#hair up Senku is so good. big fan

[cosmosnout]

Who’s bros barber???

[drstone-writings]

Hello~~ welcome to the kingdom of science!! Can I request a good ol SoulmateAU for senku :> Thankyouu!!

hello! thank you for requesting! this is my first writing so I hope you enjoy 😊💞

word count: 2.7k

Soulmate AU! Ishigami Senku

Soulmate? Huh, that’s 10 billion percent ridiculous for Senku. He doesn’t believe in such kind of things especially if it involves romanticism, he is not a big fan of that and never in his wildest dreams that he ever thought of having a soulmate. By just having science beside him is already enough for the science user.

For Senku, having a soulmate is like engaging yourself in the illogical aspect of life and showing vulnerability. He knows how love can do complicated things to which it can also damage the rationality of human beings. And that’s the last thing that Senku ever wanted. In spite of being a science freak, he’s not an uncultured swine to not know about what love is, of course, he also watched some romantic films which is a miracle for Senku since he’s not into that kind of genre. Sci-fi is his favourite of all, like duh? It’s already obvious.

Watching how love can make people become stupid and do sorts of things that they haven’t done before. It gave more Senku a reason to not associate himself with romance, it’s really terrifying and Senku doesn’t want to not use his big brain.

In other words, he didn’t drift his mind to know who his soulmate is, it doesn’t matter to him anymore.

And Senku was kinda confounded at the words that were printed on his wrist; “Are you the sorcerer that they were talking about?”

They said that you will find your soulmate when their first word was the one that was marked on your wrist. Senku was weirded out, assuming that her soulmate is an uncanny girl to say these words to him.

Like what the fuck is this sorcerer thingy? It was comical to Senku, he couldn’t comprehend as to why those words are the first one that you’ll say to him. You only gave him a headache.

When the world turned into stone, Senku began to commence his plan by building civilization from scratch, and he needs to save 7 billion people even if Tsukasa was against his idea and hunting for his head. The only thing that can stop the kingdom of Tsukasa is to destroy them and admit defeat by utilizing science.

Thank goodness that the primitive people that he encountered which are: Kohaku, Chrome, Suika, Kinro, Ginro and Kaseki helped him to fabricate the modern technologies and medicine to cure the unknown illness of Ruri. As Senku was doing something, he heard light footsteps behind him. He thought that it might be Chrome and ask him about the ingredients that they needed to acquire for the medicine. However, as he turned his head to take a glimpse at the person, his eyebrows instantly raised once he saw a new face that entered his lab.

“Are you the sorcerer that they were talking about?” once those words slipped out from your mouth and played in his ears. Senku’s eyes flew open and jaw hang since it was all too familiar to him—no scratch that! He absolutely knew those words, it’s actually the words that were imprinted on his wrist.

Now he already knew the reason why it was your first words to him, it was too unexpected and indistinct because his soulmate was actually from 3,700 years, a primitive person where everyone doesn’t know anything about science. Moreover, he totally forgot that he has a soulmate and it still exists until now. How humorous, it seriously astonished him.

Senku suddenly chuckled and rake his fingers through his hair, he was still in disbelief and surprise at the same time. You were baffled as to why he was chuckling, you didn’t even say anything funny so why is he laughing at you? Before you can speak, Senku interrupted you.

“So you’re my soulmate?” a smirk spreads on his attractive face, thus your eyes widened upon hearing his question. Why? Because his statement was the exact words that were printed on your wrist, it was indeed shocking for you. You couldn’t believe that your soulmate was the sorcerer that was the talk about in your village, your mind still couldn’t process that the long-awaited of your life is finally happening. You’re finally in front of your soulmate that you’ve been waiting for.

You don’t want to admit it but he is actually attractive in some unidentified aspect, it was an enigma to you, you could feel your heart hammering in your chest and as if your breath was stolen by some unknown spirit.

“I—uhh… I can’t believe that the sorcerer was my soulmate,” you uttered, staring into his red coloured orbs that resemble the colour of the blood. The smug face of Senku grew wider once he suddenly thought about a wonderful idea.

“Honestly speaking, I really don’t believe in this soulmate thingy, heck I even forgot that soulmates still exists,” he chuckled and walked closer to you. “What’s your name?”

You blinked before reluctantly answering him. “Y/N.”

Senku deviously smirks and put his hands on your shoulders, gazing at you with a blatant ulterior motive. “Well then, Y/N, I’m Senku, it’s nice meeting you by the way and I know how you’ve been waiting for this moment, but sorry to spoil your excitement since we’re doing something really important and we need more manpower to lessen the workloads. As your soulmate, can you help us gather the materials that we need? Your soulmate really needs your help.”

You only stared at him with utter incredulity as you could distinguish the mischief laced in his voice. But since your soulmate is now in front of you and waiting for him for a decade, you don’t want to slip the opportunity to be with him, hence you immediately agreed to his proposition.

Oh, you have no idea how Senku felt so accomplished knowing that he acquired a member of the village to his science kingdom, and the bonus is, it was his soulmate.

Truth be told that the aspects of a soulmate are absurd to him, but he couldn’t deny the fact that he’s kinda pleased to meet you. It’s really unexpected and shocking, but he doesn’t want to waste his time and idle for a minute since he has 7 billion people to save.

After months of meeting Senku, you already grasp his personality well. He indeed loves science with all of his heart and he has this galaxy brain that no one could ever compete. Senku is a man with conviction and true to his words, despite not interested in love and soulmate thingy, he’s actually the kind-hearted man that won’t leave his friends behind and would voluntarily help them with the best of his abilities.

You’d be lying if you say that you’re not seeking for Senku’s affection because you knew that once you encountered your soulmate, you’d spend your time together by knowing each other and do some lovey-dovey stuff. Unfortunately, your soulmate is not that kind of man, he has this 0% sweetness inside his body, not only 0% but actually a negative.

His eyes are only for science and you couldn’t compete with it, Senku loves science more than anyone and he would die first before throwing it away. Well, true that Senku acknowledges you as his soulmate, but you don’t want to lie to yourself that you’re not feeling lonely and seeking some small affection from Senku. However, there are still instances where he’s going to praise you because of your hard work and giving him some ideas as well.

It’s really a nice feeling to receive some praise from the science user, every time he compliments you, you could feel the fuzzy feeling within your heart and stomach-churning pleasantly. Especially whenever he’d pat your head and ruffle your hair because you would surprise him with something valuable.

And that’s enough reason to make your face explode due to so much blushing.

Oh, Senku doesn’t have any idea that you want to squish him with a hug.

For Senku’s point of view, adding you in his kingdom is certainly the best choice that he had made, well, in the beginning, he was already thinking of how he’s going to lure everyone in the village with his kingdom. In spite of that, he’s actually grateful of you for giving him the scantiest idea and is a great help to fabricate his stuffs.

Unbeknownst to you, Senku really appreciated you being concerned for him and the one who would initiate to ask him if he needed help. He really likes your diligence and the little things you do for him like asking him if he’s alright, telling him to eat and not to sleep late, cooking for their breakfast and mostly, being so kind to him.

Senku isn’t stupid to not discern your actions, despite those uncalled gestures you show him, he’s 10 billion percent sure that you’re conferring your affections in a subtle way. He was shoving that thought away and focusing himself with tons of workloads, but he couldn’t deny the fact that he would sometimes take a glance at you doing your work.

The side of his lips would curl every time he’d watch you being so engrossed from your task. And it was really unusual for him and so not his character to think about you when night had finally come. His mind would wander to you, smiling and having fun with everyone even if your task is taxing. Senku admired your pertinacity and compassion that you emit, heck you even have higher stamina than him despite that he’s a man.

Yet again, affection isn’t in his vocabulary, he doesn’t know how he would show them, considering that romance never leapt in his mind, and he really isn’t good with women specifically if they have feelings for him. It’s a pain in the ass.

Fortunately, you aren’t the kind of person who would push themselves and pester them just because they are your soulmate. He was kinda relieved that despite being the person that you’d end up with, never once did you question him when it regards to romance and soulmate.

He sees you as an understanding and a chill person. He was grateful for that and kinda glad that his soulmate isn’t the annoying person who’d bother him to give you his attention and complain about him not being the affectionate man.

