Houkago Saikoro Club Episode 11: A whole new game

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Once again, we’re back with Midori’s game. I don’t mean that in a disparaging way. I actually think the progress that she makes in this episode is cool, and her background contextualizes her game quite well. It feels a bit weird that next week’s episode is the last one. I wonder where it will go. The end of the episode almost suggests a return to Miki’s insecurities.

To Midori’s credit, she definitely takes the criticism in this episode much better than before. It’s not like she was overly rude about it in the previous iteration, but she was clearly shying away from it. I also liked how this episode uses the game as a window into her past, since it would make sense that she would base the game on an experience she felt was important.

I think this episode initially comes off with a typical message of creating something you’re happy with rather than catering to an audience. However, I think it does more to approach the importance of gameplay through strategy. It sounds like the real issue with Midori’s first game was that she was restricting paths to victory. As a result, people tended to fall on the same approach to playing the game.

The strength of the final iteration seemed to come from giving the players more ways to play the game. That’s why the conversation on strategy arises, since the girls are now able to come up with numerous unique playstyles.

Asi I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I have an issue with Emmy’s character. It’s great that she’s supportive of Midori throughout the episode, but she still seems way too perfect. She knows exactly what Midori’s thinking, and she doesn’t seem to be wrong at any point. There’s something off-putting about that.

Houkago Saikoro Club Episode 10: Relationship building

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I feel like it’s probably sad that we’ve gotten so far in this series before it showed a game I’d actually played before. I’m probably going to get judged for this. That aside, this week’s episode seems to look more at Aya for a bit. I still think the pacing in this series is weird overall. Both stories in the episode seemed too quick, and I would have honestly preferred if the entire episode was devoted to building the relationships from the second half.

It was fairly brief, but Blokus was a game I played in high school. I didn’t realize that it was designed in France, so that’s cool to know. I tend to like these kinds of spatial/strategy games.

To be honest, I had a hard time finding Aya’s argument with her father convincing. I think she’s perfectly justified in being upset with him, but she seems to forgive him too easily to me. I get that she probably just needed some time to vent at him, but the context of the game seemed weak.

Was it just me who didn’t really get the game in the second half? I got the sense that I was missing some key information about how the game was played, and it was mostly just an excuse to pair the girls up. To be fair, I kind of like the pairings in this episode, but I think the episode would have benefited if this section was given more time.

I’m guessing the idea behind the episode was to showcase the girls’ individual personalities through the shopping aspect, but that would have come out better if the rules were clear. I can’t tell whether Miki was just being naturally modest or if she was playing towards some kind of strategy.

Houkago Saikoro Club Episode 9: Game design classes

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I guess we’re getting into some new territory now that the cast is complete. I don’t particularly have a problem with Midori feeling insecure after having met Emmy, but I think that the two characters would be better off if they balanced each other out. It’s still early, so there’s definitely still hope for that, but that was the main thing that bothered me in this episode. Other than that, I liked how it approached the universality of playground games and basically defending homebrew rules.

As I mentioned before, my main concern with this episode is that it seems to validate Midori’s insecurities. Emmy seems to have a real knack for game design, and she comes from the lauded country of Germany. It’s true that Midori needs to swallow her pride, but I would prefer if Emmy had her own set of flaws too. The episode starts off by joking that she has a bad sense of direction, but that doesn’t translate to much.

I like that the episode gives Emmy the win in Elfenland. Combined with her flashback to her friends in Germany, it feels like she deserves that win. Also, I don’t know if it was just me, but I have no real sense of why her final move was able to win the game. Is this something for people more familiar with the game?

This episode takes a weird digression into childhood games, but it ties it together well. I liked how it touches on the shared concepts in the playground games of different countries. I’m more familiar with “Red Light Green Light”, but I can still see similar concepts in the Japanese version of it. I’ve also coincidentally seen the Korean version as well, and that version is even subtly different in its own way.

In some senses, a playground game is kind of a weird example. It makes sense for the rules to be simple since children play these games. That being said, I do like how the episode naturally gives Emmy the chance to modify the game by using somewhat basic concepts. I know people can often get a bit straight-laced with the rules, so it’s nice to see the girls embracing the adaptations.

All in all, I think this setup is promising so far. Emmy mentions that she initially wanted to develop a game with her childhood friend, so I take this episode as the beginning of her potential partnership with Midori. I think it would be cool to see the two working together.

Fall 2019 Grab Bag Week 8: Kono Oto Tomare

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Kono Oto Tomare Episode 21

I guess this week’s episode ends the long training phase before nationals starts up. This second season has been shaping up a lot better than the first one did. It hits many of the same emotional notes while putting together a pretty solid koto club. I think the first season had to spend more time getting characters on board with playing the koto, while this season is purely focused on coming together to play a piece.

Am I supposed to be shipping Sane with Akira? I’m kind of okay with that. But that aside, I like how Sane figures out his role in this episode. Being able to work with others well is something that’s hard to express, so I think it fits a side character like him well. In the end, he’s still doing his part.

