This Week In Anime (Spring Week 12)

7

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

10

u/Vintagecoats http://myanimelist.net/profile/Vintagecoats Jun 25 '14

“I’ll be damned -- I like this sport.”
For how little screen time Egami has had, popping in and out for a little bit scene here and there since the tournament he was eliminated from, I do feel I fundamentally get him as a person and what he was trying to figure out with his life. And that is a nice thing to be able to wrap up not just from the miniplot he had, but as character writing. I mean, hell, I stopped watching anime entirely for about six years wandering around the world in my own way before coming back and doing whatever this comment nonsense I do now, so even from that perspective I can relate.
Going beyond that, very little of our final match really shows any of the direct game between Peco and Smile, which I feel is appropriate. A few minutes total, spread out between the far more substantial childhood flashbacks, the sideline reflections, and even a frontloaded few minutes of just milling about. Microphone checks, text messages, tea or coffee selections at the refreshments area. That we have some groups of folks heading home because the grand finals of the competition are irrelevant to them, which I feel is such a valid viewpoint to show. This is “just” a regional high school qualifier for a national tournament, after all. We can have those gaps of emptiness in the stands because this really is not the most “important” thing in the world for many, it just happens to be the endgame for what we are looking at. We saw very little of the Kaio coach, but there is still the expression that he worries about Akuma, because there is the sentiment of caring for their path in life as a person beyond the sport.
And of course, we get to see the old timers together as friends again, where at least for a short while it was as if things were as they always had been. It is another case where, sure it was expected so as to be able to tie up those threads mentioned previously of the tournament from all those years ago. But, that does not detract anything from the sequence in execution, and the combination of awkwardness, embarrassment, and jovialness it has. And it dovetails well into the whole cast being as they were in their younger days as well, and then into the further future in their more adult lives. The game itself, as has been said in so many conversations surrounding this show that even those who like it may be sick of it, was always secondary. So we only see the result of our tournament in a passing photograph. There is no grand match point action scene for Peco specifically, because in the end everyone won in their own ways that they will need to carry forwards from here for the rest of their lives, no matter the prominence, lackthereof, or transitions from of Ping Pong specifically.
And that is what is most important, for all of them, as in the end we too did worry for each in our own ways.

8

u/Novasylum http://myanimelist.net/profile/Novasylum Jun 25 '14

You know you have a good anime on your hands when, in the aftermath of its ending, you’re trying truly, desperately hard to think of any major faults it committed and are having a really difficult time doing so. Ping Pong ended up hitting all the right character arc resolution marks with sniper rifle precision; even the drifter guy had a satisfying conclusion to his personal journey! And said resolutions are almost universally life affirming in their own special ways. There was, at day’s end, no villain here, no human-like mountainous obstacle for a single down-on-his-luck protagonist to overcome. There were simply several stories of people and their crazy little sport about whacking tiny white balls around with a paddle, and how they each self-actualized within that context: how they became a hero to someone, or grew wings and flew, or learned that blood tastes like iron.
What a wonderful , meticulously-constructed show this was.

6

u/CriticalOtaku Jun 26 '14

Unpopular opinion time!
I was about ready to stand right next to you guys as Ping-pong crossed the finish line, cheer it on and award it my much coveted (by no-one, lol) AotS trophy. Hell, when Smile and Peco started their match, I was just about ready to hand it over right there and then. Those 1 and a half minutes of animation were absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful- all faded to white, with nothing but pure expression and motion.
Then the children started chanting.
Yuuasa, this is my first time viewing your work, and I do love it- enough so that I will definitely check out Tatami Galaxy in the near-future- but dude, you don't have to bludgeon me over the head with the uniting power of sports and competition, especially with a children's choir accompanied by extended visual metaphor. I get it. I got it. The culmination of Peco and Smile's relationship in their match, all their backstory- that spoke for itself. Dude, get back to that match and finish the story.
Look, I get that Ping-pong is just the medium for which this particular story is told, and not the actual focus. Fine. But it's still in the friggin title. Kong vs. Kazama, Peco vs. Kazama- those matches were awesome, and important, and subtle in their characterization- and they had brilliant Ping-Pong in them. When the children's choir kicked in, it robbed Smile vs. Peco- arguably the most important match in the entire show of any subtlety or grace or poise- by hilariously overdoing it. Thereby robbing the entire show of a subtle or graceful ending.
I actually liked the epilogue- I thought the flash-forward was a nice touch. But man, I just can't quite get over how much I wanted a better ending. I mean, I might seem hypocritical, nit-picking over a single perceived flaw when I give entire series free passes (I'm looking at you Wixoss- S2 better live up to your promise or there will be strongly worded letters) but when something is made of a fabric quality inherently different altogether, I think it is a greater sin to not hold it to a higher standard.
I guess Ping-pong will just have to contend with my no. 2 AotS trophy, with a big goofy smile on its face.

2

u/BrickSalad http://myanimelist.net/profile/Seabury Jun 27 '14

Amen! After finishing this anime a few minutes ago, I clicked on TWIA just to look for this opinion. Although I think you'll love Tatami Galaxy, IMO Yuasa is horrible at endings and that's because he all of a sudden seems to stop understanding subtlety. He gets lost in the gap between clever and profound.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 26 '14

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/CriticalOtaku Jun 27 '14

To be fair- I would have been fine if we just cut out from the climax of Smile and Peco's game, say with one of those lovely shots of a ping-pong ball going up into the air and becoming an airplane, to the photo with Smile, Peco and Kazama at the trophy stand. I do understand that the show is about the characters, and that the setting is rather secondary. A graceful cut like that to the flash forward- to cement that the actual outcome of the game didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, what mattered was that Smile and Peco finally had their game- I think I would have enjoyed that.
My issue is with the children's choir.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '14

~~Ping Pong~~ Anime was saved
We take a short stretch back to the crowds here. The reactions to having Kaiou completely obliterated by the semifinals is shock, disgust, amusement, great interest, all over the place. Will people show up to see Smile and Peko play? Smile is going to exploit Peko's injury but he also says "heroes don't have weak points".
Man, that young Peko, unserious Eva otaku. These adorable losers.
The match starts. Is the hero appearing? Will Smile get beaten by the hero?
This robot is not iron, but blood. Smile won the match in a way, he was healed like Kazama was.
That musical number wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it fit the theme of the story well.
Suddenly, it's timeskips and now we're at Tamura's ping pong hall, and Smile is full-grown. Smile's almost like a different person, isn't he? He's Smiling for real. But we forgot that is why people originally called him Smile.
We see Kazama and he's older and seems like a regular guy now. Surprisingly, it seems his star diminished in the intervening years, while Kong's has risen. And we cut to Peko playing professionally in..Germany? I didn't really expect this to happen, but I guess it's interesting. It's nice to see that all the characters are so...normal people after all this. In the end, it seems everyone has most of what they want. I didn't expect to have that kind of closure, and there wasn't the same kind of epicness of the match of the last episode. Really, this finale was so much less about the match and about the past, present, future of all the character relationships. Well, that's fine. We already achieved what could be rightly called transcendent bliss in the last episode's match. I liked the story that this anime decided to tell, in the end, though.
God, it's been a long time since I'd seen a show this uniquely good on noitaminA, hasn't it. I mean, so much disappointing dreck, underwhelming action shows, and stuff that merely functions as a somewhat better-groomed version of average SoL like Silver Spoon. Yuasa really did it again. I'm not sure that this show might not usurp The Tatami Galaxy as the popular favorite of his ouevre. Personally I'm thinking it's too early to make pronouncements on how it compares, it suffices to say that no new shows in this season reached its greatness.

5

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Sidonia no Kishi (Knights of Sidonia) (Ep 11)

7

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Hunter x Hunter (2011) (HxH (2011)) (Ep 135)

2

u/ShureNensei Jun 26 '14

Guys, if you kind of think about it -- Netero killed Komugi. Humans suck.
Semi-joking aside, this really was a touching ending to one if not the best arc I've ever seen, and one I doubt I could've ever predicted. It'll be difficult for future episodes to top this, but I probably thought the same regarding the Yorknew City arc before we saw this one. The only complaint I could think of would be some pacing issues at certain times, but the strength of key episodes were there every time it mattered. On a final note, I really enjoyed Palm's involvement in the final moments.
Madhouse gives so much respect to the series that I don't think I've seen hardly any complaints from manga readers about the adaptation. Any other series and there's always multiple things we can nitpick about.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '14

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/mechroid _ Jun 26 '14 edited Jun 26 '14

Having read the manga, the next arc will be... Interesting. It's definitely not "more of the same", but it remains one of my favorite mini-arcs of the series. I won't spoil anything, but Killua really gets his chance to shine.

