Weekly Roundup Winter 2019 Week 11

I always get a weird feeling of sadness when we get to the end of  an anime season. Aside from Dororo and maybe Domestic Girlfriend, all of the shows we've been covering for the last three months are nearing the end of their run. Will our 6 remaining shows make it to their final episode, or will they be tragically cut short? Let's find out!

Run With the Wind

I feel personally attacked.

First up we have Relatable Problems. In episode 22, as King runs his section, he contemplates the nature of himself as a person. He had chosen to stay at the Chikusei dorm in pursuit of an ideal college experience, but his shyness and loneliness led him to overcompensate and create the King persona: someone who is simultaneously sociable and polite but creates a wall between himself and everyone else as he politely refuses invitations to hang out together, out of fear that he will ruin the relationship he already has with them. King became a man with a lot of acquaintances, but no real friends, and no matter what he tried to do, he always felt alone and out of place. But due to the nature of the Hakone Ekiiden, he finally has a group of people who rely on him and accept hm wholeheartedly for who he is. King passes the sash to Kakeru, who starts section 9 in 13th place. As Fujioka mounts a massive comeback for Rikudo, aiming to break the section 9 speed record, Kakeru surprises everyone watching as he begins to speed pass runner after runner, climbing through the ranks and making his way toward Fujioka.

Nothing I say will properly convey how much I loved this episode. I know how hyperbolic that sounds, but that is how I feel as I'm writing this segment. I know I've focused more on Prince and Yuki n the past, but after today, I don't think I've related to any character in this show more than I've related to King. I am a person who struggles to talk with other people. Even when I speak to family members or close friends who I have known for almost a decade, I am terrified of saying the wrong thing and losing their love, no matter how irrational that may be. It drives me to isolate myself, no matter how much I hate it, and is honestly a major factor in why I've been so drawn to fiction in general and to anime especially. King has found a place where he belongs, and, if I'm being honest with myself, I probably have as well. But the anxiety that I have, the niggling doubt that's in the back of my mind whenever I talk to somebody, never goes away, nor has it gone away with King either. He nervously asks Haiji what he plans to do afterward, secretly hoping that they can try to go for the Ekiden together next year even though he knows that the team wouldn't be able to stay together. He obsesses over his place in the race, not because he wants to win, but because he is afraid that he will be abandoned by the others if he underperforms. And I feel that, you know?

As for Kakeru, well, his scene was breathtaking. I know that people tend to relate more to underdogs -- after all, most of us don't have huge advantages in life -- but I've always found the perspective of prodigies like Kakeru fascinating. I was looking forward to hearing his thoughts during the biggest race of his life, but I was surprised with the direction that Producton IG took here. It seems that they reasoned that his character arc was already over by the time the race started, which is fair enough I suppose, and what we got instead was him just running. I know how dismissive that sounds, but it was beautiful. The imagery, the music, the inner monologue...everything comes together to create a tapestry of wonder that perfectly illustrates what running means to Kakeru. It's a zen-like state where he casts aside his fears and his doubts and just becomes the best version of himself that he can be. The other racers don't matter to him; he runs because he needs to cleanse himself of all his negative energy and beat himself. It's weird, but it's beautiful, and I absolutely love it, to the piont where I'm starting to tear up just writing this.

Boogiepop and Others

I have no words for how silly this is.

Up next is Monster Hunter Tokyo. In episode 16, as the Distortion King's manipulations continue, sudden quakes begin to rock both the illusory world he created and the real Moon Temple. Boogiepop leaves Niitoki behind to investigate the tremors, and Niitoki is confronted by the Distortion King again. She offers her own theory as to the true nature of the creature: he is a split personality given form, possessing each of his victims and creating a new body from their own latent personality traits. Whatever that means. Kentaro attempts to make contact with Nagi outside, but he is interrupted by the Distortion King and revealed to still be trapped in an illusion. Or maybe he was thrown into a new illusion, I'm not sure. But unexpectedly, the source of the tremors is revealed to be Zooragi, an imaginary kaiju friend created by the young Makoto as a subsitute for Teratsuki, the father who abandoned him. But it seems that Makoto is a psychic with a lot of latent potential, and the power he inadvertently gave Zooragi leaks out into the real world, threatening the stability of the building.

Usually I'm down with Boogiepop being confusing, because there are usually enough clues to form a decent enough theory and you can still follow what's going on if you're paying attention. Even with how convoluted the Imaginator arc got, there was still a solid foundation of facts to build on, and the story as a whole was always entertaining. But this Distortion King arc is practically incomprehensible, and it really hurts my enjoyment of this episode. Aside from Kentaro, who is just a refreshing change of pace as he says what is on his mind in plain English, none of the characters have any dialogue that makes any sort of sense. Especially the split personality thing. It's one thing to say that people act differently depending on who they are interacting with, but I don't know how Suema and Niitoki can start from that premise and leap to the idea that people's hidden desires will manifest as a supernatural being in an illusion that takes the form of a dead guy who tried to kill you. Like, I can understand why the Distortion King may take the form of Nagi or Hinako -- both of them personify the desire to confess your feelings and apologize for misdeeds, respectively -- but what desire could Niitoki have that Saotome possibly personify? You know, the guy who took advantage of a genetically engineered monster girl with a codependent personality in a desire to kill his classmates and rule the world? The one who probably traumatized Niitoki? Yeah...I don't think she regrets seeing him die. I've been confused and annoyed by Boogiepop's navel gazing before, but the show has always followed through on its nonsense and made sense in the end, so I'm willing to stick it out a little longer for some much-needed answers.

Promised Neverland

I've got no clever caption here. This just looks awesome.

In episode 11 of Awesome Moments: The Animation, Emma tells Ray the truth: she had recovered from her injury a while ago, but she was faking it in order to distract Mama while Dona and Gilda prepared the others for the escape. Emma tells Ray that she is ready to escape tomorrow afternoon, but Ray counters saying that escaping during the day is too risky. In order to ensure their escape, he plans to set himself and the house on fire, allowing Emma to lead the others away under the pretense of evacuation. Emma, naturally, is not okay with this, and manages to stop Ray just as he drops his match. She then reveals that she was lying to Ray just now: she actually plans to escape right then and there, as Norman left her a message explaining that he predicted that Ray would do this and told her to take advantage of the situation and escape with Ray in tow. Emma and Norman had actually revealed the truth of Grace Field House to several other children before Krone even died, and whle Emma acted as a distraction, the others made preparations for the escape, securing food, clothing, and medicine, and even going so far as to prepare a fake stand in for Ray. The children set the fire and escape, leaving behind Emma and Ray's severed ears in order to throw Mama off when she uses the tracking device. Just as Mama realizes that she has been tricked and prepares to go after them, their younger brother Phil grabs her sleeve and asks where she is going.

