Big shout-out goes to music director Takuro Iga this episode, because his expert choice of ominous electronic sounds in the scene where Aqua passes Ruby in the hallway contributes mightily to the impact of the supremely dirty look Aqua gives Ruby. (The fact that the hallway was dimly-lit at the time and happens as Aqua steps out of a well-lit room heightens the effect of the scene, too.) I’d be hard-pressed to think of a better non-comical expression of pure loathing in any recent anime title.
That’s hardly the only interesting and/or impactful scene this episode, too. Crows have been seen in previous episodes this season, and even last season they were observed at Ai’s grave site, so the mysterious girl/god(?) from last season’s last arc making an appearance at Ai’s grave isn’t a big surprise, but this time she appears to Aqua instead. Cannily, the series doesn’t let us see that interaction yet, but it likely will flash back to it at some point, and I’m intrigued to see what she said to Aqua.
Kana, meanwhile, gets a couple of lighter-hearted scenes which bookend Aqua’s darker one, scenes which just further emphasize why she’s long been my favorite character in the series. The way her reaction to learning of Aqua and Akane breaking up interrupted the musical and visual flow was both perfect and perfectly her, as was the sassy way she took to calling Aqua “Ah-kun” – and no, I don’t buy for a minute that Aqua is tolerating it only because being friendly with Kana is more convenient for his plans (though this probably is true). On the back end, Ruby’s flippantly cruel statement about Kana’s highest level of education just reinforces that the interesting translation choice of “crazy cat lady” last episode was exactly in line with Ruby’s normal behavior.
But Ruby also has one other particularly pointed scene: the one where she tells Gotunda that Aqua revealing their secret has made her realize that she can’t trust anyone. That Gotunda saw in her shades of dark-starred Ai raises further speculation about what, exactly, the “real Ai” was that she showed him. That’s also an important scene because only after that vision does Gotunda start pushing for Ruby to play the idol role in “The 15 Year Lie,” so the casting choice makes too much storytelling and emotional sense even if it’s not as practical.
And as the main “behind the scenes” storyline of the episode shows, even artistic efforts in show biz still have to be practical money-makers. A risky subject matter makes the proposal a hard sell to investors, which makes it even more important that the movie’s star has her own star power to help attract attention. And with first choice Yura Katayose being unavailable due to a sudden case of death (thus confirming that her conversation with “Miki” last episode was actually about this project) – though she’s only known to be MIA at this point! – the focus for the role now shifts to Frill, at least from Kaburagi’s viewpoint. That she’s a movie/TV acting star was brought up in her season 2 appearances, so the choice makes business sense, but like Yura, Frill also isn’t content to get a lead role just because of star power even though that’s apparently the way it’s normally done in Japan. But rather than spout off to the wrong guy and get herself killed, Frill instead draws in her two main potential competitors for the role and arranges an impromptu audition among only the three of them to satisfy whether she really deserves the role on merit or not.
Frankly, this seems so self-centered that Akane is fully justified in complaining about it, but I suspect that Frill isn’t being totally honest about her motivations here. After all, she’s seen the script and knows what the role in question is and may have her own particular feelings about it which go beyond just acting. And she did see Akane play the Ai-like personality in Love Now and does know by now who Ruby’s mother was. Whether or not her choosing “liar” as the theme for the audition feeds into that is debatable, as the whole theme of the movie is about lying. But at least her “audition” does establish why she’s an in-demand actor. So what will Ruby come up with to display that theme?
I also like the nice touch about how tired and dejected Akane looks here. We’ve seen her anxious and depressed before, but not like this.
While the industry insider parts early on were a bit on the slow side, the episode still delivered plenty enough fun and punch by the end to be quite satisfying.
SIDE NOTE: While preparing this review, I went back and rewatched much of s1 episode 1. It’s really pretty remarkable how many future characters make cameos in the crowd shots following Ai’s death or in the final shots where Ruby and Ai are teenagers. Worth checking out if you haven’t rewatched it in a long time.
Last episode, Frieren’s team, Genau, and Methode figured out that they were dealing with a demon who used four swords. This episode, that demon and his three subordinates get their formal introductions and we get our first sustained tastes of action in a while. We also, of course, get lots of head-patting.
If there were any doubts about why Serie passed Methode to first-class mage status, this episode should put them to rest. Granted, she’s shown before that she’s capable in combat, analysis, and general versatility, but that’s not her true strength. She can apparently cow even the greatest elf mages with her passion for hugging and petting the heads of adorable things, and even millennia-old elves still count in her mind. (She’s also sharp enough to perfectly understand how to make Frieren putty in her hands.) In one of the season’s funniest scenes so far, she even has Serie cowering behind Genau over this. Given the connection between what can be conceived and how magic works, the female demon may well learn the hard way that Methode was the worst possible match-up for her.
I thought last episode that the pairing of Genau and Stark worked in a couple of scenes, so Stark staying behind with him is no surprise. They may have different personalities but have more in common than either cares to admit: they both have lost their home villages to demons, are both capable melee-range combatants, and neither sees himself as being as good a person as they actually are. And, of course, both now have a regular female traveling companion who nags on them on their eating habits. The first stage of their fight against Revolte fully emphasizes that dynamic motion in action scenes that the series is known for, with a particular focus on the lithe movements of Revolte. Frieren has had some really competition this season on action spectacles, but what’s been shown of this fight so far shows that the series can still hold its own. I’m expecting exciting things from this battle next episode.
Fern’s newest match-up is a little more concerning, though not because Fern’s in particular danger; Frieren absolutely would not be giving Fern that confident “you go girl!” smile if she thought there was any doubt Fern could lose. No, the concern is more about this becoming a mere repetition of Fern’s epic one-on-one against Lugner. This may be a needless concern, as the series has not lacked for variety in its battles to this point and so can reasonably be expected to come up with something special here, too, but it’s at least a thought.
