So another week comes and goes and we are still all stuck inside. A lot of us need haircuts too, including myself. I guess we all still have a lot of time before stores re-open. I think some of us are also turning a little stir crazy being cooped up in our homes.
Meanwhile, in the weeb fan circle, the big franchises are all beginning to pick up the pace. But for me, some shows aren’t starting so hot.
This week I can finally get started with season 2 of Kaguya-sama: Love is War…and I can finally be on the same level as the rest of you…
Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2 Episode 1
Last year, season 1 of this was picked by you guys as an out-of-season show, and I just immediately fell in love with the franchise. To be honest, I’m usually pretty apprehensive when it comes to sequel seasons of shows that were excellent, but this has started off very strongly. The first sketch revolves around Miyuki being denied his caffeine so Kaguya and Ai can plot something very malicious against him, only for the mission (and it really does ply on the whole Mission: Impossible thing here) to do horribly wrong when Miyuki falls asleep on her shoulder.
Later on, the four of them get led on by a boy and girl who gloat that they ‘achieved nirvana’ over the summer break, then Chika makes the others try a terrible board game about life, leading both Kaguya and Miyuki to start thinking about what would happen if the two of them got married. Oh, how I’ve missed these two.
Like I said, I’m very cautious when it comes to second seasons of excellent shows, and this will be no different, despite it starting very strongly. I know it can only get better, and I want it to get better. Heck, if it is even capable of being better than the first season, then you’ll be coloring me impressed. What’ll be different about this season is that more of a beginning-middle-end story will appear, as opposed to just lots of sketches. What I’ve seen from the PVs are that the season story will revolve around a new student council being voted in, and how Kaguya and Miyuki will cope not doing their typical jobs anymore.
Aside from the atypical second season worries for Kaguya-sama: Love is War, I’m already sold on this, and am already putting this on my final year list, along with Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Wave, Listen To Me! Episode 2
I’m not sure what to think of this week’s episode of Wave, Listen To Me! which bothers me. Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying it so far; the only issue I’m having here is that it feels a little directionless. At this stage, Minare Koda did her live skit on the radio, and is approached by Matou to accept an assistant job at the studio, something she might well use after the manager of the curry restaurant she works at is already threatening to fire her after her little skit.
As I said, I’m worried that this anime might well have a couple of episodes that go off in different directions, leaving me worried whether a consistent beginning-middle-end story will be going on here. All the characters are enjoyable to watch. Minare’s seiyuu (newbie voice Riho Sugiyama, a Hokkaido native unsurprisingly), and the setting of Sapporo is definitely refreshing (instead of every other show, which is set in Tokyo, of course), but with these sub-stories going off in different directions, I’m concerned that Wave, Listen To Me!, a show that I’m looking forward to enjoying this season, might fall flat, but not for reasons of show badness. This will be one of those ‘time will tell’ shows.
Since I didn’t read the manga, I have no clue as to what will be the end result for Minare, and how exactly she will taste vengeance against the guy who wronged her (and is already enjoying the heck out of being a complete and total jerk). This is, however, a mixed-up anime comedy show about an even more mixed-up adult woman. I think it’s wonderful to have anime protagonists that act more like us. We as human beings are flawed creatures and are capable of being incredibly stupid.
Hard to picture Minare Koda is seen by some as some kind of role model, but she messes up just like us.
Tamayomi Episode 2
Episode 2 of Tamayomi goes, once again, on a mixed note, just like Wave, Listen To Me!. I think Tamayomi will end up becoming a bit of a ‘Marmite’ show amongst us anime reviewers, in that we either really enjoy it or we really don’t like it (it’s a British expression named after the yeast extract)…but then again, that can’t exactly be helped, since none of the players in this newly-formed baseball team are that entertaining. They are all likable girls who are very committed and devoted to the team, but the pacing of this show makes the team as a whole rather dull to watch.
This week, four new players, who all of whom have very unique tales behind them, are introduced along with the club advisor. The two second-years, Rei and Risa, tell the remaining first-years about what happened to the last baseball club; a grueling training pattern meant the team fought a lot, and very violently, causing them to be suspended and disbanded.
It’s still very early in the show, so all these girls are doing right now are playing catch; now that they have the experience of upperclassmen, the leadership of a captain, and the guiding light of who has got to be the kindest club advisor I’ve met so far in an anime show, the girls of Tamayomi look to go far. But with the scandal still in their past, they have a lot of people to impress…and I’m actually very keen to see this uphill struggle, even if these characters are pretty dull. They can only get better, though, and for all we know, by the halfway stage, Tamayomi could get a whole lot better. I for one certainly hope it does.
Oh hey, while I’m here, we might as well carry on thinking back to one other girls’ baseball show, the very one I spoke about last week: Taisho Baseball Girls. Sure enough, it’s more of a historical show that is just about a girls’ team sticking it to the men. It’s a show I still recommend to my friends, since both its setting and story theme is something that is unique to me. Here in Tamayomi, anything could be possible when it comes to the script and also how devoted the show wants to portray the team. They certainly look committed so far, and they are all capable of many things. The only way is up for this show, and Tamayomi can put up so much.
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku Episode 2
So far, I’ve had some level of apprehension about all three shows I picked this season, and I’m even getting that with Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku. Once again, it isn’t that I’m not enjoying it, it’s just that there is something in the show that I can’t quite put my finger on that’s not agreeing with me. Episode 2 goes more into how Narumi and Hirotaka have started dating, and how Narumi is still scared of the relationship going down the drain despite them both being otaku.
Episode 2 also reveals not only how much of an otaku both Hanako and Kabakura are, but they have a long history together, which makes this show a whole lot more interesting. But there’s just something I’m getting from Wotakoi that isn’t exactly leaving me excited for more. Again in this, we are (or rather I am) still very early in the show, and it can only get better, but right now, I’m not exactly jumping for joy for the next episode. Maybe, like the other shows I’m watching this season, I can find something I truly do enjoy deep down in my heart, instead of seeing a show that’s…just okay.
Aside from Kaguya-sama: Love is War, this Spring season hasn’t started off strongly for me, either for new shows or my out-of-season pick. Here’s hoping these shows get better for me. Then again, I can often find a lot of things to nit-pick at…and especially during this time where we’re all cooped up indoors (like we’re supposed to be doing). The one big question for this season is how the coronavirus will be affecting the anime industry. What are your thoughts on that? With you all remaining indoors, what are the kind of shows to help you regain your sanity? Feel free to hit that like button and air your opinions in the comments below!
And remember to do the right thing: wash your hands and stay home!