Classroom of the Elite managed to sink to a variety of new lows this week, which is perhaps impressive in its own way, given the show is already hot garbage in all respects. I’ve basically lost all ability to extract any joy from watching this show be melodramatic, and am in minute-counting mode at this point. Some anime sure is bad.
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Tsuredure Children’s ninth episode seemed to be themed around “what do you do when your relationship’s moving backwards,” which resulted in a very realistic but kinda inevitably frustrating viewing experience. This cast is so charming that it’s tough watching them all screw up this badly. Good luck, Tsuredure kids!
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Today I’ve got a review of Akito the Exiled, which was a compelling but extremely messy addendum to the Geass franchise. Ambitious failures are pretty much always fun to write about, and that held true here – there was a lot to dig into, and I had a great time exploring the show’s alternate take on the Geass world. I certainly didn’t love Akito the Exiled, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more such distinctive takes on well-established worlds.
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
With My Hero Academia taking a week off before the final exam arc, there wasn’t all that much anime to actually watch this week. Made in Abyss maintained its usual speedy pacing and Classroom of the Elite was, er, itself, but that’s about all I’ve got to cover. I suppose it’s a good thing this week also had one last episode of Game of Thrones, or I’d be in real trouble filling out a reasonably article-length post for you all. But let’s start at the top with this week’s cartoons, and see where the rambling takes us!
Let’s get back to Chihayafuru! Chihaya has her team now, the full squad of five necessary to actually make a club. In spite of that, her new crew haven’t really interacted in any meaningful ways yet – we’ve basically just put each character on the roster and then moved on to recruiting the next one. Chihayafuru’s heavy character focus makes me think we’re likely to see some bonding before we return to the initial love triangle, but that bonding could come in the form of any activity that forces the group to approach a challenge together, be it finding a faculty advisor or training for their first tournament. Either way, this last stage of Chihayafuru was an altogether strong one, so I’m ready for whatever’s next. Let’s get to it!
Today on Crunchyroll, I’m embarking on another two-parter, this time cataloging the shifting art design of Monogatari. I’ve collected so many damn images of this series that at this point, it’s fun just to sift through my own personal galleries, picking out the best representations of all of Monogatari’s myriad visual styles. This article only gets through the Oishi Monogatari material, but there’s certainly more than enough to dig into there!
Why It Works: A Monogatari Art Exhibition, Part One
This week’s Tsuredure Children was more focused on relationship progression than gags, but I’m already fully invested in these relationships, so I certainly didn’t mind that. The show’s balance of comedy and narrative would be impressive even if we were only focusing on one of these relationships – the fact that we’ve got so many couples and they’re all so strong is really something. Tsuredure Children continues to own this season.
Tsuredure Children – Episode 8
This week’s Classroom of the Elite was stupid in ways the show isn’t normally stupid, but not particularly surprising ways nonetheless. This was a goofy pool episode, meaning it was full of fanservice and even some jokes riffing on the show’s own usual absurdity. I’ve basically lost all expectations for this show, so eh. Do your thing, Classroom.
Classroom of the Elite – Episode 7
I’ve fallen behind on linking all my reviews this week, so here comes the friggin’ flood. We’re starting off with The Ancient Magus’ Bride, which saw Chise embracing the role of dragon detective. It’s quite a volume!
The Ancient Magus’ Bride – Volume 7
The very cover of One Piece’s thirteenth volume filled me with skepticism. Emphasizing a balloon-shaped Luffy and the Baroque Works baddies, it seemed to promise a volume filled with meaningless battles, where Luffy’s buddies fight inconsequential enemies while Luffy sleeps off his meal. “Luffy is incapacitated” has already become something of a warning sign in this manga – though Oda’s art is strong, the tactical interplay of One Piece’s fights can’t really aspire to the heights of something like Hunter x Hunter, meaning its battle scenes are less likely to be rewarding for their own sake. And after a volume dedicated largely to One Piece’s actual specialties (discovery! adventure!), a volume of empty fighting seemed like a bit of a letdown.