Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu – 17

Parasyte continues its liesurely Winter stroll, in an episode that even to me, Princess Patience, felt sluggish and uneventful. Sure, there’s an interesting multi-vector battle between parasytes in the beginning, but it takes its time. And then the storyline shifts to the detective and things slow down even more.

Nothing more unnerving than having a woman with half a face and a mouth that’s way too big for your body to ruin a lovely night out! But Tamiya Ryouko doesn’t have much of a choice; her former allies have turned on her, something she could probably have predicted based on her kind’s unswerving logic.

But Ryouko is different. Not only does she have the kid, but a lot more knowledge of the parasyte body, which she uses to her advantage against her foes, making pretty quick work of them…but not until she thoroughly explains how she beat them. Franklin mentioned how while battling the parasytes are very static, and that was more evident to me here, especially when compounded with their emotionless-by-nature dialogue.

Also, as macabre as it may sound, the fact no humans were harmed in this battle, even collaterally, lowered the stakes somewhat. Ryouko hasn’t quite earned the right to be someone I’d route for. I’d sooner they all destroyed each other and leave Shinichi with a couple fewer problems to worry about.

Ryouko returns home to find her baby gone; kidnapped by Kuranomi, so she breaks into Shinichi’s house, goes through his baby pictures, and asks him to meet her at the same park where Kuranomi told her to meet him.

Ryouko then exits Shinichi’s house just when Satomi happens to be outside, hoping for him to be home. It’s very understandable for Satomi to get the wrong idea here (especially when Ryouko says she’s not his mother), but Ryouko also screams “answers.”

Then just as Satomi is wishing and hoping for Shinichi to come back soon, he passes right by her in a bus, and she just happens to see him, and then chases after the bus. Satomi’s luck continues when she arrives at the bus station to find Ryouko and then chases her down. Uhh, what? That’s a lot of timely coincidences to get Satomi involved in one day!

Kuranomi and Ryouko meet at the park, though I’m not sure what Kuranomi wants, but he seems to think no matter what he does, Ryouko will simply shrug it off, because she’s an unfeeling monster. Despite this, he feels the need to have her experience an iota of the grief he has, so he prepares to toss the kid over a balcony, when Ryouko’s maternal instinct kicks in, kills him, and snatches the babe up, surprising not only him, but herself as well.

So yeah, at this point Satomi is simply sitting around in the park. Unaware how much of the episode had progressed, I assumed one of two things would happen: she’d finally witness Shinichi in action (shocking truth!), or she’d get herself killed (far less likely). Surprise: Neither happens. Nothing happens, which was kind of deflating.

Kuranomi is killed, but our time with him was so brief, and his choices often so idiotic (do not kidnap crazy monster’s infant or face he alone, ever), I can’t say I’ll miss him. Truth be told, we only saw his family for one brief scene. In terms of emotional impact, Kana he is not (Kana’s death still gets to me).

Well, here we are: Shinichi and Ryouko facing off once again. Will this be another calm chat that turns more heated when Ryouko pushes Shinichi’s buttons? Will Ryouko tell him her buddies tried to kill her and now she’s alone with her baby and her philosophy? Will the blades come out and they’ll just start hacking at each other, when all of a sudden Satomi strays into their attack radius? I wasn’t able to say this before, but at this point, I’ll take anything, as long as it’s…something.

Spring 2015 Season Preview

Spring is coming. Here’s what will air that interests us. Promo art and info from MAL. Eventually you can check out countdowns to first episodes over at Anichart.net.

Amusingly, the initial batch of Spring show’s we’re either interested in or at least going to give a look is 19, the exact number of shows we’re currently watching (not including Steins;Gate retro reviews). Certainly a less ridiculous field than the 42 of last Fall (of which we reviewed 17 to completion).

We’re not sure yet if we’ll be going back with brackets, or just taking shows as they come, and as always, the choices below are subject to change.