As the days go on, Senku thought about giving you a reward for your hard work, it’s not much but he speculated that it will make you happy somehow.

Senku knows that you’re once again at the cliff where you would usually hang out when you’re done for the day. Hence, he went to the said place and searched for you, once he reached the destination, he saw your figure facing your back at him and sitting in the middle while looking at the sky painted with millions of stars sparkling brightly at the overcast sky.

He wasted no time to saunter towards you and scoffed to notify you that he’s in the area. You hastily snapped your head to him and eyes slightly augmented upon seeing Senku behind you.

“What are you doing here, Senku?” the said man merely snickered and fiddled in his pockets before tossing you something that causes you to panic and caught it before it lands.

“That’s your reward for your hard work, I don’t know the things that you like, but that’s the only thing that popped in my head. I know girls like that kind of things.”

You only gawked at him then shifted your gaze at the thing that he threw at you, eyeing at your hand, your eyebrows arched once you spotted an unknown silvery thing that he had given you.

“What’s this?” you asked with confusion. Senku elicits a sigh before taking it in your hands.

“Turn around.”

“Eh?”

“Just turn around if you want to know.”

Reluctantly complying the science user, you turned around just like what he says and wonder what he’s going to do. Ahh, you just remembered that this is actually the first time you’re alone with him since he’s always with Chrome and Kohaku discussing science again. Suddenly, you felt something cold on your neck. Then your eyes settled on the silvery object that Senku gave you, your soulmate actually helped you wear it around your neck.

“That’s it, that’s how you use it. Back in our time, girls love those kinds of things and it’s an accessory for women like you, it’s called a necklace.” Senku explained as a curt smile plastered on his face.

Staring at him with jaw slightly agape, you gaze at the necklace he had given you and graze your hands at the well-carved crescent moon as its design. You don’t know what to feel at this moment, but one’s thing for sure, you are beyond ecstatic right now.

Lifting your chin to look at the man in front of you, momentarily, a sweet and sincere smile spreads on your face while holding the necklace in your hand.

“Thank you, Senku, I’m really happy today. I will surely treasure this until I die,” you mused.

As the moonlight strikes your face, defining the angles of your features, Senku was taken aback upon his vision of you was becoming more eminent in every second that would pass, as if the Goddess of the moon, Selene was knocking him out of his science senses to drift his all attention to you and realize how breathtaking and beautiful you are. And for the first time in Senku’s life, he admitted to himself that you are indeed beautiful and no lies intended.

Well, thank you, Goddess of the moon, for making Senku realized.

Senku snapped out from his trance and chuckled before stepping back. “Well, that’s only my purpose here, and now that I’m done I should go back to the lab, I need to think of a plan on how we will destroy Tsukasa’s kingdom kukukuku.”

Before the scientist will take his leave, you stopped him from his tracks when you speak.

“Senku, before you go… can I hug you even just for a second?” your voice was barely audible, but Senku heard it loud and clear. It took him by surprise and his jaw dropped onto the ground, doesn’t know how he will respond to that.

He only stared at you looking down while fiddling your fingers. Thank God that he couldn’t see your intense red face due to so much embarrassment.

It took him a minute to catch his breath and snapped him out of his daze, Senku meekly scratched the back of his head and glanced at you with disinclination. Since he doesn’t want to spoil your happy day and this is your first request to him as your soulmate, he had already decided.

“…Go ahead, only 5 seconds though.” Hearing his answer, your face lit up and feel your heart beating vigorously. You observed Senku’s awkward expression and you couldn’t help but softly chuckle before running towards him and engulfed him with a hug that you’ve been wanting to happen ever since.

Senku slightly lose his balance when you suddenly ran into him and hugged him, he doesn’t have any idea on what he should do, he isn’t the type of guy who knows intimacy and he’s not into cheesy things since it’s not his forte. It was really uncomfortable for him and never once in his life he had received a hug from the opposite sex. It was all foreign to him.

“Thank you… I’m glad that you’re my soulmate.” Senku’s gaze drifted towards you, your face was buried into his chest and your hug squeezes as if this is the first time you hugged someone.

Senku suddenly felt a fuzzy feeling in his heart, this new emotion was foreign to him and he couldn’t fathom as to what it was. Despite that he’s an intelligent man, in these kinds of things, he doesn’t have any clue about it. Senku is a beginner to this stuff.

Subconsciously, Senku’s hand found its way on your head and pat it with gentleness, his eyes soften and a sincere smile crept on his visage.

“Yeah…” was all he says. The 5 seconds that he had said turned into minutes.

For some unknown reason, he wants to stay in this position for a moment and feel the warmth of your hug that was giving him the relaxation that he needs. it was indeed a pleasant feeling to which he doesn’t want to stop this moment for a meantime.

Having a soulmate doesn’t seem so bad after all.

[arkus-rhapsode]

Did Hiro just Rip-Off Komurasaki?

So I’ve said this before, I don’t really like talking about Eden’s Zero. If you like it, good for you. Im not a fan and I have no urge to do reviews of it. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t check out what happens in it from week to week out of morbid curiosity.

And when I saw the title of the chapter, “Scarlet Woman.” I was like, “oh god, is he gonna just copy Irene’s design?” I mean, her episodes are currently airing on the anime. He brought back designs for Erza, Plue, and in this chapter he makes a shout out to Ichiya.

But then I saw the design of the Scarlet Woman

That’s Komurasaki.

That is Komurasaki from the Wano arc of One Piece.

Like, okay there are some personal flourishes like the different kimono, the addition of the band that goes behind her and the pieces of armor. And I’m sure you might say that, “hey, both Hiro and Oda are Japanese men, they likely will draw upon their similar heritage and have a character who is supposed to be extremely beautiful so they’re designed to look similar to an oiran.”

And I’d agree with that, but you see, the timing is the problem. I’ve made it no secret before that I have defended some supposed plagiarized designs Hiro has done. Like Kyoka’s who’s looked similar to a demon from Devilman. I’m usually one who says “its probably a coincidence.”

Komurasaki appeared in One Piece in December of last year, so that’s about 6 months ago. SO time-wise there is still a little wiggle room. And maybe it be easier to dismiss this as another coincidence if the Scarlet Woman appeared in the background. But instead, this new character seems to be hyped as a big player of the current EZ arc, while having a similar ascetic to Komurasaki and Wano on a planet that really isn’t Japanese themed, while One Piece is still in the highly anticipated Wano arc where Komursaki has lost her ornate hair is still an important character. And while we don’t really know the character’s personality, it is not helped by Hiro Mashima and Eiichiro Oda’s similar art styles.

Its just too convenient. And while I will not say that it is a straight up rip off like Shanks and Pre time skip Gildarts, its eerily close. Such as how in Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest, Ignia looks like Senku from Doctor Stone. A series that had around that time got picked up for an anime.

I’ll let you decide if this is a rip off or just a coincidence.

Well on the bright side... Hiro Didn’t recycle Irene’s design.

[badanimereviews]

summer 2019 anime sum-up

lmao i realized i never did this and posted the fall season b4 this.... oops

kimetsu no yaiba: tbh started out kinda meh. and now it’s turned into one of the new big shounens. i was not expecting that. nearing the end got rly good and i was rly looking forward to more episodes! tanjiro gets cooler and cooler! animation is rly nice (thanks ufotable) and the way tanjiro’s water is animated. like. aesthetic asf. it’s so good. i love black-haired emo dude and zenitsu (my spirit animal) and ofc nezuko she is adorable im c r y. side note: the hashira? i think they’re called? some of the ugliest fkn characters i’ve seen in ages like flame boy? stone boy? i HATE them. and the gem dude too like man get a new tattoo artist on god.... he needs it.,,,,,,and inosuke is so pretty it’s unfair

dr stone: ok man dr stone rly went off. tbh. i’ve always been a whore for chemistry since reading the flavia de luce series (btw, i want more books of) and watching this just tickles my noodle brain in a good way... who needs prozac when i get a shitton of serotonin from watching senku dick around....  (btw what is going on with what’s his face and the girl. yuzuriha????? i can’t remember. i love senku don’t get me wrong but i need their perspective too... bc i hate lion dude... so much.... dick....) again i will repeat that i am a whore for chemistry so i get oFF on this. backgrounds are amazing/ animation so nice n clean (most o the time lmao). i thought i would hate the black n white haired trickster boi and ms yellow ponytail and suika but no! dr stone is such a good show that they are now great, loveable characters. also i am senku and chrome’s whore so jfc. man, i love the explanations of all the chemistry shabang, but some things i think would be better if explained! like senku doing physical labour at the beginning- ex. making all those pots and building that shit by hisself. i know he weak af. yes he smart but like. construction? difficult. pottery? even for me the artist . difficult. and that shed of his was filled to the brim. HOW. anyways, i love this so much i am crying constantly

just realized i didnt need to write about dr stone. oh well. 

