Week 10. This is when I take a look at what interests me in the Fall 2019 season, and what shows I want to watch for this column. I have already whittled them down to a small list, and so it’s just a matter of waiting on which streaming service gets what. The big franchises (My Hero Academia, Sword Art Online, Chihayafuru, Food Wars, Psycho-Pass) will all likely go to Crunchyroll or Funimation; I would be very surprised if Netflix decides to put a higher bid in and bag any of them. Saying that, there are some that we already know are going to Netflix (Hi-Score Girl season 2, Beastars), but as you may know, I’ll be heading towards the lesser-known shows instead. Let’s get back on the current season shall we?
Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru? Episode 10
I should just see it as a good thing that Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru? is ending at long last. This week was the Christmas episode; of course it was…
There are Christmas parties, and Christmas raffles, and Christmas prizes…what more could you want from a Christmas episode of a slice-of-life show? Well perhaps now I’m 10 weeks into this show, I’ve just gotten extremely tired of seeing a lot of muscles. I genuinely can’t understand why people go for them.
Later on though, we are teased with some romance – some Akemi x Machio romance, but it all ends up becoming some kind of anticlimax, which is ultimately unsurprising, as the two only signed up for an event, and Akemi only wanted to lust over Machio’s pecs outside of gym hours. These tiny little pieces of humor are the only things that keep me from calling Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru? absolute garbage. They can be predictable, they can be annoying sometimes, but they still keep us amused, and this is meant to be a comedy show after all.
Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files Episode 10
With all that is going on in Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files, one begins to think when Gray gets to kiss El-Melloi. Soon, I’m sure. I mean we all want that to happen. We all want poor little Gray to be happy, despite the fact that we still know very little about who or what she is. I guess one good thing that happens in this show is that El-Melloi finally wakes up from his episode-long nap.
Some more progress takes place in this extremely long arc that takes place on this Rail Zeppelin train. And having seen all the little things that take place (especially in this week’s episode), I can’t help but think that all of the things that happened in episodes 1-6 (ie. the little cases before El-Melloi and Gray board the train) happened for a reason, and those reasons have particular values in whatever happens in this arc on the train.
Does this mean that I’m going to have to rewatch this show, to catch up on all the things that I missed? Well…I’m not hating this show at all. I can complain about how this is really a show for the hardcore Fate fans, but I’m really loving how stylish this show looks, and I don’t hate this murder-mystery format either. It’s actually rather refreshing compared to all the other Fate shows that have all been predominantly action-fantasy.
O Maidens In Your Savage Season Episode 10
There are often times when you just wish that O Maidens In Your Savage Season would turn into a soap opera already. We’ve reached episode 10 now, and these 5 girls are finally beginning to turn into something more.
This week’s episode tries to tell 5 different stories all at once, and it has actually managed to pull it off by intertwining all of them together somehow. Continuing directly from what happens at the end of episode 9, we see Hittori get in Milo-sensei’s car, to head off to a love hotel. Meanwhile on the subway, Izumi reacts to Niina’s advances, and Momoko lets Sugimoto know how she really feels about him. Throughout all of this, Kazusa is buying lacy underwear online.
These 5 stories tell us a lot more on who these 5 girls really are. We were skeptical on whether Niina was genuinely a good person, and we still are. If she’s willing to make sexual advances towards Izumi, all the while telling him that his relationship with Kazusa won’t last, then are we really meant to think that she has the best interests for the people around her? Or is she as selfish as we think? Well, her resolve is tested shortly after Momoko rejects Sugimoto when he shows his true colors, and she tells Niina that she might be in love with her. I initially thought that Momoko’s hatred for Sugimoto was just out of embarrassment, but it is this week where we learn that it is much more than that, and that she finds all men in general repulsive and filthy.
Is this the episode where Momoko and Hittori become legitimate characters for the first time, as opposed to Kazusa, Niina and Rika taking charge? As the show has gone on, we have seen Hittori struggle with what seems like a silly little crush on one of her teachers, but here we see that Milo-sensei’s own feelings for another teacher at school (and someone his own age) has rattled her a lot, and has made her believe that she has a chance in catching his heart.
Leading to this, we notice how the girls’ opinion of men is immediately reflected in the male company they keep. Izumi and Amagi are both good guys who are just a little horny (like boys their age normally are), Milo-sensei is an awkward guy in an awkward position who just wants to find someone his own age, and Saegusa and Sugimoto are either absolute creeps, or absolute douchebags, or both. Momoko’s crush is something we all saw a mile away, but it’s only when she actually admits it when we’re taken aback a little…just as Niina is. And her own response is just as interesting. As she admits to Momoko on the phone, Niina appears to look down on the people around her. Not quite a noblesse oblige attitude, but more like a holier-than-thou one instead. As I have said long ago, she is the catalyst to all of this. By effectively sitting back and watching Kazusa, Momoko, Rika and Hittori really struggle and suffer with their hormones seems to give her a mild sense of satisfaction, as she feels as if she is above them. It has only taken Izumi’s rejection and Momoko’s confession to bring her down to their level…and I will admit something: it’s rather satisfying to watch.
Oh, and we’re also treated with a bit of a bombshell at the end of this week’s episode, which I didn’t see coming at all. More on what happens next in next week’s show.
Astra Lost in Space Episode 10
And so…these 9 kids aren’t from Earth after all…and instead come from a planet called Astra, which throws Polina off a bit.
These kids are almost home, and we’re treated with this week’s bombshell in Astra Lost in Space. But this is more of a filler/lore episode, as the nine explain what they were taught about their planet’s geography and history, and compare it with Polina’s knowledge of Earth’s geography and history. Ugh, this was a complicated episode, but we finally figure out who the traitor in all of them are, and it is precisely who we thought it was.
(hint: it’s not aries)
It’s funny though: how we’ve watched so many filler episodes, and watched Ulgar take his anger out on Luca only to discover killing him would achieve nothing, and watched Yunhua come out of her shell, and watched Zack and Quitterie get ‘engaged’, and watched them rescue Polina, and watched them react to the news that they’re all clones…and in all of this some of us had probably forgotten that there was a traitor among them at all.
Next week will see the rest of them decide what to do with them now they’ve figured out who it is, and the final episode will likely see them arrive home. I am keenly interested in the events that’ll happen when they get back in touch with civilization.
Have you made a decision on what you want to watch over the Fall season? Will you be turning to the big franchises like most people I know will be? Feel free to hit that like button and air your opinions in the comments below!
Also, check out my Symphogear Challenge, where I watch the entire franchise and try not to lose my mind. Help me…