See my post on Ushio and Tora – I just don’t have time to do a full post on Kyoukai no Rinne this week, alas. And that’s a real shame because it’s great to have this series back – it’s a good season for comedy, but there’s no other anime comedy out there that quite shares Rinne’s sensibility.
The series gets off to a rollicking start and things haven’t changed a whole lot. Ageha is still a world-class idiot and Mamiya Sakura keeps walking in on she and Rinne in compromising positions, Rinne is still broke and the humor is determinedly offbeat. We do meet a new character – Oboro (Matsuoka Yoshitsugu), Ageha’s bratty black cat contractor with whom she perpetually feuds. Oboro fits right in with the rest of these oddballs, and the episode is comfortably familiar for fans of the first season. It won’t get much attention, but it’s still great to have Rinne back.
Jen
April 11, 2016 at 12:03 pmIt’s great to see this series come back and it does bring back that familiarity like it was never gone. Definitely glad it’s back.
Dop
April 11, 2016 at 1:14 pmYeah, it’s great to see this show back and you’re right that it does have a very different comic sensibility to other shows. Which is one of the things I find so great about it.
Nadavu
April 11, 2016 at 2:20 pmWhen the first season was broadcast I was unemployed and decisively poor. I found the “Rinne is so poor” jokes to be to too near the bone for comfort. But now that I have a steady income again, I can laugh at his pathetic existence, no problems.
ruicarlov
April 12, 2016 at 7:47 amRinne is quite a likeable character, so the “Rinne is so poor” jokes don’t always elicit any big laughs from me. Sometimes I feel like giving him a pat in the back. In one hand some jokes hit, but on the other hand laughing as his misfortune where he rarely gets a bone (both on money and love) does bring a tinge of bitterness. Hey, I just wanted to give Watamote’s leading girl a hug and she was a much more unlikeable person than Rinne. Empathy for fictional characters can be a bit of a drag on comedy sometimes. While I enjoy this show I probably can’t appreciate it as much as Enzo. Then again, black comedy (or shades of it) is a hard sell on me.
Guardian Enzo
April 12, 2016 at 8:48 amRinne does get his rare payoff moments, at least. Not as many as I’d like though.
ruicarlov
April 13, 2016 at 6:27 amTrue, and that’s one of the reasons why this show works better for me than Watamote. That, and the fact he isn’t the only punching bag for jokes. Everyone except Sakura gets their fair share of misfortune, and I’m all aboard for laughing at the expense of Masato, Ageha, and Rinne’s dad (I just love him getting just desserts).