As you’re reading this, both my country and my continent are in the midst of a massive heatwave like we’ve never had before. A lot of homes here are built to keep heat in, so aside from Southern Europe (Spain, Italy, Portugal, etc.), we are not really a culture of always having air con at home. And as the norm, I write my Otaku Theater columns out on Sundays, I won’t really know if the roads and pavements outside my home will have melted or not (no joking there). I’m looking forward to the massive storm that will inevitably come after this heatwave.
Well in more positive news, my anime shows aren’t going anywhere even if there are some things in them that I’m finding difficult to like or understand. Oh and season two of Komi Can’t Communicate has its final episode, but before all of that…
When Will Ayumu Make His Move? Episode 2
For the Ayumu show, I continue not to care about either one of the main characters. Urushi remains a gibbering wreck when her emotions get the better of her, and Tanaka remains dull and monotone, even when he is complimenting people around him. This week’s episode gave us the sports day, and Tanaka considers it his best interest to outdo everyone in both his team and the others, just so his senpai can think better of him. The plot point where he has to finish the all-student relay carrying ‘an adorable object’ to the finish line was a little cringeworthy.
The fact that I don’t care about these two is something I want to talk a little more about. With a lot of good stories (or any good story for that matter), one of the most important things are the main characters themselves. They need to be someone we want to relate to, to see succeed, to want to know more, and so on. True enough this is only the second episode, and we haven’t gotten into the meat and potatoes of the show yet, not by a long shot. But if future episodes are going to be almost nearly the same as this, then I hold little hope of the story and what it brings to the viewer.
This is the first episode where we are also given a proper introduction to some of the secondary characters. Takeru is the childhood friend character, who has done kendo with Tanaka since they were young. Yet the two of them decided to quit and spend time with their crushes in high school, despite apparently being so good at kendo. This is a plot point that I hope will come up again, as it actually sounds cool. Then there’s the very gloomy Sakurako, on the library committee, who we know precious little about aside from the fact that she can hypnotize other people into getting what she wants. Out of the four of them, I’m more interested in her, and the reason for this is because of the character design she has. While the others look and sound so generic (even Urushi’s classmate Maki, who just wants her and Tanaka to hook up already), Sakurako is someone I want to see more in the show.
I’ll get to Komi Can’t Communicate later, but one big reason why I enjoy that show is because of the character design. Yes, some of them are designs that we see in so many other shows, but because there are so many in the show, and they are people we enjoy watching (maybe not Yamai) and want to care about, it makes Komi more fun to watch. And having Sakurako as a secondary character here in Ayumu that’ll likely only appear every now and then sucks I think.
Yurei Deco Episode 3
Maybe other people are seeing something that I am not when it comes to Ayumu, and maybe I’m beginning to think the same way when it comes to Yurei Deco too. And I worry that some viewers are only going to look at the offbeat animation and art the show has and judge it by that.
For this week, Hack has been arrested under suspicion of being Phantom Zero, the one behind the Zero Phenomenon happening across the island. Meanwhile Berry meets Finn for the first time, and discovers that there are people living on the island who are unregistered and effectively living off-the-grid. One would think that knowing that people live off-the-grid exist, but it’s interesting to see someone like Berry, who has been raised following the Deco system, not know something like this, largely because she has been shielded from it.
I suppose this leads to another question: if the government on the island is that incompetent and just forget to register the handful of ‘ghosts’ who were unregistered by accident? Or maybe there really is something more behind this. And maybe Phantom Zero (whoever they really are) is acting like some kind of member of Anonymous and being some kind of anti-government spokesperson? Either way, it is still not enticing enough for me to watch.
I say that and yet I will agree that this was a strong episode in terms of plot development. Instead of Berry just messing around and being rather childish with these hacktivists, she is slowly beginning to understand the gravity of the situation, especially after discovering what both of her parents do for a living (censoring social media). And while we meet some secondary characters finally (Finn, Hank and Madam 44), by the end of the episode we are left with many more questions:
- Why is Phantom Zero (who or whatever they are) so eager on toying with the government?
