It took me forever to find out, but apparently NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a will be having a number of 24 episodes, although at this point I’d be surprised if the show even finished by the end of summer. This means that my coverage of the show will cease, considering this Spring season will be my last one here on The OASG. It’s also safe to say that a good lot of us were blown away by Oshi no Ko‘s debut episode; us anime-only folk didn’t quite see the twist at the end. I covered that extended episode separately, and you can check that out here. My other show have been pretty solid too, and I’m glad that nothing out-of-the-ordinary has really happened in those ones…yet.
Tonikawa: Over The Moon For You Season 2 Episode 3
Well we’ve pretty much hit the three-episode mark for most of the season’s shows, and now that mark has passed for season two of Tonikawa too, what am I to think? Well I feel a little rotten for calling this one a filler episode, but that’s precisely what it is. Nasa is able to get himself some theme park tickets from cousin Ginga (from last week), and so decides to take Tsukasa, who has never been to this theme park that totally isn’t Disneyland. I mean Tonikawa was well-known to reference real-life stuff in season 1 (one episode even had Capcom as a sponsor meaning Street Fighter could be mentioned in the show). Rides like Space Saggitarius and Pirates of Jump totally aren’t references to Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean, and Muffy totally isn’t meant to be Mickey Mouse. I myself haven’t been to Disneyland Paris in over 20 years so I wonder what has changed there since I last went.
We get the return of Yanagi-sensei, who came back into the show sooner than I actually expected. Here was me thinking that she would sporadically appear here and there, but it’s possible that she could be more prominent in this season that I thought. This looks to be the kind of sequel season that will just add more people into the secondary cast, provide us with a good bunch of entertaining filler episodes and end on a high note. Sounds a little pessimistic of me, but then again, what kind of ongoing story does Tonikawa have exactly? None, but that’s perfectly fine.
Chitose makes her proper comeback this week, as she just happens to be at the theme park while Nasa and Tsukasa are out on their date. Thankfully she is able to read the room and not ruin their special day by charging in and demanding they break up…like she did in a lot of season 1. But now that Nasa and Tsukasa have been married for that much longer, what exactly can she do now? She’ll crop up again in a future episode of course, with both her crazy maids in-tow, that much is certain. In season 1, she was definitely a comic relief character and I don’t know what will happen now she is back. I know that Tonikawa is meant to be comedy through-and-through, and very little is meant to be taken seriously. But even after a whole season, there’s still so little I know about Tsukasa’s side of the family. Who are they exactly? How are they so rich? Ugh, so many questions…that I hope will have answers in this season.
Skip and Loafer Episode 3
Skip and Loafer has become such a charming show to watch after only three episodes. Almost every character has been able to show strong personalities and operate on the screen by themselves. This week introduced Makoto Kurume, the girl who has been relegated to the class dweeb. After both she and Mitsumi (along with Shima who, for some reason, just tagged along) find out that the Student Council aren’t really recruiting, they are able to break out of their shells and exchange phone IDs. Makoto is easily the most relatable character for me in the show. She looks at everyone else in her class and has already made her mind up on what stereotypes there are and who fits in them…and makes sure to separate herself away from them.
When she tries to invite Mitsumi to the cinema, she is really taken aback at how everyone else in Mitsumi’s new social circle decides to come along too. And this is where I come and praise Yuzuki again. The class have already labelled her as the fashion queen: something the complete opposite of what Makoto is. And yet as this episode goes along, we get to see that even these two polar opposites are able to find good things about each other. It is Yuzuki who able to read the room incredibly quickly and not try and charge head-first into Makoto’s space when she is so mistrusting of such stereotypes.
But I’m going to get a lot of stick when I say that despite his gorgeous looks and laid-back attitude, there is still something about Shima that I just do not like. He and Mitsumi have been able to gel together so well, just as Yuzuki and Makoto look to be doing now, but it still feels like he is putting on some massive façade. Everyone in this social circle is starting to loosen up and become more open with each other; even Egashira has started to notice how she needn’t go out of her way to put on impressive outfits to impress the others and get all the attention. I’ve noticed that in the three episodes that have passed, he hasn’t really done anything for himself, and has instead just followed everyone else’s lead in some attempt to be friendly to everyone. He tags along on every activity his social circle is on, and hasn’t really done anything because he alone wants to do it. This may just be me talking, but there’s something about that that I just do not find comfortable.
Everyone has some kind of dirty laundry, and I want to know what his is. We had some hints last week, but nothing really so concrete. I’m also eager to know what kind of dirty laundry everyone else in this social circle has too. This may be an incredibly wholesome show, but I don’t picture it to be a totally saccharine one. There is always something.
