So will these new owners of our beloved anime companies bring out some changes? I don’t think so. I don’t actually think that much will change at all. Anime fans don’t like change. The only things that seem to change for them are their waifus and husbandos.

Guilty as charged.

Akane from SSSS Gridman has already won me over. Well…to be fair, she won me over last week, when a lot more focus was on who she really was and what she got up to in her spare time. Considering how much Trigger have borrowed from the old Gridman and Ultraman franchises to form both the backbone and the tiny bits of this show, some fans have already formulated their own theories on why Akane does what she does, and all of these theories are actually very plausible…from her being manipulated into the role by this Alexis creature, to her being some kind of alien. I would normally get quite aggravated by a character like her, but she’s actually become a character I sympathize with, and want to cheer on as well. But it isn’t because I’m frustrated with the main protagonists…

…in fact, I’m enjoying all of the characters in this show so far. This has the looks of a 2-cour show, so of course we still have a lot of plot and character design to come, but these new characters certainly look interesting, especially as we meet our next antagonist: a young boy who appears to have his own past grudge with Gridman. Once again, I absolutely love the sound direction that has gone on in this show so far. I may have already mentioned this, but a lot of other shows would typically fill scenes with some score, but SSSS Gridman chooses to leave the more normal everyday scenes with silence, in an attempt to separate the real world from the kaiju world, where all of their fight scenes are full to the brim with soundtrack.

In other news, I swear I’ve seen these four characters before…in another Trigger show…

I suppose that now some more characters have been established, we will reach the first ‘filler episode’ stage in SSSS Gridman. But moving on to the next show, has Bloom Into You gone and repeated itself? Well we’ve now reached the stage where I know no more about the show. Nanami gets her nomination to be student council president, everyone goes on summer break and Yuu gives her big speech to the school. That’s as far as I know. In regards to how the two of them go on, and how their relationship continues is something I have no idea of, so I’m looking forward to what will happen.

I’m liking the show in how natural and awkward this relationship between the two of them is. Nanami is meant to be the senpai that Yuu is to look up to, but because she is the one with the most emotions in the relationship, it’s often left to the younger Yuu to bring her down to earth. A lot of things from the manga have remained, most of which strengthen this ongoing story of how Nanami is trying to be the big person, but is only willing to show Yuu her softer and more vulnerable side. But episode 3 takes a big step, as we learn a little more about Nanami, and while she does sees Sayaka as her best friend, we see that there is so much that she doesn’t want her to know…but is willing to share with Yuu.

Perhaps I’ve just been too used to watching shows where both sides of a relationship get emotional, so it’s a bit refreshing to see how Yuu still can’t really understand why Nanami would choose her, of all of the people in the world, especially when she initially said that she wouldn’t be with anyone.

This show has all been well and good, but what has really gotten to me now is HIDIVE’s sub. It’s not very good. It’s actually not very good at all.

We end up getting a lot of weird and awkward translations, and even the manga purists are beginning to say that their translation does not accurately reflect some portions of the show, which is the icing on the cake, really. For example, when Yuu turns on the gift that Nanami gave her from her trip to the planetarium, she begins to ponder why Nanami would like her, of all people, and the line “I’d think her sights would be set higher“, which is neither a very good translation or a right-sounding phrase to say. Not just that, when Nanami uses the line “I so like you“…I know no-one who says that. I’d like to think that HIDIVE would get their act together in translation now that this big shakeup in the anime business has happened, but I’m not holding my breath.

Strange though how I’m quick to point out the translation mistakes in Bloom Into You, while when I watch my other HIDIVE show Release the Spyce, it’s like they’re invisible. Could this be down to the fact that Bloom Into You is meant to be a serious romantic drama, while Release the Spyce is just silly high-school girls playing spies?

Well anyways….the show is still doing very little for me, and I really thought that I’d like a show like this too, which makes it even more disappointing. I know that it’s still very early in, and a lot of plot lines haven’t even been touched on yet. I mean, us viewers are meant to be hooked in on who this traitor is supposed to be. The bookie’s favorite is the owner of the cafe, who is not only privy to all Tsukikage information but has little else to do as well. Some have also suggested that it is Fu as well, because she already mentioned that she needed the cash. But one tin-foil hat theory says that Momo herself is the mole, and is acting like some oblivious double agent or something. Hey, that would actually make this show even more interesting than it currently is.

Right now though, Momo is still on her training steps, and it seems like the only thing she really cares about is for her senpai to notice her. If anything, I’ve grown more curious as to who is really behind this Moryo group. Okay, so we all see that they’re the atypical evil crime organization, but as you watch each scene at Moryo HQ, surely you are interested in knowing who all the head honchos are. Of course, it’ll end up being some great twist. It always is.

In the meantime, I can see our nameless protagonist in The Tatami Galaxy go down another fateful path, only this time it’s with the university’s cycling circle. But instead of following him training to be a valuable member of the circle, episode 3 instead tells the story of how he buys himself an expensive bicycle, only for it to be stolen immediately, and later to be influenced to join a bizarre gliding competition, only for that effort to fail when he trains his body when he isn’t supposed to. This appears to be another ongoing thing with this show: our hero attempts to go down a path that will lead him to the rose-colored college campus life he was hoping for, only for it to fall apart miserably. And while Ozu isn’t the direct cause of his despair and anguish, he is definitely a catalyst to it.

Our hero appears to be doomed. Not just to repeat these two wasted years over and over, but to be haunted by Ozu, to miss his opportunity to give Akashi her Mochiguman toy and, of course, to graduate. The only person that can fix this problem is him, and so it’s just a matter of when he’ll figure out what needs to be changed. Even after only three episodes, I’ve sort of figured out that our hero needs to stop thinking about the past and to think forward in life. Forget the past and look to the future.

I accept that The Tatami Galaxy isn’t an anime for everyone, as the narration whizzes past too quickly for some viewers, and the surreal animation can throw some more conservative viewers off completely. I suppose that it is this animation direction that has become a part of why this show has gained such a cult status though.

My other group blog, Japan Curiosity, has sadly decided to close down, so you may expect to see a lot more activity from me here on OASG…which is a good thing, right? Anyway, what do you think of our heroes Yuta, Rikka, Nanami, Yuu, and Momo? Or are you cheering for Akane like me? Feel free to hit that like button and air your opinions in the comments below…