danmachi 2: wtf yo. haruhime is so pretty but not a fan of her personality! bell still cute af and still don’t rly like aiz! animation good as always, and my god i shit myself whenever the argonaut theme starts up bc that is ? one of the best pieces of non-sawano hiroyuki pieces i’ve ever heard? addicted to it. and the opening! love the dynamics, the brief ‘rain’ scenes like when mikoto slashes the raindrops and just her motion basically? as an animator that is what i aspire to accomplish because i just love that. tiny little scene. 

arifureta: this would have been so much better had they dragged out mc’s op-ifying process! made him suffer more! i explained this briefly in my ‘first thoughts’ post for this season, but story-wise and pacing-wise his power-up could have been so much more deserved and gratifying. think shield hero- loser suffers, gets angry, slowly builds up power in an epic payoff! would have been so epic too. and also if they’d made his gained powers less.... crazy nerfed. again: HE SHOULD HAVE SUFFERED MORE AND THIS WOULD HAVE MADE A BETTER SHOW. harem thoughts: yue- meh. sucky char honestly. shea- my fav girl, she is a great character don’t judge- sexy and love her personality and love her character design and love how much fanservice she gets lol. panty flash ftw. dragon girl- discount darkness honestly , tho nice design. and mermaid girl- yuck, annoying,  DO NOT like the ‘papa’ trope! (ahem sao.) it’s gross. also just fuck mc’s classmates honestly- paladin dude sucks ass, healer girl OOF that last episode ruined her, samurai girl is ok i guess. hate ai-sensei too like shut UPP annoying ass HOEEEEE (postscript: opening=very epic too)

kanata no astra: plot twist? check. trillion well-done plot twists? check. this was done very well. i am so happy. all those plot twists and turns would usually suck in any regular anime- but this was written with GODLIKE ability. thank you, lerche. legit, this was such an enjoyable ride, i eagerly awaited each new ep! typically i hate space-related stuff but like! survival stuff gets my goat.... like this was good- (tho maybe more technical-stuff in the survival theme would make it so cooler) what shocked me the most: (spoilers alert) didn’t end up hating quitterie or funi. (tho the puppet made me want to strangle smth) luca’s gender had rly confused me but i’d decided on him being a boy- so basically that reveal left me like WHOA. i died. did luca rly have to show emo boy their tity tho... kanata losing his arm gave me the yeeeks, charce being the traitor was made sO WELL into a surprise even tho i’d kinda already suspected him<- like that was just fucking amazing writing there. gj. and ares the princess! ok man! shocked! AND also the whole clone thing, just fucked me right up. up the ass. like there are probably more plot twist layers in this than a fkn ogre has.... anyway shrek aside, yun?’s character arc was very pleasing, i think that was done very well! and the ending made me UwU like BRO? goals tbh. yeah this is a hidden gem and is just so good, so well-written overall. 

cop craft: didn’t have high expectations. i am now,,, quite,,, shocked &,,, blown away. sweetheart this is a good fucking show. so why @ livechart.me DOES IT HAVE 7.40 STARS WHEN FKN ARIFURETA HAS 7.72. can someone explain this to me? i’m outraged. LIVID.  matoba and tilarna were amazing characters btw! loved their dynamic! briefly i thought it might get romantic! nope, it didn’t, so it’s all good. actions scenes were epic, tilarna’s design and outfits were so much nicer than i thought they’d be like. she is so cute. and the op- man, if that is not such a bopper vibe then idk what is. i could watch it forever. it deserves so much more than what it’s got rn.

naka no hito genome: (serious question: is this considered some sort of isekai?) genome gave me btooom vibes honestly but like- this is SO much better than btooom and most game/trap/ kinda shows. fkn BOP of an op, especially the sequence at the end with short clips of each character in action (nutt). paka-san was a good boy and he deserves irl merch. i fell in LOve with all the characters (bubble boy= hot, akatsuki= ok meh actually kinda boring, karin= hot and i want her to punch me, ruromori= beautiful 12/10 would let her stalk me, sleepy eyes boy= baby + dazai vibes and hot af, twin boy= also hot, onigasaki= hot and love him so much, and loli girl= her light grenades got annoying but nice char design) anyways yeah more of this would be epic. i wanna see sakura and her twin reunite, and how they get out basically! also animation quality was very good which is surprising considering it’s a silver link anime.

kono yo no hate de koi wo utau shoujo yu-no: i include the whole title bc this is a good anime. (also livechart.me why 7.27 stars i will fuck you up) only meh part of this is the return to earth from dela granto bc that was like a culture shock and honestly at that point i’d forgotten a lot about what had happened on earth and didn’t care as much. btw, f ayumi and f the other brown-haired oneesan. mio and kanna ftw. obvs i didn’t understand the sayless x takuya thing like dumbass horny teenager . why u gotta creampie the worst girl. u have mio. bruh. (tho mio x ‘oyabi!’ boy is a great ship) also, takuya’s mom? keiko-san? idk if you’ve noticed but that’s literally my name so yeah just glad to finally have some keiko representation. altogether goodass anime. the time travel/ rezero esque reset thing almost got me but this was done well. so no problems. both ops very good. first song was bae, second also bae (just realized it’s by konomi suzuki, one of my waifu idols, so yea nice) and ed2 also so pretty! also yu-no’s design was rly pretty, the outfit colours, and her pigtails rly suited her :)

granbelm: sorry this is the last one lol this was a long ass post! other than the fact i dont rly like mecha this was good.... action, CHARACTER designs aesthetic asf, honestly rly pretty ok. i liked the cast, very diverse and more depth than most shows of this ilk. op was nicely choreographed- especially the part where the girls’ faces are contorted by their gems, showing their magical girl side. nicely done. mangetsu didn’t end up being that bad a char, and honestly? suigetsu is best girl and deserved better. and the ending too- like, bro, that made me kinda sad. some off points: anna’s mom was a little unrealistic as a mom like woman- please learn to control your child, and, white-haired girl’s sister should have played a bigger part, based on how her parts in the opening were emphasized! (quick note- blue girl, love her, great bad guy, when she dumped anna made me so happy honestly, she is beautiful, and i couldn’t actually decide who i wanted to win between her and suigetsu....)

hope u enjoyed this bad review. pls share ur opinions w/ me on some of of these more controversial shows. thank. 

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Dr Stone 13 - 15 | Honzuki 1 | Iruma-kun 1 - 2 | Africa Salaryman 1 | Tokunana 1 - 2 | Actors 1 | Abilities Average 1 | Shinchou Yuusha 2 | Assassin’s Pride 1 | No Guns Life 1 - 2 | Kabukicho Sherlock 1 | Ahiru no Sora 2 | BnHA 64 | Shin Chuuka Ichiban 1 | Stand My Heroes 1 - 2

Tags should be rolled out soon.

Dr Stone 13

Did Senku just Salt Bae??? Now I’ve seen everything!

I remember this puckered face from the manga! It’s hilarious!

Poor Kinro…he’s shocked at Ginro’s words…

Those were foxtails.

Who knew Suika’s mask could look so badass, amirite???

Honzuki 1

I like books…so this was a natural pick for me, y’know?

OKAY, why is the girl drinking wine she accepted from an older man??????

O…kay, so this has nice backgrounds and a pretty nice aesthetic with all the flowers, but otherwise it’s kinda dull, to be honest. It moves at the pace of a slice of life show…and I’m not sure it’s intentional or not.

