Tag: saturday

Pinkie’s Saturday Anime Adventure 16

It’s been another sleepless week for me but little by little I am getting in a few sleep hours that remotely approaches a normal human sleeping pattern. From an hour a day I am up to four or five hours now! Sleep deprivation DOES lower my standards for what I find funny though. So I might grade a bit high here, or perhaps these episodes were all pretty good again.

Digimon Adventure Episode 4

This episode is titled Soar Birdramon, so it already got me excited! I get to see Sora! I get to see Sora. I might have to raise my expectations for Digimon Adventure a bit because again I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality I have seen so far.

Taichi has reached the Digital World, which in this episode is explained, is the deepest part of the Network. The world Taichi visited in the first three episodes. Koshiro however is stuck in the Network itself so the two are seperated. However, as I suspected last time.. Sora got drawn into the digital world as well. There she stands looking at Taichi a bit sheepishly very accepting of her random predicament. Asking if Agumon is a dinosaur.   Even when he talks she doesn’t seem that surprised. They encounter an ancient stone tablet that Taichi can read despite not being able to read it normally. A beam of light makes them journey to a colourful mountain. Yet a cry suddenly draws Sora’s attention and a pink bird glomps onto her.. as she is chased by a Snimon!  Sora rescues the pink bird and Taichi holds Snimon off. The group escapes the monster by jumping in a river and the bird goes unconscious with Sora nursing her back to health. 

Yes that pink bird is Biyomon! Sora empties her bag of groceries revealing all sorts of camping equipment and her signature hat!  To get to the mountain they decide to make a raft. Biyomon wakes up and tells Sora she has been waiting for her.
A confused Sora travels with the group and Biyomon down the river when two Champion level digimon attack. A fight ensues and Sora not wanting to see Biyomon get eaten goes through great lengths to save her. This causes Biyomon to evolve and the fight is subsequently  won fairly easily. The group is then carried by Birdramon to a temple where I can see statues of Seraphimon and Hououmon respectively, which are Sora’s and Takeru’s Mega Digmon.

We get our first digivolution/evolution animation in this episode and it looks stunning! I love the new visual for digivolution. I also really liked that the first evolution of Birdramon like with Greymon is done differently! It gives it more of an impact. The cinematography in this episode is really good! Sora for once is portrayed as a very loving character. In the old show they tend to depict her as a bit cold. Sora this time around is much more the crest wielder of love. Immediately and without a doubt hugging  that strange pink animal that holds onto you.  Accepting her situation along with Taichi, even stating that since she is here she might as well make the best of it and there is no point to stress around this. I love this!  So many shows waste our time with the acclimatization phase. I know that  getting used to your environment makes sense but we all know it will happen anyway and this show wastes no time in having her faint at the strange sights.Forward! Towards the content we want to see. The statues of Hououmon and Seraphimon.. depicted from the looks of it as a Digimon deity also shows that this episode really respects the previous lore and just seeks to retell a tale in a new way and we might just get Mega’s for everyone! I really loved Sora’s depiction throughout and that is this entire episode so .. Digimon soars to new heights today.

Were there parts I did not like about this episode? I am not sure, maybe Sora was a bit TOO casual about her situation, but I get a feeling there might be something behind that. I think she might have a crush on Taichi so she is glad she is here with him?!  There are also a lot of little tributes to the old show here and there. I like how Sora’s new shirt which is pink holds a yellow BUTTERFLY, the yellow seems to be the colour of her original outfit yet at the same time it is kinda strange that some characters get different outfits and some don’t. I also had some issues with Sora’s immense physical strength. She can hold herself to a phoenix with one arm while flying very fast, she can lift a bag filled with camping supplies and a digimon without effort. Then again Ash held a 72 kilogram weighing Larvitar so this one isn’t that special.  While it may be a tad much it is great to see other destined can now shine! So while it took some suspense I am all for it. This show has clearly evolved.

I am going to do something strange and give Digimon Adventures Episode 4 my highest seal of approval. I had a blast with this episode. Perhaps it was the most amusing watch I have seen today. Sure this is no Flip Flappers and no Samurai Flamenco but what it did it did so well that I can barely fault it! I had a great time!

