Thanks, dear readers, for stopping by. The shows I’m covering for Summer 2024 are: Spice and Wolf remake, Delico’s Nursery, Twlight Out of Focus, Senpai is an Otokonoko, Bye Bye Earth, Reincarnated As A Slime S3, My Deer Friend Nokotan, Yatagarasu, Sakuna: of Rice snd Ruin, and Tower of God S2. These episodes were released in the timeframe of September 9th to September 15th, 2024. I hope you enjoy my recaps and notes.
Article Contents
- Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf
- Delico’s Nursery
- Twilight Out of Focus
- Senpai is an Otokonoko
- Bye Bye, Earth
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Season 3
- My Deer Friend Nokotan
- Yatagarasu: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master
- Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
- Tower of God Season 2
Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf
Episode 23: Orchestrated Catastrophe and Appropriate Retribution
Episode Rating: 7/10
Someone from Enberch died after eating bread made from wheat grown in Tereo. This means that the entire recent harvest of wheat could be infected with a disease like ergot. As a result, Enberch is demanding their money back for the poisoned wheat. There’s no way the poor villagers of Tereo can afford to do that. They already spent their earnings on farm equipment, food, and livestock. The townspeople are panicking and seem eager to blame the outsiders, Lawrence and Holo, for their misfortune.
Lawrence surmises that this catastrophe was orchestrated purposefully by Enberch, in order to make the smaller village of Tereo submissive to them economically. They also don’t want to let Elsa run the church in Tereo. Knowing that they’re being blamed, Lawrence and Holo plan to escape the village as soon as possible. But if they do so, the angry villagers will next start to blame and harass Evan (and Elsa, who is close to him). Fortunately, Holo is fine with carrying three people on her back in wolf form. That way, Evan and Elsa can also escape the clutches of Tereo.
Ms. Iima, the tavern owner, helps protect Evan and Elsa inside the church while Holo finishes reading the book about the pagan bear god. According to the story within it, the old gods of the land fled and escaped the bear before they were devoured. This puts Holo’s mind at ease, since it means her friends are probably still alive somewhere. With that out of the way, it’s time to start the escape plan! As usual, this episode was intriguing and enjoyable. I love Ms. Iima and her gruff, protective nature.
Delico’s Nursery
Episode 6: A Small Adventure
Episode Rating: 8/10
The Delico Nanny and the old manservant take care of the vampire kids in a small safehouse belonging to the nanny. The kids are unruly and each have their own little issues – but the worst case is Theodore. He grows more impatient and angry as his hallucinations worsen. He even hits one of the twin girls with a book.
Nanny finally notices Theodore’s distress and realizes that he’s having early onset of the vampire cocoon phase. For most vampires, that phase starts around age fourteen, and frequently includes upsetting hallucinations. But Theodore is only seven. It’s possible he forced his body to develop faster because of all the pressure to be “grown up.”
Meanwhile, Raphael’s issues are also pretty serious for his age. While Nanny is busy talking to visitors – Lady Lorca and her butler – Raphael takes baby Ul from the cradle and sneaks out of the house. He says he’s going to “get rid” of the baby. The twins, Angelico, and Theodore follow Raphael and start an adventure wandering around town unsupervised. Well, this a disaster.
At the end of the day, Raphael never actually intended to get rid of baby Ul. He just wanted to take Ul somewhere far away to force his father to look his way. Theodore is willing to help if it means causing trouble for his own father. The kids decide to head to the home of Lord Johannes, who is basically a grandpa figure to Raphael.
On the way, the children are surrounded by thugs who want to kidnap and ransom them. Kiki, the strongest member from Pendulum, suddenly appears and drives the thugs away. She also helps the kids complete their journey and reach Lord Johannes’ home. When Kiki hears that those were the children of Vlad agency members, she’s intrigued. She now has the potential to use the children in Pendulum’s dark plans. To be continued.
Twilight Out of Focus
Episode 11: Paths
Episode Rating: 6/10
I had trouble paying attention to this episode. It wasn’t very well-organized, feeling empty or repetitive to me. The installment showed what’s happening in everyone’s lives in the film club. Rei became a more considerate boyfriend. Shion feels happier and more confident than ever. Meanwhile, Jin and Ichikawa maintain their loving relationship despite Ichikawa’s worries about the future. Hisashi and Mao are still going strong as an adorable couple, too. And they were roommates!
