Hunter: "Remember what happened at the Night Market?"
Hunter: "Oh! This is when I inherited my staff!"
Luz: "Hunter."
Luz: "Are those, Palismen?"
Hunter: "We weren't running from the Inner Belos. He was with us the whole time."
Hunter: "What did you do to the other guards? To our family?! It wasn't wild magic, was it?"
Hooty: "Inopportune interruption, eh?"
[In a deep voice.]
Hooty: "I'll handle this."Eda: "Don't crowd them! Are you two okay?"
8/10
Eda: "Nothing can stop the Clawthorne sisters! Our rivals shall be crushed beneath our feet!"
Principal Faust: "Every year..."
[Students run and hide screaming.]
Principal Faust: "...Hexside participates in a special training program called Instructing Future Witches of Tomorrow."
Raine: "I don't know who you are, but you are a riot."
Eda: "I think I'm being used to embarrass our vice principal. As if he doesn't do that already."
Student: "My parents say if I don't come home with a ribbon, I better not come home at all."
Terra Snapdragon: "Delightful!
Raine: "I'll keep you safe, Eda. I promise."
8/10
Laya: "You smell like him."
Layla: "Why are you telling me this now?"
Yeah, why? It's been real convenient up until this point
Idk about them being together... It's fun when it's a joke, but for real it's problematic
Layla: "The Avatar would be Ammit's voice."
Steven: "...That's right."
Steven: "What are they shooting at?"
Marc: "But you also told her the truth about why I've been pushing her away. And that was unexpected."
Layla: "I'll share it with you this time, I swear."
Hippo: "Hi!"
6/10
Hunter: [Text message] "LEAVE. ME ALONE"
Amity: "I'm not going anywhere with you!
[Amity takes Luz's rune.]
Amity: "...Either of you."
Luz: "Thank you for listening. I can't wait to pick flowers with you."
Eda: "I've got my eyes on you, Blight."
9/10
Darius: "You're very good at doing exactly what you're told."
Willow: "I can do this! ...Right?"
Luz: "Back, back, back, back!"
Boscha: "You guys aren't cute! I still have more friends than you!"
Hunter: "Hey!"
Willow: "This is Gus Porter, and I'm Willow Park, future captain of Hexside's first Flyer Derby team."
Hunter: "Nice to, uh, meet you."
Viney: "Now I'm only scarred emotionally."
Hunter: "Gus, that was amazing!"
Hunter: "I can't believe I almost bailed on you guys. Today was amazing! Thanks for giving me another shot."
Hunter: "We can forget all about that when we play next time as a part of the Emperor's Coven!"
Willow: "I thought I could be good at this. ...But we're here because I made a bad call. I'm just half-a-witch Willow!"
Steve: "Steve is beginning to regret his choices."
Amity: "Tinella Nosa?!"
Darius: "You befriended them? And then you disobeyed me to protect them?"
[Hunter braces himself. Darius lands a hand on Hunter's head.]
Darius: "I'm impressed. I had you all wrong."
Hunter: "Huh?"
Darius: "You're what? 16? It's about time you had connections outside the castle."
8/10
Notes
Geslan: "Look around you."
Guard: "Why don't they stop him?!"
Daida: "Brother was fighting dirty."
Kage: "No matter what anyone else says, I think your style is just fine as it is."
Review
Wow. I'm not usually the type of guy to really like a story's beginnings, but this show has had such a strong start.
It was such a bold and unexpected choice to shift this episode's focus onto Kage's backstory, and it really makes you look at him in a different light as he becomes easier to empathise with.
I still don't understand how Bojji hadn't shown his fighting ability before or why these people think dodging = fighting dirty, but oh well, it's a nice metaphor.
This world is also very cruel.
8/10
Notes
Review
A solid start!
The entire set-up for how little others think of Boji is well-done and establishes this world quite well. No, it doesn't feel like there's a massive world out there, but it feels like there is a kingdom, at least.
Boji's entire upbeat attitude is endearing, but once you learn that he's just been holding it all in , it becomes all too real and easier to sympathise with him.
The twist at the end brings about some stellar animated action, and I'm all for it.
