Free! – Episode 4

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Welp, three episodes in and the fourth awaiting. Last time, it was around week four that I went more or less literally insane on Crime Edge fever. These are different times and I’m a different man, but cracking is never really that improbable. So just… just give me a moment to get the demons out.

If I may be briefly indulged, I have to say I have a whole goddamn lot of respect for comedians. And I mean actualcomedians here, people who make real jokes with setups and punchlines and creativity and wit and insight and storytelling and tone, who don’t go for easy targets, who don’t play off in-crowd camaraderie just to tell an audience what they always wanted to hear. I’m not talking about hur dur what a wacky 4koma situation[1]   orlulz we are both fanz of anime[2]   or WOOPSIE DAISY I SLIPPED AND NOW TITS[3]  , I am talking about COMEDIANS goddamnit. And I don’t want to say my elitist preferences regarding lulz are because I have more developed taste in comedy or anything, but they are because that is exactly true.

There was a point here.

Right. As far as actual comedians go, I have tremendous respect, because comedy is goddamn hard. First, it certainly is a legitimate art form – it requires creativity and personality and an understanding of pacing and structure, and at its best it can conjure insight and common humanity in a method all its’ own. Second, one of the great challenges unique to comedy is that it’s inherently built on revelations or surprises – sometimes it shocks the audience, sometimes it surprises them by combining old thoughts in new ways, sometimes it merely rephrases the mundane to make it the absurd or profound. Meaning comedy requires a constant infusion of novelty, and cannot be built on craft alone. Meaning every single joke needs to reach further, think deeper, and try harder than the one before.

Meaning goddamnit you guys I did not sign up for this. I HATE THESE COMEDY WRITEUPS. Fuck this shit, fuck this show, fuck you people.

Let’s swimming.

Episode 4

0:00 – Fun fact: I actually wrote that one on Tuesday to cut down on prep work, utterly sober. One day I will do a writeup and it will just be one continuous scream.

0:00.1 – Addendum: In all seriousness, all the love[5]  . You are my favorite community

0:13 – It’s a tough decision.[6]   What if Rin’s there?

That actually is a great gag though. I am continuously perplexed by the amount of moe they are able to wring out of Haruka.

You know, I actually think I might be able to enjoy moe more when it’s applied to a gender I’m not attracted to, since combining it with actual attraction to make this “Look at this adorable thing, helpless thing! DON’T YOU WANT TO FUCK IT?!” combination just doesn’t work for me

1:11 – “What’s Med. R? Is that someone’s name?” Ohhh, so they added glasses-pusher to give us an audience proxy, too. Man, these guys know how this genre structure works!

Should I do a bit more on that one? Uh, briefly: you know how so many sports or action shows/films/books/etc center their story on some kind of newcomer or rookie? Well, that actually serves a ton of purposes – it saddles you with an automatic underdog, it provides for a fully articulated heroic journey, it optimizes the opportunity for surprises, etc. But one of the critical roles it serves in any story where a game with established rules is central to the drama is that it lets other characters directly explain those rules and concepts to the camera without it coming across as clumsy exposition – if they have to explain it to the rookie, then letting the audience know how everything works comes across naturally

Sorry if you already knew that or it was obvious. Moving on!

1:26 – “Man, even if it’s justified, this much exposition seems kinda boring. How can we… oh, right. Manservice[7]  .”

1:50 – I feel like they’re getting some pretty distinct expressions[8]   out of these more angular and older-looking character designs. KyoAni are pretty much expression masters (though White Fox[9]   are giving them some competition)

Damnit, this episode is giving me too many real things to talk about! Stop being interesting, Free!

1:58 – “It’s my brother’s old regimen.” Gasp![10]   Seriously can’t tell if the show is pushing these undertones or if all-male sports shows are just naturally homoerotic

3:30 – Well, at least I know ONE thing[11]   the show is selling!

3:36 – …and selling…[12]  

3:44 – …and COME ON NOW, REALLY?[13]   IS THAT EVEN A REAL STRETCH?!?

3:55 – Wow, they didn’t even make a joke about that. Man, at least Monogatari puffs up its’ smut by pretending to be about, like, perspectives and shit

4:13 – Glasses you stop being a sex object[14]   this instant!

