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[joecasualnerd]

Steven Universe: Can’t Go Back and A Single Pale Rose Review (SPOILERS)

After not having posted in quite a while (thanks college for keeping me so busy) I think I am finally ready to come back and do a bit more blogging.

I’ll have a two-week break after the end of this week (finals and all that), so I’ll have some free time to do a bit of blogging and general nerdery before I do my last semester of college in the summer.

Until then, I think that I’ll go back to where this blog began, and that is Steven Universe.

I haven’t really posted much about the newer episodes of Steven Universe, because while I did like them, there really wasn’t much to talk about and I wanted to do a couple of other things before I got back to Steven Universe.

However, I do feel that it is the right time to talk about the most recent episodes to have aired, Season Five Episode Seventeen Can’t Go Back, and Season Five Episode Eighteen A Single Pale Rose.

Be warned, there will be HUGE OMEGA LEVEL SPOILERS below the break, so if you haven’t seen the episodes, I suggest that you do and then come back.

Once again GIANT TITANIC GARGANTUAN ALPHA LEVEL SPOILERS FOR THE TWO MENTIONED EPISODES are below.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Premise

Starting with Can’t Go Back, the episode begins with Steven getting ready to go to bed, going through his bathroom routine before saying good night to Pumpkin and Peridot, the latter moping in the bathtub.

Steven is about to go to sleep when there is a loud banging and yelling coming from his door. It is Ronaldo, who is telling Steven that he found something.

Steven says that Ronaldo has found something almost every night since Greg got him the telescope and suggests that he call Nanefua, but Ronaldo says that Nanefua won’t answer for a fourth time.

Steven is up at the lighthouse looking through the telescope at the moon when he sees the Diamond Moon Base. He sleepily tells Ronaldo that the moon base has always been there, and Ronaldo asks three important questions.

Why hasn’t Steven told him about the moon base? Can Steven take Ronaldo to the moon base? Has the moon base always looked like a barn?

Steven is about to offer a rebuttal, when he realizes what Ronaldo said, looking through the telescope again.

Indeed, the farm that Lapis took is on the moon.

Steven then takes Lion and himself to the moon base, and while Lion rests, Steven goes out on the moon in his bubble to investigate the barn.

He goes inside and sees that the barn was how he remembered it, with the meep morps still around, but no Lapis.

He goes back inside the moon base, but he hears a voice up above.

Steven goes to investigate when he sees Lapis at the mysterious orb that we saw waaaaaayyy back in It Could’ve Been Great. There also appear to be some scenery in the room as well, but it quickly fades as Lapis realizes that Steven is there.

Steven asks why Lapis isn’t gone, when Lapis replies that she was distracted. Steven correctly guesses that it was the orb and asks what it is. Lapis asks if Steven would not judge her, and he says that he wouldn’t.

Lapis touches the orb and suddenly the room transforms into the boardwalk of Beach City. Lapis then explains that the orb is a monitoring device that checks up on Earth. She cycles through some places before Steven asks if he could give it a whirl, and he looks on Mask Island.

Steven asks why Lapis is doing this, when she switches the scene to the beach in front of the Temple, where we see the Crystal Gems and Peridot training.

Steven asks if Lapis has been spying on them, when she replies that saying spying would make her feel bad. She continues by saying that she couldn’t go on without knowing what was happening on Earth.

She is still terrified of the Diamonds, but as she was halfway through the Milky Way, she realized how lonely she was.

Steven asks why Lapis doesn’t come back, and she says that she wants to, but after the way she left, she doesn’t know how Peridot would react or what if the Diamonds attack or if something bad happens.

Steven the rebuts by asking what if something good happens, Lapis laughs and then begins to sing That Distant Shore (unsure if that’s the title, but that’s what I’m going with) . The song basically amounts to Lapis wanting to go back and be with friends, but too terrified to do it.

Lapis says that she may have overreacted and the two ponder on if the Diamonds are really coming back. Steven then suggests that Lapis come back but bring the barn closer to the Temple so visiting would be easier.

Lapis thinks about the idea while Steven gently goes to sleep...

…only to be woken up by Blue Diamond scolding Pink Diamond about how she begged the other Diamonds to have her own colony and that she could handle the rebellion without their help.

The two Diamonds leave and when they are gone, a figure carrying Rose’s sword approaches Pink Diamond, removing it from the scabbard and raising it.

Steven asks if it’s Pearl and the figure turns to Steven and he wakes up, startling Lapis.

He mentions the dream and Lapis begins to panic, thinking that it’s a sign that the Diamonds are coming and runs off.

She opens the door to outside the moon base, and Lion grabs Steven to make sure he doesn’t fly off as Lapis says her good-bye…again and flies off.

Once the doors close, Steven looks at the mural of Pink Diamond and then asks Lion to take him to where Pearl is, leading us to the next episode.

A Single Pale Rose begins with Steven sitting nervously on the couch as he awaits Pearl.

Unlucky for Steven, Pearl walks in with Amethyst as they discuss how Pearl hasn’t really used her phone.

Amethyst goes through the process explaining what the phone can do and while Steven does try to interrupt, Amethyst tells him to wait.

As Amethyst goes to get a case for Pearl’s phone, Steven just straight up asks if Pearl shattered Pink Diamond.

Pearl covers her mouth with her hands, and the two are interrupted by Amethyst, so Pearl then takes this opportunity to go back to her room.

Later, Steven then gets a text from Pearl saying that she wants to talk, and Steven rushes to Pearl so they can talk.

Pearl has no idea what Steven is talking about, so she decides to take out her phone, only to find out that she has no idea where it is.

Pearl then, in a very carefully coded way, says that Steven should go inside her gem to look for her phone.

Steven goes in her gem to see another Pearl who is organizing everything in Pearl’s gem, and he asks where her phone is. She can’t seem to find it and says that it might be with the other her.

Steven then goes inside this Pearl’s gem to see a younger Pearl and a Temple with no house in it. This Pearl is crying about Rose giving birth and after a bit of talk, Steven manages to convince this Pearl to let him inside her Gem.

Steven stumbles upon a battlefield, and this Pearl is in shock seeing the devastation and recounts a bright white light.

Steven then goes into this Pearl’s gem to land right in front of gem shards, and a crying Rose Quartz. When Steven calls out to her, he sees that it isn’t Rose, but Pearl shapeshifted into Rose.

Steven thinks that this confirms that Pearl shattered Pink Diamond, but Pearl opens her hand and reveals Pink Diamond’s gem.

Steven goes into this Pearl’s gem and is inside the palanquin, and hears Pearl talking with Rose.

They are talking about a plan and how risky it is, but Rose says that once this plan happens, then they can live on Earth without any worries.

After Pearl accepts the plan, Rose shapeshifts, revealing that she was in fact Pink Diamond.

Pink Diamond goes outside to get some dirt and a flower, giving the flower to Pearl and crushing the dirt into gem shards that could pass off as her shards.

Once Pink Diamond swallows the shards, she gives one last command to Pearl, saying that no matter what, Pearl cannot tell anyone about this.

Pink Diamond goes out to begin the plan, and Pearl gives Steven the phone, apologizing for making him go so far in.

Pearl shapeshifts into Rose and leaves, with Steven texting Pearl to say that he found her phone. As he is brought back, there are flashes to the events that then transpired.

The fake shattering, the war, the Diamond blast, Steven about to be born, and then Steven popping out of Pearl’s head, with her crying.

She says that she has wanted to tell him for so long, and Steven then says that Rose was Pink Diamond.

The episode ends with Amethyst and Garnet looking shocked, as they just so happened to be there when Steven made the reveal.

Discussion

I think that this pair of episodes can be simply described as follows:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Or, in many words, Rose is in fact Pink Diamond.

Let’s talk about Can’t Go Back first, since really it is a set up episode for the upcoming arc.

This was an interesting episode for Lapis, because she has been around for a long time and has had such little development (in my opinion) whenever she was shown.

She is an interesting character whose sole purpose in the series is being scared and running away.

While this episode expounded upon that trope of hers again, it also showed that she has some regret leaving Earth and Peridot.

She wants to go back, but her fear of the Diamonds won’t let her go back. She’s scared of being trapped again, and she realizes that at this point, she may be trapping herself.

I feel that the Lapis song was well done conveying this feeling and emotion, and while it may not be my favorite song in the series, it is by no means a bad song.

Jennifer Paz sings it well and it makes me want to have more Lapis songs.

Having Lapis leave again is a shame, but I expect that she will come back…eventually.

Now onto the main event.

A Single Pale Rose is one of those episodes where everything just clicks.

Things start to make increasingly more sense the longer that you look at the big picture. The subtle hints that Rose was Pink Diamond, the themes of royalty whenever it was Steven’s birthday, Pearl being angry at “Rose” for not sharing the secret of Lion with her when she was trusted with the biggest secret in the series.

This episode also explains why Pearl doesn’t shapeshift, since the memory of everything that had happened when she did shapeshift, all the events that transpired because Pink Diamond wanted to be free, all the Gems that were corrupted or shattered or combined to make The Cluster, it would be too much to bear.

We know that all Gems could shapeshift, but one of the prevailing theories as to why Pearl never did were like her being a defective Gem.

Now we know the truth.

And on the reveal that Rose Quartz really being Pink Diamond…

I was never a believer of Pink Diamond being Rose Quartz. There was no solid evidence and there was evidence that seemed to throw out the theory entirely.

At most, I thought that Rose Quartz, Pink Diamond, and Pearl colluded to hide Pink Diamond, and even then, I thought that was a stretch.

Well I was proven wrong, so very wrong.

Rose Quartz, the leader of the rebellion, was Pink Diamond, the enemy of the rebellion.

This puts the character into a much heavier role than I had anticipated. Pink Diamond, due to her wanting to live free from the Diamond Authority, faked her death to end the rebellion, thinking that the other Diamonds didn’t care for her.

She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Not only did the other Diamonds care for her, this stunt single handedly caused the war to get worse and the consequences to be greater and, in some cases, more severe as we saw with the Cluster.

Rose was shown to have been a flawed Gem, and we see that because of her being selfish and wanting to be a rebel, she doomed an entire planet and every living being on it.

Not all hope is lost though.

Because while Pink Diamond may no longer be around, and Rose Quartz was a lie, Steven knows now.

He knows what has happened and can work on making things right.

First things first though, as the promo for new episodes revealed, the other Crystal Gems are upset at this, Sapphire especially, as she runs away, leaving Ruby and the others at the house while she teleports away.

So many secrets were kept, and they all come out this summer.

One final note about this episode before I finish off, A Single Pale Rose has made me love my favorite episode, Rose’s Scabbard, even more.

Looking back on that episode makes it all the sadder, with Pearl having been trusted with this secret, this lie that she has been keeping from her friends for thousands of years, is not aware of the existence of Lion and his mane.

What more could Pink Diamond be hiding? Was there more to keeping Bismuth hidden then she let on? What’s in the chest?

Pearl loves Pink Diamond, and the secret of Lion may have made it seem that Pink Diamond still didn’t trust Pearl with every secret. What could be more valuable than the real identity of Rose Quartz? Why was it hidden for so long?

So many questions were answered in these two episodes, yet there is still a treasure chest full of them.

We need to wait for the summer to get any more answers, so…

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Technical Difficulties

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, my Internet has been weird lately.

I will post as soon as I get things sorted!

Until then, enjoy this gif of an axolotl!

[joecasualnerd]

Kokkoku: Moment By Moment Episode Two Review

Only one episode today, but it should be an interesting one.

I am going to be talking about Episode Two of Kokkoku: Moment By Moment, and it should be interesting because while I have heard some general positive things about the show, I have also heard some dissention about the show.

My feelings will be made clear about what I think about the show by the end of the third episode, of which there will be a review of tomorrow.

Until then, I will only be discussing the second episode of Kokkoku: Moment By Moment.

Spoilers, as I do.

Premise

The episode begins with a flashback to several months prior, where the group of bad guys that attacked the family in the previous episode are discussing their findings on something called “The Master Stone.”

They are a cult, no bones about it, just a straight up cult that wants the Master Stone in conjunction with the stone they have in order to stop time as they please.

Back in the present, we continue from the previous episode with the thug threatening the kill Makoto with the giant monster still looming behind him.

One of his buddies tries to warn him, but the thug shrugs it off.

The monster then decides to crush the thug���s head like a grape, leaving blood and a twitching corpse.

The friend of the thug pukes, which allows Juri and her grandfather to get out, with the leader of the cult sending the others to look for them.

Juri asks her grandfather what that creature was, and he says the it is called The Handler, a being that makes sure that people in the Stasis are not harmed, which means that for the time being the other members of the family are safe.

The grandfather then says that he doesn’t completely know the rules, which means that they could accidentally break the rules and be attacked.

Juri wonders if the spell has worn off, but after trying to talk to a police officer, that isn’t the case. She then asks if the grandfather can teleport Tsubasa and Makoto, but the grandfather says that The Stalled would just stay in place.

The two then wonder what is going to happen with Juri’s father, since The Handler’s don’t seem to protect those who can move in Stasis.

A brief flashback to when the guy died, we see the spirit creature that allows for people to move in Stasis leave the corpse and enter Tsubasa, who manages to stay still while the goons leave to search for Juri and the grandfather.

The leader of the cult and the right-hand man discuss their next move, acknowledging that the grandfather being able to teleport being a big problem. A woman then pops out of nowhere, asking if The Handler appeared.

The three then decide that they are going to take the father hostage, while leaving Makoto and Tsubasa behind, since they can’t do anything to The Stalled.

The grandfather decides that the only way they can save Makoto and Tsubasa is to redo the spell, since they are in one fraction of time, so if they set time back to normal and redo the spell, they would in another fraction of time and be free to do whatever they can to save Makoto and Tsubasa.

The caveat is that they would leave the father behind. The plan then becomes the grandfather going to save the father and for Juri to get the stone from the house.

Juri asks if the grandfather can teach her how to teleport, but she fails to do so. The grandfather explains that his grandfather couldn’t do it either.

The cult leader, named Sagawa, then recounts to his right-hand man what the woman from earlier, Majima, told him earlier.

Apparently, The Handler was smaller than what their books had indicated, so it must mean something.

Tsubasa, able to move, manages to get free from his bonds and realizes that Makoto isn’t moving. He does what he can to try and revive him, but to no avail. Tsubasa then decides to take Makoto to the hospital, blaming himself for everything that had happened.

The grandfather manages to see and follow the group of people that are taking the father, but when he enters the building that he saw them enter, they are mysteriously not there.

What is there is pictures of the three doing the spell and a Stone much like the one he has.

A quick flash to Juri as she gives a recap on what happened, which scares her enough to get to the house as fast as she can. However, she is being followed by three goons.

The grandfather investigates the pictures further and realizes that they are cameras, and that they were being recorded, which means that the cult has been waiting on this for some time.

The grandfather then realizes that the cult is after the Master Stone and the spell, remembering that they wanted the grandfather alive. What’s more, he realizes that Juri is in trouble, and runs off to save her.

However, just as Juri gets to the house and realizes that the Stone is missing, she is attacked, and the episode ends with two people choking her to death and her hand going limp

Discussion

There was a lot of exposition going on.

Like, an obscene amount of exposition.

The rules of the world continue to become expanded upon, and there are some interesting thing about the world that are revealed, such as The Handler possibly being one of Juri’s ancestor, possibly a member that decided to mess around in Stasis for too long.

There was also some stuff revealed about the cult and Majima, as she was once stuck in Stasis years ago and saw what could possibly be Juri who was with a dog at that time.

More and more about the rules of Stasis is being explained, but there isn’t much on the character department.

The only one who had some development was Tsubasa, who was doing everything in his power to try and save Makoto.

Of course, he doesn’t know that time had stopped, and that Makoto is fine, just frozen in time, but the gesture is appreciated nonetheless.

Other than him, the rest of the cast just tries to get the plot moving with trying to get the Master Stone and kill Juri, with one guy wanting to rape her.

The bad guys are generically bad, while the main characters are doing what they can to save their family, but since they don’t fully understand the rules, they must make a lot of assumptions.

This is inherently a bad thing, but I want to know more about these characters, and anytime there could be some development, it’s either ignored or plot happens to prevent development.

Granted this is the second episode, I am hoping for more development to come in the next episode.

Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but I like to be optimistic.

What I did like about the episode was how there was a logic to the plans that the grandfather was working on, but the only reason that they weren’t working was that the cult was several steps ahead of them

They didn’t know that The Handler prevented them from hurting The Stalled, but the cult managed to roll with the punches and go on with the plan as necessary.

The animation is still well done, and the characters do have enough personality to keep me from disliking them, although to be clear personality is not character development.

I will also say this about the show, the opening is probably my favorite opening of the season.

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Laid-Back Camp: Episode Two and Episode Three Review

Real life can be a pain in the ass sometimes.

I haven’t been able to talk about any of the shows that I want to talk about and a super-secret project that I have been working months on has been continuously delayed due to me being too tired to work on it.

It shall be done soon, but until then it will be delayed for a little bit longer.

What won’t be delayed will be me talking about some dadgum anime. Today’s anime of choice is going to be Laid-Back Camp, episodes Two and Three.

As usual, spoilers obviously.

Premise

The second episode begins with Rin roaming the school with a recipe book in her hands, looking up a recipe for some soup she can have so she isn’t stuck eating ramen on her next camping trip.

Running past her, not noticing Rin which goes the other way as well, is Nadeshiko, who is searching for the club building so she can join the Outdoor Activities Club.

She finds the club room, only to see that it is pretty much a refurbished storage room. Nadeshiko peruses the shelves of books and assortment of items, the two members of the Outdoor Activities Club, Aoi Inuyama and Chiaki Ohgaki, enter the room.

Aoi is at first apprehensive in letting Nadeshiko join, but Chiaki points out that once they have four members the club can move to a bigger room. Aoi allows Nadeshiko into the club and they begin talking more about camping.

Nadeshiko looks at a magazine about tents when Aoi pulls out a tent, a really cheap tent. Nadeshiko asks why the cheap tent, and Aoi tells her to look at the prices of the tents in the catalog, which go into the tens of thousands of yen.

They lament about not having enough money when they decide to practice setting up the tent that they do have.

While they are doing so in the school’s courtyard, Rin notices Nadeshiko. She doesn’t want to get involved with the Outdoor Activities Club and resists the urge to go out and help them when a tent pole breaks.

Rin’s friend, Ena Saitou, tries to get Rin to help, but Rin just gives Ena some advice on how the club can fix the tent with a small piece of tent that Ena had found earlier.

Ena goes out to help them and when the tent is all set up, the club remarks that they didn’t expect Ena to know about camping. Ena admits that it was Rin who had given the advice, pointing her out.

Nadeshiko notices Rin and tries to go to her, only to be stopped by a window.

A short time skip later, Rin is riding her bike to a new campsite, laments on the fact that she spent two thousand yen to spend the night and begins to set up her campsite.

She notices that there are more people in this particular campsite and decides to go wander around, taking pictures of the area and sending them to Ena.

As the sun slowly begins to set, Rin remembers what happened after Nadeshiko crashed into the window. The two have a brief conversation, which has Nadeshiko asking Rin to join the Outdoor Activities Club, to which Rin recoils at.

She thinks that she may have been too harsh in how she reacted and as she relaxes she hears a familiar voice calling out her name.

Nadeshiko has decided to go camping as well and offers to make a hot pot for the two of them.

The next episode starts with Nadeshiko looking for the tent her family uses, only to see that it isn’t a conventional tent, being more open to the elements and being a cover to the rain.

She gets a text from Ena, who tells Nadeshiko where Rin is camping and Nadeshiko decides to go camping there as well.

As her older sister, Sakura, is about to leave to do something with her friends, Nadeshiko asks if she can get a ride to the campsite, which is obliged.

Nadeshiko makes it to the camp, wanders around for a bit until she finds Rin, and we get a continuation of the scene with Nadeshiko getting the food ready for the hot pot.

Rin offers to help, but Nadeshiko says that she is going to repay Rin for helping her out last time.

We take a brief break to see that Aoi and Chiaki are looking for jobs, so they can fund a camping trip in the winter, which they are successful at.

Back at the campsite, the hot pot is done and the two begin to chow down. As they eat, Rin apologizes for acting the way she did about the offer to join the club, saying that she shouldn’t have had such an extreme reaction.

Nadeshiko also apologizes, admitting that she shouldn’t have tried to impose on Rin and saying that they all should go camping sometime, whenever Rin feels like she is comfortable enough to do it, and Rin agrees.

Rin says that Mt. Fuji, which can be seen from the campsite, is supposed to look amazing in the mornings, but that it is when there is fog in the mornings which is only in the spring and summer times.

Nadeshiko wants to wake up early to see the sunrise, but Rin says that she’ll be sleeping and tells Nadeshiko to not wake her up.

The night goes around, with Rin sleeping in her tents and Nadeshiko sleeping in the car with her sister (as to not pay the camping fee), and an alarm goes off, waking up Sakura to wake up Nadeshiko. Sakura goes off to get some breakfast while Nadeshiko goes off to watch the sunrise.

Nadeshiko drags herself to Rin’s campsite and sees the sunrise through closed eyes.

Satisfies, she goes inside Rin’s tent, which wakes her up for a moment, but decides to go to sleep.

The next day at school, Rin is going through the pictures from the camping trip and Ena surprises her, asking if she had fun camping with Nadeshiko.

There is a brief flashback of Rin waking up, and her trying to wake up Nadeshiko, which turns out to be futile, but Rin doesn’t seem to mind, with her finally (I think) saying Nadeshiko’s name, ending the episode.

Discussion

These were two great episodes and exactly what I wanted out of the series.

The high school setting is merely to get the characters to know one another, and for them to quickly move on to the actual camping stuff.

There isn’t high school drama about the club in danger of getting shut down by the student council if another member doesn’t join, there isn’t any major misunderstanding that are a multi episode conflict, and there aren’t any convoluted love polygons.

Just some high school kids that want to go camping.

There is so much that can be done with this concept and the show is taking steps to make it as believable as possible.

The overt anime expressions are kept to a minimum and there are genuine human moments in these two episodes, which here means that the characters aren’t blowing things out of proportion and act mostly rational.

Rin wants to apologize to Nadeshiko because she feels bad about how she had reacted to the offer of joining the Outdoor Activities Club towards the end of the second episode and goes right on out apologizing about what had happened the next episode.

A lot of other shows would have stretched that conflict for a whole episode, but Rin doesn’t hold how she feels for an entire episode. And what’s more, Nadeshiko completely understands that Rin didn’t mean to come across as mean, and even offers Rin to go on a group camping trip with her and the rest of the Outdoor Activities Club, if Rin feels up to it.

There isn’t any forcing or convincing that Nadeshiko has to do, she just puts the offer out there for Rin to consider and doesn’t give her an ultimatum on going on the group trip.

That is so refreshing to see in a show like this where it could have easily gone that direction.

Another thing that I enjoy about the show is the character moments. Rin isn’t the standard lonely character that I thought she was.

She does have a good friend in Ena, sending her pictures of the camping trip and having silly conversations, like friends would.

Nadeshiko also has an interesting character quirk with her eating a lot, which is amusing to see, but I’m curious to see where this goes. Until then, it’s a fun character trait that goes along with her bubbly personality.

While there hasn’t been much on Aoi and Chiaki, I can tell that I’ll like them, merely by the fact that they did one simple thing to make me like them.

Instead if some harebrained scheme to get them the funds that they need for a camping trip, they go out to get a job.

That is amazing to see in a slice of life show, at least for me, since I would have expected shenanigans to get money for a camping trip and not actual real-life ways of making money.

A small extra that the second episode had, not the third episode until the end of the episode as a stinger for some reason, was some genuine camping advice.

And that’s something that I really like about this show.

This show did what I want a camping show to do, and that was make me want to go camping.

So much so, that I was looking up places to camp before I started writing this.

It also highlights that some people like to do things alone and some people like to do things in a group, but it doesn’t try to make one seem favorable to another, at least yet.

Rin walking around the campsite feels like something that I would do if I went camping alone, and is pretty much how I am. I don’t mind being around other people, but I do find more enjoyment in being by myself and enjoying things at my own pace and leisure.

Nadeshiko likes being around other people and has a unique charm about her that seems to be influencing Rin wanting to try camping with others, although it is made clear by Nadeshiko that she isn’t trying to pressure Rin into it, and to do it at her own pace.

The only negative I have about the show was that there were some scenes that dragged on a bit too long, but even then, I still enjoyed what was going on.

This show is a Will Keep Up, meaning that I will catch up to the most recent episodes as soon as I can because I want to see what will happen.

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Takagi-san, the Master of Teasing Episode Three Review AND Bonus Manga Mini Review

Some days, you just sleep in for an abnormal amount of time. Not for any reason, but you just sleep for about twelve hours and you feel well rested as the day progresses slowly in comparison to the long sleep.

I don’t know why I said all that, it’s not like this post is late. In fact, it’s going to be out earlier than I usually do.

Just wanted to talk about my morning, which has no relevance to anything I’m posting today, but just something I wanted to share.

Now onto the third episode of Takagi-san, the Master of Teasing, and not only will I be talking about the third episode, but I will also be talking about the manga that the series is adapted from.

Keep in mind, when I do talk about the manga I am referring to the original manga and not the sequel series. So, don’t worry about spoilers from that, only spoilers from the original manga.

That said, let’s talk about episode three of Takagi-san, the Master of Teasing and the manga of the same name.

Premise

I’ll cut to the chase quick and talk about the three segments that had the comedic relief trio, so I can get to the other segments without interruptions.

The first segment with the trio has the short one drinking coffee and not liking it, but the one with the dark hair drinks it no problem after trading juice with the short one.

The second segment with the trio is the short one not being able to handle sodas, saying that they are spicy, so the one with the glasses shows the short one up by drinking it no problem. The one with glasses needs to burp, so she does so when the short one yells.

The third segment with the trio is the one with the dark hair and the short one dubbing over two cats as if they were part of a romantic drama. The one with glasses remarks that the two cats are male, so they change the dub to something like a high school setting.

Now the first segment with Takagi and Nishi is called Empty Can. Nishi and Takagi are walking home, Nishi is parched, so he decides to buy a juice.

He drinks it and Takagi asks if she could have some, and Nishi obliges.

Nishi thinks that he has the upper hand and mentions that if Takagi drinks some, then it would be like an indirect kiss. However, Takagi takes a sip no problem, and hands the drink back to Nishi.

Just as he is about to take a sip, Takagi makes the same remark about an indirect kiss, which leads Nishi to drop the drink.

Nishi throws the can in anger, only for it to reach the trash can.

He sees another can on the street and does it again. Takagi takes a can from the ground and tries to make it into the can, only for it to fall short.

A challenge is then made to see who can make it into the can. Takagi makes the stipulation that if she wins then Nishi has to do whatever Takagi wants.

Takagi makes it into the can this time, and just as Nishi is about to throw, Takagi mentions that if Nishi wins, then he can take her first kiss. This is enough of a distraction for Nishi to not make the can, so he must do whatever Takagi wants.

However, Takagi says that she doesn’t have anything in mind for Nishi to do, which has him question why as they walk back home.

The second segment, titled Muscle Training, starts with Nishi getting home, saying that Takagi teased him fifteen times that day.

He hears on TV a sportsball player saying that for every mistake that he makes he trains ten times harder. Nishi takes that as inspiration and says that he’ll do a certain amount of push ups every time Takagi teases him.

The next day Takagi sees Nishi’s arms twitching and Nishi remarks that he started muscle training, and this exchange eventually leads to Takagi teasing him.

Takagi teased Nishi even more that day, so he ends up doing more push-ups.

Time passes and while the two walk to school, Takagi says that she has noticed Nishi getting more fit. She then remarks that if a young person works out too much, then they’ll have stunted growth.

Nishi panics about this, thinking that if he ends up shorter than Takagi then she’ll tease him even more. Takagi then says that it was a lie and that a healthy dose of exercise is actually healthy.

She then compliments Nishi and suggests that he keeps working out. Nishi, in his head, says that he’ll probably keep up the muscle training even if Takagi doesn’t tease him.

The third segment, titled Umbrella, begins with the comedic relief trio talking about how they’ll get home in the rain.

As Nishi is about to go home, he realizes Takagi is staying behind. He asks why, and she replies that she left her umbrella at home. Nishi tries to make fun of her, but she then remarks how his umbrella is pretty big.

The two are then heading home in the rain under Nishi’s umbrella, which makes Nishi slightly uncomfortable because he is in the proximity of a cute girl.

He tries to poke fun at Takagi, but that doesn’t work. He then sees a frog to try and scare it with, only for it to backfire on him.

They continue walking for a while and then Takagi notices that Nishi’s shoulder is getting wet, so she decides to move closer so that doesn’t happen.

While the two continue walking, Takagi takes the opportune time to call out that two people under an umbrella has a specific phrase associated with it, but since she is so forgetful (what Nishi has been calling her this whole time) she asks Nishi what that phrase is.

He says he doesn’t remember, and Takagi says, “a lover’s umbrella.” She then continues the teasing by having Nishi guess what happens when two people’s lips meet when they are showing affection and what the phrase that a two people use to say that they feel strongly with another person (kiss and I love you respectively).

The rain soon stops, and Nishi takes the opportunity to try and go home, but Takagi says that she forgot her way home and wants Nishi to take her home.

Discussion

Getting it out of the way sooner rather than later, I am still not a fan of the comedic relief trio’s segments. They feel like the filler they are, and they don’t have much in terms of substance.

I will be fair and say that the segment with the trio dubbing over the cats did get a genuine laugh out of me, but that’s one laugh out of the five segments that they have been in, so not a great ratio. It was also wholly unnecessary for them to have three segments this episode, in my opinion.

That out of the way, let’s get to the real meat and potatoes of this episode.

This episode adapted two of my favorite parts of the manga, Umbrella and Muscle Training.

I really enjoyed Umbrella because it is one of the closest shorts that almost flat out says that Takagi is romantically interested in Nishi.

She plays along with Nishi calling her an airhead, because not only can she tease him on the way home, but she can also get a gauge on how he feels about her, which is also an obvious tell that he likes her but doesn’t want to admit it.

It’s a cute bit of teasing as well since it’s something I can see happening if it happened to me in middle school, which I am now realizing was over a decade ago for me.

I feel old.

Anyway, the reason I liked Muscle Training is because, manga spoilers, it is something that carries on throughout the series.

Nishi does continue to do the push-ups, although they are usually done off panel. It is a character trait that propels Nishi forward throughout the series as a motivating factor to not get teased.

However, it also becomes a way for Nishi to impress Takagi. He is building strength and looking better as Takagi said, and that was one of the nicest things that Takagi has told him that wasn’t a set up for a tease.

Takagi was genuinely impressed with Nishi training and Nishi wants to continue to impress, even if he may get teased for it in the end.

Again, where this series falls short is the short format.

They are cute and very entertaining, but with inclusion of the comedic relief trio taking up three whole shorts, which is large chunk of the episode’s run time, it only gives essentially animated scenes from the manga.

It’s not a bad thing, since I enjoyed the manga (more on that in a moment), but there isn’t much else done with them.

Once they finish a short that was from the manga, boom onto the next one, then the next one. I wouldn’t mind if there were only two shorts per episode, but that’s where you get into the sticky territory of adding more to the original scene from the manga.

It is a faithful adaptation to the manga in that regard, but the comedic relief trio can indeed be called filler.

I don’t know why they don’t want four shorts in an episode or they feel like the main segments need a break, but I would much prefer staying with the main two characters in a series of shorts that had some sequential order, which can be done.

While the manga isn’t told sequentially, there are parts that could feasibly be told in succession.

This is probably the best place where I can talk about the manga

Manga

I’ll be brief since this is already going pretty long, but as I said earlier I enjoyed the manga immensely.

Shorts tend to work more for me in manga form than animated form, and that is because I can get through them quicker and enjoy more of them.

I got through reading the entire series in a couple of hours, and that was with some breaks in between.

It’s an easy read and there are some funny and touching moments that are done in the manga that I would be happy to see be done in the anime.

There are even two parters in the manga, where two shorts come right after another, and they tell a neat cohesive story between them.

There was also one point in the manga that would be a huge spoiler, but needless to say if they were only doing one series of Takagi-san, I would hope that they end with one particular short as a way to get people interested in a second season or even a sequel series based on the actual sequel series.

