Having been a while since I last sat down actually tried to regularly keep up with more than one or two shows in a season, I’m pretty impressed to have gotten through the third episode of four and only be seriously considering dropping one. For the most part, this group of second and third episodes was pretty good and most of them even improved my opinion of their respective shows. I’m happy to report that I’m actually looking forward to the majority of them and have even been forced to eat my words about a certain shoujo…But that’s enough patting on the back for now since this post is about more than my sad accomplishments.
1. Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun
This is probably where Nozaki-kun will stay for the rest of the season. It’s, honestly, been too long since I watched a show that’s made me feel as happy as Nozaki-kun has managed to with every episode so far. I feel a bit silly admitting it, but I actually get really excited to sit down and watch every episode. Thirty second into these last two episodes, and I’m smiling and gushing like a dummy and the OP hasn’t even started yet. Nozaki-kun‘s second and third episodes have been an absolute pleasure to watch and have solidified the series as one of my favorites this season.
By this point, just about everyone from the OP has popped up, and each is as much of a lovable dork as Chiyo and Nozaki have been. Though each has their own distinct personality quirks, all of which have contributed wonderfully to the comedy aspect of the show, as expected, they aren’t simply one trick ponies, continually beating you over the head with one major joke stemming from their personality. It’s hard to put it into words, but I think a lot of what makes them really work is that the really quirky parts of their personalities aren’t being constantly exaggerated. Using Kashima as a example. Though her princely nature is a major part of her character, she isn’t always in the Prince role and we see a lot of her outside of it. If that didn’t make any sense , I’ll just leave it at I’ve loved every since character that’s walked on screen and that love only grows with each episode. Simply put, I’ve fallen quite hard for Nozaki-kun and wish to spread the love to everyone. If you haven’t at least tried it yet, go. Right now.
You know this always happens to me. I dismiss a show for some reason or another, but then I keep watching and before I know it, I’ve been sucked in. And boy have I been sucked into Blue Spring Ride. I suppose I shouldn’t be all too surprised considering how much I liked the starting bits of the manga, but still, I was hoping I had become a hardened soul and would be able to withstand the shoujo draw. Unfortunately, most of the problems that I had with the first episode have mostly been dealt, leaving with two leads that are actually pretty nice and a budding romance that I can’t help but enthusiastically get behind.
Futaba in general has really managed to grow on me, especially now that she’s trying to start again. With the second episode dealing with her decision to break from the person she was trying to be, the third episode was able to do a nice job showing her attempts to try and be the person she wants to be. Of course she receives some nice pep talks from Kou, but for the most part it’s her own determination to be a different, and in a way better person, that has lead her to make decisions that will help her do so. As a result, I’ve come to admire her a lot more as a character and am really looking forward to seeing her continue to grow. As for Kou, he’s also continued to grow on me bit by bit. I like how he’s not really mean to Futaba and actually encourages and supports her when she needs someone. The scene where he apologized for not making it to the festival when they were middle schoolers was actually a really sweet scene and put the two in a place that takes most shoujo couples ages to get to. That said, their budding relationship isn’t exactly going at warp speed, but it’s progressing nicely, emphasizing how the two are able trying to be close again, though both, especially Kou, are still dealing with how what happened in the past is affecting them. All in all, I’m pretty sold on Blue Spring Ride, and as long as it keeps producing episodes as solid as these last two, I find myself more than looking forward to seeing how everything plays out.
3. Invaders of the Rokujyouma!?
If it weren’t for the suspect turn Love Stage!! took with its story, Invaders would probably be stuck in fourth place forever. However, boring and somewhat average beats uncomfortable assault any day so third place it is.
Though I can’t say that these last two episodes have completely changed my view of the show, they weren’t too bad. I thought that the gig with the card games was an interesting way to go about deciding who was winning the room, and seeing Yurika loose all the time was pretty fun too. I thought the last half of the third episode was cute, with Yurika and Sakuraba becoming friends and whatnot. At this point, I can safely say that Yurika, with her on-going to struggle as a magical girl cosplayer, is the most entertaining of the group battling for Rokujyouma. Though third episode propelled Sakuraba into favorite girl status, so I hope she pops up more often (and maybe even makes progress with her knight in shining armor). Though at times, I honestly think that I enjoy watching Rail Wars more, Invaders isn’t too terrible of a time waster, so I’ll probably stick around for the rest of it.
4. Love Stage!!
For what it’s worth, the majority of the second episode actually wasn’t too bad. It had a lot of the cute “fluff” that I enjoyed in the first episode, in addition to expanding a bit more on Izumi’s future dilemma. I quite liked the conversation Izumi’s dad and Rei had about how Izumi could be pretty successful onscreen if he gave himself the chance. Alas, all good things much come to an end, and in Love Stage!!‘s case, the end was the last couple of minutes of episode two when Izumi is revealed to actually be a guy. At that moment, Ryouma went from being a cutie pie to an a-hole in an astounding 30 seconds. Though his words were a bit less insulting than they were in the manga, they were still pretty mean and uncalled for. However, even if Ryouma’s outburst could actually be somewhat logically defended, his actions in episode three crossed a line that has actually ruined any further enjoyment I can probably get from the relationship he’ll be in with Izumi.
In order to rid himself of what he judges to be lingering feelings for a girl that doesn’t exist, Ryouma decides to pay a visit to Izumi’s house. When poor Izumi arrives home, Ryouma doesn’t waste much time before ordering him to strip and then stripping him himself when Izumi (logically) refuses. But it doesn’t stop there. After pulling Izumi’s pants and underwear off and pinning him to the couch, he realizes he’s actually turned on and starts kissing Izumi who, by this point, is in tears and has already asked Ryouma to stop. Let me tell you something Love Stage!!, turning Ryouma the same color as the sparkly pink background doesn’t make assaulting Izumi any more romantic or okay. My heart really goes out Izumi. The poor kid is practically assaulted by someone that insulted him the second he found out he was a guy and, the saddest part is that, he, according the laws of yaoi, is going to fall in love with the d-bag with this little “romantic mishap” bound to be romanticized or forgotten down the line. Suffice to say, I’m going to be really sad when Izumi’s brother is the one who sets them up. RIP Cute Love Stage!!
The following two tabs change content below.- Bio
- Latest Posts
AnimeEmily
I'm a shy, lazy, easily impressed person who loves anime and manga. I've been seriously watching since about the summer of the sixth grade and have been in love since. I'm pretty much an amateur when it comes to anime and am somewhat still in that starry-eyed phase, but as I continue to watch more, I have become more critical, I suppose one could say.
Latest posts by AnimeEmily (see all)
- Emily’s Attempt To Survive The Summer Romance Anime, Week 2 and 3 - July 27, 2014
- Emily’s Attempt To Survive The Summer Romance Anime, Week 1 - July 14, 2014
- Summer Anime 2014: Blue Spring Ride Impressions From Emily, Ben, and Manjiorin - July 10, 2014
- Let Me Out (Live Action) Review - July 9, 2014
- Summer Anime 2014: Akame ga KILL! Impressions - July 8, 2014