“Only grownups are allowed to tie up their hair.” – So then, and correct me if I’m wrong about this��why is Turi’s hair in a braid? Or, when they mean “up”, they mean in a full bun like Myne (Main???) did earlier?

I’m thinking either a marketplace might have books…or at least signs to read.

I’m thinking of Maou-sama Retry from last season…because I’d rather a boring slow walk like the one I just saw, rather than a terrible run cycle like the one in the first episode of that show.

What…? Was Urano a vegan or vegetarian…? Or just too much of a city slicker to deal with seeing a dead chicken?

Iruma-kun 1

I picked this one based on the good ratings it had on ANN.

How does anyone remember these lyrics??? How many “ba” and “bi”s do you need???

…Hayate the Combat Butler, basically speaking.

Levy = Leviathan, I’d assume.

Aye, what a poor lad…to be sold off at 14…

Well, that was a fast way to set up an episode. If more shows were like this, I’d be a happy camper.

I-Is Opera…a DUDE?! Hallelujah! I hit Bishonen Jackpot #2! (No. 1 is Seiya, of course.)

You comedies wanna play hardball with me? Huh?! Do you, punks?! Let’s see how many times you can make me (wholeheartedly) laugh, then! (Current laugh count: 1)

Gender-coded uniforms, much…?

Is Catgirl related to Opera somehow???

Well, you do know that Asmodeus represents lust, right? That’s why he’s pink, isn’t he?...Isn’t he??? Update: Oh, yeah, right. Sullivan should probably be “Solomon”, but the name is deliberately different for comedy’s sake.

Uh, lemme guess: Daisuke Namikawa for Asmodeus? Update: Ryohei Kimura. I knw he sounded familiar…he’s Kane-san, in other words.

Kamehame-fireball!

(Iruma-kun is a master of dodging)…I thought it was because of that spell from before, really.

Da Vinci homage for the win!

Oh hey! 2nd German suplex of the season (I didn’t watch the first one).

By the power of dodging, Iruma wins…one servant! (Just in case Fate/ wasn’t enough for you…so to speak.)

There’s a single heart on Babylys in the ED, it seems…plus a giant bow.

Africa Salaryman 1

If Beastars is anime Zootopia, then this is absurdist Zootopia.

This is some Attenborough s***...until it isn't.

The OP scenes with the characters dancing...that's gonna be in my nightmares.

Oh, it's the pa in pachinko (“chinko” meaning p***s) that’s missing, so they went with glasses/asses instead.

We got Punpun animated (i.e. frightened Toucan)...score.

Giraffe Donuts, LOL.

I’m really pissed now…there’s no adblocker for my phone, so I had to sit through a good 8 ads or so just to get proper subs…I almost lashed out at someone because of it, too.

FireLion, LOL. I like these old computer-style transitions, but I don’t like how many ads I have to live through for it.

Tokunana 1

Is it just me, or did the police guy say "futures" (plural)...?

Hmm...by brandishing a gun at that point, is this man implying he's a saviour, or that guns are cool? I sure hope it's not the latter, considering gun violence rates worldwide. Then again, I might be reading into this one detail too much.

This reminds me of Midnight Occult Sevants…which doesn’t bode well for this show.

I can see this being my next Cop Craft…which I don’t need this season.

…oh, boy…rule no. 1 of detective shows: don’t be a hostage or get kidnapped. Ever. (Inevitably, if the show is about police in some capacity, someone will break this rule at least once. It’s made to be broken.)

Between this and Kimetsu no Yaiba, we’ve had enough “intelligence” (“using your head”, i.e. headbutting) to last us a while…

This CGI looks kinda bad…Africa Salaryman does better with disguising its CGI.

I like how the skull had a bow on it.

Wait, a dog, bird (pheasant) and gorilla (monkey)…this is some demented Momotaro going on right here…

Lookit that lady go!!! Woot!

To be honest, I keep feeling like Seiji’s gonna develop superpowers…or is this not the show for that…? (I mean, there’s dragons in the synopsis! Dragons!)

This show looks kinda off model, which is a bad sign in the first episode…hearing gunshots after the ED kinda startled me, though, and made a killer move for another episode out of goodwill…come to think of it, I’ve been giving out a lot of “can’t peg down this show with one episode, will watch more” this season already…

Dr Stone 14

(no notes, sorry!)

Actors 1

I’m a fan of Masuda, who voices a character in Actors’s 3rd iteration…IIRC. It’s gonna be a while until we get to him, though.

Uh, how does this guy play keyboard with those floppy sleeves of his???

Specifically, according to Hinata, Haruna told him he was being too noisy before she went back to sleep…although I’ve never seen a little girl be woken up by her big brother in these “I’m late! *puts toast in mouth as they run ou the door*” intros, so it’s refreshing.

His name is Otonomiya (“sound temple”, with “sound” being the thing you hear), of course he’s going to be part of a musical franchise…

“Akizuki Kai” sounds familiar…I dunno why though.

UGGGGGGH! If you’re doing a singing anime, let us hear the damn song!!! Don’t make us wait for the Otonomiya version!!!

Kagura…Sousuke??? Classicaloid??? I am so not going to match that boy with this one. (Well, one of the kanji is different, but everything else is the name, right down to the wordplay. A kagura is a type of dance, y’see, and one of the characters matches one in the Japanese word for “music”, ongaku. The other can be found in Otonomiya’s name, in fact.)

What’s up with this white wall business, anyway??? This ain’t Tokyo Ghoul, this is a singing anime!

Archery boy is good boi. Me likey.

I have a bad feeling about Nozomi, yo.

I LOLled so hard…I mean, this pink dude’s name is Uta Outa…it’s so redundant. You expect me to love him???? LOL, as if!

Con brio = with spirit, with vigour. Adagio = slow, by the way.

Stand My Heroes 1

I’m here for Ume, as I always am. Ume’s role is Go Miyase of the Kujo family.

That was a pretty epic opening, actually.

Who scouts a civilian for a narcotics unit???

I am so not going to be able to match names to faces at this rate…

Hey, don’t you go patronising girls!!!

I feel like it would’ve been better (and flashier) to demonstrate the drug immunity by showing, not talking about it.

Takaomi looks like Tenn from Idolish7, man…

Hmm…I saw Ume’s character, but it’s hard to evaluate his voice for Go just by a “Here you go.” (And no, that’s not a pun…not an intentional one, anyway.)

I just realised Aoyama has this tiny plait on the side of his head. It’s rather cutesy for a narcotics show.

(Aoyama informs Rei about Arakida)…yeah, but why are you here, Aoyama? Are you just here to warn Rei???

The stain really is gone, you really can’t tell that it is there…I assume that means she was drinking water in that tall glass of hers (Rei).

This ending song is a bit weird…I never expected it to be English. I expected it to be by the VAs, to be honest.

Abilities Average 1

It’s better if I call this “Abilities Average” rather than the long-winded “Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!”.

The scenery in this show is nice, at least…(?) But is that a CGI carriage I see?

Comic Earth Star…that doesn’t bode particularly well for me. The only series I’ve watched that has a series that hails from that magazine is SekaTsuyo (Wanna Be the Strongest in the World!) and I didn’t like it much in the end.

Ohhhhhhhhh…kay. Is it just me, or did I read “Hotel Little Gust” as “Hotel Little Girl”…?

Mile and Myne (spelling pending). In female-led isekai. This season only!!!...this is gonna suck, isn’t it?

Lenny is a boy’s name, though…?

Why is the show’s English tagline “God bless me?”…? I’ve half a mind to drop this show already…and I read the premiere report on ANN, so I knew it was going to end like this. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve had a season where I just catch up on older series, even though I keep thinking I will have one on my hands during weak seasons. (This has been a worry since the especially weak summer 2018 season, really.)

The Spain Square…? Really?

Really? You’re gonna complain about Japan’s declining birth rate here???

Whoa, I wouldn’t be surprised if this show were taken for granted by yuri shippers…

The extreme buffering means I managed to spot a redhead who I’ve seen on this show’s promo material…yup, that’s her.

Oh…great. This redhead is tsundere…(If I give one more complaint, I’m getting out of here!)

Oh…so Mile even pointed it out…(probably because this buffering is going so slowly, I can guess what’s happening before it actually happens.)