Now I gave the show three episodes and I am in a conundrum.

I don’t hate the show and even the segments with the comedic relief trio are tolerable.

However, I would only be watching the series to see if they adapted certain parts of the manga and to be honest I can probably wait until the series is over to watch them or watch the new episodes occasionally.

Takagi-san, the Master of Teasing is a Casual Watch, not something I’ll seriously follow, but not something that I’ll skip and it will be something I’ll catch up with when it’s over or throughout the Winter Season.

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Takagi-san, the Master of Teasing Episode Two Review

Since a couple of weeks have passed, it is that time where I talk about the next couple of episodes of the five shows I talked about during the Five Days of Anime.

To start things off, I’ll talk about the second episode of Takagi-san, the Master of Teasing.

Tomorrow will have the review of the third episode as well as a bonus review of the manga, which I decided to read. The reason being is that in writing the review, I realized that it would be super long to read, since each episode is comprised of several shorts.

So, here is the review of the second episode of Takagi-san, the Master of Teasing.

Super spoilers ahead, btw.

Premise

The second episode begins with a short that is titled Calligraphy, where the entire class is doing a calligraphy lesson.

It’s the end of the lesson and the teacher assigns the students to write down something that they like.

The students are having a hard time, Nishi and Takagi being no exception.

While the two are pondering what to write, Takagi suggests that they write something that they want from the other person.

Nishi struggles for a moment and then writes “Restraint” with the intention to get Takagi to stop teasing him, but Takagi says that she doesn’t understand what he means.

Takagi wrote “Status Quo” to which she explains that it means that she doesn’t want Nishi to change and for him to remain easy to tease.

Nishi demands that they go again, and Nishi decides to write “Kindness” in order for Takagi to realize that she isn’t kind. Just as he starts to write it, Takagi compliments on Nishi’s writing. This throws Nishi for a loop, questioning whether she has been nice the entire time and he hasn’t noticed.

What really knocks him down is when she wipes his cheek, saying that he had something on it.

Nishi realizes that maybe Takagi is nice, so he decides to write “Stop teasing me”. Takagi says that she can’t do that and reveals that she had wrote, “You have ink on your face”. This is when Nishi realizes that when Takagi wiped his cheek, it was to put some ink on his face, which makes him angry.

The end shows that the two wrote “Watch Your Back”.

The second short is one titled Seasonal Change of Clothing, and it concerns the comedic relief trio having communication issues on what sort of uniform to wear.

The third short is titled English Translation, which is happening during an English lesson, who would’ve guessed.

Nishi is trying to think of a way to tease Takagi, but his only idea is to make another Jack-In-The-Box, and he doesn’t have the materials to make one.

Takagi asks Nishi what he is thinking, teasing him by saying that he is thinking of naughty things. Nishi denies this when the teacher calls him to answer a problem. Takagi whispers sixteen at Nishi, to which Nishi replies to the teacher sixteen.

That is the wrong answer, and Nishi gets yelled for it. Nishi then comes with the plan to get Takagi in trouble, by keeping her distracted until the teacher calls on her next. He asks inane questions until the teacher calls on Takagi.

Nishi thinks he has her, but Takagi does what she needs without issue, saying that Nishi had a decent plan. Nishi tries to come up with another plan, when Takagi asks if he is thinking of naughty things again.

Nishi denies this, and Takagi then assumes that he is thinking of her. Takagi then casually states that she thinks about Nishi all the time. Nishi asks if its to tease him and Takagi gives a pause and then answers. Nishi wonders why there was a pause, when the teacher calls on him again.

The final short of the second episode is one called Pool. It is the first day that the students are allowed in the pool, but Nishi can’t go into the pool because of an injury on his hand.

Takagi then comes by and correctly guesses that the reason Nishi has a hurt hand is because he tried to pet a stray cat and got bitten.

Nishi asks why Takagi isn’t swimming, to which she replies that since she guessed why he can’t go in the pool, so he must do the same.

Nishi goes through multiple reasons as to why it may be, ranging from her playing a joke, to her being on her period, to her having no confidence in her chest size.

Nishi gets in his own head and finally settles on saying that it’s her period, although he doesn’t feel comfortable saying it.

Takagi says that he is wrong, and that it’s rude to say that to a girl, and Nishi quickly apologizes. Takagi then takes off her shorts and shirt, revealing her swim gear, and asks for permission to go swimming.

Takagi mentions that she doesn’t have issue with her chest size and Nishi surmises that Takagi only stayed behind with Nishi just to tease him.

She laughs, which acts as a confirmer, and just before she gets in the pool, she ties her hair up and says that when Nishi’s hand gets better that they should swim together.

Takagi gets into the pool, while Nishi assumes that Takagi would only tease him when they swim together.

Discussion

The show continues to be adorable.

There are many aspects of these shorts that I enjoyed because it gave a little more insight on Nishi as a character.

In the first short he realizes that he may come across as too rude if he says that what he wants from Takagi is kindness and opts for the obvious answer instead. He doesn’t want to hurt her feelings, he just wants to tease her a bit.

This goes with my analysis of the first episode where I mention that Nishi isn’t a malicious kid that wants to make Takagi cry, and this first short goes right with that.

He probably wishes that he wrote kindness when he finds out that Takagi put ink on his cheek, but then again, he probably wouldn’t.

The second short was, again, a time filler with the comedic relief trio in a short about how two of the group wear long sleeves and one wears short sleeves and vice versa.

There isn’t much to that short except to fill time.

The third short in English class highlights a couple of things.

First off, Nishi really likes jack in the boxes for some reason, even though they have proven to not be effective.

Secondly, he understands that not all pranks or teasing should be blatant, and in fact can be very subtle in just acting like a distraction. This backfired on him, but it shows that he is willing to play dumb and act as a distraction if he can tease Takagi.

The final short is what is most interesting to me.

Nishi is so self-conscious about what he wants to answer, knowing that if he answers about Takagi on her period or her having an issue with her chest size, he’ll get chastised about it.

He doesn’t want to be rude in saying what he thinks, but he cannot apply Occam’s Razor and just say that Takagi wants to tease him.

Nishi knows that Takagi plays mind games, but the biggest mind games come from the fact that Takagi wasn’t really playing any mind games.

And when Nishi says that the reason Takagi isn’t swimming is because of her period, he immediately gets chastised and then immediately begins to apologize.

This further cements that Nishi wants to get even, he doesn’t want to win per se, he just wants to get even at least once. When he is wrong and is called out on it, he is self-aware in knowing that he probably shouldn’t have said what he did and tries to justify why he did.

He’s a good kid at heart but is so wrapped up in mind games that the obvious answers escape him.

Where this episode falls short, is the short format.

While I understand why there are short, especially after having read the manga, I am still not a fan on multiple shorts in one episode.

Not only that, but the fact that the shorts had to be broken up by the comedic relief trio in a bit that wasn’t in the manga (spoilers), so it truly felt like filler.

It isn’t terrible in this episode, but it is something that I want to keep in mind for the next episode.

Overall this episode was inoffensive, very cute, the art style is great, and the shorts were amusing, but not anything to write home about.

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Why Do I Enjoy: Slice of Life

How’s it going everyone!

I was trying to figure out something to post about, other than anime and Pokemon content, so I have decided to try something a bit different!

I, like everyone one on the planet, enjoy certain things over other things. One thing that I like to think sets me apart from most (although this is most likely not something unique to me) is the reasons why enjoy something.

There are plenty of reason that I share with other people in why I enjoy something, but there are also some off-kilter answers as to why I enjoy certain genres, archetypes, or themes over others.

Which is why I want to try doing a new series of posts called Why Do I Enjoy/Not Enjoy (insert thing here). I’ll be going over genres, archetypes, and themes rather than exploring individual shows that portray what I talk about.

There will be times where I reference shows or movies that portray what I’m talking about well or how they fail, in my opinion.

This will be a very opinionated and biased look on the topics, so if you happen to disagree with what I say, then you are free to do so, just know that what I say isn’t fact and is all opinion.

The genre I will be talking about today is probably my favorite genre in anime, and that is slice of life.

What is Slice of Life?

For those who don’t know, slice of life can be a catch all term for all forms of media and isn’t limited to anime.

Basically, slice of life is exactly what it says on the box, a slice of a character or a series of characters life. While one can argue that any story can be a slice of life story, what makes the slice of life genre different from other genres is that slice of life stories don’t often have a plot.

That isn’t completely true, as there are examples of slice of life shows that do have a plot, the plot is often secondary, or in some cases unnecessary for a slice of life series.

One way to look at slice of life if one doesn’t want to look at anime is to look at American sitcoms, one of the most famous examples being Seinfeld.

There isn’t a grand overarching narrative to the series, with each episode being relatively self-contained and only referenced in future episodes as the series sees fit.

Certain characters may be seen for only one episode while others last a season, going through personal arcs as the series progresses, but the character progression isn’t brought about by some outside force like an invading force.

In anime, slice of life tends to err on the side of melodrama, where situations are often blown out of proportion, whether dramatically or comedically.

Now why do I enjoy slice of life shows?

There are several reasons, but the main one is this.

Characters Drive the Story

It is no secret that I enjoy character driven series. If you look at my Steven Universe Advent Calendar, you’ll notice that I tended to enjoy episodes that were more character focused, rather than plot focused.

The reason I enjoy character driven stories more than plot driven series or world driven series, is that I am of the mind that well written characters can save mediocre plots, but mediocre characters cannot save well written plots.

You see it all the time in American sitcoms. More often then not the plots of an episode are the same as most other episodes or are something that we have seen before, but what makes sitcoms last so long is the characters.

My favorite cartoon of all time is Ed, Edd, n Eddy, and the plots of almost every episode can be summarized as the three Ed’s trying to scam the neighborhood kids out of money, ultimately failing because of one reason or another.

The plots are threadbare, but what drives the show are the characters. A scenario is set up and the characters react to it in a specific way, which is wholly unique to them as characters. Ed won’t react to a situation like Rolf, and he won’t react to a situation like Lee Kanker would.

The characters are given enough of a personality and have enough unique character traits that allow the audience to understand the character and makes watching their reactions to certain scenarios interesting as it may be what the audience expects, or it could be one that catches the audience off guard but is kept well within character, so the audience isn’t turned away.

These have been examples of Western media, so how does anime approach slice of life?

Slice of Life Anime Goes Fast

For the most part, it is done very similar to the West, but there are a few key points to note. If there is a romance that a Western slice of life show wants to develop, it is done over the course of several seasons, slowly building up until near the end of the series (usually, though there are exceptions).

In anime, there usually isn’t enough time to do that.

While a lot of shows are adapted from manga or light novels, it cannot be guaranteed that they will have multiple seasons to tell the whole story.

Some shows have the luxury of being able to take hundreds of episodes to tell a story, most anime only have between 12 to 24 episodes to tell that story. There is a limited amount of time to tell a story and take time to develop something, whether that be romance or character progression.

Therefore, the slice of life genre tends to be either a comedic series, where plot isn’t necessary, or a romance story that is pared down to the most important parts if there is a limited number of episodes.

Comedies tend to be wacky and zany, and thus have a wider appeal, while romances are filled to the brim with melodrama and are often set in a recognizable setting, usually a high school.

Another benefit to slice of life shows being fast is that more can be produced during a season, thus allowing more air time and commercial time for TV in Japan.

This means that a studio can be working all year round and always have one or two shows on air. This can be detrimental to the individual studios, as the working conditions at an anime studio are often less than ideal, it is pay and the people working on those slice of life shows often go on to do bigger and better things.

Simplicity is Key

Another reason I happen to enjoy slice of life shows over others is how simple they are.

I don’t need to have some plot about some characters having been experimented on and are out to seek revenge but are stopped because a zombie apocalypse happened and the only cure is if they find the one ring to stop it but the one ring can only be found if the main character seduces a princess but the main character can’t do that because of a promise that he made to one girl in his childhood only to find out that the princess was the girl from his child but he only finds out when she is killed by the big bad.

Ii would much rather watch a show about some people going through a day in high school or trying to ask someone they like out.

It’s simple and I can follow multiple characters and motivations much easier if the premise were something simple.

Simplicity can be detriment though, as with slice of life shows I am expecting some character growth and development if there is no overarching plot to be had, and if there is none that become apparent, then the simplicity of the show comes across as dull.

This however doesn’t apply to comedic shows, for the most part. Shows that are more comedic and come across as more like a sketch than an episode to develop a character, can get away with a lack of development if the characters are likeable enough and the comedy is consistently well written and entertaining.

Some comedic shows have a plot that they want to have, so therefore if that doesn’t develop then the comedy will seem more like a crutch than a boost, but I find that comedy shows can get away with having funny characters doing funny (or even mundane) things more than traditional slice of life shows or romantically inclined slice of life shows can go without developing the characters.

Heartwarming and Tragic

I would say that one of the reasons why I enjoy slice of life shows is that they often bring out some of the most visceral and real moments of emotion.

While I have been talking about the lighter side of slice of life shows, there is often a side of slice of life shows that other shows can take dozens of episodes to get across.

Slice of life shows have the unique opportunity to explore humanity and how certain people can react to tragedies or triumphs.

If a happy go lucky character in a slice of life show experiences a tragedy of some sort, then it feels all too real when that character becomes depressed.

You have seen this character in a few episodes, come to grow attached to them, only to have them experience a tragedy and act differently than you are used to.

This has you root for them, to want to say that things will get better, and they inevitably do, but that character is changed and while they may go back to their original personality, that change in character will be apparent throughout the rest of the series.

This also applies to character who have suffered tragedies and tend to either lash out at others or be closed off from others. The audience can grow to dislike them, but when what happened in their past is revealed, it makes sense as to why they are acting like that.

And it feels like that character is opening up to you, and you want to help, but you know that you can’t, so you have to depend on the other characters to do so.

It is necessary for these things to come up in slice of life shows because they are the closest example to being in “the real world” when compared to other shows. Sure, there may be things that aren’t in the real world, but that’s par for the course in anime.

The tragedies are more personal, and the victories are more heartwarming.

When the main character gets their love interest, you feel happy, and when a character experiences a tragedy it feels like one of your friends is experiencing that tragedy.

At least that’s what I feel.

In Conclusion

The lack of a cohesive narrative, conflict, and ending can turn people away from slice of life shows, and I can’t blame them.

When there isn’t clear resolution to a story I can feel like I wasted my time, but for some reason slice of life anime doesn’t do this for me.

The overabundance of slice of life shows can be taxing on people who want to get excited for an action-packed series with a juicy plot. There are times when I also want a meaty show to watch, but often I will watch more slice of life shows than other types of shows.

They are easier to watch and when I am invested in the characters I get more attached to the series than I do with most other shows.

They also act as the perfect in-between show or palate cleanser after a huge series that either wrecked you on an emotional level or disappointed you to the point that you need to either calm yourself down or cheer you back up.

A comedic slice of life will be enjoyable on a lazy afternoon and a “serious” slice of life show can act as the perfect show to pass the time when you are looking for longer series to watch.

It may not be for everybody, but it is definitely for me.

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Land of the Lustrous: Episodes 4-6 Review

Finally getting back to Land of the Lustrous!

It has been a while since I last posted anything about it, but to be fair I have been watching other things in the meantime.

Will Land of the Lustrous be one of those things that I keep watching?

You’ll have to read to find out! This is going to be a review of the next three episodes of the series, so episodes four, five and six will be talked about and spoiled.

So, if you haven’t watched the series and have an Amazon Prime account or know someone who does (since Anime Strike is dead, which means I only lost five dollars watching this show, which isn’t the worst or most amount of money I have spent on something I didn’t need looking at you Hulu), then give this show a watch.

Spoilers from here on out though.

Premise

The fourth episode begins with Phos talking with the slug creature from the previous episode, the audience able to hear their voice.

This is after a short montage of the others making a joke about Phos being able to talk to the slug.

Phos is annoyed in how Kongo is making her stay with the slug, while the slug makes advances to Kongo, but he cannot understand the slug.

I should actually refer to the slug as its proper species and name, as it is revealed that the slug is actually a king of a race of creatures known as Admirabilus and the slug’s name is Ventricosus.