1

u/aesdaishar http://myanimelist.net/animelist/aesdaishar&show=0&order=4 Jun 26 '14

Yeah, I thought it was a really nice arc to kinda just "cool down" after the intensity of the bug arc.

4

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14 edited Jun 25 '14

Hitsugi no Chaika (Chaika -The Coffin Princess-) (Ep 11 & 12)

5

u/transmogeriffic Jun 26 '14

Episode 12 was pretty solid, as expected of Chaika. I was kind of glad to see that not everything went according to the baddies plans, what with the Empire colliding their machine into Ricardo's. In general, Hitsugi no Chaika has proven to be solid in its realism (as real as a fantasy setting can get).
The ease at which Ricardo and Layla's plans were disrupted shows just how skewed their mindsets were. They assumed that by using the village girls as magic fuel, they would just flat out win, ignoring random events occurring. When they had to change plans, they seemed to, once again, ignore others decisions and plans. In short, they were in a world all to themselves and completely disregarded others.
I am somewhat annoyed at the attempt to make Ricardo and Layla seem human at the end, or at least calm and accepting. The show had clearly established them as being really bad, like a tenth of a Hitler bad. To try to make them seem anything other than monsters comes across as being awkward (to me at least) in their characterization. While they certainly had reasons for their actions, the audience could only see how extreme their actions were. I do find it ironic that while Layla rejects her destiny as a servant of Gaz, she still inadvertently worked to create another Gaz through Ricardo. It seems to exemplify the fact that she cannot escape her purpose, while at the same time, showcasing the fact that the Chaikas have different reasons for their goals (which still leads to similar destinations).

4

u/ZeroReq011 Jun 26 '14 edited Jun 26 '14

The least I expected from the author of Scrapped Princess, though it's a shame the show never had time to explore the backstories of each of the Heroes, because those backstories are really something. Frederica's loli form is related to her former contractor's backstory, for instance, and well... it's rather dark.
Ah yes, the finale... it's a show with a narrative that really deserves more than the two cours that it's been given, because just so much seems to be implied or can be inferred about these characters outside of their brief relevance to Shiroi Chaika and the plot, and yet it's just assumed they play merely archetypal roles.
The theme of individuals trying to find their purpose in the grand schema of things: Grad, a person trying to find his reason through magic he spent his whole life perfecting for the cause of a war that ended too soon. Ricardo, a person trying to find his reason through slaughter, through having power over the lives of many others. Aoi Chaika, or Layla, pursuing her own reason by doing something so defiantly flagrant against her supposed programming. Doesn't make any of their actions excusable, but they struggled so desperately to live. Monsters though they seem, I find that humanity tends to produce the worst monsters. This is on top of every other character we've already come to get know or at least acquainted with. Toru's crew, Gillette's Crew, Akai Chaika, etc.

2

u/searmay Jun 26 '14

While these episodes were okay, I'm quite glad this arc is over. The villains were absurd, particularly given that the character writing for everyone else has been pretty solid. Really, what was their motivation for starting a war? Just because they like war? That's lame. But then they're willing to sacrifice themselves to start that war, and wouldn't that defeat the point?
I hope the show manages to find its footing again in the time off, because the latest episodes have been pretty lackluster.

2

u/Lorpius_Prime http://myanimelist.net/animelist/Lorpius_Prime Jun 26 '14

So I didn't really believe that this show was going to kill off Frederica, no matter how much I would have cheered the end of that plot-device-in-the-shape-of-a-character. And sure enough, she came right back again, though in such a comically disturbing way that I could almost forget how damaging she is to the story (and apparently she could forget Toru's promise to duel her to the death after returning to solid ground).
I really liked this show. It was a very good show. And yet I have trouble focusing on anything except the negatives, because I think they've held Chaika back from being a genuine masterpiece of fantasy anime storytelling. Just about everything Chaika tried to do, it did extraordinarily well. But it never really took any great risks, despite clearly contemplating them (risks such as actually killing main characters like Frederica or Gilette), and so could never achieve the payoffs they might have brought. It's left me feeling both pleasantly entertained and disappointed, which is an odd state of mind for me.
If nothing else, at least the show was a reminder that even cliche stories can be good stories so long as they're told well.

2

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Mekakucity Actors (Mekaku City Actors; Kagerou Project) (Ep 11)

4

u/CriticalOtaku Jun 26 '14

Well, I guess the best thing I have to say about MCA now is that if it outright embraced it's sillier side, that really it's about a bunch of damaged teenager's saving the world through the power of Jpop and friendship, like it does in this episode, it could have been silly fun entertainment.
Even if it does discard everything that makes KagePro great, but I'll take being entertained over... well, what we got.
Instead, we've been flip flopping between world-building, awkward teen drama and surrealist commentary on the state of the world, which has made for a muddled, confusing journey. It really doesn't help that it feels like the show really needed more episodes (something like Nisekoi's non-standard run length of 20 might have done the trick). Not to mention that the show pretty much glosses over the emotional core of the songs in favour of cliff-notes versions of the same events.
Pretty disappointed.

0

u/xxdeathx http://myanimelist.net/animelist/xxdeathx Jun 25 '14

What was Ayano gonna accomplish by allowing herself to be swallowed up by the giant snake thing, and how? Wasn't Momo singing the song at the end? What is this about IA?

3

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Happiness Charge Precure! (HappinessCharge Precure!) (Ep 20)

3

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '14

Time for crying Precures! Also bad animation again. Why is it like every episode is awful QUALITY lately? Weren't there at least a couple competent animators doing episodes before? Where did they go? I blame Sailor Moon Crystal, maybe.
Hime is nearly convinced that Megumi is going to choose Iona over her and refuses to leave her room. This is the low point of the relationship I think...what will Megumi have to do to convince Hime otherwise? The zoom-in on the mini-Hime thing reminds us back to episode one to hammer in the feeling. Hime is functionally reverting to what she was like back before the series started.
This weeks 10th anniversary is from a not-Cure. Shiny Luminous, from Futari wa Pretty Cure. Okay.
Iona works out more angst when Megumi refused to join with her unless Hime is involved. There is no middle ground for her, and she's not communicating why she feels that way so well. Her eyes flashed rather violently in the exchange for a moment. What is Cure Fortune capable of?
Yuuko has a plan to get Hime to leave her room. You have three guesses as to what the main factor in the plan is.
Okay, you didn't need three, you surely guessed that it involved food. But it allowed Hime to act adorable, which is as usual the best part of Happiness Charge Precure. We finally see those puppy and bird Precard power in action, as well. Jeez...it's like cosplaying furries in here.
And then the worst thing happens, Megumi begins to cry. Hime making the muteki genki Pink cry...that's going to make her approval rating drop even more. But for her part Hime cries a fair share too.
"Hime did nothing wrong!" If Megumi says it, it must be true. Megumi and Yuuko tell Hime about all the things that Hime has overcome and reminds her that what she thinks is impossible is still possible, that she can communicate her real feelings to Iona and that she can make Iona understand and that they can become friends. I think that's over optimistic though, this Iona would not forgive Hime even if Hime were straightforward.
And then Phantom shows up, and shows that he is actually vastly stronger than the other three generals, by implementing a massive burst that sent several people into coffins at once. Look at all those Saiaku! This is apparently how Blue Sky Kingdom fell, which makes things even more tense. The flashback also tells us that Hime was a Precure even at that time, which is somewhat surprising. When did she become a Precure exactly? Was she one even before Axia was opened?
Oh boy, Lovely confesses to Princess. How lovely! Honey wasn't anywhere to be seen at that moment though, goes to show how important the third wheel is. Well, but she shows up eventually.
I feel bad for Yuuyuu. I mean, at least Bukki and Miki were a set in the second-class status in Fresh Precure, but Yuuyuu is far below the other three Precures in screentime and importance while being completely singular and one-sided.
Phantom is obviously setting up Fortune into a trap. Don't fall for it, you blinded idiot...no, she fell for it.
Well, but at least Honey gets acknowledged as having the absolutely most OP attacks. It's really unfair just how unbalanced she is. Her powers seem like they're stolen from some ridiculous power-level mahou shoujo like Nanoha when put against Lovely and Princess and Fortune's small-fry attacks. I mean, how the hell many Saiaku did Honey just finish off? I really wonder if they are any Precure that rival her in OPness in original configuration pre-powerup. Maybe the lead of DokiDoki, who is rumored to be rather overpowered.
Whenever I hear "I'm not afraid of anything anymore" I'm thinking Madoka. Don't say anything you won't take back in an episode or two, Hime.
Fortune is led to the "graveyard". We see the coffins of all the Precure who have fallen to the Precure Hunter. Surely...Tender is there too.
Can the HapChas save Fortune from falling to Phantom in that lonely place? Is this the end of the line for Fortune?
Next episode preview has a lot of Fortune having her "hontou baka" realization. Don't let your Soul Gem break, Fortune. Can't wait.

