Hi everybody! So in case you haven’t noticed, this is a pretty big post! A lot of the little content I’m seeing this season that I predict might drop but isn’t worth posting full blog posts on a regular weekly basis. Instead I just stuffed them in here! So… Stay tuned for that.
Pharmacy diary – 13 [Phục vụ ở tòa án bên ngoài]
Mao Mao is back! What I like most about this episode is that the Apothecary’s Diary decided to change locations. I was a little annoyed that she decided to return to the Harem so easily, it felt like a convenient reset after everything that had happened. So instead, see her transfer to the Outer Court, work as Jinshi’s assistant, and study to become a palace maid? It’s a nice change of pace and gives the series more of my favorite dynamic: Jinshi and Mao Mao. Now they have even more opportunities to interact! And that’s wonderful. Seeing Jinshi protect her like that when she put on her makeup and arrived was amazing, really liked it. As for the rest of the show, it seems like Apothecary Diaries is staging some sort of political power game with a member of the military, one who will try to use Mao Mao to his advantage? I’m curious where this is going, especially with how wary Jinshi appears to be towards the Army. So, good episode.
Frieren – 17/18 [Hãy cẩn thận/Kỳ thi pháp sư hạng nhất]
Frieden! This is a double title because we skipped last week due to the new year. Episode 17, “Be Careful,” is quite slow. Mainly goodbye to Sein. I can’t say this touched me that much, because Sein always felt out of place to me. More like a temporary companion who doesn’t really get along with others and has no very strong reason to travel with them. Still, it was a nice goodbye and he had a nice moment trying to resolve the argument between Stark and Fern’s little lovers, which was sweet. The episode also features Fern getting sick and Frieren having to learn how to express himself better. For me, however, the most meaningful part of the episode was that it advanced Frieren and Himmel’s relationship more than anything.
As for episode 18, “First Class Mage Exam,” this is… I was very interested in this part of Frieren. I just don’t understand how this organization can look at Frieren, the Hero who helped defeat the Demon King, a certified 1,000 year old magician long before this organization existed, and not just confer the her rank. The fact that she had to take this exam with a bunch of kids seemed ridiculous to me, even from a bureaucratic standpoint. And this season will probably last until the end of the season, a friend of mine said? That’s worrying. Maybe it will entail something new and unique that will evolve from a basic round, I don’t know. Now though consider me relevant. Anyway, let’s try to be positive, some characters like Ubel could be interesting, and I think Fern could at least have a compelling story here. The gradual decline of the mages was also interesting, although we didn’t maintain it for long. Overall it has potential. I guess so.
Dungeon Meshi-2 [Roast Basilisk/Omelet/Kakiage]
The first half of this week’s Dungeon Meshi made me nervous. It still focuses a lot on cooking, researching things like antidotes and wasting time cooking it instead of just… giving it to the guy, things like that. But the second half really saved the episode for me, I really enjoyed this. I love Marcille’s insecurity and desperation to prove herself, Senshi actually learning from her methods and admitting that Mandrake in fact tastes better, Chilchucks’ professionalism and how how serious he is about their safety. It feels like Dungeon Meshi did a great job of giving everyone a moment to shine, to develop their character in some way, to really develop their relationships and the dynamic of the whole thing. group in general. All are great! I especially like Chilchuck and Senshi finding a way to work together, respecting each other’s expertise, then sadly admitting that one day they will break up so Chilchuck teaches him how to test/use traps so he He can cook with them/have something to remember. them when it’s all over. In my opinion, all of that is really solid and a good sign of where Dungeon Meshi is headed.
How to use healing magic incorrectly – 2 [Quá trình rèn luyện từ địa ngục bắt đầu!]
