Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro – 07 – Senpai Unleashed

Naoto knows there’s a summer festival going on, and he knows he wants to go with Nagatoro, but instead of simply texting or calling her, he plays video games and waits for something to happen. When that doesn’t work, he goes to the festival alone, hoping to run into her by chance.

For his passivity he is punished with Gamo-chan and Yosshi for company, though if you ask me, he lucked out, as the two of them are cuties in their own right, even if they insist on putting a literal leash on him. They send a pic of the captured Paisen to Nagatoro, knowing she won’t be able to resist rushing over to reclaim her “pet.”

Of course, “pet” is just a code word for “boy she likes”, and Gamo is well aware of this, making Nagatoro fight to get Paisen back by playing various festival games. While shooting corks at prizes, Nagatoro wonders out loud if Senpai was waiting for her to invite him, then says very directly that if there’s somewhere he wants to go with someone (her), he could always try asking them (again, her).

After Gamo doesn’t accept Nagatoro’s win “by quality” for winning the biggest prize, Nagatoro bribes Yosshi and the girls part ways for the evening. Really, Gamo and Yosshi are giving their friend some time alone with her pe…the boy she likes. She swipes some of his takoyaki; she pops some cotton candy in his mouth…it feels like a date.

Naoto thinks dating requires people to “go through the proper procedures”, but the only procedures are if the two people like each other and want to hang out alone together for the purposes of learning more about each other. That’s really it; it’s not complicated!

He’s saved by the bang of a firework from having to overtly take Nagatoro’s hand when she holds it out, but when she almost gets swept away by the crush of people, he takes her forcefully by the wrist and leads her to a viewing spot he remembers from elementary school, the last time he saw fireworks live. Nagatoro is surprised….and flustered.

When she tries to mess with him by accusing him of taking her somewhere dark to do “something”, Naoto, who knows she has a tendency to be shy at times, nails her down, asking what, pray tell, she might be insinuating, exactly. It’s the first time he counters her virgin-shaming by pointing out that she’s not exactly Gene Simmons either!

When she says “grabbing hold of her and kissing her”, it basically confirms her bark is stronger than her bite when it comes to sexual stuff. It’s a most welcome challenge from Naoto in what’s steadily becoming a more balanced relationship with each passing episode.

And just in case anyone thinks Naoto is mistaken about Nagatoro’s shyness regarding hanky-panky, when she moves in to force a kiss on him, a giant red heart-shaped firework reveals other couples fully making out, the two are equally scandalized and skitter away.

The final sequence involves Naoto passing by when he notices Nagatoro having lunch with her whole “family”, including the rarely-seen, also tanned Sakura. He observes them from behind a tree like David Attenborough watching jaguars, but then two eyeless guys roll in and try to get Nagatoro to go out. One even  puts his arm around her, and she’s clearly not into it.

Naoto tries to move in for a closer look, but steps on a twig, a sound all the others notice. While he initially wavers like a wind dancer at a car dealership when asked what he’s doing there, he steels himself, looks straight at Nagatoro, and says “Let’s Go!” When the guys try to get him to repeat himself, Nagatoro returns the favor for getting her out of an uncomfortable situation, and replies “Let’s go, Senpai.”

Gamo is also all about getting out of there, and Yosshi—who we see is also clearly not interested in those guys in the least—follow Nagatoro’s lead and head out. Sakura has no choice but to abandon the guys and follow her girlfriends.

Naoto may feel like he doesn’t “fit in” at all with these loud, brazen, slightly boorish girls. But it’s clear they don’t feel the same way. They’d much rather hang out with him—whether to mess with him or not—than those boring,  faceless goons. Even Sakura notes his weird “aura”, while Nagatoro goes along with all of the ragging on the boy the four of them explicitly chose over two others who weren’t as fun.

But all Naoto needs to really pay attention to is Nagatoro’s expression when their eyes meet. She couldn’t be happier he rescued her, and that he’s by her side right here and now. This was another instance of things just working out, but hopefully in the near future he works up the nerve to actually ask her to go somewhere. If she’s free, here’s no way in hell she’ll ever say no!

Episode 7 “Senpai” Count: 22 (+8 “Paisens”)
Total: 257

Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song – 09 – Diva’s Final Curtain

Matsumoto, always entertaining when thrown for a loop, finds himself speaking to Antonio through Ophelia, as he decides the best way to fulfill his mission to support her was to become her, sparing her the burden of fame and the pursuit of perfection, but also sparing her an independent existence. He considers his mission far more noble than Matsumoto’s designs to prevent her suicide, though he might not say that if he knew the bigger picture.

