[Fall 2016] Season of Shorts

[EventualDay]

Haven't watched anything new recently, but this is really interesting visual comparison of the Yuri on Ice openings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mprYcipOi4Y

[MangaRocks!]

Bungou Stray Dogs S2 episode 10:

Aargh-- just when I thought that the pacing was better in this ep., then they (or Crunchy, I suppose; not going to rule that out, given their translation track record these past few weeks... ) left out an important part (that it was SPOILER: Highlight text to read: *Ranpo* who invited the doctor to the Agency), plus also slightly rushed that entire scene (making both the revelation that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the Agency was actually created specifically for Ranpo's sake as well as SPOILER: Highlight text to read: how much he apparently cares for Yosano a lot less impactful {and in fact almost just glossed over}). ...On the other hand, the rest of the ep. (both before and after) was better-adapted than the previous few ep.'s, so I suppose I can't complain *too* much.




I actually didn't have time to watch Fune wo Amu this week, so I'll watch it along with next week's ep.




Haikyuu!! S3 episode 9:

Ahhh the epicness of Tsukki here~! <3 And the tension was downright fantastic. Just one more ep. to go~!




Hibike! Euphonium S2, a.k.a. Sound! Euphonium S2, episode 9:

Favorite scene of the ep. direction-wise: The moment when SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Taki-sensei took the key from Reina's hand. I'd never seen the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: romantic 'touched someone and it felt like electricity ran through them' so brilliantly and naturally depicted by visuals alone before. ) And story-wise, I was glad to see Asuka open up about what was really going on. It's not resolved yet, but you could tell that just telling someone and having someone truly listen was quite cathartic for her. <3 (And man, I hope she manages to go and show SPOILER: Highlight text to read: *both* of her parents how much this means to her, how happy it makes her, and how much she deserves to choose to have music in her life.




Natsume Yuujinchou Go, a.k.a. Natsume's Book Of Friends S5, episode 8:

Oh man, Natori's backstory ( + interaction with Matoba) is so good. <3 (And now you can also understand why he connected so much with Natsume! )




And Yuri!!! on ICE episode 9:

First things first: As for what formed the cliffhanger of the previous ep., SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I couldn't decide whether they'd actually go down the 'guess what, the second dog dies, too!' route or not (since both options-- Makkachin making it or not-- would have had equally valid repercussions in terms of the plot and character development), but I did have a feeling that it just might turn out differently than what happened with Yuri's dog, and I'm glad that was indeed what occurred (Makkachin lives! ).

Second things second: Yes, Crunchy again messed up the subs with that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "Please be my coach until I retire" line... I have it on good authority that in Japanese, Yuri actually said something more along the lines of SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "Please take care of me until...", which can at times apparently be taken as essentially SPOILER: Highlight text to read: proposing (or at the very least forming a long-term relationship)-- hence Victor's next line -- and which Victor essentially SPOILER: Highlight text to read: accepted (with that kiss on the ring finger and the "never retire" bit, etc.). And absolutely no one is surprised at this development. Moving on... (Seriously, though, yes there actually was a lot going on in that scene in terms of character development for both Yuri and Victor-- for instance, with that statement Victor has also essentially SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ended his own competitive skating career, which is obviously A Huge Deal, and Yuri can finally SPOILER: Highlight text to read: put his last deep-seated fear of loss to rest, among other things-- and it was written very well; it's just that, once again, that good character development/writing is inextricably intertwined with the relationship, so once again I'm forced to mention it. Oh well.

