Yes, I have chosen my Winter shows already. And yes, I will likely not carry on watching The Eminence in Shadow in that season. I have taken the time to rewatch the last few episodes, to get a fresh look at it and see where my criticisms come from. While I think I was able to find something to enjoy in the show finally, my mind remains unchanged when it comes to main character/con artist Cid. In fact, I dislike him even more now. I have a bit to say about that rewatch, but thankfully I also have my other shows that I’m liking much more though.
Raven of the Inner Palace Episode 6
Last week focused more on Gaojin’s chief attendant, Wei Qing, and where he came from. I was also wondering back then when we would hear more about who Shouxue really was and where she came from. This week’s episode was extremely heavy on lore, but it was all worth it, because we know much more than we did about not just Shouxue, but of what looks like another ‘boogeyman’ in the show. Even some members of the palace decide to spook the children there into believing this ‘boogeyman’ will appear at night if they misbehave.
Already curious on who the Raven Consort is and what they do, Gaojin decides to probe some more from the palace’s archives, and eventually confronts Shouxue about it. She then tells him the story that has been passed down so much that she can recite it by heart, about the Summer King and the Winter King who were more like titles than actual blood royalty. They were bound by hundreds of years of war, and even after their reconcilement, the Summer King decided to confine the Winter King inside the Inner Palace – the same palace that Shouxue remains to this day. He renamed them The Raven Consort, and was the one who begun the long tradition of not treating them like their other consorts. From watching this story unfold onscreen, it sounds like the Summer King was doing it to protect her, but I honestly think that it was more like he was afraid of her true power. This same power that Bingyue (the boogeyman from the Luan Dynasty that’s currently haunting Shouxue) is telling her about.
But there’s more. The Winter King is always chosen by the Night Wanderer Niao Lian – the flying creature we see in the OP. And because of the Summer King’s crazed action of confining the Raven Consorts (and all future ones), it seems like she has turned from a benevolent creature into a bit of a boogeyman herself. Another name for her, Yeyoushen, is used to scare younger eunuchs in the palace if they misbehave, or stay out and play after dark. As the current Raven Consort, Shouxue has everything to claim the throne, and yet at the same time is nothing, just as long as she kept on Niao Lian’s leash.
Raven of the Inner Palace has become a very lore-heavy show. I know a lot of people will be turned off by the amount of context and old stories that appear in every episode. I didn’t think I’d enjoy the story as much as I do, but now we have this new information on who the Raven Consort really is, I’m eager to know what Shouxue’s future will be. Will she be able to break free from Niao Lian’s grasp? And Bingyue’s spirit wants her to bring the cursed Luan Dynasty back, so will she be forced to? So many questions, and I want to know the answers to all of them.
The Eminence in Shadow Episode 5
Well I did go back and watch the show from the start. And I admit that I have developed a new appreciation for it. I still think that it started off very odd. I do see how it was trying to break the mold and deliver a parody of sorts of past isekai shows. It gave us a taste of Cid’s character before Truck-kun hit him, but at the same time, I wonder whether if it was really so necessary. I mean we already know he’s a bit of a douchebag con artist. Ughh, I’m torn, and I think I will be for a long while. Anyway…
This episode carries straight on from where we left off, where Zenon meets Lord Shadow for the first time. And given his massive overpowered energy, we can sort of guess what happens, and while all of this is being played out in front of Alexia, who had absolutely no idea that Cid was the leader of an edgy shadow group the whole time. Meanwhile, Iris (Alexia’s sister) and the rest of the Knight Order are having to deal with the monster the dead scientist let loose onto the city: a titan made with royal blood who regenerates limbs and wounds.
So having now given this show a second watch, what are my true thoughts? Well, I still don’t like Cid, if that’s what you mean. The fantasy story itself is an interesting one, if we took away his annoying narcissism. I also really like the idea of this hidden Shadow Garden group who takes orders from no-one and remains committed to wiping out the Cult, wherever or whoever they may be. What I don’t like is the charade, and the parody in the show. Just because Cid has enough magical power to level a city, that does not mean he is a morally correct person; very much the opposite in fact. I see opinion online is divided on him too. He says he wants to stay lurking in the shadows, and yet here he is showing off his massive power for the whole city to see. Seems to me like he’ll end up being some kind of myth or legend. A spook story that cult followers tell their children at night; go against the Cult, and Lord Shadow will come after you.
