Code Geass: A Tale of Two Protagonists

Sometimes, you need to take a step back from what's happening right now and take a moment to meditate on what has happened before. That was the philosophy that drove me to study history in college. And this newfound passion for learning how we got to where we are today came from two wildly different places at around the same time. One was the historical novel The Red Badge of Courage, which tells the story of a Civil War battle from the perspective of a relatively unimportant (in the grand scheme of things) soldier. The other was the alternate history inspired anime named Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.

Which is actually a bit strange when you take a step back and think about it. Code Geass may take place in a a world with a very different history from our own -- with the first major known point of divergence being Benjamin Franklin staying loyal to Great Britain and helping crush the American Revolution, but that's not actually important -- but the setting itself isn't a major focus of the story. If anything, the alternate history gimmick is just an excuse to have a world ruled by a handful of super nations  and mech battles.

Not that I'm complaining. That sounds rad as hell. It's just interesting that the minor detail of an alternate history that was ignored more often than explained is what I latched onto when I first watched Code Geass in high school.

But whatever. I still think Code Geass is great, and I thought it'd be fun to go back and take a look at what this show is all about. The show takes place on an alternate Earth that has all the nations of the world divided between three super powers: the totalitarian Holy Britannian Empire, the communist Chinese Federation, and the democratic European Universe. When a super fantasy mineral is found in Japan, Britannia invades and conquers the formerly independent nation in just one year. This incredible feat is made possible with the introduction of the Knightmare Frame, the world's first ever mech. And it isn't even Japanese! And so, the multiverse's only giant robot-less Japan is conquered and renamed Area Eleven

Yes, they have their own maps that look like history textbooks. It's awesome.

This is all just backstory, by the way. The actual story of Code Geass focuses on events that transpire seven years after the invasion. Our protagonist is Lelouch vi Britannia, an exiled Britannian prince who co-opts a Japanese resistance movement and launches a campaign of revenge against his father the emperor, who allowed his mother to be assassinated and exiled him and his crippled sister to Japan before invading shortly afterward, under the alias of the masked hero Zero. At the same time, his best friend Suzaku Kururugi, the son of Japan's last prime minister (now deceased), has enlisted in the Britannian army with the goal of rising to a position of authority from which he can effect social reforms on behalf of the Japanese without resorting to illegal or violent means.

Left: Suzaku. Right: Lelouch. 

Naturally, Lelouch and Suzaku are on opposite sides of this conflict, and thus fight against each other all the time, even after each eventually learns that his friend and enemy is one and the same. And as I'm sure you can imagine, the drama that results from our main characters each fighting for the side that ironically does not match his ethnic identity and against the one person he trusts more than anyone else writes itself.

But you might be wondering: "How could a teenager like Lelouch take over a militarized rebel group when he is just a teenager?" After all, most adult soldiers wouldn't take marching orders from a 17 year old kid, and even if he did reveal his status as a prince, that would only make him an enemy in their eyes. And who would trust some random guy they never met in a mask? Logically, it shouldn't work. Well, this hypothetical discrepancy only exists in your mind because I conveniently left out a key detail about Lelouch's story up to this point. Because when he gets mixed up in a terror attack carried out by the rebels in the first episode, Lelouch stumbles upon the immortal girl CC, who was the subject of experiments for the empire. CC forms a contract with Lelouch: if he can make her wish come true, she will give him the power of Geass, which allows him to compel his target to obey any one order that he gives them. Through a combination of clever application of this power and a gifted tactical mind, Lelouch is able to ingratiate himself with the rebels and form the revolutionary army known as the Black Knights.

In case you're wondering, Lelouch is the one in the middle with the cape.

So, now we understand the basic appeal of Code Geass. It's like Death Note if Light and L decided to forgo the psychological chess matches and just slugged it out in Mobile Suits instead. What's not to love? And it only gets better the more we learn about Lelouch and Suzaku as characters. Lelouch straddles the line between hero and villain. He is ruthless in pursuit of his revenge, a truly selfish goal, and he treats other people as pawns. Yet he is also intensely loyal to his friends and his sister, and he feels genuinely outraged at Britannia's cruel and racist practices. He even occasionally fights for Japan even when it runs counter to his own personal goals. He is intelligent and pragmatic, yet emotional and impulsive. He is both humble and arrogant. And even with him regularly providing an internal monologue, there is always an air of ambiguity about him. You never know exactly what is going through his head or what he is going to do next, but everything he does stays consistent with his own established internal logic. It makes for a fascinating character who you can grow to apreciate more and more with every rewatch.

Next to Lelouch, Suzaku looks as paper-thin and simplistic as a Saturday morning cartoon character. He wants to help the Japanese, but he disapproves of Zero's violent and unlawful message. A typically boring do-gooder, right? Wrong. Because while Suzaku may think he subscribes to the principles that he preaches, the truth is far darker and far more interesting. See, Suzaku did something -- which I'm not going to spoil -- that he deeply regrets. And while he claims that this act is what informed his straight-laced attitude, the fact remains that he faced no punishment for this transgression, and that greatly disturbs him. He feels like he should have been punished for what he did, and so he chose his current path as a self-imposed penance. And this is why his morals are so inflexible: not because he truly believes that he is right, but because he doesn't see any other possibility. No matter how much he might want to flaunt the law and work with Zero to improve the situation for the Japanese, he can't because it would pull him further into what he views as irredeemable villainy.

So, this is where our characters start. But then, something changes for both Lelouch and Suzaku. Again, I don't want to spoil any specifics right now, but events at the end of the first season fundamentally challenge their worldviews. Lelouch eventually accepts that his crusade has grown bigger than his own personal vendetta, and starts to accept the responsibility that comes with it. But only after going to a VERY dark place. 

Suzaku, on the other hand, is confronted head on with the inherent contradiction of trying to help an oppressed people while acting as a weapon for the oppressors. And, to be blunt, he crumbles. All he has left is the military at this point, so he desperately grabs for more and more power, hoping to get to the point where he can suck up to the emperor enough and get Japan as his own little puppet state. So, his answer to the question of: "How do you free the Japanese from a dictatorship?" is now "Establish myself as a benevolent dictator instead." And he still wants to minimize the body count as much as possible. And, yes, that contradiction is addressed and confronted head on. And the results are, memorable to say the least.

 

I've been talking solely about character drama and themes up to this point, and it's gotten pretty heavy. But I don't want to make you think that the entire show is just all heavy drama all the time. That would get to be too much to handle too quickly, and the truly great moments would lose their impact. So the exciting mech battles, thrilling plot twists, and tense moments of scheming are broken up with comedy-focused scenes of Lelouch and Suzaku (as well as a few other key players) posing as ordinary high school students, because it isn't anime if you don't have a high school setting! 

When I first watched these scenes as a 16 year old idiot, I HATED them. I didn't care about a school festival when there's a mech powered civil war with supernatural influences happening! Why would the show waste my time like this!?

It almost looks like a completely different show. And only one of these characters doesn't get directly mixed up in the war.

