We here at oprainfall don’t just love video games: we’re big fans of anime, too. So in celebration of the medium, we’re here to give you our thoughts on what we’ve been watching each week as we watch it. Old, new – anything goes.
Currently Airing:
Chainsaw Man
I’ve only ever heard good things about this manga, so with the new anime, I figured now was the time to find out why. And it’s not bad, really. Denji is a down-and-out kid with way too much inherited debt and does odd jobs for the yakuza to pay it all off. Some of those odd jobs include killing devils, which are just a thing in this world. He has his own pet devil dog, Pochita, who he uses to help kill them (as well as chop down trees, cause a kid’s gotta eat.) I like Denji. He’s got every right to be a bitter piece of shit, but he still manages to have some levity and he genuinely cares about Pochita. When he’s unceremoniously killed in the first episode, you actually want him to have his dream come true. The animation here is also really top notch, especially the walking animations. Studio MAPPA can make a person walking look incredible. They also made the over-the-top violence and bloodletting look amazing, and I cannot stress how good the sound design is when Chainsaw Man shows up. It’s been a long time since I’ve sat down with a good, pulpy, hyper-violent show that also has characters I genuinely like. I had a lot of fun with this first episode and am curious to see where everything goes. – Leah
– You can watch Chainsaw Man on Crunchyroll.
Mob Psycho 100 III
It’s never a dull moment for Spirits and Such, and that holds true this episode, when Yokai Hunter Amakusa Haruaki appears, asking for help defeating the Hundred Demons Army. At first Reigen tells him to disappear, but after being handed one million yen, our favorite conman changes his mind. At the same time, Mob is preparing for the school cultural festival and stressing over his job as a costume designer for the haunted house. He’s the only one in his group who takes the task seriously, and it’s on his mind the entire time he’s helping Reigen and Serizawa take on the Hundred Demons with Amakusa. Like Chainsaw Man above, the animation here is absolutely gorgeous, and even though the fight is short, I am always in awe of the way bones animates their demons. It’s beautiful. Amakusa wants Mob and Serizawa to join him in demon hunting, but they both have much more normal goals in mind: Serizawa wants to go back to school, and Mob just wants to be a regular kid. Once the job is done, Mob is hit by inspiration for his costumes and the cultural festival goes fine, with most people giving his idea a shrug, but he’s proud of what he accomplished. Mob continues to be the best boy and I love him. We’re still building toward Mob’s explosion, and I’m worried what’s going to happen, but I can’t wait for the next episode to find out. – Leah
– You can watch Mob Psycho 100 on Crunchyroll.
My Hero Academia
The fight between Hawks and Twice comes to a head here, and the stakes are honestly pretty high. Both of them have something they’re desperate to protect, and Twice is probably the most sympathetic of the Paranormal Liberation Front. Hawks doesn’t want to hurt him after forming a genuine friendship, but Shigaraki’s plans have to be stopped, even if it means he has to kill Twice. For Twice, he blames himself for once again putting his friends in harms’ way by being too trusting. I found the emotional through-line here really compelling. This episode was actually pretty brutal by My Hero standards, because Hawks does not hold back, especially when Dabi joins the battle. Meanwhile, the heroes are doing what they can to capture the Liberation Front’s people and keep them from escaping the compound. It’s refreshing to get to see the actual pros being competent at their jobs, since it’s so easy to just fall back and let the kids do all the heavy lifting in a show like this. There’s a lot riding on this attack, and the villains are preparing their counter, so it’ll be interesting to see how the tides turn next week. – Leah
– You can watch My Hero Academia on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
SPY x Family
Anya finally has her own dog, but she has no idea what to name him! After having foiled the terrorist plot against the Westalis ambassador, the Forgers are allowed to keep the fluffy pupper who helped save the day, despite him being a test subject of Project Apple. Anya’s elated, because it means she can use her newfound pet to get closer to Damian in an attempt to become his friend, but she’s rebuffed when he picks on her for not giving the dog an actual name. The Forgers head to the dog park to give the pair a chance to play, and Anya grills all the other pet owners on how they came up with names for their furry companions, but it’s only after the big floof saves her from a mean looking bulldog that stole her gloves that Anya is hit by inspiration. Just like Bondman, her dog saved the day. Just like Bondman, her dog “wears” gloves. And so, our newest family member dons the moniker Bond, and we come to a happy conclusion. I love these more laid back episodes of SPY x Family, where the Forgers just get to do normal family things. It’s a nice change of pace from the more bombastic set pieces, and it also gives us moments of introspection, like when Loid wonders what right he has to tell Anya to take care of Bond until the end, when he’s just using her and Yor for his own ends. Next week looks to be a Yor-centric episode, and I’m super stoked for it. – Leah
– You can watch SPY x Family on Crunchyroll.
Urusei Yatsura
Aaaaah, it’s finally time. The Urusei Yatsura remake is one I’ve been waiting for, having watched the original years and years and years ago. Lum is one of the best action rom-com girls in the genre (mainly because she’s the first), and this version of her is pretty faithful to the source material. It’s admittedly weird to hear the new voices, but everyone here does a fantastic job, especially Ataru, who is the unluckiest man in the world. He’s also the worst, so I guess it works out. He deserves everything he gets, but it’s also just fun to watch. After finally defeating her in a game of tag during which he kept screaming he wanted to get married, Lum mistakes his declaration as wanting to marry her, and not Ataru’s actual girlfriend, Shinobu. Queue shenanigans. The lengths Lum goes to ensure her “darling” stays faithful to her are as over the top as she is, and they look beautiful here with David Productions’ use of pop art coloring. – Leah
I was excited to see this one. I’ve only see some of the original series so while I’m familiar with it, it isn’t too deep for me. I like the style of the animation. It is modern, but at the same time it does keep an older feel to it. For me at least, I can say I’ve liked it so far. I can’t say how close it exactly will follow the original series, but it at least seems to be trying to follow the feel of it. The new themes I can say I’m a fan of too. – Walter
– You can watch Urusei Yatsura on HIDIVE.
Akiba Maid Wars
Nagomi wakes up the next day and is surprised to see how everyone is barely effected by the night before – even Ranko as she deals with her wound. While passing flyers, she gets accosted by some other maids but befriends another. This talk cements her dedication to being a maid again, along with the fact violence is a part of life. Trouble comes when the manager comes in saying they’re broke. She attempted to get a loan to pay her dues, but ends up losing it. Using what little they have, she brings the maids to a maid casino (not legit) to win some money. It goes without saying things aren’t fair and don’t go right. Like last week, Ranko helps solve the issues. I liked seeing the other maids joining in, even if they were barely shown. The cafes’ “panda” also appears to help with the chaos. While the scenes didn’t really compare to that certain one in the first episode, I still liked this one. I enjoy the bits of comedy along with the action. I’m interested how things play out with them needing more money. – Walter
– You can watch Akiba Maid War on HIDIVE.
What anime are you watching? Let us know in the comments!
You can read previous Week in Anime entries here!
