No it’s not Sword Art Online, not yet, if you didn’t read my post, I wasn’t initially impressed by it like the rest of the weeb population was. I still wonder what Ordinal Scale will be like and you should get a post on that soon.

Instead, my obligatory bad show for this season is…eromanga sensei.

Alright, so it’s not as bad as other shows I’ve regretted to pick, but considering that Oreimo (the writers’ other big work) just got worse and worse as time went on, I don’t anticipate that this will get any better. In fact, I have next to no idea what the plot will be. So, Sagiri will come out of her room and go back to school…I guess, or they’ll carry on working as LN author and ecchi artist. There’s something important, and shocking, though that I need to tell – they’re not blood-related…

This introductory episode did nothing to ease my worry over this show. As a first-year high-schooler, the male MC acts like a respectable individual, making money by being an LN author. Once we find out his illustrator is his shut-in of a step-sister, the show of respect vanishes instantly, and he is made out to be the bad guy (for some reason). The same thing happened in Oreimo; Kyousuke was living a normal non-otaku life, but when he realises his younger sister moonlights as a hardcore otaku, he’s portrayed as the bad guy.

I know I’m thinking too deeply with this one; eromanga sensei isn’t that good of a show. If anything, I’d call it a recycled and diluted Oreimo, and I really don’t think it’ll get better. But saying that, it does deliver some tiny laughs every now and then, including the ultimate insult. I mean who wants to be called a LN protagonist? Nobody. So yeah, it’s bearable…for now.

I actually didn’t know that the makers of Saekano flat were going to do an ‘episode 0’ (like they did with season 1), so I had to backtrack and watch that too. I’ll say that it’s no different than what I remember, which is a good thing considering how much I enjoyed season 1. ‘Episode 0’ of season 1 was a fan-service episode, and this one is no different; even the title ‘Fan Service of Love & Pure Heart’ gives it away. This beach trip episode wasn’t really any kind of precursor of what to expect in season 2; instead it served as more of a reminder of the characters and what they are aiming to do – finish the game.

Blessing Software are deep into their game now, although it still feels like more of a club activity than something they can sell to the public. Utaha and Eriri already have their own creative works to do, and Michiru still has her music, so it still feels like this is just Tomoya’s project. It does feel like Megumi has much more of a presence this time around, unlike in season 1 where the others just took over and tried to get as much time alone with Tomoya as they could. The reason behind is could be because as the game is likely to be finished soon, she needs to be visible, since the main girl in the game being based around her. I hope that in this season that the other girls don’t steal the screen time like they did last time, though.

I don’t quite know why Saekano got so much grief when it first came out, as I thought the story idea and the character design were great and matched each other completely. Eriri, Utaha, Michiru and Izumi all mirror the atypical light novel girl characters that can be romanced; childhood friend, senpai, relative and kouhai respectively. And stuck in the middle is the absolute nobody, Megumi. She accepts Tomoya as a friend straightaway and likes to jump to his defense (when he deserves it), unlike the others who hide their own feelings for him by doing the atypical tsundere/senpai/kouhai routine.

I can accept that it might get as much grief, considering it’s only available on Amazon Video, and not the weeb paradise that is Crunchyroll. At least it’s a show I’m enjoying; Sakura Quest hasn’t got really got any better. What sucks is that I’m not entirely sure what is the problem with this one. The story, the setting, the characters…all of them have their strengths and weaknesses, but there’s definitely something in the show that just makes it dull to watch and I don’t know what. Yoshino is still adamant on wanting to return to Tokyo, where she can carry on being an unemployable nobody. This week we see the remaining four main characters; they all have good things about them, but I’m not really sure that they are completely worth screen time, even. Her first job to sell a thousand boxes of manju shows her how unpopular the town of Manoyama really is.

I don’t like the possibility that this show might drag on. Saying that though, I thought Hanasaku Iroha dragged on a bit the first time I watched it, and it was only the second time when I realised it was worth it. I just don’t think Sakura Quest has got off to a good start, and because of this, getting going is even more difficult, so P.A Works has their work cut out here…unless they are concentrating most of their time and energy of The Eccentric Family 2…which is likely.

So far, Little Witch Academia has delivered strongly, but I have mixed feelings about this new story line which will last to the end of the show. Because of a strike by the academy workers, magic has been cut off. Coincidentally, Luna Nova’s new teacher of modern magic, Professor Croix, arrives, with robots, computers and technology that is merely made to look like magic. This feels like Kill La Kill all over again, with a stylish-looking antagonist that brainwashes the masses with something new and revolutionary. Chariot has even more of a task ahead of her now, not just because of Croix, but because Akko has herself fallen under the spell of technology.

I can almost tell what to expect in these final 10 episodes; Croix’s technology will take over the school, rendering magic obsolete, and Chariot will have to come out of the shadows and do battle. I hope so; she has become my other favorite character in the show, next to Lotte. But even though I have doubts over this story line, the animation is still spot on. Plus we notice Diana getting even more frustrated with Akko, which is always funny.

Moving on to Haibane Renmei. Being brought into a world you’ve never seen before is daunting for anyone, and Rakka has already begun to ask more questions, as she learns more about the town, the dormitory the Haibane live in (Old Home), the Toga, and what the Haibane Renmei organisation actually are. The town itself is inhabited by humans, who are actually allowing the Haibane to let them hang around. They can’t carry money and have to write everything they buy (all of it has to be second-hand) in special notebooks.

Reki has taken a special interest in Rakka. Perhaps it could simply be because she is the newborn, or since she is just wanting someone new to talk to. And while Hikari, Kana, Kuu and Nemu have been open to Rakka, Reki has decided to keep silent about herself. This can be seen as both selflessness and secretive.

Episode 2 was a much more laid-back episode compared to the last one, which had a lot more impact.

Next week should hopefully bring:

  • More Megumi Katou screen time.
  • A more substantial episode of Little Witch Academia. I already miss the mini-stories.
  • A infinitely better Sakura Quest episode…although seeing pigs fly has better odds.
  • The staff at eromanga sensei to give a statement, saying it was all just a belated April Fool joke, and actually start over with a show that’s less painful to watch.

Happy Easter/Passover. Or early Ostara, if you’re watching the Spring Equinox, like I am.