Speaking of that, Kakitani’s youth is promptly explained: he’s an AI copy of the human, and his mission is to get an answer he couldn’t from his teacher, which only Vivy could provide. That means infecting the captured Diva with a custom logic palette that “doesn’t belong in this era” which, throughout the episode, slowly erases Diva’s personality, eventually leaving only Vivy behind to answer him.

Thankfully, it’s a slow countdown, and while it is technically a ticking clock, because it’s only one of several spinning plates in this arc finale, it feels earned rather than cliched. That it is an inevitability even Matsumoto’s hacking skillz cannot override also adds gravitas to every moment Diva is on screen, because they’ll be her last.

It also assures that the titular Vivy we know and love, who can neither act like a human nor sing half as well as Diva, will ultimately return. It occurs to me that at the conclusion of every previous arc, we didn’t just say goodbye to one of Vivy’s sisters, but a part of Vivy as well, as her interactions with them helped her grow, both as a songstress and a person.

This time we don’t just say goodbye to a part of Vivy, but an entire alternate version of her, who lived for sixty years. It’s a tough loss…but before she goes Diva makes sure she puts absolutely everything she’s got in all the time she has left to be the best temporary partner to Matsumoto he could ask for…and vice versa.

While packed with drama, pathos, tragedy and romance, Wit Studio flexes its muscles like never before in this episode, as we cut between the parallel battles, one of the more abstract electronic variety, one more down-and-dirty hand-to-hand combat, but both equally gorgeous an awesome to watch unfold.

That Kakitani is also an AI means both he and Diva can take the fight to levels humans would not be able to survive, while Matsumoto manages to copy himself into enough cubes to fight his battle with Antonio while supporting Diva. Compare this to Antonio, who happily accepted Kakitani’s help but is otherwise not working towards the same mission, making them inherently weaker against a united front.

Among other Kakitani’s surprises is an elaborate arm cannon (always a sharp feature when going on a timeline-bending crusade to avenge his mentor—and a special knife that seems to act as an EMP, deactivating the Matsumoto cubes aiding Diva.

All the while, Diva tries to impress upon Kakitani the fact that she’s not Vivy, and has no answers for him he’ll find satisfying. When she says she puts everything she has into her singing to make people happy, that includes everything about Vivy, despite her knowing next to nothing about her.

On the Antonio side of things, Matsumoto says he almost turned into him, discarding his partner as part of his “perfect calculations”. Looking at what’s become of Antonio, he’s not glad he didn’t eliminate her. As for his mission, it was never specifically to stop Ophelia’s suicide; it was to carry out the Singularity Project with his partner.

Even taking over Ophelia couldn’t satisfy Antonio, because no matter how happy the crowds were with his performances, he always knew he wouldn’t be able to match the power of the true Ophelia’s singing. In fact, it irked him that their standards for excellence were so low, resenting the very people it was Ophelia’s mission to make happy.

The Matsumoto cubes manage to hack both Antonio and Kakitani and disable both, and transfers Antonio back into his own clunky body. It’s only then in his last moments that he admits that all he really wanted was for Ophelia to sing for him and no one else. Ophelia, regaining consciousness before shutting down, admits she only wanted to sing for him; to make him smile.

In the end, their mutual love and devotion to each other corrupted their missions. In true Shakespearian tragic fashion, it was a love that could never be. In that same vein, the moment Kakitani uploaded that logic palette, Diva was a version of Vivy that could never be, even though she did a bang-up job serving as Matsumoto’s partner. Before Kakitani shuts down, he tries to twist the knife once more, telling Diva “there were humans who suffered because you existed!”

That line might’ve worked on Vivy, but it doesn’t faze Diva that much. And in true Diva fashion, she gives one last snap and tells Matsumoto she’s going to use her last five or so minutes of existence doing what she was built to do: dazzle the stage, put her heart into her singing, and make everyone in attendance happy to be there. As she performs, she simultaneously opens a dialogue with Vivy within the Construct.

In this lovely parallel scene, their positions couldn’t be better illustrated, as Diva is both on stage and in the brightly lit classroom, while Vivy is relegated to a dark, shadowy, morose office. The pair lean against the same door, and Diva says she hears how Vivy had been struggling with putting her heart into her singing. She says the answer is to simply to hear the song she’s singing now, in her final performance, as in the Construct she slowly dissolves away into cybernetic oblivion.

