Tag: Pinkie is having an awesome saturday

Pinkie’s Saturday Anime Adventures Week 3

Hey Island guests, it is sunday for me again which means I spend my saturday watching some sweet sweet anime! Unfortunately I am rather sick so my rule of no pausing allowed and commercial breaks really came back to bite me in the touchee this time around! Yet Saturday Morning cartoons also comforted me in my misery. 

Pinkie’s TV Guide

I did not manage to work ahead enough to give myself an extra timeslot. I also don’t want to make these posts any longer as they already are so Hikaru no Go will be kept limited at one episode until I finish Bofuri and BNA my schedule will then change to give room for the classic show. For now the schedule is as follows. Which will also be the order of my reviews

9:00  AM : BNA
9:30  AM: Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens
10:00 AM :Bofuri
10:30 AM: Bofuri
11:00 AM: Hikaru no Go

I decided to abandon the colour review scores and the summary to  make these a bit more brief and searching for these colors can be a time consuming hassle.

BNA Episode 3

I love Studio Trigger and this episode was something I really could get into. The mystery of Michiru being human is properly set up this time around as we are introduced to an institution that may help her. But the terrorists from the first episode seem to be at it again, endangering the clinic and so a cure for Michiru. She and Shirou have to get over there to investigate.. but if there really is a sickness that can turn humans into beastman she will be a target, to Shirou’s great concern. In this episode we learn more about Michiru’s shapeshifting powers as she shifts animal parts to fit her situation a few times throughout the episode. A nice concept that really makes sense with the title.. she really is a brand new animal. 

We get some backstory about the tanuki girl which leaves rooms for new story hooks. Her friend changed into an animal as well and she was deported, when Michiru underwent the change she was forced to stay inside her room, but she felt that was no way of living so she came to animacity to be free until they found a cure. While not very original it makes sense and is an effective way to keep such a frail girl engaged with the plot, so I at least have to commend them for their writing there. Even though the mystery we are presented with feels somewhat cliché I felt very engaged, more so than the other two episodes.

I love the pastel colour scheme that is set throughout everything it softens everything , as if we are looking more from afar into a dream. I think that is a smart choice because obviously we can’t really relate to these characters and their struggles, by dabbling this form of surrealism I found myself expecting less to relate as well. The fight scenes look great and the fluidity  is something I really appreciated, there is this form of speed in there that really impressed me.  There was  a chameleon working as an antagonist and the way he moved his eyes to get visual info on an upcoming sneak attack really worked for me.

Favorite moment goes to the introduction of a possible main villain. The scientists recognized Michiru as being a former human, the implications of that are pretty amazing. Perhaps this thing was willingly developed..but why was she chosen?  The show barely gives you any answers just a strong hook with a mysterious pretty boy being set up as someone menacing. They sprinkle just enough detail for us to be interested but without having a clue what he is up to.. at least for me.  Least favorite moment would be the Deus Ex Machina that the mayor , who knows of Michiru also knows she is human , being a geneticist that can help her as well. That kinda felt forced. Still I am excited about what is to come.

Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens  Episode 3

Honestly?! This was a pretty sweet episode. While the pay off is not as rewarding as with the other shows I am watching taking a look into the mysterious Romin seemed like a sensible move that is set up quite nicely. Social Media videos of the new Rush Duel begin to vanish across the web so that means Goza the evil company is aware of it.. how does it know?
Yuga and Luke/Rook (as Tatsuhisa is called) is called begin to suspect the purple headed girl that is quick with her mouth but also quick with her smartphone might not be completely genuine in her intentions. 

I like the Romin character her design and generally aloof personality really speak to me , so given that this episode was about her really helped my enjoyment of this episode. We see Yuga invent some sort of lie detector to force her to tell the truth, which to be honest felt a bit forced. If he can make so many inventions that can really be used as a easy way to cheap out of troubles.. my least favorite moment of this episode.  Luckily they fix themselves right away and the invention breaks due to a dubious statement. Now with the invention gone obviously there is only one way to verify her intentions which obviously is a duel.

