mmorpg – Anime QandA

Seven Senses Of The Re’Union – Full Season QandA Rundown

What’s the important information? Seven Senses Of The Re’Union is a Summer 2018 anime that aired 12 episodes from July through September. It is based on a light novel series by Noritake Tao.

What’s it about? Six elementary school friends are a part of ‘Subaru’ an elite gaming group in the MMORPG “Union” but when one of their friends, Asahi, dies during the game and so too in real life the game ends service and their in real life friendship is shattered. Six years later a sequel game is announced called “Re’Union” and Haruto, one of the original members of Subaru and Asashi’s closet friend logs into the game and finds Asahi alive and well in the game, unaware of any passing of time or that she died in the real world.

Why did you watch it? Like most of the shows I end up watching, all it takes is a cute girl (or in this case 3) on the poster to get me to watch the show. Also the male protagonist kind of looked like Kazuma from Konosuba and apparently that was all it takes!

Did you enjoy the show? My thoughts on this show changed as the show went on, from defending it in the first few episodes for having an engaging premise and interesting characters and setting, to the last third of the season where the show seemingly abandoned its central plot of “how is Asahi alive in the game and not in real life?” in favour of stale relationship melodrama. I’m not unhappy that I watched the show as it’s a very good-looking show with likable characters, but I’m very disappointed it so keenly gave up on offering a conclusion to its most valuable narrative asset.

It’s hard to stay mad at a face like that!

What was your favourite episode? It’s hard to pick a favourite as no one episode delivered anything substantially interesting but rather just slowly worked on the narrative (until it was later abandoned—I promise I’ll get over it!) Episode 2 “Untold Feelings” is probably the most consistent in terms of quality.

What were your most favourite things about the show? The animation is consistently excellent throughout, and while the character designs might not be as original as some shows they are still very appealing. Also what minimal action the show does have is also well made and entertaining to look at.

Wbat were your least favourite things about the show? It should be obvious by now that the lack of a proper ending and forcing a ‘happy’ non-ending was quite galling as a viewer. Maybe I should have expected it considering its based on a light novel that’s still ongoing, but it still seems like there could have been a better way to end this even without completing the narrative.

Who was your favourite character? For the longest time it was Satsuki, she’s a fuller looking girl with a good body and feisty personality. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Nozomi and her ‘bad girl’ transformation as something that was very appealing, Satsuki’s still best girl though.

I remember those problems back in the MSN days…

Thoughts on the OP (opening) and ED (ending) and the soundtrack in general? I wasn’t a massive fan of the OP—“360° Hoshi no Orchestra” by petit milady at first but it did grow on me, plus it fits well with the opening visuals. The ED, “Starlight” by Erii Yamazaki however was a little dull but still pleasant enough.

What’s something unique about this show? I spent more time thinking about this single question than I did writing the entire rest of this review. The fact that I still don’t have an answer should tell you all you need to know.

What other anime are most like it for the sake of comparison? I don’t really have any shows that offer an adequate comparison—some commenters online after the first episode aired compared it at least thematically to Anohana and Sword Art Online. I don’t know how true that actually is—especially given how the series ended up but take that if you will.

Who would you recommend it to? There’s ~just~ enough interesting material to make the journey worthwhile its just whether you can justify taking such a journey knowing that there’s not a proper ending in sight.

Sum up the season in one sentence: ‘The questions keep on building while answers remain elusive replaced instead with a sense that Asahi’s not the only thing that’s missing from this fractured reunion’.

Final score? 67 out of 100.

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

Haruto and Asahi’s High School Re’Union – Episode 1 Review
Ghost In The Machine – Episode 2 Review
Promises Beyond The Grave – Episode 3 Review
The Shape of Love – Episode 4 Review
Reviving The Past – Episode 5 Review
Easy Mode – Episode 6 Review
Unjust Desserts – Episode 7 Review
Prophets and Losses – Episode 8 Review
Under The Influence – Episode 9 Review
Bad Girls Have The Best Outfits – Episode 10 Review
Senseless Violence – Episode 11 Review
Fallen Star – Episode 12 Review

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How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord – Full Season QandA Rundown

What’s the important information? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord is a Summer 2018 harem/fantasy isekai anime that aired 12 episodes from July through September. It is based on a Light Novel series by Yukiya Murasaki and was also adapted into a Manga series.

