Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious! Quick Summary In the Re:Creators Bonus episode “ENTER THE WORLD OF Re:CREATORS,” we find out the writer’s past credits include an action-packed, gritty anime series. The director’s pedigree is even more impressive! We find out some of what makes Re:Creators’ soundtrack so powerful and distinctive. Finally, we meet the voice actors for Souta Mizushino, Selesia Upitiria, and Meteora Österreich. The latter makes a hilarious comment about Meteora’s hair! What’s In This Post Quick Episode Summary What I Liked in this Episode Thoughts about the Episode Related Posts What I Liked I should warn you up front: I love behind the scenes episodes about creative works, so my reactions to this week’s episode are likely to be more exuberant than usual. I had to smile at the symmetry of Daiki Yamashita, Mizushino’s voice actor, acting as the point of view (POV) character for this episode (0:50) — just as Mizushino does for the series! Yamashita mentions that regarding Re:Creators, he and others in the cast “felt a special allure of which we have never experienced before” (1:20). I have the same feeling. I’m not making a claim that this is the greatest anime ever, or that…

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious! Quick Summary In Made in Abyss Episode 3, “Departure,” Riko shares her desire to go after her mother Lyza at the bottom of the Abyss. When Nat objects, Riko attacks him. Will he warn the Leader (Gilo) about their plans? Gilo catches Regu trying to say goodbye to Kiwi — was Gilo there by accident? Or was it Nat’s doing? And how will Regu get away, now? What’s In This Post Quick Episode Summary What I Liked in this Episode Thoughts about the Episode Related Posts What I Liked Nat’s reaction to Riko’s plan to just charge into the Abyss (starting around 0:28) drove home how much he cared for Riko. His argument could be boiled down to, “Your plan is reckless and bound to fail — and you’ll die!” But what he was really saying was that he didn’t want her to leave his life. And while what she was doing was pounding his head with her fists (vigorously, too!),what she really meant was that she would miss him as well. The show’s not content with great background and atmosphere. They just had to add compelling character moments, too! The Sea of Corpses (3:04) and its seven-tailed scorpion…

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious! Quick Summary In Re:Creators episode 15, “This is perfect! She couldn’t have been any more perfect!”, Hikawa Hikaru joins Selesia Upitiria, Rui Kanoya, Meteora Österreich, and Yuuya Mirokuji as part of Team Aki Kikuchihara, but her powers seem to be a bit… underwhelming. Alicetelia February attempts a perilous task: to make a deal with Magane Chikujouin and walk away with her life. A new Created joins Altair’s forces, and he has a bone to pick with Mirokuji. Finally, we get to meet Hikaru’s creator — and Hikaru is not a fan. What’s In This Post Quick Episode Summary What I Liked in this Episode Thoughts about the Episode Related Posts What I Liked At the very start of the episode (around 0:10), I thought the awkward atmosphere around Hikaru was hilarious. Aki Kikuchihara fought to keep herself upbeat and polite; Takashi Matsubara makes reference to Hikaru being from a dating simulator; and Masaaki Nakanogane comes out and says it used to be an X-rated game! I felt sorry for poor Hikaru. She looked so miserable! And in previous episodes, Selesia said that she felt like her personal life had been too exposed! That’s nothing compared to Hikaru! Meteora even feels compelled to offer her sympathies (0:57). Of course, Nakanogane…

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious! Quick Summary In Made in Abyss Episode 2, “Resurrection Festival,” Riko and her friends discuss where Regu came from, and the conversation veers into embarrassing territory for the robot boy. While city prepares for an important festival, Riko receives surprising news about her mother — and the news has an ominous footnote. What’s In This Post Quick Episode Summary What I Liked in this Episode Thoughts about the Episode Related Posts What I Liked Some of the text during the credits (like at 1:16) is in the language of Orth; Japanese is superimposed. Realistic language increases a world’s depth and believability — look at what Tolkien’s various strains of Elvish did for Middle Earth! The description of the effects of ascending from Abyss trips of various depths (starting around 2:11) reminded me a lot of the bends. I has previously associated that only with deep sea diving. After some research, I found that deep cave explorers actually have to be careful about that! The more you know… I had to feel sorry for Regu after Sigy asked Riko to list the robot’s features (3:33). I’m not sure when she had an opportunity to conduct such a thorough…

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious! Quick Summary In Re:Creators episode 14, “I feel painful and so useless that I want to cry but it’s fun nevertheless,” Aki Kikuchihara herds both industry executives and artists towards the Elimination Chamber Festival — but will they buy into the plan and give it their all? As Selesia Upitiria, Rui Kanoya, Meteora Österreich, and Yuuya Mirokuji try to track down two magnetic field fluctuations, Takashi Matsubara, Marine, and the other artists clash on how to best move forward. And the clock is ticking… What’s In This Post Quick Episode Summary What I Liked in this Episode Thoughts about the Episode Related Posts What I Liked I thought that it’d be hard to replace the original opening, since it’s one of my favorites. But SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:Tielle & Gemie’s “sh0ut” is making an outstanding effort. Since it shares the composer (澤野弘之) and artist with gravityWall, I guess I should have had more faith! You can buy them from Amazon if you’re interested. At 0:54, did Meteora summons three F-14 Tomcat fighters? That’s a cool and useful skill! Kikuchihara, when she was working with government officials (1:51), took a very different approach than the she did when talking to the artists (2:35). I like her…