I think this series has done a great job of splitting its characters up. The koto club is there to support each other, but not every moment needs every character. Chika can go off and do his own thing with Takezou and Satowa, while Hiro gets her own supportive moment with Takezou. It does leave certain side characters in the dust a bit, but I think it’s better for the story overall.

On the other side, I like what this season has done with Akira so far. She’s had a surprising amount of independence as a side character, coming to her own conclusions about the club members and eventually becoming part of the team. I think it’s great that she defends the club in this senior meeting without anyone from the club knowing about it. She’s slowly cozying up to the group, but we get to see a shining moment of triumph as the audience.

I do think that the series could be doing more to show Satowa’s personal struggle with her song. Moments like this one with Chika are great for forcing her to face her past, but I sometimes wish to see more. With nationals coming up, I feel like the inevitable conclusion for her saga is for her mother to show up, but it’s only been developed so much at this point.

Houkago Saikoro Club Episode 8: Double feature

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These episodes with two board games always feel so awkward. I enjoy seeing more games, and I thought both games in this episode were especially cool. However, I do get the sense that the pacing is harder to balance when there are more games in an episode. In this week’s episode, it felt like Dobble didn’t get a fair shake.

I do think that the episode balanced the two new characters decently, though. Emilia is a nice addition to the main group, since she has game knowledge similar to Midori’s. However, she’s not just a carbon copy. She takes games seriously like Midori does, but she excels in explaining game strategy to Miki and Aya.

In previous games, Midori tends to explain another player’s mistakes to them after they make them. In contrast, Emilia explains the thought process behind the discard mechanic to Aya immediately, giving her a better tip. Additionally, I like that Emilia takes her loss in stride despite her prideful comment about never losing. I feel like this shows that she’s more willing to give away her own advantages in the game to make it more fun for everyone.

On the other hand, Yoshioka is another fresh-faced newbie, but it’s nice that his first interaction with board games is through Miki. She was in the same position recently, and the episode does a good job of showing Yoshioka’s own reluctance fading as the game progresses. To top it off, Miki is the one pushing him along.

As I mentioned before, I would have liked to see more of Dobble. It felt like Yoshioka was hitting on something when he commented on the vague nature of the game. Maybe there’s something to giving a less restrictive description of a symbol. In that sense, this game feels more like a casual game, which is nice to see from time to time.

Houkago Saikoro Club Episode 7: Volcano pressure

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I think we might have sacrificed some gameplay time this week to give Miki some alone time with Maki. I’m okay with this trade. We’re back to introducing new characters, with this week giving a formal appearance for the student council president. The series sure is taking its time introducing the transfer student, huh?

We start with a pretty fun sequence. Maki whisks Miki away for some fun, and the two get to know each other. It’s cool that their names are similar, and they’re being introduced as polar opposites, which is even reflected in the games they play. Maki overwhelms Miki with insults, and Miki gets her revenge with compliments. Maki’s got a cute side, I suppose.

I think it makes sense for Maki to have a past like this, but I think the presentation could have been better. I think it’s probably a side effect of the multiple stories in this episode. I got the sense that her harsh childhood story comes out of nowhere and ends just as quickly. Maki also seems like the kind of character who deserves the time to tell her story well. Maybe I’ve just been spoiled by Fruits Basket.

In a similar vein, I think the explanation for the game in this episode gets a bit gimped because of the time constraint. I didn’t feel like I got a good grasp of the game’s movement rules, so it was confusing when the characters took their meeples off of boats.

I think my favorite part of the episode was watching the camaraderie between Aya and the student council president. Aya seems to have finally gotten her own brother in arms, which is hilarious.

Houkago Saikoro Club Episode 6: The joys of game design

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Surprisingly enough, this week’s episode doesn’t introduce the character that was hinted at last week. Instead, we get a refreshing shift to Midori rather than another episode about Miki. I have no way of knowing about board game culture in Japan, but I’m not the biggest fan of how hopeless the episode makes it look. Still, I think the episode is a strong moment for Midori, as she learns to rely on her friends some more.

Honestly, Midori’s situation in this episode resonated a lot with me. I’m no board game designer, but many of these principles can be applied to anything creative. Midori’s personality reminds me of myself when it comes to blogging. I’ve historically had a fear of showing an incomplete product when it comes to posts. It’s often better just to foster the discussion, rather than putting together some perfect piece on your first try.

I do like how Midori’s game is portrayed in the episode. When she brings out the playing cards, you can start to see where the game is becoming more complicated. The game elements start feeling like additional layers stacked on top of the main concept.

Personally, I would have liked to see a little bit more from this scene. I certainly know how Midori feels here, since it’s often crazy how obvious the suggestions of others might seem. However, I’ve been in this situation as part of my job, and I think it’s often too easy to say these things when you’re not the one who has to implement them. I think there’s a balance to be found when giving even solicited advice.

This is a nice line to have in the episode. As I mentioned before, these concepts can be applied to many different things, and this tends to be my view on blogging. It’s easy to get defensive about something you spent time crafting, but reacting to criticism is often the easiest way to grow.