This show has a promising beginning, and I hope it only improves from here.
7/10
Unknown: "Have a good trip, love."
Steven: [In the knife's reflection] "Marc. Don't do it, Marc. Stop it. Stop."
Thug: "Just let us go, man."
Steven: "I swear, that wasn't me."
Marc: "Then who was it?"Khonshu: "Take him to the ledge."
Marc: "He's just a kid."
Khonshu: "He'll talk."Kid: "Praise Ammit."
Marc: "No, kid."
[Kid cuts the garment and falls.]
Khonshu: "Conspiracies to release Ammit!"
Harrow: "Take action now before it's too late."
God: "This man has committed no offence. This matter is concluded."
Marc: "So what exactly are we gonna do here? What's the plan?"
Layla: "Oh. It's not pleasant being left in the dark, is it?"
Marc: "...Okay."
6/10
Anne: "I didn't want the baby carrot sticks, mum! I didn't want them! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?!"
[Newt in car rolls up the car window.]Hop Pop: "Now I'll never make it to the cheese museum."
Anne: "No guides! People will know we're lame-o tourists."
[Polly gasps.]
Polly: "You're right! Don't wanna be like that guy."
Tourist: "Aw..."Anne & Polly: "Tails. Tails. Tails."
[Anne & Polly swing the tail store door open, clapping.]
Both: "Tails. Tails. Tails. Tails."
[The Store Worker joins in.]
Anne, Polly & Store Worker: "Tails. Tails. Tails. Tails. Tails. Tails. Tails!"Polly: "I just thought of a better name. An-olly."
Hop Pop: "Aw, that's not better."
Sprig: "It's worse, actually."
Anne: [Crying.] "'Ann-olly. I... I love it!"Marcy: "Aw, dang it! Tell me that tapestry wasn't hundreds of years old."
Andrias: "Oh, way older than that, actually."
Marcy: [Faintly.] "No!"
7/10
Steven: "It's like Area 51, like MI6 bonkers, bruv. Yeah?"
Steven: "I did find things hidden in my flat. I swear. I'm not— I'm not joking."
Khonshu: "Give it back, you fool."
Officer: "Of course you didn't, 'Steven'."
Arthur: "It's all right, it's all right. That's all he can do without your help. Come."
Arthur: "You're a vegan, right?"
Steven: "Yeah."
Arthur: "Yeah, so am I."
Arthur: "I was his former Avatar. Before you, I was his fist of vengeance."
Arthur: "She's out there, waiting, longing to be freed."
Steven: "Hi."
Arthur: "While the cruel masses deserve to face her judgement. And in the wake of their screams, evil eradicated."
Steven: "What about a child? Would she kill a child for something they might do in 30 years?"
Arthur: "...I'm glad you mentioned that."
Steven: "Sorry, is that... Is that what... You're all into that, like, killing children and that? Maybe that's just me, but that's... I kind of draw a line there at child murder."
Marc: "Oy, Steven, what the hell are we wearing?"
Steven: "So this is what it's like? Being on the inside?"
Marc: "...Yeah."
Steven: "It's horrible."
Marc: "It's all right. You're all right."
Steven: "...I feel like I can scarcely move."
Marc: "It's all right, just breathe through it. It gets easier."
Steven: "How long you been doing this?"
Marc: "I don't know. It's... A long time."
Marc: "SHUT! UP! YOU! SHUT! UP!"
Review
Quite the improvement. I'll be honest, I forgot everything that happened in the last episode, but I think I'll remember this one for a while.
Steven's conflict between him and Marc, him and Layla, and him and Arthur is good. Unfortunately, it seems the antagonists are just "the flaw in our ideology is that we kill people", which appears to be the standard MCU trope.
Otherwise, I'm glad we dived into the plot straight away this episode, got exposition and got the coolest moment of Marc stamping out Steven.
7/10
Chuck: "Wow, kid. That was cold."
7/10
Kid Cosmic: "Not in the road. Stay safe, citizen!"
Kid Cosmic: "Maybe it's out of juice?"
"Accident Claims Parents"
Jo: "I hate meditating!"
