I won’t say that Shikizakura exactly did well, but it did display a basic understanding of the facts I was talking about last week. To its limited credit, the show clearly knows at least some of what it needs to do, it just doesn’t do it all that well. To that end, this episode wasContinue Reading... Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 3Continue Reading...
Oct 24, 2021 • Subscribe
More like this
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 1
Well, a new season is here and despite the fact that some previous Selections are continuing (namely Scarlet Nexus and 86), it’s time to pick one of them…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 10
This episode is again a very needed beat in the story, serving as the hero’s darkest moment before turning things around at the climax, and it comes at…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 9
So, I misread things last week – the smooth talker from Black Team wasn’t the big monster; he was in the scene already. In the first couple of…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 7
So, after the big turn of last episode, it’s time for downtime! Actually, I think it is kind of the correct time for this… or at least, a…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 6
All things considered, this show can be kind of charming. True, just about anybody who’s engaged with any sort of media has seen this plot a million times…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 5
We’re back to standard form this week with a jolly beating of hard realities into Kakeru’s thick head, which oddly enough has things looking up for the show,…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 4
What the hell? So, in this 3D CGI Anime about people fighting demons by using power suits that may also be demons, we have this episode, fully 2D…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 11
Because it wouldn’t be a traditional action climax without a big twist and a moment when it looks like all hope is lost… here’s all those things I…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 8
So, for those who wanted a darker and more serious episode out of Shikizakura, we have this one And, compared to the bits earlier in the show that…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 2
“The one where we actually integrate the main character into the setting” is an important plot beat for a lot of shows, particularly ones in the Urban Fantasy…
Seasonal Selection – Shikizakura Episode 12 (End)
While by no means one of the all-time great climaxes, I will credit the ending of Shikizakura this: it’s exactly the sort of end you’d want to see…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 3
I hope you enjoy slow burn drama over any general expectation of action. Frankly, I kind of appreciate the approach… at least when there’s been a second cour…
Seasonal Selection – Sabikui Bisco Episode 3
On the whole, the show seems to stabilize here and actually tell us a comprehensible story, solving most of the issues I had with the previous week’s outings.…
Seasonal Selection – Metallic Rouge Episode 3
Let’s build the world while we let Rouge fly solo for a bit.
Seasonal Selection – KamiErabi God.app Episode 3
Well, there’s a degree to which this was inevitable. Something of a surprise it was so soon.
Seasonal Selection – Scarlet Nexus Episode 3
Oh crap, boss monster. Everyone playing both sides. The pace is awful. So, we start by finding out what weird way Naomi was going to ‘die’. Turns out,…
Seasonal Selection – Hell’s Paradise Episode 3
You do remember that the part about there being no danger is clear and total BS, right? In this episode, the stick up Sagiri’s rear kind of bites…
Seasonal Selection – Ex-Arm Episode 3
Like last week, we’ve got a live reaction video for you, after the cut. The short version is that there’s more competence shown than previously, but it’s still…
Seasonal Selection – Chainsaw Man Episode 3
Collateral Damage Man returns. So, this episode we begin with Denji and Power being lectured for their lack of teamwork and also the collateral damage they caused when…
Seasonal Selection – The Gene of AI Episode 3
No main plot to see But cool sci-fi ideas Are touched on nicely
Seasonal Selection – Shine On! Bakumatsu Bad Boys Episode 3
We get some extra development for Akira this episode, and the fake Shinsengumi actually get to show off their skills. The episode starts, though, with the resolution of…
Seasonal Selection – Management of a Novice Alchemist Episode 3
Less chill this episode, but still the cute alchemist show. Here Sarasa saves life and limb of the blue-clad girl brought to her door in pieces at the…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 6
We spend most of this episode with Spearhead, oddly enough including an extended flashback scene to when the formation was first formed, having a fun cookout together. One…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 5
