Black Clover Episode 37

The tissue connecting last week's episode and this week's is fairly weak up front. This isn't the first time that all the Magic Knight squad captains have arrived in unison to save the day, and they continue to lack the heft that the desired beat requires. So few of them are interesting beyond how strong we're told they are. On top of that, I still feel weird that last week's cliffhanger downgraded us from Licht himself to his henchmen, no matter how much stronger they're supposed to be.

The latter issue is alleviated some by the fact that Licht is not completely out of the game; he just needed to call in reinforcements so he could take a breather and get his groove back. The former problem is still prevalent (especially since Fuegoleon is still missing in action) but the show tries to give the squad captains more personality by making fun of Noelle's asshat brother's hair and revealing that Charlotte Roselei has a tsundere crush on Yami. The staggering number of lovestruck women in this series continues to be alarming. It's so aggressive.

But once we get past the so-so content early in this episode, we do come back around to the good stuff. It turns out the Midnight Sun arc ends the way all conflicts must in this show: Asta hits the bad guy with his anti-magic sword and they lose. The End. As predictable as this show's formula is becoming, the end of this fight is satisfying as all hell. Asta emerges in the middle of the chaos while everybody else is preoccupied, targeting Licht with his new Ki-sensing abilities while staying under the radar thanks to his lack of magic. This sequence is the animation highlight of the past couple episodes, and it's fun to see everybody, good and bad guys alike, be shocked that Asta was even still in this fight at all. 'Everybody' excluding Yami, of course, because he had faith in Asta this whole time.

The major intrigue that gets raised as we finally exit the arc is a question of how Asta's grimoire and swords are connected to Licht and his people. Licht's a pretty chill guy, so it's neat to see him get riled up at the thought of a magic-less kid having weapons that supposedly belonged to his master. There's an evil power that goes beyond Licht and his cronies, but Asta's the one reaping its rewards for some reason. I've gotten so accustomed to the fact that Asta has the five-leaf clover that I forgot that was even supposed to be big picture story behind it. Asta's a good guy using the powers of a demon, but that concept has fallen to the wayside for most of the story so far. I hope we get more information on that sooner rather than later.

While I'm not in love with any of the B-tier heroes and villains that make up the bulk of this episode, they do a good job keeping the story busy as we build up to the stronger moments where we finally get to lay the smack down. And even then, beating the final boss only seems to make our heroes' problems worse. Asta hitting Licht with his sword doesn't kill or maim him, but rather opens him up and makes his magic more dangerous and uncontrollable. If Licht's going to be sticking around as the main villain then it makes sense that he'd be reserving his power to become an even worse threat later. He can't keep fighting as he is now, so he and his friends run away to pick a fight with the Clover Kingdom another day.

With the Eye of the Midnight Sun being our primary antagonists, we haven't yet had an arc where we truly beat them to our satisfaction. Arcs usually end with them running away in defeat, which both teases the audience too much about what's to come and undermines the Midnight Sun as a threat. That said, I'm growing increasingly interested in the greater lore surrounding the group and how they're connected to Gauche and Asta. There's plenty of room for the baddies to bulk up and get stronger, and the mysteries that promise to do just that are curious enough to keep me watching. Out of the completed story arcs we've seen so far, I can now safely say this has been the most thoroughly enjoyable one yet.

Rating: B

Black Clover is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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Caligula Episode 10

Over the past season, Caligula has been teasing out bits and pieces of the various Go-Home Club members' backstories, though nothing concrete enough to allow its audience to make anything more than educated guesses about the kinds of people our heroes might be outside of Mobius. Seeing as we're nearing the conclusion of Caligula's run, I'd honestly given up hope on the series addressing its cast members' personal histories. Well, consider this yet another Monkey's Paw scenario, where Caligula gives me exactly what I wanted all along by revealing the tragic backstory of every main character except for Ritsu, but in the worst way I could have possibly imagined.

Episode 10 of Caligula is a bottle episode, with the entire Go-Home Club trapped in a single room for the whole runtime, meaning that the script has to rely completely on dialogue and flashbacks to maintain its momentum. Bottle episodes can work when done well; in the best cases, they provide a great opportunity for characters to bounce off each other in unexpected ways, and the restraint of the format can often result in a story being forced to flex its creative muscles in ways it might otherwise not. In the worst cases though, you have an episode like this, where characters literally just sit down in a circle and explain their personal motivations because the story couldn't be bothered to work in any of this information organically. The flimsy justification for getting this conversation started is that the group suspects that Kensuke might be leaking their plans to his former Musician friends, and Kensuke proposes that the group all share their personal secrets, so everyone can believe in everyone else. It's ridiculous, but more to the point it's so brazen in trying to excuse this premise's existence that I couldn't help but be a little impressed by it. It's as if the show's writers realized that they had forgotten to adequately develop any of the characters, so they madly scrambled to shove everything into one episode before the end of the season.

In truth, these personal histories were likely meant to feel like big reveals, letting the audience see who these pretty anime heroes really are underneath the surface. The problem is, the characters have been so poorly developed that nothing we learn here is the least bit surprising; somehow, digging into their backstories manages to make them even less interesting than they were before. Shogo is a 30-year old shut-in who blames himself for the death of his friend; Kotaro is a young boy who feels ashamed of his small stature, because he wants to be a rescue operator like his deceased father; Suzuna has no friends; Naruko is bullied at school; Mifue resented her obese mother so much that she developed an eating disorder of her own, and so on. There's admittedly a kernel of an interesting idea in having these characters all come from disparate backgrounds and age groups, but the episode doesn't do anything with it other than fit in a couple of jokes at the expense of Kotaro's real age. Otherwise, even after spilling their guts to one another for an entire episode, the majority of the Go-Home Club remains just as bland and forgettable as they always have been.

