This is a week of mourning. One of my favorite Danganronpa characters is no more. (Spoiler alert, obviously.)
When I played Trigger Happy Havoc, it took me a long, long time to get to like Hina. I even thought because she was such an airhead, she would be one of the first to go. In the end, she was pivotal in keeping optimism among the kids who were still surviving, all doubting each others’ role in life. She, along with Kyoko, believed every word Makoto said, especially in the two times he was accused of murder. Though I have to admit that seeing her dress like an OL in this show just seemed out of place, she was the Ultimate Swimmer after all. But then again Danganronpa is Danganronpa. I was blown away when Byakuya was the first to go in Goodbye Despair…it was a serious WTF moment. Now Makoto is slowly running out of allies, Monokuma has him right where he wants him. The rest of the Future Foundation doesn’t trust him, so he only has his boss Kyoko to watch his skinny behind. Sadly, Monokuma wants revenge on her too, so for all we know, even she could go next week!!! She’s my all-time favorite girl, behind Mahiru, so I’ll be sad if it happens.
Meanwhile, in Despair Arc, while Hajime is still in scummy Reserve Course school, the Hope’s Peak kids have suddenly gotten all chummy, thanks to Chiaki. This arc feels more and more like an atypical slice-of-life show, though I think we’re being lulled into a false sense of security. Give it a few more episodes and something epic will certainly happen. That’s my bet, anyway.
Future Arc doesn’t interest me as much as Despair Arc does. It might be a sign that I’m now hard to please when it comes to entertainment.
This week’s Rewrite has turned another atypical Key adaptation into totally dull one; this means it could be the last one I ever watch. We are left knowing various things about all of these characters, while introducing new story-lines and also hearing a past story that we’re supposed to cry about, all at the same time while no progress seems to be made altogether.
Well I’ve pretty much forgotten all of their names now… I only remember this girl’s name (Shizuru) because this episode focused on her. Do you want to know something? A good part of me no longer cares about their names…or their histories…or what could happen in the show either. The only thing that I have found vaguely interesting is the ribbon ghost, who she is, and why she is so interested in biting Kotarou’s arm. One other thing I have found annoying in Rewrite is the serious lack of cohesion and communication. I think Little Busters! suffered from this too; we identified with the male MC, but just could not feel anything about his surrounding characters.
Personally, I think the same applies to Love Live! Sunshine this week too. There have been times when, while we see Chika, Riko and You take center stage (just as Honkers, Umi and Kotori did), I didn’t feel anything for the first-year characters that were introduced in this episode. It felt totally unlike the first-year episode of its predecessor, where not only could we see the close bond between Hanayo and Rin as well as the outstanding character design of Maki (who would become one of the most well-known and well-loved out of all of them). Hanamaru and Ruby clearly care about each other, but there’s just something missing. These two are, apparently, supposed to be an OTP, but I just cannot see it like I did with Hanayo and Rin. Perhaps Ruby’s sister Dia is a part of this disconnection; she feels like a wedge between them. As each episode progresses, she just gets grumpier and grumpier. As for the other characters, I can feel this real friction between Kanan and Mari, like the former is desperate to get at the latter’s throat for some reason…something happened between them in the past, perhaps?
Feel the orange…Do it for Kakeru…Make sure Naho confesses…
I have not bought it at all. If anything, I kind of regret choosing it. I take a look at any other shows that have been released (New Game, Sweetness and Lightning, Mob Psycho 100) and I have regrets. Perhaps once this season is over, I’ll do a ‘best of the rest’ post.
Going back to orange, I have seen some shows that have moved incredibly slowly, but this could well take the biscuit. Taking into consideration that the manga was, I understand, large and well-received, and the live-action film was just as well-received, I don’t understand why this is falling flat in my eyes? It’s probably just me, but knowing that Kakeru found a girl, I wouldn’t have done what Naho has done; I just would have given up entirely. Interesting, though, how we were left at the end of episode 3. Their future selves were reading their messages from their time capsules, only to discover Kakeru’s one was directed at them, and not at himself. Maybe this is an indication that Kakeru’s accident wasn’t an accident, or that he was holding something about himself from the others? Kind of reminds me of Your Lie In April a little, in how Kaori was hiding her illness. Also I’m now quite pessimistic of Naho’s attempts to do what she thinks is the right thing. I believe that, no matter what happens, Kakeru’s fate is sealed…it’s just up to Naho on what exactly her fate will be. And there was me throwing around the Butterfly Effect theory, but now I’m not so sure.
Danganronpa: Despair Arc and Prisma Illya‘s reviews are going to have to wait, and since poor Takumi has suddenly been challenged by biker guy to a Shokugeki, I’m planning to do a 2-episode special review to cover that. Reason is that I’ll be off on my first of three conventions this summer: Amecon. It’s not the biggest on this island of ours, but it is one of the most well-loved among the UK anime community. Rejoice because I’ll be posting my happenings of the 5 days right here on OASG.