Pinkie’s Saturday Anime Adventure 15

Even though it was really hot this week and I barely have gotten any sleep, the week has come to an end! When the week comes to an end Pinkie celebrates by watching five anime as if they were a Saturday morning cartoon line-up. Last week I was a bit disappointed but I also cried a lot! So much so that I labelled two episodes wrong!  No biggie though! I fixed it and this week we got proper episode numbers again! On both this post and the last one! Yay for me!

Digimon Adventure: Episode 3

So as expected this was the weakest view of the day. Yet once again this is saying more about my line-up than this actual series. Digimon Adventure is surprisingly good for what it needs to be. I saw the adorable Sora today! I really like her character so far! Even if we did not get to see a lot.

The episode picks up after the early omnimon digivolution! I had not noticed it yet but the logo for this show is basically omnimon.. so him coming out so soon kinda made sense. I am not sure exactly what happened in this episode as we leave the world of the Network after the virus from the last episode has been defeated. The nuke is still on it’s way to Tokyo but using their Digivice Yamato and Taichi manage to destroy the web virus infecting the missle.  A chain of mysterious events start, the missile flies up and explodes into space and an EMP cripples the city..but not for good.. everything restores itself. Taichi gets booted back to the real world seperated from Yamato again. Koushiro and Taichi head home and talk about Summer Camp.You know that location where everyone was at last when they got sucked into the digital world.  Yet nothing happens there.. they meet up with Sora and we see Jou stress out about wrongly cut meat and veggies.

Sora is the popular girl everyone heard of her and thinks she is cool. She also seems to have a bit of a thing for Taichi, setting her up more immediately as the crest keeper of love. Then time skips a bit ahead , people no longer talk about the mysterious incident when suddenly all the systems that the nuke shut down before began to shut down again. More malicious this time slowly crippeling Tokyo.  Koushiro and Taichi’s digivices begin to glow and they decide to meet up!  Sora runs after Taichi after meeting him up at the street and as the two known digidestined lock hands they get teleported to the digital world.. with a visual of a third thing being teleported as well.

Is it Yamato who get teleported? Could it be Sora?  Who knows?! The show offers us a few mysteries that feel much more concrete as the start of the original show. Why are these viruses targeting Tokyo , what are Digimon? Where does Yamato live?  Did he or Sora get transported? We don’t know yet  are able to ask questions. Unlike in the orginal where stuff just kinda happened.. here everything seems to be happening for a reason. As a result this is much more like a proper show with attention and care to it’s story writing. It is as if we are watching the story the original SHOULD have been. With some clear hints of dark elements, but also a lot of mystical isekai elements and cute interactions.  Whatever happened to the Network after the nuclear strike seems not to have created a much more beautiful digital world.. or is the Network just what connects the two worlds? I am not clear yet but I am intrigued. Compare this to the Original and there you just wanted the next episode to happen to see more digimon.. here I am finding myself invested in the story. The way Sora and Jou are just teased, yet so in line with their crests was definitely my favourite scene.. the camp scene is a great homage  and with just two lines of dialogue each I already feel.. Jup that’s right! That’s Sora and Jou! Sweet!

The Omnimon fight was a bit weird though, that guy is Beyond Mega level. Yes I am using the English terminology here because in English an Ultimate is the third form of a digimon after Rookie and Champion, while in Japanese Ultimates are the final form after Youth Adolescence and Perfect forms since I feel people are more likely to be familiar with the english branding I will use that indicator even though I am watching the sub version. This is how most people remember it… regardless Omnimon feels REALLY underpowered here or this enemy is already stupidly strong. It makes me worried for the future, the power scaling seems a bit skewed. If Omnimon now already is an option will the others even be relevant?
They go through a lot of effort to make him look cool but that also involves breaking earlier established rules.. if you kill a boss you kill the virus.. yet here Omnimon has to use a special technique?! I am not sure if I like that. Let’s keep everyone relevant and not make Omnimon  some kind of digi-jesus. It will all depend on the rest of the series though.

