Pets and Justice— Weekly Anime Review #2
Another week has passed by in a flash. Today we’ll review some anime episodes that aired between 23.10.22 (Sun) to 29.10.22 (Sat).
The shows listed are based on certain criteria including the most comedic, darkest, most feels, best action etc. However, if you are also interested in last week’s review or a more comprehensive review for Fall 2022 , feel free to click the links below.
Here are some other things to keep in mind:
- This is not a season-wide review, we will only be focusing on one episode at a time.
- Only anime I watched are included.
- There will be spoilers if you haven’t watched these shows.
Without further ado, let’s jump right in! 🎉🎉🎉
Most Feels — Muv-Luv Alternative Season 2 — Episode 4
Episode Recap
After last episode’s events, Takeru Shirogane approaches Meiya Mitsurugi but she has lost her memories of him. Startled, he is told by Kouzuki Yuuko that his presence of a Causality Conductor is distorting the memories of those close to him. When Takeru meets Kagami Sumika, they have an argument before he confesses his present situation, both of them make up and eventually confess their love for each other.
Unfortunately, Sumika also loses their memories the very next day and was critically injured in an accident. Kouzuki then brings Takeru to Kagami’s room, which is scattered with hand-written diaries about their relationship together. Realising that his very presence will further distort his relationship and that he shouldn’t exist in that universe, Takeru asks Kouzuki to return him home despite the 24-hour limit has passed.
Why it has the Most Feels
This episode is basically an emotional roller coaster ride. We are first presented with Takeru’s fear that he may be forgotten by everyone he loves and cares. As his relationship with Sumika finally blossomed, disaster swiftly strikes again as even she forgets that she is in love with him. Then there’s her near fatal accident and all the hand-written diaries about Takeru.
Overall, this week’s episode is literally a gut-punching exercise. While the previous episode makes clear the consequences of Takeru’s existence on others, this episode really makes it much more personal as his own existence is being threatened. The saving grace is that in this episode ends with Takeru finally being determined to solve the issue and not run away anymore.
Most Action — Chainsaw Man — Episode 3
Episode Recap
After being told off by Makima, Denji and Power decide to reluctantly work with each other. Power tells Denji that her pet is being held hostage by a bat devil and asks for his help to kill the devil. However, she actually tricks Denji into the devil’s lair and nearly gets him killed. The Bat devil is displeased by Denji’s blood and ends up swallowing both Power and her pet cat. Sympathising with Power, Denji transforms into his chainsaw devil form and kills the Bat Devil after a long fight.
Why it has the Most Action
The final 6 minutes of this episode is basically a whole slug fest between Denji and the Bat Devil. The whole scene is also a festival of the eyes, the 2D & 3D animation flows well with the animation and direction. The fight pacing is on point and the individual shots look great too. Nothing is held back in terms of action and violence.
While Denji’s previous fight was for survival, this is the first fight where he fights for others’ sake. Action aside, this episode also highlights the similarity between Denji and Power — they might be indifferent towards others, but you better not touch their pets. In addition, the disturbing ending theme also fits well with the dark nature of this episode (each episode has a different ending theme by the way).
Feel free to watch the ending theme here.
Most Comedic — SPY x Family Part 2 — Episode 5
Episode Recap
Anya continues her best to befriend Damian. As her plan to impress him with her pet dog failed, she tries to impress him with her artistic skills. After telepathically reading Damian’s thoughts, she offers her help to craft a griffin for him, but her creativity gets in the way and ends up derailing his efforts. She then offers her paper model(?) of Bond modified to be a female griffin to pair with Damian’s paper griffin.
Unexpectedly, their joint artwork ends up winning first place due to the school executives’ artistic interpretations, much to Damian, Anya, and Henry’s perplexity. Damian tries contacting his father at home but hangs up after conversing with the butler. The episode then jumps to Loid’s meeting his handler Sylvia, before concluding with an explanation of how Yuri was raised to be so tough, i.e. constant food poisoning and abuse (?) from Yor.
Why it is the Most Comedic
The star of this episode is undoubtedly Anya’s love-hate relationship with Damian. While Anya’s previous instances to get close to Damian backfired (remember the dodgeball episode?), her efforts actually bear fruit in this episode. Damian, Anya, and Henry’s perplexed expressions are golden.
The subsequent short scenes between Loid and Sylvia as well as Yuri and Yor are entertaining too. Cheeriness aside, we also get to see more of Damian’s yearning towards his father and sympathise with his loneliness. Overall, this episode is short, sweet and funny.
Darkest (& Weirdest) — The Human Crazy University — Episode 4
Episode Recap
This episode begins with Hirofumi Satake reminiscing about his first meeting with his former lover Chie Negishi a few years back. However, their first meeting was not under good circumstances. Chie, a social media influencer was being plagued by a hedonistic online stalker Jack whom she met on her travels.
As she was kidnapped to a deserted location and forced at gunpoint to escape, she is saved by Satake who notices her distraught earlier. After running away to a restaurant, they meet a waiter and experienced a mass “genital retraction syndrome” which frees them from Jack’s pursuit. Before Chie and Satake part ways at the airport, Chie agrees to go on a meal with Satake when he is back in Tokyo
Why it is the Darkest
While this show previously categorised under the “darkest” episode in the previous review, it is comparatively darker this week before going into completely weird territory. Most of this episode is absolutely creepy as it delves into themes that are highly relatable in today’s social-media obsessed society. The ending though is equally bizarre and totally unexpected.
This episode is one of those episodes that are hard to summarise. I strongly recommend watching this episode alone to get a sense of how weird it can be.
Most Heartwarming — More than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers-Episode 3
Episode Recap
To create the perfect bento for Minami, Akari employs Jirou as her food-taster. However, Jirou keeps commenting that Akari’s omelettes are too sweet much to her annoyance. As Akari leaves to deliver her lunchbox to Minami, Shiori drops by and leaves some apple pies as they are not sweet enough for Minami.
Disappointed, Akari sexually advances upon Jirou who refutes her after noticing her unease. This makes their relationship to turn cold and awkward, which causes their grades to drop. After being counselled by Shiori, he decides to reconcile with Akari and their relationship eventually improves. She also accidentally confesses her affection for Jirou without him realising it.
Why it is the most Heartwarming
Both sides finally advance in their relationship with one another. Jirou may be a bit dense, but thankfully he is not cringe-worthy dense. As awkward as he may be, its gratifying to see a male lead with backbone. The way they reconcile is heartwarming and Akari’s sudden confession is also cute.
While I can’t exactly say that this show is the most realistic, the way it shows how Jirou lack of social skills in handling awkward situations is quite believable. Compared to other harem-like romance shows out there, this one fares pretty good.
That’s all I have for this week. Do feel free to share both this article and your opinions if you enjoy this article.
Happy watching!!!