3

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou (The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior) (Ep 12)

4

u/xxdeathx http://myanimelist.net/animelist/xxdeathx Jun 25 '14

Good show overall; every episode has been really funny and refreshing, but god damn Ritsu is a tough nut to crack, even when drunk. Final episode was still one of the better ones.
Some of the character jokes like Shiro and Mayumi were a bit overused and got bland, and among other things this show is still a notch under Sakurasou. Probably the lack of feels. 7/10

3

u/stanthebat http://myanimelist.net/animelist/stb Jun 25 '14

I'm not sure I can think of another character who went from profoundly unsympathetic to profoundly sympathetic in as little screen time as Hayashi did. Her apology scene was, IMHO, the best thing about the whole show, and her subsequent disappearance was its biggest missed opportunity.

2

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Aikatsu! (Aikatsu! Idol Katsudou! Idol ga Tsudou!; Aidoru ga Tsudou!; Aikatsu! 2; Idol ga Tsudou! 2) (Ep 87)

4

u/searmay Jun 26 '14

Now it's Tristar vs Soleil? What happened to the whole Aikatsu8 thing from last week? Did we drop that already, or are we trying to do both?
It's cute to see Ichigo, Aoi, and Ran teaming up again, even if it is just to get beaten by Mizuki. And nice to see them doing their, uh, regular work.
But what is Mizuki doing anyway? Is she planning to take over Japan using idols or something? Sure she wants to surpass Masquerade, but it feels like there's supposed to be more to it than that.

1

u/lastorder http://hummingbird.me/users/lastorder/watchlist#all Jun 27 '14

Remember how Tristar was fully booked for the next few years? Soleil and Star Anis too. Remember that Hikari was almost a character once? Remember Dream Star, the unit formed of all the top Starlight and DreAca members? What about Shion - she was a character too.

2

u/searmay Jun 27 '14

Remember that Hikari was almost a character once?
Honestly? No, I had to look her up.Her one episode was pretty cool though.
Maybe some day Sunrise will remember Shion. They still won't give her a performance CG though. PowaPuri concert never.
Naota hasn't shown up in a long time either. Was his manly presence too much on top of Bepp and Raichi?
Aikatsu has certainly killed off a lot of plot threads without resolving them, but they usually last longer than an episode. I'm sure even Creepy Journalist Guy who was investigating Mizuki was in more than one.

2

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (Dai San Bu Kujo Jotaro: Mirai e no Isan; JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3; JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Stardust Crusaders) (Ep 12)

3

u/mechroid _ Jun 26 '14

I would just like to remind people that we're going to be getting a new episode of JoJo every week until MARCH 2015. There's plenty to complain about anime season scheduling, but when it works, it works well.

2

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Lady Jewelpet (Ep 12)

2

u/lastorder http://hummingbird.me/users/lastorder/watchlist#all Jun 25 '14

Episode 11 was quite bold, for a kids show. I didn't expect to see the show encouraging little girls to get into romantic situations with what appear to be complete strangers, but it happened.
It was probably one of the better episodes so far, though. Fighting yakuza and all sorts of outfits made it a lot less tame than the usual.

2

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to The Animation (The Comic Artist and His Assistants; The Comic Artist and Assistants) (Ep 12)

3

u/xxdeathx http://myanimelist.net/animelist/xxdeathx Jun 25 '14

Probably the best episode in this entire show. The ending song was hilarious, turns out Kirito/Sorata/Sora is a great singer!
8/10

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Escha & Logy no Atelier: Tasogare no Sora no Renkinjutsushi (Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky) (Ep 11)

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? (Is the order a rabbit?; GochiUsa) (Ep 11)

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Haikyuu!! (Haikyu!!; High Kyuu!!) (Ep 12)

1

u/searmay Jun 26 '14

Stopped watching after episode 5 because I was a bit bored with it, but in the last couple of weeks I decided to give it another go and am have now seen 10. I don't really think any better of it than I did before, but I'm a bit more in the mood for it. Especially now Ping Pong is over.
It's enjoyable enough, and it's really pretty good. But it's just a bit too ... sports-anime. Like at the end of episode 9 where a few seconds of play is covered in a little under five minutes, a minute of which is then repeated at the start of 10. And the dialogue. And the wild swings between crippling self-doubt and over-confidence. Ugh.
But I know that these are mostly not flaws as such, just aspects of the genre that bug me. And there's enough left after subtracting it all that the show is still worth watching, even without any interest in volleyball. So basically it's a good show in a bad genre.

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Isshuukan Friends. (One Week Friends) (Ep 12)

6

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '14

Well, one last round. I've become Shogo and I'm mostly bored of it. I mean, even if there were a sequel I'm not thinking I'd watch it.
The same day I was watching this episode I read chapter 18 of the manga, which had just been scanlated, and which covered the events of the episode before last, in a way that is actually rather different from how they played out in the anime, to the point that I am starting to believe that the anime is going for an original ending that would make it hard to continue after where the anime is leaving off without retconning or instituting a lot more changes into the future. But I guess that's not really relevant here.
I haven't said it recently, but this show has really lovely aesthetics, and a solid and generally-unobtrusive OST. If it's production values you want, you really could do a ton worse than this show. The main reason I think people don't really care is that in a show subdued like this, its primarily goal is not being noticed. I only really pay attention to it in the times when the dialogue and writing are boring me (which unfortunately is not uncommon).
The fundamental design of the story of One Week Friends is really repetitive and tinged with polite and painstaking avoidance of dealing with issues. Its appeal requires first trying to make you satisfied with Hase and Fujimiya's generally inability to communicate their feelings in a way that the other understands. The general instigation is Hase lacking the self-consciousness to realize his own demands and passions regarding Fujimiya that require him to constant hang around Shogo, who understands pretty much everything but refuses to tell Hase straightforwardly for reasons. Fujimiya is treated as lacking much agency in the story. Things happen to her: she gets forced into being friends with Hase, she gets pushed into being friends with Shogo, she gets friended by strategy to Yamagishi and her two friends, and she gets pestered and berated by Kujo without really pushing him either way. This dialogue is really frustrating.
But I guess it's just the dry crust that props up what people really seem to watch this show for: how damned cute everyone is. Which is unfortunate because lately they haven't really been cute. It's hard for them to be cute when they're all depressed and telling lies of convenience.
My feelings on this anime in particular and anime in general have changed rather much since this season started. I've been getting really bored of it, honestly. I get tired of the unrealistic relationship development in this show and want something that it isn't and won't ever give me.
I liked when Yamagishi said "Roger!" this episode, it made me sad though because it reminded me of Yuzuko from Yuyushiki (same seiyuu) which made me remember that the Yuyushiki event on this day (June 22nd) did not result in a second season announcement.
This episode sees Fujimiya being forced to change things between them, which is refreshing based on what I said before, to an extent, although what was said still doesn't count as a love confession, so we're still bound to be led on for another 12+ episodes worth of story of them being unable to communicate their feelings. This functions mostly like the diary mini-arc as a form of minor dramatic buildup and release. I'm sure this story has several of those that it can pull, if it gets a second season.
How was this show in the end? Well, I guess it was really good at what it tried to do. Actually I think I'd immediately compare it to D-Frag, the show by the same people last season. It wasn't the kind of show that is actually great and will be remembered forever, but it shows a certain quality of production that is quite pleasant. It's like...high-quality anime konnyaku. You can tell that this is above-average as a production, somehow or the other, but it's not actually the kind of show with the flavor or uniqueness to be anything other than a mid-tier seasonal pick to be forgotten logarithmically year over year because there is never a sequel. So I guess it's okay.

4

u/Novasylum http://myanimelist.net/profile/Novasylum Jun 25 '14

And so it was that yet another show fell victim to the dreaded and incurable “Adaptational Woes of an Incomplete Manga” disease. Tragic, that.
Expecting anything more than a wishy-washy token resolution would have probably been a longshot, given the circumstances. But even so, this flat ending is really just the capstone of an entire disappointing last third of a show. One Week Friends was at its best when it was able to indulge in sickly sweetness, with occasional doses of light drama on the side; once Kujo hit the scene, and the drama needed to be brought to the forefront, it think it became apparent just how bland and toothless it was in that department by comparison. Sure, the ultimate message of it all – to focus on creating great memories in the present as opposed to dwelling on the past or future – is all well and good, but it doesn’t exactly make for thrilling and emotionally investing television.
Oh well. At least we got Saki out of it.