As the summer vacation ends, the new term begins. The third-years are graduating. Ichikawa became the new president of the film club. As for the movie contest within the school, the third-years’ movie (the sci-fi adventure) was the winner. However, the second-years’ movie (the BL romance) went viral after it was uploaded online. This was surely very gratifying for Ichikawa.
As a result of the attention on the video, Hisashi got many offers of people wanting to hire him for advertisements and other gigs. There was also one offer for Ichikawa and the rest of the club: they would be commissioned to film a music video for a band. Ichikawa also wants Hisashi to play the main character in his next movie. However, Hisashi isn’t feeling confident about being in another project. He seems down on himself. That’s where the episode leaves off.
Senpai is an Otokonoko
Episode 10: Their Feelings
Episode Rating: 8/10
Makoto is lonely and insecure about their identity. Ryuji is heartbroken with his unrequited love. Luckily, Saki Aoi saves the day! After discovering that Ryuji and Makoto had broken up and were no longer associating with each other, she grew worried about both of them. Saki tricked both her dear friends into meeting with her at an amusement park. She then left Makoto and Ryuji to work things out alone in that setting.
The two long-time friends had an important heart-to-heart while riding on the Ferris Wheel. They didn’t decide anything concrete other than they don’t want to be apart. So, Ryuji agreed to start eating lunch with Makoto again at school. When it’s time for lunch the next day, Ryuji also invites Saki. The three friends are together again.
Speaking of Saki, she happened to meet her mom at a local shrine. The teenage girl was delighted that her mother recognized her and wanted to be on good terms. However, Saki’s grandmother forbade further contact. Saki didn’t listen. She went to meet her mother again and they shared sweets together at an expensive restaurant.
At home later, Saki told the truth to her grandmother, who reluctantly accepted Saki’s right to choose for herself. The grandmother is fairly reasonable. Makoto’s mother, at one point in this episode, also seemed to have a reasonable reaction to Makoto’s assertion of independence. However, we know she’s completely unhinged and queerphobic, so I’m not holding out hope for her continued rationality.
Bye Bye, Earth
Episode 10: Spiral: Howling Sword, Rusty Nail
Episode Rating: 7/10
A lot of content was packed into this episode, so my recap and response will be longer than usual. This episode was actually good and mostly comprehensible. That should make me happy, but instead, I’m frustrated. You cannot wait until the 10th episode of a series to have it start making sense. Nobody in their right mind will watch such an incoherent mess for so long and still appreciate the story later on. However, I’m not in my right mind, so I might still get something out of this show despite my frustration.
First let’s talk about Belle. According to Sian in this episode, she is a godlike entity or “has a god behind her.” Belle is apparently so powerful she is predicted to bring a new world order. But that’s enough about her supposed magical destiny. What about Belle the person, and her emotions right now? She’s dealing with the psychological aftermath of being sexually assaulted by Adonis.
I was honestly surprised to see an anime covering this heavy theme so openly. As someone who has also had consent violated before, what Belle feels is realistic. She wants to kill Adonis. To vent her anger and feelings of powerlessness, Belle fights in another battle in Park City. However, she acts so reckless and unfocused that she is quickly stabbed by an opponent.
Benetto takes Belle to his home to recover. While the girl is still unconscious, Gwyn has an interesting talk with Benetto. I think Gwyn was trying to say that Benetto should comfort and support Belle by becoming her romantic partner. I’m not sure if that will work. I’m also not sure how Benetto’s gender will play into things, since Belle obviously got along with “Benedictine” better than she does with the male version.
Now let’s talk about what’s happening with Adonis. He wakes up in some kind of closed-off dimension with Dram, a long-lived mermaid sword-maker. Sian Lablac is also there. Dram gives Adonis his very own sword which does not break from his touch. Adonis quickly bonds with the sword, which is very cursed in nature. Its name is “Rusty Nail.” Sian begins to train Adonis to use this new cursed weapon.
