressed is questionable. The argument could be made that it’s designed to reflect Nadeko’s sense of vulnerability – but if that’s true, I don’t think it did a great job of it. The fact that they’re lampshading it with the “Widescreen” breaks in the first place leads me to think it’s just pointing out fanservice while unabashedly presenting it.

Maybe this whole arc is supposed to be uncomfortably voyeuristic – it definitely comes across that way to me. The way they emphasize Nadeko’s clear discomfort in 9 supports that interpretation, too.

I wasn’t sure before, but it seems like Nadeko’s “attempting to remove the curse only made things worse” might intentionally reflect Hanekawa’s “trying to help everybody will come back to haunt you.” This idea is also pretty ridiculously overt during Nise’s Karen Bee. And Araragi’s barely-remembered interactions with young Nadeko causing long-lasting unintended emotional consequences is yet another reflection of it.

Araragi drawing attention to the pain of her scales causing her even more discomfort – another scene playing with her unwilling vulnerability during this arc.

And now, with the school swimsuit (can’t believe I didn’t remember that), I’m even more confident this arc is definitely playing with the expectations of this kind of show, and how the kind of voyeurism they normally represent would actually relate to characters who you’re supposed to treat as human beings. In fact, this seems like a more blunt reaction to standard fanservice than most of Nise does – while that goes beyond mere criticism and begins to address positive ways cinematography can address sexuality, these episodes are basically saying, “here’s one of those young girls you like seeing dressed up and stripped down so much. Look how much she’s enjoying what you’re doing to her”

Hah, I really like the use of a music-box rearrangement of Nadeko’s theme for this climactic scene.

It’s interesting that the kind of affection she has for Araragi isn’t just standard romance – in the scene she reminisces about, she is fawning over the ways he’s taken care of her. Remind anybody of anything? Yeah, she’s positioning herself as a moe object.

“And now we’re torturing her. You like that? This still getting you off?”

This episode’s brutal.

Ironically enough, this theme of Araragi’s helpful nature being an obsessive and unhealthy thing was something I was always hoping Clannad would actually bring up – hell, that show even had plenty of already-existing motivation for a complex like that, in the presence of Tomoya’s father as an example he’d be rebelling against.

Okay, those two episodes were really interesting. I think the ways it worked as a meta-commentary on sexuality and storytelling in anime wasn’t as tightly woven into the actual emotional/narrative story of the show as it is throughout Nisemonogatari, but it definitely wasn’t as interested in subtlety in general – these episodes came across as legitimately angry, and creator passion is pretty much as satisfying to me as character passion.

These episodes seem, in a wide variety of very overt ways, to be about the kind of voyeurism that’s often taken for granted in anime, and how that informs the viewer’s “relationship” with characters, and what that actually means in a human sense. The “widescreen” scene that begins episode 10 is the only one that resembles the traditional voyeurism of fanservice – in episode 9, she’s aware she’s being watched, and is deeply uncomfortable and ashamed because of it. In episode 10, they frame her exorcism in one of the most classically anime-fanservice tropes there is (the school swimsuit), and then take it a step too far, and then take it ten steps too far, seemingly all to make the viewer aware of their own reactions to this kind of material. It’s crazy stuff, and I don’t think it comes across as entirely natural (thus my recollection of these episodes as playing in weird sexual space that seemed somewhat unrelated to the narrative/emotional goals of the characters), but it’s certainly a strong and fiercely articulated argument.

Aku no Hana – Episode 3

Posted on by

Welp, time to feel a little bit worse about our fundamental human nature, I guess.

Aku no Hana can make twenty-three minutes seem like an awfully long, uncomfortable time. Can you imagine watching this show straight through? Hell, can you imagine owning the DVDs, and then just casually suggesting you and some friends sit down for a little anime? This show is a dangerous commodity.

But also a great one. That first episode rode perfectly on creeping tension and atmosphere, and the second one dragged us uncomfortably far into Our Hero’s tortured, claustrophobic, adolescent mind. Now he’s formed some kind of hellish contract with Nakamura, and has possibly ruined his social life and chances with his Muse regardless. Kasuga now lives in a nightmare realm of fear and shame, his last threads of dignity held in the grasp of an inscrutable demon-girl. Why this isn’t the breakout romcom of the season, I’ll never know.