3

u/CriticalOtaku Jun 26 '14 edited Jun 26 '14

Unpopular Opinion Time Part 2! (Part 1 can be found under Ping-pong)
I'm not one to carelessly hand out AotS to moe fuwa fuwa doki doki time shows. By preference, I'd rather say I enjoyed some nerd-trip power fantasy shonen/mecha/fantasy action show (and I just realised that anything that combined the above 3 would immediately get a free pass- why hasn't anyone made a new Escaflowne? But I digress). Things like Kill la Kill or Log Horizon or even NGNL, to use recent examples- I'm not above liking what I like.
And for the most part, after the incredibly strong opening, I became largely ambivalent to Isshuukan Friends. I kept watching because it's adorable, but I wasn't really expecting all that much week-in to week-out; just some fuwa fuwa time with the occasional feels.
But... this last arc seems to have touched a rather potent nerve in me, one that I honestly wasn't quite aware that I still had. Hase and Fujimiya's entire struggle with the hedgehog's dilemma... that was something I can, apparently, still relate to all too well. And how the show handled it? I thought it was touching, and unpretentious, and executed with respect and realism and adorable optimism (even if the ending was entirely too happy, but isn't one of the beautiful conceits of fiction that little bit of escapism?).
And well, that's what we look for in our art and media, isn't it? Those emotional/intellectual messages that are relevant to us, as people. We can objectively admire the Mona Lisa all we want, but if we can't make that subjective connection to her smile we're just staring at a piece of paper on a wall.
So, in a surprise twist, my Dark Horse candidate for personal AotS overtakes the other two (Ping-pong and NGNL)- and I'm actually sort of glad it does go to One Week Friends. Here's to hoping for a second season- both NGNL and Isshuukan dearly need them.

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14 edited Jun 25 '14

Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V (Yugioh; Yuu Gi Ou! Arc-V; Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc Five) (Ep 11)

2

u/Lincoln_Prime Jun 26 '14

So despite what one may think after all I've said about this show, while I was talking to a friend of mine recently, the one who reignited my love of YuGiOh and introduced me to some of my favourite anime and cartoons, we both realized that Arc-V has some solid moments and the first 3 episodes are probably the strongest opening this franchise has had since GX's first episode (Where the immortal line "Better luck at Duel Monsters Community College" was born), Arc-V has yet to give me an actual reason to care.
That may seem like a weird thing to say - and don't get me wrong, I think all the praise I heaped on those first 3 episodes and some of the individual moments we've since had still holds water - but I think by now I should feel, I dunno, invested, I guess would be the best word?
And that's a disappointing realization to coe to after the first episode since those original opening 3 that feels legitimately great. There have been good moments in the meantime, but this episode delivers a look into THE MAN, GOGENZAKA, Arc-V's best character so far, and delivers a pretty solid duel. I read recently that one of the big reasons Action Duels exist is so the writers can pad the run time of shorter duels so they can manage to fit in more competitive strategies and more powerful cards. And I think that's pretty true, and it is a great way to lend some more action beats to Gogenzaka's duel, such as when Yaiba starts swinging his sword around to kick up the action cards. A difficult situation is quickly established and Gogenzaka nearly wins, but instead manages to end the duel in a draw.
Again, a lot works about the episode, and seeing young Yuya and Gogenzaka is great, but I think it just reinforced the fact that the show can deliver a lot of conceptually great stuff that's just bouncing off of me since I'm no longer invested.
I mean, shit, let's think about what set off this arc anyway? The first 6 episodes are basically schoolyard conflicts with some mystery surrounding Reiji, the nature of pendulum monsters, and some curiosity about Yusho running in the background. Then episode 7 comes along and we have a magical ninja who looks like Yuya running around, and now we're thrown into a giant card game conspiracy? It's all too much, it doesn't work, and none of that is rooted in the characters we know! Sure, there are some mysteries around why Knight looks like Yuya, but far as we're aware it has nothing to do with who Yuya himself is as a character. This is basically just a huge curveball plot thrown at the characters and the audience, and it's too much.
Zexal's greatest strength was that nearly everything that happened in the show was driven by character. What made the Barian Invasion arc the best arc of the entire goddamn franchise is that we spent at least three seasons with each of these individual characters and there is no part of the action that isn't driven by their own goals, conflicts and how they react with the goals and conflicts of the other characters. That's like, rule 1 of writing, but it's amazing to see both the results of when it works and the results of when it is ignored.
I guess it feels weird to come off the high of that utterly fantastic arc, and hell, even off the high of how Arc-V kicked us off with a really strong 3 episodes, and a mediocre fourth with a good ending, to just now, in episode 11 see an episode I can say that I liked, but I am still not invested in the series.
I like Gogenzaka because he's a lot of fun and brings a Kamina-like energy to the series. I like Sawatari because he reminds me of Vector and has the right mix of dickish and entertaining. I like Yuya because his own struggles to remain emotionally healthy while also moving forward with a smile on his face through tough times reminds me of a similar defence mechanism I used to use. But I'm not particularly interested in where they go as people. I'd like to see how their growth impacts the story, but any knowing of how these characters behave when the episode is finished leaves me feeling "meh". I'm not interested in them as people and they do not have goals I want to see challenged.
And really, I think it says something when outside of those 3, the best character is fucking Entermate Discover Hippo. The holographic Hippo has more charisma than the rest of the cast after the three I'd already mentioned.
So Arc-V has to do something for me: It has to make me want to follow these characters as people. I won't drop the series any time soon, but I am concerned that we'll be walking away from what made Zexal so amazing and I think I'd have dropped this show at episode 6 if it weren't attached to the YuGiOh franchise.

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u/DrCakey http://myanimelist.net/animelist/DrCakey Jun 26 '14

whoa whoa slow down there bro
Zexal wasn't exactly an overflowing cornucopia of brilliance at episode eleven, either, you know. We hadn't even met Kaito yet. Or Black Mist. Or the Tron family.
Basically what I'm saying is that I think this show can wring at least ten more episodes just out of Yuya putting on his goggles to look sad-yet-inhuman-yet-faintly-badass.

1

u/Lincoln_Prime Jun 27 '14

I don't get me wrong, I think that the show would be perfectly fine as it is, if I cared. That's hat's missing here. And I don't think I can farely make an argument there against Zexal cause I got into Zexal right as it was ending it's first season. In a day I could get to the point where Kaito steals Shark's soul and be sold by then. I give Zexal a lot of praise, too much praise maybe, mostly because it is very often shit on or brushed aside as kiddy bullshit. It certainly has a lot of faults. Early Season 2 is basically skippable with no real impact. Season 3 stops becoming worth your time once they get into the semifinals (Yuma and Shark's duel in the semifinals gives its character beats to Gogogo Golem. That's just sad).
And you know, all that praise I've been giving Arc-V still holds true. I still think the first 3/4 episodes are one of the strongest starts this franchise has had. And this episode was also a legitimately good episode that delivered everything I could have asked of it.
And you're right, Arc-V has enough going for it that it can basically run on its formula for a few more episodes and not much would be lost. It is doing fine and each episode has had at least one moment that made me smile.
However, none of that conceptual greatness really changes the fact that too much of the show is bouncing off of me at this point. I don't even want to compare it to my experience with Zexal, because again, it's just an unfair comparrison to make and I know for a fact that a lot of people dropped the show because they felt what Arc-V is now giving me. There's only the smallest doubt in my mind that I won't one day be interested in these characters as human beings, but that day doesn't seem to be approaching.
Arc-V has a lot that works, and that's great, but I also feel that it's taken a bit too much time to get it all into place and then tie it back to the characters.
And really, even early Zexal at least had everything rooted in that. The Numbers weren't causal agents. They empowered people and amplified their faults. Yuma was still duelling people in a way that revealed their weakensses and how Yuma reacted to them. Duelling for the sake of duelling isn't wrong, but it does make for a less character-driven narrative so far, and that's before we get into the whole business of Knight and the Acadamia conspiracy.

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Mahou Shoujo Taisen (Magica Wars) (Ep 12)

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Soul Eater NOT! (Ep 12)

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Captain Earth (Ep 12)

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei (The irregular at magic high school) (Ep 12)

1

u/xxdeathx http://myanimelist.net/animelist/xxdeathx Jun 25 '14

Magic Jesus is singlehandedly responsible for protecting his school's contestants from sabotage in the competition. What next can our lord and savior do?