Anyway: Oh my gosh, Yurio's grandpa (gruffly) making him SPOILER: Highlight text to read: katsudon pirozhki's because Yurio seemed to like SPOILER: Highlight text to read: katsudon so much was extremely heartwarming. <3 Speaking of Yurio: Yes, we *finally* got to see his free program! (And while I was actually fully expecting him to SPOILER: Highlight text to read: win gold here-- though, sadly, Mr. Ego got that honor instead -- that free program was actually even *more* awesome than I expected! ) Plus, we also finally got to see him SPOILER: Highlight text to read: actually rooting for Yuri and trying to cheer him up and even smile a beautifully genuine smile when talking with him! <3 (There's sooo much dere underneath all that tsun~ <3 ) As for the siblings: I laughed so hard at Mickey's SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "moody Japanese men who look like closet pervs" line because he has nooo idea just how true of Yuri that is. (Also, like he's one to talk... ) ...In all seriousness, though, I'm really glad that Sala finally decided to just give her brother some tough love and SPOILER: Highlight text to read: essentially 'break up' (though nothing's ever happened, obviously; I meant that in a figurative way!)-- which was actually surprisingly emotional-- *and* she didn't go back on it, either, even after he moved her to tears with his performance. As for JJ: Welp, his ego continues to know no bounds, LOL... He does seem to have a really sweet family, though, so he's clearly not all bad; but hopefully something happens to chill him out just a little (pun fully intended, LOL). And as for Yuri: He definitely had to tough out/power through this one, but it actually went better than I expected it to, so that was good. Also, LOL at the conversation with Yakov afterwards -- and kudos for him actually being a great coach , and indeed genuinely acting as Yuri's own coach, if only during that chat.

...Oh, and the absolute best moment of the ep.: Yuri's hilarious SPOILER: Highlight text to read: hugging spree (and everyone's equally-hilarious reactions to it! ).

[MangaRocks!]

Bungou Stray Dogs episode 11:
 
Heh, well, as slightly disappointed as I've been with the adaptation of the last few ep.'s, *this* ep. was pretty much perfect for what it covered. One more ep. to go~
 
 
 
 
Fune wo Amu, a.k.a. The Great Passage, episodes 8-9:
 
Holy crap, SUDDENLY TIMESKIP! (And a whopping SPOILER: Highlight text to read: 13 years, no less!! ) That was quite a surprise (and a bit disorienting at first, too-- I literally had to pause the video and go and check that I was actually watching the right episode about a minute in )... and I'm kinda sad that because of it we didn't get to see SPOILER: Highlight text to read: any of the milestones/relationship development for the MC and Kaguya (who are now married! ), or the character development for the MC (who-- while still a tiny bit awkward-- can actually interact and carry on conversations at least mostly naturally {if not always relevantly } now! But it would've been nice to see him get there), or what's up with Nishioka and his girlfriend (since, unfortunately, the latter has apparently dropped off the face of the earth {or at least the face of the series} for some reason ), either... I mean, obviously they have to finish their dictionary by the (rapidly-approaching) end of the show, so I get the reasoning behind the skip; but the series just feels so incomplete to me without a few of those details. ...I do like the new girl (and SPOILER: Highlight text to read: what we see of the other new guy, who actually starts dating her in the second of the two ep.'s), though. And nice cliffhanger~ ...So, yeah, both of these ep.'s were still quite good; it's just that I have some mixed feelings about some of it as well.
 
 
 
 
Haikyuu!! S3 episode 10 (end):
 
IIRC there was a little character-development bit with Ushijima that they cut, but otherwise this was darn near perfection. <3 And that scene after the credits seems to confirm that they will also eventually make an S4 with the Tokyo-teams' arc + the whole bit with the National Youth thing, etc., which I am of course greatly looking forward to seeing animated as well~! <3
 
 
 
 
Hibike! Euphonium S2, a.k.a. Sound! Euphonium S2, episode 10:
 
This episode was *fantastic!* Not only was there resolution with Kumiko's sister, but with Asuka as well! (I legit teared up during this. )
 
 
 
 
Natsume Yuujinchou Go, a.k.a. Natsume's Book Of Friends S5, episode 9:
Ahhh, so heartwarming~! <3
 
 
 
 
And Yuri!!! on ICE episode 10:
 