I’m not exactly sure what Sian and Dram are planning. But they are apparently part of the Army of Insatiable Emptiness, commanding hoards of ghosts. It seems like Sian is training Adonis to fight Belle, but I’m not clear on why. After all, Belle is like a daughter to Sian. Shouldn’t he be on her side? I also can’t figure out if Sian and Dram are against the god of this world or not. Are they protecting Deus Ex Machina or betraying it? No clue.
Whether Dram and Sian are evil or not, Adonis is clearly becoming the antagonist of the story and the enemy of Belle. I liked his line in this episode as he is marked with dark spells by Dram. He says, “Darkness turned out to be warmer than light.” His relationship with Dram brought him the love and emotional warmth he always longed for. (Speaking of their relationship, it’s an uncomfortable mix of sexuality and Adonis’ mommy issues.)
As you can see, this episode intrigued me. I like the directions in which the characters are headed. I even like some portions of the lofty, poetic nonsense that makes up half the dialogue. Bits of it actually have meaning. I also love this anime’s dystopian fantasy world ruled by a corrupt god. It’s cool that swords have souls and can grow. Mermaids are another highlight in this anime. The fact that they’re all nonbinary/gender-fluid is immensely fascinating. I will keep watching this show and hope it gets better from here.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Season 3
Episode 22: Settling the Score with the Hero
Episode Rating: 8/10
King Gazel of Dwargon agreed to help Rimuru come up with some funds to give the merchants who were demanding payment all at once. However, even with Gazel’s help, they were a few hundred coins short. Elmesia then appeared and offered to donate the remaining amount. She wants to start an official alliance with Rimuru. In particular, she wants to be invited to festivals and celebrations in the future. I enjoy this character.
Elmesia had some thoughts about Diablo, calling him out as a dangerous primordial demon. She is obviously wary of his power. She even released her fiery aura throughout the room to let Rimuru know she was serious. However, Elmesia lets it go after Rimuru assures her that he would never let Diablo go on a rampage. After that meeting was over, it was time for the battle between Gobta and Masayuki.
Gobta gained the ability to fuse with Ranga in an awesome new fighting form. However, he was so bad at using the power that he crashed into a wall and knocked himself out. He would have lost the fight, but Masayuki forfeited in order to avoid facing Rimuru in battle. Honestly, that’s a wise choice for someone who’s only real power is brainwashing levels of charisma and persuasion.
The last part of the episode was very wholesome because Rimuru invited Masayuki to lunch. The two of them got along well since they are both reincarnations of men from Japan. Masayuki is more than happy to serve Rimuru as a henchman, but Rimuru says it’s fine if they’re just allies. Though befriending Masayuki was a strategic move, I also think Rimuru was genuinely happy for the companionship.
My Deer Friend Nokotan
Episode 11: The Pursuer and the Pursued
Episode Rating: 8/10
The first few minutes were a mini-episode about Nokotan falling asleep in class. Most of the rest of the episode was “The Pursuer and the Pursued,” wherein a matagi (traditional Japanese bear hunter) came to Hino High to hunt Nokotan. It was fairly amusing. I laughed a lot when the matagi started reciting The Rifleman’s Creed in English.
The last little section of the episode was about Nokotan going on a shopping date with Koshitan – or trying. Since Hino City is cursed, apparently, they can’t find a clothing store, and instead end up in the same street surrounded by plastic water bottles. Nokotan is terribly afraid of those, and starts to tremble and freeze up.
Koshitan helps Nokotan through it by holding her hand. She wonders, while blushing, why Nokotan throws her off kilter whenever she’s around. I thought this scene was extremely cute, and good evidence if you want to ship these two characters.
Yatagarasu: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master
Episode 19: A Well Run Dry
Episode Rating: 9/10
Jihei was brutally killed by an unknown underworld vigilante, but there was a long letter found on his bloody body. The Prince, Yukiya, and those closest to them read the letter, which turned out to be a full confession of his wrongs. After Jihei bought a well that turned out to be dry, he poured in some sake as an offering to the gods and prayed for the water to return. Something at the bottom of the well responded, and Jihei was stupid enough to believe that it was a god.