Braverade

1. Sidonia no Kishi: Daikyuu Wakusei Seneki (Knights of Sidonia: The Battle for Planet Nine) – Starchild / Polygon Pictures (Action, Mecha, Sci-Fi, Space, Seinen) Second season of the best anime of Winter 2014 (reviews here). Unlike Aldnoah.Zero, I was actually hoping for a second season. It happens to have an awesome sci-fi title, to boot.

2. Gunslinger Stratos: The Animation – A-1 Pictures, Square Enix, Nitroplus (Action, Sci-Fi) Anime adaptation of Square Enix’s arcade action game Gunslinger Stratos. Urobuchi Gen planning.

3. Plastic Memories  (Plamemo) – Aniplex, Doga Kobo, Mages (Sci-Fi) My first thought: “promo art looks like Infinite Stratos.” Which makes sense because as it turns out they have the same original character designer. Amamiya Sora voices the heroine.

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Braverade + sesameacrylic

4. Gintama’ – Sunrise / TV Tokyo / Aniplex (Action, Comedy, Historical, Parody, Samurai, Sci-Fi, Shounen) – We’ll be taking a short glance at this new version of a wildly popular show. If it’s good, and we have time, we might review it…but we’ll be tourists. Our only exposure to the franchise is when the three main characters had a cameo in SKET Dance 26.

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sesameacrylic

5. Denpa Kyoushi (He Is an Ultimate Teacher) – A-1(?) (Comedy, Romance, School, Shounen, Harem) Genius-turned-NEET-turned-teacher, thanks to his sister. Ono Daisuke will voice the male lead; Asumi Kana will voice his sis.

6. Hibike! Euphonium (Sound! Euphonium) – Kyoto Animation, Lantis, Pony Canyon, Rakuonsha (Music, School) That this is the latest work by the director of Suzumiya Haruhi and Chu2Koi, makes it worth an automatic close look, despite its similarities to A-1’s Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso.

7. Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu  (The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan – Satelight / Lantis / Kadokawa Shoten / The Klock Worx (Comedy, Romance, Shounen, Harem) – This spin-off of the beloved and extremely popular Suzumiya Haruhi series has all the voice actors returning, but isn’t being produced by KyoAni. That being said, Nagato Yuki cemented her place as my favorite character in the franchise after the movie, so the fact she’s the main focus here (and Chihara Minori will voice her) makes me hopeful the change of studio is of no concern.

8. Nisekoi: – Shaft (Comedy, Romance, School, Seinen) – Will Raku end up with Kosaki (or any one girl) at long last? Ehh…Doubtful. But I’ll watch anyway, without committing to any particular pairing, because that’s not really the point of this kind of harem show.

9. Shokugeki no Souma (Food Wars) – J.C. Staff (Ecchi, School, Shounen) – Sounds like a higher-stakes Koufuku Graffiti and Chihayafuru. involves cooking so I’ll be taking a look.

10. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Zoku (Oregairu 2 / My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU 2) – Feel / TBS (Comedy, Romance, School) – Like Nisekoi, I’m familiar with this franchise and it wasn’t bad, so I’ll be watching. Its first season got off to a slow and uninspiring start but got much better.

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sesameacrylic + Oigakkosan

11. Ore Monogatari!! (My Love Story!!) – Madhouse, Nippon Television Network Corporation (Comedy, Romance, Shoujo) A “big awkward guy gets some love” in an industry full of “regular-sized guy gets some love” shows. Worth a look.

12. Punchline – MAPPA (Comedy, Slice of Life) – “follows Yūta Iritatsu, whose spirit has been separated from his body.” Studio and promo art suggest this won’t be a bad-looking show.

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MagicalChurlSukui

13. Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka (DanMachi / Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?) – J.C.Staff / Genco (Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance) This has a long an obnoxious title, but I will be watching this along with Zane (not sure who’s reviewing). The director has comedic chops (Kill Me Baby!) but that was a short. Here’s hoping it’s not terrible?

14. Owari no Seraph – Wit Studio (Drama, Shounen, Vampire, Supernatural) – Pros: Those genres are up my alley…and it co-stars Hayami Saori. Con: There’s already a second season planned, so this will be a long commitment.