I told you this was going to be awesome.

The escape has officially begun in earnest, and what a great twist to begin with. I know that there is a temptation to give Norman all the credit for this plan, since he literally left instructions beyond the grave for Emma, but all he did as far as this plan goes is predict that Ray would try to use a fire and tell Emma to take advantage of that and outsmart both Ray and Mama. Emma is the one who suggested that the other kids be taken into the fold, correctly predicting that Mama wouldn't even consider observing them, and she is the one who coordinated all these kids and planned the actual escape proper. The most awesome part about all of it is that Emma is the only one who could have pulled it off. Only a visionary like her would have had the emotional intelligence to recognize that, since they are being bred and groomed to be geniuses in order to taste better, of course the other children would be able to handle the truth and would thus be an asset to the escape. It's brilliant, and it feeds into the core message of The Promised Neverland

I mentioned before that The Promised Neverland is about children losing their innocence and learning that society is not a kind place and is working to exploit you for all your worth, never caring about your health or your needs. This escape is a response to that issue: the only way survival in such a horrific world is possible is through cooperation and familial bonds. Instead of using people as tools like the demons, Mama, Krone, or even Norman and Ray, Emma understands that people are people, reaches out to them, and asks "What do YOU want to do?" It's never stated one way or the other, but I wouldn't be surprised if Anna or Thoma or another one of the younger siblings contributed to the plan in some way, because Emma is all about working together with her family, since it's the only way they can make it in the world. I'm still not sure if I like this or Mob Psycho 100 better, but this is one of the best episodes of the entire season and even most of the shows that I've reviewed in this roundup. If you aren't watching it yet, then go watch it now! No matter how much I must have spoiled you at this point, it's still very much worth watching!

Dororo

Once again, nothing really to say. This is just a really cool shot.

Halfway done! Next up, in episode 11 of The Ninetales in the Fog (that was a dumb reference even for me), Tahomaru thanks Hyakkimaru for the rescue and pays him and Dororo for their trouble. As the two of them leave to explore Daigo's prosperous city, he and his retainers report their latest battle to Daigo himself. Noting his father's surprise at the news of Hyakkimaru, Tahomaru decides to continue his investigation and begins searching for Hyakkimaru. Hyakkimaru and Dororo, always looking for their next score, travel to the border fort of Banmon, reduced to only a single wall by the samurai of the rival Asakura clan, in order to battle the demon that has taken up root there and lift the supposed curse that the Asakura are said to have placed on Daigo's people. There they meet Sukeroku, a war orphan who is trying to return to his home on the other side of the no man's land between Daigo and Asakura's territory. As Hyakkimaru battles against the fire fox demon Kyubi (no, not that one), Sukeroku runs off. Dororo chases after him, but they both end up captured by Asakura soldiers. Meanwhile, Tahomaru learns the story of Hyakkimaru's birth from an insane former servant of his father, and Daigo confronts Hyakkimaru after driving away Kyubi with ease.

How is this only the halfway point of this anime? This feels like the start of a two part series finale! So much detail went into this episode that I honestly don't know where to start. I didn't even have time in my summary to mention the fact that there is a propaganda kabuki show about Daigo, or how his people clearly adore him, or how the old monk Biwamaru returns and shares a moment with Hyakkimaru and Dororo reminiscing about Mio before deciding to investigate the Hall of Hell. Not a single second of this episode's runtime went to waste, and it easily stands as the best episode of Dororo so far. And this was only part one!

Like I said, there's a lot of good in this episode, but I want to give special mention to a cool little detail I noticed. When Biwamaru looks upon Hyakkimaru, he sees the boy's soul as mostly gray with streaks of red, represented how Hyakkimaru has begun to become corrupted after killing the samurai during the Story of Mio. Then, at the end of the episode, Hyakkimaru looks upon Daigo, and sees the same color scheme on the man's soul. This suggests that even though Daigo did something unforgivable in sacrificing Hyakkimaru to the demons, he isn't entirely evil, as he has done a lot of good for his subjects. It's very cool that Mappa has decided to take such a morally ambiguous stance with this story, since, from what I have heard, the original was much more black and white, and I appreciate the implication that Daigo and Hyakkimaru aren't so different.

Domestic Girlfriend

Surprisingly, this moment wasn't actually important. Just a one-off gag.

Up next is Consequences: The Animation. In episode 11, after Rui learns the truth about Natsuo and Hina's relationship, she decides to keep it to herself and resolves to distance herself from Natsuo as much as possible. Kiriya announces to the Literature Club that Rui won an honorable mention in the magazine contest that he submitted their stories to. Feeling discouraged, Natsuo approaches Kiriya and asks to be his apprentice. Kiriya refuses, arguing that all writers have their own path to walk, but he does give Natsuo a reference book to help with story structure and agrees to critique the stories that Natsuo commits to write. When the class field trip to Okinawa arrives, Natsuo sneaks into Hina's hotel room in the middle of a fireworks show. Hina attempts to break off their relationship, but Natsuo counters with an offering of a cheap souvenir ring and a cheesy marriage proposal. Overwhelmed with emotion, Hina agrees to continue the relationship, and the two have sex. Upon returning to school, Hina is confronted by the head teacher with a photo that was taken of her and Natsuo kissing.

I know I probably don't make the best case for anime being a legitimate art form when I praise shows like Incestuous Harem Dumpster Fire over here, but I really can't help myself. This is my version of crappy daytime soap operas: melodramatic, pandering, and fetishistic, but I can't help but love it all the same. I love seeing real consequences come from characters' actions, and things don't get more consequential than this! Hina and Natsuo have been acting like stupid, hormonal teenagers, and now Hina may get fired, ostracized from her family, or even arrested! I mean, I doubt she'll be arrested, since I know the manga has been running since 2014, but still. This is an exciting prospect, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

As for the rest of the episode, it was pretty good. Kiriya's speech about writing for the sake of writing and not for the clout of being a published author was nice, though I'm skeptical of the idea that Natsuo can churn out a short story every week. That just doesn't sound realistic. It'd be cool if we saw scenes of Natsuo struggling to meet this insane quota later on, but I doubt it will be a focus again in the near future since we have such a major cliffhanger to deal with right now.

The Price of Smiles

Once again, I forgot to grab a screenshot, so this one is from Google Images.

