The season overall proved to be an ok one. Some shows I liked more, some less, but there wasn’t any that would have made me regret time spent watching. On the other hand, the season didn’t provide any masterpieces. ReLife and Mob Psycho 100 will probably receive my attention some time later as well as Berserk but this one will have to wait a lot more since I’m still catching up with the manga before I’m ready to complete the old series and then move to the new. Now, turning to the watched shows…

Orange

    I still remember with joy how energetically the show opened my summer season – a very catchy (will come back to this later on) OP, some mystery motives, quite distinctive usage of colors (occasionally washed out scenery (like in Steins;Gate and that’s no wonder since both of the shows share the same director) and extensive green tones everywhere)… Many of the positives remained for the whole show, also Orange managed to create a sense of a very realistic group of friends whose actions between themselves just speak of warmth, trust and just joy of being together. Sadly the studio that made Orange wasn’t that prepared to tackle all the problems – many times production flaws were very visible, lack of more frequent sakuga or pretty easily noticeable CG elements didn’t help either. The story as far as it concerned the relationships between the characters was very enjoyable but the mystery aspect that depended on some sci-fi premises felt very out of place. Where Orange tried, it did well but other times the show could look surprisingly bad. By the way, as far as I understand, the title of the show doesn’t have pretty much any connection with the show itself. Weird.

Tales of Zestiria the X 

    Oh, Ufotable. Probably much of the budged of the show was spent to put some salt called ‘CG dragons’ in the wound of studio Deen. As it’s the custom of the studio, there’s little that can be criticized about the production. Still, 3D backgrounds didn’t feel that connected with the 2D characters, especially during some early episodes. Yes, everything was beautiful and technically stunning but it’s hard to immerse completely when flat and not flat objects try to convince you that they can belong to the same space. That aside, the story felt not the most impressive and many times reminded me of a standard RPG with characters fighting, walking, talking, doing some other stuff and then repeating everything all over again. I’m not sure that the writers chose the most appropriate way of adapting the original game. Many things got only a small touch of light and you just feel the need of playing the game to know something for sure – the world is vast but getting only hints doesn’t always bring satisfaction. Also, the insertion of a part that was basically the new Berseria game advertisement certainly didn’t help the pacing, overall story or anything else.

Tales of Zestiria the X  receives the award of most impressive scenery of the season. How else.

Amaama to Inazuma 

    To summarize everything into two words, the show was just a recipe book. It sounds very unfair to demand some action from a slice of life show but Amaama to Inazuma just didn’t dare to stray from its comfort zone. Exploration of the relationship between a father and a daughter sounds good, some life wisdom sprinkled here and there each episode also makes the show more appealing, introducing the viewers to the Japanese cuisine and showing how to prepare the meals again is a positive but when you do only the same stuff for the whole season, want it or not, it becomes painfully repetitive and boring. Even if it’s a slice of life show I’d like some uncertainty about  the next episode, some unexpected events or just the change of the setting. When everything happens over and over again without anything substantial changing, I have to point out that even a slice of real life doesn’t always act according to all your plans and expectations.

91 Days

     So, the final show of the season but certainly not the least enjoyable. Generally 91 Days is The Godfather: The Animation come into being with some flavor of J.R.R.Martin’s “everyone dies” mindset. Even if it’s possible to define the anime using very little words, watching it proved to be a very rewarding experience. Studio Shuka might not be the one you think about when asked about highest production values (and it certainly showed), the characters tended to be immersed into themselves and rarely showed their true thoughts and intentions but part from that I hardly have anything to complain about. The feeling of a real life when you don’t know for sure which characters are going to survive a single episode felt refreshing, various mind games, even if sometimes lacking a more personal approach usually looked enjoyable enough, the soundtrack gave just the right atmosphere of jazzy prohibition era. The show probably wasn’t the most visually stunning but its setting and stories proved to be more novel and entertaining than many other anime.

91 Days receives the award of the most memorable character of the season, that being Mr. Fango – the spiritual brother of Ladd Russo is very distinct from the entire cast of the show as well as the whole season. You just can’t be any more extravagant and quirky, especially when it comes to food being offered to your guests. If that’s not enough, 91 Days receives the awards of favorite OST  and favorite anime of the season. I guess if you kinda like something, you like it whole.

