Weekly Roundup Spring 2019 Week 2

We're at the second week of the spring 2019 season, and all bets are officially off. After the fall of Yu-No last week, all 12 of the remaining shows are now officially fighting for their lives, like if gladiators were waifus. Wait, why aren't there any gladiator waifus? Get on that Japan!

It occurs to me that Rebecca already exists.

Fruits Basket

Bitchslaps have never been this hot.

First up we have Furry Dating Simulator. In episode 2, Shigure explains to Tohru that everyone in the Soma Clan is possessed by the spirit of one of the animals of the Chinese zodiac (including the cat, an unofficial 13th member that was tricked into losing its status as a member of the zodiac), which causes them to transform into their respective animals for a short time whenever hugged by a member of the opposite sex. Tohru agrees to keep their secret, but Shigure still has to report the situation to the family head Akito. Yuki fears that Akito will order Tohru's memories erased like his previous female friends had, but she assures him that she would willingly accept such a fate if that would protect his family and just asks if they can still be friends if that does happen. But, much to everyone's surprise, Akito agrees to allow her to live with the Soma Clan as long as she keeps her mouth shut. Later, Kyo is having trouble interacting with Tohru, frequently becoming overwhelmed and shouting at her when she hasn't done anything wrong. Things come to a head when he transfers to her and Yuki's school and ends up frightening her when she tries to keep the two boys from fighting. He surprises her on her way home from work later that night in order to apologize, and the two of them reach an uneasy (for Kyo anyway) truce.

This was the perfect follow up episode. If last week was all about Tohru, then this week was all about Yuki and Kyo. We learned that Yuki resents being under the watchful eye of Akito and the rest of the family, and wants to live independently from them, which is why he moved out of the main house and into a new home with Shigure. The fact that his childhood friends' memories were erased and that he was subsequently told that nobody outside the family would accept the real him is probably what incited this rebellious attitude, and Tohru's happy insistence that she would allow her memories to be erased for his safety and that she would still want to be his friend probably shook him to his core, explaining his protective nature of him whenever Kyo frightens or upsets him. And speaking of Kyo, it seems like the story of the cat rings true for him as well. He claims that the family ostracized him, and his grudge against Yuki may be based on the belief that if he could defeat him that he would be accepted back into the family. Between his family abandoning him and his need to keep his true nature secret, Kyo is antisocial, incredibly awkward, and full of anger issues, thus constantly lashing out at others when his feelings overwhelm him and then feeling guilty and unsure about how to apologize. The scene where he confesses to Shigure that he fears that he will never be able to live with other people really got to me, and I'm instantly sold on these characters as much as I was on Tohru last week. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Senryu Girl

Me while writing notes on this episode.

After a long winded character analysis like that, we need a nice, short palette cleanser. With that in mind, let's talk about Body Conscious Waifus. In episode 2, Eiji's childhood friend and big sister figure Koto frequently embarrasses him in front of everyone by publicly doting on him, even though the rest of the school seems to fear him. As the Literature Club struggles to find a way to improve his image, Nanako shyly asks him if he has a girlfriend. When Eiji innocently points out her large appetite during an unofficial lunch date, Nanako panics and starts dieting and exercising under Koto's tutelage. One week later, she eagerly tries to show him the fruits of her labor, and Koto tells the club president (I don't think they said her name yet) that she's happy to put aside her romantic feelings for Eiji since he would be happier with Nanako.

This wasn't quite as good as last week. There still wasn't anything necessarily wrong with it, but it didn't really feel like a complete story. Instead, it feels like 3 different stories (Koto's introduction, Eiji's image problem, and Nanako's diet) all tripping over each other, trying desperately to fit in the 10 minute runtime, without any of them actually going anywhere. Stuff just kinda happens, and I'm not sure if the show plans to follow up on any of these plot points in future episodes of if this is supposed to be an episodic series. I still think that this is the right format for this kind of anime, as longer episodes would probably drag and lose my interest, but I feel like they could have saved the whole "Eiji has trouble getting past his intimidating appearance" thing for another time at least. My go to examples for properly done short form anime are Space Battleship Tiramisu and the Disastrous Life of Saiki K. Both of those have complete stand alone stories for each episode that work together to tell a bigger story when told in succession. Senryu Girl is on the right track with its ambitions to tell an overarching story about Nanako and Eiji's blooming relationship through short vignettes about their time together in the Literature Club, but those individual vignettes need a little more fleshing out so they can feel more like actual stories and less like a highlight reel for YouTube. Either way, I'm still enjoying these characters and chuckling at a few of the better jokes, so it's safe for one more week.

Demon Slayer

This scene made me cheer.

Up next is Basket Waifu. We are one step closer to having waifu Pokemon. In episode 2, Tanjiro and Nezuko travel to Mt Sagiri to search for the demon slayer trainer Sakonji Urokodaki. During their travels, they stumble upon a temple, and smelling blood, decide to investigate. The temple had been attacked by a demon, and all the priests and other residents' corpses are being eaten. The two siblings fight the demon, but it doesn't die even when its head is separated from its body. After pinning the head to a tree with his hatchet and knocking the body off a cliff, Tanjiro is faced with a dilemma: he needs to crush the demon's skull in order to keep it from hurting anyone else, but he doesn't want to force the demon to suffer. As an old man wearing a goblin mask chastises Tanjiro for his inability to make hard decisions, the sun rises and the demon turns to ash. The old man introduces himself as Sakonji and says that Tomioka had told him that Tanjiro would come and seek training. He gives Tanjiro a test: make it to the end of a mountain path filled with traps before daybreak. Our hero struggles at first, but soon, thanks to his superior sense of smell, he learns how to detect the traps and passes the test, earning Sakonji's respect and a place as his pupil.

I liked this one a lot. Seeing Tanjiro and Nezuko work together to win a fight was really exciting, and the camera work and choreography during that fight scene was top notch. Not a single shot throughout the entire episode was static or boring, with either enough motion or a dynamic angle or color palette to stimulate the viewer without distracting from the story. Even if every one of these visual choices are lifted wholesale from the original manga, the animators still deserve a lot of credit for bringing something so beautiful to life. Not a lot happened story wise, but we do get to learn more about Nezuko's personality after being transformed into a demon. She's nonverbal, panics at the thought of sunlight, pouts childishly when things don't go her way, still struggles with the concept of not eating people, and ultimately values her brother above everything else. Seeing her staring at the corpses the demon left behind, drooling uncontrollably, until Tanjiro's screaming breaks her out of her trance was nothing short of chilling. Sakonji seems like a typical anime mentor for now, but I'm betting he'll get more development when we see him train Tanjiro next week.

Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu

I want to make a pun about hanging out, but I can't think of anything good.

Up next is Why Doesn't This Have a Translated Title? In episode 2, Bocchi is panicking. Nako is upset with her and she doesn't quite understand why. When the class vice president Honshou offers to help her work through the problem, she ends up telling her about the entire day she spent with Nako leading up to this issue. After regaling her with the tale of her and Nako wandering around the school, Bocchi eventually gets to the heart of the issue: she let slip that she only approached Nako because of her promise to Kai to befriend everyone. Nako is clearly feeling used as a result, and Bocchi awkwardly apologizes to her at Honshou's urging. After making up, Nako agrees to help her make more friends, and the two of them approach Honshou. Suspecting Honshou of being a fake person who manipulates others with a smile, Nako embarrasses her at first, but Bocchi convinces her to give Honshou a chance, and the three of them become friends.