What’s it about? A shut-in gamer finds himself suddenly transported into a fantasy world that loosely resembles his favourite MMORPG. Their two girls—Shera Greenwood an elf and Rem Galleu a pantherian (cat girl) are the reason for his summoning as they intend to take him as their servant, but due to possessing the same abilities as his in-game character his ‘Magic Reflection’ passive turns them into his slaves instead! Confronted by this new world and in the body of his character Demon Lord Diablo, he decides to more or less go with his new life, making use of his vast knowledge of the game while trying to help his new companions with their various issues.

Sometimes Diablo uses his “evil” voice a little *too* much.

Why did you watch it? Despite having a fondness for the isekai genre, I was moreso as I often am, drawn to the series due to the poster art (specifically the two female protagonists)—sometimes it’s as easy as that to win me over.

Did you enjoy the show? I enjoyed almost everything about this series, to the point where it was occupying my thoughts even in the interim days when I wasn’t watching the show. The characterisation, character designs, voice acting and interactions were among my favourite of any show this season and of almost any show full stop. I was immediately drawn into the world and never wanted it to end.

I mean how else are you supposed to eat a sausage?

What was your favourite episode? While a very consistent show the episode that I felt had the best character moments and ticked a lot of boxes for me (no pun intended) was Episode 6 “Slave Market”. Not only was the fan service particularly good but it also helped flesh out some of the particulars of magic in this universe which would be important going forward and contained important character development, particularly with regards to Rem and Shera’s friendship.

Shera has some pretty adorable aspirations.

What were your most favourite things about the show? I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t mention the fan service—which was a personal highlight, but also the emphasis on friendships between the three main characters, driving home messages about personal autonomy and living a life you’ve decided to live as well as the constant humorous contrast between Diablo’s brash and aggressive outer persona and his inner meek true self.

The action is pretty damn cool in this show too!

Wbat were your least favourite things about the show? There was very little I didn’t like about the show but if I were to chose I’d say there were a couple of characters who were at best undeveloped and at worst superfluous such as Sylvie, Medios and Eulerex.

Who was your favourite character? Not only is Shera best girl in this show, she’s also my number 1 best girl of the whole Summer 2018 anime season!

What’s something unique about this show? Almost notorious for it at this point, and suffice to say this is a slight spoiler but Episode 10’s ‘awakening’ of the Demon Lord Krebskulm from within Rem was eye-opening, unexpected for some, “too far” for others but whatever your opinion there’s no denying it was pretty unique among non-hentai anime!

What other anime are most like it for the sake of comparison? While not as consistently light-hearted or comedic in tone as Konosuba the two definitely share some similarities.

Who would you recommend it to? Any fan of the isekai genre who isn’t too perturbed by the presence of fan service and harem shenanigans in almost every episode plus for people who like character-driven fantasy with an emphasis on the personal relationships between the adventurers.

Sum up the season in one sentence: ‘Who needs a harem of sexy women when you have friends like these—who also happen to be sexy women’.

Final score? 94 out of 100.

Diablo vs Krebskulm in Episode 12 made for some impressive imagery.

Previous How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord Reviews:

Is It Wrong To Suck A Cat Girl’s Ear In Another World? – Episode 1 Review
The Grope Debate – Episode 2 Review
Listening Is A Heroic Trait Too – Episode 3 Review
Unlimited Power/Limited Stamina – Episode 4 Review
Reigning It In – Episode 5 Review
Sexually Liberated Elf – Episode 6 Review
The Slimes That Bind Us – Episode 7 Review
Down The Rabbit Hole – Episode 8 Review
Holier Than Maou – Episode 9 Review
Something To Moan About – Episode 10 Review
Krem Is Mightier Than The Sword – Episode 11 Review
A Slave To Sweets – Episode 12 Review

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Fallen Star – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 12 (Finale) Review

Fallen Star – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 12

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 12.

And what happens in this, the series finale? I… I’m kinda struggling to see what the point of all this was…

Oh dear, that bad, huh? No, I’d never call this series outright “bad” it’s got way too much going for it, not only on a technical level but the characters and general ~plot~ too makes it more than passable.