...This ep...... I can't even......... First things first: Wow... so they actually went there (the 2 MC's are now apparently SPOILER: Highlight text to read: engaged, rings and all ). Funny thing is, I'm honestly not even surprised at this point-- in fact, I was almost expecting it, the way the show had been going. (Though, I do have to say, everyone's different *reactions* to the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: rings were very amusing indeed... ) Anyway: Oh my gosh-- aside from the aforementioned serious bit with the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ring exchange, the funny-and-serious-*and*-cute bit where Yurio SPOILER: Highlight text to read: makes a surprise new best friend in Otabek (who's a really likeable character, BTW! <3 ) , the little chat between Victor and Yurio, and the scene where they're all walking into the rink at the end, this ep. was actually just downright hilarious from start to finish. (And even the little bits showing the characters who didn't get to go to the Prix Finals were cute. <3 ) Oh, and it was really nice to have it narrated by Victor for once, too (for multiple reasons). Finally: Ohhh man, that 'new' (actually-pics-and-a-flashback-scene-from-the-characters'-previous-year's-afterparty) ED...!! I'm...... um......... well, speechless. (It certainly puts the real starting point of the MC's relationship/the events of ep. 1/actually pretty much *everything* about Victor's dialogue and actions and attitude in general in the beginning few ep.'s/plus even the storylines of both his own "Stay Close To Me" program *and* Yuri's "Eros" program in a whooooole new perspective, that's for sure...! I've loved every unreliable-narrator twist I've ever come across, and {while a bit NSFW visually... } the actual writing of this one is no less brilliant in terms of how it literally turns the entire series on its ear when it comes to how you're viewing everyone's interactions. {Picking out all the rest of the little details that were hidden in plain sight/recontextualizing literally everything on a rewatch is going to be so much fun~ })

[MangaRocks!]

Bungou Stray Dogs S2 episode 12 (end):

Wow, the pacing was really wonky in this ep. I mean, I know they were trying to fit in all the aftermath/the hook to the next arc/etc., but the way they did it here just felt pretty weirdly paced/edited to me. Oh well-- despite the fact that the adaptation could definitely have been better in this second season in particular, I'm glad the anime gave me the push to read the manga, because I really love the manga now (and I can't wait to start reading the novels, too {especially the one with Dazai that the first section of S2 adapted <3 }).




Fune wo Amu, a.k.a. The Great Passage, episode 10:

Hmm... this ep. wasn't quite as good as the previous ones, but it was still decent, and it actually did explain one thing I had complained about in my previous post (namely, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: what happened to Nishioka's girlfriend-- I apparently didn't notice the ring he had on in the previous ep. {whoops! }, but I did now; so yeah, I'm pleased about that ).




Hibike! Euphonium S2, a.k.a. Sound! Euphonium S2, episode 11:

Man, this ep. just made me love Taki-sensei even more than I already did, poor guy... </3 (And Reina's stuff was handled fairly well, too, all things considered.) Now on to the big competition!




Natsume Yuujinchou Go, a.k.a. Natsume's Book Of Friends S5, episode 10:

Oh my gosh, I had almost forgotten just how darn moving this bit was...! (I teared up twice. <3 <3 ) Touko and Shigeru are the best.




And Yuri!!! on ICE episode 11:

(One more quick note on the big reveal in the previous ep. before I get into this week's: I haven't started rewatching the series yet {though I definitely will }, but I happened to run across this screencap of a line from one of the early episodes and it already sent me into gales of laughter now that I know what he's actually referencing. Oh my gosh Victor. {It really *does* recontextualize everything, bwahaha! })