Ventricosus explains that there is someone like Phos under the sea and they convince Phos that there is someone under the sea that is very much like them.

To go under the sea, the gem creatures need to wear a protective resin so that the powder on the outside doesn’t shine through, thus exposing them more to the Lunarians.

Phos manages to steal some, as well as some new clothes, until they are told they are forbidden to go to the sea by Kongo.

Phos decides to go, after remembering that they kept a promise to Cinnabar. Before Phos goes though, Ventricosus tries to explain death to Phos, which to an immortal being doesn’t make sense.

Phos and Ventricosus go under the sea, and Ventricosus reveals themselves to be a shapely octopus mermaid creature. Ventricosus leads Phos on, giving a story on a creature that came before them, humans.

Apparently, humans went to the ocean after a catastrophe of some sort and divided into three beings.

The Admirabilus are said to have been the flesh of the humans, with the ability to adapt and die. Phos then assumes that herself and the other gem creatures are the bones of humanity, as their existence and creation seem to coincide with elements of the story that Ventricosus is saying.

This leads the two of them to assume that the Lunarians are the third part of humans, the soul. Ventricosus then says that the way that the Lunarians act may have been an indicator of what humans used to be like, violent mostly.

Phos gets exhausted as they seem to have arrived where they needed to be. Ventricosus then reveals that it has all been a trap, as they wanted to exchange Phos to the Lunarians for Ventricosus’s brother, and the Lunarians take Phos, with some of their legs down in the deep.

The next episode begins with the Lunarians and Ventricosus negotiating for the brother, who also looks like a giant slug by the way.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the other gems realize that Phos is missing and begin a search. They see footprints that lead to the sea and assume that Phos went out to see.

Back with Phos, the Lunarians ask for more gem creatures, but Ventricosus says that only one was part of the deal. The Lunarians are altering the deal but give no opportunity to alter it further as they attack Ventricosus.

The brother slug manages to wiggle its way back into the sea, where they transform into their true form, and named Aculeatus, who manages to deal with the Lunarians.

They are about to leave when Ventricosus has a change of heart about leaving Phos to the Lunarians, which they wanted to do.

Ventricosus and Aculeatus jump off the Lunarian platform, and Aculeatus takes two spikes from their former shell.

The gems are still searching for Phos, and are getting tired, which isn’t good news if Lunarians attack the next day.

Cinnabar wants to help but can’t, until Phos washes up to shore with the two spikes, two missing legs, and part pf their face in a basket.

Cinnabar drags Phos and all the stuff to HQ and it isn’t until Rutile finds them.

As Rutile is repairing Phos, Kongo comes by, pissed. Kongo informs Phos that they are no longer allowed to work on the encyclopedia.

Later, Rutile looks at the spikes and sees that there is agate that can be used to repair Phos’s legs. When they get them attached and test them out, it soon becomes apparent that with the loss of Phos’s legs, a third of their body, so did a large chuck of their memory.

As the gems go back to work and Rutile sleeps, Phos remembers that they promised that they would help Cinnabar and Phos begins to stand up on the new legs.

Not only that, but now Phos can run super-fast.

The next episode begins with Yellow Diamond and Zircon taking on some Lunarians, with Zircon getting some major injuries, but not taken.

As Rutile helps piece Zircon back together, they realize that Phos is gone. Yellow Diamond begins a search and asks Diamond and Bort if they can help, Bort being annoyed that they have to look for Phos again.

Yellow Diamond then sees Phos, and after a back and forth of Phos explain that they have super speed now, Yellow Diamond manages to catch Phos without breaking her…until Phos is set on a rock too hard.

They report back to Kongo, and Phos now demands that since they have this new ability that they can fight now.

Kongo asks for the lightest sword that they have and gives it to Phos, who is struggling to handle the weapon. Phos asks if Yellow Diamond can train them, but Yellow Diamond says that they are already paired with Zircon and asks Phos why they want to fight.

Phos then says that they fight because they are loyal to Kongo, and the others laugh, saying that it is the same reason that the others are fighting as well.

Kongo remembers that Phos needs to give their account of what happened out in the ocean, but Phos can only remember that the ocean was wide and empty, with the other gems saying that a chunk of Phos’s memory is gone. However, she also reveals that she remembers the word humans, but nothing else.

Nonetheless, Kongo accidentally breaks a table when he learns this.

Later, Yellow Diamond takes Phos to Amethyst, as was ordered in the previous scene, to give Phos an opportunity to learn with Amethyst.

Or should I say, Amethysts, since there are two who coordinate with each other.

During the next few days, Phos and Amethyst patrol an area and when they return to HQ, Phos is always exhausted.

One day the Amethysts ask if Phos wants to learn how t sword fight, to which Phos half-heartedly agrees. However, the three are ambushed by Lunarians.

Phos is unable to do anything as the Amethyst put on a noble fight but are taken by surprise.

The other gems come to help, and while Bort manages to beat the Lunarians away until Kongo finishes them off, with the episode ending with Bort yelling at Phos, asking about what happened.

Discussion

I have very conflicted feelings about this show.

While I am enjoying the world building aspects of the show and am enjoying that Phos is becoming less like a typical anime protagonist, I can’t really get much more out of the show.

Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy the animation, which is gorgeous and seems to be improving with each episode.

Phos now has a unique trait in that they are losing parts of their memory, and while now they have the ability to run fast, there seems to a lack of motivation is certain aspects.

When Phos was gung ho about helping to fight and helping Cinnabar, Phos is slowly becoming less motivated to accomplish their goals. This may be tied to how a third of their body was lost, so a huge chunk of memory was lost as well as some aspects of her personality,

This could lead to Phos losing more of their body, thus losing more of their personality, which could prove to be very interesting.

The lore regarding humans was also fascinating, having been divided into three aspects; flesh, bone, and soul.

It gives some context as to why the Lunarians may be acting the way they are, the reason being is that they are collecting the other two parts as a way to try and recreate humanity again.

Kongo had an interesting moment in that he reacted very strongly to the word humans, which could mean a lot about his character.

Is he the last human? Was he part of the humans dividing up into three? That mystery is something that could be driving point throughout the rest of the series.

There is good to be had with the series, but for some reason I’m not getting into it.

There were a lot of interesting character moments that were missed with Diamond and Cinnabar, although Cinnabar less so.

Cinnabar had a moment of wanting to help look for Phos, deciding against it, only to have Phos wash up right next to them. I would have liked to see more, like Cinnabar actually about to take a step to help, only to have Phos wash up, but there wasn’t much else for Cinnabar except to brood.

Diamond, a character that I was intrigued with previous episodes, seems to be getting the short end of the stick in these last three episodes, only having a couple of speaking lines.

Yellow Diamond was cool in that they are the oldest and revealing that Phos was the youngest also helped develop their relationship, but that was only briefly explored.

The Amethyst twins had a neat concept, but they were taken out before more could have been used to develop them individually, rather than twins who worked in sync.

The biggest problem that the show has is an overabundance of side characters, with only a minority having any bearing to the story or are interesting enough for me wanting to learn more about.

It isn’t uncommon to have a lot of side characters and not develop them, but when one of the main characters faults is becoming their inability to remember certain things, it would be more impactful if there were fewer characters to keep track of.

I couldn’t remember who was who, only remembering Phos, Bort, Diamond, Rutile, Cinnabar, and Kongo. I briefly remember Jade, but that was about it when it comes to the other gems.

There needs to be more to the side characters, because a good side cast can accentuate the main cast and right now the side cast just seems to only be there because they were in the light novels.

There is also something about the show that isn’t resonating with me. I can’t place it, but for some reason I can’t get into the show as much as I would like.

I know a lot of people enjoy the show and are wanting to spread the show’s awareness everywhere, but I can’t get on the same page as them.

It’s not like I’m saying I hate the show, I just can’t see the big deal as to why a lot of people enjoy the show.

I enjoy the world of the show and the main plot threads are coming through, but with a large cast spreading my attention thin, I can only enjoy the show for what it develops as a setting and the beautiful animation.

I’ll watch the next three episodes, and I may even finish the series, but for the moment I am only doing it as a way to see if more comes these last six episodes.

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

What I Want in a Generation 8 Pokemon Game

Pokemon for the Nintendo Switch is coming. When it’s coming, no one knows for sure, but based on previous game releases, we can either expect it at the earliest the 2018 holiday season, spring 2019, or the 2019 holiday season at the latest.

When it does come out, I will buy the new game/games, as after some saving up of holiday gift cards and saving some money from my real-life job, I should be getting a Nintendo Switch very soon, so I’ll be fully prepared for when a main series Pokemon game does come out.

Until news of the new games comes out, the only thing the fans can do is speculate what the new games are going to be about, and that’s what I am going to do!

Keep in mind that I am not an insider at Game Freak, Nintendo, or the Pokemon Company, so everything that I say is all what I would like in a Pokemon game and not based in any fact whatsoever.

It is all opinion, nothing more.

That said, here is what I want from a Generation 8, main series Pokemon game.

Generation 8 First, then Generation 4 Remakes

While I would love Gen 4 remakes, as Pokemon Platinum was the first game that I bought myself and not as a gift, it would make more sense to release a Gen 8 game first, since that appears to be the pattern that the games have gone.

After two or three releases of a main series game, the remakes would use the engine from the previous generation as the basis for the game as well as provide the building blocks for the third installment of that current generation.

Fire Red and Leaf Green used the Ruby/Sapphire engine and gave the building blocks for Emerald, Heart Gold and Soul Silver used Diamond/Pearl engine and provided the building blocks for Platinum and to a certain extent Black and White, while Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire used the X/Y engine and those games acted as building block for Sun and Moon.

The games build off each other, taking old mechanics and fine tuning them or replacing them entirely.

Remember, back in Gen 3 there wasn’t a Physical or Special split, with the Type of move determining whether they were Physical or Special.

So, having Gen 8 come before the Gen 4 remakes would make much more sense as Gen 4 can take the Gen 8 engine, fine tune it a bit, and make the Gen 4 remakes awesome.

One Generation 8 Game or Two Generation 8 Games that are Cheaper

A break from the norm to be sure, but at this point there is no real reason for there to be two main series Pokemon games in the same Generation.

With online trading being much more easily accessible, and people able to interact with each other online to organize trades, having version exclusive Pokemon doesn’t make any feasible sense.

With Switch games costing $60 USD, it’s a much tougher sell for people to buy two versions of the game.

Alternatively, if they wanted to have the two Pokemon games, they would need to market them at $40 USD. It would remain consistent with the prices of the handheld games, and wouldn’t majorly affect sales.

While the Switch is selling well, there isn’t much of a market base to sell two full price Pokemon games, which will be bad PR for the Switch because Pokemon games are system sellers.

They can take a loss by selling a singular game and sell more consoles or take the loss by selling two cheaper versions of the game and still sell more consoles, albeit less then just a singular game.

Bigger Region

Now on to what I actually want from the games themselves, I would want the region to be big. Like Breath of the Wild big, or hell why not bigger?

Pokemon has always been able to somehow put a lot of stuff into small file sizes, and with the expanded size of Switch games, they can absolutely go beyond what they could previously do.

For example, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is 13.4 GB of game and there is a lot packed in there from what I’ve seen.

Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon has 3D models for 802 Pokemon, 728 moves that have unique animations (29 being extremely animated Z-moves), 3D overworld models of people, locations and Pokemon, cutscenes, and online capabilities.

All of that and more in 3.6 GB.

If they had the space that Breath of the Wild has, and more, they can add a large amount of new Pokemon and have fully 3D models of everything.

It would make exploring the region even more fun, as there could be places that rely on moving the camera to locate.

In fact, having a camera that can be moved instead if a static overhead camera would be a huge jump for a Pokemon game.

Unique Villain Team

The villain teams have been a stable for all Pokemon games since the beginning and it doesn’t look like that’s changing anytime soon.

Sun and Moon had two evil teams, one being Team Skull and the other being the Aether Foundation. Team Skull was a breath of fresh air because they were a villain team that hadn’t been seen in a Pokemon game.

They were outcasts that seemed to have more failures than successes. They were funny and the Grunt all had some sort of personality to them that brought them to life.

Guzma was hilarious, Plumeria had a character arc, and Gladion played a major role in the story.

This is very different from what is normally seen in a Pokemon villain team, where only the leader is memorable, while the Admins have a bit of personality but not more than the main boss.

This change really began in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire with Aqua Admins Matt and Shelley and Magma Admins Tabitha and Courtney being more fleshed out then the usual plain jane Admin.

I would hope that the new villain team be better than Team Flare (my personal least favorite team), and have unique goal rather than destroy the world or something along those lines.

For example, while the Aether Foundation was much more of a standard Pokemon villain team, Lusamine had a unique goal in controlling the Ultra Beasts/Necrozma for personal goals rather than taking over the world.

Updated Battle System

Onto the mechanics of the game, I would like there to be a little more to the battling than the usual four moves and the Pokemon in a standing still animation that occasionally does something other than standing there.

While I’m not asking for a full on Pokemon fighting game, I would like the ability to move the Pokemon on the screen to break from the monotony of having two or more Pokemon stand there.

It would also be beneficial to be able to have large multi battles again. 3 vs. 3 was neat idea, but hasn’t really been implemented in a while.

With a stronger game system, maybe there is even the possibility of a full team battle to go on, a 6 vs. 6 battle. It would be chaotic as all hell, but it would be a neat thing to see for a couple of battles as a fun gimmick.

It would also be neat to see environment damage play a factor in how a battle is done. Like a trail of ice being in the field after an Ice Beam, or some lingering pink clouds from Aromatherapy, or puddles made from rain.

The possibilities to make a battle more dynamic are endless and could really use a revamp from the standard four moves and standing around.

Gym Leaders Return, with a Vengeance

While I enjoyed the concept of Trials in Sun and Moon, it wouldn’t make sense for every region from here on out having something akin to the Trials.

It is very likely that Gyms will return and when they do, I want them to return strong.

My main issue with X and Y (other than Team Flare) was that the Gym Leaders had no real personality to them.

Except for Korrina, all the other Gym Leaders felt like they were tacked on, only there because they needed to be there.

This was after Black and White where we saw the Gym Leaders fighting against Team Plasma and doing stuff outside of the Gym.

I want that back.

I want Gym Leaders that are more than just bosses that need to be taken care of. I want Gym Leaders that play an integral part of the story, or at the very least interact with the player in some way before they take on the Gym Challenge.

We saw this with the Trial Captains and Kahunas, characters that had personality and were unique among each other rather than uniquely designed bland sprites that battle you.

I couldn’t tell you anything about the Fairy Gym Leader in X and Y, but I can tell you that the Fairy Trial Captain, Mina, is an eccentric artist had a traumatic experience with a Snubbull when she was younger.

There is more to her than her Trial, and I want that for the Gym Leaders, a personality and a life outside of the Gym.

More Post Game and a Battle Frontier

C’mon Game Freak.

I don’t know anyone who didn’t like the Battle Frontier in Emerald, and while the one in Platinum wasn’t my favorite, it was still enjoyable.

Why take it out of future games? Was it too much to code? Why not put it in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire? Why put a Battle Maison when you could have put a Battle Tower?

The return of the Battle Frontier would be amazing, because while Sun and Moon and Ultra Sun and Moon had a lot of stuff to do, there is still not much that comes to par with the Battle Frontier.

The Battle Tree is fine, but it is just a glorified Battle Tower with recognizable Trainers to fight at certain points.

A new Battle Frontier could add more to a Gen 8 game, and experiment with new battle mechanics.

The Battle Palace in Emerald for example had the Pokemon battling without input from the Trainer. That was a fun game of deciding which Pokemon to bring and what moves they should have.

Battle Frontier aside, more post story content would be nice. Hell, if Gen 4 remakes did come first, you could expand on the contests and be more than just picking a move with the most hearts.

Rematches against Gym Leaders, old and new, high level battles in general, some Secret Base/Underground stuff to explore, there are dozens of avenues to take this.

There is one thing that is most important to have in a new Pokemon game.

A Fun Game

Barring all the stuff I would want in a new Pokemon game, the one thing I would want more than anything is for the new games to be fun.

I want to have fun when I play a Pokemon game, which is why I still play the games in the first place.

If I’m not having fun, then why the hell am I playing the game in the first place?