Oshi no Ko Episode 2
After its very strong debut, I was curious to know what episode 2 of Oshi no Ko would bring, and what kind of direction the show itself would go on. It is bringing in small jokes here and there, but right now it seems to be more grounded in realistic idol culture. While we had a very small taste of something like that in some of the anime adaptations of The Idolmaster (especially the 2011 show), we don’t get any of the sugar-coated miracles we see in the likes of Love Live!. It’s both refreshing to see and incredibly depressing.
I had originally thought that the twins were high-school age by the time episode 1 ended, but now I see they are about to apply. While Ruby wants to aim for the performing arts department of their chosen school, Aquamarine (I will just call him Aqua from now on) decides on just general education. People around him are pushing him to go back to being the child actor he once was, but it seems like he is playing the long game. A very dark long game that is going to get people hurt, perhaps. But it seems like he doesn’t even care.
He doesn’t like the idea of his twin sister, who is infinitely more positive about life, signing some possibly shady idol agency contract where she has to compete to get attention, stab her fellow idols in the back to get paid more, or maybe some other more questionable things. Easy to paint this as a sister complex, but I think he is just far too caught up in his master plan to find his father (who he believes is responsible for everything wrong in Ai’s life) that he sees everything in the world now as just a distraction.
This second episode served far more as an introduction to the twins that we will see in the rest of the show, while the debut let us see them as hopeful toddlers. Ruby has not given up on her dreams of being an idol just like her mom, which is incredibly noble, and it’s also good that the show highlights the more realistic things about becoming one. There will be rejections, poor pay, early retirement, bribes, blackmails…all the works. But this episode has a bit of a more anticlimactic conclusion if anything; I mean we can already guess that the twins will make it to high school. Ruby is now with a idol agency that her adoptive mother can feel happy with (her own), and Aqua will carry on being the edgy nihilistic brat he currently is, unless Kana has something to do with it, that is.
She comes back to the show after her brief moment in the debut, and I think she is definitely going to make a big impact on Aqua’s life. Interesting to know what kind though. Will she the catalyst to get him back into child acting and not be so consumed with finding his father? Or will that act he is putting on for everyone get the better of him and turn him into a obsessed monster who would be no better than the stalkers who went after his mother?
I only recently found out that Oshi no Ko was only going to be 11 episodes long. The long debut is a big reason of course, but at least I won’t have that big of a headache on finishing this before the season ends. That is…unless it gets delayed like NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a ended up being. I know though that if that ever happened, the anime community would riot considering how well this show has been received.
Lycoris Recoil Episode 3
I think that I’ve been very slow to pick up on this show. Episode 3 was the last episode I watched in my original run-through, and I skimmed through it just as I did the others. So now that I have the chance to watch it properly, how has my opinion changed?
Well for one thing, I have a better idea on what kind of person Chisato is. I had initially been so dismissive of her character and nature, but now we see her alongside her own fellow agents at DA, we see so many reasons why she left main headquarters: to get away from the other agents. As Chisato goes to get her physical exam and Takina tags along to plead to return to DA, the two find out a lot more about each other.
Takina has been so guarded at the café because the way she saw it, she wouldn’t be there long anyway. Not still 100% sure at where Chisato’s sudden perkiness towards her came from (right from first meeting) outside of everyone knowing the two pretty much become an item by the time the show ends, but I’ll analyze that later on in future episodes. Well here in episode 3, even if Takina is unsuccessful in getting back into DA, she is able to get some level of revenge on her former team member by punching her hard in the face. Not going to lie when I say it was incredibly satisfying to watch, especially considering how bitchy and catty nearly every Lycoris agent is there. Almost like all of them are prepared to stab each other in the back if it means getting the good missions. It’s plain to see that Takina is better off out of there and will grow to become a better person now that she is free to choose her own path.
However, while looking into what people thought of this particular episode, I noticed some theories bouncing around about the reasons behind Takina’s transfer. Command clearly knew about the hack, and it would be easy to call Takina a scapegoat or a loose end, but it could well be more than that. What if Takina was transferred so she could avoid any surveillance from whoever was behind this, so she could investigate with problem child Chisato? That’s a bit of a reach, and I’m probably very wrong, but I want to think that Lycoris Recoil is far more than just cute girls with guns, and has a much deeper story.
So one show is out of the way, and even though I was really enjoying the NieR: Automata adaptation, a part of me is kind of glad. If it is going to be a 24-episode long show, then I feel better that plot points aren’t going to be rushed. The story from all three perspectives (2B, 9S and A2) will be covered equally with little being skipped and even some things added. I’ll find time to watch it myself, outside of Otaku Theater. I’m glad that I have a better opinion on Lycoris Recoil too, and next week I’ll be in unchartered territory, as I don’t know the rest of the story without what was already covered to death on social media at the time.