When this post comes out, we’ll be about to ring in a new president and, fingers crossed, the US should be able to heal what damage has been done, even if it’s probably going to be a slow road. Out of my remit a little there though; I mean, we already have a ridiculous government here in the UK who is currently realizing the fact that leaving the EU was a terrible idea after all. All this anime on my list should keep me distracted though. And I have a couple more shows to come too, that won’t be covered here in Otaku Theater…including the new Precure show.
Yes, that’s right. I actually want to get back into this colorful and expansive franchise again. There’s been so much I’ve forgotten, that I might as well dive into the latest generation, and then go from there. I’m told that 2010’s Heartcatch and 2016’s Go! Princess are good ones. And no, I will not be watching Netflix’s take on Smile! Precure (Glitter Force). Tropical-Rouge! Precure won’t be starting until the end of February, and to be honest, it might be for the best that I don’t write about it here. For one, I’d effectively be diving blind, and for other, I don’t think the others would have the patience. I’ve got the bigger franchises to cover here after all. Maybe I’ll just keep you updated in future posts, to see if my sanity is still there.
Yuru Camp Season 2 Episode 2
As I said last week, it’s like this show had never left. This week’s episode carries on directly from last week, as each member of the Outdoor Activities Circle ring in the New Year, all in entirely different ways. While Rin has gone solo beach camping, Nadeshiko is busy delivering New Years’ cards by bicycle, and the rest (including Toba-sensei and Aoi’s sister Akari) choose to watch the year’s first sunrise on a nearby mountain. Makes me think back to how all of these people began right back in the very first Yuru Camp episode, and how different all of them were. Each subsequent episode brings all of them together. Heck, even Rin couldn’t resist acting like Nadeshiko in seeing the ocean upon arriving:
Another thing I found out while doing some research into Yuru Camp; I hadn’t noticed that everyone’s family names are named after towns in the Gifu, Mie and Aichi prefectures, in central Honshu relatively near the ocean or completely removed from it. My Japanese geography is a little rusty, so feel free to correct me on all that. But I personally find little points like this a real draw for shows, and something that can really hook a viewer in.
While everyone here is celebrating the New Year all in different ways, I know that it’s only a matter of time before they all group together again (just like in season 1’s finale) and go camping together; something that Rin was initially very hesitant to do. It’s also worth pointing out that despite loving camping so much, Rin is not an actual member of the Outdoor Activities Circle…as in not part of the club/not-club at their school (their club room is literally a tiny and narrow storeroom). While she is opening up much more to the others, I still do not see Rin becoming a legitimate member of the club/not-club; she has become far too attached to solo camping that going as a group would just weird her out a little.
This new season will bring in all sorts of new adventures, and for all we know, Rin might just relent and decide to join.
The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 2
As every first episode does, last week’s The Promised Neverland left us on a cliffhanger, and this one left us wondering who these two mysterious people are. Well, the short answer is that they’re both demons. The long answer, however, is a little more complicated, and has made Emma, Ray and the other children seriously think about the new world they now have to survive in.
Both Sonju and Mujika are indeed demons, but because they refuse to eat humans for religious reasons, they have both been marked as heretics by the others. They also reveal to Emma and Ray that demons and humans co-exist on the planet in two halves, and while it is indeed the year 2046, this agreement between the two species happened a thousand years ago. This new news only adds some more naïve faith in both of them; they at least have somewhere to go where they can live peacefully, but aren’t thinking about the journey they have to make to get there. The children are stuck in the demon half of the planet, and have to learn to travel and survive without getting caught.
Emma is someone who is taking the role of guardian much more seriously, as we see later this week. She and Ray have over a dozen young children to take care of, and thus need to be the ones to provide for them. In turn, it’s worth remembering that all of these children, Emma and Ray included, are all orphans, and haven’t had any kind of figure to look up to. Isabella failed them, and so they need to look elsewhere. Not sure how Sonju or Mujika factor into any of this, but it’s worth watching to find out. This same naïveté I spoke about might end up being something that’ll seriously affect them all; Emma has had no experience in killing a live animal, and knows she needs to for the future. It’s like she has had to suddenly grow up in a very short amount of time.
