Is it the -actual- first episode or the dumb way Crunchyroll put the manga preorder insert DVD only OAV episodes first in the queue?
No, the actual first episode of the actual 24 episode series, not whatever the fuck that OAV is. I gave it sideye (and actually still do a bit) because the whole setup of the relationship between Chise and Elias is PROBLEMATIC and continues to be PROBLEMATIC. But also it’s kind of a cool show so I let it slide.
Crunchyroll is so bad. It’s counterintuitive, but we finally caved and paid for premium because the fucking ads were causing the app to freeze. It’s so fucking terrible and I don’t want to support it, but also premium just fucking works so ugh. Assholes.
I’ve actually had the opposite happen to me, I gave up premium because it kept crashing and freezing. But the free service works just fine.
So weird.
It’s definitely a bit sticky as an initial setup, but because the story doesn’t harp on it through a pervy male gazey fanservice lens I agree that I think it can slide.
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So we finished this show, and I don’t totally know how I feel about it.
Like, the relationship stayed weird, but I guess it got less creepy as Chise grew more agency.
But also, I kinda feel like it was 20 episodes of buildup for 4 episodes of meat.
And like, I appreciated exploring the world, but where the plot wound up going made a solid chunk of the preceding material seem utterly pointless.
Especially the dragons. Like, why did there even need to be dragons at all? What did they add to the plot arc aside from “hey there are dragons in this world?”
I dunno, it just felt like some of it was forced and didn’t really play into Chise’s character development, or maybe her development was just kinda stilted.
I wanted to learn more about Elias, but he stayed this sort of remote monster for literally the entire show, so like, eh?
Overall, it was a pretty show with a decidedly “meh” plot and character development.
Did that cursed kid who was making chimeras for reasons make a return to reveal what he was plotting?
He eventually becomes the primary antagonist, although they don’t really delve into what he was plotting with making all those chimeras beyond “being evil and making people suffer because I’m suffering.”
There’s a lot that the manga fills out a lot more. Its over ten volumes and ongoing so its a very slow burn.
Yeah I don’t have the patience for that. I couldn’t even bother finishing the anime. I did enjoy the world building with the use of the fairy kingdom and dragons. But I became disinterested in Elias and Chise akward relationship a few episodes in.
I was crying at the end of Episode 1.
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Reminder for everyone that it is once again time to punch but one time.
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Waaaaaaan Punch!
Is punch usually only once season 2 good? I’ve heard from many sources that all the people responsible for the silky smooth animation for season 1 aren’t on the project, so season 2 just looks…fine.
Was I mislead?
Yeah there is a noticeable downgrade but it basically went from looking amazing to only looking alright so it’s not a huge deal.
Ikuhara’s new show, Sarazanmai, is premiering tomorrow. Watching some Sailor Moon S to hype myself up for it. On Ep 113.
Apparently I was mislead when a YouTube video I watched on the show after completing “Rascal does not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai” that The Pet Girl of Sakurasou (Sakura-sou no pet na kanojou) was by the same people which I probably should have looked into myself in advance, but after finishing that series I am kind of glad I didn’t. Let me explain.
This series starts off extremely tropey toward romantic comedy. The main character named Sorata is a bland guy with nothing going on in his life other than being kind-hearted enough that he can’t leave abandoned cats in the park alone. This gets him kicked out off the main student dorm of his art school and now has to live in the side-dorm with the “weirdos” which over time gets filled with pretty stereotypical anime characters, a lot of them girls with interest in him more or less. There is the whirl-wind of a senpai, the hot older teacher, the earnest, hard-working reserved girl with the secret crush on him. There is even a little sister character who is annoyingly clingy but thank goodness she is basically only relevant for an episode and a half and the main character has absolutely 0 interest in her. And then there is the main girl of Mashiro.
Mashiro is kind of the biggest problem I had in the series, and that is a bit bad for the titular character. She is basically incapable of taking care of herself, overwhelmed by the most rudimentary societal concepts or personal decisions like what underwear to put on, and this paired with a ridiculously docile and passive personality. Naturally, like he does for the abandoned cats, the main character has to take care of her. However, she is also an incredibly talented artist already accomplished in the art world, but for some reason she wants to draw manga.
And this is where the actually interesting part of this series comes in. All the characters (except for the teacher) have a larger goal for their career ahead or are already in the process of going for it, being software development, voice acting, animation or art. This forces the main character also to finally pursue a goal, his being making video games, but also has to deal with incredible frustration while seeing his design ideas being rejected while seeing Mashiro accomplish basically everything and anything with trivial ease, leading to feelings of dejection and resentment while still being attracted to her. To the series credit, despite her supposed obliviousness, Mashiro herself also undergoes a bit of a transformation, being discontent with the emotional anguish she causes others and blaming herself for others misfortune.
The series is definitely flawed. In addition to the very cliched character archetypes and the rather off-putting initial portrayal of Mashiro, the C-Couple of the series comes basically out of nowhere to fill out the roster of characters, and as said I could have definitely done without the little sister character. However, underneath there is a very interesting exploration of talent, drive, persistence, regret and human interaction.
Edit: I finally managed to found the reason I was confused about the relationship between Sakurasou and AoButa: The light novels the series are based on are by the same author.
Another series I am currently watching is One Outs, which I have seen before but after getting into baseball recently I wanted to look at again. The series is a cross between a baseball series and a gambling series, with the author of the original manga going on to write Liar Game.
The setup is that a professional baseball player named Kojima does a private training camp in Okinawa where he finds Tokuchi Toua, a pitcher playing a gambling game called “One Outs” where the participants basically play an at-bat in baseball. Should the batter manage to hit the ball beyond the infield, he wins. If he gets struck out or only manages an infield hit, the pitcher wins. Tokuchi doesn’t impress with his skills at pitching, but rather with his ability to psychologically analyze his opponents. Kojima manages to win a bet against him and forces Tokuchi to join his professional team where he runs afoul of the owner and his teammates.
As a gambling series, the show isn’t deeply concerned with characters and plot (though Tokuchi’s relentless smugness is really entertaining). Instead it focuses much more on devious trickery and human psychology. This has the side effect of events that should take only a couple of minutes to unfold to take up a lot of time in the series (e.g. like a real baseball game) but it manages to keep those events also extremely interesting and entertaining.
However, it also means that some of the events are rather out there and bizarre, so I am not sure I could recommend this series to baseball purists. If you are however interested in gambling series like Kaiji (Kaiji himself and Tokuchi being voiced by the same actor, btw), Kakegurui or even some battle-of wits shenanigans like Death Note or Dr. Stone, this series is a must watch. The only real negative I can say is that the secondary characters are a bit lackluster in both personality and art, the later of which being a reflection of the somewhat limited skills by the original mangaka.
If you’re looking for another baseball anime, check out Princess Nine. It’s somewhat old now, from the late 1990s, and I don’t know if it holds up, but I remember really enjoying it back in the day.
Well, I currently have Ace of the Diamond on deck, but thanks for the tip.
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Rewatching Little Witch Academia. It’s too sweet. I love it.
I need the next season.