We’re only at the halfway stage, and guess what I’ve done already? Yes, that’s right – started on my list of Spring shows. A couple of them are definites, while others are still on the bench. Unusually, we’ll be getting a lot more rom-com adaptations in the Spring, unlike what we normally get, which is far too many isekai shows. No out-of-season poll of course, because I’ll still be watching A Lull In The Sea, which is getting more and more melodramatic by the minute. I’ll be turning into a soppy mess by the time it’s over, I’m sure.
It’s been far too cold here in the UK right now, meaning I have more of an excuse to stay indoors and do nothing except watch some shows.
Otherside Picnic Episode 7
I had initially started to warm to Otherside Picnic, but I’m not really sure anymore. This week was definitely a filler episode of sorts. After leaving on that train last week, Sorawo and Toriko arrive in Okinawa, presumably because that was where those US soldiers were originally stationed…There, I mention them just that once, but despite them being an entire unit, that will be the last we’ll ever hear of them. They’re just another group of people to add on the list of those that are stuck in the Otherside and can no longer be saved, and we’ll be seeing plenty more as episodes go by; kinda dark, but I guess it is what it is.
Anyway, back to these two, since going back home is a bit of a hassle right now (especially since they still have their guns on them, and can’t take them on the plane back home), they make the best of an Okinawan vacation…only for them to mysteriously merge into the Otherside once again, just like that one time where Sorawo and a drunk Toriko wander from a midnight Tokyo street into the Otherside. This time around, they’re treated to yet another rather forgettable urban legend involving beaches and dolls. Strange how we’re not really told any backstory or explanation behind it though, so we end up just taking Sorawo’s word for it when she says that whatever they ran into that night was just another spooky urban legend.
But I notice this episode injects some life into not only Sorawo, but the relationship the two of them have. Right now, we’re not really seeing anything other than two college kids who ended up partnering together for reasons neither of them can fully explain (but have just gone along with anyway). I have no idea when it’ll go beyond that, but I know we’ll reach that point soon enough. This filler episode has left me a little cold, and left me thinking whether I really care if these two get together anymore.
Yuru Camp Season 2 Episode 6
Here in this week’s Yuru Camp outing, we get to see Chiaki, Aoi and Ena continue on their own winter camping trip, and instead of everything being lovely and rosy, things take a turn for the worse when they realize how cold Lake Yamanaka can get on winter nights.
Last week, I said how much I liked all the hiccups that these girls have while winter camping. Well I’m noticing them more and more in this second season, and in this week’s episode in particular. This week shows us that while winter camping can be a fun and enjoyable thing to do, it’s also extremely important to plan ahead before going out and doing it. This was a lesson that a young Rin had to learn in the opening episode back in January, where she was stuck putting up her tent, making a campfire, and so on. Here in this episode, they just so happen to run into another camping group who have outfitted an entire bell tent with a wood stove.
Cold can be a real killer, especially when it comes to camping. I’ll tell you one story at one outdoor anime event I went to here in the UK: it’s critical to keep warm at night when camping, even during the summer. This was a lesson I learned when I underestimated it and nearly froze to death over one weekend. During the winter, however, is something I can’t imagine, and I think our girls (plus Sensei, who later joins them because…reasons) counted themselves lucky here to find some other campers who had a massive tent with a wood stove that served tasty hot pot and heaps of sake – for Sensei, of course.
We’re also teased with a little more fluffy wholesome slice-of-life plot point: Nadeshiko’s major plan to go solo camping. This will be something that Rin the veteran can help her with, and perhaps this is where we get to see the two of them get closer together. Because that’s what we all want in a fluffy cozy winter show with yuri themes.
The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode…5.5
I had said my peace when it came to last week’s The Promised Neverland, and how concerned I was starting to get. This week only proves it: we got a recap episode. Since all of us who are following it know pretty much what’s happened already, there really is no point in me covering it this week. Kaiu Shirai’s decision to go on an brand new anime-only plot here doesn’t seem to be going as well as planned…well, I don’t think so, anyway. Question is will it leave a permanent stain on the franchise as a whole? The manga is, I understand, something that’s held in high regard, and I don’t even need to say how successful season 1 was, since we all know it. If you’re watching this season of The Promised Neverland, I’d like to know what you think. Will people even consider seeing this new story to the end, if we get a recap episode out of nowhere?
Are our expectations too high here? After the epic finale in season 1, I suppose what we were looking for is something that can make us all happy, instead of leaving some followers and critics feel frustrated at all the changes and deviations from the original source. Not news we all want to hear, but sometimes being tough is the best thing to do.
A Lull In The Sea Episode 6
I’m watching A Lull In The Sea via Netflix, and for some reason, it is automatically set to the English dub when I start it up. English dubs aren’t really things I tend to follow, and so I don’t really know how to criticize the dub this show has without calling it corny. Guess I’m just too used to watching shows in the original Japanese. As episodes go by, one thing doesn’t change: how much I want to slap Hikari for being an complete jerk.
Chisaki, Kaname and Manaka are being way too gentle with him. Now this has gone way further than a hyperactive surge of puberty; it’s almost like he is angry with everyone in the show, and sometimes for no reason at all. We definitely get that here in episode 6, with the first swim class. He lashes out at Tsumugu because it turns out that he’s a better surface swimmer than him, he lashes out at Manaka for taking him to the clinic after he bashes his big toe in the pool, and he lashes out at the group of surface kids who are willing to rebuild the Lady statue. I do get the impression that he will change a lot around halfway into the show and maybe beyond that, and so perhaps this anger we see is just temporary. I hope so, because he really is getting very frustrating to watch.
If only he could be more like Kaname. The nice guy in the class (and the foursome) who is kind to everyone (even the idiot Hikari), is as chill as heck, and someone the pretty and fairly forgettable schoolgirls would flock to. I’ll admit that he is a bit of a catch. Now that the rest of the class have gotten used to and warmed up to having four kids from the sea world in their class, it’s like everything’s back to normal.
Even with this episode being a bit of a filler, I think we get a little more development in Manaka’s character. The others have seen her as the crybaby of the group, and while it can frustrate them, it’s something that they’ve gotten used to but after a long chat with Tsumugu, she understands that constantly apologizing and not completing sentences (that was something good he picked up on that I never noticed until now). Right from the start of the show, Manaka wants to be someone that can stand on her own two feet, and not be someone who lags behind the others, and so maybe from this moment on, she can work on that. I still get the impression that this sudden change of character will be something that’ll come as a shock to the others; good shock or bad shock, that remains to be seen.
Outside of these 4 shows, there is one show that I’ve suddenly got my eye on now. People are talking a lot of good things about Wonder Egg Priority, but I’m not 100% sure what it’s all about. I’ll spend this week catching up with it, and perhaps next week I’ll talk about what I saw. Tropical-Rouge! Precure is also coming in a couple of weeks, and I am determined to check it out. Even if it doesn’t pass the 3-episode test for me, I’ll still be happy; I just want to try and get back into the franchise again, but if it does end up sucking, then I could always fall back to EX-ARM: the greatest show that ever existed.
One of these days, I’ll end up doing an Otaku Theater season where I watch and cover 6+ shows all at once. Shouldn’t tempt me; probably not a good idea. Well what did you think of that recap episode? Did you think it was necessary, or a bad idea, or an excuse by the studio for them missing some deadlines? Feel free to hit that like button and air your opinions in the comments below!