Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night – 05 – Floating in the Shibuya Aquarium

JELEE’s first music video goes viral due to someone saying the song is cursed. This is due to the wrong file being uploaded; an earlier version in which the mic picked up Kano’s big sister lamenting in her sleep. Cursedness aside, the online feedback is still mostly positive, and JELEE gets unprecedented views and a spike in followers.

Yoru is jazzed by the positive buzz, and is excited to produce more ambitious art for the next video. She even imagines herself as a celebrity artist drawing on a tablet at the store and getting noticed.

Alas, it only takes one negative comment calling her drawings “subpar” to kill all that optimism. Add to that a famous-online illustrator named Kuroppu making some exquisite JELEE fan art, and Yoru ends up in a full-on crisis of confidence she hides behind a positive front.

Kano, attuned as she is to fronts from her idol past, notices something is off with Yoru, and surprises her (and Yoru’s little sister!) with a home visit. The first thing Kano does is change into Yoru’s school uniform, which clearly gives both of them a little thrill, but then Kano gets her to open up about what’s bothering her.

Yoru admits that she feels she might be “too ordinary” for the rest of them: a former idol, a popular VTuber and an elite musician. She worries she’s not contributing to JELEE and doesn’t belong. That’s when Kano squeezes Yoru’s cheeks with her palms, draws close, and tells her she loves her art.

That love is what started all this. If not for Yoru’s jellyfish art, Kano wouldn’t have started singing, and she wouldn’t have met Mei or Kiui. She has faith in Yoru’s art, and so tells her to have more faith in herself. But all the likes generated by Kuroppu’s fan art continues to bother her, like a tiny splinter of inadequacy in her brain.

During a live online Q & A that Kano aces thanks to her publicity experience, someone asks if they could use Kuroppu’s work instead of Yoru’s. Kano shuts down that notion, but on the train Yoru asks her whose art is better: the fan art, or hers, before the train stops and she pretends she didn’t ask anything.

Kano seemingly gets off, and Yoru retreats into her coat, but when she opens her eyes, Kano is back, having again sensed something wasn’t right. They then have a little date at the aquarium, where Kano describes Yoru to a T: acting worldly while actually being sensitive, looking mature when she’s really competitive.

In other words, Yoru is a “hassle”, but a hassle Kano doesn’t mind knowing. She also promises Yoru that one day she’ll open an aquarium in Shibuya (which doesn’t have one) for her. That night, Yoru sees another piece of beautiful fan art from Kuroppu, and keeps going back to that “subpar” comment about her art that started her downward spiral.

She lies awake in bed staring at the ceiling, until she remembers Yoru expressing her faith in her, and she gets up, switches on the light and her tablet, and gets to drawing. She doesn’t want to resent Kuroppu, and she wants to like her own art without feeling like it’s lacking in some way.

To that end, she returns to her mural and adds her pen name Umitsuki Yoru below her real name she crossed out, then really gets deep into studying jellyfish and practicing drawing, taking her craft seriously for the first time in a while. The next drawing she sends to Kano inspires her all over again.

When Yoru hears Kano’s praise, the tears wells up due not to frustration, but joy and relief. She’s starting to understand she can’t please everyone, and can’t let that be the prerequisite to her happiness. If she can make Kano happy with her art, she’ll be happy.

After completing and uploading their next (and first “non-cursed” music video, the four girls celebrate New Years together, making a nighttime shrine visit. Kiui heads to the restaurant early while Mei runs back to get a more favorable fortune, leaving Yoru and Kano alone together yet again.

While Yoru initially felt too embarrassed to text everyone that she hopes she was able to shine a bit brighter after the first video, after this one she has no such qualms about being a little sappy and vulnerable with Kano. Hearing Yoru say she wants to get even better at drawing to build her confidence makes Kano blush.

After the two play around in the snow, Yoru turns to Kano and tells her she likes her singing and likes her too, then thanks her for giving her the chance to draw again. Kano is moved enough by Yoru’s sentiments to lean in close and kiss her on the cheek. Yoru jumps up in shock, and the two share a pregnant silence before Kano runs off to join Kiui.

There’s no mistaking what has been happening with these two ever since they met: there’s a clear romantic undercurrent driving both their friendship and artistic collaboration. Yoru inspired Kano to keep singing, and now Yoru acknowledges Kano who inspired her to keep drawing.

Will that stolen kiss result in future awkwardness? Is it Kano who is interpreting what they have as romantic while Yoru doesn’t, or did the kiss awaken Yoru to the possibility they feel the same thing about one another? We saw what one negative comment did to Yoru; what will one little kiss do? We shall see.

Until then, it’s good to see such well-established subtext finally be made explicit, with all the possibilities and messiness that entails. It culminates in my favorite Jellyfish episode yet, which closes with another lovely music video.

Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night – 04 – Odd Girls Out

It’s a Band (or more precisely “Art Collective”) Coming Together episode, interspersed with scenes of the SunDolls, about to start their comeback push with Kano replaced by a new pint-sized center. Kiui meets Kano and Mei, and quickly learns that they’re nice, cool girls she doesn’t have to worry about. Yoru wants to celebrate with trending tiramisu cups, but th JELEE girls have work to do.

