There are so many delays in anime this season. What a strange summer. I guess it’s mostly because of the 2024 Olympics. Other than the delays for Spice and Wolf and Senpai is an Otokonoko, there is also one other item of consequence this week. The first episode of Delico’s Nursery was released on August 7th. You can read my brief thoughts on it below. The episodes covered here aired between Aug 5th and Aug 11th.

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Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf

Episode 19 was delayed until August 12th

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Twilight Out of Focus

Episode 6: Kikuchihara Jin’s First Love

Episode Rating: 8/10

Club president Jin Kikuchihara struggles with the fact that he has fallen in love with his male roommate, Ichikawa. In the past, he’s had girlfriends, so I assume he’s going through some bisexual panic. Jin eventually tells Ichikawa what he’s feeling, but the other boy isn’t sure how to react. As club activities continue, Ichikawa starts to respect Jin more as a director. However, when he tries to share his thoughts, Jin starts coming on to him physically. Ichikawa is upset because he only wanted to talk. Just then, the boys get interrupted by a knock on the door. To be continued.

I have been lacking in motivation lately for blogging, so I wasn’t excited to begin this episode. Once I was a couple minutes into it, however, I found myself enjoying the episode immensely. I still feel uncomfortable during the sensual scenes because the characters are supposed to be so young.. But the enjoyment of the other aspects makes it worth it to me. I really like the characters, the mature art style, and the focus on film work. In addition, I appreciated seeing a couple good scenes with Rei Inaba in this episode. I love his voice and his weird fashion sense.

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Delico’s Nursery

Episode 1: Welcome to the Nursery

Episode Rating: 9/10

The first episode of Delico’s Nursery was surprisingly good. I absolutely adore the art-style and character designs. The voice-acting is good and the music seems pretty decent. Even from the first episode, I can tell I am going to love these characters and their interactions – especially Dali and Gerhard. These two remind me of some young men from my discord group of whom I’m quite fond. In addition, I love the idea of a wealthy male aristocrat “stooping” to raise his own children.

There hasn’t been any interesting lore about vampires except for one key fact: they are all mentally influenced by their originator, a mysterious godlike entity known as Trump. I can’t take that name seriously anymore, so I kept giggling whenever the characters mentioned it. It’s humorous to imagine someone as monumentally pathetic and gross as Donald Trump being referred to as a mystic Vampire God. Hopefully, I can start taking it seriously in the next few episodes. I’m impressed with Delico’s Nursery so far.

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Senpai is an Otokonoko

Episode 6 has been delayed until August 15th

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Bye Bye Earth

Episode 5: Performance of Swords and Scales, Good and Evil

Episode Rating: 7/10

Compared to the previous installment, episode five was a vast improvement. It was easy enough to follow what was happening. The battle began between the Underdog forces (seemingly made up of insectoid creatures) and the Topdog solists. However, it was interrupted by Tiziano, who attacked everyone, good and evil alike. From watching this episode, I gained a better understanding of how group battles work in Schwert Land. I still don’t understand the part about the “script,” but more generally, it’s a team effort of pre-practiced magical forms and fighting patterns, led by a “conductor.”

Tiziano can control corpses in the dozens and enjoys playing god with them. She apparently went insane some time earlier, after Adonis told her that her lover had been executed. Mermaids, we learned, are mentally dependent on their partners. They fall apart if they lose the one in which they fully invested. Belle, Adonis, Benedictine, and the other survivors – both underdog and topdog – teamed up. Led by underdog conductor Gin Buck, they began fighting Tiziano and her army of corpses. On a final note, I like Benedictine and I think she has good chemistry with Belle.

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Season 3

Special Episode: Digression: Luminous Memories
(Season 3 Episode 18 will be released Aug 16th)

Episode Rating: 7/10

Although not technically part of the 24 episodes of season 3, this TV special episode was still worth covering. It was a recap of the first half of season 3, following the story of Hinata, her allegiance to Luminous, and her duel with Rimuru. The story was told from the point of view of Luminous, but other than her statement that she has a special secret, we learned no new information. It was, as expected, just a recap episode. Still, considering that, it was well-directed, creative, and fairly entertaining.