4:21 – Seriously these camera angles are unstoppable[15]  

4:39 – Alright if I pause every time this show objectifies Glasses I’ll never get anywhere. But I do like that Gou just straight-up admits she’s forgotten the plot and it’s all biceps to her

4:54 – I’m not the only one who sees those penguins, right?[16]   Just making sure

5:19 – Man, Rei just gracefully sinking[17]   to the bottom of the pool actually had me laughing out loud. I forgot how good KyoAni are at physical comedy

5:32 – “Haruka-sempai… why do you swim?” Jesus Gou, getting into the deep philosophical questions already? Give it time, we haven’t even had tea yet

6:00 – “But I think he’d be a little closer to his dream if he were with you guys.” THE ANTS ARE A METAPHOR FOR TOGETHERNESS.[18]   Jesus KyoAni, you’re gonna have to try harder than THAT to impress me

6:27 – It’s actually awesome to see the rival say this[19]   pretty much immediately. Very tired of rival sycophant #387

6:40 – It all comes down to talent, eh? Sorry, I don’t buy it[20]  

That’s right, I’ll plug last season’s shows if I want to. Just how I roll[21]  

6:55 – “They haven’t even been working out,” he mutters, disgusted. Flinging the hand towel over his shoulder, he walks out all in a huff

7:10 – And then he goes for a run. It’s obviously pretty presumptuous to say, but I’m kind of jealous of people who find such satisfaction in competition – all my demons are related to my artistic output, and I can’t quiet them by just being even meaner to my body. A shame

7:30 – Man, I had this expression for like all of high school[22]

7:53 – Bow before your overlord. 

This episode’s straight-up very funny. Which actually makes writing about it harder. Conflicted!

8:29 – Oh my god Rei’s laugh is great

8:50 – Even goggles won’t stop him from glasses-pushing . To whoever declared they’d be covering glasses-pushing duties – that still counts!

9:44 – Rei really does add a lot to this series.  Genki and bighands are too upbeat and Haruka is too moe (and by moe I mean lobomotized) to really add enough flavor to the dynamic

9:57 – Laughed as he sank again. So good

10:01 – Man after my own heart, Haru-chan 

10:30 – And they just cut away from Sensei. This episode is really goddamn funny!

That said, my drunk is escalating faster than this episode is ending. Power through!

11:22 – “The water doesn’t like you.” “A more appropriate analogy would be.. a submarine.” See, I can’t just pause and say “hey look, the show made another great joke.” Free! you are killing me

11:51 – I am continuously laughing what is wrong with my body.  Man, applying classic glasses-pushing techniques to swimming is just endless entertainment

12:58 – “I believe the color also plays a psychological role.” Or the entire process plays a psychological role. Because this is just some magic dancing shoes shit applied to mostly-naked men

13:33 – How’d this suddenly become the best comedy I’d seen in years?  Free, you weren’t nearly this good last episode. What the fuck happened?

14:05 – Because why not 

14:28 – Don’t worry Gou,  it was hard on all of us 

14:36 – “Now I know how guys feel when they go shopping with girls…” Ohoho, directly addressing how this show plays with traditional narrative gender roles, Gou? Hmmm…

14:59 – “Well, this is awkward.  Should I tell him he looks great in that suit? Shit, no, that’s stupid, we haven’t really talked in years. God, what would we talk about, anyway? Did we even have anything in common beyond swimming? I wonder if he picked up the new One Direction album. Fuck, no, that’s stupid, HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW YOU ANYMORE.”

15:01 – “I like swimming.” 

15:57 – Look, we get it.  It’s your catchphrase. Everyone’s real happy for you

16:05 – And a thousand pens hover restlessly over a thousand possible doujins 

16:09 – I’d say it writes itself, but that’s not true. It’s actively writing itself 

17:34 – Why is it so funny every time??? 

18:47 – It really only gets better . Watching this makes me think no other studio actually understands how jokes work or something. Timing, people. Setup. Expectations. Don’t linger on the dismount. Jeez

Anyway, this episode’s structure is also classically sound comedy stuff. An internal arc built through a series of comic but actually relevant conflicts (Rei can’t swim!) resolved by the addition of a variable actually moving the central plot forward (Rin’s “I need you” speech)

19:45 – “Just dive in.” “…what?” “Dive in… with your heart.” “That doesn’t help.” That might actually be my favorite joke. Don’t you get it, Rei? HE’S TRYING TO IMPART A MEANINGLESS SHOUNEN MORAL

21:21 – Yes, obviously the graceful freedom of the noble butterfly  inspired him to swim. Great work, Free

And Done

Jesus, that episode was actually good! Consistent humor! Excellent pacing! What the fuck!