Episode 3

0:30 – Maybe they do break with the tone of everything else, but I fucking love Kasuga’s wild-man screams. They’re obviously funny, but I think they also kind of point to the inherent disconnect between his florid, romanticized inner monologue and the actual world he’s living in and experiences he’s living through. You can frame your problems as the last cries of a tortured soul all you want, but you’re still just a kid wailing because people are gonna make fun of you

0:54 – Also probably good to leave the humor at the beginning, so it doesn’t break the tone elsewhere – I think the intro does something pretty similar. So far, the tone has been maintained so well that I hadn’t really considered the show might be thinking on a level above that tone and that world, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for it

4:30 – Couple things. First, the background art for this show continues to be spectacular. Beautiful in a tired, semi-decrepit kind of way – much like the rotoscoping, it’s just realistic enough to outline all the faults and ugliness of the real world to a level approaching the grotesque. Second, now I’m a bit more confident the show is playing with the protagonist’s perception of his conflicts – the disconnect between his panic and all the oblivious people around him seems to be directly indicating the distance between his mental state and the real world

6:10 – Nakamura’s actress has a fantastic “inspecting a strange and mildly interesting insect” default expression

6:52 – Still loving how the show uses that tower shot of the school as a kind of chapter title page

7:02 – Here’s a great example of what they’ve done with the backgrounds – virtually every element of this building has been reproduced perfectly, but then painted over with what looks almost like a watercolor speckling of mud. Like the whole world’s been neglected and has started to decay

12:00 – Goddamn, he was so close! But now it’s easier to fall in with her enabling influence – easier for him to believe his interior world really has some relation to the real world, that he is something truly different from everyone else.

Now he be fucked

13:38 – Why worry if they see, Kasuga? You’re better than them. You’re different

I was worried the writing wouldn’t be good enough, but so far this show’s thematic darkness is doing pretty well to hold up to the incredible aesthetics

16:21 – Ugh, this is brutal. They each want such fucked up forms of affirmation from the other. This show

And Done

I really love that trick with the ED over the fading final scene, and I think it’s a good example of the very distinct and difficult line the show walks regarding drama versus melodrama. While the tone virtually always absolutely supportive of Kasuga’s interior world, the show seems aware he’s living in a very personal, heightened reality, and that the actual reality is a quite different place. Not sinking entirely into his world while still respecting it and making you empathize uncomfortably with it is a ridiculous tough balance to strike, and I don’t think it’s always perfect, but I think it’s still doing an incredibly good job. Plus, all the visuals, the music, the voice acting, the non-voice acting… everything else remains stellar. The only question left is whether this story is worthy of all this meticulous artistic prep work – sure, it’s already an incredibly strong tone piece, but I’m excited to find out what this story really has to say

-edit- I didn’t comment on it at the time, but since finishing this episode, I’ve kept mulling over that multi-second frozen pause around 19:40. What effect is that supposed to create? Calling it animator laziness is lazy criticism – this show’s direction is too purposeful for that, and even if they wanted to cut corners, they could easily do it in less obvious ways, or just frame the shot differently. So what’s the actual intent of that frozen shot? I’m still unsure

OreGairu – Episode 3

Posted on by

This show is stressing me out.

With Crime Edge, I know it’ll be terrible, and that’s what I’m there for. With Aku no Hana, I’m fairly sure it’ll be great, but I’m not emotionally invested, so it doesn’t really matter to me if it spins off the wheels. With Gargantia, I trust Urobuchi enough to know he’s not gonna fuck up.

With OreGairu?

I love this show. I have love love loved those first two episodes. But I have no way of knowing if it’s going to fall apart. And as the hour approaches, I find myself praying, “Please be good. Please, please, please be good. I want you to be good so badly.” Because goddamn do we ever need more shows like this. So one last time, OreGairu, please – continue to be this smart, continue to be written this well, and continue to explore both the vicious truth of young insecurity and the heartwarming passion and humanity that lies beneath it.

Please. Give me this one, at least.

Episode 3

0:43 – I always feel weird praising this show for its incredibly believable inner monologue, because really, the reason I find it so believable is that it almost perfectly represents a Younger Me. Applauding yourself for the combination of variables you’ve combined to excuse yourself from effort while still appearing eager to participate? Yeah. I’ve been there.