Samurai Flamenco Episode 11

I am so proud of Masayoshi he is finally legit.While I did love this episode this  one did make me a bit more unwilling to suspend my disbelief as it went somewhere I can’t exactly agree with yet.

The episode starts where we left off last time! Masayoshi has just revealed he is Samurai Flamenco when Red Axe or Jouji shows up at the scene. He tells Masayoshi to board a strange airship. Apparently all his travels abroad were a lie, in fact he has in secret been founding his own Sentai organisation. the Samurai Flamengers. He wants Masayoshi to become Flamen Red. They even have an underground base. You see.. King Torture was only a mild villian he was suported by a new evil organisation named From Beyond.. which seems to consist out of monsters who love to send people pixelised Trailers from their submerged space ship. To introduce their organisation in a way that looks a surprising lot like the intro from the old Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles cartoon. When Jouji wants to introduce Masayoshi to his new team we find out they have been murdered by a monster called Ugly Toxic Poison. So a back-up team is summoned.. The only problem is these are only Red Flamengers candidates. After some struggles Masayoshi is elected red and the group fights the monster as official Sentai..including a fight with a giant combiner robot.

As expected.. This episode fixed my issues with the last episode. The weird technology that King Torture had.. it was these alien folks of From Beyond who sponsored him.  Okay that was explained quick enough, the escalation also feels like how we swap Sentai seasons even. Including a replacement of the cast. Goto is sidelined and we see a new team of Sentai united in fighting for Justice.  While we know little of this new cast , and I doubt they will stick for too long, as the outfits do not seem on brand for Masayoshi.. weird reason to think they will be replaced soon huh,  and something just doesn’t feel right! The show is under my skin now.. what is happening.. what is going on? Will this last?  I love how this show makes me wonder about these things. Added with so many sentai tropes being tossed my way I feel like a girl who just got spoiled with lots of candy from grandma! So much happens and so much is done so well! The fights, the whole super robot thing, there is so much to unpack here I feel my appreciation for this episode might grow.

There is a big BUT in this one though.. it’s big enough to prevent it from getting my highest score and arguably big enough to even boot it to just being fine.  This episode killed a bit of the spirit of the show for me for now!  While it makes sense that Masayoshi can function as a ranger since Jouji trained him a lot of things are quite unbalanced by it. Why did From Beyond wait until the exact moment that King Torture croaked. It makes sense from a Sentai perspective.. so it is a great reference but in terms of narrative it makes very little sense. This show always walked that line perfectly for me and this time they heavily tilt over to one side. The fact that Masayoshi is able to pilot a plane for example makes no sense to me at all. Just minutes before Jouji explains that Masayoshi isn’t as ready to be a real sentai as those other people he trained here and so far Masayoshi has always operated within limits and now that is broken?  It is explained why his Sentai suit makes him stronger but it should not be able to allow him pilot a combiner mecha?!  I also REALLY hate Jouji as a character so I am not too pleased to see him survive this! …but hey props for at least having a lethal monster again… I think.

I liked this episode but I don’t want to lose Moe and Gotou from the show, I am afraid we will lose that humble tone it had before and instead move into a more classical Sentai show! I also had a bit of issues with the name of Samurai Flamenger on something Jouji came up with.. unless they link Masayoshi’s grandpa to the organisation in the next episode or so , so much came undone here! Yet that is why I will leave my verdict at Bery Good.. I feel the show will fix this and the episode in hindsight was very good! Right now it’s actually lower for me but this show has told me to trust it so for now I will.. with a healthy dose of scepsis.

That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime Episode 10

I got more of my pink ogre, they even made her cuter now!  They fixed a few designs I did not particularly like…. but that is also about all what this episode did for me.

Phew explaining the plot of this episode is kinda heart. We begin with a feast and the Ogres are invited to join Rimuru. The lead ogre doubts in swearing his loyalty to Rimuru and needs to think about it. We get some exposition on someone named Gelmud which seems to be the Plague doctor that is also named Rigur’s brother.  He serves one of the demon lords.
The ogres accept Rimuru’s offer and he names them all, after which he passes out.  After that we see more exposition on the orc army and learn there is a Lord Orc.. also a group of Lizard men seeks out aid in their war against the orcs who approach with a 200.000 strong army. Led by this Orc Lord. And that’s all that happened really.