So then what’s got you questioning “the point” of it all then? The series began with a pretty clear and intriguing premise—bunch of elementary school kids are playing a VR MMORPG, one of them dies in the game and ends up dying in real life—something that’s not supposed to happen. Then 6 years later the one “responsible” for her death in the game re-enters its sequel and finds that the dead girl isn’t dead but rather her mind is alive in the game.

Somehow mopey Haruto is *less* obnoxious then “everything is fine” Haruto.

Yep, spare us the synopsis—anyone who’s reading this review presumably knows that much… I only reiterate it because this ending not only doesn’t answer the how of any of that it decides to add more questions on top of it, and then has the nerve to give us a 3 minute montage of all the ‘happy’ things that happened in the show and end like everything’s fine and nothing’s wrong in the world—you know aside from the fact that there’s an organisation who wants to “worship” Asahi as a goddess oh and that she’s still freaking dead in real life!

Smiles all round, but she is still *dead* remember?! Anyone? Hello?

Well you gotta have a happy ending though, right? There’s ‘have a happy ending’ then there’s ‘forget your plot and just shrug it all off’ which is exactly what this felt like. Whatever little urgency they previously had in finding out the “truth” behind Asahi’s condition is completely gone. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill forgetting about the plot to temporarily focus on something else, this is dropping it entirely and hoping the audience doesn’t remember why they started watching in the first place. This show was actually good at conveying a sense of melancholy and leaning into that could have worked with this final episode to show that even though things are happy ‘in-game’ there’s still shit to be done to figure out what happened to Asahi. But nope, here’s your happy montage, thanks for watching, idiots!

You seem mad, are you mad? I wasn’t before I started writing this review! Like I don’t regret watching any anime, even the worst, dumbest crap anime still at least allows me to have benchmarks for ‘bad anime’ to compare others too. But this was just ruined potential and an adaptation that clearly wasn’t intending to adapt what it started. I don’t know, maybe there will be a second season and then my fervent teeth gnashing here will all seem reactionary and premature but when it comes to the world of anime you have to expect each season finale to be a series finale and that there will never be a conclusion short of reading the source material.

So overall thoughts on the finale of Seven Senses of the Re’Union? You’ll notice if you read my reviews back (or just remember them well enough) that my enthusiasm diminishes with each passing episode. It’s easy to say that this was the worst episode of the series and even if the show is given another season I still think that stands. It wasn’t satisfying, it asked more questions than it answered, it was unintentionally funny when it was trying to be serious and it was eye-rolling when trying to be sincere. There’s a scene half-way through the episode that perfectly encapsulates my feelings of the show, a villain is defeated, we cut to him in the real world in front of his computer and he simply turns it off without as much as a second thought. It’s unfortunate that we weren’t afforded any significant answers for the main plot but that’s just how things are sometimes.

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

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A Slave To Sweets – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 12 (Finale) Review

A Slave To Sweets – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 12

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 12.

So here we are with the season finale. What happens in this episode? Diablo faces off against Demon Lord Krebskrum in an attempt to turn her back into a loli, Shera rushes to Rem’s aid with a bunch of healing potions and Alicia and Edelgard await the inevitable destruction of the city with their fallen army in tow.

I loved the visuals throughout this fight!

Thanks for the synopsis but what actually happens, you know like who wins, who loses, how it all comes about? Well Diablo does pretty well against the massive Demon Lord Krebskrum, setting off one of his most impressive spells to date and I like that it wasn’t just a case of him waving his staff and shouting some words, he actually had to do some planning and evasion as he strategically put thirteen runes on the ground around Krebskrum in order to activate his “Grand Magic”. It’s not quite enough however, as Krebskrum is still able to fight. But it’s brawn that slays this beast but ~friendship~ as Rem reaches out to Krebskrum, showing her that she’s not in fact dead (thanks to those healing potions) and that she wants her to return to ‘normal’ so they can eat biscuits together.

And it works? Of course it does! Never underestimate the power of friendship… or biscuits, either one works!