That said, Yoru still understands the need for team-building, so she gets pizza and gives everyone a chocolate egg with a different sea creature prize. While she ends up with the jellyfish, she gives it to Kano, declaring her the leader of JELEE. But when Kano presents an ambitious plan that culminates in their releasing a second music video by next Wednesday, everyone, even her superfan Mei, balks. School and lessons are starting back up, while Kiui has her VTuber work.

Kano skulks out, and already, the group has hit a snag. Mei discovers the reason for the specific deadline: the SunDolls are also doing something that Wednesday and Kano wants to compete with them for buzz. Kano’s tipsy older sister Mion adds more context, as their mother is actually SunDolls’ manager. Despite not wanting to be an idol, Kano was a good soldier, but after the punching scandal, Kano’s mom had her “retire”. That’s rough!

While Mei thinks Kano may be headed to a SunDolls pop-up, Kiui doubts she’d go there, knowing her emotional state. Sure enough, she suspected Kano felt bad and went to the tiramisu spot Yoru suggested, and there she is. Everyone makes up and heads back to her apartment, where Yoru has cleaned and cooked what might be Kano’s first homemade meal in years.

After stew, the girls have tiramisu and share their secrets. Having previously owned up to lying about attending school, Kiui further opens up about her fall from grace. Mei owns up to being a terrible singer. Kano … admits she likes someone, but doesn’t say whom.

Once everyone has shared and knows a little more about one another, JELEE gets going and pulls an all-nighter together to get their second music video out ahead of schedule. While they all collapse from exhaustion not ten seconds after hitting “Publish”, and we once again watch the video run over the end credits, upon waking up they learn they’ve gone viral!

Synduality: Noir – 07 – An Audience of One

When Kanata leaves Noir in Maria’s care for a day and a night for Magus maintenance, Ellie believes it’s finally her turn to strike while the iron’s hot. Unfortunately, Kanata isn’t as alone in his garage as she expected: as thanks for rescuing her from Range, Ciel has decided to keep Kanata company in Noir’s stead. Unlike Noir, she’s a lot better at household chores…and flirting.

After the house is made spotless, Ciel helps with Daisygore maintenance, singing while she works. She then whips up a homemade dinner for Kanata with real vegetables, offers to share her shower with Kanata “to save water” (he declines vociferously) and pays him a visit at his hammock in the night. It’s here where Ciel learns that Kanata treats Magus and humans the same because his mom was a Magus.

When Kanata tells Ciel about the lost paradise city of Histoire, she sneaks off in the night to make a report to some unknown organization, revealing that there’s more to her than just Kanata’s a second wAIfu. The next morning, Kanata can sense that Ciel’s being more distant.

He talks about this to Ellie at the canteen, and Ellie is eager to help out her childhood buddy when he tells Tokio “there’s no distance between them,” not knowing quite how happy that makes her. Kanata decides that the best way to cheer Ciel up is to take her somewhere. Little does he know if he hadn’t stopped a bit short and thrown her off balance, Ciel was ready to zap Kanata unconscious so that she could steal Noir.

Kanata has taken Ciel to a remote ruin of an old theater or concert venue, telling her she can sing there as loud as she likes to her heart’s content. Moved by this gesture, and Kanata’s continued treating of her like a human being, Ciel breaks into song for an audience of just Kanata. In her thoughts she admits that despite the fact her heart isn’t supposed to burn, he’s set it ablaze.

The impromptu concert is interrupted by rain that wasn’t in the forecast, which soon leads to an Ender attack. Not to worry; Ciel proves she’s a Jill-of-all-trades by hooking up to Daisygore and synching with Kanata, then obliterating all of the bogies while singing another song. Ciel can truly do it all, but that’s no longer a surprise considering she apparently works for a shady organization that considers Kanata and his dream a threat.

Mouton escorts Noir home, and she has a clean bill of health from Maria. Noir sees Ciel clinging to Kanata and determines that they’ve become closer in the day she’s been gone (though she doesn’t seem to exhibit any jealousy).

While Ciel mentioned one day finding her ideal master, it looks like she’s content to stay with Kanata and Noir for now. We’ll see if her developing feelings for the super-duper nice guy will overpower her sense of duty to that shadowy organization.

Golden Kamuy – 48 – Jacking the Ripper

Not five minutes pass after forging an alliance, Botaro the Pirate happens upon Sugimoto’s backpack and the evidence they’ve been looking for him. He distracts Sugimoto on the deck so his partner can pull a gun on him from behind, but Asirpa jams the revolver with a perfectly shot arrow. When the ship captain steers into some branches, Sugimoto and Botaro are tossed overboard.

Botaro is a high endurance diver who is as at home underwater as Michael Phelps, while Sugimoto…is not, so I knew this was going to be a tough fight. Hilariously, Shiraishi dives under to be an oxygen-giving guardian angel, only to be scorned by Sugimoto when he’s a little overzealous about giving mouth-to-mouth. Sugimoto is bailed out by a school of sturgeons, of all things, and when Botaro’s long hair is caught in the paddle wheel, Sugimoto saves him, and the truce continues.