Houkago Saikoro Club Episode 5: Exploring new places

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I feel like there was a surprising amount going on for this obligatory beach episode. Miki’s past seems to once again be the central focus, but I thought it was a fun interlude. I guess we didn’t technically get a new character introduction in this episode, since Takashi seems like a one-off.

I do think that the series does a good job of capturing slow progression with Miki. It’s natural for her family members to point out how much she’s changed with her new friends, but it doesn’t seem particularly drastic or anything.

Surprisingly enough, we finally get a Japanese board game in this episode. Goita seems fairly similar to Western paired trick-taking games, but I think the reuse of shogi pieces is cool. I was also worried in the beginning when the first game was quickly glossed over. I thought Goita might end up being a prelude to a completely different game, but we got a decent explanation of the game after all.

I think the rules of Goita as they were initially explained were a bit more confusing for me. When I saw how it was played, it made much more sense, but the “attack” and “match” explanations threw me off. I also think that there’s an element of the game that could have been called out. The explanations make it clear that the strategy heavily relies on being able to guess your opponent’s hands, which is why the face-down pieces have a certain significance.

I also think it was great to see Miki attempting to play off of Takashi to give him a better sense of the game. I know I’ve been in situations in the past where someone initially tells me that a game is simple if you play a certain way. Then, you just get bombarded with exceptions as the game goes on.

Oh hey, I guess the girls have to hit the beach at some point, right?

Fall 2019 Grab Bag Week 4: Kono Oto Tomare, Special 7

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Deciding on a season lineup is hard.

Kono Oto Tomare Episode 17

As cheesy as it might be sometimes, I’ve missed this show. Personally, I’d love to see the romances in the show take off, since it seems like they’ve been pushed so far already. But yeah, we’re back with more koto playing. In the aftermath of the previous season, this half of the show puts its focus straight on nationals. The focus seems to be on the upperclassmen, since it’s revealed that they only have one chance left to go to nationals.

Another change with this season is that Suzuka is taking a more supportive role. I think he adds to the show well with his musical background. I also quite like the development of his choosing Satowa’s song for the club to play at nationals. I was skeptical at first, but I like what the show did with that development. Satowa first realizes that she failed to convey the feelings she wanted, and now she has the chance to make it better.

I’m curious to see how Satowa’s relationship with her mother develops as well. I would have expected her to bring someone along (like Chika) when she went to borrow the koto, but she sticks more to her previous personality by doing it alone.

This was a cute scene to get as a reward, though.

Special 7 – Special Crime Investigation Unit Episode 4

Well, I guess it’s been a while since I last talked about this show. In my previous post, I mentioned the lack of fantasy elements, which has largely been going away with the shifted focus on Nine. I don’t have a problem with the overall concept of this series, but the execution still feels lacking to me. I think this week’s episode is a good example, since its core mystery doesn’t end up feeling satisfying.

This week’s episode focuses on the case of a wounded child and his overly suspicious father. The episode spends a lot of time presenting Eguchi, the father, as a sympathetic character, and it effectively rolls with that. However, the evidence itself doesn’t seem to do a great job of exculpating him. Even if you fear for your child’s life, I feel like the reasonable course of action is to hire some kind of protection. What does buying insurance gain you?

And in the end, the episode emphasizes Goto’s involvement in the car explosion, but it never links him to the murders of the other two children. Was I just supposed to accept that Eguchi didn’t kill one and therefore wouldn’t kill the other two? More importantly, what was Goto’s motive? The episode does a good job of explaining his attempts at the hospital, but I don’t remember hearing an explanation for the original explosion.

I think the main point of interest in the episode for me was the focus on Kujaku Nijou, Seiji’s partner for the day. I don’t know how to fully interpret the final scene, but it seems like Kujaku might be playing both sides. It looks like he has some kind of informant in Nine, and he’s actively working to investigate Shiori. However, the information he gets at the end seems to be for the benefit of the agency. So, he seems like a good person overall.

Houkago Saikoro Club Episode 4: Recruitment tactics

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It’s nice that the series is shifting focus away from Miki towards its other characters. While following its trend of introducing a new character per episode, it shines the light on Midori and her past for a change. To be fair, her motivations are interesting, but her story is fairly straightforward so far. I’m hoping there’s more to it for the future.

The main driving force for the episode is Ren Shibusawa, the vice chair of the student council. She has a particular attitude that I dislike, but I like how Midori responds to her. Ren’s got a pushy attitude as she tries to impose her way. Even though her intentions seem positive, the episode kind of portrays them as a facsimile of the student council chair.

That being said, I can appreciate that Ren’s trying to improve herself, even though she often stumbles, so I don’t think she’s a bad person. Based on her description, Midori actually seems like a decent counterpart for Ren, since she’s generally more obstinate.

The game for this week is 6 nimmt, which certainly seemed like a fun and quick number game. As usual, it would have been nice to see more of the game. It definitely seemed simple, but I wonder how much the randomness of the cards factors into strategy.

This was probably my favorite scene in the episode. It’s just another screenshot in the game montage, but it’s funny that Ren celebrates pulling one over on Aya, a character who has already shown the audience her terrible luck in these games.

Well, I guess I have to hand it to Ren for not being a sore loser.