Fall ’23 Wrap-Up

Most of the non-continuing series from the Fall season are now in the books, so let’s look at how they wrapped up. As with this article’s predecessor (the Fall ’23 Mid-Season Round-Up), titles that I covered in episode reviews or full reviews will not be found here, so no Pluto, The Apothecary Diaries, or The Eminence in Shadow. Added in for this run is Zom 100, whose final three episodes went live on Crunchyroll and Netflix on Christmas, and The 100 Girlfriends, which I wasn’t following at the time of the mid-season piece but have since gotten caught up on.

A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special

Season Rating: C+

The last five episodes of this series never do amount to anything special, although they do feature some relatively good fight sequences, especially the one in the last episode. (These still excel more on design than animation quality, though.) There is also a sense of the longer story finally coming together as Azrest looking like she’s now formally joining Desir’s team. This elevates the series a little overall, though not to the level that I can recommend it. It is getting a new season, however!

Berserk of Gluttony

Season Rating: C-

Quality doesn’t always correlate to popularity, and that’s good for this series. Despite its inadequacies, it seems to be quite successful on Crunchyroll; the only new series this season which outstrip it in volume of ratings are heavy-hitters Frieren, The Apothecary Diaries, and Shangri-La Frontier. In a sense that’s disappointing, though, as I would rather see better-animated and better-paced series be that popular. Its last few episodes don’t change how much of a letdown this adaptation is, or how its ambition in action scenes isn’t matched by its technical merits. Still, even if it was given Shangri-La Frontier-level visuals, I’m not sure that the series would be much better. At least it did end at the most logical stopping place.

Butareba

Season Rating: B

Due to a production delay a few weeks back, this one still has one more episode to air – and according to a recent announcement, the finale won’t come until after January because of further production delays. However, episode 11 is the Big Reveal, the one which explains the whole scenario concerning the Yethma, why the male protagonist came to be Mr. Pig, and what he has to do to return to human form. Remarkably, nearly every bit of it actually makes complete sense, even down to why Yethma body parts are prized. Some of the particulars are every bit as ugly as I might have expected, but the reasoning behind them is more pragmatic than twisted. Just as importantly, though, the relationship between Mr. Pig and Jess proves to be a remarkably sincere one. Given how things turn out, viewers were getting some very wrong initial impressions about this one. The one big negative is that the animation in one key action scene is atrocious, but as long as it doesn’t go “splat” with its finale, I overall consider this to be one of the season’s mid-tier titles on quality.

Dead Mount Death Play

Season Rating: B+

The assorted threads which have been built up over the course of the series have gradually started to converge, resulting in a semi-showdown across multiple fronts. And yet, very little of the showdown is actually about dramatic battles. Many parties involved don’t need to crush their enemies to accomplish their objectives, so I guess you could say that the underlying theme of the last few episodes is “stay true to your goals.” The finale does not wrap up anywhere near everything, but it is still satisfying because it pushes the story forward and allows Corpse God to stand with more confidence in his goals than ever before. It’s definitely among the best of the season’s second-tier titles.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Best of Season)

Season Rating: A

Frieren is going to continue straight into its second cour, which I understand will mostly be one big arc instead of shorter stories linked together thematically. The series has been doing so wonderfully at that approach, though, that I am curious to see how it will handle a more dedicated story. Certainly, the series had no let-downs in its final few episodes, with a fourth member formally being added to Frieren’s party and each episode hitting home to some degree on thematic and/or emotional levels; highlights include learning that Himmel was a self-made rather than destined hero and that he did, at one point, effectively propose to Frieren, and only decades later does she finally understand that. Frieren has certainly grown as a character over the course of the season, and the humor continues to be well-handled, too. This is such a remarkably well-made series on all fronts that it may be my pick for the best of the year, not just the season.

Goblin Slayer II

Season Rating: B

The last few episodes of Goblin Slayer finish the arc stemming from the elf homeland visit and have a one-off about Goblin Slayer being tricked into fighting not-goblins for a change before heading to a finishing arc involving an adventure-seeking princess who, predictably, gets herself into trouble with goblins. As routine as that last arc is within the context of the series, it does have several strong points: it includes the brief participation of two familiar faces, takes a deeper look at how adventurers discuss and adjust strategies according to the situation, and gives a stronger sense of how scenarios play out when different groups are simultaneously working on different but ultimately related objectives. (It felt like a call-out to multi-table role-play events where parties of different levels are cooperatively doing different missions suited to their respective levels.) Most importantly, it shows well how well Priestess has learned and how broad Goblin Slayer’s impact has been, even when he still seems himself as very limited. (And it has a cool fight against a giant, disembodied hand, too!) Maybe not the most thrilling of finishes, but still a largely satisfying one.

Helck

Season Rating: C+

Grade-wise, I have to penalize this series for the drudgery that was the first half of this cour. Thankfully, the second half is a distinct improvement, with the leads getting back to actually doing something, Azudra getting some nice battle scenes of his own, and the spy girl getting some feature time digging into a mystery connected to the backstories. Most importantly for me, Vermilio gets a chance to show off in every respect: her fire magic, her resolve, and yes, even her empathy. She is the indomitable ally and anchor that Helck needed, and some of the animation of her in the final episode in particular is beautiful. Everything about her in the last few episodes reaffirms why she’s one of my favorite characters of the year. The season ends on a proper stopping point rather than a conclusion, and it regains its footing enough by the end that I will probably watch more if another season is animated.

I’m Giving The Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued A Crash Course in Naughtiness

Season Rating: B-

The later episodes, which mostly form an arc involving Charlotte going in disguise to meet the younger sister she had to leave behind (and which also requires Allen to go back to his parents and former college for a bit), doesn’t at all change the series’ status quo. It’s still not a memorable show, but it remains cute enough and fun enough to be good light viewing. (And man, Allen and Charlotte formally need to become a couple.) The last scene suggests a plot direction for more content, but at this time a sequel hasn’t been announced.