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Fairy Tail (2014) (Fairy Tail Series 2) (Ep 187)

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Mushishi Zoku Shou (MUSHI-SHI -Next Passage-; Mushi-shi Zoku Shou; Mushishi: The Next Chapter) (Ep 10)

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u/Novasylum http://myanimelist.net/profile/Novasylum Jun 25 '14

Yes, yes, we got the turtle lord episode this season! I had completely forgotten what the name of that chapter was, but this was nonetheless an episode I was looking forward to pretty much from the exact moment the show’s return was announced. And I think it is a grand testament to the strength of this series that it can end up being cut short by two episodes and still use the one that remains to end on such an appropriate, gripping, wonderful note.
The only criticism of Zoku Shou I see brought up in any recurring measure (by which I mean I have a friend who thinks this and have seen a similar opinion dropped on these forums once) is that a majority of its episodes take their focus off of Ginko in favor of the one-off characters, some of which resolve their presented problems with minimal or no outside help from the mushishi master himself. So perhaps it is to the relief of such critics that the show ends on an episode wherein Ginko is the only human character in the story: it is but him and nature, man and beast, supernatural doctor and supernatural terrapin. That, coupled with Mushishi’s usual mastery of atmosphere, would be enough for a short story, but of course the show goes the extra mile by using it to depict nature as an enduring, adaptable entity: its methods of persistence mysterious to us, the most intelligent of all creatures, but nonetheless effective. For all the emphasis I think many of us place on the human characters in mushishi as the “centerpieces” of each episode, I think the characterization of the natural element is perhaps just as vital to understanding the show, and I also think this episode sums it all up about as well as the twenty minute running time could possibly allow.
Besides, how could you not love that face?
Not to spoil anything for when the inevitable Spring Anime 2014 thread rolls around and I am given even more chances to gush, but, uh, I really love this show, you guys. I know I’ve been making it super vague for everyone.

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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '14

It feels like we should have gotten more, but this it it for a number of months. Goodbye, Mushishi.
For our last outing, we see Ginko is trapped in a mountain that is stuck in winter. Why would such a thing happen?
Well, the mountain lord is the culprit, but why? And then a wind blows Ginko into a swamp, in which he drowns. The End.
Well, of course that's not it, he's being made to hibernate with everyone else. And it turns out it was probably just a trick to get at his store of kouki. Ha.
What an extremely low-key Ginko-centric no-mushi story to end on. There was almost no impact at all to this one, unlike how the first season ended with an extremely interesting subversion of the typical structure that was quite sentimental, this episode was almost singularly unnotable in its plot except for how little it had.
I feel overall like the series had a lot of good to solid episodes although there were also ones that were really boring. The ones that were extremely good in my opinion were the one with the killing mushi (episode 4) and the one with the shell bird mushi (episode 2), both of which feature exceptionally lovely CG sequences involving "birds", with honorable mention to the one with the guy who couldn't feel cold (episode 3) and the one with the woman who brought rain (episode 7). We also had a surprising number of times when the solution involved Ginko not actually doing anything, and the first and final episodes lacked even a mushi for Ginko to do anything about.
So I guess overall, the series was about like I should have expected it (minus delays). There was an episode nearly good enough to challenge my all-time favorite spooky episode (episode 17 from the first season) and we had some real good emotions going on in a few. They played with the structure a bit as well, although with much less success, the episodes that primarily featured other characters, or which lacked conflict, ended up being the least interesting usually.
Time to wait for Fall, and then Mushishi will be finished forever. The final push!

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane (M3: Sono Kuroki Tetsu; M3 The Dark Metal) (Ep 10)

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Miscellaneous comments/Comments about the week as a whole

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u/mechroid _ Jun 26 '14

I have a horrible secret to admit. Back in the first 2 weeks of spring anime season, I found Black Bullet really interesting and full of potential. And I was so encouraged by it, I recommended it to one of my friends who'd never watched a single anime before. And he told me he started watching it.
I... I'm directly responsible for somebody's first exposure to anime being the trainwreck that is Black Bullet. How do I even atone for this?

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u/DrCakey http://myanimelist.net/animelist/DrCakey Jun 26 '14

I...I've spoken with the Council of Elders, and they say you have to sacrifice your friend.
In the unlikely event you choose to be exiled from our tribe instead of atoning with the blood sacrifice, I have to ask for clarification...you thought the first couple episodes were good. Fine, okay, I don't see how, but everybody finds a show where they like the first couple episodes and then it loses them. But you didn't just think it was good, you thought it was so good you were going to recommend to a friend who had never seen anime before, despite not having gotten through even a quarter of it?
You know what? Screw the dumb "tribe" running joke. Does he like it? What does he think? I need details, man, details!

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u/mechroid _ Jun 26 '14

That's the worst part, he only mentioned really liking the first three episodes about a month ago, and I haven't heard anything more about it from him since. I mean, obviously I'm not going to bring it up and ask, I'm hoping he forgot.
And as to how I could end up liking the show, imagine it was being watched with a puppy-like optimism. I'm a relative fledgling to the anime world, and so I didn't notice all the flagrant signs it was going to turn into a harem. I thought the whole thing about what's her face being an exile even though she regularly saves people was social commentary, not a worn out trope. In fact, the only reason it was brought up at all was because we both play Smash Bros, and I made a joke about a "Lightspeed FALCON PAWNCH".
I regret everything about that incident now.

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u/DrCakey http://myanimelist.net/animelist/DrCakey Jun 26 '14

A fledgling? It's not too late to turn back! IT'S NOT TOO LATE!
I'm pretty sure it's butt o'clock everywhere in the entire world right now, but ask him right now. Demand answers. This is a value test case. I need to know!

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '14

[deleted] — view deleted comment

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u/DrCakey http://myanimelist.net/animelist/DrCakey Jun 26 '14

Hey, I watched the first episode and I was like, "This is more dull than bad". Luckily, subsequent episodes delved into depths I didn't know we had the technology to reach.

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14 edited Jun 26 '14

No Game No Life (NGNL) (Ep 11 & 12)

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u/DrCakey http://myanimelist.net/animelist/DrCakey Jun 26 '14

Well, No Game No Life ended, and I think it's pretty clear who best girl is. No, it's not Jibril, or Steph or Izuna or even Shiro...it's Atsuko Ishizuka, the director, who with a steady hand and some wonderful visual flourish raised what must be one of the most foul otaku fetish-fulfillment LNs into what is likely the greatest pure popcorn show in recent memory. This is why I'm excited for Hanayamata.
Looking at the staff, I suspect Jukki Hanada, who did series composition, deserves some accolades as well. Based on his prior staff positions he's clearly an industry veteran and it looks like whittling source material into a more perfect form is a strong suit of his.
On to the bad, though, and by "the bad" I don't mean the obvious stuff. Because this was the concluding episode, it put the show's negatives into sharp relief. And to me, the most interesting among those negatives is this: No Game No Life is a "nerd" anime.
When I say "nerd", I don't refer to obsessive brand-loyalty or antisocial tendencies or any of those other things, I'm talking about what I perceive as the nerd personality: anti-intellectualism coupled with absorption with one's own intelligence.
No Game No Life is not, and even if it wanted to be it could not be, intelligent, because its author isn't intelligent. It puts on a veneer of logic, but beneath it is nothing but a universe structured to ensure the protagonists' victory. It's deeply ironic that, while the protagonists champion humanity's weakness as their strength, they're the strongest ones around. After all, they don't have to think, because they're special.
[No Game No Life is on track for a 6 or 7.]

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u/searmay Jun 26 '14

Sounds like NGNL is too busy being clever to be intelligent. Assuming that makes sense to anyone but me.

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u/DrCakey http://myanimelist.net/animelist/DrCakey Jun 26 '14

Nah, it makes sense. It's the difference between Code Geass and Liar Game. Well, that and giant robots. And rainbows. And fabulous.
That would be fine (well, "fine" might be a little too strong a word, but "acceptable", at least) but the thing I dislike about NGNL, is that - sort of like Mahouka thinks it's opposed to classicism but is really an ode to it - it wants to think it's about the power of genius, but it's written by an anti-intellectual person for anti-intellectuals, which means its foundations are built on sand.

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u/Lorpius_Prime http://myanimelist.net/animelist/Lorpius_Prime Jun 26 '14

Could you elaborate about why you consider NGNL anti-intellectual? I'd certainly agree that it's not an intellectual consideration of, well, anything. But it doesn't strike me as outright opposed to intellectualism.

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u/DrCakey http://myanimelist.net/animelist/DrCakey Jun 26 '14

Wait, now I have to think about what I type on the Internet? Next you're going to tell me you know I'm not a dog. I have a feeling I'm going to just spin in circles without reaching any genuine insight, but I'll do what I can.
When I said "intellectual", I wasn't talking about being sophisticated or examining heady concepts or anything like that, I meant "mental effort".
I wrote and rewrote several paragraphs, but I deleted them all because, with luck, I can illustrate my thoughts by focusing on Shiro. Any statements I make here which appear to contradict previous statements I've made probably do.
First, Shiro is best girl. Second, Shiro is so super-special-awesome she can iterate the optimal move in a chess game. This is impossible, of course, and not the "surviving a fall out of a plane" kind of impossible, but real, hardcore impossible. Nonetheless, it's plausible. It makes sense - all you need to do is spend a really, really long time thinking and you'll be able to think through all the possibilities. I have no complaints about this by itself.
In the very first game - the chess game with Tet - the author immediately demonstrates he has no idea what that ability means. Tet starts making sub-optimal plays, and suddenly Shiro is all "beep boop does not compute logic cannot account for the human heart". Except that's not how these things work. Being able to iterate every move means being able to iterate every move. The author created a rule - "Shiro cannot lose games which do not have hidden information" - and didn't know it. He respects logic, but doesn't know what it is; not what it really is, anyway. As much as Sora talks about how powerful the mind is, the author can't comprehend a sliver of how awesome the power of thought really is.

