Management: Sequel to this post. My general thoughts so far on the winners, losers, and casualties of my summer season.
This has been a very good season, and though there hasn’t been anything I enjoy as much as I enjoyed OreGairu in the spring, I think the top show is technically better this time. But the top tier is really good all around. In descending order:
Rui and Hajime, finally meeting! High-Minded Ideals x Informed, Selfless Proletariat OTP. Let’s get to it!
Episode 6
2:12 – Awww, Rui walks away? What a goddamn tease that cliffhanger was
2:27 – Okay, that almost makes up for it. Gatchaman unveiled! For a second there I was worried they wouldn’t shove the plot ten steps forward today
3:52 – Ahh, I see. Even without actually confronting him, this kinda forces Rui’s hand – there’s no way Gatchamen won’t be considered an alternative to GALAX
5:10 – I can never get enough of their sweet pad
5:37 – Pai’s voice is amazing. Aya Hirano is so good
6:32 – Pai can’t decide anything without a higher authority deciding it for him . No wonder Hajime doesn’t respect their rules
7:53 – These two are not the best at conversation
8:43 – “I’m j-just following you so you won’t do anything crazy!” “Oh, that so?” C’mon Hajime, don’t tease the poor boy
9:09 – Hajime’s lack of faith in the primacy of social networking
9:31 – “A whim? I’m not that irresponsible.” And then that long look from him. Nice to see that misconception finally get some resolution
10:58 – Again he abuses his powers for what he perceives to be best for everyone . Constantly contradicting himself and hopelessly naive, but legitimately passionate and high-minded. I really like this character
16:09 – I’m sure Rui was quite proud of his demonstration . Everyone contributes a little bit and great things are accomplished
16:28 – Hajime always makes a point of being referred to by her name, but Rui introduces himself by his title and source of power
18:14 – And he can’t help but seek praise for his own contributions
20:17 – “Were all those heroes yesterday your friends?” “What are you talking about?” Don’t bullshit me . So good. I kind of don’t care if Hajime is too perfect, it’s still fun seeing her kick ass
And Done
Oh man, that was definitely as satisfying as I’d hoped. Hajime not unexpectedly sees both the strengths and failings of Rui’s plan pretty much immediately, and Gatchamen have gone public. And we get a bunch more development of the Sugane-Hajime dynamic, with Sugane finally getting it through his thick skull that Hajime’s easily smarter than the rest of them. I’d say “things will start moving faster now,” but things pretty much always move at top speed in this show. Bring on the next one!
Alright, C3-bu. You’ve done it. You tricked me with your Gainax pedigree, you tricked me with your well-crafted first episode, and you tricked me with your totally insane fourth one. You’ve strung me along with idle promises for half a season, and you’ve successfully tricked me into just liking you for your own merits.
Goddamnit.
Episode 7
0:36 – Holy shit. Is Yura’s need for acceptance gonna drive her to start juicing with illegally powered-up airsoft guns?
1:55 – This show certainly plays pretty fast and loose with its tone . Moe bonding to sniper fire in five seconds flat
3:51 – Illegally modified guns? Eren Yura don’t give a shit .
4:27 – Looking for more cake? Well too bad, the school festival is over
4:50 – Well they’re certainly playing up Rin as the would-be assassin. Which of course means she was just there to protect them from the assassin or something. Unless they’re actually playing this straight, in which case holy shit, the rival just tried to kill those girls
5:11 – I’m glad they actually address her case of almost got hit by a car syndrome , plenty of shows pretty much accept “almost got hit by a car” as cause for a serious injury all on its own
6:36 – Okay, now they’ve already guessed it’s Rin, that pretty much guarantees it’s not her
8:18 – Ah, the classic “pour out your worries to your not-actually-sleeping role model” maneuver. A genre staple
9:56 – If they keep talking about this studying thing I’m gonna stop believing this is actually a Japanese school
Alternate joke: “Yeah, studying ass! So… so we can kick it. At the tournament.”
11:13 – And her coup is a success. In their leader’s name their leader is abandoned. This is some Orwellian shit right here
12:26 – The transformation is complete. Fun is dead
14:04 – Yesss, Yura. Forget their petty complaints. It’s all for the greater good!
18:40 – This would all be more impressive if anime hadn’t already taught me there’s nothing more powerful than a team of little girls
And Done
Wow, Rin’s a dick. Anyway, pretty slow episode today, since aside from that early sniper fire it was basically all slowly showing Yura’s descent to the dark side. Which I guess is necessary for the story, but kinda standard stuff without much flourish, so not the most exciting thing to watch. Next week should be fun, though.
