Weekly Roundup Spring 2019 Week 5

We have reached the fifth week of the spring season. Nine shows remain, and let me tell you, I struggled to decide what show deserved to be cut this week. When it comes down to a coin flip, that's not a good sign for the quality of this week's offerings. At least Detective Pikachu turned out to be pretty good.

Sounds of Life

Leading off the roundup this week is That Jerk Who Keeps Talking Over the Music. In episode 5, after hearing the story of his grandfather's death, Hozuki tearfully apologizes to Kudo for the many many times she insulted him or questioned his commitment to the club. He doesn't answer her with anything more than a smile and a bag of tissues, but the message of forgiveness still rings clear. Before long, the fated day of the performance arrives, and thanks to some wise words from Hozuki, the boys swallow their stage fright and prepare to play. After shutting down some hecklers, Takezo leads the club in the piece. As Hozuki and Kudo play their solos with a practiced ease, the student body is stunned into silence, and the members of the club reflect on everything they have been through together.

Remember when I said this show could grow into something special if it kept up its momentum? It's not quite there yet, but it got damn close this week. That performance was utterly breathtaking, and I'm just playing Kudo's solo on repeat as I'm writing this right now. The lead up to the performance did a great job of increasing the tension, too, as the vice principal stacks the deck against the club by announcing that the club will disband if the student body isn't sufficiently impressed. It really makes the moment where the club loses the timing have more impact and their subsequent rally is all the more exciting as a result. Even if the rest of this show turns out to be utter garbage and I end up dropping it, this episode will stay with me forever. My only complaint about the episode is the flashbacks constantly interrupting the performance. While the actual scenes being shown were really good at underscoring just how low Kudo had sunk before the series began and how important this performance is to him, the way the dialogue just overpowers the music and makes it hard to hear the koto really hurts the impact of the scene, and I can easily imagine someone who isn't a soft-hearted crybaby like me thinking it's a bit too much. Besides, just imagine, wouldn't it have been so much better if the entire scene played out with no dialogue or flashbacks? Just the power of music and animation, telling a story of redemption without words? That would have pushed me over the edge and led me to call this a classic episode. As it is, it's still REALLY good.

Fairy Gone

Yeah, kinda.

Next up is All Style, No Substance. In episode 5, Veronica and Marlya work together to defeat Jonathan. Marlya asks Veronica to come back home with her, but she refuses, sayingg that the Ver she knew is long gone and that she is only focused on getting her revenge on Duke Ray Dawn, the man who betrayed their homeland during the great war which led to her parents' deaths. Meanwhile, Free defeats Patricia, who leaves the Black Fairy Tome behind when she flees, and he and Marlya  successfully complete their mission and return the Tome to headquarters. Later, the members of Dorothea have a belated welcome party for Marlya at the local tavern. 

The high I was feeling for this show is starting to fade away, even if this episode was better than last week's. And the worst part is that it isn't really its fault either. The animation is still pretty good, the action scenes are still fun to watch, and everything is just as over the top as I wanted it to be. I mean, you can't get more over the top than Jonathan, who is a mix of Deidara and Agent 47, with a dash of insane Harry Osborn from the 90s Spider-man cartoon for spice. I loved everything about him, and the fact that his fight against the girls took up most of the runtime is this episode's biggest strength. But the problem here is the story. It's ridiculous and cheesy, but it almost isn't dumb enough. It keeps trying to sell how nuanced and unique its characters and scenarios are, introducing a bunch of subplots and factions, but the characters are just not well defined at all. I mean, we've been at this for five episodes, and all I can tell you about our main characters is that Free is the experienced one while Marlya is the rookie. Ver and Wolfran are basically interchangeable villains, to the point where I can only tell them apart by looking at their chests. I'm not at the point where I hate this show yet, but it's giving me nothing to work with.

RobiHachi

Wait til you see her ankles.