     Favorite OP not without competition was that of Orange. Contrary to the show actually providing some animation as well as giving energetic, youthful and joyful impression proved to be enough for me to eagerly await it every episode and hum along. OP of Tales of Zestiria the X also had a very catchy song but I take some minimalism rather than a bunch of random action stuff, as cool as it was.

     91 Days would get a favorite ED award but after thinking a bit I decided to trash that away – the shows OP is much more memorable, setting the mood well and giving some insight into the mischievous dealings of the mafia world and unexpectedly changing allegiances. If I didn’t try to like Orange as much as I did, 91 days could have had a total musical victory over the other shows.

Orange (Ep. 12)

    Visually the episode wasn’t anything special (again) but the way it handled itself was pretty interesting. To think about it, the first half really was a recap. Still, telling the story from a different perspective both reminds of the past events before the climax of the story, adds more depth to Kakeru’s character and also shows what happened in the old timeline – it’s a win-win situation for the viewers. Would that recaps were all made by this principle – showing already seen events from a slightly different angle. Naho’s desperation in the old timeline was depicted well as she wanted to reach for Kakeru (who himself didn’t find the right words and right people when they were needed) but ended up full of regrets because of missed opportunities. The OST in this part particularly enhanced the visuals though I can only praise it for the job done during the whole season. The time travelling part again is not the strongest point of the show. It had to be explained somehow and, even if what we got wasn’t the greatest explanation ever, there have been worse tries. Still, it’s really hard to believe how fully grown adults so easily believe in such a pseudoscience and worse, it actually works exactly as they want it to.

Tales of Zestiria the X (Ep. 11)

   Clearly, everything is set up for the season finale and I doubt there could be done much more from the technical point of view. The battle did receive a lot of attention and it was depicted with enough gravity and sense of something inevitable that you must stop but just can’t. Though the armies could have at least used formations. Leaving the visuals aside, it was not the first time that I felt very disconnected from the show. Probably the middle season by-product of the Berseria commercial didn’t help either. Well, just everyone shouting shounen-esque attack names whose various effects scream of RPG, trying to fight without killing (especially when the fighting is done by two girls against a multitude of professional soldiers) or purifying a fighting field and thus killing both phantoms and soldiers (or knocking them down? If that’s the case then they will start fighting again after regaining consciousness so what’s the point?). Anyway, I did appreciate all the work done to make the episode look as well as it did but I can’t be positive that I liked it much.

Amaama to Inazuma (Ep. 12)

   Yawn. Yep, the same old formula all over again. Quite unticlimactic as the grand finale, eh? Yes, it’s a slice of life but some closure would have been nice and not an episode that could probably be easily swapped with any other episode. Kotori’s mom finally found time to join the cooking group but apart from a new face it had no effect at all. Some wisdom of life again was sprinkled and, as the saying goes, it was food for thought. Talking specifically about family and relationships felt appropriate knowing that it was the last episode but frankly it was nothing new or unexpected. Tsumugi showed her childish side probably more often as ever but as always all the problems were solved and everything as always ended with a loud “oishi”. I wonder if there was an episode without that.

91 Days (Ep. 11)

    That was anything if not intense. So intense that there are barely any alive characters left and those alive face not the most pleasant future perspectives. 3 of 4 Angelo’s targets are finally dead though the last two died only by the help of Angelo’s machinations and not directly so it’s only up to himself if he’s able to feel at least some satisfaction about that, if there is at all any satisfaction to be had. It’s obvious that while Angelo so far has executed his plans almost flawlessly, he forgets the most important part of any plan – how  to remain safe and sound when everything’s finished. Even if Angelo will be able to deal with Nero, his perspectives hardly look bright as he has made enemies all around, also after the death of Corteo there isn’t anything or anyone left in the world for Angelo to live for save the revenge. If everything will go well for him I doubt he will be able to live a normal life and something like a suicide can be a probable outcome. That Strega guy wasn’t too happy about being only a nephew of the don so even if he overreacted by ordering the massacre of the Vanettis, everything should be going in his favor, but leaving someone as untrustworthy as Angelo alive could become a problem for him, too. So, the bottom line is that Angelo is on the verge of obliterating all the Vanettis and probably dying in the process – he doesn’t look to care about anything else in the world.