The one other interesting point here is something Revolte mentions to the young-looking demon: the off-hand reference to another demon who is actually studying humanity in what sounds like a scholarly sense. This has proven a flag to manga fans, who say that’s a reference to the next story arc after this one, But is that a tease for later this season or an eventual season 3? Whichever is the case, next episode should be one of the series’ most action-packed to date.
This episode earns a top-tier rating primarily because of how much it accomplishes and how seamlessly it does so. With just a single episode, it explains older mysteries, delves satisfyingly into the fallout from last episode’s big revelation, lays the groundwork for its final big plot push, and even includes some flashbacks to never-before-hinted-at scenes involving Ai, and it handles it all with a remarkable bit of delicacy in its character writing despite how potentially sensational a lot of this is. Honestly, I’m not sure I could have asked for more from this episode, as it even gave me some things I wasn’t expecting.
On the fallout front, this was the confrontation with Ruby which had to happen. Looked at coldly and pragmatically, revealing the truth about their mother now is absolutely to their benefit. Sure, the barter that buries Kana’s scandal protects both Kana and B Komachi in general, but being outed as Ai’s children brings both of them even greater attention at pivotal times in their careers and allows them (especially Ruby) to play the “following in Mama’s footsteps and trying to realize her dream” cards. Logically, Ruby understands that, which is probably why she chose to reveal in the later press conference the detail about how Ai (truthfully) said, as she lay dying, that she foresaw Ruby becoming an idol; you’d have to be immensely cynical for something like that to not resonate, and even probably-jaded reporters are shown reacting to it. Indeed, the way that endears the twins to people washes over the more negative comments poking at Ai.
Of course, this has never been about logic for Ruby, and Aqua clearly knows that. He’s been protective of Ruby up to this point, and ironically, believes he’s still doing that here as he makes zero effort to blunt his statements or give them an emotional appeal. It’s all part of him actively trying to push her away, to prepare her for the eventuality of him not being around anymore, the same as he did for Akane last episode. To Ruby’s credit, she at least gets in one good blow: that Aqua has stopped being Ai’s fan. We – and I think she as well – know that’s the farthest thing from the truth, but frankly, Aqua deserved to have that thrown in his face. Aqua also tries to brush off Misaki the same way, but her reaction suggests that she has at least some sense of what Aqua’s doing; after all, he’s played a long game with calculated reveals before.
All of this makes Aqua’s later scene with Kana even more interesting. Though Kana may not be as intuitive as Akane, she’s still sharp enough to reasonably figure out that the timing of the reveal wasn’t a coincidence. She also realizes that he’s up to something beyond just protecting her; she’s been around him plenty enough now to be aware of his devious nature. Unlike with Akane and Ruby, though, Aqua doesn’t actively try to push Kana away, too. Maybe he realizes he doesn’t need to because Kana is naturally more independent, but it really does seem like she’s the one Aqua doesn’t want to completely break ties with. Akane may have provided Aqua better emotional support, but even when he was taking their relationship seriously there was still some sense of him just going through expected motions, like he was just doing what he thought a high school boy with a girlfriend should do. Kana would have been a far more dynamic and fun pairing, and there’s a definite sense he’s still her fan.
Ichigo was also upset, but Aqua doesn’t need any convincing beyond revealing that he knows who his father is to get Ichigo on board. After all, he’s the one person Aqua can see eye-to-eye with on end goals. What’s a bit disturbing here is how long Aqua has been working out the plan; little Aqua with those hateful eyes is both sad and unsettling. Director Gotanda figures into this, too, thus explaining one odd reference at the end of season 2: the file on his computer labeled “The 15 Year Lie.” That’s here clarified to be a movie proposal that he and Aqua had worked on based in part on a never-released documentary Ai had once pestered Gotanda into making for the original B Komachi. A key part of that effort was the one truly candid scene Ai ever filmed, one which she insisted he’d never be able to use because she was dropping all the lies. That gives the episode its most striking scene: the only time we’ve ever scene Ai’s eye stars go dark. What secrets are behind that smile, and will we ever find out?
I also wanted to see Kaburagi’s reaction to the big reveal, but instead we get something just as interesting: his reaction to Aqua and Gotanda pitching The 15 Year Lie. He was close enough to Ai himself that I have to think his reaction – the way his eyes widened at one point when Aqua insisted that they could back their story up and the way he said he thought Aqua was taking both him and Gotanda for a ride – means that he has at least some inkling of Aqua’s real intent here. Kaburagi may well have a personal interest in knowing the truth, and even if not, could he really pass on such a juicy opportunity even if it may carry some risk?
Lastly, we have this episode’s other big reveal: who the young woman seen dying at the feet of Hikaru Kamiki at the end of season 2 actually was:
Apparently that scene was a flash-forward to this point in the story, as she’s an actress capable of carrying a movie at the box office. Every suggestion here points to her being the one Kaburagi was referring to as the actress who would play the role of Ai (being 25 is hardly a barrier, since even older actors have played teenagers before in live-action movies), though I can’t shake the sense that this may be some misdirection on the series’ part, since she never does mention the role she’ll be taking on. Turns out that her drinking partner is Hikaru (Kamiki is his family name, so the nickname “Miki” naturally follows), though I did see that one coming. The question here is still why Hikaru decided to off her. Was it because he knew she’d be slated to play Ai, or is he just that much of a sociopath? His proclamation at the end certainly suggests that whatever he felt about Ai has become twisted over the years.
Even without Yura, the casting for The 15 Year Lie is going to bring out a lot of familiar faces, including ones who have only been on the fringe before (like Frill). Seeing how this all plays out – what kind of trap Aqua is setting, and the kinds of tensions will be in play given what some of the participants know about the situation should be quite lively indeed.