Next up is All You Need is Mechs. In episode 5, as Yang and his goons are distracted by a marathon being held on a completely different planet, Robby and Hatchi arrive at the Hacccone checkpoint. But they soon learn that without travel passes, they cannot leave the Milky Way and travel to Isekandar, and that they would have to return to Earth if they want to get permits. Frustrated, the group lands on Haccone and explore the hot springs while they try to come up with a plan. While there, Hatchi overhears rumors of an underworld boss who could provide them the permits, but supposedly, none have returned from meeting him completely intact. As Robby chases various alien tourist girls, Hatchi gathers information and eventually the group ends up before the boss himself: a pink wombat who is apparently so adorable that you will always long to cuddle him for the rest of your life. With that misadventure behind them, the group flies off through the warp tunnel and continues their journey to Isekandar.

Remember when this was a mech show for two minutes? Yeah, me neither. I don't really know how I feel about this week's episode. A lot of the humor revolved around Robby trying to get lucky, which is my least favorite running gag in the series. And while I enjoyed seeing Hatchi accidentally stealing Robby's dates by virtue of being nearby and better looking, that was the only moment that I actually laughed out loud this week, which is a new low for this series. I'd blame the lack of Yang, but Robby and Hatchi's banter has been enough to enteratin me before. I'm hoping that this was just a momentary bump in the road in what has been one of my favorite shows of the season so far. Also, am I crazy, or is that totally the same wombat from Cute High Earth Defense Club Love?

Dororo

Master Splinter has seen better days.

In episode 17 of Teenage Puppet Demon Hunter, Hyakkimaru reunites with Jukai and tells him about Daigo's deal with the demons. When he is asked to replace his leg; Jukai turns Hyakkimaru down, arguing that he taught him how to fight so he can survive, not so that he could forfeit his humanity on a quest to retrieve a body he never even knew. Jukai destroys the last prosthetic leg he has, and the two of them are trapped in a cave in. As Hyakkimaru struggles to dig them out, Tahomaru hunts down a rat ghoul that has invaded Daigo's land. Upon returning home from this mission, Daigo tells him that the scouts have located Dororo and Itachi, and dispatches him to head there and kill Hyakkimaru. Finally, Hyakkimaru escapes the cave in, thanks Jukai for taking care of him as a child, and heads off to find Dororo.

This is what I come to Dororo for: super violent battle animation, beautifully melancholic background art, and morally complex characters. Jukai is way too much of a sad sack to realize that he's being unreasonable, and it fits his tragic character perfectly. This is a man who only wants to do the right thing, but he feels that every single thing he does only makes things worse. He wanted to serve his lord and uphold justice, but he is forced to crucify hundreds of people. He tried to make amends by caring for Hyakkimaru, but he is horrified to see the killing machine the boy has become. Of course he wants him to give up his crusade. He feels responsible for the deaths of all the humans that Hyakkimaru killed. It's not until he is acknowledged as a parental figure that he actually has a moment of happiness. It's a great arc and I loved it. 

It's also interesting that Tahomaru is falling into darkness and cruelty, burning someone's house down in order to kill the ghoul. It seems that after having made his peace with the idea of murdering his brother for the greater good, he decided to go full on anti hero and do whatever it takes to kill anyone who threatens his people. And if the implication that the events of this episode happened simultaneously with last week's episode, that means that we may be heading for a four way conflict between Hyakkimaru and Dororo, Itachi and his men, Shark Boy and Jiromaru, and Tahomaru and his men! That sounds freaking rad!

Senryu Girl

Casual Nanako is a cutie.

Up next we have The Best Ad for Spellcheck. In episode 5, Nanako drags Eiji to see a fortune teller named Tao and asks for a reading on their compatibility. She tells them that they are fundamentally incompatible, which Eiji flat out denies, and she realizes that she got an inaccurate reading because she misspelled their names. She originally offers to do another reading, but Nanako says that Eiji's reaction was enough. The next day, Tao gives them a free reading as an apology, and warns that Eiji will be struck by lightning. He laughs it off and the two spend the day at the roller rink. After a fun date, Nanako shocks him by taking off her outer layer to let some sweat out (she still has a T-shirt on underneath), and his surprise at seeing the size of her bust hits him like a lightning bolt.