Since the ship can’t dock due to wheel damage, the group takes a smaller boat, and on the way Asirpa not only sharpens a spear but kills herself a giant sturgeon. Thus we get the first “Hinna, hinna” culinary scene in a good long while, with Botaro the new variable in the equation. Every time he inquires as to the precise relationship of Sugimoto and Asirpa, they are both evasive, and Asirpa’s ears turn red. Meanwhile, we see Sofia is in Otaru. What could she be planning?

We then dash over to Sapporo, where Usami and Kikuta are investigating the serial killings. Usami does so with his rather unique special power: he’s a sperm detective, fapping in order to get into the killer’s state of mind.

His dick turns out to be correct that the killer will return that very night, and he and the killer end up in a fapping duel, Matrixing away from one anothers’ loads while Kikuta, the audience surrogate, continually asks what the hell is going on.

Kikuta manages to hop on the killer’s getaway horse and puts his pistol to his head, but the killer once again fires away, and a disgusted Kikuta is thrown from the horse…but not before getting a good look at his face.

The next day we see that Hijikata’s group is spread throughout the public areas of Sapporo disguised as merchants and beggars. Among them is Private Ariko, with whom Kikuta has a chat about allegiances. Ariko laments that neither Tsurumi nor Nagakura trust him, which I guess makes him an unfit double agent.

The newspaper publisher Ishikawa determines from the occupation of the victims and the timing of the murders that the killer is a Jack the Ripper wannabe, or possible fanboy. Jack is only credited with five murders before disappearing and the final murder came 40 days after the previous one.

Of course, this Jack copycat isn’t the only thing they have to contend with: there’s also Ueji Keiji, the creepy guy with the face tattoos capturing children. Sugimoto, Asirpa, and Shiraishi are arriving at Sapporo when it is quite the happening tinderbox. I’m sure we’ll be in for some serious (or possibly hilariously gross) fireworks in the season 4 finale.

Golden Kamuy – 47 – Pirate King of the South Pacific

Tsurumi’s scouts have arrived in Sapporo, assuming Hijikata is also there to look into the news of the red-light district serial killer. Asirpa, Sugimoto, Shiraishi and Vasily are searching towns for a tattooed peddler, Sugimoto and Shiraishi in particular get maybe a little overzealous in their desire to get every peddler they encounter to strip naked.

Shiraishi channels his inner Pennywise to get a tip from one of Golden Kamuy’s trademark useful kids and they track a tattooed peddler down, but the tattoos are on his face, not his body, and he manages to give them the slip on a coal trolley. Asirpa thinks she heard him say they’ll never find the gold, so he may not have been a dead end.

The quartet then boards a paddle steamship, the faster and easier way to get to their next destination of Ebetsu with the melted snow turning the roads to mud. Their ship is then attacked by Pirate, the prettiest Abashiri prisoner, who demonstrates his superhuman swimming ability in singlehandedly boarding the ship and pointing a gun (which he makes sure to dry out) at the Captain.

Asirpa is in the cabin while Sugimoto and Shiraishi are topwise, making Sugimoto nervous. However, once Pirate recognizes his old bud Shiraishi, he’s friendly towards him. When another steamship packed with soldiers passes, the pirates try to make it look like everything’s fine, but a grizzled, armed postman in the cabin with Asirpa has other ideas.

He wants to be a hero, so he starts shooting his post office-issued pistol at the pirates. It looks at first like he scores a headshot, but it’s actually Vasily with his rifle from one of the dinghies being towed behind the ship. When Pirate loses three of his “citizens”, he counters by throwing the anchor of the ship into the cabin.

Sugimoto takes exception to Pirate being so reckless with Asirpa down there, so the two get into a little scuffle, each of them proving their mettle to one another. Asirpa ends up saving herself by luring the postman out onto the deck with the promise of more ammo, then kicking him overboard.

With the chaos agent removed from the equation, Pirate re-engages Shiraishi and Sugimoto as chums and potential partners, suggesting they work together to find the gold. He intends to start his own island country with his share. Then he asks Sugimoto about his family, and learns he lost them all to Tuberculosis.

Sugimoto thinks back to that dark time in his life when he was utterly useless to stop the death of his father, the last member of his family left besides him. The last thing his father tells him is to get away and make a life for himself. Not to build and rule his own country, mind you: just a life.

Hell’s Paradise – 10 – Wave Theory

When Gabimaru ends up face-to-face with Tamiya Gantetsusai and his Asaemon minder Fuchi, he and Gantetsusai have a number of battles just in their heads, in which they’re fairly evenly matched. But while Gabimaru has drunk the Elixir of life and is for all intents and purposes immortal, Gantetsusai is simply immensely strong, which is arguably more impressive.

The “immortality” he seeks isn’t living forever; that would be boring. Rather, he wants the immortality that comes from having your name be known far and wide long after he dies. If no human has defeated a Tensen yet, he’ll be the first. Rather than fight, Gabimaru convinces the three of them to work together. He then turns around to find Mei has suddenly grown into a young woman.

Sagiri and Yuzuriha sadly don’t have much to do besides listen to Senta geek out about this place, and determining through his extensive knowledge of religions and cultures that this place must have been man-made. He even suggest a man names Moro Makiya, who once tried to overthrow the shogunate, may have been responsible.

Elsewhere on the island, Nurugai continues to follow Shion, and even tries to launch a sneak attack, trying to convince him to train her in the Asaemon ways. He defeats her by knocking her sword away in such a way that it lands right back in its scabbard on her back, which he nudges her just a little to the left so it doesn’t kill her.

