The saga of moving home continues. If people had told me before that it would fill me with all sorts of emotions, then I’d probably end up still in a house share but I know you didn’t come here to read about my whining…
First piece of news is that I learned this week that Netflix have acquired the rights for Hi-Score Girl. This’ll mean that it won’t likely see light in the West for a while. This also means that I have had to find an alternative show to watch, and thus I have.
Asobi Asobase is the comedy show that I have chosen for this season, just as Hinamatsuri was for Spring. This one, however, is more of a light gag show instead of something that runs on a singular story. It revolves around three girls who form a ‘pastimes’ club at school, where they play old-fashioned Japanese games. Kasumi plays the intellectual type, but is very bad at games and English. Olivia is Caucasian, but was born and raised in Japan, meaning Japanese is her mother tongue, however she chooses to feign her ethnicity by pretending to be an American transfer student and speaking in broken Japanese. Hanako is a rich girl but a complete airhead, and believes everything Olivia tells her. On paper, this sounds rather dull, and to be frank, there are some places where one would think that this would be better off being a short show. However, I did find a lot of the gags in the opening episodes very amusing and ultimately I didn’t really have any issues with its length, as each episode ended up flying past. It’s also interesting to note that the writers are not afraid to break the fourth wall in this show either.
One favorite moment of mine is the scene where Kasumi randomly asks Olivia for something Americans would casually say, and thus Olivia goes on about how Americans beg for chocolate every day, which is not totally wrong. The American OASG members here are welcome to correct me on that.
Episode 2 of Asobi Asobase goes in a slightly different direction…but then this is what I’d expect from a light gag show.
With only 3 people, they need student council authorization to get the club going, although we are still not really shown what the true purpose of the club is aside from just playing old-fashioned games and Collectible Card Games. I’m actually a bit happy to see a fictional CCG that Hanako is a major fan of crop up here. I used to play Magic: The Gathering a lot at college; not so much anymore though, I’ve since switched to the online card game Hearthstone, and have forgotten most of the Magic rules anyway. Asobi Asobase has actually made me reaffirm my love for slice-of-life comedy shows. They were something I usually ended up watching a lot, back when they were a dime-a-dozen. The gags that crop up frequently here are laugh-out-loud stuff, and the even more frequent reaction shots are even more hilarious…even more so than the ones in Hinamatsuri last season.
Of course I want to see Hi-Score Girl, but I can happily wait until Netflix release that (although I’d be reviewing it for my other blog instead…sorry…)
Oh lord, Harukana Receive, you might actually be the show everyone underestimated this season…
I actually thought that this revenge match Haruka called for against high school champs Narumi and Ayasa would be an ongoing story, but they have decided to get it wrapped up in episode 2…I presume because they want to get more into the story of how Haruka got into beach volleyball and how she managed to talk her cousin into getting back into it. This week, Kanata teaches her the basics, and soon enough Haruka learns how and why Kanata stopped playing.
The yuri has already proven to be very strong in this show; stronger than I thought. Despite them being cousins, it’s obvious how much Kanata envies Haruka’s height, bosom and figure. So far it doesn’t appear that Haruka feels the same way, and that she is only being this kindhearted because she wants to look out for her vulnerable cousin. As well as this, we notice how much Ayasa cares for her volleyball partner Narumi, and how she doesn’t want her to come to any harm. By the end of the show, Ayasa accepts their defeat, but it’s clear to see that she’s after blood now; Kanata went and made her girlfriend cry.
I should also point out that we have also seen no men in this show so far…not a single one. Not even Haruka & Kanata’s grandfather, who always seems to be out doing something for the town council, or out night fishing, or anything else that doesn’t require his presence at the house.
Moving onto that other sports show I’m watching this season, episode 2 of Hanebado! gave us some drama and let us all know that Nagisa is not really the jerk we all initially saw her as; just someone who is extremely passionate about badminton, and can’t seem to understand why she is unable to get any better, despite putting in so much practice. Episode 3 picks off where we left off last week…
…and oh my god, this show has just reached a higher level. We finally learn the real reasons why Ayano is so adamant in quitting badminton: her mother, and she has indeed been portrayed as a real piece of human garbage in this anime so far. As a kindergartner, the mother drills badminton into Ayano as if she was possessed, and then when she loses one game, she packs her stuff and leaves…only for Ayano to learn years later that she has found a new protege/daughter replacement. Social media has been going absolutely nuts over this, and have formulated their own theories on why the mother would really do this, but what I did was actually research this via the manga, and the real reason why she left is more disgusting than I initially thought. Won’t spoil it though, as I’m sure it’ll definitely crop up at some point. The writers will want some kind of reconciliation in this show, but they still can’t justify parents abandoning their children for a petty thing such as this…and Anitwitter will have a hernia if they try.