We get some nice comedy with Luke (according to the Wiki and Rook according to the sub)  getting his hair accidently washed and turned fabulous as well as him and Gakuto sneaking closer to Romin’s guitar case to find out if she is a super spy or not.  Using a duel as a distraction has been done before but this show kinda shows us how ridiculous that is, it made me chuckle at least. We also get some minor backstory for Romin.. turns a singer she idolises gave her that card during one of her concerts and even though she had no interest in dueling she kind of wanted to try the card out. Rush duels clearly more amusing to her and when making new friends.. she decided to set them up.. so she could try it out.. more or less.

The duel itself is my favorite so far. Romin has no deck of her own and has no idea on how to play the game so Yuga gives her his spare deck, which contains the same core cards without his ace.  The way he reacts to her putting a card of her own in there and how he wishes to pit ace against ace made him feel different from the more calculative Yu-gi, Yusei and Playmaker.   I am not sure I like the way they summon their aces yet. They give a speech much like with Synchro summoning which I loved..but these feel worse and the fact that their analogies are animated makes it a bit tacky. Romin’s ace card showing up and it’s effect was my favorite moment, by paying 1000 life points all 3 of her monsters gain 300 life points per monster the opponent has summoned for a turn. A card that really can be fun and actually useful in this format. I hope I’ll see her duel again..and since I want to see more..i’d say good episode.

Bofuri Episode 5

My least favorite view of the day. It still was amazing!  While Bofuri episode 5 does that same thing with so many plotlines again that I disliked in episode 3 at least this time it feels cohesive. We pick up with Maple and Sally in a mexican stand off with a woman named Kasumi. While she thinks about attacking for a moment she decides that two against one might not go in her favor but Sally wants to kill her in order not to risk any more.  Their speeds are equal and they zoom off into a desert leaving Maple behind. A short half finished battle follows. Which would have been my least favorite moment if they had not committed a crime in this episode!

When Maple shows up who was surfing on her shield they accidently get knocked into a dungeon where their life is linked. However this dungeon holds no monsters, just snails with no hp.. get hit and you die . This dungeon is a test of agility so Maple is completely bypassed as we learn some of Kasumi’s abilities.  It was funny and I like these types of dungeons so I was pleased. We show Maple’s kindness again as she makes sure Kasumi gets some medals and gear as the dungeon reward and we move to a time skip, while Sally and Maple hunt to get 20 medals.

…..  *Sob*  ….. In this time skip the horror zone gets skipped AGAIN! We see a few still images of Maple playing with a skull and I wish I could have been there! Least favorite moment by far!  After that their medal count sort of racks up. Which ends up with a shot of Sally fishing. We move back to normal time and we see Maple playing on the beach with a level 5 boy named Kanade which tells them about a puzzle dungeon. The puzzle is quickly solved and we go to my second favorite moment.. Maple completely murdering a boss spamming the hydra Skill to pollute the ocean so much it has no chance.  I laughed as I felt bad for the poor squid.

After that we see why this episode is my least favorite view off the show so far. More convenience to get the pair 20 medals. Sally goes on a murder spree to kill as many players as she can, murdering out an entire camp just to get the perfect amount of medals she needs. Maple in the main time is training up Oboro and Syrup and OMG does THAT pay off. Syrup learns the skill Megamorphosis so Maple decides to spent her 10 medals on the psychokinesis skill..Now she can enlarge her turtle and fly on it.. it doesn’t really make sense but hey flying turtle I am in!  Weakest episode in my line up, favorite moment of the day! So  if that doesn’t tell you how good my Saturday view was , probably nothing will!

Bofuri Episode 6

The episode begins with Kaede instead of alter ego Maple and how her being so invested in the game has caused her life to be a bit skewed. Sally advises Maple to take a few days break, which is a very smart way of allowing Sally to feasibly fully catch up with Maple. Of course it also tells us to have a healthy game/life ratio but we all know that if VR games like these come out we will say farewell to the real world. Just put me on some IV drips to keep me alive and you can bury me for all I care! So I am not buying that message.

The sixth episode is all about setting up a guild. New Bugs have appeared and if you are highe enough level to catch one you can purchase property in the game.  This leads to Sally and Maple house shopping just to come across a super cute fifty people house inside a tree. It’s adorable and I would so love to live there! Since the house is to big for Sally and Maple alone they decide to found a guild and they invite Kanade, the smart boy who has a rubikscube that gives him a random skill each day and Kasumi.. who is pink so I do not object. Iz the crafting and Koromu join as well and Maple is made guild leader.

