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.

Weekly Roundup Winter 2019 Week 9

At this point, we are approximately three-quarters of the way through the Winter 2019 Weekly Roundup! Hooray! At this point, it's pretty unlikely that any show is going to be eliminated since it has earned quite a bit of goodwill with me, but it's still technically possible for something to be eliminated if it disappoints me enough, and Hinomaru Sumo in particular has been walking that tightrope for the last month or so, so we're gonna save that episode for last just so that we can preserve the suspense. And with that in mind, let's get to it!

Run With the Wind

He looks about as good as I feel right now.

First up we have Feels: the Animation. In episode 20, distracted by Jota's proclamation that he thinks Hana has a thing for him, Joji starts to slow down and loses a lot of ground that Jota gained for the team. Thinking quickly, Kakeru tells him that if he likes her, then he needs to run for her. Even though he understands what Kakeru is up to and privately acknowledges that Hana probably has a thing for his brother and not him, Joji is still fired up by Kakeru's encouragement and races ahead. However, he is ridden with guilt when he sees Shindo begin the next leg, so very obviously suffering from a fever. With his family and teammates watching in horror, and Coach Tazaki begging him to drop out for the sake of his health, Shindo forces himself through the entire 20 kilometer run, all uphill, finishing 20th in the pack and proving himself to have "the strongest will in Japan". And so, the first day of the Hakone Ekiden ends, with Yuki, Nico, King, Kakeru, and Haiji left to pick up where the rest of the team left off.

I want you to imagine something. You work nights in a tech support job in a call center, and your lunch break has arrived. Your usual friend who you eat lunch with is nowhere to be seen and you figure they probably still are on a call or maybe have a little while longer until their break starts. Not feeling particularly hungry, you step out into a usually empty side hallway, sit down on a bench, take out your phone, and watch the newest episode of Run With the Wind. And you see Shindo kill himself running the Ekiden, all the while saying "they're waiting for me". That's where I was, silently crying my eyes out and hoping nobody would see me as I was mouthing words of encouragement for a drawing of a college athlete being suicidally inspiring. This episode was SO GOOD! Hearing Shindo's heavy breathing overpower the soundtrack as Tazaki jobs alongside him and tells him about how professional go players are seen as wise when they realize that they are in an unwinnable situation (giving me Hikaru no Go flashbacks, which I obvisouly won't complain about since Hikaru no Go is an underrated gem), watching his family caught between wanting him to stop and not wanting to give up, sobbing and praying the whole time...You have to be made of stone not to feel anything at that. I've seen some people on social media complain that Shindo's illness came out of nowhere and was a bit contrived, but I think that it fits his character to have such a workaholic who has always been shown pushing himself in training and basically acting as a self-appointed club treasurer and secretary while refusing help every step of the way overwork himself and make himself sick. I mean, I've gotten myself sick from overwork before, so it makes sense to me.

Honestly, if anything falls short this week, it's the Hana and Jota pairing that came out of nowhere. I know Musa and Kakeru have mentioned it before, but we don't see any romantic hints until after Musa first starts hinting at it. I mean, it's nice to get confirmation that Hana can tell the two apart in that little flashback, but this is easily the weakest element of the entire series's story. And the episode knows it, too, since the bulk of the episode is focused on Shindo's struggle, which is easily one of the best moments in a series that has a lot of incredible moments. 

Domestic Girlfriend

Yes, yes you are.

Up next we have No, Just...No... In episode 9, despite Natsuo and Rui's protests, Hina continues with her plan to move into her own place. Wandering around town in a lonely haze, Rui bumps into Kiriya and Shu, and decides to discuss her feelings about Hina moving with them. Hina secretly leaves Natsuo a spare key to her new apartment, and the two of them secretly start dating. However, Hina still refuses to respond to Natsuo's sexual advances, not because it's wrong, but instead insisting that they need to take things slowly and get used to being physical with each other, otherwise they would be too obvious and get discovered. Back at school, Rui and Natsuo prepare to turn in their stories for the Literature Club's anthology, and Alex decides to join the club as well. Natsuo asks Hina if she is genuinely interested in him or is just stringing him along, and she reassures him by secretly kissing him in the school hallway, completely forgetting about keeping a low profile and taking it slow.

I knew this was coming, and yet I still hate it. One of the things I liked about Hina as a character was that, despite her struggle, she was refusing to act on her feelings for Natsuo because she knew it was morally wrong for her to seduce Natsuo, who, lest we forget, is a minor, her step-brother, and her student. I thought the whole point of her moving out was getting distance away from Natsuo so that she could sort out her own feelings and be the responsible adult, not to have a secret incestuous pedophilic booty call shrine!

My irrational frustration that an anime about incest would have the characters commit acts of incest aside, I do understand what the writers are going for with Hina's character. She is an insecure and emotionally vulnerable person in general, and that makes her very susceptible to flattery. It's what drew her to Shu, and now it's drawing her to Natsuo. I don't think she actually has romantic feelings for Natsuo, I just think she likes the attention and doesn't know how to process the situation she is in. Do I think it excuses her actions? No, but it's like I said before: Hina is a victim as well as an abuser. There's a reason we got reacquainted with Shu this week, after all. It's to remind you that he made her into such a needy individual that needs a physical relationship in order to feel emotionally secure. Right now, she's using Natsuo the same way Shu used her and, ironically enough, the same way Natsuo has been using Rui, as an outlet for her self-loathing. It's a difficult dynamic to write and make sympathetic, but somehow Domestic Girlfriend still manages to do it. I still cannot bring myself to be angry with Hina and I want her to be happy. I just don't want this to be the way she finds happiness, you know? Cause it's a bit gross.