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My Deer Friend Nokotan

Episode 6 (18 Mini-Episodes)

Episode Rating: 7/10

The sixth installment was made up of several mini-episodes that were only a few minutes long each. Though some of them did make me laugh, others missed the mark for me. That’s just comedy in general, though. I liked the one about Nokotan shedding her skin. That was creepy but it made me laugh. I also loved the episode with the strange creature (sorry, Tsuchinoko) that Nokotan dug up in the schoolyard. Bashame is hilarious as always. It was nice to see Tanuki and Tsubameya again. They are both cute and funny. Nekoyamada is cute too, but a little annoying sometimes.

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Suicide Squad Isekai

Episode 9

Episode Rating: 8/10

Fione is devastated to find that her mother was killed long ago by the Undead King, a being that gains magical power the more she is surrounded by death. The Undead King has been impersonating the Queen for years and orchestrating the war solely to cause death. Fione finally awakens to her assertive side and works with Cecil to fight against the undead army overrunning the palace. The suicide squad and Rick arrive at the castle to help. Enchantress and Katana are also around, apparently forced to follow the orders of the Undead King.

Although this episode was certainly entertaining and full of good, visually engaging action scenes, there were a few things that seemed “off.” For example, viewers are apparently meant to just know who the Undead King is and his history in this isekai world. Nothing about the Undead King was properly explained. I also thought it was really strange when Peacemaker jumped out of a tree with the USA flag, exclaiming, “America!” But at least that was funny. I’m glad Arthur the dragon came back, though I don’t know how he grew into an adult in less than 24 hours.

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Yatagarasu: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master

Episode 15 was delayed until August 17th

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Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

Episode 6: Flames of Hatred

Episode Rating: 9/10

After demonic poison leaks down from the island’s volcano, Sakuna has no choice but to go to the fiery mountain and defeat the enemies that are polluting everything. There’s a problem, though. The volcano is inhabited not by organic demons, but by skeletal specters and ghosts. Hateful energy is animating the skeletons of the fallen Ashigumo and causing them to kill and poison everything. The specter at the deepest part of the volcano is the one in charge, and it’s a fearsome foe to fight.

Sakuna and Ashigumo were defeated in their first attempt to slay the specter. Ashigumo was also gravely injured. However, the tides turn after the rice harvest over the next few days. The beautiful, delicious rice is finally ready! After the harvest was done, Sakuna and company threshed, hulled, and polished the rice. They boiled it and shared the final product. Since Sakuna is a harvest goddess, this gave her the spriritual energy she needed. Soon, she returned to the volcano and was able to slay the enormous specter.

I loved this episode, so I gave it a high rating to reflect my personal enjoyment. It was so heartwarming and emotional when the group of settlers ate their first rice harvest. In addition, I loved seeing more of Ashigumo. He’s so incredibly cool and has such an attractive character design and voice! I’m glad Sakuna was able to return the dead Ashigumo people to peace. It obviously meant a lot to the surviving Ashigumo warrior.

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Tower of God Season 2

Episode 6: Zygaena’s Flower

Episode Rating: 8/10

Two other members of Fug came to talk to Viole’s new teammates because they were curious. Though they acted friendly enough, the red-haired woman revealed to Wangnan the truth of their evil actions. Fug is forcing Viole/Bam to become a slayer by threatening to kill his old teammates. Each time he fails a test, the higher-ups in Fug will ensure that one of his friends from the previous group will die. They have the power to do this with ease, since Fug is deeply rooted among the administrators of the tests.

Wangnan now wants to help Viole, so he gets serious about the next test. The group is sent to find a mysterious flower inside the body of a giant creature called Zygaena. The group gets split up on their way inside the creature. Some of the members run into a mysterious figure with a tattoo on his back that says “MAZINO.” I’m not sure if I’m supposed to know who this is, but he’s stronger than anyone else present, including Viole. Despite knowing this, Viole challenges the tattooed man. It was that or give up on the test. To be continued.

~Thanks for reading~

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