Fair enough, but what does this mean for Alicia and Edelgard and the waiting fallen army? Well~ they’re none too pleased by this failure to bring the mortal races to extinction and they pay for their failures—but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Right, and what happens then? Well after the smoke settles from the big battle Sylvie the guild master approaches and expresses her concerns about Krem living in the city seeing as she nearly destroyed the whole place and doesn’t trust for that not to happen again. Sylvie does however trust Diablo and thankfully Diablo has a solution that will ensure Krem’s compliance against any Demon Lord sized mishaps.

So casual about enslavement, or whatever.

Oh and what’s that? Enslavement magic of course! The same kind that has the collars on both Rem and Shera—and despite this seemingly like a ~problematic~ proposition Diablo has done nothing to suggest he’ll take advantage of the situation, the only one that seems to have a problem with it is Sylvie, whose reactions during the “enslavement” ritual are absolutely hilarious. Krem obviously doesn’t have a problem with it, she just wants to live with her friends and eat biscuits, and so all’s well that ends well!

Sylvie’s having a hard time processing it all.

Wait, is that the ending? Of course not! That’s just the first half of the episode! What’s that sound I hear? That stirs me to joy? Why, that’s the sound of harem shenanigans of course!

Oh god. So the three girls are trying to decide who should sleep with Diablo when we get shenanigan blocked by a knife-wielding Alicia who bursts into their room looking worse for wear. Turns out Krem has the ability to heal ‘The Fallen’ (that’s the Demonic Beings I’m referring to, not literally people who have fallen) and Alicia needs Krem’s help to save Edelgard who is gravely injured after her own turned on her after their failed attempt to take over the city. Anyway, with Alicia holding a knife to Shera’s throat they don’t have much choice but to oblige her wishes as she takes them all to a nearby room where Edelgard is.

Did I say hold a knife to her throat? I meant her chest.

And do they save her? Not only do they save Edelgard but they save Alicia too—what’s interesting about this episode is the lengths this show goes to to give Alicia a redemption story when they could have easily just gotten rid of her. I don’t know if it’s commendable storytelling or just not wanting to rid the show of another member of the harem but for whatever reason it absolutely works. Alicia hates humanity and Diablo as a shut-in and “forever solo player” can relate to her point of view, he sees himself in her extremist mindset. Even as she attempts to kill herself Diablo implores her to find a better way, that there’s no point living with hatred for what people have made you into—that there’s always time to set aside your old self and start living anew.

Well that’s certainly an inspirational mes— And then they all get naked to help Diablo regain his magic power and he faints!

Of course they do… So final thoughts on the final episode of How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord? This finale brings everything that’s great about the show and excels at almost every turn—sure the episode spends more time with its characters than with climatic action (that said, what little action they did have was excellent) but it’s the characters and their interactions and relationships are what made this series so worthwhile and thus it’s only natural that the finale would replicate these moments and add to them as well. If this is the last we see of this world, it would be sad but the ending is satisfying enough to function as a series finale while still leaving plenty of room for a continuation.

Previous How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord Reviews:

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Senseless Violence – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 11 Review

Senseless Violence – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 11

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 11.

So what happens in this the second-to-last episode of the series? You know, it’s never a good sign when I read that question I sit for a good five minutes wondering what did actually happen…

Oh boy. And it’s not that anything bad happened, oh no, then at least I’d have something to talk about but I just feel like there was so little point to the previous three episodes which had been something of a mini-arc for bringing Nozomi back into Subaru and almost all of it could have been resolved with people just talking to each other and not acting all melodramatic. But it’s not even the good type of melodrama, I mean sure there was some decent visually interesting stuff with Nozomi going evil (mostly the costume if I’m honest) but everything else was at a disservice to the real plot of the show.

Oh and her costume got *more* ridiculous from the previous episode.

And is there any of that “plot” that you keep wanting to come back into focus? A little bit—like right at the start in the ‘real world’ Haruto, Satsuki and Takanori meet a member of Gnosis who can use the “senses” from the game in real life and does so by fluctuating the flow of time. And it’s probably more interesting than the rest of the episode but takes up all of two minutes before the opening credits then the rest of the show is Nozomi being evil and emo about how the boy she likes doesn’t like her back.

A.k.a the girl I *really* like rejected me so you’ll do.