But it wasn't a waste of time. The entire narrative of Code Geass hinges on the friendship between Lelouch and Suzaku, and the dramatic irony of these two best friends -- each the only one who can truly understand the other -- being cast as mortal enemies by the whims of fate. That conflict cannot be believable without committing time to establish and develop that kind of friendship. The dramatic scenes of these two two friends holding each other at gun point don't work without the scenes of them just hanging out together. And even when they each learn who their enemy actually is, they can't not let their guard down and enjoy each other's company, even if it is just for the sake of deception. More than the flashbacks and the speeches, the high school "filler" scenes are what make the tragedy at the center of Code Geass really work.

With all of this praise, you would be forgiven for assuming I have nothing negative to say. But that is not the case. I haven't seen a single anime that I don't have problems with, and Code Geass is no exception. See, Code Geass is, above all else, a melodrama. Every scene is super exaggerated for dramatic effect, and while it usually works, some scenes go too far and just become silly. The emperor's stupid wig comes to mind.

Never before has Social Darwinism looked so fabulous.

Speaking of the wig, a lot of the character designs bug me. While I don't really have a problem with the ostentatious costumes of the Britannians or the more practical and dirty outfits most of the Japanese wear in theory, it occasionally becomes extremely difficult to tell the difference between races at a glance. I mean, scroll back up to that picture of the student council. I know that I already told you that Suzaku is Japanese, but does he look any less white than the other characters there? Can you tell which of the other characters is half Britannian and half Japanese? 

This is a problem I have with a lot of anime in general, especially after watching Angolmois this year and seeing all sorts of different Asian ethnicities actually drawn differently from each other. And it's not like Code Geass is incapable of this. General Tohdoh looks hella Japanese, but Suzaku and several of the core Black Knights look just like the Britannians. I mean, if the show hinges on a foreign race oppressing the Japanese, shouldn't the two groups look physically distinct from each other?

This is a minor complaint about character design in comparison, but I hate their arms and legs. Character designs were handled by CLAMP, the group that created Cardcaptor Sakura. And boy, does it show with all the noodle arms and toothpick legs on display. I get that this is just a complaint about art style, so your mileage may vary, but I find it very unappealing.

Just look at their legs! They're so damn skinny and they go on FOREVER!

I have one other complaint, and it's a pretty big one. But surprisingly, it isn't the fault of anyone involved in the production. The first season of Code Geass didn't exactly inspire any faith in Studio Sunrise, and it was aired rather late at night as a result. So when it surprised everyone and got popular, Sunrise, naturally, decided to cash in and move the show to a primetime slot for season 2. Now the team had to, essentially, start everything from scratch in order to ease in their new viewers while still appealing their longtime fans after the first season cliffhanger. The result is a weirdly paced, occasionally nonsensical, mess, where plot points are randomly dropped and whole storylines become super rushed. I still love season 2, as it has a lot of payoff for Lelouch and Suzaku's character arcs, but it does still suffer because of this. Though, I must say, all of the weird pacing issues are worth it for that incredible finale.

No, this isn't a spoiler from the finale. It just looks cool.

Code Geass is a show that is near and dear to my heart. Part of that is definitely due to the timing of when I discovered it -- 16 years old is the perfect age for a show that explores the philosophies and moralities of pragmatism versus nonviolence when fighting against oppression -- and part of it is undoubtedly due to nostalgia. But I have rewatched this show 9 times and each time I have found something new to love, and I've only focused on one of the many things going on in its story today. Code Geass may not be perfect, but I think that it has more than earned its status as one of my absolute favorite anime of all time.

Weekly Roundup Fall 2018 Week 8

Okay, okay, I know I didn't put a new post up last Thursday. It was Thanksgiving here in the states, and I spent the entire day spending time with my family. I like to think that I earned the holiday, but the fact of the matter is, I should have let you know I was taking that day off ahead of time. I blame the new Pokemon game for being so distracting.

I mean, you can dress Eevee up in cute little outfits. How could I not get distracted?

But enough excuses! You're here for a weekly roundup, and I shall provide. Six shows have stood the test of time, and we actually managed to go the last two weeks without anything being cut. What will happen this week? Well, I'll tell you in a second, so just be patient, alright?

Zombie Land Saga

I said I would document their appearances every week, and I meant it, damn it!

First up this week, we have Dafuq?: The Animation. In episode 8, a strange large man takes an interest in Lily. He turns out to be her father, who was her manager when she was a child actress and alive. They had formed a strong bond watching tv together, but when Lily decided to become an actress to make her father smile through the tv, he became her manager and took things way too far. After Lily's death, his regret led him to giving up television and struggling with depression. Franchouchou decides to send him a coded message in a new song led by Lily, and her father is ready to face the world once again.

This was a really sweet episode, and I really liked it a lot. But why did it have to have such a weird reveal about Lily being transgender? I started getting Double Decker flashbacks when I saw Lily dying of a heart attack upon seeing the beginnings of a beard forming on her face, which apparently means that she is someone with male genitalia who identifies as female. And I mean, that's fine and all, but why was it treated as an absurdist punchline? It's in poor taste to treat trans people as a joke, after all. 

And so, I was ready to drop Zombie Land Saga like I did Double Decker with no regrets, but then something strange happened. Kotaro gave the girls, and the audience by proxy, a lecture for looking at Lily any differently and stubbornly stated that she was a member of Franchouchou no matter what. And the girls agreed. And it wasn't treated as a big deal in the slightest. No further attention is given to her identity after that scene. The show isn't patting itself on the back as some bastion of progressivism. The story is about Lily and her father reconnecting, and she just happens to transgender. And you know what? I respect that. I realize that as a cisgendered male, it's not my place to say what is and isn't appropriate representation, but I think it says a lot that the script treats Lily as a normal person, undead status notwithstanding, and that her friends accept her with very little hesitation after getting over their surprise. Good job, Zombie Land Saga!

Bunny Girl Senpai

Next, we have That Time I Made Peace with the Friendzone and Moved Forward with my Life. In episode 8, Futaba's lewd selfies started with a secret Instagram account she had made a year prior. Her conflicting feelings of enjoying the attention her body provides and feeling disgusted by the people giving her this attention, exacerbated by her feelings for Kunimi, caused her to split in two. When Ponytail Futaba gets threatening messages from a comment on her pictures, Sakuta scares him off by threatening to call the police and deletes the account. Sakuta convinces both versions of Futaba to go to a fireworks festival with him and Kunimi, and their mutual desire to exist and express their feelings for Kunimi allows them to merge back into one. At the festival, Futbaba confesses her feelings and accepts her rejection. Meanwhile, Mai's manager forces her to stop dating for a while, and the blonde from the opening finally appears, and she is really disturbed about...something.