I’m in Love With The Villainess

Season Rating: B-

The series wraps up its mostly-serious arc before plunging into a final arc involving a visit from a princess who’s a little too perfect, but that shouldn’t be a surprise since her name is Manaria Sousse (a thinly-veiled reference to “Mary Sue”). The real issue is that she almost immediately becomes a rival to Rae involving Claire and seems to be doing it quite deliberately, and Rae knows from her game lore that Manaria is nearly impossible to beat. That forces Rae to consider how serious she is about Claire and whether she’s really fine with Claire just being happy, and it forces Claire to consider how she actually feels. Satisfying enough in the end, I guess, but not the show’s strongest or most entertaining part. Probably will watch more if they make more, but it’s not a high priority.

KimiZero (aka Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me)

Season Rating: B

Really feel like this is one of the season’s most under-appreciated titles. It doesn’t do anything dramatically different, but what it does as it takes the story through some minor crises, some misunderstandings, and a possible break-up scenario feels very real; indeed, I’ve seen comments from many viewers that the ground covered by episode 11 in particular was very reminiscent of their own high school appearances. (I never dated in high school, so I can’t really relate myself.) The series still can’t completely escape the feeling of at least partly being a wish fulfillment scenario, but it does work hard to show that this relationship is more than just a gimmick. The final episode is satisfying enough that I don’t think more needs to be animated, though I will watch if it is made.

My Daughter Left The Nest and Return An S-Ranked Adventurer

Season Rating: B-

This one joins Frieren as one of the least conventionally-structured fantasy series of the year, albeit in an entirely different way. There are still fantasy action elements, and some of those do still show up in the late episodes, but that’s not really what the series is about. (Which is good, because its artistic and animation qualities leave a lot to be desired.) Even to the end, this is still a remarkably character-focused series, and growing hints of a bigger and more sinister plot (including a fake prince) don’t change that. After resolving the elf situation, the series spends one episode being fairly silly before spending its last two episodes focusing on the regrets lingering on both sides from the way Belgrieve left his adventuring party many years ago (after losing his leg) and whether or not Angeline has matured enough in order to handle a wholly different battlefield: a noble soiree done to celebrate her defeat of a Demon Lord, one that may be done with ulterior motives. She handles herself remarkably well without ceasing to be Angeline and gains a surprising award in the process.

I dearly hope another season of this gets made (although perhaps with a better animation team?), as this series has such a good foundation built that it would be a shame to let it go just at this season.

Shangri-La Frontier

Season Rating: B

The strength of this series is its sharp action sequences, and the final third for this season continues to proved solid on that front. The character interactions also start to come more into play as the third of the trio featured prominently in the OP finally joins the action. As the trio prepares for and takes on a unique quest against one of the seven legendary monsters of the setting, the sense gradually increases that some of these NPCs may be more than just ordinary AI-controlled constructs, something that will hopefully be explored more as the series continues into the Winter ’24 season. Some more looks at other game settings is also a nice touch. I’m lowering the grade a little because the novelty of the series’ approach has worn off, but this one still represents the upper side of the season’s mid-tier titles.

Shy

Season Rating: B

This was never going to be a stand-out series, but it does save some of its strongest content for the Russia Arc and further establish that, why Shy learning to use her powers to fight was an important development, the ranks of the heroes still need someone like her at least as much for her empathy. Because when you’re faced with a villain who takes hidden desires and brings them to the forefront in ugly, powerful fashion, empathy is the surest way to counterbalance it. The last arc fully explores Spirit’s story and origins, but just as importantly, it gives Shy a chance to step up in a big way, and show what she’s learned from other heroes, while still allowing the crucial battles to be more about Spirit. Teru also has a strong anchor grounding her at home, too. This was a delightful series overall, and more is coming, apparently featuring two characters who debuted in the latter half of this episode. I’ll be back for that.

Spy x Family

Season Rating: B

Not much I can add here, as my opinion from before hasn’t changed. Yor’s battle against the assassins on board the cruise ship is the most serious this series ever gets, and it’s one hell of a succession of fight sequences, but it also, satisfyingly, takes time to look at what Yor wants going forward. Aside from that, the rest is just a collection of fun (and occasionally very funny) little sequences, with my favorite being the way Anya gets her mind blown by the fact that many of her classmates don’t find her having been on the cruise ship to be all that special. Still very entertaining, but except for Yor’s fight, not the series’ best content.

Tearmoon Empire

Season Rating: B

This one maintains its previously-described form though to the end of this season, and in this case I consider that a plus. Mia is still inadvertently coming off as a genius to those around her, and that gag still hasn’t gotten old even through to this season’s last episode because the series continues to come up with creative ways to show how she does it. She even has some moments where she shows genuine skill (such as in figuring out that there has to be a sinister scheme afoot behind the rising troubles in Roland), and the way she defeats the chief villain of this arc raises absurdity to another level, yet that entirely fits the tenor of the series. The minor downside is that the more genuine intrigue of the Roland Rebellion isn’t at all the strength of the series, but I still had a good enough time with it that I will happily watch more if more gets made.

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

Season Rating: B

I’ve seen people refer to this one as a “best of season” title and laud it as both the newest evolution of the harem genre and one of the all-time-greats of the genre. I am not on that boat, but I will acknowledge that, as pure harem romcom series go, this is one of the better ones. Surprisingly, the greatest strength of the series is actually protagonist Rentaro, who really does seem genuinely committed to fully loving all six of the soulmates he’s gathered by the end of the season, and he’s endearing because of that passionate commitment. The girls – each of whom fills her own specific archetype niche – are also generally more mutually supportive than at odds with each other (though they do still, to a degree, compete with each other). It’s lighter on fan service than a lot of harem series but is certainly not devoid of it, and some of the antics are rather funny. Several more potential new girlfriends make cameos in the last episode, and we’ll get to the see them when the recently-announced next season arrives.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride 2

Season Rating: A

Last time I said this is “a strong contender to at least make the Top 10 list for the year at this point.” That may have been understating the case, because the overarching arc involving the cursed book and Philomela gets one hell of a strong finish. Ancient gods and otherworldly, Cthulhu-esque beings abound, but the story ultimately comes down to the unrelenting efforts of a group of friends to save one horribly abused girl and make her understand that she can actually have her own life, that she can be happy. In retrospect, much of the slower earlier content was about setting up the circumstance so that this group would have tight enough bonds to want to so determinedly rescue Philomela, with each playing a crucial role in convincing Philomela (Lucy is essentially the “tough love” angle, for instance), and the the emotional and dramatic payoffs are huge. A minor late twist and the series not ignoring the weight of the deaths Chise was indirectly responsible for both cleaned up some loose ends and provided future possible story threads. This is going to be the last animation for a while, because the anime side has now fully caught up to the manga, but the advertisement at the end suggests that more will come eventually. That will be very welcome.

