All the shows are settling into their groove, except for Titan… Which just keeps on punching the viewer in the gut. So, let’s hit the jump and run ’em down!
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 that are watched but not regularly reviewed.
Akebi’s Sailor Uniform Episode 4
Akebi-chan no Sailor-fuku (C/F/V AP)
Another week of Akebi derping around with her newfound friends… It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s exactly the kind of stuff I enjoy and was hoping for out of this series. There’s just enough story to give a solid foundation for the CGDCT/SOL elements.
Me being me, I also enjoyed the photography parts and I’ve got a Photography in Anime piece already half written in my head. (Link goes to category page because the article obviously isn’t written yet.) It’s been quite distracting trying to finish this week’s post first!
Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2 Episode 4
Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season Part 2 (C/F AP)
Grisha and Eren Yeager featured prominently in this episode – but really, it’s all about Zeke. He got his world re-f_cking-arranged, but good.
Eren… We learned last week that he’s been stringing Zeke along. This week a lot of puzzle pieces fell into place during the visit to Christmas Past his and Grisha’s memories. It’s not clear yet when Eren truly put his plan together and into motion – but it’s nothing new. And it’s not clear that it’s based on any kind of Eldian nationalism or patriotism either. He simply sees red at oppression and violence. Yet… If he unleashes the Rumbling, then he’s setting in motion oppression and violence on a virtually cosmic scale. And it’s not much better to simply restore Eldian sovereignty. Who can be trusted not to misuse the cataclysmic power of the Titans? Is there even a use that isn’t a misuse?
Grisha is… the real puzzle here. And the cause of that problem is the Attack Titan’s heretofore unrevealed capability of seeing the memories of future inheritors. Titan is messing with time travel, causality, free will, and predestination and we just don’t know how all that works in this universe. But it’s clear that it does have effects – when Grisha tries to warn Zeke about Eren.
What has Eren shown Grisha about the future? What hasn’t he shown? (Which also implies Eren has some form of control over these things.) It’s pretty clear to me that he hasn’t shown Historia, that Grisha is completely unaware of her existence.
How much of a monkey wrench can an Eldian of royal blood throw into Grisha/Zeke’s plans? Zeke doesn’t seem to have been concerned about that…
If you’re a regular reader of ANN – you’ve no doubt seen this: Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 2 Opening Theme Reaches #1 on U.S. Billboard Hard Rock Chart
I think this also the first time ever that an anisong has charted at all!
Lupin III: Part 6 Episode 16
(H)
I was a bit skeptical at the start, but as the episode continued I became a fan… It totally made sense that Goemon would act the way he did.
The ending kinda sucked rocks. Lupin took all the air out of the room and left none for Goemon.
My Dress-Up Darling Episode 4
Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru (C/F/V AP)
All through the first part of the episode I was like… Gojo, no. Gojo, no. Gojo, NO!
Though there’s communications problems a’ plenty on both sides… The bulk of it falls on Marin’s shoulders. And it’s to her credit that she accepted that blame. Not from Gojo of course, he doesn’t know how to speak up for himself, but on her own. Every episode bring out a new facet in her character, hopefully we’ll soon see some growth on Gojo’s side too. Four episodes in and he remains a bit flat in that respect.
Speaking of Gojo’s side – what about his home life? I’m getting the feeling that Gramps doesn’t exactly support him. I mean, it’s not like he’s cold or abusive or anything, just a little… distant?
The last part of the show, with them working together to bring Shizuku-tan to life was just… *chef’s kiss*, nicely done. I thought Marin’s reaction was a little underwhelming, but taking time to come to grips with the reality actually makes sense. It ended on a kind of a cliff hanger, so maybe more next week?
Police in a Pod Episode 4
Hakozume: Koban Joshi no Gyakushuu (F)
Well, I guess I was a bit early with my praise last week. Episode 4 was kind of a reversion to type… I really hope they step back from “Kawai is a crybaby” at least a bit, because it’s going to get really old.
On the other hand, each episode tackles another aspect of police work and I do enjoy that. The 2nd story in this episode was actually pretty nice. They’ve been doing a decent job of humanizing the characters, including the side characters, so it fit right in.
Salaryman’s Club Episode 1
Ryman’s Club (C/V)
First episode… Pretty much bog standard. Introduce the setup, introduce the characters, introduce the sport… Not much really stands out so far. Sure, it’s a corporate team rather than a school club, but plotwise and thematically they’re peas in a pod. And really, how much latitude do you have unless (like Run With The Wind) you have two cour to work with and can soften it and stretch things out? Of course Run was also helped because it had a natural cliffhanger to end the first episode on.