It’s not just that Shion doesn’t want to train another young person who will just get themselves killed—he learns Nurugai doesn’t simply want revenge, but to prevent others from dying, which is noble. It’s that sensing the “waves” that everything has isn’t something that can be quickly or easily taught. He’s a busy man, so if she wants to learn it will have to be self-study.

The older Mei is able to speak, but she speaks in riddles. The waves Shion speaks of? Another term for them is “Tao”, another loan word from a distinct religion. Whoever can master Tao has a good chance of holding their own against the Tensen, so Gantetsusai scoops of Mei and asks her to teach him more.

As for the Tensen, Tao Fa and Mu Dan are gettin’ it on (because how else should virtual gods spend their ample free time). Mu Dan explains why no human can escape from the flower pit because anyone who falls in is too weak to climb its sheer walls, form which the limbs of others grab hold to keep them down there.

This explanation is followed by an almost comedic cut to Choubei climbing out of the pit with Touma on his back. And Choubei is pissed. Whatever Touma says to him, he responds with “We’re killing those shitheads, Touma.”

While urging Touma to eat the flesh of the flower people to keep his strength up, they are suddenly confronted by a new, third class of being on the island, a Doshi. The serve as the right hand of the Tensen, acting as servants, fixers, and go-betweens. The Doshi can speak and reason, unlike the “defective” Soshin.

This Doshi has one reason for approaching the brothers: to insist that they return to the pit so his master can harvest their tan (I assume life energy). Choubei responds with violence, but the Doshi responds in kind, and proves an extremely powerful opponent.

Unlike the hordes of Soshin Touma easily slashes down, the Doshi carefully assesses Choubei’s tao and determines that not only has he not achieved full awareness of his own tao (and thus can only harness it imperfectly), but he’s also too injured and exhausted to pose a threat.

To drive these points home, the Doshi strikes Choubei down, relieving him of much of his blood. Will Touma fight, or try to solve things with talk, as the Doshi initially tried before Choubei attacked him?

Hell’s Paradise – 06 – Striking at the Gaps

Life, or rather death comes at you fast on this island. Genji may be a bit of a sexist oaf, but he only wanted to spare Sagiri the grisly death that may just await every person who arrived on the island. When Rokurota, the Giant of Bizen appears and mortally wounds him, Genji suspects that Eizen is already dead.

But in his final moments, Genji redeems himself by acknowledging Sagiri not as a woman or a man, but as a samurai embracing the middle way. He offers his sword to her, with the understanding that he is leaving his warrior’s soul in her care, for he can no longer wield it.

Gabimaru is having a hell of a time with Rokurota, who is more force of nature than man or monster. None of his ninjutsu have much of an effect on him, and Yuzuriha prefers to simply supervise while she has Senta pinned to a tree with kunai. Gabimaru just needs an opening, and Sagiri arrives just in time to provide just that.

Genji, Senta, Yuzuriha and Gabimaru all watch as Sagiri reveals just how skilled a fighter she is when she abandons fear and hesitation and embraces that middle way that is neither calm nor passion. As such, she’s able to parry Rokurota’s massive blows with her blade while Gabimaru summons his ninjutsu flames.

The intent isn’t to cause Rokurota direct harm by burning, but to poison him with the carbon monoxide created by the smoke. Since he’s so much taller than them and crying out, the rising smoke affects him more, and he ends up slouched over in a position in which Sagiri can properly behead him.

She enters a kind of zen plane, the stormy seas of her heart settle, and the bell on her tie sings as she strikes clean and true. The next we see her, she’s cradling Rokurota’s severed head in her arms, assuring him he doesn’t have to be afraid or sad anymore.

With the flames surrounding them and intensifying, there’s no time to go back for Genji, so Sagiri and Gabimaru escape the inferno and catch up to Yuzuriha and Senta, who have come upon a spooky village that appears to be Shinsenkyo, where supernatural hermits dwell.

Meanwhile, the brothers Choubei and Touma are able to successfully dispatch a number of the hulking monsters roaming their part of the island, but then they come across something completely different: two otherworldly, hauntingly beautiful people making out like their plane is going down.

When they notice the brothers, the couple shoot back looks that could—and very well might—kill. We’ve seen this lovey-dovey couple in the OP. I’m eager to find out what their whole deal is.

NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a – 06 – Do Androids Dream of Electric Lambs to the Slaughter?

Lily keeps shooting looks 2B’s way, and this week we learn why. She once met an android that shared 2B’s face: No. 2, an previous-generation model. 2 was a lot more animated in their speech, and she led an early YoRHa squad that, like the resistance, had been hung out to dry by Command. Back then, Lily’s resistance squad was led by Rose, who decided to join forces with No. 2 for a mission that neither of their groups could accomplish alone.

While there was initial distrust on both sides, Rose’s decision to cooperate rather than fight paid off and the “family” thus grew. There’s both an 86 and Iron-Blooded Orphans vibe to this group of misfit fighters who got the short end of the stick. Their familial chemistry and rapport with one another felt lived-in and genuine; everyone supporting one another and staying in good spirits to distract from their unfair plight.

