Jujutsu Kaisen – 34 – The Taste of Regret

A word from Gojou and the remnant of the real Getou’s soul still within his body starts to choke the person currently controlling the rest of his body, Fake Getou is impressed, but is able to regain control. The Prison Domain closes around Gojou and shrinks to slightly larger than a Rubik’s Cube. Unless Gojou kills himself (fat chance) the Domain is unusable as it only holds one.

One of now-dead Muta Koukichi’s “Insurance” devices drops into Yuuji’s ear and reports that the device would only be activated if Gojou is sealed. Mei Mei is initially skeptical, but Koukichi manages to convince her. She sends Yuuji out to warn the other sorcerers, holding off two high-grade cursed spirits closing on their position. Meanwhile, the three standby teams start to head into the first veil.

A pair of special grade cursed spirits roam Shibuya with the goal of killing all the assistant supervisors, i.e. suits. Yuuji emerges from the Veil, sees a horde of transfigured humans, and makes quick work of them, saving a handful of non-sorcerers.

He then climbs to one of the highest points in the district and shouts out a warning to everyone at the top of his lungs: Gojou has been sealed. As soon as Nanami hears this, he switches up the plan: he, Ino and Megumi will rendezvous with Yuuji.

As the Prison Domain processes all of the information that comprises Gojou Satoru, the cube is rendered too heavy to hold or move, making it vulnerable. Thanks to another Mechamaru device in the station, Koukichi is able to tell Yuuji that Gojou is immobile…but that likely won’t remain so for long.

Getou has to stay with the cube, so Mahito, Jougo and Choso all head out with one goal: kill Yuuji. Of the three of them, only Jougo wants to awaken Sukuna; the others just want to kill him. There’s also the matter of Mimiko and Nanako asking the Fake Getou to release his body, something he tells them he’s not going to do; he made a promise to them, not a binding pact.

Team Nanami meets up with Yuuji, and Nanami leaves Yuuji and Magumi in Ino Takuma’s care. Ino lays out the stakes: if Gojou dies, not only will the Gojou clan die with him, creating a massive political free-for-all, but the balance of power between sorcerers and curses will be upset, meaning the age of humans in Japan will be over.

One would hope Japan wouldn’t have to rely on one goddamn person to maintain its existence, but here we are. It’s up to Yuuji, Megumi, Nobara, and all the other sorcerers stationed there to rescue Gojou from the Prison Realm, or die trying.

Synduality: Noir – 12 (Part 1 Fin) – Back to Black

When a third core coalesces between the towers, Michael and Tokio charge in to take it out, but are instead taken out themselves by a barrage of Ender firepower. That means It’s All Up to Kanata, but between his inexperience and Noir’s ongoing crisis of confidence (insisting she’s a “dud”), things don’t go well.

When Daisyogre loses its blade arm and most of its offensive power, Noir even starts to question whether she’s actually a Magus, let alone one deserving of someone like Kanata (needless to say, she’s underselling herself and overselling Kanata). But then a switch flips suddenly she’s Noir with a Tan, using elite Magus Skills to deflect enemy fire and calling Kanata a hack at every possible opportunity.

Noir’s saucy alter-ego refers to herself in the third person as Mystere, and she makes it quite clear that she doesn’t want to be awake, and would prefer if she hadn’t switched places with Noir, who is some kind of Safe Mode. For all her sassiness and impatience with Kanata, Mystere is also hella good at her job, using a second offensive Magus Skill to Yeet a bunch of beams of light, shattering the core’s armor and blowing it to smithereens.

After the victory, for which everyone praises Kanata, Mystere tells him she’s going back to sleep and doesn’t plan to see him again. I love how Koga Aoi changed up Noir’s voice to make it more natural and more hostile. I also love how Range and Dolce are scouring the battlefield for crystals and end up chased by a surviving Ender. They’ll never learn!

Back at a grateful Rock Town, the victorious Drifters kick back. Michael tries and fails to propose to Maria, how has some wine with Claudia and notes that she’s not old enough to remember the first Silver Storm. Tokio wants to have another heart-to-heart with Kanata, but Ellie and Ange warn him that now may not be the best time.

After two days, Noir wakes up, but she’s still Mystere, and still doesn’t want to be there. In a clever demonstration that this is definitely not the Noir we know, she finally pulls her oversized coat over her shoulders, something Noir would never do. She also informs Kanata that she’s been trying to get Noir back but she isn’t responding.