15. Re-Kan! – Pierrot Plus (Comedy, School, Seinen) – Kido Ibuki voices the lead.

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Oigakkosan

16. Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV) 2nd Season – Ufotable (Action, Fantasy, Magic, Shounen, Supernatural) Like regular blade works, only unlimited. Having lost Saber, Shirou will retire to Okinawa with Rin and they’ll spend their days working on their tans.

17. Triage X – Xebec, DAX Production, Nippon Columbia (Action, Adventure, Ecchi, School, Shounen) – Boob Hospital.

18. Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo – Lidenfilms (Comedy, Mystery, Ecchi, Romance, School, Shounen, Harem, Supernatural)

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Braverade + Oigakkosan

19. Ninja Slayer From Animation – Trigger (Action) – Trigger’s third TV show after Kill la Kill and InoBato. Will have future ninjas in it, and a theme song from Boom Boom Satellites.

Yuri Kuma Arashi – 05

When Lulu decided to join Ginko on her grand journey to the other side of the wall, it seemed like the most noble thing in the world. And indeed, the episode opens with Ginko waking Kureha up with a gentle lick to the face…and Kureha shockingly licks back.

But we’re only seeing what Ginko wants to see. In reality, progress is slower than frozen honey: far from thinking of them as anything resembling friends or lovers, Kureha sees them as nothing but intruders and pests.

Of course, this isn’t just because GInko and Lulu are bears. Kureha doesn’t want any friends anymore, ever. Sumiko was The One, The Only, friend she ever needed or will need. To befriend anyone else is to dishonor her memory and “give up on love”; not to mention it would be super-scary.

So when her teacher tells her to face reality—that Sumiko is gone, and must be replaced by new friends in order for Kureha to fit in—Kureha outright refuses, and in doing so may well be sealing her fate. But Kureha doesn’t seem to care anymore.

This week we delve a little deeper into Ginko’s past with Kureha and her mom; the photo already shows us that a young Ginko in bear form was adopted by the two at some point. We learn how that happened, in one of the series’ most striking images—a flashback eleven years to  snow-covered battlefield littered with dead bear soldiers, and Ginko close to joining them.

Suddenly, the warm hands of a five-year-old Kureha are upon her, telling her they’re friends and she loves her—and that’s pretty much it. From that point on, Ginko has loved her back with everything she’s got, and no matter what happened between that day and the present one, it wasn’t enough to destroy that love, or Ginko’s determination.

However, through the loss of her mom and Sumiko, Kureha has forgotten that fateful encounter. It’s up to Ginko to try to get her to remember, but she can’t just out and say it, or she and Lulu will lose their human forms.

And all Kureha wants to remember is Sumiko. Making friends will only create memories that will cause her memories of Sumiko to fade with time. When her classmate Harishima Kaoru tearfully apologizes on behalf of the rest of the class for excluding her, and begs her forgiveness, she has none to give. Kureha’s a stick-to-it kind of gal; if the class is going to start something, they’d sure as hell finish it.

Back home, Ginko and Lulu continue to flail about Kureha’s house against her desire for them to be there. Revealing aprons and a smorgasbord don’t interest her in the least.

Yet Ginko continues to see and hear what she wants to, at least until the fantasy fades away and she sees and hears what really is: Kureha wants nothing to do with her, and if an approach exists that will make her remember, Ginko and Lulu haven’t cracked it yet.

While the bears pull out all the stops for Kureha in vain, Kaoru and the class does the same in helping her replant the garden in preparation for her birthday. And where the bears fail, Kureha’s class get her to lower her defenses a little by killing her with kindness.

Then the pretty, laid-back flutes and harps are replaced by a harsher electronic theme as Kaoru and the class reveals it’s all an act. Of course it is. And Kureha’s instincts were correct. They’re still fully committed to making her invisible by naming her the Number One Evil. Kureha’s teacher may have been willing to exercise some patience with her, but her peers aren’t so understanding.