Management: Speculatively calling this the first half of a two-parter on the summer season. This half will focus on the specific episodes that have marked the halfway point in my schedule (I’ll probably add in Monogatari after it airs), and the upcoming one will cover my thoughts on the overall series so far.
So! Halfway through the summer season, and there really haven’t been any crazy upsets so far. My top tier is still Uchouten Kazoku, Gatchaman Crowds, and Monogatari, but I’m enjoying the also-rans as well. Let’s check in on what the crap everybody was doing this week.
Free! 6
This episode felt kinda tedious to me. I think this show has pretty much only three things that make it watchable to me:
Unfortunately, this week focused on the character relationships, and KyoAni’s slice of life characters are always too thin to afford compelling character drama. I mean, I love character-focused stuff, it’s my favorite thing, but for character-focused stuff to be compelling you need characters with a little more depth than “the genki one,” “the glasses-pusher,” etc. Bleh.
Uchouten Kazoku 6
I didn’t like this episode as much as the last two, but its first and last acts were still tremendous and heartfelt and beautiful. However, the centerpiece of this episode was a long conversation that I’m frankly still trying to figure out. Tanukis being eaten by humans (and that just being accepted as something that happens sometimes) has always been the point of greatest disconnect between this show’s fantastical flourishes and sharply grounded character conflicts, and this episode basically dove directly into that disconnect, presenting a long monologue by the mild-mannered but strongly pro-tanuki-eating professor, complete with a flashback where Yasaburou’s father displays absolute complacency towards being eaten, and only professes a hope that he doesn’t ruin an otherwise agreeable hot-pot. And Yasaburou is pretty much charmed by him!
I just don’t know how to square this – perhaps on a thematic level eventually all these contrasting viewpoints will fit into neat holes regarding the value of a life well-lived (we’re actually pretty close to that point, I think), but on a more practical character-empathy level, I just can’t relate to the way these characters treat the tanuki-eating. Which is frustrating, since this show is normally incredibly good at grounding its fantasy in universal human emotion. So while I can’t say this was a “bad” episode, it was certainly a tough one for me to wrap my head around.
C3-bu 6
C3-bu is also turning out to be more slice of life than I could have hoped for, but fortunately this show is more fun in concept, more creative in execution, more regularly funny, more dramatically sound, and populated with much better characters than Free. I’m actually just enjoying this show on its own merits at this point – Yura’s personal issues are being handled with more grace and thoughtfulness than I expected, and it really knows how to handle either a fantasy-world or standard gag setpiece. You’ve won me over, moesoft.
The World God Only Knows S3 6
TWGOK slowed down the pace this week, which I guess is fitting for the Shiori episode. Shiori’s inner monologue was both funny and relatable, and her own fantasy-world imaginings are always great, but this story itself felt far more lazy and convenient than this season has been so far. I feel this show’s strengths are its humor and its habit of pointing out and subverting cliche story structures, but this one just played entirely by the book – Keima’s plan was very simple and it worked perfectly. It was perfectly watchable, but I was still kinda disappointed.
Attack on Titan 18
This episode was definitely a step down from the previous two (which I very much enjoyed), and felt a bit like one of Trost’s renowned “oh shit this story doesn’t correlate to our number of episodes let’s check in with everybody maybe take five for a flashback and move the plot forward seven inches” episodes. The first half was more excitement with the female titan, who’s apparently beginning to favor some style in her kills, but the second half consisted of people getting up into some trees and wondering why they were in them. I’m not worried, since the female titan represents a much more immediate threat than Eren not remembering he was human or the giant boulder ever did, and this show is still leagues better in its second half, but that second half was still not particularly engaging stuff.
Hunter x Hunter 92
This arc has gone totally nuts, and this episode was a nuts cherry on a nuts cake. Desperate giant-ant surgery was witnessed, vows of parenthood and brotherhood were made, and now a minor army of powerful monsters with hallucinogen-prompted designs have begun spreading out to conquer the world. This show is basically my definition of entertainment.
Gatchaman Crowds 5
This show never lacks for ambition, does it? This episode focused on the not-so-secretly most important character, Rui, and had him basically set out his thesis statement on his ideal, communal, utterly crowdsourced society. Showing its usual respect for easy answers, this speech was immediately shut down by one of his subordinates rightly calling him a naive, idealistic fool, and promptly hanging up on Rui to go play with his adorable daughter.