I don’t know where that came from, and it kinda only makes my job harder, but I’ll take it! Pretty honestly impressed here; in my mind, this episode shifted the show from “an amusing experiment in anime gender norms cast in a very typical genre shell” to “an actually witty and kinda self-aware experiment in gender norms cast in a very typical genre shell.” That’s a good shift! That is a very good shift!

Also Gou is a great audience stand-in, Rei makes the overall team dynamic much, much funnier, and the comedic pacing is just awesome. Holy shit guys, this show just got kinda good!

Watamote – Episode 3

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Not much to say on this one, it’s a pretty simple show. I don’t know how they’ll fill twelve episodes at the moment – normally comedies have to either evolve or gain purpose to avoid becoming stale, and so far it’s seemed like actually humanizing Tomoko to the point where either I or the show care what happens to her would basically destroy the main source of humor – that it’s funny when terrible things happen to her. But I figured this show would be terrible before the first episode and I figured it would fall apart before the second, so I’m pretty resoundingly 0 for 2 on Cassandra-ing this very improbable comedy. Let’s see where it goes.

Episode 3

0:57 – I actually didn’t find this joke very funny  (and man, they are really bad at making Tomoko not look adorable – though I guess her looking adorable is kind of one of the key points keeping her from being a truly unsympathetic protagonist, a trick which has a shallowness to it I think she’d appreciate), but I still think it’s a good joke – it was set up well and used good direction to slowroll itself. Oh god, I’ve reached the point where I no longer experience joy, I just tap my chin and think “yes, yes, effective use of delayed expectations there”

1:20 – This OP remains the show’s best joke, and one of the only times I actually feel sorry for her for being trapped in that perspective

2:35 – Her being such a silly, adorable thing also helps. I guess I find hideously maladjusted but still believable and opinionated characters a lot more cute than the drooling ones anime normally tries to sell me

2:52 – “IT’S NOT HERE!” It’s not surprising to me I like this but couldn’t enjoy the manga – so much of this works because of the extremely good direction and timing

3:42 – “Satire is short lived. Why is that? Well, social satire is very much a product of the topics and events of its time.” Dear god, a meta-commentary joke on the satirical nature of this show set as the background of the actual joke? Watamote, you just bought yourself another episode no matter what happens in this one

4:41 – “You think this is funny?” “N-n-no…” Alright, it’s pretty hard not to feel sorry for her when she’s actually forced to interact with people. Goddamn, though. I’m a pretty huge introvert myself (I say, having rushed home from my job to sit in my room and write about anime), but was high school really like this for some people? This is a hard, hard life

8:11 – “I-it’s raining…” Oh man, I actually do understand that instinct of feeling awkward trapped in a space with strangers, but jeez. Thank god Hayama’s  there to act nice and pick up the slack

8:55 – “What’s with all this sweat?” Stop talking stop talking stop talking

11:05 – And Hayama brings back a new umbrella! A shame there isn’t an actual full-time Hayama in this show, but that’d probably result in more character development than we’re looking for

14:56 – It’s too damn bad they’re not gonna get financially rewarded for committing this hard  to this show. Dem otaku aren’t big fans of hard truths, huh?

15:15 – I like how Major Tomoko still has the bags under her eyes

16:56 – “It’s your sister in a uniform. Perks you up, doesn’t it?” “No.” Unfortunately for all of us, the sales numbers disagree

And Done

Well, they’re certainly not running out of horrible things to happen to and be said by Tomoko. A great victory for cringe comedy in general!

Fall 2013 Pre-Pre-Season Preview

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So! Fall season is nowhere near upon us, but that’s no reason not to get inordinately hyped about it! The full announced list is viewable here, but these are the ones I’m already kinda giddy about.

