Howdy, howdy. I’m glad you stopped by Anime Rants, where I continue covering episodes from several selected series of summer 2024. The following episodes were released from July 22nd to 28th. Here’s hoping you have a good week and take some time to watch an anime or something else that brings personal enjoyment. 🙂

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Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf

Episode 17: Traveling Merchant’s Shallow Thinking
and Town Merchant’s Signboard

Episode Rating: 8/10

This episode was quite engaging. Holo left two letters for Lawrence: one was a list of Amati’s financial assets, and the other was a contract of marriage written by Amati. The contract was probably intended to spur Lawrence on, while the list of assets was an important clue for “defeating” Amati. Lawrence understood and began setting up a “duel” with Amati wherein they will try to outdo each other economically.

Lawrence’s plan involves selling pyrite, so he asked his friend the town merchant for help in acquiring some. The town merchant refused; helping Lawrence in this scheme could hurt his business reputation around town. But he did inform Lawrence that the alchemists of the northern district would surely have stocks of pyrite. Lawrence would be able to use his connection with Diana to secure the goods from the alchemists. Feeling confident in his schemes, Lawrence set off to the north.

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Twilight Out of Focus

Episode 4: Like the Movies

Episode Rating: 7/10

I have mixed feelings about this episode. For my tastes, it was far too sexual. Watching two characters be so intimate is uncomfortable when those characters are teenagers – even if it’s just fiction. But there was also a lot of content that was romantic and sweet rather than sexual. I appreciated those moments a lot. It was healing to see these two characters in a loving relationship after their respective struggles. The next story arc will be about Ichikawa and that third year student whose name I haven’t learned yet. I will keep watching despite some discomfort.

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Senpai is an Otokonoko

Episode 4: I Realized Something

Episode Rating: 8/10

As usual, this episode was entertaining and emotionally intriguing. I like these characters a lot. As Ryuuji recognizes that he’s in love with Makoto, Aoi starts to realize that she might not be in love any longer. I don’t believe that she’s been faking it all this time. But I think somewhere in the last few episodes, she lost that spark of interest. She obviously still cares about Makoto, but maybe more as a friend.

Though I didn’t see this coming at all, it does makes sense that Aoi would want to get a partner as soon as possible. That would make her grandmother stop worrying about her all the time. In other news, I’m starting to like Ryuuji more. I just wish he would let go of the cultural prejudices about sex, gender, and love. It doesn’t matter what sex or gender Makoto may end up identifying as – Ryuuji is still allowed to have feelings. I hope he sees that soon.

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Bye Bye Earth

Episode 3: Farewell to Those who Play the Land

Episode Rating: 7/10

While I’m enjoying this anime on a personal level, I can’t help seeing flaws and shortcomings from a more critical perspective at the same time. The show tries to force emotional moments on the audience without proper build-up. There’s no reason for us to care unless we happen to have an immediate emotional connection to Belle (which I do). That’s one issue. Another problem is that some of the action scenes look really awkward. The story also feels choppy and hastily thrown together in some ways.

On the bright side, I’m fairly pleased with the world-building in this episode compared to the last. The lore was better blended into the story somehow. We learned a lot of interesting things, like how songs make crops grow in this world, or how swords are uniquely bonded to solists and cannot develop after being broken. The nature of Belle’s curse is also fascinating to me. On a final note, I loved the song that the Swallow lady sang in the tavern. Absolutely beautiful!

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Season 3

Episode 16: Benimaru’s Ordeal

Episode Rating: 7/10

Rimuru meets with Momiji the Tengu Princess on the final day of the three-day audience. Some time earlier, he had sent Benimaru and Albis to meet with the Tengu people and get permission to build a road through their territory in the mountains. Albis and Momoji got into a fight, but Benimaru stopped it. Then Momiji’s mother, Kaede, appeared. She said the road would be fully approved, but Benimaru would need to marry her daughter. Unable to agree right away, Benimaru left saying he would consider it.

