Tag Archives: C3-bu

Summer 2013 – Week 7 in Review

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Management: I think a lot of people find this format more friendly/useful than the timestamp writeups, and I write these things either way, so I think I’ll be posting them here going forward. Also, feel free to let me know anything you’d like more of in the comments.

This week was so good. My top two shows for this season are swiftly becoming two of my all-time favorites, and both of them had fantastic turns this week that seemed to indicate a honing of focus for the second half. Those first:

Uchouten Kazoku 7: This episode got me right in the gut. It started off extremely strong, with one last beautiful Benten vignette before returning the focus to the brothers. But the key here was the ending. This whole episode, the perspective shifted subtly but in a crucial way – while Yasaburou was still prominent, the focus this week was on illuminating the various sides of his put-upon older brother, Yaichirou. Seeing the contrast in his behavior towards the professor (calm, deferential), his rivals (confident, authoritative), and his brothers (childish, honest) really drove home the fact that his family is the one thing he truly relies on and lowers his guard towards. Which made the final scene, when his brother confessed to his role in their father’s death, absolutely heartbreaking. Yaichirou starts off essentially begging his brother to be innocent, and falls apart with a cry and collapse when he is let down. Right now, the political issues are secondary – this is Yaichirou realizing the one thing he trusts cannot be relied on. In a narrative sense, this moment clearly points towards what conflicts will cloud the second half of this show. But in its own context, it is one more incredibly personal and relatable moment in a show absolutely brimming with them, and its tragedy does nothing to diminish its beauty.

God, I hope this show maintains this quality to the end. So far I think it’s a goddamn masterpiece.

Gatchaman Crowds 6: Not to be outdone (by much, seriously, that Kazoku episode killed me), Gatchaman Crowds pulled out all the stops this week. The cliffhanger meeting from last week was delayed only so the existence of Gatchamen could become public knowledge, and the repercussions of this were as predictable as they were awesome. While the Gatchamen went to ground, Rui was forced to act – the existence of actual superheroes would throw a serious wrench in his “everyone’s a hero, no-one’s a hero” master plan. And so he arranges a meeting with Hajime through a fun set piece demonstrating the power of GALAX, ending with a clash where Hajime takes all of five minutes to acknowledge, question, and dismantle Rui’s philosophy. Hajime ain’t nothing to fuck with. Sugane and Hajime’s relationship also progressed this episode, with Sugane finally getting it through his thick skull that Hajime is far smarter than any of them. This show is heating up.

Monogatari S2 6: It sure is tough being the first seed in a season with two of the best dark horses in recent history. This episode of Monogatari got a bit too indulgent and pointlessly Isin-ish in the first half, but the second half was a lot of fun. Shinobu’s lack of fucks regarding the dynamics of time travel, and Araragi’s extremely valid and well-thought-out concerns (which he only mentions after the fact, of course, because at the time a girl had said she needed his help), made for an extremely entertaining ride. These two have one of my favorite dynamics in the show, and sending them off on a buddy cop time travel story promises all kinds of great shenanigans.

Free! 7: Thank god. Last week’s slice of life tedium feels thoroughly behind us, because this week saw a new episode director (the one behind K-On and Tamako Market, surprisingly) inject a massive infusion of visual distinction and purpose into the proceedings. Great direction and cinematography throughout this week, and virtually everything that happened was purposeful. This show’s narrative is absolute pap, but good direction can make almost anything compelling, and this episode proved that. Nice work, Free.

TWGOK S3 7: One of the funniest episodes yet for TWGOK, with this episode attempting to pull a double-booked-date double-seduction hat trick (yes, I know a hat trick involves three things, shut up). Not much else to say – last week disappointed me because it played the romantic scenario too straight, and this week bashed two or three romantic scenarios together at the same time, with Keima continuously ratcheting up his ambition despite barely being able to stand. This is comedy I can get behind.

C3-bu 7: Eh, I’m just enjoying this show for what it is at this point. This episode was pleasant, and the characters were pleasant, and the pacing was pleasant. Yura slowly becoming a moesoft tyrant is pretty great, and her characterization is well-realized. It’s a show with middling ambitions that pretty much always hits the mark.

Hunter x Hunter 93: This show is so great. This week transitioned from a tyrannical genetic mutant establishing a human meat farm to… a teenage boy tailing his friend on a date to watch out for any funny business. And it worked. It always works. I don’t know how they do it, but this show is fun and fast-paced and well-directed and full of creative ideas or great twists on old ones every single time.

So yeah. Almost everything was excellent this week. No complaints from me.

Summer 2013 Halfway Point: Season So Far

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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:

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C3-bu – Episode 7

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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.

Summer 2013 Halfway Point: Week in Review

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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:

  • The concept is funny and results in some cute subversions of genre tropes
  • It’s very pretty and the direction is occasionally inspired
  • The better episodes are actually very funny in their own right

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!

