#considering all the twisted shit that went down in the 2nd half of s2

[kihocrystal]

Spring 2018 - Final Impressions

Sorry this post is so late (again)! I had a *really* busy July, which really didn’t help at all. But anyway, here’s my thoughts on the shows that I finished this past season! All but one are sequels, though (and the one non-sequel was a carryover from last season)... Don’t worry, I’ll watch stuff like Megalobox and Hinamatsuri eventually! :’D

All “reviews” are listed in alphabetical order!

Amanchu! Advance - 8.0 / 10 (B-)

I liked season 2 as a whole! (Except for one episode / thing…)

QUEERBAITING SUCKS

I dunno if this is the fault of the anime or the source material…

…but this is still the most blatant example I’ve ever watched >_>

episode 11 didn’t need to happen!!! Why couldn’t Kokoro just… be a girl

or y’know, just let Pikari and Teko continue to “love” each other as they have! OTL

maybe why it annoyed me so much is that it’s like… a total bait & switch that went on for 2 SEASONS

to be fair, the reveal kinda went over my head? But when r/anime pointed it out, that’s when the salt began :/

yet the finale still has them blushing over reading thank you notes? It’s like this show wants its cake & eat it too

at the end of the day, the Kokoro stuff just… got in the way of Teko & Pikari’s interactions, platonic or not >_>

Also I’m one of the few people who actually liked the Peter arc

and it gave Ai some spotlight time!!!

it’s nice to have a little story arc to change things up (as opposed to an episodic structure)

(though I understand why many didn’t care for it… it leans a lot more towards supernatural than usual)

IMO they at least gave precedent w/ that one lucid dreaming episode w/ Teko, though

AND THERE’S ACTUAL SCUBA DIVING THIS TIME \o/

the underwater moments can be very magical… definitely the visual highlight

And the cast of characters is still enjoyable to watch too~ (def. a good group dynamic there)

Kokoro is considered a polarizing character for sure

I didn’t mind him that much until, y’know… his gender reveal led to the queer-baiting thing >_>

The finale was really nice though! It had pretty diving scenes and had cute Teko & Pikari moments~

In any case, this is still a very relaxing and heartwarming anime~

It has all the things I enjoyed about S1 here; it’s just the things added on top were a mixed-bag

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card - 8.0 / 10 (B)

EVERYONE IN THIS SHOW IS BEING VAGUE AS SHIT

But at least the mystery is interesting!

It’s just too bad it took like… 20 episodes to start getting any kind of explanation :’)

I actually watched the original series through a r/anime rewatch at the end of last year!

(meaning there wasn’t much time for me going from that series to this sequel)

I enjoyed the callbacks to the original series as well!

(including going from *anime* canon! i.e. the 2nd movie actually being canon)

The visuals look nice! Even though it almost looks a bit… *too* rounded in comparison to the original

I enjoyed watching Sakura capture all the new cards in different ways~

Even though this season was VERY light on plot (mostly), this aspect provided the action~

Also I enjoyed watching the character interactions too ^^

But yeah… the lack of overarching plot development and VAGUENESS kinda holds this season back

that being said, the final episodes set up some potentially interesting developments to come

and the finale itself *definitely* was not a conclusive one, so S2 better be confirmed soon!

Overall, I still enjoyed this continuation for the things it did right! I’ll be looking forward to a S2~

Darling in the FranXX - 8.0 / 10 (B)

Well this is/was a… polarizing show, to say the least.

I enjoyed it overall, but certain things about it hold it back from a higher score for me.

There’s two main elephants in the room with this series, really

#1 is… the heteronormativity

this was basically from the get-go, and in the roots of the story / themes itself

since the themes revolve around male/female partnerships & the importance of that… Yeah

one of the core quotes being “a female and a male aren’t complete w/o the other” …Yeah, again

also the sex-like positions of the “stamen” and “pistil” while piloting also doesn’t help

the workings of this world’s society has hetero relationships as the standard and doesn’t really allow for other options

(i.e. the FranXX piloting, Ikuno’s female attraction not working out in both operating the mech & her feelings for Ichigo, etc.)

at least Ikuno and Ichigo got a scene to talk about their attraction feelings & make up somewhat ^^

plus the Nines are basically gender non-binary but are seen as antagonistic forces for most of the show… Yeah

and just basic hetero things (like sex & pregnancy) were like being attacked in this show (when it’s not in real life???)

there’s an image meme that’s like “no, Prime Minister Abe… this will not get people to have babies” (…agreed :’D)

sure, there are *many* ways you can interpret this show, but the fact that so many people have seen it as such is Not Good

