Hello my sweet lovely island guests! Today I am back for you with more anime episode reviews.. mostly of stuff that isn’t relevant any longer but I have fun doing this so I will keep going on! Where last week we had a rather disappointing experience this week blew my socks off! In the good sense. The weird thing wasn’t I wasn’t even wearing any socks!
Would you look at that, BNA did an amazing episode again. While the last episode was definitely a stinker for me this episode brought what I had so longed for in this series. Another format to bring about a change of events. A connection to the actual plot and some background into characters that are not Michiru or Nazuna. This week is focussed all around Shirou and his amazing secret. I will be discussing this secret in the next paragraph so spoiler warning for that. It was the change of pace I needed what made it more believable.. rather than having path cross on accident , both Shirou and Michiru have reasons to be involved in the incident that is centralised in this episode. It leads in a natural progression for Michiru, a logical development between her and Nazuna and a whole lot of character development for Shirou. The stuff unfolding has been set up for quite a while now and finally we begin to say some pay off. No deus ex machina needed but story I could get deeply invested into! The fight scene was pretty amazing as well! It’s nice to see my main girl step up as well!
Now.. this fight leads to a BIG reveal.. one that is about as surprising as water coming out of my faucet after turning it open. Last chance to avoid spoilers! You know this already though!
Anyway so it turns out Shirou is Ginrou the beast god!?! OMG I never would have suspected it! .. We get some back story about a miracle that made him into the wolf god thing he is .. and that looked amazing. I loved those visuals! Shirou’s story was my favorite part of this episode. It even was a pretty generic and not even that rivettingly told story ..so that says how good it was for me! I loved it despite the generic plot! I am a sucker for odd visuals though! The whole story book like visuals were great! It also explains Shirou’s character quite well. Throughout this story we also see a few parts beginning to move! I got reaffirmation that Boris is connected to the human Alan! I am not sure how yet.. but he seems to be working for them ..testing a new drug thing! There really were a lot of great moments here! I could pick quite a few.
The moment I liked least was when Barbara began to tell she was trapped in a concentration camp in Germany during the second world war. It makes sense in the narrative of that world but it kind of felt like a drag by the hair analogy! We already know beast man are being oppressed and discriminated against.. you do not have to tell us it happened in the past because you just did! Also the crow was also in that concentration camp, it has been genetically altered to live longer, which I feel was a bit of a throwaway reveal. While I do love the episode.. the plot moved too slowly in the sense for the series. We are introduced to yet another plot thing.. being a drug that turns you into a wild growing Kaiju and while gears begin to connect there is to much left to be resolved in four episodes.. unless they are going to completely throw the series feeling for pacing overboard. We moved forward but the emphasis was on backstory so not a whole lot happened. While I loved that about the episode I now am certain it will hurt the series in the end for me. Still as an episode it was excellent.
Episode Score:
While I disliked episode 2 for being uneventful , this episode is completely different. Perhaps even less happened… but I loved it! I loved this episode so much! It and Slime are about tied for the best watch of the week! In the second episode of the show we saw Samurai Flamenco being picked up by social media and this week Masayoshi has to deal with the fallout of that. People suspect he might be Samurai Flamenco based on a poll.. and as a result he is invited to some sort of talk show. When the REAL Samurai Flamenco reveals himself there.. and it’s Masayoshi’s favorite Sentai actor, he is faced with a deep dilemma! Not only does he have to keep his identity secret, now he might just have to take his alter ego’s identity away from the man who inspired him to be like this in the first place! It’s such a tiny plot but it is filled full of character building moments.
My favorite moment is during the talk show Masayoshi is one. When the fake Samurai is revealed. We first get a misdirect that they have found out it’s actually our protagonist that is the real life sentai, but if you payed attention to the episode title you already know a faker shows up! The fake ranger is actually a common trope in the actual sentai genre so it is funny to see it done this early with such a fledgling hero! It also makes perfect sense. The way the scene itself unfolds is perfect as well. So much becomes clear in this one scene. We can see the character of Jouji Kaname being established in this very cool seen, we see Maya watching from afar, noticing it’s another character, we see Masayoshi’s agent make a connection between her client this man and the axe toy she found in papers she picked up at his place.. and more than likely making the connection to his hidden identity! Within a few seconds so many plotlines open up and that will even lead into more interesting plotlines such as Gotou realing digging dressing up as the Samurai character. I am looking forward to it all.
The actual showdown between Samurai Flamenco and the Fake feels a bit off to me though. While I do get what trope the series is going for.. with the heartfelt speech awakening the “evil ranger” to the path of good again the way Joiji acts kind of ruined the punchline of that trope for me. He “acts” as if he was just giving the boy a trial.. while he should actually be emotionally touched this is never really shown .. we do not know what parts are an act and what not. As a result I found the reveal to be more annoying than epical! The seen thereafter made things up.. with Red Axe saying Samurai Flamenco is his apprentice.. if this becomes an actual plot line that could be very interesting.. if this is a throwaway line I might like it less.