Kid Cosmic: "Oh, it's not so— Bad! So, so bad!"
Jo: "You gonna blast me? You gonna blast me? Or are you too chicken?"
[Jo clucks.]
Alien: "I have no idea what that means, but it sounds offensive. You are so dead!"
6/10
Hop Pop: "There she is, gang. Newtopia."
Hop Pop: "That's one cool newt."
[Stranger falls.]
Hop Pop: "Oh."
Sprig: "Been there."
Polly: "Didn't really stick the landing."Marcy: "Are they your surrogate frog family? Did they find you and take you in? Ugh! I love the found family trope!"
Marcy: "The greatest JRPG of all time! Have you played it? Do you wanna play it? Do you want to borrow it? Just say the word and I'll lend you my copy. Man, it'll change your LIVES!"
Sprig: "Oh, come on, guys. Surely you don't trust this 'Marcy' person."
Hop Pop: "I do."
Polly: "With my life, actually."Hop Pop: "Marcy, how'd you like to be adopted?"
Anne: "I don't want to lose you again."
8/10
Sasha: "Okay, so first of all, this beard and burping situation? Unacceptable! Secondly..."
[Sasha turns her head.]
Sasha: "Wait. Do you hear that?"
Sasha: "Ha! Some general you are. Where's your army?"
Yunnan: "I had an army once."
[Yunnan slashes. Two dummies and several trees fall.]
Yunnan: "They slowed me down."
[Sasha turns toward Grime, slowly.]
Sasha: "Oookay. We're leaving now."
[She grabs Grime and runs.]
8/10
[Hop Pop bursts open the doors. Anne screams.]
Hop Pop: "Anne! The play's a distraction for a bank robbery! On one hand, that's awful. But on the other hand we need to support the arts, right?"
Anne: "What? No! They're using you to commit crimes. You can't just pretend you don't know that."
Hop Pop: "Hm. I probably could. I'm a very good actor, you know? Thanks for the advice, Anne!"
[Polly opens the window.]
Polly: "Anne! I love you girl!"
Anne: "I love you, too, dude!"Hop Pop: "I got ya! I got ya!"
[Renee faceplants.]
Hop Pop: "Oops. Kind of misjudged that arc."Anne: "Movies are better!"
8/10
Anne: "Hey, Polly, we just wanted to say we understand—"
Sprig: "Shh. She's napping. You never bother Polly while she's napping."
Anne: "Oh... well, we'll just talk to her when she wakes up, then."
Sprig: [Whispers] "Neeeverrr."Polly: "I guess I live here now! Starting over from scratch. I don't know no one, and no one knows me!"
[Soggy Joe walks by.]
Soggy Joe: "How's it hanging, Polly?"
Polly: "Sup, Soggy Joe?"Speedy Joe: "Sorry to interrupt, but do you guys need a tow to the next stop? Betcha they'll have everything you need to fix up your wagon."
Anne, Hop Pop, Polly & Sprig: "Fwagon."
Speedy Joe: "Is that a word?"
8/10
Sprig: "Man, this stinks!"
Sprig: "Seriously?!"
Hop Pop: "Hey, hey, I just enforce the rules. I don't make 'em."
Anne: "You did make them! They're called Hop Pop's Road Rules!"
Hop Pop: "Darn straight. And I stand by them!"
7/10
Sprig: "Hey! I'm here bestie too! I guess that makes me your bestie-in-law!"
[Sprig laughs.]
Sasha: "Does it?"
[Sprig frowns, laughing awkwardly and coughs.]
Sprig: "Did ya'll feel that?"Sprig: "Hey, everyone! This is a sham! We're not guests. We're prisoners!"
Sasha: "Oh, she's totally freaking out."
[Cut to the banquet hall.]
Wally: "I'm totally freaking out!"
Hop Pop: "Well, it's a good-looking poster, though."
Wally: "Just a little gift for our generous hosts."
Toad Guard: "Hey, that's mine!"
Anne: "Thanks for believing in me, Sprig."
Sprig: "Spranne against the world!"
Hop Pop: "Eh, I never liked that guy."