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Summer Season 2013 – First Quarter Roundup

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Because evaluating shows before they even reach their halfway point is obviously an intelligent idea, let’s check in on the season so far. Heroes have risen, villains have fallen, and a couple shows have pretty much just done exactly what I expected them to do. It’s time for the

Summer 2013 First Quarter Anime Roundup

This season is actually kinda crazy-good. I was originally skeptical it could even begin to compare to last season, but a couple wild card hits have set it up as an extremely strong lineup. This is particularly exciting because it’s implying there are some great lesser-known creators out there – last season I knew Urobuchi and Brain’s Base made good things, but my two favorite shows this season were basically shots in the dark. Let’s do it in order…

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Attack on Titan – Episode 14

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Confession time: I actually haven’t watched this show since episode 13 three weeks ago. I thought that episode was reasonable, but at that point the show’s issues had basically lost me as a committed viewer, and I didn’t think doing writeups would accomplish anything but annoy people.

However. What I’ve seen from episode 14 reviews is that it at least moves forward, regardless of whether I will like the direction it moves in or not. Currently I’ve got some free time and I’m not particularly interested in working on my backlog, which is shameful but what can you do. I kinda want to catch up on this show, but my thoughts from here on out are going to be fairly honest.

Second confession time: I haven’t thought this is a good show in a long time. I thought it started as a bleak, melodramatic shounen in a fairly compelling world, and the only thing more episodes have added to that assessment is “has horrific, glacial pacing.” I’ve gone kind of easy on it in my writeups because people like it a lot and pissing people off through attitude alone means they won’t read or consider anything I have to say. But unless this show immediately shapes up, these writeups might start becoming just a little Crime Edgey.

Alright. As long as we’re clear. As always, nothing I say is a personal attack on anyone, it’s just my feelings towards the media I am watching. 3-2-1 let’s jam.

Episode 14

0:14 – I have always liked this show’s visual aesthetic. Good to see it again.

0:32 – Goddamnit Levi. Well, I guess if you design a character specifically to be a fan-favorite badass, he’s gonna be a fan-favorite badass

0:42 – “I’ll make this piggy squeal. Nobody except me is up for the job.” That’s right, Eren. HE’LL LEARN YA

1:28 – God these Guns ‘n Roses video OPs. Love it

2:19 – Vague hints at a female Titan scattering that OP. Also loved how the song did that exact same “crazy repetitive progression solo-key change-even more furious progression solo” trick the first one did. Makes me want to go play some goddamn guitar

2:28 – I like that shot. Says a decent amount about their society and current situation without saying a word

2:56 – “But then there might be another food shortage…” Holy shit, a larger context for their conflict? Count me in

3:28 – That’s also some pretty efficient conflict-characterization there. The aristocracy only think of an unknown variable like a sympathetic Titan in terms of how it might upset the current balance of power, whereas the proles see it as an almost religious figure. This episode is doing a lot of work to make me like it in very short order

4:44 – A trial to remove him as a threat to the current societal order? Well, it’s not subtle, but it’s certainly about something

5:40 – “Unfortunately, all I can do is argue my case against the police.” I also like how they’re actually making a clean distinction between the executive calls Pixis can make in the heat of battle and his influence during peacetime. Man, if I’d known this episode was gonna be good I wouldn’t have prefaced it with all those dire caveats

6:50 – The trial’s this afternoon? Fantastic. Granted, the last afternoon we witnessed took about seven or eight episodes to get through, but I have a feeling they know that’s not a trick they can get away with often

8:10 – “I won’t have to live my whole life like this, right?” And here’s an internal monologue I can actually get behind. He’s frankly accounting the various weights on his mental state – this is a far cry from the “what am I doing? what’s going on? why are people yelling at me?” Titan-daze of the post-Titanification monologues

9:04 – “Hiiiiiii! I’m Zoe and this is Mike. He smells people, don’t worry about it.” So I guess all the Recons are weirdos

9:33 – And he’s on the trial floor? Man, what happened to the Titan that would spend an entire episode debating whether to say you’re a human or not? Not that I’m complaining

10:06 – They don’t really care about the dignity of the accused, huh?

12:22 – “He’s from the church of the walls… of course their superstitious jibber-jabber would set itself as an obstacle against human enlightenment.” I know when I’m being pandered to, Titan. Casting religion as a malevolent farce will not buy you my love

14:24 – “You look upon the greatness of the Walls, which defies human understanding…” Okay, that’s just such a beautiful articulation of this bullshit that I have to applaud. “Just look at this feat of human engineering which is slightly beyond my ability to grasp! Surely you must see the glory of God!” Adorable

17:08 – “He straight-up murdered those dudes at nine years old. Can we really entrust him with the future of mankind?” Playing on people’s silly emotional vulnerabilities to cloud the actual issues. I like it!