I thought you said you were going to stop complaining about the ‘romance’ aspect of the show? Did I? I don’t remember that and as I’ve said multiple times I don’t have a problem with the way the romance aspect is handled, these are kids dealing with messy feelings of course it’s going to be dumb and melodramatic but this isn’t the show I thought I was getting into based on the first few episodes. We didn’t need three episodes dedicated to Nozomi’s ~struggles~ with her feelings for Takanori. Just like we didn’t need however many multiple were spent on Satsuki’s feelings for Haruto and Takanori’s feelings for Asahi. Condense it down and spend an equal amount of time on the actually interesting parts, even if it had been 50/50 that would have been an improvement, whereas it’s been more like 75/25 in favour of the romance stuff for more than half the season.

If I do my math right that means it has in-fact been 50/50, it’s just the earlier episodes were more plot heavy whereas the later ones were more romance? Such are the perils of watching week-to-week I suppose. But seeing as how we’re at the penultimate episode of the series and we spend 15+ minutes on making Nozomi feel better about how Takanori didn’t notice her when they were elementary school aged it just feels like it’s poorly dispersed. If this had happened around episode 9 and been confined to one maybe two episodes it would have been so much better!

There you go again, pretending like you know how to make an anime better than a bunch of qualified professionals… I never said I was an expert, I was just giving my suggestions, damn it!

Fine fine, so anything else you wanted to add? Not really, the episode ends on a cliff-hanger with Haruto being shot by a partially brainwashed Asahi and I’m guessing some sort of time travel shenanigans will quickly retcon this next time. But here’s hoping the next episode can deliver a satisfying conclusion of sorts and if not, well, at least the girls in this show were pretty to look at?

Is Haruto dead? Find out next time! If you can still be bothered…

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

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Krem Is Mightier Than The Sword – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 11 Review

Krem Is Mightier Than The Sword – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 11

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 11.

So what happened in this—the penultimate episode—no unwanted things being inserted into people I hope like last week? If by unwanted things you mean swords, and if by people you mean Rem then yes that’s something that happened—if you’re meaning fan service things though then no. Actually this episode has literally zero fan service moments—unless you count Shera’s outfit which I don’t—but some people do so just clarifying things there!

Wait, wait, wait back up a minute there? Swords? Rem? Is she okay? Hold your horses, we’ll get to that! It doesn’t happen til much later in the episode.

You’re the one who brought it up! And miss out on setting up that sweet back and forth with you? Unlikely!

Fine, what happens? So Alicia finally shows her true colours, turns out she’s a bitch after all! After selling out Krem-chan and Rem to the holier than thou Saddler things take a turn for the medieval—by which I mean in reference torture not the time period (ahem, CuriouslyDeadlyCat, ahem!) Saddler takes Rem and Krem to their church that is filled with nasty implements of torture and seeks to “purify” them with violence. Saddler is the embodiment of religious extremism and as racism as he calls Rem’s cat ear and tail “disgusting” and intends to remove them with scissor like shears. All the while Krem watches on helplessly—though not because she’s helpless but rather she’s made a promise not to kill any humans.

Why’d she make that promise? Earlier, Rem and Krem (I really love saying that) had a heart to heart where a promise was agreed upon, that Krem wouldn’t hurt any of the mortal races. And it’s a noble, if slightly naïve sentiment, I get why Rem would want her to remain ‘pure’ from that kind of violence but for some people violence is the only recourse—especially in the face of such reckless hate that comes from Saddler.

Do I think Rem is *actually* dead? No of course not, they’re not going to kill of a main girl, this isn’t that kind of show!

Right, so what happens then? As the torture gets worse for Rem, Krem can’t take it anymore and discards her disguise revealing her true form to Saddler and his cronies. Saddler approaches to cut her down but Rem breaks free of her binds and jumps in front of his sword, saving Krem but at the cost of her own life as Saddler drives sword after sword into Rem’s back. Hate surges through Krem—which is the final piece of the Demon Lord summoning puzzle and cute little loli Krem transforms into the massive Krebskulm and starts wreaking havoc but not before blinding Saddler and then incinerating him.

