I think this counts as the first week where all three simulcast shows I’m watching haven’t really lived up to the expectations I was hoping for this week.
We’ll begin with Asobi Asobase, since out of all of them, that one performed the best as I never seem to get that tired of the silly gags that crop up here. This week, Olivia introduces a bacteria-collecting mobage to the group similar to Pokemon Go, only to find out that because of her lingering B.O. problem, her very body is an absolute goldmine. Later on, the three of them make a Sugoroku game with dares representing points on the board. These all range from making animal noises to slapping each other hard on the backside.
I have to tell you that Hanako’s voice actress, Hina Kino, has been a major draw to me enjoying this show, as while Olivia has gotten away with being adorable and Kasumi has gotten away with being scheming at times, Hanako has succeeded in being both at the same time. She is the rich girl who is largely oblivious to the big wide world, and so having two crazy girls like Olivia and Kasumi show her that there’s more to life than just staying in a big mansion is actually very entertaining. I’m sure that whatever role this voice actress will get next, she will single-handedly control with ease.
Hanebado! next, and it makes me just so very tired now.
This week’s episode has just been so random and it feels so out-of-place that I’m almost losing the plot, with 3 different stories going on at the same time, at least. On one side we have Connie randomly appearing at the school, showing us that she wasn’t trying to be a jerk before and just wanted some acceptance, while on another we have Nagisa worrying the heck out of Riko by overexerting herself so she can be ready for her future match against Ayano which has the potential of causing her some serious physical injury, and yet on another side we have some unexplained soppy drama between the lesser members of the team – does Yu have some kind of crush on one of them? Do we even care?
I will be honest here; the characters in Hanebado! have frustrated the heck out of me. All of them have. I would not have minded this show taking a lighter note at all, and I think this decision for the adaptation to take a much darker tone has gotten a mixed reception. Half of us are really enjoying Ayano alienating herself, while the other half only wish that the entire team just chilled the hell out. I suppose in comparison, it would be me wishing that Sound! Euphonium was as light-hearted and comedic as its fellow KyoAni works, so how is this different? Well tackling PTSD in a high-school student is something that should definitely not be taken lightly, and Lidenfilms have taken a big risk by doing this. I thought that I would be sold on it, but sadly I’m not. In my view, the sooner this show is over, the better, as I am getting very very tired of this unnecessary drama.
Over in Harukana Receive this week, Marissa’s introduction has been in the form of a filler episode.
As Claire and Emily’s mother arrives in town with the plan to train Haruka and Kanata, we don’t really get much in the way of story progression, aside from the beach volleyball club finally becoming official (as opposed to just being a branch of the main school volleyball team), all of them celebrating New Year and some heartfelt moment where Kanata manages to catch Narumi before she flies back home to Kyoto with her partner Ayasa. I’m not 100% sure that this scene should have even made it in this this week’s episode, and instead think that this scene could have been extended and put off for a future episode, as this is sort of an integral part to the story, and I don’t think it was handled so well this week.
The years have definitely changed Narumi, as you can no longer compare the younger her to the current her, who act like two totally different people. She still has some kind of gripe with Kanata, and it’s something that both Haruka and Ayasa have been desperate to get out of her. As we now come two-thirds into the show, it is curious to see what kind of outcome the ending will have. Some kind of tournament is guaranteed, but who will be facing who?
Unfortunately for me, I am beginning to lose track of what has happened so far in Serial Experiments Lain, meaning I’ve had to rewatch a couple of episodes. While episode 7 introduced the notion that Lain’s family aren’t who they appear to be and that there is more than one Lain operating in the city, episode 8 enhances this with two factors:
- Lain’s parents and older sister no longer want to communicate with her, with her older sister now seemingly in a world all her own.
- A version of Lain who seems to revel in chaos is starting to invade Lain’s school life when rumors concerning Arisu’s relations with a male teacher are allegedly spread by Lain.
Seemingly powerless to stop this chaotic version of Lain, all she can do is “delete” the event of the rumor, but that’s no guarantee that chaos Lain won’t come back to make her real world more nightmarish.
Serial Experiments Lain is the kind of show that demands your full attention, and that’s no more obvious than in this episode. I also believe that as the show wraps up, myself as the viewer will need to carry on paying attention to every little detail so I don’t have to go back and rewatch episodes like I had to this week.
In the meantime, you guys chose The Tatami Galaxy for me to watch in the Fall season, along with whatever shows I end up choosing; Bloom Into You is a definite pick, but every other show is still in-the-air.
Are you tired of Hanebado yet? Is Harukana Receive losing its touch? Will Asobi Asobase ever lose its touch? Feel free to air your opinions in the comments below…