We here at oprainfall don’t just love video games: we’re big fans of anime, manga, and light novels, too. So in celebration of the medium, we’re here to give you our thoughts on what we’ve been watching and reading each week as we enjoy them. Old, new – anything goes.
Currently Airing:
Sasaki and Peeps
The series is the based off of a light novel that I honestly never heard of before. I read the description of it and decided it might be something worth trying. After watching the first two episodes (the first episode which is longer than a normal one) I think that the description doesn’t really do it justice. To be fair there is a lot going on in this one. It follows an almost 40 year old average office worker named Sasaki. On a whim he decides to get a pet and ends up taking home a bird he finds cute. From there things start getting crazy with his new pet being more than a normal bird. Being able to go into another world, Sasaki finds success trading things from home to this new world. He takes advantage and becomes quite the businessman there and learns some magic. While things are going smooth for Sasaki in his new life he ends up seeing an attack in our world by a killer and decides to intervene. From there Sasaki’s life takes another turn.
As a character I like Sasaki and identify with him at times. He would rather have a relaxed slow life and follow others, but things change quite a bit. The series has some good humorous moments in it so far. It’s something that I have to say is interesting which all the angles there are to it. This is will definitely be something I’m going to follow this season. – Walter
— You can watch Sasaki and Peeps on Crunchyroll.
Urusei Yatsura
Lum is back, hooray! Season 2 kicks off with a silly gimmick episode. Ten is playing with chewing gum that, when blown into a bubble, will recreate anything you think of. Ataru of course steals the gum for nefarious purposes – namely recreating the women in his life so he can ogle them. Lum, understandably, does not take kindly to this idea and hatches a plan to get back at him. It backfires in typical Urusei Yatsura fashion. I love these kinds of hijinks and they’re what make the show such a joy to watch, especially when paired with david productions’ stellar use of color and texture. The second half of the episode sees Lum suffering from temporary language loss after Ataru hits her in the head with a rice cooker. She can’t remember Japanese, and so can’t communicate with anyone. This upsets everyone at school except Ataru, who of course tries taking advantage of his interstellar girlfriend’s amnesia to try and hook up with other girls. Despite the circumstances of the episode and the heavy comedic bend, there were some genuinely tender moments here. One of my favorite things about Takahashi properties is the way she can so seamlessly blend comedy and romance, and that’s on display here. I’m really looking forward to what’s in store for the rest of this season. – Leah
You can watch Urusei Yatsura on HIDIVE.
What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!
You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!