When this episode is good, it's really cute and I'm having a good time. But it's only good for about half the episode. There was a lot of filler plot here, what with a one-off gag about a haunted bathroom that wasn't even funny, a random as hell moment where a pair of chickens start talking during a scene transition, and an admittedly funny gag about Bocchi not knowing how to pass notes, and the story seems to end about 3 times before the credits actually roll. Honshou is an okay new character, hiding her bad luck and awkward nature behind a cheerful exterior, but she pales in comparison to Bocchi and Nako's adorable dynamic. Overall, this episode was very inconsistent and mediocre at best, but I haven't gotten sick of our girls' antics yet, so it lives.

Cinderella Nine

Megumi, is that you?

We're about a third of the way through, so let's keep this weeb train rolling. In episode 2 of One Outs (I want to see if I can reference a different baseball anime every week for the show's entire run), the team is unable to practice on campus for a very simple reason: with all the other athletic clubs at the school, there is no facility available for them to practice. When the girls go shopping for new gloves together, they meet Suzuki, a former little league teammate of Tsubasa's who gave up the sport due to a lack of athletic ability and a talent for coaching and tactics, shopping with her older brother, who plays college baseball. When her brother suggests that Suzuki joins the club anyway, she decides to tag along as the team restores an overgrown baseball field that their faculty adviser found for them. Suzuki still refuses to join the team at first, but after a pep talk from her brother and a game of catch with Tsubasa and Ukita, she changes her mind and becomes their fifth member.

This was better than last week. It still isn't gripping me as much as I would like, and the focus still seems to be more on cute antics than anything else, but I appreciated the fact that the topic of the story is still baseball all the way through. Suzuki is a decent character, too (finally), and the struggle of deciding whether or not to continue following a passion when you have no exceptional talent for it is a story that sports anime are uniquely suited to tackle. Still, though, other than her and Tsubasa, none of the characters are doing anything new or interesting, and even though I will always argue that originality is overrated when it comes to storytelling, the execution of these incredibly basic character tropes are somewhat lacking. This is a step in the right direction though, and I would love for this to keep surprising me and become the next Price of Smiles, so I'm willing to give it at least one more episode to impress me, but so far I'm still kinda bored overall.

After Lost

In episode 2 of The Lost and the Furious (God, that was terrible), Yumiko takes aim at Takuya, but instead shoots her fellow agent at the last second. She and her partner Kouta were members of a detective agency with Takuya before they went their separate ways, and they had infiltrated the Agency for their own purposes. Yumiko and Kouta take Takuya and Yuki to a safe house, where they send a message to Geek (that's probably not his name but that's all anyone calls him) to retrieve Takuya's bike and make repairs. The four of them try to sneak past the Agency's soldiers through a subway tunnel, but are ambushed by Suzuna, who had anticipated this strategy. Yumiko and Kouta each stay behind and sacrifice their lives to ensure Takuya and Yuki's escape, and the two of them return to the surface and meet up with Geek while being chased by another psychic ghost (called a Tamashi). Takuya jumps on his bike in order to lure the Tamashi away, but Yuki, unwilling to let anyone else die on her behalf, follows after him and summons the spirit of Akira to defeat the Tamashi. The two of them then head off with Geek and continue their journey to Lost.

This show is a bit of a mess. The characters have no time to develop a personality before they are killed off in the cheapest way, but they're all so over the top and silly that I can't help but like them. The show basically alternates between chase scenes and awkward talking scenes, and the animation is all over the place in terms of quality, ranging from pretty good to awful all in the same episode. I'm not sure if this weird inconsistent quality is due to the team not being suited for such an action heavy series or if it's because it's based on a mobile game and thus doesn't have a lot to work with, but either way, it's hardly ideal. I really cannot decide if this show is good because it revels in its absurdity or if it's just so bad it's good, but at the very least, I'm more entertained watching this than I am watching something like Dimension High School, and that's enough to keep this going for at least one more week. Still, I'm not sure I can justify keeping this in the roundup if there isn't anything interesting to say about it on an episode by episode basis.

Fairy Gone

In episode 2 of Marlya and Free: Iwatobi Combat Club, Marlya's first mission as a member of Dorothea has begun. She has been deployed with Free and the long range Fairy soldiers Serge and Klara to stop the sale of artificially created Fairy soldiers by the mafia. The sale is guarded by Wolfran, a former comrade of Free's during the war, who notices that the deal is being watched and lures Free and Marlya into an ambush. As the team battles against Wolfran and the artificial soldiers, Serge's sniping skills turn the tide, and Wolfran is forced to flee, killing all of his comrades to ensure that nobody reveals anything to the government under interrogation.

There is literally nothing to this episode. It's practically a 30 minute fight scene. But it's a well-animated fight scene with characters I like and a soundtrack so cheesy it loops right back around to being awesome, so there isn't much to complain about. It's nice to see that Marlya still isn't used to fighting alongside her Fairy, frequently putting it in danger and causing it to lose energy and take damage faster than the other, more experienced combatants. Meanwhile, Free and Wolfran are both clearly experienced in working alongside their Fairies, frequently summoning and dismissing them as needed in order to gain a tactical advantage, distract their opponents, or evade enemy attacks. It's a clever, if a bit basic, way to weave character details into the fight choreography. Also, isn't it kinda funny how both main characters now have an enemy/rival character who is blonde and has a history with them? Granted, Free's relationship with Wolfran seems to have been much more detached and professional than Marlya's relationship with Veronica, but still. Pretty funny.

Sounds of Life

Up next is The Devil Went Down to High School. In episode 2, the day has come for all the clubs at the school to present themselves to the first years. If the koto club club fails to attract at least three more members, then they will be disbanded. To that end, Takezo has chosen to perform a piece onstage. Though his playing is fine, the instrument fails to capture the attention of the first years, who talk through his entire performance until Kudo loses his temper and screams at all of them, which doesn't do them any favors. Even still, one girl decides to join the club. Satowa Hozuki is the daughter of a koto grand master, seen as a child prodigy who is destined to go pro. Though she starts out with a friendly demeanor, claiming that she just wants to have a genuine club experience, once she hears that the female upperclassmen have already graduated, she drops the act and reveals her true goal: to take a high school koto team to the national championship in order to earn a lot of attention before her debut as a professional koto player. Her callous attitude angers Kudo, but when she says that he doesn't have what it takes to play the koto because he had indirectly caused the club instruments to be damaged, he takes those words to heart. As Takezo awkwardly tries to make peace between the two of them, Kudo disappears from the school completely. After pestering Kudo's friend Takaoka (finally remembered his name), Takezo learns that Kudo had been secretly working with a music shop to repair the club's instruments, and, thanks to this information, convinces Kudo and Hozuki to apologize to each other.

This was much better than last week. Hozuki's character really adds some dynamism to the cast and helps to keep everything engaging. Nothing against Takezo, he's an okay character on his own, but Kudo needed a strong personality like her to bounce off of and humanize him. Now, instead of feeling like a cardboard cutout of a trope, he feels like someone who is genuinely trying his best while grappling with guilt and self-loathing born from his previous decisions. And Takezo improves from her presence as well, as his reaction to her brazen declaration that she will carry the team to a victory in nationals was one of outrage, which wasn't what I expected from him at first. I thought that he would just panic and say he isn't good enough, which he does, but the fact that he gets offended because Hozuki's blase attitude is an insult to his upperclassmen who had tried and failed to even qualify for the national competition actually makes him slightly interesting for a little bit. There's potential for even more improvement as the show goes on, and we actually got to hear both Takezo and Hozuki play the koto! Huzzah!