The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy

Season Rating: B-

The final few episodes here draw bigger connections to the past and stronger implications that the Voids may have a distinct connection to events from the past. Also, there’s a grander sense of information manipulation at an epic scale (and spanning centuries) going on here as Leo and Liselia’s team visits Liselia’s former home, which was thought destroyed years earlier by a Void Stampede. Of course, there’s no shortage of Leo showing off his power, and Liselia finally seems to be growing into the role of a Vampire Queen and the kind of leadership that entails. This still isn’t a spectacular series, but it has enough going for it that I would welcome additional animation. As of this posting, however, none has yet been announced. An upcoming English dub for the series has been announced, though, which suggests that the series has been a ratings success.

The Faraway Paladin: The Lord of Rust Mountain

Season Rating: B

The series makes up for a slower first half by devoting much of its last third to a series of battles, including the epic confrontation with Valacirca, which spans episodes 10, 11, and the first part of 12. Valacirca does not disappoint as a foe, and the array of support Will and crew get in order to face him down suitably contributes to the kind of gravitas that a fight of this magnitude should have; this what a fantasy battle against such a potent foe should be. Alphonse’s fight against the boss demon prior to that is also a triumphant bit of dramatic fantasy fight design as well. Lots of great fantasy feels here, with the only thing missing being a good woman for Will. (Reystov clearly has a love interest at the end, and one case easily see Menel getting together with the blond elf.) Sadly, there will probably be no more animated content, as this season covers most of the rest of the novel content; only a couple of short stories from the fifth and final novel have not been animated, and at best those would only amount to an OVA episode or two.

The Kingdoms of Ruin

Season Rating: C-

Even though it gets into some slightly more interesting thematic territory in its later episodes, this one is still a mess up to the end. That being said, I will give the series a bit of credit for actually explaining why Doroka is so determined to be the Nice Girl: if she doesn’t act that way, we get the Queen of the Redia Empire instead. So her behavior is both an emotional defense mechanism and a way to to keep her power in check – because the full extent of what her love magic can do is, quite frankly, scary. The scene where she finally breaks down and shows what she can really do is one of a couple of high points in this last third of the series, but it’s not enough to balance out how disappointing the rest of the content is or how much the series sucks at using humor. If another season of this gets made, I might not be back.

The Rising of the Shield Hero s3

Season Rating: B-

In the end, season 3 is really just the first half of a section of the story which feels like it needs two full cours to play out, so I fully expect more to be coming. While the season isn’t a huge improvement over s2, it is still an improvement, and Naofumi does eventually collect the rest of the damaged Cardinal Heroes by the end of this segment. A dragon also becomes a threat for a while, and the season ends with the surprising reveal that Raphtalia wearing miko robes is a really, really bad idea in this world even though she looks great in them. Because you see, she has a hidden background which has never even been hinted at before and. . . well, the series felt like it was pulling a plot twist out of its ass there. I do like the continuing mystery over why the former king cares so much about the white tiger-themed demi-human siblings; perhaps getting into that further will eventually reveal why Atla (the female one) seems to have game-breaking power in her strikes. But really, Naofumi, when are you going to fix that house? Will probably continue to watch when more comes out, but it’s not something I will be eagerly awaiting.

The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent

Season Rating: B-

Throughout the season, this series was hampered by its slow pacing, but it was still always gradually building towards one thing: what Sei’s future would be like after her services as the Saint would no longer be needed. Sure, she could continue to work at the institute, as her potions would always be in demand, but independent working women is just not a thing in this setting. She would always be the subject of power plays among the nobility. Fortunately for her, a ready solution was already at hand. Commander Hawke comes from a family of sufficient standing to make a suiting match, and he both genuinely loves her and serves as the impetus for her Saint power, and Sei is clearly more fond of him than she knows what to do with. By finishing the season with Hawke’s proposal, the series finishes on its strongest and most satisfying possible note.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Season Rating: B+

The zombies have come to Akira’s home village, driven there by malcontents introduced in episode 9 (i.e., before the long hiatus). All of them feel like life has treated them badly, but as each of their brief backstories shows, each of them has to take at least some of the blame for how their lives didn’t turn out happier. The essential lessons of these episodes are not to drag down innocent people with your own problems and that each person at least contributes to their own luck (or lack thereof) by what they do or don’t do. But even though these episodes heavily emphasize that and Akira’s attempts to make amends with his father, Zom 100 is still Zom 100. There’s lots of zombie action, lots of creative ways to deal with said zombies, and of course more censored male nudity. Each of the four principal cast members gets his or her turn to shine before they all leave again at the end for more adventures. Overall, a solid, good-looking production, and I would certainly watch more if another season gets animate with a proper production schedule.

That’s it for now. Check back in a couple of days for the Best of 2023 piece!

The Apothecary Diaries episode 12

Rating: B+

The situation at the heart of this episode is one quite familiar to any fan of romances with class-based complications. The higher-ranked man wants to be respectful of the lower-ranked woman’s wishes by not forcing her into a situation she may not want (and which he has reasonable evidence to that end, based on her past comments and reactions). The woman, meanwhile, does want the same thing (albeit in this case for entirely different reasons) but does not want to overstep her status by asking for too much. Because neither is on the same page when they speak to each other in what each hopes is leading comments, the result that neither wants happens.

The difference here, of course, is that this isn’t romance (or is it?) and it’s not a relationship between the two at stake. Jinshi wants Maomao to stay in the Rear Palace because he’s fascinated by her, though how much of that is Gaoshun’s “favorite toy” references and how much is genuinely something more is debatable at this point. What’s definitely true is that, despite being surrounded by all the beauty of the Rear Palace, she is the one he’s become most drawn to. Maomao, for her part, doesn’t seem to have any romantic interest; she was actually starting to like working in the Rear Palace, and financial reasons also make her dismissal from the Rear Palace very inconvenient timing. Besides, it’s also a convenient way to keep Verdigris House’s old woman from turning her into a courtesan.