Okay, I know this episode is about Futaba learning to be comfortable with her identity and risking her friendship for the sake of living honestly and junk, and it was really good for all of that, but my main takeaway this week is just how awesome Sakuta is as a protagonist. I know that I've been singing his praises all season, but the fact remains that he never once pressures Futaba into making a decision with how to deal with her situation, subverts the cliche "you'll learn to love yourself" speech and instead says "it's okay to feel the way you do," and puts his health on the line to ensure her safety, all without ever expecting anything from her in return. Even better, Futaba doesn't get any feelings for him because, let's face it, he's still a snarky asshat and only Mai is on his wavelength. 

Kunimi, for his part, would be a very easy character to hate in any other show, since he is indirectly responsible for suicidal thoughts in second best girl Futaba, but he's just a really good friend who has been sticking up for her and Sakuta all series long, regardless of what his horrible girlfriend (who he clearly likes a lot anyway) thinks about them. I mean, the guy drops everything and comes out in the middle of the night when Sakuta tells him that Futaba is in trouble, and upon realizing that it's an emotional situation and not a physical danger, he just spends time with her without once asking for details that he knows she isn't comfortable sharing with him yet. That's a lot of depth for someone stuck in the stock best friend role who doesn't get a lot of screen-time since he lacks both boobs and main character status. 

It does bother me that Mai and Sakuta are being split up by circumstances AGAIN to make room for more girls, but this show has been subverting every harem cliche so far, so I'm willing to see how it goes, and this episode is giving me nothing but good vibes anyway.

SSSS.Gridman

You know, I came here to have a nice time, and I'm honestly feeling a little attacked right now.

Up next, we have Mighty Morphing Gurren Lagann. In episode 8, the school festival is approaching, and Akane tells the Gridman Alliance that she will unleash a new kaiju when the fateful day comes. Rikka and Utsumi argue about how to approach the situation, with Rikka wanting to negotiate while Utsumi tries to come up with a strategy. Ultimately, Rikka's attempt to negotiate fails, and Akane claims to have molded Rikka's personality to be unable to fully turn against her. Desperate, Yuta deploys Gridman before Akane can move, prompting an evacuation, and his strategy of reducing Gridman's size allows all four of the Neon Genesis students to join the battle as well, combining to form Full Power Gridman and defeating the kaiju. As Rikka and Utsumi make up, Akane begins to lose confidence, and Anti just watches silently for the entire episode.

I might sound like a broken record at this point, but Gridman just continues to top itself week after week. Akane just casually bringing the kaiju model to school nearly made me scream, and considering the fact that I watch this show at like 2 in the morning every week, that would have been a very bad idea. The sheer audacity that she has adopted now is shocking, but it makes a lot of sense when you think about it. There's no point in trying to play innocent anymore, so now she can use the heroes' knowledge of her powers against them and keep them off balance. And I honestly thought it was going to work, too. Rikka and Utsumi were fighting, and Yuta saw merit in both of their arguments and was unable to pick a side, which would have left the group divided and distracted. Yuta's strategy to shrink Gridman was a major gamble as well, and I was convinced that Gridman would lose when the battle started. Then the opening started playing, and all doubt was erased and replaced with nigh uncontainable levels of hype. 

I'm not going to bother trying to speculate if Akane was telling the truth when she said that she molded Rikka's personality because honestly, both truth and lies are plausible in this situation, and I don't think it matters either way. The doubt has been sown in Rikka's mind, and that's all that will matter going forward. Probably. I mean, this show loves to prove me wrong, so who knows? At the very least, this new revelation puts the innocent looking ending credits -- a song about friendship starring Rikka and Akane being cute -- into a sinister new context. It almost makes me regret not putting it in the top ten ending songs this year.

Run With the Wind

In episode 8 of Kakeru Whines for 20 Minutes, Kakeru is furious with himself for losing to Fujioka and Manas, and he is taking his anger out on the rest of the team when they still keep a positive attitude. Even though Haiji has stepped up their training, even though Prince has actually taken practice seriously and had a treadmill installed in his room, even though Nico is literally starving himself and pushing himself to the point of exhaustion in a futile effort to match Kakeru's pace, it just isn't enough for him. So, when Haiji tells him he isn't going to the next meet and that he needs to step back and think about what's good for the team, Kakeru asks Prince to quit the team his time doesn't improve at the next meet. After all, he is the weakest runner, and it's for the good of the team...

There is a LOT to unpack this episode. We learned a bit about Nico's backstory: he used to be on a track team in high school, but had to drop out for health reasons. And now that Kakeru and Haiji's ambitions have reawakened his competitive spirit, it's causing him to self-destruct in a way that's really hard to watch but compelling nonetheless. It makes for a good B-plot to Kakeru's story, and the little details of Prince becoming more invested in his training, Yuki trying to look out for the health of his teammates, and King using the Hakone as a weapon in his job interviews really help push the story forward in a very natural-feeling way. And it makes the gut punch at the very end feel that much more powerful. Kakeru just spat in the faces of everyone on the team, Prince especially, and, for the first time in history, I'm siding with Haiji on this one. The others may have been hesitant before, but it's clear that they are now all in, and for Kakeru to refuse to even acknowledge their efforts is messed up. And unless I'm mistaken (and knowing me, I probably am), Haiji was once like Kakeru, and it nearly cost him his ability to run altogether. If that turns out to be the case, then I really appreciate the subtle clues I thought I saw today about Haiji's backstory.

Hinomaru Sumo

In episode 8 of Deja Vu: The Animation, Yuma steps forward to challenge Kanamori in the third bout of the preliminary finals. His renewed karate lessons seem to earn him the upper had, but he is ultimately defeated by his more experienced opponent, leaving Dachi High with two losses. Ozeki then faces off against Sanada, who has a similar history of dealing with delinquents trying to run the sumo club out of his school. Unlike Ozeki, however, Sanada chose to fight the delinquents off, defeating 30 opponents with little effort. But in the current bout, Ozeki's incredible endurance allows him to outlast Sanada, and though both fell out of the ring simultaneously, Sanada hits the ground first, tying the score once again and leaving the final bout between Hinomaru and Sada as the tiebreaker.

I'm going to start this off by saying that last week's episode was better only because it did the exact same thing as this week's episode: have two bouts showcase the character development of the contenders of the week, with the first ending in a loss and the second in a win. When the format is exactly the same as what just happened last episode, any sort of tension is lost. That sort of the thing is unfortunately par for the course in sports anime: the first official match always comes down to the wire, and there was no chance of the match ending before the protagonist stepped into the ring. Things probably would have been a little more effective if either the order of the matches were swapped or if Yuma won and Ozeki lost. Give the illusion of Dachi gaining momentum before Ishigami grinds it to a halt, you know?

Either way, these fights were great. Seeing Yuma freely admit to feeling remorse for the way he treated Ozeki and give his all trying to earn a win in order to redeem himself was a treat to watch, and everything about Ozeki's fight was hype as hell. With two incredibly strong episodes in a row, Hinomaru Sumo seems to have finally hit its stride and is ready to move from being a pretty good show to a potentially great one. It still has a ways to go before attaining that status, but damned if I'm not excited to see how far it can get.

Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san

And lastly, limping to the finish line, we have a dead horse. In episode 7, Honda goes to the movies with the rep from his wholesaler. Meanwhile, the real-life Honda goes to a mixer for various booksellers and the other attendees complain about his manga not accurately representing their experiences.

I think that it has been well established that I like this show a lot, even though it hasn't had the best track record. I gave it a lot more slack when it had bad episodes than I did for Goblin Slayer and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, which are both arguably better shows than this (that really hurt to admit). And the last time I gave it a pass, I made a vow that if there was another bad episode, I would be cutting it from the roundup. 

Well, my friends, we have reached that point. The first section was too long and had nothing interesting going on. And while the second section of actual booksellers saying that the manga was bad had potential to be really funny, they didn't really do anything with the idea. I'm still probably going to be watching this on my own time, since it does appeal to my weirdly specific tastes, but this will be the last time I cover it on the roundup. Last week's episode felt like it should have been the finale anyway.

And with that, week 8 of the weekly roundup has come to a close. We are officially two thirds of the way through the Fall 2018 season, and 5 shows have made it to the home stretch. Zombie Land Saga and Gridman each have four episodes left, Bunny Girl has five, and Run with the Wind and Hinomaru Sumo each will be continuing into the Winter 2019 season. Will they all survive? Will Sakura regain her memories? Will Mai and Sakuta ever change their relationship status from "It's Complicated"? Will Rikka betray the Gridman Alliance? Will Prince quit the track team? Will Hinomaru beat Sada? Will I actually post that Code Geass essay I hinted at two weeks ago? Find out all of this and more, here on the Weekly Weeablog's Roundup!

Weekly Roundup Fall 2018 Week 7

Another week, another roundup. Six shows have entered, but will six shows leave? Yes. Yes, they will.

Bunny Girl Senpai

On the seventh episode of We Swear This Isn't a Harem Anime, Honest!, the young Shoko seems to have no connection to the older girl with the same name that Sakuta met back in middle school. But there's no time to worry about that, because Futaba somehow has a clone of herself running around and is left homeless as a result! Sakuta and Kaede take her in and let her stay at their house while Sakuta investigates the situation. Mai gets a mysterious phone call from her manager and Sakuta finds lewd pictures of the normally modest Futaba on social media.

Futaba's arc already looks like it's going to be more interesting than Koga's. As effective as that time loop story was, it got annoying to see the same scenes play out over and over in succession after a while. But having two Futabas, each showing enough personality and memory to pass as the "real" Futaba? That's super interesting, and I think I have a theory as to why Adolescent Syndrome has manifested in this way for her. It's been shown time and again that Futaba has a thing for Sakuta's supposedly only male friend Kunimi, even though she keeps it a secret due to Kunimi already being a relationship with the rudest girl I've ever seen in anime. I think that the stress of keeping her true feelings hidden has resulted in a split personality, creating a new Futaba who is willing to be a little more adventurous with her body. Also, I appreciate that the new Futaba has immediately changed her hairstyle and taken off her glasses. It's an effective way to show that she's doing things differently this time and a handy way to tell the two Futabas apart, which is super helpful for stupid people like me.

Hinomaru Sumo

Up next we have episode 7 of Effort: At Least You Tried. The preliminaries for the national sumo tournament have begun, and Dachi High and Ishigami High make it to the finals effortlessly. Mitsuashi is the only won without a win up to this point, but it turns out that he had been throwing his bouts on purpose in order to pull a surprise maneuver on Mamiya. Unfortunately, Mamiya's captain figures out this strategy and Mitsuashi is overwhelmed without the element of surprise. Araki taunts Mitsuashi after his defeat, which enrages Chihiro and inspires him to defeat Araki in the next bout. With the score currently at 1 win apiece, each team needs only two more wins to advance to the national tournament.

At last, the tournament begins! Hallelujah! And if you thought the pacing was quick before, well, this is just something else. Most sports anime would have split Mitsuashi and Chihiro's bouts into two separate episodes, but Hinomaru Sumo recognizes how Mitsuashi's struggle serves to inform Chihiro's character development in his bout against Araki, and thus makes the wise decision to structure the episode the way it did. Given how much the show has been playing up the traditional sports anime cliches up to this point, I was actually taken in by Mitsuashi's trickery and I genuinely thought he was going to pull out a win here. That was an impressive bait and switch, and it made his loss that much more heartbreaking, especially since he had chosen to compromise his preferred style of sumo in order to give his team a better chance at victory. 

Mitsuashi may have been the MVP of this episode, and is now challenging Hinomaru and Kirihito for the coveted spot of best character, but Chihiro's moment should not be ignored. Here we have someone who looked down on sumo and team sports in general, who only joined the team with the goal of strengthening his combat repertoire in preparation for a professional MMA career, witnessing someone who threw everything he had into his passion being mocked and insulted for failure. At this moment, for the first time, he doesn't care about his own goals anymore. His teammate's honor has been attacked, and he must defend it. It's so freaking cheesy and I love it. This is hands down the best episode yet, and I'm so glad that the tournament has finally started.

Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san

In episode 6 of The Relatable Retail Rollercoaster, a new employee joins the team at Honda's store. The staff works on promotional displays for various works with upcoming adaptations. 

This episode is everything I like about Honda-san. It's understated and minimalistic, but comes from a place of genuine understanding and love for its topic. I especially loved the promo sketch, where everyone is going all out in their relative sections, only for Honda, who doesn't have any new big name titles to make a display for, to make a modest "Staff Picks" shelf. It was genuinely touching and made me think nostalgically of the small bookstores I used to frequent when I lived in the city. The new employee Kendo is fine, I guess, but there isn't really much to him other than being really naive about retail and being super strong since he used to work in the warehouse. I hope the show doesn't try to push him as a major character, but based on how much time he got this week, I'm not particularly worried about that possibility either.

SSSS.Gridman

Next up, we have episode 7 of What the Hell is Even Going On? Yuta tells the others what he's learned about Akane, but none of them believe his story. Akane surprises Yuta in his home, offers an alliance with him and Gridman, and introduces him to Alexis. Their conversation is interrupted by a kaiju created by Anti and Alexis behind Akane's back, which is used by Anti as bait to lure Gridman into an ambush. The fight goes up above the clouds, where Gridman finds a barrier preventing them from leaving the city's airspace, proving once and for all that Yuta's information about Akane is true. Gridman manages to defeat Anti and his kaiju, though Anti escapes once again, and the Gridman Alliance is left to consider their next move in light of their new understanding of the current situation. Meanwhile, it's implied that Anti's eyes were cut out by Alexis as punishment for his failure.