Since they live in a tree, they fly on a turtle named Syrup and their leader is named Maple the guild is named Maple Tree (though in japanese). Totally expected but it does fit, given how Maple is super famous now for how broken she is it feels deserved and very much in line with Maples naming conventions. I really appreciated that very much it feels really cohesive and while not surprising you have a hard time to disagree with the writers the story has to move this way. 

The episode ends with Maple recruiting May and Yui two girls who masked out offence and like Maple are becoming a bit broken. No one wants to party with them though because they wipe so easily and they are rather shy. This makes them a rather nice addition to the team and I do look forward to seeing what they do next. If I had to describe this episode in one word it would be wholesome. It’s nice of them starting their little guild and it’s done right. Not great, not exciting… but right. You nod and smile from start to end.. it is as it should be. That really makes this anime just a perfect Saturday snack.

Hikaru no Go Episode 3

Best episode in the line-up. It starts with my least favorite moment, Akira Touya completely losing it over a game like Go. Hikaru doesn’t take it very serious and the boy loses his marbles over it. It felt completely unreltable as it is something very much that I am not.It’s about Zeal and honour of a the game.. and mostly honour is a trait I absolutely despise.  People do such stupid things for that.. honour is a mock up word for pride in my book so I could not really support the little whining boy.

He challenges Hikaru to a angry game of Go where he is trying to play relentless and without joy! He has to prove a point. Sai then proceeds to remorsely crush the young boys spirit as there is no room to play a friendly game in this one.  This upsets Hikaru which shows his kind heart but also makes him think. Why does this matter so much. Which by now as a viewer I question as well. Why would someone really care about Go so much. I have trouble buying it with Yu-gi-oh and those live in a world where it’s set up. Hikaru no Go basically takes place in the normal world where Go means as much as it actually does here. I liked that this episode completely broke Akira as a character. It made me feel pain.. even if it was just a game.. clearly there are stakes here. While I can not relate to the importance of Go… I can relate to feeling so crushed.. and in doing so this episode got through to me. 

As Hikaru pondered what about this Go thing.. so did I as a viewer, we are really taken on his journey and feel as he does. So far this has been consistent throughout all three episodes. Hikaru’s thoughts reflect mine and this episode I became very much aware of that.When he encounters Akiri and brushes her off I felt like.. Oh please.. not an Akiri scene right now. Even though I do like the character I wanted a resolution, I wanted to see Hikaru find his beliefs and discover what makes a go player tick. We get a scene which I bet you anime eyes enthusiasts would love in which Hikaru compares his own stare to that of Sai and the  Touya family. He discovered they had a passion something he has been lacking so far. He wants to find that passion. Thank you for that moment! That is character growth!

We end this episode with a match between Akira’s father and Hikaru.. testing the young boy and Sai out. Yet the focus is not on the stones or the plays , the focus in on the passion the drive. We see how stones are placed on the board. The difference between passion and being forced into this and this is where Hikaru breaks through and where I as a viewer also see the beauty of the game. With some pretty big effects in both the visual as audio department he copies his opponent in how they place the stones. His eyes have now changed! As the match heats up .. so does Hikaru’s spirit.. so did my investment in this show. I loved the mind games it played with me.. may I have some more of this please?!

Saturday morning viewings is really working for me!  Anime Saturday Banzai! I am already looking forward to next Saturday!

Pinkie’s Saturday Anime Adventure (Week 2)

Hi island guests. Saturday has come and past again which means I ate some more ceareal and watched some anime. Thightly set on time I might add. No pausing allowed, commercial breaks in between.. recreating those good old Saturday morning cartoons and this week I had a blast with it yet again.

Pinkie’s TV Guide

My Schedule hasn’t changed yet since not of the series have finished yet. Until than the series remains as follows.


9:00  AM : BNA
9:30  AM: Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens
10:00 AM :Bofuri
10:30 AM: Bofuri
11:00 AM: Hikaru no Go

Like last time, I am not allowed to pause at the 11 minute mark anime will be interrupted for some Japanese Commercials on YouTube (and to take bathroom and other kinds of breaks). If I run late I have to skip to the point matching the air-date as if it was shown on tv. Unlike last week though this week I was fully prepared.