Sasha: "Hey, Anne? Maybe you're better off without me?"
9/10
Hop Pop: "A Plantar, Frog of the Year, I'm so proud."
Anne: "Sprig, you have the most important job of all: the spectacle!"
Sprig: "Oh, my frog, oh, my frog, oh my frog!"
Anne: "At the party..."
[Sprig squeals.]
Anne: "You're gonna tell Ivy how you feel about her."
[Sprig frowns.]
Sprig: "Wha— Huh?"
Polly: "I'm just kidding, Wally. Get in there!"
Wally: "Validation!"
Ivy: "Oh, hey, Sprig."
Loggle: "At least the party's lit now, Anne."
Anne: "You were right about me, Mayor. I am selfish. I got so obsessed with proving I deserve this, I ruined everything. I'm not Frog of the Year. Why did anyone even vote for me?"
Hop Pop: "Anne, we didn't vote for you because you're flawless. Eh, far from it. We voted for you because of how far you've come. You've grown so much in your time here, and this town just wouldn't be the same without you."
Grime: "Nice to finally meet you, Anne Boonchuy."
8/10
Pim: "The enchanted forest? O-oh my, god. I LOVE THE ENCHANTED FOREST!"
Hobbit: "Away with you, you nasty, rotten thing!"
Pim: "What's going on here? Charlie knows how much I love the enchanted forest."
Princess: "Oh, hello there. How can I help?"
7/10
This show is terrifying, man. Wtf.
5/10
Stranger: "Whoa. Is that fucking black face, dude?!"
Monster: "No no no no! This isn't black face I'm an actual demon."
6/10
Notes
Stranger: "No, you're bloody useless unless you're actually doing what you're paid to do, which is to sell these to children."
Steven: "Got it."
Steven: "Sorry."
Steven: "What am I doing? What am I doing? I don't even have my license."
Steven: "Charming."
Voice: "Truck, stupid!"
Steven:"What?!"
Voice: "Truck!"
Steven: "Sorry, what day is it today?"
Waiter: "Sunday, sir."
Steven: "No... Is it...? Really?"
Arthur: "By even her own Avatar."
Steven: "'Avatars.' Blue people. Love that film.
Arthur: "By avatar, I mean..."
Steven: "You mean the anime?"
Marc: "Steven. You gotta give me control."
Review
Somehow watching a guy be confused for forty minutes was very entertaining.
Already the cinematography, colour grading, the acting, the sets; everything looks and feels way more visceral and tangible than the usual MCU fest. No, it didn't blow me away, but it's solid enough to really stand out, in my opinion.
Overall, a good start. Plenty of mystery, tons of conflict, and we get to follow a non-rich character. That's nice.
Also, at the end of the credits, they link the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Just thought that was cool.
7/10
Charlie: "Let's start by getting some sunlight in here."
[Shrimp screams.]
Charlie: "Whoa! Okay, I'm sorry. We'll start small."
Customer: "Number 15. Could I get the number 15?"
Shrimp: "How do I look, yellow man?"
Charlie: "Y-you look like you're about to tell your friend not to come to school tomorrow, man."
Charlie: "Pim, her name was Shrimpena. She'd be a shrimp."
Pim: "I did think that for a moment. I just thought it was like a quirky like you didn't expect she was gonna be a human thing."
7/10
Charlie: "What's up with the gun?"
Desmond: "Oh, nothing. I was probably gonna use it to shoot myself or something."
Charlie: "Look, Pim, I know it's our job to help this guy and everything, but I think this guy's a lost cause."
Desmond: "Okay, but if you can't help me. I'm gonna f*ing shoot myself and make you two watch."
**Pim: "Okay, not sure about that, but yay!"Desmond: "That... felt... good."
7/10
Hooty: "It is so nice to be surrounded by all of Lulu's dearest friends."
Coven Scout: "Yeah! All hail Lulu!"Lilith: "All I ever got to do was desk work while she goofed off riding wild snake horses and..."
[Luz gasps.]
Luz: "'Snorses'!"
