Let’s begin with what we can say is the biggest news for the Fall season. The adaptation of Chainsaw Man has been something that’s been teased here and there, but we finally have a new trailer. And before you ask, I will not be covering the show for the column. It isn’t because I plan to watch it in my own time; I just never had any interest in it to begin with. This is a show with massive hype, and thus is on a giant pedestal. The viewers do not want it to suck, but on the other hand the fans will likely stick with it no matter how flawed the show may or may not be.
I’m just musing though. With Chainsaw Man and the numerous sequel seasons coming in October, I have to weave through shows I could cover here. But that’s not for another 2 months yet so let’s focus on the ongoing things I am watching.
When Will Ayumu Make His Move? Episode 5
Now is Ayumu starting to get to me now that the four characters in the show are far more…aware of each others feelings? That’s hard to say because my opinion of the show still hasn’t really changed so much. I’m still finding Tanaka frustrating to watch, and I’m resonating with secondary girl Sakurako far more than with the others. This week was the ‘winter-break-before-school-returns’ episode, where Urushi and Tanaka just so happen to run into each other and do things that two high school kids who are in the same school club that are totally not going out would do: manga buying, eating okonomiyaki, so on. I thought this episode stood out a little more than some of the others we’ve had because the chemistry between the two feels a lot more authentic. Even with something like the sports day episode we had way back when, the so-called romance between the two still felt a little stiff and sometimes forced. Sure enough, the cheesy tropes are still here this week, and they will be things that will never disappear in the show. But the interactions the two of them have this week feel more real and believable. Something not so silly as the porn misunderstanding of last week.
As for Takeru and Sakurako, well there’s no way that they can even hide it anymore. And Sakurako doesn’t even need her coin anymore to toy with him. I suppose there is one stand-out thing I really do like about her. She gives off this timid waif-like aura, and yet she is more than happy to mess around with Takeru’s head. And while she may not completely admit she is in love with him, she is not afraid to explore these feelings, like Urushi kind of is. This side-story we get between the two is of them going on a movie date to see a truly bizarre post-apocalypse romance movie that somehow I just know that Sakurako would love.
Their date-not-date also has some meat in it too, as their past moments have sometimes felt a little hollow. Instead of waving some coin on a string to get his attention, Sakurako is content to poke him with some lovey-dovey behavior. This actually feels like it’s meant to be a date, and not some atypical anime trope. His trouble trying to focus adds to this, and the fact that the movie they’re watching is so ridiculous to begin with just makes this scene even better.
Ayumu can be a better show, I know it can. This is not an opinion I would have had if you asked me this a few weeks ago. I think that now that the two couples have far more ‘meat’ in them, we can perhaps enjoy them a little more. The question though is whether I want to see this develop into something with an ending. Well if I am only rooting for secondary girl Sakurako, then how can I?
Call of the Night Episode 5
For this week’s Call of the Night, more focus was on Nazuna, which made a very refreshing change considering pretty much the whole show so far has been told largely through Yamori’s eyes. For a lot of viewers, she has been portrayed as a character who makes mysterious appearances, but now we know a little more about her. And by that I don’t just mean how she makes money so she can afford her apartment (massages and ‘professional cuddling’).
Nazuna loves to pick at any weak spots that Yamori has, especially when it comes to lewdness. But when it comes to expressing her own emotions to others, she turns into the weak one. This is mostly down to the fact that she has been alone for so long. This week we see her impatiently kill time for Yamori to beep her transceiver via video games, going to a public bath and park wandering. But the chemistry between these two is becoming less and less one-sided now. She continues to poke at his naivety by leading him to a hotel to rest, only for him to realize it is a love hotel, then later on tangle 2,000 yen at him (a lot of money for a middle-schooler, perhaps) so he can help her massage business.
This part intrigues me a lot though; for one thing, we finally know how Nazuna makes money. It also feels very apt that something like massage work and ‘professional cuddling’ would be an activity fitting for a lewd show like this. I’m hoping that, with the ending we get in this week’s episode, more of a solid story will come out, and that we won’t jump into a completely new plot point. This show gives us lewdness with a capital ‘L’, and we find ourselves hooked in with each week’s watch. The animation style and artwork only turns this dial up even further. And so while I am still enjoying Call of the Night immensely, I don’t want it to become a ’12 night-time antics’ show. Some kind of main story needs to surface by now.
Will Nazuna be on the best girl of the year list? Well most certainly, I think. There has been a lot about her that has attracted the viewers, and now seeing her with her hair down and in a nurse’s outfit has only added extra points.