After taking a week off, Frieren is back, but it’s not back to what has been the status quo for the season – i.e., shorter vignettes about various experiences Frieren and her companions have while continuing to travel north. No, even if I hadn’t seen the upcoming episodes advertised as a story arc, that would have been evident within this episode’s first couple of minutes. There’s a threat lingering out on the Northern Plateau, one that’s enough of a challenge that even Frieren’s group might not be able to tackle it alone when called into service. (Apparently one consequence of being a first-class mage is that Serie can order you around.) And that provides a golden opportunity to bring back a couple more characters from the First Class Mage Exam arc.
To be specific, the cuteness-obsessed Methode appears again, and this time she’s working with Genau, the administrator of the first exam of the first-class mage exam, in a “pair the rookie with the veteran” situation. It’s a sensible pairing in both pragmatic and storytelling senses; Genau seems to be a combat-focused mage who has either suppressed or discarded outward displays of emotion but clearly still cares more than his words indicate, while Methode is a much more empathetic individual who is a jack-of-all-trades magically but seems to specialize in analysis. (And she still has the running joke about how cute she finds elves to provide the humor angle.)
That results in the episode mostly being an analytical one, as first Genau and Methode, later joined by Frieren and crew, try to reconstruct what happened at the village and what foe or foes they’re up against. But that’s both fine and perfectly in line with the series’ normal modus operandi, and the way it’s done is still interesting. That an autopsy spell actually exists makes such perfect sense (especially for this setting), yet I cannot recall another magic-using anime series which uses something equivalent. Examining wounds and damage to get a sense of the kind of foe the party it looking for or to solve some mystery is a fairly common element in tabletop RPGs (computer RPGs tend to not bother with it), to the extent that I’ve even used it as a significant plot point in Dungeons and Dragons adventures I’ve written in the past, and I’ve seen other fantasy series where a skilled warrior will reconstruct a battle scene to get a sense of a target’s movement ( the live-action version of The Witcher immediately comes to mind), but neither commonly gets such attention in anime. Pinning down that an opponent had to be using four blades because even two would have required unrealistic movements is a neat touch, and good to see that Stark wasn’t useless on that front.
The other interesting detail here is what Genau explains about burial practices on the Northern Plateau. Graveyards aren’t practical unless they’re in walled cities or behind magical barriers, as apparently even buried bodies attract monsters, so bodies are either cremated or shipped to common graves farther south. Unsurprisingly, religion can be a sticking point on the former options, but it is interesting how Genau acknowledges both the spiritual and practical viewpoints on the issue as legitimate.
One other interesting observation here: at least four of the five individuals present for this investigation have lost their homes to battle and three of the five lost them to demons. (Fern is a war orphan but demons were never described as being a factor in that.) The only possible outlier is Methode, and we simply don’t know anything about her background at this point.
Six-armed demons wielding six swords have been a staple element of Dungeons and Dragons throughout all its incarnations over the years, and now it seems we have a variation on that afoot. It wasn’t the only powerful demon around, either; there was also the lizard guy, the one who seemed to be carrying a Buddhist-style monk’s staff, and at least one other. Not sure exactly where this is going plot-wise at this point, but the time for more relaxed adventures certainly seems to be over for a while.
Most of the plot covered by this episode was covered in the last episode of the live-action TV series, so I mostly knew what to expect here. However, I greatly prefer this version of the events. Everything which transpires just lands with much more impact done this way.
The first big matter is sorting out why Kana got caught up in the situation in the first place. The previous two episodes certainly made it look like Mako deliberately arranged the situation which led to Kana going off alone with the director, and I had been operating under the assumption that Mako was setting up Kana for a fall. However, Miyako’s supposition here in the Strawberry Productions office – that the paparazzi was actually staking out the director, and Kana was just collateral damage – is far more plausible. That Mako may have had a grudge against the director, and just didn’t care who got in trouble along with him, makes far more sense given his reputation, and Miyako makes a good point that, while B Komachi is on the rise, they’re not big enough yet to warrant that kind of specific scandal interest from the tabloids. That doesn’t change the fact that Kana will still be scandalized, though.
That Aqua would step in to try to do something about the situation makes both narrative and logical sense. Despite him backing off last episode when Kana seemed determined to weather the oncoming storm, we know he’s not completely heartless. He does apparently feel at least some responsibility for Kana, and he does want to help out Ruby. That sets up the first of the episode’s two most striking visuals: Ruby’s expression with one eye star shining white to show that she sincerely wants to help her friend despite the dark crusade she’s on (as represented by the dark star in her left eye). But as savvy has Ruby has become lately, she apparently didn’t realize what Aqua meant by the cost of his plan.
To Aqua’s credit, he does at least try to rectify the matter using previous lesser tactics – i.e., appealing to the reporter’s sense of decency over Kana being a high schooler. Since Kana is 18, though, the reporter has firmer ground to stand on in a moral sense, even if he admits himself that it’s still a tasteless thing to do. That leaves Aqua with having to pull out his big gun: bury one scandal by providing a far, far juicier one. Thus we finally get the series’ most explosive revelation since the first episode of season 1: the truth about Ai being his and Ruby’s mother coming out.