I would not say this is a bad episode but it is even less a good episode. I love the new design for the most ogres, especially the pink one, named Shuna and Souei.. the sneaky blue one. The old man is cool as well and I like they have an Ogre who looks like a middle aged man as well. It offers some diversity among the Bishounen guys and pretty girls. Shion is one of those boob characters again so I don’t really care. Benimaru’s design is a bit too sleek for my liking but  it does submerge the standard trope-conform look he was before. The way the war against the ocrs is set up is nice and slowly builds some drama.

However this episode is in truth nothing more than exposition. They talk exposition during a meal, they talk exposition after the ogre’s have given names and even during they establish levels of monster classes. Almost every minute of this episode is exposition. Nothing is established through showing us everything happens through dialogue. Even the change in looks of all the ogres is mentioned into detail. After discussing the villain behind this, Gelmud, and discussing monster classes, we discuss the look change and then the lizard men begin to recruit people! We get hard numbers. Their army is only 100.000 strong and the orc army 200.000. Those seem like super weird numbers anyway  but after they tell us that 100.000 is a smaller number than 200.000 we see the son of the Lizardman king get a mission to recruit more people!  This could have been implied and might have gotten some tension but no everything has to be explained in this episode. Had I just listened to this episode (albeit in english then) I would have missed NOTHING important.. and that for an anime I think is a bad thing.

This episode easily is the worst I have seen in the series so far. It showcases some good new designs but once  more does the slime boob joke thing and other than that..it just tells us stuff we need to know. Also stuff we don’t need to know! Why linger 5 minutes on how everyone changed! We can see that! It wasn’t a bad episode but I did not enjoy myself here either.

Flip Flappers Episode 6

This was a cute episode that felt a bit clutterly here and there!  The second episode that isn’t going to get the highest grade. but one that still came pretty close by to snatching that appreciation.

Summarizing Flip Flapper Episodes can be quite hard and this one is no exception. Cocona and Papika baked cookies and they wanted to give their Senpai, the artsy one Iroha is here name Iroha Irodori.. or Iro for short.She likes Cocona’s cookies who for some reason are super nervous to give them to her! Papika is afraid to  walk into the class because the nailpolish overwhelms her senses. The three share a moment and suddenly we cut to a battle for one of the amorphous in Pure Illusion! This realm seems to be based on abstract paintings so it clearly represents Iro’s mind!  When the monster is defeated and the Amorphous is obtained, Yayaka comes to steal it. A fight ensues and while Papaki manages to retrieve the stone a portal is opened..one that seems to go deeper than Pure Illusion.


Inside we see how Iro had an old lady friend, who was suffering from dementia and ends up forgetting Iro. Cocona and Papika get to relive how happy Iro was with the woman unlike how locked up and limited she felt as an artist around her own parents. Scared off by the demention Iro never got to tell the demented lady her name so she rememberd and because of the guilt..she can’t wair nailpolish.  Papika and Cocona cope with the pain of losing a loved one in Dementia and introduce themselves as Iro to the old lady! Fixing the memory and allowing Iro to finally wear nailpolish .. or something?! So now Papika and Cocona can dive deeper so they can influence people’s minds? Maybe?! We will see soon.

My grandpa at the end of his life had dementia. I have seen him not recognise me anymore.. but also that spark of .. it is someone important I have forgotten. That is something this episode captures pretty good. The whole metaphor of an abstract painting or the weird style fitted in really well with it. It’s also nice to see that there is more at stake than just these Amorphous things.  Once more there is a duality in this episode. Papika and Cocona can only walk in one world of Iro at the time. The world of her parents where she had to hide her creativity where she had to be normal.. or the world with her “auntie” who supports her dreams and lets her bloom in the way she wants to be. However it is soon shown that that last world is not as durable. It will come crashing down sooner. The pain of loss can seem greater than the pain of locking things away. Eventually though both join together in realising that both sides of Iro have grown and can finally face that obstacle she could not overcome.
I really liked a lot of things here.

At the same time, I am not sure about the relevance of it. Where the last episode developed Cocona and Papika further as a possible couple and at least boosted the rivalry between them and Yayaka, this seems to not do anything for anyone at all. Except for Iro.. who in the big picture seems irrelevant. Maybe that is the point but this is a relatively short show so It can’t afford too much to linger without progress. It really is quite a touching episode but it is hard to grasp what just happened. Did Cocona and Papika help Iro? What was that portal even?  Maybe it was Iro dealing with things herself and that allowed Cocona and Papika to take a peek? I don’t mind the vagueness normally but here I am not sure if anything was gained with this episode so I am not as impressed as usual.