The Promised Neverland

I couldn't find a better scene to use.

In episode 9 of Things Going Wrong: the Animation, Norman is due to be shipped, Emma's leg is broken, and the children's chances to escape look grim. As Norman is resigned to his fate, ready to do what he can to be the last child shipped out from Grace Field House, Ray refuses to accpet the situation and demands that Norman escape immediately without the others. Norman argues that Ray would just be shipped out in his place, but Emma and Ray insist that they'll find a way around that, to the point where Ray admits that he'd willingly break his own arm. Norman is eventually convinced, and he tries to sneak out the next day. However, the children are shocked to see Norman come back, and he tells them that the wall is built on a cliff, thus rendering climbing over it impossible. The only way to escape is through the gate, and the Headquarters that lies beyond.

This is not a very well paced episode. Honestly, the ending point here is where I expected the halfway point to be. Maybe it's my fault, since I've already read this story in the manga, but I find myself very disappointed this week. And I honestly don't know where things went wrong. The atmosphere, the camera work, the voice acting, the animation...everything was still good. It all comes down to pacing. Like, I really liked seeing Norman walk all the way to the sink to get a glass of water for Emma -- it was atmospheric and creepy and we got to see Norman break down from the pressure of being the one who is always calm -- but we didn't need to see him walk all the way back, did we? It all just felt unnecessarily drawn out. Like, it wasn't bad, but it doesn't measure up to the episodes that preceded it. A rare bump in the road in a really good anime.

The Price of Smiles

Insert She Blinded me with Science joke here.

Next up we have episode 9 of The Lorax: Anime Edition. Against Yuki's wishes, Harold has pursued a more aggressive strategy against the Empire, pushing their forces back and continuing to draw out the stalemate between the two great nations. As the Kingdom of Soleil continues to manufacture new chrars for the sake of their survival in the war against the Empire, Layla analyzes the data that was sent by Izana and discovers the true reason that the adoption of chrars was opposed to by the people of Verde. Long ago, the people of Earth colonized this world, deploying nanomachines in the atmosphere in order to make the planet habitable for human life. But then, a naturally occuring mineral unique to the new planet known as chrarlapsis was discovered, and its supposedly naturally clean energy led to a new industrial revolution, resulting in the creation of the chrars. However, the researchers at Verde discovered that the chrarlapsis was actually draining power from the nanomachines and, if left unchecked, would lead to the planet once again becoming uninhabitable for sustained human life. Thus, after the various noble families of both Soleil and the Empire suppressed this information for the sake of profit, Verde's scientists felt that they had no other choice but to mount an attack on the means of production, and the assassination of the Royal Family and the war between Soleil and the Empire began as a result.  Upon learning this, Yuki immediately proposes that they send this information to the Empire and form a truce in the name of dismantling the chrars, but Harold shoots the idea down, as even if the Empire does believe them to be telling the truth and not trying to lure them into a trap, there's no reason to believe that they would act in good faith. When the Empire launches an attack on the research facility during their conversation, Harold sacrifices his life in order to buy Yuki's transport time to escape.

So, it turns out I was right in my prediction about Verde's research: the production of chrars does have a negative impact on the food supply. And while it was established several episodes ago that the characters we've been following are direct descendants of a colony founded by the people of Earth, the new revelations about the nanomachines and the chrars' effect on them implies that Earth is now completely uninhabitable. If that is the case, it is probably due to the accelerated climate change as a result of humankind's uncontrolled pollution and over-reliance on fossil fuels that is a real world problem today, and the chrars draining the nanomachines that make the planet habitable while still allowing for the sheer amount of technological advancement that the people of Soleil and the Empire have achieved to be possible is a grim parallel. So it would seem that in addition to being a story about the horrors of war and its ultimate futility in the grand scheme of things, Price of Smiles has an environmental message as well. And maybe it's because that message is ultimately something that I agree with, or maybe it's because the show doesn't shy away from having characters offer strong rebuttals to the main thrust of the show's argument, but I respect the show so much more for it.

But on the other hand, this episode was just a long exposition dump without a lot of genuine character moments or narrative progression until the very end. And while Harold's last battle was decent (especially since I think I recognized the mechs from Stella's squad among the soldiers he was fighting against), this ultimately feels like a bit of missed potential. I'm not sure how I would have fixed it, since every scene was important and Harold needed to die in order to give Yuki's character development the last push that it needed (a reverse fridge, if you will), but there you have it: a pretty good episode that could have been much better with a little bit of tweaking.

Dororo

God, this show is so damn pretty!

Up next, we have Sad Backstories: the Animation. In episode 9, Dororo comes down with a fever, and Hyakkimaru takes him to a temple to be nursed back to health by a nun. As he recovers, Dororo tells the nun about how his parents died. Dororo's father Hibukuro led a group of brigands in a vigilante crusade against the samurai who treated commoners like garbage as they waged war on behalf of their lords (including Daigo, who gets multiple shout outs). As Hibukuro's band grew in renown and power, his lieutenant Itachi pushed for them to leverage their position and get a position as a general for a powerful lord. Staying true to his anti-noble convictions, Hibukuro refuses, and so Itachi betrays him and lures him into an ambush, leaving Hibukuro's legs permanently damaged and taking his men with him. Hibukuro wandered the land with his wife and child until he is killed by a group of samurai looking to avenge their fallen comrades. Dororo and his mother wandered the land looking for food for a few more months before the mother (whose name I completely forgot, sorry), collapses in a field of red lilies and dies of starvation, using her last words to urge Dororo to survive no matter what. Back in the present, the nun reveals to Hyakkimaru that Dororo is actually a girl, and Daigo receives a report of Hyakkimaru killing the soldiers who went after Mio.

