All things considered, this show can be kind of charming. True, just about anybody who’s engaged with any sort of media has seen this plot a million times before, but for that one person who is experiencing the time-worn “plucky young outsider gets superpowers and steps up to save the day” storyline for the firstContinue Reading... Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 6Continue Reading...
Nov 14, 2021 • Subscribe
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Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 1
Well, a new season is here and despite the fact that some previous Selections are continuing (namely Scarlet Nexus and 86), it’s time to pick one of them…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 9
So, I misread things last week – the smooth talker from Black Team wasn’t the big monster; he was in the scene already. In the first couple of…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 10
This episode is again a very needed beat in the story, serving as the hero’s darkest moment before turning things around at the climax, and it comes at…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 3
I won’t say that Shikizakura exactly did well, but it did display a basic understanding of the facts I was talking about last week. To its limited credit,…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 5
We’re back to standard form this week with a jolly beating of hard realities into Kakeru’s thick head, which oddly enough has things looking up for the show,…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 11
Because it wouldn’t be a traditional action climax without a big twist and a moment when it looks like all hope is lost… here’s all those things I…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 4
What the hell? So, in this 3D CGI Anime about people fighting demons by using power suits that may also be demons, we have this episode, fully 2D…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 8
So, for those who wanted a darker and more serious episode out of Shikizakura, we have this one And, compared to the bits earlier in the show that…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 7
So, after the big turn of last episode, it’s time for downtime! Actually, I think it is kind of the correct time for this… or at least, a…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 2
“The one where we actually integrate the main character into the setting” is an important plot beat for a lot of shows, particularly ones in the Urban Fantasy…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 12 (End)
While by no means one of the all-time great climaxes, I will credit the ending of Shikizakura this: it’s exactly the sort of end you’d want to see…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 6
We spend most of this episode with Spearhead, oddly enough including an extended flashback scene to when the formation was first formed, having a fun cookout together. One…
Seasonal Selection – Hell’s Paradise Episode 6
Attack on That Big Guy. So, Mr. Hungry Giant turns out to be a more formidable foe than the tree-topping giants of the island. Gabimaru, who intercedes quickly…
Seasonal Selection – Ex-Arm Episode 6
Haiku summation: Animation gets better, The writing gets worse. Live reaction audio and details after the cut. So, this time we start with Skeletor creating his spheres of…
Seasonal Selection – KamiErabi God.app Episode 6
The long-awaited debut of Goro’s Idol, Iyo, appears to be slightly posthumous.
Seasonal Selection – Metallic Rouge Episode 6
Everybody gets punched day.
Seasonal Selection – Chainsaw Man Episode 6
Let’s get everyone trapped in a box while they go insane! This episode sees Denji and pals (and I use the term ‘pals’ in the loosest of senses)…
Seasonal Selection – Scarlet Nexus Episode 6
What ho, time travel! A history is explained And then it happens. We do at least see how Kasane got to the end of the last episode here:…
Seasonal Selection – Sabikui Bisco Episode 6
This is, believe it or not, a lower-key episode. Yeah, in this show. Well, at least it’s one for the most part. The meat of the episode sees…
Seasonal Selection – The Gene of AI Episode 6
Again we have two cases this week, and no progression on the teased meta-plot. Which is fine, really. They promised an omnibus and they’re giving us an omnibus.
