What I’ve Been Up To May 2024: Anime Central
And just like that a whole month has gone by. But a busy month it was! Not as much anime watching as I’d like to have done, but some fun stuff, including working on another film and going to Anime Central. I got to see some anime movie premiers there, see some cool guests, and visit with friends.
A little change to the posts, after some feedback. I’m going to include links to legal streaming options if there are places the show is streaming in English. These links I’m just acquiring through Anilist, a site I already link, but I figure this makes it easier to find and more accessible. I’ll probably also go through the old posts and add these.
These posts are not meant to be comprehensive reviews of episodes or shows talked about. They’re not meant to introduce people to the shows and explain who the characters are. They’re simply meant to give an idea of my thoughts on the shows I’ve been watching recently. I try to avoid spoilers because there’s the possibility someone is reading and hasn’t seen the show, but they’re not necessarily meant to be fully understood without having seen the show being discussed, and may sometimes have spoilers in them. If you’re wondering who a character I mention is because I haven’t told you who they are or something, that’s somewhat intentional. If I explained who every character in every show was, these posts would be unbearable to read.
Shows discussed in this post:
Completed
Mononoke
Ninja Kamui
Suki demo Kirai na Amanojaku
i☆Ris the Movie: Full Energy!!
Started Watching
Bleach
Re:Monster
Saikyou Tank no Meikyuu Kouryaku: Tairyoku 9999 no Rare Skill-mochi Tank, Yuusha Party wo Tsuihou Sareru
Still Watching
Blue Archive
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei 3rd Season
Completed
Mononoke
Watch Links: Crunchyroll | Netflix
Mononoke is a very unique experience in terms of anime. It’s got very stylistic art and great use of framing, used to elevate most scenes. I do truly feel like there’s nothing out there quite like it, and if you’re at all interested in anime for some artistic value, Mononoke is absolutely worth your time.
I’ve been hearing about Mononoke since I started watching anime pretty much, but I went into it fairly blind, not actually knowing what the show was about or how it would be structured. I was pleasantly surprised by it somewhat functioning as an anthology, having arcs which each focus on their own self-contained stories with little connective tissue besides the concept of mononoke which cause trouble and the medicine seller (Kusuriuri). They don’t lead into one another, there’s no established timeline, and there’s hardly mention of previous incidents, they mostly just focus on solving a mystery which is unfolding before them. I see this show brought up often when people talk about horror anime, and I do think it has horror elements, especially with its sound design and horrific imagery. Structurally, however, it feels like it plays out more like a classic detective mystery, with the characters being stuck in a space while the main detective character tries to figure out the different elements of the mystery. One element which is different is that all mysteries are supernatural in nature, and “who” is less a question than “why”. There are mysteries I like more than others in the show, but in general they all played out quite well and I enjoyed all of them. The characters we meet within each mystery are fitting for that mystery, although I didn’t find myself especially invested in any of them beyond their part in the self-contained story. They’re all very human, but they’re also all very flawed and tied to the mystery they’re a part of, which is actually quite a good thing, but also I think kept me from becoming especially attached.
All in all, Mononoke is a very unique series, and one which I enjoyed quite a lot. Absolutely recommend this one!
Score: 8/10
Ninja Kamui
Watch Links: MAX | Adult Swim
Ninja Kamui very much fits the bill of a “turn your brain off” action series with very strong action, which was what it was sold as to me. While I do think the action somewhat tapers off towards the end, the fights are quite engaging and entertaining, at least if that’s something which can keep you entertained. Aesthetically, it’s somewhat solid. It has some decent variety in environments, and ninjas in America with some futuristic tech and spaces does work pretty well together on the whole. There are some pretty solid designs, and the characters move quite well on their own. The only real design issue I have is with the robot ninja designs, but even those are fine. I do think the fights got less interesting as they tried to explore the tech enhancements when they started the show out with neat unique ninja powers as a core mechanic of combat, but the ninja powers get very quickly sidelined by the technology, only to come back at the end as more important. I think it was going for a thematic thing with technology somewhat replacing artisans and skills, but it’s neither particularly novel or thoughtful with its execution or ideas I felt.