Time will tell, I have high hopes but the showdown was less than stellar. Our model boy is just a tad to helpless and when someone acts over the heartfelt message it kinda ruins the message. Still fun to see and the final shot where Gotou is dressed up as the Samurai is amazing as well. To confuse the agent Masayoshi lets him play a body double so he can walk into her office, throwing off her suspicion for now. Yet that isn’t the biggest HECK YES! When Gotou stands there on the rooftops as a superhero he feels awesome! HECK YES! Again a single line that opens so much options for this show in the future! I like it!
Episode Score:
I loved this! The episode was weird, cute, had trippy visuals, unlikely events and proper setup for the future! While normally I think second episodes tend to be the weakest of the early five , this episode completely trumped the first episode for me, and I already really liked that one! The slime gets a name of Rimuru by the storm dragon Veldora, who in return gets a family name it shares with the slime! Oh my Arceus that is so cute! With his new name the slime devours the prison that keeps Veldora in.. and Veldora as well as they begin an adventure to set the dragon free. A search that leads the slime to obtaining very powerful water based skills and encountering a cute goblin village.. as well as some adventurers.
The goblins are in trouble because since their god, assumingly Veldora , disappeared from the world dire wolves have been running amuck and killing their villagers including their local hero. Since Rimuru has such a powerful aura they offer him their loyalty in return for his aid against the wolves. A two tier episode that really shined for me! I got what I wanted and just a bit more!
My favorite scene is definitely the bromance seen between a slime and the dragon resulting in the dragon being absorbed, prison and all by the slime! I really like their interaction together and can’t help myself but to be thoroughly amused by the odd pairing. The pairing feels so right! Like Tom and Jerry being a cat and a mouse.. for some weird reason a slime eating a dragon feels just as right. I’d almost ship them if I would not just want them to be wholesome buddies! Such a cute moment! I squeeed with joy! The scene in the goblin village was pretty good as well. I love how suddenly the show shifted from comical and light to actual hardship and suffering for them with a legit emotional moment! FOR GOBLINS!.. If you are a DnD player you know that is an extreme rarity! That brief moment when the Goblins told about their strife it reminded me of the writing style of Eiichiro Oda , the creator of One Piece and I do not think I need to give it a bigger compliment than that. The new spells Rimuru learns seem great and thematical enough and it has that same .. experiment vibe I loved so much with Maple in Bofuri as well. Earning something by playing around is just something that makes me really excited!
I don’t really have a big negative moment in this episode, but since I try to use a format of, episode summary, positives, negatives now, I guess I will use this bit to pick for two tiny nitpicks. The first is the weird cutaway we had when our jolly slime ate the dragon. We cut to two humans talking. I assume these will be the bad guys based on the intro ..which is lovely by the way but shows a lot of enemies and allies, but I could not read a vibe from them at all. I am also not sure what to think about their design. A bit generic humans whose voice was a bit lost to me. I could have done without the scene and just found out it was a thing later. This mostly just raised questions to me. The second nitpick I have is that the monsters are maybe depicted just a tinsey tiny bit to cutesie! Based on the intro Rimuru will hang out with monsters for the most part, like oni and goblins, as a result though the goblins look a bit to “sweet” to still be called goblins, I do like the visual style but if this is going in the direction I suspect I could have liked it if allies are ugly for once. Still that is such a minor thing I can happily live without it.. I just would have liked it even more if the goblins were fugly beyond anything. Amazing Episode!
Episode Score:
My least favorite view of the lot! That doesn’t mean it’s bad , in fact this epsiode was still quite good! It just was the least impressive.. but impressive still. In this episode Bam still has to survive until 200 regulars are murdered but he gets help from a blue haired kid with a bag filled with power ars and a knife named Khun. He is being hunted by a giant crocodile named Rak for having such a powerful weapon. Due to a turn of events they suddenly find themselves being forced to team up and they have to trick him into doing that! After which they are transported to a break room! A game host like fellow shows up and thinks to many succeeded the test and summons a barrier they have to break through! If a team member doesn’t make it through the entire team is eliminated. Bam is not affected by the barrier and gets a chance to ask some questions about this strange game. Once more this really reminded me of Hunter x Hunter even more so this episode Bam is due to his amnesia quite a lot like Gon, he has abilities he is very much aware of. Khun is a lot like Killua.. a white haired boy with assassin skills and who allegedly is a bit evil! That game guy who showed up even reminded me a bit of Hisoka! Not sure who Rak would be in that analogy though!