And yet, as Vivy opens the door and steps into the light, then wakes up on stage to a deliriously ecstatic crowd cheering the song Diva just sang, Vivy still doesn’t understand. Then again, she only just woke back up; maybe she needs a few decades to process what she heard and what it means. Thanks to Diva, she has her existence back, which means anything is possible for her. As long as she sticks with her partner Matsumoto, who promised Diva he’d take care of her.

Slime 300 – 07 – Total Submission

Halkara is in trouble. Accidental or not, she assaulted the Demon King, who is still out cold, and the court is not forgiving about that kinda thing, so she’s on death row! Azusa and her new found family work to get themselves and Halkara out of the mess she made, because what is family for?

Laika reveals she can transform into a huggable mini-dragon, and flies off to gather some medicinal herbs. Azusa whips up an analeptic that is sure to wake Percora up—the only problem is how to get to her. Beelz sends Vania with the palace blueprints, and disguises Azusa in sexy demon doctor cosplay.

The courtiers and their burly guards are not convinced by the getup, but it matters little as the Witch of the Highlands is able to easily overpower everyone standing between her and Pecora’s bedchamber. She’s about to administer the medicine when Pecora suddenly wakes up and headbutts her.

Azusa insists the foul-smelling green liquid is not poison, but Pecora insists she prove her innocence by beating her in a duel and not killing her. The Demon King blows the side off her own palace and launches a fusillade of lightning-quick strikes, hitting nothing but air as Azusa expertly dodges.

When Peco taunts her opponent by saying an elf’s life is riding on the outcome, Azusa goes on the offensive, shooting herself high into the air, then striking Pecora’s giant sword with a satisfying BOOOONG, sending it flying out of her arms. When it comes down, it shatters into a thousand shards.

It’s at this point that the battle suddenly takes a turn for the amorous. Pecora lost the duel, but she actually won, because it was actually a test of Azusa’s strength and worthiness to be Pecora’s “Dear Sister”. For a while now, Pecora has yearned for someone stronger than her to worship and obey.

With this in mind, the Demon King makes Azusa touch her face and order her with a dignified big-sister tone to free Halkara. When Azusa does so, Pecora practically melts with satisfaction. Who knew the Demon King’s greatest ambition was to simp for a formidable domme?

When Azusa and Pecora have tea together, Pecora mentions how she read (perhaps in a yuri manga) about how an older sister kisses her younger sister, and wants to give it a try. They’re all alone, so Azusa doesn’t see the harm in giving the Demon King a chaste peck on the cheek.

The thing is, from the way the scene is animated and Pecora’s reactions, it hardly appears chaste to Halkara, Laika, the twins, and Rosalie. Halkara for one is ready to immediately accept her master’s preference for women and wish her well, but Azusa clears things up by giving her two daughters their first kisses, who then kiss her back. Kisses for everybody!

Pecora isn’t done with the surprised, as at the awards ceremony she not only welcomes Laika onto the dais with Azusa, but presents Flatorte, giving all three awards for peace. That’s when things again get a little kinky, as Pecora orders Flatorte to allow Azusa to touch her horns.

For a Blue Dragon, there is no more powerful gesture of total submission, but Flatorte allows it. Little does Azusa know that by doing so, she’s bound Flatorte to her for life, just as dragon knights once bonded with dragons they bested. On the ride home aboard Vania, the leviathan laughs about an old joke, sending honey water flying.

Flatorte proves her fealty and absolute devotion to protecting Azusa by shielding her from the honey water shower, necessitating a bath. There, Azusa gives Flatorte her one and only order: that she think for herself, act of her own free will, and stop awating her orders.

To Flatorte, an order to be free seems contradictory, but it doesn’t matter, because it’s an order from her master. She obeys, and later enjoys some quality time in Azusa’s lap, later broken up by an envious Laika.

A red and blue dragon living together under one roof isn’t going to be easy, but it’s not going to be dull either, and their shared love for their master should ensure their discord will only ever go so far, and may even soften into amity. However it goes, Azusa’s harem family has grown once more.

Summer 2021 Season Guide (Updating)

“Pleasure Boats On a Summer Evening Near Ryogoku Bridge”, by Kitagawa Utamaro, 1802-1804.

Summer Comin’. As usual, we’re a little late in listing out the series we’ll be taking a look at. As you can see, there’s plenty of choices, and many of the titles are as long as the days are going to get.

Assuming 86 and Tokyo Revengers take a season off before their second cours, only MagicalChurlSukui will be watching carryovers of existing shows or sequels to existing ones. Both Braverade and sesameacrylic’s Summer lists contain all-new shows; no sequels or spinoffs.