On thing that is really worth remarking on – the animation. They put a lot of work into the games, and it showed. You could feel the speed and energy. Sports anime live or die by the quality of/effort put into animating the action, and Salaryman lives with verve. The screencap above isn’t so good, but I watched that part twice and tried a dozen times to get one that showed how good it is and couldn’t manage.
This compilation from YouTube conveys it pretty well I think, and gives a sense of the BGM – which isn’t slacking either.
Slow Loop Episode 4
(F AP)
It is nice that they’re taking things slow with Hiyori and Koharu… They both have difficult pasts and lot to get over before becoming sisters and friends. But this episode introduced something new. So far, it’s been Hiyori bringing in Koharu into her world – but very briefly, while cooking, Koharu brought Hiyori into hers.
I hope the “having jobs” isn’t a one off, because it nicely expanded the show beyond the (current) core trio. Koi and her family provide a nice contrast, but a little more wouldn’t hurt any.
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From the Random news in Derek’s life department:
I play a lot of The Sims 4, and also share my creations in the Sims Gallery… And this week my modest gallery hit 1000 downloads! (One third of which is one particular creation, a garden with fully grown plants.)
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The finale of the incredibly cute Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House (Maiko-san chi no Makanai-san) aired last week, and I already miss it. Sadly, it didn’t get a lot of buzz/traction in the anime community because it aired once a month rather than weekly. Once again, the hyperfocus on weekly seasonals means that folks miss the Good Stuff. If it’s available on Crunchy in your region, SOL/CGDCT fans should definitely check it out.
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We also reached the end of the classic cooking anime Oishinbo… 136 episodes! Other than Kurita’s character design being wonky (compared to the manga), it was well worth it.
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And that’s it from me this week folks, thanks for reading! Feel free to drop a comment about this week’s shows or practically anything else you care to chat about. I’m looking forward to it!
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
Christmas Paths? I’ll be here all week!
Can we give a round of applause here to Hiroshi Tsuchida, Grisha’s voice actor? His character died off-screen way back in episode 2, so he gets called back in maybe once a season to voice a flashback. And he consistently knocks it out of the park, perhaps best in this week’s episode. The scene after his exit from the Reiss cathedral was spine-chilling.
Eren plays the Reverse Uno in response to Zeke’s Reverse Uno in response to Eren’s first Reverse Uno. In most households, this is where big brother flips the card table over and commences the cheating allegations.
I never had much to say about this series but I loved it dearly. Perhaps second only to Yuru Camp in the “curl up and relax before bedtime” anime category.
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Jokes like that… You’re too close to retirement for your real job, don’t give it up for comedy quite yet… :)
re:Hiroshi Tsuchida
Agreed, he deserves much respect… especially given the gap between seasons and that it’s been just shy of eight years since S1E1 aried.
Can confirm. Source: Am eldest brother. Are you hinting at future developments?
re:Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House
From the responses here, I wish I’d brought it up more often, could have had some fun discussions.
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Oh, heavens no, and sorry if I gave the impression. The Jaegers aren’t like most households (in how many families does the father’s first wife eat the second wife?).
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I’ve seen a thing or two in my day, but yeah, that’s kind of unusual as far as personal relationships go.
:) :) :)
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I actually immediately thought of the Photography-in-Anime tag while watching that episode of Akebi. I quite liked those sections.
I generally have little say. I’m not sure why you’d lay the bulk of the problem at Marin’s feet, though. She’s a teen and not a psychologist. Gojo’s problem’s are mostly self-inflicted.
And, yes, Maiko-san Chi was a really cute show. I’d bet it’d have been better received with a regular release schedule (but maybe the production was more consistent because of the release schedule – I wonder about that).
And, yeah, the Badminton show was a pretty typical sports show. I wonder if the show’s going to spend some time on the job, too, though. Too early to tell.
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It’s still in work, I had to toss my first draft in it’s entirety though.
Mmm… Because she’s the one laying a burden on him? The results of that burden are all on him, but she’s the catalyst. It just seems that way to me.
School sports anime usually spend time at school… it’s a good way to round out their characters. So I’m guessing yes, at least some.
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I thought that was a good Police In A Pod episode. The whole Dog-Sama thing was nicely absurd and what made Kawai cry wasn’t just her exhaustion and discomfort, it was the whole silly and pointless activity she found herself in once she realized Dog-Sama was just out on an outing . And she didn’t cry when she took a huge fall down the flood bank either. I can cut Kawai some slack as long as not a weekly theme.
Okay episode 4 of Akebi sold me on the show – well a lot more than the previous episodes anyway. Maybe it was the subtle shift of focus from Akebi to her friends that made it more interesting. We shall see.
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That’s the thing, her weaknesses have been a feature of the plot every episode so far. She’s not growing. I dunno, if this were a comedy it wouldn’t bother me. But dramas, I expect some progression… Does that make sense.
Welcome to the comfy club! :)
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