So, is Dororo best girl now? 

This is exactly the shot in the arm that Dororo needed. After a few one and done episodes that didn't do anything to develop our main characters and were mostly just entertaining fluff, we have an entire episode giving some much needed backstory and depth to the titular character who we really didn't know anything about outside of her personality. I mean, we didn't even know her gender until this episode! The "reveal" that Dororo is actually female doesn't change anything in the grand scheme of things, obviously, but it's really cool that a story aimed at young boys in the 1960s secretly had a female character as the audience surrogate. It's like Metroid before Metroid was even a thing. It also helps that this episode was really good. The extended flashback colored only in black, white, and red was absolutely gorgeous, and the things Dororo's family goes through is absolutely brutal, with the apex of the suffering easily being Dororo's mother holding boiling hot soup in her hands to feed to her daughter because she didn't own a bowl. My hands hurt just looking at that. It seems weird having an episode of Dororo that doesn't focus on Hyakkimaru at all, but this still stands as my favorite episode of the series so far.

Boogiepop and Others

This may be the only line in the entire episode that I understood.

Two shows left! In episode 14 of Headscratchers (I'm probably the only person who thinks that that is funny), the Moon Temple was a massive construction project planned by the eccentric billionaire Teratsuki, though he died before the building was ever completed. Now the day has finally come for the Moon Temple to be opened to the public, and a huge crowd has come to see the unveiling of this new and unique skyscraper. Just as everyone was filing into the building, however, a loud rock song plays over the intercom and the emergency system is triggered, lowering the shutters and trapping hundreds of people inside. Each of the people there is then further trapped into an illusion by the Distortion King, a figure who senses unfinished business and regrets lingering in the hearts of men and wishes to "turn mankind into gold", whatever that means. Niitoki is among those who are trapped in the illusions, and she is confronted by the ghost of Saotome before Boogiepop can pull her out of the illusion.

I'll be real with you guys: I have no idea what the hell I just watched. It took two watches just to get that little plot summary down, but I don't understand anything that is happening. Let's be honest, though, this is just par for the course when it comes to Boogiepop. The first episode or two of a story arc has always been incredibly confusing and difficult to follow, but things start to come together later and everything from those previous episodes become better with hindsight. Like I said previously, Boogiepop really isn't great for weekly viewing, and this is why. I don't even have enough of an idea of what may be happening to speculate this time. But at least we got to see Niitoki and Saotome again! It's really cool to see characters from previous arcs come back!

Hinomaru Sumo

It may be cheesy, but this reveal was so out of nowhere, it made me spit out my drink.

Finally we have Sibling Rivalry. In episode 21, Dachi High is feeling confident about the final round of the national tournament, as their goal of giving Hinomaru a chance to beat Kuze and get recognized and selected for the All Japan Professional Qualifying Tournament has already been reached. After Reina gives them a motivational speech and Eiga High wins their semifinal match without any effort, however, Dachi High gets serious, and Chihiro steps into the ring for the first bout of the final match. Chihiro's opponent is his estranged older brother Hyodo, who is an even more unpredictable idiot savant than Chihiro is. After a close match, Hyodo's taunting gets under Chihiro's skin, throwing him off-balance and giving Eiga the win. With one of their best fighters having lost, Dachi is facing a huge deficit, as Kirihito steps into the ring as a substitute fighter for the injured Mitsuhashi.

If I had to use only one word to describe the quality of Hinomaru Sumo, I would choose "inconsistent". We've had weird cases where the show would be ridiculously awesome and fun to watch, only for pacing and characterization issues render the next stretch of episodes clunky and near unwatchable. Thankfully, this was one of the good ones, and not just because Chihiro got taken down a peg.

Though, seriously, thank God Chihiro got taken down a peg.

It was fun to see a mirror into Chihiro's psyche, as Hyodo is a lot like him but better, being another prodigious athlete who bounced from discipline to discipline before getting bored and moving on. If anything, Hyodo is more passionate about sumo than his little brother, and seeing Chihiro actually experience some doubt and wonder if he took up sumo for the wrong reasons was interesting. I especially liked that Hinomaru, the guy who lives and breathes sumo, told him that his reasons for pursuing the sport are still valid. It's awesome that he doesn't hold the fact that Chihiro is only in sumo for the chance to further his burgeoning MMA career against him. And the fact that the fight itself is an excellent ebb and flow of power that is uniquely informed by the personalities and relationships of the two fighters doesn't hurt either. This is what Hinomaru Sumo can be when it just takes its time with the fights and really works hard to make them interesting instead of trying to force two fights into every episode while cutting away to random scenes outside of the ring that ultimately don't matter, and I get the feeling that, since there are only 3 episodes left in the season, that's what we're going to get for the entirety of the finals.

And that wraps up the 9th installment of the Winter 2019 Weekly Roundup! For the second week in a row, nothing has been terrible and all 7 of our remaining shows are advancing to the next week. Hooray! Will they keep this up all the way to the end? Will Yuki make up for lost time in the next leg of the Ekiden? Will Natsuo and Hina's relationship get discovered? Will Emma and Ray rescue Norman in time? Will the Imperial soldiers learn of the data from Verde? Will Daigo retaliate against Hyakkimaru? Will Boogiepop defeat the Distortion King? Will Kirihito win his bout? Will any of these shows beat Mob Psycho 100 Season 2 for anime of the season? Find out next week on the Weekly Roundup!

Let's be real, the answer to that last question is probably no.

