Tag Archives: The World God Only Knows S3

The World God Only Knows S3 – Episode 12

Posted on by

Keima you better not fuck this up I swear to god. Although I don’t know how he can avoid screwing this up – Chihiro’s basically demanding he give up on the system he’s relied on so far, and actually falling in love with the girls isn’t necessarily any better than his usual shenanigans. Plus screw Ayumi who cares about her anyway. Alright. Gotta maintain some distance here. Can’t let this shit get to me. Gotta stay cool.[1]

Agh can’t do it Chihiro better win. I know the manga is ongoing, and they still have to actually resolve the goddess stuff (though at this point it’s pretty clear the point of this arc has been merely to complicate the standard structure, not actually replace it). But I don’t give a crap about any of that. Keima and Chihiro are funny and adorable together, and she’s the only non-demon he seems comfortable being his usual abrasive self with. I know this show’s largely a comedy, but give me a hint of real romance and I will not be satisfied with anything but. Pander to me, show. PANDER TO ME.

Continue reading →

The World God Only Knows S3 – Episode 9

Posted on by

Who’s ready for some tears? I’m ready for some tears. Keima’s been getting away with this date-juggling for too long, and I think it’s time for the hammer to fall. Bring on the waterworks.

Episode 9

0:12 – It begins!  You might not like what you find, Ayumi!

2:49 – Oh god that expression.  Yeah, I know that feeling.

Chihiro is maybe the only capture-girl Keima actually seems to have real conversations with, and not just lines from that archetype’s script. I guess that’s the consequence of her being defined as the “normal” girl

3:07 – Jeez, this scene is really good.  Most romantic comedies that actually want you to care about the romance can’t pull together scenes this refreshingly grounded and honest

…yeah, you know what I’m talking about 

3:47 – NO!  BAD Katsuragi! We do not shove girls onto benches!

3:59 – Keima seems even more shook up than usual.  And look, he’s learned about consent!

4:15 – ABORT. ABORT.  Man, now I don’t want any delicious tears. These two are actually pretty adorable together

5:37 – HOLY SHIT KEIMA YOU TREMENDOUS ASSHOLE.  Keima plz no

5:59 – NO it is NOT oh my GOD be a decent person 

6:37 – She actually likes Katsuragi , and not one of his endless variations on debonair MC-kun. A new experience for him

7:42 – Ermahgerd this is such a good direction to take this.  Keima’s greatest challenge – a girl who likes him for him

8:35 – KEIMA NO FORGET THE GODDESSES THIS IS TRUE WUV 

8:40 – Keima no stop u breakin my heart 

8:55 – KEIMA WHYYYYY 

WHYYYYY 

WHYYYY 

WHYYYokay I’ll stop 

9:56 – Seriously holy shit this scene.  That was awful.

10:22 – Don’t even try it Keima . This is gonna be one satisfying slap

10:35 – Aw man even better.  HIT HIM AGAIN

Incidentally, I realize Keima’s working for the ostensible “greater good” here, but… fuck it, HIT HIM AGAIN

10:55 – Aw, Keima.  His position really is pretty terrible

11:58 – Oh goddamnit Diana , can’t you see Keima is not in the mood? 

12:23 – This is actually how goddesses think love science works 

13:03 – This scene is pretty great . Diana is a bad friend

14:00 – Is Keima even going to be able to go back to games after this arc?  Chihiro has pretty definitely shown the consequences of toying with people like this

14:16 – Suffering yesss 

20:50 – Oh right the plot has to go somewhere once we’ve found the goddesses 

21:35 – IT’S ALL CONNECTED . I actually love the silliness of these deductions

21:57 – Brilliant! 

And Done

Christ. That was even more tragic than I could have imagined. Goddamn was that Chihiro scene exhausting.

It’s nice to see Keima actually cracking, and also being forced to do some legitimately horrible things for the sake of the mission. Apparently toying with people’s emotions isn’t all fun and games after all!

The World God Only Knows S3 – Episode 8

Posted on by

Oh right, I knew I had something important to do today. Watch a silly harem comedy and overanalyze its self-aware takedowns of genre craft.

