So what was this week’s gossip/rumor that was going around? Was the new Bleach show going to Disney+, or was it all just some kind of clickbait? Well I won’t lie when I say I fell for it. Then again, I know nothing about the franchise, and don’t follow or watch it, so while the new show going to Disney+ would annoy the heck out of many people, it doesn’t really mean anything to me. So far though for the Fall, I count 12 sequel seasons, 2 franchises returning after many years (Bleach and Urusei Yatsura), Makoto Shinkai’s new movie (Suzume no Tojimari), and of course the most overhyped show in all of existence (Chainsaw Man). And I’m sure I’ve missed a few more too. So to say that the next season will be stacked is an understatement. Anime lovers really do have a lot to choose from.
Yurei Deco Episode 7
Thinking back to last week’s episode of Yurei Deco…ah yes, that’s right. The illegal drone one, and Madame 44 makes her debut in the flesh. I’m finding a lot of the episodes so far don’t have much in the way of connectivity (emphasis on ‘so far’). It’s like ever since Berry began living off-the-grid in this Detectives Club, the stories/cases that have landed on their doorstep have acted like separate stories, with next-to-nothing linking them to what they are actually hoping to look into: The Zero Phenomenon, and who/what Phantom Zero is.
But perhaps if there is one thing that could link them together, it is how they all offer a sort-of cutting satire on social media in its present state, and what it could be in the near future. This week’s episode touches on online rumors in particular, with Berry and Watson (the big cat guy who doesn’t speak) chasing up a hidden ramen shop that isn’t on Tom Sawyer Island’s equivalent of Google Maps. The shop owner turns out to be an AI called Analytica, who used to be an engineering AI, but now spends his time analyzing humans and the idea behind what a rumor is. Sounds quite complicated, I know, but you know something…I think Yurei Deco is finally getting somewhere with its main story, even if we’ve had to have these filler episodes.
There are a few things that have made me think like this:
- The Detectives Club have picked up a bunch of bizarre peacock feathers that look man-made, and possibly have data on them. If they are able to read what this data is…
- This AI Analytica claimed to have created something called ‘Mark Twain’, and the moment he reveals it, the Zero Phenomenon arrives. So this is something either Phantom Zero wants to know about, or wants to keep hidden…
- I get the impression that the older members of the Detectives Club know more than they are letting on. There has been a real thing about keeping personal stuff hidden (we had that episode way back), but if this stuff is something the others need to know in order to stop the Zero Phenomenon from happening again…
I’m going on my own wild rumors now; I genuinely have no idea on what will happen next week. Will we get another stand-alone story? Or will we finally get somewhere? Maybe that robot dog they keep in the house turns out to be Phantom Zero the whole time.
When Will Ayumu Make His Move? Episode 6
The Valentine’s Day episode. An episode like this was inevitable, and I began watching this week thinking that it would really have something outstanding. Urushi would get flustered, give Tanaka…something, and run off in the opposite direction even more flustered than before. And so did we get that?
I have very mixed opinions when it comes to Valentine’s Day episodes. I think one reason for this is that because in terms of story, there is only one real route for it to go. This means nothing really so original can be put in and make episodes stand-out. We’ve had some exceptions in the past; the most recent one I can recall is the one in Komi Can’t Communicate, where Komi ended up heading out to Tadano’s house in the middle of the night to give her chocolates because she couldn’t do it at school. Here in Ayumu, Urushi puts together some ‘courtesy chocolate’ for Tanaka, because it’s what a good senpai does to her kohai. But the fact is, as I watched, this was all that really felt like, it was a plot point that just added to the list of forgettable moments in the show overall.
You know, I’m not going to even feel ashamed for preferring the secondary love bird couple in the show. While Urushi and Tanaka’s moments feel forced at times, Sakurako and Takeru’s moments feel much more organic. Their cinema date last week genuinely felt like a date, and while I accept that couples like these stay at the back seat for a reason (little in the way of conflict to entertain the viewer), it still won’t stop the fact that I’m loving their character designs much more.
Halfway through the show now, and the next school year in the show is imminent, meaning Urushi will become a third-year. I joked before that at the pace it is going, the show will end when Tanaka has graduated from university. Well of course that won’t happen, but I remain frustrated at this main couple. And even to this day, I don’t understand why I feel like the only one who is.