1:35 – Once again, mere minutes into the episode, I ask myself, “Why was I worried?” “Walls are a part of youth.” Profound wisdom from Best MC

3:30 – A nice little humanizing moment for Hiki here, enjoying a moment to himself where he doesn’t have to be on the defensive. Of course, all his actions humanize him – his motives and insecurities are transparent in all of his actions (kind of like “wall of Jericho” Asuka in that way – another one of my favorite written characters). But it’s nice to see him get to relax

4:15 – Wow, she’s got her Yuki impression down

4:20 – I like how Yuki’s easily-provoked competitive streak fits in so well with her superiority complex. It’s nice when personality quirks and deeper insecurities mirror each other like that

5:33 – Car accident. Our second clue, to accompany that flashback when Hiki saw the dog last episode

6:07 – “You’re making me blush, EHEHEHE.” I love how when Hiki’s engaged in conversation in a positive way, he reverts to that, “More like hot AND humid, AMIRITE?” artificial positivity

8:46 – Yuki’s anger seems far more deeply felt than Hiki’s. I can’t wait to see more honesty out of her

9:35 – I think it was xRichard in the last thread who mentioned a fear this show would become too “problem of the week” to maintain its initial strength? I think that concern’s valid, but I also think that, even more so than last episode, this episode has been expanding our understanding of the main trio while also containing a side story. I don’t have a problem yet, but this could certainly happen

10:50 – I really like that they didn’t feel the need to reintroduce our Chuuni friend – he just happened to be around, so he hung out with them for a while, and it wasn’t a big thing

12:00 – Hiki’s fighting back! I suppose he feels more confident with a few people already on his side

15:10 – “Worst case scenario: I’ll have to get serious.” Yeah, you don’t have any Chuuni instincts whatsoever, Hiki

15:42 – “I guess self-deprecation creeps people out if you don’t know them well enough.” Yep! That one took me a little while too

16:46 – “Though a certain someone calls me ‘The Ice Queen’… not like I care or anything.” Ah, youth

18:10 – “RAZE THEM TO THE GROUND!” I think I’m gonna like having this guy around

19:22 – “Lunch break will be over soon… usually I’d be in my favorite spot.” That same ocean breeze rustles his hair, and he smiles. See, this episode wasn’t about the side arc at all – it used that to create a concise little narrative arc about Hiki, and further develop the relationships between the main characters.

This is also just a well-crafted trick – the callback makes sense, along with the wind he unreservedly appreciates revealing his ultimately more optimistic nature.

And Done

Welp, it’s still doing it. At this point, the initial shock of a high school romantic comedy that treats smart, negative people as human beings has somewhat worn off, and I’m just enjoying how well these characters are written, how nicely they bounce off each other, and Hiki’s all-star narration. I like the various tones his narration took this episode – there was his default “I know high school sucks, but whatever” shield tone, there was his unshielded mini-ode to his favorite spot, there was the heightened, chuuni-recalling “high school sucks, and I’m a hero for surviving it” when he actually got passionate about the game and let his guard down, and there were his bitter, unguarded remarks towards the perfectly reasonable guy he was using as a stand-in for all the people who never thought to include him. This show knows this guy, and cares about him, but it never romanticizes him. And it’s smart enough to make sure that all comes through.

Maybe next week I won’t be so terrified it’ll all fall apart.

Kakumeiki Valvrave – Episode 2

Posted on by

I don’t always (in fact, I don’t often) agree with them, but I think Cart Driver[1] pretty much had Valvrave’s number regarding that first episode. The most blandly anime anime in the anime kingdom. I ain’t doing a real writeup for this, but you might as well know beforehand that my current expectations won’t be tough to exceed.

Episode 2

1:30 – Wow, I am impressed. Shooting a gun out of your subordinate’s hands… without looking at him… from behind your back… while lying prone on the ground.

Fuck, I said I wasn’t going to do a real writeup. Well, I still won’t. Starting now.

2:04 – I love those custom anime guns that only graze people’s noses, and never actually scar or, god forbid, kill them.

Goddamnit I’m doing it again.

2:09 – Goddamn this fucking gun! Why will it perfectly disarm an opponent when fired behind the back while lying down, but only graze my target’s shoulder when I hold it in both hands while looking straight at him??!!

2:41 – AHAHAHAHAH THEY SWITCHED BODIES?!?! Oh my god that’s beautiful

3:42 – This generic-ass OP. At least Geass had, “I CON-TIN-UE TO FIGHT! I CON-TIN-UE TO FIGHT!” to entertain me

4:04 – It is at this moment, watching a parade of color-coded neon robots present their glowing phallic symbol-weapons, that I realize this show is Not Going To Be For Me. But hey, I’m already sitting in this chair, can’t stop now.

