Where the HFIL Have I Been? (Also Fall 2020 Anime)

 It has been 1 year and 4 months since the last time I updated this blog. And in the time since then, a LOT of things have happened. A global pandemic, rampant police brutality, hurricanes, wildfires, political corruption, impeachment...and that's just the United States alone! I'm not saying my blog was holding back the apocalypse or anything, I'm just saying that things weren't this bad when I was making bad jokes about Fruits Basket and Demon Slayer. And for that, I cannot apologize enough.

All kidding aside, while the sheer madness that is 2020 has played no small part in my unplanned hiatus, it wasn't the only reason. My personal life has been through a MAJOR shakeup these past two years. I moved twice, transitioned to working from home, grappled with depression, and learned more about my gender identity than I thought possible. While a lot of it is very personal, I am comfortable in sharing that I am NOT actually a cisgender male like I thought I was all my life and I'm actually nonbinary and gender fluid. While I'm still using male pronouns as of now, that may change in the future. 

Anyway, you don't come here to listen to me talk about my feelings or whatever. You want to talk about anime. And, well, I'm back, so let's talk about anime. 2020 has been a weird year for anime. Having multiple productions be put on hold or delayed will do that. Summer especially has been barren. But now, in the fall, the anime scene has exploded with the same quantity of new shows that we've come to expect, to the point where I'm currently watching NINETEEN anime. Not all of them are good, and I'm probably gonna be dropping a few soon, two of them are sequels (Golden Kamuy and Haikyu), and two of them are One Piece and Black Clover, so those don't really count, but there we are. That still leaves 15 anime to talk about, so let's get right into sharing first impressions and such. 

Summer Leftovers

Oh my God! Major 2nd actually came back! YOOOOOO!!!

For real, Major 2nd was the unexpected surprise of 2018, being an unassuming baseball anime for kids that was so well-written and so good at pushing my buttons that it made it's way to my top ten anime of that year. When no sequel was announced for 2019, I was fearful that there would be no continuation and I would have to seek out the manga, which would have been a crime because I knew Daigo and Sakura had more stories to tell.

And boy did they! Season 2 has somehow done the impossible in writing my favorite character Hikaru out of the show and somehow being better than Season 1. Making Daigo the unwitting captain trying to rebuild a team that has nothing was a great touch, especially with the first several episodes viewing him from the perspective of other characters, really showing how much he has grown into the role of a leader. Especially when 2/3 of the team is girls, which causes everyone to underestimate their chances (including several members of the team themselves), but they continue to surprise everyone in a very believable way while never becoming unbelievably overpowered. The rematch against Michiru was a particular highlight, with even a rival team built around a female ace pitcher still grappling with internalized misogyny and underestimating Daigo and the girls.

And the girls! In many sports anime I struggle to remember every team member as it feels like only a couple of players actually matter at the end of the day. No matter how much I love those shows, I still struggle to remember the second stringers in Kuroko's Basketball or Haikyu for example. But Sakura, Anita, Chiyo, Chisato, Tao, Yayoi, and Kandori all instantly endeared themselves to me and stood out with their own unique talents and roles. Not that the boys (Daigo, Nishina, and Tanba) are just standing back and giving up the spotlight to them either. Well, Tanba is, but that's kinda the point.

Seriously, I love this boy so much in a very platonic way.

Okay, Fire Force is a weird beast. What should be a very simple concept of anime firefighters turns into a convoluted mess of religious conspiracies, human experimentation, talking moles, spontaneous combustion-inducing insects, and whatever the hell makes Arthur so goddamn stupid. Season 1 aired in 2019, and I thought it was...okay. It had a rough start with shaky writing and inconsistent characters, but the art and sound direction was so good and the gimmick that all the shonen superpowers are fire-based is so novel that I kept watching all the way through and it really did start to pick up near the end, so I decided to give season 2 a shot.

And I am so glad I did. This is easily one of the most improved transitions from season 1 to season 2 I have ever seen. Fire Force season 2 has truly embraced the weird factor in its world design and the current arc's bonkers 3 way faction battles are so damn fun as a result. While I still have ABSOLUTELY no clue what the hell is going on, I think that David Production is in on the joke, and I'm having a blast as a result.

New Fall Series

Adachi and Shimamura is a yuri romance from Tezuka Productions based on a novel by Hitoma Iruma. The titular characters, Sakura Adachi and Hougetsu Shimamura, are delinquents who cut class to hang out together on the second floor of their school's gymnasium. They play ping pong together, eat bread together, and chat about being different from everybody else together. When Adachi starts having TOTALLY innocent and TOTALLY platonic dreams about kissing her best friend, the two of them unwittingly begin a journey to adulthood together. Oh, and there's also a random kid in a space suit who shows up and takes up screen time and I have no idea why she's there.

This is a pretty okay show so far, but it's kinda weird. It seems to be simultaneously moving at a snail's pace, where there is no external conflict and everything is purely character motivated so far, and also moving incredibly fast, where we've already had hand holding, lap sitting, and almost kissing in only two episodes. It's looking like the main driving question here is less "Will Shimamura reciprocate Adachi's feelings?" and more "Will Adachi learn to let go of her possessive instincts and create a healthy relationship with Shimamura while also acknowledging that she has other friends?", and so far, I'm here for it.

Akudama Drive is an original sci-fi action series from Studio Pierrot and director Tomohisa Taguchi. In a world with very little exposition explaining its backstory so far -- as far as I can tell, Kanto has conquered Kansai and the train to Kanto is now revered as some sort of deity -- an Ordinary Person (seriously, that's what she's credited as) is drawn into the world of super criminals known as Akudama. Posing as an unlisted Akudama known as Swindler in order to save her skin, she gets forced into a dramatic heist against the Kanto government on the orders of a robot cat, caught between a group of amoral murderers and the fascistic-looking police force.

This show is just plain rad. The bright neon colors belie the sinister underbelly of this society in a way that only the best cyberpunk stories can. While the characters are so far very bland and archetypal, their designs are very nice, and any show that opens with a guy riding a motorcycle up a building at least gets the 3 episode rule, and so far, it's been quite fun.

Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle - Rhyme Anima is a very bad title. It's also the latest in a multimedia project from King Records "Evil Line" label as an animated adaptation of the lore behind the albums from the fictional rap trios Buster Bros, Mad Trigger Crew, Fling Posse, and Matenro. In a world where women dominate the government, the creation and use of weapons has been completely prohibited and all conflicts are now settled with magic microphones that basically summon Stands by having better rhymes than your opponents.

This is just as stupid as it sounds and I LOVE IT! The characters are stupid, the raps are cheesy as hell, and everything is so over the top I can't take my eyes off the screen. I wouldn't call it good by any stretch of the word, but if it keeps up its current levels of silliness I'll keep watching it. Here's hoping that this is less of a Dimension High School so bad it's awful and more of a Kampfer so bad it's hilarious romp all the way through.

Ikebukuro West Gate Park is listed on My Anime List as a mystery, drama, and romance anime, but I don't see it. Based on a series of novels by Ira Ishida and animated by Doga Kobo, it tells the story of Makoto Majima, Takashi Andou, and the G Boys, a gang of street punks who help the helpless navigate the city of Ikebukuro and get back at rival gangs and exploitative corporations alike. 

This is just plain mediocre. So far we've had 3 self contained stories about drugs being bad, fast food being bad, and YouTube beef being bad, and none of them have really wowed me so far. The blurb on MAL promises Makoto dealing with the death of a loved one, but we're a quarter of the way through the series with no such inciting incident having occurred yet. This is near the top of my chopping block, and unless it turns itself around soon it's probably gonna be dropped.

Oh, big surprise, Patrick's watching a sports anime and liking it more than it probably deserves. Haven't seen that one before. Iwa Kakeru! Sport Climbing Girls is a rock climbing anime by Studio Blade based on a web manga by Ryuudai Ishizaka. It tells the story of former puzzle game addict Konomi Kasahara, who finds herself drawn to the complexities of competitive rock climbing by viewing the whole thing as one big puzzle to find the most efficient route to the top of the wall. 

