It can be hard to blog short anime sometimes, not just because of their length but because that element changes their narrative structure quite a bit – you don’t generally get stories so much as events, and stories are what lend themselves to long posts.  Tonkatsu DJ Agetarou goes both ways – sometimes it gives me a lot to work with, and other times – as this week – it’s pretty simple and self-explanatory.  But it’s never once been less than thoroughly enjoyable.

Indeed, the one element that really stands out is Yamashita Daiki’s performance.  It was easy to see he was really good, but he’s stepping into his own this season with Agetarou and the much flashier role of Izuku in Boku no Hero Academia.  He packs so much wit and energy into his performance in this episode, mining every ounce possible out of the material.  There are times when young seiyuu come along and you know from their first starring role that they’re going to become big-time – Ohsaka Ryouta, Ishikawa Kaitou, et al – and Yowamushi Pedal made it clear that Yamashita-san was about to be a major player in the industry.

As for Agetarou’s antics this week, it’s all about the holidays – fried chicken for Christmas and the New Year’s break.  That includes a chance meeting with Sonako, who’s not dating Yashiki after all (apparently), nearly getting crushed by a falling Christmas tree, meeting the teen DJ pair “AmaKara” (sweet and spicy) – who reveal that Agetarou’s star is starting to rise in the community – and learning a valuable lesson about sauce.  Mastering a house style before moving on the variety probably is a good idea both for budding tonkatsu chefs and budding DJs, but I guess sometimes you have to churn out the Hayashi rice too…