Episode 8

0:10 – This show is extremely silly . Was Haqua and Elsie’s entire graduating class female?

2:13 – Man, Keima does so much work to make this more watchable than your garden-variety harem. Most harem leads are such milquetoast self-insert “nice guy” nobodies that it immediately strains credulity that a handful of girls would all suddenly fall in love with them. It makes the power fantasy angle kind of overwhelmingly evident, it makes for a set of totally unbelievable female characters, and it results in regularly stilted and repetitive banter. Keima, on the other hand, always works to make himself some kind of bizarre anime-negaverse brand of charming, and he always knows exactly what he wants. That lends itself to more distinctive little dramatic arcs, better banter, and much more believable romantic progression.

Plus the show both doesn’t get caught in static love drama and also draws great humor from the distance between anime character psychology and human psychology. Which is kinda key, since taking any of this seriously as actual romance swiftly leads to dark places .

3:19 – What self-respecting Hell government bureau doesn’t have a gift shop? 

6:37 – Why is that doll so funny 

6:48 – Life is suffering for Keima 

8:42 – Well this is different 

9:57 – Thank god for Keima’s anime-logic universe . If this were the real world, he’d be screwed

10:30 – Man, these wings keep getting easier and easier

13:27 – Nora’s doing  a great Varys impression 

16:31 – His strategies are almost immediately defeated  by any girl who isn’t introverted/isolated. Kind of a limited power

16:42 – Meaning the goddess isn’t inside Chihiro, and things are going to get extremely messy 

19:33 – TWGOK keeps it classy 

20:05 – Oh god, this is gonna be so bad. He’s gonna make some big play, and it’ll actually work, but she won’t have a goddess, so gaaahhhhh man I’m uncomfortable just thinking about it

And Done

Welp, this is gonna end miserably. Brace for impact, folks

The World God Only Knows S3 – Episode 5

Posted on by

The saga of Lelouch and the Seven Goddesses continues. Or is it six? Crap. Can’t remember. Anyway. I find motivated but put-upon and aggravated Keima far more amusing than generally disinterested Keima, so I’ve been loving these past couple episodes. Unlike most shows with allegedly smart protagonists, this show makes no secret of the fact that he’s surrounded by idiots – in fact, his living in a world where people are so simple that dating sim rules actually apply is pretty much the entire point. His dealing with the tiresome fact that everyone will inevitably fall in love with him has been pretty recently fantastic. Don’t worry, Keima. We’ve all obviously been there.

Episode 5

0:42 – “You’re not dating all my sisters, are you?”  “Meh, can’t say.” Keima don’t give a fuck

1:01 – KEIMA DON’T GIVE A FUCK 

3:24 – I love this show for its’ sophisticated humor 

3:36 – Keima’s flawless shy tsundere  impression

5:15 – Oh god 

6:02 – Apparently!  There’s just something about  this season 

7:20 – I guess the rest of the class is taking this  pretty well

11:17 – Wow, Keima can actually activate his own shoujo sparkles 

11:41 – Yui brings out all of Keima’s best faces 

12:19 – Keima should do all his scheming in one of those ridiculous maid headbands 

13:12 – “Mom and Dad are so busy, I never get a home-cooked meal… I’m so happy I could cry.” Oh man, pulling out that plot angle, eh? She might be better than you, Keima 

13:26 – Don’t worry Keima, I’m sure you’ll get used to it 

14:17 – Do anime hoodlums practice that expression in the mirror or something?  Is there a handbook for that sort of thing?

16:26 – “On the battlefield?” “Well, it’s ancient history now.” Because it’s literally ancient history. 

18:01 – Jeez, this is one elaborate ride! 

18:16 – Oh, it’s demons. That makes more sense

19:06 – This is awesome. I figured they’d just be making straight gags out of the Yui/Keima gender role stuff, but now Yui is actually fighting to save a catatonic princess Keima from the forces of hell. Rock on

19:51 – Oh shit Keima you so crafty

And Done

Right, and their teacher is just hanging out on the roof. That’s where I do all my foreboding contemplation.