Finally, we have episode 11 of Converging Plotlines. In the wake of Harold's funeral, soldiers of Soleil are deserting and surrendering to the Empire. As the Empire pursues the final stages of its campaign, Yuki responds with a surprise announcement: the Soleil army has a new advancement in the mobile artillery, and she will use it in her campaign to retake Hariant. Unbeknownst to both sides of the war, the weapon is a distraction. Yuki's real goal is to travel to the ruins of Verde with Layla, Yuni, and Lune, where she will use the technology at an abandoned research facility to neutralize and destroy the chrars, theoretically putting an end to the combat and forcing the humans of both nations to come together in order to survive. But as they march to Verde, Yuki and her escort are ambushed by the remnants of Stella's squad.

You know, I think I finally understand what I find so appealing about this story. This is, essentially, the same plot as Fire Emblem Echoes, one of my favorite video games. Both stories are about a great war between large nations across a vast continent, told from the perspectives of two armies, that ultimately becomes less about the political stakes and more about the use of a greater power (chrars in Price of Smiles and the power of the gods in Fire Emblem) that once allowed for easy survival and progress but now threatens to kill them all if they continue to rely on it. Fire Emblem Echoes ends with an emperor and a princess killing the gods, putting humans in charge of their own destinies, and vowing to till the fields alongside the commoners as they work toward a better future as a single unified country, which is incredibly similar to Yuki's declaration to accept the responsibility for upending an entire planet's way of life and leading her people to prosperity without any shortcuts this week.

It's too bad the details of the story make Price of Smiles fall apart when put under scrutiny. In Fire Emblem, the war was already over when the actual fight against the gods began in earnest, so the actual question of what comes next was mostly moot. Yes, there were roving bands of outlaws preying on the innocent and starving in the post game, but the fact that Rigel and Zofia are united after Alm and Celica marry, along with the allied kingdom of mercenaries being founded by Saber and Jesse in the east, meant that peace, by and large, was achieved. Yuki's plan is skipping a few steps. In the absolute best case scenario, she disables the chrars and everyone just agrees to stop fighting, which is laughable when you consider this show's track record when it comes to things going well. Like, did she forget that regular guns still exist in this universe? Or that the struggle for resources and political unrest that led to this war still won't go away because she destroys the chrars? Or that the knowledge that led to the creation of the chrars in the first place still exists, and that more are still in production even as she goes to destroy them? 

Look, I didn't hate this episode at all. It was an okay setup episode that broke tradition and showed both Yuki and Stella's perspectives, and I like the way that their meeting is being set up, with both of them fresh from the loss of the most important people in their lives and not entirely mentally stable, but it just feels weird that nobody in Yuki's inner circle is calling her out on the holes in her plan. Like, you know Harold wouldn't have agreed to this if he were alive. But that's just the way it goes, I guess. I'm still excited that Yuki and Stella are going to finally meet next week, but even that worries me. How is the finale of the series going to handle the two protagonists meeting, the end of the war, and the destruction of the chrars in a satisfying manner in just one episode? I guess that means I just have to keep watching the series to the end and find out next week, then, don't I?

And thus ends another installment of the Weekly Roundup. Next week, we have the series finales of Price of Smiles, Run With the Wind, and Promised Neverland! Boogiepop has two episodes left, Dororo is continuing into next season, and Domestic Girlfriend still has an undetermined amount of episodes according to MyAnimeList. But what will happen next? Will Yuki and Stella become friends? Will Haiji make it through the Ekiden without aggravating his injured leg? Will Phil meet up with the rest of the children as they escape from Grace Field? Will Boogiepop stop the Distortion King? Will Hyakkimaru battle Daigo? Will Hina get fired? Find out the answers to all this and more, or maybe less, next time!

The Case for Remaking Bleach

So I was working on my upcoming list for my favorite anime of the 2000s, much like my previous list celebrating the anime of the 1990s, and as I was writing a list of over 20 potential nominees, I came across a little show known as Bleach. Feeling nostalgic (and admittedly unsure of how I felt about the show as a whole), I went onto Netflix and started watching the first season. And while it admittedly wasn't very special on a technical level, even for the standards of the time, it engrossed me like few other shows have.

Much like the Netflix adaptation that came out last September, Bleach's story is occasionally a bit of a mess. That sort of thing tends to happen with a weekly manga that lives or dies from a creator who's a better artist than writer that lives or dies at the whims of its audience and its editors. But there is a certain magic to it -- be it its imaginative world, its punk-inspired art style, its memorable cast of characters, its cheesy but effective soundtrack, and its themes of rebellion -- that never fails to capture the imagination. I can't think of anything in the entire world of anime that can come close to the unique energy that Tite Kubo brought to this world.

Let me be honest with you, I don't think that Bleach is going to make any best of the 2000s list anytime soon. The animation is mediocre, the pacing is all over the place, the narrative has a problem with repeating itself, and there is way too much awful filler to make up for the better moments in the series. Hell, it had such a problem maintaining a consistent quality that the fans lost interest and the anime was canceled before the final arc could even be adapted. No series is perfect, no matter what I may say about One Piece, but I do think that Bleach was an overall good show all things considered, and it bothers me that it seems to have fallen from grace in the eyes of the western anime community when its contemporary Naruto (which is equally flawed if not more so in my opinion) is still fondly remembered.

And I don't have time to go into detail as of why, but I do not remember Naruto nearly as fondly,
but that's neither here no there.

Either way, while I was reviewing my list of potential nominees, I saw two remakes listed as potential nominees: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Dragon Ball Kai. Remakes and sequels are a bit of a contentious subject in the anime community, much like in any other medium, but I think that there is a very good track record when it comes to remakes. Both Brotherhood and Kai were excellent shows that served to trim the fat and improve both the pacing and animation of the original series, and the 2011 Hunter x Hunter remake, the 2018 Captain Tsubasa remake, and the 2019 Dororo remake are all doing really well in updating the source material, and I would argue that they each eclipse the first adaptation in terms of quality. And with a Fruits Basket remake coming out in April (and yes, I will be covering that in the roundup), it doesn't look like the remakes will stop anytime soon. So, if remakes are here to stay, I would suggest that Bleach is perfect fodder for a remake.

But why Bleach, you may be asking? If I have such a middle of the road opinion of the anime and manga that is only buoyed by nostalgia for high school and a genuine appreciation for Kubo's aritstic talent and aesthetic, then why would I champion this as the show that deserves a remake over shows I'm crazy about like Yu Yu Hakusho or Death Note? Well, if you ask me, the fact that Bleach is an imperfect show is why I want it remade. While a remake of a show that was already great will always get a lot of attention, there's always a chance of disappointing the fans and losing all sorts of credibility and money if you fail to live up to the old series' reputation. Look at what happened to Clash of the Titans.