Orange (Ep. 11)

    After the pretty light-hearted end of the sports festival New Year’s celebration strikes with more emotions and not so bright a future ahead. It occurred to me that the concept of the future in the show portrays it as not having such a diversity as one could think of. There are some milestones (even with identical dialogue) that are reached by very different means. Kakeru in the new timeline is certainly loved more openly and has far better relationships with everyone but when the time comes, everything turns out the same way as in (now) drastically different old timeline. It’s quite counter-intuitive that even when the timelines have diverged, the letters still appear to be a very good source of information. Then is it really worth struggling if after all everything burns down to the same scene where Naho manages to fail? I find it a bit hard to believe that the older Suwa openly questions his past choices when he has apparently a perfect family and would abandon it so easily. Yes, he certainly has a good heart and it shows in the new timeline but in this way he looks not to be cherishing his life at all. A bit disrespectful to his baby and Naho. By the way, Hagita’s officially joined not that populous male tsundere contingent.

Tales of Zestiria the X (Ep. 10)

     To be frank, I’m disappointed. Shirayuki proved to be a very unprofessional assassin. It’s almost funny when the conversation goes something like “I’ll kill you.” – “No you don’t. Wait, kill me.” – “No, I won’t.” – “OK, pack your things, we’re leaving tomorrow.” Even the identity of the assassin was pretty clear from the start. Other than that, the episode remained uneventful – the last arc with epidemic and stuff got wrapped up and only the introduction of (almost) new character moved the story forward. If a Shepherd takes in malevolence when purifying a human, it would probably makes him more likely to become a dragon (or something like that) himself. It would be a nice twist when everyone would have to fight the strongest dragon of them all. Sadly, as it’s very unlikely, abilities of the animators will have to be shown in some other way. I finally remembered what has been bugging me about Alisha’s character design, to be more precise the hair – it seems that the character designer watched too much Shiki.

Amaama to Inazuma (Ep. 11)

   Well, to be frank I can’t say much more about the episode that I haven’t said about the last one or even earlier ones. The episodic nature of the show doesn’t allow it to grow, to have character interactions that would be relevant in more than just one episode. Yes, the right atmosphere above all other things could be the thing the staff is trying to achieve but you can do so much without introducing something new. And introducing some variety wouldn’t be so difficult, just try and change the usual (and sadly becoming a bit boring) formula by for example exploring Kouhei’s and his wife’s relationship or going on a trip somewhere or just anything that would change the scene or usual accurately timed cooking and non-cooking segments. Sure, the episode had some funny moments, it was nice to see all the important characters gathered together and Tsumugi dealing with her problems but pretty much everything falls into the category of “been there, done that”. All these ramblings actually are quite irrelevant since there is only one episode left but just for the record – any more of the same formula would definitely make me yawn.

91 Days (Ep. 10)

     Starting from the end of the episode, I feel quite confused as when I was sitting with an all-knowing grin thinking “there’s no way Angelo will do that” and, well, he actually did. I’m still pondering if everything’s really as it looks or that’s just a false cliffhanger. Either way, the Vanettis will probably get the short end of a stick considering the look on Angelo’s eyes – the sincere smile on his face (I don’t remember him smiling for a long time) wasn’t long-lived. Even Nero seems to have decided to let Angelo choose where his loyalties lie and I’m not sure if that’s the best decision for him to make. Yes, Corteo did turn against the family but maybe it would have been better to persuade him (somehow) and keep Angelo loyal and not angry. Everyone should already know that angry Angelo can do things. Now Nero looks to have chosen his own fate without much hope of reconciling with his new (and probably already ex) best friend. In the end the uncle also chose not to help Angelo so his dreams of power will probably shatter. At this point I don’t even know if I’m more sad about all the unfortunate doings of the Vanettis or disgusted that almost all the members of the family are ready to employ any means available to get more power.