Ginko and Lulu catch on to all of this, and go to Yuri Court to argue their case. The defense attorney is all for them protecting the girl they love, but the prosecutor believes they’re only using Kureha as an excuse to eat girl after invisible girl. When Life Sexy asks Ginko what her true goal is, she confesses: she wants Kureha, all to herself.

It’s something Lulu must have suspected, but that doesn’t make it hurt less to hear it out loud. Ginko also brings up a “serious crime” (killing Kureha’s mother, perhaps, which is why she has that star pendant?”) from which there’s no going back. Life Sexy approves their Yuri, and off they go.

Ginko and Lulu confront and threaten Kaoru late at night at the garden, believing they’re in control. But that, too, proves a fantasy, as at the end of the day, the surge of passion that overcomes a charging bear at its seemingly terrified prey will make that bear blind to the trap set before it. Ginko gets snapped up in that trap, and Kaoru bears a predatory grin of her own.

In obviously immense pain (and immense trouble), Ginko calls out, not for Lulu, who’s right there, but for Kureha, who last time we checked wanted nothing to do with her. With that brutal SNAP of the trap, her grand mission is in tatters. Sure, it’s a cliffhanger, but one I’m fully invested in.

Kamisama Hajimemashita 2 – 04

Nanami is given a warm welcome in the Netherworld (and a tray of food she can’t eat if she wants to leave), but her host Lady Izunami makes it clear as crystal that she’s not taking the human back with her; he’s already dead. Nanami’s response: thems may be the rules, but she won’t accept them. She’s going to do everything she can to get out of here with Kirihito. To that end, she eats the food, making her an official resident with free roam.

It’s yet another selfless act by the benevolent Nanami, but the fact remains she knows not who (or what) it is she’s sticking her neck out to save. That’s what makes Nanami such a promising god: she doesn’t care who or what he is; she’s going to save him, and that’s that.

As she searches for him, Kirihito finds himself back in a darkness similar to the kind he found himself in for centuries after the gods cast him into it, after he had probably made such a nuisance of himself that he gave them no choice (what with all the murdering). We learn how he got his human body: the real Kirihito offered it to him in exchange for delivering a message to his mother.

In spite of himself (he only agrees on a whim), Akura-oh is so floored by being back in the living world of light and warmth, he holds up his end of the bargain, apologizing on Kirihito’s behalf. Not surprisingly, Kirihito’s mom, who has no reason to suspect the boy in the hospital bed is anything other than her son, doesn’t give it a second thought. All that matters to her is that he’s okay.

Unfortunately, Kirihito’s ‘goodness’ doesn’t end up rubbing off on Akura-oh, who spends his time working tirelessly at the very limits of what a human is capable of doing to get his old form back, including gaining shikigami. But now he’s back in the darkness, right on the edge of panic…when Nanami suddenly opens the door to the cell where he’s being held.

Turns out Nanami is on a confidence streak, and her talismans are proving useful not only in finding Kirihito, but the Netherworld’s exit as well, which is good, because Izunami sends her cat familiar after them. Unfortunately, the War God has sealed that exit. Fortunately, Tomoe has learned that Nanami is lost in the netherworld, and has come to rescue her.

And rescue her he does, but not before Kotetsu hits him with the shrine’s lucky mallet, turning him back into a yokai so he can overpower the war god (which he’d have never been able to do had he remained a familiar). On the one side, I’m a little bummed, Nanami couldn’t save herself here, but on the other, she did put her life on the line to save Kirihito—more than once. She did good. Along with Kirihito waking up in the hospital (a recurring scene this Winter), Nanami and Tomoe’s reunion is a heart-lifting moment.

That leaves Kirihito, whom Nanami hadn’t really thought much of beyond being a human in need of her help, but whom Tomoe immediately knows is not a human, but something else in a dead human’s body. Kirihito realizes pretty early his old fox friend Tomoe is Nanami’s familiar, and even gets to lay eyes on him before passing out. I wonder how long he’ll keep his true identity from Tomoe, who is now a yokai again.