Despite the slightly convenient start.. which very well could end up becoming a big writing trap I really enjoyed myself with this episode.  There is plenty of potential for the future, but unfortunately the show also sets itself up to fail in the future. Dropping landmines in its own court alongside nuggets of gold. Whether we will get rich or blow up remains to be seen but this episode was a double bladed sword. There is not much wrong with this episode. It’s a bit like  making a delicious tea when your favourite, but dumb,  nephew is around.  You may end up with good company and some good tea or you may end up with screaming company and hospital coffee. While nothing is wrong yet when the tea is on the stove.. those minutes until you pour your tea aren’t as enjoyable as they could be.

Samurai Flamenco: Episode 10

The final battle has been fought and we aren’t even halfway through the series! What the heck! Also I was wrong! There go my  predictions I really thought we would get a Fight Club like scene but no! Instead my favourite girl gets tortured, the  poor thing. Pinkie is here for you Moe!

The episodes opens up with Samurai Flamenco on his bike speeding to King Torture’s secret base to do his final battle and save Mari. Mari meanwhile gets tortured by King Toture, I never suspected he would be into that. He tells her she is a side character and he has no interest in fighting her. When she refuses to believe this he tells her she is a horrible person and it is revealed she is not the only one in there. King Toture has captured Moe as well.. as he begins to crush her finger and she cries in pain he offers her to give up her life for Mari and agrees  without any doubt. She tells that she lives and breathes for Mari so she would happily die for her as well. Which makes King Torture respect her.. she is an actual good person an actual hero. He then tells Mari she is a fake hero, who only told Moe to save herself because it’s a hero line.

Mari goes silent as King Toture reveals that Moe is aware that Mari said it to spout a line as well but hoped that Mari hoped she would sacrifice herself. Samurai Flamenco drops in and the final battle begins! It is revealed that Torture plans to use a missle to make his monsters grow.. he was a Sentai fan like Masayoshi but saw the benefits of evil and began turning people into cyborgs. Goto is warned and joins Masayoshi in the final fight with him being tasked to stop said missle, which he does by ramming Mari’s car into it.. and Masayoshi rips out king Torture’s robotic heart. With the fight over, Flamenco walks outside and reveals his identity to the world.

Wow last episode was kinda lame but this episode was SOOOO strong! I can’t believe he did an Iron Man.  And Moe.. I love her so much! That scene  with her was so touching. Even if she knew Mari wanted Moe to die in her stead and be the one that is tortured , Moe loves her anyway. Her friend and the woman she is in love with is hurt so she just hugs her and tries to keep her safe at all costs regardless of what that friend did to her. King Tortures dialogue with Mari really felt Tarantino-esque.. I am specifically referring to the “Superman” talk  from Kill Bill 2. The way he twists Mari’s beliefs, yet speaks truth and makes sense is briljant. That whole Moe, Mari interaction is my favourite moment in the SERIES not just this episode. The dialogue with Samurai Flamenco and that he is a Sentai fan who took lessons from villains is friggin great. His bond with his monsters, his logic.. I get it! Even Samurai Flamenco being his trigger to finally dare to do this is amazing.  There is so much heart in it. I even had a chuckle when Goto’s girlfriend texted him while he was busy driving a car into a missile. Finally that stuff paid off. It even tried to make sense for why monsters exploded.. I love this show a lot for how it brings Sentai much more down to earth and in such a clever way. This episode is filled with that.

There are few minor gripes I have with this episode though. Reality has been a bit floaty around these bad guys, which I do not mind but all our human characters have been very much exposed to normal human limitations, which makes this show so good. Yet they make Goto jump out a moving card drop three stories into an exploding room and walk away without injury?! That seems slightly against the point they were trying to make. I will go lenient here because we do not see exactly how deep the drop is and maybe he landed better.. but still a bruise or a shoulder injury would be nice there and help keep the story feeling a bit more humble. Secondly a few things did not make sense. We saw that first guy transform in a monster as far as I remember. King Torture here says people willingly let themselves transform into monsters by surgery.. that first one did not look willingly..also he would have had sugery again to make him fold into a human again then?! I don’t get it.. maybe I missed something maybe it’s a plothole.. maybe it’s intentional?! While it did strike me as odd.. unlike Digimon.. I have the faith that this show will explain this to me.. it’s good at that. So for now this is only a small issue!

Thus this episode does it again! I might have found a plothole but even if I did, I don’t really care. I am willing to accept this retcon because this story is so amazing!  There is so much cleverness hidden in here and the dialogue in this anime is absolutely among the best I have seen. Top 20 easily if not top 10. That Tarintino influences once more is shown and along with the whole concept of this show it blends so well into this episode! Highest Score possible.