Orange (Ep. 10)

    Hagita not telling about Kakeru’s ankle problems from the start seems like a plot hole. Does not one person read his/hers letter till the end and share the information with others if it’s Kakeru’s life that depends on it? So, the power of friendship won once again and effort proved to be worth much more than skill and talent. Even if I would have liked a little bit more pompous and emphasized finish of the race it more or less felt like a decent culmination of a few past episodes. Still, the show will need to give a bit more effort to give as strong a feeling as it did in the very start. Animation while not impressive stepped up from the level of bad and hopefully it will manage to retain the quality till the very end. Also, as the competition part ended the story will need some other focus but there’s still very much to be told (like strengthening of the relationship of the main couple as well as some more information about how all those letters came into being) but there’s only 3 episodes left.

Tales of Zestiria the X (Ep. 9)

    First, for some time already I wanted to give some praise to the soundtrack. This episode and pretty much all the previous ones were really enhanced by the music, especially the battle scenes. The elements of the story still largely resemble RPG – this time it was that tree that Mikleo fought as well as all the wolves. The actual fight with the latter was again skipped for time issues and again I think that pacing this way isn’t improved. If you set up a fight, let it be a memorable one, just like what was done with the dragon (even if the subs had a “drake”, “dragon puppy” still sounds very funny). The cute and weird creature appeared again and this mystery (at least for me who has no knowledge of the game) was explained. I don’t know if we need more comedic elements and especially elements with the accent of Osaka but that will remain to be seen. The one thing I thought about the preview is that Sorey has 3 elemental Seraphs (fire, water and earth) and one place is still left. Well, some characters in the OP still haven’t been featured very much and since Zaveid doesn’t look that promising, I would bet on that hat wearing companion of Shirayuki to make Sorey’s Elemental Squad complete..

Amaama to Inazuma (Ep. 10)

   If you averaged every episode of Amaama to Inazuma so far you would probably get something very much resembling this. The episode felt very short but despite of that it didn’t feel very inspired, it was just another case of making something that turns out to be great. Probably the only surprising thing was the fact that there hasn’t been a fish-preparing episode earlier. Well, maybe Kouhei just didn’t have enough skills and determination until now but Kotori’s excitement that seemed even higher than usual confirmed that Japanese do love fish. Tsumugi’s wish to play a cat reminded me of Eve no Jikan with a very similar character and that’s probably the best thing I can say this time. Maybe the show just calms before something more exciting as the finale is not that far.

91 Days (Ep. 9)

    So it was the uncle. Well, it’s probably the only logical answer. Every character who was the least bit relevant to the story either had died or had some alibi. As one of the major mysteries of the show became unraveled, it’s yet to be seen what the uncle is really up to – why would he (if it was really him) invite Angelo by the letter and promise revenge? Maybe he just believed from the start that escaped Angelo could cause some problems some time later and simply wanted to catch him and thus end all possible problems. On the other hand, why allowe Angelo to become so deeply involved with the Vanetti’s business and become a really good friend to Nero? Anyway, the episode very well managed to create sense of suspense (for example Angelo’s anxiety pondering what was Corteo doing and what will become of him as well as with all the Vanettis), of waiting for something to end the calm before the storm. It did end, and even if we got some very important information, many things remain in the dark, so the very last episodes look to be very interesting.

Orange (Ep. 9)

    Well, the animation… To be frank, it already has been very limited and this time is no different but various non-moving shots, pans and other stuff that I really don’t have much knowledge about compensated for that so the visuals to my eyes wasn’t a big problem. Another thing is when even in stills characters look very misshapen and sometimes even unrecognizable as if the staff didn’t have neither enough time nor resources to do the job properly. Production values this time were probably the lowest and it’s really a shame for the story and its (theoretical) visualization (forgetting some CG students) are clearly above average in my opinion. Yet when shots of quality that appear during the whole episode are so very few, it’s very difficult to concentrate on other things than ugly visuals. Cutting to some chibis, using lengthy stills or simply showing floating text from the letter doesn’t help either. The story, as far as I have noticed moved just a little from the last time – Kakeru and Naho just start to feel a bit closer but nothing substantial really happened. Well, it looks to have been the weakest episode of all. I just hope the next one won’t end up like the last two of Eva.