21:00 – “I can easily kill him.” “I’ve made my decision.” Oh man, so awesome. The Recon corps prove themselves just as capable of playing on people’s emotional weaknesses to sway this charade of a court – kick the shit out of Eren to generate sympathy for him as a human, then switch to an all-or-nothing proposal from a position of shock and strength. Great stuff

And Done

Wow! I really enjoyed that one! It’s honestly been a while since I could say that about Titan – it was fast-paced and introduced a lot of new ideas and actually put all that “manipulating public sentiment for the greater good” stuff that had been vaguely hinted at before front and center. I love how the Recon forces’ legitimate argument was obviously stronger than the Police’s, but they still had to resort to cheap disorienting tricks to win the trial, since that’s just how the game is played. And now Eren and Levi are off on an adventure? Hopefully next episode maintains this pacing, and doesn’t linger on incredibly dragged-out goodbyes or anything – either way, this was a very good episode.

Uchouten Kazoku – Episode 3

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Alright! Time for the easily best show of the season. By virtue of its subtle plotting, incredibly naturalistic and understated dialogue, confident, meditative pacing, and realistic focus on family ties and community, Uchouten Kazoku has almost certainly lost the interest of the anime community at large. That’s okay! Turns out we still get actually good shows even when we consistently prove the community isn’t ready for them. I’m not bitter! Nope, definitely not bitter. Don’t think anyone could possibly accuse me of being bitter. Anyway!

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Monogatari S2 – Episode 3

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Welp, we’re two episodes in and so far the show has basically established “Senjougahara feels weird, conflicted, and somewhat defensive about her relationship with Hanekawa,” “Hanekawa has a justifiably warped perspective on self-worth” and “the tiger has somehow imprinted on Hanekawa, which seems to be a bad thing and might be related to her house burning down.” For a Monogatari series, that’s a pretty solid list! I really liked how the end of last week’s episode brought Black Hanekawa and Senjougahara into direct contact, and I’m hoping we see more intermingling of the spirit conflict and personal conflict going forward. And we’re off!

Episode 3

0:35 – “You both help people, but it feels like you’re almost opposites. It feels like Araragi is a fake, and you’re the real thing.” Oh god, are they going to bring up every theme of this series in the first minute? I don’t have all day, Monogatari

1:24 – “I’m sure the difference is the ‘grumbling the whole time’ part.” So… Araragi does what he’s supposed to because he feels obligated to, whereas that kind of distance doesn’t exist for Hanekawa, and she just accepts all responsibilities and burdens as the only way her life could be?

1:48 – “If you’re a good person, people will exploit you. That’s why Araragi pretends to be a bad person.” Shades of Karen Bee here as well. Every single theme indeed

2:19 – “You don’t feel anything about the ill will people have. You accept them as they are. You’re too pure white.” I always got the feeling that Hanekawa just expects people to continuously disappoint her, and that her light and dark sides were much more closely linked than Senjougahara is proposing here

3:00 – “You will fail in the wild.” Or pour all your negative feelings into some unhealthy release valve. Senjougahara is right here – she needs to embrace both sides of herself simultaneously

3:12 – That feeling when it’s super hard to rewind and pause to catch all the single-frame text in this stupid simulcast but the text ends up being irrelevant anyway

3:57 – Their skirt lengths are indicative of their personalities. I’ve noticed other shows do this too. I don’t know if this is actually something you get to choose, or just used as easy visual shorthand in anime

4:21 – And Araragi once again relies on Kanbaru when he actually needs an assistant for one of his adventures. Is this because she has the most in common with him? Because he knows she’ll look after herself? Because their relationship is the least fraught with weird tension? Actually, yeah, that’s probably it – aside from maybe Hachikuji, she’s probably the person he shares the most normal friendship with in the series.