The “god,” which was an ancient monkey monster, demanded sake and food. In exchange, he provided sagecap (human bone fragments) for Jihei to sell. Eventually, the monkey wanted live prey. The spineless Jihei fed at least one innocent girl to the monkey. He now realized he was serving a monster, but was too cowardly to cut ties. Soon, he was roped into a mission to lead the monkey’s two friends to Sougo, where they would decimate the town by eating all its inhabitants.
Although Koume went with her father and the two monkey people to Sougo, Jihei drugged her sake and hid her so she would never know what happened. She also had no idea that the two strange men were monkey people. Jihei fled and left Koume behind as the Prince and Yukiya landed in Sougo and slew the monkeys. That was basically all of Jihei’s letter. Armed with this new information, the Prince and his companions went to Jihei’s well to investigate the monkey monster.
The Prince was able to speak to the monkey monster briefly before it retreated into a tunnel and closed it shut with a giant rock. Based on the dialogue, it sounded like the monkey monster was an ancient being older than most Yatagarasu. He was also familiar with the phrase “True Kinu” and implied that he had met other Kinus in the past. The ancient monkey also said that Yamauchi will soon crumble and that the Prince already knows why. I’m intrigued by all these mysteries!
The next day, Yukiya heard that his mother will be taking Koume to live with her in Taruhi. Still distrusting Koume, Yukiya disagrees with this. He says some harsh words to Koume and she leaves, having turned down Lady Azusa’s offer of her own accord. Yukiya was convinced Koume was aware of her father’s wrongs because there was a report about a woman selling sagecap who matched Koume’s description.
After a stern but gentle talk from Lady Azusa, Yukiya realized he was blinded by bitterness. He decided to pursue Koume, now believing in her innocence. The last scene in the episode shows Koume face-to-face with her mother, who left the family many years ago. The mother resembles Koume right down to her two facial moles. This is the woman who was selling sagecap, and Koume came to prove it. To be continued.
Throughout this interesting anime, I’ve been impressed with the storytelling. The only awkward aspect about it would be that the second half of the series feels only loosely connected to the first half. However, we do see effects of the previous story arc on the characters. For example, I think Yukiya was deeply affected by Lady Asebi’s scheming and the corruption of people in general, inside and outside the court. That’s why he feels so bitter and can’t trust Koume. On a separate note, I love how Jihei’s story is similar to the monkey’s paw story in an abstract way. Yep, good storytelling.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
Episode 11: Light of Forgiveness
Episode Rating: 9/10
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is probably meant for a very young audience, and so its messaging is simple, with overused and preachy elements. The light of forgiveness is literally a power that can save your life when fighting against a demon’s spiritual hatred. Despite the simplicity of the message, I end up thoroughly enjoying this anime with every episode. In this installment, the most interesting aspect was the conclusion of Tauemon’s character arc and his final parting with Ishimaru. The music was also astounding for this episode at several points.
As for what actually happened, a wounded Ishimaru cornered Sakuna, Tama, Tauemon, and Kaimaru. He seized Kaimaru and prepared to scar him for life out of pure hatred. However, Kaimaru began to glow with a bright light that protected him. Ishimaru had a reaction of revulsion to the light and it seemed like he could hear words in his head that bothered him. He dropped Kaimaru and retreated, cursing the voice only he could hear.
According to Kokorowa’s later speculation, Kaimaru is evolving into a god just like herself and Sakuna. In fact, all the humans on the island will someday be gods if they continue life there. However, they still have to deal with the threats of Omizuchi, the undead remains of the Ashigumo, and Ishimaru.
Two of these threats combined during the night. Ishimaru, struggling to stay alive with his deep wound, was surrounded by undead Ashigumo and a hateful Specter. He tried to fight them, but ended up combining with the Specter, becoming a strong demon. Sakuna and Ashigumo cornered the powerful enemy and tried to defeat him. But the Ashimgumo was soon struck down. Even Sakuna was knocked flat on her back after being slashed by the foe. She only survived because divine light protected her.
