Welcome back to Anime Rants. This post covers the episodes that aired from Tuesday July 8th to Monday July 14th. Sorry that I wasn’t able to finish it sooner.

1. City the Animation Episode 2
2. Dr. Stone: Science Future Episode 13
3. Kaiju No. 8: Hoshina’s Day Off
4. New Panty and Stocking Episode 1
5. Ruri Rocks Episode 2
6. Sakamoto Days Episode 12 (Part 2 Episode 1)
7. The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 2

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City the Animation Episode 2

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, though I didn’t think it was quite as funny as the pilot. A lot of the comedy is hit-or-miss, but I like most of because it’s random and absurd. I’m too tired and overwhelmed to detail the events of this episode, and that wouldn’t be practical when there are so many short skits and characters in each installment. But one highlight for me was seeing the first part of the story of how Niikura and Nagumo met. I consider these two in a Sapphic relationship and it’s hard to say otherwise when Niikura clearly loves her “roommate” so much.

Another highlight of this episode was watching the antics of Matsuri and Ecchan, the high-school girls who are mischievous and goofy. I also feel like Ecchan is very similar to Yuuko in Nichijou, though a little less ADHD and a little more functional. Speaking of Nichijou, there was a brief cameo by Mio. That was a nice tidbit for the fans of the older series. Back to Ecchan and Matsuri, I loved their goofiness when they were at the shrine. Everyone be wary of “President Ecchan”!

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Dr. Stone: Science Future Episode 13

Episode Rating: 8/10

Dr. Stone is back with part two of the three-part final season, Science Future. The episode began with an amusing flashback to Xeno and Stanley as young children. Can I just say how silly and cute it was that kid Stanley was carrying bags of lollipops and suckers instead of cigarettes? It was also mildly funny to think about a child being intelligent enough to build a rail gun. Anway, back to the present, Senku and his group continued dodging Stanley and his special forces on their way to South America.

Ginro ended up hiding on board the carrier, and Matsukaze used his injury as an excuse to ask for infirmary aboard the ship, too. Stanley let him stay only because he planned to torture Matsukaze for information. To Matsukaze’s surprise, just as he was about to be tortured, Ginro jumped out of hiding and revealed that Senku was heading to South America. He couldn’t stand to watch Matsukaze get hurt. Personally, Ginro’s “sweet side” in this scene did little to warm me to his character because he’s still so loud and annoying most of the time. Plus, he put Senku at a disadvantage.

In order to find out more about the calamity that hit the earth thousands of years ago, Senku and Xeno put their minds to work together. Chrome also joined them. Using models and many complex calculations, they worked out the exact point of origin in South America. They also made some hypothesis about the nature of the green light, including the idea that it moves more like a liquid and isn’t truly light. Thinking about this stuff is fascinating. I also look forward to learning about “the people on the moon.”

There were several good moments for supporting characters in this episode, like when Nikki stood up to the American bully with the gun. Francois is my favorite supporting character, so I hope they have some good lines and scenes in this season. Additionally, it was great to have a moment seeing Byakuya Ishigami again. He is also a character I admire and love. It’s cool that he “passed on the torch” through his recording.

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Kaiju No. 8: Hoshina’s Day Off

Episode Rating: 7/10

In last week’s episode reviews, I said that Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 starts the weekend of July 12th. I was incorrect. It won’t start until July 19th. However, a special extra episode was released on July 5th, so I have chosen to include a few thoughts on that instead. Kafka was sick, but everybody else in the third division went out on little adventures for their day off duty. That includes Hoshina. Reno and Iharu decided to tail Hoshina throughout the day to see what he was doing.

The episode was fun and light-hearted. The members of the third division all ended up spying on Hoshina together. At one point, they saw him handing weapons over to a mysterious man. They assumed Hoshina was selling weapons on the black market, but the misunderstanding was soon cleared up. Hoshina was visiting a children’s disaster center where kids learn about kaiju. He donated some old weapons to the exhibit. In the end, Hoshina was helping others on his day off instead of relaxing on his own. Cute.

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New Panty and Stocking Episode 1

Episode Rating: 6/10

I watched the first series of Panty and Stocking many years ago, when I was not aware of the issues some people have with the anime. I feel like I have a better grip now on why some dislike this anime; mostly, it is the poor representation of the black character, Garterbelt. Anyone who finds that offensive is perfectly valid in not watching it. However, for me, Panty and Stocking is tasty anime junk-food. I acknowledge it’s trash, but sometimes I am a raccoon and I enjoy bits of garbage.

