Anime and Manga: Thoughts and Impressions

-Having seen episodes one through four, I’m not sure to feel about how deliberate the show is in setting the path it would take. I can appreciate it but I can’t help but feel impatient with some hanging thoughts like “if this is a one cour show, it spent a third of its run having done little adventuring...” and “when are they going to go jump into the hole again!”. 

Then came episode four and the main duo just breezed through the first level. We’ve seen enough of the first level but I can’t help but feel cheated because of how it went. Reg is a cheat character unlocked on the first playthrough!!!

-Speaking of, Riko doesn’t get to shine because of how capable Reg is. Seriously, is she just the face of this adventure? Nothing that was shown makes me not think “Riko is way out of her depth.”

I just hope that this reckless trip has its consequences beyond the common risks other divers experience.

-Now that I attempt to write about this, I realize that it’s not as easy to parse this show without looking at the whole because a lot of it sells a feeling aurally and visually. The rest of its world is fed through an information drip that makes the audience anticipate events that would come later.

-I don’t find myself invested in the characters of Made in Abyss, at least not as much as I think I should be, considering that I like the show for everything else. Their circumstances are separate from mine and the abstractions do not exactly appeal to me or, more accurately, they are not done in a way that persuades me to buy into it. 

A child walking after their parent’s footstep is a classic but Riko hasn’t exactly developed a personal relationship with her mother. Additionally, Lyza’s informed traits are not particularly interesting. Perhaps, the promised conversation with Ozen would fix this.

An amnesiac robot is a romantic concept. I was going to say that Reg is a strange example but thinking about it, he fits my idea of the trope. The problem, I think, is that his significance is understated, or overshadowed by Riko’s story.

Or stepping back, maybe the personalities have yet to register in my head.

-I started Gamers! not knowing that I have read the first chapter of the manga adaptation before. Then it clicked; it’s not hard to remember a main character rejecting the call to action, especially one from a supposedly beautiful girl.

It seems that this is not the popular opinion but Keita makes this show. He suffers from the usual practice of placing the main character below the average viewer but he is more than the usual excuse to form a harem of cute girls. The kid has a strong core that appeals to me and it is entertaining to watch him navigate through the events that he finds himself in.

-It sucks that he looks so normal though. It definitely affects the audience’s perception of it. This problem extends to the other characters. The character design here is serviceable but definitely unimpressive.

I think this, and the fact that Karen finds herself so taken by Keita, are the reasons this anime gets described as cliche by some people. I don’t know if that is a common opinion but I certainly don’t get it because I’m not very familiar with this character dynamic. I don’t watch a lot of anime but I know enough stories to tell.

-The inclusion of a second male lead is almost brilliant, I can’t say for sure because I get the feeling that the story would have its twists and turns. The important thing is that the story has many more directions it can go because of it.

-I don’t dislike Megumi Han but my first thought when I heard Keita speak was “I hate his voice.” I’ve gotten used to it and I can’t think of a better voice for the guy but it feels like there’s a lot to improve there. Chiaki’s voice is also not very satisfactory. It’s ‘cute’ but that’s just about it. 

It’s just my Ookubo Rumi bias talking but Aguri is a lot nicer to listen to. The problem with her, though, is that the character is not interesting (yet).

-The relationship drama in Gamers! makes a suitable face for the story but the backbone is the relatable mundanity. Karen is out of this dynamic but I think it fits for the rest of the main characters. 

Keita, Tasuku, and Chiaki talk about games in the way many viewers would have. They find themselves in ordinary experiences the viewers had or are having (or fantasize about). 

This also kinda ties in with how relationships are in this show. Keita and Tasuku make an uneven pair that enjoys a sort of equality in their common interest. Keita and Chiaki are equals who nearly mirror each other besides a few points they can be vehement about. The love issues are even more commonplace, I think, with Chiaki’s crush on Tasuku and Aguri’s relationship woes.

Now let’s talk about the show as a whole. On my side of the internet, it seems like I’m one of the few who likes the earlier episodes more than the later ones. 

I like it when the story is simpler, more whimsical, and more charming. The fish episode (Episode 7: Orange Submariner) might be my favorite and the festival (Episode 13: Samhain Magic) is the highest point after second half of episode 25.

Both seem to suggest the same reasons I watch the show for. I want to better understand the culture of witches and I like that Akko acts like a dumb kid then takes the step to be a bit wiser. I like seeing the trio of Akko, Lotte, and Sucy do something fun.

The conflict between Chariot and Croix is the worst part of the show. It’s not that their story is bad but they broke the magic for me. It’s not just that Chariot is such a physical character and Croix is a “science” girl, but also because they are adults getting mixed in with children’s business.

...I was going to make a comparison with Harry Potter, commenting on how this was not the case until the Prizoner of Azkaban at the earliest, and the Deathly Hallows at the latest, then I realized that Akko is like 13 or 14. It’s still not a problem to burden first year students with though.