We Never Learn

I guess it's not technically a harem if we don't have at least 3 love interests...

Okay, what's next? Invasion of the Jocks? Ugh...Okay, let's get this over with. In episode 2, Uruka Takemoto has known Nariyuki since they were in middle school together, and she has always had a bad habit of borrowing his notebook in order to copy his homework, feeling that she should devote all her time to her swimming, which is improving at a rate that suggests a potential future in the Olympics. While she is hoping for a sports scholarship, her grades still need to improve a little more in order to be accepted into college. To that end, the headmaster assigns Nariyuki to tutor her as well as Rizu and Fumino in order to keep his scholarship. Rizu visits Nariyuki at his home for last minute extra help with an essay, and, upon hearing this, Takemoto (who has a huge crush on Nariyuki) rushes over to join them. When the power goes out during their little study session, he improvises a candle and the two girls snuggle up close to him out of a fear of the dark and a desire to get closer to him, respectively. Rizu's essay is accepted, and she barely squeaks by with a passing grade in a humanities course for the first time in her career as a student. Later, Takemoto needs help learning English vocabulary, and after traditional studying fails, Nariyuki improvises a lesson plan that incorporates English lessons and swimming, having her dive for marked balls with the correct answer, which leads to noticeable improvement. She tries to give him a new pencil case as thanks, but she accidentally gives him a bag with her used swimsuit inside.

I didn't think this would be as good as it was going in, and even then I don't think it's any better than mediocre. Something about Takemoto's design rubs me the wrong way. There's nothing wrong with it per se, but upon seeing her teased in the stinger last week, I just knew that she was going to be someone who is all about athletics and not about studying at all, which doesn't really gel with the theme of the other girls being geniuses in a specific academic field and useless outside of it, if you ask me. I mean, I guess you can say her athletic ability is her hyper specialization, just like the other two specialize in math and literature, but she doesn't really seem to gel with the others in my opinion. Her goal isn't outside of her specialty for one thing, and it bugs me that she doesn't even want to be there. That's not to say that she is a bad character, because she isn't. Her interactions with Nariyuki in particular are quite fun, but whenever she's talking with the other girls, it comes off a bit forced, and I enjoy her presence the least as a result. I'm hoping that this feeling of disconnect is intentional and that she'll grow with the rest of the cast. That aside, I'm still having a good time overall, and the final joke about Takemoto giving Nariyuki her used swimsuit is so good it makes up for any complaints I have about her character, so this anime gets a pass for now.

RobiHachi

Somebody got paid to write that line.

Up next is Super Dimension Fortress Isekandar. In episode 2, even though they weren't able to destroy Yang's ship, Robby and Hatchi manage to escape their tractor beam with the help of the giant robot Hizakuriger. Yang correctly guesses that they plan to head to the planet Haccone, where the exit of the Milky Way rests, on their way to Isekandar, and warps over there to ambush them. What he didn't anticipate was Robby's ship running out of gas, forcing the gang to make a pit stop on Mars. As they wait for the ship to be refueled and serviced, Robby and Hatchi explore Mars, which is inhabited by octopus-people, and take in the sights. But when Hatchi learns that the Martians are actually normal humanoids in octopus suits, putting on an act for the sake of tourism, he is imprisoned and forced to star in a live promotional broadcast. Robby and a performer he bonded with rescue Hatchi and reveal the truth of the Martians on live television. Upon seeing this news, Yang reverses course and heads back to Mars to capture them, but the duo have already left Mars behind to continue their journey to Isekandar. Later, Hatchi finds a promotion for an old tv anime about Hizakuriger...

This episode was somehow just as funny as last week's. From Robby and Hatchi's arguing about who is in charge of piloting Hizakuriger to wondering if octopus-people selling takoyaki is cannibalism to seeing Yang and his henchmen dance to the ending theme, there wasn't a single moment in this episode that didn't put a big dumb smile on my face. This week's story feels like a cross between The Twilight Zone, The Truman Show, and Futurama, and I have literally no complaints about it. There isn't really anything deeper or more interesting going on here, but the comedy is rock solid, I love the art style, and the promise of something akin to Samurai Champloo or Golden Kamuy, loosely collecting episodic misadventures into a bigger epic, is just what I needed this season.

Dororo

I am so proud of you for having pattern recognition skills.

Two shows left! Next up is Deja Vu: The Animation. In episode 14, Dororo's father had hidden a large sum of memory from his campaigns as a thief with plans to use it to fund a peasant revolution against the samurai. After his plans were derailed by Itachi's betrayal, he engraved a map to his treasure on the backs of his wife and daughter before his death. Dororo had forgotten about this in her struggle for day to day survival, but upon hearing Biwamaru suggest that she could change the world with that money, she now finds herself wondering what she should do next. Soon afterward, she and Hyakkimaru wander to a new village and encounter a pair of deformed ghosts outside of a burned down temple. After the local lord Sabame arrives on the scene, the ghosts disappear and he takes the two travelers in for the night. Sabame tells the pair that the temple was the home of a corrupt nun who would take in orphans, work them to the bone, and then sell them into slavery, until the temple was struck by lightning and she died in the fire with her charges. Dororo and Hyakkimaru privately doubt this story, having found evidence of arson at the temple ruins, and their suspicions are further deepened when a moth demon attacks them at night with her caterpillar spawn in tow. Hyakkimaru chases the demons off, and the moth demon returns to Sabame's side, panicking upon realizing that Hyakkimaru is the child whose body she stole with the other demons.

Another week, another good episode of Dororo. It's almost boring how consistently good it is. The background art was stunning as always, though it did sort of clash with the characters a bit more than usual. But the story this week more than makes up for it. I fully expected the map to remain a mystery that our heroes choose to follow blindly only to learn an ironic lesson about hope and for it to be more trouble than it was worth. The fact that it is just a straightforward treasure map AND that Dororo already knew about it in the broad strokes and just sort of forgot about it because she was more concerned with finding food to eat is a bit refreshing. It's a reminder that this is a story from a simpler period in anime history, with a loose call to adventure used to justify the setup for a few neat story ideas and monster encounters. Also, isn't it great that we've been through this whole shady villages hiding demonic secrets so many times that Dororo and Hyakkimaru just immediately suspect that Sabame is lying to them? I'm so glad that they have gained a semblance of pattern recognition. Either way, I'm pleasantly surprised that this story is going to be more than one episode, since it didn't say part 1 like previous multi-episode stories did, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Midnight Occult Civil Servants

This cat-dog thing is the only part of the episode I enjoyed. 

Lastly, it's time to talk about Paranormal Private Eyes. Yeah, I know that fake title sucks, but I don't care because I'm so disappointed. In episode 2, Miyako's grandfather always said that their family descended from the legendary Abe no Seimei, but nobody ever took his claims seriously. Now, though, the claim seems to ring true after all, as Miyako is able to understand the language of Anothers. After the arrival of a kishi (a Chinese bird spirit that heralds misfortune), the Community Relations Office has to deal with a string of thefts from supernatural creatures one after another, all of whom claim to have been robbed by an androgynous dark-haired creature. While investigating one of the crime scenes, Miyako and Sakaki are sucked into a seal and trapped underground, where the dark-haired thief confronts them, cheerfully recognizing Miyako as "Seimei" and unleashing a horde of zombies on them.