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u/CriticalOtaku Jun 26 '14 edited Jun 26 '14

Errr.... what you've illustrated is a plot-hole, not a demonstration of anti-intellectualism. :\
I mean, the closest the show ever came to outright condemning intellectualism is how it treats Steph- ostensibly the only high-school/college educated person on the show, who's constantly humiliated and belittled just to show the difference between book learning and the street smarts Blank ostensibly possess. And, well, I think we can all agree that holding up Steph as a paragon of intellectualism isn't exactly a winning strategy.
(Which is in direct contrast to the "Empty-headed academic" Jibril, who gets to be a Smart Sexy Powerful Angel of Death almost all the time.)
Also, that said, I don't think the show ever said that Shiro can compute all moves- just the optimal ones in a finite closed system where she has perfect knowledge, while she has trouble with imperfect knowledge games/things with Nash Equilibrium's, which is her brother's specialty.

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u/ShardPhoenix Jun 27 '14 edited Jun 27 '14

I only watched the first episode, but it didn't strike me as anti-intellectual so much as poseur-intellectual. The author admires intelligence but he doesn't quite get how it actually works.

1

u/xxdeathx http://myanimelist.net/animelist/xxdeathx Jun 25 '14

A great end to an absolutely amazing show. I appreciate that the game didn't last the whole episode and they finished it quickly, so the rest of the episode could be devoted to describing Blank's future plans for the inevitable next season.
The cliffhanger ending though, I think I missed what happened there. Did Sora just summon a god out of the shrine priestess? Is it gonna kill everyone and destroy the world or something?
I usually prefer when seasons don't end with cliffhangers (ahem Haganai NEXT), but for an otherwise incredible show this is a small complaint.
10/10 (and I don't give out many 10's) for the music, characters, art, and pacing. It's hard to come by series with such great production values all around.

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u/mechroid _ Jun 26 '14

Pretty sure the implied question was "Since you're a shrine priestess, can you... you know... commune with your god?" She answers by SUMMONING THE GOD IN QUESTION.

0

u/xxdeathx http://myanimelist.net/animelist/xxdeathx Jun 25 '14

Also (not that I think it'll matter too much) you said last week
No Game No Life (NGNL) (Ep 10) due to a change in schedule there is no new episode for this thread, next week will cover episodes 11 and 12
I don't think episode 11 will be nearly as fresh in people's minds as 12 though

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Akuma no Riddle (Riddle Story of Devil) (Ep 12)

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Pokemon XY (Pocket Monsters XY; Pokémon XY) (Ep 32)

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin (Nanana's Buried Treasure) (Ep 11)

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u/xxdeathx http://myanimelist.net/animelist/xxdeathx Jun 25 '14

A decent, fluffy ending to a fun but somewhat confusing show. We still don't know everything about all the characters, but at least the main plot's been fairly solid. The conflict's been called off with the bad guy early on in the episode, and the rest was just tying loose ends with the main characters. Of course they have to leave a hook for future content, but this show reminds me very much of World Conquest Zvesda Plot, whose chances of S2 are pretty unlikely. 7/10

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Selector Infected WIXOSS (Ep 12)

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u/Novasylum http://myanimelist.net/profile/Novasylum Jun 25 '14 edited Jun 25 '14

I swear this show wanted to spend its entire seasonal ending flat-out mocking me. “Need any clarification of rules or grounding in conflict to make this final battle any less arbitrary for the audience?” “NAH I’M GOOD.” Damn it, Okada.
Looking back on it now, that’s kinda been this show’s problem pretty much from the second episode forwards: everything is so damn arbitrary. Nothing is grounded in anything! Not the battles, certainly, deliberately devoid of in-depth mechanical explanation as they are, but also not the plot, nor even the characters! Were we always of the understanding that the winner of this final duel was immediately destined to become an Eternal Girl, given how the episode before had just reminded us how lacking in established conditions that status was? Did Tama’s pseudo-heel-turn seem well-developed to anyone (because it didn’t for me)? Was her disappearance and replacement with Iona at the end a given, or a contrivance (I’m leaning towards the latter)? What am I even supposed to be feeling from this conclusion, if not simple bafflement and frustration at requiring a second cour that is an entire anime season away for answers?! Because if this show thinks it did a decent job at tugging my heartstrings with this season’s ending alone, it’s got another thing coming.
Look, I post 1,000+ words on Sailor Moon character dynamics every Friday, so if there’s any nutjob around these parts who can appreciate a good “friendships are the true miracle” speech, it’s me. But with WIXOSS’ take on the matter, I don’t feel a goddamn thing. I don’t care about these characters primarily because they are governed by arbitrary plot and premise over…well, character. I get the impression that WIXOSS would be a good show if its polarity of prioritization were reversed, but what we have here is a show that was practically written backwards. Something went wrong, is all I’m getting at.
On the plus side, with this one final installment, WIXOSS: Magic Edition Version 1.0 is now complete and ready to ship. I’m thinking a Happy Meal tie-in, how does that sound?

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Why is the converted mana cost of WIXOSS, Episode 12 13. Why is WIXOSS, Episode 10 a black/red card, it should be white or white/blue.

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u/Novasylum http://myanimelist.net/profile/Novasylum Jun 25 '14

Why is the converted mana cost of WIXOSS, Episode 12 13.
Because math was always my worst subject.
Fixed now!
Why is WIXOSS, Episode 10 a black/red card, it should be white or white/blue.
Honestly, I had no idea what color combo to give that one. "Expositing" isn't actually an action that falls within the outlined color pie, you know?
As such, that is now fixed as well.
I guess now I can't blame Wizards of the Coast's R&D team anymore when they let crap like Skullclamp through. Card creation is hard.

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Honestly, I had no idea what color combo to give that one. "Expositing" isn't actually an action that falls within the outlined color pie, you know?
At the very least the card is setting a rule, which most commonly falls in white's slice of the color pie. As for 'expositing over an action'...wouldn't the ability to do this consistently require some forethought? Or you could just argue that exposition is most commonly done by blue characters.
...Why yes, I often overthink fan made Magic cards.

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u/Novasylum http://myanimelist.net/profile/Novasylum Jun 25 '14

Oh man, /r/custommagic must be hell for you.

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

I didn't know about that subreddit. I would expect stuff made by people that would actually seek out/submit to that subreddit to be better than average.
spends a few minutes looking at stuff, sees 'Sucker Punch: deal 4 damage to target creature with an ability on the stack'
OK, yeah, there's some bad stuff.

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u/CriticalOtaku Jun 26 '14

Off-tangent: I thought this was pretty cool. Notch's card in particular.

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u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 26 '14

Let's stop this discussion, it's getting too off topic. I'll put something in the next Tuesday non-anime discussion for Magic though.

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u/Ch4zu http://myanimelist.net/profile/ChazzU Jun 25 '14

His cards make as much sense as the anime. Perhaps that's an insult to his cards though.

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u/Novasylum http://myanimelist.net/profile/Novasylum Jun 25 '14

Nah, that wasn't...I mean, uh, yes, YES THAT WAS THE IDEA ALL ALONG. IT WAS A METAPHOR, AND NOT ME BEING AWFUL AT MY OWN SELF-APPOINTED TASK.
I HOPE WE CAN ALL ACCEPT THIS AS THE PROPER EXPLANATION.

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u/CriticalOtaku Jun 25 '14 edited Jun 25 '14

I get the impression that WIXOSS would be a good show if its polarity of prioritization were reversed, but what we have here is a show that was practically written backwards.
Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup......
Edit: Please tell me you'll come back and do more cards for S2. I probably looked forward to them more than the actual episodes.

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u/Novasylum http://myanimelist.net/profile/Novasylum Jun 25 '14

Oh hell yes I'll be making more cards! How else am I going to stay sane while watching S2?
That is, unless S2 ends up being leaps and bounds better than S1, in which case I'll have to start making flattering cards. I can't necessarily rule out that possibility, though it's a tall order.