The topic of dementia is handled pretty well and I was emotional a few times during this episode. I felt what the characters felt can say it certainly was powerful. Yet I can’t say this episode felt relevant.  As if it’s a Van Gogh and a Rembrandt Exposition. It sure is a pretty piece of art and it can stand well on it’s own but you still can’t shake it doesn’t fully belong. Even if it’s strong on its own accord if you are at home and tell the weakest part of it to your art loving friends you are going to mention there was a Van Gogh that did not really fit and designate that as the flaw ..even if some of Rembrandt’s works could not hold a candle to that piece.

Hikaru no Go Episode 16

We get introduced to a new character in this episode! Also the Dutch player returns with a lot of art from his team! One guy is so horrible! He wears an orange shirt and has orange hair.. based on our sports teams that all play in orange! Like.. please don’t make him important!

I could summarise the plot by saying Hikaru let’s Sai play more online matches. And that would perfectly encapsulate what this episode is about! But I think I can add a few more lines. In the process of playing. Sai defeats a few people online including the young Insei (which is a sort of protege that tries to go pro) Waya , who plays by the name of Zelda. I do hope he realises it’s the name of the princess. A chinese, Italian and the Dutch Pro alos get defeated by Sai so all travel to Japan to some sort of expo on Go to find Sai. Waya however is the first to discover Sai might be a school kid! At the expo thing the search begins. Also Waya took the exam to go pro and faced Akira for a bit.


That is all I can make of the plot, there aren’t many other matches shown except parts of them. It offers a nice variation on the previous episodes. Waya is very much like Touya , he got beaten by Sai and now wants to find out everything about this person. His obsession takes about the same levels, but Waya seems less interested in playing against them and more so into discovering who they are. As Sai seems to be one of the most talented players he has ever seen, not believing he is a pro. I really like the Waya character, he is clever and driven and in my opinion a bit of a less annoying Akira. Later on he will also be the perfect crutch for Akira and Hikaru to become entangled again. Right now with how Pro players are set up and Touya Senior keeps getting named dropped I suspect they will host a big online tournament where Sai ends up defeating Touya Senior at the end of the arc or so.. and Waya revealing to him it was Hikaru. I might be very far off here.. but regardless I feel this show is steadily building to a big  story!  With Waya being an element I might very well come to appreciate. 

I once again think that the cinematography for the online matches isn’t that great. About half way in the episode in a montage we see a cool visual of Sai’s fan going over a board followed by clicks of Hikaru but over all, it lacks the impact the other episodes did!  It just feels less impressive.  I also really lack a bit of mentoring Sai could give to Hikaru here! This is the perfect time to make him a better player.. show him explaining to Hikaru why he plays what where so we know Hikaru is growing. Instead we see him depicted as a gleeful manchild who just wants to play! Come on guys do something that bond! Show you are a pair not two individuals in one body! I miss the synergy here! This is the perfect time to train Hikaru and teach him things. I get that this tournament focusses on Pro’s and Hikaru is not at that level.. but they also establish that Sai also challenges no pro players.. use those moments to show that against a weaker opponent Sai quizzes Hikaru on what to play next or something and I would be content.. but  just do something!

I love the set up for Waya and his potential, I really like how the story possibilities are set up as they go along. I feel this  series builds itself as an actual Go game.. not just making a moves for that episode but also setting up moves for later in the game. I see potential, I see a possible future. Yet at the same time I feel more and more that this bond between Sai and Hikaru isn’t fully utilised because both  the focus is too much on the individual. I want that bond from episode 6 back! I know you can do it! In the end it’s a strong episode that did not quite live up to its maximum potential.

