We’re now in the final stretch really. And while I won’t be doing it this time, I can guess a lot of people are starting to think what they’ll be picking out for the Summer season. I already touched on a couple of shows that are coming soon in last week’s Otaku Theater, but what would I recommend to you all? Well I would definitely say you should watch the Love Live! Sunshine!! spin-off Project Yohane: Sunshine in the Mirror; even if it does turn out to be awful, it would at least be funny to see Yohane in her element.

Adding some context to this, the Love Live! team initially announced this on April Fool’s Day last year, with pretty much everyone thinking it was one big joke…and I thought it was one too. But then the team decided “Hey, why not?”, and you know the rest. Considering how successful all of the Love Live! anime shows and movies have been, I know the fans will definitely tune into this.

There’ll be no new Oshi no Ko coverage this week, as we got a ‘special episode’ because of the delay at the studio, which was effectively a catch-up to what had happened so far. And a lot did happen indeed. In the remaining episodes that are left, I think us anime-only folk are very keenly interested in how this season will end given what we’ve seen so far. Meanwhile though, some other shows of mine have had new episodes…

Skip and Loafer Episode 9

This week’s episode of Skip and Loafer was split into two parts that covered Mitsumi’s end of summer break and return to school. However they both kept on the one theme of how to handle long-standing friendships and ones that are brand new. We’ve had a lot of coverage of Mitsumi living the city girl, with only flashbacks of her middle school years in her hometown in the country. Well this is the first time she flies out there since heading to Tokyo, and instead of bombarding us with loud noises and fun times, we get a much more muted and subdued atmosphere. Makes me think of how some shows use silence to convey mood and setting. This was something that Trigger used heavily for both of their Gridman Universe shows. We only get the sound of the tide coming in, the wind breezing and cicada noises. This is Mitsumi’s wind-down time, and the sound direction reflects that perfectly. Even her munching on a watermelon slice is amplified to generate mood.

Skip and Loafer
Skip and Loafer

The long-term relationships Mitsumi has with the people back home remain solid, and so what about the new ones she has developed in Tokyo? Well Ririka’s words cut deep in Shima, and so upon returning to school he has kept his distance from everyone – something that Mitsumi is able to pick up on straightaway. This is important to note because it shows how tight the two of them have become now; they are able to read each other quicker than they can read themselves. And while Mitsumi doesn’t know the full details about who Ririka is to Shima, she knows that something is bothering him.

And as the show reaches the home stretch, we get something that is pretty typical in a school show ending: the school festival. And now a lot of pressure is being put on the most popular first-year in school to play the leading role in the class play; something he is totally dreading. We’ve been teased a little of what kind of child actor life he had, and so what kind of bad memories is he going to get from all this? Will Mitsumi read the room and tell him to put his foot down and say no, or will she tell him to face his demons?

Skip and Loafer

The little we have seen of Ririka shows to me that she has become a poor influence on him, even if they used to be childhood friends. Egashira has already taken a look at her and called her trashy (in part because of the mystery rumors surrounding her). But I know P.A Works will want to end this show on a high; the same level of high that they have had in every episode so far. So it’s just what exactly they will do is what is bugging me.

Tonikawa: Over The Moon For You Season 2 Episode 9

Tonikawa has always been a show that talks about the tiny little things that a new husband and wife go through. And while the two of them met under very extraordinary circumstances, that doesn’t mean that the two of them are a perfect match for each other. Nasa tells Tsukasa how cute she is every chance he can get, but now he is starting to think whether he deserves someone like her or not. Even with the lore pieces we get this week (which pretty much confirms Tsukasa is a Princess Kaguya-like character), Nasa thinks that because she is so perfect in his eyes, why is he so lucky?

A rather profound topic in this week’s episode, and a rather strange one too…especially given that this is more of a filler to what this season will likely end on: the camping trip that Tokiko has randomly organized for them without their decision.

Tonikawa: Over The Moon For You
Tonikawa: Over The Moon For You

But going back to Nasa’s new feelings, I think it’s important to remember that Tsukasa has a goofy side to her too. Technology is something that she stumbles with still, as we saw when the TV remote stopped working and when she forgets the password on her phone. But we also know that this is a side that she is comfortable with showing Nasa; if it were anyone else, then she would die of embarrassment. So Nasa may see her as the perfect wife, but I think it’s good that partners notice little goofy things like this and still love them for it regardless.

One other example of this is when Yanagi pays a visit, asking for some very bizarre advice from the two of them. We discover that she and the teacher she met and is dating are planning on getting married. But then she brings up a date the two had, when they went to get beef bowls. Taniguchi apparently likes to pile on red ginger because he saw it in a manga, which is something that Yanagi finds very strange. I think this all acted more as a comic filler though, but it was still a good one. You won’t catch me piling red ginger on a beef bowl anytime soon.

Tonikawa: Over The Moon For You

Lycoris Recoil Episode 9

Well with the cliffhanger we had at the end of episode 8, a few things have come out now when it comes to Chisato, and the ones that aren’t confirmed are all ones I can pretty much surmise. Thanks to Shinji’s right-hand, Chisato’s artificial heart has been permanently damaged, thereby making her lifespan that much shorter. This in turn could explain the more carefree attitude she has when it comes to her job as a Lycoris agent. She knows that the artificial heart she was given wasn’t a permanent fix, and so decides to live the best life she can, because what else can she lose?

Shinji made sure to let Mika know that he was the one who forced his hand when it came to dealing with Chisato, and so my wild conspiracy theory of her and Majima being some kind of bizarre social experiment has been thrown out the window I think, as a new one has taken its place: What if Shinji already has a replacement heart, and is using it as some kind of leverage to get Chisato to kill for him again? In their eyes, they want her to come crawling back begging for it. It’s a plausible theory, and something that would definitely suit this show.

Lycoris Recoil

The Final Fantasy XIII game series had a plot device similar to this: chosen individuals were given a mission (or Focus) to complete. They weren’t given any real clues to what it was or how long they had, but completing it would mean they would become immortal. The Alan Institute clearly haven’t given up on Chisato, as they see how much potential she has. And so this little stunt of damaging her artificial heart definitely feels more like her feeling ‘forced’ to complete the mission that the Institute has given her. And what about Majima? What was his mission? Does he even know what it is?

And while we see DA finally taking the threat that Majima is putting on them seriously, the focus of episode 9 was definitely more on Chisato, and what kind of person she was before being reassigned to LycoReco, and before meeting Takina. Them heading out on a little night out cements the relationship they have now, and we see here that Chisato is trying to make the best of what little time she now has left. But we all know that both the Institute and Majima are going to make her come crawling back to becoming crazy action girl again.

Lycoris Recoil

You know, even if all the theories I have about the end-story of Lycoris Recoil turn out not to be true, and were all things that randomly came out of my head, I’m still glad that they came out. It’s already confirmed that the franchise will be expanding in the future, but haven’t said whether it will be a movie or a second season. And given as I don’t know what the ending of this season will be like, any theory is on the table for me. The same applies for Oshi no Ko, which comes back next week. Now that Akane is doing her best to emulate Ai, what will Aqua do next? Will he stop his crazy revenge mission, or double down on it?