These are some of the things that I want in the Switch Pokemon game. I could go on, but I think that this is an adequate and reasonable amount of things to have in a new Pokemon game.

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Pokémon Region Project: Region, Professor, and First Gym

I have been a fan of Pokémon ever since it came out twenty years ago, and at this point Nintendo has my money for a new main series Pokémon game up until I die.

No matter what I may think of a region or how much money I end up spending getting the new consoles and games, I will inevitably end up getting them to play the new game, even playing a spin off to see if it takes my fancy.

One thing that I would like to do though is a project that I have always wanted to do.

That project is to make my own Pokémon game, barring making new Pokémon, and I would like to tell you guys what I would do if I was in charge of making a brand-new Pokémon game.

Now I wouldn’t want to make new Pokémon, mostly because trying to think of at least fifty new Pokémon that are distinct from the 800 other Pokémon that exist is a futile effort, so I’ll just stick with making a new region, story, and characters.

For this first post, I’ll be talking about the region itself as well as the Professor and the first Gym, since I am a writer and I would like to flesh out my characters and setting more than just “This is the region” or “This person is the Professor.”

As a reminder, this is all in good fun and not to be taken too seriously.

All that out of the way, let’s get started by talking about the region.

Region – Zodia

The Zodia region, is a unique region when comparing the other regions.

It’s as large as the Sinnoh region, but it is unique in that it is a round mass of land that surrounds a body of water and in the center of that body of water is the Pokémon League.

Due to the large size of the region, there are many cities within the region that are all unique from one another.

There isn’t a unique group of Pokémon that calls Zodia it’s home, but there is a plethora of Pokémon that do roam the region. The biggest claim to fame is that this region is home to all starter Pokémon as the starting city, Duston Town, is a sanctuary for these starter Pokémon.

Starter Pokémon are rare, so this sanctuary was developed so that the starters can be bred in a safe environment and sent to other regions to help other Pokémon Professors as they need.

As such, the Professor of the Zodia region, Professor Sequoia, studies Pokémon preservation, but we’ll get to him a bit later.

The climate of the Zodia region is also as various as the number of Pokémon the region has. The northern parts of the region see the cold peaks of Mount Orion, where many strong Trainers reside.

This is contrasted by the southern parts of the region, a much more tropical climate, where it feels like summer every day of the year.

The eastern part of the region has a mixture of forests and much more temperate paths to traverse upon, and this is where Duston City is located.

A large portion of the western side of the region is a desert known as the Phobos Desert, and there is said to be a powerful Pokémon in this desert, so there are many Trainers and scientists that are found within this desert, although there are also tales of people who never return.

One thing that the region is known for is the “Last One Standing,” which is a competition where one Trainer’s Pokémon must battle through one hundred Pokémon, getting a rest every ten battles. The battles get progressively more difficult, but there are various prizes given out to Trainers depending on how far they go along.

There have been a few Trainers that have been able to get through all one hundred battles, the Champion being one of the most recent. These Trainers are revered as the battles are not easy, especially after the thirtieth.

There have been criticisms given about this contest, but the ones who run the contest are excellent in being very transparent in how the Pokémon that battle are cared for and that they are treated with the utmost respect.

The region is also well known in how Gym Leaders and members of the Elite Four and even the Champion are chosen.

To become a Gym Leader, there must first be an opening. If an old Gym Leader is thought to not be carrying out the duties that a Gym Leader must fulfill and are deemed by other Gym Leader in a unanimous vote to be unfit, they are replaced.

This hasn’t happened in a long time, so the more common option of Gym Leaders leaving of their own volition, whether through old age or stress, is much more common to see.

Once there is an opening, the call for strong Trainers is put out and there is an application process done, with a member of the Elite Four or the Champion acting as a temporary Gym Leader until a new one is found.

The application process is very strict and when five potential people are decided upon, they are called to the island in the center, Quasar Island, to go through a final test.

Three Gym Leaders are chosen to battle the five competitors, with Gym Leaders no longer given restrictions on how strong the Pokémon they use are. The applicants then need to have a team of Pokémon of the type that they want to use.

Once the applicants battle the Gym Leaders, having been graded on performance and not just if they won or lost battles, the top four applicants then battle each other in a tournament, with the winner being given the title of Gym Leader.

The new Gym Leader immediately becomes the first Gym Leader, while the other Gym Leaders move up in numbers. For example, if the fifth Gym Leader retires, the previous fourth Gym Leader becomes the fifth while the third becomes the fourth and so on.

There was some contention with the most recent Gym Leader chosen, as there was talks of nepotism since the new first Gym Leader, Grover, has three older brothers, two of which are Gym Leaders and the eldest is the Champion.

Even though rumors of nepotism, even among certain Gym Leaders, are still around, the footage and test results show that Grover earned his spot fair and square.

The process to become a member of the Elite Four is only applicable to Gym Leaders and former Gym Leaders, while becoming Champion is a more complicated issue.

While Trainers can beat the Champion, they are considered “Part Time Champions,” as they don’t stay in the League facing challengers. The Champion that resides in the Pokémon League is known as “The Active Champion,” or “The True Champion”.

To become this Champion, the challenger must go through a gauntlet of all the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and the Champion in a full team battle of their strongest Pokémon.

Healing items are not allowed to be used, but held items are and the challenger can heal their Pokémon between battles, but they cannot switch them. If a Trainer can do this, then the current Champion steps down and the new Champion takes their place, taking all the duties of the Champion.

The reason why I went into so much detail about the process of becoming a Gym Leader is because it attracts strong Trainers to come to Zodia, as well as tourists to come see these fights.

There is also a booming farming industry, where berries are grown en masse and shipped off to other regions, especially if berry growing is notoriously difficult.

While all seems well in the region of Zodia, there have been some odd things going on. Important people have been disappearing and Pokémon theft is being reported at an all-time high, with rumors that a group known as Team Ares being behind it. Law enforcement has been actively investigating, with even the Champion helping solve this issue.

Meanwhile a group known as Unity has been formed, a group that claims that they are working for the benefit of helping people and Pokémon get along.

Even with all this happening, the days go on as normal and it is time for new Trainers to start their Pokémon journey! New Trainers in search of a starter Pokémon go to Duston Town and talk to Professor Sequoia about getting a starter Pokémon.

This leads into the discussion about our Professor.

Professor Marianne Sequoia.

Professor Marianne Sequoia is a woman in her mid-thirties who has tan skin, long straight black hair that is tied by colorful beads, and is often seen as being very passionate about her work.

She studies Pokémon conservation, which is why she took up the mantle of the head of the Starter Sanctuary. She makes sure that these Pokémon are well kept after and uses them as models for proper Pokémon conservations for rare or nearly extinct species.

Professor Sequoia was once a Trainer, and will occasionally battle, but more often she does her best to teach others to take care of Pokémon so that they don’t go extinct. She was once part of the team that helped discover the process of bringing fossil Pokémon back to life, having left the team to further pursue her career as a Pokémon Professor.

When you first meet Professor Sequoia, she is very calm and straightforward. She will tell you that the Starter that you choose will be an important part of your journey and will lead you through the sanctuary.

If you are a Trainer wanting your starter, you will need to go through a course that will ensure that you know at the very least the basics of caring for a Pokémon. She will not tolerate people barging in wanting a Pokémon and has been known to turn Trainers away because she felt that they weren’t ready for one of the Starters.

You have just finished your course, along with your best friend Hermes, and you both go out to get your first Pokémon. When you talk to Professor Sequoia, she asks you if you prefer a certain type of Pokémon, and will lead you to the sections where that type of Pokémon reside.

You can then choose from any Starter from any region and Hermes will choose the one from the same region, but the one that has the type advantage to yours. Professor Sequoia, having seen that you two have scored high in the course’s final exam, gives you Pokedex’s to fill out on your journey.

When you leave the Sanctuary, Hermes challenges you to a friendly battle. When the battle is over you two head home, ready to start your journey.

The first stop is Caprico Town, the place where the newest Gym Leader, Grover resides.

The First Gym, Grover

When you first arrive at the Gym, you see two people arguing. The younger of the two, a young man wearing a long sleeved green shirt and brown pants, short curly brown hair, and light tanned skin, is saying that he can take care of himself.

The older man, named Angelo, tan skin, short black hair, wearing a black shirt, a dark blue vest and blue jeans and glasses says that he is only trying to help out. The young man, Grover, says that Angelo should go back to his Gym and let him worry about the new Gym.

Angelo bids Grover farewell, saying that he can still visit any time he wants, notices you and says that Grover is setting up the Gym and will be a while until he is ready. Grover hears this and says that you can challenge him inside the Gym, regardless if it is complete or not.

Angelo sighs and walks off to his Gym, muttering if either Soren or Dante can help out.

When you do decide to enter the Gym, you do indeed see that the Gym is unfinished, with some platforms connected by vine bridges being out up, but the Gym still not having been painted or decorated, except for a few scattered sections.

There are two other Trainers in the Gym, one a Rising Star Female and the other a Rising Star Male. They both comment on how glad that they were when they were chosen to help out Grover in setting up the Gym.

Both Trainers have a Seedot on their teams while the Rising Star Male also has a Cottonee and the Rising Star Female has a Petilil.

When you reach Grover, he says that you are his first official challenger as a Gym Leader, and while he cannot go full force on you, he will not go easy on you.

His first Pokémon is a Cottonee with Stun Spore, Leech Seed, Growth, and Grass Knot. His second Pokémon is a Petilil with Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, Growth, and Grass Knot.

His final Pokémon, his ace, is a Skiddo with Razor Leaf, Vine Whip, Leech Seed, and Grass Knot.

When you do defeat him, he exclaims about how he is frustrated with how he lost against the first challenger, until he regains composure, saying that you did a good job, presents you with the Seed Badge and the TM for Grass Knot.

As you leave the Gym, you see Angelo, who says that he was watching through the window. He commends you on your effort and says that he’ll be waiting for you in his Gym. It’ll be a long ways until you can battle him, but that’s a story for another day.

So, what do you think of this? I’m thinking about doing this either weekly or biweekly, depending on how well fleshed out I can get it, but I do think that this will be a fun exercise in creativity.

I love Pokémon and have wanted to do something like this for a long time, and will be working my hardest to get this done right.

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Mitsuboshi Colors Episode One Review AND Hidive Mini Review

To end off my fifth post, I may as well end it with a slice of life show.

Not just any slice of life show, but one that is, to my knowledge, only airing on a new streaming site known as Hidive.

I am not sponsored by them in any way, so you’ll have my honest thoughts about the show as well as the platform itself (at least the free version of it anyway).

That all said, let’s end the five days of anime with Mistuboshi Colors.

Spoilers and yadda yadda yadda.

Premise

The episode begins with one of the girls running in a hurry, while a girl in a school outfit is crossing the bridge, then after a close-up of the running girl’s face, we cut to the opening theme.

After the OP, we see two girls in a ramshackle club house in the middle of the woods.

The blue haired girl, Kotoha, is playing on her DS knock off while the blonde girl, Sat-chan is lazing around. The girl running from earlier, Yui, says that there is an emergency.

Sat-chan tries for a joke but fails, as Yui explains the trouble. There is a cat that looks like a panda wandering about.

Sat-chan says that a cat that looks like a panda doesn’t sound like a threat, but Yui says that they need to see it. Sat-chan asks for a picture and when Yui gives her one, she declares it a monster that needs to be stopped.

They give the picture to Kotoha, who suggests that they kill it, but the other girls opt to capture it. And then they are off to get the cat, in the name of their group, the Colors.

They go to a police officer for leads. This officer, Saito, seems to be annoyed that the three are bothering him and he tells them to leave him alone.

Sat-chan and Kotoha make faces at him, while Yui begins to cry, which guilt trips Saito into helping out the Colors by saying that a panda like cat has been stealing stuff from people, and that if it is captured, it could lead to some peace.

The Colors go off in search of the menace in the shopping district.

After not seeing hide nor hair of the cat, they see a stand selling a bunch of weird glasses, which are very similar to the ones that Sat-chan found in their hideout. Kotoha asks if the cat stole a pair of the weird glasses recently, and the salesman says that the cat indeed stole a pair.

Kotoha figures out that since the cat stole the glasses, and the glasses were in the hideout, it stands to reason that the cat is in the hideout, which it is.

The Colors show Saito the cat and he says that they can keep the cat, since the Colors mission statement is to protect the town and its citizens, as well as animals. While Saito thinks that it saves him one thing to do, the Colors say that he will be buying the cat’s food, which he doesn’t seem happy about.

The Colors name the cat Colonel Monochrome, and the cat seems to grow attached to the three girls, with the exception of Sat-chan.

They head to the store to find something, and they take what they find to Saito.

The have a rocket launcher and are getting ready to launch it at Saito, with the reasoning being that he has grown too corrupt.

They pull the trigger, but the thing won’t fire as it is a replica.

The Colors argue, and Saito inspects the rocket launcher and says that the reason it won’t fire is because the safety is on, so he flicks it off.

Sat-chan asks for it back, but Saito turns it on them, threatening to blow them to smithereens. Yui starts crying while the other two prepare to fight.

The Colors suddenly call for a strategy meeting to plan their next move, which give Saito time to examine the rocket launcher some more. He figures that it’s fake, but knowing the shop owner, it can be anything.

He looks at the Colors and sees that they are running away, and launches the rocket at them.

Sat-chan catches the rocket and threatens to throw it at Saito. Saito says that the rocket wouldn’t have blown up because there wasn’t enough recoil for it to be a real rocket, but tries to call for a strategy meeting as Sat-chan throws it as it makes direct contact…

To Saito’s crotch.

The Colors surmise it is a fake weapon and go to get another one.

Later while Yui and Kotoha are waiting for a food bowl for Colonel to come in the panda mailbox, Sat-chan comes by and says that there is a safe that won’t open.

The shopkeeper, whose name is Pops by the way, brought the safe to where Saito is and the girls ask if they can open the safe, and Pops agrees while Saito grumbles about what they could possibly do to open the safe.

Pops gives them a letter that gives the Colors a clue to look for pan that no one can eat and something about everyone’s love.

They try a bakery, but that’s a bust, so they regroup in the hideout to figure out what the clue means. After some hijinks, Kotoha figures out that the panda mailbox is what the letter was talking about and when they look under it, they see the code taped to the bottom.

They take the code to Saito and they open the safe, only for the treasure to be the food bowl that Yui was looking for from Pops. The note that came with the food bowl that explains all this also said for Saito to bring the safe back to Pops, which he gets angry about.

The episode ends with three at the hideout and Colonel Monochrome sitting in the food bowl.

Discussion

I am torn about this show.

The show is definitely about three young girls who are pretending that they are a crack team of crime fighters, and that brings up a bunch of adorable hijinks.

On the other hand, there wasn’t anything that caught my interest in these characters other than Kotoha’s blood lust.

Saito is annoyed that these three bug him, but he shows that he is willing to play along with three much to his detriment, but he is probably the most interesting character out of the bunch.

Pops seems nice and wants to encourage the girls to have fun and explore, but that is only just a surface level detail.

I don’t think that there will be any dramatic character moments, and with a show like this it really doesn’t need it.

The show is a breather show, something to watch after watching a long or dark series.

Watching this show isn’t going to ruin your day, but it won’t be anything that will make you jump in surprise, at least from what I’m getting in this first episode.

Yui is the leader of the group, but she seems very reluctant to being the leader and tends to cry often when Saito yells at the Colors. Sat-chan is the energetic girl who gets in trouble the most and Kotoha is the quiet gamer girl with a lust for blood and murder.

Other than that, there really isn’t much else to them.

If I had to make another complaint it would be the random CGI background characters. I tend to have a good eye when noticing random CGI characters, so these ones weren’t hard to spot.

To be honest that’s all I have to say about this show, it’s a palate cleanser that isn’t offensive or groundbreaking, it just is.

One thing I did want to talk about was the streaming service that I saw this in, Hidive.

From what I can tell, this site is new and is still in beta, but it functions essentially like Crunchyroll where there is a curated list of shows that they are streaming.

Currently the Premium membership is $3.99 US, which also has Simulcasts and some other fun stuff, but there is also a free version (which is what I used), which streams with some commercials.

Now the commercials are short (for the moment) so that wasn’t awful, but it was off putting to be watching the show and suddenly an ad pops up without warning.

