I have everything planned for my extremely low-key Christmas. With family, and some unhealthy food, and a little alcohol, some Netflix, some gaming, and of course some anime. Wait a minute…that’s usually what I do on any day, right? Well, this week I will have a little fewer shows to watch. Azur Lane won’t be coming back until March; why is unknown, but whether I’ll even care to return to it is another question. I also completed my out-of-season show last week, with Chito and Yuuri from Girls’ Last Tour having a rather ambiguous ending…meaning a second season won’t be coming. So just three shows to watch, and I’ll start with the show that is actually ending this week.
Houkago Saikoro Club Episode 12
All of us were worried about poor Miki last week, when it dawned on her that she doesn’t really have any direction in life, like her new friends all do. Then again, as we have watched these four girls all play cool board/card games, we also noticed a bit of a shift of main protagonist. The show began with the incredibly shy Miki starting high school and getting lost in a park in Kyoto with new student Aya. The first episode also introduced us to a very stern and uptight Midori who, as we learn in following weeks, wanted to change her social life.
Sorry Midori, but you never got the chance to confess. Maybe in the second year…
In this final episode, the first year of high school ends, and everyone makes plans on either what they want to do on their spring break, or what they want to do starting their second year. Midori receives some constructive feedback about her game, when Emilia drops the bombshell that she has been working on a game herself. We also learn that Aya seems to want to follow in her father’s footsteps and have a career involving animals. As for Miki? Well, her troubles spill over into this final episode, when she begins to worry that the four of them will end up separated and into different classes.
After a long walk around Kyoto, Miki ends up buying Toddles-Bobbles, a card game designed for younger children to help their memory skills. It turns interesting as she begins to take cards out, and identify characters on the cards with the people she has met over the last year.
I made the hypothesis that this show would present the games as just a gimmick, and I think I was right. I did end up making a list of all the games featured here, and my total came to 82, 15 of which were actually played. There were also some others, but they were labelled in Japanese-only, so I was unable to identify them. This show didn’t make me geek out over the games in the end sadly, and I just know that the games featured will likely be forgotten by the average anime fan in 6 months time. A shame, since some of these games are very good, both creatively and mechanically. This show’s focus was on the characters, not the games; that may be just like what the original manga is like, but since I haven’t read it, I can’t answer that.
I also found interesting how Lidenfilms chose to end the show on Miki’s initial depression and reclusive behavior. It makes it the main topic of the final episode, and a catalyst (of sorts) to the formation of their school club…which is a reason for us to think that this will actually get a second season. I would be surprised if it did though, because I think that it doesn’t need one. The show has gone by so quickly, and I think that we weren’t really given that much of an opportunity to absorb everything. Regardless of whether you came to Houkago Saikoro Club for the characters, or you came to geek over the games, it just feels like we, as the viewe,r weren’t given time to catch all that we wanted. Sure enough, we learned to love Miki, and sure enough there were over 80 games in the show; maybe it’s just me, but watching these 12 episodes made me want just a little more. Not anything like a second season, but just a little more time for us to have a more solid ending, or to be able to get absorbed into these ‘analog games’, instead of them just being a gimmick.
Oh, but someone finally bought something from the shop in this final episode. After 12 episodes, that place has just been a room full of un-played games, and now Manager-san has some actual customers. I was also secretly a little sad that they didn’t play The Witcher Adventure Game, considering how The Witcher has only just started this weekend on Netflix.
We Never Learn s2 Episode 12
This season has 13 episodes like its predecessor, and again I have chosen to stop covering it at this point, so I will give my final opinion of this franchise here. I believe that I severely underestimated We Never Learn. As I watched season 1, I cringed at a lot of things because it was just a lot of harem comedy jokes that I had seen in so many shows before. The fact that the character design was commendable, and the inner story behind all the jokes was a solid one, were both things that didn’t completely register then. It felt like all those jokes simply overwrote them. So I dived into season 2 thinking the same thing, and while the harem jokes never really went away, I noticed a bit of a change in how noticeable the story and character design were. It felt as if…I don’t know…they were both things that mattered more.
The short arc towards the end where Fumino’s decision to study astronomy (because of her late mother) was explained in greater detail was a wonderful one, and really gave the Nariyuki x Fumino ship a lot of ammunition. Once again, the Asumi and Kirisu ships are both firmly at the back, but when we see them both, we chuckle…especially when we think of the possibility of the uptight and highly logical Kirisu-sensei pining for her well-meaning but completely oblivious student.
Well…back to the school festival. I guess the fans got what they wanted: Kirisu-sensei in a magical girl outfit and dancing on stage. Oh yeah, and Fumino finally kissing Nariyuki. A lot of plot stuff happened in this episode, but it still felt a little rushed. This harem has now effectively become a one-horse race, with Fumino easily winning. Uruka is going to Australia, Asumi hasn’t had enough screen time to be a real contender…even if she’s a very likable girl, and Kirisu-sensei would rather be in a relationship with someone her own age. I guess this kiss is a good header for whatever this show’s final episode will give us. Personally, I think it’ll rush everything that has ever happened in the We Never Learn franchise and condense it into 25 minutes. If that happens, then it’ll be a real shame, because so much has happened, and we won’t really have much time to absorb all that went on.
It’s likely that I won’t be returning to this genre of show, but that’s okay with me. This second season of We Never Learn was still an enjoyable watch, and I’m glad I decided to return to it. Even more impressive is the fact that this is the first proper franchise for both of the animation studios involved (Studio Silver and Arvo Animation).
Kandagawa Jet Girls Episode 10
While I won’t be covering We Never Learn anymore, I have decided to continue watching Kandagawa Jet Girls, even it means me adding it to my list of shows to watch in the Winter 2020 season. Why is simple: it’s such a silly and ridiculous show (regardless of whether you watch it censored or uncensored – I watch it censored, by the way), that there’s no way I can stop now.
Kiriko tells the club that they need a newer power unit for the Orcano if they have any chance of beating the others in the Kandagawa Cup. And this all just so happens to be as summer break is about to begin. The student council won’t give them the funds because…well…they haven’t even accomplished anything spectacular yet, and so Rin thinks:
“Misa-chan, I know! Let’s get part-time jobs!!”
I pictured Rin and Misa being waitresses or something, but catching the typically non-social Kiriko be behind the counter of a convenience store was pretty funny. Even some of the other duos decided to join in too, with Jennifer and Emily firmly attached to Rin, and Manatsu and Yuzu getting some real satisfaction in watching Misa squirm as a magical waitress giving love spells to customers.
It all pays off, like it normally does and this episode also gives us a better idea on who the real antagonist is…like we didn’t really know already. Even the other duos, with all their little quirks, seem to have had enough of Kaguya and Kuromaru dominating the sport and leaving every other team to dust. Kind of reminiscent of a lot of sports, where one or two teams dominate while the others in the league are left to pick up the pieces.
My next posts will be about what were my most liked shows of 2019, and what I’m looking forward to watching in the new year. I began this year with the plan of not catching anything outstanding, and unless you count a silly ecchi watersports show as outstanding, I think I hit the mark. I just wonder which show in the Winter 2020 season will be the show I’ll complain the most about…
How was this Fall season for you? I never caught any of the big franchises, but I know that some of them will get new seasons and/or movies. Great if you are existing fans, but when will it never end? Eh, I’m moaning too much – I hope this season was okay for you. Feel free to hit that like button and air your opinions in the comments below!