つり球 / おか
In all, I think this week is kind of lackluster. While there are some really, really good episodes (Space Brothers), a lot of this week’s episode just seem meh; a lot of them actually just feel like it is an intermission episode between two arcs/plot (Jormungand, Eureka 7 AO) so that while it had time to deal with other parts of the show that it is not usually talked about before, it either end up not executing it that good or just because the element that made me like the show in the first place absent or less prominent (Koko not being the main part of this week’s Jormungand) . Also since May 13 was Mother’s Day, three of this week’s shows incorporated mothers into the episode, either as a main device (Smile Precure) or just a small mention (Fate/Zero), and in general, I’m pretty surprised on how directors are able to take real life event into their shows:
Space Brothers – Episode 6 (15 points): I actually teared up a bit while watching this. As I have stated on Anime Power Rankings, this episode was really inspiring, something that I presume that the anime is set out to do. The idea of luck was tossed around quite often in this episode, of how Mutta believed that he is really unlucky, yet at the same time, unknown to him, a judge looked at his situation and went out of his way to help Mutta. This judge not only know him when he was little, but was further set on supporting him because of the judge’s similar past. Heck, this is one huge coincidence (you just can’t believe how lucky Mutta actually is), bordering on fantasy (there is no way that all these things would align to each other so nicely), yet, because of the solid foundation the show had laid before in showing all the details and all the connection to real life events, this whole coincidence just looks like a small ray of hope in the depressing reality of Mutta, and maybe also to some of us who are not in the best of situation. Just seeing how Mutta is supported in the most critical moments is just really touching.
Fate/Zero – Episode 19 (14 points): O Fate/Zero, I don’t know if it was planned or not, that is just such a depressing way to celebrate Mother’s Day. This is the second episode about Kiritsugu’s past, with this episode detailing the time he was under Natalia’s care. While the first was also solid, as we saw how the various mission have made Kiritsugu more and more stoic, and to have a short sequence where it hinted to form his current ideology and strategy, the best part of the episode is in the second half of the episode, where Kiritsugu communicates to Natalia over radio. Within that chat/small talk, they discussed of how they see each other as family and talks as if everything is fine (while both and most likely the audience also know that there is no way that the plane can land safely without releasing the bees also, creating more victims). In short, it does a good job of showing how Kiritsugu became more and more broken. (Source: Reverse Thieves)
Tsuritama - Episode 5 (12 points): The animation is lively, the characters are quirky (and sometimes a bit annoying), and there is a good amount of character development in every episode, this show is growing on me.
Smile Precure – Episode 15 (12 points): As if I have forgotten about Mother’s Day, Smile Precure did a whole episode about Mother’s Day, showing how important it is to give graititue to your mother (;A; I’m sorry that I only called my mom and not get her something for Mother’s Day). Aside from seeing how Miyuki fails at helping her mom and laughing at her, it is also interesting to see what the other four Precure’s made for their mom, showing their personality and their relationship between their family. Also, the Precure’s were relative collaborative in their attacks, and YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Akane/Precure Sunny for stepping up to help Miyuki and to stop Woflrun’s from dissing Miyuki. O and next episode preview, what is this…
Saki: Achiga-hen – Episode of Side-A – Episode 5 (11 points): Call me biased, but the reason that I forcefully made Saki to be so high in rankings is because of it finally being what I like about it: the characters either on the mahjong table playing or discussing about the game. Finally. The characters are still blend, they are all still rather weak, but at least they are playing the darn game and not just going on about chessy lame stuff. This finally feels so much more like a Saki sequel; now all is missing is the over-the-top playing style or abilities (comeon, I’m not asking a character of Saki caliber, but someone cool like Hisa).
Nazo no Kanojo X – Episode 6 (11 points): Similar to last week, while there are nothing really to write home about, it just a simple cute story between the two, with each episode of them finding a new aspect that they don’t know/haven’t tried with each other, investigates it and finally understand each other more and grow deeper in their relationship. The Untold Story of Altair & Vega talks more in detail about the episode.
Sakamichi no Apollon - Episode 5 (9 points): Yes, this is the same show that I ranked it as #1 last week. This episode is mediocre. Suddenly Kaoru’s mother is introduced (relating to Mother’s Day) and this episode talks of how Karou went to see his mom. In the end, more questions were raised than answered, leaving us hanging there for answers (and not as a cliffhanger, but as a “we-might-talk-about-this-later” type of hanging), and while we do see a temporary solution to the tension between Karou and Ritsuko and see the tension between Yurika and Junichi, the whole episode just feels off from the usual plot.
Natsuiro Kiseki – Episode 6 (8 points): Upon dropping Upotte!!, I decided to watch Natsuiro Kiseki, a show that have been getting solid rankings on APR and a show that I was on the verge of watching in at the start of the season (but forgot about it as the season went by), and to my surprise, it is pretty good. Yeah, it is the same old “4 cute girls doing cute things” setting, it does a decent job in viewing the more serious aspects of the friendship between the 4 and about themselves, not to mention the distinct personality that each characters brings into the friendship and the show.
Rest:
Sankarea (6), Hyouka, Tasogare, Mouretsu (5) [filler episode + QUALITY animation] Eureka 7 AO, Zombie desu (3), Jormungand (1), Accel World (0)
Dropped: Medaka Box – Episode 6: The show is just too shounen, with most of the times spent on the action. The characters are one dimensional, and therefore, I don’t really care about them and their battles. For people who enjoy One Piece, Naruto, Bleach they might like it. I guess I just don’t like shounen manga/anime in general, putting it as on-hold (not really dropped, but since I rarely go back to my on-hold list, it is good as dropped).