Maou-sama, Retry First Impressions (1): A tale as old as time

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Borrowing from the long-standing traditions laid out in other shows, this series follows one man’s journey inside a video game world as he searches for a way back to his world. I suppose the main interest is that the main character, Akira Oono, doesn’t seem to be the standard gamer type. Rather, it seems more like he’s supposed to be a game administrator who plays the role of demon lord within the game.

Honestly, I don’t have much of a problem with the isekai genre, so I thought that this first episode was fine. It doesn’t particularly stand out amongst its relatives, but it’s enjoyable enough. If anything, I’d say that the episode kind of glosses over a lot (like why creating items costs skill points). I think it would be funny to watch Akira abuse his administrator privileges if that continues to be relevant.

There’s also kind of an interesting scene when Akira is first transported into the game where you can see what looks like missiles or meteors falling in the background. I might be reading too much into it, but it implies that he’s transported into the game after his original world is destroyed or something.

This scene probably suffered the most from being glossed over in my opinion. It’s implied that Akira came to this world because his avatar, Hakuto Kunai, was directly summoned by the dead sorcerers in this room, valiantly attempting to have their wish granted. And then, Hakuto strangely gets his unverbalized wish granted through a ring that does…something.

It might still be too early for this, but I do wonder where this series is headed. From this first episode alone, it sounds like it’s just going to be random travels of Hakuto and Aku in a video game fantasy world. I don’t particularly have a problem with that as a premise. I just wonder if that’s what I’m committing to watching, you know?

The scene in Aku’s village also seemed a little weird to me. Hakuto cloaks himself for a reason that he doesn’t really explain, only to reveal himself almost immediately as Aku is assaulted by rocks. Maybe it wasn’t obvious enough that the other villagers were approaching her with hostility? Either way, they just leave and ignore the reason they came. I guess it’s meant to show that the people in the village are jerks or something.

Fall 2018 Grab Bag Week 6: Karakuri Circus, Sword Art Online – Alicization

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I guess I should keep up the trend of talking about new shows. This season has a lot more shows with talking potential. It actually puts me at ease. This section lives!

Karakuri Circus First Impressions (1-4)

I’m really glad I chose to wait until now to talk about this series. To be honest, I think I would have been pretty harsh if I had been talking about the first two episodes alone. My main gripe with the series had been Masaru, who spends most of the beginning as the wimpy rich kid. His character felt stupidly repetitive, and it was a nuisance every time he spoke up. He’s still that guy, but his character has been making a huge shift in this most recent episode. As a result, I have a more favorable impression of the series. Woo?

The series overall is entertaining as an action series. The fact that the story is set around puppets and the circus still doesn’t sit well with me, but I think the general story is interesting. I guess I just think puppets are weird?

I think it’s cool that Masaru is able to join the fight as a puppeteer. It would be interesting if he gets his own puppet to fight alongside Shirogane.

Okay, I take it back. Maybe I should have waited one more episode before covering this series. I’m really surprised that Narumi was killed off so quickly in the series (so much so that I don’t believe that it’s a real death). I’m actually a little torn about Narumi’s death. On the one hand, he’d been building a solid rapport with the other main characters. On the other hand, his Zonapha syndrome thing was starting to feel old.

Sword Art Online – Alicization First Impressions (1-5)

I know I’m just going to get written off as another SAO hater. I really do like some of the changes that were made in this season. Making Kirito go full isekai actually works pretty well in my eyes. I also think that the fight scene against the goblins was solid and a nice step up from the previous seasons. I just…have a problem with the soul thing. I’ve written a whole post about my thoughts on the soul, so it’s probably not that surprising.

I somewhat understand why the series chooses to do it this way. Since Kirito suffers brain damage, the series needs a reason why Kirito’s soul can still exist without the brain. But I think the microtubules pose an even bigger problem, since you suddenly have a soul that becomes a lot more vulnerable to damage. If your soul resides within every cell, then any cell death would damage your soul. So you’re not exactly solving the problem…

This episode takes a fairly large detour to show what’s going on in the outside world, but the general story so far has been alright. Eugeo, in particular, seems like a character with a lot of promise. He’s clearly a program that has been locked in a routine, and he has the potential to grow into a much more human-like character with Kirito’s help.

Shichisei no Subaru First Impressions (1): Very familiar

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I’m sure I’m not the first to say this, but this show seems like it’s pretty blatantly similar to Ano Hana. The heroine Asahi even resembles Menma somewhat, or at least she seems to have a similar positive personality. But yeah, the story has the same concept of the group of friends torn apart by a death in the group. Now, there’s just a game involved.

