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When it comes to anime blogging, weekends are survival of the fittest.
Haikyuu!! – 14
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The new season has me in a bit of a pinch, schedule-wise. Sundays were (as usual) the busiest day of the week last season, and that problem has only gotten worse with most of my Sunday series from last season carrying over, and joined by several of the top tier of Summer shows (bear in mind, Saturday late-night shows like Barakamon and Aldnoah.Zero are Sunday shows for me). As a result I may have to make a few cuts – either temporarily, while I get a handle on the new season, or indefinitely – and right now Captain Earth and Haikyuu are the prime candidates.
The reasons are quite different. In terms of execution Haikyuu is certainly the better show, and I certainly like it more than enough to blog it. If it were a Tuesday or Wednesday series this wouldn’t even be under consideration. The thing about Haikyuu for me, though, is that it’s a pretty straightforward show – it doesn’t (so far at least) leave a whole lot out there that’s begging to be interpreted. I won’t say it doesn’t need to be blogged because no anime needs to be blogged, but Haikyuu is one that seems to stand up especially well on its own.
I have no final decisions yet on whether I’ll be taking a break or not – we’ll see how things look next weekend. I’m certainly still enjoying Haikyuu as much as ever, but with First Impressions posts popping out left and right and shows like Baby Steps carrying over, the creative well is running a bit dry. We’ve got the inter-high arc coming up so it may very well be that proves so compelling that I can’t wait to blog about it – for now, I’ll definitely be watching and I’ll play it by ear. Stay tuned.
Captain Earth – 14
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As for Captain Earth, the equation is a bit simpler. As I look at all the shows I’m currently covering and specifically those on the weekend, CE is somewhere near the base of the pyramid. I like it, and at its best I like it a lot – but it hasn’t been at its best as often as I’d like. The fact that the last few episodes have been quite good does complicate things, though.
I think this was another pretty strong episode, more in-line with the style of the first several episodes of the series. It started out looking like it was going to be a romance/comedy, with Akari manouvering the Vice-commander into giving the Knights a vacation and then booking Hana and Daichi into the same hotel room. But it also dipped its toes into the deepest parts of the larger plot, and ended up focusing on a rather urgent life-and-death crisis.
Several interesting moments stand out this week, starting with the revelation (courtesy Teppei) that the reason Hana doesn’t kiss Daichi when he’s awake is because she doesn’t want him to glimpse the real her through their species’ telepathic powers. We also have the ironic spectacle of Kube Masaki claiming that Puck is “the other employee I can control”, and Amara and Moko seemingly fed up with him to the point of asking Puck to eliminate him. Puck refuses for the moment – he’s still playing his cards close to the vest – but does agree to Moko’s Plan B. That is, to drop Kube’s modified asteroid, Legacy – a crucial part of the Krivitos Plan – on Tanegashima, thereby eliminate the annoyance of the GLOBE base and screwing Kube over big-time. Hana is forced to call on the Orgone powers of Blume to stop Legacy from destroying Tanegashima completely.
I’m still interested in Captain Earth – certainly more than a month ago, in fact. But boy, Sundays are brutal. At this point the deal with CE is pretty much this: it depends on how good the next few episodes are. Unless I’m so pressed for time that I just can’t swing it, I’ll probably end up covering it if I’m bought in fully. Otherwise, Captain Earth is another candidate for a hiatus, at least until the season settles in and things clarify themselves. Again – stay tuned.
Nadavu
July 7, 2014 at 2:19 pmAt the beginning of this week's Haikyuu, we had someone confuse 烏 (karasu) with 鳥 (tori), and this marks the first time I ever got a kanji joke in real-time. I was so pleased with myself, it was kinda gross 😀
anyways, I'm selfish enough to hope that Haikyuu would prove to be too GWAA for you not to blog it..
admin
July 7, 2014 at 11:23 pmOmedettou! That's always a big moment.
LandiZ
July 7, 2014 at 3:29 pmI'm glad to see Yamaguchi step up his game this week and attempt to do something about his position
It was also great to see hinata adapting himself to sugawara's sets as well
melodic thoughts
July 7, 2014 at 3:39 pmTanaka – the female version – was so hilariously gross. And here's to hoping everything works out for Enzo-san in the end, schedule wise!
Rita
July 7, 2014 at 5:40 pmI'm surprised you haven't already caved given how hectic your Sundays are. I definitely understand the thing about Haikyuu being straightforwards and good enough to not need much interpretation. Its my favorite be happy show of the season.
That being said, this episode was pretty simple since it was just build up, but I had only one gut reaction that carried with me the whole episode.
TANAKA PLEASE.
Oh my god I couldn't stop laughing. He can't get any more perfect. It's impossible
whemleh
July 7, 2014 at 11:59 pmTanaka is possibly the funniest character to emerge from any anime from last season. He's incapable of not making me laugh. That girlfriend sketch was glorious. I can understand why the other shows airing would have a more immediate need to be blogged, but I do hope you are able to find time for Haikyuu. It's such a joy to watch.
Roger
July 8, 2014 at 1:25 amWhat the? Captain Earth is in the weekly digest? Again? With Haikyuu?
I don't blame you though, I have the same feelings about this episode. It was definitely better than the last few, but I just can't bring myself to thoroughly like it. For one, the development in Daichi's and hana's relationship (and the return of the humor), though I welcome it, just feels like a rush job, mainly because of the long pause they did with the whole "designer children" arc. I really wished they had just interspersed the main characters' development with that of the DC's in that arc, instead of cutting it off.
On an amusing side note, Hana's breakdown and crying scene at the beach, and the way Kayano Ai delivered it, somewhat had me flashing back to Chsaki's breakdown scene in episode 25 of NagiAsu.
Ronbb
July 8, 2014 at 6:00 amI don't blame you, Enzo. I loved your last post on Haikyu…it's brilliant. Your "authentically [capturing] the sense of being young, energetic, hot-headed and a little stupid" gave me an aha moment that totally helped me understand why I love the show, but shame on me that I didn't even have the time to tell you how much I loved and enjoyed reading it…
Haikyu is beyond being straightforward and great in execution — it's the whole authentic feeling — which is rare — and, like you said, the unpretentiousness that captures my heart. Having said that, perhaps it's the straightforwardness — which is actually quite fitting to the story — that makes it harder to blog especially on time-challenged Sundays. I will be sad if you choose to drop it, but I will understand. Don't want to see an overworked Enzo but the Enzo who can at least have a breather and pamper himself a bit…even on Sundays.
Kaname
July 8, 2014 at 10:02 pmCE really starting to remind me of Valvrave. I don't know about everyone but it was a fun ride to me.