I thought that last week would bring in some kind of ‘turning point’ for shows that I’m watching. I also thought about how some of these shows are turning into atypical comedy sketch shows, and started complaining about them. I know I ought to find good things in all the shows I watch. Sometimes it doesn’t work; I mean Revue Starlight inexplicably drove me crazy last year, and I had to stop watching that altogether. I’m only human after all; all of us anime writers are.
I mentioned my case with Revue Starlight because I know how some shows can just tilt me with little effort. Sometimes it feels like We Never Learn is doing that to me, but then something amusing happens in it, and so I keep on watching.
Nariyuki receives the attention of Kirisu, a cold-hearted school teacher, and former tutor of Fumino and Rizu. She still believes that the girls should pursue careers in what they excel at (literature and math) instead of what they’re actually interested in doing (astronomy and psychology). You can’t help but understand this, but then you have to think whether literature and math are making them miserable or not. I mean, you can still be good at something and not actually like/enjoy it. Besides, astronomy and psychology both sounds far more fascinating career pursuits to me.
As well as this, the news that Nariyuki and Rizu accidentally kissed at the study camp has gotten around, and mutated into something far more ridiculous (like him being married and having a baby…). These stupid rumors actually get into Uruka’s head, though, and so ends up trying some tactics to woo his heart.
I never said that I hated this show; We Never Learn genuinely has some funny moments, even if the facepalm ecchi moments seem to dominate the show sometimes. This week’s ‘facepalm ecchi moment’ is really awful, and I don’t even want to spoil it – it’s just something you have to see for yourself.
A super positive episode of Hitoribocchi this week, with the two topics being Bocchi needing to present a haiku to the class, and then Nako needing to take supplementary classes after she fails her math test. It’s a bit of a standard episode this week, but it is the little things in Hitoribocchi that make this such a heartwarming and positive show for me. Things like the theme song for Hitori’s School of Laughs (this week ED theme is really worth watching instead of skipping, especially if you feel depressed in any way), or the teacher being scared stiff of her class. As for Nako herself…well I don’t even know where to start…
We’re all enjoying the whole ‘cute girls doing cute things’ theme in Hitoribocchi, but it’s Bocchi battling her social anxiety (subtlely shown or not) which is central to this. Nako sees her worries, and does everything she can to support her. She also knows that Bocchi can’t be reliant on her all the time, so getting close to Aru and Sotoka is something Bocchi needs to work on. I suppose Bocchi is right this week: we all need people like Nako.
As well as that, we’re shown more of the class teacher this week, and how she is still afraid of Nako. It seems that while she wants to be rid of her former aloof personality, Nako finds out that her aloof personality just won’t be rid of her, and not just that either; after seeing Sotoka refer to Bocchi as her master, she mistakenly believes that she has become the bancho of the class. Maybe this teacher does need to build some confidence – I mean, I know it’s something I, as a trainee teacher, that is key. I don’t want any students I get to think I’m too scared to teach them.
I should learn from Aru perhaps, and her own positive attitude at life:
Sarazanmai carried on this week, with Kazuki carrying on with his plan to take the real Sara Azuma’s place at a fan meet so he can…umm…make Haruka happy? Well, all sorts of things came out this week; most of them about how Kazuki isn’t even Haruka’s biological brother, and how he blames himself for every bad thing that has happened to Haruka. But his misery did nothing for me this week.
I thought that last week’s episode was enough to make me hate Kazuki – oh good lord, this week’s episode only went and amplified that feeling in me. Perhaps other viewers of Sarazanmai can find something in him, but I just find Kazuki so unlikable. Oh, are we supposed to feel sympathy for him after seeing all of these flashbacks about his family, and how his secret of disguising himself as Sara comes out? He deserves everything he gets this week, and I am extremely unsympathetic for him.
But there’s something else that I feel that comes out this week. It isn’t just Kazuki that is annoying me, either. While I’ve been impressed by other Ikuhara shows, like Revolutionary Girl Utena and Yuri Kuma Arashi, I can’t find anything to enjoy in this show anymore. I know that Sarazanmai has attracted many stans after only episode 1, but it’s like I just let out one heavy sigh after each episode is over now. Maybe this show will pick up for me, and I’ll begin to see something that all the stans do, or maybe I won’t…
I certainly hope that all the crazy fans of this show are willing to accept some criticism, and not praise this show blindly (like what happens with a lot of other shows). Just because a show features cute animation and gay boys, that doesn’t mean it’s the best thing since sliced bread…(I’m looking at you Yuri on Ice stans on that one)
Well Koga’s arc in Rascal Does Not Dream finally ended. Of course I don’t mean that in a bad way. It was just as entertaining as the first one with Mai. Here we have had a first-year becoming what Rio calls Laplace’s Demon, and therefore making both her days and Sakuta’s days loop, just so she could spend more time with him in a fake relationship.
Episode 6 ends on it hinting on the next arc featuring a new girl called Shoko, who goes to another school. Since I never watched Rascal Does Not Dream when it initially aired, I have no idea what this arc could be about. What kind of person is Shoko, and how will she affect Sakuta’s life now that they are all on summer break?
Meanwhile, episode 6 of Kaguya-sama: Love is War introduces the treasurer of the Student Council, Ishigami, who I’m finding a bit of a mystery. Here, he asks if he wants to resign from his post, and what motivates him to do this is because he believes Kaguya wants to kill him after he asks her if she likes Miyuki (which of course she does). We’re bound to see more of him, I’m sure. But past episodes have made me crack up, and sadly this one didn’t do it for me as much as the others did.
This is still a great show, and I’m enjoying it immensely. And I think Hayasaka, Kaguya’s personal assistant, is becoming a new favorite character for me. She knows Kaguya likes Miyuki, and so is trying her best to get her Kaguya to confess ‘properly’.
Okay, so that was my week. I know that some shows are capable of making me really happy, while others are just making me depressed. Perhaps I should just watch only the happy ones from now on…What about you guys though? Have any shows this season tilted you, and made you want to just drop them? We’ve reached the halfway stage here, so this ‘turning point’ I spoke of can still happen. Feel free to hit that like button and air your opinions in the comments below…