Besides, those kinds of remakes are boring. A remake isn't supposed to be a nostalgic cash grab, no matter what any marketing executive might say to the contrary, it should be a chance to update a story that was flawed and improve upon it, making it better than it was before. That doesn't mean I think every bad show should be remade. An anime studio needs to make money, after all, and nobody's gonna pay for a remake of Kampfer. 

Well, I might, but I'm trash.

But I don't think anyone can deny that Bleach has an audience. Regardless of its faults, it still stands as the 10th best selling manga of all time, outselling such heavyweights as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Attack on Titan, and Fist of the North Star. And that's just the tankobon sales, not counting how many fans the manga gained from reading Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. I haven't been able to find any significant data one way or another myself about other media sales, but, well, an anime adaptation does not last for 8 years for no reason, you know?

But that's just all hypothetical. Is there even a point to speculating about a potential remake if there's no indication that those in charge are even interested in making one? Well, as this fantastic video from YouTube user Clyde chronicles, there is evidence that indicates that the higher-ups at Studio Pierrot, Shueisha, and other rights holders may be testing the waters and/or keeping interest in the series alive. While I highly recommend that you watch the video for more information, but I will summarize a few of his points here that suggest that Bleach is being pushed hard. Bleach characters in Jump Force are based on the manga exclusive Thousand Year Blood War arc, which never made it to air, and two more fan favorite characters are coming as DLC, more DLC characters than more popular series like Dragon Ball and One Piece are getting. The mobile game Bleach Brave Souls is still alive and well 7 years after the anime was taken off the air and 3 years after the manga ended, with over 30 million active users worldwide. A series of light novels have been released in the years following the manga's ending and have sold so well that they are being reprinted. And of course, out of nowhere, a live action movie was released worldwide on Netflix, and it sounds like it did fairly well in Japan from what I can tell.

Not to mention that I just want it, okay?

Let's be clear, there is absolutely no concrete evidence that Bleach is coming back. A mobile game and some light novels are much cheaper to make than a full blown tv anime. And the movie was made and distributed by Warner Bros Japan and Netflix, not Studio Pierrot or Shueisha. As for Pierrot, they have quite a lot on their plate already. They have been continuously producing the anime adaptations for Boruto and Black Clover since 2017, along with plenty of seasonal releases including this season's The Morose Mononokean Season 2 and next season's Magmel of the Sea Blue (another anime I plan to cover in next season's roundup). Unless Bleach does return as part of this seasonal rotation -- which is entirely possible, don't get me wrong -- then Pierrot could end up simultaneously producing four tv anime. That's a huge strain on resources, and it could end up causing a lot of trouble for everyone involved.

Either way, it seems insane to me that this is even something that is being discussed right now. No matter what evidence there might be, I just don't think it's likely that Bleach will be remade. I don't even think that an adaptation of the final arc will be likely, considering that we have had 7 years of silence since the anime was canceled. After all, as detailed by YouTuber Super Eyepatch Wolf here, Bleach's popularity had dropped dramatically over the years, and the manga itself had a less than stellar end, even among fans. I disagree with some of his points about the quality of Bleach's writing, but it's definitely worth a watch. As is everything else on his channel, actually, go check him out.

And yet, I can't get the thought out of my head. Realistic or not, I can't get the idea of how much potential a prospective remake has. If the bigwigs at Pierrot decided to get Kubo involved with the production of a potential remake, without any pressure from the Shonen Jump editorial staff, he might be able to address any possible mistakes or regrets he may have about the manga from the first time around. The editors at Jump have not been kind to Kubo, from forcing him to abandon plot ideas that he cared about and prolong other story arcs longer than he ever intended. And with the Thousand Year Blood War and the popular light novels, there is a lot of material that can be used to keep the story going. And while it may be true that Bleach's fanbase is more of a cult one nowadays, there's a possibility that the series still has an audience and that the people in charge know it and are actively priming the audience for a potential return of Ichigo and company to television. And that really excites me.

Either way, I'm glad I get to share the awesome fanart I find on Google Images.

Weekly Roundup Winter 2019 Week 10

The fact that we've gotten 10 weeks into the season with 7 shows still going strong is remarkable to me. At this point last week, we only had 5 shows left. Does that mean that this season is better than last season? That's a question for another time, since that would require a comparison between the individual shows, and we have a more pressing question: will all 7 shows survive this week? Let's find out!

Promised Neverland

The moment that Ray gives up is the moment my heart dies.

First up is Paranoid Fans on Reddit Demanding to See a Body. In Episode 10, Norman's shipment date has arrived, and nothing Emma or Ray try can convince him to run and hide for real. Even when Emma throws herself at Norman in front of everyone and tries to forcibly disable his tracker, Norman stops her and accepts his fate. But when it comes time for him to be shipped, instead of being led to the truck where he found Connie's body so long ago, Norman is taken to a side room at the gate, and what he sees there leaves him stunned with shock. Later, Mama approaches Emma with a proposal: give up the escape plan, and she will recommend her to become an adult and trained as a caretaker for the farms. Months pass as Emma and Ray wallow in their despair, but on the night before Ray's 12th birthday and his shipment date, the two of them meet in secret, and when Ray asks if Emma has truly given up, Emma responds with a determined smile.

So, Norman's shipment was where I expected the previous episode to end, and then I expected this episode to go up to this point, focusing on Emma and Ray's mourning with a bit more time given to a plot point that is presumably coming next week. But it turns out that I remembered the order of events wrong and, with that in mind, I withdraw most of my previous complaints about last week's pacing. I still think that it was badly paced as a standalone episode, but when you consider how it fits into the greater narrative of the season, it was really the only choice that Cloverworks had. I forgot just how quickly the manga moves on from Mama's proposal to Emma to Emma and Ray reaffirming their goal to escape, and a lot of the scenes this week were either extended or completely original in order to fit the run time. This is par for the course when it comes to anime adaptations of manga, which are formatted to have smaller bursts of content released on a weekly basis, but Cloverworks did such a good job with its original content that it feels like it was part of the manga all along. I adored the flashback scene with Norman and Emma's string telephone; it really sells just why Norman would feel so strongly for Emma. Now the children have less than 24 hours in order to escape the farm without anyone else dying, and the only way out is through Headquarters which is, presumably, crawling with adults and demons. Emma's smile suggests that she has a plan, and I cannot wait to talk about what that plan is because, let me tell you, it's awesome.

Domestic Girlfriend

That's messed up, Rui.