4:27 – Gawd, so many fucking characters in this OP. There’s definitely a specific audience type this sort of thing caters to – it’s like a lesser version of Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, where the sheer volume of data the world contains is for some reason very compelling to a certain audience. It’s not my thing, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with it – it just makes tight storytelling and pacing/emotional beats that much harder (but not impossible) to pull off.

5:10 – “I’m the boss in this school, shitheads” – he’s exaggerating, but it wouldn’t actually surprise me for the superintendent of their school system to be a fourteen year old loli.

5:15 – Finally, someone discovers a use for those goddamn pistols – just hit people in the head with them

…as I typed “them” in that sentence, OpenOffice auto-corrected to “thematically.” Not sure how I feel about that

5:53 – Using his rocks-paper-scissor skills to test his identity is actually a pretty cute gag. That writer has earned their salary

6:26 – “The body doesn’t forget how to fight” – so it’s Bourne Identity – Bishie Edition.

7:30 – Is the show expecting any of this political nonsense to resonate in any way? Oh! That’s another issue I have with the “raw data” worldbuilding style – unless you set your conflicts in personal or thematically resonant terms, they have a tendency to be emotionally sterile. I don’t inherently care whether the Jibberjabbians successfully defeat the Zamafloovians – either your points have to resonate with something real, or your characters have to be people I care about

7:55 – So this guy’s Geass power is… shooting people with a gun

On the other hand, it’s actually pretty intense that a default wishy-washy high school protagonist just straight-up murdered two people and justified it as necessary casualties of war. Perhaps this guy is more entertainingly crazy than I thought

8:52 – Okay, who’s got the gif of Our Hero belly-diving the scientists from a helicopter and landing with his foot in that guy’s face?

10:18 – Alright, that actually is a pretty sweet Geass, I have to admit. I’d be more excited with the narrative possibilities if the OP weren’t so dedicated to robots fighting pew pew, but I guess that’s the kind of things OPs naturally highlight, so maybe this will actually be more fun than I thought

13:07 – Blitzendegen… so these guys are literally space Germans.

…fine.

15:50 – Isn’t there like, an entire armada watching as these teenagers deal with their hormonal betrayal issues? Do they have any thoughts on these proceedings?

16:07 – Oh FUCKING REALLY? SHE’S ALIVE? As if giant robot shows didn’t have low enough stakes already

18:26 – L-Elf was so moved by Hero’s tears for his lady love that he decided to actually help him defeat his own cause? I… guess that makes as much sense as anything else that’s happened

21:45 – And he sidesteps the love confession. Welp, that completes my anime cliché bingo sheet. In fact, that completes the entire fucking grid. I’m done. Episode paused, episode closed. Packing up. Going home.

Finally Done

Final thoughts: Why.

Okay, so I gotta think about this show that way, then. In that case, I’d say this show is actually a lot less enjoyable than Crime Edge – although it’s equally terrible, it’s terrible in a much more routine, polished way, and not in the delightfully weird and sex-obsessed way Crime Edge happens to be. This show is just like the Platonian ideal of highly budgeted generic bullshit. It is anime as written by fairly stupid robots

Hataraku Maou-sama! – Episode 3

Posted on by

Hataraku Maou-sama!

I get the feeling this will be the last episode of setup for this very smartly written comedy. So far we’ve established our base conceit, we’ve grounded our four characters in their world, and we’ve begun to explore the various dynamics between them. The foundations of a classic sitcom are all there – the animosity and begrudging respect between Maou and Yusa, the seemingly obvious rivalry between Asriel and Yusa, the constant shifting between hero-worship subservience and mother hen disapproval between Asriel and Maou, and the fawning respect Sasaki shows Maou. Based on that info, the only dynamics really left to establish are those between Sasaki and the rest of the cast – and would you look at that, the preview for this episode implied Maou and Sasaki are going on some kind of date. That promises some comedy, as Maou’s dead-serious commitment to his new life always does – but the other classic side of this weathered sitcom chestnut is the group of friends sneaking along “for his own good.” Will we get Asriel and Yusa bonding over how Sasaki isn’t good enough for their precious/hated Maou?

See, that’s the thing – a lot of the jokes and situations here are pretty reliable standards, but the characters are written so wittily and affectionately, and the execution of the jokes is so top-notch, that it just doesn’t matter. It’s like a jazz riff on a classic progression – we’re not here for the melody, we’re to watch excellent artists show us their take on it. Let’s get to it.