Junketsu no Maria – 04

Junketsu no Maria’s many factions kept conflict relatively light this week. Moreover, while we learned more about their agendas and motivations, a great deal was implied but left unspoken. (or unknown to all the parties)

It was a remarkably good episode, with at least one life/death scene as emotionally resonant as last week’s A/Z. If you were expecting a simple ecchi thrill and some neat period action, you could be excused for being disappointed: episode four layers on some legitimately complex sociopolitical drama with a healthy side of metaphysical discussion.

On the surface: events were densely packed but straight forward. Villandrando’s morally deficient mercenaries attempt to plunder a town again, even going so far as to have their way with its younger women, but are thwarted by Maria and Vivi.

Bernardo the monk gauges Maria’s area of control and plots his counter moves, which appears to involve starting up a fresh war.

Viv the English witch visits Maria, introduces us to the idea that the Witches profit from war in the same way as the mercenaries, that they oppose Maria’s meddling, and gives us a few naughty/no-weenier jokes.

And Ezekiel evolves from a yelly child with a black and white view of Maria’s actions, to a philosophically conflicted neutral, after meeting Ann’s grandmother and learning some (but not all) of what Maria did to help the people during the Plague.

…So a lot happened and that’s not even addressing Joseph’s evening with Galfa, where he appears to be working as an unspoken intermediary between the mercs and the lord and the exchange of money-owed and the natural reduction of marauding that being payed brings.

Scratching below the surface: several elements elude to Maria’s god-like-ness, and the unintentional consequences such comparisons can bring. It can’t be a coincidence that (Arch Angel Michael’s envoy) Ezekiel is so much like Maria’s familiars nor the fact that Ann and other’s pray to Maria for safety AND pray for Maria’s safety.

After learning that Maria saved Ann’s town from the plague, and that the kind and devout Ann would never have been born otherwise, even Ezekiel admits the people obviously need Maria. She even wonders aloud if Maria could be a god to the people before banishing the thought in terror.

What Ezekiel does not learn, is that the town that was destroyed by plague wasn’t ‘ignored’ by Maria, but rather cast her out in the name of God. That the entire town died for their faith and yet, Maria still visits their graves to this day and spreads violet flowers in their memory.

All the better, Maria herself is quiet on these matters. We see her flash backs, we see her facial expressions and we understand a sliver of her emotions, but we are spared narration or monologue that would spell it all out.

Treating us like adult viewers aside, the whole conflict between Maria, the church and… possibly even God, is fantastically constructed so not even Maria entirely realizes why it’s all happening. She has no interest in followers, nor power, and the church is not against the peasants being left in peace and people not dying in anguish.

However, when God doesn’t save them and Maria does, the people’s faith in her rises — they even pray to her. Whether this actually matters to God or Michael is besides the point: it matters to the church because it deflates their deity’s value.

What earned it a 9: If not obvious above, I found the “we will show you the evidence but not tell you exactly what it means” approach to JnM’s storytelling very satisfying.

Additionally, we learned about more factions and their agendas and see the rise of technology (the gun), which can be interpreted as yet another faction in itself. Think of it as the democratization of destructive power, accessible even to the peasants.

…and using it can even shut up a messenger of God…

Why it didn’t get a 10: while harmless, and maybe even charming, Viv’s lets deal with your virginity scene was mostly throw away. Similarly, until mid episode, Ezekiel’s over the top rage is played for laughs, which weren’t that laugh worthy.

It’s a minor grievance and I appreciate that the creators are putting it in here to throw casual viewers a genre-bone, but it lacked any comedic punch needed to counter balance the serious tones of the rest of the episode.

Also, it was somewhat lite on action and Viv and the Dragon in the opening battle have some… wonky… moments in their rendering.

Don’t misunderstand — the designs are fun and JnM actually takes risks occasionally in the angles it renders them from. There was just some frump here and there.

Deep thoughts behind us, Joseph and Maria’s coupling is obviously the long term goal. Joseph is also a virgin, also unhurried to lose it, and also working towards a more peaceful world. Also, Mary and Joseph from the bible anyone? (duh)

It will be interesting to see where Galfa the mercenary ends up in all of this. Unlike Joseph, who implies he has a life goal but says nothing of it, Galfa is straight up front: he will climb his way up the pile of corpses to wealth, power, and freedom. That doesn’t sound likely but we’ll have to wait and see what alliances he forms (Viv?) or what his selfishness will bring.