So at first I didn't know what to think about this episode. The pacing felt a bit wonky and it changed scenes so many times I was having trouble following what was supposed to be going on. Then I watched it a second time and paid closer attention and actually processed that all these separate incidents that Miyako and his team are investigating were supposed to be related, as the as of yet nameless antagonist had been stealing materials for some sort of spell to create the zombies. That's a pretty cool plot thread for this setting. So why am I not enjoying it? I'm not entirely sure what it is, but I'm having trouble getting into this like I did last week. This is going to sound weird, but I actually think it's because of the visuals. I know I said I like the art style last week, and I still kinda like it, but the actual art that's being conveyed through the style is pretty bland. The colors aren't nearly as dynamic as they were last week (or in the OP) and there were a lot of static shots of characters talking with uninteresting backgrounds and not a lot of movement going on. I know that sort of thing is to be expected with a slower paced investigative show and that I said visuals don't matter as much as narrative to me, but none of the characters have strong personalities or charismatic voice performances to latch onto so I don't really have much more beyond the visuals to keep me engaged. Besides, Psycho-Pass still manages to look good when it's a slow paced investigative series with deep philosophical discussions, so there really is no excuse. I know this is a complete 180 from where I was last week, but I'm already not having fun anymore. And if I'm not having fun, then I'm not going to keep watching. Consider this dropped.

And that wraps up week 2 of the roundup! Ten shows remain, but what will happen next week? Will Kyo and Yuki make amends? Will Nanako confess her feelings to Eiji? Will Tanjiro become a demon slayer? Will Bocchi make another friend? Will Tsubasa recruit a full team? Will Veronica and Wolfran join forces? Will Kudo earn Hozuki's respect? Will Fumino understand algebra? Will Robby and Hatchi find an obscure Hizakuriger fan club? Will Dororo choose to hunt for her father's treasure? Will After Lost stop being such a slow motion train wreck? Will the internet forgive the drop in animation quality for One Punch Man after the studio change? Will Mix, a distant sequel to an old baseball anime about a new generation of players by Studio OLM, become the next Major 2nd? Will Isekai Quartet figure out what the hell a plot is? Will I get sick of waiting for Netflix and just pirate Carole and Tuesday because it looks so incredible? Will I ever shut up? Find out next week on...this.

Weekly Roundup Spring 2019 Week 1

Well, here we are with a new anime season. A lot has changed since winter. The snow is melting, the birds are singing, and only Dororo remains in the lineup for the weekly roundup, all other shows having either been dropped or concluded. That is, until now. Though Carole and Tuesday have been locked behind Netflix's cruel prison and nobody seemed to want to license Magmel of the Sea Blue even though it looks pretty cool, we still have 12 new arrivals ready to fight in the gauntlet that is the Weekly Roundup for my sick amusement. Just like last season, every new show gets a one episode grace period before they are eligible to be eliminated, and only one show can be dropped per week. You might think that this means that week 1 is completely safe, but both Dororo and one of the new shows who decided to pull a Boogiepop and premiere a week early can still be eliminated. But will they? Let's find out.

Senryu Girl

First up is Senryu Girl. In episode 1, Nanako is a girl whose anxiety has rendered her nonverbal and only able to communicate through writing senryu poems. Eiji is a former delinquent who is sick of constantly getting into fights and is trying to move past his reputation as a dangerous thug. Together they join their school's Literature Club, learning how to express themselves and overcome the hurdles in their social life. When Eiji suggests that Nanako shouldn't spend too much time with him thanks to his reputation, Nanako refuses and says that she doesn't care what anyone else thinks as long as she can spend time with him.

I didn't have high expectations for this show going in. Judging from the description on MAL, it just seemed like another slice of life comedy that uses cute girls and a gimmick to get attention before playing out the same old stories that every other show in this genre does. And for all I know, it may still turn out to be that. But this first episode left a pretty good impression on me, and I genuinely had a good time watching this. Eiji and Nanako are a cute couple, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how accommodating everyone was to Nanako's nonverbal nature. Not a single character gives her a hard time for not talking verbally with them and only communicating through poems and awkward anime girl pantomime, and that's just really nice to see. There isn't a lot to say about this one, since it's a 10 minute short that only exists to introduce us to our main characters, but I thought that this was pretty good, and considering the track record the roundup tends to have with short form series, I'll take what I can get for now.

Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu

Let's keep the anxiety train rolling, shall we? In episode 1 of Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu (there doesn't seem to be an official English title), Bocchi Hitori is starting middle school for the first time, and that prospect terrifies her. Her only friend Kai is going to a different school, and the last time they spoke, she told Bocchi that she planned to avoid her until she can make friends with everyone in her new class on her own, worrying about tying her down and stunting her social growth. Desperate to see Kai again but still held back by crippling social anxiety, Bocchi attempts several plans to try to get out of having to make new friends, including destroying the concept of middle schools and putting up fake posters saying her class has been abolished and everyone needs to transfer to a new school. When these foolproof stratagems somehow end up in failure, Bocchi is left with no choice than to try to make friends the old fashioned way: actual socialization. Correctly understanding that this is the worst possible fate imaginable, she immediately leaves a bad impression when nerves overcome her and she throws up while introducing herself to the class. Still she persists, lending out her only umbrella during a rainstorm, writing out dialogue trees on her arm, and carrying out entire conversations in text rather than speaking out loud, until she gets verbal confirmation that  the brash Nako already considers her a friend.

I didn't plan to cover this on the roundup at first. I didn't even think about watching it at all, actually. I figured that Senryu Girl was enough social anxiety driven slice of life comedy, but then I was browsing through Crunchyroll and thought I'd give it a shot. And, you know what? I actually kinda like it. I've mentioned before that I suffer from social anxiety, and even though I think that this depiction is way too extreme, to the point where it feels like I'm being mocked at times, I can definitely relate to a character who is so terrified of screwing things up that she would read a book titled "Friendship for Dummies." Making friends is a weird and complicated process with no right answers and a lot of guesswork with no time to think anything you say through, lest you get left behind in the conversation, and to a certain kind of person, that sort of thing can be overwhelming and scary. When I was Bocchi's age, I had had so many friends either move away or change schools that I basically gave up on the idea of having friends for the next three years, not speaking to anyone if I could avoid it until I had gone to a new high school in a new town. So, yeah, I guess you could say that I found Bocchi more than a little relatable. But other than Bocchi herself, nothing else really sticks out. The music is bland, the art and animation are that typical low effort variety that comes with slice of life comedies since you don't technically need a lot of visual stimulation, and the actual jokes are pretty hit or miss. Still, I cannot deny that these are, in fact, cute girls doing cute things, and I'm enjoying myself so far.

Cinderella Nine

To the surprise of nobody, Patrick is covering another sports anime. And in other news, birds fly and grass grows. Anyway, in episode 1 of Cinderella Nine, when she learns that her high school does not have a baseball team, Tsubasa Arihara decides to start her own. Though it is only her and her best friend (whose name I don't remember hearing) at first, they attract two prospective new members at a club demonstration (whose names I also forgot). Neither of the two newcomers have any baseball experience -- one is afraid of the ball and the other has anxiety about letting her teammates down -- but when the four girls join a group of younger children in a pickup game, the newcomers are surprised by how much fun they had and decide to join the club full time. The next day, Tsubasa hears from the student council president that they are not allowed to practice on campus for some reason.