The episode itself really didn’t leave me with a great first impression. The fight scenes looked really low quality and the game really didn’t make sense. That being said, I’ll be really impressed if there’s a point to all of the similarity to other series, but that’s a bit of a blind hope.

These people are really asking for something bad to happen, huh?

How does an ability like seeing the future make sense in a video game? Make up a magical trait called “Sense” and wave the explanations away. So much fun…

Okay, this is just lazy.

They keep stating this aspect of the game without really giving any details, which makes it sound more and more like a cheap gimmick that the show is using to give the series tension rather than a thought-out game mechanic. Why would anyone even play this game? There’s only so far a sense of challenge can carry a game.

The ending animation seems to suggest that there’s some kind of dark force in this game, which makes me wonder if this series is also just a repackaged .hack, where the main characters are forced to restore the corrupted system only because a friend is stuck in it.

Overlord S2 First Impressions (1): Back to business

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Well, this episode certainly was good for making me realize how much I’d forgotten about this series in its absence. I think I have the important bits, but I’m curious to see how it will affect my perception of this season. Still, I always saw this series as fun, and this episode was pretty entertaining.

I actually don’t have too much to say about this Rubik’s Cube scene. At least, the cube was displayed well. I didn’t notice any lazy animation when it moved and the pieces didn’t look obviously wrong.

I was also paying too much attention to the cube to actually read what the two characters were saying. Are these people supposed to be the enemy?

The first scene in this second season referenced a “vampire” who pretty much has to be Shalltear. This dragon also flashes back to an encounter he had with Shalltear. Is this just some random background for her or she supposed to be even more important in coming events? I suspect I’m just forgetting something really obvious from the first season.

The fact that this guy’s name is “Climb” makes me wonder if Renner should actually be “Runner”. The names would be equally ridiculous then.

Okay, I admit that I forgot this piece of Albedo’s introduction. At least it’s a useful flashback, right?

Watching Shalltear pretend to be drunk was pretty funny. Poor Shalltear…I have to remind myself that she was the final boss of the first season. The exposition from Ains helps.

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar Final Episode (12): Quest complete!

Starting things off with a bloody helmet that I’m guessing is intended to make us think a character is dead…but they wouldn’t kill a character between episodes, right?

Final surprise for the final episode is…a mascot character! There’s something off about this demon’s voice…or is it just me? That aside, Ranta’s looking pretty safe and sound for now.

WHAAAAAAAAA?????

Oops…someone forgot a word.

Poor guy…

Whoa whoa whoa! You showed me this helmet bloodied in the lower floor at the beginning of the episode! How did it magically appear on Ranta’s head?

Aaaaand it’s gone in the very next shot…another oops for the animation team!

This is the most destructive magic I’ve seen all series.

This is the moment where everyone ships these two, right?

Wait…is it over? All the danger is gone? Well, I guess it’s halfway through the episode, which is typically when this series cools down.

There’s no way it would be that easy!

Trading Ranta for Haruhiro? Sounds like a perfect trade! Haruhiro has plot armor, so they’ve saved everyone!

Power of friendship activate!

Okay, even someone as inept as I am can tell that this scene was pretty poorly animated…either way, Haruhiro just got some crazy solo raid boss experience, right?

Sure, I’ll pretend like I don’t care how the team managed to find Haruhiro and get him out after they had already fled the scene. I’m sure it wasn’t important…

Ahh the joy of video game mechanics…a random assortment of silver and bronze coins just happens to add up to exactly thirty gold.

Australia!!

Not much more to say on this one. Sure, they never answered the question of why everyone was brought to this world…but based on the fact that I completely forgot about that, I’m guessing that wasn’t the point. It wasn’t anything special, but I guess the show wasn’t among the bad shows of the season.

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar Episode 11: And next on the list is…

Everything seems so peaceful…surely nothing major could happen this week, right?

Dream within a dream! But seriously…back to reality.

METAL GEAR!

So not only are the kobolds sentient enough to have a religion, but they’re also smart enough to recognize and respect other cultures’ religions? Wow…these kobolds might be more advanced than humans.

Zombies! Oh yeah…I remember someone mentioning this when Manato died. But didn’t they just say this place was a shrine? I think your holy ground is defected…

Undead apparently retain the mental capacity to cast spells…for some reason.