Holy. Crap. Last week's episode might have been all about the huge reveals, but this week was all about creating tension. From Anti showing up at Yuta's school out of nowhere to Yuta finding Akane sitting on his bed and saying "Welcome home, Mr. Gridman" to Alexis actually showing up in person, the stakes just kept getting raised and I found myself getting more and more anxious as a result. And when Yuta refused to work with Akane, I was convinced that she was going to try to kill him right then and there, but for some reason she seems content to let him live for now. And considering that this is the same girl who was willing to murder her teacher just for bumping into her in the hallway, that's surprising. Though now that we have confirmation that she targeted the girl in the first episode because she accidentally crushed the sandwich she was trying to give Yuta, it's clear that she has some interest in keeping him alive and happy, even before learning that he is connected to Gridman. Does she have some connection to his missing memories? Were they on the same side before his amnesia? I have no clue, but I can't wait to find out. 

It was also very interesting to see how different a kaiju designed by Anti is compared to Akane's usual designs. Even though Anti started out with no greater strategy than just flat out charging Gridman at every opportunity, much like Akane's usual monsters, this time he built a kaiju that worked into a strategy based around deception, wearing Gridman down and leading him upward, weakened and isolated from his support team. It would have worked if it weren't for the fact that Vit operates independently and can detach himself from Gridman at will. Anti's character development from mindless extension of Akane's will to his own thinking being is one of the best parts of the show, and this evolution of tactics is another fascinating new development in his story. His reaction to being severely injured at the hands of those who created him is definitely what I'm looking forward to seeing the most next week.

Zombie Land Saga

I will make it my mission to document every time you guys make an appearance from now on. May you never disappear for several episodes at a time again.

In episode 7 of The Grateful Walking Dead, the Saga Rock Festival has arrived, and Kotaro manages to convince Junko to stay with the group just in time. Sakura begins to regain her memories of being alive after hearing Ai's former group perform. When Franchouchou takes the stage, a lightning storm begins, and Ai temporarily freezes before Junko takes over her part and helps her get over her nerves. When the girls get struck by lightning, their undead nature gives them autotuned voices and the ability to fire lasers from their fingers instead of the severe burns and death that typically come with lightning strikes. These new (albeit probably temporary) powers make them the undisputed highlight of the festival and begins the legend of Franchouchou on the national stage.

As the metal fans said, this was some good stuff. I got a little annoyed with how much time they gave Junko's story since all it took for her to snap out of her funk was a quick speech from Kotaro. I mean, why build it up so much when the issue is resolved so easily? Thankfully, Ai's story was great all the way through, and hearing her voice break down as she tries to sing without crying with the thunder in the background was genuinely captivating. And the return of the crappy idol song from episode 3, but this time sung with pretty good autotunes and no mistakes? Actually quite satisfying. I almost like that song now. Almost.

Run With the Wind

Finally, we have episode 7 of Kakeru is a Sore Loser. The Tokyo University track meet is upon us. Kakeru and Haiji are able to get qualifying times for the Hakone qualifying race, but the rest of the track club falls short of their goal. Kakeru meets Fujioka, a top runner from a rival university who seems to know Haiji and one of only two runners at the meet to beat Kakeru's time.

After six episodes of buildup, we finally have our first official race of the series. And I was not disappointed. Seeing Kakeru challenging top athletes like Fujioka and Manas was incredibly exciting, and the fact that he lost because he got impatient and cocky and tried to pull ahead too early and ran out of energy before them is a great character moment. Though he is often understated and quiet next to the more boisterous members of the team, Kakeru is quite prideful, and if his and Sakaki's flashbacks are anything to go by, he's not used to being anything but the undisputed best in his sport. The sheer amount of frustration that is evident on his face and in his body language, combined with Fujioka's kind words afterward doubtlessly striking him as patronizing, makes his later frustration with his team all the more understandable: he's not actually mad at them anymore. He's only mad at himself for losing.

As for Haiji, we have a little more insight into his character. It seems that he was seriously injured in the past before transferring to Kansei University. My guess is that the rehabilitation after his injury took too long and he was ruled ineligible for his old school's team for the Hakone Ekiden, so now he's trying everything he can to make it happen with Kansei. Does that excuse his actions? Not in the least, but we still don't know the whole story yet. The fact that we're starting to get even a piece of the bigger picture though is super satisfying, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

So, here we are. For the first time since the roundup's inception at the start of this Fall season, we've had two consecutive weeks without a single show being cut. Have we finally reached the promised land of only good shows, and will have an enjoyable experience for the last six weeks of the season? Will Anti betray Akane? Will Franchouchou's status as zombies be revealed? Will Futaba's clones reconcile and become one? Will I ever shut up about anime? Find out the answers to some of these questions, maybe, next time on Patrick's Weekly Roundup!

Detective Pikachu Actually Doesn't Look that Bad

Okay, so I know I implied that I would be doing a post about Code Geass today during my last weekly roundup. The thing is, Code Geass is one of my favorite anime of all time, and I feel like I need an extra week to make sure I do it justice. Fortunately, a trailer came out for a live action Detective Pikachu movie, and I've talked about Pokemon before, so today I want to share my impressions about the trailer and why it actually leaves me feeling optimistic about the film.

For those of you who may be unaware, Detective Pikachu is a point and click adventure game for the 3DS that was released in 2016. I never played it, so I don't know much about the game or its story, but Wikipedia tells me that the story follows a hyper intelligent Pikachu who is a self-proclaimed detective. Detective Pikachu meets a boy named Tim Goodman who can somehow actually understand what he is saying, and the two team up to solve mysteries and look for Tim's missing father.

So, obviously, this isn't a normal Pokemon story we're working with. And Detective Pikachu the film is really leaning into that sense of familiar but different. The movie takes place in Rime City, a western-inspired city that looks more like New York or Las Vegas than any location from the Pokemon games or movies. But there are a lot of background references throughout the trailer that reference actual canon Pokemon locations (if you look at the poster above, you'll see a sign referencing Johto), so it looks like instead of presenting a new canon to Pokemon, the Detective Pikachu film is positioning itself as a side story to the Pokemon games and anime. Which, frankly, is a perfect way to make a Pokemon film.

But enough waffling, let's get right into the thick of it. The Pokemon look weird. They're all fuzzy and scaly and it overall looks like those creepy realistic Pokemon fanart posts. I didn't like the look of the Pokemon at first when I saw still images and such. Realistic Pokemon lack the streamlined look of the anime and games, and they creep me out. But when I actually watched the trailer and saw them in motion and interacting with the human actors, everything fell into place, and the CG Pokemon actually look better than most other CG characters in modern film. And compared to what Hollywood did to the Ninja Turtles, that is goddamn miraculous.

Focusing a little more on Detective Pikachu himself, he is voiced by Ryan Reynolds. And he's....okay. There's nothing particularly wrong with his performance, but his voice just sounds average. The Detective Pikachu in the games has a gruff voice that sounds like a hardboiled noir detective. Is it weird to hear that voice come out of a Pikachu? Yes, but that's part of the joke. But just hearing Ryan Reynolds's normal voice sounds underwhelming. But questionable casting aside, Reynolds is a good actor and does a good job with his performance.