Anyone who's read this blog before would know that I love sports anime, and thus unconsciously give it more slack than it typically deserves (Hinomaru says hi). So, I want you to imagine how disappointed I am to report that this anime is BORING. None of the girls really have any personality to latch on to, and feel more like a collection of anime cliches than actual characters. I mean, I do appreciate that Tsubasa never once pressures anyone to join the club against their will, and I can easily imagine a scenario where one or both of the new girls refuse to join and she just shrugs it off with a smile, but everything just felt so artificial and it sickens me. And it doesn't help that the animation and music are all just so flat and lifeless. You barely even see any baseball outside of a crappy montage. Call me crazy, but if your show is about baseball, then you'd want to show the actual baseball game, right? Or is this another Anima Yell situation, where the show is actually about how cute the girls are? Cause if that's the case, then I'm probably gonna drop it soon since that's not really my thing. And considering the other two new sports anime this season are sequels, that's heartbreaking to think about.

Dororo

In episode 13 of Somehow a New Opening from Asian Kung Fu Generation is Disappointing, after leaving Daigo's territory, Hyakkimaru has become obsessed with hunting down the remaining demons and regaining his humanity. But Dororo is concerned that Hyakkimaru has missied several nights of sleep, and if he doesn't get rest soon, it could lead to his death. To that end, she lies to him and says that a monster was spotted at a nearby hot spring. On their way there, the two encounter a woman named Okaka, who looks exactly like Dororo's mother. Okaka tells Dororo about a stone carver who had attempted to carve the perfect Buddha statue under a nearby waterfall, but was unable to carve a suitable face before his death. When Dororo starts to fall asleep, Okaka reveals that she had drugged her and Hyakkimaru's food, as she is that same stone carver, resurrected by an evil spirit that had possessed the Buddha statue and charged with luring travelers to it and stealing their faces. As Okaka drags Hyakkimaru's body to the statue, Dororo chases after them and intervenes. She distracts Okaka long enough for Hyakkimaru to regain consciousness, and as he fights the evil spirit, Dororo convinces her to give up her quest to steal faces from the innocent. As Okaka experiences a crisis of faith, the statue turns on her and kills her, and Hyakkimaru destroys it and expels the spirit shortly afterward. Later, Dororo admits that she was lying to Hyakkimaru, but he still agrees to travel to the hot spring with her. While they are there, some local children sharing the spring notice a strange mark that appears to be a map on Dororo's back.

I was very curious as to what sort of episode we would get after the huge moment that was the Story of Banmon. And, well, what we got wasn't great. It wasn't bad, don't get me wrong, but it's weird to be returning to business as usual after the monumental confrontation between Hyakkimaru and his family. I'm glad we got some time to focus on Hyakkimaru being in a funk and needing to move past it, and giving Dororo more to do is always nice, but it felt more like the emotional growth was being told to us instead of being shown. Like, you can tell me as much as you want that Hyakkimaru is running himself ragged and is a bit off his game, but the fact remains that that he still seems to be fighting as well as he always does. And while the story of Okaka and the Buddha statue was certainly different from what we've grown used to in this show in a novel way, it felt like it was over as soon as we learned about it. Again, what we had was fine -- I especially liked Dororo's lines whenever she was talking to Okaka, it's nice to see her be vulnerable for once -- but I wish we had more of it. The hint that there might be a map on Dororo's back is interesting, though, and it doesn't seem to be tattooed on either. Has it always been there, or is this a new phenomenon that came from her repeated exposure to the supernatural? Either way, I still am having a good time with this show and I'm hungry for more information, so it looks like we're stuck with Dororo for at least one more week.

Kono Oto Tomare: Sounds of Life

In episode 1 of Kono Oto Tomare: Sounds of Life, it's the first day of school, and Takezo has a problem: with the upperclassmen all having graduated, he is the only member of the koto club left. If he doesn't manage to recruit new members, the club will be disbanded. However, a group of delinquents have taken over the club room, making it their new hangout, and when Takezo tries to ask them to leave, they beat the stuffing out of him. Takezo is rescued by another street tough named Kudo, who then declares himself as a new member of the koto club. Takezo refuses to acknowledge Kudo as a member though, assuming that the boy is merely mocking him, and the two argue. As Kudo quietly cleans the trashed club room, his friend (whose name I never caught) pulls Takezo aside and explains that Kudo's grandfather was a koto builder who had pulled him out of a life of violence, only to become a target for his former delinquent friends, who framed the boy for the assault. Feeling guilty for making his grandfather a target, Kudo wanted to learn more about the club that his grandfather had started. The next day, thirsty for revenge, the three bullies assault Takezo in the club room and wreck the place, framing Kudo for the crime. As Kudo defiantly refuses to defend himself from the accusations, knowing that nobody will believe him anyway, Takezo bursts into the principal's office, loudly declaring him a member of the koto club, and Kudo's friend forces the true culprits to come forward. With that mess taken care of, Takezo and Kudo prepare for their first club meeting.

I expected this to be better than it actually was. The premise of a failing club dedicated to an obscure musical instrument attracting unexpected members has a lot of promise, but the execution is a bit lacking. Everything feels a bit rushed somehow, even though we only focused on two characters. Im' not entirely sure about these characters either, since the wimpy nerd and the reformed delinquent are not exactly breaking new ground in terms of characterization. That being said, I didn't have a bad time watching this either, and the animation and character designs are definitely passable. It was just kind of meh. Not much else to say other than NOBODY ACTUALLY PLAYED THE KOTO! 0/10!!

After Lost

Oh, look, it's what Madhouse released instead of One Punch Man Season 2! Let's judge it harshly as we lament that Saitama and Genos were handed over to JC Staff! I kid, since I actually don't dislike the new animation for One Punch Man as much as some people do, but still. 

Anyway, in episode 1 of After Lost, three years ago, an entire city and everyone in it disappeared and was declared Lost. The sole survivor, a young girl named Yuki, was taken prisoner by a mysterious Agency and was placed under observation. But then, a group of scientists hire a courier named Takuya to break her out of the facility and deliver her to Lost after finding an encrypted message that claims that her father is alive. After a brief separation when Yuki runs away from Takuya, the two start traveling to Lost, only to be attacked by soldiers from the Agency. When Yuki somehow summons the spirit of one of the people she knew who was Lost to battle a psychic, it seems like the two have escaped. But their victory is short lived, as more soldiers ambush them and recapture Yuki. A woman who Takuya asked for information earlier is among the soldiers, and a gunshot rings out soon after she declares her intent to kill him.

First of all, as cool as it would be to fake me out and kill Takuya right then and there, that's not what's going to happen. The shooter has already been established to have some history with Takuya, and the camera cut away before the shot was actually fired, so she probably just opened fire on her comrades to rescue him. That aside, this was pretty neat. The whole setup of a strange supernatural event hitting Japan and remaking the world in some as of yet unexplained way and also maybe granting people super powers, not to mention the whole urban fantasy vibe, is reminding me of Darker than Black. And, well, that's hardly a bad thing in my book. Takuya is pretty cool so far, though I'm worried that with his dialogue the creators are trying a bit too hard to make him cool, and that's not the sort of thing you can force. Just have him do cool things and people will like him, there's no need to try to make him sound all hardened and badass every single time he opens his mouth. As for Yuki...meh. She's clearly been through a lot, so the whole silent treatment is probably a coping mechanism for her and I get it, but I don't have much to go on, you know? And I'm having a hard time feeling bad about her missing family when her seemingly only memory of them is them clapping their hands in slow motion like doofy idiots in front of a birthday cake. That made me laugh so hard seeing it, and I dont' think that was what they were going for. Still, the animation is nice, aside from some CG crowd shots, and the premise is interesting enough that I'm not bored yet, so that's something.