So that was five shows again! While all episodes did amuse me, except for Slime.. there was a theme there! Most of these episodes did not live up to their potential in the bigger picture while providing some decent entertainment on it’s own! Maybe my mind is on the future a lot? On the personal front I had bad experience with my father, he really dropped us as his family! So that was a bad experience! I planned something with Mom and my sister to have some fun and shake it off and we did that fairly well. I had a pretty persisting case of insomnia as well. I think I haven’t reached over four hours of sleep for almost 10 days now. So my brain is a bit mushy! I have dinner with a friend today! He kept wanting to make it an entire day out but I told him I had no energy at all so with Covid reservations and the prices it was not something I want to risk.. I can feel so drained I can barely walk. I can sit out a dinner but after that I need a nap or some quite time. He is very intense as well, I tried so hard to make it clear that I am low energy but it did not work for a long while.

Next week we are celebrating my sister’s birthday. Indigo’s first blog should also go live! Maybe even Kuro’s if the weather doesn’t go insane! I might skip a day of posting somewhere to do some house cleaning but I will try to make sure you will get some amazing content! I wish you all a great next week! Tell me how your week was in the comments!


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!

Pinkie’s Saturday Anime Adventure (Week 5)

It’s time to for cereal and series again.. that would have been such a good name for this section.  Five Shows five reviews ONE post! Last week we had a bit of a dip in quality how will this week fair?! Like saturday morning cartoons no pausing is allowed.. I get a five minute break at the 11 minute mark of each anime.. playing some commercials to do everything else that needed to be done! Lets enjoy our saturday morning.

BNA
Episode 5

I have but one gripe with this episode but it is one with rather big implications. In this episode Michiru wants to play Basketball but since that is not being played there she is forced to turn to baseball instead. Something that has turned into a bit of a blood sport with killing being allowed for the sake of massive bets.  Okay.. these people are animals.. a bit of a forced metaphor but sure.. then Shirou is tasked to investigate the sudden increase in baseball gambling by the major?! Seriously guys! Again! That is SUCH lazy writing to connect to stories YET AGAIN. Let Michiru do her own thing for once, heck let Shirou go see her matches and discover the gambling?!  He cares for her so obviously he’d go see her matches at least once. This worries me for the quality for the show going on in the future. These analogies of people being animals is being taken a bit far as well. This society is just a bit TOO dystopian and stupid at times.

That said this episode was incredibly cute! So heartwarming to see Michiru play for a team called the bears. It sucks that one is called Winnie the Pooh , but at the same time it is amazing. Their catcher looks like something that can live in the world of Animal Crossing which is a great boon! He is adorable.. I have no idea on what he is called but I want to collect him.  Honestly there isn’t anything all that special about episode if you ever saw a sports anime or a sports movie you have seen this episode.  

Team sucks and is down on their luck , but a new ringer appears and suddenly luck turns around.. but due to some corruption in the sport their chances of victory seem to dwindle. When things are at their darkest the ringer unites the team through sheer passion and they lose the final match but can do so proudly! It’s nothing special.. yet it worked very well.. it made Michiru a stronger character, even though she should not use her powers she does because she cares about something. She has her passions and that makes her feel like real person. A tomboy sure.. but it all seemed right. Just a fun heartfelt episode with nice fun action and a bit of that same enigma I saw in other episodes.

It’s a really great episode to me but for the wrong reasons. I notice how much I like Michiru doing mundane things like going to a party and playing sports. I also noticed how I barely could care less about Shirou’s stuff. The way the show is building up to things means I will have a point where I will start to dislike it as all the elements being set up come into play.
I love this mundane beastman stuff with a bit of action to spruce it up.  I like Michiru adapting to her new life and making new friends.  I know her human friend who turned into a beastman will come into play.. well I assume so .. she is so heavily teased she can’t NOT be into this.. but at the pace Michiru is making friends I now think she will be granted an antagonistic role. Our tanuki is starting to have a life here.. friends here.. she isn’t dependent on her friend that much more..so by all rules of writing the only way her old friend will add is in a villainous role… I am not sure if I am ready for the show to turn into that. So all in all a weirdly got episode.. that makes me realise I will probably not like the entire series?!

Let’s judge it as a single episode though!

Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens
Episode 5

Another mixed bag episode for me! Yet kinda in the other way around. While I really did not particularly care for this episode I really like the style and grander choices they make here. Giving me faith that this series COULD go into more. We return to the story arc of Rush Duels disappearing from social media and even anime google. This means they have to find publicity through other ways. I do like the whole idea of rising to fame and promoting a ruleset as a storytelling crutch. It offers so much new scenarios we haven’t explored with Yu-gi-oh before themes that are relevant. Konami wants us to buy these new types of cards and by doing a story that is all about promoting the game.. it feels less jarring as a commercial because it’s actually part of the plot. 

