I have been away, jetting off to Dragoncon once again, working on my tan (and failing) and learning new and strange things about general nerddom. Now I’m back and have readjusted my body clock, it’s time for a little catch-up.
It has been so so long since I have seen Love Live! Sunshine!!, and now the third-years get their own story heard. It’s a rather touching one, actually. Kanan even has lines! The one girl who we’ve been waiting for has lines. That, and the third-years suddenly decided to kiss and make up too. Who could have thought…the name aqours was Dia’s idea all along? While we have had the obligatory “yay-we-are-a-full-group-so-let’s-do-something-fun-together-at-the-beach” filler episode, we also had a more serious episode; the most serious one so far, in my opinion.
I adore You. She’s my favourite out of all of them. While some of the girls have very distinctive characteristics (Yoshiko, Mari) and while others have next to none (Hanamaru, Kanan), You stands out. While she was eager to join aqours from the get-go, she remains in self-doubt over her own talents and abilities; almost as if she sees herself as the plainest out of the group. This is especially shown in the episode where she believes that Riko is taking her Chika away from her. While I kind of predicted what the ending would be like, it’s interesting to see how much Chika genuinely knows and cares about You (and doesn’t care to share with the others). For instance, we didn’t know she wore glasses until now; Chika has known her the longest and thus she would be the only one who knew, that’s a fact/secret only the two of them share.
With only a couple of episodes left, I predict a second season in the near future. We have gotten to know aqours too well now.
Now, Orange though. I seriously want to puke. Why do people like this show?
The live-action movie was part of the in-flight entertainment, so I managed to catch it. Now I know what will happen, I have the chance to compare it with this show. Sadly, I’m not impressed. It’s as if they’ve made the anime adaptation too wishy-washy, making it look no different than any other romance show that loves to use watercolours.
The characters in the movie were so much more sincere, while here they seem so forgettable, even Naho and Kakeru. The drive to save Kakeru feels more forced than anything, and the relay race scene just made me roll my eyes…and confirmed my thoughts: the six of them are all just two-dimensional and lifeless.
There’s at least one show which has recovered…a little. We have seen Emo Illya at her worst for the last month or so; I swear this has been the darkest and most intense Prisma Illya season so far…but that’s not to say that it’s the best, the first season will always be my favourite. Miyu has been freed from her ‘prison’ and now what? While I was relieved that Illya managed to roll her sleeves up and use every ounce of magic she had to do what she came for, it’s as if we’re left at a “what-happens-now” dilemma. What happens to the Ainsworth family now? What about the new characters? Will any ecchi happen in the final episodes? Would it be an exaggeration to say this was the worst season ever? Not sure, as season 3 was pretty bad (in that all it had was Illya x Kuro mana transferral a.k.a. kissing). I suppose if the Fate viewers wanted some action to finally happen in Prisma Illya, then this would be the season. Perhaps I was just too used to the lewdness.
I think I’ve reached some kind of balance when it comes to Rewrite. And why? Surely it’s some kind of Angel Beats!/Charlotte mash-up to make fun out of…well yeah, it kind of is. Only Rewrite has just gotten so off the aniblogger radar that nobody seems to care about it anymore, thus I am choosing to adopt the same idea. In the episodes that have aired while I’ve been away, we’ve had tiny things like Kagari amiably being shown around the pretty city, some rather pathetic and generic action sequences, the goth-loli girl getting stabbed, and…well…whose side is the better side? Quite frankly, I don’t care if the destruction of the planet is brought about in this show anymore. As soon as I watch this, I end up getting incredibly depressed and put on a happy show…one I’m not doing for this column.
…and there were a lot that I’d wished I’d done instead of this.
You want to know something strange? Despite deciding to abandon the Future Arc, I’m okay with the even more depressing Danganronpa. Sure Makoto was adorable in that ‘cute guy’ kind of way, and Kyoko was my favorite girl (especially in a suit!), but I’ve been just fine with watching this Despair Arc…as a hell of a lot as happened since I was away.
Junko and Mukuro have begun their master plan to take over Hope’s Peak, Chisa has returned from her expulsion to the Reserve Course, Hajime has become a completely different person, there’s a Clockwork Orange style scene (which is as creepy as hell)…but at least Chiaki is still as cute as anything. Even if she were part of the Remnants of Despair, she’d be killing people with her cuteness.
And as for Shokugeki no Souma? Well of course I was disappointed in the Autumn Elections result. Then again it just would have been way too obvious and a little cliché if Soma won outright. I like it now that they’re moving on past this contest, and onto the real meat of going to a cooking school; doing apprenticeships and the likes. I loved the pairing of Souma and Hisako; I was worrying where she had gone, and it was really nice that the ever-upbeat Souma gave her a nudge, telling her she shouldn’t be in Erina’s shadow anymore. Poor Megumi though…I think with her pairing with Erina, she’ll develop more doubt in her abilities, or will she? Either way, this is destined for a third season, which it so rightly deserves.
Like I’ve said, I’ve missed a lot while partying in Atlanta. But I’m back, and I’ve already chosen my shows to do for the Fall season.