The Winter 2019 Anime Season came to an end for many shows, last week. And as we prep for those ending this week, we’ll see which shows earned the fondest farewells.

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ANIME TKO REVIEWS

Mob Psycho 100 II (Episode 12)

Mob… has grown so incredibly much. Here he is, facing off against his antithesis – a man who believes his power makes him special.

NON-TKO REVIEWS

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (Episode 12)

And we’re now introduced to Glass – the raid boss of this wave and the first enemy that none of the heroes can defeat. Alone, anyway. But there seems to be some kind of time limit or something on her. I’m intrigued, but still rather cautious. I’m just glad there finally is an actual antagonist. No one enjoys the level grinding BS of RPGs, so making us sit through that part was just not engaging enough. And the cast, while charming, isn’t really standing out amidst a season of shows with such incredibly fun or engaging characters. Maybe it’ll be better in the Spring. But the stuff after Glass left was… fine, I guess. Though the implication that they’re going to try to make us feel sorry for the king who, mind you, knowingly falsely accused a man of rape is a hard sell. But Melty is still great. Particularly her interaction with her harpy- I mean older sister. Also, I find it refreshing that Naofumi’s being called on his cynicism causing him to make an arse of himself. Even if I know he’s not ultimately gonna change at all and they’re just gonna keep giving him excuses to justify his behavior. Because they totally are. Junk Food.

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen (Episode 12)

This was, by far, the single best episode of this show. The emotional weight was indeed unsurprising, given how it’d been subtly set up throughout the series. But the payoff was just handled excellently. I expected it to just be a sort of semi-comedic “they all go to a festival together” bit and there’d be some amusing skits with typical festival shenanigans. But no. It went for something far more dramatic and was all the better for it. I can understand people thinking the subsequent skit, back at the school, sort of diminishes it, but… it’s a rom/com with a heavy emphasis on absurdism. That’s the ultimate point of the show. For whatever drama it does want to convey, it’s equally (if not more) inclined to also be funny in the most ridiculous of ways. If that’s an issue for you, I dunno what to tell you. This was a fantastically Super Effective showing.

Date A Live Ⅲ (Episode 12)

I am legitimately amazed that this isn’t a thing they decided to explore sooner. The idea that absorbing all of those spirit powers could have some sort of adverse effect on Shido. And flipping the premise of the show was a fun concept that I feel like I’d have liked to see them take a bit longer to explore. Like the length of a full 2 – 3 episode arc would’ve been good. Then it could’ve at least given us the chance to really explore the relationships between Shido and the girls who are obviously most significant. Right now Origami is still the only one who’s actively thrown the word “love” his way. But I genuinely adored Tohka’s whole arc surrounding that. Tohka is precious. I just wish she was utilized a little more in this season. Oh. Also, orchestral version of the OP playing over the final battle of the season. Suffice it to say, I was won over instantly. Super Effective.

Black Clover (Episode 76)

So. After watching this episode, I went ahead and read through more of the manga. I reached and passed this point in the story. And the conclusion that I’ve come to is that this is probably the one time the anime did it better, expanding on something that was barely touched on in the manga, itself – Rill’s backstory. Buuut, while this was better, neither it or the manga actually address the issue I had with it. Rill’s “problem” was just… really lame, from what I could see. It’s vague and may get set up more, later on. But, for now, it’s just not enough to make that character interesting. Mildly entertaining (which, to its credit, most of the characters are) but not interesting. Oh well. Junk Food.

Toaru Majutsu no Index III (Episode 25)

Yet another case where the final battle is right around the corner. Meanwhile, Accelerator’s arc basically comes full circle. And Hamazura did something that was actually pretty impressive, for once. I mean, that’s the issue with him, right? Pretty much nothing he does is overly flashy when compared to everyone else in the show – even Touma, whose power is to literally remove the flash from things. But his exploits just tend to be really dull to watch. This was probably the first time that wasn’t the case. Junk Food.

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OLDER ANIME REVIEWS

Noragami Aragoto (Episode 12)

Hey! They save Yat- oh… Well, mission partially accomplished? Won’t lie, though, this episode was fantastic. The tension was excellent, the emotions were high. And now there’s only the closing.

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ACHIEVEMENTS

Gonna skip the unique achievements, this time, just to get through this a little faster. You’d be surprised how difficult they can be to come up with.

Overall Episode Medalists

This was honestly just about the easiest week in the entire thing, for me. Not even kidding. Kaguya-sama’s final episode of the season was fantastic. The first half, in particular, was just wonderful, emotional, and beautifully done in terms of art quality and animation. It takes the Gold Medal with ease. The Silver Medal goes to none other than Date A Live III. Why? Sure, it’s not the overall deepest episode of the show or the tightest. But it was just a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed myself from start to finish. The Bronze Medal goes home with Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari. It was serviceable and reasonably entertaining. Melty’s still great, the boss battle was amusing, pretty good stuff, all things considered. If nothing else, I’m now interested in the next cour. So there’s that.

MVP: Shinomiya, Kaguya

There shouldn’t be any surprise, here. This episode was made as special as it was because it was the most personal, vulnerable, genuine look at Kaguya as a character that we’ve gotten, all season. It can be easy for one to get so lost in all the “extra,” all the arrogance, all the antics that they overlook that Kaguya is an actual character and not just a walking gag. She has history. She has concerns. She has wants. And all of those things are laid bare in this episode to excellent effect. Had Kaguya not been the center of this episode, or had they focused on the caricature of Kaguya, rather than the character of Kaguya, this episode wouldn’t have been nearly as excellent. And so, with that said, she definitely carried the entire thing. She’s earned this honor.

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CONCLUSION

And that’s it, everyone! What’d you think of last week? Let me know, down below! Thanks for reading, as always. Keep up the Awesome!

Take Care,
Voyager