This week's WSS Question comes from Fukuoka and asks "What's something that was once popular that you wish would be in vogue again?"
Kimi Wa 008 (Syun Matsuena): Roller Blades.
Undine-sama ha Kyou mo koi wo suru ka (Shinya Misu): I really want to watch a second season of Watamote!! (TN- Watamote is short for "Watashi ga Motenai no wa Do Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui! Or "No matter how I think about it it's you guys' fault I'm not popular! A manga that received an anime a few years ago.)
Aozakura Bouei Daigakkou Monogatari (Hikaru Nikaido): Dash Yonkurou (TN- This is a manga that ran in Shougakukan's kids magazine Corocoro in the 80's)
Maiko-san chi no Makanai-san. (Aiko Koyama): Coffee Shops that don't serve alcohol.
Be Blues! (Motoyuki Tanaka): Solo Idol units, I guess?
Komi-san Komuyusho Desu (Tomohito Oda): I'd probably answer something like people having more social awareness like babyboomers and stuff!
Detective Conan (Gosho Aoyama): I wonder if perhaps we could get Big Chief's curry dressing to go back on sale...(lol)
Maoujo de Oyasumi (Kagji Kumanomata): Siberian Huskies. (Not really as a pet, but as characters.)
Imouto Rireki (Kei Nishimura): The Medabots anime! I used to watch it every week with my friends in Elementary school with friends and I had a blast!
Chrono Magia: Infinity Gear (Takeshi Azuma): The Dreamcast. Don't say it was only popular once!!
switch (Atsushi Namikiri): Aloe and Coconut gel.
Tantei Xeno to Nanatsu no Satsujin Misshitsu (Teppei Sugiyama): Sorry, I don't have anything in particular. I think the era we're in is pretty good.
Amano Megumi ha Suki darake (Nekoguchi): I'd like to experience bubble, but I'm kind of scared. (TN- Yeah I'm not sure either.)
Hoankan Evans no Uso ~Dead or Love~ (Mizuki Kuriyama): I feel like programs about Psychics have really reduced in number...
Fire Rabbit (Aya Hirakawa): I'm..pretty ignorant when it comes to fads...(^^;;)
Gopun go no Sekai (Hiroshi Fukuda): Manga. (lol)
Anonatsu 1959 (Ashibi Fukui): I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to fads so no idea.
Tonikaku Cawaii (Kenjiro Hata) Bitcoin.
Souboutei Kowasubeshi (Kasuhiro Fujita): I want to see more western bands on MTV like in the 80's...I miss me some hard rock bands.
Daiku no Hatou (Michiteru Kusaba): Topknots.
Sokyuu no Ariande (Norihiro Yagi): The B-class Horror movie boom.
Zettai Karen Children (Takashi Shiina): Still waiting for a time where my manga are super popular...
Hatsukoi Zombie (Ryou Minenami): I'm the type of person who isn't interested in what's popular.
RYOKO (Kaito Mitsuhashi): The packaging that came in canned drinking water. (I used to collect those.)
Youkai Giga (Satsuki Satou): Lucky nipples.
Tokaichi Hitoribocchi Nouen (Yuuji Yokoyama): Teramisu wheels.
This list had me shaking in my boots cause I thought I'd have to do a lot of research but most of these are pretty universal. Though Fukuda, manga is still popular! I'm also the type who doesn't care about what's popular Otherwise I'd arguably not be writing this blog. So I get the people who answered that, though I also miss MTV too, so I get Fujita's feelings too. Most of all? I want a new Medabots anime too! I really liked the last one!
It's man vs Machine in Xeno this week as the machinery in the AI controlled house cut a menacing aura and the deaths of people remain unsolved. Furthermore Baron has up and disappeared! Xeno's still postulating what could have happened and thinks a drone with enough horsepower could perhaps choke a human to death it's probably just a coincidence but all of this happening could be seen as Nanatsuki calling out our reliance on technology... As Xeno continues to deduct, the others around him get increasingly and understandably uncomfortable with his hypothesis' --they're in a house full of machines so the possibility that they could really be used to kill them has to be terrifying. As it usually goes, there's a sordid story behind the other two people who were killed -- and the survivor here knowing he's next has all kind of reasons to be terrified, as he was the lawyer who provided testimony that got someone unfairly thrown in prison, and the proof of his deception was found --not only that a threat of blackmail and extortion for cash was made to keep this secret. The last text he got from the previous victim is to "beware of the faceless devil." Wait, faceless?! Could it be?
Xeno says at the very least he doesn't think this particular case has anything to do with Kai, because his murders have an "aesthetic" to them. Though before they can discuss it further they get interrupted rather rudely and shockingly, causing everyone to scatter, and it's then that Xeno gets the idea that their guide who's been defending the machines up until now is more than what she seems...
She's actually the creator of the AI? But why hide that until now? Though more importantly Baron pops up and it seems he's been captured by someone, and while Baron does ask Xeno to save him, he seems rather casual about the whole matter....wanting to see Xeno solve this one in a grand fashion. The series receives a color page next week as a advert for the "climax" of this case. Xeno had already made his proclamation about who--or well, what is behind this case but there hasn't been as much sleuthing as usual from him. By now you all at home should know that "climax" is essentially a notice that the end is coming but not quite here, and I tend to believe it in this case. I do think it's likely some revelations for Xeno and Baron are on the horizon though.