So as we close the book on cour 1 of 2 of Synduality, Kanata now finds himself with a completely different Magus, and Ciel is ordered by Macht and Schnee to keep observing to determine if Noir or Mystere is the Key they need. Also Tokio apparently knows Macht, and wonders what he’s up to in Rock Town. The big Ender threat is defeated, but there’s clearly more story to tell and more mysteries (mysteres?) to unravel.

This is, again, and as ever, perfectly serviceable and nominally entertaining without being particularly groundbreaking. Above all, it’s well executed, and the production has remained consistently above average. As such, I’m looking forward to Part 2, due to air in Winter of 2024.

Synduality: Noir – 11 – The Two (Purple) Towers

Kurokamen and Schnee report that they, along with Ciel, have the Magus Key and her current Master in their hands. Their shadowy boss, named Mr. Weisheit, orders Kurokamen (who he calls by his real name, Macht Ewigkeit—to eliminate the master.

While this is standard practice for anyone searching for Paradise, neither Macht, Schnee, nor Ciel seem particularly happy about having to kill Kanata. Meanwhile, his longtime protector Tokio remains unconscious in a medical tank.

Ciel acknowledges her orders as she heads to pick up Kanata and Noir in Tokio’s carrier, only to find he’s readying Daisyogre for the battle at Rock Town. Ciel realizes she doesn’t want Kanata to die, so much so that she’s willing to defy her orders to eliminate him.

She begs Kanata to run away instead, with her, but he declines. He can’t leave Rock Town, Tokio, Ellie, and all the others in the lurch. He has to do what he can. Faced with rejection, Ciel once again steels herself to eliminate him with her electro-fingers.

Back at Rock Town, Michael sets up a line of defense with Drifters from home, Desire, and Baccarat. Even Range and Dolce show up, initially only to watch everyone get their asses kicked, but when they’re ambushed by Enders and accidentally flee to the front line, they give the impression to everyone that they’re not so bad after all, coming to the town’s aid.

The battle is a grueling one, with Drifters running out of ammo and becoming exhausted left and right. But just as Ellie and and Ange are surrounded and look to be out of options except for Ellie to call out for Kanata, there Kanata is, her knight in shining armor with a newly modded-out Daisyogre.

Obviously, Ciel never went through will killing him, as Macht ordered her to continue observing and supporting Kanata instead. Unlike their boss, he has a hunch that he has potential to help them achieve their nebulous “Ideals”, and Schnee feels the same way: it would be a shame for him to die.

Thanks to Kanata the Drifters defending Rock Town have their second wind, and in preparation to make their advance on the twin Ender Storm towers (atop which the cores sit), Claudia and Flamme launch a one-time mega fire cannon that paves a way for Michael, Kanata, and three other Coffins.

As they climb the towers and meet heavy Ender resistance, back in town Tokio finally comes to, and immediately gets dressed. As he expected, Maria has his Coffin fixed up and ready to go; no time for physical therapy. It’s a good thing, too, because Kanata loses his rifle and alerts pop up all over the place.

Just as Kanata rescued Ellie in the nick of time, so too does Tokio take the stage at the most dramatic moment. He tosses Kanata a spare rifle, and they fight off the Enders side by side until the path is clear to one of the Ender Storm’s cores.

They pierce their core, while Michael pierces his…but something’s wrong. The Storm has stopped, but it doesn’t crumble or fall over. Instead, the third, true core coalesces between the two false ones, like a threatening, purple Eye of Sauron. To underscore the importance of this development, a lot of the characters appear on the screen like the end of a Gundam or Macross OP. The next episode will be for all the marbles.

Synduality: Noir – 10 – Growing Up Fast

Some old tinkerers are working on some modifications for DaisyOgre, excited and proud that young Kanata is finally coming into his own as a Drifter. But their work is interrupted by a massive Ender storm that devastates the entire Boneyard camp.

Back at Rock Town, Mam gathers all of the Drifters to inform them of a pressing emergency: the “Silver Storm” has destroyed numerous camps and is headed straight for them. The Drifters are split into investigation teams and town defense.

Kanata wants to join Tokio with the investigations. Tokio is initially jokey in his responses, but when Kanata presses, he is more firm: Kanata should stay put, where it’s safe. Kanata feels otherwise. Ultimately, they’re both snotty brats to Mam, who tells Tokio to take Kanata already.

