Weekly Roundup Spring 2019 Week 7

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

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

RobiHachi

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

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

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

Dororo

How dare you try to replace Mio!

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

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

Demon Slayer

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

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

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

We Never Learn

I'm getting Domestic Girlfriend flashbacks.

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

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

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

Sounds of Life

Me while watching this episode.

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

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

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

Fruits Basket

Hatori looks kinda like Lelouch in this shot.

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

I'm not crying, you're crying!

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

Fairy Gone

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

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

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

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