Rui’s plan has always had a number of internal inconsistencies, with his belief in a human nature that’s far less reliable than he thinks certainly being one, but another being the fact that for all his rhetoric regarding the death of heroes and the equality of his system, he is king of his powers. He decides when they’re used, he pulls the trigger, he is judge jury and executioner. This episode was the breaking point on that internal tension, when the collapsing tunnel finally prompted him to make himself the hero-celebrity he’s never wanted to be. Now he’s finally going to come into direct contact with Hajime, who is perhaps the only human being who truly represents the spirit of community his hundred were supposed to embody. This show just keeps getting better and better.
And the rest
Monogatari was a recap this week, and I’ve officially dropped Watamote – the show seems to really not have any aspirations outside of humorously and deservedly dumping on Tomoko, and that’s just not too compelling to me. I’m very excited for next week, though – a new arc in Monogatari, a new day in Uchouten Kazoku, and the long-awaited confrontation of Gatchaman’s two leads promises plenty of action, excitement, and thoughtful understated character drama. My favorite things!
Hey gang! Hope you liked last week’s present, cause this week you’re getting NOTHING. That’s right, no cards up my sleeve, no conceits in reserve, I just got off a ten hour shift in my first week back from my two week vacation and I’m sipping this here beer and I’m straight-up gunslinging. Off the cuff, off the chain, no refills, no refunds. Wait, yes refills. Many such. Rei’s out getting himself drowned in the goddamn ocean and Makoto’s drowning under Tragic History and basically everybody’s drowning under the sexual tension of Haru-chan x Water-kun. Enough dilly dallying it’s time for FREE.
Episode 6
0:30 – Urobuchi approves of this plot turn.
And seriously, I’m beginning to doubt Haru’s philosophy of playing his cards so close to the vest. If Makoto’s the only overtly competent Free!, I don’t know how any of them will get out of this alive
1:11 – Just think, this may very well be the last time .
Also not really sure how his chest is supposed to work, there. Just checked my own chest for reference, and failed to notice any carapace-esque bone structure
That’s right, downgrading from lunatic concept pieces to complaining about unflattering frames of animation. On firetonight!
2:19 – YES. OUR HERO RISES . May or may not be losing my grip on reality here, cause I don’t think I’ll be able to revert to non-Yagami Haru at this point
2:41 – Just a moment to survey the scene, but the conclusion is obvious. Rei’s foolish pride, Makoto’s generous heart… dear god, has my tower crumbled so soon?
I can’t help it you guys what is wrong with meee
2:50 – Boys may not go to the restroom together, but Frees sure do
3:00 – Both dead, of course. The grief washes over me for a moment, and is swiftly replaced by disappointment. This will surely complicate getting to regionals
3:17 – Water-kun has betrayed Haru-chan . Not sure I can watch this
4:44 – No bullshit here. I’m amazed they’ve shifted from the usual shenanigans to making this scene work , even if genre-awareness means I know Rei and Nagisa were saved by a friendly manatee or something
4:57 – “At least… we’ll always have… the doujins…”
5:18 – AHAHA oh man trolled so hard . You want that kissu? Too fuckin’ bad
5:32 – It really is amusing the tropes this show is playing with
6:32 – Sure, I almost drowned… but more importantly, Makoto seemed really upset . It’s good these guys are keeping their narrative priorities straight
7:01 – Jeez Makoto, freezing up when you see your friend drowning? What kind of goddamn sissy sad-sack are you?
7:24 – Jesus christ that body. How old is Makoto again? Well, I guess technically we’re counting in Yoko-years
7:40 – What is my takeaway supposed to be from this scene? Is it just latent angry-nerdy-teenagerdom that makes me see all masculine bonding as incredibly sexual?
7:50 – Wow, way to ruin the mood you goddamn second-string wobble-chests
8:11 – This wishy-washy male bonding shit has gone on long enough . First Makoto propositions him, now everybody’s all touchy-feely about Rei’s feelings… this is bullshit. Haru is laying down the fucking law
8:37 – This drama is so silly. It’s a good thing nobody’s paying attention to what they’re talking about
8:46 – 10,000 BDs or bust! That pause actually made me laugh out loud
9:00 – DID SOMEBODY SAY HAUNTED LIGHTHOUSE?!?