Yurei Deco Episode 6
Why did I even choose to cover this show here? I don’t even remember. In its promotion, not much of the story was teased to us, and thus we were pretty much left with our imagination to figure out what kind of show it would be. I can say this now it has reached its halfway point: you would not be forgiven if you could remember this show by the time the Summer season ends. And much like the characters in the show, Yurei Deco has turned into something that has just vanished off the radar. Oh damn, that was cheesy…
Well anyway, this week’s little filler episode concerned an ‘illegal’ drone whose owner turns out to have loose ties with Phantom Zero. But what those ties turned out to be were something that wasn’t wholly explained here, and by the time the episode ended, I was still scratching my head. Well we get to meet Madame 44 in the flesh for the first time, who turns out to be in a care home that Berry stumbles upon in her investigation.
As the episode ends, we are pretty much set up for what the Detective Club will be looking into next, and not giving away any spoilers, it’s possible that this could be the biggest step for them discovering who Phantom Zero really is. But one major issue I think the show has is that we aren’t really shown what these characters’ motivations are. So far we only see that Berry wants to solve this so she can find a way to exonerate herself and go home to her family. But what about everyone else? Unless we get some character plot points in future filler episodes, it really feels like the rest of the club (Hack included) are just…there. A point is made in the show about how Berry likes to poke her nose into other peoples’ business, well if she (and by extension we) knows nothing about these people, how are we meant to care about them, and cheer them on? Right now they still just feel like gimmick characters with very little depth to them. And even with this, Berry still sticks out like a sore thumb, almost like she is still squatting until she moves onto somewhere else.
I wonder if by the time this show comes to an end, I’ll even remember it in three months time. These characters haven’t been compelling ones to watch; I’m not even rooting for Berry anymore. I no longer care who Phantom Zero is, or what the end result of the Zero Phenomenon turns out being. And what about any hidden metaphors that the show is trying to show us about government coverups, cyberpunk dystopias, and the disadvantages of social media? Will Yurei Deco only be remembered for its Science SARU-style animation? Yes, I do want to see this show through until the end, but at the same time I want these stories to be wrapped up as soon as possible. I should not dwell on whether this was the right show to pick though.
So are we getting any closer to them finding out who is behind the Zero Phenomenon? And will they figure out who is behind it all? Well if we are getting closer, then we are moving at a snail’s pace. Just like last week with the Nue, it feels like filler episodes have been added in that only have fleeting relevance to the main story. Are they just itching for it all to be one big government coverup? And do any of us even care any more? Tune in next week…I guess…
Akebi’s Sailor Uniform Episode 6
It definitely doesn’t feel like I’ve reached a halfway point as I’m going through Akebi’s Sailor Uniform, as each episode I’ve watched so far has had its own unique charming moments that it doesn’t feel like a long marathon to watch. And here in episode 6, the whole story of Akebi having a 15-strong harem is set aside as she invites the one person that seems to have fascinated her the most: Erika Kizaki. The first girl she met on her first day in fact. I mention the fact that she has a harem in the first place for a reason: because each episode really does overflow with yuri juice, and none more so than this one.
Their outing includes a Saturday out fishing, as we discover that among all of Erika’s many talents, she really enjoys fishing. I can poke at a recent show I covered here (Slow Loop), this really felt like a high-budget and more dramatic episode of that. I mean that in a good way of course; I ultimately found a lot to enjoy in that show. Here meanwhile, while Kizaki comes to the date-not-date decked out in full fishing gear, Akebi comes in a summer dress. Feels awkward, but this scene they have out on the lake is actually brilliant.
Akebi’s giant harem will feature more and more as these episodes go by, I’m sure, but I have a real feeling that out of all of them, Kizaki will be the one who will resonate with Akebi the most, if not considerably. All of the girls in the class have painted Akebi to be the popular girl, and it hasn’t been her sailor uniform that has done that. Each moment they spend alone with her, the more they understand what kind of person Akebi is. Kizaki on the other hand will be someone who might go further, especially now they have agreed to call each other by their first names. Akebi’s Sailor Uniform has grown into a very positive and upbeat slice-of-life show, and the traits that make it stand out among other similar shows (photogenic scenes, detailed animation, fascinating character design) just adds icing on the cake.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: thank you for picking this show for me. This really is a treat to watch, and has already made my top 5, even though I’m only halfway through.
If this Chainsaw Man adaptation turns out to be hot garbage, then I am just going to laugh. All of us anime followers (myself included) should really remember not to give in to hype. Some really awesome shows have released this year, and not all of them were as a result of hype. But I can already predict that the show will be on nearly everyone’s top 5 of the year, almost for the sake of it. Was the hype for this show really that big, and I just didn’t notice?