Frankly, I love how this adaptation handles this part. The directorial and musical choices lend real weight to the impact of this revelation, and by jumping around we get to see an all-too-realistic array of reactions. Some are stunned, others respond with disappointment about how it tarnishes their memory of a beloved idol, and still others suspect that Aqua might have spilled the beans as part of a strategy to get ahead or just use this as an opportunity to bad-mouth both idols and their agencies in general. (And you know this would happen IRL). But there are also fans touched by the emotional resonance of the story – that Ruby is literally following in her mother’s footsteps, and what better way to honor her mother’s memory? And while there are some reactions we don’t see that I wish we would (Kana’s in particular, as once she gets over the shock, she’ll have to realize that the timing here isn’t coincidence), the most impactful one is Ruby’s. She’s on record as having intended to take the secret that Ai was her mother to the grave, and that Aqua would pull this stunt without consulting her in more than a vague way has undoubtedly left her furious, to the point that we get another striking, never-before-seen eye pattern, with those dark stars now glimmering:
Somewhat surprisingly, though, the strongest reaction is actually Akane’s. She’s not surprised by the content of the revelation, since she had pretty much figured out this truth already, but she does take it as a sign that it’s time for her to make her big, serious move, too, and act on the information she has. She’s even using the same type of flower bundle that Ai’s killer carried, and despite her words to the contrary, I have no doubt that Akane was fully intending to use that knife rather than just bringing it along as a precaution. Would she have gone this far, I wonder, if she had known that Aqua had already realized that his father was still alive and thus was back on the revenge track? I also have to wonder how she had planned to try to get away with this assassination; after all, Ai’s killer certainly didn’t survive it in the long run.
But that’s where the other devastating truth comes out: Aqua has had her bugged, and for a long time now (ever since shortly after Love for Real). That’s a pretty damn huge overstep, especially once he startd taking (or at least seemingly taking) their relationship for real. Up until that point it was somewhat justifiable given that he was using Akane to figure out the truth about his father, but tracking your genuine girlfriend without her knowledge is completely outside of proper boyfriend behavior, and Akane has every right to feel betrayed about that; the irony, of course, is that she makes this complaint while being interrupted from doing something far out of line herself. The result is one of the most painful anime break-ups I’ve seen in a while. The even sadder thing is that Aqua cares enough about Akane to not want to drag her down with him, though that still doesn’t put him in the right here.
The break-up is even more significant because it effectively marks the Point of No Return for Aqua. Akane was his path to a more normal life, but he’s now shut that down, hence giving the impression that he’s now locked on a path to a self-destructive end, and he knows it. The two big questions now are how he’s going to go about his descent into Hell (and make his father hurt the worst in the process) and how Ruby is going to react to this. And, perhaps also, how Hikaru Kamiki is going to react to this news. Was going as far as revealing this truth to get his father’s attention always going to be part of Aqua’s plan, and shielding Kana from a scandal just gave him a good excuse to use it?
We now may be locked in for the course to the highly controversial ending that manga fans have complained about, but the execution in dealing with this pivotal series of events is superb. The darkness never fully goes away in this series, and now it’s back on center stage.
We’re past the midway point of the series (with the earliest-starting series even looking at episode 8 now!), so it’s past time to take a look at how the titles I’ve wound up following are doing.
In all, I’ve kept up with 19 series this season. The two which are getting episode reviews (Frieren and Oshi no Ko) are not getting covered here, since I’ve written plenty about them in other posts. The other 17 are all being covered here. Most notable among this group is the first A+ grade I’ve given in a long time (if ever?) for a series on a Mid-Season Report. It’s not the only high grade, either; this has proven to be a quite strong season for quality titles so far.
Chained Soldier 2
Rating So Far: C+
This season actually may look even better than the first and certainly doesn’t disappoint on the fan service front. However, it has struggled to come up with anything interesting on plot and character development fronts, and minimizing Yuki’s time with Kyouka in favor of introducing other girls isn’t helping. The fan service and quality character designs are the only reasons I’m still watching this one at this point, and it’s currently my lowest-priority view among titles I’m current on.
Champignon Witch
Rating So Far: B+
There are so many truly good series this season that the special things this series is doing can easily get overlooked. It offers some of the most fascinating world-building in recent memory, especially in terms of what distinguishes Luna from other witch characters in anime and the very unconventional way her magic works. That Luna is the titular character but not the viewpoint character is also an interesting choice; in retrospect, the view of the world is always from outside her, and this is especially true once Lize becomes a regular cast member. More recent episodes also add in more philosophical commentaries, such as by virtually outright stating that a personal can’t properly grow if they eschew all bad memories. And while it’s far from being the season’s most visually dynamic series, its visual style does give it the children’s storybook kind of feel I think the series was aiming for. (Especially those hats worn by the other dark witches!) While it’s far from a priority view, it’s much too interesting a series to give up.
Dark Moon: Blood Altar
Rating So Far: C
By the halfway point of the series, protagonist Sooha now has nearly a dozen hot guys hanging around; the potential problem for her is that they’re all either vampires or werewolves (or, in one case, both). At least the series doesn’t continue to drag out that secret, as the whole “we like her but she’d hate us if she knew we were vampires” angst was already getting old. With those revelations coming out at the midway point, the plot also thickens some – a welcome development. Of course, there’s still the mystery of why Sooha is so strong (which is underplayed in the mid-season reveal since the guys have to be allowed to come to her rescue) and why she can seem to compel both sides of the vampire/werewolf conflict (although she’s still unaware of that ability). At its core it’s still nothing more than a supernatural reverse harem series, though.
Fate/Strange Fake
Rating So Far: A-
I have seen nearly all of the Fate franchise (notably excepting the Fate/Grand Order game), but apparently that’s not enough to keep up with everything this series is throwing at the viewer. However, I swiftly found myself not caring one bit about that because the series is just that much of a spectacle. We have a fake Grail War being used as the foundation to seed a real Grail War, so there’s to be 13 Mage/Servant pairings in all (including some very unconventional ones), and that makes for all kinds of dynamic possibilities even if we didn’t have a priest who should theoretically be supervising the war going balls-to-the-wall against a Dead Apostle (read: vampire) in one of the most eye-popping action battles in series animation in recent memory. The writing even finds time for significant character development, too! It stakes a strong case for being the season’s top action-focused title and is easily among the top 5 overall.