The only two characters with marginally compelling personal lives would be Kensuke and Minezawa. Kensuke's story is somewhat unique in that he doesn't suffer from any kind of overtly terrible life; he's simply an average person who wishes he was talented and skilled enough to be exceptional, and he only switched over to the Go Home Club when he realized that the he wasn't truly satisfied with the way that Mobius allowed him to cheat his way to becoming a successful musician. A better story might taken the time to develop Kensuke into someone with depth and personality, but this is Caligula, where we'll have to settle for someone who at least resembles a three-dimensional character if you squint.

Minezawa does have to live with an overbearing and possibly abusive mother, though his motivations are at least a bit more complex than everyone else's, which all essentially boil down to “I learned to appreciate my life through the power of friendship!”. Minezawa's desire hearkens back to his fight with Ike-P, where he revealed that he resents his eternally beautiful and unblemished face in Mobius. In the real world, Minezawa scarred his face as proof that he retained even a modicum of autonomy, and he wants nothing more than to go back to being able to see his true imperfect visage. Truth be told, I find it troubling how Caligula handwaves Minezawa's self-harming tendencies, but it's also the closest this show has ever come to making me care about one of its characters.

That the most emotion I can muster for anyone in Caligula's cast is “slightly troubled concern” is a bad sign for a show so close to it's conclusion. I wager that Caligula is itself aware of just how badly it's botched itself, because Marie arrives at the end of the episode to turn evil for no reason and toss a grenade at all her friends, leaving the show on yet another meaningless cliffhanger. To put things into perspective, this is a series that can somehow make “Sudden Betrayal By Way of Random Grenade” into a complete nothing moment, just another senseless plot point to be lost in a haze of lazy storytelling and limp characterization. This show has gone from bad to worse very quickly, so all that's left to do is count down the days until it's over.

Rating: D+

Caligula is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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Black Clover Episode 36

With Licht "defeated" for the time being, the Eye of the Midnight Sun needs to mix things up by bringing in the new batch of villains teased at the end of last week. A portion of this episode feels like the denouement for this arc, with all the kids being saved and the heroes taking a breather, but the conflict keeps rolling in. I interpret Licht as the main baddie of this series, so it's a little strange to me that we're conquering him so easily and for the "next big thing" in the story to just be more of his henchmen.

The henchmen in question this week are the group referred to as the "Third Eye." They're the Midnight Eye's strongest fighters who surpass Licht and supposedly the Magic Knight squad captains as well. Their names are Raia the Disloyal, Vetto the Despair, and Fana the Hateful. It's kind of amusing to hear that Licht went out of his way to give them the edgiest titles he could think of, just to spite the values that the Clover Kingdom espouses. Personally, I think these new guys' designs leave a lot to be desired. For our strongest enemies yet, they look like total scrubs—especially compared to Licht, who nails the "ultimate bad guy" look.

It's dawning on me how little actually happened this week. This is the plodding kind of episode where the heroes are mostly standing around waiting for the cliffhanger to happen. That said, before the Third Eye shows up, Licht makes an interesting note of Gauche, implying that he let his attack be deflected last week because he recognized Gauche as one of his people and didn't want to hurt him. Gauche doesn't know what that means, but the plot thickens nonetheless. After the Third Eye shows up, I got really excited when Yami made his big claim of "Watch me surpass my limits, right here and now!" but that beat gets interrupted once the other captains arrive as reinforcements. The idea that this show is such raw, unfiltered shonen that breaking your own limits is now comically streamlined was a concept I was completely ready for. But alas, it's mere smack talk.

For as bad as it started out, this Midnight Sun arc has been working for me best out of all the arcs so far. The Royal Capital arc started strong, but meandered way too much. By contrast this arc began poorly, but by virtue of sticking to a straightforward sense of escalation, where the villains keep getting swapped out for stronger villains who require the hero team to step up in response, it feels much more in the spirit of what these kinds of shows aim to be. I'm still buzzing from last week's stellar episode, and while this is ultimately an action-lite week, the art has yet to derail back into the half-measures we were seeing before.

I appreciate that the story wants to keep pushing our heroes by having a constant string of obstacles revving up in intensity, though these new villains are likely my absolute limit. Now that the kids have been saved and the main villain has stepped out of the fight, any glimmer of emotional investment has faded. It's a bizarre enough development that I'm prepared to learn there's a storytelling reason for it, but we're making the heroes' obstacles more difficult while minimizing the personal stakes. There's a risk of losing the audience at that point.

Rating: B

Black Clover is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 62

All hell breaks loose in the Hidden Leaf as the Chunin exams come to an abrupt and destructive halt. No sooner does Boruto have time to process his disqualification than the Otsutsukis arrive on the scene and proceed to level the entire stadium. As Momoshiki reveals, the trio wishes to extract Naruto's immensely powerful chakra and use it to replant the Divine Tree. After Mitsuki fails to take down Urashiki, Gaara and Chojuro take on the franchise's newest villain and are able to prompt a temporary retreat. Meanwhile, Naruto, Sasuke, Boruto, and Sarada face off against Momoshiki and Kinshiki. As a parallel to Boruto's use of the Shinobi Gauntlet, it's revealed that the Otsutsukis simply steal techniques from opponents and convert them into pills. (A practice Naruto compares to doping.) Ready to bring the fight to an end, Momoshiki launches a massive projectile at the group, prompting Naruto to call forth Kurama's aura. Realizing that destroying the projectile would decimate the surrounding area, the Seventh elects to bear the brunt of the attack. Confronted with the very real possibility of losing his dad, Boruto can do nothing but reflect on all the good times they've shared as he watches the chaos unfold.

