Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi – Episode 2

First episode was borderline. Liked the comedy, liked the visual design, disliked a bunch of the mysterious stuff. For some reason I have a good feeling about this show.

Episode 2

5:18 – I kinda like the gravekeepers essentially being computers thing, but once again it’s the loli getting smacked that actually gets my attention. This show has issues

6:19 – “I can never forget!” That’s nice, actually. They tie her identity as a gravekeeper to her keeping the memories of her time in this place. That certainly justifies the job being important to her

9:35 – “The dead should go back to the earth after they die.” The show hasn’t really offered a compelling reason why, though. Obviously it knows this – so far all the dead people have been warm and honorable, and Humpnie’s been setting himself up as an asshole. I wonder where they’ll go with this?

11:20 – “You just don’t want to live anymore. But instead of killing yourself, you want to die for something.” Okay, so it looks like they actually are interested in this value of life stuff. I’m still not a fan of Humpnie being so mustache-twirlingly evil, though

14:22 – These backgrounds [RES ignored duplicate image][1] do a lot of work. Soundtrack’s pretty solid too. It seems like Humpnie (god that name is ridiculous to type… I might just stick with Dark Flame Master) might act dickish to force people towards their own resolve. But his affect is just… I dunno, it might just be the VA hamming it up too much for what this character is supposed to be, or something

16:15 – I like them using DFM’s immortality in kinda silly, kinda practical ways like this cliff-jumping

18:20 – “Being defective isn’t a bad thing.” Looks like we’re reaching the point where he drops his defensive act. I’m all in favor, that particular character arc is pretty tired

20:12 – “He got bored, so he decided to grant people’s wishes in the end.” More stuff about treasuring a limited lifespan, but we still haven’t seen any arguments for this not being a sweet wish, aside from the attached no-children thing

21:40 – “Half-dead fever.” Okay, here’s a hint of a downside. So there’ll probably be an actual threat of the undead, but the thematic point will be that life is precious because it is brief. At least, that’s what the evidence so far seems to point to

And Done

“They cling more desperately to life, and become selfish.” Hm. That’s an interesting idea.

Anyway, this episode didn’t really strongly change my impression of the show, but it does seem like it has some actual ideas, and DFM dropping his sneering antihero act was a very welcome shift. It’s also not overplaying its hand – it’s keeping the fantastical elements of the world sharply grounded in the way they affect the central characters, which is critical for investment in a story like this. I’m definitely still on board.

Sunday Without God – Episode 1

Let’s watch derpy anime: Sunday hangover edition. This PV and synopsis looked extremely Crime Edge to me, which I am comfortable with. I won’t be covering this one (if anything, this season’s comedy writeup will be Free!, though that show’s joke might be very killable if I overdo it), but basically everybody is getting a first episode writeup because fuck the police. Let’s DO IT.

Episode 1

0:17 – Oh no, our village is under attack by the Dark Flame Master

Very pretty, though

1:27 – One minute in and we already have a “lolis kicked” count. I like where this is going

2:07 – “Good luck getting over your mother’s death. By the way, from now on you’ll be burying people for a living”

4:12 – Does that shovel actually have a scoop side, or is it just a spear? How do shovel work

5:58 – Heaven too crowded, so the dead no longer die? That’s a kinda neat premise

6:42 – And the gravekeeper thing could actually lead to some ideas about mortality and the value of life. Not that I think this isn’t just a flavorful shell for a standard battle/fantasy thriller thing (that OP really seemed to lean in that direction), but it could go places

I generally dislike these “start with the ending then rewind and lead back up to that moment” intros, though. Not much suspense when we know exactly where this is going; now I just want them to get on with it

7:17 – “Please do not feed the gravekeepers.” This is pretty funny stuff. The self-serious tone before helped the “alright, be dignified”-“here, have some candy” 1-2 punch land. Having a decent sense of humor seems like one of the hardest things for an anime to pull off, so this is a good sign

13:48 – Wow, they actually acknowledge how ridiculous her father’s name is

14:48 – “We were fated to meet!” “You have no intention of holding a conversation with me, do you?” Of all the things I expected from this show, it having an actually well-articulated sense of humor was pretty low on the list. Pretty impressed

18:00 – Huh! I thought that whole sequence was pretty well done – particularly the ways they hid while actually highlighting the man’s injury, culminating in that grotesque attempt to cover it with his hood. Also nice to see them actually using the “people don’t die anymore” in an unsettling way.

23:07 – Oh god dat Engrish ED make it stawp

And Done

That wasn’t bad! I liked the humorous parts, I liked the background design, and the world could maybe have an actual point to it. The tall dark stranger’s outfit and shtick were about as cliché as they come, and it doesn’t have Crime Edge’s signature weirdness, but it could turn out to be actually good, if the snappy humor keeps up and the plot goes somewhere interesting. Sunday Without God survives the first pass!