Quite remarkable that the season’s been this far in already. It really does feel like it’s all flown by so quickly. Or maybe this is something that happens every season, and I just never really notice it. Especially weird considering how many shows I’m actually watching this season (half of them not for Otaku Theater). Well my Spring shows are set in stone now, so it’s just a matter of waiting what finales will bring us.
Otherside Picnic Episode 11
We’re certainly building up to the finale in Otherside Picnic, but how we’ll get there is something I don’t really know. This week, Sorawo and Toriko make the decision to go and rescue those US soldiers that were stuck in the Otherside oh so long ago. Of course it happens when I said just last week that they’d just be another group of people added to the list of “people left behind in filler episodes”.
Despite that though, this was still a filler episode; one that I could spot a mile off. It seems that time operates differently in the Otherside, because while several weeks have passed for Sorawo and Toriko, only a few days have gone by for the soldiers. In addition to this, we discover that a good portion of them ended up going insane and got themselves killed, meaning there’s only around 20-30 of them left. I think these soldiers have put a lot of blind faith in Sorawo and Toriko, just like they did last time – it could well be down to desperation, considering they had no idea how they got there in the first place, and know that just shooting the enemy won’t get them out of there.
Even with 11 episodes now going by, we still get “partners-in-crime” vibes from these two, and no yuri like I originally thought. I’m even starting to get the feeling that they have almost cut most of the yuri parts from the original source in this anime adaptation. Sure, Sorawo blushes a little when Toriko gets up close, not to mention the fact that Sorawo herself has changed dramatically from the anti-social and withdrawn type to someone far more positive and upbeat…and all that’s largely thanks to meeting Toriko. The final episodes might see the yuri dial turned up to 11 for all I know, though. Maybe I just got my hopes up too much here.
The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 9
Last week’s uncomfortable watch has actually led me to think, somehow, that this second season of The Promised Neverland is going to end on a rather awkward note.
This week, Norman suddenly realizes the consequences of his actions after his ‘Martha’ moment, and thankfully Emma and Ray arrive to tell him he’s not the edgelord chuunibyou or the Assassin’s Creed protagonist he thinks he is, and that it’s okay to cry. I think that that has been the one thing that make Norman different from both Emma and Ray; he wanted to act too much like the smart guy to be relied on, when in all reality, he needs to rely on others to save himself. Something else I can say is that this week had dialogue…a lot of dialogue. Far too much in fact, and so it was pretty tough to keep up with all of it. In one past Otaku Theater post, I brought up the fact that, in this second season, we get a lot of dull exposition and some “tell, don’t show” moments. Well that dull exposition has returned with a vengeance this week. It’s almost gotten to the point where we no longer care, and just want something…anything…to happen.
I’m sure some people would agree with me when I say that The Promised Neverland is a very exhausting show to watch. It’s something that grabs our emotions and flings them around without a care. And so even if a third season is made (which is likely), it’ll be something I don’t think I want to go to. Unlike every other show I’m watching and following this Winter season, The Promised Neverland has now become one that I no longer look forward to watching and catching up with. I can’t speak for everyone else who is also watching it, but there has been so much that has happened that just hasn’t grabbed me like the first season did. And because of all of these plot points (that are either uneventful or uncomfortable to watch), this has now become a show that I desperately want to end. It started strong, but it feels like it has just collapsed.
Yuru Camp Season 2 Episode 10
At least I can fall back to season 2 of Yuru Camp, which has had wonderful episodes every single week and this one is no exception, as they make their way across the Izu peninsula to find their campsite.
The difference between these sequel seasons of The Promised Neverland and Yuru Camp is like night and day. As much as I love Emma, I really do want their story to end as soon as possible. Meanwhile over in Yuru Camp, almost every moment has been a treat to watch, and continues to be one even after 10 episodes. Focus on this week’s episode is on geosites that are dotted around Japan. One of which is almost an exact mirror of one located here in the UK; Tawaraiso Beach looks just like Giant’s Causeway, in Northern Ireland.
I gave up camping a long time ago, but it’s still wonderful to see these girls bask in Japan’s great landscape each week, along with the journey they make to see it all. Here this week, for instance, Aoi and chibi-Aoi take the chance to tease Nadeshiko that she slept through the entire trip. Also, there’s the fact that none of them realized that their original camp spot was actually closed for the winter.
I had anticipated that this Izu camping trip would take up the remaining episodes in this show, and I was right; we’ll be carrying on with this arc next week, where they find somewhere else to camp, and make plans to visit other geospots dotted around the Izu peninsula.
I’m sure we all feel for Sensei who not only has 6 minors to be in charge of right now, but is also on a strict drinking ban but the fact that she eats her burgers with a knife and fork is still a crime.
A Lull In The Sea Episode 10
Back onto my out-of-season show, and episode 10 is kind of hard to talk about. By that, I mean that it’s both a filler episode and one that’s pretty significant.
Uroko-sama has told the village that the only way the sea snow can disappear and everything will return to normal is for the inhabitants of Shioshishio to go into hibernation. What has gotten to our gang-of-four the most (Manaka in particular) is that no-one knows how long that will take. Days, months, years, longer even, they don’t know.
This talk of hibernation is obviously going to be something to finish this cour with, as I know that the second cour takes place years after this one. I’m not entirely sure how the people on the surface are going to react to this, considering they are purposely being kept in the dark by the stuffy elders in the sea village. As I continued watching episode 10, I started to think a lot more about the hidden messages; one in particular is the clash between tradition and modern life.
The sea village has been given the label of ‘tradition’, while those on the surface have the label of ‘modern life’. Our gang-of-four have gone against tradition and developed bonds with people on the surface, and so whether this looming apocalyptical event and eventual hibernation is by coincidence or by design is worth thinking about. Is there really more to the fates of Hikari, Manaka, Chisaki, Kaname and the rest than we really thought?
The Melodrama™ bug may have bitten me this week, so I apologize for that. At this point, I no longer care how The Promised Neverland ends, just so long as it ends but as far as I’m concerned, Yuru Camp can keep on going. How has your week been? Do you want The Promised Neverland to end just as much as I do? Feel free to hit that like button and air your opinions in the comments below!