Seasonal Selection – Shine On! Bakumatsu Bad Boys Episode 6
In which we hit the obligatory low point turning point. In this episode, Ichibanboshi goes out drinking to drown his sorrows regarding his brother. He runs into a…
Seasonal Selection – Managment of a Novice Alchemist Episode 6
It’s time for a clam bake at the obligatory swimsuit episode. Yeah, that’s what we’re doing. The gatherers hear about some special clams in a lake nearby. At…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 5
So, to an extent, I was wrong. Shin’s brother got a more detailed address than I was expecting, even if, no, it wasn’t the crux of another transformation.…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 1
So, this season we’ll be taking an episode-by-episode look at 86. Because this choice was kind of last-minute, it’s not really a show I’ve researched or know anything…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 4
86 continues to impress with its humanity, but to an extent much of what was had and needed this episode was highly predictable from the last. That’s not…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 10
No Lena this week. For much of the episode, not really much talking either. This one is very much on the artistic end, trying to convey an experience…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 7
The pace of 86, at times, makes it difficult to talk about, or at least to start with. At the bare minimum for the week’s episode we saw…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 8
So, this episode is all pretty much ‘gearing up’ for what would seem to be a final confrontation. The Spearhead is down to five, and they’re being sent…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 3
I hope you enjoy slow burn drama over any general expectation of action. Frankly, I kind of appreciate the approach… at least when there’s been a second cour…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 11
The final episode of the cour (special pending) and if you told me this was the absolute final episode of the show and anything related to 86, I…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 9
The time for the great battle against Shin’s brother’s Shepherd form has come. The episode “feels” short, consisting essentially of two extremely powerful scenes rather than a lot…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 2
Plot 101: Introducing some more of our main story. Honestly, one thing I’m enjoying about 86 is how it’s been building up the world. In the first episode,…
SHIKIZAKURA – Episode 1
If you're in the mood for a very safe, very standard, CGI shonen anime that tackles every trope in the genre, than look no further than SHIKIZAKURA, a…
Seasonal Selection – Metallic Rouge Episode 9
Visiting the Visitors
Seasonal Selection – Metallic Rouge Episode 3
Let’s build the world while we let Rouge fly solo for a bit.
Seasonal Selection – Sabikui Bisco Episode 8
The daring rescue goes about like daring rescues do… and look at that! Answers. So, last week I mentioned that Kurokawa (the thug governor) needed a better explanation,…
Seasonal Selection – Metallic Rouge Episode 11
Just let them put the action set pieces into play.
Seasonal Selection – Scarlet Nexus Episode 19
Kagero, confess! Turns out he didn’t do it. Leia is Luke’s sister?! We’re kind of back to oldschool Scarlet Nexus bloat, using the lead-in on recap as well…
Seasonal Selection – Scarlet Nexus Episode 3
Oh crap, boss monster. Everyone playing both sides. The pace is awful. So, we start by finding out what weird way Naomi was going to ‘die’. Turns out,…
Seasonal Selection – Sabikui Bisco Episode 2
My level of concern is now higher than it was after episode 1, and as we get into how this episode has fallen out, I will explain why.…
Seasonal Selection – Sabikui Bisco Episode 5
We spend most of this episode on two lines: one with Milo and Bisco held captive by a bunch of kids, while on the other Pawoo rescues a…
Seasonal Selection – Hell’s Paradise Episode 9
After a week’s break, Hell’s Paradise is back and we’re fighting flowers.
Seasonal Selection – Sabikui Bisco Episode 3
On the whole, the show seems to stabilize here and actually tell us a comprehensible story, solving most of the issues I had with the previous week’s outings.…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 21 (S2E10)
Can you believe we’ve got more coming after this? Once again, the show has done a pretty good job of convincing you that everyone is dead and all…
Seasonal Selection – Hell’s Paradise Episode 7
The treeman tells it like it is this week. So, this episode is, aside from the omnipresent character scenes (which are good, and a good thing to have…
Seasonal Selection – Ex-Arm Episode 10
A decent fight sceneSome needless complicationsNo impact at heart So, today’s episode of Ex-Arm had two major lines: Akira versus Beta and Alma versus Soma. Second one first.…
Seasonal Selection – Scarlet Nexus Episode 25
Anticlimax time! There’s no final boss for you. Karen deleted. On paper this is a fine resolution to the problems the show faces, but in practice, it’s kind…
Seasonal Selection – Ex-Arm Episode 2
Reaction of the episode (Paraphrased): “Blink. Blink. BLINK! Blink already, you soulless Barbie Doll!” So, for this episode, we’ve decided to record live reactions. Fair warning, it’s mostly…
Seasonal Selection – KamiErabi God.app Episode 8
Wait, they all have faces?
Seasonal Selection – Chainsaw Man Episode 5
Denji cops a feel and we get the proper introduction of the big plot. We start out this episode right where the last left off: Denji getting his…