More questions than answers – Spring 2021 – Week 9

Why more questions than answers? Because that’s how a lot of shows leave me feeling this week. But really, isn’t that a good thing? Wouldn’t it be boring if everything was easily explained and answered?

Either way, hit the jump and join the Q&A!

The shows that I’m watching are in bold, shows my wife and I are watching together are in bold italics, strikethrough marks dropped shows and (*) marks shows with no comments this week.

Fruits Basket The Final (Crunchy) Episode 9

Oh, man, how do I even sensibly write about this gut wrenching roller coaster of an episode?  (Great way to start “more questions than answer, eh?  Right at the top.  Bang!)

Last week, regular commenter Dawnstorm had this to say about Akito:

And I’m not sure Akito ever had much confidence. She’s always been acting out, but if she’s not playing the role she’s been given she’s got nothing. I believe she dislikes the curse as much as anyone, maybe more than anyone, but she’s also mortally afraid of it going away, because then she’s left with nothing. Give a kid too much power and no moral guidance, and she might end up like that. Confused and frightened and clinging to nonsense.

And that actually does lead into the first part of the episode…  There’s nobody so irredeemable (except maybe her biological family) that Tohru won’t  befriend.  And even though she was torn to pieces by Kyo’s confession (both of them), she couldn’t help herself.

And Akito, in her own distraught state, was especially vulnerable to Tohru’s superpower.

And when they showed the remnants of Tohru’s tent…  So tensed up I almost wanted to pause the show for a moment.  I knew what was coming, though I didn’t expect an accident.

And so, the bonds are cut – by the most unlikely suspect.  Akito herself.

After 59 episodes, the moment we’ve all been waiting for.  Kyo and Tohru kiss.  And that’s where I really got frustrated with not being able to take screenies.  That moment deserves to be immortalized.  To stand at the head of this post.

There’s a lot of fallout to deal with yet, and a lot of raw wounds to heal…  But for the first time in this series, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not an oncoming train. 

HIGEHIRO (Crunchy) Episode 9
Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway
Hige wo Soru. Soshite Joshikosei wo Hirou.

I didn’t find Sayu’s explanation for being friendless all that convincing…  But once you get past that, the events of the episode were chilling.  And her mother is a piece of garbage.

Fortunately, her brother turned out OK and did his best to help her.  (Sorta, where was he before?)  But Sayu…  The queen of bad decisions.  She turned her back on the help offered – and ran.  Straight into an objectively worse situation.

Which kinda makes me wonder where she stands now.  Both Yoshida and Kazuto are offering her space to make her own decisions about her future, what she wants…  But how the hell is someone so passive (until pushed to snap) and with such a track record going to make good decisions without support?

It’s time for Gotou and Yuzuha (blech!) to step up.  They seem to be the only adults that aren’t abandoning her to her own devices.

(*) I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level (Crunchy)
Episode 8

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita

(*) Let’s Make a Mug Too (Crunchyroll) Episode 9
Yakunara Mug Cup Mo

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I should note that “no comment” isn’t necessarily negative or anything… There’s just not much to say about either series. There’s worth watching, but they’re not deep or anything.

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Mashiro no Oto (Crunchy) Episode 9
Those Snow White Notes

Is it just me, or was the performance by the Umezono Academy sort of lifeless?  It wasn’t one of the better this series has provided…  Either way, I do agree with where they ranked.  Though they were rough, they were one of the very few groups that were an actual group…  as opposed to a soloist with a backing band.

That being said, I’ve judged artistic competitions of varying sorts, and it’s not easy.  How can you comparatively rate-and-rank things that are often inherently unequal to start with?  (Such as “teams” vs. “soloist with a backing band”.)   How do balance technical achievement with artistic value?

Setsu wonder what the point even is, and I can sympathize.

My Hero Academia Season 5 (Crunchy) Episode 10
Boku no Hero Academia 5

I’ve long thought that Deku has evoked a more “spiritual” side of One For All that All Might seems to have missed out on.  He (All Might) seems to be aware of its existence, but not of anything beyond that.  This season, this episode, seems to be running with that idea.  (And it’s also foreshadowed in Boku no Hero Academia Movie 2: Heroes:Rising when Bakugo seems to wield a portion of One For All’s power.  Also in the Sports Festival Arc.)

That being said…  The whole “you’ll be visited by spirits of the past” still seems to be coming out of left field.  And I don’t know that I care for the coming power ups.

Super Cub (Funimation) Episode 9

I’m not sure what role Shii is supposed to be playing here…  And I kind of feel sorry for her, she gives a great deal to Koguma and Reiko and receives very little in return.  She seems lonely, friendless, sometimes and that no doubt contributes to her eagerness to seen as giving.

I hope this balance is redressed soon, as it’s really dragging the show down.

So I’m a Spider, So What? (Crunchy ANN) Episode 20
Kumo desu ga, Nanika?

War is coming to the world, and inadvertently – Kumoko is the spark that ignites the powder train.  Given the human timeline, it’s not going to be an earth-shattering war, no more than a skirmish in what appears to be an eternal conflict.  (And how does Ariel fit into this (spider-side) picture?)

Over on the human timeline – we finally get Sensei’s (Filimos’) background.  And it’s not pretty.  She’s got her reasons for basically putting most of her students in a concentration camp…  But does her urge to protect her students really justify her actions?  Especially because it doesn’t appear that she’s actually changing their fates.  And her Student Roster skill should make that clear.

And what is Potimas’ deal?  He’s very plainly supporting her – why?

Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song (Funimation ANN) Episode 10

I guess you could call this a setup episode?  It covers the events from Vivy’s “retirement” to the cusp of war breaking out.   As in the original timeline, Diva was “donated” to a museum, and spends her days basically on display in a zoo like setting.  (Which paints a disturbing picture as to the status of autonomous AI’s and their civil rights.  At this point, I can’t blame them for revolting.)

Her days (as Vivy) are spent trying to re-discover what Diva found decades ago – the emotional capacity to sing and engage the audience.  It’s still not clear why Diva chose this path, to shut herself down in favor of her alternate self.

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Still no screenshots.  with assistance from @terrancecrow and Google, I’ve figured out how…  But on this machine, streaming is often janky and I just got tired of fighting with it.

I’ve got a stock of shots from earlier in the season, so re-using those should see me through.

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In other news:

Experience how an anime feature film is made from start to finish! 📼 Eleven Arts is honored to bring SHIROBAKO The Movie to theaters on August 10th, 2021.
Ticket sales begin Friday, July 2, 2021, at @fathomevents

🎟️: https://t.co/ysp4Yz6taY#shirobako pic.twitter.com/OVPwuo3fEu

— ELEVEN ARTS (@ELEVEN_ARTS) June 2, 2021

The Shirobako movie is coming to the US!  YAY!  And since it’s a Fathom Event, there’s a chance it’ll come to a theatre here on the Peninsula that’s only twenty minutes away.  That would be nice, because going off the Peninsula to Seattle or Tacoma or beyond is a PITA on weeknights.

Also, today is a very special day!

Thirty one years ago today, this happened. Still together! pic.twitter.com/A3Bw33XJ6I

— Derek Lyons (@DerekL1963) June 3, 2021

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And that wraps it up for this week!

Have any answers to my questions?  Any questions I or anyone else can take a stab at answering?  Anything else you want to talk about?

Drop a comment and let’s chat!