Hell’s Paradise2
Rating So Far: B
This season got off to a bit of a rough start, but by episode 3 the series settled back into its more normal routine of intricate martial arts scenarios and fantastical monsters. The season does focus even more heavily than the previous one on Taoism and related spiritual elements, though, and that can be hard to follow at times. It’s still also too early to tell how the newcomers to the island are going to affect the efforts of the Gabimaru-led alliance of most of the survivors of the first wave and their efforts to secure the Elixir of Life from the Tensen. For now, the personalities are distinct and interesting enough, and the exotic designs and animation flashy enough, to merit continuing with the series.
Journal With Witch
Rating So Far: A+
Calling this the best series of the season so far seems inadequate; this one is a contender for one of the best titles of the decade if it maintains at the level it’s been operating on so far. With some artistic interpretation but no sensationalism, the series takes an achingly deep look at how Makio and Asa struggle to relate to each other, define their current relationship, and move forward as they deal with the memory of the woman who was sister to one and mother to the other. Particularly fascinating is the markedly different views each has about Minori and the insight in a recent episode that neither of them actually at all understood how Minori really felt herself. While not exactly a tearjerker, there is plenty of content here which can be emotionally devastating, and Makio in particular is a fascinating mess of a character on her own. The direction, musical support, and voice acting are all outstanding, but it’s the keenly insightful original writing which most carries the show. This is a show I strongly recommend even if you think this kind of fare is not normally your thing.
Kunon the Sorcerer Can See
Rating: B
This one has offered a surprise or two. The notion of a protagonist who seeks to use magic in a creative way to enable himself to see is novel enough, but what’s even more novel is the mystery which appears when he finally succeeds. What do the odd things that he can see which no one else apparently can perceive at all mean? That mystery has become a driving force in the series as it transfers to a Magic School arc, which I have some trepidation about partly because it could shift the series to a more ordinary format and partially because it will separate Kunon from his fiancee (with whom he has a neat relationship) for a time. Still, it’s been a better-than-expected series so far, and the most recent episode has shown that Kunon being an irrepressible flirt has not dimmed, so I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt for now.
Noble Reincarnation: Born Blessed, So I’ll Obtain Ultimate Power
Rating: B-
While I perfectly understand how difficult it is to get past the protagonist’s name (Noah Ararat), this has proved to be a halfway decent isekai reincarnation story so far. Noah takes a pragmatic and sometimes ruthless approach not too dissimilar from Tanya in Saga of Tanya the Evil, though he does show at least some compassion. And while he does have some personal power, he advances himself more through administrative acumen and insight. Still, the series can’t fully escape power fantasy trappings, such as his corps of sexy maids and bodyguards. The series is graced by the season’s second-best closing song (after only Frieren‘s), though I wish the series would do something with the character who sings it. (She’s only appeared in regular content so far as Noah’s favorite live performer, and I don’t think she’s had a word of non-sung dialog.)
Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling
Rating So Far: B-
Honestly, this series is mostly just a standard “reincarnated as a monster in a game mechanics-based world” isekai variation, with a spirit and approach somewhat in line with So I’m a Spider, So What? While Shunichi Toki can’t quite carry this series like Aoi Yuki did in its predecessor, he does adequately in making the hatchling an engaging character, and the addition of the Venom Lizard certainly helps. The series manages just enough charm with the hatchling’s antics, the somewhat snarky System Voice, occasional looks at the human side, and suggestions of something more dire going on that neither the human nor monster side has fully identified yet to carry the series along just enough to a mild recommendation. Don’t expect anything more than a genre staple from this one and it probably won’t disappoint.
Roll Over and Die
Rating So Far: B-
Although this one is a favorite, I do have to acknowledge that it suffers some from technical limitations and a few questionable adaptation choices, including significantly altering and rearranging some of the events from episodes 6 and 7 in particular. However, the story is also a bit more involved than normal for the “banished from the Hero’s party” scenario and offers a few unusual twists. It also helps a lot that Flum makes for a great lead character, one who is balanced well between action capabilities and empathy and gradually shows that she’s made of sterner stuff than may initially be apparent. Her yuri-leaning relationship with Milkit is also quite neat. The body horror elements are starting to ramp up further as the series ventures into his second half, but the series has already shown that its edginess isn’t just posing.
Sentenced to Be a Hero
Rating So Far: A-
This season has two top-tier action series, ones capable of producing incredible visual and animation spectacles, and this is the other one. It’s also the much grosser one, as for all the graphic violence in Fate/Strange Fake, it doesn’t have anywhere near the level of body horror embodied in the Faeries which Xylo and crew must face here. Kudos to director Hiroyuki Takashima and Studio Kai for producing a visual feast every bit as colorful as it is grim, but the concept and characters also do their part; I am especially a fan of Norgalle, the hero who thinks he’s a king. Recent episodes have also had some highly satisfying developments on the central Xylo/Teoritta relationship; the series is definitely at its dramatic best when the two are in sync. Kudos also to an excellent English vocal effort. This one may not be on the sublime level of Journal With Witch, but it still earns its place among the top five titles in this packed season.
SHIBOYUGI: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table
Rating So Far: A
This is easily the most artistically stylish series of the season, and somewhat surprisingly for the death game genre, legitimately one of the best. A big chunk of the credit for that goes to director Sota Ueno and his very precise use of scene framing, dramatic pauses, and sparse but impactful background music, but this series is more than just an amazing technical achievement. By carefully not explaining anything more than it absolutely has to through the three story arcs so far, it heightens the sense of unease both in the games and the dystopian world which could bring something like this about, and using plushie stuffing in place of blood to reduce the gore factor somehow makes this all the more monstrous. Kudos also to an especially strong English vocal effort led by Suzie Yeung (Lena from 86, Makima from Chainsaw Man). Not a series for everyone (and actually not because of graphic violence, which isn’t high), but still an absolute treat to watch.
