Tofu’s Weekly Roundup #1

Hey guys! I’ve decided to mix things up a bit by starting a side project called Tofu’s Weekly Roundup. The point of the post is to provide small, quick thoughts on all the shows I’m currently watching (except on shows I’m properly blogging). This has been done over at Star Crossed with the Kaleidoscope idea and Metanorn with their MetaMash and MetaFap. The point to it is to provide a bigger coverage in a way that won’t be too time consuming but will still prioritize quality in terms of writing (unless I want to make a joke and etc). This will be posted on a weekly basis and can be considered a replacement for the Weekly Art posts. Other than that, let’s begin the coverage!

Binbou-gami ga! 03

Binbou ended up become more serious than funny in episode 3. In fact, episode 1 also had a mix of serious and humor to it as well, though it was more successful in making me laugh and feel moved than episode 3. Maybe I’ve gotten tired of Binbougami’s jokes but I’ve found myself to be laughing less and less. In fact, I’ve started to hate Ichiko because of how she stepped over Tsuwabuki’s family values with an elitist attitude.

Money makes the world go round and sure it allows us to obtain many things but happiness such as what Tsuwabuki’s family has is something more treasured and pure that you cannot buy. In the end, Ichiko showed a nicer side to her so that’s a plus but as for Binbougami’s future episodes, I’m not sure if serious is something they should be going for.

(Rating: 6/10)

Hyouka 13

In the midst of trying to promote the club in order to sell their Anthologies, items were being stolen here and there while our protagonist goes through cosplay photos of Chitanda (I don’t blame him, he’s a guy after all). But in all seriousness who would have interest in stealing Go stones and/or the Wheel of Fortune card? There’s most likely other items taken too but for what reason exactly? Well so far we’ve got little to no clues so we’ll have to see what unfolds in episode 14.

(Rating: 7/10)

Kokoro Connect 3

I will dare say it now that Kokoro Connect will definitely be the hidden gem of the summer season. The impression you get from episode 1 is completely different to episode 2 and 3. What was a more comedic start turned into a really beautiful and serious story about a bunch of characters – all with their own problems – swapping bodies and thus, allowing each character in the cast to experience each others pain and hopefully help each other through the obstacles that prevent them from moving forward in life.

Even as serious as it’s gotten, Kokoro Connect is still able to implement humor that could leave you bursting into tears (well… I sure was laughing really hard). This is really a show for me being the person who views characters with most importance in a series. They pushed all the right buttons to keep me going and I strongly suggest to pick this back up if you’ve dropped it at episode 1 or 2.

(Rating: 8/10)

Kuroko’s Basketball 16

Kuroko’s Basketball continues to shine as your typical shounen sports anime. Yet as typical as it is, you cannot deny how exhilarating every single gameplay you see in this awesome basketball series. Kuroko’s Basketball does it’s job getting your blood pumping every single time during a game. There’s just no stopping Seirin’s team and how well they not just work together but also with the music to show us an extreme and fancy way to play basketball.

I won’t even try to lie that I was influenced to try out Kuroko’s style in a real game. Sadly that didn’t turn out as well as I expected (figured that would happen, but it was fun while it lasted). The current game is a match between Seirin and Touhou, and it can only get better and better now that Aomine has shown up! Kuroko’s Basketball is a pure shounen sports anime and really stands out from the rest of the small-time sports series that’s been airing.

(Rating: 8/10)

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse 3

That Nepal chick is really getting at my nerves. I mean seriously, does she really need to act like such a suck up? Is there a reason why she acts like that? I can deal with the Sweden chick (I love snipers) and the Italy guy but don’t expect me to warm up to Nepal. On the other hand, I’m really liking the mech’s even though I hate CG but hopefully after all the introduction in episode 3, we’ll get to see more of the dark stuff we witnessed in episode 1 and 2 because that was what hooked me in… should I be expecting that?

(Rating: 6/10)

Natsuyuki Rendezvous 3

I continue to love Natsuyuki Rendezvous for how beautiful and relaxing it is to sit back and watch this complicated love triangle unfold. I’m not sure about you guys but I burst out laughing when Ryuusuke told Atsushi to go on a quest for seven balls. Awesome Dragon Ball Z reference is awesome. Though on the serious side, episode 3 did its job in showing Atsushi’s depair and inability to be of use as a spirit.

You can really feel his agony for being redundant in front of the person he loves. All in all, Natsuyuki continues to evoke strong emotions that can be felt through the screen. I’m only getting more and more eager to watch the next episode.

(Rating: 9/10)

Oda Nobuna no Yabou 2

I know very little to no Japanese history when it comes to Oda Nobunaga (I play Total War: Shogun 2 if that counts? No? Okay…) but I was surprised with the direction of the series. I literally thought Oda Nobuna no Yabou wouldn’t take on such a serious route but I’m glad it did. It’s actually quite interesting to see a ‘what if’ situation if all the famous leaders were female (even though when it boils down to it, it’s all for the sake of appeal). Though hasn’t history been rewritten now since Nobuna didn’t kill Nobukatsu? What will happen from now on?

(Rating: 7/10)

Space Brothers 16

Wow, this was a really crazy episode considering the whole ‘who did it?’ incidents playing out within each group. It’s been a lengthy amount of days so I could imagine the stress building up alongside even more stress from the alarm incident and the clock incident. Just how will Mutta and the gang deal with these situations? Even more important, what’s going to happen to Serika’s stomach now that there’s hardly any food left?

 (Rating: 8/10)

Sword Art Online 3

One word: moving. Episode 3 told a tale about bonds and trust amongst strangers, but also the importance of living through seeing death in such a simple way. Maybe it’s because the Black Cat’s dying in such a fast and simple way made it felt under-dramatic, but the message remained the same. I actually thought Sachi would live on so I was shocked to see her leave so fast.

Even so, her final message was nothing less than emotionally impacting for me and especially Kirito who has to shoulder on while seeing people die in front of him and lost in despair from being fooled by the revival item (it was too cruel to witness). Even so, I’m loving SWO more and more. It doesn’t just look beautiful, the characters themselves are filled with seeds waiting to blossom.

(Rating: 9/10)

Tari Tari 3

It’s only natural to run away from someone who cannot even understand English (not that Wakana’s English was anything close to being fluent, but that’s Japan for you right?) but it’s quite ridiculous seeing a buffed up man with a pet pig within such a slow paced episode. Least to say, that it was still hilarious. In fact, episode 3 was so slow that hardly anything happened.

Well… being able to see Sawa-chan in her bathers was nothing less than eye candy. Hopefully in the next episode, we’ll finally get to know what role the buff, Italian pig owner (is he Italian?) has in the series and not to mention the two old dudes that helped the Choir club gain attention at the bar.

(Rating: 6/10)