20 Question Weekly Review Week Ending 25th February 2018

It’s been another week, huh? Yep. Time sure flies when you’re IMPATIENTLY WAITING FOR THE SPRING 2018 ANIME SEASON!

Yikes! What’s got you so wound up? There’s just so much good stuff coming out in April, I can’t wait!

Yeah well you have to wait, so shut up and let’s talk about what you watched this week. The usual is the usual, I’m not going to bother to post every show I’m watching week by week, it just feels lazy, click here if you want a show by show run down of the newly airing anime I’m watching.

Fair enough, but any highlights from those shows? Indeed! Citrus Episode 8 was particularly good, probably the best episode yet in fact, so much drama, it feels like Cruel Intentions except if every character was female and also if it was actually good and not some trash 90’s movie.

Take that movie nobody cares about in this, the year 2018. What else? Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles Episode 8 was so good I blogged about it here. Slow Start Ep 8 was adorable as usual, even if they didn’t continue the juicy plot line they established in the very special episode 7. Pop Team Epic 8 was funny. Darling in the FranXX continued to be heavily flawed and borderline trash. The rest was just the rest for better or worse, mostly better.

Koizumi-san brought some boys to the proverbial table this week and the show was all the more interesting for it.

Cool. And any other shows you started watching? Of course! It’s a big wide world of anime and I’m trying to take it all in!

Heh, so do go on. I watched 8 episodes of Yuru Yuri! It’s phenomenally good, like I’m in awe of how likable they made literally every character on this show, its mind-boggling. Plus it’s just plain fun from beginning to end. And then there’s Vatican Miracle Examiner [SPOILERS FOR THIS SHOW FROM HERE TIL END OF NEXT QUESTION], which I watched 4 episodes of and can sum up with four simple words, ‘Hitler Semen Immaculate Conception’.

What? WHAT!? Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever reacted so animatedly to an anime before, it’s a wild ride and I can only imagine where they go from there considering we had literal Hitler in the first 4 episodes of this show!

Wild indeed, but wow, I await your full review. It’s kind of spoiled now, but whatever, I’ll probably still review it!

Is that it for anime? No, I started ‘A Sister’s All You Need’, continued with ‘Teekyu’ and embarked upon the tit-tastic third season of ‘High School DxD’.

Great, and on the manga front? I got a lot in the mail! eBay sales continue to fund my addiction!

In case it wasn’t apparent, I have a thing for monster girls.

Yep, that’s a lot. But what did you read this week? I read volume one of ‘There’s A Demon Lord on the Floor’ which is cute like Blend-S but super sexy like Yusibu, it’s pretty derivative, I could pretty much call out all the similarities to other manga and anime as I read it but I still enjoyed it a lot.

What else? Finally got around to ‘Bloom Into You’ volume 1, and I’m almost sorry I waited so long, it’s a yuri manga but where the protagonist isn’t really into her love interest and it’s dense and complex but still fun and interesting. But this week’s true MVP is ‘Murcielago’ Volume One, which is a super twisted, violent and sexual manga about a notorious female serial killer who becomes the Japanese government’s assassin, tasked with taking out other serial killers who threaten the piece. She’s also a lesbian and total pervert, and while I’m the first to admit the gore in this anime is off-putting, the characters are terrific, the storylines intriguing and the sex scenes are genuinely erotic. Expect a full review of this manga soon!

I can’t wait? Why the question mark?

No sure if can’t wait. Hmm.

Anything else you wanted to talk about? The 2^nd Annual Anime Awards aired over the weekend. I didn’t watch it because I assumed it would be cringe and I didn’t want to get angry at all the wrong decisions that’d be made, but turns out for the most part the anime community has really good taste and pretty much voted the way I did. Which was a pleasant surprise. Very happy that My Hero Academia, Made in Abyss and my personal favourite show of 2017 Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid got recognition!

Froppy was robbed! Total best girl. But Ochako is okay too I guess.

Cool. And something else? Yes, I’ve had Discord mentioned to me a couple of times and I’m considering it the only thing is and this is embarrassing to admit, but I’m not actually sure what it is, I know it’s something people use to talk with other people but is it like text or is it voice? Or both?

I don’t know, I just assumed it was like MSN Messenger. How old are you?