In general, the show doesn’t hold up too well to scrutiny outside of its fights and aesthetics. Similar to its themes, its story and characters don’t feel particularly intricate or well thought out. They mostly seem to exist to justify a connected series of fight scenes, which it does a fine enough job of, but doesn’t make the show particularly exceptional outside of watching ninjas fight with magic powers and mech suits. It starts out somewhat cribbing off of other action thriller staples, and it never really stops that, eventually becoming somewhat boring as a result. I ended up spreading the show out over a week because I eventually got kind of bored and wanted to watch it when I was more in the mood for it, so it took time. Overall, I think that Ninja Kamuy achieves being a mindless display of cool action animation, but it becomes harder to enjoy as the series goes on and it doesn’t really develop. It just seems to go through the motions of its characters progressing through the storyline, without really doing much with the characters themselves as people.
Score: 5/10
Suki demo Kirai na Amanojaku
Watch Links: Netflix
The first of the two movie premieres I saw at Anime Central, Suki demo Kirai na Amanojaku, or My Oni Girl, was pretty alright. I don’t have a long history with Studio Colorido’s films, having missed Penguin Highway and Drifting Home, but I have seen A Whisker Away, which I found fairly unimpressive, and I feel like, while I did like this film a bit more, it overall falls into a similar category. I do wonder how much Netflix has to do with the movies I’ve seen from this studio being somewhat lackluster, as I hear Drifting Home was similarly middling, and that one along with the 2 I’ve seen are the ones which were included in the deal with Netflix. Meanwhile, I hear great things about Penguin Highway, which was made prior to the studio’s deal with Netflix. I have no evidence, and am not necessarily making any claims, but I do find it a bit weird that the movies included in this deal feel similarly uninspired. This isn’t the first anime movie made for Netflix which I’ve felt this way about either, as Kamiarizuki no Kodomo felt bland as well, although I did like this movie a fair bit more than that one. It could also be a case of copycats following after Shinkai’s success without really getting what made his films stand out, as these films somewhat follow a similar narrative and aesthetic to the kinds of movies he’s made, but I would feel a lot less secure in making that claim. Anyway, wild speculations aside, I should actually talk about the film.
My Oni Girl is a charming mix of adventure and romance, which has a kind of nice aesthetic and some pretty solid narrative foundation, but it doesn’t really build much on that foundation. I like both of the leads, and there’s a somewhat charming theme or lesson to the film, but it’s really only skin deep. The narrative progression of the film takes a turn which felt a bit unnatural considering the goals the characters started with, and I feel like those goals got somewhat tossed aside for something less concrete, leaving the main issues feeling a bit unresolved, even if technically we got some resolution. I do enjoy the journey through Japan they go on, and some of the more supernatural locations and the problems they face while there are fine to include in the movie, but it felt like we shifted focus away from the story I was invested in, especially the journey, and instead started focusing on something else. The solution to the problem was also pretty out there and didn’t feel super connected. Overall, it’s a pretty movie, and is still maybe worth watching, but I wouldn’t call it exceptional or worth going out of your way for.
Score: 6/10
i☆Ris the Movie: Full Energy!!
Not available for legal streaming in English
I’m genuinely really happy that I got to catch this movie at Anime Central, not because I think it’s a great film or anything like that, but because it was the first time I have been in an idol movie screening with idol fans, and seeing them do the wotagei was really neat. I’ve watched a decent few idol concerts and whatnot, but being in the room and feeling their energy during the opening performance of the movie was a treat.
As for the movie itself…it was pretty lackluster. The film exists as a celebration of the real life idol group i☆Ris, who voices some of the characters in the Pretty series, and their 10 year anniversary. It somewhat shows that this film really just exists for that purpose, as I didn’t really get the sense that it aimed to achieve much outside of creating quirky anime characters based on these idols. Each of them is given a somewhat exaggerated trait, and they play that trait heavily. They’re also very heavily delineated by a single color each, to the point of the shine on their hair having colored outlines. It makes it very easy to identify them, but at no point in the movie or after did I feel like I learned their names. They play up their tropes and go through a pretty rote plotline about saving this world of squirrels, and there’s a little moral about sharing which is kind of loosely thrown in at the end. Its message isn’t even solidly expressed, the film mostly seems to exist as just a promotion for the group.
All that said, there are some fun visual gags, and a couple references to the characters they play in the Pretty series which I appreciated as someone who’s seen multiple entries, even if I’m not a huge fan of many entries of the series. The film doesn’t have a ton going for it, but it was a worthwhile experience for me nonetheless. If you’re a huge Pretty series fan, it might be worth seeing just for the novelty, but even then it’s not particularly well tied to the series. If you have no connection to that series, there’s really no reason you should watch it in my opinion. It’s very generic.