Episode 3

1:25 – Those action cutaways of Maou putting on his MgRonald’s hat and apron are a pretty great elevator pitch for this entire show.

2:12 – I kind of appreciate the fact that the whole OP being reused show footage means they put every single goddamn dollar into the actual production.

2:30 – Eva trick turned industry standard #754 – bad memories always find people in the bath

3:39 – “Sure, I don’t have a shift. Let’s talk!” Normally this kind of plucky male obliviousness is a symptom of bad writing, but considering Maou still believes capitalism allows for class mobility, from him I can believe it

5:46 – Welp, her certainty it’s a demon makes me pretty certain it’s our wayward Head Priest. A priest wanting to erase both the hero and the demon king… wait, could this show actually be about something?

8:00 – See, you’d think this show is a one-note joke, but it just keeps finding new ways to play with that concept. The main trick is grounding their theatrics in a variety of modern mundanities (meddle with the epic hero… by forcing her to bail them out. Insult Alsiel’s skills at a general… by mocking his inability to maintain a well-stocked refrigerator), but the way the two sides of this coin both bounce so naturally off each other and come up so naturally as part of their conversations and characters is just really nice stuff

8:30 – Acting tsundere about her right to kill Maou before anyone else does. I think someone invented that harem comedy in a thread here…

9:20 – Omigod we get a fashion montage of Alsiel dressing up Maou for his date. GET OUT OF MY HEAD, SHOW

11:54 – And here we finally are. Yusa runs into Alsiel shadowing them on the date – perhaps the entire point of this episode. Savor it

12:46 – Goddamn this dynamic is great. Yusa immediately goes from blistering rage at what evil deeds her nemesis may be planning, to resigned disappointment that his plans include no evil deeds whatsoever

14:33 – “No, waaaait…” as she defiantly… walks through an automatic door.

20:32 – A lot of this isn’t particularly great, but that’s mainly because they’re for some reason using this last quarter for a huge infodump of plot catalysts, as well as to set up the Yusa/Sasaki dynamic. However, I did like the dialogue both in their fight and in Yusa’s light prodding afterwards – which makes sense, since a show that can write characters well enough to make personality-based jokes work should definitely be able to make personality-based drama work too

And Done

Ooh, I really like that twist at the end. Perhaps three episodes in is a little too soon for Maou to get his powers back, but not his old personality – but they’ve skipped months already, and that’s just not what this show is about anyway – it’s about their current selves, not the transition to their current selves, and that’s honestly how I prefer it.

The infodump stuff about trans-world sonar and earthquake magic and blah blah blah was honestly pretty lackluster, but I guess if one artless, humorless exposition-spiel was required to set the board for the rest of the show, I’m fine with that.

Otherwise, the episode was fine. I don’t think it was quite as funny as either of the first two, but I think that’s mainly because Yusa and Sasaki just aren’t as funny as Maou or Asriel, and this episode foregrounded both of them. Hopefully, now that all four leads have been properly introduced, as well as the larger conflict established, the show can settle into a more comfortable groove and fall back on its excellent writing and humor

Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge – Episode 3

Posted on by

Maaan, I had plans for this episode. Seriously, this comedy routine thing is freaking me out. I thought being insightfulwas hard… fuck, being entertaining is a lot of responsibility! So yes, I have a number of more or less entertaining full-episode conceits in the pipeline, and yes, I probably have spent a little too much time prioritizing the entertainment of you, you unappreciative rabble, over admittedly fairly relevant concerns like maintaining employment and striking some semi-artistic mark on the world. But you know what? I’m sorry. Tonight, I visited some new friends in the area, and perhaps partook of an unwise number of questionable beverages. Tonight, I got a little bit selfish, and my much-vaunted objectivity will perhaps suffer as a result. Tonight, I am drunk, and motherfucker this is what you’re getting, like it or not. Give me some fucking

Crime Edge: Episode 3

0:11 – Dear god did I miss this show. If conflating hair maintenance with sex is wrong, I don’t want to be right. And frankly, what kind of callous, coal-hearted man would deny their own proclivity towards sexy grooming? Their hypocrisy has no place in my hair-centric world

0:45 – I have to admit, I’m kind of awed by how well they maintain this hair-sex thing. The fact that my body is conflicted about how sexy this is is proof enough (I hope? I mean, we’re all friends here, right?) that they have some pretty solid understanding of how direction can affect emotional tone

