I got myself early access of the new Final Fantasy 14 expansion, and have been playing way too much of that now. I can safely say that this one has, so far, knocked it out of the park. It’s much darker, grittier, and infinitely harder than the others, I can say that much. And I think to myself, “if dungeons and quests are this tough now, what will endgame content be like?”. A good Christmas present for some perhaps. Then there’s also me now at the point of begging some of these shows to end as another Christmas present. Not because I’m sick of them, but because I want to move onto something else.
Komi Can’t Communicate Episode 7
Episodes of Komi Can’t Communicate have been getting stronger as time goes by. For me the show started off on a bit of an uneasy spot, but as we got to know the storytelling more and the characters better, this show is up there now. And of course since we haven’t had it already, this week is the pool episode.
Other topics were brought up, but the pool section was in the center here. I suppose we knew an episode like this would come sooner or later, and considering it’s most definitely the kind of episode that brings schoolmates together, this is something that would benefit Komi immensely. I think a lot of things came out from this, and will help her going into when school starts again in September.
I noticed that this week’s episode was also a lot more on ‘reading the room’. Other episodes have seen it too, but this week it’s more visible. At the pool, Komi slips and scrapes her knee, meaning she can’t go in the pool anymore. Both Tadano and Najimi are able to see that as a result of this, Komi feels she has ruined everyone else’s day. We actually get a very brief montage of other people playing in the pool with her just sitting by and looking depressed. Now I don’t know if Najimi is quite ‘reading the room’ when it comes to Komi and Tadano developing a deeper chemistry, but given the behavior of both of them in this week’s episode…
It’s good to see that Tadano is being a real gentleman in this show so far. His male colleagues at the pool get their glimpses of girls in swimsuits and score them by points, but he just does not understand it. He is actively taking his time out to check up on Komi, even if it means everyone else in the class pokes at him for it…for having the audacity to speak to their beloved princess. And also something more significant: he occasionally takes a step back when he notices that Komi is able to overcome things by herself, so she doesn’t have to rely on him (or her new friends) all the time.
Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut Episode 10
There’s no way I can call this week’s Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut a filler episode, considering everything that went on this week…and Lev and Irina going out on a date is just one thing.
Watching their date in its entirety was so sweet was well. Lev carries on being the gentleman he has always been, while Irina is slowly but surely shedding her tsundere side. If we look at it from her point-of-view, Lev has been the first person who has shown genuine care for her wellbeing after her vampire village was raided and burnt to the ground. The fact that he is human has meant nothing to her whatsoever. We’re within touching distance of the final episode though, meaning something bad will probably happen…especially considering that we discover Lev has passed the test, and will be the one representing the Union in being the first human in space.
But there’s something else we get to see this week. It seems that some of the higher-ups are really pushing not to dispose of Irina, and to keep her alive for a whole new project. What exactly is I don’t know, but if it means that having to keep Laika 44 a closed-off town that the public cannot know about, then it has to be something big. More than just somewhere that trains the first men in space.
We’ve had only little tastes of faux-Soviet secrecy and conspiracy so far, and as this show is wrapping up, and Lev is heading to space, and Irina is being kept alive for reasons unknown, I’m looking forward to seeing how it’ll wrap up. I have several theories; some of which I hope will happen, while others I wish don’t.
The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 22
Time for my weekly Kukuru rant…but what else is there to say that I haven’t said already? She’s back at work, with some new vigor and drive, and still has this wedding thing to arrange.
…and the best part? She totally nails the next wedding planning meeting. And for what I think is the first time, we get to hear something about this new aquarium area. The White Sand Dome is somewhere that I think would do more things than just host wedding receptions as it looks really awesome, and something any new aquarium like Tingaara would seize on. My question now is whether Kukuru’s boss really did the right thing here. Given all the things he has said and done, was it all just a show? I said last week that he is more of a ‘tough but fair’ boss, and someone who doesn’t think Kukuru should have an advantage just because she was a part of Gama Gama. I suppose none of that really matters anymore. While I originally thought her grandfather made the bad decision in keeping her away from attendant work, I now see that putting her in a role where she can play more of a central (and potentially higher) role in running an aquarium has worked out.
But even after seeing this week’s episode, I get the feeling that this is all going to end on some kind of anticlimax, or have an ending that doesn’t really mean that much. I remember feeling like this by the time P.A Works’ other ‘working’ shows were reaching their end. Sakura Quest (a show I covered here) is a good example; the lead character leaves the town she was assigned to be a tourist trap role of, and that’s it. I can’t even predict how The Aquatope on White Sand will end even with 2 more episodes to go. Or will it just be Kukuru finally accepting responsibility for things in life and act more like an adult?
Super Cub Episode 9 & 10
I’ve decided to cover two episodes of Super Cub this week, as I want to wrap up my out-of-season show so I have space for my end of year post. Koguma has turned into a real Cub nerd now; very different from when she was the ‘girl with nothing’. Winter is really something where she lives, as snow has already arrived and the cold wind is picking up. She ropes Reiko into getting a windshield installed, like she has one. On top of that, she decides not just to get leg shields and a new shield for her helmet (to replace the goggles), but installs tire chains that Reiko gives her.
Meanwhile the chemistry between Koguma, Reiko and Shii is all getting very curious. Episode 9 sees Shii get more involved by providing the others with a wooly sweater, which they use to make coat liners, stockings and a thermos cozy out of. While in Episode 10, we get a moment where Koguma and Reiko do something extremely reckless and dangerous in a wide open area of snow, riding around without helmets (it’s more of a ‘see for yourself’ moment). It’s clear to see that Shii is trying to emulate what her two new friends are doing. She is paying more attention to her bicycle and riding about on it more…maybe with the hope of owning a Cub herself.
But here was me thinking that we’d have 12 mellowed out episodes that would be like the ones I’ve seen already. At the end of episode 10, Shii has a bad accident whilst riding, which needs the others’ attention, and possibly making Shii reevaluate her idea of having a Cub of her own. I suppose having a plot point like that is a good thing; while I wouldn’t mind having 12 mellow episodes, some viewers might see that as really dull and boring. The final two episodes might well revolve around this; will Shii join the others and get a Cub, or go back to being the little mouse she used to be?
Three pieces of classical music here; one in episode 9, the others in episode 10. And all of them pretty tough for me to discover:
- Images, Set 1, L110: Reflets dans l’eau, by Claude Debussy
- Nocturne op. 9 No. 2, by Frédéric Chopin
- 6 Consolations, S172: No. 3. Lento Placido, by Franz Liszt
One final thing, I can announce my out-of-season show for the Winter 2022 season. I missed out on The Helpful Fox Senko-san when it came out, and so now I have the chance to check it out. I know very little about it other than it’s a Dogakobo show, which means I’ll probably be getting a mixture of moe girls and slapstick comedy.
This is also my way of saying that my Winter shows are now set in stone. I’ll be writing about some other topics in the coming months as well both here on The OASG and elsewhere, so I’ll at least have something to do to keep me busy in December, January and onwards. Not just me playing the new Final Fantasy 14 expansion all day and all night…which it already has done, I’ll add.