I like the dirty humor and the confidence of Panty and Stocking. For now, I’ll continue watching it. At first, I thought this was a remake of the original series. But it’s clear now that this is a second season. I enjoyed the first episode, especially the music and the wacky animation. It was hilarious that Panty’s soul was in her pussy. The dirty humor tickled me. Now, it does bother me that these characters are in highschool, but I just imagine that they’re young adults. I look forward to more filthy jokes soon. XD

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Ruri Rocks Episode 2

Episode Rating: 9/10

The second episode of Ruri Rocks was as magical and emotional for me as the first. Ruri and Nagi went hunting for cool rocks again and Ruri became obsessed with the idea of finding gold. Nagi taught her how to pan for bits of placer gold in the river. Ruri is so adorable and Nagi is a good teacher. The animation and music were beautiful. Both the pilot and this second installment made me shed tears at multiple points – but why? It took me a while to figure out why this show is so powerful for me. I’ll try to explain the answer I found, with some context.

Even though I haven’t worked in the field in many years, and even though my specialty is biology and not geology, I did earn a Bachelor of Science degree. So, I obviously love science. But as regular readers already know, I was raised in a cultish environment and homeschooled by the Quiverfull Movement for my whole life until college. People in my family were (and a few still are) science deniers. They taught nothing but anti-sicence creationism and made sure I didn’t explore outside sources on my own.

To put it simply, I love Ruri Rocks because I’m vicariously getting the exciting science education and adventure I never had as a child. I see myself as Ruri, exploring and finding beauty in nature for the first time. I also love that she has someone like Nagi to teach her solid science. It’s so beautiful and cathartic that it literally makes me cry whenever I watch this anime. It’s joyful crying though. Ruri Rocks and its positive view of science and education is amazing!!

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Sakamoto Days Episode 12
(Part 2 Episode 1)

Episode Rating: 7/10

Sakamoto Days is back and I’m fairly happy about it. I usually feel a little bored at first when I start watching, especially since some of the writing is bad and the humor doesn’t do anything for me most of the time. But I always end up glad I watched it, if only because I got to enjoy the action scenes. The music and Japanese voice-acting are excellent as well. I liked watching Shin’s power-up in this episode. He can now see limited visions of the future in battle. Cool! That’s all I have to say for now.

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The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 2

Episode Rating: 9/10

I absolutely loved this episode and so far I also love the way this series does horror. It’s chilling. If I don’t have much specific to say about this series yet, it’s not because there is a lack of interesting material. It’s just that I have motivation troubles with writing lately. Anyway, this episode had several highlights, including the terrifying moment where Yoshiki almost got snatched away by a freaky-looking monster in the woods. Luckily, Hikaru was there to save him and “eat” the enemy monster.

“Hikaru” (AKA Unuki-sama) is infatuated with Yoshiki, but since he’s not human, it’s likely possessiveness more than actual love at this stage. Yoshiki is struggling a lot because he loved Hikaru (yes, it’s gay), and this monster is just a replacement. Imagine if your already stressful gay awakening was even worse because the object of your attraction was a literal monster. That’s what Yoshiki is going through. He’s also frequently dissociated and sleep-deprived due to the fear of being close to an inhuman creature that nobody else recognizes.

Another highlight was the scene where Yoshiki put his hand inside the opening on Hikaru’s chest. It was painfully obvious that this was a way for the boys to start exploring each other sexually. I won’t dwell on that, though, as the boys’ ages makes it a little uncomfortable for me. While Yoshiki continued getting closer to Hikaru, Tanaka started investigating the village, determining that the unclean entity (Unuki-sama) had come down from the mountains and was lurking among the villagers.

It was interesting to learn about the Indo family’s curse. There’s some kind of symbolism going on with ants and a dead cicada, but I don’t get it yet. The last highlight I’ll mention today is the scene where the housewife warned Yoshiki to stay away from his monster boyfriend. If he doesn’t stop, he’ll become “mixed.” The implication is probably that Yoshiki will lose his humanity by hanging out with a monster. To be continued!

~Thanks for reading~

Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants

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