That Time I got reincarnated as a Slime Episode 9

So obviously this episode wasn’t going to top last week for me! I cried so much last week! I thought I would see a battle against the orcs this week.. and in a way I wasn’t too far off. Instead we are introduced to Ogres..I think it’s the guys in the opening before they are named or something but I am not fully sure.  All I know is, we got a pink character introduced! She seems important as well so YAY!

Rimuru is exploring the benefits of his new human form and discovers in his natural state he has no gender. He can give himself one if he so desires but he seems to opt out of it wanting to honour Shizune. He carries her mask along as a keepsake. Shizue had a skill called degenerate which allows him to combine skills I think.. allowing him to grow even more powerful and develop black fire.  He also discovers the mask Shizu wore completely hides his magical presence. So he decided to wear it when facing new people… suddenly Ranga cried out for help when the village is under attack. Rushing back he sees the Goblin Lords overwhelmed by a pack of ferocious fighters who protect a cute pink horned girl who puts their defeated opponents to sleep. This leads Rimuru to believe they are not evil and he tries to talk to them..however they think he is a Majin,.. as their village was attacked by someone in a similar mask.. an orc. I assume Gelm or whatever that orc at the end of last episode was called. Since RImuru refuses to remove the mask not wanting to show his true potential yet.. things escalate and he has to fight the ogres easily defeating them.. wanting to talk to them by sparing them does not yield any results as the Ogre Leader is willing to die.. while fighting with his head held high. When the Pink ogre stops him.  She tells him Rimuru might not be evil as he is so powerful.. he doesn’t need to work how their Majin did.. he gets convinced and decides to talk with Rimuru at the village. That’s where the episode ends. 

Surprise surprise, I liked the pink Ogre, there is a mystique to her and this group seems powerful. I think they will lead us into the story that is the season’s main “arc” both based on the opening and the fact that we are almost 10 out of 25 episodes in without having a main mission to focus on. I doubt demon lord Leon Cromwell is in his direct sights unless he is responsible for the attacks on the Ogres, but we still need to find out the identity of the plague doctor as well. I like how this episode feels to have some weight to it and I do like Rimur’s battle with the ogres, with my favourite scene being the moment his hand gets cut off and he casually puts it back on. Also having another character that recognises the skills he uses is nice. The old man ogre might have a great sage like ability as well. I also like how snappy great Sage can be from time to time.. she doesn’t do it often but she can do sarcasm which lifts her beyond just an exposition tool for me. The pacing is nice and we get a very solid episode throughout.

This episode does stick very much to the clichés thought. The Red Ogre has fire power, the big ogre is strong but slow.. and the tiny girl ogre with pink hair has the support skills and might be a princess.  As a D&D player I know these tropes are super common in any tabletop and it helps us evaluate danger a bit, yet it also means it does never feel amazing. Even the old man .. being white.. being super fast feels kinda cliche.  What is it with fast old guys. Gran Torino (My hero academia) , Yoda, The Whizzer (from Spiderman)  and much more. Then Rimuru disappoints me a bit. In the beginning he makes a female clone of himself but matures up and gets all embarrassed by her breasts. It feels a bit needlessly fanservicey even if nothing is shown. Also he used to be a 33 year old guy.. a virgin but still.  He also has been buried in elf boobs earlier so I don’t get why he is THAT awkward about it. Part of what gives Rimuru his charm is that he is actually a matured character. A bit of an otaku sure, but here are a few moments where he feels a bit too much like a sixteen year old boy to me. It’s not like I hate it , I would just have loved to see him act a bit more mature and less .. again…cliché.

That could not ruin my fun with this episode though and this episode is makes me understand why people call it one of their trash-taste-favourites or lower class gems or whatever else they use for a show that isn’t deep but very entertaining. I do even think these terms sell it short. Even if it has no deep message , this show has won a place in my heart regardless of what standard it adheres to. And it rarely scores lower than my second highest ranking. 

Flip Flappers Episode 5

I love it when a funny show tackles horror, that was why I was so upset Bofuri skipped the horror locations each and every time!  Flip Flappers though delves into a Victorian Horror World this time, as our heroes get their transforming items and their catch phrase. Having won my heart yet again , it was time for some Flip Flapping.