Speaking entirely objectively, this show is just fine. Aside from some decent character development from Konomi and her tsundere rival/teammate Jun Uehara, not much has happened yet. The show's 3 episodes at time of writing have been focused on teaching Konomi the intricacies of proper rock climbing technique, having her build up her lacking strength and stamina, and the insecurities that naturally crop up when Konomi compares her beginner skill level to her more experienced and physically fit teammates. Which is entirely par for the course and important groundwork that is common for the genre in its early game. What's important is that I think that this show does a much better job at balancing moe and sports elements than other disappointments like Anima Yell or Cinderella Nine. If anything, I'm getting a Harukana Receive vibe here. And I liked Harukana Receive quite a bit for what it was. I'm probably gonna end up finishing this one.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (or Bear Bear Bear Bear if you literally translate it to English) may be the best anime title of all time. It's also our isekai anime for the season because we can't have an anime season without one apparently. We actually have four new isekai airing right now but this is the one I chose to watch because I Stand on a Million Lives was so boring I fell asleep in the middle of the first episode, Yasahime: Princess Half Demon is a sequel to Inuyasha (a show I couldn't get into), and By the Grace of the Gods had a boring blurb, so here we are. 

Anyway, the story of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear is about a teenage genius named Yuna who is a self made millionaire thanks to effortlessly playing the stock market who spends all her time playing the creatively named VRMMO World Art Online. After receiving the overpowered special event bear suit item, she suddenly finds herself dragged into the game world with only the bear suit equipped to her and unable to remove it. When she realizes that she is basically invincible with the bear suit equipped, Yuna basically decides that since she found the real world boring anyway, she's just gonna hang out in the virtual world and carve a new life for herself.

I don't know what it is with isekai anime being all slice of life lately, but this is the first one that really seems to make it work. Yuna is a fun character, with her understated confidence and lack of giving a shit about any of the fantasy stuff happening around her reminding me of a cocky shonen sports protagonist from the early 2000s. She's basically an isekai Ryoma Echizen, only instead of kicking your ass at tennis, she kicks your ass with bear-themed magic spells. What's not to like?

Magatsu Wahrheit: Zuerst is, of all things, a mobile game adaptation animated by Yokohama Animation Laboratory, a studio best known for an anime about girls in tights getting soaking wet. I'm not even kidding. The story follows two characters on opposite sides of the conflict. Leocadio Weller is a bright-eyed optimistic youth who's very excited about joining the Imperial Army. He's in such a good mood that he decides to stop and help a stranger named Innumael Groener load his delivery truck so he can leave for his route on time. But when Leo accidentally loads a package that was actually illegal weapons in disguise, Innumael gets blamed and is now suspected of being part of an illegal smuggling operation. Feeling guilty, the smugglers bust Innumael out of jail when they arrive to retrieve the package and now he's stuck with them as he tries to escape the Leo's squad, who have been assigned to capture them.

There's a lot happening in that first episode and this is the shortest summary I can think of. This story is much more ambitious than I expected a mobile game story to be, and so far it's actually doing a pretty good job at pulling it off. I'm not saying that it's high art or anything, but this pulp magitech fantasy setting really does something for me, and the morally ambiguous story pitting two groups of likable characters (Leo's sadistic commander aside) against each other in a war that was started for reasons that none of them seem to understand really reminds me of the better parts of The Price of Smiles. And, as inconsistent as it was, I liked The Price of Smiles. I like this one, too. Even if I have no idea how to pronounce that title.

Do you want a cute witch girl who's actually 18? Do you like good animation, episodic stories, and interesting world building? If so, Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina is the anime for you! Based on a light novel series by Jougi Shiraishi, we follow the titular witch as she travels from place to place and observes other people's stories unfolding in front of her.

This is a very simple show that has some good execution but not a whole lot of substance. I'm enjoying it quite a bit simply because Elaina is a good character, being an interesting blend of immature brat and wise mentor figure, but the thing that really pushed this up from a 6 to a 7 for me was the most recent episode (at time of writing). After two saccharine episodes that only hinted at a darker world under the surface, we get two stories that end on a very dark note as Elaina just goes "Well, that sucks" and flies away. That's such a fascinating reaction to me that I want to see if anything will actually motivate her to stick around and fix things, since she is an incredibly powerful witch who at the very least could have saved a lot of lives and just chose not to get involved.

Talentless Nana would have been good regardless of when it came out, but let me tell you, it came out at exactly the right time. Now to tell you why would involve a spoiler on the level of the first episode of Promised Neverland, so let me say it right now: MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING! IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE A GENUINELY WELL DONE PLOT TWIST WITHOUT ANY PRIOR KNOWLEDGE (THAT NOT EVEN THE MAL PAGE REALLY SPOILS) SCROLL TO THE NEXT PICTURE WITHOUT READING ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE IT!

I'm assuming if you're still reading this part, you're okay with spoilers, so let's go. In the world of Talentless Nana, there are strange monsters known as Enemies of Humanity (real creative name there, guys) hiding in the shadows, and a group of super powered teenagers are gathered together at a training academy to prepare to fight against them. Nanao Nakajima is a natural leader, but he doesn't seem to have any other powers beyond that, planning to defeat the Enemies of Humanity through sheer strategy and tactics alone.

So, one would think that Nanao is the Talentless Nana of our title, but that's actually not true. The real Talentless Nana is the new transfer student Nana Hiiragi, who claims she can read minds but is actually an unpowered assassin sent to murder the students because, it turns out, there are no Enemies of Humanity and the goal of the academy is to eliminate super humans before they destroy the world. Nana is relying on just her incredible manipulation and observation skills to kill everyone without being discovered by the kids who could easily kill her without a second thought if they know what she's up to. 

So, it's basically X-Men mixed with Among Us from the Impostor's perspective. And it's every bit as awesome as it sounds. There's an excellent Light vs L level of psychological warfare going on and the kill in episode 2 in particular was very creative. Definitely one to watch.

Rail Romanesque is a bad anime. I have no idea why I'm still watching it at this point. It's a short form series with 3 minute episodes from Studio Saetta where a bunch of girls talk about marketing trains or something but nothing happens and the characters aren't even cute. 

If that sounds familiar to you, it's because the same applies to the legendarily mediocre Jingai-san no Yome, another short form series from Saetta that I covered way back in the first season of the Weekly Roundup. And I gave that show a bit of a pass cause it was Saetta's first ever production. But now they have a few series under their belts and there is no improvement here. I'm just assuming that nobody at the studio actually cares about promoting a visual novel that nobody's heard of, because otherwise I'd have to assume that they have no idea what they're doing, and that's not fair to anybody.

Tonikawa: Over the Moon for You is the name that Crunchyroll gives this anime, but the logo says Tonikawa: Fly Me to the Moon, so I have no idea what the official name is. I just call it Adorable. Nasa Yuzaki hates his parents for giving him a name that makes people ask him every damn day if he's gonna be an astronaut. As such, he's determined to make something of his life so impressive that when you hear the name Nasa, you think of him rather than those space weirdos. And he's on track as well, at the top of his class and heading to an elite high school, all until he sees her. The most beautiful girl he's ever seen. He's so head over heels in love with her that he doesn't notice the truck until it hits him. But instead of being sent to another world, Truck-kun just changes his world as the accident draws her attention, and he fights through the pain and asks her out. And she says yes, on one condition: they get married. To which Nasa instantly agrees, because of course he does. Three years pass, and Nasa drops out of school to try to find her. But the girl, named Tsukasa, comes to him, and the two get married at the courthouse and prepare to navigate newlywed life together.

I really like this a lot. Nasa and Tsukasa are so innocently into each other that even though they're married, they haven't done anything besides hold hands and go shopping together so far. I'm not sure what Tsukasa's deal is, but my gut says she's either an alien or secretly terminally ill. I really hope it's not the latter, because we need a light hearted cute anime right now and not a feels trip, thank you very much.