But let's talk about our other lead. Tim Goodman is being played by Justice Smith. Smith is a relatively new actor, with only 10 credits on IMDB, but he was awesome in the trailer. Tim is reimagined as a young 20-something who gave up on his dreams of being a Pokemon trainer and now seems to be working in a call center. And I really like what I see of this character so far. He's snarky but clearly overwhelmed by the situation. The chance to see a Pokemon story that doesn't follow a career Pokemon trainer excites me, as it means we're going to be looking at the world of Pokemon from another perspective. Which, again, I think is a smart move. By doing a separate story so far removed from the traditional Pokemon narrative, Warner Bros. is effectively forcing audiences to adjust their expectations and come into the film with an open mind. And best of all, Smith seems to have good chemistry with Reynolds, and the scene at the end of the trailer with the two of them interrogating Mr. Mime is legitimately funny and is what pushed me over the edge to choose to watch this.

I'd complain about how creepy Mr. Mime looks, but he looks that creepy in the games too, so I'm okay with this.

But other than the two main characters and the actual effects for the Pokemon, there isn't too much to talk about. There are a lot of Pokemon from all the different generations that can be seen in the trailer, along with a plethora of background references, but aside from Greninja, all the prominently shown Pokemon are from the first generation. I'm a little disappointed that there isn't more variety, but it's clear that they're focusing on the most popular Pokemon in featured roles (and also Mr. Mime, for some reason). I mean, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Charizard, and Greninja are all playable characters in Super Smash Bros, and Bulbasaur and Psyduck had prominent roles in the first season of the Pokemon anime. And it honestly makes sense: if you're making a Pokemon story with slightly darker undertones, it's only natural to try to market it to the adults who grew up with Pokemon's first generation, especially with the recent rise of Pokemon Go. But as someone who never stopped playing Pokemon, I would love to see a more even representation of Pokemon from all seven generations.

And if I'm being totally honest, no matter how positive I'm feeling about the trailer, my hopes aren't super high for Detective Pikachu as a whole. Regardless of how good this trailer looks (and it looks pretty damn good), I am still very skeptical about Detective Pikachu as a concept. I'd be more accepting if we saw a different Pokemon as a detective (Detective Watchog, anyone?), but overall, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic. Especially since there seems to be genuine effort being put in by the cast and crew. Throughout the whole trailer, once the initial "what the hell" feeling has subsided, there's a genuine sense of love for Pokemon, and it doesn't look like anyone is just there for a paycheck. And that gut feeling, above anything else, is why I am excited to watch the Detective Pikachu film. And when I do, I will be reviewing it for this blog. So, look forward to that, I guess.

But let's be real, Psyduck is a major character. This is gonna be Best Picture material from that alone.

Weekly Roundup Fall 2018 Week 6

Well, here we are. The halfway point of the Fall season. And, fittingly enough, half of the shows we started with have fallen. Only six shows remain, and guess what? None of them are dying this week! YAY!!

Zombie Land Saga

First up, we have episode 6 of Suddenly: Drama! Kotaro arranges a photo op between the girls and their burgeoning fanbase. But Junko, who comes from an era where the relationship between an idol and her fans was more impersonal, feels uncomfortable with the situation and runs out on the group. Ai confronts her about this and the two have a huge fight. The circumstances behind Junko and Ai's deaths are then revealed: Junko died in a plane crash on her way to a performance and Ai was struck by lightning in the middle of a concert. Junko even considers leaving Franchouchou due to the fight. But Kotaro surprises them all by announcing that they were invited to participate in the Saga Rock festival, where Ai's former group is also coming for a one time reunion concert.

Before this episode, I didn't like Ai and Junko at all. I thought that they were pointless as characters and that having two former idols was redundant and boring. After this episode, I am on board with the idea behind their inclusion. The drama between two fundamentally different approaches to building a career in show business and maintaining a relationship with your fans is genuinely fascinating to me, and since the two of them actually got to do something for once, I'm starting to actually understand who they are, what they are all about, and why I should care about them. Even better, the conflict between them still wasn't resolved by the end of the episode, promising a storyline that will evolve from episode to episode, which is something I feel that this show desperately needed. And Ai's death scene? Goddamn. That was almost as legendary as the LEGENDARY Yamada Tae herself.

But most importantly, as pictured above: THE METAL FANS CAME BACK!! HUZZAH!!

Hinomaru Sumo

I feel like I should be calling the police....

On episode six of Training Arc: The Animation, Hinomaru trains with the professionals at Shibakiyama Stable. At first, they dismiss him due to his small size, but he manages to impress them enough to hold his own with all but the very best of them. While he is there, he also meets Saki, the manager of a rival high school sumo club that is the current national champion.

This is a good training episode, but it feels like it shouldn't have been here. We've already had a training episode this season back when Kirihito worked with the Dachi High team. I understand that Hinomaru is on another level and needs extra attention from even more specialized instructors, but having a whole episode dedicated to that idea feels like the show is just wasting time. Which is weird considering how this show usually just jumps from plot point to plot point with no signs of slowing down. But, hey, at least we got to hype up a rival school without spending so much time revealing everything about their members this time. I can't wait to see them in a tournament. Which, again, I really hope happens soon, because as much fun as I'm having with this show, I feel like the pacing needs a lot of work. It's simultaneously too fast for any idea it presents to be properly developed, but not quick enough to just be a fun ride all the way through. I know that probably makes no sense and I'm just mindlessly hating on the show, but I do still enjoy my time with Hinomaru Sumo quite a lot. It's just hard to talk about the good stuff without just repeating every single thing that happened and saying "Yeah, that was cool." What you see is what you get, and that's great, but it also makes the flaws stand out that much more. Hinomaru Sumo is cheesy and goofy and, above all else, a lot of fun. I just wish it would stop taking itself so seriously and truly embrace that. 

Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san

Is that a Golden Kamuy reference? Best episode of the season (and that includes any episode of the actual Golden Kamuy)!

Next up is episode five of "Wait, That's It?" Honda struggles to deal with the crowds drawn to the store by a book signing, gives directions to a lost Brazilian tourist, and muses on the nature of erotic manga and novels in a traditionalist nation like Japan.

I wish I could have made the episode sound interesting, but it really wasn't. There are still shout outs to a bunch of anime and manga that I appreciate -- especially the Golden Kamuy reference this week -- and I liked seeing Honda struggle to come up with a diplomatic answer to a caller asking about erotic manga being published under shonen labels, but this was still kind of a boring episode, and it's very disappointing after the excellent episode last week. If you're going to have a sketch about a book signing from a supposedly famous manga artist, why not go all the way and make a parody of Akira Toriyama or Eiichiro Oda or something? You got the French manga guy a few weeks ago, after all! I'd even settle for a hack like Reki Kawahara or Hiro Mashima (how many fans did I just trigger with that sentence?). I don't want to drop Honda-san, since it appeals so specifically to me as someone who loves manga and works in customer service, but I don't think I can take another bad episode just because it appeals to my weird taste. So, let it be known, Honda! You've had two strikes! One more and you're out! I'm being stupidly generous with you, so don't screw it up!

