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86 Special (episode 12)

Crunchyroll is listing the special episode of 86 as episode 12, but whatever you call it, the episode – titled “Coquelicots Blooming Across the Battlefield” – is just a standard recap episode. It is narrated by Lena and shown entirely from her viewpoint, with the only new shot being the one above, which is shownContinue reading “86 Special (episode 12)”

Saga of Tanya the Evil: Operation Desert Pasta

Rating: 3.5 (of 5) Saturday June 19th, 2021 was a big day in the U.S. for fans of the Saga of Tanya the Evil franchise. News broke that a second season of the series had been greenlit, with principal cast and staff from the first series returning. As icing on the cake, a completely-unexpected “interstitialContinue reading “Saga of Tanya the Evil: Operation Desert Pasta”

86 episode 11 (season finale)

Rating: 5 (of 5) First off, for those who have been reading each week, my apologies for this being up later than normal. Unexpected schedule changes over the weekend left me with no time to write about this episode until the following Monday evening. Whereas last episode was almost entirely anime-original, this episode was aboutContinue reading “86 episode 11 (season finale)”

So I’m a Spider, So What? episode 23

Rating: 3.5 In a surprising move (from the viewpoint of a novel reader), the series’ penultimate episode spends nearly its entire run focusing on the confrontation between Shun’s group and Hugo’s forces – and really, mostly Sophia, since Hugo does not last terribly long before Sophia must step in once again. This is definitely anContinue reading “So I’m a Spider, So What? episode 23”

86 episode 10

Rating: 4.5 (of 5) As a big fan of the novels, this episode surprised me a bit. Its title suggested that it would include a certain scene featuring Lena which forms the first epilogue of the first novel, but the “Thank You” turns out to be in reference to something else. What we get insteadContinue reading “86 episode 10”

So I’m a Spider, So What? episode 22

Rating: 3.5 As expected, Kumoko’s timeline returns to center stage for this episode, with the human timeline only getting the last couple of minutes as it shows a bit more of Shun stepping in to fight Hugo. As feared, the wonky use of CG also continues unabated, with more than just the purely action componentsContinue reading “So I’m a Spider, So What? episode 22”

86 episode 9

Rating: 5 (of 5) One sign of a great episode is when you can watch it twice in the same afternoon and it loses none of its impact on a second viewing. That was my reaction to episode 9, which mostly completes the adaptation of the first novel. It brings the series’ first story arcContinue reading “86 episode 9”

So I’m a Spider, So What? episode 21

Rating: 3 As the title of this episode – “So, I’m Not in This One, Am I?” – suggests, the titular character does not appear at all in this episode. (Or at least not in spider form in the spider-side timeline, anyway.) White – who’s been all but outright said to be the human-side versionContinue reading “So I’m a Spider, So What? episode 21”

86 episode 8

Rating: 4.5 (of 5) Storytelling in all forms has a habit of exaggerating the evil actions of an enemy or an oppressor just to make sure that the audience has no sympathy for them. Much more rarely, though, the full extent of the evil is just a logical extension of what has already been established.Continue reading “86 episode 8”

So I’m A Spider, So What? Episode 20

Rating: 4.5 To answer the question in the episode title – “this isn’t my fault, is it?” – yes, Kumoko, this one is most definitely your fault, both directly and indirectly. However, it’s not entirely your fault, as you also unwittingly played into the plans of a country that was just looking for a triggerContinue reading “So I’m A Spider, So What? Episode 20”