Production IG must really like Sherlock Holmes. Last year we had Kabukichou Sherlock and now we have Moriarty the Patriot, reimagining the detectives arch-rival as a vigilante crime consultant who helps the downtrodden working class get justice against the nobles who may exploit them. For example, episode 1 features Moriarty helping to take down a noble who kidnaps, tortures, and murders the sons of tailors and jewelers who serve the nobility.

This is alright, I suppose. I like the interpretation of Moriarty as a rebel against capitalism, but the whole thing seems kinda wishy-washy so far. Like, instead of wanting to abolish the nobility altogether, something that this interpretation of the character would probably want, his only goal seems to be killing bad nobles. Which is fine, I guess, but it just feels off. Either way, the animation is good, the voice acting is good, the mystery in episode 1 was solid, and the origin story that's currently being shown is still holding my attention, so overall, I like it.

I saved the best for last (not counting Haikyu and Golden Kamuy). Jujustu Kaisen is the latest Shonen Jump adaptation from MAPPA based on the manga by Gege Akutami. Yuji Itadori is an average high school student who'd rather blow off the athletics clubs trying to recruit him and hang out with his friends at the occult research club. But when his friends break the seal on an actually cursed object, Yuji is forced to allow the demon Sukuna Ryoumen to possess him in order to rescue them from the demons that are attracted to the object. This attracts the attention of the sorcerers of Jujutsu Tech, who plan to execute Yuji for being the vessel of one of the most evil demons in history. But once Yuji demonstrates that he control Sukuna and keep him at bay, he gets a plea deal with the sorcerers: find and consume the rest of the cursed fingers that can restore Sukuna to full power, and THEN die so as to kill Sukuna once and for all. And with his only living family having died of natural causes earlier that day, he really doesn't have any objections to this arrangement.

This is a really strong start from an anime that I was very much anticipating ever since I heard it was basically a spiritual successor to Bleach (never mind Burn the Witch, the actual new manga from Bleach creator Tite Kubo). And, yeah, I can totally see it, and it goes beyond just being a shonen battle manga with a paranormal theme and a punk aesthestic. Yuji is SO much a modern interpretation of Ichigo Kurosaki that it's honestly shocking. Both are shonen good boys who reject what society expects of them and forge their own path, valuing family above everything else and with a singular goal of protecting people from harm. Ichigo is motivated by his younger sisters, deciding to fight Hollows in order to make sure they are safe. Meanwhile, Yuji is motivated by the memory of his late grandfather, wanting to honor his last request to do some good and help people. However, there's a real sadness to Yuji in that, with his grandfather dead and his normal friends forever out of reach, and it seems like he just wants to make sure he does something good before his inevitable execution. It makes for a very sympathetic character for the show to fall back on whenever it isn't doing one of it's amazing action scenes.

And let me be clear, those action scenes are AMAZING. Director Seong-Hu Park has a very accomplished resume when it comes to action animation, having previous worked previously on shows like Fairy Tail, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and The God of High School, and that experience definitely shows. The body movement is incredibly fluid and the choreography is simultaneously fast paced, easy to follow, incredibly visceral, and full of so much character. 2020 has been a pretty great year for action anime all around, with hits like Dorohedoro, BNA, and The God of High School, but this one may top them all if it continues to produce at this level. 

Either way, that's everything I'm watching right now. Next week, we'll maybe talk about something with a bit more of a focused topic.

Weekly Roundup Spring 2019 Week 8

Oh, crap, this is late, isn't it? I'm really sorry, my hours at work changed and it really threw me off my game while writing my notes on this week's batch of episodes. It also hasn't helped my work schedule that I made a Twitch account and started streaming my journey playing Spyro for the very first time. I'm still experimenting on how I plan to schedule my blog posts and the streams, but once I figure it out I will let you know when I stream so you can watch.

Anyway, enough shameless plugs. You're here for the roundup, and a roundup you will get. Six anime remain for our viewing pleasure, and six anime will be discussed. And guess what? None of them sucked enough to cut! That's the first time this has happened all season! Huzzah!

Sounds of Life

They actually acknowledged it!

Starting things off is Jogging in Place: The Animation. In episode 8, despite Takinami's less than encouraging advice to give up their unrealistic dreams of a national championship, the ktoo club is inspired by Hozuki's playing and redoubles their efforts to find their own unique sound. At the urging of his friends and his aunt, Kudo plays his grandfather's koto for the first time, and the resulting sound brings everyone around him to tears. Later, upon hearing that the Satowa Hozuki is playing at Tokise High School, two representatives from Himesaka Girls Academy named Kazusa and Fumi come to the club room to ask Hozuki to join a school more suited to her talents. Hozuki refuses, and Kazusa is so upset that her idol has been corrupted by the "barbaric" boys that she invites them to a joint practice session at the elite Meiryo High School in order to win her over with playing. Takezo is hesitant to accept, as he seems to have some bad memories associated with Meiryo, which is also his brother Takeru's school of choice, but agrees for the sake of the club, and before long, the day of the joint practice finally arrives.

This episode started out kinda slow. I mean, there's only so many times I can hear variations on Kudo saying he doesn't feel worthy of his grandfather's legacy and blah blah blah before it gets annoying, you know? That's not to say those scenes were bad per se, but they felt unnecessary. Things don't really pick up until the Himesaka girls are introduced halfway through the episode. Now that we have gathered the club together and everyone is fully committed to the koto, this is the perfect time to start introducing rival characters and getting us ready for the inevitable musical tournament arc. Hints at a deeper backstory for Takezo are definitely appreciated as well, as it looks like he was accepted into Meiryo but chose not to attend for some reason. All in all, this was a setup episode that was content with only being good enough, which is disappointing after the standout episode from last week. Here's hoping the show will bounce back next week.

Fruits Basket

Stop being so pretty, my eyes were not meant to gaze upon such beauty!

Up next is Warm and Fuzzy Feelings. In episode 8, New Year's Eve is approaching, and the Soma Clan's annual celebration is a very important family event that everyone is expected to attend. But Yuki and Kyo both refuse to attend the banquet, as they want to avoid spending time with Akito and Kagura, respectively. The boys ignore Shirgure's pleas to respect the family traditions, but upon hearing Tohru's point that their parents may be missing them (as she has none, lest we forget), they reluctantly agree to go on without her. As they make their way to the Soma estate, the boys run into Hana, who tells them that Tohru refused the offer to spend New Year's with her and Uo, and now that she sent the Somas away too and her grandfather's family left for Hawaii, she is well and truly alone. Upon hearing this, Yuki and Kyo once again refuse to attend the banquet and run home to spend the night with Tohru, and the three watch the sun rise on a new year together.

This is a much more lighthearted and fluffy episode compared to last week, and I'd say that that's exactly what we needed. This gives us a chance to catch our breath and decompress after the emotionally heavy moments of Hatori's backstory, and I'm definitely glad that Fruits Basket is back to making me cry happy tears instead of sad ones. But while I definitely enjoyed seeing my girl Tohru get recognized for being a literal saint who is too god for this world, nothing in her and the boys' story really advances either. The episode is mostly a breather, a feel good moment first and a chance to advance the story second. Still, though, the scenes at the Soma banquet proper hint that the boys' choice to skip the celebration will have consequences, and we have a new Soma introduced! I don't know his name yet, as Shigure only refers to him as "Haa-kun", but he's got a cool design and a supposedly stoic personality, and I'm guessing that he transforms into the ox.

Demon Slayer

Fruits Basket launches a pretty picture barrage and Demon Slayer fires right back! 