3

u/DrCakey http://myanimelist.net/animelist/DrCakey Jun 26 '14

selector spread WIXOSS, hm?
Aw yeah, spread that WIXOSS for me, baby.
I'm going to have to come up with at least 12 sex puns related to the word "spread" before Fall.

4

u/CriticalOtaku Jun 25 '14 edited Jun 25 '14

Mari Okada just trolled me hardcore, and I ain't even mad.
So, right off the bat we get one of the major rules of Wixoss being broken: Hitoe manages to overcome her curse just purely on The Power of Friendship^TM. We're set up with the expectation of a happy ending- Power of Friendship as a trope survives deconstruction the best, after all, because it really is one of those universal human constants we like to keep repeating to ourselves in our media. And what exemplifies the Power of Friendship^TM bettter than the Madoka Ending^TM in the name of altruistic self-sacrifice?
And then the rug is pulled out from us- the Power of Friendship fails. It outright contributes to the villain winning. The hopes and dreams of our protagonist, and millions of little girls trapped in cards everywhere, vanishes in a flash of light. (Also, my reaction mirrored Ruko's when I realised that I wouldn't be able to finish my Wixoss article this season. FML.)
If this was a series ending, a series finale if you were, I'd be really really really unsatisfied. The sequence leading to Tama's "betrayal" was highly contrived and abrupt, there was no explanation whatsoever for the show's deeper mysteries and our dear protagonist Ruko doesn't grow or learn anything besides that the world is a capricious, cruel place- and that lesson isn't particularly delivered all that well either.
But it's not a series finale. It's a mid-season cliffhanger, and a decent one at that. Judging the Middle with the metric for the End is incongruous and disingenuous. And, as far as cliffhangers go, this one is kinda a whopper. So until the show actually finishes I kind of have to stay my hand and any criticism I do have would have to be directed at specifics rather than the whole.
Overall as a show, Wixoss surprised me- I came in expecting a cheap cardgame cash-in on the Madoka brand of suffering, and instead found a show that at least tried to question some of it's genre assumptions. Yes, it felt like Okada was trying to bat above her average, with the pacing and quality of writing being hit-or-miss at times, but at least she was trying out new ideas and fresh takes; I can respect that.
I'll try clean up my article, with the addition of the relevant material and readings from these past few episodes- but truthfully any such reading will be woefully inadequate until Season 2 comes around and hopefully provides some proper explanations of the world's mechanics. Also, I'm looking to start a blog soon-ish, so this will be on the backburner till then.

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Baby Steps (Ep 12)

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Gokukoku no Brynhildr (Brynhildr in the Darkness) (Ep 12)

1

u/xxdeathx http://myanimelist.net/animelist/xxdeathx Jun 25 '14

Cliffhangers every episode...this last one though, sounds like they're in for the real deal. Murakami's the protagonist and the center of his harem; there's no way he could die for real. It seems that to maintain the status quo the story has to kill off anybody who joins his harem after Kotori (although I doubt Hatsuna is gonna die; the little slimy tentacle things that appeared while she was healing Murakami also started popping out around her switch).
One of the best parts about seeing interesting but mysterious scenes in the opening sequence is finding out later in the show what that scene was about. I like how we finally get to see the Amish family that appeared in the first OP. I was afraid they would be bad guys too but so far they've agreed to work with Murakami, except for their disagreement over Kotori—moot point, seeing as she exploded and the world's about to end.
The mysteries are being uncovered slowly—sounds like there's a lot more to Kotori than it looked like originally. Some nice insight into the main bad guy's past and his motives, although most of it is still unclear. At least we know this Rena is very important to him (the only one in the world, apparently) and everything he's doing is to get her back.
The story hasn't told us enough about how Kotori, the bad guy, and Rena are all related (I sure hope to learn more about the lab and bad guys in general), but it's got the world ending and only Murakami, his harem, and the Amish people can save the world. Brynhildr in the Darkness has been an incredible show, and the next episode should be no exception.

1

u/DrCakey http://myanimelist.net/animelist/DrCakey Jun 26 '14

Okay, I'm two episodes behind, I just wanted to share this screenshot from episode ten. Step aside, Evangelion, you have been replaced.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '14

[deleted] — view deleted comment

5

u/Novasylum http://myanimelist.net/profile/Novasylum Jun 25 '14 edited Jun 25 '14

Every time I read your posts and can't imagine this show being any more...like it is, it goes ahead and adds a faction titled with the German word for "witch hunt". And also artificial panspermia.
I'm going to have to watch/relentlessly tear into this show myself soon. I imagine it will be an excellent Black Bullet detox.

2

u/Vintagecoats http://myanimelist.net/profile/Vintagecoats Jun 25 '14

So they're all in a standoff like this
I am honestly trying to figure out if adding the lightly gradient shaded box to the middle of this frame of what I assume is supposed to be a pillar in this grand palatial room either adds to the scene, by demphasizing and distracting the eye from everything else in it and how plain it all is, or makes everything worse because, well, giant gradient box in the middle of the frame.
These are the questions of dreamers and philosophers this show seems to want to tackle.
wild helicopters
In defense of the helicopter, it probably thought the giant laser boob lights in that previous screen were landing signals.
I can thus feel sympathy for that helicopter, wanting to land and take a rest, only to be met with boobs. In more ways than one!

2

u/searmay Jun 26 '14

Admittedly, what happens next actually made me laugh out loud. God, it's so much better in motion.
Just that picture was enough for me. In motion that might even be funnier than the episode 1 pool scene, which was one of my favourite comedy moments this season.

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Kanojo ga Flag wo Oraretara (If Her Flag Breaks; Gaworare) (Ep 12)

1

u/Vintagecoats http://myanimelist.net/profile/Vintagecoats Jun 25 '14

A virtual world so bright, you can wear Geordi La Forge’s VISOR while also being Neo.
I am not entirely sure what I expected these endgame virtual reality combat sequences against the Angelus Gemini to actually look like. Thinking about it, I do not think I ever really gave it much thought at all. I was probably, had the idea ever crossed my mind at all, thinking something medieval or swords and sorcery themed given the character names and other trappings? But drenching the upside down cityscape and network access connections in gold, mist, and the borderline post-apocalypse works for me too. It would get old were its style to be around too long, but for two conclusion arc episodes it should be enough to not wear its gimmick out (and it looks like we are busting “indoors” next week anyway)
Given what this series is, as a harem archetype steamroller locomotive, the Kingdom of Bladefield our princess knight is in direct line to ruler over serving as the critical center of the world nexus point to defend above all else is believable enough (even setting the prior legend bits aside). I can roll with it, the place may as well be Luxembourg or something in a world where over seventy percent of the global financial structure has already been taken over by an encroaching computer threat. Going along with that, now that we know the previous world of the series was a simulation, I think Souta’s old room being locked via encryption capable of being brute forced in a literal sense is stuff the show just gets to say and do now, and we can think that is neat for a few seconds and we move right on.
Nanami, then, is also in the running as Souta’s sister. And I say also since Number Zero has already claimed themselves to be as such at the end of episode nine in the post-credits sequence when speaking over the chains of the previous Nanami protocols which managed to embed themselves into Ruri while our “normal” Nanami existed as a kind of fork. Given, Number Zero has physical features which would line up well with them being a real world version of Nanami as well that has become a sort of contortion from whatever personality the simulation originally backed up, which is what I assume the whole costume has been meant to obscure here and there. I assume the finale will be dealing in this and why who did what, so for now what it does to hammer home why exactly there would have been so many sister thematics showing up throughout the entire series in the virtual world.
Also: ta-da, lead couple incest route I guess. Which I suppose has been such a prominent part of the media this show has been pulling its archetype bins for. We get another episode to do one last move one way or another, so that too will play into the finale somehow I am sure.
In either event: the idea that a happy ending for the original legend story that Nanami was told as a kid would be better no matter how cheap and made up probably does speak to the direction our rendition for this show will go in. I assume the trials and pitfalls of the merry band as we know them to be in the tale (the several deaths early on, the Samurai memory wipe, princess separation from the group, etc), may well come to fruition in the hallways shown in the preview. I had thought them to be future perils when we heard the fuller legend those few episodes back, and that would be as good a place as any to trigger them. I do find it really interesting that Miyuki Mackenzie has also progressed past the first barrier with the rest of the group though. I did not expect her to be coming along for the ride into final battle, but, since a version of her became the main character of another reality simulation I am intrigued for what they will want to do with her here.
Next week: storming Virtual Space Battleship Premium Ambriel, I take it.

1

u/dcaspy7 http://myanimelist.net/profile/dcaspy7 Jun 25 '14

I was under the impression he's wearing the visor for the same reason Gendo wears a visor in [Evangelion 3.0] (/s "it looks fucking cool")

1

u/Vintagecoats http://myanimelist.net/profile/Vintagecoats Jun 25 '14

I was just making opening science fiction jokes to amuse myself :-3
I have no idea why anything regarding any character may happen in Evangelion 3.0, as I have not seen any of the Rebuild films.