That’s some swift justice! But what about the other characters you haven’t mentioned them yet? Well Diablo kinda runs around aimlessly trying to find them which I guess kudos to the show for not making Diablo overpowered at plot conveniences, it’s not until he’s at a tavern where Sylvie and Emile are and he’s desperately trying to figure out how a Demon Lord would ask for help and still come off as someone worth helping when a boy runs in reporting the girls’ location. Shera also finds out where they are simultaneously by using her Turkey Shot ability to scout around. Meanwhile, Galford spies a fallen army led by Edelgard approaching the city!

Krem in Krebskulm form. Such pretty wings!

That’s a lot of different things happening! Indeed, to think that all of these threads are going to be wrapped up in a single episode means for a packed finale! Personally I’d prefer a cliff-hanger ending for Episode 12 accompanied with a Season 2 announcement but 2^nd seasons are rare for these kinds of anime. Nevertheless I hold out hope!

So overall thoughts on the episode? I’m sure someone can draw a correlation between amount of fan service in an episode and how much I enjoy an episode so it should come as little surprise that this is probably one of my least favourite episodes. I still love the show, and when I inevitably binge watch this show again this episode will feel more as the middle part of a ‘resurrection’ arc and its minor flaws will be easier to overlook. In fact it’s not even worth mentioning the flaws because they are so minor—at this point I’m just happy this show continues to be so consistently interesting, exciting and with characters I’ll miss once the show is over!

Previous How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord Reviews:

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Bad Girls Have The Best Outfits – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 10 Review

Bad Girls Have The Best Outfits – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 10

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 10.

So what happens in this episode? You know, I actually had to think for a moment ‘what ~did~ happen in this week’s episode?’ and it took me a while before I remembered.

All that drinking affecting your memory, eh? Ha-ha. No, it’s just despite all that’s going on in this show there’s also so little forward plot momentum that I wonder if the people responsible for this adaptation are going to even bother having a satisfying conclusion—because at this point, I don’t see it being possible!

That bad, huh? It wasn’t even that terrible of an episode—this show is if nothing else pretty consistently ~okay~ which I know doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement but on the technical side it’s always top-notch and in today’s crowded and hurried anime world that’s become something of a rare thing. But the plot is so meandering I wonder if time wouldn’t be better spent setting up the end-game. Of course given that this is based on an ongoing light novel series it could be that the end game is as far of as it feels and we shouldn’t be expecting a conclusion at all!

You can do so much better Satsuki, forget about Haruto!

Would you be upset about that? Eh… I mean, I wouldn’t say it’d ruin the show.

So then why all the complaining about it? It’s just the lack of forward plot development is hampering my enjoyment of the series—which admittedly has ebbed throughout—besides, like I commented last week the relationship stuff, which took a front-seat last episode still seems to be the focus in this week’s episode and I kinda couldn’t care less…

Why? Don’t you care about these characters? I do, and I’m not going to be one of those people who complains about “why are these characters acting so immature about relationships”, I’m not that blind to realise that 16-year-old’s are ~terrible~ at relationships, especially ones that are being resumed from when they were 11 years old. Their feelings are complicated and dumb and messy but likewise, not at all interesting. What is interesting is the central idea that sold me on the show in the first place, a girl who’s dead in real life but alive in a video game. But if we’re going off the last two episodes it’s almost like they forgot that is even a priority!

I could ask what happens but I feel like that’s kind of pointless at this stage. Oh I can tell you. Haruto and Satsuki are working through their awkward feelings for each other after Haruto chose Asahi over her. Meanwhile, following on from last-week Nozomi has disappeared, with the help of Clive’s cyber-sleuthing they find her in-game character is in a sky castle and so they go to see what’s happened. Inside they find that Nozomi has gone dark-side after having her feelings hurt by seeing her crush Takanori dancing with Satsuki at the Ball. Nozomi’s joined forces with the evil faction Gnosis and as ‘revenge’ Nozomi puts a curse on Asahi.

‘Kay… I loved Nozomi’s ‘bad girl’ outfit, she’s sexy as heck.

Glad you got something out of this episode—man this review kinda just died didn’t it? It’s hard to talk about something that’s not actually bad, but isn’t that interesting either. It’s competently mediocre with dashes of interest thrown in, I don’t know—it’s something to pass the time I suppose but ultimately, as things are now, it’s pretty damn forgettable.