BNA Episode 2

The second episode of the studio trigger anime Brand New Animal, or BNA might have been my highlight of the morning. I really liked this second episode. We learn our Tanuki girl is actual a human woman named Michiru.. or at least she claims to be. Refusing to be registered as a beastman because she got “sick” and turned into one. With no one believing her the evidence is in her wallet and this episode focuses on her getting it back. The show this time around is less in your face about racism and much more focussed on the characters while still putting in plenty of world building. Tonally a huge improvement from the first episode.

 Instead of opting for a complex hierarchy system like in Kill la Kill, the rules in Animacity are easy. He who is the strongest wins. It makes sense in the context and it helps give our Michiru some rough edges. Her being a former human makes it hard to understand some aspects of beast society,opening us to a softer form of exposition. There is no need for “As you all know” type of dialogue because Michiru learns alongside us. Mistakes she makes are because of her human nature and as she learns how different this world is so does the viewer. Which really works out in this episode.

Following the monkey that stole her wallet in the last episode a hint given by Marie the Mink  puts her in the visors of a criminal woman named Gran Granma who commands an all woman gang in an area called Rabbit Town. The build up towards this felt nicely paced telling us what we need to know such as character names for one.The crying wolf from last episode is named Shirou and he has a pet bird named Kuro. I bet a lot of grey matter was put to work to come up with that one. Shirou gets an order from the mayor to investigate some criminal trafficing. Of course Michiru ends up in the middle of this.

Gran Granma asks Michiru to teach some young beastfolk to learn how to read and write. Leading to my favorite moment of the episode. Michiru’s class. It was cute and innocent. A facade for what Animacity is not but also a great desire to reflect what Michiru desires. The kids learning to read is so cute and you can see the tanuki liking helping others out way more than fighting. A man who likes like he is based on Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin from Marvel pressures Gran Granma into selling the kids to pay of her debts to him. Since she is there she also decides to sell Michiru. The way this all is emoted gives you some amazing character to the criminal lady.. there is more to this story.

The episode concludes in a dock. where Michiru displays some of her powers, some being different than that of a regular beast man. She manages to break free of her cage but is no match for the combat trained henchwomen. Shirou saves the day and while confroting Gran Granma about her horrible deeds the woman smiles faintly, probably actually caring about these kids handing Michiru her wallet back and it is confirmed that she was once human.

I’d rate this show a with a Taffy Pink! It’s super sweet. The weird power thing felt like Trigger to me again, the fast moving plot, the subtle character and the mystery build on several levels it all stuck with me, and I did not mind that it did at all. That Taffy stuck in my teeth can stay there so I can linger on the sweet tastes.

Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens Episode 2

Where BNA was the high of the show for me, this second episode of Sevens showed the most improvement to me.While first episode was poorly paced, kind of lazily written and flat out unfunny this episode actually had some proper pacing,an enjoyable narrative and even some good jokes. This episode basically begins  with my favorite moment.  We get some dramatic build up to the road to be Duel King now opening. Yuga says he is not that interested and says Tatsuhisa can take his place. He overly dramatically accepts and begins walking towards the gate of light that opened. Yuga recognised it as a hologram which is why he trolled the blue hair boy. I have to hand it to the makers that was a funny way to make this exposition tolerable. 

Now to become the Duel King people have to come and accept your way of dueling as the truth. Tatsuhisa beliefs this means they have to keep what they did a secret and Yuga agrees. The next day he however is telling everyone on what they did. This triggers a duel between the protagonist and the blue haired boy… but there is trouble.. recess doesn’t last that much longer, luckily a rush duel can  be held quickly. Romin the girl now works as the reason why rules are explained while Gakuto works as the one who explains, a synergy that works and doesn’t feel forced.What does feel forced though is the deuteragonist/rival using a dragon themed deck. Yeesz Yu-Gi-Oh we haven’t seen THAT before.