The remaining episodes of this season will see a lot more than just the children learning to survive, I’m sure. As for these two heretic demons, Sonju and Mujita, what kind of role they will play in this season is still pretty open for discussion. Well, a whole new world is open now and we, along with the children, will be discovering it.
Otherside Picnic Episode 3
Moving on to Otherside Picnic, and it’s getting better, kind of. I had few expectations of this show when I picked it, but where these two dorks are right now is quite different than when they first met.
I use the word ‘different’ a little loosely though. Sure enough, this is only episode 3, but Sorao still feels like she’s more of a hanger-on to what Toriko is doing in the Otherside, and why she is so keen to go there (to find her friend Satsuki). With the intention of going to a shed to find supplies to use in the future (guns, ammo, etc.), the two descend into the unknown once again.
I still sympathize with Sorao a lot though; she didn’t ask to be a tag along here, and just wants to be left alone. Now after being with Toriko on what is now 3 expeditions, she’s ended up with a blue right eye, very sore muscles, and an even more pessimistic view of life. Thinking back to when this show opened; Sorao was lying in a large puddle in the Otherside, like some Ophelia, with Toriko lifting her up. Maybe this will end up as some kind of reflection of what is to come in the rest of the show. I talked last week about who Ophelia really was, and how she ended up going mad. The two of them arriving at a ghost town and getting separated for mysterious reasons for a second time has led me to think that being in the Otherside is slowing picking away at Sorao’s sanity, just as Ophelia ended up slowly going mad. She already doesn’t want to be here, and is now having more mixed feelings about Toriko (which will get a lot stronger, as we already know). I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes either.
The show is told from Sorao’s point-of-view, and it’s not hard to notice that Toriko is really relishing in teasing her and picking away at her feelings. I think she sees that Sorao doesn’t want to be a part of this adventure too, and so perhaps this teasing is a way to gain her trust. Otherside Picnic has passed the 3-episode rule for me, though, since I actually want to see more of Sorao. Crazy to say, but I really like her character, even if she initially came off as a bit of a non-descript nobody.
A Lull In The Sea Episode 2
To the out-of-season show now, and I admit that I’ve been looking at too many varying reviews of A Lull In The Sea recently. I’ve noticed that a couple do actually bring up how complex the world in the show is, just as I did last week. However, some of them weren’t comfortable with this complexity, and decided to mark the show down for it. On my first run, I didn’t even make it to episode 6, and so I can’t judge, and could well end up agreeing with these folk once the show’s over.
In episode 2, Manaka clearly still hasn’t gotten Tsumugu’s actions out of her head…and neither has Hikari. I originally thought it was more of a ‘sea people vs. surface people’ thing instead of jealousy in him, but with Tsumugu being so meh about everything, it’s pretty hard to figure out what is really going on. But with that, this is one thing I especially like about Tsumugu – he is not so loud and open with his anger like Hikari is, and while he finds the sea people and the ena they have on their skin (so they can live underwater) interesting, he appears to have no real romantic interest toward Manaka…yet. I say yet, because this is way way too early. This is a 2-cour show after all.
This episode also reveals one major plot point, about how sea people who choose to live on the surface are banished from the village for good. It’s revealed here that Akari, Hikari’s older sister, is seeing a guy from the surface, which angers the elders of the village. This plot point concerning being banished from the village is something I was already aware of, and yes it really does play a big part of the story – I know that much even after only 6 episodes. I won’t say what it is just yet, for the sake of readers here who don’t know the show.
Still way too early to form big opinions of course, but how has this new season treated you so far? What is your take on this new season of The Promised Neverland? Do you think A Lull In The Sea is a dividing show? Do you think I’m mad in getting back into the Precure franchise too? Feel free to hit that like button and air your opinions in the comments below!