Score: 5/10
Started Watching
Bleach
Watch Links: Hulu
One of “The Big Three” shounen anime which dominated when I was a kid, I’ve decided to try once again to watch Bleach and catch up to the new continuation. I attempted to do this around the end of last year, but got busy with other shows for the r/anime Awards and only got through 49 episodes before I had to put it on hold. Now I’m trying once again, starting over. Before the end of May, I got through the first 9 episodes again, but this time also watched the memories in the rain special, which gives an alternate version of Episode 9 and the fight between Ichigo and Grand Fisher. I enjoy this part of the show a decent amount, Ichigo learning to handle his newfound power alongside Rukia, and getting to know the cast and learning about the world. I will say, even at this early point, the show feels like it’s padding out its runtime. Many conflicts take at least 2 episodes to get through, which is less than ideal. Some of these feel like they could easily be done in 1 episode or less. I do generally like the concept though, and Ichigo and Rukia are a fun main duo for the show. I’m not as invested in other somewhat main characters like Chad and Inoue at this point, but they provide some good variety and I do like them somewhat. The side cast varies in quality, but overall I think they’re pretty fun. The comedy of the show is somewhat questionable, in particular where Ichigo’s father is involved. They want to play him off as being loving and goofy, but he also acts inappropriately with his young daughters. Kon, a comedic relief mascot character, also has a pervy sense of humor sometimes, but he mostly is used for slapstick thusfar so he’s not the most obnoxious character in the world.
Overall, the show has established a formula which is generally enjoyable, even if it isn’t really exceptional so far. I’m looking forward to continuing through it and hopefully finishing it this time!
Re:Monster
Watch Links: Crunchyroll
Re:Monster is by far the worst show I’ve checked out in a long while. Normally I don’t watch seasonals as they’re airing, but I didn’t have high expectations for the show and was running out of trash from Winter to check out, so I decided to try it. I also tend not to drop shows, but honestly I think I’ve decided to drop this show with a 1/10 score after 6 episodes. I’ve heard some people compare this show to That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, which is a series I haven’t seen, and I am now somewhat concerned by that comparison. The main reason for the comparison seems to have a lot to do with the structure of the show, which I haven’t found particularly appealing, unfortunately. The show is structured somewhat like a log of events which have occurred, mostly taking place in the head of the main character as they tell us what’s happening as we see those things happening, in a very scarcely animated sequence of images. In some ways, watching this show feels like watching a playthrough of an RPG without commentary from the player. A lot of time is spent on the main character explaining the various skills and the leveling system and whatnot as they grow like a character in an RPG. This, at least for me, does not constitute an entertaining or interesting way to tell a story, or convey information at all really. This show is dreadfully boring, as it fails to present information in a way which is at all interesting, and the story it’s telling is just fantasy RPG as the goblin faction of a video game.
Now, it was bad enough that this show was boring, but I don’t tend to drop single cour shows just because they were boring. I’ve slogged through plenty of shows which I found little enjoyment in before. What made me decide to drop this and give it a 1/10 partially had to do with it not being finished yet, but beyond that, it’s also really messed up moralistically. The main character fully integrates into certain goblin societal norms as he grows accustomed to this fantasy world. He keeps slaves, some of whom he enters sexual relationships with. He’s not quite like the goblins in a series like Goblin Slayer, but he’s still engaging in some pretty messed up stuff. Furthermore, since the goblins he overtakes are similar to those from other fantasy series, the show has a somewhat colonialist spin, in that he “civilizes” them and reigns over them as a morally superior being, for which he is endlessly rewarded. The show lacks any sort of positives, and has some pretty severe negatives, so I see no reason to continue it.
DROPPED: 1/10
Saikyou Tank no Meikyuu Kouryaku: Tairyoku 9999 no Rare Skill-mochi Tank, Yuusha Party wo Tsuihou Sareru
Watch Links: Crunchyroll
Yet another fairly bog standard RPG fantasy series, at least from the 2 episodes I watched. I do appreciate that the series has focused a bit on building the characters through a more slice of life approach so early. First episode gave us our primary conflict and introduced us to our main duo and their motivations. Episode 2 gave us some insight into the characters and endeared us somewhat to them. It’s got a fairly ok structure for these first couple episodes, but it’s just so standard and uninteresting up to this point to where I find little reason to continue. The characters are somewhat endearing, but I’m far from invested, and the mystery of the story has already somewhat been solved. There’s not really much narratively to keep me going, and visually this series is bland and jank. The show really has nothing going for it, and as I didn’t finish it in my first go, I see little reason to continue it.