This episode picks up post whatever pure illusion they got sucked in at the end of last episode..which made me a bit grumpy at first, but briefly it was explained that they lost more amorphous thingies to Yayaka… which made me grateful for not seeing it. We could feel the sense of loss, and get their frustration but we do not need to see that loss. As it would not have meshed with the tone of last episode.  This time the girls get a magic item that allows them to help transform for this they need to pick an item they cherish. Papika has plenty of stuff and chooses a bracelet while Cocona has difficulty deciding  She has no items she cherishes so Papika gives her a twig. She rejects it at first but then settles on it anyway.  I began to notice how Cocona always has trouble when she needs to make choices. They then travel to a Victorian horror world where they find themselves stuck in a time loop. Occasionally encountering Yayaka who isn’t making that much more progress than them.. but always seems to be a step ahead rubbing it in their faces. 

There are creepy dolls, girls with no faces and time loops, so I assume this might be Papika’s fear.. of a mundane life.  I am not sure thats what I make out of it. Of being locked inside the house as well as there is a fairly deadly sort of rain that knocks them out and bloody.  Lots of freaky stuff is happening here. Eventually though the girls find a secret exit that allows them to enter the mysterious clock tower. Where they race Yayaka and her fellows.  When Cocona ends up in trouble along with Yayaka .. her allies betray her  and basily leave her to die.  Papika transforms to save Cocona but also saves Yayaka even if the doesn’t care for her.. surprising the latter. Papika tosses Cocona towards the bell to destroy it before it can ring 11 times.. and resets time but misses.. Cocona transforms and hits the bell with a hammer, actually allowing it to ring 12 times breaking the curse and revealing the artefact. Yayaka saves them from Pure Illusion and the episode ends with Cocona refusing to give her the item saying she earned it herself.

I loved how the creepy girls spoke and the two girls being slightly endeared to them after finding out they are not that scary, The girls give them tea, do embroidery with them and live the same life day in and day out. Meanwhile Papika and Cocona are actually different, that is not for them. They have a mission! They have to break that routine and can’t be shackled down by it. This resonates so hard with me. While we have taken a look in Papika’s and Cocona’s mind with Pure Illusion this could be a look into my fears.  The rain prevents me from going out maybe not so much, but as a metaphor of not having other options than stick to what is done there.. It still works. So yeah my favourite part of the episode is basically the entire episode. At least the parts in Pure Illusion. I loved LOVED the visuals in this one.  The red glowing clock, the faded out colour palette, the creepy faceless masses. I adored the design.  I also loved what they did with Yayaka in this episode. It made her a bit less stuck up. She has some redeeming qualities so yay for nuance!

What I liked less is once again that Papika is very dumbed down. This time for some reason she is not smart enough to remember Flip Flapping.. she can just remember the Flip Flap part… the magical spell to transform them. She overcomes this but come on! This is a girl who worked for Flip Flap for a while. She can identify poisonous and good berries on instinct. She is capable of having normal conversations. I guess Flip Flapping makes more sense in english so maybe that’s why.. but remembering to end a ping behind the organisation you worked for , for quite some time seems quite easy. I don’t know why they do her dirty like this. I don’t mind her being a dunce it’s cute.. but they push it a lot at times.  This event only occurs twice though so it’s not that overused and it is not like Cocona has higher success who knows the words so it’s rather irrelevant I just love Papika as a character so it feels a bit bad they make her THAT ditzy. But that’s like five to ten seconds of this episode.

That’s right, it’s a bit more brief about my positives and negatives.. because it’s just that good of an episode again.  I could highlight more specific points within the episodes that were good but I loved 21 minutes and 50 seconds of it dearly. I am very scared though.. Cocona has trouble with making a  choice in almost every episode. Let’s hope they dont build up to her having to make the ultimate choice in the last one.. I would be very sad. This episode however made me far from sad.

Hikaru no Go Episode 15

So there is a pattern for every two episodes or so of Hikaru no Go. I like there is oneI like less. More in favour of the positive.. never two negatives in a row.. so that would mean this episode would be good again.. as last week I was very dissatisfied. This turned out to be true! I really enjoyed episode 15. Also I was surprised to learn that the Netherlands has a character and apparantlu a Go Scene? I mean .. they based it on something right?