Up next is Throw All the Subplots in a Blender! In episode 10, the cultural festival has arrived, and the Literature Club uses a combined maid cafe and book sale of their anthology to attract guests to their booth. Afterward, Kiriya has an extended leave of absence, and Natsuo, Rui, and Miu visit his home in order to check up on him. The three of them learn that Kiriya's absence was not due to illness, but instead because he was rushing to meet a deadline for a novel that he needs to publish, and it is revealed that Kiriya is actually Natsuo's favorite author publishing under a pseudonym. He then tells his students that he plans to submit their stories in a magazine contest for amateur writers. The next day, Miu accidentally knocks Natsuo down the stairs, breaking his leg and leaving him unable to sneak off and visit Hina for a while. Rui takes advantage of the situation to try to get closer to Natsuo, including bathing with him, but he eventually gets fed up with the situation and sneaks off to Hina's house for a late night rendezvous. But because Natsuo is terrible at lying, Rui discovers the truth and finds Natsuo and Hina at her house about to have sex. Rui runs off in the rain and Natsuo chases after her. When she asks him if he is in love with Hina, he admits it, and the credits roll over Rui's tears.

Okay, this episode was kinda all over the place. Why was the cultural festival and the club anthology mentioned several times in previous episodes only for it to be reduced to a two minute montage? I mean, I liked the visual gag of seeing Alex dressed up as a maid, but it was such a let down that I wonder why we even bothered introducing this event so many episodes ago. And then Kiriya is just casually revealed to be a famous author, and nothing comes of it. Like, yeah, he submits Natsuo's story to a contest, but he would have done that even if he weren't a published author. This whole subplot of Natsuo trying to become a professional writer has been so lazily handled throughout the series (probably because there's no excuse for naked anime girls) that any time we end up focusing on it just ends up feeling like filler. I mean, I don't hate any of these plot threads, I just want them to actually feel like they matter. 

In fact, a lot of this episode just felt like padding and filler. Natsuo and Rui's scenes together after Natsuo breaks his leg are just elaborate excuses for some nudity and an accidental handjob (did I really just type that?). Things don't actually pick up until Rui learns about Natsuo's lie, and the way she finds out is incredibly moronic. She reads Natsuo's story, which is about a boy who pursues a forbidden love with his teacher? I mean, lazy cliches aside, I never got the impression that Natsuo was that stupid as to blatantly write a fictional story based on his scandalous secret incest affair that could very well put Hina in jail if they are discovered. I know, "write what you know", but that's just asinine. I get that it was important for the incest sex friend relationship to be discovered by Rui for the sake of drama, but with all the filler and the stupidly contrived way things progressed to this point, we're left with the first truly bad episode of Domestic Girlfriend. Hopefully, it will be the last one.

The Price of Smiles

As stereotypical as it may be, I want to protect this smile.

In episode 10 of Deja Vu: The Animation, as Stella's squad occupies a border city while waiting for their next marching orders, Stella and Lily happen upon an elderly couple taking care of a group of war orphans. With Owens's permission, they deliver a package of toys for the children, and Stella is reminded of how she spent her teenage years as a homeless orphan in the Empire, digging through garbage for food and forcing a smile every time an angry stranger confronted her, until she joined the army thanks to the promise of regular meals and a cot. After confiding in Lily how lonely and frustrated she is with the whole thing, Lily tells Stella that the squad is her family, and Owens is their grumpy dad. When the squad is dispatched to attack a Soleil research facility, Owens and Harold fight against each other, with Owens sacrificing his life in exchange for killing Harold and protecting Stella. As the Empire puts on a grand funeral for Harold in a show of propagandistic generosity, the loyal soldier Commander Gail Owens is ignored, forgotten by all except those who served under him.

This episode had a bit of a slow start, with the orphanage scene feeling a bit like a rehash of episode 3. But I am willing to forgive that for two reasons. First, seeing a scenario so similar to what happened in Stella's introductory episode really highlights her growth as a character, as her time with Owens, Lily, and the rest of the squad actually allows her to healthily process her emotions and be vulnerable for once. Not to mention that it's a plus that she didn't have to hold any children at gunpoint this time. 

Second, the battle scene that followed was good enough to make up for the sluggish beginning. Like the rest of the series, the battle isn't much to write home about on a technical level, but the emotional weight of seeing a character who has been built up as much as Owens die for his surrogate children carries the scene. And this is also the first time we've seen the same battle from two different perspectives, which signifies that this is a pivotal moment in the story. Harold and Owens are purposefully written to be mirrors of each other, each acting as father figures to Yuki and Stella respectively. While Harold was holding Yuki back, first by keeping secrets and then by undermining her authority, Owens was nurturing Stella's compassion and helping her recover from her childhood trauma as best he could. Yuki and Stella's journeys as characters relied on their influence, and yet they couldn't complete their arcs and stand on their own as adults if they kept holding these old men's hands. Now that the war has taken everything away from them, the two of them are in a position to start taking things back, and I really feel that they are in the perfect emotional headspace to meet and bring an end to the war together. At least, I hope they do, since there are only two episodes left.

Boogiepop and Others

What, you think a character in Boogiepop is going to explain their motivation in a clear and concise matter?
Oh, you sweet summer child.

Next up is Interactive Flashback. In episode 15, the Distortion King continues to manipulate his hostages in each of their dreams by poking and prodding at their deepest regrets. First he goes after a woman (who is never named for some reason) who was once Teratsuki's lover and blackmailed him with the knowledge that he potentially fathered her son Makoto out of wedlock. She regrets taking advantage of the man who she had feelings for and not apologizing before he died. Then he goes after Sakiko, a high school girl who had said something horrible to her best friend Hina in retaliation for the crime of being prettier than her in the eyes of her crush. Sakiko never go to apologize to her before she and her family died in a traffic accident, and she felt so much guilt that she had been searching for Boogiepop ever since, hoping that they would kill her. Finally, the Distortion King targets Kentaro, an amateur hacker who regrets letting his feelings of inadequacy prevent him from confessing his feelings to Nagi when he had the chance. However, unlike the other two victims, Kentaro refuses to play along with the manipulations, and he runs through the dream world (which has appearances from Saotome, Makoto, and a freaking kaiju for some reason) back to his own sleeping body in the Moon Temple. Using the knowledge that he is in an illusion, Kentaro forces himself back to consciousness and then wakes up his friend Shiro, and the two of them consider their next move.