Except Nozomi, nothing forgettable about her! Shame she’ll probably end up reverting to her boring self at the end of next episode…

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

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Something To Moan About – ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 10 Review

Something To Moan About – An Anime QandA Review of ‘How Not To Summon A Demon Lord’ Episode 10

What’s the show? How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord, Episode 10.

So wh— I’ll stop you right there.

What? I know what you’re about to ask; you’re going to ask “how perverted does this episode get?” or some other such question that calls into question the ~moral integrity~ of this show as if a show’s overall quality is somehow determined by how much fan service it has. You know nobody makes a big deal about a show being violent or gory but the soon as there’s the hint of sexuality people lose their goddamn minds!

…I was just going to ask what happens in the episode… Oh.

Yeah… no need to get all rant-y right off the bat. So what happens in this episode? Diablo resurrects the Demon Lord Krebskulm by fingering Rem.

Haha… No really, what happens? Really. Like this isn’t me trying to be clever with wordplay or anything or alluding to something else for the sake of making a rude joke. Diablo has to reach into Rem’s stomach to sort of jumpstart the Demon Lord’s soul and when placing his hand on her stomach proves not nearly close enough Edelgard suggests making a hole—but rather than injure poor Rem by making a hole, Edelgard recommends the hole that nature provides.

You know sometimes I think I know what I’m getting into with these reviews and sometimes I’m just at a loss for words. I’d say I was too but that’d be lying—I knew that this scene coming for about 6 weeks now. See because I love my anime merch I early on saw a pass-case (a leather card case to hold a travel/public transport card) with artwork of Rem getting fingered and thus researched a little to see if this was canon or ‘artistic license’. Yes, it turned out the answer was—I didn’t completely spoil myself however as I didn’t know the context of the fingering just that she got fingered.

Can you please stop saying “fingered” it’s seriously off-putting. I bought that pass-case by the way. #notsponsored

Is it wrong that I’m wondering how ‘deep’ he got? Because that looks like quite a bit of his arm!

I didn’t ask! But of course you did… you pervert. So can we move on please? Do they summon the Demon Lord Krebskulm? Yes, and even though the reveal was kind of spoiled by last week’s preview, Krebskulm is not quite what everyone was expecting. Rather than being some giant beast as eluded to by some imagery throughout the series (especially early on) Krebskulm is a cute loli with memory loss—that is to say she doesn’t even remember what a Demon Lord is supposed to do!

She might be small but she packs a punch (apparently, maybe).

So she’s not the threat everyone perceived her to be? Oh she’s still planning a genocide—a genocide on biscuits!

What? Thankfully Shera, being the adorable girl that she is thought to bring biscuits with her and offers them to the starving Demon Lord and instantly she’s enraptured with the sweet treats! (Also, just a small thing but I liked that they called them biscuits here and not the more American term “cookies”)

Okay. So threat mostly neutralised with ‘biscuits’, where does that leave our plot? Unfortunately it seems like Alicia isn’t exactly ‘on the level’ and wants Krebskulm to remember her “true calling” of destroying all the mortal races, so I guess Alicia was evil all along… or was she?!

Well, which is it then?! We get a brief but powerful flashback after they return to the inn that Alicia’s kinda had it hard in life—her parents admonishing her for being smart and wearing glasses, her superiors taking advantage of her and expecting too much. Basically she hates humanity for kinda self-centred reasons and wants Krebskulm to destroy the mortal races to make a “beautiful world” without people. It’s kinda flimsy, but whatever, I don’t think she’ll go through with it in the end—I believe in the power of friendship and that Rem, Shera and Diablo will be able to convince her that some people are good!

She’s been through some shit, but not enough to warrant a genocide.

Anything else you wanted to add? Shenanigans.

Pardon? Some good shenanigans toward the end of the episode, Diablo collapses having expended his magic power on an encounter with a powerful ‘Fallen’ named Eulerex and in order to “recharge” him Shera strips off and proceeds to rub her breasts against him—Krem-Chan (that’s what the show decides to call Krebskulm which I’m thankful for as I’m sick of spelling out her full name each time) sees this and wants in on the fun too!