Also, Croix is not a very good villain. Her character doesn’t really mesh well with Akko because the power balance is way off. Of course, it is easier to say that Chariot is the Batman to Croix’s Joker but then where does Akko come in? She’s the main character! Anyway, there’s a lot of things off about the character dynamics here which mostly stems from Croix’s character. Her lack of faith in magic is a good contrast to Akko however, I feel like she would be better if she stood on the same moral standing. I don’t know how it could be done while still having a strong finale but I think it would have left a stronger impact if Croix’s fight against Akko and Chariot is purely ideological in nature. This way, Croix would seem more formidable unlike the way she is turned out to be. At the most basic, Croix is a petty witch whose failures would have caused a global disaster if she had not been so wrong.

Not directly related to Croix, but the anime framed Chariot’s relationship with Croix as something similar to Akko and Diana”. It sets up some expectations that didn’t quite pay off. 

I can say more but a lot of them don’t really matter. Let’s just finish up with a small comment about Diana.

Diana is a good kid. She serves as a useful goal post for the protagonist and an indicator of her progress. Because she can do something, Akko desires to do the same, as a great step towards being more like Chariot. And when Akko does something right, Diana’s opinion matters the most because it is an acknowledgement from a rival...

Anyway, Akko and Diana grew closer which led to the great scenes at the end of the show.

Mamika survived her clash with Altair but she was bleeding to death. She had to pass on a message to Aliceteria before she expired but, by some contrivance, Magane got to her first. Magane is really good at being everywhere and as a result she gets the most key information. Mamika was desperate and rather confident about Magane that she didn’t think to tell Aliceteria the important parts. This is really silly stuff that feels off in this series but something I don’t really mind because it let Magane have some fun.

Mamika died unceremoniously. Magane twisted the message for Aliceteria, making her think that Meteora is the enemy. This isn’t too big of a move because the alignments didn’t change, it just made it so that Aliceteria wouldn’t switch sides.

On a different note, we haven’t seen Altair for some reason. The same for the aftermath of the brief battle between her and Mamika. I hope this is addressed soon because the anime has proven to be really bad at handling Altair’s character.

Next, Magane employs an aggressive strategy involving Souta. She broke the boy down further by the revelation that someone died because of him again, tightening her emotional hold on him. Then she asked him to tell Selesia that Meteora is a conspirator, or as I see it, she gave him reason and power to potentially affect the story by planting seeds of doubt.

Aside: some fans seem to think that it’s not too unlikely that Meteora is indeed an ally to Altair. I think that it would make some parts make sense but it mostly disagrees with the information that we have, the biggest one being that Meteora’s character traits are transparent in her source material/game.

However, Mirokuji and Meteora appeared, effectively dispelling Souta’s influence in the story. Their appearance was rather contrived but I liked the surprise. I was thinking that Magane’s plan would go smoothly but she hit a roadblock so easily. Also, I kinda like the fact that Re:Creators at least consistent in making Souta unnecessary to the story, in the way that Magane’s plan has been kinda thwarted without his input, it’s kind of a joke at this point.

For the most part, this episode is awesome of you enjoy Magane. I don’t really find Re:Creators to be a pretty anime but it is fun too look at and Magane is one of the most animated characters in the show.

I get the feeling that many people like this episode only for the ending. Seeing someone turned into a pincushion then into a nuclear bomb is definitely more intriguing and more memorable than several minutes of dialogue. However, this episode is more than the payoff at the end and the things that it does well, it does really well.

Maybe it’s just me but I really like how much the characters talk in Re:Creators. In some cases, it is an overbearing method of conveying ideas but I find that the nuances almost always make every interaction engaging. In addition, dialogue is most natural in this what-if scenario because of how different world views are. Meteora and Mamika exemplify this sentiment in their attempts to make sense of the new world they find themselves in.

In this episode, we have several conversations, the most important ones being Mamika’s conversations with Aliceteria and Altair. 

The first one is a discussion about the nature of secondary creation, in relation to Altair’s existence. The content is an interesting rumination but we’re slowly reaching a dead end that needs some serious work to breakthrough, because it’s becoming clear that all this digging around is leading to nothing helpful. 

The second one is a brief meeting between Mirokuji and his creator. It doesn’t seem to have much significance currently but it serves as a contrast to the other characters’ reaction in the same situation. This is an example of the what-if scenarios that I’m watching the anime for.

The third one is Souta’s consultation with Meteora. Souta seems to have resolved himself to share some of his thoughts, perhaps inspired by his conversation with Mamika. Then he learned that everyone kind of sorted things out without him. He almost folded but Meteora managed to open him up for new information, then shared some of her wisdom for Souta to process. Regardless of the story, it is a rather touching scene that I wouldn’t mind experiencing for myself (meaning that I want to be friends with a game character and maybe cry to her). 

Another thing that is worth talking about is how the anime makes the characters act. This scene makes me understand Souta and Meteora better just by their action. This is present in other scenes but because of how quiet the scene is, the actions feel bigger. 

