Once again, I have to begin this week’s post with Darling in the Franxx, as I’m sure some are very quick to suddenly change their minds about Ichigo, thus proving that these waifu wars (Zero Two vs. Ichigo) are totally futile and meaningless.

With the massive mission of last week beginning in earnest, all the squads present suddenly realize that they are actually to face an entire klaxosaur army, instead of the handful they were expecting. With the Nines squad wiping out several units and Squad 13 able to hold out on their own, Hiro feels helpless once again as he has no pistil to pilot with. As a mountain-sized klaxosaur crashes into the plantation, Zero Two goes in alone and…well…I won’t spoil too much as, to be honest, this was the best episode in a long time. It not only reunites Hiro with Zero Two, but gives us a whole lot more questions not only about what the klaxosaurs are, but what the adults are really up to. Also, the best episodes seem to be when the pilots are actually in their units for the whole episode, which says something really about the script.

Why these last couple of episodes have got me so worked up, I can’t quite understand; Darling in the Franxx isn’t even that great a show. I can’t drop it now, despite the fact that I no longer care what happens to them all when it comes to the final episode in the end of June (even with the cliffhanger this week ended on). Also, it’s like all these anti-Ichigo nonsense has just evaporated into thin air; funny how some fans can spew pure hatred onto a character (and their voice actor) one week, then praise them completely for doing the right thing the next. But don’t worry, all of this ridiculousness will be forgotten when the summer season comes around, and the mob will find another fifth wheel character to dislike.

(Although I will admit the scene where Hiro and Zero Two combine to penetrate the mountain-sized klaxosaur was quite hilarious, in a facepalm kind of way)

Oh, you guys can give the thumbs up now, but this is just asking for trouble, because you just know at least one of them is going to meet a grizzly end. Considering how many shows Darling in the Franxx have borrowed from already, this is something I will be expecting in the remaining episodes to come.

I said last week that Hinamatsuri was to be a rather difficult show to review, and I still stand by that. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a comedy show that doesn’t rely on slapstick humor to get its jokes across. The humor in Hinamatsuri is subtle and fun to watch, even though a part of us feels rotten that we’re laughing at the woes of not only a homeless girl but a top student blackmailed into a bartender’s job. I know I shouldn’t take this too seriously; I guess it’s just a habit.

The focus is less on Hina and Nitta this week, and instead focuses on Anzu and Hitomi. As we see Anzu get ‘accepted’ into the city’s homeless community by finding scrap, getting loose change for it and buying the community sake, we see how Utako manages to blackmail Hitomi into the bartender job which she is surprisingly good at and eventually grows to like.

I get why a lot of people like Hinamatsuri; the format of alien girl living in modern Japanese household is not really new, but it’s a combination of script, good character design and mature (not adult) humor that makes this a very memorable show, and definitely something I look forward to every week.

I think one show I won’t get entirely is Uma Musume Pretty Derby. This is another show that we’re not meant to take seriously, and at the same time it’s a little difficult for me to find something substantial either.

The Japanese Derby is this week, and Special Week is given extra training so she can catch up with the two favorites, El Condor Pasa and Seiun Sky. Being the unluckiest horse at the academy doesn’t really help, and with moody Trainer getting annoyed with pervy Trainer’s success, although I don’t see any of them pulling off any dirty tricks to one-up each other, and because all of this is taken with lightness and no harm, it’s not as exciting to watch. Hell every time one of these horses brings up anything carrot-related, a part of me cringes inside, unsure whether these carrot references are meant to be taken seriously or not.

Moe running idol girls is the more accurate description for this show now. I don’t really expect any great story to come my way, or even some shocking finale. Special Week, Silence Suzuka, and the others whose names I always seem to forget every episode will just carry on running, carry on winning, carry on dancing and carry on looking moe. They should really keep the habit of putting their names up every time these horse girls arrive in scene, as despite them all having very unique names, they are mostly very forgettable.

This will be the last post discussing Tada-kun Does Not Fall In Love, as I have decided to drop it.

