Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens – 04
I guess it’s important to remember that Hakata Tonkostsu Ramens is an abject fantasy, every bit as much as Made in Abyss or Mahoutsukai no Yome. If one forgets that, the degree to which this show romanticizes murder (and murderers) would be downright horrifying. I suppose that’s one thing that sets it far apart from something like 91 Days, which while highly stylized is very much grounded in human emotion. HTR is just a lark – and it had better be.
Even by lark standards I think this episode was a step down from the past two. It just isn’t that much fun seeing the good guys kill a bunch of people, no matter how sympathetic they’re made out to be. As for the revelation that Banba is in fact the Niwaka Samurai, I confess I didn’t see it coming (maybe I should have) but that kind of makes him less interesting ad a character to me. As for Enokida triple-crossing the ones out to kill Lin, that was a lot easier to predict.
Still, it was rather elegant (if convenient) the way Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens tied all the storylines together, right up to Saitou throwing the pitch that knocks out the mayor’s psycho son. Since pretty much all the bad guys (the ones who aren’t portrayed as good) are dead or unmasked, I guess that means this arc is officially done and dusted and a whole new storyline is about to begin (featuring this guy, no doubt). I’ve seen enough here to have me interested in giving it a chance, but right now Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens is very much the definition of a bubble series.
Itou Junji: Collection – 04
The Yin-yang of pubescent male horror stories on Itou Junji this week (that seems to be a favorite theme of Itou-sensei). Interestingly enough the common thread between them is the presence of Shimono Hiro in different roles; obviously we have something of a repertory company effect with this series, which I think suits the material pretty well.
First off is the story of a middle-schooler who lives in a strange Western-style mansion with doors that apparently open onto another world We can look past the oddities here – why go back and sleep there every night? Where are the parents? At its heart this is just a classic “other worlds” yarn, with multiple evil versions of the hero from alternate dimensions performing experiments on helpless victims in an attempt to find a way to grow taller. Boy phobia #1 – too short.
Tale #2 is pure comedy, featuring as it does the estimable Souichi-kun in the first return engagement of the series. This time around his “curse” gig is creating cloth versions of those who annoy him to take their place. There are some hilarious hijinks with these dolls and their victims (two teachers and the class president – the beard thing immediately made me think of Dennou Coil). Boy phobia #2? Public nudity – and naturally Souichi’s machinations back(side)fire on him in embar(e)assing fashion.
The Souichi thing… I think what really makes this clever is that in almost every way it’s a pure comedic story of a weird kid with an overactive fantasy life and twisted personality – except he’s actually able to do the magical stuff he tries to do. I like that twist, and Itou does a good job mining comedic gold from it.
wandering-dreamer
February 3, 2018 at 5:47 pmI feel obligated to tell you that apparently, Lin’s voice actor is Yuki Kaji (which I didn’t pick up on at all but totally makes sense now @_@ )
Guardian Enzo
February 3, 2018 at 7:47 pmWell yeah, I know – I noted it in the second impressions (he’s unmistakable). But I’m not automatically going to not watch a show because he’s in it. He can ruin a series, but doesn’t always. And HTR is lightweight enough that it’s not really ruinable by a Kaji performance,
animealex
February 3, 2018 at 11:50 pmAfter last weeks episode of HTR I was quite sure, that Banba was the Niwaka Samurai. Hence why I mentioned the shadyness of all his friends. “You tell me who you know and I tell you what you are.” I figured it would be a story of “Black and Grey Morality”, but some self-awareness from the protagonists that they also are quite horrible people would be nice. I’m also a bit disappointed that Banba seemingly believes in the “flashiness is cool” philosophy, but he only does this as his alter ego, the “killer of killers” while camouflaging as a normal guy in his everyday life. Oh well, the ending answers the question “What does a (successful) killer and baseball player need?” Friends, who work as a team.
Two random thoughts:
1.) What does Banba see in Lin? Does he flirt with him or is he setting himself up as a “Big Brother Mentor” type? Or something else?
2.) HxH is a much, much better anime, so the comparison does not seem warranted, but for some reason I thought of the Phantom Troupe after seeing them all as a baseball team. Amoral, not self aware of their evilness; team spirit (friends) despite being rogues and loners; highly specialized roles, but able to work together to great effect; they care about their turf; they use a spider as a metaphor sometimes etc. Some key elements are missing, not the least of which is being real, fleshed-out characters. Villain protagonists can be fun, but this cast needs some more character depth to pull it off.
3.) I hope you keep covering this series; it’s a lightweight (“popcorn entertainment”), but something works for me, because the episodes seem to be only five minutes long.