5:00 – They’re very strongly casting this conversation from Kanbaru’s perspective. Look at this shot progression. It makes me feel like she’s “sizing Hanekawa up,” and basically pushing on her conversational comfort level in the same way Senjougahara was in the last couple episodes

5:56 – “It’s unreasonable for me to be mulling over him asking Kanbaru for help” (instead of me). And once again she pushes down her justifiable negative emotions

6:27 – “To think Araragi would seek that wench’s help over mine.” And of course Senjougahara has zero issues admitting this pisses her off

7:21 – “You won’t go? Then I won’t either.” Damned if she’s gonna let Hanekawa be more mature about this than she is. Not that competing with Hanekawa for maturity points is particularly mature

9:11 – “What a coincidence, running into you at your house like this. Did you know Hanekawa’s house burned down? Of course you did.” Senjougahara sure is a subtle one. I’m actually liking her character a lot more in this series – her strengths and weaknesses are more accurately portrayed when Araragi isn’t around

9:30 – “She has no place to sleep tonight.” Oh god, there’s gonna be another bad one, isn’t there? Keep it in your goddamn pants, Isin

10:09 – “NOT LIKE YOU CAN HELP OR ANYTHING.” This is the best face 

10:55 – “So I’m now at the Araragi residence.” I am extraordinarily apprehensive at the moment. I mean, this is a fine plot development in the abstract, but… just…

12:09 – “Oh, don’t worry about talking to our parents. They too have a passion for justice.” Goddamnit the fire sisters are ridiculous.

12:44 – That’s a lot of clothes in that hamper. Oh god

14:33 – Whew. That actually worked. It wasn’t hammered as a sex joke like the shower scene was – it was a generally neutral and honest conversation (in fact, more honest than most of the conversations in this series), played much in the same way as the Shinobu/Araragi bath scene from Nisemonogatari. Thank you, Shinbou

16:08 – And now these two get a real conversation? Man, for all that “Araragi best MC” nonsense, this show sure does get interesting when he isn’t around. I love the composition of that shot, by the way

17:55 – “I guess the difference between the you before and the current you is like the difference between Terminator and Terminator 2.” That’s… surprisingly accurate

17:59 – The cat absentmindedly bats at the piece of string as it talks. These guys must think they’re pretty clever

19:50 – “We’re the same? That puts me at ease, but also puts a heavy burden on my heart.” So is she just relearning the forgotten lessons of Neko Kuro? I figured that movie pretty definitely stated “Black Hanekawa” was just a convenient way for Hanekawa to set aside the elements of herself she found painful or inconvenient

22:44 – Now that’s an iconic image 

And Done

And Monogatari meanders forward in its own way. A few things I liked in this episode – seeing the relationship between Hanekawa and Kanbaru, the way this arc continues to very frankly humanize Senjougahara, and particularly the meeting between Vampire and Cat. There were a bunch of beautiful shots in that last act, and we learned that Hanekawa’s tiger is basically an unknown apparition, meaning it might be something self-generated or fake (for whatever that’s worth in this series). I have to admit I’d gotten pretty attached to that old run-down building, and I’m guessing things will be coming to a head shortly. I’m eager to see how the potential revelation of whatever Araragi’s been up to will reflect off Hanekawa’s tiger – there’s obviously the possibility that Hanekawa’s link with the tiger is responsible for the destruction of both her own home and the old building, which would make the next target Senjougahara’s house. Tense stuff!

Gatchaman Crowds – Episode 2

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That first episode was pretty great, right? Definitely my surprise gem of the season. The visual design was great and the music was fantastically campy, but Hajime definitely sold it for me – I normally have trouble taking this kind of show seriously unless it really sells itself in some specific way, so having a protagonist who feels pretty much the same way as me (“Oh jeez, I’ve entered a very silly anime! Let’s screw around!”) is quite the breath of fresh air. I don’t know if her irreverent energy will stay as endearing if the show begins to try harder to take itself seriously, and I don’t know how the show would go about not ever becoming more focused on its actual story, but I am as always here as a student myself. Teach me, Gatchaman. Teach me your ways.

Episode 2

0:32 – “Ballets Pastelle!” Is she just making up these names as she goes along? Of course she is

1:20 – “So this is how you respond? That’s kinda different…” Genre savviness is a pretty great secret weapon

1:46 – Forgot how great this OP was

4:46 – “Oh, I live here now.” And then they’re just having dinner. This show certainly doesn’t waste time setting stuff up in a way that would make any kind of sense!