The situation only arises at all because Maomao actually has a very tenuous connection to Fenming (the family she was sold off to – who in turn sold her off to the Rear Palace – had business with Fenming’s family), and that’s technically enough for her to be caught up in a mass layoff as every hint of connection to Fenming is extricated in the wake of her confession and execution. Whether seizing a family’s assets because of the wrongdoing of one, or punishing those who are only member of families who has business relationships with the offending party’s family, is fair is another story, but it does highlight how critical it was that Fenming confessed and took the full blame; by doing so, she made certain that the blame tree went no higher than her, thus keeping Ah-Duo out of it.

In the end, that leaves Maomao back at Verdigris and serving as an underling to her “big sisters” at a high-end soiree, one where a depressed Jinshi also, perhaps not-coincidentally, happens to be present. (There’s a real sense that Gaoshun manipulated this scenario into being.) But that does allow both parties to come (relatively) clean and set up the circumstances at the end of the episode, where Jinshi arrives at Verdigris to buy out her contract and entice her with a rare herb, thus setting a path forward for the series after the tumultuous dismissal.

Aside from the main storyline, the episode also had a lot of neat little touches, whether it be Maomao being asked to look in on an apparently-ill courtesan, the way the three princesses of Verdigris all seem to delight in Jinshi taking an interest in Maomao, or that the series actually dared to put an elderly woman in the kind of bath scene normally prone to fan service. Maomao’s reflections on where she’s been and where she’s going were also a nice touch, and I loved the comic scene where Gyokuyou tells Jinshi he’ll regret letting Maomao get away. Another neat touch was the vase of flowers used while Maomao mentions about the difficulty explaining Jinshi to her big sisters:

The series has frequently used flowers symbolically; we see them prominently in the opener, each high consort was associated with one, and many meaningful moments involved flowers to some degree. In all of that, Maomao has previously been associated with a small yellow flower, and here we have one amidst three other much larger collections of blossoms. Almost certainly these are meant to represent the three princess of Verdigris.

The one concern with this episode is that the animation takes more shortcuts than normal, making the whole episode seem a bit less active. Otherwise this is a satisfying transition point to the second half of the season, which will probably start in two weeks. (The series is supposed to run for two cours consecutively, but many other continuing series are taking off the last week of December.)

The Eminence in Shadow episode 32 (season finale)

Rating: B+

Ragnarok is upon us! Well, sort of.

Really, it’s just an opportunity for Shadow to fight a boss monster-type foe while his Shadow Garden minions do all of the lesser work. The minor problem for the series is that Ragnarok just isn’t that interesting a foe on its own. Sure, it wrecks part of Oriana before Shadow distracts it, but even as the pinnacle of magical monsters it’s still not in a league with Shadow, and it lacks the moves to make the fight as interesting as Elizabeth did back in episode 23 or Aurora did last season. Thankfully, the show staff seemed to recognize that and thus largely downplayed that part of the fight in light of everything else going on.

And there’s definitely some other interesting stuff going on. Turns out Lambda and a bunch of lesser Shadow Garden members were secretly in the wedding audience. Beta and Epsilon are also present to confront Mordred, allowing Rose a chance to act like a queen – really a minor thing in terms of Shadow Garden’s objectives, but an important one in terms of Rose’s role in the setting going forward. Her resoluteness even gets her former maid back on her side, too! That means Shadow Garden is effectively going to be replacing the Cult of Diablos as the power behind Oriana’s throne, which is a certain kind of irony on its own.

And the Cult of Diablos is definitely going to be out, since Mordred can’t even handle Beta and Epsilon, much less Shadow. (And I loved the way those two upended Mordred’s boasting by realizing that he was relying on artifacts.) While Mordred’s “lecture” does seem a little too convenient, there is at least some sense that he’s the type who loves to show off how smart he is by explaining everything. What he has to say about how this current world came to have magic is very enlightening indeed. The presence of the high-end technology now makes more sense, as does the suggestion that Diablos was created by the cult rather than the cult forming around Diablos. Perhaps most importantly, all the multidimensional theory helps explain what happens near the end of the episode, to the point that the lecture was probably forced in specifically to explain how Cid is getting isekai’d again, just this time without dying. (This does provide a plenty convenient way to mix Shadow Garden into a future new season of Isekai Quartet, though!)

I heartily recommend going back and watching episode 1 after seeing the end of this one, as the last few minutes are practically a scene-by-scene replay, except with the added twist that the timeline has advanced a few years in Cid’s original world (but, interestingly, only a few years instead of 16 or more) and something apocalyptic has happened in the interim – maybe one of the convergences that Mordred was talking about? Whatever’s going on there, it will be dealt with in a just-announced follow-up movie. As for what Shadow Garden will do while Shadow is gone? They’ve shown before that they can make do just fine, even if key members may feel like they can’t. In fact, in some senses they may be better off without him around as a wild card.

Overall, this season doesn’t quite live up to the level of the first half of the first season, but it does have its moments and provides a plenty fun view. It still has a place in the discussion about both the season’s and the year’s top series despite the fierce competition.

Bonus: Kage-Jitsu!

This is a collection of 2 minute shorts that stream online in accompaniment to each episode this season most episodes last season, done in the same style as Isekai Quartet but featuring what various Shadow Garden members are doing when Shadow isn’t around. Collectively they provide a bit more insight on some characters who don’t get much screen time, and they are usually quite fun.

Use this link for a YouTube channel containing most of the Season 1 entries in English subbed form.

Use this link for Season 2 entries. (I especially recommend episode 6, the one where Delta goes to the Lawless City to hunt Juggernaut.)

