We’ve reached the four episode mark already, and the shows I have been watching all have gone into their own directions. I’ve really been enjoying the wholesome story of My Dress-Up Darling, and I still believe that a genuine sci-fi story is buried deep inside World’s End Harem somewhere. My out-of-season show, however, isn’t quite what I expected. While I appreciate how The Helpful Fox Senko-san isn’t going straight to the standard dime-a-dozen Dogakobo jokes (yet), I haven’t really felt comfortable about Nakano’s behavior right now. I’ll get more into that later, but for now let’s get into my other seasonal show.
Slow Loop Episode 4
The two heroines have their first fight this week, but it’s ultimately over something very small. Koharu feels awful that Hiyori has to hold her hand every time she tries to fish, meaning she won’t have time to catch anything herself and this in turn makes Hiyori think that Koharu has lost interest in fishing entirely.
But this step-sister fighting was just a part of what this week had for us. I think that in the long run, we’ll be getting a loose story of family relationships; either building new ones, rebuilding old ones, or respecting current ones. We got this in the first part of the episode, but as we progress to the section around Koi’s birthday party, we see a lot more about the relationships she has with both her mother and her father, and realizing that they both love their daughter very much even if they have different ways of showing it.
Here’s one thing I have noticed recently about Slow Loop: I think that right now it is trying to be two things at the same time. An average ‘cute-girls-doing-cute-things’ show, and something far more emotional. There will be a point where the two meet in a more fluid manner, I hope, but right now I’m not getting any of that. Hiyori’s and Koharu’s relationship still feels forced and stiff. It’s now even gotten to the point where we know what the next week’s episode will be like.
Another thing I have noticed recently is how much they are not making an effort to animate some scenes. Taking two examples in this episode; the moment where Koharu wipes some food off of Hiyori’s face at dinner, and Koi reuniting with her working mother. They were barely animated at all, and instead we were left with what might as well have been still images. I say this because this kind of thing has actually happened a lot in past episodes, and it’s only taken me until now to realize it.
As for what I think about it right now, well Slow Loop still feels like a very predictable show, and while I can nit-pick at little things like lack of animation in some scenes, I know it’s still something that slice-of-life fans will flock to and enjoy very much but, for now, I don’t all that much.
World’s End Harem Episode 4
Remember when I said that I thought last week’s episode was just going to be a one-off when it came to developing Shouta Doi’s character? Well he’s made a comeback in episode 4, effectively carrying on from where we left off. He has now pretty much shrugged off the awkwardness around sleeping with his teacher, and is currently in a happy relationship with her. This set off many alarm bells last week, so the fact that the two are very ‘active’ makes things kind of worse. But he has to carry on with his school work, and his attendant Karen Kamiya (which is actually way funnier to watch than the other two attendants Mira Suou and Neneko Isurugi) makes sure he knows that there are still many more in the school to choose from.
Unlike Ryuuji, who I’m sure we’ll see plenty more of later on, Shouta doesn’t like being the center of attention. All of the schoolgirls and teachers in the massive school/dormitory stare at him every day, all having the idea that he is their ‘savior’. And while as Number Three he is expected to help rebuild the world’s population, he just wants to live a normal life again. I said last week how I liked how they’ve humanized him, and judging by what we see in this week’s episode, we’ll be getting alternating scenes between him, Reito and Ryuuji. As we also see, he notices how much more casual he is being with all the girls, and when we’re introduced to Natsu Ichijou for the first time properly, we understand once again how uncomfortable Shouta is in all of this. He’s being so casual around the girls and considering them as friends, and not quite realizing that he is being ‘nudged’ by his attendant Karen and her own superiors into taking these relationships and going to third base with them.
Perhaps with the developments in the story that we got this week, we’ll get some more Reito time. He’s found out that his little sister is spending more time in refugee camps, and on top of that has become the most sought after person in the country. After his little speech in episode 2, the public are all the more thrilled he’s working on stamping out the virus. Not that he’s really enjoying all the attention though…
Ughh, I’m still making it out like this show is deeper than it actually is; dystopian science fiction over an incredibly silly harem. It’s grown into a habit of mine now; my bad.
My Dress-Up Darling Episode 4
This week’s My Dress-Up Darling leads directly on from last week’s shopping trip; Marin has told Wakana that a cosplay event is coming up in two weeks’ time. With Hina dolls taking longer to put together, how can he possibly put together something to fit a person in that amount of time? Well for this episode, we see that he does exactly that…on top of other things.
Grandpa has a fall and needs to stay with another family member so he can get some rest; bringing up acupuncture to help with his back got a chuckle from me, I will add. Then there are the midterm exams he forgot about. And on top of that, an enthusiast has come into town and wants to check out the workshop. So he’s the only one who can put this cosplay together, even if it means him losing sleep.
This was a great episode for Wakana, as while he puts together the outfit, he has some moments of self-reflection. I mentioned last week how the show isn’t adding any unnecessary exposition, but I think this was the kind of episode where we needed to see what motivates him and what gets him up in the morning to keep on with his hobby. While we don’t get too much of that, I’m still glad that we are given a bone of sorts, so we can find out more in future episodes.
The show could have made this all into one big joke, making Wakana all flustered and stuff into making a girls’ risque outfit, but I really love how they haven’t added any humor in this episode. I won’t spoil the ending but it is very sweet, and makes us think some more of the relationship they are going to build in episodes to come. Honestly when I first began this show, I didn’t like the idea of Marin and Wakana falling in love, and I still don’t. My Dress-Up Darling is a show about developing friendships, and while Wakana can have these weird fantasies all he wants, going any further than that is something that I don’t think will really work. And so I’d be a bit disappointed if it actually did go down that road.
The Helpful Fox Senko-san Episode 4
Episode 4 sees Senko and Nakano develop more of a working relationship, even if we get to see her pout some more at the fact that Nakano isn’t fazed one bit about doing lots of overtime work. She came to pamper him, and so this is something she can’t really understand. I suppose the work crunch is a topic that has cropped up more often in shows now; engrained in their lives now. It’s something that isn’t required, more so ‘expected’. If one is truly committed to making a company better, then doing overtime is a no-brainer.
This is one thing (among others) that a 600-year-old fox goddess can’t understand. And there’s also her battle with modern technology to consider too…
As we have seen from the opening episodes, The Helpful Fox Senko-san is not the kind of laugh-out-loud show that Dogakobo are famous for making. Its lighthearted and wholesome tone makes the show’s atmosphere more comforting to watch. I’ve been concerned about Nakano’s behavior and how he has sometimes rubbed Senko the wrong way by touching her tail and ears inappropriately, but so far it seems he has mellowed out.
I think that as more characters come into the show (we are teased with the next spirit at the end of episode 4), relationships will be fleshed out some more. We’ll get to understand Senko some more, Nakano some more, whoever this spirit we are teased with some more, and maybe some other characters too.
The latest generation of Pretty Cure, Delicious Party Precure, begins very soon, but I won’t be holding my breath on actually seeing a UK license for it. We never got one for Tropical-Rouge, and as of time of writing, Crunchyroll haven’t announced they’ll continue licensing Precure generations. Will we get another ‘Glitter Force’ I wonder? But I also got the opportunity to watch the movie Sing a Bit of Harmony this weekend. I’ve written up a review of it, and that’ll be coming soon on The OASG.