Top Five Anime of the 1990s

So, I know I didn't post yesterday like I was supposed to, but I was a bit distracted with it being my younger brother's birthday, the release of Captain Marvel, and the existence of Kingdom Hearts 3. But mostly my brother's birthday. I know, I'm terrible, and I really should stay on top of things, but that's just the way it is.

Anyway, I was in the shower this morning, frantically trying to decide which of the many half baked ideas in my head I should develop for today's post, and I realized something: we are in the last year of the 2010s. I mean, yeah, that's an obvious thing to say, but it presents an opportunity: A chance to talk about the best anime of the decade. Now, obviously, that sort of post is not possible yet, since three quarters of the anime from this year haven't been released yet, but it gave me an idea. Why not look back at a few previous decades and talk about my favorite anime from each?

Now, when it comes to anime from previous decades, I've only really seen enough of anime from the 1990s and the 2000s to really feel comfortable building a top five list, let alone a top ten list. And while I don't feel strongly enough about ten 90s anime to really build a top ten list, I definitely have my favorites, and as the decade where I first entered both the world and the world of anime, I at least want to give it its due.

You all should know my rules by now. Only tv anime are going to be considered, as I don't consider pitting them against films to be a fair comparison, which means that incredibly important and truly great films like Ghost in the Shell and Princess Mononoke are ineligible (though you should watch both of them as soon as possible if you haven't yet). Also, only anime that I have seen will be eligible, as I cannot judge an anime by reputation alone. Sadly, this means that some very popular 90s anime that I really want to watch but haven't had the chance to yet will not make the cut, such as, off the top of my head, Great Teacher Onizuka, Sailor Moon, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Digimon, Gundam Wing, Outlaw Star, Hunter x Hunter 1999, or Serial Experiments Lain. Finally, this list will be based on my favorite anime from the era, not necessarily the most popular or even the best written or produced series. That's how all of my top lists work, and it's the only way I can honestly write anything on the blog.

And of course, it wouldn't be a top list from me without a bunch of honorable mentions that I like, but don't love enough to include in the main list:

• Samurai Pizza Cats
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Slam Dunk
• Rurouni Kenshin
• Detective Conan
• Cardcaptor Sakura
• Cowboy Bebop
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0

But enough stalling! Let's get on with it!

Number Five: Pokemon

I've briefly discussed the original Pokemon anime before when I ranked the different generations of the Pokemon anime against each other, where I found it middling, to say the least. But when compared to other 90s anime I've watched, OLM's adventure series stands out in my memory as something truly special. 

In case you are somehow unaware of what Pokemon is (in which case you are either an infant or an alien), Pokemon is an adventure-comedy kids series that focus on the adventures of Ash Ketchum and the collectible monsters he trains for battle, as he travels the land with his friends in his quest to be the best competitive Pokemon trainer, and occasionally save the world in the process.

I will freely admit that I am heavily biased towards Pokemon. It is the first anime I have ever watched, after all. I will swear to my dying days that Ash is an underappreciated character, a perfect personification of a bratty kid who genuinely grows and matures over the course of his journey through Kanto. Granted, his character development gets reset on every new adventure he goes on afterward until Pokemon XY, but that still doesn't take away from how good his first journey is. And even at its worst, Pokemon is still fun to watch, with a great deal of character given to both the human characters and the little monsters who can't even speak. Is it perfect? Not even close. But I can't help but love it.

Number Four: The Vision of Escaflowne

Oh, look, it's the best isekai anime ever made. That's cool. The Vision of Escaflowne is a shojo fantasy adventure/mecha anime from Studio Sunrise. It tells the story of Hitomi Kanzaki, an ordinary student with an interest in fortune telling, who is accidentally transported to the world of Gaia, where Earth is considered a moon...somehow. And she really chose a poor time to visit, since she is sent to the kingdom of Fanelia right when it is being invaded by the evil Zaibach Empire. Forced to run for her life alongside Prince Van Fanel, Hitomi embarks on a journey to gather allies to fight back against Zaibach and get caught up in a love triangle along the way.

Escaflowne is the kind of anime that has something for everyone. If you like imaginative fantasy worlds, then this is the show for you. If you like exciting mech combat, then this is the show for you. If you like surprisingly well written teen romantic drama, then this is the show for you. If you like well-written female characters in an action setting, then this is the show for you. If you like good 90s animation, then this is the show for you. If you like cute cat girls, then, well, you should just go on the internet, but you should watch this show anyway. 

All hyperbole aside, I have no real complaints about Escaflowne outside of the bad dub, which is par for the course at the time. I first watched this show in 2009, when I was first exploring the wonderful world of YouTube, and I loved every second of it. Any show that can combine the myth of Atlantis, mecha that resemble medieval knights, and Sir Isaac Newton in its plot is an instant classic in my book. 

Number Three: Berserk

Can you believe that this is from the same studio that made Pokemon? Me neither. Berserk is a seinen fantasy action series from Studio OLM that tells the story of Guts, the Black Swordsman. Guts is an orphan whose mother died in childbirth and who was forced to kill his father in self-defense before taking up the life of a mercenary simply because he had nothing better to do. After being recruited by Griffith, leader of the up and coming mercenary Band of the Hawk, Guts is caught up in the Kingdom of Midland's war against the Chuder Empire, and soon learns that human soldiers aren't the only enemies he has to worry about.