Tales of Zestiria the X (Ep. 8)

    It was surprisingly entertaining though I can’t say it was anything I haven’t seen before. A little girl that feels superior to others and uses occasional “baka” from her dictionary (basically Kayo from Boku dake ga Inai Machi) or just a stereotypical cool guy aren’t that rare thing in anime. Yet, the dragon was truly great. I guess that level of animation and detail wouldn’t be beyond par with many examples from video games, TV shows or even some feature films. Somehow all the characters didn’t interact with the dragon physically so 2D and 3D didn’t clash like before. Returning to the new characters, some glimpses of a backstory of Edna didn’t really make me care about her and I can’t say even that about the cool guy. I hope these two will have their fair share of screen time but not as much as in this episode when Mikleo and Alisha (who even had her own backstory episode) barely even show up. Somehow the end feels very far and the potential of the story probably won’t have enough time to become realized. By the way, why does transformed Sorey have to wear high heels?

Amaama to Inazuma (Ep. 9)

     For the most part the episode was just an animated excerpt from a recipe book with all the instructions voiced perfectly clear and obligatory “oishii” after a few initial bites. The first part about a sleepover in the school also wasn’t anything unseen or just worth remembering. Maybe slight connections with earlier episodes – Kotori’s unending fear of knives and Kouhei’s friend briefly appearing again – added some continuity to the story. Still, it would have been a pretty dull episode if not for the ending. When you think of it, it was a really heartwarming and a bit funny memory from the past and everything was conveyed perfectly – no words were needed and the briefness of the scene made it even more similar to a memory. When the show wants, it can really depict the slightest emotional transitions from the real world, just like Tsumugi’s tears. There’s something very human in the feeling of regret and sadness remembering something or someone that has passed away without any chance of returning during even the brightest memories.

91 Days (Ep. 8)

     While thinking about the episode during the credits it appeared to me how many people have already died in the show and yet how many possible candidates there still are. Excluding Angelo probably every character could achieve an untimely death one way or another. Well, Fango will definitely be missed. I can’t say that he didn’t deserve it considering his behavior and temper (he basically was treated the same way as he did with don Orco and his henchmen) but it’s still quite sad not being able to see him doing something straight from Baccano anymore. Fango being one of the most memorable aspects of the show I wonder how they will manage to fill the gap. By the way, it looks like the empty week was for the best since the visuals looked as well made as ever. Thinking about Corteo, it was about time some marginal character received the spotlight and the show did well humanizing him. Angelo just has nerves of steel and the right mindset to run some mafia business but it’s natural that not every person can compete with him. Seeing how determined Angelo is I begin to doubt that he would choose his friend over his revenge.

Orange (Ep. 7)

    After finishing it I have basically one thought – I want more. It’s not that usual that an episode of an anime makes you both smile and think about almost shedding a tear. And frankly that wasn’t only this episode – strong feelings have been retained for a long time already and there’s very little that I could complain about. One of such things of course would be Naho’s refusal for no apparent reason to read the letter whole. I don’t know what kind of people read their letters only by one sentence at a time and resume only when it’s convenient in terms of progressing the story. Anyway, quite a few meaningful thoughts again could be gathered – like the notion that sometimes it’s difficult to help a person even when you want it very much but you just don’t know the way, don’t know the right words to say. And some words can really make a difference. Well, maybe I’m just still under the influence of watching an anime with something I haven’t seen before that I like it that much and maybe the spell will wear off after some time but for now I’m just happy I chose this show to watch among many others.

Tales of Zestiria the X (Ep. 6)

   Weird. I don’t know who thought that 2 episode inclusion of practically unrelated stuff into an anime would be a good idea. That is if as the preview suggests, there will be no more Berseria (or Berseria related) episodes. Nonetheless in this way it’s just useless to talk about pacing, consistent character performance and other usual things. I understand that Velvet is the lead and on her own anime it would be at least ok but among other things – random jargon, random pieces of information and random events – it’s impossible to care about her as much as she looks to deserve. Not to mention a random (if that’s not random I don’t know what is) insertion of a witch who works as a comic relief and has a ridiculously long name but is useless at every frame. On itself the episode certainly looked good but my problem with CG still remained. The dragon looks anything but anime material. As in the last episode, the last few minutes were (also pretty random) AMV type of preview of the Berseria game. Again, unforeseen decisions of the staff leave me scratching my head once more.