Back in the present, Momiji was rather hostile at the audience. She thought Rimuru was after Tengu territory. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Hakuro appeared. He was Kaede’s lover three hundred years ago and Momiji is his daughter. He is happy for the chance to train her, and he encourages her to win Benimaru’s heart. Benimaru, however, feels overwhelmed and put off by the idea of marrying. It was an entertaining episode for sure.

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My Deer Friend Nokotan

Episode 4: The Targeted Deer Club

Episode Rating: 7/10

This episode introduced the three members of the student council: the catlike Nekoyama, the anxious Tanukikoji, and the silent, aloof Tsubameya. Of the three, the coolest and funniest is Tsubameya, but the one I related to the most was Tanukikoji. I empathize with her wild, fearful imagination, clumsiness, and self-loathing. By the end of the episode, Tsubameya and Tanukikoji are unofficial members of the deer club who like to hang out with Shikanoko. As usual, this installment was funny and bizarre.

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Suicide Squad Isekai

Episode 7

Episode Rating: 9/10

My main criticism of this anime so far is the uneven animation budget across different episodes. Certain important battles look amazing, but in between, there could be several episodes’ worth of mediocre visuals. Nevertheless, this episode was extremely enjoyable because it was one of those high-budget battles. There were so many awesome shots and epic moments as the suicide squad battled the Thinker and Katana for access to the portal. Katana escaped, but the Thinker was killed, and the portal was secured.

My favorite moment of this episode was probably when Thinker tried to invade Harley’s mind and got terrorized by her instead. I admit I don’t know exactly how to interpret that scene. Why was Harley able to flip the script so easily? I don’t know. In addition, I’m not sure if I’m supposed to think that Joker actually kidnapped Harley in the past and made her swear loyalty under duress. If that happened, it makes Harley’s “choice” to be evil was not a choice at all. I may do a little research into Harley’s backstory from the comics.

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Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

Episode 4: Myrthe’s Journey

Episode Rating: 8/10

This installment focused on Myrthe, who is this world’s equivalent of a Christian missionary from the Netherlands or some other European country. (I say Netherlands because, in IRL history, the Dutch were the first Europeans allowed to send people to Japan.) Japanese kami are real in this story, so we can assume there’s some truth to each religion in this world. It’s likely there is a very powerful God similar to the Christian God. Myrthe serves this “Invisible God.” In the world of Sakuna, I would be adamantly against this deity, assuming it was at all like the Abrahamic God.

Despite being against Myrthe’s religion, I like Myrthe a lot as a character. She’s brave, caring, and curious. I love how excited she is to learn new things. She may be the equivalent of a Christian, but if so, she’s one of the progressive ones who values human wellbeing more than divine commands. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so loving and helpful to others. Anyway, this was a great episode, and I loved the adorable Kappas. On a final note, Myrthe has beautiful hair! I wish she would let it down more often.

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Yatagarasu: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master

Episode 15 was delayed until August 17th

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Tower of God Season 2

Episode 4: Ramen and the Great Big Sky

Episode Rating: 8/10

Note: I misunderstood something in my review for episode 3. I thought Viole had already failed Love’s test. However, that was only his second strike out of three chances. He got to continue. Although he still would have lost on his own, he ended up passing in episode 4 because Wangnan came to help him. In return, Viole helped Wangnan defeat Lurker’s team in the Trustworthy Room game. But there was one casualty.

So far, Tower of God‘s second season has been underwhelming, but this episode was an improvement. It was more interesting, emotional, and intense than the previous three episodes. I’m upset that Nia was killed, and so brutally, too. I definitely don’t forgive the killer, but Wangnan is a better person than me and showed him mercy. He chose not to kill Lurker after hearing his story. That exchange highlighted the theme that even villains can experience love, pain, and longing to fulfill personal wishes.

The events of this episode proved that the Tower is unfair and only serves to create strife and derision between people. Wangnan wants to change the Tower fundamentally, but to do so, he has to climb it and seize its power. It’s a fascinating conundrum. I like Wangnan a lot and look forward to seeing him continue the trials. I’m also interested in several other characters, such as Goseng and Kang. I’m not really intrigued at all by Viole/Bam, but to each their own.

~Thank you for reading~

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