Anyway: Wow, this episode was packed (in a good way)! OP: More (and probably final at this point, given that there's only one episode left, LOL) changes (it just keeps on getting more detailed and pretty)! Flashbacks: Phichit and Yuri (and so many SPOILER: Highlight text to read: hamsters, LOL!! <3 ); Yakov SPOILER: Highlight text to read: seeing young Victor in Yurio; little Yurio and Otabek <3 ; etc. Performances: Phichit being great ; Yurio finally SPOILER: Highlight text to read: getting first in something (due to him finally skating his "Agape" program SPOILER: Highlight text to read: perfectly this time after becoming SPOILER: Highlight text to read: BFF's with Otabek, among other things... which is not a coincidence, I think -- also, proving Victor's words all the way back when he gave the program to Yurio very much right SPOILER: Highlight text to read: {that it's a winning-- indeed, actually record-breaking! -- program if done properly!})... and it was absolutely gorgeous to watch, too <3 <3 ; Chris actually not being annoying, LOL (well, surprisingly, he actually hasn't been annoying since the previous ep. already, but you know what I mean... ); finally seeing Otabek's program ; JJ SPOILER: Highlight text to read: imploding as I fully expected he would (because not only was it actually pretty realistic {I've seen top-tier skaters in RL SPOILER: Highlight text to read: mess up their first jump and then spiral into disaster quite a few times, in fact}, but also, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: pride like that was just begging to be set up for a fall, and the creators followed through on that just as beautifully as they did with SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the siblings a couple ep.'s back-- making his struggles {and the honestly really beautiful support from his fiancée and his fans <3 } here actually somewhat emotional despite me not liking him at all until now ); and as for Yuri, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: he actually messed up just a little bit of his short program for once here. I kinda figured that there would have to be something-- this *is* the penultimate episode, after all; narrative structure and all that -- and it makes sense that if he's going to *finally* skate his titular free program perfectly in the next ep. (which he has never done before, and which essentially *has* to happen narratively {for multiple reasons}), he would end up not doing his short program quite so perfectly in turn. (Also, IIRC Phichit did the exact same thing a few ep.'s ago-- coming back from a lesser short program score/4th place to win gold with his free program-- so I'm not worried about Yuri's score ATM.) ...And then, of course, there was that scene after the credits, which I'm not even going to discuss because if you've been paying any attention at all to both the story and the characterization, it's obvious both that this conversation had to happen at some point (they've been building up to it the whole time, in fact) and what said conversation is *actually* about.

(...Speaking of which: I really appreciate how surprisingly realistic their portrayal of Yuri's anxiety disorder {and all the various side-issues stemming from it, including his unreliable narration} has been throughout the entire show-- because it's a disorder; that stuff doesn't just go away, even when you *know* it's illogical and even when you have loved ones trying their best to help you, and Yuri's pretty much the *perfect* example of this. It's just yet another aspect of how great the writing in this show really is. {Well, minus the obvious, of course... })

TL;DR: I fully expect the finale to be epic, and I can't wait!

[MangaRocks!]

Fune wo Amu, a.k.a. The Great Passage, episode 11 (end):

Welp, all those SPOILER: Highlight text to read: death flags for the sensei were indeed true. Other than that, this was a nice enough ending (and oh my gosh Nishioka's little family is adorable!! <3 ); in all, it was a good series (if not *quite* to the level of great).




Hibike! Euphonium S2, a.k.a. Sound! Euphonium S2, episode 12:

Even without showing the actual performance (which IIRC was going to be the same anyway), this episode was great ( SPOILER: Highlight text to read: them only getting a bronze aside )-- I teared up again. Just one more ep. to go~




Natsume Yuujinchou Go, a.k.a. Natsume's Book Of Friends S5, episode 11 (end):

This was always one of the sweeter stories, and it also turned out to be a surprisingly good place to pause until the two extra episodes on the later Blu-ray volumes + the already-announced next season, so I'm very satisfied. <3




And Yuri!!! on ICE episode 12 (end):