Next up is episode 8 of The Doctor's Disease (guess the reference and you win a no prize). When Muzan Kibutsuji transforms a passerby into a demon in broad daylight, Tanjiro is forced to allow Muzan to escape while he restrains the demon. Tanjiro's declaration of revenge against Muzan attracts the attention of the police, who try to separate him from the demon, thinking that he is assaulting an innocent. Not wanting to let things get out of hand, a demonic doctor intervenes with her illusion magic, and convinces Tanjiro to allow her to take him and his wife into treatment, as she is dedicated to stopping Muzan's scheming. After picking up Nezuko and returning to her house, the doctor introduces herself as Tamayo and her assistant as Yashiro, and explains that she has been studying demon physiology since her transformation, and has learned how to suppress demons' desire for flesh through the consumption of blood voluntarily given by human donors. With a shared goal of creating a permanent cure for their demonic nature, she asks Tanjiro to allow her to study Nezuko's blood and to collect blood samples from powerful demons close to Muzan's level in strength. Immediately after Tanjiro agrees, the house is attacked by two demons sent by Muzan to assassinate Tanjiro.

Big surprise, I liked this episode. Even if it was light on action, a lot of new details came to light and raised even more questions as a result. The idea of a faction of pacifistic demons who oppose the horrific actions of Muzan and his ilk is a great way to add some depth to the setting, as is the confirmation that demons and the Demon Slayer Corps are not common knowledge even among worldly cities like Asakusa. I had previously thought that Tanjiro's ignorance was due to his isolated rural upbringing, but if the reactions of the crowd during the first demon's incident are anything to go by, the existence of demons is virtually unknown among the populace. Is there some sort of masquerade or cover up happening? If so, why? What would the Demon Slayers have to gain by keeping the existence of demons a secret? 

Also, why is Muzan so infuriated by Tanjiro's earrings? His dialogue implies that he knew a demon slayer with the hanafuda style earrings in the past, but is it the same pair of earrings? Was Tanjiro's father a demon slayer? Would that make the attack on his family an act of revenge rather than a random act of violence? After all, if Muzan is posing a random civilian with a family in the big city, why would he go so far out of his way to target the Kamado family if his motivation wasn't personal? And what did Muzan mean when he declared himself as close to perfection as possible? Did he start out as human once and gain his demonic nature through some sort of ritual in pursuit of immortality? That's my best guess based on what we know so far. I haven't asked this many hypothetical questions in a roundup since Gridman was airing, and I love it! Can't wait for next week!

RobiHachi

Mech battles? In RobiHachi? It's more likely than you think.

In episode 8 of Hizakuriger on the Verdurous Planet, instead of the human controlled planet of Mulberry 7, the gang accidentally lands on the robot controlled planet of Mulberry 8, and Robby and Hatchi are forced to hide inside of Hizakuriger in order to blend in. Not to be outdone, Yang forges his own mech in the span of like an hour in order to continue his hunt for Robby. Yang and Hizakuriger are each recruited by mechanical lords on opposite sides of annual mock wars that are at the center of the political struggle for control of the planet. Because the mock battles do not allow for fatal blows (for robots anyway) and modern weaponry, both Yang and Hizakuriger distinguish themselves in the battle, but Yang's smaller mech has an advantage in mobility, which allows him to take the upper hand and pin Hizakuriger. Just before he could capture Robby, though, the human slaves who Robby and Hatchi had befriended earlier attack everyone involved in a bid for revolution. The gang inside Hizakuriger take advantage of the confusion to escape the planet and Yang stays behind to fight alongside the human rebels for the sake of revenge against the robots who mistreated him.

This is going to sound more negative than it actually is, but nothing in this episode made me laugh. In fact, I don't think there were any real jokes in the episode at all. Which, admittedly, is not good for a comedy series like this. But still, I don't think this was a terrible episode or anything. It showed us a unique world, explored the relationship between Ikku and the others (albeit in a very shallow way), and had some decent action scenes. It wasn't particularly good, but overall? This episode was just okay. In any case, it definitely wasn't boring like episode 5 was, so it still survives, but still. One of the weaker episodes here.

We Never Learn

I have no clever comments. This is just adorable.

Next up is Fanservice Ruins Everything. In episode 8, Nariyuki's mother wins a smart phone in a contest, and he is excited by the possibilities of using study apps. However, his complete incompetence with using the phone leads to a series of mishaps as he studies in the bath, from accidentally texting Fumino to calling Rizu and Takemoto (which gets even more ridiculous when Takemoto accidentally starts a video chat with him while they're both bathing). After all of the obligatory hijinx are out of the way, Takemoto collapses from pushing herself too hard with both her studying and her training for the upcoming swim tournament. As Nariyuki takes her to the infirmary, he overhears her teammates talking about how he is the one that she has feelings for. Embarrassed and awkward, especially after Takemoto takes him out for ramen as a thank you for helping her, as he struggles to keep his cool as he starts seeing her in a more sexual light. When Takemoto asks is if he has a girlfriend, he says, without thinking, that he has no time for girls until after entrance exams for university are over. He then asks her if she likes him, which he denies out of a combination of a fear of rejection and a fear that she would hold him back from the academic success that he craves. Of course, being the idiot that he is, Nariyuki accepts that answer without question.

I was so mad at the first half of this episode. The nonsense about Nariyuki not being able to use his phone leading to all sorts of weird sexual antics just felt forced and out of place with the rest of the narrative. It's almost as if it's something that the powers that be told the creative team had to be there, so they just forced it in without thinking about how it could serve the rest of the show. It's not even that any of the jokes were particularly horrible either. They were fine and they made me chuckle, but when we are at episode 8 of 13, the time for pointless fluff has passed. You can have funny moments that still inform character and narrative development. And if you want proof of that, you need only look at the second half of the episode. Nariyuki panicking at simple things like Takemoto's arm bumping against his or her saying that she needs to "make it up to him" is not only funny, it's a sign that he is acknowledging that she is a woman who may be attracted to him, and he doesn't know how to handle that because this situation has never happened to him before. And while the way things ultimately ended this episode may have been unsatisfying since it draws out the "will they, won't they" harem dynamic, because otherwise the show would be over I guess, it does still feel in character for both of them to act in just this way. This was a decent episode, but if it cut out that stuff with the phone and the bath in the beginning, it could have been one of the best of the series.

Dororo

That looks so freaking cool!

Finally, we have My Inner Child Screaming Unintelligibly. In episode 20, as Tahomaru tries to provide relief to his people suffering from plague and famine, Daigo hears a report of a strange heartbeat sound resounding in the Hall of Hell. Meanwhile, Dororo and Hyakkimaru climb a mountain in search of a demon, and they meet a samurai named Saburota, who had been hunting the very same demon ever since it ate his mother. When Hyakkimaru confronts the demon, Saburota betrays them and attacks him and Dororo. The skirmish drives them to the edge of a cliff, and the rocks collapse underneath them, leaving Dororo pinned under a boulder as water starts rising, threatening to drown her. Hyakkimaru desperately tries to free her, nearly shattering one of his arms in the process, until Biwamaru arrives and helps him free her. Enraged, Hyakkimaru battles against the demon Nue and Saburota, but when he kills them, his body part odesn't return, and he flies into a rage, stabbing Nue's corpse over and over as the corruption inside him grows ever larger, before setting out to Daigo to get his body back once and for all.

Holy crap! This was great! Nue is one of my favorite designs of the demons, drawing a lot of inspiration from the Greek chimaera and evolving over the course of the episode when it MERGES WITH SABUROTA!! THAT'S JUST AWESOME!! 

And can we talk about Saburota for a second? What a cool bad guy! A young man who dreamed of becoming a samurai, he was taking his ailing mother to see a doctor when Nue attacked. In his horror, he fled, wildly swinging his sword behind him, inadvertently cutting off her hand and leaving her to die! Wracked with guilt, he joined his fellow townspeople in a hunt for revenge, but upon seeing them fall to the demon as well, he felt comforted by the knowledge that there was nothing he could have done to save his mother and decided to lure victims to Nue in order to maintain the illusion of vindication. And the way he breaks down when he sees Hyakkimaru not only standing his ground against Nue but defeating it with relative ease as well is so damn cathartic! Easily one of the best episodes of Dororo so far, and that's really saying something at this point!