I really like this episode, It's nice to have three short character pieces that all tie into the theme of regret, and Kentaro especially is a fun character who I can't wait to see more of. It's still horrifically unclear what the Distortion King is going for with his manipulations, but Kentaro's reasoning that he really is Teratsuki feels like it could possibly be true. Naturally, due to the laws of mystery shows, that's not going to be the case, but we do know that the Distortion King has taken on the form of Teratsuki before all this nonsense started happening. Perhaps he was born because Teratsuki's dying regrets were just that powerful?

But forget about that for a moment, because I have an even bigger speculation: I don't think that Kentaro actually escaped his hallucination. It just seems way too convenient that, immediately after waking up, he was able to wake up Shiro with just a light shake and a shout of his name. My gut is telling me that Kentaro is currently in another illusion, and Shiro is just another disguise for the Distortion King. Like all of my guesses for Boogiepop, I'm basing this on absolutely nothing, but I really think I'm right about this.

Run With the Wind

I forgot to take a screenshot, so I'm borrowing this one from Google Images.

In episode 21 of Wholesome Running, the second day of the Hakone Ekiden has arrived, and Kansei is ten minutes behind the first place team. Inspired by Shindo's performance in the previous leg and spurred on by the surprise appearance of his estranged family arriving in person to cheer him on, Yuki has an incredible performance on his downhill section and finishes the leg only two seconds behind the first place runner. However, thanks to Nico's long absence from running between high school and now, along with his past struggles of nicotine addiction, a lot of that time is lost. Even then, though, Nico works hard and manages to pass the rival runner from Tokyo Sports University, allowing King to start ahead of Sakaki in section 8. But things don't look good for King as Sakaki's fast pace allows him to pass King easily.

I think it's obvious that there was no chance for this episode to outdo last week's. Very few things can do better at playing with my heart than someone practically crawling their way to the finish line, after all, and I can understand why some people may be disappointed with this week's episode as a result.

I'm not one of those people.

This was a solid episode and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Both Yuki and Nico's sectrions take seemingly throwaway details from previous episodes and build on them in a satisfying way. There have been scenes with Yuki yelling at his mother over the phone, but we only ever caught the end of the conversation and never knew why he was angry at her. Even now that we know it was because she remarried and had a kid with another man, the actual conflict isn't really built upon. But that's okay, since it's unimportant. What matters is that Yuki and his mother clearly love each other, and his new family is there for him in one of the most important moments of his life. And that's beautiful. As for Nico, we had a throwaway line in episode 2 that Haiji had his eye on him because he knew that Nico ran track in high school. At the time, it was implied that Nico quit the track team because he didn't enjoy it, but then it turned out that he was one of the first people to agree to training for the Ekiden with any amount of enthusiasm. At first, I thought he was taking advantage of the situation to turn his health around and have an excuse to quit smoking, but it turns out that he just really loved running and watned to get back into it, even though his high school coach told him his body wasn't cut out for it. Now he gets to run in the biggest marathon event in the country, and the obvious catharsis he feels is just so satisfying. Overall, the Hakone Ekiden episodes have all been great, and I cannot wait to see what the next two episodes about King, Kakeru, and Haiji have in store for us.

Dororo

Up next we have episode 10 of Rejected Fire Emblem Plots. Tahomaru notices that his father Daigo has been acting distant and worried lately, and not just because of the mourning threat of the neighboring Lord Asakura gathering his forces or the prolonged drought that warns of a coming famine. Suspicious that something sinister is going on, Tahomaru and his retainers capture and interrogate one of Daigo's men. The prisoner reveals that Daigo is searching for a baby that was born 16 years ago, but refuses to say why. Frustrated, Tahomaru confronts his father and asks to be allowed to share his burden, but Daigo lashes out at him. Tahomaru runs off to his favorite childhood sulking tree, where he learns of a giant crab monster attacking the fishermen in a nearby village. Out of a sense of duty and a need to prove himself, Tahomaru leads a group of men to trap the beast in an artificial lake that he then drains using recently made sluice gates. Tahomaru and his samurai seem to have the upper hand at first, but the monster destroys the sluice gate and fills the lake up with water once again. Just as it seems that Tahomaru has to watch as his loyal servant gets eaten, Hyakkimaru appears out of nowhere and slays the crab. As Tahomaru looks upon this new arrival, he notices his family crest around Hyakkimaru's neck.

Is it weird that I got excited for this week's episode from the title alone? Tahomaru is a character that has been teased almost since the beginning of the series, and as Hyakkimaru's brother, there is a lot of potential for him moving forward. Will he bond with Hyakkimaru, learn about how he was sacrificed by Daigo, and then turn on his father? Will he lash out at Hyakkimaru, resentful of how his mother was always distant and thinking about him? Will he befriend Hyakkimaru but still stand against him as his loyalty to his father trumps his loyalty to his friend? Will he be happy to see his mother truly  smile upon seeing her son return home, or will he be angry that nobody is paying attention to him anymore? 

At first I thought Tahomaru was just a meh character, since we never got to see him do anything other than whine about his father seeing him as a sumb kid and whine about his mother never being there for him. But now that we have a full episode about him, I'm starting to come around on the guy. Spoiled annoying brat he may be, he clearly idolizes his father, seeing him as the man who took a land that was barren and a people who were starving and led them to prosperity, and he is desperate to win such a great man's approval and be worthy of his legacy. As such, it only makes sense that he would care so deeply about his people's well-being and wish to fight the monster even in spite of his retainers' worries. Being shown to be an intelligent strategist willing to use the environment in his battles (which is not nearly as common a trope as it should be) and quite the swordsman doesn't hurt either. 

Honestly, my only complaint about this episode is the scene of Dororo and Hyakkimaru in the beginning. It adds nothing to the story on a literal or thematic level aside from a throwaway line from Dororo that hints at them entering Daigo's domain, and that foreshadowing ruins the moment of Hyakkimaru coming out of nowhere and unknowingly rescuing his brother. I would have much rather had that scene cut and the battle scenes made just a little bit longer in exchange. I realize this means that Dororo wouldn't have appeared at all this way, but she doesn't really need to in a story about Tahomaru, does she?

Hinomaru Sumo

Finally, we have Overpowered Hax: The Animation. In episode 22, Kirihito steps up to battle Sawai in the second bout of the finals. Though his respiratory disorder puts him at a severe disadvantage, Kirihito's skills and talent for sumo rival Hinomaru's, and they were both recognized as national treasures back in elementary school. Even still, Sawai's physique and observant nature allows him to keep pace with his opponent, and the two land outside of the ring simultaneously, forcing a restart of the bout. At this point, Kirihito has long since passed his time limit before his super asthma kills him, but thanks to the power of friendship or whatever, he manages to win the rematch and gives Dachi High a point. Yuma's bout against Yomoda is next, and for the first time ever, he ignores the feelings of guilt and regret that have been driving him this whole time and instead decides to just enjoy what essentially will be his last official sumo bout, as he is in his final year of high school. Yuma's hard hitting strikes and unconventional tactics give him the advantage at first, but Yomoda's larger body and experience win him the day and Yuma is defeated. With Dachi High on the brink of losing the tournament, Ozeki steps into the ring for the fourth bout.