Run With the Wind

In episode six of I'm Not Mad, Just Disappointed, King continues to struggle with his job search, still choosing to ignore practice sessions as he does so. He starts to lose hope as he angrily stomps from one interview to another, occasionally gambling while he waits for a response, as he watches the others work to get community sponsors to help with the track club's budget. Eventually, though, Haiji and Shindo manage to convince him to keep running, without having to drop his job search altogether.

So, for the first time, I find myself disappointed in Run With the Wind. This wasn't a bad episode at all, but my expectations have just been set so high that even an episode that is just pretty good is still a bit of a disappointment. My main complaint is about this whole episode can also be applied to the series as a whole: Haiji acts like a manipulative jerk and just gets away with it. King still calls him out on trying to run his life, but Haiji never actually backs off and says, "You know what, go ahead and get a job. I was wrong." They just sort of silently agree to drop the issue. What I do appreciate, though, is Haiji and Shindo's argument to get King back into running. I've been in King's situation before, relatively recently in fact. Looking for a job sucks, especially when you get to the point where there's nothing else you can do except wait for a response from potential employers. Finding a healthy way to spend your time like running (or a modest amount of gaming in my case) can keep the stress from getting to you, which can actually cause physical illness if left unaddressed for too long. Should King be forced to run, though? No. But being convinced to do so by his friends in a non-confrontational way, to the point where he makes the decision to continue running on his own? I'm okay with that. 

It's just too bad that for the first time, it didn't feel like there were a dozen smaller things going on in the background and that King's story was the only story worth looking at. Yuki had a cool moment of taking Haiji's side for once, but that was about it. But this still was a good episode, even if it was the weakest one so far, and next week is the track meet, so I'm expecting some juicy drama from that.

Bunny Girl

First Hinomaru, now you? What is with anime being so horny this week?

In episode six of All You Need is Kill (points if you get the reference), Sakuta and Koga's fake relationship is coming to an end, but there's a complication: Koga is developing genuine feelings for Sakuta. Hoping to find a way to convince him to date her for real, Koga starts a brand new time loop and lies about being responsible for it. Eventually, Sakuta is able to convince her that this plan is unhealthy and impractical, and Koga undoes the entire history of their fake relationship, going back to the day where the whole fake relationship began and rejecting the upperclassman on her own, allowing Sakuta to regain his lost time with Mai. Sakuta and Mai run into a young girl named Shoko at the end of the episode, and since her first and last name is the same as the upperclassman who had helped him with his Adolescent Syndrome years ago, Sakuta is understandably surprised by this revelation.

All of my complaining about this arc is now null and void. This finale made up for all of it. Sakuta and Mai will probably always be my ship for this show, but the writers did such a good job endearing me to Koga that I was genuinely upset when I noticed that she was in love with Sakuta and couldn't let go of him. I do like that the circumstances behind this new time loop is left ambiguous at first, to the point where I was genuinely wondering if Sakuta was the one who had developed feelings for Koga and started his own time loop subconsciously. That might have been interesting to see, but the scene of Koga coming to terms with her own feelings was so good that I don't even want to see any other possible scenario. I don't know what's going on with Shoko and why she's suddenly younger -- time travel has been introduced already, so probably that -- but I can't wait for her to inevitably develop feelings for Sakuta and have supernatural mishaps occur because she dared get in the way of the one true pairing that is Sakuta and Mai.

SSSS.Gridman

And on that day, humanity received a grim reminder...

Finally, we have episode six of The Animatrix. Akane orders Anti to find and kill Yuta, but Anti gets lost and bumps into Rikka instead, who gives him a proper meal and the first bath of his life. Akane tracks down Shou and tries to get information about Yuta from him, but Shou purposefully lies to her, thinking that he is protecting her from the war between Gridman and the kaiju. Meanwhile, a little girl reveals herself to be another intelligent kaiju to Yuta, and takes him out of the city. There, she reveals that the entire city is a simulation controlled by Akane, who's been destroying and remaking the city as a systems administrator. While she had been benign before, the recent string of killings is confirmed to be due to the influence of Alexis, who had originated independently of the situation. Anti finds and attacks Yuta upon his return to the city, but Max and Calibur drive him off and convince him that he and Gridman are not one and the same. 

I am stunned by the sheer weight of all that we've learned this week. This was a masterful reveal that puts everything that has happened before into a new light. While I was suspicious about the resets before, I had assumed that they were being done by Gridman, similarly to how the good guys from Code Lyoko would rewind time after stopping the latest attack from XANA every episode. Regardless of who was the cause, I did find it curious that an entire city could be rebuilt and an entire populace's memories could be rewritten overnight. But if the entire city is artificial? That's just as simple as changing a few lines of code. But that just begs the question: Are any of the characters we've been following actually human? Or all they are programs? Is Akane the only one that's truly real? If so, what purpose does the simulation serve? Did she create it? Can she leave at any time? Where did Alexis come from? If he came from outside the system, then it would stand to reason that Gridman did as well. Are THEY human, or are they other programs that just came from outside the system? 

My current theory is that the simulation was created by Akane as a way to escape responsibility and create a perfect fantasy world. Then Alexis remotely accessed her fantasy and began feeding into her childish impulses in order to exploit her brilliant mind for nefarious purposes. Being aware of this, Gridman created Yuta as an avatar to infiltrate the simulation and combat Alexis's influence. But there was an error in transferring Yuta's data into the simulation, which resulted in his amnesia. Am I even close to right? Probably not, but I'm writing this at 2:30 in the morning after a 9 hour shift while dealing with what is probably the beginnings of a fever, and it's the best I can come up with under these conditions.

So ends this week's roundup. Coming up on Thursday, a look back at one of my favorite anime of all time. Here's a quick hint as to what that is:

Top Ten Anime Endings of 2018

Well, here we are. Last week, we looked at the best anime openings of the year. Today, we're going to look at the best ending themes of the year. The rules are basically the same as last time. The ending sequences are judged by both their song and the animation, and how well they work together. In addition to just being pleasing, I also look for sequences that tie into the themes of the show itself. Once again, only shows that I have actually watched this year are eligible, and if any show had multiple endings, only one of them will be chosen for consideration. Also, a quick heads up, but for some of these songs, it was incredibly difficult to find high quality videos on YouTube and I don't have the talent or the time to cut a video myself from a full episode, meaning that some compromises had to be made at some points. But enough stalling. You don't want to listen to me list off a bunch of rules. You want to see some ending themes. So let's get started.

Number Ten

I've mentioned Captain Tsubasa a few times in passing before. It's a remake of a classic sports anime from 1983 being handled by David Production, also known as the studio doing JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. I had never seen the original, but after seeing a few clips from the original, I will say that at the very least I prefer the art of the remake. But the original is still a classic, and the ending theme for Captain Tsubasa is a perfect homage to it, having the actors from the show (usually Tsubasa, but occasionally another character will take over if the episode focused on him) singing the very first opening for the original. It's a really cool touch, and it helps that the song is catchy as hell.

