Welcome to Anime Rants again! Sorry this post is a few days late. It covers the episodes released between May 17th and May 23rd, 2026 (approximately). I’m surprised I was able to write this much while in my PHP/IOP group. Anyway, here are my notes.
- The Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 4
- Dr. Stone: Science Future Part 3
- Go For It, Nakamura!
- Re: Zero Season 4
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4
The Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 4
Episode 7: Monastery of Hasse
Rosemyne was finally given the opportunity to see her mother (Effa) and father (Gunther) in this episode. When Tuuli delivered a new hair ornament, Effa came along as a secondary craftswoman. She wanted very badly to embrace her daughter, but the contract required treating Rosemyne as a noble. However, at Rosemyne’s request, Effa was allowed to quickly pin the new hair ornament in the little girl’s hair. It was an incredibly sweet yet painful moment as Rosemyne treasured the brief touch of her mother’s hand. Her reunion with her father later in the episode was similar. She only got to exchange a few words with Gunther as a guard and hand him a silver coin for a reward. I am an emotional masochist, so I guess I enjoy this kind of heartache over anime characters.
This episode also showed us how Rosemyne started up the new monastery in Hasse. Four orphan children were chosen to become new gray-robe workers at the monastery. They would work on crafts, cleaning, and projects, as well as help other kids with the same. The four children were Nora (14), Rick (12), Thore (11), and Marthe (8). They had a lot of trouble adjusting to life in the monastery early on, and Fran even hit Thore for insulting Rosemyne. But thanks to Rosemyne’s grace and patience, the four kids finally started settling in. Unfortunately, the mayor of Hasse wanted to sell off Nora as a slave. He wasn’t about to let her become a monastery worker. The episode ends with the scumbag mayor planning to get Nora back – probably by forceful kidnapping. To be continued.
On a final note, I loved the moment when Rosemyne confirmed Nora’s will. Her brother, Thore, had already announced that he and Nora would both join the monastery, but Rosemyne wanted to “confirm the will of the person involved,” so she asked Nora directly. This was probably the first time Nora had been treated like she had bodily autonomy. Rosemyne knew what it’s like to be a woman with limited rights. That’s why she made sure Nora consented. I’m thoroughly enjoying this season.
Dr. Stone: Science Future Part 3
Episode 8: Challengers of Science
In this episode, Senku and company made satellites to determine the location of Why-Man. The satellite would be powered by solar panels, so those had to be made first. Then the team had to actually get the satellite into orbit, which required a rocket launch. The first few attempts went wrong, and each one cost months of time. It wasn’t until the seventh iteration of the Senku rocket that they finally saw success. Once the satellite was working, it didn’t take very long for Kohaku to analyze the images and discover what appeared to be some kind of moving black mass on the moon’s surface. That was Why-Man’s location.
Over the last few years, Chrome and Suika had worked hard to understand some rocket science. But they were still nowhere near the level of Xeno or Senku. Refusing to give up, Chrome held a scientist leader meeting and argued his case for a two-way spacecraft that would be assembled in multiple pieces in space. This was put to a vote, and the ten leaders agreed to try to build a spacecraft that could return them home. In order to make a large, manned spacecraft, it would be necessary to have the help of all humanity. So, Senku proposed the next project: setting up the internet. To be continued.
Go For It, Nakamura!
Episode 8: Crisis! A Rival Appears?
This episode had a few important highlights such as meeting Matsumura, the mysterious man who is obsessed with Hirose. (I predict he’s Hirose’s brother or cousin.) Despite my usual enthusiasm for this show, I was disappointed by this episode. I don’t even feel like doing a recap. It annoyed and saddened me that the writers made Nakamura into a pervert and then had him face off with another pervert in a pervert competition. It was so stupid. I was hoping this anime would be primarily wholesome or at the very least keep the gay main character’s morals out of the trashcan. I was willing to forgive Nakamura for the youthful impulse of taking a whiff of Hirose in an earlier episode, though that was still not right. But in this episode, Nakamura sniffs another man’s gym uniform (which ironically turned out to belong to Todoroki and not Hirose).
To make things worse, Nakamura and Matsumura were sexualizing photos of Hirose as a child. It’s not as creepy for a young highschooler to find a middle schooler attractive, but it’s still icky and weird. Even if those boys were not sexualizing the photos at all, they were still being kept without Hirose’s knowledge, and he would probably find it disturbing. On a separate note, I also found myself annoyed that the first Nakamura x Hirose kiss was a dream. I hope they kiss in reality by the end of the season. Then again, my expectations of this anime are now down the drain thanks to this inane episode. I’m already 8 episodes in, so I’ll keep watching and writing about this show. But man, this episode sucked.
Re: Zero Season 4
Episode 7 (AKA 73): Walking Out of the Convenience Store and Into a Wondrous World
While Julius rested, the others tried to think of a way to clear the exam. Shaula encouraged the group to take their time figuring it out. She had waited hundreds of years for her master to return, and she wanted as much time as possible with him. Subaru decided to spend the night in the fairy room keeping an eye on Rem and “Anastasia.” Julius and the others were sleeping in or near the carriage. When he woke up some time later, Subaru saw that “Ana” – AKA Echidna – was gone from her resting place. By following a white bird through a secret passage, Subaru came to a balcony on the outside of the tower. Echidna was there with a bunch more of the birds.
As Subaru and Echidna talked, they were suddenly joined by Julius. He demanded to know the truth about Anastasia, so Echidna told him everything. Julius was still frustrated with his own weakness, so he was sensitive and defensive. But he was able to stay rational and accept Echidna. Once Echidna and Julius left, Subaru wandered around alone. After a brief run-in with Ram, he had a sudden idea about how to pass Reid’s exam. Then, without warning, the scene cut to Subaru waking up in the fairy room with Emilia and Beatrice fussing over him. The weirdest part was that Subaru’s memories were reset. He acted as if he only just appeared in this world and didn’t even know Emilia.
The episode ends on that strange twist. I must admit that it has caught my attention and thrown me off guard. How did this happen? How will Subaru get his memories back? Compared to last week’s episode, this installment was much more interesting and did not have to feature any sexual harassment.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4
Episode 7 (AKA 79): The Mastermind’s Identity
This episode dealt with the assassin, Glenda, and the aftermath of her attempt to kill Prince Elric. Rimuru’s loyal and talented spy, Souhei, approached Glenda on the rooftops, saying that she underestimated Rimuru. The two of them began fighting. It seemed at first that Souhei lost, shot by multiple bullets infused with magic. But actually, that was only one of his several body doubles, each one nearly as strong as the real body of Souhei. Before she was captured, Glenda managed to destroy three body doubles, though we only saw her kill one of them on screen. Anyway, Souhei captured Glenda. Rimuru, Hinata, Souhei, Benimaru, and Shuna went to interrogate the captive assassin.
I was relatively interested in the character of Glenda and her interactions with Rimuru and Hinata. I was also interested in the fact that Raphael was the one who did the talking to Glenda during the “interrogation.” However, given restraints on time and energy, I can’t currently go over everything in this scene like I want. I will go over the bare minimum. Rimuru figured out that Maribel was the mastermind behind the assassination attempt. Glenda was forced to obey Maribel or have her soul shattered. Maribel could even remotely shatter her soul once she was deemed useless. After Rimuru broke Maribel’s hold on her soul, Glenda was set free. She asked if she could work for Rimuru and began telling him valuable info. For example, she shared the fact that Granville Rozzo was still alive and that Yuki was completely under the control of Maribel. To be continued.
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
Anime Rants 