I’m still a little reeling over how I feel about last week’s BNA. Episode 6 could have been a chance to change my opinion – reaching the halfway point might have made me think that it’s more than meets the eye. With the proper introduction of Nazuna, and more information concerning the so-called disease that Michiru has, it could have given me something to genuinely enjoy. I am sorry to all the people who did enjoy the show though; I really do wish that I could find that little something that hooked people in. I’ll be talking some more later on all of that, plus coverage of episode 7, but in the meantime…
Something pretty cool happens in this week’s Adachi & Shimamura, and no time like the present, although the slow burn is still entertaining to watch. No Assault Lily: Bouquet this week though; this is because of a delay in the broadcast of a special program by the cast…apparently. So anyway, the silly yuri action will be back next week.
Tonikawa: Over The Moon For You Episode 7
I’ll start with this week’s Tonikawa then. Oh my, this week was such a sweet episode, and gave me more of an idea how the both of them work so well as a newlywed couple. Of course, Chitose has to come on in and try (poorly) to break them up. It’s pretty sad now, and it’s just turned into a bit of a comedy act of its own. More on her later though, as I want to delve deeper into this week’s scenario.
Nasa and Tsukasa are still on their way to meet his parents; they not only are looking for their approval, but they are also looking for a guarantor to get a bigger place…so Tsukasa can get a shelving unit for her entire movie collection. The first half was set at a service station, where the two stopped on their way to Nara Prefecture. Some people might see this week’s episode as a bit of a filler, or some kind of prelude to when we get to meet Nasa’s parents next week, but I still thought this week had a lot of charm to it. Most of that charm came in the tiny little things that cropped up here and there, that exposed the both of them, and made them look like an actual couple, instead of what we’ve seen in past episode where Nasa is still in some kind of shock that he has married someone.
I thought it was pretty cute how the two are alike in one thing: how passionate they can be in certain things. At the service station, Tsukasa gets a little eager in getting Nasa in trying more exotic food at the station, as opposed to some fast food chain. And as they arrive in Kyoto, Nasa is more than eager to show her all the historical sights, when all she wants to go to are local bakeries and the Manga Museum.
All the while, Chitose decided to follow them and try to get them to have a ‘Narita divorce’; never heard of that phrase before. But even with Chitose getting angrier and angrier, Nasa refuses to budge, and this just makes him even more of a catch. Chitose has lived such a sheltered and spoilt life that she can’t really understand what normal everyday culture is like…and thus is able to understand why her precious onee-sama decided to suddenly marry this one guy.
We’ll know the real reason soon enough, although this week points back to when Tsukasa saved Nasa’s life two years previous, and so that may as well have been the catalyst to all of this. Tonikawa is, deep down, a comedy show, but I’m still extremely curious to know more about Tsukasa’s backstory, as we have been shown next to nothing so far. But all these tiny little things that have cropped up in the show here and there have been so fun to watch. In this week alone, we see Nasa…rapping; it’s more something you have to see yourself, as there’s no way I can describe how ridiculous it is. Plus I thought it was a nice touch to see some anime studios are adding little pointers on how important wearing a mask is. Now I’m so suddenly curious how lime udon actually tastes like.
Adachi & Shimamura Episode 6
As each episode goes by, I am warming more and more to the slow burn. We’ve now officially reached the halfway stage, and the five episodes before this one have just felt like both the two of them are contemplating what they think of the other. Here in episode 6, some considerable progress is made.
Since I’m not exactly sure what to call this, I’ll keep on calling it a ‘date/not date’, and so this date/not date, and the buildup to it, is what dominates this episode. We see this all from Adachi’s point-of-view, and all the what if’s that she is thinking of.
“What if she takes this the wrong way?” “What if she doesn’t like the present I gave her?” “What if I tell her how I really feel and she rejects me?”
Pretty normal for anyone going on a first date, but considering this is a date/not date, and considering a good bunch of the show so far has been through Adachi’s eyes, we never really know what Shimamura thinks. I suppose that aspect alone makes the show more enticing. Adachi has ‘lovesick lesbian’ practically stamped on her forehead, but Shimamura remains, to this point, pretty closed off. Maybe the reason for this is going back to when she got close to someone in elementary school who didn’t return her loyalty, and is thus afraid to get too close to anyone else. Maybe Shimamura is closing herself off like this for the sake of both of them. Or maybe she really does realize how Adachi feels, and is just feigning obliviousness because she in turn did not know who Adachi really felt.
The suspense here is killing me, and I love it. Now that Adachi has taken this step and come out relatively unscathed, it’s left for us to ponder what’ll happen next. But as well as that, all the little things here made this week’s episode especially good. Her decision to wear her Chinese dress work uniform to the date/not date was pretty sweet: it was an outfit Shimamura said she looked cute in. This as well as the strange present Shimamura got Adachi: a boomerang, of all things…
BNA – Brand New Animal Episode 7
Having watched these 6 episodes of BNA and not really enjoying any of them, I was genuinely hoping that things would pick up for me, and that my opinion would change. The show is already known for having a lot of political themes, but here in episode 7, those themes are turned right up.
Here we discover that Anima City relies on the financial aid of Sylvasta Pharmaceuticals, leaving them pretty much at their mercy. Michiru is still annoyed that Nazuna manipulated her in episode 6, and the Church is gaining more and more exposure in the city. This goes at odds with Sylvasta, who are looking to modernize the city; religious sects, as they see it, have no place in a modern and thriving place like Anima City.
This is yet another episode where terrorists try to attack again; this is starting to get a bit tiresome, to be honest. As I mentioned, the political themes really turn up here, with a combined mess of religion, modernization and the general public of Anima City torn in who’s right and who’s wrong. In the end, the Mayor decides not to give the Church residency, sparking them to put out the message to the public about how closer they are to the working class of Anima City (allegedly), and how politicians really don’t care. With things really heating up on both sides of the Atlantic in real life, this might have been the last thing I wanted to see. Toxic and self-righteous populism has swept across the West leaving all of us torn on who’s right and who’s wrong. Now I have no problems with a show like BNA bringing politics in, but I think that these same political messages ultimately clash with the frustration I have with politics in real life. Sounds like a bit of a ridiculous reason to not hate this show, I know, but to be honest, that’s the best I can do.
It sucks that I’m not enjoying BNA as much as I want to, but I suppose that is just the way it has turned out; we can’t all like every single show after all. And so I pose a odd question to you folks: what shows that came out this year that you really didn’t enjoy? What have been the stand-out things you disliked? Do you think you would have enjoyed these shows on a second watch? Feel free to hit that like button and air your opinions in the comments below!