It wouldn’t be an RPG without a Magic Missiles reference, right? On a side note, how are the kobolds not hearing this combat?

The power of friendship hugs!

Even though the fire is clearly on his back, Haruhiro apparently feels the need to pound the front of his shoulder, which understandably does nothing to put out the fire.

My Japanese is really bad, but I’m pretty sure Haruhiro said “Moguzo” here, not “Ranta”.

The power of friendship is even strong enough to make the zombie regain some of its memories!

All of that work and no loot? What a rip-off! I quit this game!

 

Guess they totally forgot that they’re in the middle of enemy territory. Premature celebrations! Hooray!

NO ONE IS SAFE!

I can’t tell whether they’re being optimistic or just blatantly telling us that Ranta is going to survive. They wouldn’t kill Ranta off-screen, right?

Typical bad guy aim…

Anyway, looks like the final episode for this series will be saving Ranta. It’s also looking like they might actually have to fight Death Spots to do it. It would certainly wrap everything up neatly. I don’t know what to think about Ranta showing up in the preview for next week’s episode…it’s almost like they’re baiting me into thinking he’ll survive. WHAT’S REAL??

Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo Final Episode (10): I guess there’s another season…

Run! Everyone run!

Oh hey look! It’s the spider robot from Wild Wild West! Anyone? Anyone know what that movie is? Ahem…anyway, too bad no one took that mission to scout its path, right?

Billy! Nooooooooo!!!

Hmm…I seem to remember someone boasting about having the strongest offensive magic…can’t remember who.

Jiiiiiiiiiiiii……

Must…resist…Saber reference…I’m better than this!

She was the spy all along!! Oh wait…wrong show. I mean…it’s about time they added another dimension to her character.

Haha wasn’t expecting this.

What exactly is Kazuma doing here? Moral support?

Wait…what? When was anyone mocking Megumin’s name? Last I remember, Kazuma was mocking Lalatina’s name…which Megumin couldn’t have heard. Still, guess he was there for moral support after all.

Wait…Wiz can use explosion too? I guess Megumin’s about to lose a lot of bragging rights…

First off…this line. Secondly, there’s no way this is actually over, right? We’re still only halfway through the episode!

^ actual representation of me watching anime

Wait…there’s a self-destruct sequence? Usually that’s the first thing you try when something goes berserk…why exactly were the wizards that created the Destroyer unable to stop it again?

It’s been a while since we last heard “Yes, I’m Kazuma”.

Coronatite? Doesn’t “corona” have something to do with the Sun? Is this Spiderman 2? I mean, it’s a spider robot, right? I’m making the worst references today, aren’t I?

Also, there’s a self-destruct sequence going on right now, right? Isn’t there usually a countdown? Or does the robot purposely give people this much time to shut down the self-destruct?

Sigh…I have to leave this screenshot here without context, right?

My thoughts exactly, Kazuma…

Uhh…you mean the eyelids, right? Because that’s where your skin is the thinnest…just saying. But sure, let’s give Kazuma a free pass to touch Aqua’s chest.

…oops. Something I didn’t think about until just now. How exactly does an explosion eradicate the intense heat that’s coming from the robot? Doesn’t it just make things worse?

I’m guessing this is happening because he teleported the coronatite to a random spot? So much for that high luck stat, right?

HELP!

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar Episode 10: New dungeons! New enemies!

Teamwork!

I feel like a lot of time in this show is wasted with introducing new skills…mostly skills that don’t really impact the story much more than not-so-subtly saying “they got stronger”. That being said, I’m not going to get upset at Yume for learning a melee skill since they’re in a cave. Ranged skills probably aren’t as helpful in the restrained fighting conditions.

Random Enemy B is his rival? Good old Ranta. By the way, whatever happened to that stuff about Ranta needing to get the kill on the enemy for his class? Does that no longer matter? It feels a lot like it’s been forgotten.

Kobolds did nothing wrong!

Nah…it’s just waiting for you to make a move. Obviously…

…Well, I can’t really argue with this. Also, he’s being really loud in front of the sleeping kobolds…

Hang tight, final boss…it’s not quite time for you yet. Are you here to force Ranta to work with the team with overwhelming power?

Team bonding!

I find it really hard to fully disagree with Ranta here…honestly, I think he brings up some decent points. Haruhiro is still learning as a leader, after all.

Yume practicing with throwing knives? I’m fine with this…master the ranged weapons. Also, I think someone got a little lazy with drawing the knife on the bullseye.