One day, Lily was not looking well at all, and her eyes suddenly turned red: a sign her data has been overwritten by a logic virus. This is actually the first time I realized that Lily and the other members of the resistance were also androids (unless they aren’t, it’s not made crystal clear). But Lily definitely is, and even though Rose’s first instinct is to kill her before the virus spreads, No.2 deflects that bullet, and eventually everyone helps hold Lily down so No. 21 can purge the virus.

But saving Lily delayed the combined unit’s plan to infiltrate the target server facility, which is overrun by hundreds of thousands of enemies when they arrive. The Bunker will not provide backup, but the mission must be executed no matter what, so one by one Lily’s comrades sacrifice themselves so she can get to the server. She does, but at the cost of her entire family, including her big-sister figure Rose.

In the present Lily is far calmer, more composed and confident, but she remains haunted not by dreams—as 2B says, androids don’t dream—but memories of the things that happened, and regret about what could have happened to possibly save some of the people she cared for. In lieu of dreams or souls, androids are who they are due to their accumulated memories and experiences.

2B leaves Lily with a comforting rhetorical question: what if someone from her family were still alive out there, somewhere? And sure enough, a long-haired woman with the same beauty mark as No. 2 and 2B is revealed to be still out there fighting the good fight. Will Lily and her savior No. 2 unite, and what will happen when 2 and 2B meet? Whatever happens, I hope they can all be allies. Nothing can happen in this world without them.

The Devil is a Part Timer!! – S2 E05 – Change of Scenery

After last week’s huge battle, you’d think a laid back rest episode would be in order…right? WRONG! On the very same day, Maou learns he’ll be without a job as their MgRonald is closing for two weeks to be remodeled (though apparently not with those horrid self-service kiosks that sap vital jobs!) and that he’ll be without the Devil’s Castle for the same period of time due to the need for repairs.

Even worse, Maou would have known about this much earlier, but he was too distracted by the potential of having lost Alas Ramus forever that he paid no attention to the warnings about these changes. That said, his globetrotting landlady sent him a mysterious package wrapped like a mummy, which only Emi has the balls to open, revealing…a VHS tape??

Chiho’s family still has a functioning VCR, so she invites Emi and Maou to her place to watch the video. In so doing, she can’t avoid having her mother finally meet Maou, on whom she’s well aware her daughter has a crush. The video is of the Landlady telling Maou about an opportunity to work for room and board at her relative’s beach shack in Choshi City, Chiba.

Maou calls the number on the video, and by the end of the call he’s got himself a job, as well as Ashiya and Urushihara. Maou returns home with the good news, while Chiho’s mom can tell that Chiho is worried about Maou leaving her behind. She tells Chiho that she can do as she pleases as long as she does things “the proper way”.

Chiho, who knows all about the ongoing feud between Maou and Emi, would prefer that all her friends got along. That said, she also wants to be useful to Maou, even if she can’t fight like Emi or Suzuno. She calls her mom and is granted permission to go to Choshi…with Emi and Suzuno, on a girls’ trip.

Emi and Suzuno are all too happy to go along with the pretense, as they were as uneasy as Chiho about the status quo changing. After a ride on a charmingly retro train, they arrive at Choshi and are picked up by the Landlady’s relatve, Ohguro Amane.

When they arrive at the beach shack, it is in horrendous condition after an off-season, which suddenly turns right the ef back on tomorrow. Needless to say, she’s in a bit of a pickle, and Maou, Ashiya, and whatever manual labor they can get out of Urushihara may not be enough.

Demonstrating that at the end of the day they’re both angels, Emi and Chi-chan pitch in to bring the shack back into presentable professional condition. Maou impresses Amane with his ability to organize and delegate tasks, a product of both his past as an overlord and his experiene at MgRonald.

Emi purchases supplies needed at cut-rate prices, Chiho polishes the beer taps, and Urushihara removes the foam from the stools so they’re more inviting. Even Suzuno, who serves ostensibly as Alas Ramus’ babysitter during the cleaning, reveals a heretofore unknown-to-Maou talent of building perfect elaborate Japanese sand castles, which he knows will be a draw for customers.

Working together as a unit, the denizens of both Heaven and Hell manage to restore Ohguro’s to peak beach season condition, while Maou secured a bonus from Amane if he could fill the shack to full capacity. That night the group kicks back with fireworks on the beach, but are suddenly unnerved by the foghorn of the nearby lighthoue, along with strange lights on the ocean horizon.

Amane tells them the story of dead sailors creating those lights in hope of making “new ghost friends”, but considering the presence of Maou, Emi, and Alas Ramus, the fog that suddenly rolls in could also spell additional trouble for our pals.

That said, this was a fun outing that shook up the status quo. Unfortunately, it loses a half-star for being distractingly janky-looking throughout its runtime. I honestly don’t remember the first season’s animation being so rough…fortunately, I love these characters enough to mostly overlook it.

Overlord IV – 02 – If You Can’t Beat ‘Em…

Ainz wants to create a kingdom he can be proud to show his colleagues, regardless of whether they’ll ever return to this world (or if they are here, come out of hiding). It’s a noble desire, and one that will possibly require more than Albedo’s iron fist or Demiurge’s diamond-sharp mind. He seems to know that even if he personally isn’t up to snuff, it might just ultimately take other humans—i.e. lower life forms his subordinates despise.