I have yet to see an anime as hardcore as Berserk. When someone asked me to describe it to them a few years ago, I jokingly told them that it was 25 episodes of blood, gore, and breasts. And while that isn't entirely inaccurate, that description vastly undersells what makes Berserk so special. I don't think that there is any anime protagonist who is better written than Guts, and although most of what makes Guts a great character is only explored in the original manga (which is still going strong after several hiatuses, this anime's cancellation, and the horrendous attempt to revive the anime in 2016), there still is a great deal of growth in just the one story arc that ends up being covered here. Seeing an antisocial and violent brute who struggles with childhood trauma and social anxiety get swept up in the ambitious crusade of the enigmatic and charismatic Griffith find a home and a family in his unit, only to panic upon realizing that the group has no reason to stay together after the war ends and leaves the group before they can abandon him is already a powerfully tragic character arc on its own, but when combined with Griffith and Casca's arcs and how they all affect each other, it becomes something profound. Griffith's story feels like a Shakespearean tragedy, where a young man's pride and ambition are both the source of his success and the cause of his downfall, and Casca, while underdeveloped compared to the two male leads, is an incredibly badass character who is still a top-tier waifu compared to all this modern trash.

Honestly, the only reason that this show doesn't rank any higher is that the visual quality is not very good, even by the standards of the time. Animation is recycled in battle scenes, and there are so many still frames that even Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka would think it's excessive. But unlike Asuka, the story, dialogue, voice acting, and character design are all so well done that it gets away with it. And if it didn't get cancelled on one of the biggest cliffhangers I have ever seen, it might have gone on to become number one.

Number Two: Yu Yu Hakusho

Yu Yu Hakusho is a supernatural shounen action series from Studio Pierrot. It tells the story of Yusuke Urameshi, a 14 year old street punk who surprises everyone by pushing a child out of the way of a speeding car, resulting in him dying before the bureaucracy in the afterlife is ready. As such, Yusuke is given a second chance at life, if he can prove that he is more than the violent thug that everyone thinks he is. 

I love this freaking show so GOD DAMN MUCH! I mean, I don't even know where to begin. I mean, the first episode of this show alone is better than the entirety of most other anime series! I have watched it like 17 times, and Yusuke's funeral makes me cry every single time. As someone who has felt as alone and unloved as Yusuke has in the past, to the point of contemplating suicide, seeing him so honestly surprised to see that there are even five people who are upset that he is dead gets to me in a way that no other work of fiction has. Any time I feel that the world would be better off without me (which has been worryingly common in the past, though I am getting better), I would play this episode and imagine myself as Yusuke. Even though I didn't believe it entirely at the time, it was strong enough to convince me that I would be hurting people I loved if I actually followed through with killing myself, and I would live another day. And then I would survive, at least for a little while longer. It is not an exaggeration to say that I owe Yu Yu Hakusho my life.

But of course, Yu Yu Hakusho is more than just one episode. It's 112 episodes. And every one of them are incredible. The incredibly memorable cast of characters, the breakneck pace, the awesome fight scenes, the experimental animation styles (some of which the brainchild of Akiyuki Shinbo, the animator who would go on to create Puella Magi Madoka Magica)...everything about this show is wonderful, and I plan on talking about it in greater detail in a later post, once I can get my thoughts together in a coherent and organized manner.

Number One: One Piece

Is this cheating? I mean, the series debuted in 1999, which means that even if it's technically a 90s anime, the vast majority of its episodes aired after the decade we are discussing. I mean, according to Wikipedia, only 8 episodes actually aired in the 1990s! And while I definitely really like the first 8 episodes of One Piece, they really are only slightly above average at best in the grand scheme of shounen anime. I just can't help myself from proclaiming how much I love this anime at any given opportunity. 

Anyway, as I'm sure you know, One Piece is a shounen action-comedy series by Toei Animation that tells the story of Monkey D Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates as they travel the Grand Line in search of the lost treasure of the Pirate King. I love everything about this show, to the point where I wrote an entire blog post on just the setting alone and how much it adds to the story. While I will fully admit the anime is cheap and drawn out compared to the masterpiece that is the manga, I would argue that the series use of music and control of the pacing has elevated some of the best scenes from the manga. It gets to the point where I cannot stand certain story arcs in manga form, even though the manga's pacing and narrative is actually stronger. Crocodile's defeat wouldn't be the same without the inspired decision to use Antonin Dvorak's "From the New World", the way time slows down to show Luffy's Jet Gattling hitting Rob Lucci a dozen times within a single second only to speed back up is something that cannot be conveyed without animation, and few things get me more hyped than seeing the way the colors just cut out when Luffy defies all of society by punching the World Noble Saint Charloss right in his stupid face for the unforgivable crime of hurting one of his friends.

It gives me chills every time.

And the characters! Every member of the Straw Hat Pirates is so cool and interesting that they could each headline their own anime easily, and when they are all on screen together it just puts a big dumb smile on my face. And the sheer number of relevant characters in different factions who constantly shift alliances and effect change in the world and in turn respond to the changes that other characters are making? It's amazing. The sheer amount of work and planning that has gone into making this world feel alive and bigger than its main characters is something that I have only seen matched in George R.R. Martin's incredible and equally unfinished fantasy epic A Song of Ice and Fire. And unlike Martin, I have confidence that the amazing Eiichiro Oda will actually finish telling his story.

