Greetings, and thanks for visiting Mono's Anime Rants. Today, we're continuing my coverage of selected anime series from 2022. Please enjoy my responses below!
Shadows House: Season 2 Episode 3
It was a chaotic episode of Shadows House this time. The rejoicing party was ruined by the appearance of an army of soot scorches that ended up combining into a phantom. It was fun to see Emilico and company fight the phantom and use the giant vacuum cleaner. But all fun and games aside, something very serious is going on. Several children were infected with soot sickness, including Mia and Rosemary. Returning them to their senses is bound to be difficult. There's more as well.
The mysterious figure from the reports seems to be involved with the appearance of the phantom. Plus, someone manipulated the Belle Twins into breaking the containers of soot coffee. This suggests that whoever is behind this is trying to fight against the slavery and indoctrination of the children. But this might not be the best way to fight. I also wonder if Rum is involved in any of this. I'm looking forward to more clues next week.
Spy X Family: Episode 16 (Second Cour Episode 4)
This episode of Spy x Family was divided into two parts. The first part was about Yor taking cooking lessons from her cranky coworker Camilla. It's always a delight to see more of Yor, but personally, I'm extremely tired of the tough-woman-is-a-bad-cook trope in anime. It's so overused and unoriginal. Anyway, the second part of the episode was about Loid's friend Franky and how he tries to get a date. Naturally, it doesn't work out, but Loid buys him drinks and they hang out at the bar to feel better. Honestly, compared to the first three episodes of the second cour, this fourth episode was a bit of a letdown. Hopefully, the next installment will be an improvement.
Summertime Rendering: Episode 16
As usual, Summertime Rendering was thrilling and intriguing. Now with Shadow-Mio on their side, Shinpei and company explored the hospital and morgue. The shadow who was there got away with the original Ushio's body, but there was a still a small victory for our heroes. They found Dr. Hishigata and were able to get some new information out of him, including the fact that if Haine is eliminated, all shadows will die. The old doctor also knows the original identity of Shide. Hopefully, we'll learn some kind of clue about how to defeat him. This episode was an important one for the Hishigata family, especially for Sou and Tokiko. I'm glad Tokiko survived.
Hoshi no Samidare
(Lucifer and The Biscuit Hammer): Episode 16
Roughly half of this episode focused on getting to know Subaru and Yukimachi. They wished for each other's happiness, which I thought was very cute. I hope they stay friends and partners for as long as possible. The other half of the episode showed us a little bit about Taiyo, the Owl Knight. He wants the world destroyed, and he became an Ally of Animus. We don't know exactly why. I assume it has something to do with his bad family life, but the details are unclear. Additionally, Taiyo befriended the intelligent golem, Maimakterion. I found this golem boy highly interesting. He'll probably be killed off soon, though.
Mob Psycho 100: Season 3 Episode 9
Normally, I'm not into school drama/ romance, but since I care about Shigeo, I was able to stay interested in this episode. Shigeo's childhood friend and crush, the beautiful Tsubomi Takane, is moving away. This makes Shigeo realize he needs to hurry and confess his feelings. All of his friends support his efforts to prepare, and he soon arranges a meeting with Tsubomi at the park. I was honestly shocked at what happened to Shigeo on the way there. I can't believe the show left us with an ending like that. I'm desperate to know if Shigeo is alright. You never know if an anime car crash victim is going to be magically ok with virtually no injuries, or whether he's going to have an intense struggle to survive. There's nothing to do but wait for the next episode.
Chainsaw Man: Episode 4
I had a good time with this episode of Chainsaw Man. The appearance of the Leech Devil led to another exciting, bloody battle with great visuals and movement. Speaking of the Leech Devil, she was just as hideous and terrifying as the Bat Devil. I haven't seen creepy demons of this level since I last re-watched some of Claymore. The show certainly does a good job with creating freaky monsters. This episode was also delightful for a number of other reasons, three of which I'll mention briefly. 1) Hayakawa's Fox Devil looked beautiful and badass. 2) Power and her cat Meowy are both alive and well. 3) Denji's stupidity coupled with his honesty and good-heartedness is very endearing and makes me smile.
Thanks for reading~