Re-Estize took a lickin’ when it lost E-Rantel, but it keeps on tickin’, with Renner even opening a huge and elaborate orphanage for the children of those lost in the war. Tina and known Momon Fangrl Evil Eye accompany Renner and her beloved dog-knight Climb as she returns to the palace, where Prince Zanac is about to meet the Sorcerer Kingdom’s envoy.

Brain, on the other hand, simply trains, resigned to the long game of training some of the orphans into becoming the next Gazef; when his teacher asks why he doesn’t take on the mantle of Top Warrior, Brain intimates that he’s just not up to it. Having watched what Ainz did to Gazef, that’s no surprise.

When the envoy—our girl Lady Albedo—does arrive at Re-Estize, she carries herself with all the weight and stature such a position entails (her carriage is also pulled by a shimmering golden demon horse, which can’t hurt). Zanac doesn’t need Renner to tell him he needs to be on his best behavior.

On slightly less than his best behavior is one Philip Dayton L’Eyre Monterrat, the surviving son of a poor barony with only one village that also happens to be positioned neatly between the two kingdoms. Philip breaks etiquette and protocol by being the first of the nobles at the ball to welcome Albedo and introduce himself.

Phil later tells his dad that this is what their domain needs: to build ties with the Sorcerer Kingdom for favorable treatment when an invasion inevitably comes. To this end, he’s invited Albedo to another ball at the stately home of the rich commoner Hilma Cygnaeus.

Hilma, who has a very distinctive face, sees “potential” in Philip, and looks forward to benefiting from the power he gains in the future as a result of her financial and logistical support in the present. She even lets the brat co-host an event being held in her home. As he escorts and even puts his arm around Albedo, it’s clear how out of his league Phil is, but you can’t help but admire his ambition. At least he’s trying to do something to stem the tide of ruin for his domain!

As we learn when Albedo retires to her chambers, Hilma is in league with Albedo to secure a “puppet”, and Albedo is happy with one as stupid as Philip, despite his impropriety and stupid smirk. Perhaps a little more juicy is the fact that either behind Zanac’s back or with his tacit support, Princess Renner herself is bending the knee to Albedo, helping to smuggle goods into E-Rantel in exchange for a blue magical box Renner is confident she’ll be able to open.

While stubborn mules like Brain simply slow down what they see as an eventual turnaround in fortune somewhere far down a road he won’t be alive to see, operators like Renner and Philip are getting in early while the getting’s good. If Ainz and his ilk can’t be defeated by other individual or force in this world, they might as well make nice.

SSSS.Dynazenon – 07 – Mending Dyna-Fences

Out from under the Nihonbashi Bridge comes a pair of newcomers, a cheerful woman and a serious man with silver hair she calls Knight. She says Kaiju appearing in a world “weakens the barrier”, and tells Knight to do his best. He transforms into Gridknight, forces the Eugenicists to withdraw their Kaiju, and for good measure gives Dynazenon a kick for putting on such a pathetic display of ineptitude.

Next time we see the mysterious pair, they’re back on their little boat. Koyomi broke off from the others when he spots Inamoto’s husband among the wreckage and gets him some help, all while Chise is trying to find him. You can cut the moroseness between Yomogi and Yume with a knife, but Gauma still tries to dispel it with some dinner, to no avail.

Knight and his chipper companion then introduce themselves to the Dyna-pilots as the Gridknight Alliance, voicing their intention to collaborate since they have the same mission: protect the world from Kaiju. Gauma dismisses them for suddenly showing up (just like he did). The pilots stay out late in case the Kaiju reppears.

Gauma tells Koyomi someone told him it’s best to “live honestly with one’s feelings” when he hears he saved a man he hates. The person who told Gauma was the woman he’s looking for, whom he also mentions was at “total beauty.” Koyomi and Gauma not even aware Chise is nearby.

With enough time for their lengthy silences in between words to fully play out, Yume and Yomogi finally get around to “making up”. Yomogi asks about Yume’s ankh puzzle, which Kano wouldn’t let her have, but was also in her cold, dead hand. Then Yume opens up about how she and Kano were once close, but drifted apart, and how she can’t stop wondering what her sister’s smile meant the last time she saw her.

Yomogi tears up at the story as superbly delivered by Wakamiya Shion, and tells Yume there’s a lot they don’t know yet, from whether it was suicide to what that parting smile meant. That’s exactly why she shouldn’t give up the investigation, and he’ll stay by her side. When she says Kano was a stranger to him, he responds “if she was a part of you, she’s not some stranger.”

Yume can’t help but giggle at Yomogi’s red, raw eyes and nose, but she also thanks him sincerely, for being by her side, and for shedding tears for her sister.

The next morning, the Kaiju Mujina and Onija were working on all night returns, floating along the surface of the bay like a psychedelic Trojan Horse. With Yomogi, Yume, and Koyomi feeling better after talking things through, Dynazenon has more of a spring in its step in the ensuing battle…if only its ankle weren’t damaged from the previous scrap.

No worries, as Gridknight rejoins the fight and his companion uses the “Fixer Beam” (deployed with a baton, calling to mind Cardcaptor Sakura) to repair Dynazenon so it can fight at 100%. Dyna and Knight put aside their initial hostility and deliver a tag-team beatdown on the Kaiju.