Like Death Parade’s fourth outing, Junkestu no Maria very nearly landed a perfect score, which has got to be completely insane when you consider how ‘unlikely’ this kind of show is to be any good at all.

Something refreshing lurks here for everyone to enjoy, albeit leaning more on the thoughtful side of things than action. Regardless, you deserve more anime this good, and anime this good deserves more than a low 7 average on MAL ;)

Gundam: G no Reconguista – 18

This week: A bunch of people tell other people to look at the massive and magnificent Kashiba Mikoshi, which delivers Photon Batteries to Sankt Porto for Earth Distribution, or something. Did I mention it’s massive? Seriously, it’s mentioned enough without it actually DOING anything that it would make for a decent drinking game.

Yeah, GAVAN! Still, that is one tough phone. Is that the new SU-Cordist Galaxy 7? It’s supposed to be able to withstand a sustained Mack Knife beam attack!

The Kashiba Mikoshi was apparently a collaborative effort between H.R. Giger and Frank Gehry. AIDA IS NOT IMPRESSED. Her critique is actually pretty cogent, unlike so much about this show.

OMG IT’S A COGENCY SPREE!!!

Gaaaah…DON’T ALL TALK AT ONCE.

O Hai Manny! Manny’s aboard, with Noredo.Manny is towing Mask’s line about the Towasangans letting everyone go home safely if they just hand over the G-Self. That ain’t happening, since it belongs to the Rayhunton siblings, Bellri and Aida.

…CAT FIGHT!

Noredo and Manny may be high schoolers whose men are on opposite sides of…whatever this conflict is supposed to be, but it’s the older Mick Jack and BARARA who are acting like idiots.

Bell and Rara block Steer’s view of space with a dummy meteor, so an iPad with a external camera feed is set up so she can see where she’s going. But the dummy is also blocking weapons fire so I guess it’s okay. Still, not ideal piloting conditions.

I love how it’s kind of common knowledge in the Towasangan military that Rockpie has only risen as high as he has because he’s doinking Mashner. SU-NEPOTISM.

Bellri Zenam: He’s not a genius and he isn’t tough…but he is a raging xenophobe.

AWWWW, the Megafauna looks adorable nestled within the bosom of the Crescent Ship. Like a baby orca!

“The Grid. A digital frontier…”

That doesn’t mean it’s not a joke. Bellri Zenam: Still not a genius.

Still, he and Aida have a nice brother-sister moment here, in this strange engine room of a ship built by their forebears.

Bell also managed to get the Crescent Ship’s engines working normally…by dipping his medallion like an ATM card. And the Crescent Ship is probably the coolest-looking ship in the show thus far..nice shade of green, too. Here at RABUJOI, we call that shade “Fine Green.”

Yoru no Yatterman – 04

Yoru no Yatterman is all about fake outs and call backs this week. There’s a functional story that further emphasizes how terrible it is to live in Yatter Kingdom, and how broken the citizens are too, but bait, swap, then call back was most of what it was doing.

There’s no other way to say this but Yatterman Nights isn’t compelling… and it really should be. While the treatment is unique and the academic structure has my attention, the methodical pass, rough visuals, and total bleakness makes it unenjoyable to watch.

Bait and Swaps: The episode opens with an un-origin story for Honorable Oda, but then leaves Oda out of the rest of the episode. Sure, the unexplained reason why the party doesn’t eat him and his spoiled nature are ‘called back’ early on… but he has no impact on this week’s story. He’s not even visible for most of the episode.

Similarly, Boyaki and Tonzra attempt to snake-oil people with ‘magic walking sticks’ after the opening credits because they are broke. The walking sticks themselves may get a call back (Tonzra uses two like swords during the fight sequence) and ‘money’ is called back via wanted posters for the team, but Doronbo’s need for money never does.