Okay, so I never figured out why she started calling herself a country girl and I went back and looked (despite all the buffering I was fighting) and no one ever does call her a country girl, it’s just a random misconception she has. Because it was so unclear that this was the case, I’m going to drop this show. (Well, for all the middling shows I have this season, losing one is actually a relief…!)

Shinchou Yuusha 2

Here we are again…and I’ve been thinking about Seiya a lot since last time, which probably seals the deal in that this is going to be part of the final lineup. (Today’s Seiya probably helps a lot with that.)

Ohmigosh, Rista’s panicked face when they almost get caught by Chaos Machina…LOL.

…just as I thought, I go “nnnnergh” under my breath when someone mentions the name “Aria”.

Assassin’s Pride 1

I picked this show because the protag looked kinda hot…but only now I realise he looks like a knock-off Kirito and I really start to regret my choice…

Is it just me, or is this show really dark??? (Not just because of the bloody scene at the start, mind you.)

The side of the train says “Cardinals 26110”, in case you were wondering…(then again, you probably weren’t wondering that…)

Wait-his name is Kufa WHAT?!

This is giving me Lance N Masques vibes now, because it did almost the same plot beats except for the fact I still can’t reconcile the fact Kufa Whatsit lives in a lantern (which is actually a pretty interesting idea…if it didn’t seem rather unviable upon retrospect)…that means it’s halfway to drop city.

Melida is so flat, she doesn’t even fill out her dress…(LOL, that gives a new meaning to “flat as a board”.)

But why is the tutor a dude? Plus an older dude to a younger girl, at that???

Hey, Melida is essentially my kinda catnip…at least in my head...because she’s someone without powers in a family with powers (basically, she’s like Daichi from Crimson/Future is Crimson in that regard). Then again, Charlotte tried playing the same hand by having superpowers and absolutely sunk itself ‘cos I couldn’t stand Yu.

Elise runs reallllllly derpily.

Those CGI alleyways look baaaaaaaaad, man. Like, “looking at grainy footage through a UV camera” bad.

Okay, Kufa. You are not Naruto. You will not see them aliens. Give up already.

The actual frig is an anima???

I like this black/bright blue/purple combo…it’s nice.

Umm…but what is the way to awaken the mana???

I’m currently going, “So why should I give a s*** about Melida???? Ripoff Kirito just chooses to swear his life upon her and awakening her mana because she’s been beaten down a grand total of once…You should’ve killed her already, Kufa. Isn’t that what being an assassin is about???”…and then I realise there’s more to the episode…

Waiiiiiiiiiiiit…one of the maids’ names is Nietzsche??? Like the Ubermensch guy??? That’s weiiiiiiiird, man…

Kufa is a chuuni, calling it now.

The text under the series logo doesn’t quite make sense…

Hmm, this one’s a tough call, but I think I’ll give it a 45 and a hard drop. I don’t think I’ve ever asked myself “So why should I give a s*** about the main character?” before…I think the closset to that would be when I’ve asked myself why I wanted to be subjected to this (for anime that get dropped).  

No Guns Life 1

Now that I look at the title again…why is it called No Guns Life when Juzo’s life will always have a gun in it for as long as he’s like that (i.e. he has a gun for his head)…?

*Juzo smokes* - Oh, now that’s a striking opening scene if I ever knew one!

Ohmigoshit’sKnuckledusterfromBnHAVigilanteswithagunforhisheadand…I…*huff huff* can’t breathe anymore…LOL.

Seriously, I thought I thought up some weird s*** for my old stories, like the girl whose face was missing and Akoya turning into a manequin to preserve his beauty.

“The only ones who can touch my trigger are those who I’ve chosen to accept.” – Is that…a sexual metaphor??? Or an intimacy one in general???

Wowwwwwwwww, chibi gunhead (which was hinted in the OP) was not something I expected from such a hardboiled show.

“…shot right in the head.” – LOL, says you when the guy with the gun head is behind you.

I thought there was seriously a pun there by having the gun head’s name be “Juzo”, but it turns out his name has the kanji for 13. Maybe that hints at how unlucky he is instead. (Same with Inui and it containing the character for “dog” – turns out it’s a different kanji.)

I think this is reminding me of Mahoutsukai no Yome – strong in its core genre at first, but then shows some weakness when it comes to comedy.

I worry about how this show will look during the midseason slump period…it both has traces of CGI and the still camera pretending it’s “properly animating” a scene.

That ED really is something…and hey, I got an explanation for why the show has traces of CGI in it from the credits! Unreal Engine was credited there and that’s normally used for games.

Kabukicho Sherlock 1

Dammmmmmmmn, that’s one sweet soundtrack!

Man, I know I said for Stars Align that there’s no slap to the face like a slap to the face, but…this was a slap to the face in that I did not expect Mrs Hudson to do an entire Coraline-style musical routine in the first half of the episode. I could tell from her (?) appearance that she was a drag queen/trans caricature, but they didn’t need to make her a singer in a bar…and the “sexy” shots of Mrs Hudson’s butt are kinda disturbing…and especially the part where Watson (I think it is?) gets a butt grab for his trouble…

The woman in the blue dress is Diana Oldoini (spelling needs confirmation). The woman with the blue hair…seems to be called Tenkill…(yeah, under the subs, I can’t really make it out.) All the women at Pipe Cat seem to be trans stereotypes, which vaguely annoys and unsettles me.

Kyogoku = Natsuhiko Kyogoku and Sherlock is Holmes, but I dunno about “Michel” or “Kobayashi”.

The Watson from the Holmes books was a doctor in the Afghanistan war…I know that much.

Natsu -> Fuyu (summer -> winter), hiko (“brilliance/brightness”, a common component to Japanese boys’ names) -> to (“person”, also a common component of Japanese boy’s names).

Oh, Michel is this guy (Belmont)! No wonder. Update: So the cats are like placecards, announcing that you’re in the building.

White Rose! I saw it when Watson showed up in his car, so I figured it was going to be important…I just didn’t think it was necessary so soon…

Chili oil…no wonder the woman was disgusted by Sherlock’s burp. Not to mention, Holmes was good at identifying chemicals too. This show is shaping up to be a modern Holmes more than Detective Conan is!

Wowwwwwwww…this show really doesn’t like gay people either (understatement).  It’s like I’m watching a show from the 90s in regards to the LGBTIQ+ people in this…

Moriarty is a thief for thieves, huh? A regular (modern) Robin Hood, so to speak. I wonder if the poor kids are the Baker Street Irregulars…?

This soundtrack is sooooo good! Plus it’s clearly leading up to a rakugo scene, based on the fact “Shibahama” briefly appeared on the screen during that really cool rainbow/text scene!

“What sort of girl takes her clothes off for a man she’s never met?” – A sex worker.

I-Is Moriarty drinking Dr Pepper…? Or Coke?

This is really shaping up to be a modern Sherlock Holmes – with his rakugo, this Sherlock is leading his Watson to the answer!

Ohhhhhhhhh man, these CGI cars look terrible!

H-HUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?! W-What? Sherlock gets hit by a car in the first episode (I think they wanted it to happen for humour)? This really is a show where it’s neither mystery nor comedy…it’s just kinda weird and kinda there.  

So that’s Mary Morstan and…who? (If you never figured it out, I learnt these characters’ names through ANN cast announcements.)

I…don’t get why Sherlock is screaming because I don’t know what Watson’s bottle-thingy is for, but I’ll assume it has to do with pain for Sherlock’s genitals or something of the sort…and go “ouch” for him.

Okay, so the next-ep preview’s “Why not join the staring at eye moles squad?” is a joke. You see, the word nakibokuro refers to a mole (or beauty spot) under the eye (where hokuro = mole and naki = cry, so it’s as if the person cried the mole into existence). Then it’s mitsumetai, meaning “want to stare”, but then the tai for “want” is substituted for the tai meaning “squad”. So that nonsense English line is just a very literal translation that isn’t funny…just confusing. I don’t get the “Cobra?/ Farewell” exchange though…

This very last scene before the end of the episode seems to be a page of info about the setting of Shinjuku in this series. East and west were split by a wall and train tracks, it seems, and you ned to pass through the gate to go between them…I spotted this omake because of the cat in one corner.