And that wraps up this week's roundup! Normally, I would do a whole thing about what may happen next week, but instead I have an announcement: There will be no roundup next week, as I will be attending AnimeNEXT in Atlantic City. The next roundup is scheduled for June 16, which will be covering weeks 9 and 10 of the season, meaning each show will have two episodes to review. But there will be something up next week: namely a more traditional blog post with photos and recaps of what happened at the convention. So, look forward to that, and I'll see you next time!

Weekly Roundup Spring 2019 Week 7

I really thought I would have that Black Clover analysis post finished by now, but life keeps getting in the way. Between preparations for an upcoming anime convention trip (I will be sharing pictures, don't you worry), extra training at work for a new shift and additional responsibility, and a lot of Yugioh games, I'm amazed I even managed to finish all the anime for the roundup in time. But anyway, you know the drill: we have 7 anime remaining after Senryu Girl's elimination, and I mention something unrelated before awkwardly transitioning to the first show on the list. Speaking of which, that last chapter of One Piece (chapter 943 as of time of writing) was simply incredible!

And as I can't post spoilers, here's some awesome fanart I found on Google. If anyone knows
the artist, please let me know so I can credit them.

RobiHachi

I could make a Backstreet Boys joke here, but that's beneath me.

Leading us off is The Magic Kingdom in the Sky (by Da Vinci's Notebook). In episode 7, the gang arrives at the amusement park planet of Akka Sekka, where Hatchi helps them skip the 8 hour long line to buy tickets thanks to his large social media following. As Hatchi drags them from place to place, Robby and Ikku are horrified to learn that negativity is forbidden by law, and the slightest hint of verbal complaining can lead to you being "disposed of" by one of the singing employees. After a day full of faking smiles causes them to actually embrace the atmosphere, the trio's day is ruined when Yang hijacks the parade and chases after them, culminating in a moment where Robby and Hatchi accidentally ring a ceremonial bell during an annual planetary alignment that signifies that they are destined to share eternal love.

Going into this week's episode, I knew that nothing it could come up with would compare to the unbridled joy that episode 6 made me feel, and I adjusted my expectations accordingly. And while this episode didn't get nearly as bonkers as that one, it surprisingly holds up just as well. Learning a bit more about Hatchi's past was great, even if it's only through cryptic visual clues. I'm currently leaning toward the theory that he is some sort of wealthy heir who had a sheltered upbringing and is taking advantage of the Isekandar trip to make up for his lost youth by being the crazy tourist we know and love. And the comedy was good, too, even though Disney and other similarly saccharine theme parks are easy targets for this sort of satirical humor, the actual jokes land really well, and seeing Hatchi drag Robby and Ikku into joining in a musical number with the park staff or seeing Yang be inspired to continue following his dreams to be a creepy mob boss/stalker by an uplifting Disney ballas is absolutely hysterical. Another great episode from a show that seems to be a bit of a hidden gem this season.

Dororo

How dare you try to replace Mio!

Up next is Love and Other Demons. In episode 19, Dororo and Hyakkimaru travel to the home of the swordsmith Minetsuna in order to repair Hyakkimaru's swords. While there, the learn that all the villagers speak in lies and opposites, except for Minetsuna and his daughter Okowa, who are protected by their family's patron deity. Thanks to a misunderstanding and the curse of a ghoul named Amanojaku, our heroes start speaking in opposites as well, and Hyakkimaru ends up unwillingly agreeing to give up his quest for his body and marry Okowa as a result. As Okowa drags Hyakkimaru to the temple to start the wedding, Dororo and Munetsuna defeat Amanojaku, freeing everyone from the curse and Hyakkimaru from a loveless marriage. Okowa marries a local boy who can finally confess his feelings properly instead, and our heroes continue their journey.

That was...odd. And not very good. While there have been occasional funny moments in the past, this was the anime's first attempt at a comedic episode, and I think we have proven that comedy does not suit it at all. Everyone's delivery, aside from Dororo, was awkward and forced, the scenario was more confusing than actually funny, and the visual style is still as melancholic as ever, which clashes the more whimsical tone of the script. This feels like poorly written fanfiction rather than an actual episode of Dororo. I enjoyed some of the filler episodes in Naruto more than I enjoyed this episode! All that being said, this was still only the first bad episode after 18 straight good episodes. I am confident that the show will find its groove again now that Hyakkimaru's swords are repaired and we can continue the main story. Besides, it wasn't the worst thing I watched this week...(foreshadowing...).

Demon Slayer

In episode 7 of Smooth Criminal: The Animation, with Nezuko able to protect the human bystanders, Tanjiro is free to pursue the demon through its portals as it sinks into the floor. In a dimension that is more like an underwater swamp than anything else, he struggles to breath and maintain his footing, leaving the demon to think it has the advantage. However, his water techniques turn out to be much more powerful underwater, and he defeats the demon with ease. After returning to the surface, Tanjiro interrogates the demon for information about Muzan Kibutsuji, but the demon is so terrified at the thought of betraying its master that he is forced to kill him without learning anything. Immediately after destroying the demon, Tanjiro is given new orders to investigate rumors of a demon in the Asakusa ward of Tokyo. Though he is overwhelmed by the sheer number of people and level of urbanization, he soon notices the scent of Muzan, which he recognizes from the attack on his family, and leaves Nezuko behind to track it. But he is stunned to see the demon Muzan accompanied by a human wife and daughter, and as he awkwardly struggles to think of a plan, Muzan covertly demonstrates his power by silently attacking a passing human and transforming him into a demon for Tanjiro to fight.

Holy crap! I was expecting this to just be a full length episode of Tanjiro and Nezuko kicking ass followed by an interrogation scene that would give us more information about Muzan. I didn't expect to see the big bad so soon! Muzan Kibutsuji is already a great villain too, oozing with class and malice in equal measure. The twist that he has a human family reminds me a lot of Fuhrer King Bradley from Fullmetal Alchemist, being another inhuman monster with a human wife and child, and the offhanded way he creates the new demon sends a real message to Tanjiro: "Don't mess with me." I just love it. 

Also, it's gratifying to see Nezuko step away from being a plot device and take an active role in the combat. I wasn't too surprised to see her jump in the fray, but since Shonen Jump stories don't have the best track record when it comes to female characters (though they are getting better), it still is a relief. The animation was a bit weaker than last week, with some surprisingly bad CG compared to the previous episodes, but the story implications of Muzan demonstrating his power and the awesmoe battle music incorporating traditional shamisen and chanting more than makes up for it in maintaining my hype. I'm hungry for more and next week cannot come soon enough.

We Never Learn

I'm getting Domestic Girlfriend flashbacks.

Next up is Poor Communication Kills. In episode 7, after seeing Nariyuki climb a tree to try to help a cat who is stranded in a tree, Kirisu trips and sprains her ankle, forcing him to help her limp back to her apartment. Upon seeing how filthy the apartment is, Nariyuki offers to help her clean the place in exchange for some one on one tutoring, and the two discuss their philosophy on following your dreams versus sticking with what you're good at, as Kirisu once pursued her dreams of being a professional figure skater but was unable to make it in the hyper competitive field that has such a short lifespan. Realizing that Kirisu only wants what she thinks is best for her students, Nariyuki tells Fumino about this encounter to try to help them make up. Fumino, however, is distracted by the earth shaking news that he went to a grown woman's apartment, pins him to a tree, and swears him to secrecy, so as not to hurt Rizu or Takemoto's feelings. Unfortunately though, someone notices them under the special romantic tree on campus and begins spreading rumors of Nariyuki and Fumino going out. As concerned classmates spy on a tutoring session to determine their compatibility, Nariyuki's straightforward and honest demeanor proves to them that there is no romantic interest in their relationship and that their friendship is entirely platonic, thus putting a stop to the rumors, but Fumino's interest in Nariyuki may not be as innocent as she claims.