The Duel itself is mostly okay. Nice joke with Yuga using that yugioh protagonist power of awareness to explain some secrets of Tatsuhisa’s powers casually. It results helps keeping this series a bit grounded.  Props to the makers for having Yuga lose this fight. It gives him room for a journey as well.  He is not as overpowered as Playmaker was in the last part.  The loss felt fairly natural as well, though at the same time this rush duel felt kind of un-yu-gi-oh.  With at least 5 cards in his graveyard you would think he has an effect there to help him but no.. even the luck of the draw abandoned him. Great choice.. but with a simple combo like this it really felt off brand. The fact that Yuga used a drone to stream and promote his new game was nice and make him more unique as a protagonist. So even if it invalidated the duel..this series now begins to feel a bit “differently”

Still the lowest ranking of the shows I watched this episode was leagues better than his episode 1 counter part. I actually quite enjoyed this. Rating it Mexican Pink. The fishiness of the first episode is gone and the colour has deepend quite a bit. However it might be just a little bit foreign. I started to watch this show because I really like Yu-gi-Oh.. and I am not sure if this is that. They definatly spiced this up with some Jalepeno of cool but I have no real clue what I am going to get.. also that CEO.. looks way too weird.

Bofuri Episode 3

I really adore this little show, there is just so much cuteness in there.  This third episode however was my least liked so far.It’s adorable but has way to many little stories.  We get a brief glimpse of some characters that are in the intro arguing about if they should buy weapons with one of these twin girls going particularly murder hobo wanting to buy weapons above all. Obviously she will be Maple’s Hyper offensive counter part.  We see Maple and Sally shopping for new skills, learning about an event, taking up two dungeons/quests and going to two secret areas. It all feels a bit dense.

It does help create that cute sense of whimsy but in a way it feels like some of those five to ten minute anime where stringing two together is called an episode. I really wanted to see more of the scary area. Which was my favorite moment in the show, maybe one of my favorite moments in the series so far even. Sally quivering in fear with Maple being impressed by the colour of the ghosts. Because of Sally’s fear they have to hide in a house and a trap door is found, which leads to Sally learning a new skills and the quest resolving. This happens within a minute or four. After which a fireball teleports the pair to a beach where they find a ruby and splash water at each other.

World building falters for me a bit trough the fact that the girls can taste cake in virtualy reality.Given the concept of the show I can forgive it assuming the helmet can stimulate your brain so you can taste or feel pain…but also firing a fireball in a tree stump to get transported to a secret beach Sally nows off to get a useless item feels kinda odd. Sure that kind of stuff might be in some MMO’s but why not spend the extra time in that spooky wood! It could have been so much fun.

Maple is nerfed trough an update which makes the boss fight to reach level 2 where they can participate in the next event  a bit more interesting. The boss having special strats fits into the mmo concept and the battle does feel somewhat satisfying but the dungeon is glossed over again. In favor Sally transporting them to a restaurant in a starry sky where they can eat items that make their hair and eyes glow. It’s cute again.. but why insert 2 of these scenes in one episode it feels superfluous and give that we already had a scene with them eating cakes, and four self contained stories up to this point it kinda feels fragmented.

Time still flew by but I found this a bit lazy content wise. Instead of telling a full fledged story you tell a bunch of summaries of those seemingly not interesting enough for an entire episode. That is why I rate this episode China Pink. It works for me like many toys from china I once had. Yet there is something so streamlined to it that you can see the mass production of it all. It lacks the detail some of the finer products have.

Bofuri Episode 4

The fourth episode is MUCH MUCH better. We even get our first genuinely thrilling action scene and an amazing team fight. We also only get two main stories with a minor third one in the end which still is a logical follow up to what happened before. With some nice humor and the most adorable conclusion a girl like me could have wished for.. this is so far my second favorite episode after the first.

This episode resolvers around the first few days of the treasure hunt event , an ingame week long series where people can find medals but can also steal medals from other players.  Making Maple a target for ranking third in the first event. What begins a seeming pointles wander figureing out what to do.. I am pretty sure the writers at least have quite some MMo experience, all the things are in there and all the beats are hit.  Stumbeling upon a secret dungeon by accident the pair easily dispatches a jesterbos that was hyped up in the opening. Proving to me that the opening most likely is somewhat spoiler free and exaggerated retroactively making that same intro better.