1:59 – This OP makes me wonder if all OPs are this absurd. She stands aloft, stranded on a fern-strewn precipice within a… field of battleaxes? I guess? I don’t know where this joke is going, but fortunately our resident Rei/Asuka-antiheroes are here to present Rei licking Asuka’s arm in a sexy, sexy way, and that’s humor enough for the both of us

2:10 – Just realized Hair Queen is naked during this scene. Can’t wait to get some context on this one

3:05 – I just realized the Hair Queen’s tragic curse exists partially to allow the writers to dress their precious hair-muse in a new hairstyle every week. Honestly, I’m less annoyed with the obviousness of how blatantly pandering this is than the fact that it doesn’t pander to me

3:35 – It’s funny because she was happy before! It’s always encouraging when this show reminds us that it has no idea how to actually be intentionally funny

4:23 – Goddamnit are this show’s unintentional parodies wonderful. Right here, we have the classic “my talent isn’t that great, don’t make a big deal out of it” statement by some secondary character, followed by the “don’t sell yourself short, I think you’re amazing!” statement by our secretly not so secretly godly protagonist. But because this is Crime Edge, the talent they’re comparing is motherfucking hair. Don’t sell yourself short, secondary love interest – your ability to continue growing the hair that inevitably vomits out of your scalp is super fucking impressive! Clearly I have a great deal left to learn!

5:36 – Alright, cut the bullshit Kiri. That hair is nuts and I need to know the truth

6:00 – I’m sorry, but how can I make fun of these scenes? “Her hair is so shiny, like a baby’s… does she have some kind of disease?” This is inherently hilarious. It’s like pointing and laughing at a clown’s red nose and oversized shoes. This show is so ridiculous it is making my job virtually impossible

7:24 – “His Goods is that of a hammer.” Is it the original writer, screenwriter, or translator that is responsible for crimes against humanity like that sentence? Who precisely do I have to kill to make sure that kind of tense disagreement never occurs again?

7:33 – Well, now we’re fucked. If it’d merely been the Sledgehammer of Indiscriminate Maiming, or perhaps the Sledgehammer of Delightfully Ironic Massaging, we’d have been golden. But the Sledgehammer of Crushing Disintegration…

8:33 – Could someone please remind me what any of these fucking Killing Goods have to do with the Hair Queen in the first place?

8:50 – Awww, Junkie Rei’s on their side after all. How heartwarmingly predicable

10:47 – Credit where credit’s due – “her change of clothes” followed by a dramatic bolt of lightning was a pretty effective gag. The less said about the sexytimes horn accompaniment, the better

12:00 – You seem tense. Let me tell you about my terrifying lineage of murder-happy ancestors

13:06 – WTF? Straight-up naked girls? I certainly don’t see how this appeals to my blindingly pure hair fetish. Way to demean your audience, Crime Edge

13:45 – Hair AND nudity? Now THIS is more like it

13:55 – “So this is how it grows – in a series of five Gaussian-blurred frames. Obviously…”

14:47 – On this day, fourteen minutes and forty-seven seconds into the third episode of Crime Edge, the show itself finally realizes hair-cutting is a metaphor for sex. Let this day live in infamy and regret for all of eternity

15:43 – Dear christ, I better close all these doors or the man who obliterated an entire wall of our house will be able to get to us

20:00 – Well goddamn. Alright, I’ll admit it – at its best, this show is the Gurren Lagann of barber empowerment fantasies. That fight scene was hot to death, Crime Edge. Trade off between that and the super-weird, super-intimate hair-sex stuff, and we might really have something here

And Done

Against all odds, this show relentlessly continuous to be Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge. I had my doubts, but they were proven unfounded and frankly predicated on cowardice. At this point, anyone who doubts this show will continue to be Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge should be tried, shot, and hung, preferably simultaneously. If your hair isn’t quivering by now, get your traitorous ass the fuck out of here

HenNeko – Episode 1 (BLOG EXCLUSIVE)

Posted on by

So I actually did watch HenNeko last night, and even did a full writeup… but then I looked at the discussion thread, and realized this just isn’t the sort of thing anyone there is going to be happy about. So, in lieu of raining on their parade for pretty much no reason, I’ll at least put up my thoughts here. For your consideration:

 

Alright. HenNeko. I…

Well…

Alright. Me and Sakurasou had… disagreements. This is well documented. And honestly, the only JC Staff show I’ve ever been impressed by is Toradora!, and I assume that was basically because the source material was good. But there was good within Sakurasou, and there are clearly talented people working at JC Staff – sure, I’m entering this with some bias, but there is hope as well. And, perhaps most importantly, this season also has OreGairu – I don’t desperately, soul-achingly need another incredible romantic comedy, and so I won’t automatically damn this one for failing to be that thing. I promise to do my best to take what I can get, and accept what this show is actually trying to do.

