Weekly Seasonal Watches: 4/15/18 (Some First Impressions Inside)

Spring seems to be a very quiet season in a lot of ways. For one thing, apparently anime production is down 20%. Something I find a good thing because production has gone too far recently and needs a break. Perhaps a larger break then this?

The other reason is that I haven’t found a lot of shows that interested me this season. Even shows that I usually want to watch because they are in the genre that I like have just been terrible and unwatchable for me. Some of the ones I did pick up might be dropped if they don’t interest me enough. I guess I might be waiting for Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2 to appear.

Dororo Episode 13

A slow episode to return to, but I dig it. It also makes sense considering that episode 12 was boom, explosions everywhere. This week, Hyakkimaru is still recovering from exiting his family’s territory. All Hyakkimaru wants to do is kill things, which is understandable. I’m glad Dororo is there to calm him down. I should also mention that there is a Buddha statue under a waterfall that is stealing people’s faces and a spirit that takes the form of a loved family member trying to entice you too it. Yeah, that was kind of scary. Also, this was a hot springs episode afterward which is important considering that Dororo has a map on his back. Time for some fun exploring next week.

One Punch Man S2 Episode 1

First thing I need to comment on, the animation isn’t as striking as last season but still pretty decent with some solid cuts of animation. The visuals were more JoJo in nature, which works for this series and its goofiness. Now that that is out of the way, the rest of the show is what you would expect out of One Punch Man. This was a good re-introductory episode by focusing on King, the character that has taken all the prizes and attention for what Saitama has done. The two get to know each other and play video games while Genos is beating up a robot. Then came the episode where two people are searching for Saitama, Blizzard and Super of Sound Sonic.

If there is something that caught me off guard, the pacing is kind of awkward. The amount of time between King and Saitama and Genos’ fights weren’t that well sorted out so it kind of put my head into a spiral a little bit. Was it to hide the fact that JC Staff doesn’t have the production values of what occurred with season one? I wish the anime would just be honest with itself, because the way the show is going right now really hurts the show by itself. This might be a drop in the future.

Sarazanmai Episode 1

Dang, how do I even talk about this one? Ummmm, it’s an Ikuhara show that enters its first episode by diving in full force. Characters carry around amazon boxes, which makes me think this anime might be sponsored by Amazon, in which characters carry their secrets and who they want to be. One day an idol takes a selfie in front of a guy trying to steal a car, the idol runs away which leads to the car jacker threatening a male character with the same cell phone.

It leads to the breaking of a broken kappa statue that, after short school cuts, steals something from their butts and them turning into kappa through a process that looks like giving birth. Then the group of kappa must steal a similar thing from zombie kappa. Then by their transference process back to humans, it turns out that our main character was the idol taking selfies because that was what was in his box.

There is a lot to read here about hidden identities, societal pressure presented by amazon keeping a person a certain way, the main character actually wants to be a girl, and probably more that I haven’t picked up yet because I’m not as perceptive as a lot of other people. Especially with this show’s fascination with butts that I haven’t fully thought out yet because I’m still in shock at the moment. Still, this show is beautiful and fascinating in it’s own way and I can’t wait to get some more thoughts about it more crafted out and put into place.

JoJo Part 5 Episodes 25 and 26

Once again, JoJo is a series where the episodes can be summed up in one sentence and yet a lot of things happen under one sentence umbrellas. Episode 25 was all about Trish gaining her confidence and learning how to use her stand spice girl. I was extremely excited to see her stop being the damsel that needs to be saved and save the boys for once. She’s so cool.

On the other hand, episode 26 took a departure from our protagonist crew and centered on Dopio/Our Main villain. Dopio is an odd nightmare of a person who is infinitely strange and also have a split personality who is the actual boss of the show. It’s a strange approach to a final villain and I am not sure what to think of it right now, but this is only the first episode sense his appearance.

Fruits Basket (2019) Episode 1 and 2

I’ve tried watching the original Fruits Basket a short time ago and I just couldn’t get into it because it was a huge tonal whiplash. These days, I get easily turned away from shows that want to be dramas when they pull the sinusoidal movements between good and jokey joke to drama. This newer Fruits Basket looks nicer and has some of it’s emotional highs sanded down a little bit to make the show tonally cohesive, which I like. Tohru is still a beacon of good feelings for the Soma family, but the angst of the Soma family still feels grounded and realistic too. The show has a good cast and this re-adaptation knows how much time to give each of the characters. So far, it looks like I am in for an interesting ride! J

Senryu Girl Episodes 1 and 2

This is such a cute short about a girl who can only communicate through Senryu poems and a misunderstood bully who go to literature class together. The cast is a lot of fun, full of misunderstood people, and possibly all bi? That last one is just an impression I get and can’t confirm completely. Since the majority of the cast from the opening is here, it’s time to have some fun next episode.

Demon Slayer Episodes 1-2

I wasn’t completely sold on the show by it’s first episode because it was a little too 90’s shonen series for me with the way the main character’s family was killed off and he was saved by a wandering swordsman. Still, little hints like the fact the main protagonist’s sister is a demon but won’t kill humans is the connecting point that sold me on it.

Episode two was what sold me on it. The show itself seems to notice it’s 90’s shonen formula and seeks to speed through it in some interesting ways. I also loved how there were hints of fun and humor in the opening fight against a demon without destroying the tone in question here. I also loved the different sorts of camera angles that were used when the protagonist was running through traps, the weight of the demon characters that gave them a super human presence without feeling too unrealistic, and the experimentation Demon Slayer is putting in the forefront through it’s visuals. There is a lot of good stuff here and I don’t mind sticking with it for a while.