We don’t know if that’s ever happened before, but as usual, we’ll be trying to whittle our total watchlist down to around a dozen, which means dropping seven or eight of the titles below if they’re not worth watching or otherwise redundant to our anime needs of the moment.

As usual, bold titles below are the shows to which we’ll be paying particular attention, and titles may be added or subtracted as needed. That means non-bold shows aren’t guaranteed to be reviewed, just checked out.

—RABUJOI STAFF

LAST UPDATED 1 Sept 2021

Braverade

Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki – Skipped
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom

Meikyuu Black Company – Dropped

NIGHT HEAD 2041 – Dropped

Scarlet Nexus – Dropped

Sonny Boy – Picked Up

Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru. – Dropped
The Detective Is Already Dead / Tanmoshi

Tokyo Revengers– Dropped
Spring 2021 Carryover

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sesameacrylic

Bokutachi no Remake
Remake Our Life!

Kageki Shoujo!!
Remake Our Life!

Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid
The Duke of Death and His Maid

Shiroi Suna no Aquatope
Aquatope of White Sand

Uramichi Oniisan
Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan

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MagicalChurlSukui

To Your Eternity
Spring 2021 Carryover

TenSura 2nd Season Part 2

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu – Skipped
Higurashi: When They Cry – SOTSU

Peach Boy Riverside

Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu
Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy-

Vanitas no Carte
The Case Study of Vanitas

Those Snow White Notes – 08 – Modern Maimai and Her Fantastic Friends

The Matsugorou Cup’s team division marches on, Team Umezono’s time on stage grows near, and Shuri is scared. Yui encourages her to focus on getting the first notes right and the rest will fall into place, but only adds to her anxieties by announcing this will be the one and only time she plays on stage.

While Mai waits her turn in the green room, and a braggadocious Arakawa Ushio blows past the rest of his team with his signature twang, the sheer audacity of his performance makes Rai jealous, angry, and fired up, spooking Shuri and Yui upon returning to them. Let’s just say everyone’s face game is in top form this week.

I’ll just get this out of the way: our Power Rangers-colored team doesn’t take the stage this week, which after not doing so last week feels at times like the show is intentionally stalling. It nearly overplays its hand, were it not for some great character development that goes on in between the other performances.

For one thing, we finally get a look back at how the dynamic between Yui, Kaito, and Shuri began, with Yui taking responsibility for protecting the “idiotically kind” and guileless Shuri from the real world (and Kaito’s teasing). Back in the present, when Shuri sees that Yui is just as nervous as her, she curses herself for only thinking about herself.

She believes Yui has every right to hate her for that, but of course Yui doesn’t feel that way at all. She’s angry at herself for talking so big only to be terrified of taking the stage out there, and if she fails, she knows everyone will hate her for the “mean-spirited, ugly woman” she is. Shuri shuts down that kind of talk with a big hug and she won’t let go until Yui lets herself cry, promising to help share her worries from now on.

Meanwhile, as soon as Mai hears where Setsu’s team is prepping, she storms there to “declare war” before her performance, only to walk in on him and the others striking energy-releasing (read: goofy) poses, and slinks away. Honestly I wished she had gotten to actually speak to Setsu there.

That’s because when she takes the stage, she puts on nothing less than the best performance yet in the competition. Her sound is alluring, charming, powerful, and wonderfully modern without coming off as tacky or gimmicky like many of the other groups.

Additionally, while her group is called “Her Fantastic Friends”, there’s a much more cutthroat dynamic in her group where she goes off and does her thing and dares her teammates to try to keep up. It’s at this point that I’m starting to seriously consider Mai to be the show’s Best Girl, though she continues to face stiff competition from Shuri and especially Yui!

Mai’s performance also sinks Kaito, Yui, and Shuri’s motivation to new lows, only for Setsu to stand up tall and proud and say his motivation is at its max after hearing Mai. As they prepare to take the stage, Yui notices Kaito’s parents have turned out to see him, and assures him no one (aside from her perhaps) worried about him more after his soccer career-ending injury.

She gives him an encouraging punch to the face, for which he thanks her by patting her head and assuring her that she’s kind and not ugly. This turns her face as red as her samue. After placing a calming hand on Shuri’s shoulder, Setsu smacks both Kaito and Yui on the back and tells everyone to go out there and do it, after having consulted with Rai in secret about doing “something unorthodox” in response to Mai’s performance.

I can’t wait to see what he came up with, and I know the show isn’t going to be so cruel as to let them make fools of themselves out there. With Setsu leading the way and having had more than adequate time to sort through all their smoldering emotions, it’s finally time to play…next week!