However the episode itself is quite bad. The school newspaper writes an article about them and it says that Rush Duels are simplistic and for kids.. which is an opinion.. so it’s fair game to write! They have misquoted people so I get why the group would want it redacted.. but that isn’t really the issue they object. It is that their game is getting a negative review. Everyone in the school papers reads it and beliefs it.. so Romin distances herself from the group.. but only for a scene. Of course the dispute over whether or not this article should get a redaction is settled with a duel. To my pleasant surprise they decided to let Rook fight this duel instead of Yuga, which was great. The duel itself however might be the worse one yet.

The editor of the newspaper has a deck that is completely centered about journalism, the card art looked incredibly tacky and if this is not made specifically for this duel I think this is a horrible set. Every single card he plays feels catered to him and feels like it has a narrative flow as well. First he plays a scoop.. than live from the scene of the accident and then he plays a printing press.  It might seem clever but in duels .. it feels quite stale. Like if someone always goes 1–>2–>3–>4–>5 .. it is a logical chain of events that tells a tale.. but it takes away the tension of a duel.. this is always the order the cards are played in so their effect.. are just what the situation needs. That really was felt throughout the duel. If the game is not really being played there is no tension.

Comedy wise this episode was decent with Yuga’s promo bot becoming increasingly broken as he modifies it.. now chasing after girls constantly and some subtle shots of them disabling it now that Rook can’t use his Pauli Effect since he is dueling, yet that can not save this show. It feels like a very solidly constructed railroad with a bullet train that moves faster than ever before. The direction and the tech is solid.. but the stops this train makes are at Snooze-Town,  Forced-Ville, Fillage and some random places that just hold nothing to do. Where BNA feels like a great show that will falter in pay off , this feels like it COULD get a nice pay off but with  bad episodes. This week I seemingly caught up with the series. If it has been delayed by Corona and I need to replace the timeslot I will not be returning to it, if it goes on I shall give it next until next week’s episode to convince me.. after next week I will have to change my line up anyway.

Bofuri
Episode 9 and 10

With the end of Bofuri in sight we get two episodes I really enjoyed, from today on I will discuss double episodes in the same column to save us some time. Which easily works this these episodes because they handle the same event. The start of the guild competition, which I am pretty sure it will end on as well with maybe some minor epilogue. Both episodes did a great job in bringing this event to life in their own way. I was so invested that I nearly forgot to take my breaks. Yet I managed to sneak them in.. although a bit late.

The first episode mostly sets up preparations for the game, it will be a capture the flag game but with orbs. Obviously Maple is charged with defending Maple Tree’s Orb giving her May and Yui as back up in their defence.  Our beloved Rubiks Cube boy stays behind as well. Or at least that is the plan. First they go prepare, which is mostly a montage. They also visit a beach with tubes that have their own paterns on.. which is super cute. When Yui and May splash water they create huge tidal waves which was funny and charming. It all has become part of Bofuri’s charm to me. But we quickly move to the highlight of that episode to me. Sally’s fight with Frederica. Scouting for their rival guild Frederica wishes to get information from Sally who then challenges her to a fight..seeming equally matched Frederica gives up after Sally reveals her best techniques.. or does she?! It turns out Sally faked skills to give out false information to hide her incredible gaming reflexes I love these kind of mind games.


Other than that the first episode is fairly uneventful with people just doing their jobs and mostly taking on some lower tier guilds.  Iz finds a new robe that allows for on the go crafting somewhere but all in all it as all low key. There is some scouting here and there and some encounters but it is all set up for the much more exciting tenth episode! Still I really like the gamer feel this game really has to it.. much better done than Sword Art Online in my opinion, these characters have much more a gaming mindset. Which is amplified by Maple lacking this. The tenth episode is about big encounters with the two biggest guilds. We see Sally be overzealous and be cornered by Frederica.. about to die.  She has claimed a lot of Orbs which her team will then lose so the chances of their tiny guild getting a top ranking seem to go out the window. Which leads to my favorite moment of the 10th episode. Maple coming in to save Sally. Risking it all saying she will never allow Sally to die in game was quite touching. In a game we all think very lightly of death.. but Maple will never abandon her friends if she can stop it. 