9:27 – Oh thank god someone said something
10:19 – Great work KyoAni. You are living up to your potential
10:48 – What is this show. What am I doing with my life
11:35 – Sure, why not. Aprons for everybody! Get it all out, Free
12:16 – Wait, how the fuck did they find edible mackerel in an abandoned lighthouse? Goddamnit these plot holes. My suspension of disbelief is lying in tatters
13:41 – I think I’ve only just realized what “like K-On, but with boys” actually implies. There is no end to this suffering
13:50 – And you thought they’d deny you shouta Rei!
14:53 – Ohmygod yes HaruxWater CANON MOTHERFUCKERS
15:37 – Seriously, is this what this genre is actually like? I hate you. All of you. I hate every single one of you.Damnit KyoAni
17:52 – I like all of this . He wasn’t even that close to the man, but it was still an affecting childhood experience. Not overplayed, but still understandable. Nice work
19:09 – Theirs are the chests that will pierce the heavens.
Ugh, cheap joke. Gimme a do-over
19:46 – Alright, yes, we’ve bonded. Great work, team
20:39 – I have to admit he has lovely eyes
And Done
Jeez, that episode was… pretty dull. Right? Am I right? Seriously, great, fisherman story, we got Makoto’s tragic history out, but… well, as I clearly stated in the user manual, KyoAni’s slice of life stuff bores me to tears. And make no mistake, this episode was slice of life as fuck – bonding moments, sewing circles, lighthearted haunted lighthouses… Goddamn, you guys, this show isn’t pulling any punches. Here’s hoping we make it out of this alive.
Question:
What separates a legitimate criticism of a show from nitpicking? Can one complaint be more “valid” than another, if they’re both things the show is actually lacking or doesn’t explain or whatnot? And is there a scale for this stuff – do fifty tiny complaints add up to one big one, or does it require some single significant failing to constitute a legitimate criticism?
Well, last episode was funny and unique and pretty adorable. We now have two goddesses left, with in my opinion the girls from the first and second seasons’ most memorable arcs possibly hosting them. But as long as Keima keeps up his business-time Lelouch impression, I’ll probably be happy whatever this episode does.
Episode 6
1:42 – Shiori’s got some fairly understanding priorities there. Dating other men while crossdressing is pretty much fine, but breaking your promise?
2:21 – It does somewhat strain credulity to think any of these unrealistically prim high school girls aren’t more worried about the glaring gaps in their memories . Because obviously I watch this show for its grounded narrative consistency
2:26 – Of course Shiori would get the loli goddess
4:38 – Is Keima just pot committed to crossdressing at this point? Or does he just feel more comfortable in a skirt now? Whatever dude, just askin’
4:43 – The ultimate betrayal. Seriously though Shiori, I know that feel – give someone your manuscript and you expect a little goddamn courtesy
5:06 – Shiori’s arguments with herself are awesome . Like Watamote if Tomoko weren’t creepy and hateful
5:40 – Well there’s one explanation. Keima’s finally fuckin’ lost it
6:27 – Keima timed this out well
7:32 – Shiori hides in books, is amazed at a system that allows her to avoid human contact while ordering, and considers a good meal the best reason to be alive. This story’s starting to hit a little too close to home…
8:57 – Keima – once the distant and lofty protagonist assisted by the fawning Elsie, now proudly declaring victory in a wig, flanked by the indifferent Haqua . How far he’s come
11:46 – Don’t we all . So this is an episode about storytelling within a show that is itself a satire based on storytelling conventions, apparently
13:18 – “Writing is impossible unless I get a flash of inspiration.” Hate to tell you, Shiori, but writing doesn’t actually work that way
13:51 – Shiori’s sections are a lot of fun . This season has been such a step up from the first two in general
15:41 – Wrong attitude, Shiori . You don’t have to write about yourself, but fiction is inherently narcissistic – if you’re going to push yourself through hundreds of pages and months of editing, you have to believe your thoughts are goddamn fascinating. Don’t give me this self-pitying shit!
16:35 – “Katsuragi-kuuuUuUuuUUuuun!” Her constantly breaking voice is pretty great
20:02 – Hm. Well, Shiori, I admire the effort, but… frankly, I agree with your first instincts. Your life is incredibly boring
20:44 – Oh come on Keima, don’t patronize the poor girl . Can we get a second opinion here?
And Done
Eh, that was okay. More of a conventional story than Yui’s, and with none of the manic energy of the earlier parts. Shiori’s inner monologue was the standout here, I think – the story’s actual resolution felt kinda bland to me, and too much like one of the routine stories this show is normally about taking apart. But Shiori’s a very fun character to follow, and I still enjoyed this episode. Onward!