All of the magic used in this series is supportive buffs/debuffs…does magic just have no power in this world? That’s a bit rare for an RPG world.

Well, that trap was pretty conveniently placed. Yume loses points for not noticing it (that’s usually the archer’s job). Haruhiro also loses half those points.

Go deeper? Sure, that seems smart…I think I remember this tactic from Danmachi.

He’s here!

I guess next week’s episode is aimed at dealing with Mary’s personal trauma? Slight cliffhanger for this week’s episode, but I don’t really foresee them having trouble getting away from Death Spots.

Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo Episode 9: The stuff dreams are made of

Whoa…this chess piece is half the size of Megumin (she’s currently holding it with her right hand in this picture).

First off, this means that her level is irrelevant. Secondly, I’ve been playing Fire Emblem too much because I immediately reacted with “this trash character with crappy growth rates”.

Did I miss an episode? Because I don’t remember these guys getting so chummy with Kazuma…

Succubus cafe? This can’t be good…

<INSERT PICTURES HERE>

<THIS BLOG POST IS SO AMAZING WITH SO MANY PICTURES>

<SCREENSHOT SPAM INTENSIFIES>

I guess we really have no idea what Darkness and Megumin’s backgrounds are…just how loaded is Darkness’s family? I was starting to think this was Kazuma’s dream or something…

I don’t usually eat very high-end food, but most crab and lobster I’ve eaten is generally a bit rubbery in texture. Are expensive crabs really so slurp-able and mushy? Seriously, it’s like he’s eating a napkin. (I’M SORRY FOR BEING SO POOR)

So…Kazuma sacrifices the real-life pleasures in order to have a good dream tonight? Is there any reason he can’t just go back to the dream shop the next day and request a new dream? Even if it costs money, this dinner is free, so he should just think of it as an investment into this meal…

If anything, this episode is a good repository for reaction pictures.

HOOTING INTENSIF- *gets shot for making this joke again*

Haha! He thinks it’s the dream! This is actually not a bad joke.

Kazuma’s facial expressions this week…

I’m guessing she was supposed to be the one that delivers the actual dream.

Uhh…Kazuma? Why do you keep telling her to run away? She’s trapped in that magic circle, right?

Please tell me this convenient amnesia is a lie Kazuma is telling.

Thank you!

Boss character is here!

The preview makes it look like they’ll be facing some kind of machine next week. If I remember correctly, one of the previous episodes had a quest that was something like “go scout the direction that a giant robot thing is heading”. Does it have something to do with that?

Also, I’ve heard next week’s episode is the last one…I’m kinda okay with that…

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar Episode 9: Day off

You know what a show that moves slowly and has a lot of dead air needs? An episode where the main characters take a break! So much excitement! Woohoo!

The start of this episode is suggesting that we’re going to be focusing on Moguzo in this episode, which is fine, because we haven’t really learned too much about this guy since we started.

So, I guess Shihoru’s new bird-feeding obsession is an homage to that scene with her and Manato from earlier. But more importantly, this sentence is all kinds of wrong. As awkward as it sounds, “looking forward to continuing to work with you” is more correct here.

Uhh…did that aardvark thing just “meow”? Is that really the sound they make or were they too lazy to get a better sound?

While I understand that this is supposed to be nostalgic or something, it does bring up an obvious question. How exactly does Mary pay for these lodgings? Even if they’re specifically for women, the place must be nicer than the standard lodging that the main group is using, right? Did she just save up a bunch of money from her past adventures?

I can’t tell if the show is trying to ship these two together or just using Haruhiro to pull Mary into the team activities.

Wow…was my prediction last week correct? Now that they’ve avenged Manato, it’s time to avenge Mary’s former teammates?

Uhh…this is actually terrible reasoning. It’s the kind of thing I would say in this situation and YOU DON’T WANT TO LISTEN TO ME IN THIS SITUATION. That being said, it’s possible that this is an adaptation that Haruhiro has developed from the incident with Manato. Manato died when the team let their guard down, so he might be trying to prevent the same thing from happening.

Why is Haruhiro even talking about “breaking the routine”? If they can’t go to Damuro, then every place they choose will break the routine. He’s doing a very poor job of hiding the fact that he wants to go to Cyrene Mine just to help Mary face her past. His argument is invalid!

Whoa, really? Mary is surprisingly rational in this situation.

Haven’t seen her in a while…

HE MUST CHOOSE!

No Game No Life King?

I guess next week, we tackle the Cyrene Mine…sooooo more action?