A million points go to Elena though, for seeing that Ayano shouldn’t quit badminton. Elena knows that Ayano should instead separate her original love for badminton from the PTSD she got from her mother leaving home and her competitors from other schools bullying her (one of which just arrives unannounced at the club this week to do nothing else but gloat). Ayano can use this time in this badminton club to find her love again and face her demons head-on, instead of trying to run away to other school clubs, and I think it’s great that Elena saw this straightaway.
Okay so I already have quite a bit to say about Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight, although HIDIVE have been a little difficult in terms of releasing an official English translation. The show was released on Thursday June 12th, yet their English translation was not made available until a couple of days later. I have absolutely no idea on why they would do this, since this has not really been an issue for a lot of the past simulcasts they release.
I had a lot of high hopes for the show, and its theme leans more towards how The Idolm@ster treated its idols than how Love Live! does in theirs. To those who are unfamiliar, The Idolm@ster (both the original show and Cinderella Girls) gave the girls in the talent agency a lot of drama, with scenarios that exist for real-life idols, like rejected applications, anorexia, exhaustion, corrupt management, and false tabloid reporting. While the girls in Revue Starlight are part of a prestigious music academy and not forced to live up to public expectations like idols are, the idea of constantly being in the spotlight is still the same.
I’ll say this now: even after only one episode, this show has got to be one of the most pretentious things I’ve seen in a long time; we’re talking Kunihiko Ikuhara-level pretense. I thought I’d be okay with the backstory; two girls Karen and Hikari make a promise to be big stars together, but when they move away from each other, their promise is shattered…until Hikari suddenly shows up at Karen’s music academy. Not an original story, but watchable nonetheless. However, this show is (so far) something that The Idolm@ster never was: all style and no substance. In addition to this, despite being heavily laden with drama, The Idolm@ster was happy to add in humor; this is something that Revue Starlight doesn’t appear to want to do. The underground troupe’s mystery in this show makes this more evident as well; they give off the impression that they are some ultra secretive and serious society that only the most elite of elites can even have the hope of being a part of. None of the girls in Revue Starlight are especially memorable either, even the two leads. So far, Karen is just an annoying ball of fluff, while Hikari is just as cold-hearted as you can get. And as for the remaining girls…well…I’ve already forgotten all their names. I want to see good things in this show, but I’m not 100% sold on the theater troupe itself. If this show had less pretense and more interesting drama, then Revue Starlight might be watchable for me, but I really think that it’s going to continue this trend for the rest of the season.
This is a little depressing because I notice how many people are really loving what they see here, mostly praising all the theatrics put on display by the girls. Am I not seeing something they are? Please, someone tell me, because I really really want to know.
Oh, and did I also mention that HIDIVE didn’t even bother to translate the songs featured in this show?
Episode 2 of Serial Experiments Lain now, and it appears to be at this point where things take a more surreal turn. Lain has a new computer set-up now, and her interest in the Wired is increasing by the day, leading her to become more detached from school and real life.
It emerges that she wasn’t the only one who got an email from Chisa; several more kids from her class did too, leading them to believe that it was all just one sick prank. Later, some of her classmates tell her they saw someone who looked just like Lain at a nearby underground club. To prove they were mistaken, Lain is talked into going with them that night, where she encounters someone under the influence of a strange new drug.
As I said previously, this is the first time I am actually watching this show, despite it being a timeless cult classic. It definitely gives off more of a horror theme than a thriller so far. In this episode alone, we notice that Lain is being stalked by a strange man in a suit, as well as having frightening hallucinations of her former classmate. I’m so far very curious on how this show will continue and end.
If you’re watching Harukana Receive, I’m curious to know what you think, and whether it has impressed you so far. I’m also curious to know what you think of Revue Starlight if you’re watching that too. Do you think it’s pretentious as well? Do you think it’s in danger of collapsing under its own pomposity? Feel free to air your opinions on them, and anything else you’re watching this season, in the comments below…