However.. directly after May and Yui are left alone to defend the orb and they get killed after putting up a fair fight against Dread. Just before he can steal their orb though Maple returns and finishes off the already damaged Dread. It feels a bit conflicting with the message the show was telling earlier that Maple will never allow her friends to die.. but does highlight the reality of games. I kind of hoped Maple would save them all. By now we already established that this isn’t about fair fights. This show is about Maple being the most cute badass we have ever seen. Seeing how far she can push being so broken so I really wish she could have backed up those words she just uttered, or at least felt some consequence of not being able to do it. So the resolve with Dread was my least favorite moment.  Sally is super tired and can not go out anymore so now it is time for Maple to go on the offence. The episode ends with her facing the Flame Emperors. So I am pretty sure next two episodes she will be tangling with the top 2 guilds. 

Bofuri to me has become a show that I like for its simplicity and it’s lightheartedness. It’s a show that consistently makes me smile despite it clearly having it’s flaws. With these episodes I could really ignore those flaws, this is Bofuri.. I could wish for more but this is more than enough. I would not be able to remember these episodes if I would try to think back about it a few months from now but I do not need to.. it’s not that type of show.  Bofuri exists for the casual smiles and giggles and with very few exceptions it has consistently done so for me.

Hikaru no Go
Episode 5

Each time I begin to doubt if this show is for me, it pulls me back in with a very strong episode. We see Hikaru lose TWICE in this episode which are bold choices and we see Tetsuo , the popular Shogi kid re-embrace the magic of Go. Hikaru loses the Tetsuo which means he would have to jump in an Ice-cold pool.. but given how close he got to winning still Tetsuo decides to force him into something else instead a Go Team Tournament. Because of how things are set up.. if Hikaru’s teammates win he now is able to lose..so he wants to play for himself, a nice set up for an episode about putting coloured stones on a wooden grid if I have ever seen one. 

It’s just GO! Hikaru!

For the second time in this show we are introduced to a glimpse of brilliance Hikaru might have concerning Go as soon as he is able to step by step recreate a game.. after a guy fumbled some stones of the board. This pleases Sai , who for one of the first times I found a more welcome addition than an obnoxious mentor. The fact that Hikaru can render him obsolete one day is a nice promise. With Yugi the final duel against Atem felt somewhat unearned because we never saw  tiny Yugi duel instead of the pharaoh except for some mystical reasons. Hikaru is a much more fully fledged character and this stroke of brilliance makes me belief Sai can at one point even be taken out of the equation in this show. Great long time set up and very solid character building.

Immediately after we see him proceed to play Go, trough visuals he imagines building entire galaxies and star systems.. is this another sign of how genius he can be as a go player? The way it is framed certainly builds up to Hikaru discovering some latent abilities deep within him, of him beginning to enjoy the game for himself… but he totally washes out and loses badly. Getting called out by Tetsuo for it. Speaking of the latter, he dominates his match even if now he gets being bullied for a Shogi player. What a weird world… I guess  we do the same thing though… oooh you play PUBG instead of Fortnite.. poser! Well not me persé because I  think Fortnite sucks but you know. Still I would think members of unpopular clubs would stick together a bit more. If you play Shogi you might enjoy a game of Go as well but well let’s be honest none of these people should ever get laid..at least in reality.. so perhaps there is a lot of build up tension. Just something I will keep finding weird.

Best episode of the line up. My favorite moment was the Galaxy building scene that ends in Hikaru’s defeat.. there was no derpy music playing at the end.. it was all just subtle. It was a perfect illustration of a boy trying to learn the game, having a fun time with it. .but with a realistic result. Very good. My least favorite moment happened when Akiri’s moment with Hikaru was totally skipped. She just kinda vanished. She deserves better.

Round Up

Throughout the line up we had much better episodes than last week. Even Sevens improved though that only applied to the framework of the episode rather than the meat on the bones itself. Next week I might need to replace it from my programming anyway so please leave a suggestion for me to watch in its stead! Next week I will regretfully wrap up Bofuri as well which just might also get a series review from me but I am still undecided about that!

I had another great Saturday morning and I hope your weekends are all amazing next well!
Love you all!

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!