In this episode we see Hikaru and Tsutsui visit some sort of Go convention, as the main event it has an exhibition with pro players.  While Tsutsui is fascinated by the match Hikaru can not focus thinking on how he did both Sai and Touya wrong! He doesn’t want to be called the luckiest Go Player in the world for playing over his skill level either though so he has to find a way to let Sai play..without it affecting his own reputation. It harms people. So Hikaru discovers about online matches. I assume this series takes place before 2002 then because everyone is using those bright colourful macintosh things that were very popular in the 90’s. He is being instructed by some guy and reveals he wants to use this system to make Sai play.. as himself! Build up his own reputation. So together they visit an internet café  where Mitani’s sister works so they can play for free. Sai beats a few people including a really good Dutch player who is like fourth in the world or something and they promise to play more during summer break. Akiri Mitani and Tsutsui also make plans to meet each other and play go during summer break.

And that’s the entire lot summarised. Unlike all the other shows this one could be recapped very easily and it’s in part of what I like so much about this show. It’s always a simple humble tale that is the perfect anime to end my Saturday Morning Cartoon block on. After Flip Flappers blew my mind I can have a cooling down with this, and  this episode really does that well. It shows a boy wanting to redeem his mistakes, this is a logical consequence. This is also a logical solution to Hikaru’s problem which in its own is a conflict within himself  that feels validated by what happened before.The whole concept of online matches opens up the level of challenge we can get as well. Maybe even Akira’s father, big man Touya can now be a target. The Dutch guy did say that some Asian pro’s play online. It could give Sai an arc alongside Hikaru as two separate entities while Hikaru  can still learn from his mentor that way. Akiri learning Go and becoming more skilled at it was also great. She is so humble but I also felt my heart warm when she wanted to play team matches and hear her tell Tsutsui about what she learned from Mitani.. I like how she has a small arc but it is still kept measurable.

There wasn’t all that much I disliked about this episode either. Hikaru finally does right by Sai.. but he forgets about Akiri and his other friends again..which needs to be tackled soon. I also felt a slight lack of a closure on  the Touya front. For the tournament his match had been really built up, I would have loved to see him at least quit the theme or cry into his pillow or something with next week’s episode fleshing it out a bit. He was just as important as Hikaru but it feels like a lot of time has  passed since their loss. I also like the cinematography of the online matches less. That could have been done a bit more dramatically.  Not a lot but they could do something like where you replace the mouse in their hand with a go stone and place it on a board in their head.  Most matches are skipped anyway which is a shame because I really would like to see Sai play for once. Finally Sai’s crying when Hikaru walked out of the demo felt a bit lame. Where everyone’s tears mean so much normally this cartoony approach annoyed me just a tiny bit. Not anything major but it was my least liked scene nonetheless.  Just less heartfelt as all the other moments.

In the end it is hard to fault this episode. It did not have me in awe as much as Flip Flappers and Samurai did, but I probably placed it a slight nodge above Slime this week. So while it doesn’t gain my highest ranking it is on the cusp of it. It’s like a fifth glass of wine during a wine tasting where you don’t use the spitbucket. The taste sensation is a bit dulled in comparison to the bold flavours that came before and you are not given the best wine and the staff just pours you a rather mundane but passable wine. Yet somehow this one in all it’s humble origins can measure up with the best. Is that a merlot grape I am tasting no.. it’s a :

So this week is over. With temperatures this high my focus had been very low! I had a bit of trouble writing! I am lagging a bit with my posts as a results. So some slight struggles! So my backlog is a bit dried up! I had a few days I got some heat nausea. Had a lot of fun though. I finished Divinity Original Sin 2. I started Pokémon Ranger Shadow of Almia. I got a few shinies in Pokémon Go and other than that , I mostly isolated myself. Too hot to hang out with friends! A new wave of outbreaks for Covid have made me a bit more careful to go out, and well I felt like Cheddar for the most part of the week though. It’s not fun to go out for drinks if people just see Cheddar sitting on that chair! Pink Cheddar would be awesome though… so I am going to make a hamburger now!
I hope your next week will be amazing! And I will see you all when I see you! Stay Safe stay Happy!