 

C3-bu – Episode 6

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Welp, the comments aren’t promising, but I guess these characters are likable enough, and Gainax still does some fine work with character animation. It’s not much, but on the other hand, Gatchaman Crowds isn’t out yet. Lez do it.

Episode 6

0:21 – The crippling sweets-addiction at the heart of all moe SoL isbrutally revealed

0:40 – Oshit, are Yura’s delusions contagious?

2:21 – Directly addressing this silliness is cute, but it’s still making a joke about something that was already a joke

4:21 – Gainax still do know their way around a silly gag

5:57 – Flag-dancing, adventures in America, the war… Kanbaru has a lot to be nostalgic about

6:58 – They do use Yura’s insecurity pretty well, and her overcompensating need to prove her value will almost certainly (in fact there’s no “almost” about it, the direction cues make it obvious) lead to a pretty organic conflict when directly clashed against Kanbaru’s kinda contradictory attitude towards what they’re doing (play to have fun, but no surrendering, apparently). That’s pretty standard character conflict, but “standard character conflict” based out of inherent character history and personality is actually a lot better than what anime often resort to for conflict. I’d still prefer that “Yura can actually change the goddamn world” angle, though, even if this is more in line with the sports/SoL-juggling genre we’re working with

7:55 – The fuck did Kanbaru get this immense target-shooting machine? Jeez, her war buddy connections run deep

8:16 – Yeah, sure

9:48 – Yeah, I guess if they run with Yura’s issues in a satisfying way, this show can still hold its’ own. Focusing on a character with deeply-felt anxieties (and clashing her with a character who has her own issues, but a very different way of dealing with them) basically knocks out a great deal of my usual complaints with SoL – the lack of relatable characters, the absence of any narrative hook, and the idolizing of a fantastical “untroubled world” where every day is Himari Day

11:17 – Gainax you’re drunk gimme the keys

13:01 – Fleeced by dat moe

13:15 – Honoka is kinda stealing this episode with her shameless embrace of capitalism

14:00 – Gainax seriously it’s three in the morning put down the phone

14:25 – We’re really keeping it classy today

17:06 – By all means

18:36 – Excellent. I think this whole sequence was fantastically done. Not only was it just a nice visual/aural setpiece (the crackly vocal effects were a nice touch), but they also doubled on perspective by framing the shots from Kanbaru’s viewpoint but the world itself from Yura’s perspective, implying both of their interpretations of the moment without an actual word wasted. That was a damn fucking good piece of directing right there

And Done

Hm. Well, it’s not getting ambitious in the way I’d hoped, and on the face of it that was no more than the school fair episode following the beach episode, but it certainly had its’ moments. This show is a pretty high-caliber (lulz) version of a thing I normally don’t really care about, but it actually gives me more to talk about than I would expect. The writing, directing, and animation are all just higher quality than this stuff usually gets, even if it’s executing a pretty standard genre exercise… it’s airy, but it’s not stupid. Yura herself is definitely a huge part of what gives this show some actual bite – hopefully they continue to use her personality and imagination as well as they did this week

C3-bu – Episode 5

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Hey guys. I’ve actually been pretty damn excited for this episode – I’m desperately hoping they’re committing to the craziness which consumed the second half of last week’s episode, which was far more interesting than the by-the-numbers genre fare of 2 and 3. Time travel? Reality warping? Honestly, I’ve considered Gainax dead and buried for half a decade now, but if they can keep up this Haruhi impression, I’ll happily give the heart monitor another glance. Once more, for old times’ sake.

Episode 5

0:00 – Welp, this might be a problem: no beer. Meaning… meaning I’m going straight for the hard stuff. The last time that happened, I ended up doing a writeup for the first episode of fuckin’ Neptunia . I can’t go back there, you guys. They have cigarettes where there’s s’posed to be eyes

0:15 – Yessss. Startin’ off right in crazy town 

1:51 – Not sure if I’ve mentioned – I actually really like this OP. The visuals are standard, but I like the prechorus and I like the instrumental breakdown. I generally don’t talk about music choices because J-pop ain’t my thing, but I approve

2:12 – I like that she just sleeps with the gun  now. Also, Gainax still has a way with faces 

2:36 – They rowed a raft  to this deserted airsoft island. Obviously. Of course

3:07 – Yesss… YESSS… 

5:27 – Ehh, this battle is fine, but now I’ve been spoiled by crazy. I didn’t un-drop this show for passable airsoft action!

5:45 – Granted, that  IS pretty adorable

7:09 – Yes, by all means.  BOTAN MUST DIE

7:36 – Again, this is looking suspiciously slice of life . If last week’s insanity was a one-time thing, so was my un-dropping this show

10:01 – “Let’s win again tomorrow!” Oh how your hubris blinds you, Yura!