Wait what was that about an encounter with a powerful Fallen? Oh whatever, I’m talking about the important stuff here! So little Demon loli starts rubbing up against Diablo too and they start moaning and—

End of review!

Previous How NOT To Summon A Demon Lord Reviews:

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Under The Influence – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 9 Review

Under The Influence – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 9

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 9.

So what happens in this episode? See, this is why I don’t like romance anime!

Sorry, what? I mean when I started watching this show I didn’t even realise it was one, let alone how big a factor it would play in the overall narrative—I might not have even watched it had I knew!

I take it something has happened that you don’t agree with? I may or may not have mentioned that I generally don’t watch romance anime because I don’t find the genre as interesting as others—a more accurate reason is that if there’s a male protagonist and if there’s multiple girls vying for his heart, he’ll always pick the wrong one! (In my opinion, of course.)

And what do you mean by “the wrong one”? Well the one who isn’t my best girl of course! Duh!

Right and so how and why does this transpire in this show and in this episode? Well, it’s a sort of in-between the action type episode and there’s a dance going to be held in the video game ‘Re’Union’ and apparently this is the moment where romances are solidified or nullified, this is the time for confessions to be made and feelings to be bared. And of course best girl Satsuki gets up the bravery to confess her long-held feelings for Haruto only for him to chose Asahi instead and it’s like Re:Zero all over again! Why are the protagonists in these shows always going for the boring blonde haired girls over the much more interesting other girls! I blame Hollywood’s influence over the anime industry!

dl4uc0jw4aifp56 — I think you’ve had too much to drink if you’re that committed to the beer, oh you mean the *girl* named Asahi…

Of course you do. Now, are you actually made about this or is it just like your Re:Zero review and you’re intentionally blowing it out of the water for comedic effect? Shhh. But yes, while I would have liked for Satsuki to be happy I don’t really care enough to be invested in any of the relationships in this show. It’s not that the show is bad at writing characters for me to be invested in, it’s that the show doesn’t pace itself well enough for me to form a connection with anything other than the superficial—and when it does delve deeper it’s often too late. Also we’re introduced to a “new” character.

dl5yigaw4aagcar — Anyone else getting an Emma Watson vibe from Satsuki? Maybe *that*‘s why i like her so much…

Sprung that on me late, who are they? It’s Nozomi, the sixth member of Subaru and she’s super cute! Though personally I preferred her look back in the day what with the glasses and shy personality and all! Funnily enough I feel like the show is doing a better job at establishing the one-sided romantic connection between Nozomi and Takanori than it did any of the others respective romantic connections. The little flashback to their elementary school days spoke volumes in such a short span of time. But alas, things aren’t that simple…

dl3ymaiu0aalsyl — Nozomi is pretty cute!

What happens? Well Nozomi, after much convincing and reminiscing finally logs back into Re’Union—only to arrive at the dance to see Takanori dancing with Satsuki (they’re at the dance as friends, nursing each other’s broken hearts) but of course she misconstrues this and storms out of the dance only to be kidnapped by a busty woman and a creepy clown. Or rather more accurately, Gnosis—the evil guild who wants Asahi’s prophet art power for themselves!

I see… Hey, at least the plot is going again and we can hopefully forget about the whole ‘romance’ subplots for a little bit!

So, a final opinion on this episode? It’s well made as all the episodes have been but I don’t know, I just didn’t care about a lot what happened in this episode. Worst of all Takanori who’s been pining over Asahi and likewise Satsuki who has been likewise for Haruto both have their hearts broken by their respective interests and yet kinda just shrug it off? While it certainly helps to move the story forward I don’t think it rings true—rather it seemed like an opportunity to get two spurned lovers “together” to hasten the Nozomi subplot which will undoubtedly drive the rest of the season. And expediting the plot is fine and all but if it’s at the expense of believable character reactions then I wonder why so much was crammed into so little when previous episodes could have accommodated a better paced ‘grieving period’ for each respective lost relationship. Ah well, whatever, it’s still a decent show—just lacking the sheen it once had…

dl3tc1nucaanpjf — You can put all the damn sparkles you want on the screen I’m still not going to root for Asahi and Haruto!

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

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