So, to an extent, I was wrong. Shin’s brother got a more detailed address than I was expecting, even if, no, it wasn’t the crux of another transformation.…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 1
So, this season we’ll be taking an episode-by-episode look at 86. Because this choice was kind of last-minute, it’s not really a show I’ve researched or know anything…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 4
86 continues to impress with its humanity, but to an extent much of what was had and needed this episode was highly predictable from the last. That’s not…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 10
No Lena this week. For much of the episode, not really much talking either. This one is very much on the artistic end, trying to convey an experience…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 11
The final episode of the cour (special pending) and if you told me this was the absolute final episode of the show and anything related to 86, I…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 2
Plot 101: Introducing some more of our main story. Honestly, one thing I’m enjoying about 86 is how it’s been building up the world. In the first episode,…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 8
So, this episode is all pretty much ‘gearing up’ for what would seem to be a final confrontation. The Spearhead is down to five, and they’re being sent…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 9
The time for the great battle against Shin’s brother’s Shepherd form has come. The episode “feels” short, consisting essentially of two extremely powerful scenes rather than a lot…
Seasonal Selection – Kaiju No. 8 Episodes 3 & 4
With the pace this show is taking, I might stick to reporting in every other week. It’s a great ride, but it takes its sweet time to get…
Seasonal Selection – Scarlet Nexus Episode 10
Every side is bad, And everywhere you’re outlawed Time to change venue So, the point of this episode is to get both main groups headed to Togetsu, a…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 20 (S2E9)
Last week, the show was (apparently) preempted by a holiday broadcast, so after a break once again, we’re back with Shin and company talking about their feelings as…
Seasonal Selection – Sabikui Bisco Episode 5
We spend most of this episode on two lines: one with Milo and Bisco held captive by a bunch of kids, while on the other Pawoo rescues a…
Seasonal Selection – KamiErabi God.app Episode 6
The long-awaited debut of Goro’s Idol, Iyo, appears to be slightly posthumous.
Seasonal Selection – Hell’s Paradise Episode 7
The treeman tells it like it is this week. So, this episode is, aside from the omnipresent character scenes (which are good, and a good thing to have…
Seasonal Selection – Scarlet Nexus Episode 23
Scenes that don’t connect Like a game, leading us to Trippy Flashback Crypt So, yeah… this episode is scenes. They don’t exactly weave together, much like all the…
Seasonal Selection – Hell’s Paradise Episode 8
No Sagiri or Gabimaru today! Instead, we focus on the Emeshi girl, Nurugai, and the Executioners around her: Her assigned executioner, Tenza, and his blind mentor Shion. We…
Seasonal Selection – Scarlet Nexus Episode 8
Is that really plot? Answers in a hospital More in another Episode 8 is something of an exposition episode. It turns out shambling Nagi isn’t malicious as he…
Seasonal Selection – Ex-Arm Episode 12
Last week, and endingThis week, new bad from nowhereAt long last, silence So, after the previous episode in which Beta was destroyed and our hero flew off into…
Seasonal Selection – Metallic Rouge Episode 9
Visiting the Visitors
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 21 (S2E10)
Can you believe we’ve got more coming after this? Once again, the show has done a pretty good job of convincing you that everyone is dead and all…
Seasonal Selection – Ex-Arm Episode 10
A decent fight sceneSome needless complicationsNo impact at heart So, today’s episode of Ex-Arm had two major lines: Akira versus Beta and Alma versus Soma. Second one first.…
Seasonal Selection – Chainsaw Man Episode 7
Tastes like boozey vomit. So, Denji battles the Eternity Devil, and finds that he’s rather capable of maintaining things well. As much as he may wear down or…
Seasonal Selection – Ex-Arm Episode 2
Reaction of the episode (Paraphrased): “Blink. Blink. BLINK! Blink already, you soulless Barbie Doll!” So, for this episode, we’ve decided to record live reactions. Fair warning, it’s mostly…
Seasonal Selection – Hell’s Paradise Episode 10
Two episodes left out of this and we still largely feel like we’re in the setup.
Seasonal Selection – Sabikui Bisco Episode 8
The daring rescue goes about like daring rescues do… and look at that! Answers. So, last week I mentioned that Kurokawa (the thug governor) needed a better explanation,…
Seasonal Selection – 86 Episode 14 (S2E3)
And here we see Shin rejoining the battle. Not really anyone else; even his fellows are rather scarce this episode, but it’s time for the return of Undertaker…