- Instead of doing something about it, why are the government just pretending these unregistered people don’t exist?
- Is the Zero Phenomenon something natural or is someone actually responsible for this?
- Aren’t Berry’s parents worried their daughter has gone missing and is now on the run?
- Will Berry end up living off-the-grid too?
Like Ayumu, Yurei Deco has slowly become a show that people are getting interested in. This might end up becoming a slow burn for me, or rather something that will take time for me to properly get into. I do like the idea of anti-government ‘ghosts’ trying to find out who is behind a serious crime on an island made out to be the most liberal place in the world, but which is actually a grey dystopia. I just wish that I could see something to like in the characters. Once again like in Ayumu, I am struggling to like any of them. Berry is still treating all of this like fun and games, Hack is so full of himself that it is getting frustrating to watch, and we haven’t had enough time to know any of the other characters yet.
I didn’t want to trash talk this show, as I thought on first sight that it would be a cool and interesting watch. But a show really needs more than just style for it to be a decent one.
Call of the Night Episode 2
Style is something we most certainly get in Call of the Night though, as I called it out when the opening episode aired last week. And there are often times when we think that it is trying to emulate what SHAFT did when it came to art style for the Monogatari series. But while the Monogatari series went off into several bazillion tangents and had a sometimes complicated script, Call of the Night knows exactly what it is, and capitalizes on it very well.
A lewd vampire love story with two very awkward but lovable characters. Nothing so complicated. And toying SHAFT by copying their head tilt? I like to see this as a dig at the Monogatari series by the way (which started 14 years ago, making us very old…).
Expanding on what the opening episode had, we see Yamori head out at night even more and notice that Nazuna doesn’t always find him straightaway, which leads him to think all sorts of things. She said last week that for her sucking blood is a means for both sustenance and copulation. So does that mean that she can just grab anyone and take their blood if she’s hungry? Well technically, yes she can, and all of this makes Yamori unusually jealous. As someone who has been very non-social through his whole life, these feelings of jealousy are very alien to him, and makes him an even more likable character, and less generic.
But I think the main part of the show was more about them deciding to keep in touch more, since Yamori is starting to wonder whether they are ‘going out’ or not. And since Nazuna doesn’t have a cellphone, or uses LINE (I love how this week’s episode was actually called that), Yamori digs out some toy transceivers he had when he was younger. He also tells a story which really reflects him as a non-social person, and his awkwardness around people: how he bought two and only used one. I suppose his chance encounter with Nazuna is a way for him to get out of his shell.
Outside of this, we notice more how the director is choosing his scenes very carefully; mostly of Nazuna and her leg and thigh shots. It’s also not difficult to see how Call of the Night is centering more around lewdness in general. Bloodsucking is used as a euphemism for sex and we get plenty of raunchy dialogue despite the both of them being very inexperienced in that department. Nazuna and Yamori are bonding more and more now, and really enjoying each others’ company through their nights.
For communication though, I personally would have picked Nazuna’s old phone; as she says, bigger is better.
I’m also thinking about whether Call of the Night will end up becoming a promotion for Creepy Nuts, the hip-hop group I mentioned last week who do the OP and ED themes. Both ‘Daten’ and ‘Yofukashi no Uta’ (OP and ED themes respectively) have gotten people talking, so technically it is a promotion of sorts. We get to hear one of their new songs halfway through this week’s episode, so there’s a chance we could hear more from them. This could all be like what happened with The Pillows and how their songs were used in FLCL.
Komi Can’t Communicate Season 2 Episode 12
And so comes Komi Can’t Communicate‘s finale. Technically it was three weeks ago, but since we’re getting this through Netflix and their three-week delay…
I was scratching my head last week, and how we weren’t really lead on with some big plot point at the end of the penultimate episode. Instead we were just introduced with two more characters, and some added sketches of Komi getting flustered, again. But then again, does it really need to be something more? I mean after all that we’ve seen in not just this season, but in season one too, is a dramatic ending needed? It was good that the studio decided to give us an episode that leaves us satisfied and full. Well at least until a third season is made, and considering how well the show’s been received, they surely have to.