Tamon’s B Side
Rating So Far: B
Is there a funnier show airing this season? This series should not work as well as it does, but every episode it finds just the right balance as Utage tries to be a completely supportive fangirl while still maintaining a respectful distance from her idol Tamon, whether he’s in “Gloomyhara” or “Hottiehara” mode. It gets good humor out of both the contrasts between Tamon’s two sides and her own superfan obsessions and develops some romantic tension without actually getting into the romance aspect. The technical merits here aren’t great, but that’s hardly holding the series back.
The Holy Grail of Eris
Rating So Far: B
The source novels for this series have been lauded for their intricate plotting, and the series has certainly lived up to that billing, especially through its second quarter. The execution isn’t perfect, as sometimes situations develop so quickly that I have to wonder if some details aren’t being skipped over, but in general the series has done a fine job of showing that the intrigues which got Scarlet killed may be part of something much, much bigger and more ominous. Constance and Scarlet also make an excellent team; while Scarlet is certainly the more savvy of the two and regularly bails Constance out of tough situations, Constance is increasingly showing her own grit, too. This one is always a delight to watch and would probably be among my favorites of the season in a weaker season.
The Invisible Man and His Soon-To-Be Wife
Rating So Far: B
Though it definitely has its share of light-hearted moments, this series is closer to being a pure romance than a romantic comedy, and it’s a pure, sweet delight in that regard. I love the way it just casually populates a modern society with all sorts of non-human races (Akira isn’t even the only invisible person to appear), and vignettes in a couple of episodes even explore that more deeply; the dark elf in an elf couple has curse powers that he’s concerned could influence a potential child, and the catperson on Akira’s staff worries over finding clothing that works well with the patterns on her fur. The series is also quite thoughtful and specific about portraying the adaptations for Shizuka’s blindness and its technical merits, while pretty plain overall, do a fantastic job of maintain design consistency around Akira being invisible. Of course, the core attraction of the series is the gradually developing Akira/Shizuka romance. It’s one of the season’s better low-key views.
The Villainess is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom
Rating: D
In the “why am I still watching this?” category, we have this revers harem/villainess series. It wars with Roll Over and Die for the season’s most ridiculous naming conventions but far undercuts it on technical merits; even accounting for stylistic choices that tend to give this a storybook art feel, this is at least among the worst-looking and worst-animated titles of the season. But its flaws aren’t just on the technical front. A change of venue in episode 5 dispenses with the one interesting plot point (i.e., that this is a double-isekai situation) and Tiararose is easily one of the most pathetic heroines we’ve seen yet from this kind of series; she doesn’t really do much more than worry over things. (It doesn’t help that Mai Fuchigami, whose vocal work I have liked in other titles, has somehow found a singularly annoying vocal quality to infuse Tiararose with.) Even the occasional hints that there might be a compelling force in this setting guiding the story in a certain direction isn’t all that interesting, as it’s been done much better elsewhere. I’ll probably limp along with this one to conclusion, but it’s certainly my bottomfeeder of the season so far.
There Was a Cute Girl in the Hero’s Party, So I Tried Confessing to Her
Rating So Far: B-
I actually was considering rating this one a notch higher, but a mind-numbingly stupid and anachronistic Valentine’s Day episode discouraged me for forgiving the series for some artistic weak points. It’s still a decidedly different take on the standard isekai scenario, with at least two other potential, independent romantic couples besides central duo Yoki and Cecilia (three if you count the married couple of the Guildmaster and Cecilia’s head maid) and a generally solid supporting cast overall. Yoki’s efforts to woo Cecilia gradually being successful (and, amusingly, having her mother’s full approval!) is also fun to watch, and Yoki isn’t the only (kinda-former) demon integrating peacefully into human society, either. Not a great series by any means, but mostly a fun view.
That’s it for this time around. Weekly episode reviews will continue, and watch for the Winter ’26 Wrap-Up the last week of March.
Much of the story territory covered by this episode was also dealt with in the last regular episode of the live-action TV version, but I infinitely prefer this version of how Kana’s potential scandal is handled. That’s because this version both provides a lot more context and portrays Kana in a way much more in line with her established character.
To be fair, the scandal hasn’t entirely played out yet; by the end of the episode, Kana’s only been approached by a reporter and made aware that she was photographed leaving Shima’s office and Strawberry Productions has also become aware of the situation, so we’re only seeing initial reactions and not the actual release of anything accusatory; so far, the potential accusations are only in Kana’s head. And her immediate reaction is the kind of one which would be expected from an 18-year-old, even a notably industry-savvy one. The most interesting part of this is that Kana’s quickest thought is about how this would negatively affect B Komachi, not herself, but this isn’t a surprise or at all inconsistent; we’ve always seen her in the headspace of worrying about how her own perceived failures affect others.
Conspicuously, Miyako doesn’t panic; she just laments that this is going to be trouble. This could be her greater experience or because of the point made during Ruby’s earlier ruminations in the dressing room: that scandals in the entertainment industry aren’t necessarily the complete career-killers they once were. This is bolstered by a few real-life cases in recent years of individuals in the anime and manga realms who have managed to continue despite scandals that have even extended to legal issues. Ironically, the same social media flood which has made these scandals so much more difficult to hide is also making it easier for entertainers to survive them, as individual scandals don’t stick out so much anymore with so many of them now out there.
That’s not even factoring into Kana’s thought processes at this point – and the fact that it isn’t makes Kana’s scream late in the episode all the more triumphant. Kana has felt like the deck was stacked against her ever since the waning years of her time as a child star, and that’s made her more resilient than most give her credit for. She hardly immune to feeling inadequate, depressed, or even despair, but her sass isn’t artifice. And frankly, I think she hates the fact that she used memories of Aqua to bail herself out in the incident in Shima’s office and is ashamed that she’s starting to do that again. Her rant after her scream is a powerful declaration of self, and easily my favorite scene of the series so far this season.
