But I won’t say it was a chore. There are some seasons that just fly past, and seasons like this that feel like they don’t want to end. Of course, all anime seasons end. And all good shows must also come to an end. Good shows like Little Witch Academia.
Chariot has made up with both Akko and Croix, and everyone is happy…well I was actually hoping that the show would end in episode 24, but it had to stretch on for one more. Makes sense though as the great hole concerning the divide between magic and the muggles was still hanging around, and that divide was closed in this episode (albeit in a rather contrived way). I realise that I have spoiled a lot of this show, given the fact that it will be available for everyone to watch on Netflix on June 30. (well, the first 13 episodes anyway).
My advice? Take what I have written about the show and make your own mind up, as while I have talked about it at great length, there’s still details I didn’t get to touch on, so I urge you to watch this show…please…
Little Witch Academia has been a real pleasure to watch! There’s only ever been one other show I’ve done for OASG that has made me appreciate anime so much (Sound! Euphonium). Netflix have managed to bag a good license, and a quality show like this will put their place in anime streaming firmly higher up on the chart…certainly not with the likes of Crunchyroll, but it’ll silence the skeptics and the naysayers who believe they aren’t doing anyone any favours by stamping “Netflix” on shows they have licenses for.
I will be completely honest with you; I am rather happy to see Saekano Flat end, as it wasn’t quite what I had hoped it would be. I loved the first season in that it cemented the idea that the lead girl, Megumi, could both be ‘invisible’ and be best girl. Of course there were things that I was expecting to see when I began: the game being completed, Utaha graduating, Tomoya and Megumi growing closer, the other girls growing more jealous…it was just that this second season didn’t have something that the first season had, and that was constant consistency.
I didn’t like how, halfway through, the show decided to use the two-months-later act, and the epic flashback towards the end was totally unnecessary (they could have shown Utaha’s and Eriri’s decision to leave the circle in real-time, instead of in a flashback, and it would have looked better).
I will give the show credit, in that it shows us a Tomoya that acknowledges all of his major flaws, as opposed to the first season, where he deserved all the insults that were dealt to him. It also shows us a more mature Megumi as well; while the creatives in the circle are stuck in their own bubble doing their part for the game, Megumi becomes very eager to play a bigger role in the group (instead of just being the girl who the game is being based on). Before she was pictured as a highly unremarkable girl in Tomoya’s class, but now she has found an interest; the final episode shows us that she is interested in coding herself, possibly proving to Tomoya that he isn’t as key to the circle as he thinks he is.
Sakura Quest is a 2-cour show, so it’ll carry on into the summer. Events in the show, however, have been rather hit-and-miss. We had time to highlight the 5 girls (I had totally forgotten that Sanae actually had her time to shine in the wood-carving episodes), and we see that Yoshino is the most boring, despite being full of spunk. It’s this episode where her spunk is put to the test.
With the documentary crew still in town trying to egg the Tourist Board on, and the rock band show up with their masses of fans…Manoyama’s own attractions pale in comparison, and it’s the day after when the Tourist Board (and the town) realise that the documentary, the concert, and the masses of people who showed up means absolutely nothing in the long run; if people aren’t going to constantly want to come back, why even bother doing what they are doing?
We are left with the mini-story continuing as the episode ends, as Yoshino questions whether the 6 months she has held her post as Queen has been worth it. The second-half will bring us into the autumn and winter months, where tourism in a country town will be at its lowest point.
Haibane Renmei is certainly one of the most thought-provoking shows I have ever watched, and after 15 years it remains a cult classic. The final episode reveals to us Reki’s ‘true name’ and what it actually means…well it actually has two meanings, and both apply to her.
- “Run Over” – It is implied at the end of this episode that, in a past life of Reki, that she was either run over by a train, or committed suicide; the latter makes more sense in how she became Sin-bound, though.
- “Stepping Stone” – Her job in the walled town was a caretaker in Old Home, watching over the Young Feathers (Haibane children) that lived there. “Stepping Stone” is seen as caring for the new-born Haibane and giving them the start they needed.
The events in this episode were presented in a very metaphorical way; most of it is set in and around Reki’s studio, which she was turned into her own room of despair. We see that she has spent the seven years she has been here going through the nightmares she frequently has, desperate to remember her dream. It’s left only to Rakka to help her realise that her time wasn’t all for nothing.
But what did I miss this season? What shows should I have chosen instead? Well, I only stuck to the shows I chose for OASG this season, and didn’t really have much of a chance to catch anything else really. I’m sure that season 2 of Attack on Titan went down very well; hearing that a third season is coming too will please more than a lot of people. As for My Hero Academia?…that’s actually a show I originally chose to avoid, but I am suddenly rather curious about it now that season 2 is halfway in. I did get the chance to catch Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale at my local cinema, but I guess you could say that it was more of a case of seeing what the fuss was about in the franchise. I have no regrets in my final verdict of Sword Art Online, however.
The public (ie. you guys reading this) spoke a month or so ago, and you have chosen Squid Girl as my classic/out-of-season show for the Summer. Haven’t seen it at all, but I know it’s a comedy sketch show by Diomedea, a studio that has had a lot of ups and downs…while they’ve made great shows like Kancolle and Girlish Number, they are also responsible for last seasons’ Fuuka and the truly dire Mayoiga. I understand that the Squid Girl franchise was the one that put them on the map though. This is almost apt as Splatoon 2 comes out towards the end of July, and I plan to get a Nintendo Switch for it, being the Splatoon fan that I am.
…and that was the Spring season. It left me dropping a show (something I often do for shows I’m not reviewing, but not for shows I am)…and to all those who thought I should’ve stuck with Eromanga sensei until the end, I say…