In fact, it’s hard to see why money would have value in the Yatter Kingdom in the first place. The Yattermen ‘tax’ the citizens, but there doesn’t seem to be anything for the citizens to buy — and the Yattermen just take what they want (including the citizens themselves) whenever they want it.

This makes the entire plot thread come off as superfluous — arbitrary — and if there’s one thing a slow-moving show built around the intellectual deconstruction of a genre and nostalgia for retro-brands doesn’t need, it’s that.

And then this episode is also a hot springs episode. At least for a few moments. Thankfully there’s no fan service (which would be super creepy since it would feature a little girl, a helpless blind girl and a pregnant woman and three gender non-specific monkeys) but this scene too feels unsupported.

Perhaps it’s here to poke fun at the peeking scenes? Perhaps it’s here only to give a call-forward hook for Doronbo’s Monkey Mech in the final fight sequence? Maybe it’s just here to make us ask why it is here?

The meat and potatoes of the episode revolves around a couple facing separation at the hands of the Yattermen, and everyone including the pregnant wife force themselves to be happy about it.

It drives home the point that this society is truly broken, that nice people are traitorous through fear and all the normal reasons the good will bow before the bad. It’s so over the top that it works (happy song and dance for the condemned anyone?) even if it isn’t especially interesting or unique a concept in dystopian dramas.

Then there’s a stylish fight between General Goro and Doronbo, Doronbo loses, and Doronjo finally realizes that Yatter Kingdom is not heaven but a literal hell.

The fight is stylish, albeit goofy. Perhaps I felt it was drawn out a bit but Tonzra x Goro’s sword fight more or less makes up for it. Additionally, it’s implied that Goro even mistreats the Yatter robots, as he’s seen tazering the Yatterpup mech for not finishing the Doronbo monkey mech quickly enough.

But it really was no fun to watch. Doronbo’s betrayal at the hands of the good couple was obvious. The Battle (sword fight excluded) was more weird and understated than exciting. The unending bleakness just sucks the life out of it.

Given how strong Death Parade was this week, it’s easy to see how much a richer (more expensive) art style can pull a show through the weaker gaps in its setup period. More importantly, it shows how a show can spend its money effectively. Death Parade is barely animated, after all, but the style sucks us in regardless.

By comparison, Yatterman is struggling to even make me sigh in disappointment…

Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo – 17

Yeah…he’s definitely going to trip on that screwdriver

While the idyllic limbo of the DRAGON world just suffered a brutal assault, it remains an idyllic limbo, one where Ange must decide whether to stay in, or return home. Tusk, committed to being her knight, will support whatever decision she makes. This is what a knight does: his life is no longer his own.

Ultimately, Ange decides she has to go home. Messed up as it is, it’s where she truly belongs, and it’s where her beloved Momoka is. Salamandinay grudgingly accepts her decision to return, worried that they may have to fight against each other again, but Ange says whatever else she does moving forward, she’s done fighting the DRAGON, so Salako needn’t worry.

Vivian is caught between wanting to stay with her mom and going back home to her friends/sisters-in-arms, but her mother uses a nifty analogy to set Vivi’s mind at ease. She’s grown out of her baby clothes, so it stands to reason she’s grown out of her baby home as well.

Ange, Tusk (whom she finally refers to as her knight, to his knight delight), and Vivi follow the massive DRAGON force through the singularity into Embryo’s world, and find themselves far off course. Turns out Riza’s intelligence was falsified, and they teleported right into an giant ambush.

It becomes painfully apparent Ange’s world didn’t stand still while she was gone; the remnants of Arzenal First Troop have picked their sides. Salia has gone over to Embryo (and Ange even wonders out loud whether Salia’s sleeping with the creep), and in return, she’s been given a ring and a black Villkiss all her own; finally able to be the leading heroine Jill never let her be.

