Man… After the gut punch last week, this week Titan delivers a nasty uppercut for a one-two knockout combo. All that and more after the jump!
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 5
Akebi-chan no Sailor-fuku (C/F/V AP)
Not every episode is going to be a hit, let alone a home run… This episode was a grounder to third. An easy out.
It’s been pretty obvious we’re going to meet a variety of personality types, but I didn’t care for Minoru’s obsession. It just seemed creepy. Creepy and schoolgirls are (IMO) a poor mix.
But I did appreciate that Akebi didn’t try to “redeem” or “save” her. She just accepted her for what she was.
I’d also like to give a shoutout to the soundtrack and the backgrounds… From the very first episode there’s been a lot of loving detail spent on Akebi’s world.
Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2 Episode 5
Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season Part 2 (C/F AP)
Blink Blink
That was… wow. We finally get the full backstory of the Titans/Eldians. Or, at least as much as Eren wanted Zeke to see and how Eren wanted him to see it… (Though how the Eldians ended up enslaved and how Paradis was founded was glossed over or skipped.)
And the Chekov’s Gun that’s been precariously perched on the mantlepiece for a couple of seasons now is finally fired. For the reasons Eren has been laying out for two episodes now (and groundwork was laid much earlier), the Rumbling has been unleashed. Eren means to commit genocide on a grand scale, and feels fully justified in doing so.
And I mean… he’s not wrong.
From our modern perspective, genocide is absolutely, unquestionably bad. But our modern perspective is colored by the use of genocide by conquerors and the slavers. Titan turns that on it’s head – because the Eldians are the downtrodden and enslaved. But the history lesson shows their current state isn’t entirely unwarranted, as they themselves were once conquerors. But before that they were enslaved…
A never ending cycle of horror and oppression – which Eren is perpetuating in the process of ending. It makes my head hurt.
And they took time out to ensure we haven’t forgotten one important thing: Grisha isn’t the only surviving Eldian of royal blood. Historia is still out there, a wild card in everyone’s plans.
Lupin III: Part 6 Episodes 17-18
Episode 17
I thought the Love Lupin System was actually pretty clever myself. Alas, Ms. Wang suffered the same disappointment that everyone who tries to corner Lupin experiences.
Episode 18
Lupin is on the hunt for the mysterious Tomoe again… (Still?) And steps smack dab into the middle of some heavy duty domestic politics in the process.
And what’s up with Mattea? I’m not thinking her presence in Kotornica (a thinly disguised banana republic) is any kind of an accident.
My Dress-Up Darling Episode
Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru (C/F/V AP)
The “dramatic pause” (not quite a cliffhanger) between last week and this was very effective. Opening with Marin’s enthusiasm was an excellent move.
I loved it’s overall presentation of cosplayers… Addressing both the pro’s and the con’s. And simply presenting crossplayers as a matter-of-fact.
And no creepy photographers either…
My favorite bit was Marin’s reaction when somebody recognized who she was cosplaying. When I’ve done cosplay photography at cons, that can make someone’s day – especially if they’re cosplaying someone more obscure. I once recognized someone cosplaying Sumomo and I could see them light up that someone had recognized them. Arguably Chobits shouldn’t be that obscure, but it kinda is.
But the best part… the best part… Gojou referring to Marin as beautiful on the train ride home. Doubly so because it was unconsciously spoken from the heart rather than some dramatic confession. And Marin, she’s no dummy. She quite clearly remembers his exposition on beauty back in episode 3 and knows what he meant.
Police in a Pod Episode 5
Hakozume: Koban Joshi no Gyakushuu (F)
No comment this week as it was pretty much a standard episode, nothing stands out.
Salaryman’s Club Episode 2
Ryman’s Club (C/V)
Still following the more-or-less standard checklist for sports anime. Our Heroes are confronted with their first tournament and get curb stomped. Our Fated Pair (Shiratori and Miyazumi) are still not in sync, and the former only grudgingly accepts he’s got to up his game.
Slow Loop Episode 5
(F AP)
Simply… quiet and good. I can’t say much more about this episode.
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Despite Akebi not being on top of it’s thematic game… All-in-all a good week anime wise.
Your thoughts? Drop a comment and let’s chat!
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
I get what you mean abut Minoru’s general creepiness. Perhaps I was a little surprised none of her subjects told her where to get off when they were discovered but I guess they are all nice girls. I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if they had though. It did show how shared meanings develop during play with both girls contributing to a shared narrative as to what they were doing. hat was good I thought.
I checked out Ryman’s Club episode one too. I was impressed by the animation and it does look to be the best of the sports shows I’ve seen this season (Tribe Nine I’ve dropped already and Futsal Boys is hanging on by a thread).