Review: Pluto

This ONA series, which debuted on Netflix in late October, has a very interesting pedigree. It adapts a lauded manga by Naoki Urasawa (the manga-ka behind titles like Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl, Master Keaton, 21st Century Boys, and of course Monster), but that was itself a re-imagining of a singular story arc from Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy; indeed, Atom and his creator, Dr. Tenma, are both major characters in this story. That this is essentially an Astro Boy spin-off is not at all apparent until the last scene of episode 1, and no familiarity with Astro Boy is necessary to make sense of this story. It can be watched as a stand-alone just fine.

And it’s definitely worth watching regardless of what your normal opinions on fare about robots and AIs are. Over the course of 8 roughly hour-long episodes, it spins a sprawling, thought-provoking, occasionally intense, and sometimes even damning story about the tumultuous relationship humans have with ever-present robots and how certain robots attempt to live as humans would, including having spouses and even children. The framing device for the whole story is a basic-seeming plot: someone or something is going around destroying the seven great robots, advanced AIs who all participated in some capacity in the 39th Central Asian War a few years earlier. Paralleling this are the murders of individuals who are initially believed to be connected by their advocacy for robot rights but are later shown to all be linked by having been involved in a fact-finding mission which immediately preceded (and laid the groundwork for) the aforementioned war. As he investigates both lines of cases, robot detective Gesicht speaks to each of the surviving great robots in turn.

In some respects, the series follows familiar themes. Each of the robots in question is actively working on trying to find its own niche in post-war life. One becomes a butler to a blind genius composer and tries to learn about music, another raises a large family, another looks after orphans, and another just can’t completely step away from all of the battles. Each of them reflects on their involvement in the war and the way they participated in it, resulting in very human-like experiences of soldiers who try to reintegrate into society after coming home from bloody battles. Because robots, unlike humans, can’t forget without their memories being specifically wiped, their experiences weigh heavily on them. Meanwhile, there are anti-robot terrorists to contend with, the trial of a former dictator, the rebuilding of a war-devastated country, and oh, yes, a mysterious robot called Pluto going around wreaking havoc. All of it is connected, but the underlying mystery of the story is how it’s connected.

Many of the issues raised in the series are familiar ones for the genre. Robots in this setting can fight and destroy other robots but are explicitly forbidden to harm or kill humans, yet one did once, and that seems to be happening again. Or is this not just the second time? What mechanism might allow a robot to do that? Robots do what they can to fit in, even to the point of mimicking human behaviors that aren’t necessary for them, but can they really understand what it is to be human? And does making robots and AIs more human-like mean they can achieve human emotions and flaws as well? The series plays fast and loose with the science, in many places pushing it to the level of magic, so those expecting fine realism won’t find it here. However, technical minutiae is not something the series has much interest in exploring.

That’s because the series has so much else to say and points it is clearly trying to make. That the source manga began in 2003 is an important detail, as the story makes little pretense about the 39th Central Asian War and the circumstances that brought it about being heavily modeled on the early stages of the Iraq War in 2003; the country at the center of the conflict is even unsubtly called Persia, and it leader Darius XIV bears a distinct resemblance to Saddam Hussein. Instead of “weapons of mass destruction” being the impetus for the war, it’s “robots of mass destruction” here. In the real world, whether or not the WMDs actually ever existed became a thorny issue in the years following the war, and that is harshly reflected here. In fact, the truth or falsehood of that matter ultimately proves to be the impetus of most of what happens in the series (even if not apparent at first). Parts of this may make viewers old enough to remember the Iraq War a little uncomfortable, and I don’t doubt that’s intentional.

The series measure up on technical fronts as well. The distinctive character design styles of both Tezuka and Urasawa stray markedly from current standards, but none of the characters here – not even the robots – lack for distinctive appearances and personalities. Settings, whether futuristic-looking cities or desolate desert battlefields, are beautifully-rendered by a wide range of contributing studios. CG aspect don’t always blend in perfectly, but otherwise the animation effort is smooth and strong, with some truly dynamic sequences. Credit also goes to music director Yugo Kanno (with support from some compositions by Urasawa), who delivers a musical score that turns the most intensely dramatic scenes into true powerhouses, giving the whole affair an appropriate sense of size and scale.

I watched the series in English dubbed form (it is available with Netflix’s normal array of sub and dub options), and the English vocal performances will not disappoint. Though the cast mostly consists of long-time anime regulars performing as expected (gee, casting Richard Epcar as a robot who looks like a buff, middle-aged, white-haired guy with a bad attitude must have been a tough decision. . .), kudos go in particular to anime newcomer Jason Vande Brake for an outstanding performance as Gesicht and to relative newcomer SungWon Cho for a potentially career-making turn as philosophical killer robot Brau-1589. And no, that’s not a Western actor using an accent for Darius XIV; they really did get a Jordanian actor (one known for having dubbed some anime into Arabic) for the role. You won’t find a weak performance anywhere in the English dub, however.

Despite prominently featuring child-looking robots in some episodes, Pluto is very much one of the rare anime series made completely for adults. It delivers in all storytelling, characterization, and technical aspects and easily deserves to be considered one of 2023’s best titles.

Rating: A

The Apothecary Diaries episode 11

Rating: A+

Barring a stunning collapse in the next couple of weeks, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is not going to be beat for best series of the season (and maybe the year), but with this episode The Apothecary Diaries makes its strongest bid for the #2 spot. In culminating multiple recent plot threads, it delivers a masterpiece of deductions, tragedy, loss, and regret, mostly driven by a need to maintain appearances. In the process it brings a lot of seemingly-disparate details together, albeit sometimes in uncomfortable ways, and strongly implies critical long-hidden truths.

Key amongst those details is Lishu’s bad experience with honey when she was young, which is the surprising pivot point on which most of what happens here swings. Feeding honey to a baby under one year old (especially one under 6 months old) can cause infant botulism – not exactly poisoning, but that’s the way medicine at the level of sophistication for this setting would understand it. This is likely what happened to Lishu, rather than a food allergy. Such an affliction isn’t necessarily fatal but could, indeed, make a baby dangerously sick. Since honey is an expensive commodity in this setting, cases where babies might be fed it would probably be few and far between even among the wealthy, so that not being common knowledge is completely understandable. (Honestly, I wasn’t aware of this myself until I read up about it in the wake of watching this episode.) From this little lack of knowledge, a tragedy which unfolded over 17 years and ultimately cost at least three lives, may have involved the crippling of another, and the disruption of one mutually-beneficial relationship was spun. “Ignorance is a sin,” indeed.

