Greetings and thanks for visiting Anime Rants. I know this post is very late, but hopefully it will still be entertaining read. I am in a slump and haven’t felt like writing or being thoughtful much at all. Full disclosure: I wrote the first three entries below while stoned. Perhaps that will be more entertaining. I don’t plan to make it a habit, though. Here are some thoughts on week 2 of Black Butler Emerald Witch Arc, Kowloon Generic Romance, Lazarus, and Your Forma.
- Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc Episode 2
- Kowloon Generic Romance episode 2
- Lazarus Episode 2
- Your forma Episode 2
Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc Episode 2
Episode Rating: 5/10
This episode was highly entertaining and had several good points, but also caused some annoyance due to failed humor. The good points include the animation, the music, and the still-frame art pans. The failed humor refers to the sexual jokes that go on between a grown man and two young children. Dear anime, please stop making sex jokes when your main characters are eleven and thirteen. It’s even more uncomfortable when they are in a bedroom with someone canonically predatory by nature.
Sebastian is fucking creepy. And he’s a demon, so that’s intentional, but the narrative also occasionally plays this for laughs. Oh that demon, so funny, wanting to eat children’s souls and having a reputation for flirting and charming others sexually, including children. So funny. The problem with Black Butler is that the narrative sometimes panders to the idea of some fans that Sebastian and Ciel have some kind of sexual relationship. Even in the canonical events, Sebastian is often creepy toward Ciel in flirtatious ways.
So yeah, this scene with Miss Sullivan suggesting a threesome reminded me of all the bad parts of Black Butler. So that sucked. But the rest of the episode was good. Here’s some still-frame art from this episode that I liked. It shows the threat of the werewolves, who once protected the villagers but are now keeping them imprisoned. I’m very curious about this werewolf mystery, including the reason why being near the werewolf makes one cry. I have a theory that it’s something like an allergic reaction. Anyway, that’s all for my notes on this episode.
Kowloon Generic Romance episode 2
Episode Rating: 8/10
The voice-acting in this anime is excellent so far. With talent like Tomokazu Sugita, it’s hard to go wrong. In this episode, I was struck by the voice of the seiyuu playing Yoamay. The seiyuu’s name is Aoi Koga and her voice is enchanting. She famously played Kaguya in Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War. I’m also impressed with the voices for Kujirai B and Reiko.
Speaking of Kujirai B, I wonder if she is a separate individual rather than an alternate personality of Reiko. It would be cool and interesting in either case. Kujirai B is extremely attractive to me in terms of personality. I’m incredibly attracted to Reiko’s body, but her timid personality is less exciting than Kujirai B, who was like a manic pixie dream-girl, but oddly wise. I love her. But I’m also growing more attached to Reiko and her softness.
Pansexual/bisexual Rant: Reiko and Kujirai B are my anime crushes of the year so far and both have interesting personalities. In comparison, Kudo just seems like a normal guy. I mean, he’s conventionally attractive with a hint of a rogue side to him (mostly the spiky hair). But his level of attractiveness just can’t compare to how cute and amazing Reiko is by just existing. I wish Kudo had a more interesting/hot character design.
One more thing. I definitely didn’t like the ending scenes with the perverted fashion adviser. I hope this anime has a better antagonist than a one-dimensional sexual predator. Despite the uncomfortable ending of the episode, I am hopeful that episode 3 will continue with the cinematic production and legitimately well-written drama.
Lazarus Episode 2
Episode Rating: 8/10
First of all, the introduction – about the younger generations using hapuna as a drug – was fascinating and well-delivered. The first half of the episode was slightly boring, but established important information like how the bracelets work. The second half of the episode was more entertaining, with excellent action sequences and memorable music.
I like everyone in the group so far and also Hersche. In fact, I’m probably most interested in Hersche and what her motives are for gathering these “agents,” all of whom are criminals. I also think Eleina will be interesting. Axel is completely insane, and I want to know the story behind that. So, you could also say I’m very interested in Axel.
For all the characters, I’m concerned there won’t be sufficient development for them, as that’s difficult to accomplish with a bigger cast in a shorter anime. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. In other news, the opening and ending songs were both good. However, as per my usual pattern, I prefer the latter. Overall, this was a fun and chaotic episode despite not being as great as the pilot.
Your forma Episode 2
Episode Rating: 7/10
Your Forma‘s second episode was fairly entertaining with exciting, emotive music, a few relatively intense scenes, and a hint of character development for the main girl, Echika. The music in particular struck me, so I looked up the composer and found it was Tatsuya Kato. That’s the same man who composed the music for Dr. Stone. No wonder the instrumentals were so good. Also, the opening song (“Gridout” by Yama) is a bop.
This episode mentioned the concept of the black box. In particular, the consciousness of the RF Amicus bots is a black box that not even their developer, Dr. Lexie, understands. I thought this was a fairly interesting point of discussion. This is only tangentially related, but if you’re interested in sci-fi stories, consider checking out the small blog “Black Box,” where my friend writes chapters of original science fiction.
Back to the topic at hand, I like the character designs and animation style in this anime. The main characters, Echika and Harold, are both attractive. The scientist lady, Dr. Lexie Willow Carter, was also hot – including her cold, flippant personality. Additionally, The brain dive was interesting. Even though it used the same introductory footage as last time, at least the visuals are pretty. I’m not following all the details of the case, to be honest, but I’m still having fun watching the show.
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
