I feel the same way about this post. I have all these shows to watch when all I really want to do is play games (Hinamatsuri being the sole exception). Anyways, I haven’t dropped Toji no Miko. I am, however, feeling very lazy at the moment, so I’ll just catch up next week. As for Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori, ehhhhhhhh…
3D Kanojo Real Girl Ep. 8
What an exhausting episode. Yuto likes Sumie, but Sumie likes Hikari. Arisa is half-heartedly interested in Mitsuya, but Mitsuya is half-heartedly interested in Iroha. Meanwhile, Iroha is jealous about Sumie, and Hikari remains painfully oblivious. Unless you spell every social situation out for him, he won’t understand anything. On the one hand, we can’t expect our partners to read our minds. On the other hand, Hikari is truly, truly that dumb. He can’t even grasp the basics of social interactions, much less the complexity of an actual romantic relationship. Anyways, I despise all of it. I absolutely despise this entire episode, because even Iroha has gotten annoying to deal with. Characters like Sumie are especially unbearable, however, because they’re always crying or pitying themselves. Worst of all, she claims that she’s in love with Hikari, and she had to let Iroha know. Absolutely had to. She couldn’t keep quiet any longer, because her feels, man. Her feels. I hate it when people toss the word “love” around so carelessly. It’s so goddamn irresponsible. She barely even knows him!
Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory Ep. 5
In a lot of ways, this series is easier for me to watch now. I already knew ahead of time that Sagara would lose Chidori to Leonard, but I was still dreading it. As a result, I didn’t have all that much fun watching the first four episodes. It’s just unpleasant to see bad things happen to characters you like, y’know? I’m kinda dreading DARLING in the FRANXX right now for the same reason. Anyways, with Chidori somewhat out of the picture, I can breathe a sigh of relief and watch Sagara do his thing. Obviously, he’s doing everything he can to save her, but in the meantime, we also finally get to escape the confines of suburban Japan. Sagara currently finds himself in Namsac, a rather lawless land, and as you’ll soon see, this story won’t win any awards for creativity. Our hero is here for information, but he’ll only get it if he participates in a brutal, coliseum-style sport. This sort of thing seems to happen all the time, doesn’t it? Thor: Ragnarok is the most recent example that comes to mind. The only difference here is that Sagara has to fight with AS units, but it’s all the same functionally.
Anyways, Nami is cute, but uh… don’t expect much from her character. She’s just a Chidori replacement for this arc. That means being a Whispered, having absurdly amazing programming skills, and all that jazz. The biggest question here is whether or not Sagara can truly keep anyone safe. We all know he can beat up a bunch of thugs, but Amalgam is a whole different story.
Hinamatsuri Ep. 7
Good as always. Not much else to add.
Hisone to Maso-tan Ep. 6
I didn’t care too much for the episode. The resolution to Eru’s conflict feels too simple and straightforward. Like, I get what the show is trying to accomplish. She faces an upward hill all because of her gender, and it’s unfair. It’s actually kinda annoying how the girls often have to shut up and deal with a lot of their mistreatment. for instance, that pervy designer is actually infuriating. He constantly makes Hisone feel uncomfortable, but shhh, it’s okay because it’s supposed to be humor! Anyways, my point is that the story devotes so little time to Eru’s backstory, and as a result, her bitterness and anguish still remain relatively underdeveloped. I don’t feel all that connected to the character even though I should sympathize with her. This is then followed by by a predictable sequence of events in which Norma, Eru’s dragon, nearly dies as a consequence of trying to save her life but still forcing itself to hide its true form. The girl eventually and predictably swallows her pride within a matter of minutes and accepts her partner. The story beats here are too generic for its shiny, dragon-themed skin to make a difference. The story simply wants its audience to accept the happy ending, but I don’t feel as though everything has been resolved. For instance, it’s not as though Eru has really addressed her feelings of resentment — resentment not towards Norma, but the gender discrimination that they all face. After all, this dark cloud is what made her reject her dragon in the first place. I feel as though it’s being swept under the rug just because she now openly loves Norma.
It’s also kinda weird that the dragons are all male.
Shokugeki no Soma S3 Ep. 19
Basically, most of Yukihira’s friends got expelled. In order to save them, the sole survivors will have to challenge the Elite 10 for their seats in, well, a shokugeki. Of course, Azami isn’t going to just agree to this. After all, there’s nothing in it for him. That’s when Yukihira’s dad suddenly shows up out of nowhere and saves the day. He can do this, because both Azami and Erina oddly have a crush on him. I couldn’t help but laugh at how the anime tried to make Saiba look like such a badass. His long flowing hair, his not-too-wild stubble, and his sweet blouson. But I digress. Saiba proposes that they all compete in a Regiment de Cuisine. Ooh, that sounds fancy! What is it? It’s actually just a team shokugeki. So what is Saiba offering to get Azami to agree to the challenge? Himself, of course. If Yukihira’s team loses, then he will close down his diner and join Central. It’s as simple as that.
I’m always amused when I see second-tier characters like Megumi exclaim that she’s going to try her best for everyone’s sake. She’s a sweet girl, but bless her heart, she will always lose in the middle rounds or so. On the other hand, Yukihira and Erina can’t lose. It’s not because Saiba is finally involved. It’s not even because their friends will be expelled if they don’t win. Rather, they’ll win simply because they’re the main characters. This anime doesn’t exist to subvert our expectations. It’s certainly isn’t going to make its main character drop of out school, go on a personal journey of growth, and return stronger than ever. That’s also tropey, but simultaneously a little too daring for something like Shokugeki no Soma. As a result, we must begrudgingly accept that it’s not about who wins or loses. Rather, it’s all about the journey. It’s also about the friends that we make along the way. Most of all, it’s about the number of girls that we can strip naked with just one taste of our food and our food alone.
Like father, like son.
Also, hachis parmentier sounds so goddamn fancy, but it’s really just a French take on the humble shepherd’s pie (I guess cottage pie would be more accurate since we’re sticking with beef). I don’t know which came first, but it’s not really important. What’s important is having our heroes hone their teamwork, so not only do they gotta make this dish in a short amount of time, they’re not allowed to speak to each other either. I think both Top Chef and Hell’s Kitchen have forced their contestants to go through a challenge like this.
Tokyo Ghoul:re Ep. 8
God… I’m starting to dislike this sequel as much as I disliked Root A.
Too many characters when the Ken/Haise is the only person that I remotely care about. Most of all, too many dumb moments.
W-what is this? C’mon, what is this? May the gods have mercy on our souls.