DROPPED: 3/10
Still Watching
Blue Archive
Not available for legal streaming in English
I did do my utmost to keep up with this show, as it is something I enjoy somewhat and anticipate every week. I fell a bit behind after ACEN, but I caught back up and am happy to keep writing about it! Gonna go through all the episodes. If you made it this far down the post, hopefully you don’t mind a bit of a long segment. I think I’ve come around on this series quite a bit at this point, and am enjoying it generally. It’s still got its ups and downs, its exciting and boring episodes, and its strengths and its weaknesses. But in general, I’ve found myself more positive on the show. It might help that I got to binge a few episodes in a row like I do with most series, so some of the slower episodes and filler got mixed in with more exciting episodes. In general the show is progressing forward at a nice pace. Hoshino and Shiroko especially have some interesting moments here. It probably also helps that we are firmly in the section of the show that I didn’t read the story of the game for, so I’m not treading ground I’ve already covered.
All that said, Episode 5 of Blue Archive is the first episode I’ve felt wasn’t as good as the last, but it was still fun enough. Hoshino’s senpai moment this episode is much stronger than last episode’s in my opinion, this time showing a greater understanding of the inner workings of the power structure of the inter-school system than other characters, and her past with Abydos being somewhat explained to the audience/Sensei. I liked this moment of Hoshino explaining to Hifumi that the powers that be, even the Tea Party who Hifumi may believe to be righteous, probably already know about the situation of Abydos and have chosen inaction, and she’s not even upset or sad about it, just kind of jaded. She in some ways shows more understanding and maturity than Sensei, who is supposed to be the adult in most if not all situations of the show. We also get more comedy with Problem Solver 68 as a sort of lead-in for a broader conflict which will play out in the episodes to come, and the introduction of the Gehenna Prefect Team. Now, this is around where I stopped reading the story in the game, admittedly. I decided I wanted to wait to read it until I had unlocked the whole thing so I could binge it, and…well, I unlocked the whole thing and then never read it…But I still intend to! Anyway, this episode is still plenty fun, and I do think its character moments were actually pretty strong for this show. Aru struggles to hold her tough mob boss act together and trying to balance it with her conscience as a good person at heart. Hoshino has the senpai moments. Serika has a small moment to show honest resolve to stand up for things she cares about. Shiroko has a brief moment as Serika’s senpai to acknowledge and support her conviction. On the character front, this was one of the denser episodes, I just didn’t find the content as entertaining, and there’s a bit more exposition than I would like, although the shots of Hoshino walking down the hallway as we learn about her past with the former student council president a bit are pretty nice in terms of visual storytelling.
Episode 6 primarily features the fight between the Gehenna Prefect Team and the Abydos students after Problem Solver 68 blew up Shiba Seki Ramen. It’s somewhat fitting as a follow-up to Hoshino’s warning that allowing the other big schools to operate in Abydos would spell trouble, as well as deepening the mystery around Hoshino as Hina, someone established as heading the most powerful organization in Kivotos and being the primary reason that organization is the most powerful, bows her head and surrenders on an issue she was otherwise going to push had Hoshino not appeared. It also centers Aru’s struggle between wanting to do the right thing and fitting her ideal of being the ideal outlaw. In addition, we get to see a lot of the politics of the world, with schools having jurisdictions and the control Schale and the General Student Council have, as well as their absence. Overall, this is a fine enough episode. It’s got enough going on to keep it interesting, especially if you prefer the action-focused episodes. It still does have the cheesey making up moment for Abydos and Problem Solver, and Sensei doing strategy stuff which doesn’t make much sense, plus the action scenes emphasize the teamwork of these 2 groups in a way which feels a bit more forced than natural. It wants to give everyone the spotlight, as is a common issue with gacha game adaptations. There are still some fun character moments and dynamics, but it’s not particularly outstanding in any way. I will say, Shiroko has a great moment in the action scene towards the end which felt pretty satisfying from an action perspective, and her pairing with Aru was pretty fitting. Unfortunate that not long after we get a scene where Hina whispers something inaudible to Sensei followed by Shiroko asking what she said and then a flashback to Hina again whispering to Sensei where we could hear what she said, which was especially dumb.