I am of two minds on this episode. On the one hand, learning more about how Kirisu's dream fell apart, thus leading to the jaded and cynical teacher we have today, is really good and helps to humanize her after the less than ideal first impression I had of her. I'm still not convinced about her being some spectacular teacher like Nariyuki is, since she just seems to be doing the bare minimum, but I don't think she's a horrible judgmental bitch anymore, so that's something. On the other hand, I still don't like the fact that the show is trying to sell her as another romantic interest to Nariyuki. She's his teacher, for god's sake, and I'm just not okay with that. Fumino's story was much more satisfying to me, and I really like the idea of her just being Nariyuki's friend and being torn about the fact that both of her friends have a crush on him and not knowing who to support. That's a really good conflict for a character in a romance anime to have. 

So why the hell did you have to throw in a hint of her starting to develop feelings for him in the post credits scene? You're taking a character who was unique and compelling and turning her into another dull love interest for the sake of the harem fantasy! I mean, don't get me wrong, I like Fumino and having her as a love interest isn't necessarily a bad idea, I just think she works better as a platonic character who is overwhelmed by the drama and just wants everybody to be happy. But the worst part about all of this is seeing just how far Nariyuki has fallen in terms of personality. You might call it character development, but seeing him go from someone who was mostly invested in the tutoring for his own self-interest into apparently the nicest guy in the world who is also oblivious about love and sexuality just makes him lose what makes him unique and turns him into literally just every other harem protagonist. He's become a blank slate for the audience to project themselves onto, with a forgettable design and a personality that can be summed up in three words: smart and nice. At least Futaro from Quintessential Quintuplets stayed an awkard jerk with a hidden heart of gold throughout the series, thus transcending his generic design and becoming a memorable character.

Sounds of Life

Me while watching this episode.

Halfway done! Next up is episode 7 of Backstories for Days. After she passes out from fever in front of him, Kudo helps Hozuki back to her bed and stays the night at her apartment to make sure she's okay. While he listens to recordings of her past performances, she dreams about how her relationsihp with her mother became strained in the aftermath of her father's death. Hozuki's mother had taken up management of the koto school and was faced with an extreme amount of pressure as student after student dropped out. Hozuki's prodigious skill became the school's only draw, and her mother worked her to the bone in order to develop that talent and keep the school open. When Hozuki defies her mothe'rs orders and plays her own song of choice at a scholarship competition in protest, she ruins her chances to go to the elite music school that her mother chose for her. The next day, the rest of the club is overjoyed to see Hozuki return to school, but Hiro reveals that she learned from her grandmother that Hozuki only chose their koto club because she has nowhere else to go. Hozuki confirms this by telling the boys about how her mother kicked her out of both home and school, and, to both of the girls' surprise, the boys thank her for her honesty and reaffirm her status as a member of the club. Hiro is disgusted by the display of friendship and storms off, remembering how a single bit of manipulation from an outsider ruined all her middle school friendships and romantic relationship. Convinced that social bonds were all tenuous and fake, she dedicated herself to ruining all close friendships and romantic relationships she saw from that point on, in pursuit of a feeling of vindication that it wasn't her fault. But now that the koto club has proven her wrong and both Takezo and Hozuki tell her that she is still welcome, she second guesses her convictions and returns to the clubroom to apologize.

This might be one of the densest episodes I have ever had to cover in the roundup. Not only do we wrap up Hiro's introductory story arc, we also get TWO backstories revealed to us. Logically, this shouldn't work. The episode should become bloated and too quickly paced to convey this much information in a mere 23 minute runtime, and traditional storytelling wisdom would tell you to separate the backstories into their own episodes. But, amazingly enough, the team at Platinum Vision pulled it off! The pacing never felt rushed and I was never left confused about any newly introduced or clarified story details. Even more incredible, none of it felt bland, and there were plenty of strong character moments for the boys as they reacted to the new developments. Seeing Takezo's face harden like that when he first learns about Hiro's scheme to break up the club was genuinely unsettling, and it's awesome to see a fiercer side to such a mild mannered character. 

Hearing the details about the girls' backstories confirms my already growing suspicions as to what the core theme of Sounds of Life is all about. This is a story about lost souls finding redemption through the koto. Kudo and the other delinquents' redemption arcs are pretty self evident, but it applies to the other three as well. Takezo seeks redemption for letting his upperclassmen down in previous competitions by leading the new club to a national victory. Hozuki seeks redemption for failing to live up to her mother's expectations and finding meaning in her playing with the school koto club. Hiro didn't seek redemption at first, but upon learning that her previous assumptions that all social bonds are fake were false, she is now on the path to redeem herself by finding a group of people  who will accept her for who she is. I didn't expect much from this show after the lackluster first episode, but it has really surprised me since then with its above average character writing and a strong commitment to this theme, and I wouldn't be surprised if it made it to the end of the season.

Fruits Basket

Hatori looks kinda like Lelouch in this shot.

In episode 7 of Apparently Just Romeo and Juliet, Tohru is secretly summoned to the Soma Clan's estate by Hatori, where he warns her that she should leave the Soma household and avoid Akito's manipulation. Tohru doesn't understand why at first, but Momiji explains that Hatori's fiance Kana was dragged into the Soma Clan's politics in an altercation that led to him getting stabbed in his left eye by a piece of glass and her developing a mental illness from the trauma until Hatori is forced to erase her memories of him for her protection. Upon learning of this, Tohru apologizes for everything that has happened to him and wins Hatori over as a friend by how similar she is to Kana. Hatori asks Tohru to take care of herself and she overhears him and Shigure talking about a family curse that is supposedly separate from the zodiac secret. Hatori then overhears Kana discussing her upcoming marriage to another man with her friends and quietly wishes her nothing but happiness with her new husband.

I'm not crying, you're crying!

Seriously though, what a great episode. In just 20 minutes, my entire opinion of a character changes from "I don't know what's up with this guy, but I don't trust him" to "This poor baby needs a hug!" I am kind of annoyed that the story of Hatori and Kana is essentially told twice, first by Momiji telling Tohru an abbreviated version and then a more detailed version in Hatori's flashbacks, but the way the actual moment of Hatori's injury is recontextualized from an act of malice to a genuine accident is interesting enough that I'll let it slide. Either way, the more I learn about Akito, the more disgusted I am by him. I already had a feeling that he was a manipulative scumbag after hearing him tell Yuki to avoid outsiders in a previous flashback, but the way he twists the situation with Hatori and Kana to make himself blameless for an accident that he caused with his outburst is simply despicable and it's perfect. He's a great antagonist for a story about an old family haunted by secrets and curses, and I kind of hope that not even Tohru can redeem him, even though that's not what kind of story this is, simply to drive home that some people are too far gone. And because I have nowhere else to fit this in, apparently Hatori is a sea horse? Sea horses aren't part of the zodiac, so my best guess is that this is either a play on normal horses or a reference to their relatives the sea dragon, as both horses and dragons ARE part of the zodiac. More likely the latter. With the recent reveal this episode that there are over 50 Soma Clan members who can transform, there's still a chance that Akito is also a dragon, but if the show doesn't feel like repeating itself, then my next guess would be that he is a tiger.

Fairy Gone

Nothing interesting happens, so here's Bitter Sweet with a martini.

 Finally, to wrap things up we have Never Mind, I Quit. In episode 7, the investigations into the sabotaged artificial fairies and Gilbert Warlock's copy of the Black Fairy Tome continue. As Free and fellow officer Chase investigate the possibility that Wolfran and Arcame have a mole in the military who sabotaged the artificial fairies, Bitter Sweet approaches Dorothea with a deal. Gui Carlin executive Warlock refused to show her the page of the Black Fairy Tome, in spite of her devoted service to the family, so now she wants to work with Dorothea to steal the tome and take Gui Carlin down in exchange for a chance to read the pages on her own. Marlya and Klara are sent undercover with her to Warlock's estate, but Bitter Sweet seemingly betrays them by revealing their nature as Dorothea agents.