But seriously. If she doesn’t reshape reality or Kanbaru doesn’t make a move on her quick, this show is in serious trouble again. If this stays default sports/SoL, I won’t actually have to watch it to know everything that’ll happen

11:00 – Alright, now we’re gettin’ somewhere.  It’s also just nice that they’re attaching this degree of insane self-seriousness to Yura’s ability to play airsoft good

11:22 – Again with the great faces.  KyoAni is still probably better, but Gainax has managed to maintain some of that loose, effortless-seeming charisma that I’d figured Trigger would have entirely stolen

12:14 – Really, Commie? You translate “itadakimasu” as “Lord, we thank you for nothing ‘cause we brought it all ourselves”? Commie we need to talk

13:08 – …damnit Gainax. I guess some things never change 

14:23 – They are killing me with all these shots . My first assumption is always romance (which I’m an absolute sucker for), but obviously in the context of this show it’s just sports-development (which I couldn’t care less about). Whatever, just go back into crazytown, C3-bu

16:02 – Wouldn’t airsoft in swimsuits… hurt? Like, a lot?

17:20 – Now that’s just silly 

20:59 – I have to admit, I’m amused. 

22:05 – As the glow of victory fades, Kanbaru’s thoughts are clouded.  Indeed, they had won the day. But at what cost?

And Done

Well, that was certainly more funny and entertaining than the 2nd and 3rd episodes. But… aaaaah, commit to the craziness! I don’t need a mediocre Girls und Panzer imitation, I WANT INSANITY! The fights here are just too goofy and ungrounded to actually maintain tension – the fantasy sequences help, but they don’t make things truly exciting, they just make them a bit more funny and unique. If this show’s going to pull it together, it’ll either be through actually committing to the craziness that made 4 so interesting, or through actually internalizing the fundamentals of compelling sports drama. GET ON IT!

C3-bu – Episode 4

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This show was solidly three-episode-ruled out, but now the threads are all saying it’s gone completely nuts, which seems much better than the other thing it was going. Let’s see it!

Episode 4

1:48 – Nice, changing the OP to match the dramatic turns. I like that, but it’s not why I picked this back up. What’s gonna happen today…

2:44 – “The world around me transformed into a desert battlefield.” Oh god it’s not just a metaphor. She actually cray

3:01 – “Am I weird?” “Drink your tea, dear.”

3:28 – “The winner is the one who has the most fun.” What kind of bullshit hippy-dippy rules you playing by, Kanbaru?

5:50 – Jeez, she is seeing all kinds of shit . I am all for a moe SoL where the protagonist is literally driven insane by how idyllic her high school life is

7:04 – “Would you want to talk to him if he appeared to you?” Jesus christ don’t give her any ideas

7:30 – “He died too early for a girlfriend.” Virgin spirits. The most powerful kind

10:00 – “Then you and the target will be zero meters away.” That’s gotta be the most incoherent morale speech I’ve ever heard

10:05 – And the show admits it. Good stuff

10:44 – The other girl just derping in the background  is really stealing this scene. This episode’s a lot funnier than the last couple

11:51 – what 

13:40 – Oh god her delusions are talking to her oh god

15:04 – What is even

15:47 – “Will you help me?” “I will!” When did this become Escaflowne what is happening

16:18 – “Yours is a great power that can assimilate the world.” When did this become Haruhi what is happening

17:12 – “Choujiro? My teacher called the gun that.” When did this become Bleach what is happening

17:48 – “You should decide whether you want to leave him to his fate or help him.” No, you should seek medical attention

18:07 – “I got a call saying he was killed in action.” WHAT is this show DOING

20:03- WHAT 

20:23 – Cute girls doing cute things 

21:36 – “Didn’t he survive?” So now she changes history with her airsoft delusions

And Done

Holy fuck I hope they’re committing to this. This show is WAY better than the other one. Oh man that was ridiculous. Gainax, you literally waited until the last possible moment to impress me – the episode after I decide to drop the show, you just go insane. Fantastic.

C3-bu – Episode 2

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Can you keep it together, Gainax? That first episode kinda came out nowhere – apparently the source material was pretty much a more overtly yuri K-On, so you’re clearly pulling all the weight in this relationship. The direction and animation were top-notch last week, but whether that actually results in a coherent story or just a series of things that happen remains to be seen.

