One thing stood out for me in
this episode, and that’s the Titan encounters. Especially Spider-Titan, because
we haven’t seen one like him before (and now I lament that ‘spider-titan’
doesn’t sync up that well with anything relevant). Regular Titans
are bad enough, but they’re not exactly fast, and it’s easier to dodge feet or
hands than a Titan who moves on all fours, i.e. faster than usual. And has his
head level with you, for easier chomping. At least, Spider-Titan is worse out
here, where you can’t just swing up onto a roof to get away. Let’s just say, I
wouldn’t blame Sasha if she can’t stop looking over her shoulder for a little
while. I know I probably would be. As for when the female Titan stops right on
front of Armin; yeah, I’d probably shit my pants if I was in that situation.
And maybe I’m reading too much
into this (like with ‘only the best candidates can join the Military Police’)
but was someone expecting the Titans
to go after Eren? Because otherwise I
can’t think of a reason why they’d give everyone conflicting information on
where in the formation Eren is.
Also, I discovered this
the other day, and it’s too awesome not to share. No wonder everyone holds Commander Pixis in such high regard!
Stella Women’s Academy [ep.5 – A Remote Island Game Burns Hot]
So I thought this was going to be
a beach episode, then they jumped straight into a match once they got to the
island, in their usual gear no less, and it looked like they were going to make
the beach part incidental. Then the second half happened and it was clear this
match was only happening on an island for the same reason most beach episodes
happen in the first place – to have the female characters (AKA in this case,
the entire cast) running around in swimsuits. Yeah, I’m not a fan of anime beach
episodes, or fanservice in general. When I originally wrote this it had a
mini-rant about that, but this isn’t really the place for it. It wasn’t that
bad here, all things considered, and if that sort of thing works for you, more
power to ya, it just doesn’t do anything for me.
And it’s not like this episode
was terrible. It was fun to watch the other team use some unconventional
tactics. It was also nice to see that Yura’s getting better and gaining more
confidence, and there’s fodder for future episodes in how it’s also making her get
so wrapped up in the match she ends up a little too in the zone.
Wait, the next episode is called
‘Operation Soak’? I don’t like where this is going.
Genshiken [ep.5 – Go Next!]
Poor Ohno. Nothing was going her
way this time(“Changed my mind, I’m going with the guys.” “But…but…cosplay!
You!...My Madoka!). And poor Hato. Not only does he keep running into hiccups
while cross-dressing, but apparently Kousaka is just that much more amazing at
it. That said, this was last episode, but I kinda wonder why he didn’t do
something like take off his wig while waiting in line. I’ve never cross-dressed,
or had to wait in line for a public bathroom while doing so, so maybe I’m just
not thinking of a reason not to make it clear that yes, he’s a dude while in
that situation. Or maybe it’s all just part of the commentary the show seems to
be making on cross-dressing and
gender binaries. As for the bathroom incident this episode, sure, he’s
cross-dressing as a girl who cross-dresses as a boy (supposedly, see: rest of
this sentence), so I suppose in a sense that brings him full circle and he’s a
guy again, but yeah, I’m sure everyone who
watched Infinite Stratos was fooled when ‘Charles’ first appeared.
For a second (and by ‘second’ I
mean ‘episode 4’) there it looked like Madarame, and stuff like his crush on
Kasukabe, weren’t going to get as much screentime as I thought, but now it
looks like they are. Or at least it’s going to be a major recurring thing. Because
what, three-quarters of this episode was Hato fretting about how Madarame has a
crush on Kasukabe, who already has a boyfriend, and how he’s not sure what to
do about it. And yeah, Madarame is definitely a ‘bottom.’ Because whether it’s
Angela or he somehow does manage to end up with Kasukabe, in either case she’d
totally be the one in charge.
And what, no resolution to what
Mean Girl’s so determined to keep from Ohno? Eh, she wasn’t even at ComiFest
(ComiFes? Comifes? However you’re supposed to spell it); it’ll probably come up
later.
The Eccentric Family [ep.5 – The Friday Fellows]
Now that we’ve met the Friday
Fellows, my only question is what’s the point of this society? So far it just
seems like an excuse for a bunch of rich old guys (and Benten) to hang out. The
only discernible thing is their year-end tanuki hot-pot, and for that matter,
what’s the purpose of that? The only explanation so far is *affects his best
Tevye voice* tradition. Oh, and one of them is the one who saved Yasaburo’s
mother some years back. I’m sure that won’t prove significant later…
That’s the thing with this
series. It keeps introducing a lot of things – a mysterious woman with
supernatural powers, the rivalry between the Shimogamo and Ebisugawa families,
how Yasaburo’s father intervened in a similar feud between tengu families, a
long-standing society with no discernible purpose so far except to eat a tanuki
once a year – but there isn’t a clear picture of what’s going on. Which is
probably the point. At least, it’s working for me. I’m a little confused, but
I’m also curious to see how everything will, hopefully, fit together.
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