#2 is… the show supposedly “jumping the shark” towards the end

the main culprit of this (for many people) seems to be the “suddenly aliens!” reveal in episode ~20

this didn’t really impact my enjoyment of the show at all, but I definitely understand why people would be disappointed

in a way, it does kinda shift the story away from the themes it was using prior to this…

perhaps the lack of foreshadowing was another reason the shift in plot didn’t go well

plus it tends to directly riff off of certain visual cues from other mecha (like Eva & Gurren Lagaan)

Those two main gripes aside, the directing & visuals in this show were what kept me interested throughout

music choices, visual choices, etc. just really made certain moments better than they probably should’ve been

I enjoyed the characters as a group as well (even if most of them individually weren’t anything to write home about)

Goro’s a good bro, Ichigo went through good development, Kokoro & Mitsuru developed as a good pair…

Futoshi ended up being kind of a fat joke to the end though (& it was interesting that him & Kokoro didn’t end up together)

of course, Zero Two is the one everyone loved (& I liked her & Hiro’s dynamic as well)

sure, some people felt like she had “no personality” after she realized the truth about Hiro, but I didn’t mind the change

Plus I like that this show had a… pretty good ending, actually! (All things considered)

Directing as always was on point, and we got to see everyone’s lives over time (& Hiro + Zero Two eventually re-uniting as kids)

I just wish the main group got to see the two of them again :’)

though I do wish VIRM actually got full-on destroyed instead of a “we might come back” ending :/

and the ending was also kinda like “oh yeah, all the Children sent away didn’t actually die!” ???

This show will likely have a legacy not unlike Guilty Crown going forward, but I thought it ended better than that show, for the record

But yeah, this show is far from perfect and has questionable themes. But I still enjoyed it over all for the things it did well~’

Nanatsu no Taizai S2 - 8.0 / 10 (B-)

Unfortunately, not as good as S1 (but I still enjoyed this season overall)

S1 felt like its own self-contained story, but this season is clearly a “Part 1” for things to come

I wish Diana had more to do this season… she lost her memory early on and STILL doesn’t have it back

she was out of the main conflict (& separated from the group) for most of it :/

she also had these WEIRD ANGLES & POSES all the time… the fan service w/ her was *Really* distracting

the only consolation is that we got to learn some backstory for her & meet her fellow giants

oh well, at least she’s met up with King again and is enjoying his company by the end :)

The Gowther twist is interesting, but the way they revealed it was kinda… underwhelming

plus that *also* hasn’t been resolved yet (like many other things this season)

Some good moments this season were centered around Ban

such as his relationship w/ Jericho, time w/ a resurrected Elaine, and the small arc w/ his foster dad :’)

Also the final Sin got introduced w/ Escanor! PRAISE THE SUN

he’s a fun character; skittish by night and INVINCIBLE by day

The addition of power levels was kinda weird

it wasn’t necessary in S1, so why add it now???

The training arc gave us a full flashback to Melodias’ past w/ losing Liza, which was nice (and sad ;~; )

plus the vs. 10 Commandments fight actually showed Melodias full-on dying? That doesn’t happen much

it was a brutal death too! Hard to watch ;~;

plus they even changed the OP animation to reflect that he died… now that’s commitment

of course he came back later on, but there’s a catch… (since he loses some emotions every time)

There were some good fights, mostly during the “tournament” arc

(especially Melodias vs. all commandments… a sakuga highlight for sure)

The finale had a good stopping point, but it definitely makes clear that the story’s not over

so yeah, unlike season 1, this season *needs* a season 3 to be worth the watch

So yeah, there were some good moments & fights this season, but as a whole, it’s weaker than S1

Shokugeki no Souma S3 (Part 2) - 8.5 / 10 (B+)

I enjoyed this season! Continuing on the darker tone that the first half of S3 set up

This plot line of Central taking over the school is still my favorite plot point thus far, tbh

in other words, shit is finally going down!

…even if many of Central are just mustache-twirling villains :’D

Erina’s gotten great development from this arc too…! She’s not just a typical stuck-up tsundere anymore

her backstory is definitely a harsh one. It was great seeing her gain the courage to stick up to dad!

We also learned more about Souma’s dad! :O

Especially about how he was seen as feared, and the pressure of success got to him :’(

along with how this backstory tied into Asami’s motivations as well

Most of the season was kinda a gauntlet of opponents for the “resistance” to face off against

seeing Akira turn evil (for a bit) was interesting, but it’s a good thing he turned good again~

we oddly haven’t seen a lot of the Elite Ten in cooking action yet???

The final part of the season started off the big Team Shokugeki! …but it only got through the first round

the stakes are definitely high for this one, and also seems like the big conflict of this arc for sure

it’s just, y’know… the season ending in the middle is not a good look, really

at least the ending wasn’t abrupt; it was open-ended but still had a sense of conclusion

All in all, a good second half of season 3 (with some of my favorite plot content thus far!). Keep it up!

[hatefilledpoptarts]

for the salty asks: 7,10, 15, 26?