I really really wish I could say that this is good because, in spite of all its many many faults, I really do like it. It combines a turn of the century historical setting with urban fantasy and political thriller elements, and has consistently good battle animation, a killer opening theme, and an overall tone that is so ridiculously and unabashedly cheesy that it loops right back around to being awesome. It hits all my buttons and feels like it was designed specifically to appeal to me. But sadly, I have to face facts, and the facts are that no matter how much the ideas behind Fairy Gone may work, the execution has been lacking from day one. Characters have poorly defined personalities, only existing in service of the next plot point, and different factions and events are introduced so quickly and then dropped just as quickly that I am only half sure that my plot summaries are accurate, and that's after watching every episode twice. The pacing of this story feels like the director is fast forwarding through all the cutscenes of an RPG to get to the boss battles and now only has a vague idea of the story he is trying to relay to a friend who is asking for more details than he expected. Everything is confused and meandering, rushing to skip all the necessary plot details to get to the next action scene, but still convinced of how important its political intrigue and half defined character motivations are. If that doesn't make any sense, it's because the show doesn't make any sense, and this is not the genre for that sort of thing. I may still come back to this show later on to finish it, since I do still like watching it for how ridiculous it is, but I am done for now. Consider this one dropped.

And that wraps up this week's roundup! What will happen next week? Will Yang actually manage to capture Robby? Will Daigo take news of Tahomaru's failure to kill Hyakkimaru poorly? Will Tanjiro defeat this new demon before it can kill any civilians? Will Rizu and Takemoto have something to do in the next episode? Will Hiro decide to join the koto club for real? Will Akito start manipulating Tohru as well? Will I build a Cyber Dragon deck that can keep up with the Sky Strikers and Salamangreats of today? Find out the answers to all this and more on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Amazon, depending on which one you care about more! Or, you know, on next week's roundup. Whichever you prefer.

Weekly Roundup Spring 2019 Week 6

We're halfway through the spring 2019 season, I have nearly finished the upcoming post about Black Clover that I promised a few weeks ago, and we have eight shows left. But sadly, I can't do my normal charade of drawing things out and pretending like I don't know what will be dropped because, for the first time ever, I couldn't finish an episode in time for the roundup, so let's get this over with.

Senryu Girl

This show does not deserve a photo after what it did. In episode 6 of I Don't Even Care Anymore, some stuff happens and a rabbit eats its own poop. I was so disgusted I legitimately threw up. I tried watching this all the way through three times but I just couldn't make it. I'm sorry, I just don't handle that kind of stuff well at all. So, yeah, this show is dropped. Honestly, compared to the rest of the episodes we have this week, it probably would have been dropped anyway.

Fruits Basket

I mean, I like being called cute.

For our first real entry in the roundup, we have Wholesome Slumber Party. In episode 6, the cultural festival has arrived, and the class's rice balls are selling like hotcakes. While Tohru's delicious and cute rice balls are a factor in their success, Yuki agreeing to dress like a girl is the main draw, as boys and girls alike marvel at how cute he is. Two members of the Soma Clan, Momiji and Hatori, arrive at the cultural festival as well, and Momiji, upon hearing that Tohru knows the zodiac secret, immediately embraces her and transforms into a rabbit, forcing the Somas to scramble to cover for him. After Momiji and Hatori leave, Yuki warns Tohru that she should avoid being alone with Hatori since he is the one who erases the memories of those who learn the Soma Clan's secrets. Later, Tohru's friends Uo and Hana, suspicious of how close she seems to be with Yuki and Kyo lately, invite themselves over to spend the night and evaluate how well the Soma household suits Tohru. Thanks to some fast talking from everyone involved, the two guests don't learn anything about the zodiac secret and Uo and Hana are satisfied that Tohru's new home is good for her. The next morning, Tohru receives a phone call from Hatori, telling her to come visit the main estate alone.

When I started this show, I expected it to be good. I was wrong. This show is great. Where do I even start with this episode? Momiji and Hatori are both promising new additions to the cast, with Momiji exuding that youthful energy and innocence that only children have and Hatori seamlessly combining the class of Yuki and Shigure with his own quiet and menacing aura. Uo and Hana have lowkey been some of my favorite characters in the series so getting to see more of them being amazing friends to Tohru is always welcome. I very much empathize with their frustration that they didn't even know that their friend was homeless until after the situation was resolved, and now all they want is to make sure she's safe. Also, the story about the boy leading Tohru home and giving her his hat implies that Tohru is the girl who Yuki befriended when he was younger and that Hatori had erased her memories back when they were children. That is a huge deal, and while some might complain that it's a bit convenient, I think it fits with what we know about these characters so far, and I've always got the feeling that the Soma Clan would never move no matter what, especially since they're capable of erasing memories. What isn't quite as forgivable right off the bat is what looks like a photo of Tohru's mother Kyoko on Hatori's desk. I mean, what!? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Did Hatori know Kyoko somehow? They're gonna have to tell a hell of a story for me to accept that. And, apropos of nothing, even though I've been wrong with every zodiac prediction so far, I'm going to keep up my predictions and say that Hatori is the horse and that family head Akito is the dragon.

We Never Learn

I'm just amazed that she's actually being reasonable.

Next up we have Wait, Did This Become Good Again? In episode 6, Kirisu-sensei interrogates Nariyuki about the incident at the study camp, referencing "illicit sexual conduct". Overhearing this, the girls panic and burst in one after the other, desperately trying to explain how various incidents were misunderstandings, and only making things worse for Nariyuki in the process. Still, Kirisu is impressed by the sincerity of the girls' protests and agrees to let him continue tutoring them for the time being. Nevertheless, rumors about Nariyuki kissing a girl at the study camp start spreading around the school, evolving into rumors of a secret girlfriend living with him. Both Takemoto and Rizu panic upon hearing these rumors, and their grades start slipping as a result. When Nariyuki asks Fumino what is distracting them, she realizes that they both like him and tells him to be considerate of their feelings. In classic harem anime fashion, he misunderstands this advice and worries that he has been inappropriate with them and needs to back off, even when Takemoto starts dressing sexier around him to try to get his attention. After being trapped at a shrine during a rainstorm, Nariyuki lets the fact that he is distracted by her outfit slip, and, comforted by the knowledge that he finds her physically attractive, Takemoto's grades start improving again.

Okay, so to be clear, I liked this episode quite a bit, and I appreciate how the flirting from previous episodes are having lasting consequences on the relationships between our characters. But I don't want to talk about any of that, because I just have a bit of a rant here instead. For some reason I cannot understand, Kirisu is one of the most popular girls in this show, both among manga readers and anime only watchers, at least if Reddit and YouTube are any indication. Now that we have an episode with a scene that actually introduces her to the audience, I just cannot see the appeal. She is a judgmental woman who stands as the antithesis of the core theme of following your dreams regardless of what people expect of you. And while that makes for a decent antagonist, I can't wrap my head around the idea that Nariyuki is trying to sell her as a good person because she went looking for Rizu when she was lost in the rainstorm, since you know, as a teacher, THAT'S HER JOB! And why the hell is she blushing at that? Stop trying to sell me illicit relationships between teachers and students, anime!

Demon Slayer

In episode 6 of Action Scenes that Turn Patrick into a Screaming 12 Year Old Fanboy, Tanjiro (with Nezuko resting in his new backpack) travels northwest to investigate a series of teenage girls disappearing. His investigations lead him to the scene of a demon abducting its latest victim, and he manages to get her away from it before battling it. The fight is difficult thanks to the demon's ability to sink into the floor and walls and its ability to split into three doppelgangers, and Tanjiro's efforts are distracted by his need to protect human bystanders. But Nezuko turns the tide as she bursts from her box to join the fight, having been conditioned by Sakonji to recognize all humans as her family and all hostile demons as her enemy.