I don't know anymore. This episode was fine, I guess? There was nothing inherently wrong with it, and the chance to throw some fuel on the fire for the Nanako-Eiji shippers (which should be anybody watching this show, just so we're clear) is always appreciated, but nothing really stands out either. Tao is more like a plot device than a character, as her entire existence revolves around making predictions to add something to this episode's story, but what was the point of this episode? Where was the conflict? Where was the development? Instead of feeling like a crucial piece of the puzzle that is the overarching story, as every individual episode of any given anime should, this feels supplementary at best. I'm worried that we may be hitting a wall that this kind of show tends to hit: where nothing is left to be discussed and episodes just sort of exist so as to drag out the story and make as much money as possible from viewers like us.

Fruits Basket

This show is too real.

Four shows left! Next up is Fruit Salad. In episode 5, the renovations are now complete, and Tohru's biological family are ready to take her back. Reluctantly, she returns to her family's house, leaving a note with her address behind if Yuki or Kyo ever want to visit. At the new house, Tohru's aunt and cousins reveal that they hired a private detective to investigate why she was living with a family of boys, worried that she was acting lewd and ruining the family name, when her grandfather responds by slapping them and telling them to back off. He then turns to Tohru and tells her that it's okay to make a selfish decision and go to where she belongs if she wants to. Tohru refuses to admit it at first because she doesn't want to sound ungrateful, but she then breaks down and admits she wants to go home to the Soma house, at which point Yuki and Kyo (who had been eavesdropping) swoop in and taker her home.

Well, that was resolved rather easily, wasn't it? And don't consider that a negative either, because, quite frankly, I'm thrilled that this didn't take any longer than it needed to. A lesser anime would have dragged this out for at least two episodes for MAXIMUM DRAMA (I can't figure out how to add the trademark symbol on Blogger, but it's on my notes in Google Docs). TMS perfectly paced this, though, doing just enough to explore the impact that this had on the characters and then moving on to the next story beat when it is time to do so. Oh, and Tohru saying she doesn't deserve to say she needs more? You know that shit hit me too close to home and made me cry. Do you know how many times I've said the exact same thing? Way too many times. The lesson that she is learning that it's okay to put your own needs first is a lesson that I have needed to learn the hard way several times. 

Also, learning about the Fruits Basket game from when Tohru was in kindergarten? Eh...At least we know where the title comes from, even if it's near impossible to explain in text. Basically, the Fruits Basket game is about pairing kids off by assigning them a fruit, and because she was bullied, Tohru was frequently labelled as a non-fruit and left alone while everybody else played together. Now that the Somas have accepted her, she has found her own fruits basket. Is that sappy and cliche? Yes. Is it effective? You bet your ass it is.

We Never Learn

In episode 5 of Domestic Classmate (that was terrible), the time has come for Ichinose Academy's mountain study camp, but Rizu is distracted. Fumino had pointed out that she had been staring at Nariyuki a lot lately, and now she is so distracted by how distracted she is that she has become a walking ball of nerves. After snapping at Nariyuki when he was simply checking up on her, she storms out of the building and gets lost in the mountains. When a thunderstorm starts pouring down on her, Nariyuki heads out to find her and bring her back to the lodge. During their trip back, she trips and their lips accidentally make contact. The next day, the two of them have been assigned to clean the baths as punishment for leaving the lodge without permission, but Rizu forgets to hang up the "closed for cleaning" sign, leaving Nariyuki in the uncomfortable position of having to sneak out of a bath filled with his naked female classmates. Thanks to some awkward distractions from Rizu, some competent distractions from Sekijo (who figured out the situation and understood that Nariyuki wasn't there to peep), and a bit of dumb luck, he manages to sneak out with nobody noticing that he is there. Rizu and Nariyuki rationalize that their kiss was accidental and didn't mean anything, so now they can be on speaking terms again without panicking every time they look at each other. Upon returning to school, Kirisu-sensei (the girls' first tutor) confronts Nariyuki for kissing one of his pupils.