Like this arc's earlier installments, episode 62 adeptly blends footage from the preceding feature film with original material. As an added bonus, this week's additions help smooth out some of the film's rough edges. For example, the television version provides an explanation as to why Gaara and Chojuro didn't rush in to assist Naruto and Sasuke—they were busy fighting Urashiki, who didn't exist in the movie. Supporting characters like Denki, Iwabe, and Metal are given something to do this time around—helping spectators escape the rampant destruction. (However, with so many heroes leading audience members to safety, it's strange that Naruto has to protect a small crowd of stragglers later in the episode.)

Although it's still fairly easy to discern which sequences are lifted from the movie compared to the TV-original material, the action sequences are all well-done this week, with only the slightest bit of choppiness to be found. The characters are also more expressive than usual, especially Boruto, who comes to gain a whole new perspective on his father. The look on the boy's face when he sees his dad's true power in action is particularly poignant and conveys a wealth of emotions—it's like all the history books he'd never quite believed had come to life. The man he could only see as an absentee workaholic suddenly turned into the hero of legend. It's likely a turning point in their relationship—one that's punctuated by Naruto's apparent sacrifice.

As another edge-of-your seat chapter in the Chunin exam saga, this week's Boruto begins the battle against the Otsutsukis in earnest, and the good guys are already at a clear disadvantage. With Boruto facing the potential loss of a parent and the Otsutsukis looking to restart Kaguya's legacy, things are bound to get worse before they get better for our heroes.

Rating: A

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 61

The Chunin exams conclude on a somber note as the story heads into its climax. With only three examinees remaining, Boruto, Sarada, and Shinki face off in an action-packed battle royale. Realizing the threat posed by Shinki, the remaining two-thirds of Team 7 decide to temporarily join forces against their common enemy. However, Gaara's adoptive son proves too strong for their best efforts, and Boruto must once again use Katasuke's device in order to eke out a victory. Unfortunately for the young shinobi, he overplays his hand this time. Watching his son defeat Shinki with Kakashi's signature Purple Lightning confirms Naruto's suspicions about Boruto's performance, prompting him to expose Boruto's trickery in front of the entire audience, disqualify him from the exams, and bar him from being a ninja. Before Boruto and his friends have time to fully process this, Momoshiki and Kinshiki arrive on the scene as Momoshiki declares that he's finally found Naruto.

Although only one fight is covered this week, the proceedings never drag and the characters' emotions are more palpable than ever. A force to be reckoned with, Shinki refuses to give his opponents an inch as he effortlessly counters everything they throw at him. Much like his father at that age, the young Sand ninja is brutal and direct, though he appears to have more restraint and a better understanding of his power. As has become customary, Boruto holds off on using the Shinobi Gauntlet until the eleventh hour, and as usual, he clearly has some reservations about relying on it. (Admittedly, his post-exam endgame is unclear. Did he think he'd keep secretly using it forever or that no one would ask him to reproduce those advanced techniques outside of the test?) His friends' reactions to his cheating are particularly poignant, especially Shikadai's, as he was the one friend whom Boruto used the tool against. If things are ever to return to normal, Boruto will have to make some serious amends for his actions throughout this arc.

Naruto disqualifying his own son from the exams and barring him from ever becoming a ninja is harsh, and Leaf residents and fellow Kage would be hard-pressed to accuse the Seventh of nepotism. Boruto is clearly in the wrong and ought to have known better, but he's still a child demanding his father's attention, and Naruto's lack of presence at home certainly isn't helping matters. Of course, before the father-son duo can continue their very public disagreement, the Otsutsukis show up at the perfect time, finally bringing their role in this story to a head—although the TV-original Urashiki is nowhere to be seen.

The Chunin exam arc continues to be one of the highlights of the series, and this week's Boruto/Sarada/Shinki brawl serves as another welcome expansion of the film's narrative. With the exam over, Boruto's long con revealed, and the Otsutskis finally revealing themselves, the ninja world's first joint Chunin exam is about to get a whole lot stickier.

Rating: B+

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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Black Clover Episode 35

Okay. It's finally happened. I've given Black Clover an 'A.' We're still in the midst of Yami vs. Licht, but the hustle on this episode to deliver far and above the best action this show has ever had is much appreciated. My jaw is still on the floor over how good this episode looks.

Not much has changed since we left off last week, with Yami continuing to show his stuff while he encourages Asta to take on Licht's henchman standing nearby, but the visuals are night and day. Basically the entire first half of this episode is one elongated action scene with some theatrical quality animation and fight choreography. The character designs also pop with much more detail than we've seen before. I was ready to believe that Pierrot was just waiting their 50-episode run out, so this is a fantastic surprise. I'm just giddy. I'm really enjoying myself.

Story-wise, we're continuing to revel in what the strongest characters in this series look like, with Licht asking to see a Magic Knight squad captain at full power, and Yami being more than happy to oblige. It's all basic shonen posturing, but it's hard to complain when it's executed this well. Even once the camera shifts back over to Asta's half of the fight, the show still manages to be fun. "I don't give guys jobs they can't do. Do something about him in your own way," Yami says, continuing to be the coolest.