Like I said, the ads are short and are painless at the moment. They were also showing a lot of DVD sets from the company Sentai Filmworks, which is a distributer of certain anime in the US, so I can’t help that Sentai Filmworks may have a hand in Hidive’s start up.

Conspiracies aside, the service is fine. I can’t fully recommend paying the Premium right now since the incentives are standard among other streaming sites, and adding another four dollars to any other streaming service that you are using may affect your decision.

That said, the video played fine on my phone and there weren’t any weird pop up ads, so kudos there. They have a seven-day free trial for the Premium if you want to try, or you can use the free one and still watch the few shows that will be in this site for the winter season, provided they are older episodes and not simulcasted episodes.

Also, let me say again that I am not sponsored by Hidive.

Those were my thoughts on this first episode and Hidive, let me know yours!

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Episode One Review

Since I didn’t post yesterday, surprise! Double post today.

Now this is going to be an interesting post, one because I’ll be doing talking about a sequel series to an older series, but a sequel series to an older series that I have never seen.

I could watch the seventy episodes of the original anime, the movies, and OVA’s, but I don’t have time for that now.

Which is a shame because I hear that the series is actually pretty good.

For the sake of this post though, I am going into the series completely blind, having only this episode and the next two episodes to sell me on the series.

So, without further ado, let’s talk about Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card.

Spoilers ahead, so watch out.

Premise

The episode begins with a creature named Kero begins to give a very quick rundown of the series, saying that Sakura, the main character, released cards into the world and had to gather them all up.

Then it rattles on introducing characters, but then gives up, starting the episode proper.

After the opening credits, Sakura wakes up and gets ready for her first day in middle school. She runs down the stairs, and she is greeted by her father, saying that she looks cute in the middle school uniform, while her older brother makes fun of her.

There is a brief sibling fight, which is stopped when the father says that Sakura is going to be late to school.

Sakura rushes off, but not before saying good-bye to her mother, and having seen a few shows where a character says good-bye to a picture, it’s safe to assume that the mother is probably dead.

Sakura runs to school and she sees the cherry blossom trees in bloom, and reminisces about how she and her friends should have a flower viewing party. She then says that she wishes that a boy named Syaoran was around and not in Hong Kong doing business.

She has a flashback about Syaoran giving her a teddy bear as a promise that he’ll come back, and then we flash forward to the present time where Sakura goes to school.

The teachers do their thing, while Sakura talks to her friend Tomoyo and they exposit where all the other characters are. One is the same class as them, two are in the class next door, and one is in another school that they can still email or call.

The school day goes by and Tomoyo and Sakura head on home. As Sakura walks home, through the cherry blossom petals, she sees a figure ahead.

It is Syaoran, and he is back from Hong Kong and can stay in town forever.

The two embrace, and after a scene that feels like it should be at the end of the series, with the two talking about how they missed each other, the moment gets ruined by Tomoyo, who is filming everything.

The three walk home and we cut to Sakura talking on the phone to character in England named Eriol and she talks about how she is so happy that Syaoran is back. Eriol then says that she’ll have pleasant dreams now, since she hasn’t been dreaming a lot lately.

After she finishes her call, Kero finishes beating a boss in a video game and asks why there is the pink bear that Sakura made for Syaoran there instead of the one he made for her.

She then has a quick flashback that explains why she has the pink bear, which boils down to Syaoran saying that she should hold on to the bear for a little bit and Sakura does the same with the other bear.

There is a knock on her door and her brother walks in, giving her a trinket that a character named Yukito gave him to give to her. She takes the trinket and places it in the same box where she keeps her, presumably, magic necklace, saying that she hasn’t used it in a long time, which is probably for the best.

Then Sakura is in a weird plane of existence and sees a bunch of clear cards. She grabs one and sees a mysterious hooded figure. She goes to interact with the figure, only for all the clear cards to shatter. The figure gives her a look and Sakura wakes up from her sleep and rushes to the book that keeps the magic cards.

They are all blank.

The next day she goes to visit Yukito, and when they get inside his house he transforms into an angel dude Yue.

Sakura shows him the cards and neither of them can feel magic coming from the cards. Sakura can still summon her staff, which means she is still magical, but the cards do nothing.

Kero makes it a point saying that Yukito needs to go to school, and Yue says that Yukito has no memories of him, but Yukito is a sharp guy, so he may be able to figure it out.

Sakura says that if Yukito asks about it, she will tell him and then says that she has to go to school so that she can tell Syaoran and Tomoyo what’s going on.

She does so and says that there have been messages sent out to England about this and they are waiting for a response. Tomoyo is excited at the prospect that Cardcaptor Sakura may come back, which means new outfits.

The bell rings and the three head off, with Tomoyo saying that Sakura is lucky to have her friends and Syaoran to Syaoran.

Sakura and Tomoyo start talking about plans for lunch while Syaoran, who is in another class with the two friends that were mentioned earlier.

The day passes and Sakura is at home, still waiting on a reply from England.

Kero points out that there is a time difference, so there may be a delay in messages. The two head off to sleep, and Sakura is back in the void with the mysterious figure.

The figure attacks her with shards of glass, but they all combine into a new key and suddenly the figure summons a dragon. Sakura is woken up by Kero, saying that she was having a nightmare, and Sakura finds the new key in her hand.

The two discuss what happened, when Sakura is attacked by something. She does her best to avoid it, but when and attack goes straight for her, the new key stops it, and Sakura activates it, revealing a winged staff.

She can’t use any of the older cards, but still says an incantation which summons a giant crystal shield to protect her, and a new card is floating down.

Kero asks if Sakura is ok, and the two see the new transparent card called “Gale,” ending the episode.

Discussion

Before I get into what I think of the show so far, I would like to once again clarify that I have not seen the original series and am approaching this series pretty much blind.

That being said, I actually have a lot of positive things to say about this, despite my lack of knowledge or nostalgia.

First things first, the animation is beautiful, with everything in bright colors that could blind a person if they were watching it in a dark room.

There is a definite sense of nineties and early 2000’s anime going on in how the show is presented, but it feels like a throwback rather than an imitation.

It genuinely feels like it could feasibly be a sequel series to the original, and isn’t trying to imitate what made the previous series good, but rather expand upon it and make it more modern with lovely animation.

The show was also very positive in, again, a way that feels like a throwback to the original series. Even though that there are major issues with the cards going clear, the characters are positive that they will be able to find a solution to their problems.

It’s old school naivety, but in a world where Madoka Magica made other magical girl shows feel like they needed to be a deconstruction or a tool to sell merchandise, I think something like this is needed.

I do have some issues with the show though, and that could be me having not watched the show and not having the full context.

For example, why would Syaoran give Sakura the bear back? I mean that was something that she made for him as a gift and he made one for her as a gift. To my understanding you keep the gifts that someone you care about gives you, not give them back.

There was also the scene where Tomoyo and Syaoran are talking about how Sakura is lucky to have a bunch of people helping her. The way she talks to Syaoran makes it seem like she has a crush on him or had feelings for him in the past of something similar.

Again, I have no idea if these things were mentioned in the previous series, or if the scene was just presented weirdly.

While the show had fun moments of throwback to the earlier series, there are also a few bad things that come from that time that need to be addressed.

Awkward exposition through flashback, awkward exposition in general, and clunky dialogue in certain areas were shown, and while the presentation is very nice to have a as a throwback, it can be distracting for someone who is now used to modern shows that have tighter dialogue.

That said, I still enjoyed the first episode, and while I was a bit lost at keeping track of every character, I will say that I managed to understand the basics to get what certain characters would act like, which for a sequel to a series I have never seen, that is a well-done thing.

Can’t say that I am fully invested in watching the original series yet, but there are still two episodes left to go and a lot can change in those two episodes.

Those were my thoughts on this first episode, let me know yours!

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Kokkoku: Moment By Moment Episode One Review

Continuing with the week (or five days) of posting about anime, I have decided to post something that isn’t a slice of life show, which is difficult because, I said before, there are a lot of shows that are slice of life this season.

Regardless, I have found a show that isn’t slice of life, and has some interesting concepts that it plays around with.

I am discussing the show known as Kokkoku, or Kokkoku: Moment By Moment.

Spoilers ahead.

Premise

The episode begins with following a young woman named Juri Yukawa at a job interview, while flashing random scenery.

Suddenly, after a man bumps into a blonde woman, time just stops.

A strange looking creature touches the blonde woman and she is able to move freely in this time frozen world, her eyes become white and she goes off to accomplish a mission of some sort.

After the opening credits, we go back to Juri, lying on the floor of her grandfather’s place, saying that she has failed another job interview. She gets a call from her sister, asking if she will be able to pick up her nephew Makoto up from school, which she agrees to.

Juri goes to her place next door where we see her father and NEET brother, and she laments on how the two of them aren’t doing anything to support the family anymore.

Juri asks her brother, Tsubasa, if he can pick up Makoto, since he could go outside for a change, and turns off his console as a way to get him to go.

When her father is preparing dinner, he says that Juri has never acted like the way she has before, and that she and Tsubasa used to get along so well when they were younger.

The school calls Juri and asks if she knows of a man with glasses who is there to pick up Makoto. Juri tries to make light of the situation, but the teacher reprimands her after she does admit that Tsubasa is there to pick up Makoto and thankfully Makoto recognizes Tsubasa.

As the two walk home from school, a guy in a hoodie and mask comes by, claiming that he knew Tsubasa in school, and takes him away from Makoto. Tsubasa tries to place him, but when the guy points to Makoto, Tsubasa sees that he is getting kidnapped.

Tsubasa gets punched in the gut, and the two are taken into a van, being very much kidnapped.

The kidnappers call Juri and say that they are ransoming the two and they are asking for 5 million yen to be taken to an apartment complex that is about to be demolished in half an hour or they kill Tsubasa, then they will kill Makoto.

The father collects the money, saying that they have just enough and that he is going to go get the two. The grandfather points out that the father lent the car out, and Juri tries to sneak out with a knife to go and rescue the two on her own.

She is caught by her father, and after getting hit, the father says that he will be going to get the two. Juri begins to protest, but the grandfather says for the two to stop and to get to the living room.

The grandfather pulls out an orange stone and says for the two to put their hands on it. Juri begins to get flashbacks from when she was younger, as if she had remembered doing this before, and when the two place their hands on the rock, the grandfather makes a blood sacrifice and then time stops, but not after weird creatures touch them.

The grandfather escorts them out, and he explains that he was given that rock and told how to work it by his grandfather. The father begins to make very solid questions as to how they can do what they do, but the grandfather says that he doesn’t know how that stuff works, only that it does.

He also gives the two a warning to be very careful to not get sucked in by the prospect of stopping time. He explains that his grandfather told him that people would begin to rob things and it would escalate so quickly that the world consumes them.

The three make it to the place that they were told to go to and find the way into the room where they see that Tsubasa is beat up, and Makoto is crying, and the two are surrounded by time stopped goons.

As they begin to take the two out of the room, they are ambushed by people who can also move in this time stopped world.

It was a trap.

They jump the family and beat down on the father, and are about to kill Juri when the grandfather manages to instantly teleport them away, but only for short distances.

A man asks the important looking fellow if he can do that too, but he says that only this family can do it, and this seems to be an important plot point.

As the grandfather and Juri begin to escape, with Juri upset that she cannot save Makoto, one of the thugs grabs Makoto and threatens to kill him.

As the thug continues to make his threats, he is approached by a very large looking being, ending the episode.

Discussion

Time manipulation stories can be very tricky to tell.

Time travel can be a fun romp or a confusing mess, which is something that is very difficult to pull off.

Time stopping stories are even harder to do, and that is because there is usually a basic arc to how they go, and can be quite dull.

This show subverts that by having not only the protagonists be able to move while time is stopped, but also a villainous faction that not only can move around in the stopped time, but also set up a clever trap to capture the protagonists.

I say clever, but sometimes the best traps are usually the simple one. Capturing your brother and nephew and asking for ransom money is a surefire way to get the story rolling and while the grandfather thought that they would be able to get to the two and get them out, they were ambushed by the mysterious faction, seemingly because the grandfather has certain abilities in the Stasis, which is what the time stopped world is called.

There is also the added intrigue in the strange creatures that cause people to move in Stasis as well as the creatures that seem to be inhabiting the world and maintaining some sort of order.

There seems to be some rules regarding how Stasis works and I look forward to learning how those rules work.

Another benefit of the show is that the main characters are adults and not high schoolers, but that’s a personal thing from having seen a lot of shows that take place in high school.

One thing I do have a problem with, which is something that world building shows like this have in the first episode, is the somewhat paper-thin characters.

Juri is a woman who can’t get a job anywhere and wants to move out of her family’s home because they are good for nothings. The father seems kind of lazy, but there wasn’t much else to him that I could gleam because all he did in this episode is complain, which became annoying after a bit.

Tsubasa is a NEET, which has been done a lot before, and he does seem to have some interesting character beats that can be developed in future episodes, he barely spoke in this episode for me to really like his character.

The grandfather has moments of being the cranky old man, but had moments that made me want to know more about his character.

Makoto was the child in distress and that will probably be his character arc throughout the series, unless it is revealed that he has some great power within him that no one knew about and can be used to destroy the world and blah blah blah.

That would be lazy writing, but I am optimistic that they won’t do that to Makoto, but I would like for them to do something about him and not have him just be a device to be rescued.

Another thing that wasn’t quite clear was the villain motivations. They wanted to capture the grandfather presumably because he can do things in the Stasis that they can’t, but it didn’t make sense as to why they did it now and not another point earlier in time.

Other then what could possibly be the big bad and his right-hand man, the thugs were cookie cutter thugs that will probably die along the way when they mess with the time creatures or the balance of the world or something like that.

There is a lot of promise in the show, but I hope that it doesn’t get bogged down by standard characters that have no arc and I hope that this show isn’t just sold on premise alone, because a premise can only go so far before characters need to come in to support it.

Those were my thoughts on this first episode, let me know yours!

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Laid-Back Camp Episode One Review

Continuing with the five days of anime posts, I am continuing with another new slice of life show from the Winter 2018 season!

There are a lot of slice of life shows coming out this season, which is particularly odd because the influx of slice of life shows usually comes around the spring and summer seasons.

I am not complaining because I do enjoy slice of life shows quite a bit, but don’t worry, tomorrow won’t be a slice of life show.

I think.

Anyway, let’s get to today’s topic, which is C-Station’s show Laid-Back Camp, or Yuru Camp.

Spoilers ahead.

Premise

The episode begins with a shot of a bunch of girl hanging out at a campfire, and they all seem to be having a great time, with the scene ending with a girl that has pink hair taking a picture.

The episode truly begins with a blue haired girl riding her bike.

She rides her bike for a while until she takes a quick stop at a building when she sees the pink haired girl from the earlier scene lying down on a bench, sleeping.

She doesn’t pay her much mind and goes to her true destination, an office for a camp site so she can spend the night.

Her name is revealed to be Rin Shima, and she heads off to a small lake that has a view of the legendary Mt. Fuji.

She remarks that the campsite is great during the off season, which is evident because it is very cold out there and no one is around.

As Rin begins to relax a gust of wind has Rin decide that she wants to make a campfire, even though she really doesn’t want to because campfires are a lot of work.

She gets stuff ready though, getting pine cones for kindling and cuts branches into more manageable sizes.

Before she starts the fire, she has to go to the bathroom, and returns to the building where she saw the pink haired girl, showing that she is still asleep.

Rin goes back to her campsite and sets up the fire and uses a portable burner to make some soup.

The day passes, with Rin having periodically at the cloud covered Mt. Fuji to see if the clouds have cleared. Night comes, and Rin has to go to the restroom again.

When she is finished, she notices that the pink haired girl is gone, but when she turns to go back to the campsite, the pink haired girl is there, distraught.

Being terrified at being jumped, Rin runs away with the pink haired girl giving chase, and eventually tripping.

Rin takes the girl to her campsite where she recounts the story that the pink haired girl told her off screen.

Pink haired girl had recently moved, she came to see Mt. Fuji, waited for the clouds to move, fell asleep, woke up and everything was dark.

When Rin asks if the girl has a cell phone, she searches for it, only to find a deck of playing cards. Not only that, but the pink haired girl is hungry.