Ugh...

I know that I was taken in during episode 14 when Kirihito agreed to be Dachi High's reserve team member, but that was mostly because it fit in so well with the rest of the episode's scenes that hyped up the national tournament. Now that his big moment has arrived, I feel that the entire decision was a misstep. The gimmick of a passionate athlete who is hindered by a debilitating physical condition has been done in sports anime before, most notably with Jun Misugi in Captain Tsubasa. What made Kirihito unique was how he subverted the trope by making the rational decision and retiring from the game, choosing instead to become a coach. It made the decision to make him a reserve fighter compelling at first, as he was literally putting his life on the line for his teammates, but once he actually had his bout the problems began. 

The 20 second time limit had been mentioned again and again early on and, as a result, there are only a handful of possible outcomes for any match that Kirihito is in. Either he wins the bout in less than 20 seconds, he loses the bout in less than 20 seconds, he reaches the time limit and forfeits voluntarily, he reaches the time limit and is forced to forfeit by either the official or his teammate, he pushes himself too hard past the time limit and is hospitalized, or he completely trivializes the time limit by continuing past it and winning anyway with no apparent drawback other than needing an oxygen tank for a few minutes. We got the last scenario, which is, in my opinion, the absolute worst choice. Why even introduce such a dire dynamic if you're going to completely ignore it for the sake of a single dramatic moment? It wouldn't have been so bad if he just went over by a few seconds and pulled out the win, as that would be somewhat plausible. But the fact that he had a simultaneous landing, a discussino between judges, and a restarted match, all after he had already passed 20 seconds and without a chance to use his oxygen tank, just makes it seem that the time limit never actually mattered. And the fact that we had an almost identical outcome to his match as Mitsuhashi's last bout, only to win this time, is just insulting to Mitsuhashi, who has been through enough at this point. The whole thing sounds like an idea that the original creator had for a dramatic scene without actually thinking about the context. I'm usually down for a bit of shonen nonsense since the excitement that it creates tends to resonate with me, but this is a bit too much. 

Look, I like Hinomaru Sumo a lot, and I've let a lot slide with it as a result. The characters and tone are right up my alley, and it does a lot right with its underdog sports narrative. No matter what happens, I'm definitely going to finish watching it, especially since there are only two episodes left. But I cannot justify including it in the roundup anymore when I've been harsher on shows like Shield Hero for much less. As much as I try to be impartial when it comes to these reviews, I have my preferences and biases, and I let Hinomaru Sumo get away with too much nonsense because it happens to play to my biases. But the problems aren't limited to pacing issues anymore. The animation is dropping in quality in this second half of the series, the narrative decisions exist simply for the purpose of surprising the audience without thinking those decisions through, and the new rival characters are almost universally failing to make an impression. It says a lot about the quality of this episode that my favorite part is the dopey joke scene of Reina and Chizuko wrestling after the credits that is probably non-canon. I feel that the show has lost its way, and I don't want to bore you guys with the same complaints week after week any more than I already have. And so, crying as much as the boy from Old Yeller, I'm putting Hinomaru Sumo out of its misery. Consider this show dropped.

And with that depressing idea out of the way, we have 6 shows left for next week.With only 3 weeks left in the season and only Dororo and maybe Domestic Girlfriend continuing into next season, we are nearing the climaxes of a lot of our stories. What will happen next week? Will Kentaro meet up with Boogiepop? Will King catch up to Sakaki? Will Daigo discover Hyakkimaru's presence in his domain? Will Rui reveal Natsuo and Hina's affair to their parents? Will Stella swear revenge against Soleil? Will the children escape from Grace Field House? Will I ever shut up? Find out next week on...this! I need to work on these conclusions.

One Piece: The Simple, Yet Elegant Devil Fruit

Remember back in January when I said that I wanted to make a series about the different elements of One Piece in depth and talk about how they all come together to make one of my absolute favorite anime? I'm actually following up on that promise with a part 2. Over two months later. Hooray!

Last time, I ranted for 13 paragraphs about the geography of the One Piece world and how it feeds into the political climate, character dynamics, and core themes that make the series appealing. Now, world design and lore are collectively an undeniably important component of writing any story, but while pedantic nerds on the internet like myself tend to overstate the importance of having a cohesive world that makes perfect logical sense under the most intense scrutiny from every angle at all times, it doesn't actually have to be that complex. The average viewer isn't even going to think about the implications behind an aquatic setting as much as I do, after all. Now, more detail is obviously appreciated and usually enriches the experience, but the more you add, the easier it is to mess things up. Obviously, I don't think there were any substantial problems with One Piece's world, seeing as how I spent hours writing a miniature essay about how great it is, but I bring this up because this awkward situation between creating more detail while still trying to keep everything as seamless as possible is exactly the balancing act that Eiichiro Oda had to approach when it came to creating the super powers of the story, and his solution was simple, yet elegant: the Devil Fruit.

Devil Fruits are probably the coolest thing about One Piece and I am so excited to talk about them. For those that haven't seen One Piece -- and if you haven't, I really wonder why you chose to read this post -- allow me to enlighten you. Devil Fruits are these mysterious, um, fruits with swirling patterns on them that bestow incredible powers upon whoever eats them. Each fruit grants its own unique power and only one person can ever have any power at a time. If someone with a Devil Fruit power dies, the power is passed on to the nearest fruit, which is actually a plot point in the story where the villainous Donquixote Doflamingo secretly brings a fruit to a public execution in order to steal the Flame Flame Fruit from the incredibly powerful and infamous Fire Fist Ace.

And Devil Fruits have a TON of variants. According to the One Piece wiki, there are approximately 130 named characters with Devil Fruit powers, not counting non-canon characters or the recently introduced characters with artificially created Devil Fruits. Now, to be fair, a handful of these characters have overlapping powers thanks to the whole death mechanic I mentioned earlier, but still. That's a LOT of variety. You have basic elemental abilities like fire and ice and electricity, called Logias, abilities that let you transform into different animals, called Zoans, and more out there abilities such as rubber body parts or controlling shadows, called Paramecias. 