The less action-heavy portion of the episode connects us back to Gauche, who's talking to Sister Theresa on her "death" bed. She's not really dying, but the show leads us down that path long enough to get a somewhat sincere moment out of her and Gauche, and then it's punctuated with a joke where it turns out she wasn't dying at all. (Kind of reminiscent of the scene in DBZ where the Old Kai resurrects Goku, but not quite as funny.) Now that Black Clover's finally gotten good, that old "this siscon guy ain't so bad!" card is even less appealing. I'm more than happy with just Asta and Yami! Nonetheless, this is still a Gauche-themed arc, and by the end of the episode he's returning to the battlefield, now with an added magic boost he received from Theresa, the children, and one of the arc's original bad guys.

For me, Black Clover's aspirations of "generic shonen done well" always rang hollow. I think of shonen as a playground for a storyteller to pour their own heart and personality into; there's nothing inherently romantic about the template itself, and Black Clover rarely even reached the low bar it set for itself. This week's episode finally sells me on its aspirations, taking familiar tropes and ideas and executing them just well enough that it's genuinely fun to watch. For the time being, Black Clover is exciting, funny, and beautiful to look at. It's juggling its multiple subplots with momentum and sticking to a clear emotional through-line that leaves me wanting to see what happens next. This is generic shonen done well.

Rating: A

Black Clover is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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Golden Kamuy – 08 [Eyes of a Murderer]

Wait, did we seriously just watch a guy who gets aroused with the idea of killing? I mean, what a way to explore his twisted desire and what a visual Golden Kamuy presents here. A glowing circle in his pant? Sure, why not? It’s weird, it’s whimsical in an awesome way. The idea is that this guy Henmi has a distinctive approach to killing (and be killed), and I’m pretty sure most of serial killers behave this way, whose killing patterns are influenced by traumatic events in the past. He reminds me a fair bit to Dr. Hannibal Lecter who become known as Hannibal the Cannibal because he witnessed his sister was cannibalized by a band of Nazi collaborators when he was young. The rest of the episode, however, can never top this. While on the topic, the appearance of this new tattooed character Henmi opens up too many issues. First, by focusing on his narrative in the episode’s last part, the show makes a tonal shift that is frankly quite jarring. We never know much about him except for his flashback, thus he just can’t carry the show compared to say, Sugimoto and Asirpa. Worse off, because this guy takes a central role in the last half, our duo behaves like walking sticks. I don’t see any personality in Sugimoto whatsoever.In the big picture, with this episode I have a clearer idea of what kind of show Golden Kamuy is. I’m pretty sure now that Lt Tsurumi and the old man Hijikata are our final bosses, and to get there Sugimoto and Asirpa will have to face several smaller arcs involving particular prisoners with skinned tattoo. I’m not that fond with this approach to be frank. And now I don’t even consider on which side Sugimoto will destroy first. The way I see it, there’s going to be a three-way face off between the Good (Sugimoto), the Bad (Hijikata) and the Ugly (Lt Tsurumi. Note: purely subjective opinion here). These three forces are the only parties to know about the true size of the treasure to boost. At least in this episode the Bad and the Ugly have a brief encounter where Hijikata raids the bank in order to… retrieve his darling katana and earn some cash. Yeah, OBVIOUSLY it makes sense. What the Immortal and the Ainu girl need to concern, however, is their comrade Escape Artist gets himself caught by the prisoners. The gang, surprisingly, doesn’t treat him badly, at least not yet, in exchange for other skin tattoos. They underestimate Sugimoto at this point, mostly because they have never heard of him, so I suspect that this Henmi business will be when the prisoners take notice and see the threats in Sugimoto’s ability to survive.Another change in plot direction and in the next villain also results in another change in Golden Kamuy’s setting, and this time, it’s a treat to watch. It might cost the show a bit of pacing issues (look, Sugimoto, let’s help us catch the whale first!), but the herring fish scene is a totally fresh air. We have boats floating on the sea as the fishermen try to catch the big whale, and much later when we see the red herring from fishes and Henmi briefly explains Sugimoto about all the works. I hope we get more of that, but the fact remains that Henmi is ready to throw himself to Sugimoto, quite literally, even at the cost of his own life. Although Sugimoto never seems thrilled to kill these kinds of nutcase, he only kills to defend his life.

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Hisone to Masotan – 07 [Kingdom of Love]

Hmmm, I do feel like I’m watching some propaganda in HisoMaso this week, in which it tries to sell us the ideas that women’s low self-esteem and insecurity are the best way to “soulmate” their dragons, and worse, learning the whole conspiracy method of crushing these poor girls’ hearts to make sure they’ll ever love again, so they can devote all their hearts to pilot the dragons? WHAT? Okay, propaganda is a bit exaggerating, but I can’t help but feel the mean-spiritedness in this approach, especially virtually no one in the higher-ups question about it or that Ilboshi guy’s decision morally, instead they just roll with it. Haizz, they play those up for laugh, and I guess they set all this up so that the girls can overcome those, but still I feel a bit uneasy watching all these play out. Especially seeing the young mug Okonogi tries his damnest to slide between following his orders and just have fun with Hisone. I figure my uneasiness lies in the fact that these girls, our D-Pilots are the victims and clueless about all this. Ways to depreciate our women and their intelligence here, Mari Osada.