Maomao has shown before a reluctance to be accusatory in cases where women could be put in deadly trouble, but she has also shown that she will act decisively when lives are (or have been) on the line, and this time she also has a highly personal reason to get involved. Her confrontation with Fengming reveals a woman devastated by one awful mistake and her efforts to cover that up, both for her own sake and for that of the woman she idolized to the point that she resolved to serve no other. It clarifies that Lishu was nervous around Garnet Pavilion not because of the honey but because Fengming was actively trying to push her away, lest Ah-Duo get any inkling that the honey was what killed her baby 17 years ago. (And Lishu was still coming around anyway because she had formerly had a practically daughter/mother connection to Ah-Duo.) Fenming tried to have Lishu poisoned not to preserve Ah-Duo’s position in the Rear Palace – she was already on the way out anyway – but to eliminate that potential loose end, and the servant girl died in a genuine suicide to deflect any suspicion of the poisoning falling on her mistress. That the servant girl tried to climb out despite doing it out of devotion weighs like a stone block on the whole scenario and speaks to the extreme irony in play here: the utter devotion of Ah-Duo’s servants ultimately cost lives for purposes that Ah-Duo would never have tolerated had she known about them, while the lack of devotion of Lishu’s servants may have saved hers.

But while Maomao’s intense confrontation of Fengming is the episode’s dramatic peak, all of the other follow-up scenes play crucial roles in rounding out this part of the story. Despite Fenming’s attempts to keep Ah-Duo from knowing about any of what was transpiring, the latter’s words while drinking with Maomao atop the wall suggests that she has a pretty good sense of what transpired, if not exactly what the real underlying reason for it all was. The drunk and morose behavior of Jinshi shows a different side of him and suggests that his connection to Ah-Duo is more than just professional, and Maomao’s lament that suggesting to Fenming how to turn herself in in such a way that she still protects/shields Ah-Duo is the best she can do as “a girl with no power” also hits hard. And given the way things play out, does any viewer think that her speculation at the end, as Ah-Duo is leaving, is just an “idiotic delusion”? But if that’s the case, then which baby was it that got poisoned? Still feels like something’s missing there, and the mystery about the chemically-treated boards possibly used as signals still hasn’t been resolved.

Regardless, this episode also shines on the production front, featuring some of the series’ finest animation and scene framing to date, especially in shots like the vista of stars during the scenes atop the wall. The musical score, which has always hit the mark, is also at its best throughout.

This is The Apothecary Diaries at its most somber, but the episode shows that it doesn’t have to rely on its humor aspect to achieve its full impact.

The Eminence in Shadow episode 31

Rating: B+

During the last couple of reviews, I wondered why the succession of the Oriana Kingdom bypassed the former queen and went straight to Rose. This episode gives us the answer: the former king, in one of his few moments of lucidity towards the end of his life, forced the succession onto Rose by re-encoding the ring which controlled the legendary Black Rose to her. That didn’t entirely thwart the Cult but certainly made their plan more difficult. The grand irony this time around is that both the Cult and Shadow still end up getting what they want, just not in the way that either of them intended.

In the Cult’s case, they were working through Perv Asshat to get him to marry Rose so he could get control of the ring. But it turns out that wasn’t actually necessary; they just had to get Rose to put the ring on. That raises the question of how much Mordred was playing Perv for a fool; since Mordred was already present at the wedding and had the activation device that Zeta and his team were looking for, Mordred was probably lying through his teeth to Perv the whole time. That doesn’t make Perv’s consternation about discovering he didn’t have the ring any less sweet, nor make seeing him get beheaded any less satisfying. (For that matter, after the reveal that the queen was a willing participant in drugging the king and advocated offing her daughter so she could have Perv all to herself, seeing her get beheaded, too, was also pretty satisfying.) Party with the Big Boys and the consequences can be steep indeed.

Shadow also gets what he wanted here – a grand, dramatic showdown – just not at all in the way he was planning, either. His conversations with Rose last episode seemed like some genuine soul-searching, and it feels a little like he’s straining to keep orienting her into the plot he has in mind in this case, too. Of course, he and Rose are still not at all on the same page, though neither still seems aware of that, and the crucial “help” he gives Rose in the form of the ring is purely accidental. And certainly neither he nor anyone else was aware of the message the former king had left which threw a wrench into everyone’s plans. But hey, Shadow still gets a major Cult foe and an army-destroying mechanical monster from an extradimensional rift to take out in stylish fashion, so what’s to complain about? Cid is nothing if not adaptable, especially when it comes to fitting random events into his dramatic narrative.

Romance is definitely not part of that narrative at this point, although any sane person in Cid’s position would probably be running from the increasingly-yandere tendencies of that maid. She was getting unwanted attention from the guard last episode, but she makes clear this episode that you don’t want to get on her bad side. Cid does at least continue to take note of Epsilon’s fine use of slime to enhance her bust, though he regards it so analytically that he seems to be more admiring Epsilon’s skill and dedication at pulling off that very vain stunt than the actual sex appeal that Epsilon is aiming for. (Again, the irony here is that she is making an impression on him with her assets, just not the way she intended.) I’m not sure what to make of the joke about Cid solemnly playing piano for the crowd in his underwear, though, especially with the audience not seeming to react to it.

Overall, the trials that Rose is being forced through here are ultimately going to leave her a stronger person, even if she’s suffering to get to that point; we can see signs of that in the way she refutes Perv at the altar. Oriana will recover from the destruction with a strong and capable ruler who will be a secret ally to Shadow Garden, and Shadow will come out smelling like roses (hah!) and get credited for genius he didn’t consciously use once again. Rose will be even better off if she can break from her dream of having Cid at her side, but hey, first thing’s first: there’s a Big Bad to take out.

The Apothecary Diaries episode 10

Rating: B+

Last episode began a narrative shift away from individual mysteries and more towards how certain mysteries may be connected into a bigger picture. This episode continues down that path as Maomao interacts with two of the other four high-ranking concubines: Lishu and Ah-Duo. In the process, we learn a bit more about each and their situations.