I don’t quite get why the case had to be treated like a gameshow at one part, but that would be a cool plot if someone ever wrote a story about it…(actually, wait. I think I do know a similar plotline from Detective Conan – the one with Natsuki in it – plus the Running Man by Steven King is somewhat similar to it too.)

Ahiru no Sora 2

Essentially, Sora is a reverse Kuroko…amirite…?

Ugh! This slang is so outdated!!! “[T]otes craycray”…the translator’s trying too hard to be a hip teenager…

How does anyone keep food in their afro anyway…?

I…miss shonen protags like Ahiru. The type that are earnest, but not shouty.

I was thinking I might drop the show here, but then I looked at the posts and strangely they didn’t talk about Chiaki (who I expected to be the deuteragonist of this show). Instead, they talk about Momoharu, so I was wondering what kind of twist they were pulling.

Beet red, my butt…

…then again, more Chiaki shenanigans showed up, so I really am gonna drop this. Geesh, Chiaki, you really suck.

BnHA 64

Eyyyyyyyyy, my local sublicensor is back to simulcasting BnHA! That didn’t happen for the stuff affected by the CR x Funi partnership, so I’m happy it’s happening right now.

I heard this was a recap ep but it was handled well…oh well, the new OP is well worth the price of admission.

I like how Amajiki (my boyyyyyyyy!) is like “Don’t touch me!!!”, even in the OP.

Hmm…I see one of the male journalists being scolded uses Windows 10.

Tokuda’s name is literally a pun on “It’s a special (episode)”…good job, Bones and BnHA staff (sarcastic). Update: Maybe the “tane” (seed) means he’s seedy…?Nah, that pun doesn’t work in Japanese.

Good job on recapping Vault Boy (as he’s known). I found his POWERRRRRR! thing amusing when s3 was airing, remember?

I get the feeling (based on the chapters Viz made free for the sake of hyping s4 up) Nighteye is a parody of the Jump series Seiji Tanaka. Update: No, now that I google Seiji Tanaka up and remember Horikoshi was going for a stereotypical Japanese salaryman look, it’s just a giant coincidence…

Tokuda has that “nice older man” vibe going on…hmm…

Whoaaaaaaaaaaa, that quirk is creepyyyyyy…

“…false encouragement to those…”

Selfie for the photobomb photographer!...(or something like that…)

Oh nooooooooo, I know exactly what’s in store for these guys, now that Viz made chs. 122 – 162 available for free for a limited time!!! That ED though…it’s basically torture for someone who knows what’s going on!!!

Shin Chuuka Ichiban 1

This is a sequel to a series I watched ages ago in Cantonese, so…heck if I’ll understand what’s going on, but I’ll try. Even though my memory of these characters should be better than everyone else’s, it might even be worse, considering all the anime I watched in the years between…

All these faces are familiar…but I’ve forgotten most of their names…If I remember right, the blonde is Sanche, the only one I really remember because he gave his all to cutting radish by moonlight so that it was proven it was so thin you could see the moonlight through it…yeah, I think that’s the only character aside from Mao I can really say anything about. (I don’t think he was blonde last time I saw an anime about him, though.)

These chickens are adorable...in this day and age, we know these chickens aren't carriers of misfortune...but just roll with it for now.

The subs don't note it (the visuals do eventually though), but her (Tiya’s) bro is a big one.

I never realised how long Mao's hair was until this series...

Even these men look like chickens...LOL.

The essence of SCI is, like any other shonen, Mao gets underestimated and kicks their asses.

The men even sound like chickens, LOL.

See? Silkies. I've never taken care of one myself, but they are adorable lil' birds with a distinctive look. Anyways, I think what sets this apart from SnS is the earnestness from years gone by (rather than extreme exaggerating). Also, this ep. made me hungry...LOL, that's the sign of a good cooking show.

Yeah...I forgot the reason why Mao wears that blue thing over his arm is because he can dramatically reveal himself as Super Chef. That happened a lot in s1.

...who's Fei again...?

Tokunana 2

I think this is going to be the decider as to where I push the threshold of my rankings, since this how is very middling…also, it’s pretty obvious to note the ep. titles go 1, 2, 3…(and so on).

I’ve watched my fair share of mysteries (Detective Conan gives you a lot of ‘em), so I can tell the covering of the mouth is a tell…the dwarvish man is lying.

The news headline says “Rainbow Bridge Reconstruction”…(It has a particle on the end though…I dunno whether I wanna translate that or not.)

Based on the “dragons” idea, I wouldn’t be surprised if the main antagonist’s surname was Kuzuryuu (“9 headed dragon”).  

Codenames? They even did that in Double Decker and in some senses, that was a parody of the entire cop procedural! (What with “Perm” as a codename and all that…speaking of which, I think Travis was the type who liked “fun” codenames too…he called himself “Boss” as well…and called his rookie “Rookie”.)

The saying goes a painted dragon should have the eyes painted last or else it’ll come alive and fly away. It must be something of the sort for daruma too. By the way, I could guess the politician was trying to be re-elected before Ichinose said due to the hissho (“sure win”) written on the daruma.

I don’t think I’ve seen anyone in anime sit backwards on a chair like that (Ichinose’s pose)…

How does Suga know about the blog…?

I keep swearing Seiji is gonna awaken some type of powers, but…I dunno why…?

“Here it is! My fist of justice!” *whomp*…that’s how I imagined the final punch to be for Seiji.

I swear…I’ve been seeing this Angolmois-style filter over Tokunana…(grr…)

Stand My Heroes 2

Wait, there’s Hattori…and Hatori…? Update: Oh…kay, so there’s Otani Hatori (of Revel) and then Hattori You (of the police). They have the same colour hair…and the same hairstyle…there goes my dreams of even comprehending this show…

Wait, so the English-language song is the OP????

Why does a guy called Maki always have green hair…?

Seriously though…Yui is a cliched scientist. By that, I mean he doesn’t really act like one at all – he obsesses over potential samples and whatnot (emphasis on “potential”).

Where the heck did you acquire a drug like that, then, Kagura???

Only Rei, who knows what happened at the dinner, can say “you’re nice based on what you did at dinner”. The viewer wasn’t privy to such things…

Aki’s tsundere…!

That fight scene was barely animated…geesh.

Maki’s got such anger issues that it’s hard to get behind him…

By the by, I don’t find Jekyll and Hyde cases hot, so Maki is basically a no-go.

Iruma-kun 2

This could be the show that decides it all. Iruma-kun is the 2nd-last show on my prospective shows for the season, so I’m cutting the fat fast by watching a few shows that indicate the quality of everything underneath as well as itself.

LOL, I never noticed there was an “Oh my gah” in the OP, haha.

Okay, so the pun in the title is Mairimashita! Iruma-kun (“I’ve Arrived! Iruma-kun”in formal Japanese because he’s the demon king’s grandson), but it’s “demon entry” rather than the standard kanji…so there’s absolutely no way to make that joke work in English, hence “Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun”. The pun in Iruma is that it’s an anagram of the formal iku/kuru (come/go), mairu. Yes, that’s the mairu I was talking about earlier.

I love how the narrator is just like “akuma deeeeeee~su” with all the enthusiasm of a postman; that is, he’s not very good at covering up his sarcasm.

Oh, so it’s maccha, but macha (demon tea)…geddit?

…oh! I actually noticed Sullivan’s hands were bandaged, but I didn’t think anything of it! So it was plot-relevant…

Hellraiser clock…for mezamashidokei (where ma = demon again)…that is a good pun! I love you, subber!

I assume the series of 5 symbols I keep seeing is actually “Iruma”, meaning the demon language is based on English, or at the very least individual romaji.

Oh wait! Babibabi(etc.)ru…does that mean the OP is referring to the school??? *mindblown*

…don’t tell me it’s Sullivan…? Update: Nope, I forgot about “Severus Snape”. He’s Aizawa from BnHA, but a demon.

Asmodeus stands out far too much in a crowd, LOL.

Whether useful or useless, trash is trash.

That’s…a very death metal snake…to put it one way.

This reminds me of Future is Crimson…how nostalgic…I really expect a cute monster though.