At the end of the battle, Mujina and Onija aren’t discouraged; far from it. Instead, they’re excited for the next battle, when they’ll be able to build on what they learned and perform even better. The Dynas learn Gridknight and Second’s names, and Gauma learns that Second is not to be touched…ever.

After hanging up on Inamoto thanking him for saving her hubby (to whom she vows to be closer than ever after his brush with death), Koyomi rejoins Chise on a bench, where she has a lollipop with his name on it. When he just crunches that bad boy in one defiant bite, Chise smiles and follows suit, glad her senpai is beside her again.

As for Yomogi and Yume, they’re not only talking together, but staning a little closer together on the rooftop, planning their next meeting in the investigation. None of these people are fully “healed” yet, but the difference between how they looked, sounded, and interacted in the depths of last week’s episode and at the end of this one was like night and day.

For all the miracles that take place in their world every day now, getting over their problems isn’t going to happen overnight. But as with the Eugenicists, there’s been an, incremental improvement in attitude and understanding that keeps me optimistic.

SSSS.Dynazenon – 06 – It’s Nothing

While things seemed to be okay with Team Dynazenon, there were still a number of indicators it might not remain that way for long. The first is Yume learning her sister may not have died in a freak accident, but committed suicide after being bullied by her friends. Yomogi is there for her, but simply doesn’t have the emotional tools to properly help her…plus he’s harboring a crush on her.

Having lost four battles in a row, the Eugenicists are starting to consider other options. Juuga is starting to think killing Gauma’s co-pilots may be a viable one, Onija has been all for killing from the start, and Mujina will be fine with whatever. Shizumu, whom you could argue has spent the most time with their enemies at school, doesn’t see the rush; he wants to meet more kaiju.

Koyomi has another quasi-date with Inamoto, but is crestfallen when she also invites her husband, who for good measure gets his name wrong despite his wife “always” talking about him. It’s awkward, and Koyomi is not into it. He’s drunk before the husband arrives due to learning more from Yume about her sister’s death. Could his and Inamoto’s little secret have something to do with that?

Even Chise can’t escape the blues this week, as thanks to Inamoto Koyomi is late for…whatever it is they do, which I’m assuming is nothing. But the bottom line is she’s lonely. Koyomi forgets his umbrella and encounters Mujina while waiting out the rain. They end up having a drink together (wine for her, water for him, and she pays).

Koyomi starts ranting bitterly about his issues with Inamoto, but Mujina truthfully declares she can’t possibly know what he’s on about, because she doesn’t really know him. She doesn’t even know herself, and declares that “unlike other people” she has nothing she wants to do. Koyomi can relate to that, and Mujina suggests that maybe they’re the same. But eventually Koyomi succumbs to the night’s imbibing, and when Mujina spots his Dyna Striker unprotected, she decides to nab it.

As Chise continues to wait for Koyomi and Yomogi has another awkward dinner with his mom and her boyfriend, Yume finally gets access to the other private videos still online, which document pranks played on Kano, including stealing her ankh puzzle. From the almost creepy off-camera voices and snickering to the mocking graphics and sound effects, it’s clear the videos could be construed as a campaign of bullying, though whether it led to Kano’s suicide is not clear.

The next day, Yume, already clearly down in the dumps from watching those awful videos, has to witness two of Yomogi’s friends flirting with and glomming on him. When Yomogi approaches her later that day, unaware she was watching before, she gives him the cold shoulder, saying her problems have “nothing to do” with him. Ouch…

Koyomi, with Chise in tow as emotional support, informs Gauma that he lost Dyna Striker while drunk, though he eventually remembers that Mujina stole it. Gauma uses his Diver to track Striker, and Koyomi and Chise accompany him to the “enemy base.” At that base—which is just an abandoned warehouse—the Eugenicists are again deadlocked when it comes to what to do with the Striker Mujina stole on a whim.

Onija wants to fuck shit up with it, Juuga wants to use it to negotiate with Gauma, Shizumu wants to give it back. Mujina doesn’t care, as long as she doesn’t have to decide, eventually regretting even stealing the damn thing. It’s clear that the four Eugenicists represent four distinct personalities: Juuga is analytical and pragmatic, Shizumu peaceable and principled, Onija aggressive and rash, and Mujina passive and indifferent.

As they quarrel over what to do, they are ambushed by Koyomi following Gauma’s order to create a diversion by “doing something crazy”—in this case throwing his umbrella through a window, then pouncing on Mujina and forcing her to the ground (further irking Chise). Striker flies out of her hand, Gauma picks it up and activates it. But in his haste to get rid of the Eugenicists once and for all, he compromises the warehouse, which collapses and allows the enemy to flee.

Back at school, Yume continues to watch the videos and Yomogi continues to struggle with how to reach out to her. Shizumu ends up coming up to the rooftop first to talk to her, saying he won’t pry, but getting Yume to admit she wishes “life were easier.” Shizumu tells Yume he thinks she’s fine just as she is, and when Yume again says it’s not that simple, he says, actually, it is. Yomogi is headed up to the roof when he encounters Shizumu headed back down without speaking to him.