You know, I was surprised at how much I liked Wrong Way. I really think it will fall flat, becoming a standard MC Isekai OP. And maybe one day it will still be like that! But for now it really stays true to its premise. Usato is shown not to train to fight but to carry the wounded and flee from battle, ensuring his own life as a medic. That probably won’t last, but for now it’s still appreciated. Most of all, I like how the other heroes are legitimately his friends. They came, checked in, had lunch with him, even cared about his feelings and talked seriously with him. After a series of Shield Hero matches where everyone hated the MC for some random reason, it’s nice to have an Isekai where the MC gets called out for bullshit and his friends always support him that. It even takes the time to establish the “romance” with the hero girl or the slow personality change of the MC as he gains confidence. It’s truly strange how effectively Wrong Way executes standard tropes. It shouldn’t have been good, but… sort of. Is that allowed? What the hell?
Undead Unluck – 14 [Đạn đỏ thẫm]
Honestly, this was a pretty slow and lackluster episode of Undead Unluck. The pace has slowed down and there are a lot of recaps, even explaining what happened in a fight right after it happened. The ideas are great as are the uses of the power. I like how Undead Unluck focuses on explaining strength as what makes it strong, such as with RIP and any attempt to kill him technically constitutes an act of reparation for them and therefore they cannot do it. That was amazing! It’s just that everything surrounding that and the way it was presented made this feel like a distinct step down from some of the previews.
Unwanted immortal adventurer – 2 [Người mới bắt đầu và Người cựu chiến binh]
You know, I’m pretty down for this. The Undead Adventurer really slowed down this week, cutting back on the OP MC leveling stuff and focusing more on his relationships and getting back to the city. Watching him try to communicate, get his clothes, break down from being treated like a human being, it all felt good. I still wish more time had passed between his death and his resurrection, let’s have some “It’s been 50 years” reunions, but I’ll take what we can get . If *Undead Adventurer” can focus on this type of relationship, without getting too bogged down in the illusion of power, I can stick with it for the whole season.
Shangri-La Frontier – 14 [Squish]
This one everything goes pretty slow, there’s really not much to say. I’m not a fan of the way the new rabbit talks. The main skill of gardening is housekeeping. And the entire BERP game exists essentially just to fill time. Is there anything else to say? Uh… Oh, the new OP is terrible. Yes, roughly like that.
Ishura – 2 [Alus the Star Runner]
My expectations were not high and Ishura disappointed me. CGI aside, while most of it is certainly a step back, Ishura made the conscious decision this week to… not have our lead appear at all! Instead, they decided to try setting up dozens of new characters and an entire political conflict, all to push the story towards a tournament where 29 different competitors would fight to be crowned “The hero”. Why? Why do we need this? Is there a reason it couldn’t just have Soujirou wander around, meet various legendary characters, pick a fight with them in some way, and then move on? At least that seems more interesting than another Budokai-style round robin match for the death elimination tournament. I also don’t understand why we spent the episode establishing a bunch of different fighters while completely ignoring our lead. Wouldn’t it be more natural if our leads came to town and then slowly introduced this content, using them as our point of view to justify the exposition? I guess not, because that’s not what Ishura did. In any case, the end of the episode was quite enjoyable but for the most part, I was disappointed that our leads were nowhere to be seen and that it felt like the show was returning to a more stereotypical structure. Hopefully that will change.
Pon no Michi – 2 [Bốn người chơi tập hợp]
This episode was a real step back for me. I don’t know if it’s because the novelty of Pon no Michi is wearing off, because the references are down and the drama is up, or because the new girl is being extremely annoying. Could be any! Maybe all three. However, the fact remains that this episode is a bit difficult to get through. It improved in the second half, the game was fine, although I wish I could learn a little more about how it worked. However, the first half was a real grind. This new girl, at least in the introduction, is quite uncomfortable with having to cry, scream, and bitch while playing mahjong with them. Maybe now that she’s in the group, she’ll improve? I hope so, because otherwise I probably won’t continue Pon no Michi.
Episode 2 Starts next week
A Sign of Love
Metallic Rouge
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