Aside: Souta is a sympathetic character who has his personal conflict that has a still unclear connection to the main story with Altair. However, I can’t get invested in his character because has been is rather ineffectual so far and the story failed to spell out what exactly he can do to help with the situation. This is just me connecting the dots but the most he can do is changing Altair by redeeming himself before her. Although, this solution would then make the rest of the creation have less weight in the story.

The fourth is the conversation between Mamika and Aliceteria. This seems to be the final scene with them together and it was very good farewell. Aliceteria isn’t primed but I’m pretty sure she understand what a person who is planning to disappear is like. The two girls shared one final moment before the confrontation and they confirmed their affection for each other. I like how they shared their thoughts about the world and the events that had happened. Aliceteria puts her grievances to words and Mamika spins it into a positive light, as much as she could. This is just another step in developing their relationship but then it’s one that I had come to appreciate more than the simple what-if scenario it started as. 

This scene also serves as a contrast to Souta’s consultation with Meteora. Since the last episode, I’ve been thinking about how Mamika seem to just show Souta how to be an active character or “how a protagonist would act”, which makes Souta’s character seem even more egregious that it normally would be. Mamika has the power to affect change and she has the will to seek information and act upon it. Mamika can connect with Aliceteria; Souta had to be opened up by Meteora and even then he still has some reservations. The different is more apparent looking at the scenes where the characters hold hands. Maybe it’s an unfair comparison because one pair shares the experience of being summoned into an unfamiliar world and gathered under a false messiah of sort while the other has a more distant friendship.

The fifth is Souta’s chance encounter with Magane. We got a bit more out of Souta but like with Meteora, the partner, Magane did most of the work. There is cut where Magane nabbed Souta’s phone which can be connected to on how these characters relate to each other. Meteora reached out to Souta, Mamika connected with Alicetera, now Magane imposes on Souta. Maybe this is looking too deeply but I like the idea here. It shows how vulnerable of a target Souta is.

This encounters is setting up for further developments. I don’t know much where things would go but given the current information, I’d guess that Magane just wants to harass people. Really, this is just me failing to understand Souta’s significance in the main narrative of saving the world from edgelord Altair.

The sixth is Mamika’s confrontation with Altair. It is the culmination of Mamika’s character arc, from the point she realizes that this world is different from the one she existed in up to her facing villain who took advantage of her naivety. This is an interesting dialogue, considering everything that came before it, because Altair had no plan to back down. Mamika’s words have a lot of weight to them and really speaks a lot to her status as a heroine. There is also a sort of novelty to hearing two characters with their concrete beliefs clash ideologies. I didn’t seem very natural but the audience can just think these are fictional characters come to life, then it just becomes more convincing. This is an example of the what-if scenarios that I really enjoy in Re:Creators. What if this bitter character who wishes for destruction meets this childish warrior of justice? 

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Other notes: 

-I find the visuals of this anime hit or miss. I think it is too ambitious. There are shots where “the camera” just does whatever even though a more effective and less distracting one would do. There are also parts where the characters emote or act but it doesn’t quite look right. In this episode, Meteora tilts her head like she usually does when she affirmed Souta that she is a friend, but her left eye looks a bit too low. 

-The song kinda ruins the mood at the end lol

breakdown:

-The first scene is probably the best part of the episode. It is a distinct sign of yearning from Nino’s side. We got that she had been singing routinely in hopes of meeting someone.

-Nino crosses paths with Momo. Nothing came out of this. It might have been to mislead the audience into thinking that he’s the one she’s waiting for.

-Scene with the former baldy is near pointless.

-Nino recognizes Yuzu by his sound. She sings along the performance. It was awkward. This is the first emotional explosion I was speaking of. The problem isn’t that she did it, it’s that the audience doesn’t know what’s up. We infer that they know each other but that doesn’t stop viewers (like my sister) screaming “What?! Why?! Is this really the first episode?”. It was a fun mess.

-Nino and Yuzu speaks and there are some like-hate thing I don’t get but it turns out that they are cool after all. They just needed to jam.Then Miou, the light music club’s vocalist, ran off when she saw the two. Naturally, Nino replaces her for the performance at the moment.

Now, I’m finding the words to describe my problem with this show. “Okay I get it, they are impulsive emotional teenagers, but I don’t care about these kids and the show didn’t even try to make me give a fuck.”

-In the end, the anime went insane. Nino burst into song not minding her fellow performers, like how the anime treats its audience, she was grabbing her head like I did mine. The music, if I’m to describe it, is chilling in a way similar to watching someone die. I can’t say I like it but it is fascinating. I’m just a bit surprised that the background characters didn’t see the performance as someone going crazy with the mic.

(I see that some people had similar opinions about the song but eventually warmed up to it.) 

-During this emotional overdrive , we learn that there was another guy in Nino’s life named Momo and that Yuzu has this complex about the whole dynamic. There it is. There’s too much going on in this episode and none of it means anything to me.

Now that everything is out of the way (we got the gist of how Nino-Yuzu-Momo works), the show is probably going to be better from here on. There will be more time for the viewers to get attached to the characters. However, there is no guarantee that future episodes wouldn’t be as clumsy as this.