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There’s not a mean bone in her body… I mean what she was doing was creepy but she wasn’t doing it to creepy if that makes sense? I mean, they put up with Akebi’s eccentricity and general genkiness, so Minoru isn’t that much of a stretch.
I’m crossing my fingers for Ryman’s club, hoping at least it’ll turn out no worse than paint-by-number,
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I interpret the narrative a little differently… the Ymir flashback occurred when Eren broke his chains, chased down Ymir, and embraced her, so it’s Ymir’s memories that she chose to show to Eren. So it would make sense that it doesn’t extend to the Titan War, the enslavement of the Eldians, and the founding of Paradis, because those were well after Ymir’s death; by then she was trapped in Paths, sculpting Titans when summoned.
Either way, it’s a mind-blowing revelation: Both the Eldian and the Marleyan versions of history have a kernel of truth in them. Ymir really did “build the roads, cultivate the wilds, and bridge the mountains” just as claimed in the Eldian texts that the Owl passed on to Grisha. But she also was the instrument to conquer and oppress Marley, as their texts claimed. Both texts glossed over the portions of the truth that were inconvenient to their respective narratives.
Zeke played the last card in his hand, ordering Ymir to carry out the Euthanization. He didn’t count on Eren painfully pulling loose from the chains, chasing down Ymir, and… empathizing with her? Being the first person to treat her like a human in 2000 years, and giving her the choice? And then Zeke plays the “I’m of royal blood” card… which, based on the flashback we just saw, was Not A Good Move.
Need we mention the episode titles coming full circle?
Episode 1: “To You: 2000 Years From Now”
Episode 80: “From You: 2000 Years Ago”
And the animation of that scene makes me feel much better about the rest of the season and what comes after, be it a movie or another TV cour. For the last two seasons both WIT and MAPPA have struggled to make even a single CGI Colossal Titan look decent… here MAPPA managed to make a whole army of marching Titans look good.
You mean Zeke instead of Grisha, right? Zeke was born from Grisha (not royal) and Dina (royal).
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Some of it is from after her death, but yeah that makes sense. She shows Eren her experience, and he replies with the immediate aftermath. I.E. “It gets worse, you’re pissed now – but wait until you hear what happened after“.
Boom we’re back in real time – and Rumbling. (It appears all the stuff in the Paths took all but zero time in the real world.)
But there’s a hook there… who controls the Rumbling? Ymir? Eren? I mean, she has every reason to pissed at the Original Eldians. OTOH, the current Eldians are at least partially descended from the slave population.
It’s all very confusing.
Not exactly uncommon anywhere, anywhen…
Yeah. For some reason when I was writing that, I kept reversing the two. I thought I’d caught them all in the editing pass.
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It certainly does. Just imagine how Gabi felt about it. One second she takes the shot and the next second the Rumbling starts. It wouldn’t be a stretch for her to think she caused it.
I’ll refrain from answering that… strategic ambiguity is a good thing.
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Hm, the creepiness didn’t bother me much (I noticed it), mostly because I thought the show had some sort of voyeuristic streak all along, and no-one, especially Akemi, making a big deal out of being watched is… sort of consistent with the feel I got from the show all along. It’s, I believe, what’s kept me from getting totally into the show from the beginning. It’s hard to explain.
Among the shows you’re watching (and I’m watching, too, which excludes AoT and Lupin), Dress-up Darling is pretty far ahead. I thought this episode was really cute, too.
There’s one thing about the Salaryman anime that I’m not really looking forward to, and that’s the I-hurt-him-and-now-I’m-playing-doubles-again drama. So now the ghosts of badminton past have made an appearance, and with the badminton competitive world probably not being all that big it was only a matter of time. That said, I think watching the drama unfold is still preferable to drinking a can of natto cola (prejudice, but, well…). The show’s basically okay otherwise, but no more than okay either (if sports isn’t your main genre).
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The voyeuristic streak in the writing has been noted in a variety of places. So, yeah, I get it.
Absolutely agreed… As far as my watchlist is concerned, Dress-up Darling is far and away AOTS material.
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“Arguably Chobits shouldn’t be that obscure, but it kinda is.”
I’m with you on that!
I’m not watching AOT this season, which might seem strange since I’ve been a fan since the first episode. And I remain a fan.
It’s just too much right now. I’ll binge in when it’s over. Glad to hear you think it’s executing well!
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Binging this season of Titan… So far it looks like one of those you want “binge” at one episode a night or at most two lest you be overwhelmed.
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Thanks for the tip — I’ll keep it in mind!
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