Why I Dropped 'Battery'

Meet Takumi Harada—not even in junior high and he's the best pitcher in the region, although he's frustrated and ready to give up, because he can't find a catcher who is good enough to keep up with how he pitches in this backwater town his family has just moved to. Then along comes a kid named Gou Nagakura...

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Since I didn't have enough summer 2016 anime to start a new First Episode Test post, I decided to rant on the first episode of 'Battery' instead.

I'm not a huge fan of sports anime. The only sports anime I like is 'Haikyuu', and it's one of my favorite animes. It sets a high standard for other sports anime. I constantly compared 'Battery' to 'Haikyuu'. Which I shouldn't but did anyways.

I have a lot of problems with 'Battery'. Too many that outweigh the positives. But the one positive made me have hope for this anime. That's why I put it on hold/dropped.

The main problem I have with this anime is Harada. He's such a douche. I refuse to say anything less. He's unbelievably rude. Not only to his brother but also his mother and Go. And none of them did anything to wrong him. He's so sassy, and I doubt there are Japanese kids that sassy TO THEIR PARENTS. It's so rude that I can't believe the writer thought that was okay. He's constantly in a bad mood, and I wanted to yell at him and shake him senseless. He made me so mad. 
And his face...it just looked strange next to Go's. There was something off, and I think it was his eyes. The rest of his face was fine. Really.

Another problem is his brother Seiha. Almost all his lines were obvious statements. "Oh, look. It's snow. It's cold." No duh, dude. Snow is cold. He needed a lesson in 'things that aren't redundant to say'. 
Plus, no offense to the seikyuu, but his voice made my skin crawl. It was so awkward.

And the only redeeming quality. Go.
He was amazing. He was nice and funny. And reminded me of Daichi from 'Haikyuu'. Which is a good thing. I loved his character. I only watched this episode to the end because of him. His unbridled hope was overpowering. I wanted more from him. Especially if he changes Harada's bad attitude.

Overall, I couldn't stand much of this anime. I might return to it later. Or not.

Are you watching 'Battery'? What are your thoughts?

Love Your Mother: 'Your Lie in April' Episode 13 Analysis

I just finished the thirteenth episode of 'Your Lie in April'. You know, the show everyone says rips out your heart? Yeah, that one.
Out of the thirteen episodes I've seen so far, this one hit me the hardest. Not Kousei and Kaori on the stage playing together for the first time. Or Kousei realizing he loves her. Nope. This episode where Kousei faces his fears.

We used to see Saki (Kousei's mother) as a demon. She was the evil mother who forced Kousei Arima to break. She pushed him to be so perfect. But we all know that perfection is impossible. Not without losing your soul.

But in this episode, we got to see Saki as a human being. Not a monster or a demon. She was a mother. She was a loving person. It was a complete reversal of earlier episodes where she yelled at Kousei and all.
Remember the iconic scene of Kousei being slapped so hard by Saki and him telling her to die? Well, we got to see the next part. The part after Kousei exits. And gosh, it hurt my heart.

We got to see Saki as a person who just wanted the best for her son. And isn't that what all parents want?
Saki brought up a point like this. (Not an exact quote but the general idea.) She wondered if Kousei could do music full-time, as a professional pianist. Of course, people can do this, but they have to be good. So she forced him to play exactly as it said. And this really changed my view on her. She was trying so hard to be a good mom. Maybe she seemed harsh. But it was for the better.

We also saw Kousei change. He used to hate his mom.
Then this episode came around. And he understood her. And he understood himself. It changed a lot. I started to see his change. Not just the 'playing piano' change. But changing emotionally.

If this is any indication, I cried so hard during this episode. Not teary eyes. Full frontal crying. And, man, was it rough.

What are your thoughts on this episode? Did you cry too?

How Episode 17 of 'Magi: Labyrinth of Magic' Made Me Cry So Hard

Aka a picture of me during the end of this episode

Oh my god. I just watched this episode. To get an idea of how much of a rollercoaster it was, I'll tell you this: I ended up crying and laughing at the end of the episode.

Here's a bit about the episode if you forgot or something. By the way, SPOILER ALERT.
We're in Balbadd, Alibaba's home country.  We have the Fog Troupe that attacks nobles and government officials in the fog. Aladdin and Sinbad and Morgiana go to fight the Fog Troupe, but they discover Alibaba, and his childhood pal Kassim, are in charge.
Of course, things are thrown off course by the Kou Empire's arrival and want to annex Balbadd. The king Ahbmad is a weakling who succumbs to the wants of riches and gold and accepts this annexation. Ahbmad is to marry a Kou princess and sign an agreement to hand over his people as slaves to the Kou empire.
The people, though, are thirsty for blood, and the Fog Troupe prepares to attack. Alibaba, on the other hand, sides with Sinbad and Aladdin on a mission for peace. He tries many different strategies, including trying to talk to the king, but none work.
His last solution is to announce a republic and tear down the agreement. The Kou princess agrees, but the king is reluctant to give up his power. He finally does, but Kassim comes in with his weapon of smoke/fog and turns into a monster. Alibaba has to defeat the Kassim demon...but can he?

And that's a short recap of the goings-on so far. Now, onto the episode itself.