Call of the Night Episode 6
I admit that last week left me on a bit of a cliffhanger; would Yamori do massage therapy on one of Nazuna’s regular customers for 2,000 yen? That’s a lot of money for a middle-schooler perhaps. I also thought that this regular customer wouldn’t appear again, and yet I find out that she’s a supporting character.
Kiyosumi Shirakawa has an unusual job that means her boss phones her up in the middle of the night randomly. We aren’t told what the job is, but that’s kind of irrelevant, as we find out that she used to be just like Yamori when she was his age. She would go out every now and then at night to do random things in an empty city. Now she’s a responsible adult with a job, it’s something she misses, and both she and Yamori feel some kind of kinship. That other people do it too, and that it’s not completely crazy.
She appears in the source manga, but will she reappear in this anime adaptation? Who knows. A lot of other characters have not made their appearances yet, and I’m willing to bet that we’ll see another one in the next episode.
Yamori is still a 14-year-old boy, and very naïve. This was something this week’s episode also touched on, in both segments. Firstly, Kiyosumi chastises him a little for acting as free-spirited as he is because he knows nothing about being an adult. Then later on, when he and Nazuna decide to randomly attend a nighttime pool party, he acts childish and jealous when he sees other people comment on how cute Nazuna looks. This second half I preferred the most, and not just because of how well it was shot, and how color connotations worked in it.
I like how the show hasn’t presented Yamori as some level-headed main character who always knows just the right thing to say at all. He can be whiny, pouty, immature and bratty…just like a lot of 14-year-old kids his age. His “I’m-not-a-kid-anymore!” attitude is starting to show now. Akira first saw it when she noticed how much Yamori had changed, then this week when he tries to say the right thing to Kiyosumi. It’s neither a good or bad trait for him to have; instead it is a relatable trait, and that’s something I really appreciate in this show. Call of the Night may have some urban fantasy setting, but these characters are all people we can relate to greatly, and are people we can easily imagine exist in real-life, even Nazuna.
One last thing. I also found out that the insert song that Creepy Nuts (who also make a cameo this week) use, ‘Loss Time’, is one of their new songs coming out in a few weeks. And here’s me desperately trying to find it online…
Akebi’s Sailor Uniform Episode 7
Akebi’s Sailor Uniform has been consistently strong, and so I’m kind of kicking myself for missing out on it when it dropped in the Winter season. Episode 7 is no different, but the focus here is instead on a classmate we haven’t really seen before: Oshizu Hebimori. She loves rock music, and brought a hand-me-down acoustic guitar with her when she moved into the dorms, but she is unable to read sheet music herself. Some misunderstandings lead her to impress Akebi, meaning she has to perform and impress the popular kid in school, and this episode goes on that, but there’s actually more to just her road of learning sheet music.
Hebimori has not really had much in the way of motivation, choosing not to join any of the school clubs, getting into any new interests, or working on current ones. This has also affected her school work too; she watches the girls around her excel at the things they enjoy, and feels left behind…and in time she has grown comfortable in this position. I think this is something a lot of unmotivated young teenagers feel, and even adults; their own fear of failure stops them from doing what they really want. I can say this myself, as there have been many things I’ve wanted to do, but just gave up after seeing other people do better at them. Hebimori sees Akebi practice performing in her Drama club, her roommate Togano shoot baskets in the basketball club. Ultimately, she sees there is something really captivating and awe-inspiring seeing other practice their goals.
Episode 7’s story was very easy to digest, and with Akebi not being the focus it develops the characters of the girls around her more, and showing us that they are not just 15 other faces in her classroom. As much as we want it to be the case, no one is perfect at something straightaway, and this episode’s theme of ‘practice makes perfect’ was really awesome to watch.
Over the halfway point now, and I guess it’s time I finalized my list of what to watch for the Fall season, and what to cover here for Otaku Theater. I’m going to have to do my best to work around all of the big franchises and sequel seasons that will be coming in October, and there are a lot of them. I’ll be putting up a poll for you to choose what’ll be my out-of-season one for then as well.