With so much power at their disposal, this just begs the question: why doesn't everybody eat the Devil Fruits right away? And actually, there are actually a few reasons, most of which are thought out and work in the narrative's favor. I say most, because there's a running gag in One Piece that Devil Fruits are apparently the most disgusting food on the planet. 

Seriously, this is mentioned like three or four times over the course of the 20+ years of story. It has nothing to do with anything and always comes out of nowhere, but it never fails to make me laugh and it's a nice bit of world building, so I love it. As far as more substantial justifications go, the first thing you need to consider is that Devil Fruits are incredibly rare. I know that it's hard to believe when I already said that there are over 100 of them confirmed already, but consider that there are over 7 billion humans in the real world. With the sheer amount of nameless civilians and henchmen that are shown and the laundry list of locations that are mentioned that haven't even been visited yet, its not that much of a stretch to infer that only a handful of people in the One Piece world will ever have the chance to eat a Devil Fruit. And with the existence of a World Government trying to keep all sources of power to itself AND the erratic weather patterns and sea monsters and such restricting the ability to travel, the scarcity is artificially increased, and it all comes to the point where some people from the more isolated East Blue -- which is where Luffy's story begins -- don't even believe that Devil Fruits are real.

But let's say that you get your hands on a Devil Fruit somehow. You still wouldn't necessarily want to eat one. For one thing, you won't even have a guarantee that you'll get the power that you want. There aren't a lot of visual clues on any individual Devil Fruit that would indicate what power they would grant, especially since some of the powers are as weird as transforming into a giraffe or creating clothing from thin air. Yes, those are actual canon Devil Fruit powers. 

The nature of Devil Fruits, including how they work and where they came from, is a mystery even in-universe, and is the subject of much intense study from the top scientists of the World Government, which led to the creation of an in-universe encyclopedia that catalogs all the known variants of Devil Fruit. Which is great, if you have access to such a resource. But the World Government keeps that book to themselves because they're power-hungry jerks, and only powerful factions like the Whitebeard Pirates or the Vinsmoke Family manage to steal copies of their own. So, unless you're a member of one of these powerful groups, the Devil Fruit is a bit of a gamble. The lore states that only one Devil Fruit can be eaten by any given person in their lifetime or else they die, so the question becomes: are you willing to take a chance and eat a foul-tasting fruit and possibly get a super power that you don't even want?

I mean, Kalifa makes it work, but would you really want SOAP to be your randomly generated super power?

Now, some people may decide that any super power is better than no super powers. And I get that. But even then, eating a Devil Fruit may still not be worth it, because there is still a major drawback we haven't discussed yet. Any Devil Fruit user who makes contact with sea water loses all ability to move. The abilities themselves aren't nullified, but the users are unable to control their bodies, so the powers cannot be activated at all under most circumstances. Let's not forget that One Piece is an AQUATIC setting, and though it isn't shown, the majority of your average pirate or Marine's time is spent out at sea. Not being able to swim or even flail if you fall overboard is a HUGE liability. One slip up, and you will end up dead. This is such a huge problem that the Red-Hair Pirates, canonically one of the strongest crews in the series, don't consider the Gum Gum Fruit they obtained to be worth the trouble to eat and they intend to sell it before it accidentally ends up in Luffy's hands.

He just steals the fruit. Who says Luffy never acts like a pirate?

Also, as an aside, the Marines have actually weaponized this weakness and created weapons from solidified water known as Seastone, which is simultaneously absurd and awesome. Seastone weapons are still rare, since the bulk of Seastone is actually used to line Marine battleships because it camouflages them from the Sea Kings. Not only does this make sense, since Seastone is seawater, but it creates an anti-Devil Fruit mechanism for non-users without completely trivializing them. I love the concept of Seastone and this is literally the only chance I'm going to have to talk about it, so I'm gonna mention it here.

Anyway, this is a lot of detail that we've gone over, but Devil Fruits are actually quite simple. A lot of these details are introduced gradually over the course of the story. The basic principle of fruits giving those that eat them super powers is introduced in episode 1 and the fact that Devil Fruit users can't swim is mentioned in episode 3, but every other detail we've gone over so far isn't mentioned until much later. This slow drip feed of information is a staple of Oda's writing style and it allows fundamental ideas like Devil Fruits to develop more complexity over time without overwhelming the audience, which is a common pitfall in writing fantasy stories like this. 

For example, a lot of people love to praise the Nen power system in Hunter x Hunter since it allows a lot of variety in powers while grounding it all in a similar set of rules, and I agree in theory, but the way Nen is introduced always bothered me. After a few arcs with the main characters just punching each other, a mentor character is introduced and talks about Nen in laborious detail. Within a few brief minutes, complicated concepts related to aura flow with special categories and terminology that all sounds very similar. Ten, Hatsu, Ren, Zetsu, and Gyo are all mentioned in the same scene, and all are a fundamental part of Nen. If you can wrap your head around the concepts, then the possibilities become endless and you appreciate what makes Nen an appealing and flexible magic system, but the barrier for entry is so steep that it affects my enjoyment of an otherwise fantastic anime to such a degree that I took a break from it and still haven't returned to finish it.

Also, if this chart is so simple, then why do you have to add additional universal abilities with obtusely similar names?

Devil Fruits skirt that issue. The deeper mechanics of Devil Fruits are unexplained, and not even the people of the One Piece world understand how they work, so you don't have long in-depth explanations bogging things down. Some people might get annoyed by this, and I understand why, but the fact of the matter is some things don't need to be explained beyond the core concept. Devil Fruits are easy to understand: you eat a rare fruit, you get a super power, you can't swim. It's easy to follow and has its own internal logic that stays consistent and makes the world feel more connected with this universal source of power. More details are added to refine the system over time, but the timing of these reveals is so precise and information is released so sporadically that they still have a certain mystique. And finally, the scarcity of Devil Fruits and the drawback of not being able to swim in a world that's over 90% ocean justifies the existence of characters who choose to rely on advanced weaponry or martial arts instead of Devil Fruit powers, creating a variety of character types and making things just a little more interesting.

Like I said in the previous post about One Piece, this is a series that is practically impossible to discuss in depth all at once. I know that having a two month gap between entries in this mini-series is a bit much, but I feel that the posts need to be spaced out like this in order to give me time to develop them properly and prevent one series from overwhelming a blog that is more about anime in general. I don't know when you can expect part 3 in this series to be published, but I can tell you that I plan on moving on from the setting and discussing characters next, first on a grander scale in regards to factions and then on a smaller scale with a few case studies of Oda's character writing. So, you know, look forward to that coming out eventually.