Episode 7 is somewhat of an in-between episode, mostly catching up with what the characters are up to, We open with a bit of intrigue about Hoshino to engage the audience, with Hoshino talking to Black Suit before the OP and soon after the OP having Hina explain to Ako a bit about her knowledge about Hoshino, Hoshino being set up as incredibly talented and powerful, being strong enough to decimate the Prefect Team at one point. Outside of that, Problem Solver 68 is moving on, giving up on fighting Abydos, having some resolution to their conflict and wrapping up their development somewhat. The establishment of this resolution is about half of the episode, which is longer than it needs to be, but it’s probably the most fun part of the episode nonetheless. There’s some very cartoonish character animation during their segments this episode, with some good expressions. The other half of the episode is focused on the Abydos students. We get some details about the situation outside the school having to do with the Abydos district. I do find it somewhat funny that the owner of Shiba Seki Ramen has as much going on in this series as some of the actual named characters the series supposedly focuses on. The other main thing we have this episode is talking about how Sensei has changed the Foreclosure Task Force members, as well as Hoshino’s perspective. I do like Hoshino’s perspective, as her desire to keep things fun at the school she loves is her primary motivation. She also stands in the way of meaningful progress in the name of maintaining the status quo and putting off difficult realizations for the others, but overall she brings a light tone with her. However, the role of Sensei continues to be somewhat faked in to give the audience a self-insert in a fairly unnatural way. I’m not a huge fan of this part of the show, but I get why it’s there, especially because Sensei kind of has to exist. I just wish the show did a better job justifying his role by better establishing the ways in which he plays the role the show tells us he plays. There’s also an ominous after credits scene which is a bit confusing outside of establishing a tense tone and kind of setting up for something next episode. It’s not actually particularly pertinent.
Overall, I feel like there’s some skill behind the work being put into this show sometimes, it just doesn’t have much time to shine. I still don’t feel like I can really say this show stands out as something truly special, but I am enjoying the show pretty consistently lately. Episode 7 was somewhat of a downturn, but even that presented information in a better way than some of the early episodes and kept things fun where it needed to be.
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei 3rd Season
Watch Links: Crunchyroll
This show I have not been keeping up with as consistently, unfortunately. Hoping to catch back up, though. I’ve just got my Episode 5 reaction to put here, and hopefully next post will feature my thoughts on the rest of the season. In general, this show doesn’t seem to be getting better.
I should have figured the first episode of a new arc would mainly be dedicated to setting up the new arc. We return from actual character development to give you your regularly scheduled exposition scenes. Yeah this episode is a bunch of characters standing or sitting around explaining that the inter-school tournament held annually which we saw in the first season will have different events this year, these new events being more military focused, and that the bad guys intend to mess things up at this tournament, in particular during an event which is seen as dangerous for high school students. Now, I feel like I don’t talk about how things have developed across the series much overall, and part of that is because it’s not entirely clear at this moment and sometimes it just doesn’t make much sense really. However, I will say, the plot is building upon previously established material. In the 2nd season, we got introduced to some of the players in this conflict and the parasite tech they’re going to deploy here. We’ve been building up the family politics stuff the whole time. School drama about magic power levels has been constantly relevant, and how these combined with family politics affect social interaction in the world is always part of the story and themes. Global politics are being fleshed out as well. It’s all moving in a direction which is somewhat interesting and satisfying when looked at on a macro level, and I think that’s the main draw of the series. What keeps me from singing the praises of this show is that the actual experience of watching an episode like this makes it feel like nothing is actually happening. I can sit here and think about it and say “Oh yeah, things progressed I guess”, but in the episode, we’re kind of just being told about what’s happening off-screen in the shadows which has an impact on the geopolitical situation and the lives of our characters. We’re not seeing much of what’s being described, we’re just being told about it. They know this would be boring on its own, and it is, so we also get a date between Tatsuya and Miyuki which also features the Saegusa sisters, in particular Mayumi in a swimsuit for a short scene. There’s no real progress made with these characters, the Saegusa twins just question Tatsuya on his relationship with his sister and then he denies it, scolds them, and fucks off. This is still more interesting than the plot of the previous arc, which I guess was more about establishing the new students and introducing the overarching narrative of this season as the press manipulation and Maya scheming, and it might lead to some fun stuff in the actual tournament, but it having potential to be better than last arc is not a high bar to clear, and we haven’t actually seen if it’ll clear that yet.