Aladdin has returned from his comatose state and comes to help Alibaba. He's been out of commission for a good few episodes after trying to help Alibaba and that group fight the other magi Judal. His magoi was depleted, and Ugo seemed to be lost to him. He, of course, is fine and is just resting. Aladdin returns and gives Alibaba (who has little to no magoi left) some power. This power helps Alibaba go through the black demon and to its heart--where Kassim is. And this is where I get emotional. Kassim acknowledges his faults and his reasoning for this whole mess (which can be pinned on him.) And this scene crescendos to this masterpiece of light and sound.
And Kassim is saved.

And that's what happened in this episode. So why do I care so much?

The thing that hit me the most about this episode was not the magic but the emotions behind the episode. Sure, Judal and Aladdin had lots of fun destroying each other (Or trying to), but the real heart of this episode is in the connection between Alibaba and Kassim. I felt so many emotions watching their exchange in the glassy otherworld. Kassim finally opening up to Alibaba was a knife to the heart.
There were so many things he did wrong, but he did have a good heart. Really. I know that the show might try to paint him as a villain, but he had this good heart. And it showed.
We got to see his change from cocky to open in this episode, and it really resonated with me. I know not everyone is as open as they should, but Kassim really was an extreme form of closed off. If he had spoken to Alibaba more, something else would be the result.
Also, we got to see what their lives could have been if Kassim was more open. And, man, was that gorgeous. I love seeing things where the possibilities from other options are seen. (Maybe that why I love 'Steins;Gate' so much.) It really hit the nail on the head. If things HAD been different, live would have been drastically changed. (Then again...Alibaba wouldn't have met Aladdin.)

And another thing. The ending scene where Aladdin grants the dead souls a chance to be with their loved ones? I started to cry. And laugh. Because that was such a good deed. I can't even imagine.

So, overall, this episode was gorgeous. I adored it, and it really got me in love with this show. I'm not done with it yet (At least as I write this post), but I do appreciate it's awesomeness.

How Kiznaiver Episode 9 Turned the Tables

So. Episode nine of 'Kiznaiver' came out.

If you don't know about the show, here's a bit about it. (In my words.)
We have eight teenagers who live on a floating, ex-trash-dump of an island that is the site of a special experiment. The Kizuna Experiment is about creating peace by sharing pain. The eight Kiznaivers (that's what they call the lab rats--I mean subjects) represent a 'sin' as Sonozaki (the mysterious, blue-haired bombshell that is the face of the experiment) puts it. These kiddos wouldn't typically fraternize with each other in real life (minus Tenga and Katsuhira who meet before the experiment even starts.) This experiment is supposed to make them understand each other better and, hopefully, lead the experiment to greater lengths to create peace.

So far, the show had been showing the many missions the Kiznaivers had to go through. Some of the missions are as follows: introducing each other (with pain as a punishment if they didn't do it right), finding the eighth member (they started at seven in the first few episodes), and saving Maki (the blonde megane-chan who is constantly distant). Quite frankly, these missions were boring. (The exception is the Maki story. Which made my poor, little otaku feels hurt. Makiii. -wails-)
Then...episode nine came out.

It picked up where episode eight had ended. (Spoilers ahead. Just warning ya.) The Kiznaivers were in the wonderful world of thunderstorms/typhoons (I actually don't know the difference.) What's worse is that...wait for it...a love rectangle...wait...love...octagon? LOVE OCTAGON?!?! Cue my screaming. (I hate love triangles. A love octagon boggles my mind.) 
No, I'm not going to show you the MESS that is the love octagon. I die a little bit every time I think about it. No no no.

This will hopefully give you some sort of idea on this love octagon...

Back on topic.
This episode follows the reveal of the 'I know you' thing going on between Sonozaki and Katsuhira. This reveal, of course, hurts Chidori (who has a major crush on Katsuhira.) And Tenga hurts because Chidori hurts. And Nico hurts because Tenga hurts.
And basically, I summed up the main part of the love octagon. (Just saying...)

We have this massive love octagon which leads to the Kiznaivers discovering... (SPOILER ALERT) the secret 'I can hear your heart's voice' power! Bum bum bum!
Everyone's heart is SCREAMING (minus Hisomu who is smiling stupidly and sitting idly by...kidding...or am I?)

Here's where my heart breaks. 
They all collapse, which is reminiscent of earlier in the episode when the earlier Kiznaivers (you know...the child ones?) collapsed in pain. 

Now, you're probably thinking, 'Wren, why does this change how you view the series?'
It's because this scene shattered my heart. They were all screaming in pain. And I, too, felt this pain. It hurt my poor heart so much. 
The imagery is so strong. You can't help but feel pain in your heart too.
And what hits the nail on the head is Katsuhira's lack of reaction and lack of pain. (He doesn't feel the heart pain that the others feel. And this might be a sign of psychopathy.)

This episode really shows the negative effects of the Kizuna system. And I'm, now, wholly against it. Sure, it was cool at first, but this is taking it too far. If these kids (teenagers, mind you!) are basically writhing in pain and feeling their hearts shatter a million times over, what will happen if this system is unleashed on the world? A heck lot of bad. That's for sure.
Mind you, this call came about because of love and romantic entanglements. 

So, overall, this episode changed my entire perspective of the show. Sure, I didn't like it at first, but I'm now seeing the drama and absolute gorgeousness of the show. It really does show humanity's darkness and how much pain we go through every day. 
And, man, if that doesn't make you feel a bit for these characters, I'm not sure what will.