SO the plan is to figure out all the girls’ potential romantic interests, push it a bit and then squeeze that love like breaking an egg. Haizz. This plot gets thicken fast as Okonogi is granted a chance to go to a date with Hisone, watching some lame horror movie (wait, is it the same film with the one in After the Rain?). Meanwhile, Kinutsugai becomes an informant (because of Kingdom!) by that guy Ilboshi again. He now becomes a sore thumb here as beside babblings all those bullshits about white lovers, purity and what’s not, he acts equally stupid and manipulative too. To make things worse, this week our dragons get left out, in place for these stupid romantic threads (that include Hoshino and “the guy who ticks all the boxes” and Hitomi’s multiple interests).

The show’s writer is most infamously known for injecting unnecessary and drawn-out romances and it seems like she again hits the streak in this episode. It’s not enough to bring HisoMaso down, at least not yet, so I’ll reserve my final feeling when this all business about the ceremony is dealt with, but for now I’m not that keen on the direction it laid out. It should focus on the dragons – their pilots relationship, or even focus to develop our girls, not this. And HisoMaso still holds their cards too close regarding the real identity of the yogurt lady. Too much sniffing and licking without revealing won’t tease people anymore. I’m a bit concerned with HisoMaso now, it looks like it will head dive into the deep ocean full of sharks and I’m not sure if it ever going to recover from that.

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Hinamatsuri – 08 [And It’s The Same Old Hina]

The core dynamic of Nitta and Hina again is put into test this week, this time with more pressing matters. There’s a woman from Hina’s world comes to bring her back home, except – you know – she’s also scared shitless about Hina’s power. That’s the first thing that makes this new addition, named Kei, different from someone in her role. Kei’s more than willing to take shortcuts to her duty, and poor Anzu has to keep her from running away many times. Kei has a checklist to track Hina’s development in which she expects Hina to trip anytime soon. That blue hair girl passes all the test with flying colors and I especially like the way Kei and Anzu tested her by buying the puppy and disguise it as a homeless dog. Hilarious as it always is, but when Hinamatsuri wants to, it can ring the emotion so true. It might be a bit obvious the way the show wants to show us how Hina has grown while living with Nitta, but it mostly gets away with it by framing that change from Kei’s astounded eyes.

When learning about her going back to her world, she not in the least refuses. Grown girl accepts the consequences after all. The more important thing is how to break it to Nitta. Hina tries, and fails, in various methods to get Nitta noticed (most notably her “byebye” T-shirt, and when she’s frustrated she rolls and float freely in the air, creating a nice and weird visual quirk. Nitta takes the news calmly, he takes her to eat her favorite ikura bowl for the last time and says it when it’s time for their separation, that while she’s a pain in the ass, he enjoyed the time they spent together. That might be why the last laugh doesn’t really win me over because it kinda destroys my goodwill towards Nitta. But to be fair, Nitta has always been an ass himself, so they pretty deserve each other’s company.

In between that crisis, we have a side story of a new Hina’s classmate, Mami, who walks the fine line between a complete fool and an adorable fool. What worse than showing your true power to the bad people? It’s showing your true power to the eight-grader syndrome kid who believe they’re the centre of the universe (in fact they’re closely to grade 8^th here). Hilarity ensues when Mami decides to confront Hina upfront (and freaked out to the point of lying on the ground). Hinamatsuri is in total control of the tones here, building up her satisfaction and her desire to brag about her “superpower” just about right, while never overplays her humiliation. Having the crowd total in their straight faces works much better than them laughing and ridiculing the poor girl (especially love both Aizawa and Hitomi’s tense expressions there). There’s so much good laugh in this second part and never at once the show belittles Mami’s hijinks. Well, turn out the parts about those middle-schoolers are amongst my favorite parts of the show. With such a diverse cast with strong and funny characters who always found themselves in absurdist situations, Hinamatsuri retains its touch this week.

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Steins;Gate 0 – 7 [Eclipse of Vibronic Transition -Vibronic Transition-]

Oh boy, Steins;Gate 0 was definitely a thing this week, whatever that means. This time we have clashing styles, interesting plot twists and one hell of a cliffhanger. Lets jump in!To start off, lets get the obvious out of the way. Steins;Gate 0 is not an action series and it shows. The opening “combat” scenes of this episode were… weak, to be kind. Animation was stunted and in general it just wasn’t great. This isn’t unexpected though. Steins;Gate’s design/style doesn’t lend itself well to smooth, fluid fights. It has always been a series focused on its characters, not the action. That said, the actual narrative portion of the “combat” was pretty interesting. We have no idea who the leather-clad women is, though I have suspicions, and Mr.Braun’s entrance was both unexpected and exciting. I have always wanted to see more of his character, get a deeper look into our landlord ever since Steins;Gate, and we finally have the chance. And boy did this week spend a lot of time with him.

So Mr.Braun was one of the main focuses this week. I have to say I was not expecting him to be on our side, but it makes sense. Braun prizes his daughter Nae above all else, so even he wouldn’t call Rounders on them when shes in the apartment. It was interesting to see his two sides during his conversation with Okabe however. Between doting father and dangerous secret agent, he basically got blackmailed into helping Okabe. Can’t wait to see where this goes, especially because his allegiance buys Moeka’s as well. However this does raise a new question. Who was the woman in leather? In the original it was Moeka, however with Braun on our side, it can’t be her. There is a hint with Yuki Amane’s wrist, but personally I think thats a red-herring however, with her relationship with Daru. No, my personal bet continues to be Dr.Reyes.
Speaking of Daru, we got a nice quite scene with him and Okabe I really appreciated. We’re told they are best friends, and we got shots of it in the original Steins;Gate, but now we finally get some alone time with them together. Theres no games, no hiding, Okabe speaks frankly and Daru just wants to support him. Okabe keeps Daru close, in contrast to Ruka who also got a talk this week. Really, I can’t help but think Okabe’s decision with Ruka is selfish. Shutting him out for his own benefit, to have one person solidly in one world line, without thinking about them at all. Its beautifully selfish, and Ruka’s casual acceptance of it says alot about their relationship. Its these one on one character moments, Daru and Okabe, Okabe and Maho, or Okabe and Amadeus/Kurisu, that were always my favorite scenes. Hope we get more.

