SEASONAL PRATTLE
I’ve mentioned it in the past but it deserves to be repeated, especially after this week’s offerings and its related discussion. Elegant or insightful writing with a brand of storytelling that has a firm grasp on how to make its core concepts resonate, are unfortunately still touchpoints that I’m seeing less and less prioritized in the community when it comes to anime discourse. Fans are far more enamored with the most immediately accessible cogs of a narrative – the weight of a cliffhanger, overt character traits, large beats in the plot, etc – as opposed to the less tangible composition both textual and visual that lends a story beauty and makes it worth embracing.
This latest Magia Record is a firm example of this – A dexterous tie for Sana’s character and thrust forward for an ever unraveling narrative that’s commonly under-acknowledged due to “rougher” action choreography that spans for about two minutes. While I particularly use Magia Record to illustrate this, the truth is there are still plenty of recent works that are overlooked and underappreciated that shine because of how their smaller intricacies are sculpted and come together. It’s really a shame.
Somali to Mori no Kamisama (9)
“Small offhand conversations, tiny productive spurts of character acting and pinches of restrained yet whimsical writing”
It’s still really pleasing to see Somali to Mori no Kamisama work its little moments, giving passive sequences firm enough execution where common exchanges between Somali and Golem are more than just a placeholder – they’re legitimately thoughtful. The small offhand conversations, tiny productive spurts of character acting and pinches of restrained yet whimsical writing all add up to a satisfying experience, even if the episode is essentially just Somali losing a tooth. The intangibles episode nine brings isn’t exactly exciting when explained on paper, but it’s rewarding nonetheless in motion when it comes together.
Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun (9)
“Prioritizes its genre’s mechanical wants and needs above anything else”
Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun pushes on in its usual taut ways with another episode that prioritizes its genre’s mechanical wants and needs above anything else. With that, nine is still playing with its cards relatively close to its chest, giving viewers a more concrete encounter with Sakura and Natsuhiko but not particularly revealing too much past that. However, what narrative offerings we do get end up being entertaining, paying a reasonable amount of attention to detail both in the delivery of this week’s comedic jabs and their corresponding reactions – which makes our time spent here feel worthwhile especially post Yashiro sinking. Positive showing all in all with some good momentum heading into next week.
Runway de Waratte (9)
“Respectable, honest effort that checks a reasonable amount of boxes to cultivate tension”
While this was largely a stepping stone episode, it’s still nice to see Runway de Waratte manage its resources efficiently all the way down to the credit roll. Nine isn’t particularly applaudable in any one facet, landing its biggest beat with the rivalry formation just fine and setting the stage narratively for the remaining episodes without too much hassle – but also with little flair. When it all shakes out and is viewed from hindsight, it’s a respectable, honest effort that checks a reasonable amount of boxes to cultivate tension for the upcoming Geika festival. Nothing amazing, but no real glaring weaknesses in this one either.
Darwin’s Game (9)
“Still finds ways to drown out whatever shreds of positivity that arises”
Finally, we make our way to Darwin’s Game and its latest attempt to break away from the garbage perception it so thoroughly established for itself over the Winter. To its credit, episode nine actually had some notable sequencing when Xuelan got involved – paying proper attention to weight, flow, and volume to an extent that easily made it the most dynamic action choreography we received thus far. However, and in unsurprising fashion, this series still finds ways to drown out whatever shreds of positivity that arises with pure incompetent writing. Again we find ourselves dealing with another hearty serving of close-range gunfire that never hits its target, another flimsy reason for a high ranked player to want to be impregnated by the MC, and of course, another string of writing that’s just plain thoughtless – this time coming in the form of Kaname being strong enough to kick out the door of an armored vehicle after training at his local gym for a couple of months (yes, “months” not years). Needless to say, Darwin’s Game is still very much a dumpster – perhaps this week with a little less juice than normal at the bottom – but still a dumpster nonetheless.