Rin brings out a cup of curry noodles, and asks if the pink haired girl would like some, which she agrees to. Rin offers the pink haired girl to use her phone, but the girl doesn’t remember her number or the new house’s number.

As the two eat, the pink haired girl eating voraciously while Rin eats calmly, the pink haired girl complains about having not seen Mt. Fuji.

On cue, the moonlight shines and when Rin tells the pink haired girl to turn around, she sees that the clouds have cleared, and Mt. Fuji is standing in its snow peaked glory.

Having remembered her sister’s number, she gives a call to her sister to pick her up. When the sister comes back, and after yelling at the pink haired girl, she gives Rin a bunch of kiwis and the two leave, while Rin prepares to go back to her campsite.

Before she does however, the pink haired girl comes back and gives Rin her name and number, Nadeshiko Kagamihara.

Nadeshiko then says that the two should go camping again someday and she heads off with her sister. On the drive home, the sister says that Nadeshiko smeels like smoke, and Nadeshiko asks if they have any camping supplies.

The episode ends with Nadeshiko riding her bike to school, while the credits play, and when she looks for her indoor shoes, we see that Rin also happens to attend this school.

The stinger for the next episode is two girls in the Outdoor Activities Circle planning on making a heated tent so they can camp in the winter, which means that there is only one possibility next episode.

Hijinks.

Discussion

This is a very standard set up for a slice of life show.

Loner is doing something alone only for someone with a bubbly, if somewhat naïve, attitude comes along and becomes friends with them, and the series probably having the loner making more friends and breaking out of their loner shell.

Hijinks will ensue in that regard, but until then things were calm.

Which is off-putting, because in these sort of shows hijinks will have already begun to ensue and there would be more comedic moments because of said hijinks, but there wasn’t much of that going on.

Instead we have Rin, the aforementioned loner, going on a camping trip by herself.

This isn’t her first time doing so, as one of the people who work at the camp remarks that she does this often, and it shows throughout the episode with her being competent in setting up a tent and a campfire by herself.

These aren’t difficult things to do, but it’s still nice seeing a main character with her personality archetype to have an interesting enough hobby as to ride her bike to this campsite and look at Mt. Fuji and read and camp solo.

This being an anime though, has her routine be interrupted by Nadeshiko wanting to see Mt. Fuji in person and not on the 1000 yen note.

Nadeshiko is very much a standard bubbly character archetype. She scares very easily, forgets things at home, loses track of time, is impressed at some simple things like Rin setting up a small burner to boil water for their curry noodles instead of using the campfire where her pot can get dirty.

There isn’t too much to her character at this point, but it could be setting some stuff up for later development.

After all, whenever she mentions her move Nadeshiko only mentions her sister, not her parents. This could provide an interesting avenue in discovering more about Nadeshiko’s character, or could just be a simple explanation of her parents are working all the time, so her sister takes care of her.

Just something that we’ll have to wait and see.

The character designs are nice, being somewhat standard anime styled character designs with enough of a personality to be distinct.

It is setting up for the end scene of the season to be that shot of all those girls hanging out together, so seeing how it all started is nice to see.

What I am dreading is the high school antics.

I know that high school is the most prevalent place for these slice of life shows to occur, but I hope that there isn’t a lot of it.

I would much rather have a few high school hijinks and the rest of the episode be dedicated to camping hijinks.

It would give the series an interesting flavor, rather than going through high school hijinks that I have seen in a dozen other shows. I want to enjoy this series, and the best way to go about that is to show more camping stuff, because I do enjoy camping and have been wanting to go camping again for a while, but haven’t had the time to do.

I am cautiously optimistic about this show.

Those were my thoughts on this first episode, let me know yours!

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Takagi-san, the Master of Teasing Episode One Review

Hello everyone!

I have risen from the grave to make another post!

Jokes aside, I had to get a couple of teeth removed for reasons and was out of commission for a while.

To make up for the lack of posting last week, I am going to make five posts this week! When I was trying to decide what five things I should post, I remembered that the Winter 2018 season of anime had just started, and a few shows have already begun airing.

I won’t be watching every show, since that would be an exercise in futility (speaking from personal experience), so I have decided to pick five random shows and start watching them episode by episode.

I won’t post every episode I watch, but I will post in blocks of two or three episodes right after the individual post for the first episodes, just so the blog isn’t overrun by anime stuff.

These next five days however, are going to be about the first episodes of the five shows that I will follow until I get no enjoyment from watching those shows anymore. I am a cruel anime watcher and will drop a show after three episodes, at the minimum, but until then these five shows have my attention.

The first show, as you can tell by the title, is Takagi-san, the Master of Teasing, or Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san.

Spoilers ahead, ye have been warned.

Premise

The show is about a young boy named Nishikata who has an issue.

Well, it’s an issue for him at least.

There is a girl that sits next to him in class named Takagi, and she teases him. Like, a lot.

These teasing go quite a way, and the show’s format is testament to that. The episodes are divided into three sections, all focused on a theme, and it shows how Nishikata tries to tease Takagi back, but Takagi always outsmarts him in the end.

The first section of the episode, Eraser, begins with Nishikata making a very basic jack in the box to scare Takagi. He finishes the spring part of the box and is about to attach it when he is distracted by Takagi trying to open her pencil box.

Takagi asks if Nishikata can open, and he does so easily. The thing is, the pencil case was rigged with a very similar jack in the box and scares Nishikata, getting him yelled at by the teacher and Takagi having a fit of silent giggles.

When Nishikata puts his jack in the box away, aware that Takagi got him with the trick he was going to use, Takagi asks Nishikata is she could borrow his eraser.

Seeing an opportunity, he lends the eraser to her saying that she is an airhead for forgetting her eraser, but it doesn’t work as Takagi just halfheartedly agrees.

Takagi then tells Nishikata that there is a legend that if someone writes their crushes name on an eraser and the eraser gets used up, the two will end up together, Nishikata says that’s just a legend, but Takagi opens the cover on the eraser and looks at amazement.

Nishikata is confused as he didn’t remember writing any name on the eraser, and Takagi just continues to look at the eraser with amazement. Nishikata has enough of it and takes the eraser back, only to see that it’s blank. Not only that, but Takagi also has her eraser.

Takagi asks to go to the bathroom, and Nishikata sees it as an opportunity to write someone’s name on her eraser.

As he begins to slip the cover off, he sees that there is something written on it. He wonders if he should continue, and decides to press on, being dejected that the first character in the eraser “Lo,” isn’t his name.

He continues and sees that it isn’t a name on the eraser, but a message, “Look at the hallway.”

He does so, and sees Takagi looking back at him and laughing as she comes back, hving once again played Nishikata like a fiddle.

She remarks that Nishikata had a 50/50 shot of something, but when he asks she doesn’t elaborate, and we see from her point of view that that the other side of the eraser had “Nishi” on it.

The second portion, Day Duty, is straight forward.

Nishi, which is what I’ll be referring to him from now on, is grumbley in how he was chosen to do morning duties at school, like clean the board and such.

He sees a coin on the ground and goes to get it, thinking that it’s money, only to see that it is an arcade coin.

He continues walking to school and sees Takagi in the window of the school, and when Nishi gets to the classroom, he sees that she isn’t there.

Copping to the fact that Takagi might jump out at him, he begins to investigate the room for her. He sees her shoes in the front podium of the class and decides to sit down, thinking that he is clever in not taking her bait. Nothing happens, and Nishi becomes paranoid again, and checks on the closet in the back.

The closet is empty and when he investigates the shoes in front, he only sees the shows and not the Takagi.

He is sitting in his seat, no doubt contemplating where Takagi might be, when she pops out from behind a curtain and scares Nishi.

She says that the curtains were slightly see through and that she just waited until Nishi was distracted.

Nishi, embarrassed again, looks out the window, cursing at Takagi when she remarks how they are the only two in the classroom, and how it feels like they are the only two in the world and that she wishes that no one else would come in.

He starts to ask a question, but the comedic relief trio walk into the class and keep him from asking it. Takagi then asks Nishi if he completed his morning duties, and he realizes that he hasn’t and rushes to do them.

The third section, Funny Face, begins with Nishi in the bathroom trying to figure out how to get Takagi. One of his classmates starts using the stall, asks why Nishi is making a funny face and asks if Nishi likes Takagi, and when he tries to change the subject the classmates says that Nishi does have a crush on her.

While the classmate is talking, Nishi thinks that a funny face will get Takagi to laugh aloud and get her yelled at by the teacher and he prepares a funny face.

When the classmate asks him another question, Nishi pulls out a funny face and the classmate laughs out loud. Nishi now has a plan, when Takagi starts a conversation with him to inevitably tease him, he will pull a funny face to get her to laugh.

Nishi waits for his opportunity, and when Takagi begins the conversation he immediately makes the funny face, but Takagi doesn’t laugh.

Instead, she pulls out a small mirror and shows him the face that he is making, and he laughs, which has the teacher yell at him.

Takagi is in a somewhat silent laughing fit and criticizes how Nishi should have made the funny face, giving him exact directions how to do it, and Nishi following along.

When he makes the face, and asks why she isn’t laughing, Takagi says that she’ll really laugh when he looks toward the front of the class, which he does and sees the teacher right in front of him.

The teacher gives a slight chuckle, only to yell at him.

Nishi, feeling down, decides not to get involved with Takagi for the rest of the day, so he doesn’t get in trouble again, and he buries his face in his arms.

Takagi tries to talk to him, but he is resolute in this.

For about three seconds.

He peeks at her, and sees that Takagi is in a similar position to him, looking at him and smiling and saying how he finally looked at her.

He blushes, and Takagi starts a staring contest with what could possibly be a little rhyme that is used in Japan that I have no knowledge about, and Nishi can’t help but laugh, which gets him yelled at again.

After the credits we get a short, this time with the comedic relief trio and shenanigans relating to the arcade coin and we end the episode.

Discussion

This is a cute show.

A very cute show.

It is a show about two middle school kids trying to out tease each other, with one being much more dominant in that field then the other one.

It isn’t just about the teasing contest though, in fact this show is very clearly a story about these two kids who like each other.

Nishi has a crush on Takagi, but he is a young boy who can’t really get it out, even when he wants to. Takagi likes Nishi, as evident by the eraser and how she says very leading statements, trying to get Nishi to say something about it.

Why doesn’t she take initiative and say that she likes him? That’s a simple answer really.

This show plays up the statement that young kids tease the ones that they like, and this is a series entirely about that concept.

While it would be much easier for one to come right out and say that they like the other, young kids don’t really do that.

They either a) send out notes or b) tease the ones that they like in hopes that they realize how they feel and reciprocate or deny.

Simply put, if they admit how they feel the first episode, then we would have a different show.

I do enjoy the way that the show is structured, with Nishi trying to figure out ways to tease Takagi, thinks that he has a way, attempts it, and Takagi retaliates because she knows exactly how to play Nishi like a goddamn fiddle.

It makes the outcome of the short predictable in that regard, but the characters really help sell the premise.

Nishi is trying his hardest to be clever, and just when he thinks he finds a solution, Takagi proves to be a bit cleverer than he is.

He doesn’t seem like he wants to be malicious, he just wants to get even for the dozens of times that Takagi teased him. His character is destined to fail in teasing Takagi, but that endears him to the audience in rooting for him to not only tease her, but also admit that he clearly has feelings for her.

Takagi is a patient girl, making it clear not only to the audience, but is some scenarios to Nishi himself, that she likes him. She is going to continue playing the game, one because it’s entertaining, and two to get him to admit that he likes her.

It seems like the end of the show will have Nishi get a successful teasing moment on her, admit that he likes her, and then she admits it very easily.

I don’t know if there will be an end to the series or if it would go for another season, because while this show is enjoyable, the format doesn’t seem like it can sustain itself for very long.

I am not really a big fan of the short segment format in anime, unless it’s for a pure comedy. This show is straddling the line in being a comedy and a romance, so while the teasing shenanigans are enjoyable right now, they can very easily wear out its welcome.

Unless there are some very entertaining segments or good character moments, I can see myself getting bored with the show, which is sad because I enjoy slice of life shows immensely.

The comedy relief trio don’t really help, since I personally felt that their actions were there to pad out the end of the episode. It made sense as to why they interrupted in the second segment, but their segment after the credits just felt tacked on to fill out the run time.

I am enjoying this show, but I would want to see more from the characters and the premise, or at the very least be entertained by the cute antics of the two main characters.

Those were my thoughts on this first episode, let me know yours!

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Land of the Lustrous: Episodes 1-3 Review

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope your year goes great and everything goes well for you, and if it doesn’t then I hope that it doesn’t become a sinking quagmire of despair!

That metaphor went out of hand, but I’m going to keep on trucking.

As I said at the end of the Rose’s Scabbard analysis and discussion, I am going to start blogging about other things, and while I won’t be posting something every day, I will be posting three times a week for sure, with an extra fourth post if I feel like it.

Today, I wanted to talk about a new show that I have started watching, and that show is Houseki no Kuni or Land of the Lustrous as it is known in English.

I want to talk about the first three episodes here, talking about what the show is about, and my overall feelings about these three episodes.

So, let’s get to it!

Oh and spoilers for the first three episodes are going to happen. Just a warning.

Premise

The show follows a group of creatures that are made of various jewels and their strength and their abilities in whether they can battle is determined by the real-life jewel’s Mohs hardness level.

One of these creatures, Phosphophyllite or Phos for short, has a hardness level of three, meaning that they cannot battle as they are too fragile, and it is shown during the first fight in the first episode.

What are these jewel people fighting?

Angels from the moon.

Well ok, they aren’t angels per se, they are a race of beings known as Lunarians, who seek these jewel creatures to use as well, jewelry.

After a fight where Phos, and two others are messed up and sent to be repaired, Phos is informed by their master, Kongo, on what her job will be.

You see every jewel creature has a job to do, but Phos hasn’t been able to do anything because of the aforementioned fragility. So, Master Kongo says that Phos will now be in charge of making an encyclopedia documenting everything.

Phos doesn’t like this as they wanted to be a warrior and help fight the Lunarians, but they reluctantly take this job. At a loss, Phos asks every other jewel creature as to what should be in the encyclopedia, and most of them say that Cinnabar, who is always on night watch, should be able to help.

Phos goes to look for Cinnabar, and wonders why Cinnabar goes on night watch since the Lunarians have never been seen at night.

After Cinnabar saves Phos from a Lunarian attack, in which Cinnabar says that they wish that they could be taken to the moon, Phos learns that Cinnabar is much more fragile than themselves, with Cinnabar being at a 2.

Not only that, but Cinnabar excretes a poison that, when it comes in contact with any part of a jewel creature’s body, has that fragment lose their memory and cannot be reattached by the medic that the they have.

Phos promises that they will find Cinnabar something to do, and struggles to do so, as well as struggle to find what to put in the encyclopedia.

Phos as Diamond for help, and Diamond does their best to give Phos some advice, but the two are attacked by Lunarians. Diamond does their best to defend Phos, but that’s when it is revealed that while Diamond is at a 10 hardness, they are still fragile.

While it looks bad for the two, another Diamond class soldier comes in, Bort, who kicks the Lunarians ass.

Diamond thanks Bort, but all Bort does is scold Diamond for letting themselves get in danger and they also get mad at Phos for distracting Diamond.

Phos becomes indignant, but the three realize that another group of Luanarians are headed for the jewel creatures base of operations. As the three head back to base, a giant shell drops down.

When the three arrive, they see that the shell is seemingly harmless, and Bort commands Phos to study it for the encyclopedia. When Bort complains about it however, the creature that happens to live in the shell comes out and swallows Phos whole.

Bort and Diamond attack the creature, and manage to defeat it by sending it into the saltwater pond that just so happened to be nearby.

The slug creature crawls out of the pond, but Phos isn’t anywhere to be seen.

Whne the slug creature reacts to being called Phos, Diamond concludes that Phos must have transformed into the creature.

Diamond looks everywhere and asks everyone for a solution, only to find that most of the jewel creatures are kind of glad that Phos has transformed into a slug, so that Phos won’t be able to bother them anymore.

Dejected, Diamond decides to ask Cinnabar for help, and Cinnabar immediately discerns that the slug is in fact not Phos, but just a creature who absorbs minerals to strengthen its shell.