Episode 3 is narrated by the cat: Nyanko Big. In my eyes, this is slight distraction from the dull and annoying humans in the show by getting one of the more quirky characters to take center stage instead.

Teresa and Alexandra decide to help out at the coffee shop, then the whole Photography club goes to a Japanese garden so Teresa can fantasize some more about Japan and not think about her home in Luxembourg where she’s actually some important noble lady, or the grand duke’s daughter, or something along those lines….

…I’m sorry I’m talking trash about this as it genuinely is a harmless little show. I just can’t decide whether it’s the story’s fault, or the characters’, or both. The idea of the male lead Mitsuyoshi not really wanting to fall in love with anyone is not really an exciting one to watch, and makes him blend more and more into the background where he will disappear from sight. There’s is absolutely nothing outstanding about him, and all the remaining characters have their own unique character design and are more than capable of leading this show…even the cat is more interesting than this guy.

My final word on Tada-kun Does Not Fall In Love will simply be: if you are not really fussed about a show with a seriously dull male lead and several annoying secondary characters, where the least annoying one totally steals every scene she’s in, then this is quite possibly an okay show for you…(although that description does apply to a lot of romcom shows).

Finally onto the out-of-season show, and onto something I genuinely am enjoying; I don’t know why I didn’t think of doing out-of-season shows for this column sooner, to be honest.

Episode 3 of Princess Principal puts the spotlight on Beatrice, who we learn a lot more about now. Her devotion to the Princess is unwavering and convinced that Ange is only tailing Princess with the intention of killing her and replacing her for nefarious means, she follows her on a mission to recover something from a Kingdom airship…where we learn about something unique that Beatrice has: a mechanical voicebox. In the meantime, Ange has grown frustrated that Princess is deciding to stay and reunite Albion, instead of keeping her promise to run away to Casablanca with her. Of course this’ll be the main plot of the story; Ange trying to convince Princess to leave, and Princess trying to convince Ange to stick with her to rebuild Albion, which I’m sure she secretly wants…

…although I’m not really sure who is really telling the truth here, and I think that is one other thing that has drawn me to the show. I have no clue on what will really happen, and both scenarios work for me as I love all the main characters so far. I know Dorothy will get her own episode soon, just as Beatrice has.

Why did nobody tell me about this show sooner?! I know I ended up missing a lot of shows that people love with all their heart; I ended up finding out about Recovery of an MMO Junkie long after it came out, for instance…and I totally missed both Made in Abyss and last season’s A Place Further Than The Universe (perhaps both those shows will be on the list for next seasons’ out-of-season show :D). Anyway…it’s been 3 episodes in (well, 2 episodes plus one introductory one), and it’s hooked me completely. I really want to know whether Ange will take Princess to Casablanca like she wants, or whether Princess will stay, become Queen and unite Albion. As I said, I have no problem with either outcome however. This season has not been so hot for Amazon Video/HIDIVE when it comes to anime, and 2017 was a bit of a breakthrough for them, not only acquiring Princess Principal, but Land of the Lustrous, Girls’ Last Tour, and Made in Abyss: three highly-rated shows that both Crunchyroll and Netflix are kicking themselves for not getting, I’m sure. This season they have Tada-kun Does Not Fall In Love (which I’m bored with), and the new Cutey Honey show (which people are already putting down for not being faithful to the original)…hmm…

Aggretsuko has arrived this week too on Netflix, and oh my…that is one funny little show; it is one of the many recent shows I am reviewing for Japan Curiosity. I’ve also begun to notice some of these new Spring shows with Netflix licenses have been well-received too. Lost Song, The Piano Forest, Hisone and Masotan, and Fate/Extra Last Encore ends soon in Japan as well (after taking a break). I know they will begin airing Lost Song in late September, but as for the others…your guess on when they’ll arrive on Netflix is as good as mine.

The Spring cour has only just started, so how have your shows been? Do you think this anti-Ichigo stuff was nonsense too? Are you watching Tada-kun and getting frustrated with the male lead? Do I take shows too seriously sometimes? And why didn’t I watch Princess Principal sooner?!?! Feel free to air your opinions in the comments below…