This final episode focuses on the final weeks of the school year. This was something I never actually thought about until now, and the way it has been presented was really well done. Firstly White Day arrives, and we get Tadano’s response to the friendship chocolate he got from Komi. However in this show’s universe, White Day happens to fall on a Saturday, which means Tadano has to actually go over to Komi’s house and deliver his gift. Awkward moments from pretty much everyone (Komi’s parents and brother included), but choosing hand cream over chocolate was something I wasn’t expecting. Oh well. But I suppose we get a first insight on what Komi’s family actually think of the boy their daughter is thinking about right now.
In all the Komi episodes we’ve seen, we’ve caught antics of pretty much everyone in the class now, and so bringing them all together for Eraser Drop was really sweet too. From what started as a four-person faceoff turns into a class tournament bringing everyone together. All the people that Komi has interacted with and gotten to know better, even the passing classmates that have only appeared in a single episode.
This was a really wonderful final episode, a great send-off for all the characters. Any potential third season would see these dorks in the second year, and Komi bringing up at the end how concerned she was that, because of class changes, there may be some people she won’t see on a regular basis again, including Tadano potentially. A tough thing to respond to, but I think he did it well by saying that she can reminisce on the fun times she had this year, and potentially add more people to that 100-friend list in the second year.
The actual end of the episode doesn’t indicate who will be where though; not everyone in the class at least. Maybe a show like Komi Can’t Communicate would be fine without a third season as it has been just fine as it is. I have mused in the past on how The Promised Neverland could just as well been good without a second season. Even if the story in the manga goes on for much longer, watching the kids leave Gracefield Manor and seeing them figuring out their adventure on their own, with an open ending, may have been better in the long run. Then again none of us back then anticipated the hot mess that was the show’s second season.
Anyway, Komi Can’t Communicate was a show I originally had to warm to after about 5-6 episodes, but it really has been wonderful to watch. When it began I had no idea how well the manga was received, and how anticipated the show was…and how many people got angry at how Netflix got exclusivity to it. Speaking of them, I like how Netflix also decided not to separate them into two seasons in their user interface, and just list their episodes into one 24-long piece. It confuses the viewer less, maybe. After this, perhaps Netflix will think more on whether to air their licensed shows on a weekly basis. It worked for Violet Evergarden, Blue Period and Komi Can’t Communicate, and so even with a delay, there’s no reason why they should stop.
Akebi’s Sailor Uniform Episode 3
Episode 3 of Akebi’s Sailor Uniform, and here we see that it’s more than her sailor uniform that is making Akebi the talk of the school. She already has a very friendly and outgoing personality, and as we see, she’s extremely athletic and is attracting the sports clubs of the school, who all want to recruit her. This is the episode of Akebi deciding on which school club she should join, and here is where some focus shifts on other characters: secondary characters who will likely show up a lot in future eps.
The first one we see is Kei Tanigawa, the class representative. She is the quiet one of the class, who is no-nonsense and enjoys following school rules and regulations. While she does not object to Akebi’s standout and extroverted behavior, she does not really like things to change that much. But that doesn’t mean that she grows curious of what Akebi has brought to the class. I mean, who actually asks to see their legs in class? And yes that really was a line in the show.
Second is Tomono Kojou, who joined the literature club on day one. The sheltering from rain scene in this episode was one that stood out for me, as we get to see not only how Akebi can be so friendly to people she has barely met, but we also see a little of what others in the class see and think of her. In fact, that’s something we really see in both halves of the show. So I think it’s something to know that while Akebi may be the sole main character of the show, she is not by any means the sole focus. From the amazing art work in the show, to the detail in each shot, to the close connections that Akebi is growing with her classmates…
I sometimes worry whether the many skin shots we see may lead the show in a strange direction.
I can bitch about what I’m not enjoying this season, but that’s pretty normal for me I suppose. I mean what kind of anime writer would I be if I didn’t trash talk a show? Well I just want Ayumu to be a better show, and for its characters to be more than just atypical and forgettable. I will not have this Summer Curse™ return to me.