I’ll probably be taking it a little easy on this one, since I just finished writing the Shinsekai Yori manifesto and am pretty much done with writing forever at the moment. Anyway. Uchouten Kazoku is the best, and last week’s episode was the best, and hopefully it will continue to be the best. The End.
I have to admit, I’ve been kind of dreading this essay. Granted, I actually dread pretty much every essay – this may come as a surprise, but writing mostly feels like work, and it’s only having written things that I normally like (or the feeling of editing something I’m already happy with, or that last-act stretch, when the writing feels like those burning, fleeting seconds after a shot of whiskey, and the absolute worth of the task tingles down to your extremities… okay, yeah, writing is actually pretty great). But normally I only fully break down shows I’m very passionate about, and the reason I’m saying any of this is because that’s not how it’s going right now. Right now I’m going to talk about Shinsekai Yori, and I have to admit the show left me kind of cold.
Not that it’s a bad show! No. It’s actually an extremely good show. Many people already love it, and many more should be introduced to it, because they will love it too. It has a remarkable number of strengths in its favor.
So I’ve finally caught up on this show, and I’ve actually been really enjoying it lately. I think this second season has been much faster-paced and more full of interesting developments than the first half, and has been basically doing everything I could have hoped for – broadening the character focus, introducing multiple concurrent conflicts (the traitor, the original squad’s troubles, Eren’s own issues), and consistently adding new ideas. And I’ve got the goddamn words to prove it – if you’re interested, you can see writeups on 16 and 17 here[1] and here[2] . But screw that, I’m up to date. Let’s watch some Titan.
Episode 18
2:47 – That shot of Mikasa acting all stoic and badass always makes me wonder what she would have done if Eren had decided to be a banker or something. Would she just be running the surviving human economy at this point? I guess maybe she could do her own thing if Eren weren’t so goddamn intent on getting himself killed
2:56 – Titan is Serious Business[3] Sorry, sorry. Sorry.
4:07 – I really think the show needs a balance between Titans as immediate obstacles and Titans as source of constant, invisible threat[4] . I think this setup provides for a much more even horror/action mix than Trost did
4:16 – Man, Jean can get down on himself about anything[5] , huh?
4:53 – Another war story staple.[6] “We survived the battle, what justice is there in cold/starvation/lack of medical treatment killing us?” I’m not knocking it – knowing what sources to draw on is a key part of storytelling, and this is a good call for this kind of story
6:56 – Though this war has taken all else, moe must not die[7]
7:17 – Moe was saved. The sun shines upon this day[8]
7:26 – This show really is pretty funny[9] . I think I actually love stupid jokes as long as they’re incredibly inappropriate to the tone and really stupid
9:31 – I like this.[10] After all the chaos of the last episode, just letting us see it from Eren’s incredibly limited, claustrophobic perspective
10:09 – A nice demonstration of how much better[11] the recon team is than the rookies we’ve seen so far. That gear is quite the superpower
12:33 – Recon team: not the best at naming things[12]
14:09 – One of these days, Armin is gonna figure these things out[13]
17:03 – Half-off sale at Macys you guys[14]
17:27 – Awesome.[15] Not only is this much more practical “intelligence” than most allegedly intelligent characters, it’s also my first rule of worthwhile criticism – assume the people making decisions aren’t complete idiots, and make deductions from there
18:24 – “Lol 2deep4u shit… wait… oh my god[16] ”
Man, I’m being a dick tonight, huh? Apologies, I hit the bottle a little early
18:50 – And then the show provides its own counter-meme[17]
19:44 – These titans[18] . Reiner is not amused
I do like this strategy, though. They can use the trees to basically create a fence of titan-bait with the outlying soldiers, and reduce the fight to the best soldiers versus the female titan in the most fortuitous possible environment. I approve
And Done
Oh man, those fuckers. They dragged out that last moment there, but the female titan’s reentry was top-notch action drama. I think this episode was a bit of a step down from the previous one, but it was still exciting and propulsive – no true standout moments like the female titan’s introduction, but a lot of fun action and back-and-forth between the members of the various squads. They’ve probably got another couple episodes of sweet drama to draw from this female titan, as long as they keep shifting up the variables (like this episode’s wider squad focus and introduction of the forest, as compared to last episode’s more personal focus and introduction of the female titan). I’m still having a lot of fun with this second half. Here’s hoping they keep it up