I can literally go on for hours about why I love One Piece, but I really need to cut myself off somewhere. I'm just going to conclude with this: If Yu Yu Hakusho is the anime that saved my life by convincing me that suicide would do more harm to those around me than good, then One Piece is the anime that showed me why life is worth living. It may be cheesy as hell with its themes of friendship, adventure, and chasing your dreams, but the fact that it doesn't hesitate to shy away from the fact that life is hard and tragedy is unavoidable and argues that life is still worth living to its fullest gets to me every time. I wouldn't have the courage to get out of bed every morning without the inspiration that seeing the Straw Hats put everything on the line for their dreams and ideals has given me. If Brook can survive 50 years of isolation on the desolate sea with only the memory of a promise he made to see Laboon again, then maybe I can handle a little loneliness from time to time. If Franky can turn his life around after inadvertently causing the death of his mentor and become a positive influence on his community, then maybe I can offer help to someone who needs it. If Nico Robin can survive for 20 years in a world that literally wants her dead before finding her place, maybe I'll find a place where I feel I can truly belong one day as well. If Tony Tony Chopper can find a family that loves him for all the things about himself he hates, then maybe I can recognize that my amazing family feels the same way about me. If Nami can walk through hell as a child and come out the other side smiling, then maybe I can to. If Sanji can survive being on the brink of starvation as a young boy, then maybe I can overcome whatever illness comes my way. If Usopp can find courage and be there for his friends when all seems lost, maybe I can find the strength to do the right thing. If Zoro can push past his limits and cut through steel, then maybe I can do things that nobody would expect of me. And Luffy...if any part of Luffy's amazing personality has rubbed off on me at all, then I would be a better person than I was before discovering One Piece.

I love these idiots so much I start to tear up a little sometimes.

Weekly Roundup Winter 2019 Week 8

We are now officially two thirds of the way through the weekly roundup, and 6 shows have fallen into the trap of not being good enough to continue, leaving only 7 shows still living in fear of my judgment. Boogiepop got so nervous that it released 5 episodes at once, but those episodes were so good that it managed to please me and was allowed to move on. Now, the other 6 shows are nervously wondering if they can keep up as they cautiously approach my throne with their latest offerings, except Run With the Wind, which is so cocky about its continued survival that it moon-walked right up to me and taught me a secret handshake because it finally decided I was cool enough to be its friend. What am I even talking about? I have no idea! Let's get on with the roundup!

Dororo

First up we have Technically Filler But Not Really. In episode 8, a dark cloud settles over the next village that Hyakkimaru and Dororo visit, and that can only mean one thing: the demon known as Nokosaregumo has returned. The villagers appease Nokosaregumo by offering a girl as a sacrifice, but this latest sacrifice has an adopted brother named Saru, and he will not let her die without a fight. Dororo and Hyakkimaru follow Saru to the sacrificial altar, but Saru's sister (who is never named) refuses to leave, having volunteered to be the sacrifice and protect her home. Nokosaregumo arrives to claim its latest victim, and it is revealed to be a giant flying centipede. Hyakkimaru attempts to fight it, but cannot sense its energy as the cloud surrounding it clouds Hyakkimaru's "sight". When the centipede returns the next day, Dororo and Saru lay a trap for it, but their plan to dispel the cloud is foiled when Nokosaregumo turns out to be able to generate more. Realizing that Hyakkimaru could locate the demon with sound, Dororo climbs atop its head and calls out its position to Hyakkimaru, allowing him to locate the demon and win the battle. With Nokosaregumo defeated, Hyakkimaru regains his sense of smell and calls Dororo by name for the first time.

Another week, another good episode of Dororo. There isn't really anything new to say here since the monster of the week story structure means that there is no real advancement in the overall narrative. Saru and his sister are kinda meh characters to me, functional and inoffensive, but with personalities that don't go beyond "brash kid" and "self-sacrificing angel", but in a few years, I don't think I'll remember anything about this episode beyond the fight scene and Dororo the character's excellent voice acting. But what a GOOD fight scene it was! There was some really good teamwork between Hyakkimaru and the two boys, and it was really cool to see Dororo finally take an active role in the story. And let me just say, Nokosaregumo is my favorite looking demon yet. I always found bugs to be really cool -- I blame Pokemon -- and the whole head on both ends thing gives the centipede a really creepy vibe that I just love. The worst episode of Dororo is still better than most other anime airing this season, and the episodic nature of the series means that several adventures are very accessible to casual audiences, which is really nice.

Domestic Girlfriend

Meh, I couldn't think of anything better to use as this week's image. Here's some light incest.

Next up we have A Sister's All You Need. In episode 8, Natsuo meets an exchange student from America named Alex, and the two of them bond through accidentally stumbling upon a local underwear thief, captruing him, and bringing him to justice. When Rui arrives at the police station as one of the people whose underwear was stolen, Alex is smitten and asks Natsuo to set him up with her. Natsuo attempts to broach the subject, not understanding Rui's feelings for him, and Rui angrily storms off without asking. When Natsuo tries to apologize, Rui kisses him. Hina walks in on the two of them kissing, and the shock of how jealous she feels overwhelms her and she announces that she is going to move out and live on her own the next day. Understandably upset and guilty, Natsuo confronts Hina (with the help of the amazing cafe manager) during a family outing at a local festival, and she finally breaks down and admits she's moving out because she's scared of her growing feelings for her underage step-brother.

You would think such a dramatic episode that actually forces the trio to acknowledge the existence of their little love triangle would leave a greater impression on me. I mean, the episode is good, don't get me wrong, but it just feels like any other episode of Domestic Girlfriend for me, even if this is supposed to be the explosive payoff of everything that has been built up so far between Natsuo, Hina, and Rui. Maybe it's because of the sense of inevitability these events had. Knowing what we know about these three characters, this was the only possible outcome that could happen going into this episode, outside of the polyamorous route that would only exist in hentai. Rui is the kind of person who goes after what she wants, consequences be damned, Hina has been bottling up her true feelings for so long that it was only a matter of time before she self-destructs, Natsuo is stuck in the middle as someone who is attracted to both of them but doesn't know how to sort out his own confused feelings, and they all live in the same house. Of course conflict was going to happen. Again, this episode was quite good -- the reactions of the characters were believable and well-written enough that I felt for each of them and the voice actors put on a hell of a performance -- but because it played out more or less exactly like I thought it would, I'm left feeling less emotional about it than I thought I would. Though seriously, Natsuo, stop stringing Rui along. I know you don't mean to and you're mostly overwhelmed by the fact that a cute girl is throwing herself at you while you're simmering in sexual frustration thinking about Hina, but due, it's not cool. She deserves better and I know you agree, so stop it.