Anyway, that episode was again pretty great, mainly because the Yui/Keima dynamic is way more interesting than the standard captures. Because of this, it worked well despite pulling back from the capture-juggling of the last two episodes. We’re kind of running out of Goddesses to capture at this point, so I guess we’re nearing the point where all the hell nonsense becomes relevant again. I’m not sure how they’ll handle that drama, but I’m mainly interested in seeing Keima as the leader of a hell-fighting team entirely composed of goddesses representing girls who want to jump his bones. That seems… complicated.

The World God Only Knows S3 – Episode 4

Posted on by

Last episode was probably the most entertaining and fast-paced episode of the series so far, with its’ only competition being the library arc from the first season. Whatever they had to do to get us to this arc, it seems to be working.

Episode 4

2:28 – I have to admit I’m kind of a sucker for Shiori’s embarrassed gurgling noises

3:01 – SO CONFLICTED. Shiori’s storyline is actually adorable, but the more any of these characters step outside of their archetypes and become likable as distinct characters, the more the fact that this is essentially a harem becomes an actual problem for the storytelling (unless you want a School Days on your hands). It’s a Catch-22 of good character writing being almost fundamentally incompatible with the kind of silly, flippant genre satire that makes this show work. You can’t have your parody and eat it too – and parodies generally don’t taste very good, anyway

3:35 – “It’s really interesting, can I read the rest?” Regularly lying and manipulating people for the greater good? No problem. But praising bad storytelling? Keima, what have you become?

5:24 – Man, Shiori’s gonna be piiiissed. She might even shake her fist half-heartedly or something

5:45 – “It’s not trying to hurt me!” Splat

6:36 – Man, one minute I’m complaining about the show’s format, the next Keima’s getting called on his shit by a creepy floating doll. Well played, TWGOK

6:43 – “She’s pretty observant for a doll.” Are you accustomed to dolls being somewhat less observant?

7:18 – “You better clean up the mess you made!” And then we got a shot of her actually diligently putting the books away

8:54 – “You’ve been spending an awful lot of time with those other girls. Luna, get rid of him!” Sorry Keima, I’m siding with the doll on this one

9:28 – I like the contrast between the angry goddess ranting and the blank-faced doll just zooming around wildly

9:45 – “I’ll grind you to paste!” “That’s not very beautiful. Are you really Tsukiyo’s partner?” Trust Keima to be more concerned with the shoddy character dynamic than the death threats

10:29 – Oh COME ON. Damnit ladies, pull yourselves together!

10:36 – “It was fate.” “WHAT? YOU hit on ME, DICK.” This episode’s pretty fantastic

10:59 – “KISS ME.” Just hit him again, Tsukiyo

12:53 – “This man cannot know I exist.” I’d probably have advised against announcing your name and title before attacking him with telepathic powers then

13:20 – I guess awakening your goddess powers feels, uh, pretty good

14:08 – “I wonder who issued that order?” Haqua and Nora’s boobs gravely ponder this question

15:18 – Dat wing envy

15:38 – “Carry me.” I like how her mini-wings are all “well, get on with it”

15:55 – Dat love energy envy

16:21 – “You should not speak so freely with other women.” Oh god, this is gonna get ridiculous.

18:14 – Oh right, that’s why I liked this show in the first place. A protagonist who’s basically allergic to shitty plotting

19:52 – Goddamnit Haqua we do not have time for this. Let’s just get back to…

19:59 – OH GOD DAMNIT.

20:48 – “She can’t love you more than Tenri!” “Well, technically, the evidence clearlyCHAIR

Nice. Back on solid, ridiculous ground here, with Keima being the only character living in a rational but oddly simplistic universe

21:56 – “It’s my fault. I realize you and Tenri have it harder than the other girls.” Did he just mentally relocate Diana from “reliable ally” to “another one of these goddamn children I have to herd”? This is like Gosick syndrome – the man with one brain cell is a king in the land of idiots

And Done

Goddamn is this show silly. I think the Gosick comparison is actually pretty apt, except this is an intentional comedy – it’s just one competent person trying to herd a gaggle of harem-archetype cats. Do your best, Keima-kun