We encounter some old familiars who interact with Maple in different ways, her broken build and her results have led her to gather some kind of fame.. which again.. makes sense since the game had to be balanced specifically for her. Most are friendly for not wanting to get into trouble but some might prey on her medal. A mysterious new dungeon pops up and Maple allows another group to go in first as a thank you for the help their leader gave at the beginning of the game. Within seconds the dungeons opens up again, saying it might be a reward collecting instance.. or a boss wiped them in mere seconds.

It turns out to be the later and we get a spectacular fight against an ice bird fight which really pushes Maple to play the best that she could. It is nice to see that there are bosses n this game that can give her a hard time. The teamwork between Sally and Maple really works well and feels very MMO like. Albeit much less balanced than the actual thing. The fight is thought and they barely make it out but they do getting rewarded with a hand full of models and two pet eggs that they subsequently try to hatch.

My favorite moment and my least favorite moment of this episode are interwoven with another in the conclusion of the episode. Maple and Sally are training their new pets. Maple gets a turtle which hilariously has a higher speed stat than hers and Sally gets a fox. When Maple names  turtle Syrup so they can be Maple Syrup together I like squeee by adorableness. The pair uses their pets like pokémon and they get an ability to be dispelled and resummoned, but there is something about the phrasing.. about them being “reborn” if it were that makes me think  next time we see them they might be bigger. I very much look forward to that. However about at the same time we see some evil bunnies talking about how they made that boss to be unbeatable.I am not sure why they talk so evilly but if they are the villians things might get a bit weird.

I’d rate this epiosde a solid pink. This episode pleased me on just about every level. I got my dose of world building, I got my dose of epicness and I sure as hell got some great action and some amazing cuteness and is just about everything one can look for in an episode of Bofuri.I

Hikaru no Go Episode 2

Hikaru doesn’t actually play go in this episode which makes this the most uneventful episode I saw this saturday.  Yet it taught me  a bit more about Go. Not a lot but something. Like how bigger “boxes” of one colour can make points of everything inside. There really is not that much to tell about this episode as basically nothing really happened. We  see him go to school and Akari is trying to get his attention. I am pretty sure Hikaru in real life would not really be chased by any girl though but I do like their thing they have going on. Akari seems like a nice character. Sai is introduced to the modern world which leads to some funny enough dialogue .. but nothing we haven’t seen before with a time displaced person.

Despite nothing actually happening I did find this episode a pleasant viewing experience. The slow pace of the episode came at a good time after that big fight in Bofuri and this felt wonderfully casual and mundane.  It doesn’t suddenly turn Go into something hype like Summer Wars did with Koi-Koi. It makes this series feel genuine and heartfelt so far. That being said the series does show a few plot coincidences  that feel rather forced. Like Akira being the son of the man who is closed to the Kami no Itte. The divine move Sai is after. Or the fact that a piece about him is on tv just at the moment Hikaru puts it on. I dislike when series do that.

I’d think there is no reason to connect them that way. Both Akira and Hikaru would want to play this champion for their own reasons so making it a family tie makes it feel.. easy.  Yet when Hikaru visits a youth tournament they actually do something a bit more creative with it. Rather than making Hikaru the instigator in their encounter they make the father Koyo someone interested in Hikaru instead. Yet there is something eating at me.. something the way the character is designed and framed that makes me thing he might not be as important as this episode leads me to believe he will. His introduction lacks gravitas, their first encounter was glanced over quickly so I feel he might just take a more mentorly role to Akira who may become a rival .. not persé in matches but in a race to master the Divine Move?

I am not sure. What I do know is that I am already analyzing this show which tells you I am at least invested. Since there basically really weren’t any moments no favorite or least favorite scene. I’d rate this episode Fandango Pink. While it seems nothing is going on I think the gears ot this series are just getting in motion. A complicated progress is starting up. Pieces are moved on a game board. It might seem boring and overly complex at first glance but if you look deeper you can see there is thought in these movements. Surely this will go somewhere and on it’s own the setup is kinda fascinating to see unfold in it’s nothingness.

Summary

Favorite Watch: BNA (Episode 2)
Favorite Moment: Syrup used bite! (Bofuri)

Least Favorite:  Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens (Episode 2)
Least Favorite Moment: Evil Programmer Bunnies (Bofuri)

Cereal: Crownfield Choco Rice
Bowls Consumed : One small one
Favorite Japanese Commercial: Totally Fabulous Sega Guy!