Much like Fruits Basket, Demon Slayer continues to exceed my expectations. Every single aspect of this episode was on point. The music softly builds the tension throughout the first half of the episode as Tanjiro tracks the demon, right up to the point where the battle starts. The shifting colors that visualize Tanjiro's sense of smell are simply beautiful. The battle choreography is so dynamic and makes such clever use of the environment that a simple back alley background with no detail actually put into it is iconic and memorable. The use of flashbacks to clarify certain plot points serve to break up the tension and build up expectations for turning points in the battle. Not to mention that those flashbacks now give us a definitive endgame instead of the vague hope that Nezuko's humanity can be restored. The first demon, born 1000 years ago, named Muzan Kibutsuji, is name dropped by Sakonji as the one who would most likely know the secret to turning Nezuko and other demons like her back into their original human forms. I'm glad to see a future framework is being set up for the story since, as good as things have been so far, there was a real danger of this becoming directionless and meandering. Having a main antagonist and a final goal set up so early indicates that creator Koyoharu Gotoge has a plan for this series, and that is very comforting to hear. Here's hoping that she and the team at Ufotable can continue this momentum, since this has easily become a frontrunner for anime of the season at this point.

Sounds of Life

Next up we have episode 6 of Teen Drama and also Music if We can Fit it In. After a successful performance, the koto club's popularity and confidence are at an all time high. Inspired by the rush they felt from seeing the fruits of their labor, the club vows to pursue the national title. Upon hearing this, the faculty advisor Takinami argues against this ambition, as he preferred it when the club was a joke and he didn't have to actually do any extra work. The koto show owner gives Kudo the last koto his grandfather made, which has already had Kudo's name engraved on it. The koto club gains a new member in Hiro Kurusu, who immediately starts spreading tales among the other members that Hozuki has been feeling frustrated and unfulfilled having to play with beginners like the boys, causing a rift to form between them. But when Kudo calls Hiro out on how ridiculous the notion is that she would continue to attend club sessions for a club she doesn't want to be in, Hiro gets annoyed and plans to quit the club, frustrated that her fun has already been ruined, but then she hears some rumors about Hozuki from her mother that cause her to change her mind. Kudo visits the sick Hozuki's surprisingly modest apartment to deliver the homework she missed, and is surprised to see her look incredibly ill.

For an episode that is just meant to set up future plot points and transition between arcs, there was a lot of stuff happening. I appreciate the attention to detail, but with three different plot threads to keep track of between the lazy Takinami, Hiro's scheming, and the preparations for the upcoming music festival competition, the direction of the story is kind of scattered and unfocused. That's not to say that this episode was bad, though. Hiro is an intriguing character, who seems to have joined the koto club simply because she likes instigating drama. I wonder if she is just kind of a rude person who likes to start trouble or if, going from how Hozuki looked at her and how her mother seems to know something about her family, if she has a grudge against Hozuki. Also, apropos of nothing, wouldn't those long painted nails get in the way of playing the koto? Just a thought.

RobiHachi

Uh....did I turn on hentai by mistake again?

In episode 6 of The Mushroom Samba, our heroes land on the planet of Hanama II just in time for the Great Eel Festival. As eels have been overfished to extinction back on Earth, Hatchi is incredibly excited for the chance to taste real eel for the first time in his life, while Robby and Ikku worry about the fact that unless they win prize money from one of the festival's events, they will be stranded on the strange planet populated solely by incredibly buff men. But things get complicated when Yang and his goons arrive on the scene, and Yang, somehow high on the sheer amount of eel he has eaten, chases Robby through the eel racecourse. Thankfully, after unintentionally winning the race, Yang is swept away by the locals for an award ceremony, so our heroes take the second place prize money and fly off in terror.

I've never been high before. I tried smoking marijuana once, but I didn't feel any effects from it. Then again, the person who smoked it with me told me I did it wrong...anyway, that's not the point. The point is, I'm now convinced that this episode is what me being high would be like. Nothing makes sense, everything is really colorful and flamboyant, and it all just seems to run on dream logic, with events simply happening with no rhyme or reason and being forgotten soon afterward. And I absolutely love it. No past or possible future episode of this series could possibly compare to this masterpiece of surreal art! Every joke just landed with me, especially since the episode doesn't dwell on any of its punchlines like many other anime comedies do. There's nothing else to really say about this, other than the experience of watching RobiHachi is incredibly bizarre, and I had a great time from start to finish.

Dororo

It really says something that this isn't even the coolest thing that happens this episode.

Up next is Hot Damn, That Was Awesome: The Animation. In episode 18, as Itachi and his band continues to search for the treasure, the shark boy feeds Saburomaru's corpse to Jiromaru, who transforms into a land shark and attacks Dororo. Fortunately, Hyakkimaru chooses that moment to arrive on the scene and kills Jiromaru, regaining his lost leg in the process. As our heroes climb the mountain in pursuit of Itachi, Tahomaru arrives on the island with a squadron of samurai, and they begin a campaign to eliminate Hyakkimaru and all those associated with him. As Hyakkimaru battles against Tahomaru and his two retainers, Dororo and Itachi are forced to join forces again as they flee up the mountain. Things come to a head when the shark boy, who had been ignored by all sides at this point, gathers the explosives that were used to protect the treasure and detonates them in a suicide attack that triggers a landslide and buries nearly everybody. As the samurai are forced to retreat, Itachi dies and Dororo finds the lost treasure. As she does not know what she wants to do with it, she decides to leave the treasure behind for now (aside from a small amount of spending money), and she and Hyakkimaru leave the island to continue their journey.

This was everything I hoped it would be. At first I was bummed that Jiromaru was defeated so early into the episode, but the incredible fight animation between Hyakkimaru and the samurai more than made up for it in my eyes. Hearing Tahomaru and the samurai repeat the same propaganda about how Hyakkimaru is a demon in human form whose very existence is a threat to the peace of Daigo's people is fascinating. Not only does it sell how far Tahomaru has fallen from the honorable samurai we first met, it's also kind of true. Every time Hyakkimaru kills one of the demons of the Hall of Hell, the pact is weakened and misfortune comes to the people of Daigo. Somehow there are six episodes left, but with the treasure found, I'm not sure what is left for the rest of the series. It can't just be Hyakkimaru battling demons, right? Is a final confrontation with Daigo and Tahomaru on the horizon? That's the only thing I can think of that makes sense, so let's go with that.

Fairy Gone

I couldn't find a good screenshot to summarize this episode, so here's a cute picture of Marlya.

Finally, we have I'm Not Sure What's Going On Anymore. In episode 6, the tenth anniversary of the war's end draws near, and one of the new royal artificial fairies meant to provide security is commandeered by a mysterious stranger and causes a panic. After Dorothea subdues the royal fairy, Free leads an investigation to find out what went wrong, and Marlya and Klara are sent to track down another page of the Black Fairy Tome. The girls learn that the Tome was purchased by a man named Dice, who is famous in underground circles for acting professionally and confidentially on behalf of various individuals. After Marlya successfully arrests Dice, his tight lipped nature provides another roadblock for Dorothea, until Axel (at Free's prodding) suggests that they investigate his most frequent employer: a man named Gilbert Warlock. Unbeknownst to them, however, Bitter Sweet has already come to the same conclusion, and has already traveled to Warlock's estate.

I didn't expect it after the last few episodes have been kind of weak story wise, but this is genuinely intriguing. The fact that the episode opens with a history of how the five dukes have engaged in political maneuvering and failed revolts since the end of the war, leaving only two alive, makes me think that Ray Dawn, the duke that Veronica wants to kill, is responsible for the sabotage in the artificial fairies. Was the incident with the rogue fairy a test run? Does he plan to hijack all the artificial fairies during the anniversary celebration and usurp the united kingdom of Zessika, thus declaring himself ruler of the world? If so, then this would mean that the story is finally getting the central antagonist that it so desperately needs. Either way, next week promises a rematch between Marlya and Bitter Sweet, and that at least warrants at least one more episode.

And this is how this week's roundup ends. Not with a bang, but with a whisper. But what will happen next week? Will Hatori attempt to erase Tohru's memories? Will Rizu confess her feelings for Nariyuki? Will Tanjiro and Nezuko defeat the demons? Will Hiro continue to sabotage the koto club? Will Hyakkimaru regain his sight? Will Wolfran contribute anything to the plot? Will RobiHachi start making sense? Will this post ever end? 

Yes. Right now. See you next week!