Midnight Occult Civil Servants

We're only halfway done? I forgot how exhausting typing up the first week of notes can be. Midnight Occult Civil Servants is up next. In episode 1, Miyako Arata is starting his new job with the Shinjuku Ward Nighttime Community Relations Department. Thankfully, instead of doing something boring like arranging community events, his new responsibilities focus on maintaining relations between the various non-human and paranormal creatures who live in Japan. When a territorial battle between the tengu and the angels of the Imperial Gardens gets out of hand, the Community Relations Department is sent to intervene and erect a magic barrier between the two groups. During this work, Miyako overhears a romantic rendezvous between an angel and a tengu, and realizes that the conflict was never about territory to begin with. As the fighting spills out into the city streets, Miyako realizes that his coworkers don't understand what the non-human creatures are saying, and throws himself between the three factions in order to get their attention, explaining the situation to everyone involved. Upon realizing that their family members weren't being kidnapped after all, the angels and the tengu agree to a temporary ceasefire, as Miyako's human coworkers stare in disbelief. Before Miyako can explain anything to them, an elderly tengu approaches him and calls him Abe no Seimei, the real life legendary exorcist and astrologer of the Heian era (approximately 1500 years ago). Miyako tries to figure out what the tengu is talking about, but he passes out before he could ask any follow up questions.

I don't know what I expected when I chose to add this series to the roundup, but Yokai Romeo and Juliet was not it. Not that I disliked it, mind you. The animation may be a bit wonky, and the characters may just be walking cliches at this point, but the atmosphere is fun and the music is good and it reminds me of Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens of all things. While I obviously hope for more development moving forward and think that this first episode is merely here to establish the world before the actual plot starts, if this does become a case of the week type show with new supernatural creatures showing up each episode, it could still be a fun time.

We Never Learn

Now it really starts getting good. In episode 1 of We Never Learn, Nariyuki Yuiga used to struggle with school, but after hearing the encouragement of his late father, he pulled himself up to be among the top students at his school, being very well rounded without excelling in any given subject. Nariyuki hopes to earn a special nomination for a full ride college scholarship at the high school's sister university, but his prospects look grim as he is overshadowed by the mathematical genius Rizu Ogata and the literary talent Fumino Furuhashi. Much to his delight, Nariyuki is chosen for the nomination, but there is a catch: he needs to tutor Ogata and Furuhashi to the point where they can enter the school of their choice, and each of the girls want to pursue a career in their weakest subject. After struggling for a week to get any sort of improvement from them, Nariyuki off-handedly sugests that the girls just stick with the subject they're good at, causing them to both storm off in anger, accidentally leaving their notebooks behind. Upon flipping through their notebooks, Nariyuki understands the legitimate passion that his pupils have for their fields and stays up all night preparing personalized lesson plans for them. Though they still have a long way to go, Nariyuki vows to stand by his students until the very end.

Wait a second! A shonen harem comedy about a gifted student tutoring a group of cute but academically challenged anime schoolgirls? Quintessential Quintuplets is that you? Yeah, I was surprised to learn that this show was coming out so soon after Quintessential Quintuplets had ended, and I basically picked up this show because I was hoping that it would be just as good. And, well, it isn't quite there yet, but it definitely has potential. I definitely know that I like the art for this series better than Quintessential Quintuplets. It's nice to see character design for teenagers that actually look like teenagers for once. I'm so used to anime high school students either looking like a bunch of 12 year olds or looking like full grown adults in school uniforms that this blend of soft, round, childish features and more mature, grown body structure feels oddly refreshing. It's probably only just me who feels this way, but I feel like it gives the show its own unique energy. And while Nariyuki doesn't compare to the majesty that is Futaro Uesugi, I like the girls here better than the quintuplets (best girl Miku notwithstanding), so it pretty much balances out. Rizu especially is winning me over, since I too slept through college level math courses in high school (that I barely remember now), got extremely high grades, and still chose to go to school for the humanities. Not to mention that she is just one of the cutest anime schoolgirls I have seen in a long time, and she loves board games! If I didn't have a rule against declaring underage girls my waifu, she would easily be one of my top waifus of the season just from this first episode alone. Next week's preview hints at another girl joining the group, and the poster on MAL has a total of five girls flanking Nariyuki. While Quintessential Quintuplets has shown that it's possible to balance a large group of love interests, it's still a risky prospect, so I hope that the original creator Taishi Tsutsui rose to the challenge.

RobiHachi

Next up is RobiHachi! In episode 1, Robby has been down on his luck ever since he ran away from his wealthy parents. Even when investment after investment fails, he still remains confident, sure that his latest get rich quick scheme will be the one that will earn him success on his own terms. After a chance encounter with a young dissatisfied boy genius named Hatchi who stops someone frmo stealing his investment money, Robby invests in a shrimp hatchery and fully expects to reap the rewards. When Hatchi turns out to be a debt collector who arrives to collect the money that Robby borrowed for his investment, Robby learns that the company he invested in has folded and he has no money. As the chase from Hatchi and his employer Yang heads into space, Hatchi (who was trapped on Robby's ship) agrees to stop chasing Robby if they do something completely crazy and unexpected: travel to the tourist destination Isekandar, which is advertised as a place where all dreams can come true. But before they can even set out on their journey, they need to escape Yang and his other henchmen. To that end, Robby and Hatchi launch fighters to battle Yang's ship, but even they are surprised when their fighters combine to form a giant mech.

I don't know what I was expecting when I chose to watch this show. All I really knew was that it was a sci-fi anime that had a cool art style. What we got, however, seems to be a cross between the style and music of Double Decker and the humor of Space Dandy, and I'm really enjoying it. Robby and Hatchi have a really strong chemistry, and the comedic timing for this series is on point, with jokes perfectly spaced out so as not to become overwhelming and enough character and world building behind them to give them more substance. There isn't really much to say here so far, other than Isekandar probably isn't going to turn out as great as it seems, but I suspect this show is going to be more focused on the wacky misadventures that occur on the way there rather than the destination itself.

Fairy Gone

In episode 1 of Fairy Gone, several years ago, there was a great war that ended in all the various countries of Eastlad coming under the rule of a single emperor. When the war ended, the fairy soldiers all vanished into the wind. Now in the present, refugee Marlya Noel and the former soldier Free Underbar have both come to work security at a mafia-run auction. When the auction is ambushed by a woman named Veronica, who steals a page from the mystical Black Fairy Tome, Marlya recognizes her as another refugee form her village, and attempts to intervene in the fight between her and Free, who both have been possessed by fairies who fight alongside them. During the chaos, a fairy is freed from its cage and merges with Marlya, and the two of them work together to break up the fight. Marlya attempts to talk Veronica down, explaining that she only joined the mafia in order to find her after they got separated as children during the war, but Free interrupts their conversation and Veronica escapes. Free explains that he is a government agent who had infiltrated the mafia to prevent the sale of fairies, as it is now illegal to bond with fairies. He gives Marlya a choice: either be arrested or work alongside him, and Marlya agrees to his offer, hoping to use the  position to track down Veronica.