Number Nine

Remember way back in my very first post when I mentioned that Planet With had the potential to be truly great? Guess what? It was great. And this ending theme is a perfect distillation of all the thematic depth that went into elevating a simple and silly mecha show into a meditation on human nature and the nature of justice, war, hate, and violence itself. The show shows Soya reflecting on the different people he meets along the course of his journey. Their exterior personalities are shown to the world while their true inner selves are seen only in the reflection of Soya's visor, as they will be drawn out through his interactions with them over the course of the show. Only three characters aren't shown in this reflection: Takashi (because spoilers), Nozomi (because she is the only genuine person in the entire cast), and Soya himself (because introspection is difficult for even the most empathetic people in the world). And, like every other song on this list, the song is great fun to listen to as well.

Number Eight

Lupin III is typically a fun and goofy series that only occasionally goes into serious territory. And while that is mostly true for this year's part 5 as well, the ending theme decides to be a little more serious. Miyuki Sawashiro, who is also the voice behind Fujiko Mine herself, gives a beautifully melancholic performance as Fujiko remembers her relationship with Lupin. It's a relationship full of love from both parties, but one that will never last because of how they long for adventure and fun. Even as they enjoy each other's company with their friends, she cannot help but stare at him and wonder at what might have been. These memories also hint at what had happened between Lupin and Fujiko to drive them apart in between Part 4 and Part 5, and the implications are sad, to say the least. And while it might not be relevant to the themes of the video, Fujiko was one of my first anime crushes and I love seeing her in all these different outfits. And seeing Lupin and Zenigata put aside their differences and share a drink like old friends is something truly special for a longtime fan such as myself.

Number Seven

Golden Kamuy's first ending song isn't particularly special. It's fun to listen to, the singer is talented, and the song sticks in your head for a while, but it isn't nearly as great as either of the opening themes. But the visuals that accompany the song are so good that it elevates the entire sequence to make it to this spot. The video slowly pans up a mural that shows all of our characters caught up in a web of deceit and betrayal, all being connected by Nopperabo's treachery and the gold he left behind. The way the waterfall comes out from underneath a pile of gold suggests that the hunt for the gold is the only thing keeping these characters alive, and for some of them, that probably isn't too far off from the truth. 

Number Six

Here's something you might not know about me: I really like Cardcaptor Sakura. It was never my favorite show, but it was something I knew I could always revisit and enjoy just as much as I did the first time watching it properly (terrible English dub notwithstanding). So when the sequel series Clear Card came out, I was, naturally, very excited to watch it. And I was pleased, for the most part, that the quality of writing hadn't gone down a bit in the 20 years since the original anime first aired. And the first ending theme, Jewelry, is just plain delightful. Using a coloring book art style, Jewelry tells a simple story about Sakura, Tomoyo, and Kero staying up all night at a slumber party, waiting for Sakura's birthday. Once midnight hits, Syaoran even sends Sakura a happy birthday message like the good boyfriend he is. There isn't a lot going into this one, especially with the ending choosing to ignore the serious plot about Sakura's magic going out of control and manifesting in strange new cards, but it's just so good at putting a smile on my face that I couldn't put it any lower on the list.

Number Five

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the video link I wanted to properly embed itself into the blog post. Instead, we have this recording of the extended version of the ending song to Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens up here, and I put a link to the actual YouTube video where you can watch the visuals to go along with it. Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens is a bit like Double Decker from this season's weekly roundup: a simplistic show about crime that makes up for its lack of substance with excessive style. The only difference is that I think Hakata did it a lot better. The jazz infused style, along with the multiple characters whose paths intersect, really do effectively call back to classic shows like Cowboy Bebop and Durarara. And while you can't see it in the video I linked to, as it's just an ad for the song itself, quotes from the next episode are sprinkled in while you watch Banba and Ling running, making for a unique and effective preview for next week while you're enjoying the bass line. Plus, I'm a sucker for good jazz, so of course Hakata made the list.

Number Four

You remember last week when I said that Kokkoku's opening did more with the concept of a world where time is stopped than the show ever did? The same is true for its excellent ending theme. Instead of using a high energy song to create contrast, the song is eerily calm and serene, usually creating a jarring effect after the high stakes cat and mouse game that had been progressing during the episode itself. You'll see what you think are still images of the characters, only for the characters to move themselves while the background stays stationary, truly driving the point home that time has stopped and our heroes are alone and defenseless. You get the impression that even when the bad guys are defeated, they don't really know what they're going to do next and that they're just wandering aimlessly in search of that answer. And well, I'm not exactly going to complain when I see Juri and Shoko in different states of undress. In general, I'm typically okay with fanservice when the characters are adults, and these are two adults that are very nice to look at.

Number Three

This was the most frustrating ending to try to find a video for. Even when I found this one, which is pretty close to the actual ending sequence, several pictures in the slideshow are skipped over. Which is frustrating since the pictures work together to tell a beautiful story. Longtime readers will know that I'm a sucker for Major 2nd and its themes of passing the torch and trying to live up to the legacy of previous generations. But while the show is mostly exploring these themes from Daigo's perspective, the first ending theme, Pride, looks at it from his father Goro's perspective. The entire story is told from a series of photos of Goro's proudest moments. It starts with his success as a professional baseball player, but eventually the photos change to him spending time with his children, especially Daigo. And it ties beautifully into the lyrics, which are all from Goro's perspective, as he tells Daigo to forget about what everyone else expects and to just do what he can do, and that that is enough. It's sappy and cheesy and I love every second of it.

Number Two

Grand Blue is a silly college comedy that focuses on the themes of friendship and camaraderie, even if it's sometimes hard to find in the middle of the drunken antics and characters screwing each other over. What better way to celebrate that camaraderie, then, than to have our main characters drunkenly sing in-universe anime karaoke while their friends cheer them on? There isn't any thematic depth to this ending song (or the next one, for that matter), but it's just so much fun and really ties into what the show is about that I can't not love it.

Before I get to the number one ending theme of the year, here are a few honorable mentions:

• Hinomaru Sumo
• My Hero Academia Season 3 Ending 1
• Food Wars! The Third Plate: Tootsuki Train Arc
• Megalo Box
• Zombie Land Saga
• SSSS.Gridman

Number One

Much like Grand Blue, Asobi Asobase is a dumb comedy about terrible people finding friendship with each other. And the ending theme celebrates this with a metal anthem about the girls rejecting the "normies" and being themselves, completely oblivious to the fact that their true selves are insane, scheming, and toxic. It's a weird idea for a weird show, but it works when you consider the fact that the girls probably wrote this song themselves. And the bright, shifting colors and unique line work really sell the idea of nonconformity along with the song, making the song even more effective. And besides, isn't it just amazing to see anime schoolgirls sing death metal? 

Just like with my favorite openings of the year, my favorite ending theme this year didn't have a lot of thematic depth or truly significant visuals, even though that's typically what I look for in a good anime opening or ending. But I have to be honest when making these lists, and these were the two songs that brought me the most joy this year. It would be wrong to put them anywhere but number one.