5:56 – “Maybe she was having a really tough time.” “No, it’s because she didn’t value her life.” They’re really hammering the difference between her relative and his hardline morality. I smell a theme!

8:19 – And they allude to but don’t fully explain some “disaster” while actually making the scene about elaborating the guy’s character. I didn’t expect subtlety here!

8:27 – “Yeah, I’m great. I fought a monster!” Pff, secret identities? Who’s got the time for that?

9:51 – “Senpai, let’s make collages!” It’s like a show from the actual perspective of a manic pixie dream girl. Pretty surreal, given anime’s usual female-character fantasies

9:56 – “Isn’t your sword pretty?” He is floored by how pretty it is.  Again, it seems like this show is just fast-forwarding through setup and character elaboration that normal shows would linger on for full episodes (establishing the world, getting her to the apartment, creating a dynamic between these two, pushing his development via her enthusiasm). I am actually all in favor of this, since all this stuff is classic genre fare and they’re clearly trying to get to something

13:22 – Finally someone figures out Hajime’s actual game . How dare you insult our silly premise, Hajime!

13:58 – “Pai-pai, are you on Galax too?” And Hajime loses interest in their hero mission to return to her actual priority, social networking for her scrapbooking club

15:02 – “A manifestation of our soul – so that’s why our weapons are different! But why is it a sword for you, and scissors for me?” Yeah, I’m not used to seeing protagonists try and figure out their own visual motifs within the second episode. Loving this show

16:55 – “This place probably isn’t real, right? And we’re JJ’s employees, it’s not like he’d put us in danger. Welp, only one way to be sure! ”

19:30 – “I’m sure it’ll tell us where the missing people went!” Premise: defeated. Now to invite MESS-chan to the collage club…

20:55 – “We don’t need an ambulance. Galax is far more useful.” “The world has been updated. Plus fifty points!” They’re hinting at some pretty interesting ideas here regarding all that “gameification of real life” stuff the kids go on about. I wonder if they’ll go somewhere with it

21:42 – “Man, I’m starving!” as she throws the food, mirroring Hajime’s declaration in the first episode. And it looks like they’re immediately going somewhere with it

And Done

Holy shit, I think this show’s gonna be really good! It absolutely burned down the genre setup this episode, did a great deal of work further establishing the characters, and was just breathlessly paced throughout. The writing is also actually pretty high quality, revealed through the lightly written conversations that achieved both narrative and character purposes, the efficient, understated, and constant subversions of genre staples, and the various hints at a few actual thematic undercurrents. I particularly like how quick the show is to address its own ideas – things like her personality making her predisposed to not immediately believe in their mission, or the natural conflict between her and the guy’s personalities, aren’t just hinted at – they’re built over the episode and then brought to a boil, which fits with Hajime’s “this place probably isn’t real, so I’ll walk off a cliff to test that” philosophy. It’s still pretty breezy fare, but I’m both fine with that and no longer have trouble believing it could actually come together as a story. Surprise gem indeed.

Emotional Manipulation and Storytelling

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Question:

People often describe shows they don’t like as “emotionally manipulative.” Don’t all shows do that anyway? What do people mean when they talk about “emotional manipulation” like it’s a bad thing?

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Free! – Episode 3

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Well I guess it is time for this show that I am obviously not tsundere for. Seriously, I’m not tsundere for Free!, I’m just yandere for beer. There’s a difference.

Now that that’s cleared up, yeah, last episode was definitely better than the first one. It still wasn’t good, in the way that, you know, good[1] shows are good, but it was certainly entertaining. It also featured a “let’s clean the pool” montage, and went incredibly deep on Haru-chan being perhaps a little bit obsessive maybe. I really didn’t buy the whole “oooh, he hurt his friend’s feelings that one time five years ago, that’s why he gave up his sole passion!” plot development, but if I can look past the fact that this is basically K-On with abs, I can probably look past a few extra-maudlin plot beats. Plus this has the added advantage of not being Everything Wrong with the Anime Industry™, and instead being A Winking Subversion of Everything Wrong with the Anime Industry™.

Note: this is not an invitation to argue about K-On. I dislike[2]   K-On, you are all allowed to like[3]   K-On, let’s leave it at that. This is my derpy show, I get fast and loose on reactions, if you’re uncomfortable with the temperature I’d advise exiting the kitchen.