Lishu’s case first comes up during a tea party and during a later visit from Maomao, which clarifies how she is being influenced and bullied by her ladies-in-waiting. Interaction with Ah-Duo comes in between when Maomao is sent to help for a couple of days of cleaning at Jinshi’s behest, an assignment which feels very much like Jinshi is using her to fish for information even though he doesn’t say as much. Aside from Maomao getting the gossip from her laundry friend and Jinshi going overboard with a bit of teasing towards Maomao, that’s about all that happens during the episode. However, we learn a lot from these incidents, and that raises further big questions.

All of this is shown under a roughly-uniting theme of honey, which is also the episode’s title. Honey is prominent at Ah-Duo’s Garnet Pavilion because Fenming, her chief lady-in-waiting, is from a honey-producing family. It’s even in the candles they burn, which would be an extravagant luxury in a setting where honey isn’t cheap, and Jinshi is both showing off and teasing Maomao with it later on. So why would Lishu, who’s revealed to probably be allergic to honey as well, furtively in the vicinity of Garnet Pavilion with only her poison-tester in tow? Something is definitely suspicious there. The servant woman who died last episode was from that pavilion, and rumored to have been the poisoner at the garden party, too. That’s only rumor, of course, but if she did do it and was acting on behalf of someone, it probably would be Fenming, who also has the bandages on her arm suggesting that she may have been involved with the treated boards from a few episodes back. Everything points towards something going on here, but are these just red herrings borne of gossip, part of a simple plan to get Lishu out of the picture, or something bigger? The middle option seems most likely, since there is motive: Ah-Duo is going to be leaving the harem soon to be replaced by someone younger, and the presumption is that she might not have to if Lishu (who hasn’t serviced the Emperor at all) went instead.

But that all seems a little too simple. Things get more intriguing when we learn that Ah-Duo still being present in the harem despite her age can be attributed to practically being raised side-by-side with the Emperor, so it seems unlikely that she’d be able to be forced out. Her having a baby around the same time as the current Emperor’s little brother was born is also very highly suspicious, especially if we factor in that Jinshi has been implied to be that brother and bears some striking similarities in appearance to Ah-Duo. (Granted, he doesn’t look like he’s that young, but that’s never stopped anime before.) This reeks of some kind of cover-up, one that Maomao’s adoptive father seems to have been involved in, too; this is what his mysterious comment at the end of episode 7 must have been referring to. But how much, if anything, does that have to do with current events?

Aside from that, the other interesting detail is how different in appearance Ah-Duo is from the others. She has neither Lishu’s youth and innocence, the exotic beauty of Gyokuyou, or the curvaceous figure of Lihua, but is, in fact, a more androgynous beauty, the kind who could have been the prince of an all-girls school as a teenager. She’s essentially the female version of Jinshi. Hmmm. . .

One or more big mysteries are playing out here, and that’s sure to keep this series involving for the foreseeable future.

Review: The Boy and the Heron

Whether this ends up being Miyazaki’s last film or not, all of the work that went into it is quite evident on the screen. The movie is resplendent with all manner of visual creativity, a fair amount of symbolism, and a wealth of fine details. What it does or does not accomplish narratively is another story, however, and in that respect the movie is one of the least of Miyazaki’s titles.

In the story, which is set in 1945 Japan, Mahito is a boy whose mother is killed in the firebombings of Tokyo during World War II (specifically, March 9-10 1945), much like protagonist Seita from Studio Ghibli’s Grave of the Fireflies. Unlike Seita, though, Mahito’s father is still around and both move out to the countryside to live at the family home with his pregnant aunt. There Mahito encounters the titular heron and its connection to a mysterious, ruined tower nearby, one that belonged to a great uncle who mysteriously disappeared decades earlier. Naturally, Mahito investigates once he learns that the heron can talk, and that sends him on a world-hopping adventure when his aunt goes missing.

That’s a perfectly fine set-up, but the biggest problem is that Mahito just isn’t that compelling as a protagonist. Compared to the likes of a Nausicaa, Ashitaka, or Chihiro, he has little character or distinguishing traits, beyond resorting to self-harm to get himself out of problematic relationships at his new school. He’s handy and determined, but that’s about it, and he doesn’t feel like he’s carrying the expected emotional baggage. This hampers the film greatly in the late stages, making some attempts at emotional resonance feel a bit flat. A second problem is that the movie operates at a smooth and gradual pace for much of its run, only to rush its climax and cut its follow-up short. Because of this, one character who doesn’t appear at all until near the end has an outsized role in the climax. The justifications for certain actions – like why the aunt wanders off, for instance – are also poorly-developed and explained.

Despite these problems, the movie still has a lot of admirable content. The artistic style may not be the crispest we’ve seen from Ghibli, but it is so rich in detail that a second viewing may be necessary to catch it all, especially little things like how furniture or even roof tiles look worn from weather and/or usage. The animation is amazing, and the venues and character and critter designs don’t lack for variety and expressiveness. Symbolism – which Miyazaki is certainly no stranger to using – is also liberally scattered throughout the project, and often a bit subtler than that seen in films like Spirited Away or Howl’s Moving Castle. This site provides a good breakdown of details that those not raised in Japanese culture might not catch. Some of the symbolism present here may also be speculative; I’ve heard a theory that the mysterious tower is meant to represent Studio Ghibli, for instance, and certain characters are meant to represent certain prominent Ghibli personnel. I am inclined to believe this, since too many details fit too neatly into that interpretation, including how some characters look suspiciously like characters from other Ghibli titles, the way the tower accesses other worlds, and some other details that are too spoilerish to bring up here.

Despite some flaws, this is still a movie well worth seeing. It’s just not one of Miyazaki’s best and not the anime movie released in 2023 that’s most worthy of an Academy Award nomination.