This gives Diamond the revelation that Phos is trapped inside the shell that’s in the pond back at the headquarters.

Diamond thanks Cinnabar, and then gathers the rest of the jewel creatures to pull Phos out of the shell to reassemble them.

When Phos is back to normal, they immediately go after the slug creature, being able to converse with it, while the others only hear squeaks, ending the trio of episodes.

Discussion

Now this was an interesting concept for a show.

A cast of characters that are named after gems and jewels, are attacked by beings from off planet, are visually coded to look female, and have magic powers.

It sounds a lot like Steven Universe, but surprisingly it was developed at a different time when Steven Universe was being developed and the fact that two creators decided to use this overall base concept for their stories is fascinating.

What is different is obviously the execution, with Land of the Lustrous taking a semi realistic approach in determining the strength of the jewel creatures.

Now a quick thing that I want to point out is that, if you guys noticed, I never used the pronoun “she” when referring to the jewel creatures, using they and them. The main reason for that is because the Wikipedia article that I’m using as a reference refers to them as such, so that’s how I’ll be referring to them as well.

Back to the story, I think that it’s an interesting approach to use the central conflict between the two warring factions be that one wants to use the other as jewelry.

I mean if one jewel being can split off into hundreds of shards that can be used as jewelry, it makes for interesting villain motivations.

The designs are well done, although one sticking point that may bother some people is the fact that the show is in CG.

Now CG in anime is either pretty good, or really bad. I’ll say that the animation in this series errs more on the side of good, but there does seem to be a lot of shortcuts done with character design.

Almost all of the characters seem to have the same character model, just with a different face and a different hair style, which can make it confusing when trying to figure out which side character is which.

There is also the issue of Phos, who seems like a very typical character archetype, one who seems to not be able to help as much as they want and is told by others that they can’t, but they have a power that can change everyone’s perspective of them.

This is just my speculation from having watched only the first three episodes and part of the fourth, but it isn’t a worry that is unfounded.

I hope that Phis doesn’t become typical protagonist and develops as the series progresses, but for now they get on my nerves.

The two characters I am more interested in are Cinnabar and Diamond, both of whom have much more under the surface as far as character development goes.

Cinnabar is a character who is simultaneously very strong but not useful in the eyes of the other characters.

Their ability to generate and manipulate poison is extremely effective against the Lunarians, but it is also severely harmful to the others.

Diamond is very strong, but also very brittle, much like how real diamonds are the hardest gemstone but can be cracked if hit in the right place.

That’s also another thing I like about the series, the use of real world geology, for the most part, in how the characters strengths and abilities can be tied to their real-life gem equivalent, like the diamond example.

Sure, not every example is going to match one for one, but the ones that are present are neat to see.

Overall, the series is a fun watch, but suffers from an issue of having an annoying and predictable acting main protagonist. I’d definitely recommend giving it a watch and I’ll watch the next three episodes at the very least.

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a pleasant time.

Peace.

[joecasualnerd]

Number 1: Rose’s Scabbard

Here it is.

The episode of Steven Universe that I consider to be my favorite.

It has been a long journey, and I write this knowing all the things that I put out already, and this is not going to be any less than all of my posts

I have so much that I want to say, like thank you if you have been a part of this journey with me, and for liking the posts or following me. Everyone of those things were what kept me going, and I knew that I wouldn’t be satisfied with myself if I didn’t see this project through to the end.

Enough gushing my appreciation for everyone, let’s get to the episode already.

Welcome to the final day of the 25 Days of Stevenmas (name pending) and the episode that I consider to be the best in the entire series is…

Season One Episode Forty-Five, Rose’s Scabbard

Premise

The episode begins with Steven and the Crystal Gems walking around the Strawberry Battlefield, collecting the old weapons that were left over from the battle.

Steven decides that he wants one of the weapons from the battlefield and tries to enlist Lion for help, but Lion does what all cats do and walks off to do his own thing.

Pearl remarks on how Steven should train Lion better. Lion digs up in the ground and pulls something out of the ground, which Pearl identifies as the titular Rose’s Scabbard.

Steven asks if his mother fought, and Pearl gladly proclaims that not only did Rose fight on this battlefield, but so did she. Amethyst says that she wishes she could have been there, but Garnet cuts her off by saying that the battle was a maelstrom of death and destruction.

Pearl then interrupts her by saying that they won the fight, with Rose leading them to glorious victory even though the odds were against them and it couldn’t have been easy and luckily they weren’t alone (insert more extended theme references here).

The Gems warp back to the house and while Amethyst and Garnet are trying to get some of the more unwieldy weapons inside their rooms, Pearl looks at the scabbard fondly, and reminisces on how it’s been so long since she has seen the scabbard.

Steven asks what Rose was like, and Pearl says that Rose was courageous, brilliant, and beautiful, saying that sometimes Steven reminds her of Rose.

Pearl then says that Steven should keep the scabbard, as it’s technically his, and Steven thanks her by saying that if anyone tries to mess with him, he’ll bop them in the head with it.

Pearl says that the scabbard is meant to hold Rose’s sword, and Steven asks were they can find the sword. Amethyst and Garnet manage to get the large weapon into the temple, leaving Pearl and Steven alone.

Pearl says that she knows of a hidden place that belonged to Rose, and since Steven has Rose’s Gem, it’s his now and she can show it to him.

They warp to a canyon place and Pearl details what they have to do to get to the secret place. Somehow, Steven managed to convince Pearl to carry him up a canyon in a papoose.

Pearl explains that she was Rose’s sole confidant, and that there were certain things that Rose would only tell her. Steven asks why Rose kept so many secrets and Pearl said that as a leader there were things that she had to keep secret in order to protect the ones they care aboyt, and she relishes the fact that Rose trusted her so much.

They reach the secret place, an all too familiar cave. The cave from An Indirect Kiss. Pearl looks at Steven expectantly, thinking that it will amaze him, but he breaks that illusion by saying that he has been there before, and that Lion took him.

Pearl says that there is no possible way he could have been there, but Steven proves her wrong by using the various functions to bring out the Axes of Ages, the Heretic’s Anguish, the Quartizine Trio, and the Armor of the Fallen.

Steven asks why they are at the armory again and Pearl exclaims that they are looking for Rose’s sword, and she describes what it looks like in detail. Steven then remembers the sword and says that he knows where it is, which comes as a surprise to Pearl.

Back at the house, Steven pulls out the sword that was also shown in An Indirect Kiss, which is in fact Rose’s sword.

Steven says that not only is the sword there, but he also uses Lion as a personal storage, while Pearl poses the right question in asking if Lion belonged to Rose.

Amethyst realizes that’s the reason why he’s pink and Garnet says that it was pretty obvious, but Pearl says that Rose never had a lion.

Steven points out that the stuff he found in there looked like things that would belong to her, but Pearl insists that Rose never had a lion. Garnet points out that Rose kept many things secret, even to them, but Pearl says that Rose never kept secrets from her.

Steven points out that Rose could have done it to protect her, but Pearl lashes out and says that Steven wouldn’t know what Rose would have done because he never even met her, and hits the wall, causing the portrait of Rose to fall.

Luckily, Garnet manages to catch the portrait before it hits anything, and Pearl runs off, with Amethyst yelling at her and then mumbling that she hates when Pearl gets like this.

Steven asks Garnet if Pearl is ok, wiping tears in the process. Garnet doesn’t answer, and Steven decides to go find Pearl and help, recruiting Lion in the process and the two warp away.

Before the scene transition we hear Garnet say, “Good luck.”

Lion warped the two to the Strawberry Battlefield, and Steven quickly spots Pearl, and she says to leave her alone and runs off.

Steven and Lion give chase, but Pearl hops on some floating rocks to get away. Steven tells Lion to sit this out as he goes hoping on the rock alone. He does well enough, stopping on the last smaller floating rock while Pearl is standing with her back towards him on a larger rock.

Steven makes a huge leap to the larger rock, but Pearl gives Steven a death glare, and Steven begins to fall, with a quick glimpse of a worried Pearl.

Steven manages to climb up the dead vines and makes it to the top where Pearl is having a breakdown.

Steven asks that Pearl tell him what’s wrong, and Pearl says that sometimes he sounds like Rose too. She asks if he remembers anything from the past, and if he has any of her memories.

Pearl then says that it was there were Rose asked her to be a part if the war. Pearl, projecting a hologram of Rose, says that there were a lot of risks for joining the war for Earth, but Pearl, as herself reenacting the scene, says that she wants to be there.

The hologram says, “My Pearl,” and then disappears.

Pearl says that everything that she did, she did it for Rose, and wonders if she can she Pearl through Steven’s eyes. She wonders what Rose would think of her now.

Steven then hugs her from behind and says my favorite line in the entire series.

“Well…I think you’re pretty great.”

Pearl begins crying and with a musical montage we see Pearl telling stories to Steven about the war, after Steven gave her the flag from inside of Lion, and the episode ends with the two riding Lion, with Pearl carrying the flag and looking at Steven before looking ahead.

Discussion

Was it predictable that this episode would be my favorite? Maybe it was because it made sense with how much I went on about how I love character moments, and maybe it wasn’t because I have had some serious fan favorite episodes lower on the list, and having some major episodes not even on the list.

There is so much that I love about this episode, from the designs, the character stuff, the music, and the heartfelt moments, that I could go on all day about them.

I won’t, but I’ll still go into a lot of detail about what I loved about this episode.

Tackling two birds with one stone, the art and the music in this episode is especially amazing. The parts where this all shines comes from the Strawberry Battlefield at night.

The pinks, purples, and blues really contrast it from other night scenes in the show which have much darker colors. Here, the colors are conveying a certain kind of warmth and cold that are completely unique to the night setting of this place in the show.

The music, my goodness the music and sound design in this episode was fantastic.

When Pearl hit the wall, the first time I heard it, I jumped. The use of silence really let the characters and the animation move the scene.

And of course, the final piece of music for the montage at the end, “I’m Still Here”, is what I can best describe as a bittersweet positive song. What I mean by that is that there is an underlying tone that Pearl still feels the pain of Rose being gone, but the positivity comes from the realization that she has Steven, and Steven loves her even after everything that she had done.

To expand upon that point, we have to go at the beginning when they find the scabbard.

Pearl makes no bones about how much she idolized Rose, and this was evident with how she interrupted Garnet, who was telling Steven and Amethyst how horrible the war actually was, by saying that the reason why they won the war was because of Rose being amazing.

It’s almost as if she worshipped Rose, or rather, it’s as if she loved Rose.

There were hints of it throughout the series, but those feelings became explicit in this episode. There is no doubt that Pearl loved Rose, and whether or not Rose loved Pearl the same way is debatable, but there had to have been some feelings that Rose had with Pearl.

There were things that she told Pearl that she didn’t tell the others, but there were also some secrets she kept for herself.

Why did Rose not tell Pearl about Lion? Did she not see it as important, or was she intentionally hiding something Pearl?

This is further magnified when Steven says that he is able to operate the stuff in the armory without her, Pearl is just crushed.

This all comes crashing down, almost literally in fact, with the portrait of Rose falling on Pearl, as if saying that the image of Rose that Pearl had was crashing down and becoming ruined.

Then Pearl ran away. Out of guilt that she had yelled at Steven, shame that she caused a scene, grief over Rose, anger at Lion, and a whole host of other things could have been the cause. What does Steven do?

He goes to look for Pearl and help her.

He knows that something is up with Pearl, and he wants to help Pearl get better, but this is not something that can be fixed easily.

To Pearl, the death of Rose is still recent. Thirteen years is nothing to a being who has lived thousands of years, so Rose’s death must feel like it happened yesterday for her.

Pearl remembering when Rose gave her the choice to join the rebellion must have been life changing for Pearl. Remember, Pearls on Homeworld are glorified purses, at best, and slaves at worst. They would have no say in the matter and even if they were asked for an opinion, it’s not like any Gem would care what she had to say.

Not Rose.

To Pearl, being given a choice to do something more must have been exhilarating, and it must have been made more amazing when Rose seemed to reciprocate at the very least affection to Pearl.

Pearl knows that Rose is gone, but that pain isn’t something that can just go away. Pearl is worried what Rose would think of her if she was here.

Would she be mad at Pearl yelling at Steven? Would she be sad that Pearl felt this way and she didn’t know it? Would she be indifferent?

All of that doesn’t matter though.

Rose is gone, Pearl is there, and so is Steven. All that Pearl should care about is what Steven thinks of her, because let’s be honest, Pearl has been more like a mother to Steven than the other Crystal Gems.

And what does Steven do to make Pearl realize this?

“Well…I think you’re pretty great.”

That line and that hug showed that Steven loves Pearl, and that he forgives her for the snapping and the yelling, and Pearl cries. She had scared Steven, made him worry, and even snapped at Steven, but after all of that, he still loves her.

Those are some deep feelings.

There is one other reason why I love this episode over the others, and it is a bit of a personal story.

When I graduated high school in 2012, I was dead set on studying Mechanical Engineering. I had prepped myself for going into that field of study and was ready to do the four or five years to get that degree.

Two years into the program and I hated it. I was skipping classes, I was feeling depressed and detached, and I thought that the best thing to do was to change my major.

Not wanting to waste the math credits I had earned, I had decided to change my major to Applied Mathematics.

That just made things worse.

After a semester I changed my major again, this time to Film, which was better, but I wasn’t satisfied.

Then one day my parents came to me and we had a talk, and an argument, about what I wanted to do with my life. After some thinking, I had realized what I wanted to do with my life.

Go to Culinary School and focus on pastries and desserts. I enrolled in the program and now I am near graduation.

However, before the first day of the new classes, my parents and I had an argument again. They thought that I wasn’t going to like the program and was going to switch again, but I reassured them that I was going to stick with it, but in the back of my mind I was worried about the switch.

Then I remembered that I hadn’t told my then girlfriend that I was going to switch majors.

I told her, and she said that if Pastry was what I was going to do, then she was going to support me doing it. She had known about my major switches, but saw that I wasn’t happy doing those things.

I had baked before as a side thing, and was pretty good at it, so when I told her about the switch she encouraged me to go through with it.

And I have loved every minute of being in the program. I am much happier; my parents are relieved that I found something that I enjoy doing (and when I started the classes they quickly saw how much I was enjoying the program and began to encourage me like they had done before).

So, what does this have to do with Steven Universe? Well remember in the Mr. Greg post when I said that the show had an uncanny ability to have shown me episodes where it closely related to my life? At that time, I watched Rose’s Scabbard, and cried when I watched it.

I related to Pearl so much, the feeling that I was a disappointment, and the feeling of intense emotional relief when those who cared about me still cared about me even though I felt like I was nothing more than a waste of time, space, and money.

This episode had a profound effect on me, and still does to this day.

While me and that person are no longer dating, I am still eternally grateful that they supported me in one of the darkest moments of my life. I am grateful that my parents and brothers support me in everything that I do, and that they are happier knowing that I am doing something that I love.

I needed time to heal, and that’s what Pearl needed and to some extent still needs.

She began her journey to recovery at Rose’s Scabbard, and that coincided with my journey of recovery and I am so close to the goal that stopping now would make all the previous support moot and wasted. Pearl is very close to recovery, so I don’t doubt that by the time I graduate (Summer of 2018) there will be an episode on the horizon that shows Pearl recovering.

I love this episode.

And so ends the Steven Universe Advent Calendar (name finalized), but what does that mean for the blog?

Well I’m not going to stop blogging, but I don’t think I’ll being doing it daily. In fact I know I won’t be doing it daily because like I teased in the previous post, I have an announcement to make.

I have had so much fun doing this, I want to do it some more. Not on the daily because I won’t be able to keep up with that schedule. But, I have decided that on January 1st, 2018, I will start blogging three to four times a week.

What will I blog about?

A whole slew of different things. Different episodes of shows, ramblings about Pokemon, posts where I am just pissed off at something, posts where I praise something, stuff about anime, comics, movies, and a bunch of other things that I have planned out.

I’ll probably leave the monthly things to once or twice a year, one being December.

I just want to show how much of a nerd I am about a lot of things.

I am Joe The Casual Nerd, and I’ll see you on January 1st.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy late Hanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivus, and happy holidays.

Until the first,

Peace.

*Note: Final page count – 94 pages and Final word count - 42,107 words.