Winter 2017 – Week3

And now… we’re into week three, for many people a decision point on whether or not they’ll keep watching a show.  What did I drop?  What are you dropping?  Hit the break and find out, then let us know in the comments!

Just as a reminder, shows that I am watching are in bold, shows my wife and I are watching together are in bold italics.

ACCA-13 Ep 2-3

Talk about a slow show…  Three episodes in, and we’re still on setup.  Or maybe setup has become plot.  The whole thing is twisted, and frankly that’s what’s starting to really catch me.  There’s a whole lot going on, and a good deal of it is just half-glimpsed through the shadows.

Our Hero is the center of it all, but I’m not entirely sure how aware he is of it.  (Or how much stock he puts in it now that he knows.)  The more interesting question to me is why a mid-level bureaucrat would draw such intensive attention…  There’s a theory floating about that he is the actual Heir, but I don’t put much stock in it.  So, I dunno.  Wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time?  That doesn’t make much sense either given that we’re flat out told he’s been watched for a very long time though.

Verdict: Keeper.

BanG Dream Ep 1

No, I’m not that behind…  BD premiered late and was picked up late by Crunchy.  Mostly harmless, mostly rote, mostly dedicated to box checking.  “Introducing the genki heroine”, “main character discovers she just loves music”, “giving glimpses of future bandmates”, “introducing the frenemy who will become an ally”.  Check, check, check, check.

Verdict:  Mindless, may or may not keep depending on schedule

Demi-Chan Ep 2-4

I’m starting to get pretty uncomfortable with Demi-Chan, mostly because it simply cannot leave off crushing on senpai.  (And Tetsuo being blithely unaware of how inappropriate this is.)  This has figured to some degree in every episode so far.  Ep2 was less about Kyouko than her relationship with Tetsuo.  Though it gave a good look at her daily struggles, Ep3 was less about  Sakie than her relationship with Tetsuo.

Though crushing on senpai figured strongly in Ep4, there were also some nice moments of character development…  Hikari’s straightforward telling off the gossip girls was interesting and echoes back to her conversation with Kyouko in Ep1.  What really saved the ep was Tetsuo’s conversation with Himari.  Despite his blindness to his inappropriate relationships, he displays a well nuanced view of demis and their relationship with the mainstream.

While Tetsuo is serving as a useful audience viewpoint insert, I’d love to see the Demi Support Circle play a larger role and to see more events from the girl’s point of view.

Fuuka Ep 5

Ahh…  the routine miracle of anime, Our Gang goes from basically inexperienced to a semi-polished band in the course of an episode.  Followed of course by the now routine “we’re going to do this impossible thing by the school festival, just two months away!”.  It was amusing though that the tsundere and polished musician air dropped into their midst turns out to be Yu’s long time twitter pal…  Her heel-face-turn when this is discovered was however sadly predictable.

Fuuka is dissipating whatever goodwill is has built up by reaching for these well worn tricks, but I’m not actually contemplating dropping it.   Partly because I like band (as opposed to idol) anime, partly because there are still well done bits among the well worn ones.

I also hadn’t realized that Crunchy Manga had the manga, I’ve bookmarked it to read after the show finishes.

Gabriel Dropout Ep 2-3

Gabriel has been a one trick pony from the very start…  pitting angelic demons against demonic angels and both against the real (human) world.  Episode 2 used this conflict to expand on the characters and their relationships.   Episode 3 just drove this into the ground.

The ‘one trick’ might have worked better if Gabriel had been a short rather than using an ‘anthology’ format, where each episode is a collection of shorts.  (There’s been a couple of those over the last year, and I don’t care for them.)  Instead, it just feels like I’m being repeatedly bludgeoned over the head.

Verdict: Dropped.

Konasuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World 2 Ep 3

Classic Konasuba – Kazuma and Aqua off (mis)adventuring on their own, with a comic twist at the end.  Love it, love it, love it.

Masamume-Kun’s Revenge Ep 4

Taking romance advice from a Manga?  Masamume is as clueless as he is driven…  but it does seem to be working.   But, now there are monkey wrenches being thrown into the works – Aki saw him talking to Yoshino and suspects there is Another Woman.  And then there’s the cliffhanger…  an actual Another Woman.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Ep 3

A solid episode of slice-of-life comedy combined with character and relationship growth… The bathing scenes with Koyabishi and Tohru were especially charming.

Scum’s Wish Ep 3

Scum’s Wish is becoming very uncomfortable to watch…  Not in a bad way, but in a “this makes me think about uncomfortable things” kind of way.  Poor Hanabi just keeps getting more and more heaped on her shoulders, increasing her confusion between love, like, and sex.

It was interesting to see her, at the end of the scene in Mugi’s bedroom, began to have a dim realization that there is pleasure involved rather than just pain.  In the same way, I think she’s also coming to terms that relationships involve two people interacting.

Seiren Ep 4

And so we reach the end of Hikari’s arc…  Despite his attraction to her, in the end Shouichi is unable to summon the courage the confess to her, but is inspired by her newly born dedication to making people happy through food – he decides that becoming a dietitian is his life’s calling.  And no, I’m not making the last bit up.  I can understand, despite the closeness that has grown between them (after last episode’s misunderstanding is cleared up), not being able to confess to a girl who is such a force-of-nature.  I can understand Hikari discovering the joy of cooking for others (back in the second ep) and being inspired.  (I’m a cook myself, and it’s just so cool when people are happy with your food.) But becoming a dietician for some unclear reason?  That’s just weird.

Seriously, it was a pretty good episode though.  After the flirting when forced together, they part friends when the force is removed.  A nice change from the anime tropes which would have had them fall madly in love or madly in hate.  Seiren is no classic, but it is at least above average.

No comments this week: Schoolgirl Strikers (mostly filler), Piacevole!, Nyanko Days, Minami Kamakura High School Girls Cycling Club (unwatched).

So, got to all but one show this week…  making progress at finding my groove!  Now to get better at writing something sensible about each show.

Random stuff:  Housecleaning on Saturday, I found a thumb drive I’d misplaced…  it had slid under my router at some point.  Popped it on the computer to see what was on it and discovered a Locodol OVA that we’d watched back in July…  Despite being tempted I didn’t rewatch it.

Dang good show that I wish would get a second season…  I really should write a series review one of these days.  But right now I’ve got one series review in work, plus a special post for Wednesday, so I’ll just make a note on steno my pad and move on.  It’s always good to have ideas in the queue.

I’m also ashamed to note that I only just learned this morning that Windows 8 can take screenshots directly rather than having to muck about with the clipboard and Photoshop…  So yay, more screenshots coming to a blog near you!

You too can use screenshots in the comments if you have an image host…  go wild, go crazy (OK, not too wild or crazy), run your own blog down in my comments section.