*laughing behind hand* Oh noooooooo…does that mean Iruma summoned the teacher??? (Hahahah!!!! Hahahaha!!!)

So…I was right, but I wasn’t right??? The teacher is a cute demon, I guess. Very fluffy. His Snape form isn’t bad either, but I’d prefer someone younger than him, to be honest. (Gimme plushies of the small fluffy sensei!)

Okay, so sukima appears to be a word meaning “gap, crevice (etc.)”. There’s the character for demon in it, so it’s kinda like calling this section the demonic gap-closer…the malevolent mini-episode…the fiendish filler! Yeah, I like the sound of “fiendish filler” (even though I don’t even like filler!).

Dr Stone 15

…now Senku’s done it. (i.e. married Ruri)

I like how Suika went splat while running. It adds more consistency to her nearsightedness.

Now there’s a cliffhanger!

No Guns Life 2

I always love it when people say they’re unarmed…but truth be told, people (normally) have two arms…not to mention, Juzo has a gun for a head and a fist that can rapidly punch. You can’t really call that “unarmed”.

I just realised Juzo’s jaw doesn’t really move when he talks…

Wait a second, ARAHABAKI????? You mean, Chuuya Arahabaki???? (Talking about that to those not in the know would be spoilers, so I won’t explain what I mean here, just in case there are non-BSD fans reading this.)

So…uh, where are Juzo’s eyes in that head of his…?

Ooh, authentication keys. Sounds like cybersecurity. That…was my jam before I jumped ship – apparently I’m too dumb to deal with modulos (which are important to cybersecurity).

Hmm…gun slave unit? Whatever does that mean, hmm??? (somewhat inquisitive, somewhat sarcastic)

Can a guy with a gun for his head get lung cancer? These are the big questions, folks.

Hmm? His hobby is house-cleaning, but he doesn’t have any kids…? That sounds sort of weird (although my ideas of a house cleaner are probably a bit…motherly, I guess? “Conforming to traditional stereotypes”…how about that description instead…?).

I never realised how short the muzzle of Juzo’s head is until I got this side shot.

“Guess that means I won’t be able to hold back against you!” – Whoa! That’s some effective horror…and this isn’t even a show that has “horror” as one of its genres…

[drink-n-watch]

On Fridays I watch Dr. Stone and Fire Force so this Friday was just chalk full of Fire and Fury! I’m not sure if it’s a weird combo. I feel like not that many people are watching both of these even if they do have a lot of elements in common.

I went off on a little tangent there. I promise the review will be a bit more focused and I’ll even stick to Dr. Stone. Well I’ll try. O.K. let’s see how I do!

What I thought Would Happen

I figured it would go one of two ways, either Hyoga was going to hightail it back to the Kingdom of Might and we would finally see what exactly Tsukasa has been up to for all this time OR Senku and the gang would somehow manage to capture him and once again, we would be left with only one side of the story.

I’m not sure which I was hoping for. I was super curious about the kingdom of might but at the same time, the tight singular focus on Senku and his point of view has been great for keeping the narrative on track and me on my toes.

What Did Happen

OK, now that I really think about it, I’m not sure how Senku was supposed to take Hyoga hostage but  he’s a smart guy, he could have figured something out. Unfortunately, he’s not a very observant guy and it turns out that while he was busy being all proud of himself, the enemy set the village on fire. Seriously, how did they not notice until it was half burned down? Did they not hear the people at least.

Hyoga has a pretty pinked hair sidekick that seems like she’s gonna be some trouble and even gave my girl Kohaku a run for her money. In the end, Hyoga’s group ended up retreated just enough to give the villagers a chance to get out in the open as everyone settles around the science camp. It seems the actual plan was simply to smoke the villagers out so they could get a hostage. As the started trying to burn the science camp down as well, Suika took matters into her own hands leading them away, and accidentally towards the sulfuric acid lake.

Mother nature took care of the rest. Or rather, Senku, Kohaku and a few gas masks ensured that Suika made it home safe leaving the others stranded on a high three waiting for the poisonous gases to subside.

This may have bought the kingdom of science some time but Tsukasa is still coming and they wont be this lucky twice. As such, it’s time for the ultimate weapon. Smartphones! All of Tsukasa,s recruits are teenagers right? Give them a few phones and they’ll soon loose interest in anything else. Brilliant!

What About the Characters

I’ll be honest, I didn’t pick up on pink haired girl’s name. She seemed super cool but aside from the fact that she’s an efficient warrior and Hyoga does not think she’s a complete idiot, we don’t learn much about her. We do however get a bit of a better idea of who Hyoga is and well…he’s not a very nice guy. As far as straight up villainy goes, he seems to be worse than Tsukasa which ain’t a great sign.

It’s bad news for Senku but it may be o.k. for the story. I’m not the hugest fan of unnuanced evil in an antagonist under normal circumstances. However, seeing as Dr. Stome has a rather large cast which already has a few antagonists (and how much to you want to bet that sitting in a tree guy with the yellow outfit is going to become important too, they made it so obvious! Where are these guys getting their nice clothes anyways? Gen is a downright fashion star…) what was I saying? Oh yeah, there’s a few bad guys so it’s cool if one is just plain bad. It’s a nice foil for the rest. Seems Hyoga is our eternally calm and smiling super evil one.

Oh I mentioned yellow cap guy. We actually see him in a flashback showing us how Tsukasa woke up Hyoga and a little bit of the Kingdom of Might. Tsukasa is industrious, I’ll give him that. The place was full of people, he must be waking them up round the clock. And it looked pretty cool too, with that honeycombed mountain side.

What’s more, this was much closer to the Tsukasa I was hoping for. Brutal and uncompromising but completely convinced that he is acting for the greater good and therefore oddly righteous. A man who does in fact care for the people around him and wants a better world for them. As such, it’s only natural that those said people would also care and respect him in return. As Gen himself implied, it’s easy to see why anyone would follow Tsukasa. I still think half his crew looked well past 18 but that’s another story.

What’s more, still no sign of Taiju and Yuzu. I know this is not going to happen. There’s a sort of straight forwardness to the narrative. But wouldn’t it be interesting if these two got roped into Tsukasa’s way of thinking. Not forced or brainwashed but simply after spending so much time with him, they also came to see him as admirable? I hope that showing us more of Tsukasa won’t destroy this delicate balance of menacing, antagonistic and compelling. But seeing as they already kind of did earlier in the season, I’m not expecting too much on that front.

What I Liked

The pacing of this episode was great. When you think about it some of the actual events were either a bit contrived or not that logical but the action flowed so nicely that I didn’t care.

I noticed that there was a lot of strong women this week and it was a nice change. Of course Kohaku has been essentially the brawn of the series for a little while which is an amusing subversion. I actually really appreciate how they made a physically strong female character without making any sort of big deal about it. There is not even the slightest implication that the trait is odd in any way. But aside from Kohaku being her usual brand of awesomeness, you had pink hair girl which really did everything on the bad guy’s side and Suika who more or less saved the day.  Let’s hear it for the ladies!

I liked that the Kingdom of Might seemed like a pretty nice place. Even if they end up ruining Tsukasa as a character, it’s still difficult to completely go against all these other people. They seem so chill!

I know I joked about it earlier but communication capacities really is one of the greatest tactical advantages you can get and I love that they are opting for an intel based attack.

What I Liked Less

I know I should stop harping about this but HOW did they not notice a village burning down like 20 feet away. They could feel the heat! I’m not saying that the lady could not have snuck in and started the fires and all that, it’s fine, but they had to wait for Hyoga to mention that he was a diversion before suddenly realizing it. That’s like when old cartoon character’s run off a ledge but don’t fall until they look down… It was a bit cheesy it’s all. It also made me laugh so not a complete loss.

So Hyoga had 4 stooges with him. And as they are trapped in a tree and he wants to see if there really is poisonous gas, he pushes them down to see if they survive. Great, he’s super evil, we know that now. But why did he have to push all four guys down at once? Now he’s just stuck in the tree with no more canaries to send down. Rather short sighted if you ask me!