Tama was prepared to die defending Sakuna, but Tauemon saved the day. Earlier, he had been too afraid to fight. He was also against the idea of killing Ishimaru. However, he now knew that Ishimaru was dead. He died and became a demon without even fully realizing the change. Tauemon then struck the demon down, defeating it. The demon’s body morphed back into Ishimaru, whose last words to Tauemon were “You truly disgust me.” Some people are too corrupt to ever change.
All the scenes with Tauemon and Ishimaru were interesting to watch. I was also very happy to see that Tauemon healed the rabbit from the previous episode and was nursing it back to health. The last scene in the episode shows Sakuna’s decision to fight Omizuchi. She cannot afford to sit back and watch the demon god destroy her peaceful and fulfulling life on the island. This was a great episode!
Tower of God Season 2
Episode 11: A Thick and Distant Wall
Episode Rating: 9/10
I had assumed the rabbit girl (whose name is apparently Xia Xia) was acting alone and had a grudge against Khun. However, she was actually part of a big plot by FUG, which seeks to eliminate a potentially problematic member of the Jahad family (Khun). The trap was meticulously laid. Apple and Michael were spies from FUG that led Khun to where he could find Cassano, who would kill him. If Cassano failed, there were other assassins like the snakeman, in addition to bombs planted by Xia Xia.
I’m disproportionately frustrated that Apple and Michael turned out to be murderous members of a crime syndicate. Those two – especially Apple – had the coolest character designs of Khun’s group. And I’m also very sick of media – especially anime – that makes androgynous women and black people into villains every single time. I’ll try to let that go, however. It’s still possible for Apple will be an interesting and well-written character.
Speaking of Apple and Michael, they killed Gyetang (that little bird-like creature). They were going to kill Dan Edin as well, but Rachel appeared and suggested adopting Dan as an ally. Realizing that Rachel was the one who asked FUG to kill Khun, Dan was completely disillusioned. He insulted Rachel and called her out for killing her own companions. Rachel responded by stabbing Dan to death. That was a really good scene in terms of audio-visual direction. It was also pretty shocking to see Rachel so far gone.
All that happened close to the end of the episode, so let’s back up a bit. Ran and Novick were fighting Cassano and Kang. Cassano got buried under some rubble, which angered Kang. He was about to kill his opponents when Cassano’s red devil fist shot out and impaled Kang from behind. (I still don’t understand why Cassano would want to kill the person who is basically his brother.) Just as Kang collapsed into a pool of blood, Viole and Xia Xia arrived. Viole began attacking Ran and Novick, believing they killed Kang.
Xia Xia was clearly trying to provoke Viole into killing Khun’s companions, but before that could be done, Khun himself entered the scene. He didn’t recognize Viole as Bam, at least not right away. Ran and Novick tried to explain that they didn’t kill Kang while Xia Xia kept trying to make Viole attack Khun. Then she lost patience, pulled out a detonator, and threatened to blow up the entire Hand of Arlen.
Her only demand was for Viole to come with her and Cassano. They would also take Kang and possibly bring him back from the brink of death. Moreover, Viole got a message from FUG telling him they would kill two of his friends if he refused to cooperate. Viole wanted desperately to reveal himself to Khun and spend time with his friend like in the old days. But thanks to FUG, he was forced to leave Khun behind. For good measure, Xia Xia set off the detonator, trapping Khun, Ran, and Novick in the blast.
The crazy rabbit-eared girl declared that Viole would be her God from then on. Seconds before the explosion, Khun was staring up at Viole, frozen. He recognized him as Bam. Then the bombs went off. I seriously doubt that Khun is dead, but it could take him a while to recover from this disastrous defeat.
This episode had a lot of interesting moments, keeping me invested in the show despite its shortcomings. (The main issues are too many characters, subpar fight scenes, and lack of narrative clarity.) That’s all for this episode of Tower of God season 2.
~Thanks for reading~
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Anime Rants 
Twilight Out of Focus – the second half of the episode is part of the third volume, which takes place before the ReiShion story which is volume 4. The transition is like a flashback of what transpired to have them have that picture on Mao’s desk.
Senpai is an Otokonoko – there’s definitely going to be drama with Saki’s family and it’s gonna be messy.
Nokotan – I love how creative the gags are. Episode 3 referenced the Bully Maguire dance and now they used the Rifleman’s Creed and in English no less.
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