Hello everyone! Sorry for any delays, both from this and anything else this weekend. I’m flying back to visit family and that doesn’t leave me much time to get all of this done. We will return to our normal schedule on Monday!
Frieden – 7 [Like a Fairy Tale]
First we have Frieren. It’s no surprise that Frieren is still going strong. It’s not an action-packed episode or anything, but it does give us another look at her time with Himmel and more specifically her interactions with the Devil. I think this is really interesting. When it started, I expected it to be about Frieren being a conservative old lady who can’t accept that times are changing. That, just like how magic overcame the Demon Qual, society was progressing and bypassing her. That these demons really want the piece, leads to a Tiefling-like scenario. I’d be cool with that, show us some flaws! After all, that’s the pretty standard path to take, the world becomes more peaceful and such. Really progressive. Instead Frieren doubled down. Yes, Demons are bad, yes they are monsters that operate on a completely different scale of values than we do. That whole thing in flashback? With the Devil child wanting to exchange one child for another? Only use the words “Mom” and “Dad” because they know people are emotional and wouldn’t kill them if they did? Or what about Lugner brazenly scouring Graf’s son’s room to construct a believable story about his biological father being killed by humans to maintain negotiations? It’s all presented very well, for an episode that’s basically nothing but talking it’s a really good talk. Plus, we have the promise of Frieren appearing in the next episode or two, so it’s not like that action won’t happen. That’s right. Shocker, another great episode from Frieren.
Undead Unluck – 4 [Bạn có thích sự thay đổi trong tôi không?]
I just need to make one thing clear before we get into this: We stan Gina in this family. Always have, always will. Now that you know what you’re in for, I can say that I really loved this episode. The only thing keeping Frieren up there is a small amount of ecchi bullshit which I know will start to wear off after this episode. Everything else? It’s just… God. It was great. Gina, the idea of change and no change and Andy’s death wish, animation, animation. Undead Unluck doesn’t deserve what it gets, at least not this early. But it’s getting there anyway and that’s great. From the aerial battles of Itano Circus to all these close-ups and the emphasis on eyes and faces… Oh I love it. I love this series. And I’m looking forward to what’s to come. About… 2 or 3 episodes from here? Maybe 4? Expect me to put this above Frieren. Maybe so.
Some more of my favorite photos from this week’s episode
Overtake – 4 [Quá khứ và sự hối tiếc]
This is a step backwards for Overtake. It tones down the reporter’s stupidity, deftly handles the fallout from the crying photo, and gets us back on track with his personal problems. And while all of this is good, plus some decent expressions/animations in this episode, it’s the last episode that caught my attention the most. Overtake starts with his problem taking pictures of people and it’s something we don’t really have more information about even though it’s the main reason he joined the race team. To know that it was because he was covering a disaster, his last photo was of a woman being swallowed by the sea and all the hate online came from people acting like he Has he exceeded his limit? That’s so fascinating! That’s a legitimate reason for his injury! And now Overtake really explores it along with the racer’s own issues with his father. Exquisite! It feels like Overtake is on the right track.
Shangri-La Frontier – 4 [Một trò chơi rác rưởi sắp xếp lại sở thích nâng cao]
Meanwhile, Shangri-la is pretty much holding up for me. I’m not a big fan of all this unique Sunraku stuff that’s constantly evolving, discovering things no one else seems to have despite only being in the game for like… 3 days? It feels like we’re getting closer and closer to OP MC territory. We are not there yet! But it’s getting there. Additionally, I’m very interested in the new characters it adds. Introducing us to some of Sunraku’s trash game friends is a good idea, especially when one takes the form of a hot spear girl. Hopefully they can shake things up a bit, keeping Sunraku on his toes. If not, I fear Shangri-la could continue to decline until it’s just a fun MMO rather than something truly memorable.
SpyXFamily S2 – 3 [Mission and Family/The Elegant Bondman]
SpyXFamily was very close to doing well this week. The first half with Yuuri, shows us his work, his dedication and skill, his more serious side, it’s all good. Even great, as we see he’s not without compassion or understanding towards the people he brings, he simply doesn’t let that stop him. I really thought we left his siscon bullshit behind. But then SpyXFamily decided to prove me wrong, finally undoing a lot of that good work by bringing siscon back in full force. That was… disappointing. As for the other half? These are just omakes, a bunch of little shorts. I guess they’re cute, but they really are. And in the case of the Bondman short, that’s not even the case. All in all, it started out as a good episode but couldn’t seal the deal, ending up being one of the more lackluster episodes the show has ever produced.
Goblin Slayer S2 – 4 [Onward To Adventure
Tôi cho rằng tuần này Goblin Slayer vẫn ổn. Các trận chiến không quá tuyệt vời, chỉ diễn ra trên diện rộng. Không có hình ảnh động hay, khá thấp về mặt chiến thuật. Tôi muốn nói rằng điều khiến tập phim thành công chính là sự trưởng thành mà mọi người dường như đều trải qua. Priestess phải lãnh đạo và cứu người, Wizard kid học cách suy nghĩ sáng tạo bằng phép thuật của mình, ngay cả Goblin Slayer cũng bắt đầu cởi mở hơn một chút với một tràng cười sảng khoái khi nhìn thấy chính mình trong Wizard nhỏ tóc đỏ. Hơi thất vọng một chút vì đây là đỉnh cao lớn mà chúng tôi đạt được cho nội dung của anh ấy, nhưng này. Có lẽ vẫn còn nhiều điều nữa sắp tới.
MF Ghost – 4 [Tire Management]
MF Ghost continues the trend of exaggerated racing and mediocre characters. I will say, Kanata has the charm of a wet paper bag. His interactions with his sister, hanging out, talking about the past, exploring his personality? Overall this should be fine, it’s exactly what I wanted. I should participate in it. But the way it was presented, the way the VA sold it… I didn’t. It ends prolonged and aimless emotions. Especially when we got into the race, it was really exciting. Suffice it to say, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll keep testing the MF Ghost.