This ep. surprised me in two ways; but I think I liked it (and it was certainly well-done regardless). Before I get to that: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Yuri *finally* skating his free program *perfectly* (which included landing that infamous quad flip *and* breaking Victor's *other* world-record score in the process! <3 ) narratively needed to happen, and it was supremely satisfying to indeed see it onscreen. As for the first of the surprises: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Yurio winning the gold instead of Yuri (even if it *was* just by a few fractions of a point-- and Yurio *was* amazing )... well, it actually did make sense in a number of ways. After all, the fractions-of-a-point bit means that if Yuri had actually done his final *short* program as awesomely as he had the previous few times, he would've secured the gold with multiple points to spare; and this also made it possible to showcase his personal growth (his chronic anxiety disorder always has been and always will be with him {and major props to the creators for depicting this so accurately and sensitively}, yet he didn't break down this time, for one; and for another, it {along with Victor} also SPOILER: Highlight text to read: finally gave him the push to finally change his original longstanding decision to retire <3 ... etc.). So I actually don't mind that outcome (for those reasons, plus-- as mentioned above-- what he *did* do SPOILER: Highlight text to read: {skate the free program perfectly for the first time, land the quad flip, and break Victor's other world record all at the same time, etc. <3 } was super satisfying in and of itself ). The second thing that surprised me was that I had randomly run across someone's fan theory that Yurio actually SPOILER: Highlight text to read: had a thing for admired *Yuuri,* not so much Victor (as it had sometimes seemed), complete with many screenshot/dialogue examples of evidence... and this episode actually basically confirmed it (and all the show's written-in hints of it right from the start, just like with the twist in ep. 10!) true! (And that just provides yet *another* reason to rewatch and recontextualize!) So, yeah, this show had *great* writing from start to finish. Also: JJ is no longer annoying either; Phichit is fantastic, LOL (I would *totally* go to SPOILER: Highlight text to read: that ice show if it were real!! ); Otabek continues to be great; etc. And I also loved that they included a gala/exhibition performance, since that's always really cool and fun in RL -- and yes, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Yuri's literal pair skate with Victor there, yada yada (...really, though, in all seriousness-- the point of that particular program aside -- it *was* beautifully choreographed). TL;DR: In all, this was an excellent show (yes, even with the relationship ), and while I'll definitely watch the heck out of the obviously-teased S2 if it does indeed get made, this was still an impressively satisfying ending in and of itself.

[MangaRocks!]

And finally, Hibike! Euphonium S2, a.k.a. Sound! Euphonium S2, episode 13 (end):

...Ah, so we *do* get to hear the piece again (and really tenderly played, too <3 )! And the farewell between Kumiko and SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Asuka was so darn beautiful and downright moving I teared up *again.* <3 (Plus, that was one of the most perfect SPOILER: Highlight text to read: title-drops I've seen! ) On a sidenote, I found out that, in the novels, apparently it's confirmed that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Kumiko and Shuuichi end up dating (and there were more interactions between them in the novels beforehand, too), but the funny thing is that I don't even mind that they didn't show that in the anime; the series was so amazingly well-done that the ending just felt right as it was (and this is coming from a romantic-at-heart who usually *loathes* open endings when it comes to even the smallest side-romance {no less one that includes the main character[s]}, so you know this was written *really* darn well if I didn't mind it at all! ). In all, this was a great finale to an absolutely *excellent* two-season series, and I cannot recommend it enough!

[EventualDay]

I finally finished Yuri on Ice. Last dubbed episode just came out.



1) Yurio is such a little fire princess. More like "fury" on ice in this performance. What a cute character.

2) Victor SPOILER: Highlight text to read: crying at the beginning of the episode. I'm actually somewhat disappointed they didn't drag that scene out a little longer--it was unexpected, and I think it showcased his character development too, which was much more subtle than Yuri's but still really lovely.

3) Still found the ending to be a little too ambiguous. I can't pinpoint exactly why yet; maybe after I've had more time to think on it. I think I just needed a little more conclusiveness in the relationship areas of the show--and not just the Victor/Yuuri thingy that is a little too complicated to go into right now but Yuuri's relationships with his family, the other skaters, etc.... At least we had a pretty satisfying episode 10 for that, though I would have liked more interactions in this finale as well.

[ForeverInspired]

I just want to comment on Yuri on Ice which definitely was great despite that interesting SPOILER: Highlight text to read: relationship. Right before Yurio went to skate, I have a huntch that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Victor told Yurio exactly what he needed to do to beat Yuri and make sure that he didn't retire... who knows, he might have even begged him to do it. That's just my little huntch though after watching that episode a million times. Seriously, this is one of my favorite sport anime by far even with all of the unnecessary content aside. There's character and plot development at it's finest, and while some might nit-pick the animation, I actually loved it and the music and everything else. This show along with March Comes in LIke a Lion (which is still airing!) were the highlights of the season for me along with a few other decent shows that I watched.