That said, we are going to atleast get one more one on one scene, and gee this one might take up a whole episode. Quick notes for those who may have missed it: Watch after the credits, for Steins;Gate 0 pulls a Marvel this week with an ending scene that throws everything on its head. While on paper I am ludicrously excited for Kurisu and Okabe to speak again, especially with Okabe being as broken as he is, I can’t help but question why. Why did a call from Amadeus/Kurisu(?) trigger this? Who sent it and how? There are so many questions and aside from the ending with Kurisu, this episode felt like it dragged on for me. Its like jumping from cliff-hanger to cliff-hanger and it bugs me. Its forcing me to ask, is Steins;Gate 0 really that amazing or am I just absorbed in nostalgia for characters I love?
Its a question I normally wouldn’t ask. Normally something like that is irrelevant, so long as the viewer enjoys the show. However the performance of this episode, easily the weakest so far as it only had my attention in spurts, has made me wonder. How do you all think Steins;Gate 0 is performing so far? Is it living up to your expectations? Did you go into this having already seen the original or is this your first taste? Am I just riding on the nostalgia of my love of the original or is Steins;Gate 0 every bit as gratifying as we had hoped it would? Having waited for this series for years, its hard for me to be objective on the subject. So please, let me know below and I’ll see you next week for what will no doubt be a rollercoaster of an episode. See you then!

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Golden Kamuy – 07 [Complication]

This week ties up one plot thread that is Nihei and Tanigaki and their quest for hunting down the wise wolf and overall it does a decent job at that. Continuing from where the last episode left of, this final confrontation works for me because everyone has a moment to shine. Sugimoto proves that he does have some strategy beside his strong survival skills by using the Escape Artist to… escape. Tanigaki is wise and underhanded enough to use Asirpa as a hostage, and Asirpa also more than serves her role well when she saves Tanigaki’s live by cutting his poisoned flesh. But the main stars in this arc lie in the final showdown between Nihei and Retar – the man and the force of nature itself – with a welcome twist. Nihei has it under control until he realizes he lets his guard down, that Retar never intents to face the man down upfront, but he only serves as a distraction for his mate to attack him from behind. The wilderness again outwits the man, through the power of family bond, something that all the men in Golden Kamuy seemingly leave behind to pursuit their own goals.What happen right aftermath this fight furthers highlights many of Golden Kamuy’s stronger moments. Tanigaki, barely walking, comes up to the death Nihei and says his chant. That’s the respect. Asirpa refuses to let anyone die in her ability by bringing Tanigaki and the Ainu dog back to her village. Golden Kamuy might not have the excellent production by their side: all the action scenes are only just functional, and their violence is somewhat extreme, but the violence never serves as glamorized action (unlike Tarantino’s films for example – except for certain skewer sequences), it’s gruesome, and it fits with the world these characters inhibit in: gruesome, bleak, macho. But the ones who survive so far, as we further see after this Retar’s arc, are the ones who have companions and it’s the desire to keep their companion safe that push them farer than those who simple have nothing to lose. Seeing it on that light, it’s a good sign for both Asirpa and Sugimoto.This episode also gives us Lt. Tsurumi’s emotional motive for pursuing the gold and really, it’s not in the least surprises me. Feeling betrayed by the Government after literally putting their lives on the line, the 7^th Hokkaido unit aims to stage a coup to basically regain “what was rightfully theirs”; and give more job opportunities for their family members by opening the weapon factory (!). What’s the catch, then? That the amount of gold is in really far bigger than the assumed amount (about 1,000 times bigger). That is to say those soldier bastards won’t leave the game anytime soon, and Sugimoto and the gang come upon another issue of whether or not to trust Tanigaki at all. With this kind of story, don’t expect anyone a friend even when they’re on your side, and the same could apply for our escape artist.But if there’s another special skill that our escape artist inhabits, it’s his ability to run into trouble in every corner. He bumps into Ushiyama and they engage in the hilarious chase, in which Ushiyama just sweeps off all the barriers with inhuman skills (that involves taking a damn HORSE down Mongo-style takedown). Seems like it’s time for our group to finally meet the prisoners, although with only 1-cour confirmed I am not sure how Golden Kamuy can bring this story to a satisfy conclusion, given that all the events happened so far feel like they just finish its introduction phase and now moving on to the second arc.