Amaama to Inazuma (Ep. 7)

   Yeah, after all, Tsumugi is just a child. It’s good to see (well, not exactly pleasant but rather fair) some domestic arguing that could have easily happened in any family. To make an argument both of the sides don’t have to be completely wrong. Some different perspectives on the same thing, oversights and not common preferences are just the stuff for such clashes, especially when on the one side stands an adult and on the other a child – differences in the worldview, different and incomparable experiences and situations when you can say only “yes, but…” make a very difficult road to understanding each other. Even when situations like this one happily ends with make some food together I’m quite amazed how Kouhei still manages to raise Tsumugi pretty well despite hundreds of problems. Well, I guess in the real world such a family normally wouldn’t be able to live as well but finding joy in little things and somehow living on through various difficulties with a smile and optimism is a strong message this anime carries.

91 Days (Ep. 7)

    Seems that there is only one true mafia family in town. To be clearer, only one man, and that is Angelo. It’s difficult to guess if he is so smart after all or other guys don’t see a mastermind behind all the stuff and just trust in Angelo and get manipulated, or both. Having started his journey towards revenge on the Vanettis, Angelo looks to have done surprisingly well so far in making all of them suffer (or suffer and die). Family splitting (that of Fio’s and the Vanettis as the whole in the broader sense) looks to be one of Angelo’s better abilities. Especially in Fio’s case the border between good and bad deeds is very blurred and Angelo is getting more and more antihero-ish as the time goes by. When he will finally decide to pay the debt to Nero himself it’s going to be a very difficult time, and for the viewers maybe even more than for Angelo. Well, if he manages to get that far since his road to salvation is still very long – who knows what Fango may do at one point or another, what will don Vanetti do when the situation will become clearer, especially with Corteo who seems to have gotten a hold in the Vanetti family and that may prove to be a serious hindrance to Angelo because Corteo remains the nearest thing to his own family.

Orange (Ep. 6)

   Again all the conversations between the friends feel so natural. Talking about petty stuff, everyday routines and just joking around sets the atmosphere really well. Hagita’s comment about Azu that without his glasses, his vision is so blurry that she looks like an angel is a great example of that – a tiny remark that in no way affects the story and once again cements the group and the viewer as someone who just might be one of the friends. As for the story developments, it’s still very hard for me to believe that older Naho just wrote “don’t invite Kakeru” and thought that her younger self would do that even not knowing the gravity of the situation. Is it so hard to write just one more line and make the request so much more easily accomplishable? Well, unless Naho had tried that in multiple timelines already and nothing worked – who knows what time travel stuff can lead to? Still, that’s just mine theory and unless it’s dis(proven), it doesn’t smell like a good storytelling. Usually I’m not the one to foretell twists in anime before they happen so the ending grabbed my attention even more. Even if I’m not sure if time travelling mix well with what Orange has already shown.

Tales of Zestiria the X (Ep. 5)

    Well, I’m confused. Not as confused as when I first watched the episode and went straight to the forums and wikis to find something – anything that could explain what I had seen. It’s difficult not to have the slightest notion about what happened and why when I haven’t played any games of the series and started watching the show on a whim without any previous knowledge about anything in the universe of the story or plans of releasing new games or the ones released. Someone probably has the right to ask why the hell I’m watching it then and why the hell I am even complaining, but albeit I understand that the anime was given green light only as a form of an advertisement in the first place, I believe anime should be approachable to anyone regardless of the source material, either its form or its vastness. Anyway, the setting itself looked pretty interesting, even if the characters looked every bit like they originally belonged to a random conventional fantasy RPG. Still, that, the fact that the new storyline interrupted the old one very randomly and all the technical unexplained stuff (like various kinds of exorcists or whatever they were) aside Velvet could become an interesting character after all.

Amaama to Inazuma (Ep. 6)

    A party with many people, eh? I’m all in. For some time I felt I was a bit bored because of nothing happening in the field of character development. Not that I expect anything extraordinary to happen – Kouhei will just become a more skilled cook and Tsumugi will appreciate that – that’s basically the outline of all the story. Surely I enjoy interactions between the daughter and the father but it was already time to add something yet unseen. Now when we have five people the need is fully satisfied, even if the latest two additions will not be featured very prominently, as they themselves noticed that they, being a lot better cooks than Kotori, Kouhei and Tsumugi, may mar the enjoyment of doing something by yourself for the first time. Really, when you become adept at something you just forget how everything looked when you started doing it and as it was probably for yourself long time ago, a new person in the field might experience much joy in accomplishing the tiniest feats that you no longer even notice and put very little effort into.