My favorite moment would definitely be the way Bam enforces Rak to team up with him. Using his code of honor against him not to attack an unarmed opponent he creates a stalemate that pushes the three towards a time limit and making Rak an ally. Khun convincing him to fight Bam when he is stronger helped with that and I am happy we see a show where brain does seem to outclass brawn for now. Which seems to be a theme in the episode. During the barrier trial everyone who tried to force their way in had trouble.. only the strongest could press trough while those becoming calm and collect did it with relative ease! Yet it also doesn’t completely work like that as we see a character confidently walking into the barrier and starting to bleed. We get introduced to a mysterious green skinned girl with a tail and a two katana samurai who faced her before.. as some of the most promising candidates to climb the tower. They don’t say a lot and fight each other for a bit using tricks and wits. Not just skill! If this direction is kept I am happy.
While the barrier trial was done fairly well, the fact that Bam was unaffected by it kinda irked me off as well. He already has a legendary blade, an ability to see things others can’t he is from another world and everyone seems to sense talent in him. Is it really needed to give him this as well?! I guess it is is because the matter that made up the barrier seems an important element in the tower but still it was a bit of a Gary Stue moment enforced by how serious the other characters all seem to take it. No jaw drops, no NANI!! The game guy knows more and only whispers.. “so a monster has appeared” while I really do like that line I could not help but feel like any sense of tension was taken away from me as the other two cleary state they can walk through it without problems.
I do not care that much about the rest yet that it adds stuff for me. I am also still unsure about the visuals! I do like the green girl and Rak but Bam’s design I find kind of bland, Khum has something visually that makes me go meh as well. I notice it’s different and I do not love it but I am not sure yet I hate it either. It keeps me from losing myself in the episode enough to be a negative though. Still A very decent episode that just had to compete with four better ones. I forgot to mention! I found the opening very boring and unappealing!
Episode Score:
Last week’s episode was rather terrible I had little good to say about that and this week’s episode really made that up for me again. It seems the even episodes are quite good while the odd episodes impress me way less. We take a break from Hikaru which is something I needed to be honest after how he treated Akiri! It is even brought up he acted like a piece of posterior droppings. In the few moments we see Hikaru we still seem him not care about Akiri and saying Go is not for girls and not for her.. but Sai schools him! Thankfully someone steps up! That’s all I wanted! The rest of the episode is focused on Akira Touya and how he is integrating in the Go Club! His amazing brain and skill make him a treat to the tournament third Seed and made hm rather unpopular amongst the club. This leads to the third seat challenging Touya for a match but him being beaten as he realises he might have to give up on his dream! It’s a sad scene but it also depicts Akira as a strong character, he knows what he does is a bit shitty but in order to grow as player to achieve what he wants he must join that club and defeat Hikaru. As he makes his way in.. resent against him grows.
My favorite moment episode is Akira’s duel against the third Seed.. the match was so silent and just some music as stones click on the board. These two both have reasons why they can not lose and why they have to win and that is seen on their faces.. when Touya inevitable wins we also see his opponent break something that surely also would have happened the other way around. These people really care much about Go!.Sai stepping up for Akiri was great as well, telling about how everyone played Go in his age. We also see Hikaru set up some growth behind the screens by buying some Go study materials. I think it the perspective change is a really clever way to keep the focus where the most interesting things are unfolding rather than just showing us nothing .. like what happened in the episode before. The episode also does a great job to depict that Ivory Tower feeling Touya must be experiencing. He can’t be beaten by these people he never could the only challenge he had was Hikaru. Well at least in his mind. This episode really made me warm up to him a bit instead of depicting him as a crybaby.
The finale of this episode however was a fairly big weak point! I had a major gripe with it that pushed the episode from amazing to just very good for me. The school team Touya works for wants to embarrass him! Teach him humility! Previously it was established how important winning was and that now is withdrawn in favor of old teammates.. that feels a bit off to me but sure I can buy it.. what I can’t buy however is that some of them seem to be willing to break his arms and let his assistant play for him and then beating him in his weakened and pained state just so they can claim they won. That in their eyes would embarrass him so much he would have to leave them alone. If he loses with a 40 degrees fever because they trick him .. it would make him less of a player?!
I honestly do not get why breaking his arm and challenging him to a match would discredit him.. also why would you hate the guy so much you want to to that?! While I get it sucks for one guy to lose a spot on the team it would mean your team has much bigger chances of losing.. and you also care about winning.. so yeah the way his antagonists are set up is not something I completely buy yet! Just a tad to evil! Still a great episode with just the last two minutes putting a shark in the water. They did not jump it yet.. but they sure as well are building a ramp to do so! I still try to imagine this here.. the checker club breaking a exchange students arms to beat him in checkers seems a bit excessive.
Episode Score:
And with that we close the book on yet another Saturday Morning! I skipped breakfast this time I haven’t been feeling that hungry lately, this afternoon about when this post goes up I will be making Pita Bread Hamburgers though! I am working hard on a blog restyle which should drop 20 days before my blogs anniversary! That way I can prepare something special! Working on that too!
My muscles are giving me some trouble lately sometimes I walk like Gregory House with that my update is done! From now on I will put some of my events here! I hope your next week will be awesome!
Pinkie's Paradise 