Alright, I think I’ve picked enough pointless fights for this intro. Let’s Swimming!

Episode 3

0:00 – I like how I’m downloading all these in 1080p just because. KyoAni I am addicted to your drawings

0:21 – Truly the moeist[4]  

0:54 – Yet also an untamed wild stallion[5]  

2:45 – Goddamnit this OP. Rin’s single tear. This pain in his heart can only be settled IN ONE WAY. GET SET RED GYAO

2:58 – “Oh, you know, just some light reading.[6]  ” COULD THIS BE A CLUE?

3:20 – “It was easy enough to guess.” Oh come on, do it. You know you want to.

3:25 – “Considering those recruiting posters in your bag…” C’mon, you’re deducing right now! DO IT!

3:30 – There it is[7]  . Yesss, glasses-pusher. Embrace your nature!

3:50 – That face nooo. KyoAni’s powers are frightening[8]  

5:41 – I like how they’re just going all-in[9]   on Haru being nuts for swimming. It’s nice to see a KyoAni protagonist who’s such a derp – although really, this again is just showing how much more this show is falling into their moe SoL lineage. For all my problems with those shows, they certainly have more democratic ensemble casts than Haruhi, Chuunibyou, or Hyouka did – there’s less of a clear protagonist here, since while Haru is the central character, he’s also probably the least reliable member of the group

6:19 – Yesss do it again the crowd loves it[10]  

6:42 – Jeez, did they think I wasn’t already enthralled[11]   by club recruiting or something? Give it a rest Free!, I’m not that easy. Push glasses or gtfo

7:19 – Alright, this actually is a parody, right?[12]   I mean, I’ve seen serious glasses-pushing[13]  , but this is on another level

8:06 – He’s insatiable![14]  

8:51 – “After all, humans evolved to live on land.” I see no faults in this argument

8:59 – They better keep making these[15]  

9:39 – She’s awesome[16]  . Her and Gou are both kind of one-note, but they’re making the most of it

9:48 – I noticed this with the train station pan too – what are they doing with these backgrounds?[17]   They look like painted sketches or something. It’s very nice

10:37 – “But factor in shifts in the pole’s center of gravity.” Of course. How could you be so stupid?

11:02 – “You’re too focused on the technical side.” That’s right, glasses. You gotta feel the heart of the pole!

Wait that came out wrong

11:43 – “It’s Kou.” This show keeps surprising me with its’ humor. I’m a big fan of this style, where they mix genuine love for such a cliched genre with plenty of subversion and winks (like the absurd pole-calculations). Gatchaman Crowds is doing something similar, though I think that show’s running with it a bit more successfully. You should all be watching Gatchaman Crowds, by the way. No, I will not stop using this platform to advertise all my season favorites

12:21 – “They all have girly names…” Rei knows those girly names ALL TOO WELL[18]  

12:58 – Someone hold him down[19]  Okay I’ll stop (no I won’t)

13:48 – ALL RANGE MODE[20]  

14:01 – Look I’m not the one doing it[21]  . And we’ve gone too far to stop

14:54 – “Oh, Rei-chan!” “You’re Haru-chan? Show me your beautiful body”

15:10 – Free seriously I need to sleep tonight[22]  

15:26 – I agree, this episode was[23]   getting kinda slow

16:41 – “You can use one of our spares.” Wuhoh, what a wacky misunderstanding! But seriously show me him naked. Leave the glasses

16:44 – They did and they did[24]  

18:18 – Ahahaha. Thank you for the doubletake KyoAni

20:40 – “Be free.” Hey, that’s the name of the show. And describes Haru’s power, and probably what Rin is trying to reach from whatever his megadark past is. Also, the soundtrack is often a little silly, but I really love the tracks they use for these low-key but climactic moments

21:09 – Once more for luck![25]  

21:29 – Am I supposed to be interpreting this some other[26]   way?

Well, whatever. I’m sure Nagisa will make a great dad

And Done

Alright, full disclosure: I’m actually having a ton of fun with this. Yeah it’s dumb, but it’s also funny. Yeah swimming is a hard thing to make look inspiring, but they’re doing their best. Yeah Rei-chan might be pregnant, but Nagisa is gonna take responsibility.

Anyway. I think that’s enough glasses-pushing for one night.

Ahahahahahaha[27]  

Hm[28]  

Okay see you next week.