Shortly after New Years Day, I binge watched the anime Sirius the Jaeger on Netflix. It was an anime from 2018 that I missed from PA Works that combined elements of werewolf and vampire fantasy with turn of the century military stories, and I loved every second of it. When I heard that the same studio was making another urban fantasy action story focusing on fairies, I knew I had to cover it in the roundup. Now it's finally here, and I LOVED the first episode! The animation is smooth and clean, and even the CG models for the fairies look really nice, even though their movement is a tad stiff. The idea of fairies bonding with humans as some sort of cross between Stands and Pokemon is a cool idea, and I really enjoyed the aesthetic. Marlya reminds me a lot of Yuliy from Sirius, especially the way her relationship with Veronica echoes that of Yuliy's relationship with Mikhail, and considering that that was one of that show's greatest strengths, I think that's a good thing. I look forward to seeing if their bond can overcome their current status as enemies, since Veronica does seem to feel guilty about fighting Marlya, or if Ver's desire for revenge against the one who burned down her home causes her to become irredeemably evil.

Fruits Basket

All that's left are the two shows I liked the best and the one I liked the least. We'll do the good stuff first, since it's somehow become a tradition for me to do the worst episode of the week at the end. In episode 1 of Fruits Basket, after her mother died in a car crash, the now orphaned Tohru Honda is sent to live with her grandfather. But when he announces that he is leaving to live with her aunt's family as his home is being renovated, Tohru is left in a predicament. Her aunt doesn't have the space to put up both of them, and Tohru cannot leave the city where her school and job are. Not wishing to burden her friends, Tohru decides to live in a tent until the renovations are complete, secretly working herself to the bone to cover the costs of living and maintain her performance in school. Before long, her classmate Yuki Soma and his cousin Shigure discover her tent is pitched on their land, and as she is explaining her situation to them, the tent is buried in a mudslide and she collapses with afever from overworking herself. Yuki digs up her things from beneath the tent, and he and Shigure offer her a room in their home until the renovations are taken care of. As they move her stuff into the room, Yuki is attacked by a red-haired boy named Kyo, and when Tohru tries to intervene, she trips and inadvertently hugs all three boys, turning them all into animals of the Chinese zodiac.

So, you might not have known this, but this is a remake of an anime that first aired in 2001. I've never seen the original, and all I knew going into it was that it was a romance series that had some supernatural elements; though I was unaware of the specifics. What I do know, however, is that I really liked this episode. Tohru is exactly the kind of protagonist I like in my romantic stories: kind, hardworking, and with a personality that is clearly defined yet still understated. She is relatable enough that audiences can project themselves onto her, but defined enough that you can understand why so many handsome boys will want to be with her later on. And boy, are these boys handsome!  I don't really think much about their personalities yet, they're all kind of bland, but it's only episode 1 and there's room for development, and they're handsome enough for me to give it a bit of a pass for now. Either way, this episode was about Tohru, first and foremost, and it did a good enough job making me like her. I'm excited to see if this remake is good, and what about this resonated with so many people almost 20 years ago.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

I am so excited to talk about Kimetsu no Yaiba! In episode 1, ever since the death of his father, Tanjiro Kamado has become the sole breadwinner for his family. Still, he lives a happy life with his family as a charcoal seller in his winter village, and has become a well-respected member of his community, settling disputes and doing odd jobs to help his neighbors. When the sun starts to set, an old man warns that Tanjiro should spend the night in town rather than risk journeying back home after dark, when the demons wander the wilds. Tanjiro doesn't believe in the rumors of demons and demon slayers, but he reasons that the old man is lonely and decides to keep him company for the night. When he returns home the next day, however, he is horrified to see his family lying in a bloody heap, all dead except for one sister: Nezuko. He frantically carries her down the mountain and back to town, hoping to find a doctor, when she wakes up and attacks him. Her wounds had been infected with demon blood, and she has been transformed into a man-eating demon herself as a result. When a wandering demon slayer named Giyu Tomioka attempts to kill Nezuko, Tanjiro puts himself in front of the blade. After impressing with his improvised strategy of pretending to charge with a hatchet when he actually threw the hatchet at him in a way to fall on his head, Tanjiro earns Tomioka's respect, and upon seeing the demonic Nezuko try to protect her brother from him, agrees to spare them both. He provides a muzzle for Nezuko and some advice: search for a man named Sakonji at the base of the mountain, and no matter what, don't let Nezuko be exposed to sunlight. The two siblings bury their family and begin their journey.

This. Was. AWESOME! I've never seen anything from Ufotable before, mostly because I find their flagship Fate series intimidatingly complex, and that's basically all they do, but I've always been quietly impressed by their incredibly high-quality tv animation. And let me tell you, after Mob Psycho 100, this is the best animation I've seen so far this year. The way the bold colors of the characters contrast with the muted backgrounds leaves quite a striking impression, and that fight scene in particular was a joy to watch. As for the characters, only Tanjiro has had enough screen time to make an impression, but he seems to be just the kind of kind-hearted and naturally heroic protagonist that I love in my adventure stories, and the mix of despair and pure rage in his voice acting from the moment he sees his mother, siblings, and nephew lying dead in the snow was such a stark contrast from his friendly and happy demeanor in the first few scenes that I was genuinely taken aback. Tomioka also made a great first impression, being a hardened soldier hoping to convince Tanjiro to be smart and just let his sister go, hating to see an innocent die but willing to do what it takes to protect the greater populace from the demon threat. The fact that he was moved by seeing the siblings' love for each other saves him from being a true antagonist, and I hope we get to see him again in the future. I honestly can't think of any negatives for this episode. This is what I was looking forward to the most for the spring season, and so far, Kimetsu no Yaiba has exceeded all my expectations!

Yu-No: A Girl who Chants Love at the Bound of this World

Why is it that the worst show of the week has to have the dumbest title? Are these title writers paid by the word or something? Ugh. Anyway, in episode 1 of Yu-No What, I Don't Care Anymore, Takuya's father has just died during a research excursion, but he doesn't seem to be grieving that much. Instead, the boy is focusing more on the news that a new transfer student is joining his class right before summer break and dealing with the people protesting his mother Ayumi's construction project. After a lightning bolt strikes the construction site, narrowly missing Ayumi, the transfer student Kanna warns Takuya that if construction continues, more accidents will happen. Later, Takuya receives a package that has notes about parallel universes from his father Kodai, who claims to still be alive, and a strange artifact. When Takuya goes to the meeting place specified in Kodai's letter, he finds a mysterious naked girl who mutters the word "Yuno", kisses Takuya, and then vanishes. Before he could even question what the hell is going on, Ayumi and his father's colleague Ryuzoji appear, and Ryuzoji pulls a gun on Takuya, planning to take the artifact by force. As tension starts to build, lightning strikes again, and Takuya spies Kanna in the background before the artifact glows and he wakes up the next day. Worried for his mother's safety, Takuya confronts Ayumi and Ryuzoji, but neither of them seem to remember what happened the previous night.