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Darling in the Franxx – 17[Eden]

Indeed Franxx appears to be doubling down on a darker more serious tone though I still am wondering if it will truly follow through on this or dismiss it fast and go full on happy ending. Personally I always feel cheated when a series foreshadows dark things to come only to turn tail when it’s time to pay the piper. But Franxx at least looks to be delivering so far and if they do negate all dark tidings and go for a full happy ending that would be quite the betrayal. Anyway in todays episode we get a number of revelations, one of which is that the childcare book that Kokoro has been fascinated with since the beach episode has come back full force. Though I misunderstood Kokoro’s interest in this regard as before I thought her interest was in sex but it appears that her actual interest is in having a child. The logic being that they have a means of leaving something behind for future generations besides fighting and which everyone knowing that there lives have a short expectancy she wishes to leave her mark somehow. I was a bit worried about Mitsuri shunned her after her advances and revealing her intentions but hot damn they actually took a route I thought they wouldn’t. Kokoro and Mitsuri had sex, there is no ambiguity in that for it was shown quite clearly. In fact I would be quite annoyed if they backpedaled this in any way as I am curious to where it leads.

I just hope that book went into good detail over just what Kokoro is in for as if she is oblivious then she has a nasty surprise waiting for her. Childbirth will be pretty brutal if she has no doctors on standby to help her out. Will Franxx intervene or would he see this as interesting experimental material? Speaking of which some recent light has been shed on the nature of “Papa” and the others. I may be misinterpreted this but from the looks of things the leaders of APE are not actually human and are possible alien invaders. They seem to be hinting that Klax are in fact true humanity and APE are alien invaders who have been cloning humans to fight humans. This is quite interesting as it suggests that Humanity has taken on some form of biological evolution in order to fight against the invaders, meanwhile the invaders are seemingly aspiring towards human forms. Either that or these are two branches of humanity, one whom took the path of beastal biological evolution that put them closer to beasts while the other took a path of evolution through technology which pushed them closer to a machine like existence. Both of whom seem to consider themselves “True humans” while the closest thing to actual humans are test tube grown cannon fodder for Franxx. In this case with Dr Franxx I always considered him a human who modified himself into a cyborg but what if it was the other way around and he was a machine that modified himself into a human? For the first time this series has got me interested in the actual world of Franxx which I dismissed as a bit too basic. But now there is quite interesting theming going on.

Not liking the Nines much here though. Of course they are not supposed to be liked but they just seem far too stereotypical cocky and antagonistic. I find it somewhat amusing that despite there egotistical posturing their Franxx piloting style is actually reverse so its funny to see someone so excessively prideful over bending over to pilot a Franxx. But thank god for Ikuno jumping in to slap him once he brought up a touchy subject for her. Indeed they seem to be going hard for a lesbian route for Ikuno which could bring interesting tidings provided it’s handled with care. Care which based on Franxx’s previous record, I don’t think it could provide. As a final note it appears that Hiro is growing blue horns hereby putting the blue Oni theory to near confirmed status and it appears adults go through some emotion damping process which can reverse back into a “puberty” state.

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Megalo Box – 7 [The Road to Death]

Hello everyone, and welcome to the most surprising episode of Megalo Box yet. This week we have family drama, Joe’s declining health and a shocker of an ending. Lets jump in!

So starting from the top, lets talk about this ending. I never thought Megalo Box would pull something like this, with its limited number of episodes. I assumed there would be a basic, linear progression of fights. With this however we now have 2 strong antagonists, or perhaps 2 protagonists. Its difficult to decide where Yuri fits into this, though Mikio’s place is clear. Regardless I am very impressed through brought Joe’s legal citizenship back into question. Mikio was already an interesting opponent, the rich boy with something to prove, but this blackmail really sells his “Anything to win” attitude. I am slightly disappointed that we didn’t get a fight, and might not get one next week, but based on the quality of previous fights, its not that big a loss. Fewer, higher quality fights with intense narrative weight like the inevitable Mikio fight will beat out Samejima any day.

Speaking of Mikio, I have to say, I was impressed with the level of backstory he got. I was only expecting the “Rich boy with something to prove”. Yet we also got an interesting side-plot with him, Yukiko and their company. From what we know, Mikio was passed over for head of the family company, and he wants what he thinks is rightfully his. Hes clearly willing to work for it, designing his own AI Gear (Talk about that later), and fighting in his own matches. Its like he wants to show his AI gear is better than Yukiko’s integrated gear. So theres motivation to fight Yuri right there. Megalonia is basically a “Whose path for the company is better”, which puts Yukiko on Joe’s side in all this. Which is convient when you think that she is perhaps one of the only people who can get Joe a citizenship.

Why do I bring up her getting Joe a citizenship? Well because its obvious what is going to happen. Yukiko wanted Joe to beat Mikio, clearly thought he could. She figured he would be able to knock her brother out of contention, and even Mikio feared it since he had to blackmail Joe. With Joe now unable to compete because of his illegal status, theres only one thing to do. Amend the rules/Law or get him a citizenship. This is probably the Joe’s low-point for the series. I certainly can’t see Yuri being happy about it, as he was looking forward to facing Joe. I am a bit concerned about pacing with all of this though. Somehow Megalo box has to get Joe back into the ring, face off against Mikio and then Yuri in 6 episodes. Certainly possible, but to do it well? Difficult no doubt.

Now, some minor things. First off, AI gear? How is this allowed? Does that not defeat the purpose of boxing, if the Gear is doing the boxing for them? Really the more and more we learn about gear, the more it tries to get involved in the story, the more it just seems out of place. The gear is just a gimmick for “Gearless” Joe. We have yet to see it seriously change anyone, or the differences in gear. Its “Rule of Cool” more than anything else. Other interesting details, I enjoy how Joe’s physical health is getting called into question. I always love to see the lasting effects of a story on a character. The pace of his fights clearly aren’t healthy and its good Megalo Box acknowledges that. Its details like this, or the cool “Che Guevera” treatment Joe is getting that really draws you in.

