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:
Mob Psycho 100 III
“You aren’t supposed to hurt people with your psychic powers.” Mob has struggled his entire life to keep his powers in check for fear of losing control and hurting others the way he once hurt Ritsu when they were children. It’s been the core reason he even has to get to 100% of an emotion in order to manifest the true strength of his telekinesis. But now he’s lost control and can’t stop himself, and he’s hurting people again. As he rampages through Seasoning City, Teru comes to help. I think it’s important to note that Teru doesn’t come to fight Mob. In a reversal from their first meeting, Teru isn’t here to prove himself; he isn’t out to show he’s the best. He’s here just to talk to his best friend and try to find out what’s wrong. This isn’t a fight – it’s a therapy session with psychic powers. And while Teru isn’t able to actually calm Mob down, he does win this rematch by doing what Mob would have done were their roles reversed: He saves everyone. Throughout this episode, we see how all of Mob’s friends and former enemies react to him losing control, and it’s honestly incredibly beautiful. Mob isn’t a bad guy – he isn’t out for power, or control, or anything like that. He’s just hurt and lashing out and his friends are trying to help him for his sake and others, and I love that this is the ultimate conflict that Mob Psycho has been leading up to through every previous fight. Mob has left such a positive impression on everyone he’s met, they want to return the favor. I’m absolutely not emotionally prepared for next week. – Leah
– You can watch Mob Psycho 100 on Crunchyroll.
Akiba Maid War
The café is doing well for once due to them winning the festival from last week. Ranko is with her regular Suehiro, who finally expresses his interest in her. While Ranko didn’t give an answer on going out with him, the manager says yes for her since she thinks he’s a banker. From the first scene in the episode you’d know he is not. The maids end up helping Ranko out to get her ready for her date, with the one exception being the panda Okachimachi. Ranko’s date goes well with Suehiro asking her to leave town with him. She is then approached by Okachimachi who finally speaks and warns her of Suehiro. There’s been a number of guesses on who is the person in the panda suit, and I honestly didn’t have much of a guess. That being said, the twist of the panda’s identity is something I wasn’t expecting (along with the VA for them either). The panda reveals that Suehiro is a hitman and is planning on killing Ranko, to which Ranko says she will deal with it. Their identity is someone that should be easy to dislike, but at the same time Okachimachi has been supporting everyone in the café during the series. Ranko heads to meet Suehiro to leave town but he never arrives. We see why and Ranko herself understands what happened when talking with the panda. It is revealed Nagi had been the one who had ordered the hit along with the one from the first episode. The series has been a dark comedy with action, but it’s kind of easy to forget it’s kind of tragedy too when looking at Ranko. Okachimachi’s life is similar in a way, thrown away and living in exile in a suit only to meet Ranko again. The after credit scene showed another thing Ranko was deprived of. While the panda has done a lot wrong, Ranko knows the real antagonist is her former sister. I’m hoping they can finish this strong. – Walter
– You can watch Akiba Maid War on HIDIVE.
SPY x Family
After handily winning the tennis tournament, Loid and Fiona finally obtain the painting holding the former spy’s secrets. On their way back, they run into Anya and Yor at the park, where the pair had been practicing playing tennis. Seeing her chance, Fiona challenges Yor to a match to prove she’s actually the best choice to be Twilight’s wife. It does not turn out in Fiona’s favor. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard as watching Yor’s first serve. Unfortunately, Fiona isn’t the only one to be sorely disappointed, as Loid eventually finds out exactly what was in the spy’s hidden dossier. What a fantastic episode this was, with a great denouement and set up for going into the final stretch of this season. Yor won but doesn’t seem thrilled about it, while Loid is beginning to take his family much more seriously. I’m really curious to see where these threads wind up. – Leah
– You can watch SPY x Family on Crunchyroll.
Bocchi the Rock!
School starts up again and Bocchi dreads the upcoming school festival; however, the fact she could enter her band to play for the school is something that interests her. The issue of course comes from her worrying about how this could go wrong and she tosses her application into the trash. Kita ends up seeing it and puts the paperwork in. Bocchi does what she usually does and overreacts. Her reactions always are great. Another highlight is Hiroi showing up and getting a pretty cold reception from most people at the club. Even with her issues, she along with Nijika’s sister are some of Bocchi’s biggest supporters. Bocchi and the others end up heading to see Hiroi’s band perform and are impressed. I like her dynamic with Bocchi a lot and enjoy the turn around that usually comes after some type of advice or help is given: In this case trying to put some blame on Bocchi for when she damages a wall. I’m excited to see how their next concert goes. – Walter
– You can watch Bocchi the Rock! on Crunchyroll.
What anime are you watching? Let us know in the comments!
You can read previous Week in Anime entries here!