91 Days (Ep. 6)

    This show and Orange – if they remain of the same quality as they have been, I’ll have a very difficult task to decide which of them I like more. Both feature very interesting stories, even if they are nothing to compare in terms of setting and characters, and suffer a bit because of not that flawless production. By the way, both of the last episodes featured some kind of a twist. The one in 91 days however was resolved and I can only applaud the writers – that’s how you make an imposing mafia related story. Still, I wonder if Angelo really should have told his true name so openly – a stray word from don Orco and all Angelo’s revenge might have gone to the litter bin. I doubt Nero, as trusting as he had become, would have let everything be. The segment with Fango and his cooking preferences probably was a bit over the top. It might have well suited Baccano but it’s not that believable in the more realistic world of this show. Not that I complain – Fango sure is entertaining.

Orange (Ep. 5)

     So, the elephant in the room that is all the time travelling stuff finally got addressed. Yet I can’t really say that that part seemed organically embedded in all the narrative. Just like you can’t simply cut a part of Steins;Gate and paste it in any high-school romance anime. Further explanations that are bound to happen may seem even more alien and I’m almost getting worried about it. Apart from that pretty strange element in terms of all the mood of the show I still continue to watch Orange with a smile on my face. Yes, it’s nothing special, but the group of friends just feels so genuine and lively. When love comes up in such a close knit circle some not very happy things may occur but these guys look very able to withstand it and to help each other whatever the cost. Returning to the time travelling, if the theory of multiverse is really true, I feel grateful because in some universes Naho will (hopefully) end up with Kakeru while in others she will remain with Suwa who is sure to have earned much respect.

Tales of Zestiria the X (Ep. 4)

     When I try to listen to the dialogue and think I inevitably remember some RPG. The storytelling also clearly points out to the source material – all the NPCs (especially Mikleo and Lailah) assume guiding roles and tell the protagonist what he should do at a particular moment. I wouldn’t be very surprised if any of them would start telling which button combination I should use for Sorey to do one thing or another. And still I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not. Sticking to the original usually is a fine thing but I don’t know if this particular story as it is is suitable for anime medium. Final fight looks to be Sorey versus that Lord of Calamity (in other words a huge dragon) that will probably be an achievement in terms of CG in anime. CG in this show definitely looks as amazing as it could probably look anywhere but frankly for me it still doesn’t look organic with the 2D characters. Maybe Ufotable should have decided which they should do – a full CG anime or a usual one. In most cases nowadays CG is very easy to spot in any anime and if it isn’t used to create a specific feeling of dissonance within the world of the story it doesn’t really help to create immersive atmosphere, just as it’s with this show.

Amaama to Inazuma (Ep. 5)

     A new character any time brings much freshness to a show and Amaama to Inazuma needed it. For now Yagi’s appearance wasn’t anything special but a possibility of some versatility in the narrative and opportunities to progress the story that happens between cooking lessons is a welcome addition. I wonder if I could decipher one particular segment of the OP and guess that Yagi will befriend that one friend of Kotori. Cooking with more characters may be an improvement. Another improvement that already happened – it was the first time as I remember that Kouhei and Kotori messed up something beyond repair. That adds a little more to the realism as truly pretty much anything that involves baking or cooking may turn amiss if you are inexperienced or don’t pay close attention. Anyway, the show still doesn’t fail to bring a smile upon my face because of little exaggerations – you don’t usually become so excited when something you are doing succeeds but the characters seem totally immersed in their work and experience every little success to the fullest. Truly, what can be better than to see someone so overjoyed when their efforts pay off so well?