Suika is cute and all, but she definitely would have been caught in the first minute. I’m glad she wasn’t…

Closing Thoughts

I was a touch nervous to see the return of Tsukasa. In my head Dr Stone is basically split in two. The early Taiju, Yuzu and Tsukasa episodes and then everything that happen since they split up. And I really like the second part way better. The idea of them all reuniting again makes me a bit nervous. However, this was another really good episode so I’m not sure what to think.

Mood: Happily unsure

    Dr. Stone Episode 19 – Tsukasa the Beloved On Fridays I watch Dr. Stone and Fire Force so this Friday was just chalk full of Fire and Fury!

[drink-n-watch]

Bungo Stray Dogs Season 3 is now over. As much as I miss it, I do like the freedom of not having to go home on Friday evenings to watch anime and write a review for the next day. It really does tie up my going out time. Ever since I started doing episodic reviews I keep telling myself never to do next day reviews…. So OF COURSE, I pick 3 shows for my Saturday post that all air on Fridays… Brilliant!

GRANBELM (Under a Blood Red Moon)

What I knew/thought before seeing the show: I knew next to nothing about the series literally only the title and the Crunchyroll thumbnail. My reasoning for picking it was “I like pink haired heroines”

What the first episode was about: A pink-haired heroine named Mangetsu goes out one evening and gets stuck in a virtual world where magical girls fight with mechas because reasons. She’s very energetic and optimistic about it.

Characters so far: We didn’t get much development since the episode was very action heavy. So far they are pretty shallow but not unpleasant. The two main characters are Mangetsu which is a genki girl archetype and Shingetsu which is a mysterious stoic archetype. I actually liked Mangetsu’s sister the most be we only see her in one scene at the beginning of the episode.

Technical aspects: The designs are cute and I enjoyed the art style. The limited palette establishes a visual identity pretty quickly. I immediately understood something ominous was going on from the colours alone. I was reminded of Yuki Yuna for a while. The voice acting is ok so far and the animation is good but a little jumpy. It comes in spurts.

First Impression: I had a good enough time watching this episode. I enjoyed the first half more than the second but I would continue watching this series based on the first episode. I really don’t have that much to say either way.

Hopes and Fears: I’m enjoying the Magical Girl/Mecha mashup, it’s an interesting genre. The world building has potential and there is a lot of room for this series to grow. I have been lucky with oddball cute girl shows. There is a potential for this show to be very messy though. The first episode did not do a very good job at establishing its world, laws or motivations and my pessimistic side is telling me there’s a big chance everything remains mostly superficial. The fight scenes were a little still and for some reason, I thought this was another mobile game promotion (doesn’t seem to be). Finally, Mangetsu is really striking me as a Mary Sue so far. Let’s see what happens in episode 2!

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FIRE FORCE (Playing With Fire)

What I knew/thought before seeing the show: Oh cool! An anime about firemen. Interesting. They’re athletic, maybe it’ll be a little like a sports! anime. Or a work based Slice of Life…

What the first episode was about: A young man named Shira finally accomplishes his dream to become a fireman (superpowered individuals who fight infernals). Some years ago, people started suffering from spontaneous combustion and becoming infernals, something like fire demons. Those who survived gained pyrokinetic powers which get stronger as they are passed along down generations. As a 3rd gen pyrokinetic, Shinra is particularly powerful but has also been seen as a monster and blamed for tragedies. He now wants to prove he’s a hero instead.

Characters so far: Ok, so this is not a sports! anime by any means but the characters could come from one! We only really get to know Shira but he already has a complex back story and clearly established personality, even a fun quirk of smiling manically when he’s nervous. That’s pretty decent development for one episode. I have high hopes for the rest. Sadly, aside from a few flashbacks to Shinra’s mom, both female characters have been used mostly as fanservice charas so far, which is a little disappointing.

Technical aspects: I actually really like this one so far. It’s probably my favourite style of the three I saw. It has a modern anime look with slightly more reasonable proportions and a variety of silhouettes. In a way, it may be the most realistic looking which is hilarious. The colours are similarly rich but grounded. On the other hand, animation is impressive and fluid. On top of that, the director used a few interesting visual tricks, successive jump-cut transitions in the firehouse, use of different art styles for certain scenes, flashback specific colour palettes… It’s a stylish looking show and I am enthusiastic to see more of it.

First Impression: So this turned out to be a fighting Shonen, complete with an optimistic and determined protagonist who has vowed to be a hero and has a tragic past to conquer. It’s not exactly special, but I really liked it. The universe is quite unusual and the characters have a lot of potential. I’m excited for next week and I’m not surprised this first episode is doing so well.

Hopes and Fears: I was impressed by how well the first episode established everything without it feeling like one huge exposition dump. It even left plenty of time for eye candy fights. They keep praying to an unknown god which I found quite intriguing. It sets up a potential sect or religious/political intrigue. Like I mentioned, two main female characters have some type of suggestive scene whenever they are onscreen unless they’re actively being saved by Shines. To be honest I didn’t mind much but it’s the most basic part of the narrative so far. There is a chance that this will turn into a one-man show/monster of the week type series and Shines doesn’t strike me as charming enough to carry the whole thing. There are some MHA parallels. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing but there you go!

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Dr. STONE (I’ve loved you over 1000 years)

What I knew/thought before seeing the show: Crunchyroll had been advertising this one pretty heavily and it kept calling it a Shonen. So I thought it might be a JoJo like series or perhaps just a classic Dragon Ball for a new generation. Leth told me it was “insane”.

What the first episode was about: It was “insane’! Taijo is a nice guy who goes to high school, is friends with the eccentric haired Senku (who reminded me of Dexter from Dexter’s lab) and in love with Yuzuriha. On the day he finally chooses to confess, a mysterious event turns all humans into sentient stone statues and they remain that way for 3700 years. When Taiju miraculously revives, the world is a very different place. He finds that Senku has also broken free and together they have to figure out how the restart humanity. My alternative titles for this episode review were “Adam and Steve” but they kind of made the joke in the show so it took all the fun away from it, or “Adventures in Wild Science”.

Characters so far: This one is impressive. Taiju and Senku both have clearly established personalities. Not too deep yet but with some variability. Senku is particularly fun to me as I enjoy a slightly morally compromised protagonist but Taiju manages to play the clear-eyed golden boy without being annoying. Even Yuzuriha has an actual character despite being only given a few minutes on screen and I understand exactly why Taiju would fall for her. The premise and setting give motivation and meaning to all the characters actions. To get this much development and plot in a single episode is quite special. I want t know both these guys better and I want to meet more people as well.

Technical aspects: There’s a sort of classic feel to the character design. I’m not saying it looks old but more like timeless. The very angular lines and hatched shadowing creates a nostalgic look for long time anime fans. The animation seems good although it wasn’t on display so much. Compared to Fire Force, Dr. Stne is much more straightforward in both visuals and direction. I do like that the setting gives us so many lush green panoramas to enjoy. The voice acting was probably the best in this series.

First Impression: They distilled booze. In the first episode!!! I really liked this one. It’s a mix of comedy, mystery, survival and actual science which is right up my alley. A very strong first episode that left me wanting to see the next one right away. I took a note that said only “YAY! Chemistry!” which should probably tell you all you need to know about me.

Hopes and Fears: As you may have noticed,  don’t have anything even mildly negative to say about the first episode of Dr. Stone. As far as I’m concerned, if it continues in exactly this way, I will be thrilled. Congratulations Crunchyroll,  you picked a good one this time!

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Oddly enough, all three shows I picked had all the same general tags apply to them. I would say I enjoy the technical aspect of Fire Force more than the other two shows, but the narrative and premise of Dr. Stone most! Poor Granbelm is the clear loser of these three, coming in last on every aspect but I still enjoyed it.

I’m going to keep watching all three shows but I haven’t decided if I’m going to keep reviewing them yet. Also, what do you think about this format? Should I split it up into three short posts? I know that would get more view but it seems more annoying for the readers. Then again if you’re only interested in one show you may not want to scroll through all the other stuff. Very few people ever comment on my episode reviews so I’m not expecting much feedback here. However, if you do leave some, thank you in advance!

Friday Night Sampler: Granbelm – Fire Force – Dr. Stone Episodes 1 Bungo Stray Dogs Season 3 is now over. As much as I miss it, I do like the freedom of not having to go home on Friday evenings to watch anime and write a review for the next day.