Don’t pretend like you didn’t have it too and had a totally edgy user name with xx’s either side of your name. You don’t know me!

Well this kinda went off the rails. How would you rate the week ending the 25^th of February 2018? Good, just good. Nothing particularly remarkable happened in the real world, anime was great; blogging was great but otherwise pretty ordinary. Thanks for reading!

My Hero Academia – 20 Question Anime Review (Mild Spoilers)

What’s the show? My Hero Academia (2016).

And what’s it about? In a world where superheroes are almost commonplace, out protagonist Izuku Midoriya dreams of one day becoming a hero like his role model ‘All Might’ the greatest of all superheroes, except he was born without a ‘quirk’ the very thing that makes ordinary people attain powers.

Well that’s sad… Don’t worry, he meets All Might in person and because Midoriya is such a sweet soft boy with a heart of gold and the bravery of a Hinox, All Might takes him on as an apprentice with the intent to bequeath his powers to him when he becomes strong enough.

Wow, spoilers much? It’s fine. It reveals as much in the Wikipedia synopsis, it’s like three episodes of set up I saved you.

“Saved me”? Don’t tell me this is a negative review. No not at all, My Hero Academia is one of the rare shonen anime that doesn’t feel like it’s wasting your time.

Ouch, take that other shonen anime. P.S. what’s a shonen anime? Right, I sometimes forget you’re a filthy normie.

Please stop calling me that. No. Also shonen is anime or manga targeted at teenage boys, and generally speaking of the action genre and usually with lots of episodes/volumes.

So it’s a good show? Yeah, it just takes a little bit of time getting to the meat of what the show’s going to become. It’s the kind of show where the first season feels lacking with hindsight and an excellent second season in the equation.

Well without spoiling too much, what is the “meat”? It’s a school anime!

Right. And the other student heroes are so much more interesting than the protagonist (sorry Midoriya!)

I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume the one’s you think are more interesting than the protagonist are female? Sir! You wound me! Darest thou think I so shallow-

Who’s your best girl? Froppy! Rainy season hero has stolen my heart with her ridiculously long tongue and laid back persona!

Figured as much… No! You tricked me! There are plenty of interesting male characters too! Katsuki Bakugo treads this fine line between hero and villain with his explosive personality, so that’s interesting to watch and Tenya Ida is like if Sonic the Hedgehog wasn’t a douchebag and had appropriate sized calf muscles for the amount of running he does. And then Mr Hot and Cold himself Shoto Todoroki, you know every time he’s on screen I think it moves a little.

Was that a ‘Seinfeld’ reference? Of course not, I don’t even know what that is, I only know anime. Besides I’m not gay, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Uh-huh, you know, I think I actually believe that you’re not just in it for the ‘sweet waifus’ this time. I’m proud of you. But there are sweet waifus and I will appreciate them thusly. Ochako makes me feel weightless as I look upon her beautiful face. Momo can create a lot more than just inanimate objects seeing her in that superhero costume of hers if you know what I mean! Oh and Toru Hagakure, I almost forgot she was there! *winky face* And then there are a bunch others, but seriously all I need is Froppy to hop on over to me and I’m all set!

Right. So enough with the characters otherwise we’ll be here all day. How is the show? It’s honestly great, with moments of brilliance but the first season feels constricted by a sense of reigning things in for the sake of future encounters. It’s like in a video game when the main villain appears in a cut scene for a minute just to remind you they are there, just teasing bigger and better things to come.

So it’s a season of set-up? Not so bluntly as that, there’s still big action and character development and great heroic moments for most of the characters, but because it’s a part of something that you know instinctively is going to run a long time the stakes are never as high as they probably should be.

Recommended though? If you haven’t watched My Hero Academia yet you should probably go back in time and watch it before you read this review, because the first season is better when you don’t know that it gets better later. But if you don’t possess that superhero power than I guess you’ll just have to do your best to forget about all this… I think I know a sensei who can help you out with that…

Well for the rest of us, score please? A veritable gluttony of fun and interesting heroes on the roster is the solid foundation to a truly great show with ample action, pathos and personality. My great anime sense is tingling, 89 out of 100.

Oh no! This review was only 19 questions long? What will we do?! Ah you see, now you’ve discovered my superpower. Padding out this particular review format with jokey questions… yeah, it’s a pretty shitty superpower all things considered…