Episode 2

0:45 – Welp, they’re keeping up that distinctive jazzy soundtrack, at least. I approve of that, even if I’m less sold on that old “nudity-kyaaaaaa-pan to building” chestnut

1:22 – It’s weird that they use this standard J-pop OP instead of something shows off their actually unique soundtrack

2:47 – SHE IS INESCAPABLE

3:35 – They’re doing very well making our protagonist actually realistically awkward. Instead of saying actively abnormal things, she just digs for the most mundane possible questions and doesn’t really understand the flow of followup questions

4:13 – Wait, we’re seriously getting a rice ball flashback now? They’re really going that deep on this silly joke? I’m… kind of impressed

4:37 – Trimming bonsai with an airsoft gun. This I can get behind

5:05 – “Hold it without molding it.” Yes. Obviously rice balls are the spiritual core of airsoftmanship

5:22 – “Did she master this all on her own? Was she trained?!?” I love these moments where they directly parody one of the genres they’re bouncing between, be it sports shows or cute-girls-doing-cute-things ones

14:04 – I hope we keep getting new battle setups every episode. The formula seems pretty solid here – two thirds of wacky school shenanigans that slowly move the plot forward, one-third of setup and battle. It’s rote, but this show is clearly just trying to be well-paced and entertaining, so it works

18:09 – I love their campy film parodies. I hope they lean harder on that stuff going forward

19:27 – And blondie flips off the ceiling. I guess they’re just superheroes now

20:18 – “Call me Sono.” They’re leaning on the tension between these two pretty hard. Which is totally cool, if it’s actually done well and not used for cheap jokes or But That’s Forbidden Love nonsense

And Done

Still pretty good. I think the first part of this one dragged a bit because they didn’t really have much actual plot to get through, but the battle and fantasy sequences were still solid. The ending basically implied our MC joined the club specifically because she’s got a crush on Kanbaru, so I hope they don’t just go nowhere with that. Otherwise, it’s not GuP-level, but it’s still pretty good popcorn all around.

Summer Season Initial Impressions

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Management: My writeups will still obviously all be on the test, but here are my overall initial impressions of this season’s lineup.

This week sure was summer. I caught the first episode of a whole tidal wave of shows, dropped several, clung to a few more, and was actually impressed by exactly two. Let’s get those out of the way first.

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Stella Jogakuin Koutou-ka C³-bu – Episode 1

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Welp, Danganronpa subs still aren’t out, so I guess I’m watching Gainax bet whatever portion of their reputation remains on cute girls doing airsoft things. If this ends up being Girls und Panzer-esque (in that it isn’t just random moe nonsense, it’s actually a well-paced and self-aware sports drama or something), I will be ecstatic. But I hope you’ll forgive me for keeping my initial expectations somewhat low.

C’mon Gainax, you can do this. You mustn’t run away.

Episode 1

1:20 – Well, we’ve gotten up the steps. Progress

2:30 – Damn she’s awkward. I feel that cringe.

5:14 – Well, this OP is Panzer as fuck, and clearly emphasizes the action element over the derping teatime element. The show has added another three minutes to its drop clock, and will almost certainly outlive Servant x Service (that one survived about 11 minutes)

6:42 – And the current club members all seem to have both strong personalities and a powerful streak of insanity. Add three more minutes to the clock!

7:58 – And now they’re daydreaming about assaulting the student body with mock firearms. I think we’re getting somewhere!

9:12 – Rambo reenactments: moe as fuck

9:46 – Noooo, don’t bring out the cake! We were doing so well

10:07 – “They just drink tea and do nothing actually club-related.” What subtle jabs, Gainax

11:26 – “It goes Bam and everyone goes Woooo!” It’s kinda weird seeing the classic Gainax loose, evocative character animation style after all these years, in a show like this. Nostalgic, I guess

12:17 – “She’s already found a friend.” I like the way they use the muffled voices to drive home the barrier between her and other people. A good trick of perspective

13:05 – These semi-fantasized flashbacks also make use of some good tricks of visual style. This show’s not there yet, but it’s definitely exceeding my expectations

14:48 – “Please try out our mock battles!” Is it just me, or does that VA just have a constant note of near-insanity in her voice?

Also, her isolation stuff continues to be handled well. Not only does the sound design work hard to show-not-tell you her experience, the disconnect between her actually pretty lively private personality (the rambo stuff, her self-directed outburst about enjoying high school) and the fear she feels in public makes her a much more interesting and alive-feeling character than an eternally timid one would be

16:02 – Oh man, and they’re actually gonna set up real battles with rules and distinctions and everything? I was basically kidding about this show aspiring to GuP levels of unexpected excellence, but now I’m not so sure!

21:46 – Couldn’t pause it during that setpiece. Fantastic music, the direction cut well from each character’s perspective to the next movement to maintain a coherent flow and understanding of the fight, the internal pacing was great and amped up confidently throughout. You had my curiosity, C3. Now you have my attention

And Done

Whew! That last act certainly made an impact. The direction and character work was well above the standard for this genre throughout, which admittedly isn’t a very high standard, but that setpiece was legitimately impressive. I enjoyed this episode, and I’m definitely on board to see where this goes.