Disappointment is usually something that crops up at some point or another in every anime season. This was sort of a sentiment that began last week, and that has gotten bigger this week, after watching all 3 of the recent shows this week.

We’ll begin with Release the Spyce. While this week feels like yet another filler episode, it appears to have developed some more in the way of plot: who Kyuten Science are, the identity of our main antagonists, as well as potentially the identity of this traitor that Moryo love to brag about but this episode is mostly about how Momo still feels she is in the shadow of Yuki. We see that she gets extremely depressed on how she will never end up being on her level, but on the other hand, there’s a good part of me that actually doesn’t care, because in all honesty, Momo is not that exciting a main character, and neither is Yuki. And the dynamic between the two of them is rather bland to watch, compared to last week’s dynamic between Mei and Fu.

On top of this, we see that Yuki’s definition of ‘constantly watching over her apprentice’ is a little…weird. This began in episode 2, during Momo’s initiation, and carries on here, where we notice that wherever Momo is, Yuki is right behind her, almost like that friend-you-know-who-is-really-a-stalker. If Momo was committed to becoming a police officer instead of a moeblob spy, then she’d notice Yuki would already be in trouble not just for stalking, but for breaking-and-entering as well.

I was hoping that Release the Spyce would become one of those shows to switch off to, like Harukana Receive was last season. While it has sort of succeeded in that job, it hasn’t gripped me so far like Harukana Receive did. In that, I was itching to know how Haruka and Kanata would develop as a beach volleyball pair, as well as how the relationship between twins Claire and Emily would strengthen. Here in Release the Spyce, I’m not getting that emotion from Momo and Yuki, Mei and Fu, or Hatsume and Goe. It’s all just…meh. I mean…I don’t even care who the traitor is anymore, or even what Tsukikage will do when the traitor reveals themselves.

So should I be disappointed with the other yuri show I’m watching this season? Well Bloom into You has impressed a lot of people, including me. The studio’s plan to stick as close to the manga as possible has paid off, with the direction being really on point, and the growing relationship between Nanami and Yuu looking and acting like…well…an actual relationship, instead of something that we see dime-a-dozen in other romance shows, where both sides seem to behave the same way in their feelings for each other. Right from the beginning, we see that while Yuu loves shoujo-ai stories, it’s something that she can’t personally understand herself, and it’s something we can see straightaway when she can’t understand why someone in middle school would confess to her. This attitude stays when Nanami does the same thing, and even while we see Nanami’s emotions go all over the place, Yuu remains stone-cold and a little clueless on love.

Last week when Maki saw them kissing was a bit of a turning point, as he later said to Yuu that he respected her for thinking more of Nanami’s reputation as the student council president than her own reputation, and that he saw this as some clear sign that Nanami has become someone very special to her, which throws her off-guard.

This week, we see more of Yuu’s relative cluelessness, as the midterms come up, and the opportunity to ‘come to my place to study’ arises, which throws Nanami off a little. Their scene in Yuu’s bedroom was very well done, in fact. We get to see Nanami barely keep it together as Yuu unwittingly moves closer to her, while she remains stone-cold. While she says she’ll oblige to be a confidant to Nanami, it’s a wonder now whether Yuu will ever understand how Nanami really feels about her, because right now she doesn’t…or more accurately, she can’t understand.

Okay, so I’m not growing any kind of disappointment with Bloom into You, so am I with SSSS Gridman? Well I think a more accurate answer to that would be that, by the end of this episode, a whole lot more tin-foil-hat conspiracy theories have suddenly developed on who all of the characters really are. I won’t mention any of them, in case I’m totally wrong on all of them; considering how Trigger have been known for their unpredictability, I’ll just keep my mouth shut this time (a lesson learned from that Darlifra op-ed I wrote back in February).

Outside of these weird conspiracy theories that have sprouted out of nowhere, this week’s SSSS Gridman has been a bit more of a filler episode that may well sow the seeds of the second half of the show, which will come in the Winter season. It’s a class field trip in the mountains this week. Here, Akane develops more interest in Yuta, and tricks him into admitting that he can transform into Gridman. What I do notice is that Akane appears to be more interested in defeating Gridman, and not Yuta himself. With this knowledge, she draws Gridman out by summoning a kaiju, and since they’re all in the mountains, they have no access to Junk (the old computer in Rikka’s junk shop, by the way). Despite being a filler ep, this was quite a fun watch. I feel like I shouldn’t even spoil what happens at the end now; SSSS Gridman has just become that kind of enthralling show to watch and to look forward to each week. Observers have been declaring that, after a long time, Trigger have finally made a good show, well I have to disagree with this opinion greatly. It’s like they’ve totally forgotten about the short show Space Patrol Luluco, and of course, last year’s Little Witch Academia.

I’m afraid I’ve had to give The Tatami Galaxy a break in this week’s post, and you can blame Crunchyroll for that. For some reason, it is refusing to let me watch episode 5. Your guess on why it suddenly won’t is as good as mine. After watching episode 4 last week though, I still haven’t really made an opinion that I can stick with. Sure, I’m enjoying the show, but there’s still so much I don’t know. For instance, I don’t know how our hero will break this endless cycle he appears to be in, or even if he can. Also, how will he get rid of Ozu and Higuchi for good? Of course, I want to know, but it’s actually beginning to bug me a little. Would you call this a similar kind of annoyance us weebs had when we watched the Endless Eight episodes? Maybe.

So…disappointment this week? If you can count a week full of filler episodes as disappointment, then so be it. Some stories are growing and developing, while others are just stagnating and not really doing anything.

Outside of anime though, I’ve been occupied with watching Blizzcon action go down in California this weekend (including 3 huge esports tournaments, except League Worlds, which I don’t follow), so anime ended up having to take a bit of a step back. I’ll catch up with absolutely everything in due time, including the Tatami Galaxy episodes that Crunchyroll aren’t letting me watch for some weird reason, but how about you? How have your favorite shows been? Are you pleased with them, or are you getting disappointed with some of them? Feel free to hit that like button and air your opinions in the comments below…