Even after 5 episodes, I still don’t believe in Cid’s master plan in becomes Side Character A and staying in the shadows. He is this typical overpowered isekai kid who is telling these poor girls about a demon cult that he originally thought as fictional, but even when it turned out to be all true, he is still treating it as some game. Maybe it’s because of his character in general. He is not a nice guy, and he would be the first to admit it. He is motivated by greed, and hasn’t really developed a close attachment to his harem, not even to first girl Alpha. A character like Tanya Degurechaff in Saga of Tanya the Evil was someone we could root for because even with all her athiest and nihilistic beliefs, she still found an attachment to the new world around her. Cid is just a hollow shell of a person, and more of a narcissist or solipsist, and that’s why I don’t like him. At least Tatsuya Shiba from Mahouka had a heart, and people he cared about and looked up to.
Bocchi the Rock! Episode 5
I said it last week, and I’ll say it again here: Bocchi, Ryo, Nijika and Kita still feel more like four girls jamming and doing this as a hobby, instead of an actual band. So I thought this week’s episode was good in tackling that. Nijika has been itching for her sister to book them again, but of course she can’t just have them on when she has a full schedule of other bands booked too. Plus big sister thinks Kessoku Band still needs a lot of work, so she decides to audition them and let them show off their new song.
We all know what the outcome was, but I really enjoyed the girls’ journey to that audition day. Kita is still not really on par when it comes to playing the guitar, and is starting to get calluses and cuts on her fingertips. Nijika is frustrated at how blunt (but realistic) her big sister is being about it all. Hitori is still getting to grips with having to work as a unit, and not as a solo player with an Oh!Tube (which is definitely not a Youtube ripoff) account. I think these upcoming few episodes will focus on the four developing as a group. The time where we see cute girls doing cute things is over, and the show knows it.
The show is also very good at keeping Hitori both front and center, and as someone in the background. I bring up the art direction in the show again, as it is still presenting Hitori as someone who is too scared to open up and speak out. One scene at the end of this week is something I want to point out. Big sister has already sensed that Hitori is not just some random guitar player, and complements her play style. But instead of big smiles and happy thoughts, Hitori sees this more as a ‘warning’. She looks at big sister’s stern and confrontational stature and thinks that because she has her eye on her, that means that she could be on her way out.
Accepting compliments is something many people with Social Anxiety Disorder have a problem with; because we feel so worthless and disgusted with ourselves, we believe that compliments from other people are either them sizing us up, pitying us or mocking us. Hitori wants to be a happy person and grow as a guitarist, but does she really dream of the big stage? This was something Nijika brought up in conversation too. She has her dream (which she is keeping a secret for now), but Hitori is already in a comfort zone of her own posting videos of her playing solo as a faceless persona.
I really like how thoughtful Bocchi the Rock! is getting, whilst piling on the good visual gags. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d like this show as much as I do now.
Odd Taxi Episode 6
Well just like Bocchi the Rock!, as each episode passes in Odd Taxi, the more I want to keep going. I mean I could have fine with binge watching the entire show. So I wonder why I didn’t when it came out last year. Oh well, then is then, and now is now.
Here in episode 6, Mystery Kiss’s biggest fan Imai has won 1 billion yen (around $6.5 million) in a lottery using the numbers Odokawa gave at random when he gave him a ride way back when. We actually found this out in the previous episode, when Shiho scrolled through her phone reading the news, I should add. And to celebrate, he wants to treat him at his work place, a cabaret club. But unbeknownst to either of them, someone is there looking for him.
The people in the club have no idea who it is, but we all know that it can only be one person. The gacha addict Tanaka has Dobu’s gun now, and his vendetta with Odokawa has led him to follow him across town with the intent to torment him. And while Kakihana is taking out yet another loan to keep up the façade of having a high-salary job, Odokawa and Dobu meet again and decide to make a deal. Dobu is bothered by viral videos that are being made about him by new content creator Kabasawa being the shooter at the cabaret club. And so he offers to restore Doctor Goriki’s clinic and wipe away Shirakawa’s debt in exchange for Odokawa finding Kabasawa and leading him to Dobu…which Odokawa agrees to do.
Other characters with their own subplots will no doubt appear at some point in the main story, like Rui’s secret relationship with comedy double act member Baba, or why Mitsuya planted a tracking device in Odokawa’s taxi (which he still does not know about). And through all of this, we are no closer to finding out who is truly responsible for that high-school girl’s disappearance. No-one in the cast is bound by one moral code, and everyone has something to hide. The slow burn is great, and I love it.
The Slow Burn Curse™ is real, and I ended up getting three shows with it. I have so many questions that I want answers for in Raven of the Inner Palace, sub-plots turn into even more sub-plots in Odd Taxi, and the Cult of Diablos are still treated as boogeymen in The Eminence in Shadow, which will carry on into the Winter season, but I will likely not be continuing. But this slow burn has still become fun and entertaining to watch; that I won’t deny. But will the curse continue in the Winter shows that I have already picked out?