As Kanata prepares DaisyOgre in a hurry (and concerns Ciel), Tokio has a bad flashback to when a younger him was held back by Mouton as another young man—perhaps his brother?—looks back at him defiantly. Kurokamen and Schnee land at what I believe is the same site where Kanata found Noir, searching for the “Key to Paradise.”

Tokio’s carrier arrives at the Boneyard, where there’s nothing but ruins and rubble. Kanata fans out, snapping back at Tokio when he tells him not to go too far. It’s a bad time for Kanata to be puffing his chest out, as this is by far the largest threat our cast has encountered in this series.

It’s almost jarring how serious things are and how high the stakes have suddenly become after nine episodes of relatively lightweight adventures and character introductions. But there were hints of this threat sprinkled throughout those episodic outings, and now the shit is hitting the fan.

Ellie’s team spots the rapidly approaching Silver Storm, which gets bigger and more menacing as it consumes settlements. Back at the Boneyard, Tokio fights off a Parasitic Ender, while Kanata, on his own, is suddenly surrounded by three of them.

Within moments he loses an arm, his gun, and his footing. Noir couldn’t detect any of them in time, and in her head says she’s still a “dud.” DaisyOgre is a sitting duck when the Enders prepare to finish him off, but Tokio swoops in to shield him from their projectiles.

It occurred to me that Tokio’s brief but nightmarish flashback, as well as how hostile Kanata had been to him, may have constituted death flags, and sure enough, the Parasitic Ender spears impale him in multiple spots. With Tokio out of commission, Kanata and Noir seem doomed.

But the show has mercy on them as another savior arrives: Claudia and Flamme. They take out the Enders, stablize Tokio then load him and his Coffin onto theirs for travel to Rock Town. Claudia promises she’ll send someone back to pick him and Noir up.

The immediate threat may be past, but the Silver Storm is still primed to turn Rock Town into dust. Before Tokio departs with Claudia, he tells Kanata “we’re all depending on you now,” in order to make clear it’s not that he doesn’t believe in his abilities, just that he’s worried about his little brother’s safety.

But Kanata knows he can’t stand in his brother’s shadow forever, so he resolves to find a way to disperse the storm and save Rock Town and his friends and family—with Noir supporting him, of course. After nine weeks of being mostly a nuisance, the Enders finally have teeth, and Synduality finally has stakes.

Rent-a-Girlfriend – 25 (S3 E01) – The Best Omurice in the World

The third season starts with the realization that however difficult Kazuya knew making a movie starring Chizuru would be, it’s turning out to be a lot harder. Kazuya’s “pitch” page to the crowdfunding guy is pathetic—no photos? Really?—but failure is the greatest teacher, right?

The third season also shakes things up by introducing the fifth girl who moved into Kazuya and Chizuru’s building. And I love how they introduce her, almost as a meta audience surrogate telling them to keep the balcony chat down or start dating already!

The girl is actually a first-year student at Kazuya and Chizuru’s college, named Yaemori Mini (and voiced by Serizawa Yuu). While curt on the balcony last night, Mini proves she’s actually quite warm and friendly when not “making her position clear”, which is always good way of doing things! She’s also an anime mobile game otaku with seasonal waifus. Aren’t we all…

When Mami, up in the top of the frame, overhears Kazuya’s friend mention how their boy is focused on his laptop all the damn time. They joke about him watching porn in public, but Mami clearly suspects something else and is clearly going to dig into it because yes, she has no life! At the same time, I love Mami’s potential to unleash chaos at any moment.

When Mini (not to be confused with Mami) makes Kazuya and Chizuru both self-conscious about the balcony talks, and perhaps how they came off as a bickering couple to a stranger, the talks end, and Kazuya is morose. His inner monologue is at its very most insufferable when he gets a text from Chizuru asking if she can come over.

I’m more willing these days to give Kazuya the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this monologue. It’s pure uncut cringe, but it’s supposed to be. These are his deepest, darkest thoughts amplified for our displeasure. What’s important is that he doesn’t act on them.

Kazuya is a horny-ass college student, but when he thinks of his promise to Chizuru—and to her Gran—he’s able to settle into a “grown-up” gear. Yes, Chizuru is in his apartment, they need to meet about the movie. About her dream.

Kazuya is convinced he’s pretty much in love with Chizuru, but as for Chizuru? That remains complicated, and I like that too because it increases the tension; creates a little discomfort in what has otherwise become a comfort food.