Overall Rating: B+

The Eminence in Shadow, episode 30

Rating: B+

As I watched this week’s episode, I was struck by the thought that I have been overlooking one big inherent irony: Shadow Garden’s behavior is itself very cult-like, especially in the way it idolizes and even (in some cases) outright worships Shadow. That comes through clearly in the different reactions of 559 and Epsilon to Cid. Epsilon clearly loves him, but 559’s reaction to watching Cid eat the fruit she served him goes beyond that. She likened Shadow to a god last episode, and I think it’s pretty clear that she now sees him that way. Would Cid be flattered or horrified if he ever realized that?

The opening part of the episode, where Lambda is asking about Rose, also brings up another point: one of the inherent flaws of an organization built around an eminently-powerful figure is that there is no recourse to challenge that figure’s whims if a member disagrees with something the leader is doing but is still loyal to the cause overall. That’s the kind of thing which can cause schisms in the long run. We’re nowhere near in danger of this yet, even with the incident concerning Rose factored in, but the seed of it may at least exist here.

The real core of the episode, though, is about what’s going on with Rose in the Oriana Kingdom. The presumption at the end of last episode was that Rose was being coerced to cooperate against her mother’s safety, and while that proved to be true, the irony is that her mother not only wasn’t at risk, but may have even been cooperating willingly. While she’s almost certainly not a co-conspirator or Cult of Diablos member, she’s certainly acting here like Perv seduced her. However, this again raises the question about why Rose’s mother can’t just take over the throne. Why does does it have to be Rose when Perv could just marry the mother instead? It may be that the Cult wants Rose specifically because she’s a Possessed, or (less likely) that the mother is past childbearing age. A bit more elaboration on the political and succession structure in Oriana would certainly be welcome, as right now this just looks like a mechanism for putting Rose in this predicament.

The differing ways each involved party is reacting to this is also interesting. Rose feels fatalistically trapped in this scenario, while the Seven Shadows are, somewhat surprisingly, hesitant to be too judgmental since they feel at least partially culpable for the scenario. (Allowing Rose to go on this mission without informing her about her mother’s status was an uncharacteristically bad miscalculation.) Cid, meanwhile, was clearly upset at first over his plans for Rose being thwarted, but now that he’s calmed down he’s being remarkably sympathetic. His words to Rose about how he can relate to her because she’s also bucking convention (with her desire to focus on swordplay in a kingdom not fond of it) don’t sound like his normal Shadow shtick, so this might be the most honest we ever see Cid being.

Of course, this series being what it is, it can’t take things too seriously. The jokes populate the episode aplenty, whether it’s Lambda doing her best rendition of a tired tour guide, the overly-optimistic amorous guard in the garden, Cid using his powers to escape from a clingy maid or steal jewelry during his piano performance (and somehow not getting noticed at this), or Cid unwittingly filching the item at the center of the whole Oriana Kingdom scenario. The very pointed emphasis on Cid enjoying the cookies while dealing with Rose is also par for the course; Cid would hardly be the first anime character who doesn’t let even high drama stop him from enjoying his snacks, but how in-your-face the series is about it without letting it distract from the main events of the scene is somehow terribly amusing. So, too, is episode’s pointed emphasis on jiggling bosoms; how far Epsilon is going with making her falsies seem realistic is almost as funny as Cid’s dispassionate analysis of both her slime-created ones and the maid’s real ones.

So what’s Cid’s “Plan B” in this scenario? Looks like we’ll find out next episode, but I’m sure it won’t disappoint.

The Apothecary Diaries, episode 9

Rating: A-

One of the major factors which makes this series a top-tier title for both the season and year is its effortless ability to mix its comedic and serious components and still excel at both. Episode 9 is a great example of that. Many other series could stand to use it as a model. (I’m looking at you again, Kingdoms of Ruin.)

On the humorous side, watching someone as elegant and proper as Gyokuyou continue to bust a gut over Maomao’s highly misleading explanation about how she awarded Lihaku for being her guarantor is entertaining in itself, but so is Maomao’s reaction to getting her hands on some alcohol. (Given her background, it’s really not surprising that she would have had opportunities to develop a taste for it young.) Jinshi is a little too sharp to always be the victim in such situations, though, and so seeing him get back at Maomao a bit with the probably-made-up-on-the-spot proposed law about changing the legal drinking age was quite fitting. The explanation for why Maomao isn’t allowed to touch corpses is also fitting, as is everyone’s reactions to hearing it; Maomao even seems to sheepishly acknowledge that her father wasn’t wrong about her on this point.

But two people are also dead this episode, and the series continues to deliver on taking things more seriously when it needs to. Both cases initially look like either accidental deaths or suicide, but neither may be. The first case – involving an older male servant that Jinshi was close to – may be a more accidental homicide than an intentional one, since deliberately killing someone that way would require some extremely specialized knowledge. However, we’ve had no indication that the mystery behind the poisoning at the garden party has been solved, and while that is still outstanding, a possible connection cannot be ruled out. Same with the death of the female servant in the moat. The manga and novel versions clarify that bodies turning up in the moat aren’t that rare, whether from suicide or a failed escape attempt, but as Maomao points out here, women with bound feet in particular would have difficulty making the climb up the wall, and the state of her fingers suggests that she at least tried to climb out of the moat. This more strongly suggests deliberate murder, perhaps the disposal of someone who knew too much, and looks far more suspicious.

The episode’s strongest content spins off of that. Maomao has mentioned matters of mortality in a matter-of-fact fashion on many occasions, and going into a contemplative mode is a staple for her. However, I believe that this is the first time that the two have been connected, especially concerning her own mortality. Seeing whoever it was in the Verdigris House annex last episode and the dead servant in this episode have apparently given Maomao cause to consider how she might die herself, which engenders her unsettling request of Jinshi. That she sees this as a practical request, while Jinshi is clearly upset by having to even consider it, shows the continuing disconnect between the two, but that’s both logical and a storytelling necessity at this point. Even though their paths have intersected, they still come very different worlds.

The bonus at the end of the episode is a new lead on the incident from a few episodes back, the one with the chemically-treated boards and the burnt dress. Now we know who was likely wearing that dress, and that the lady-in-waiting in question was thus likely connected to those treated boards, but not why. That character is scheduled to appear next episode (along with a repeat appearance by Lishu), so the greater plot at work behind the scenes is starting to advance more distinctly. That promises some interesting developments for next episode, too, but this one is still a good one.