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious! Quick Summary In Made in Abyss Episode 1, “The City of the Great Pit,” Riko and Nat hunt for artifacts in the upper level of the Abyss, which they discover is not nearly as safe as they thought it was. Riko ignites trouble — again — with Belchero Orphanage’s Leader when she smuggles Regu into her room. When Regu helps her escape, even if it’s only temporary, she gives him an ethereal reward. What’s In This Post Quick Episode Summary What I Liked in this Episode Thoughts about the Episode Related Posts What I Liked It’s rare that I have something to note seconds into the show (at 0:04, though it could easily have started at 0:00), but the scenery is beautiful! For example, we get to see a waterfall in the distance. Small grass-covered ledges partially obscure it in the foreground. There’s an amazing amount of detail, from long-winged insects fluttering near flowers to Nat’s rappelling gear to Riko’s rope hitting the grass and kicking up a cloud on bugs (0:17). The world feels fully realized. Not even a minute in, we learn that Riko and Nat are members of the Red…

Note: There may be spoilers below! Be careful! First, the Good News I just finished watching the last episode of KADO: The Right Answer. If you didn’t watch the series, you missed an intricate and earnest attempt to portray human’s first contact with an extra-dimensional being. The series tries to be realistic and smart, and for the first ten episodes, I was really impressed. In the back of my mind, I was afraid that the show would stumble. Similar shows where humans are faced with such an overwhelmingly superior being tend to fall into three categories: The invaders make a stupid mistake, like allowing an unauthenticated (what, no two-factor?) asynchronous connection from an Apple PowerBook to a subsystem connected to vital systems, and humans win. Humans acquire alien technology and learn it quickly enough to be victorious. The aliens decide to engage humans on the human level and lose; after all, humans are better at being human! Seeing Wanoraru (episode 11) and previews for the last episode (Yukika), I was afraid KADO would fall prey to 2 and 3. I was happy to see the show sidestepped those issues. However, I’m sorry to say that it still stumbled. Second… Here’re some…

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious! Quick Summary In Re:Creators episode 13, “An unpredictable story that no one knows where it’s leading to,” we get a retrospective of the series so far. Meteora Österreich provides the commentary, but there’s something subtly amiss in how she describes her role… And what’d she say about Altair’s hair? What’s In This Post Quick Episode Summary What I Liked in this Episode Thoughts about the Episode Related Posts What I Liked There’s really no point to having a “What Happened” section this time around since, if you’ve watched episodes 1-12, you already know. So I’ll jump right to “What I Liked.” The show starts out as a routine, run of the mill recap episode. Meteora’s doing the voice over (around 1:28 into the show), and she dramatically says, “The fuse has been lit in the explosive story of us and Altair.” The music beings to swell, then stops as she says, “That description may be a little inaccurate.” It was at this point I began to suspect — actually, to hope! — that the writers might give us more than “just” a recap episode. For the next few minutes, Meteora tells the story with a degree…

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious! Quick Summary In Alice & Zouroku episode 12, I’m Home, Sana Kashimura and Shikishima Hatori continue their struggle to find their out of Wonderland. Miho Ayumu receives a long distance photo text from the White Rabbit. Zouroku Kashimura and Sanae Kashimura doggedly follow the little piggy until Zouroku has to confront Wonderland itself. Shizuku Ichijou leaves quite an impact on Wonderland. What’s In This Post Quick Episode Summary What Happened in this Episode What I Liked in this Episode What I Liked Not so Much in this Episode Thoughts about the Episode Related Posts What Happened Hatori’s parents and others continue to search for her. From their perspective, it’s been 10 days since she disappeared. Ayumu is worried and feels terrible; she fears she did something to make her friend mad at her. Remembering Hatori’s promise to travel Japan looking at the Spring flowers with her, Ayumu feels like her fear’s validated when she receives a message, presumably from Hatori, that includes a picture of a flower. She feels like her friend went on the trip without her; Ayumu doesn’t know that the White Rabbit used Hatori’s phone to send the message. Sana and Hatori continue their search for a way out. To them,…

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious! Quick Summary In Re:Creators episode 12, “Be desperate and draw something fascinating,” Alicetelia February takes her creator for a flight on her winged horse, and it’s not for sightseeing. Souta Mizushino completes his confession and waits for the group’s judgement. Meteora Österreich helps build a daring plan — but will it work out as she hopes? Or will Altair have some say in how the plan unfolds? What’s In This Post Quick Episode Summary What Happened in this Episode What I Liked in this Episode What I Liked Not so Much in this Episode Thoughts about the Episode Related Posts What Happened Alicetelia surveys the crater left by Mamika Kirameki’s Magical Splash Flare. Blitz Talker accuses her of sentimentality when she confronts him over his lack of reaction to the Magical Slayer’s death. She’s reveals that she’s read his story; it’s clear that Alicetelia has lost trust in him and his integrity. Meanwhile, Mizushino continues his confession. He had ignored Setsuna Shimazaki’s pleas for help, though she was hardly insistent. It was only when her mother called him using Shimazaki’s phone that he found out she had died. He had panicked and had deleted all record of her from…