While that’s the main feature of the episode, there are other ominous moments at its end. Akane is starting to get closer to a possibly-dangerous truth, and someone mysterious in an alley is tracking someone – maybe her? And is that Hikaru Kamiki? We’ll have to find out more about that and how Strawberry Productions handles the impending scandal next episode.
Episode 3 ended with Stark and Fern set to go out on a date, and the first half of episode 4 deals with how that date plays out. The whole affair is as awkward as might be expected. Stark definitely tries, but he’s still operating more off a pre-set plan than being adaptive to Fern in the moment. That’s not fully what Fern wants, but she can tell that he took the date seriously even if he did propose it in flippant fashion, and that’s enough to satisfy her – for now, anyway. Methinks Stark will have to up his game for the next time around. This is also one of the rare times we’ve seen Fern dressed in anything other than her normal traveling clothes (albeit still in purple!), so seeing her dolled up a bit is a definite treat.
The beginning of episode 4’s second part also casually provides what may be the solution to one of the series’ long-standing mysteries: how the trio can get away with traveling so light. (They’re never shown wearing backpacks, for instance.) While this has never been even hinted at before that I can recall, Frieren’s suitcase is here strongly implied to be a Suitcase of Holding.
The rest of episode 4 and episode 5 then bring us the first tastes about why a First-Class Mage is necessary for an excursion out into the Northern Plateau. Given what the trio encounters, it’s a wonder that anyone can actually live out there still, even with connections to past generations on the land. The Norm Company, introduced in the second half of episode 5, provides a partial solution, but even though it wields power equivalent to a nation, it has its own struggles. Both that encounter and the previous one involving the dwarf obsessed with a legendary liquor bear direct connections to Frieren’s journey with Himmel’s party. In the one case, it involves Frieren taking on a task that her party passed on the first time; in the other case, it involves a debt incurred in the past being used to connive Frieren into finding a new silver vein to help finance the company.
The first of the two episode 5 cases is arguably the more interesting one for two reasons. The first is that it introduces an elf other than Kraft or Serie, one who Frieren apparently knew in the distant past. (The implication here is that she lived in the village that Frieren did, so she may have been slain in the attack that Flamme came across all those centuries ago.) The second is that it addresses a point I’ve long wondered about in my study of history: the possibility that something recorded as history or legend was written facetiously, or even as an outright joke. Per the series’ usual style, It still gets turned into a philosophical point in the end. The second case, which harkens back to a debt incurred during Himmel’s days, is mostly just an excuse to have Frieren truly show off her magic. It’s impressive, though I have to wonder how much of that was just Frieren deliberately making a spectacle out of it to emphasize how irreplaceable her action was.
Overall, both of these episodes are fine but unspectacular for the franchise: enjoyable and with the requisite bits of signature spectacle but not as deep or insightful as much of the rest of the series.
Scarlet is the latest original project from Mamoru Hosoda, the director acclaimed for movies like Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and BELLE. In this case the story is more an original take on one of the classics of English literature: Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This being anime, this naturally wasn’t going to be a straight or close adaptation; given the format available, why do an effort like this without applying a few fantastical spins?
In this case, the base setting (16th century Denmark) and many of the key character names are largely the same as the source material, with the major difference being, of course, that the role of Hamlet is replaced by young princess Scarlet. There are a couple of other key differences: rather than Hamlet/Scarlet learning from her father’s ghost about her uncle’s treachery, she witnesses it first-hand but she’s powerless to do anything about it. That leaves her powerfully driven by revenge as she determinedly trains for the opportunity. Unlike Hamlet, she doesn’t try hide it (or at least doesn’t appear to), which raises the question of why Claudius doesn’t get rid of her, too. This isn’t the last significant logical gap the movie faces, but it’s also largely pushed into irrelevance because the physical world isn’t the main venue for this movie.
No, that would be a barren landscape that isn’t explicitly called Purgatory but might as well be that, one which Scarlet winds up in after being poisoned. There she meets people of many different cultures and times, but also some familiar faces; many of the key characters from Hamlet (though, interestingly, not Queen Gertrude) are also present. The logic behind this is also quite shaky in most cases, even if one accounts for the fact that they wouldn’t have all had to die at the same time to wind up here. You’re also not supposed to think too hard about how Claudius got himself set up as king here, where he got that castle from, or how he came to control access to the setting’s literal Stairway to Heaven stand-in. And hey, let’s not be too concerned about the ultra-massive dragon swimming around in the sea in the sky which generates electrical discharges like a storm. That’s not explained, either.
And that’s at least partly because explaining any of that would distract from the most important person Scarlet meets in that wasteland: a paramedic from modern-day Japan named Hijiri, who’s pretty sure he doesn’t belong here because he doesn’t remember dying. His pure, kind, helping nature presents a stark contrast to Scarlet’s anger and fixation on revenge, which allows him to show her that revenge isn’t necessarily the only way to live. In effect, this is a gender-reversed version of the normal scenario where the woman is the one who soothes the violence and revenge-driven man, and Hijiri was likely made a paramedic specifically to allow a good reason for him to be empathetic. Though he isn’t entirely successful in dissuading Scarlet from revenge, he at least shows her that a life not dominated by it is possible.
Whereas the original Hamlet was a tragedy defined by the destructiveness of revenge, this version ultimately takes the opposite approach by making the story all about Scarlet finding a way to step beyond revenge and despair. Of course, having such a laudable theme doesn’t prevent the movie from liberally sprinkling violent action scenes throughout and finding other excuses for spectacle (see the aforementioned dragon, among others), but those parts are fine, and Scarlet does herself make for a somewhat compelling character as a young woman struggling with revenge. And I have to give the movie some credit for finding a way to fit in Hawaiian dance and song in a credible fashion.