Is she hanging out with Kazuya, sending him cute photos, and making him omurice out of pure obligation because he made such a serious promise to make her dream come true? Or is she also doing all of that to get a little closer to him, perhaps to learn more about him?

Kazuya probably slammed way too many Monster energy drinks, and neglected his college studies way too much, but I gotta give the bastard credit where it’s due: he did offer a very detailed and realistic budget, and also doesn’t budge on the question of Chizuru not being paid to act in the movie.

She’ll be paid, and in order to get this $12,000 budget off the ground, he’s prepared to invest his own savings (all of $700), because this isn’t just her dream any more, it’s his too. They exchange some very complex expressions before Chizuru gets up to leave.

Of course, she opens the door just as Ruka shows up at Kazuya’s doorstep. Love. It. So damn messy. Kazuya can feel his relationship with Chizuru changing, but that’s happening organically, not as a result of his scheming. And while we can’t read her thoughts to the same extent as Kazuya’s, Chizuru must be feeling that change.

But will RaG let this change continue? Kazuya getting used to meeting with Chizuru in private? Kazuya making it clear to Ruka ( and to a weirder extent, Mami) that he loves Chizuru? An actual goddamn movie being made? Look, I know grannies, I had two of them. They don’t care if you never star in a movie. To them, you were perfect the moment you were born. Even so, Chizuru wants to make this happen, and I want to see it happen!

Shokugeki no Souma 3 – 20 – Shattering and Clashing to Victory

When Gin and Jouichirou start bebopping and scatting all over the train kitchen, Takumi, Megumi, Souma and Erina have to find a way to contribute to the “music” the master chefs are playing, or fail the challenge. For Takumi and Erina in particular, it means leaving their comfort zones—the cooking philosophies they’ve always lived by—and going for gusto.

If they completely shatter or abandon everything they’ve known thus far, they risk losing their vital identities as chefs, but that’s not truly what’s going on here: they contribute in ways only they, with their uniquely amassed knowledge and experience, can contribute.

They’re not so much changing who they are, but changing how they use that, and in doing so unlocking another level in their growth.

The resulting hachis Parmentier from both teams scarcely resemble that classic French dish, yet both embody the spirit of the dish while elevating it into more rarefied culinary air. Senzaemon makes a last minute addendum to the rules of this mock battle: the four young participants, not he, will judge who deserves to win.

Everyone loses their clothes in foodgasms, and when the moment of truth arrives, the kids all point…at each other. Erina likens Team Doujima’s dish as a perfectly in-sync jazz band, while Takumi likens Team Saiba to an avant-garde group art project. In both cases, chaos is used to create things harmony couldn’t, resulting in dishes that are both cohesive in concept and strongly individualized in execution.

The point of Senzaemon’s mock battle wasn’t to decide who’d be the captain of the team that will face Azami’s Elite Ten. It was to get the youngins to experience their abilities firsthand in order to know what to expect of one another when the battle and the stakes are real.

And brother, is there anything realer, or more appallingly hilarious, than watching the ghost-white, skunk-haired Nakiri Azami skiing down a slope in his black suit? Talk about pumping him up as a Bond villain!

His collection of Central stooges also looks the part; they’re as diverse in personality and appearance as our rebels—and in the case of Eishi and Rindou, we’ve seen they have good sides—and yet because they’re determined to defeat the rebels at the behest of Azami, here and now they’re nothing but The Enemy.

Azami tries once more to bring Erina back into the fold simply by stating the duty of all Elite Ten members to obey his orders. He wants Erina on his team, and like almost everybody, expects Erina to be cowed by the certitude and force of his words and sheepishly defer to her father. Even Souma calls her a “doormat” when it comes to her dad—out loud!

But Erina stands her ground. If being the Tenth Seat means having to join Central in the Team Shokugeki, then she will simply relinquish said seat, and join the rebels as simply Nakiri Erina.

While impressed by her continued insolence, Azami comes back at her with one last stipulation in the Team Shokugeki: If the rebels are defeated, she will have to return to his side, commit herself to central, and never disobey him again.

Since losing means all her friends’ expulsions will stick, all the rebels still standing will be expelled, and her beloved Saiba-senpai will have to become Azami’s ally, Erina figures “what the heck, might as well add to the already epic stakes.”

