Hello and welcome to Mono's Anime Rants. This is part 13 in my blog series of episode reviews for certain selected anime series from 2022. These series were taken from various times in 2022, with one exception. Shadows House (season one) aired in 2021. Starting next week, I'll be covering the second season. Also, since I finished watching The Devil Is A Part-timer Season 2, I have a new slot open. I chose to fill it with Chainsaw Man. It sounds a bit silly to me, but we'll see if I like it or not!
Note: I fell behind on my blog for a month. As a result, I'm publishing weeks #11-14 in rapid succession, over the course of a few days.
Shadows House: Season 1 Episode 13
Season 1 had an incredibly exciting and satisfying ending. All is well with the ten children and their shadow masters, thanks to everyone's brave contributions. Ram is still alive in the dungeon, and she somehow helped them. (I believe the little shadow morph was her master, Shirley, who didn't actually die.) But there are still some sobering things to think about. Edward and his two helpers were not banished or removed from their positions. They could hatch another plot against Kate and the others anytime. Also, we have a long way to go before Kate can hope to free the "living dolls" from their slavery. The Shadows House is quite a foe to contend with, and the Great Grandfather is unnervingly powerful. I look forward to season two!
Spy X Family: Episode 13 (2nd Cour: Episode 1)
The second cour of Spy X Family begins with a bang. A very big, fluffy bang. This episode introduces the fuzzy canine wonder we will soon know as Bond. It was an exciting episode with a lot of action and, as usual, comedy. Anya was almost killed by terrorists, but Bond helped her survive until Yor got there with the metaphorical big guns. There was also some really nice animation for the running scenes and in general with the way movement looks in this anime. Great episode!
Summertime Render: Episode 13
The second half of the series has begun. The new opening songs sounds great. I much prefer it to the first. In this episode, we learned the unfortunate truth that Haine can follow Shinpei through his time leaps. She and the four-armed shadow monster killed everyone as soon as they got to Shiori's house. Luckily, Ushio sliced off Shinpei's head so he could loop again. But before beginning the next loop, Shinpei and Ushio start seeing some memories from when Hizuru was younger. I'm very interested in the friendship between teenage Hizuru and Haine. As usual with this show, I'm excited for more!
Note: People in the comments have been endlessly comparing this new anime to Re:Zero and Steins;Gate. My opinion on the matter is that it's way better than Re:Zero. Whether or not it's better than Steins;Gate tho, I'm not sure. Steins;Gate was such an important anime to me that I don't think anything could ever replace it in my mind. However, I'm perfectly willing to admit that Summertime Render is extremely enjoyable and well-made.
Hoshi no Samidare
(Lucifer and The Biscuit Hammer): Episode 13
Watching this anime is painful, and I don't mean because of the frequent character deaths. Not only are the visuals straight-up horrible, but the execution of plot points is also mediocre at best. There are a few nice elements of Hoshi no Samidare, including some decent comedy, two fairly interesting main characters, and enjoyable music and songs. I guess that's why I'm still watching. In addition, as badly as the execution of the plot has been, I'm still interested in seeing what happens.
Now about the character death in this episode, well, it was poorly done as well. It was even worse than the deaths in Akame ga Kill, although similar because you can predict who will die based on whose backstory is shown early in the episode. It's predictable, and I wasn't attached to the character at all either. This is aggravating.
Mob Psycho 100: Season 3 Episode 6
I wasn't expecting an episode of Mob Psycho to be so emotional, but the ending was quite moving with Ekubo's sacrifice and death. The episode was all around amazing, from colorful and dynamic fight scenes to emotional music and themes of friendship and redemption. In some ways, the events in this installment were very cliché, but they were executed well enough to still be interesting. Plus, I'm actually attached to the characters in this anime, so when they are in intense situations, it feels exciting. I'm going to miss Ekubo/Dimple a lot. Rest in peace, brave spirit.
Chainsaw Man: Episode 1
I approached it with skepticism, but the pilot of Chainsaw Man was excellent. Right away, I liked the atmosphere of the show, the interesting scenery and backgrounds, and the subdued color pallet. The opening song seriously slaps. Most of the concepts, like combining one's body with a devil, could be called unoriginal; however, a few tweaks to the usual demon boy formula kept it interesting for me, at least. The actions scenes in the first episode were good, but I was a little disappointed to see obvious 3D/CG in there. All things considered, though, it could have been a lot worse. The end result was still enjoyable.
Protagonist Denji is endearing and relatable; I will have no trouble emotionally connecting to this character, unless he seriously fucks something up. The last note I want to make is that I love the character design for the girl at the end, whose name I don't know yet. Her design, her voice, and her face expressions came together to give me the impression that I'm going to love this eccentric woman. I'm extremely excited to watch more Chainsaw Man!
Thanks for reading~