So all-in-all, an interesting episode with an ending that came out of nowhere. I know I harp on Megalo Box a lot, I have a tendency to do that with everything. But thats because I love anime like Megalo Boxor Steins;Gate. There are so many things I could praise about Megalo Box, from the style of its art in every scene to the undeniably great and unique soundtrack. However, everyone is going to praise those things. Everyone is going to applaud Megalo Box for what it does well, because its simply that good in those areas. As such, I feel someone has to point out where Megalo Box falls short. If only so we can admire the amazing parts all the more, for how they lift up the bad. Its a tough love approach, I know, but I still look forward to Megalo Box every week inspite of it.

See you next week folks! Can’t wait to see how Joe gets out of this one. And look! I went an entire episode without reference Hajime no Ippo! … 

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Hisone no Masotan – 06 [I’ll Shout Your Name]

At one point during this episode I almost felt that Hoshino was just too overboard. Being stubborn is one thing, but when you’re too stubborn you outright hurt others’ feeling without backing down, it’s irritating to watch. The issue with Hoshino, as we come to learn during the flashback, is that piloting an F2 has been her lifelong dream. And she tries, amongst the male-dominated world, to reach that dream. Then this dragon picks her and she determines to push forward to make her dragon a F2 plane. The dragon understands that so he tries to stay in Foxtrot form all the time. It’s a classic abusive relationship if I’ve ever seen one. The main thing is, for Yoshino it’s her desire to fly, not piloting a F2, that hooked her in the first place and their flight together in the end further reminds her of that.

Meanwhile, the other three manage to survive for few days and initially forgets all about their training objective. No big deal, when the dragons are happy they can just take wings and fly off (And eventually they did). These girls encounter the shrine inside the cave with Masotan and other dragons’ symbol in there, so I reckon that this island is a spiritual place where the dragon pilots – white lovers, shrine maidens, whatever exchange some form of mutual relationship with the dragons. They all have the same dream that night of a lady riding a dragon, which I guess for now is either the yogurt old lady or Nao’s mom. Well, we have all the elements in place now: the maidens, the shrine, the dragons, the last thing left is the ceremony itself so let’s see how HisoMaso eventually get into that part.

While I feel the drama and the overall serious tone are just passable, it’s the comedy that fares much better this time. In particular, the comedy duo Hisone and Nao’s puppet head provides some nice gags, including one of the most tragic faux “death” in recent history (Hisone’s face is priceless). The voice acting also work wonderfully well, especially the licking gags of Hisone – just to show you how weird our main protagonist is. Nao and Iboshi’s current crave for kiwi doesn’t really work for me, but it ties its thread well with the final revelation. As of now, I feel HisoMaso just doesn’t have enough of a central plot to make a proper impact, and it relies instead on the gorgeous visuals and quirky character expressions. It’s a nice show to watch and enjoy, but when it’s all done you realize the story doesn’t progress much, and sometimes it feels like the plot just stands still and doesn’t go anywhere at all.

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Hinamatsuri – 07 [Anzu Is a Greeter Now]

At this halfway mark, I want point out that the comedy of Hinamatsuri isn’t as sharp as the first few episodes (except for the segment including Hitomi’s classmates). There’s still absurdist sense of humor, sure, but it doesn’t make me laugh out lout or even make me chuckle. That is to say I come to enjoy the show’s drama much greater. This first short segment about Anzu, for example, hits all the right notes that you just can’t help but want to hug her. Anzu’s first day of work is… full of hearts and wonders, for the lack of better world. Here’s a girl who started from the very bottom of the society, now that her living condition is better (her own room, her own bed), she still appreciates what she had learnt from Yassan and the homeless people. The way she’s still used to her old habits (stunned over the cash till, taking a cold shower, cleaning up the used chopsticks) play mostly for gag, but it hides a sense of sadness under it. One thing for sure is that her first day in the restaurant is a whole lotta fun, and her life is going up from now on.
At least I’m glad that Hina becomes much more active this week. In the second segment, triggered by Nitta’s remark “find a way to make it fun”, she nominates herself to run for student council president, which only two things in mind: improve the lunch meal and more time to nap. Then somehow the lawyer of the big yakuza organization involved and what I find the most “genius” is the way he connects Hina’s two dot-points draft into a sensible and logical argument. Of course after a good meal, everyone would want to sleep, right? Hitomi’s reactions speak volume here, so does Hina’s clueless speech that include stage directions to her speech like they’re the most natural things in the world. This segment is where the static Hina works best for me, her stoned face and mono-tone need to contrast with something as bombastic and out of left field as this. Otherwise, our poster girl can only be suited for mascot.
The dynamic between Nitta and Hina come back in full force in the last section, and I actually quite like the way the direction it went this time. Nitta, for the first time, shares something personal to Hina. Hina and Hitomi take that hint and want to talk Utako into having a date with Nitta. Of course, Hina will have to screw it up in front of Utako since she has absolutely no sense to “taking the hint”, but somehow the date still happens with some unexpected twists. First, Hina breaks her ankle because Nitta’s swinging (Hinamatsuri comes close to screwball comedy here), and second, Utako rejects Nitta out right. It should be a punchline here, but for me this one the punch doesn’t land well, because it drags so much with all the montages of their date with an obvious result. It could work much better if the show includes their conversations instead of this. At least now that Nitta truly regards Hina as his family, so Mother or not, hand puppet or otherwise, it’s all good for now.

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