She’s so pumped up by successfully standing up to her father that she starts acting like the Queen of the Rebels, vowing to take the First Seat once they are victorious. Takumi and Megumi like this new rebellious-yet-regal “Queen Erina.” Souma, while initially irked (since he wants to stand at the top of the Elite Ten), nonetheless pledges his life to her, along with the others, in the decisive battle to come.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans – 04

Tekkadan and their celebrity passenger aren’t off to Earth yet, and that’s a good thing. This is a 26-episode show, no need to rush, and besides, while this episode is less hectic than last week’s coup and duel, laying out the full measure of the stakes and all of the dangers that lie ahead for Mika, Orga, Aina, et al is crucial to our full emotional investment in the events to come.

As we see, getting Aina to Earth is no simple matter to say the least, and can’t be done by Tekkadan alone. It requires getting in bed (oh God hopefully not literally) with outside middlemen, forming dozens of little alliances of temporary trust with outsiders; those with their own motivations. With so much on their backs Orga and Aina have no choice but to gamble, and neither assured a survivable return.

On the contrary, with Todo’s private moments of stewing, it’s clear Orga has made a potentially fatal mistake in thinking the threat of death keeps the old man in line. Todo is planning the demise of Tekkadan in its infancy, not for Gjallarhorn or his old bosses, but because it’s his way to survive. If he gets a little more agency and teaches some punk kids a lesson, so much the better.

“Young vs. Old” is also a theme in Major Coral equivocating before the younger Fareed, subtly offering a bribe that’s shot down with the threat of arrest, then cursing the even older Crank for failing (as Crank and Orlis’ comrade stews).

The Olds seem to prefer when the Youngs are beholden to them. It gives them power and purpose. Todo’s Orcus contact is of big help (assuming it’s not a trap, which it is). Nobliss, who doesn’t even bother dressing to address Aina, clearly considers Aina to beholden to him for his cash infusion. But Fareed rejects his older comrade’s “intelligence” and goes out with Gaelio to gather his own.

There’s a lot of housekeeping this week, as we learn Orga gained Akihito and his group of “Human Debris” (i.e. former property of Maruba) to his side with the promise to free and protect them, as they wouldn’t be able to secure jobs elsewhere. In a strong symbolic gesture, the big CGS sign is painted over by one of the youngest grunts. Out with the old, and all that.

Finally, this episode makes a slight detour to the Biscuit’s family farm, run by a stern, no-nonsense Granny Sakura who, like Yukinojo and Crank, are the old people trying to foster amity with the young rather than oppose and oppress them. Mika brings Aina here for the same reason he comes: working the land helps clear the head.

That also means, of course, Aina and Atra cross paths again, and for now, Mika has his cake and eats it too, catching Aina when she tugs too hard at an ear of corn, while also heartening Atra by thanking her for the bracelet. At the same time, Mika uses this to show Aina that even this big biofuel corn farm only nets Biscuit’s family a meager return; not enough to survive. Her saving Tekkadan also saved that farm and family, so she should buck up and stop focusing only on the negative.

Then, all of a sudden, there’s a clashing of plotlines with Fareed and Gaelio nearly running over Cookie and Cracker in their Humvee. Mika doesn’t hesitate to take throat of Gaelio, the first face he sees emerge, and start squeezing mercilessly. Fareed manages to cool everyone off, but I liked how when Fareed and Gaelio were alone, Gaelio was the easygoing one. Here, Gaelio is hostile where Fareed is amicable. He even retches when he sees Mika’s implants.

At the same time, Fareed is, if anything, more threatening than Gaelio, all courtesy, easy smiles and cordial words. There’s raw tension in him approaching Cookie, Cracker, and Atra…and offering them candy. He knows Mika is far more than a farmboy. And there’s the sense he doesn’t believe Biscuit any more than he believes Coral. Meanwhile, Aina has to hide in the corn with her aide. This won’t be the last they see of the gallant inspectors.

As it happens, Fareed is already aware that CGS is now Tekkadan; a product of Orga and Biscuit playing everything after the mutiny strictly by-the-book, business-wise. When Mika returns to base, Orga shows him Tekkadan’s new insignia, again designed and painted by their youngest as a symbol of hope and strength. Orga looks on the sign with pride and an even greater desire to protect what they’ve won at all costs.

But the fact of the matter is, Tekkadan and its mission hang on a thread, and any one thing could blow it off into oblivion, be it further interference from the various units of Gjallarhorn (bet on it), making a deal with the devil in Nobliss, or underestimating Todo’s capacity for treachery. As Todo so aptly puts it in the episode’s final line: he’s about to show these young rapscallions “how terrifying adults can be.”