The Price of Smiles

Character development!

At the halfway point for our roundup, we have The Most Volatile Anime of the Season: Seriously, It Goes Back and Forth Between Good and Bad. In episode 8, in the two months that have passed since fleeing the palace, Yuki has taken command of the army in the southern region of Soleil. Using an array of hit and run tactics, the Knights of Soleil have been able to stymie the Empire's advance and draw out the conflict. Layla shows Yuki a recording of the incident that led to her parent's deaths, and explains that the terrorists were representatives of a dying nation named Verde that protested the construction of the chrars based on their research. Upon  hearing reports that the Empire is moving to take a nearby city in forces that greatly outnumber her own, Yuki orders an evacuation to try to protect the people. However, Chief of Staff Eine Fleet anticipated this move, and ambushes the evacuation team, slaughtering soldiers and civilians alike. Meanwhile, Izana breaks into a records room in the palace and finds the Verde research data that started the whole war in the first place. As he transmits this information to Yuki, he is discovered and gunned down. And so, Izana dies on the same day that his new son is born.

Holy quality, Batman! This came out of nowhere and is challenging episodes 3 and 5 as my favorite episode of the series. Granted, I did manage to catch the glaringly obvious death flags this time around after I embarrassingly missed them all last week, but I didn't predict the ambush during the evacuation or the new information about Verde. And honestly, sometimes a story doesn't need to surprise you. Execution matters as well, and the structure, dialogue, and delivery of the narrative this week were the best that we've had in the series so far. And on top of all that, the character writing for Yuki, Harold, and Izana were all quite excellent, and I'm glad that Izana got a chance to go out in a blaze of glory and really endear himself to me at the last minute. The episode wasn't perfect -- it still had a lot of the weird animation errors that have been plaguing the series since day one -- but if the last four episodes planned for this series are consistently at this quality, then we are in good hands. As for what information is in that research data for the chrars, my guess is that it has some sort of toxic byproduct that would contaminate the food supply if left unchecked. I'm basing this guess on absolutely nothing, but that's my gut feeling.

Run With the Wind

OH MY GOD! HE ACTUALLY APOLOGIZED!!

In episode 19 of Character Growth: The Animation, the Hakone Ekiden has officially begun, and Prince runs the first 20 kilometer section. Following Haiji's advice, he maintains a steady pace even when the runners around him speed up near the end of their leg, and thus is one of the last runners to make it to the finish line. After Prince comes Musa, who starts out running too quickly and risks burnout, but manages to slow his pace to a manageable amount and takes advantage of other racers losing their momentum to pass seven other schools and make it to 14th place overall. Musa passes his sash to Jota, who contemplates on how much more enthusiastic Joji is about running than he is, and starts wondering whether he should take a step back from running and let him and his brother have their own separate pursuits for once. As he contemplates this, he sees Hana cheering for him in the crowd and, thinking that she might have a thing for him, is inspired to push himself harder than ever before and wins his section as he passes the sash to Joji.

I don't know about you, but I'd say that the Ekiden is really living up to all the buildup that we've had across the entire series. Each runner's section is acting as the culmination of character arcs we've seen begin in episode 1. Prince has grown into a more confident person and actively admits that he would be lost in self-loathing if not for running. He also gets a moment where he lists like every major shonen sports manga protagonist since the late 70s in a speech and it's just the best. I mean, there was an Eyeshield 21 reference! I never thought I'd see anything reference Eyeshield 21 of all things! Musa also grows more confident but in a different way. He found a place where he belongs and he seems more comfortable as an exchange student in Japan than he did at the beginning. And Jota...I'll be honest, the twins didn't really have much development to build on so this whole thing about him and Joji having different attitudes toward running sorta came out of nowhere, but it's still better than nothing. But I gotta say, I'm really worried about this race. Shindo looks like a mess, and his leg in the race isn't that far away. I'm actually dreading the next episode because I don't want to see the poor guy suffer when he's poured more effort into making the Ekiden dream happen than anyone on the team not named Haiji.

The Promised Neverland

In episode 8 of From Bad to Worse, the letter Sister Krone received from Mama is a notice from Headquarters: Krone will be the new Mama of a sister plantation. Angry that she is losing her chance to get the cushy job at Grace Field House, Krone plants information she literally risked her life to obtain during her training in Ray and Norman's room. As she makes her way to leave Grace Field, Krone meets with Grandmother, hands her the note she found in Ray's room, and reveals that the kids are planning to escape. But Grandmother says that she trusts Mama's judgment, and Krone is murdered and eaten by one of her demon associates. Later, Ray begins his plan to distract Mama while Emma and Norman investigate the world outside the walls. But Mama catches Ray off guard by casually revealing that Krone is dead, and then declares that she no longer needs him to spy on the others and locks him in Krone's old room as she goes to confront Emma and Norman. Don eventually frees Ray, but they are too late to stop Mama from reaching Emma and Norman. Mama asks the the children to give up and just live the rest of their lives in blissful ignorance and security rather than take their chances with the dangers of the world outside. When they refuse and Emma rushes Mama in desperation, Mama breaks her leg and reveals to the would-be escapees that the situation has changed: the next child will be shipped out tomorrow, and the one on the menu is Norman.