This was a MUCH better episode than last week, even if it didn't give us a lot of the girls interacting with each other like I wanted. Instead, this week is focused on Rizu, as the study camp marks a turning point in her starting to acknowledge her feelings for Nariyuki. And as we all know, Rizu is best girl, so I'm not complaining that the show focuses more on her. All kidding aside, the interactions between Nariyuki and Rizu, while cliche in their hyperbolic levels of awkwardness, really do work thanks to the great performance from Rizu's voice actress, who puts in just the right levels of flustered and confused without overselling it. Nariyuki's voice actor is being a little too dramatic for my taste, but it leads to a few funny reads of certain lines, so I'm willing to roll with it either way. Other than that, there isn't much to say about this episode. It had one goal, to sell Rizu's growing feelings for Nariyuki, and it succeeded in that goal. The cliffhanger ending of Kirisu being aware of their kiss somehow is a little much (to the point where I'm getting Domestic Girlfriend flashbacks), but if an episode about the school trying to stop him from being their tutor is absolutely necessary, I suppose it's better that they do it now and get it over with.

Demon Slayer

Up next is I Can't Believe It's Not Goblin Slayer. In episode 5, the Final Selection Exam has come to a close, and out of twenty candidates, only four have survived the entire week. These four graduates are given their uniforms and special messenger crows, and are then given a chance to select an ore for their special swords. After choosing his ore, Tanjiro begins the long journey home, collapsing from exhaustion and untreated wounds in front of Nezuko at Sakonji's house. Fifteen years after that tearful reunion, his sword is delivered, as well as his first orders as an official Demon Slayer: head to the village in the northwest and find out why young girls are disappearing.

I'm not going to say that this episode was bad, because it wasn't, but it was below the very high standards that this show has set for us. The fact that my summary was so short is indicative of just how little of note actually happens this week. Everything felt oddly rushed and we barely got any time to get to know the other graduates, which is especially weird considering that the blonde one is heavily featured in the opening and all the marketing material, so we know he's going to be an important character. The little we did get to see of him and the others were great, as all three of them are oozing with personality, but it doesn't do nearly enough to satisfy my need for details. I'm still having a great time either way, there were some impressive emotional moments like when Sakonji embraces Tanjiro and Nezuko and how Tanjiro legitimately mourned the demons he killed, and the visuals never stop impressing, but I hope that when the actual mission starts in the next episode the story will slow down a little and really let us sink our teeth into things.

Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu

Me watching this week's episode.

Finally, we have A Migraine. In Episode 5, Aru works very hard to maintain her image as the perfect class vice president, but she is in fact a very ditzy and clumsy girl, to the point where Nako frequently calls her unfortunate. After a particularly airheaded mistake of wearing her old elementary school uniform she is supposed to wear, she tries to pass herself off as her little sister, but everyone not named Bocchi or Sotoka sees through it right away, and Nako bursts out laughing in front of everyone. Fortunately for her, the rest of the school reads Aru's mistake as an elaborate gag with the intention of making the typically stoic Nako laugh, and Aru's reputation is safe. Still, though, Aru is frustrated with Nako, and challenges her to a tennis match in order to get revenge. Nako realizes that Aru has skipped practice so often that her serve is sloppy and stands perfectly still as she misses every serve she attempts. As Aru vows to redouble her efforts and thanks Nako for the tough love, Nako just shrugs and says she wanted to win with as little effort as possible.

I can't take this show anymore. This was painful to watch. I get that exaggeration is a staple of humor, but  you cannot expect me to believe that Aru is dumb enough to A. wear the wrong uniform to school after having been going to middle school for months at a time and B. choose to keep the uniform on just because Bocchi complimented her. Putting on the proper uniform should be second nature at this point, and I just can't believe that anybody would be that stupid. Thank God for Nako though, she sees through the idiocy and calls Aru out every single time. But the fact that she is the only character I can stand in the entire show is a very bad sign.

And that wraps up this week's roundup. What will happen next week? Will the koto club have a boost in popularity? Will Wolfran contribute to the plot? Will Yang catch up to Robby and Hatchi? Will Hyakkimaru reach Dororo in time? Will Eiji make any male friends? Will that random German girl show up at Tohru's cultural festival? Will Nariyuki lose his tutoring position? Will Tanjio meet up with any other Demon Slayers during his mission? Find out next week on this random collection of ramblings disguised as legitimate criticism!