The news that Disney are getting into the anime streaming game isn’t new, but I only recently discovered that some shows I’m looking forward to will be exclusive to Disney+. I’ve never had an issue with streaming platforms that aren’t Crunchyroll or Funimation wanting to join in, but considering they haven’t given a release date for the shows yet…
Of course this will all mean that my chosen animes for the Spring season will maybe have to change. No problem for me finding them though, as the next season looks stacked for shows that interest me. Very different to what the more recent seasons have been like.
Slow Loop Episode 7
Last week, I told myself that I wouldn’t be too overly critical of Slow Loop. Well it’s only taken an episode like this to do a complete 180 on that. It’s just become something I can’t help now. Right now these kids are deep into their summer vacation, and are doing all sorts of things that cute anime girls do when they’re on vacation. Like homework at others’ houses, go to a theme park, sit out and enjoy the sun…As this is a fishing show, there’s very little chance we’ll see a beach episode though. Although there is a tease this week that an upcoming episode will be an Obon one. So that’s one other classic to strike off the list.
This week was divided into two parts. The first was Futaba’s worry that a new friend of hers won’t like the fact that she has gotten heavily into fishing. It had plenty of ‘there there’ moments, but substance-wise…well, I’ll get onto that later. The other half was dealing with the fact that Hiyori and Koharu’s parents didn’t really hold a ceremony for their wedding, and so Koharu’s crazy mind tells her that they should prepare a fish banquet for them, to celebrate.
Slow Loop has all the things that followers want in terms of ‘cute girls doing things’, but that’s as far as it has gone. All of the characters that, from the start of the show, I thought would be full of energy and life have just fizzled out. In the beginning, there was a decent enough story behind Hiyori still mourning the loss of her father, but it really feels like none of that ever happened. On top of that, the connection that she and Koharu have still feels very forced and unnatural. It’s like they have acknowledged that they are step-sisters now, but aren’t really willing to try and strengthen that bond. The two are polar opposites and that’s supposed to be something that brings them closer, so why doesn’t it?
One last thing. I’ve criticized the animation in this show, and how it is over-reliant on still images. Well I think the studio have taken it one step further, because what on earth is this?! If you can get eyes right on every other character, then there really is no excuse other than neglect.
World’s End Harem Episode 7
Okay I’m not going to lie here; this week’s episode of World’s End Harem was pretty decent. We’re back to poor Shouta, who is slowly getting used to the massive task he has to do. Now we can dismiss it as this young boy letting his teenage hormones get the better of him, but I think there’s more to it than just that.
His school is becoming more and more like a cage for him now. He is not allowed to leave the site, and Karen is piling on the pressure even more by doing several things. Changing up roommates, making sure he gives them good morning kisses, and then cuts his beloved sensei out of the picture entirely by telling her she has left town for ‘reasons’. The episode has just as much explicit content as the next one, but with them added, we get a real change in Shouta’s personality. His self-confidence has shot up and now no longer has any qualms in deceiving some of the characters. A very different Shouta than what we saw last time.
He had wanted to restart his life by making brand new friends; it didn’t matter that these classmates were all girls or not. But his big task weighed down on him greatly because he wanted to make close friends, and just not think about what he is required to do. That cage is making him go loopy now, and he is starting to do things he didn’t think he’d do before.
His character design is by far the best in the show. The prison that he is in is turning him into a different person, and one can’t help but think whether this was intentional or not – to make him shed his former shyness and have his way with as many girls as he can. Sounds very cruel, but the stake of the world’s population is at hand here, and there isn’t really any room for comfort…or time for that matter. It seems that next week we’ll be back with him, as we get a bit of a cliffhanger at the end. Curious to see how he’ll develop; whether he’ll be corrupted further, or whether he’ll realize what he’s doing isn’t what he is inside.
My Dress-Up Darling Episode 7
I am an anime-only person, and when I began My Dress-Up Darling, I had a lot of reservations over the possibility of there being any romance in the show. I had it in my head that the relationship between Marin and Wakana would be something that is strictly professional. Now having seen last week, and now this week’s episode, I can say that I might be wrong.
We pick up from last week, where cosplay veteran Juju finds herself stuck in Marin and Wakana’s world, and manages to convince him to do a cosplay for her too. I’m not sure what kind of ‘third person’ Juju is going to be though. So far I don’t really see any tsundere vibes, although since I was way off when it came to romance, that might change completely. Right now I can picture her as some kind of cosplay mentor to Marin, who despite her passion, is still pretty clueless on how it’s done on a professional level.
As for Marin, she’s now able to recognize her crush on him, and is enjoying every moment of it, and his obliviousness to it all is just the cherry on top. The dynamic that these two have developed over the weeks has been wonderful to watch, and the relationship they have now is something that I hope doesn’t veer off in a strange direction.
This week was mostly focused on Wakana visiting Marin initially with the intention of collecting some DVDs for cosplay research purposes, only for it all to turn into what was effectively a home date. However what we’ve seen in this episode is something that we haven’t already seen before. I think his obliviousness can only stretch for so long; it’s something that shouldn’t go on for the entire show. I may have initially thought romance wouldn’t suit this show, but looking at it all now, this one-sided crush needs to go into something more.
Going back to Juju, she is obviously here to stay, and will no doubt play a much bigger role. She’d act like some kind of mentor, but she’s obviously very interested in how Wakana is able to make such detailed and elaborate cosplays despite never having done them before. What will her role end up becoming as the show progresses?
The Helpful Fox Senko-san Episode 7
I think an episode like episode 7 has made me think a lot more about all the fetishization that goes on in the whole show. For this episode, we are treated to Senko stepping on Nakano to help treat the back injury he got at work, and plenty of lewd-sounding moans to boot. Stuff like this has been a reoccurrence, and I can’t help but think that the story surrounding two fox deities who are meant to be centuries old do all of this for one man and it isn’t some horny lewd fest. This feeling sucks as these characters have been fun to watch.
What really drew me into this show was the ambience. I really enjoyed the brief moments where we get to see Senko and Shiro just being the fox deities that they are. And by this I mean using the powers they have to show off mystical scenes, torii gates and such. This part of the show was something that was completely different from all the weird touching that is way too frequent in each episode. It made the show really stand out from all the others. This was something that Dragon Maid did in a sense; it made us relate to Tohru, Kanna and others as the dragons that they were, and not just some pretty girl that takes care of the main character.
Just as I’m being very critical of all my other shows this season, it feels like I’m piling on far too much criticism here in The Helpful Fox Senko-san. Maybe when I get the time, I can start the show again from episode 1 and just enjoy it for what it is, and not get too wrapped about this little thing, or that little thing.
So am I going to go and get that Disney+ subscription just so I can watch two shows? Of course not. I’d need to stop and think what else I’d want to watch there. But as for anything else, well as I said, the lineup looks pretty good for the Spring, and this might actually be a season where I find myself overwhelmed with shows to watch, whereas normally I only get around to watch the shows I write about here. Some anime follower I’m supposed to be, huh.