Before Yomogi can say much of anything to Yume, there’s a fresh Kaiju Alert…at the absolute worst time for the Dyna co-pilots. Onija initially cannot use Instance Domination on this new kaiju, but they soon learn that it requires two of them to operate. Mujina is chosed to join Onija, and as soon as the kaiju powers up, it’s like a switch flipped in her head…she’s suddenly into something.

Meanwhile, the Dyna co-pilots assemble, and even Gauma can tell everyone is depressed, but all they say, in unison, is “it’s nothing.” Then they go through with half-hearted and out-of-sync callouts as they transform into Combine Dragon. It’s another excellent twist on the familiar excited callout method previously tweaked when Yomogi was sick.

From the get-go, you know this new dual-pilot kaiju is a different breed from Dynazenon’s past opponents. For one thing, it’s a whole lot more destructive, and has a number of terrifying, city-leveling weapons at its disposal. As Dynazenon charges it, Onija notes that Mujina has become a completely different person, shouting for the enemy to “bring it on!”.

But with snapshots of what’s troubling everyone flashing by in everyone’s heads—Inamoto’s husband for Koyomi, Kano’s prank videos for Yume, Yume’s sudden coldness and Shizumu for Yomogi—only Gauma has his heart in this battle, and that’s not nearly enough. The other three aren’t bringing anything to the table. It’s not just that this new kaiju is the most powerful yet…but that Dynazenon’s power is severely lacking.

Mujina takes full advantage by delivering a beatdown. Even when they get off a Saber attack and transform into Dyna Rex—previously the first sign they were about to defeat the kaiju—this time that doesn’t work either, and if there’s a more new powerful Dyna form to take, they’re in no shape to take it. Heck, even if Chise swapped out with someone, she’s pissed at Koyomi, and so would only contribute to the dysfunction.

Our down-in-the-dumps Dyna-pilots are only saved by the sudden appearance of a third giant combatant who flies in from a red flash high in the sky, right between the other two. My first thought was it was Gridman, but the details don’t match: this mecha has horns, fangs, and an unfamiliar paint job.

I’m reminded (thanks, ruicarlov) that this guy bears quite a strong resemblance to Gridknight, the Gridman clone Anti transforms into late in that series, but considering the true nature of the world of that series, is it really? All I can do for now is wait until next week to find out who this really is, whose side they’re on, and whether their arrival was…triggered by the Dyna-pilots falling apart.

Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World – 03 – Allies for an Afternoon

Iska and Alice can’t stop thinking about each other. It dawns on them both that their recent meet-cutes haven’t been a matter of mere coincidence. That’s further reinforced when Iska is offered his Saint Disciple status back in return for apprehending the Ice Witch.

Meanwhile, Rin and Alice learn that Iska was imprisoned for, of all things, freeing an astral witch from captivity, once again calling into question everything they think they know about their enemy. However bad the Empire might be, if there’s someone like Iska helping her kind, then perhaps there is a sliver of hope for the peace for which she yearns.

The two decide to test their propensity to run into reach other in the Neutral City. This time Captain Mismis accompanies Iska, while Rin sticks by Alice’s side. Both “chaperones” are well out of their comfort zone, but Iska and Alice want to learn more about each other.

In particular, Alice considers Iska’s past actions to contradict his current mission to capture her. Iska explains that nothing he’s done has been contradictory, but all in the greater service of peace. Ever since he freed that young, low-powered astral witch from a cruel fate, his overarching loyalty has been to the effort to end the war, not win it for the Empire.

Alas, Alice, who like Iska with the Imperial Senate is beholden to her set-in-her-ways mother, assures him capturing her won’t change the Sovereignty’s position. But perhaps, if he defects and serves under her, that position might soften.

Before he can respond to this shocking offer, the sky literally cracks and the Founder, Grand Witch Nebulis, emerges. Drawn to Iska’s location by Iska’s astral swords, Nebby is there to smite him, as well as any who “corrode the planet and its astral power”.

When Alice’s mom discovers the Founder has escaped, she’s happy, because it means the Empire’s defeat is all but certain due to her immense power. However, that belief lacks the nuance required of a leader carrying their people into the future, not just concerned with quarrels of the past.

The Founder doesn’t care about the future, only senseless wrath. When Alice tries to reason with her, she’s labeled a traitor and attacked along with Iska. It’s here when Alice is convinced the Founder cannot save her people; she is merely an uncontrollable relic of a bygone era. She can revere her for founding the Sovereignty, but her ancient grudge will only lead to further death and suffering for all.

On their own, neither Iska nor Alice are a match for the outdated agent of destruction, but when they stand back-to-back and combine their powers, Iska is able to climb Alice’s staircase of ice to literally clip the Founder’s wings and force her retreat. They also join their voices in telling the Founder to shut up and fuck off, cutting off her ponderous speechifying!

Before she returns to the cracks in the sky, Alice tells the Founder to go back to sleep for another hundred years. She’ll ensure that when she wakes up again the world will be a better place. That said, Iska rejects her offer to defect, so while the two exhausted fighters call a truce for the rest of the day, tomorrow they’ll be enemies again.

But Alice can’t deny that she and Iska want the same basic thing, and that her Founder can’t provide it. Saving the world is going to be up to the two of them, so they can’t remain enemies much longer.