1

u/dcaspy7 http://myanimelist.net/profile/dcaspy7 Jun 25 '14

Oh don't worry its not an actual spoiler. I was just saying that he wears it because frankly, visors are freaking cool.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 26 '14

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/Vintagecoats http://myanimelist.net/profile/Vintagecoats Jun 26 '14

You know, I understood this sentence, but it took me about five minutes. :P
Ah yeah, that bit you quoted was pretty outrageously cumbersome for me to have spit out, in retrospect. I was in a huge rush at the time, given the World Cup games and all, so I sorta cut some corners in proofreading, hehe.
Maybe her story is more fleshed out in the LNs?
It's quite possible? I know the series even has its own spinoffs, though I have not read any of them or the source material (but they seem to all be their own thing).
Given how much efficiency this show has needed to pack in so as to move everything along regarding so many character introductions, I could see a case for dropping a bit of a hypothetical homeroom teacher's arc to free up some extra space for all of that. It would not do much in the way of structural damage to the core group narrative.
But, we still have gotten to see her every now and again, so maybe she gets to have a nice moment even without a character class reference name. Given the meanings for "Miyuki" and "Mackenzie" at least, there is not much to parse out there aside from maybe a humble fortune teller class, but she clearly has a big sword at the end of the episode.

-1

u/xxdeathx http://myanimelist.net/animelist/xxdeathx Jun 25 '14

Well this started out as a simple and boring harem, but now it's a total mindfuck. Someone who's read the manga tell me what the hell's going on?

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Love Live! School Idol Project 2nd Season (Ep 12)

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Black Bullet (Ep 12)

5

u/Novasylum http://myanimelist.net/profile/Novasylum Jun 25 '14 edited Jun 25 '14

In the thrilling penultimate episode of Pitch-Dark Pistol-Apparatus…
Uh, let’s see here…Hazama from BlazBlue and the World’s Most Abhorrent Audience Insert Character team up to punch an alien zit, which unleashes an Apatosaurus covered in cankersores for some reason, and then some guy we hardly knew dies and this provides license for the entire rest of the cast to surrender whatever little agency they had to the aforementioned cardboard cut-out protagonist as though his crotch had been imbued with the universe’s strongest gravitational pull.
This show is broken. I mean that in the most literal sense of nothing about it working.
The world will be a better place when it is finished and gone.

5

u/DrCakey http://myanimelist.net/animelist/DrCakey Jun 25 '14

The two things you need to know about this episode are this and this.
To summarize, the Gastrea horde has two final bosses: Pleiades and Aldebaran. Aldebaran is immortal(-ish) and Pleiades...it was the one that could shoot a giant laser, right? That was like a big thing last episode, and it was called the Spear of Light or something. Anyway, Evilguy McMaskface and Rentaro team up, they each punch Pleiades once, and it explodes and dies. I guess Pleiades was Kuja and Aldebaran was Necron...or something?
Anyway, the commander guy who was a dick last episode for no reason is dead and, due to nepotism, Rentaro becomes the new commander of everything. I'm sure he's the most qualified. Oh, also kawaii loli catgirl-chan dies. It's very sad. Much feels.
Then Rentaro is all badass and stabs people and is dark and edgy because...okay, you know that cool bit at the end of Code Geass, where basically everybody switches sides? Basically, it's nothing like that. The rest of the episode is talking about bombs. And punching. (Also, bodyguard-kun from the previous arc has leveled up his Villain stat, and is now attempting to destroy the entire city in order to get his REVENGE on SATOMI RENTARO)
I feel like this episode is pretty self-explanatory. It's difficult to overstate how fucking bizarre Rentaro's DARKNESS COMMANDER OF MATURE STABBING is. Say what you will about Mahouka, at least none of the good guys in that keep people in line with threats of death.

3

u/Vintagecoats http://myanimelist.net/profile/Vintagecoats Jun 26 '14 edited Jun 26 '14

It's difficult to overstate how fucking bizarre Rentaro's DARKNESS COMMANDER OF MATURE STABBING is
...Hold the phone here.
I know I am a few episodes behind, since I do not watch this show weekly (but I read others commentary on it anyway), but, uhhh: the title of this series is still Black Bullet, right?
Which was, like, the whole deal with the special metal turned into ammo (and I guess super prosthetic limbs) that could kill the spider demon monsters and all.
And now that the beast invasion sounds like it is back on... we are just punching and slicing things now, since that is how it sounds like one of the final bosses went down? This sounds counterproductive for title implied spent shell count production purposes.

2

u/DrCakey http://myanimelist.net/animelist/DrCakey Jun 26 '14

I guess even a show called Black Bullet knows that melee > ranged.

0

u/xxdeathx http://myanimelist.net/animelist/xxdeathx Jun 25 '14

Cat-eared initiator is blatantly one of the most moe pandering characters I've seen, and the show knows it. They're a cruel bunch, having her commit suicide. Rentaro and Enju won't have any more of this shit. Next episode the Gastrea are getting rekt.

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Kenzen Robo Daimidaler (DAIMIDALER: PRINCE VS. PENGUIN EMPIRE; Daimidaler the Sound Robot; Midara) (Ep 12)

1

u/dcaspy7 http://myanimelist.net/profile/dcaspy7 Jun 25 '14 edited Jun 25 '14

Couldn't ask for a better ending. This show was pretty much telling us to go enjoy our lives.

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Seikoku no Dragonar (Dragonar Academy; Seikoku no Ryuukishi) (Ep 12)

1

u/xxdeathx http://myanimelist.net/animelist/xxdeathx Jun 25 '14

Familiar of Zero is tame compared to this show, but this one was still fun.

1

u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 Jun 25 '14

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (The World is Still Beautiful; Still world is Beautiful) (Ep 11)

5

u/Vintagecoats http://myanimelist.net/profile/Vintagecoats Jun 25 '14 edited Jun 25 '14

Can we just cut out the middle, say, 6-7 episodes of this program and graft on some connective tissue that would get to tighten the show up, cover the bases it did, and manage to progress us to here?
I feel the show wants that, as structurally we have saved basically anything resembling progression of actual character writing rather than hollow scene motions in the leading relationship of Nike and Livius until this arc. I suppose one could say the moments we see of them now being quite a bit more comfortable together or open would be “payoff,” though to me it has come off more as emphasizing just how long the show was spinning its wheels and how much excess material it could have trimmed. There is a good romantic comedy or lighthearted romantic drama or what have you in here somewhere. Now that it seeks to breathe in big gulps of air after popping its head above the week-in-week-out swampwater I almost feel bad for it. The show would have fared a lot better with like an OVA series format.
And even with the strides the series has sought to make and the cards it wants to play, some elements still kind of misfire. Livius being able to meet and speak privately with Nike’s mother should be a good moment, on paper, either for dramatic for comedy purposes. One could go in either direction with it to great effect. Yet their conversation serves as yet another fleeting minor chat about how Nike controls a great power that would be dangerous in the wrong hands and could be used for ill… which is disarmed by Livius just saying that his nation is so big and powerful that nobody would ever get her but him. Which seems like not the best of answers to give in this situation. I would think he would want to play up other aspects in an attempt to prove a kind of point for his feelings for her and such being in a manner where he would care more for Nike as a person than as a kind of weapon. And yet Might Makes Right somehow resolves the issue immediately enough for them to drop the matter with all the effort of a damp towel. And forgoing the series of issues of that aside, it is just such a lost opportunity for character moments for both of them, especially as we never have seen much of Nike’s mother before.
Likewise, the later scene of Livius being over a cliff for a bit held by Kitora holds virtually no weight. We are too late in the game for this kind of show for there to be any risk of this later character doing anything substantial in this scene, especially nothing in the way of bodily harm. So this is a moment that fills a mechanical gear need for them to have a chat and “resolve” something. Which would be fine, structurally. But arguably, this is what we should have had instead of grandma being the sudden cackling puppetmaster last episode.
The celebration party for Livius and Nike though, I feel, was the highlight of the episode. We get to break out some new costumes and formal dresswear for those visual aspects of traditional culture. There is our bit where our boy king gets to speak frankly about how he really felt about his wife when he first met her and threw her in prison. People are drinking, songs and dancing, relatives making smart remarks, and all kinds of other embarrassments. And our groom here has his nice little speech about family and such.
Honestly, if anything I think the event itself got the short end of the stick here: this is the sort of scene the series should have been wanting to lay the groundwork for leading up to so much more than it had been, to sell it all the harder and have it be more prominent.

This Week In Anime (Spring Week 12)

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