But I’m still not pulling any punches.

Episode 1

0:35 – Well this is off to a roaring start.

0:58 – Oh dear god the protagonist is Ouma Shu

2:45 – I’ll say this: this show is far more honest in its intentions than Sakurasou was. And with that, it’s looking like I’ll only have two shows to cover on Saturdays. Which is actually kind of a relief.

4:10 – “There are such things as facades and true feelings.” Yes, both of those things do exist. Do you have anything to add, HenNeko? Because OreGairu actually- oh. Oh, that was just a setup to a sex joke. Fair enough

4:52 – I admit, I kinda smiled at “Don’t you remember the promise we made on that day?!”

5:53 – Also, “A dutch wife that was just sitting collecting dust” is good. What a criminal waste!

6:22 – So this is actually “Liar Liar, ecchi romcom edition,” I guess

6:58 – The Benny Hill soundtrack helps make this… well… no, actually, it doesn’t help anything. Nevermind

8:40 – Welp, this show has already exceeded the rapport Sakurasou built between its romantic leads over 24 fucking episodes. Good job I guess

9:45 – So this girl is going to actually magic herself into a kuudere. Well, I guess that’s more realistic than that personality type normally comes across…

11:27 – I guess you can never have enough ___deres

16:40 – I was literally moving to pause and note “Oh wow, it looks like they’re not only using this premise for cheap gags” when he began tickling her. But either way, it does seem like the premise will actually make things happen, and not just be a wacky gimmick entirely. But it’s already pretty clear at this point that this show is pretty much a straight harem comedy, and so it doesn’t actually matter whether anything does anything for the “plot” anyway

18:48 – Okay, if those are the terms we talk about this show on, so be it. A couple of my major problems with this entire genre: the jokes are all ones we’ve heard a million times before, and the characters are all obvious stereotypes, meaning you can’t really care about them, meaning there’s no emotional connection that goes along with the humor. I’m getting all of that here.

20:14 – Why would she even be mad if they did have a relationship? Oh, right, because this is one of those genres where everyone is immediately in love with the protagonist for no reason

And Done

Look, don’t get mad. I was just checking. This show’s a lot more honest than Sakurasou. I can appreciate that. I won’t be taking up any more of your time.

Red Data Girl – Episode 2

Posted on by

This one isn’t my full writeup format, so I was a little hesitant to put it up. Let me know if it’s worth it to include things like this:

 

Man! I think this episode definitely maintained the “developed by smart people who know how to tell stories” promise of the first episode. A whole lot of information was revealed, and the scale of the world is coming into a bit sharper focus.

I like the general creepy mood that the various elements establish. There was the physical presence of the shadow creatures, the way they played with technology and lighting to heighten the powerlessness of the protagonists, the general music and cinematography, and particularly that big reveal conceit – being held as a vessel for possession is just not a fun concept, and throws her relationship with everyone around her into an extremely uncomfortable light.

I like that while the various concepts of their world are becoming more clear, the actual motivations of the various characters certainly aren’t. Whether her family, her original caretakers, Yukimasa, or Wamiya are friends or enemies is all unclear at this point, though at least our main two wear their hearts on their sleeves.

Another thing I liked is the way they introduced so much of the fantastical stuff from Izumiko’s perspective. I like that we were introduced to this girl who lives in sheltered fear for some reason, and then slowly we are introduced to the world around her as she deals with it. This way it’s not an exposition dump of fantasy rules and ideas – it’s a person whose nature was crafted by that world, and every element of it is just an exhausting but accepted piece of her world already. The stuff at the end was much more direct, but the fact that we were given that much information makes me think there’s a great deal more left to explore.

This isn’t exactly my kind of show (it’s really heavy on mood and mystery, and character/theme has been downplayed), but I think it’s doing its thing quite well. It remains to be seen whether it can maintain intrigue while drawing us closer to the characters – I think the next couple episodes will show whether they can define these protagonists as unique people worth caring about, or merely devices in the story they wish to tell.