Bookworm ep 10. This show hurts so damn good. Main doing her best in a situation she never asked for, fighting a fight she knows she can’t win. In a genre dominated by teenaged wish-fulfiment, an isekai that underlies the unfairness of life is a nice reprieve.
Speaking of hurting good,
Hoshiai no Sora ep 9. The ep has the usual crazy level of detail in the character acting. The spacious layouts used when An-chan goes on her adventure was very interesting, created this real haunting experience.
The show’s depiction of parents refusing to accept their child for who they are is
Aggretsuko levels of rage-inducing. Also, the show opts to show the immediate consequences of violence this time, and the victim instinctively protecting their abuser. (I appreciate the implication
that the doctor saw through his lie. Hurray for competent adults.) Shingo’s VA nailed that after-credits scene, holy shit. Not a particularly elegant episode, but if the goal was to create an uncomfortable experience, it was plenty successful.
I wonder if this attitude of defying (or at least questioning) filial piety has always been in anime and I’m only now just now picking it up, or it’s the industry as a whole that’s changing.
Speaking of sports anime,
Azur Lane ep 9.
Jav and Laffey escorting Ayanami around the base and finding common ground with the rest of the faction was nice. Jav complaining about the others’ lack of class while being covered in cake was adorable.
I was worried about Enterprise getting some serious character regression, but the show’s justification for it makes sense. Discovering who you really are (or might be) often causes people to retreat to more familiar spaces.
Even with Ark Royal’s shenanigans, this was a nice ep.