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

tough to say since my opinion is pretty flippant and I change how I feel about everything constantly (example: flipped between loving sailor moon to thinking the show sucked to liking it again) but I guess if I had to bring up something I enjoyed but absolutely hated after a certain point it’d be Hal Blu for its shitty use in a twist that did not even bother filling in for that ending whatsoever, it had no f@%*ing right to be there at all except to make a ‘clean’ ending I guess instead of you know, handling and acknowledging its core story and themes but nope it was a bs fix-it twist and it showed me what I absolutely despise in a twist, no f*@#ing clue its gonna happen just have twist out of nowhere with no character or story buildup for it to happen!!!#@! bullshit i say just bullshit (ﾉಥ益ಥ)ﾉ

I also once upon a time actually watched family guy and thought it was pretty ok but then I started realizing how much of sleazy dirtbag character brian actually is and just how much I could not stand watching these ugly people anymore, now I just can’t stand it and will use every fibre in my body to shut that crap off or get the hell out of the room

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

mmm for context-wise lets go with arc v, I know s3 wasn’t a walk in the park but if I had to go with an arc I found I just didn’t like, in-spite of interesting things going on, I’d say it was the time between the 2nd half of s2 when Academia comes in and after they took off. I don’t care for that arc in the least and think was a pretty boring and disappointing arc overall just because it was the first instance when what the series had going for it was being put to waste. 

Even the fandom at its most hopeful wasn’t helping when it threw its exhilaration and dissatisfaction at the wrong places imo since the whole merging thing felt ill timely and throwing shades at yuzu was overboard since logically speaking that was what was going to happen, the writers weren’t going to own up to that subplot anyway, least of all at that time, since they didn’t even bother to explore it prior to it happening. It felt like a reminder more than being pivotal plot shit happening to move the series along.

Yuri was equal parts at his weakest during this time since he lost the intimation factor he had in s1 and was much more fun to watch in s3.  He did nothing honestly except remind us that hey he’s apart of this whole counterpart mystery thing going on too oooh *rolls eyes at the yuri fans*

just boring overall imo along with frustration at the clear sign of lack of planning on the staffs part. leaving the night escapades of that arc and heading back into the tournament felt disjointed and ran a bit of whiplash for just needing to happen but not leaving a mark on the series as a whole I guess is what i mean ;;;

15. Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

I was born with an unpopular opinion in fandom lmao but lets go with love interest female characters, I’m going to go with my thoughts on Orihime’s role in Bleach which was her development both hinged but was not defined by her interest in Ichigo.

ok I have actually haven’t dealt with the fandom in any way but I feel like orihime might be considered a poster child for how to degrade your female into love interest role exclusively but i don’t feel that way, the only thing that degraded her was kubo not following through on the development he set her up for, orihime could have grown as a character from all lot of her negative attributes about being jealous, feeling like she couldn’t contribute and falling behind. she could have taken initiative for her actions and could have pulled through on the merit of her choices but kubo going back to status quo just sucks and brings down an actually steady romantic development. she doens’t have the catharsis to make it go from alright/boring to ‘i may not ship them but they earned it for its exploration.’ He made her role pointless and he made her feelings unimportant and thats a shame because it would have felt less like her role was set from the start to just end up with Ichigo.

She was an enjoyable character with little personalities quirks that made her charming even to a ichiruki shipper like myself so i’ve never found her to be a bother and her docile nature was perfectly in line with who she was, sometimes I enjoy docile character but thats based on certain criteria she luckily didn’t tread on. 

Orihime going from a decent 5-7 in exploring her feelings for him to falling short by going back to the starting point wasn’t the fault of being a shonen love interest, her ‘kuns’ or eventual marriage aren’t the issue, its kubo giving up on her that is.

And I think its important to have some kind of development for it whether it be big, small, nuanced or full heartedly simple. The only thing wrong with a female character in love with the mc is not giving it enough substance, I’m both fine and can enjoy that type of archetype so I’m not one of the more vocal fans who say love interest heroines just suck outright or are pointless. Its fine and if done right can actually be enjoyable.

26. Most shippable character?

since theres no specifications I’ll go into a list of character I find myself shipping most outside of my main ship:

Midoriya Izuku gets way more ships than he has any right to have but I just end up putting him with whoever it seems, I have about 2 otps with him, which is never a thing with me i’m a 1 otp kinda girl, but there are plenty of rare pairs I find that appeal to me with him involved

Yuzu Hiragi is the most shippable imo and I’m constantly finding plenty of matches I like, probably put her with anyone and it just works thanks to who she was is

England from hetalia bizarrely ended being my most shippable character and I don’t know how that happened

Maka Albarn hands down went ahead and just owned everyone ok, best mc and best relationships with whoever fight me on this (งಠ_ಠ)ง girl can have whoever she wants k bye