I was thinking Evans' "teacher" would be a character of the week and nothing more, but he's back and it appears we've got an arc on our hands. Although it wasn't clear last week whether Levin was telling the truth about his relationship with Evans, but the sheriff does take an appointment with him on short notice, so I suppose it's true to an extent! Levin is still fishing for compliments and I have to admit that side of his character is kind of endearing, at least for now. As long as it's just he's the "pathetically searching for praise" type and not trying to get something more sinister from his actions, he's more funny than off-putting. Haley Ross is the victim of this case and Levin is hoping Evans can help her (and him) out. Levin takes basically any opportunity to point out that he's the guy who made Evans who he is. A scam is on in the form of a love potion and...hooo boy. You know things are only going to get more complex when Evans and Pheebs are involved. They both immediately want this stuff to work and forget that they're supposed to be busting it (and it might be fake!)
So knowing the mission, the gang is off to a party where this stuff is distributed! A shame that not a single person (other than Haley maybe.) is actually doing this for the greater good, heh. I'm really looking forward to how this motley crew will come together and probably screw up this mission while simultaneously bringing down the bad guys. Evans isn't a series that surprises, but sticks to it's gimmick and delivers.
One thing I can say about Sakamaki is that between being a sympathetic figure and then wildly swinging to being a horrible human being and back is that he's been constant in one aspect --he's passive. Passive in that he's only defended himself and stayed in the souboutei to paint quietly, leaving Shino and the aliens to be his attack dogs. Heck, he's barely ever really been seen giving an order to do anything, even though we know he's up to no good. It's for this reason that Shino is gleefully awaiting orders. Though maybe not even she could see just how much having uninvited visitors would rile up Sakamaki. It's clear as well she was hoping he'd not only let loose the aliens of war, but that he'd allow access to her full powers to wreak havoc. Though I dunno....Sakamaki seems more angry (yet somewhat stoic) than usual, perhaps because his time with Kurenai has been the closest to what he wants out of painting since he started his long homestay?
So for the first time in the entire series, Sakamaki is doing his own dirty work. He doesn't outright state why now of all times is enough to force him out of hiding, but he does warn Kurenai that she might want to get dressed in something that is fireproof before he makes a grand display of appearing before the soldiers outside of the house and proclaiming his place as the head of the household. It's exciting, scary, and awesome all at the same time. It's likely these poor guys won't know what hit them after he's done, but it'll be fun reading for us I'm sure.
Being at the ostensible bottom of the TOC means RYOKO's already nebulous fate becomes that much more worrying. The events of the chapter themselves don't really tell us whether the series is on a collision course with cancellation, but the sales which weren't that great (but also not awful), and it's TOC position are really scary for fans of the series like myself. As for what happened, well --it's fairly straightforward. Kogarashi and Ryoko have their duel and surprisingly she holds her own against him even if it's not like she's able to really inflict any serious damage. It marks a turning point in the series which leads well into what happens next.
Zen returns and willingly sacrifices himself to Kogarashi to keep him from harming anyone else, and the villain takes the bait --but not before taking Ryousuke; Ryoko's little brother as well. It's a fairly common fatal flaw in stories like this, Kogarashi wants to see Ryoko fight at her highest potential and figures if her brother is his captive that she'll have no choice but to do just that. It's not the most inspired thing, sure, but I like the change of scenario here --Ryoko isn't the damsel in distress but the knight, and it's her brother and friend (both males) who need to be rescued, and also brings out a new chapter in the series which has been mostly character development and monster of the week so far so these are all positive things....but not from where RYOKO stands in the TOC right now and as a series. I'd like this to succeed not just because I'm a fan of Mitsuhashi's work, but because it's a female protagonist in a shounen magazine that isn't a quirky comedy (not that I have any problem with those.) RYOKO might have what it takes to last but it's admittedly an uphill battle.
This week's Youkai Giga features the Sai no Kami which is a type of God who protects travelers from evil spirits. In the chapter itself, two ladies are cleaning a temple that no one else wants to bother with --a place where a Sai no Kami resides and new people to the village are supposed to stop in and greet it. Though legend has it that there are two gods, and the other one is quite the hottie --and speak of the dev--God, he actually shows up! He chats it up with the ladies and they're both quite glad to see him and even promise to visit again. He's got a good thing going until he looks at his feet and realizes he's had a horribly huge hole in his sock the whole time....that expression at the end isn't because something scary happened (at least not scary in the traditional sense.) but because guy realized his cool game might have been for naught. Guess even impressive people have their worries --even if they're Gods!
The Sunday diary this week features Minenami Ryou who...doesn't actually say anything. Rather in place of words there's an illustration of all the characters making their demands to be cooler, in more scenes, etc. With Hatsukoi Zombie ending in a mere 4 chapters, I guess Minenami wants to focus on creating the best conclusion they can.
And that's it for this week's editorial! It's a bit earlier and I hope to keep things like this. For the news and other interests be sure to take a gander at the twitter thread here! We've got two series ending soonish so a Sunday shift is on the way. You can be sure I'll be here to report it so stay tuned. Until then, take care!
Comments
Post a Comment