Chris and Ersha are also with her; the former not surprisingly, the latter, a little. They went over to Embryo despite the fact they knew DRAGONs are people, like Vivian, so it’s not like they were in the dark, but it’s also important to remember that all three of these girls were orphans born and raised within Arzenal’s walls, and remain children, who have yearned for a father figure for a long time. It’s understandable they’d be taken in by Embryo’s rhetoric.

Another day at the office for these three

That Salia is now the captain also means she gets to give formations magical girl designations like “Shining Rose Triangle!”, something Chris isn’t that on board with. It’s a great character beat for all three of these former allies.

Embryo orders Salia’s team to take Ange into custody, but Tusk and Vivi aren’t having it, with Vivi pulling off an awesome stunt by dropping out of the sun and C4’ing the cables. Salia’s squad regroups and grabs Ange again, but she’s able to activate its teleporter again (by hitting it and yelling, naturally), just as Tusk and Vivi fly into its radius.

They end up back on the abandoned Arzenal Island, where it all began, with no more of an idea about what the heck they should do next. Then a catalyst for that decision comes ashore in the form of Momoka, Hilda, and Roselie, in frogsuits that give them a start at first, but quickly morphs into elation.

Again, this group makes sense. These three were able to escape aboard Jill’s sub, Hilda and Roselie were able to patch things up where Hilda and Chris weren’t, and Momoka was going to wait for Ange as long as it took, like Hachiko in a maid outfit. In a very Hilda Power Move, she grabs Tusk’s junk and concedes, a bit incredulously but genuinely, that he’s a man after all, as he was able to keep Ange alive to this point.

So where do we go from here? I think it’s probably a given that a world with Mana is unsustainable, and as difficult as it will be, that world has to end. Maybe Jill’s resistance and the DRAGONs can team up against Embryo? Could there be a peaceful resolution? Will Embryo go quietly, or break out some heretofore MEGAmail? Cross Ange still has eight eps to sort it all out.

Koufuku Graffiti – 04

This week’s KG cold open is the strangest yet, with Ryou biting the head off an Onigiri Girl in a toon-shaded dream sequence. It also heralds the beginning of the strangest episode of KG to date, though only really in terms of format.

Ryou had gotten used to the routine of Kirin coming over on the weekends to eat her food and keep her company. But with classes cancelled for a week, Kirin ditching Ryou for her parents’ reservation to a three-star Chinese restaurant, and Shiina getting sick after getting drenched, Ryou finds herself all alone for the first time since the beginning of the show.

That was when, if you recall, Ryou wasn’t very good at cooking, because she wasn’t putting any love into it. The scenes of Ryou alone in her house again (and even making a second serving of breakfast for a non-existant person) really do convey her profound loneliness and depression. And even though Kirin said she could text her anytime, she doesn’t respond to any of Ryou’s texts.

Ryou wisely chooses to get out of that house before she goes mad, and decides to hit the library for some cookbooks. She hadn’t been there since her grandma used to take her, and it’s here where Ryou learns a dark truth: her grandma used to suck at cooking hardcore. It wasn’t until Ryou started staying with her that she checked out cooking for beginners books and honed her craft. She also modified the recipes in the books to cater to Ryou’s tastes, “cooking with love”, as it were.

Ryou also hits up the corner store by the library where she and her grandma always used to go to indulge on pre-packaged food and drink. (The store has the same shopkeep who looks exactly the same). Overwhelmed by choice, she goes with her standby corner store lunch of onigiri, popcorn chicken, OJ, and a creme puff for desert. Not a bad set, if you ask me.

As she goes to town, SHAFT-style, she realizes that the very same food she used to enjoy so much as a little kid is food she still enjoys today, only now, with her refined palate, she gains an even deeper appreciation for the tastes and textures. And while she may be eating alone, the mere fact she’s thinking of her loving grandma while enjoying the meal makes it that much tastier.

The lunch cheers her up, and clears away the rain clouds. Ryou commits herself to becoming a great cook for Kirin the way her grandma became one for her, starting with predicting—correctly—that even though Kirin just had Chinese food, she’ll still want to try Ryou’s gyoza. Especially since the restaurant had tiny portions and Kirin is looking forward to Ryou stuffing her.