Hell. Yes. Aside from the reveal of the demons in the first episode, that final moment was the most important part from the manga's opening arc for this adaptation to get right. And boy did Cloverworks get it right! I don't even know where to start with this episode, everything was just so good! I mean, any other anime would end an episode with the death of a major character, but Krone's death was before the halfway point. And while this may be a controversial opinion, I think that the anime handled the reveal of Krone's backstory better than the manga did. Cutting out Krone's monologue about how her only choices were either to be eaten or to become a Mama made the actual impact of each image that much more powerful. Without words, you see Krone being confronted with the truth of the demons, selected as a candidate to become a Mama, fall into despair, steel herself, and work her way up to the position she was in when we first met her: a hyper-competent individual who bought into her own hype a bit too much and got too ambitious for her own survival. In the manga, Krone's monologue only served to repeat ideas that were already touched on earlier, and thus the actual montage of her childhood -- which turns her from an over the top villain whose only saving grace is how entertaining she is to watch into a tragic character with real emotional depth -- ended up feeling as unimportant filler to me simply because it was juxtaposed with themes that I already understood quite well. As such, I don't think I truly understood the intention behind Krone's character: a tragic figure who sells out her own kind for the sake of survival, feels elation at being good at something, gets in over her head, and then decides to do something positive during her last moments, not because she is now redeemed or was always a good person, but as one last action of spite against a world that had wronged her from the very beginning. She's like the better version of Severus Snape.

But enough about Krone, let's talk about the real star of this week's episode: Mama Isabella, a villain so good that the only reason she wasn't on my honorable mentions list is because I felt that I had to put a cap somewhere. We learn that she was once in Emma's position, having learned the truth about the demons and planning her escape before being discovered by Grandmother. Since she was alone, young Isabella had no choice but to surrender, and she leveraged her vast intelligence to get to where she is today. She is simultaneously a foil to every other major character we've met so far: her struggle is similar to Krone's, the genuine love she feels for her children mirrors Emma's love for her siblings, and her penchant for mind games and manipulation is exactly like Ray and Norman. 

Seeing all of this character development for a character who was previously just a menacing and mysterious godlike figure is the moment that made me understand what the Promised Neverland is at its core: it's a metaphor for children losing their innocence and learning more about what the world is. The world is a big scary place with forces beyond our comprehension conspiring to put us down and keep us in our place until we have outlived our usefulness and are ready to be devoured by those in charge. People who once seemed untouchable and on top of things are revealed to be just as terrified as you would be upon learning this all for the first time, simply content with just doing the best they can to live as close to a happy life as possible against such insurmountable odds. Learning that the world is run by demons who have been raising you for slaughter your entire life is the equivalent to learning that what we call civilized society is a parasitic monster that sucks out the lifeblood of the common man without even giving him so much as a passing thought when he inevitably breaks down under all the physical and mental stress. I can go on and on about how this theme works so damn well and is a core part of what makes it so appealing and relatable to its target audience of teenagers and young adults, but I fear that I might spoil the manga if I get too excited, so I'll just leave it at that.

Hinomaru Sumo

Finally, we have episode 20 of Hinomaru Gets His Groove Back. The final bout of the semi finals has arrived, and it's Hinomaru versus Tennoji. The two of them are hungry for a win after losing their most recent matches, and the two of them have researched each other intensively, especially Tennoji. It gets to the point where even when Hinomaru plans counters for Tennoji's attack, Tennoji has already anticipated these counters and has his own counters planned for them. Knowing he needs to mix things up, Hinomaru begins adopting the different styles of his teammates, momentarily throwing Tennoji off balance. But even though Tennoji recovers quickly and nearly comes away with the win, Hinomaru manages to throw the once undisputed best high school sumo wrestler in Japan onto his back, allowing Dachi High to advance to the finals for a rematch with Eiga.

I'll admit, I've been down on Hinomaru Sumo these past few weeks, only allowing it to survive because there was always something worse that needed to be cut immediately.  And honestly, this episode is arguably the weakest one we've covered this week. But you know what? It was still good! This is the kind of thing I love about Hinomaru Sumo! The constant mind games, the misdirection, the focus on a single bout that consumes the entire episode...this is what the entire show should have been! I haven't had this much fun with the series since the preliminary match against Sada. See, unlike the rest of Hakuro's team, we've had plenty of chances to get to know Tennoji's character, and everything about him is great. He is a massive figure who intimidates everyone around him, but he's genuinely friendly, supportive of his teammates, and incredibly enthusiastic about sumo. He is the only character who seems to be having even more fun with sumo than Hinomaru, and that attitude makes his earlier boast that nobody loves sumo more than he does actually seem believable. Honestly, with as much as I enjoyed this episode, you'd think I have more to say about it, but no. This was just incredibly solid, and I'm so glad that nothing is getting cut this week!

And that wraps up this week's roundup! For the first time since week 1, we've made it to a point where no shows are getting cut! Will this keep up? What will happen next week? Will Dororo have a backstory explored? Will Natsuo manage to win Hina over? Will Shindo make it through the Ekiden? Will Norman escape being shipped out to the demons? Will Yuki decode the Verde research data? Will Mitsuhashi recover from his injuries in time for the final match against Eiga High? Will Boogiepop's next story arc be confusing as hell? Find out the answer to all these questions and more, or possibly none of them, next week on the roundup! Until next time, here's an out of context screenshot from Kaguya-sama: Love is War.

Seriously, watch this show.