91 Days (Ep. 5)

    91 Days returns to the mafia business. This episode again showed how complicated that might be – yesterday’s enemies turning into uncertain allies for an offer of a very risky and nearly impossible job to be done in exchange, a brother is content with sacrificing his sibling for the good of the family without even consulting others… Yep, it’s a spiderweb and a marsh that the characters should walk very carefully. And of course Angelo can’t forget his revenge. Probably the most important development lately has been Nero’s notion that “Avillio certainly won’t betray us”. I would be glad if it would be possible to make our revenger content while also retaining Nero alive. Well, since don Vanetti is out of the reach and the fourth member of the killing party is yet to be named, Nero’s friendship is one of the most important treasures of Angelo. Out of all I watch this season, this show certainly has the most potential to make things interesting and to drive the story any way it wants while retaining the right atmosphere and this beautifully complicated world of mafia.

     Well, yeah, I know it’s all stale stuff but my Internet connection hasn’t been very friendly with me for some time. I doubt these thoughts will be interesting after all this time but anyway, just for the record:

Orange (Ep. 4)

      It almost seems like Naho was able to read some of my complaints and address them right away. Even though we still don’t know much how Naho’s character changed during all those later years and the circumstances of her writing the letter, it’s still good that her younger self finally admitted that being forced to do anything without even considering how difficult or even undoable it might be is not a very pleasant situation to be in. Suwa again showed some skills in understanding people a bit better than his peers and it feels very consistent with the fact that he and Naho got married in the later storyline. Still, the most unexpected and ridiculous scene proved to be that of Kakeru’s confession that Naho couldn’t understand correctly. How else? Anyway, it’s just a gender swapped version of pretty much every romcom when not the brightest protagonist is left awkwardly and the girl after her confession runs away. Production remains on a verge of becoming a problem. I just couldn’t not notice some CG students walking around or just doing stuff. Yes, it’s probably cheaper this way and better than to have still backgrounds or only sketch level animation, but still.

Tales of Zestiria the X (Ep. 3)

   Oh man, I just didn’t expect anything so similar to a typical mahou shoujo transformation. Yes, it’s probably cool when you play the game, but considering all the realism (if that’s even worth the effort), do you really need to change your clothes when you start using a magical sword? Sorey’s backstory doesn’t interest me the most of all the things that are yet to be told, but some explanation why he alone of all the people can see the Seraphim would be very welcome as soon as possible. Also, it was a bit weird to see that Sorey’s main motivation of becoming a Shepherd was to explore all the caves in the world. He just was content with the thought that as a side job he could pretty much save the world. And last but not least another quite odd thing – I mentioned some time ago that Kotori from Amaama to Inazuma shared the same VA with Shirayuki and that brought back many memories. It appears that as Shirayuki’s voice and personality was sent to Amaama to Inazuma, her body found a place in this show. What will happen during the next season?

Amaama to Inazuma (Ep. 4)

      It didn’t look a very long episode but I can’t say that I was just glued to the screen and couldn’t think of anything else while watching it. The episode was basically a cooking solution facing the problem of Tsumugi don’t enjoying green peppers. When I think of it, I didn’t fancy some vegetables very much myself while I was a kid but such a problem now seems quite unusual. Probably the worst thing I can say of any vegetable (with very few exceptions) is that it might have no taste at all (tastes like soap as the saying in my country goes). As this problem doesn’t appear in my life I can’t say the episode was very touching. Still, it emphasized the single father situation even more and added some more realism. Apart from that, Kotori’s classmate that shows up in the OP finally made her appearance but it was of no consequence. Frankly, the show more and more resembles a recipe book and even if I’m not against it, at least some more original or unexpected framework would make enjoyment levels higher.

91 Days (Ep. 4)

     That was very enjoyable in quite an unexpected way. The episode didn’t follow that quite complicated mafia family storyline and was centered on travelling of Nero and Angelo. I’m quite surprised how much was told – some joking around with kids, Nero’s memories of his first job (of course it being the obliteration of Angelo’s family), that Mexican guy and all the stuff with him. The episode felt a bit unusual compared to the previous ones but that isn’t something unrequired. More jokes than usual were used and were placed pretty well. “Show don’t tell“ philosophy was explored effectively portraying, say, Angelo’s reaction to Nero’s story or a weird sympathy that I felt around the end for the Mexican’s dog. Angelo, even he knows some tricks to make children laugh, tries to distance himself from Nero as far as possible but I doubt he’ll remain as determined to take his revenge since Nero’s outgoing personality makes him look in more of a positive light despite anything he had done as a mafia family member.