The problem comes with the execution of the story’s structure. The film clocks in at 112 minutes but feels like it was edited down from a significantly longer plan, as there are several places (especially in the late going) where events jump from scene to scene with little plausible progression and some events seem to be there just for spectacle’s sake. The writing also tries too hard to shoehorn in additional Hamlet characters and allusions and never explains why Claudius sees Scarlet as such a threat in Purgatory (or how he’s even aware she’s appeared there). Who or what the old woman who occasionally pops up is supposed to be is also left a mystery, but that’s less of an issue. On the plus side, Hijiri’s efforts to get through to Scarlet are convincing enough to at least partially offset the other narrative problems, a sub-theme about finding a balance between idealism and pragmatism does gel, and the movie does stick firmly to its overall themes about the self-destructiveness of becoming obsessed with revenge.
Despite the writing issues, the movie is worth seeing for its visual component. While there are a few places where the animation is a little stiff, it fluidly handles its fighting action scenes and produces some true visual spectacles, such as an early scene where Scarlet has to struggle to break free of a horde of grasping hands or a late scene involving a volcanic eruption. The movie also looks great in general, with striking character designs and stark depictions of barren landscapes; especially impressive was its willingness to let Scarlet (an unquestionable beauty) get all grimy. There were some slips in artistic quality (one shot at the very end looks rough, and I wasn’t particularly impressed by a couple of sequences in modern-day Japan), and a visual style more reminiscent of limited-animation titles might throw some viewers off, but overall it’s a solid visual presentation. The musical aspect impressed much less, but wasn’t a hindrance.
I went to a showing featuring the English dub and found the vocal performances to generally be quite satisfying, especially Erin Yvette (Tia Noto Yoko in the more recent version of BASTARD!!) as Scarlet; she has one sustained scream scene early on which could put her in the Scream Queen Hall of Fame. She’s fine but less impressive in a couple of places where she’s singing, though the flaws in those cases may be more an issue of working with an awkward translation for the songs. Chris Hackney (Gohan in Dragon Ball Super) also hits exactly the right notes as Hijiri and does well enough in one place where he sings, too. In fact, the only song which isn’t translated into English is the Hawaiian one.
Overall, this isn’t Hosoda’s best work, and I have to agree with it not getting an Academy Awards nomination. However, it’s still plenty worth seeing, especially on a big screen.
After four episodes focusing primarily on Ruby, the series finally remembers that Kana is a core part of the cast rather than just a bit player and gives her some love. Almost too much of it, in fact, and plenty enough to set up the franchise’s next major crisis.
Kana is, understandably, at an emotional low point. Though she’s being successful as part of B Komachi, she’s fully aware that being an idol is more her current role than her nature, and like MEM-cho, she’s now being thoroughly outshone by Ruby despite being the group’s center. She much more desperately wants to be an actor, but her B Komachi and Tokyo Blade successes have not panned out into more acting roles. She also still can’t get over Aqua or the distance he’s keeping from her, and now she think he hates her, too, after misunderstanding what was going on during their encounter in the rain. That’s left her desperate and, thus, vulnerable.
That’s not to say that Kana is entirely unaware of the risky situation she’s putting herself in with this director. She’s been around in the business plenty long enough to have seen and heard things, and so she’s fully aware of all the red flags she’s seeing in this scenario even if she plays it off. Her problem is that she’s her own worst enemy here. The director, while being a bit pushy, isn’t actually forcing anything here. He offered her drinks but didn’t actually try to get her drunk and gives her the option to decline. (Cynically, this could certainly be his way to cover his rear against any potential accusations that he took advantage of her, or it could just be that he’s only partial scum instead of complete scum.) Kana is thus left in the position to decide on the spot how far she’s willing to go to get more acting work. Ironically, it’s ultimately Aqua (or at least the Aqua still firmly lodged in her head) who keeps her from agreeing to something that she almost surely would have regretted later. And, somewhat surprisingly, the director’s actually a decent guy about it. He clearly wanted to get Kana in bed, but he may have also been genuine about wanting to use her as an actor, too.
The problem here is that Kana only defended herself against one part of the pitfall before her. While she did take precautions going into the director’s office (the hat and glasses are hardly a foolproof disguise but should deflect at least casual looks), she didn’t coming out, and that leaves her more vulnerable to a paparazzi who’s just a bit too conveniently waiting for her outside. Frankly, it very much looks like Mako, the actress Kana had gone out to meet, deliberately set her up, too. Why Mako would do this isn’t even hinted at, but she clearly pushed Kana into connecting up with a director with a certain reputation, then deliberately isolated Kana with him. Kana’s cooked, and even (truthfully) asserting that nothing happened isn’t going to be convincing. Perhaps next episode will get into Mako’s motive, but I’m not holding my breath; the series has thrown in things without much explanation before (see the final scene of s2).
That’s not the only big thing going on this episode. At the end of last episode, Akane identified Aqua’s probable father, and now she’s determined to do whatever’s necessary to keep him and Aqua from meeting. Very curious to see how far that goes, especially considering that she didn’t seem to be joking or exaggerating last season when she told Aqua that she’d help him kill someone if that’s what it took. The possibility of B Komachi getting a fourth member has also now arisen, and this episode’s installment of “Behind the Scenes in the Entertainment Industry” involves how agencies for idols handle their idols’ social media accounts. There are also some neat little artistic touches, too, like the bags under Kana’s eyes as she leaves at the end of the episode, and we can see that Ruby hasn’t entirely abandoned her ditzy, immature side on the path to becoming an evil mastermind. But all of that’s just a prelude to the bomb that will assuredly drop next episode.
USA Anime 