And then, because this show decided to pull a Boogiepop, we have a second episode to talk about. Takuya realizes that the artifact that he found allows him to travel back in time and explore an alternate universe while he retains memories of what transpired in previous timelines. As he and his friends sort through Kodai's old research notes and investigate the mountain where the lightning strikes are happening, they learn more about Kodai's theory that Japanese history is cyclical, rumors about a strange series of grisly killings, and the construction company's plan to tear down a cultural landmark. Later that night, unable to stop thinking about what happened the previous night, Takuya sneaks off to find Ayumi and try to pump her for more information. When he finds a pair of thugs trying to steal research data from her, he tries to rescue her, using the artifact to rewind time and get do-overs every time he fails. But before he can rewind one more time, they are interrupted by the shady foreman from the construction site, who seems to have staged the whole assault so that he could play the hero.

I didn't know that this was a visual novel adaptation when I started the first episode, but I am not surprised to learn that in the slightest. Time travel and parallel universes are popular fodder for visaul novels since they naturally lend themselves to a medium that loves to have multiple endings based on player choice, and the way that pretty much every single character in the opening is introduced in rapid succession reminds me of the early moments of, say, Zero Escape (I'd love to see an anime based on that). But you know what's unfortunate? I'm getting major Island vibes here. We got a sci-fi/mystery premise where everyone's actions seem designed to make me suspicious, some of the blandest character designs I've ever seen (aside from Ryuzoji, who just looks like a rejected design for Manfred von Karma from Ace Attorney), and none of the characters make an impression besides Takuya. And the impression I get from Takuya is that he's an asshole, thanks to his constant snide comments and sexual harassment of every female he talks to. Even when we start playing with time travel, things somehow become less engaging as we get several scenes of Takuya and his friends standing around and talking about parallel universes and strange rumors without anything actually happening until the final few minutes! I have never been so bored by anything in the roundup before. At least the horrifically bad shows like Pastel Memories and Sword Luminary were interesting in a train wreck sort of way. The rules of the roundup say that every show needs to get at least two episodes before it can be dropped. Thankfully, we got our two episodes out of the way, so Yu-No, consider yourself dropped. The moral of the story is: next time a visual novel adaptation from Studio feel. is announced, just skip it.

But that wraps up week 1 of the roundup! I'd say we're off to a pretty good start. But what will happen next week? Will people give Nanako a hard time for hanging out with Eiji? Will Tohru's new living arrangement become known to her classmates? Will Bocchi make another friend? Will Nariyuki help Fumino and Rizu pass a test? Will Nezuko escape Tanjiro's care and attack somebody? Will Takezo find more members for the koto club? Will Takuya survive being shot and find Yuki? Will Miyako's newfound ability to communicate with yokai get him unwanted attention? Will Tsubasa win the right to practice on campus from the student council? Will Marlya find Veronica again? Will Robby and Hatchi escape Yang's pursuit? Will Dororo's back map lead to a possible clue about getting Hyakkimaru's body back without dooming the innocent people in Daigo's land to starvation? Find out next time on the Weekly Roundup!

Say Something Nice

I have been feeling a lot of negative energy lately. It's probably because I've been feeling really ill for the past few weeks. It's hard to keep your spirits up when you're puking your guts out every other day.

An artist's rendition of my pain.

So, while I'm resting and healing physically, I figured I could clean up my mental health a little bit by letting go of some hatred. And what better way to do that than to go through some anime I dropped and finding a positive aspect in it? Is that even how mental health works? No? Well, screw it, it'll be fun.

The rules are simple: every anime I will be discussing here is something that I rated as a 5/10 or lower on MyAnimeList. I have to find at least one element in that show that I enjoy. And to make things a little more difficult for myself, I can't mention any sort of potential that an idea the show presented had. I have to find something tangible and praise worthy. Also, I will be trying to avoid any back handed compliments or negative thoughts at all, since this is about positivity and ranting would be counter productive.

But enough stalling! What's first on the list?

Black Bullet

Okay, so I only watched two episodes of Black Bullet, so I don't know much about it, but I do know this: Kagetane Hiruko is a cool villain. Seeing his design, with his fancy suit and harlequin mask, in a clip from the opening that had made its way into a compilation I was watching immediately caught my attention. His dub voice actor does a pretty decent job as well, being deliciously smug and condescending to the main heroes while still hinting at having a greater plan and a possibly interesting motivation. It's like if the Joker was an anime character!

Dragon Ball GT

Obviously, I don't care much for Dragon Ball GT -- otherwise we wouldn't be talking about it -- but the Baby Saga was actually pretty fun and came close to recapturing the magic that was Dragon Ball Z. The story of a rival race that was driven from Planet Plant by the Saiyans, who renamed it after their king Vegeta, brought to a lone survivor creating an artificial warrior for the purpose of revenge is surprisingly compelling and expands the lore in a unique way. Baby's actual acts of villainy felt huge when I was a kid as well. This guy enslaved the entire population of Earth, save Mr Satan, with relative ease, and he possessed Vegeta's body! And then he brought back the Great Ape form! I am unashamed to say that 11 year old Patrick was hyped as hell at all of these developments, and I would be down for Baby getting the Broly treatment and being re-imagined for a canon movie.

Konosuba

There's nothing actually wrong with Konosuba. It's actually pretty good on an objective level. It's just, generally speaking, not my thing. But I do love Darkness here. Her running gag of being an adrenaline junkie who goes on adventures because the sensation of feeling pain and/or humiliation never gets old. Humor is subjective, so I can't really explain why she is the only member of the main four that resonated with me, but I think she's a great character and seeing her back to her masochistic antics is one of the highlights in the first episode of Isekai Quartet that aired a few days ago.

Naruto Shippuden

Say what you will about Naruto Shippuden, Lord knows I have, but it has some of the best openings I have ever seen in anime. Heroes Come Back and Blue Bird are songs I regularly listen to while working on the blog, and the first time I saw Sign as a teenager I actually got a lump in my throat upon seeing Naruto react to Jiraiya's death. And, simple in concept they may be, Diver and LINE capture the themes of the anime they introduce better than almost any other anime opening I have ever seen, with Diver perfectly illustrating how Naruto views Sasuke as a victim of the same despair that gripped him and wants to save him the same way his friends saved him and LINE showing how every character has been trapped in the cycle of revenge and war and missing something that they don't quite understand but yearn for all the same.

Sword Art Online

I'm really trying here, guys, I swear, but all I can think of for this one is that I remember thinking that the cloak that Kayaba Akihiko wore in episode 1 was pretty cool looking. The only reason I don't have this as a 1/10 is because the animation and voice acting are competent enough to squeak by.

Miss Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles

I like that it gave me this reaction image. Also, the way they draw the ramen itself makes me drool.

Chobits

Honestly, I don't even remember why I hated this as much as I did when I first watched it. Maybe I'll give it another shot. Either way, I found the opening theme to be catchy as hell, and Madhouse definitely did a decent job with the art.

Pastel Memories

Hahahahaha! No, seriously.

Sonic X

I think Sam Speed is great. He tries to outrace Sonic in a race car. That's amazing. It feels like he just wandered in from a completely different anime and it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen, and I can't believe I never questioned it when I was a kid. Also, this anime is what gave birth to "Gotta Go Fast", and that alone outweighs all its faults.

Island

I thought we were trying to stay positive here? Uh...you've become my new standard for bad anime, drawing the line between merely bad and truly awful. You serve an important role in my current critical palette! 

Yes, I know I said no backhand compliments, but it's Island! It gives me literally nothing to work with! I played nice with everything else, didn't I? Ah, forget it. Just like anime, this whole thing was a mistake.