"HISTORY'S TOP 10 PLOT HOLES"
Eda: "Back in the day, I was a bit of an urban-legend junkie. Twigfoot, Lender Man, possums."
Luz: "Those are real."
[Eda snorts.]
Eda: "Yeah, sure, kid."
"If encounted in the forest, do NOT approach. Seriously outsized sense of own importance. They'll be super eager to know 'What the kids are saying about the legend of Twigfoot these days.' They'll get all offended if you haven't heard any and act like you're just really out of the loop and uncool. ACCORDING TO LORE, the name 'Twigfoot' comes from their foot, which is made out of twigs."
"As you approach the teller's window, a figure welcomes you with open arms...so long, they're so long. Too long.
But the terms he's offering you are too good to pass up, the pile of snails too tall, the interest rate too tempting! You don't know what's come over you, you accept on the spot.
And that's when you realise the figures you saw were nothing but an introductory rate. You reach for the snails in your own pocket, but they're already gone. Now they belong to...
THE LENDERMAN."
Lilith: "Was it my tools? Are they broken?"
[Lilith takes off her glasses and sniffles.]
Lilith: "Am... I... broken?"
Lilith: "Stupid rock!"
Luz: "This doesn't look dangerous."
Hooty: "Hiya, Eda! Your pops is such a nice guy. Say, how'd he get that scar on his—?"
Lilith: "Eda's gonna kill me! Eda's gonna kill me! Eda's gonna kill me!"
Dell: "And give Owlbert my regards. Carving him with you is one of my dearest memories."
Philip: "It doesn't matter."
8/10
Luz: "This is a world of magic and beauty. Just look!"
Luz: "Aw, Amity. You're the sweet potato."
Luz: "Hmm."
Edric: "I call it the 'Ed Ricochet 11'. That's how many times I was sent to the Healing Coven."
King: "Ooh! Wait, are these legal?"
Edric: "Would that you more or less interested in buying them?"
King: "Hmm."
Amity: "I'm glad we can be like this again."
Raine: "You know I hate these things. Talking to people. Waving to people. People."
Kikimora & Raine: "Eugh!"
Scout: "Kill that monstrosity!"
Hooty: "Haha! Not the first time I've heard that! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoot!"
Scout: "Head witch, are you hurt?"
Raine: "No, not badly."
Luz: "Amity, now!"
Amity: "But I can't help if I don't know what's going on."
Luz: "And I thought if I helped Kikimora maybe there'd be hope for me."
Belos: "I've always hidden my face out of fear, but because of your support, I can finally take off this mask."
7/10
Luz: "You!"
[Other Luz screams.]
Number Five: "I'm a basilisk, and technically, I— I shouldn't exist. My kind went extinct a long time ago. But we were brought back. They wanted to know how we drained magic."
Stranger: "I'll expose your vile plans on Mew-Tube and finally get my account verified."
Jacob Hopkins: "Usually I don't take it out for just anyone, but what the heck!? If I'm gonna be working with the government, I might as well show off a little!"
Luz: "Staying here was the best decision I ever made!"
Camila: "You... chose... to stay there?"
Luz: "Oh— uh..."
8/10
Eda: "Willow, Goops, watch over Luz. She thinks she has snakes for arms."
Willow: "Will you guys please be quiet?!"
[Gus & Hooty stare at Willow, intimidated. Willow puts her hands together.]
Willow: "What if we played them at the same time?"
Gus & Hooty: "Ooooooaaaaaahhh!"King: "...I'm just, like, throwing it out there, but this would be a great time to bring out Harpy Eda."
Eda: "I don't know how!"
Hunter: "Don't worry. I won't pick a fight."
Hunter: "Hey! Go find a better witch to be with."
Amity: "You know, you were right. We do have a lot in common. I grew up thinking that everything was an opportunity to justify... existing, but there are people out there who won't make you feel worthless. You just... have to let yourself meet them."
[Amity offers her hand.]
7/10
A surprisingly well-thought-out episode. Although, I kind of wish this episode was a little more laid back. Going from continually low stakes to continually high stakes is quite the adjustment. I hope the season alternates more between slice-of-life chill and "WAAARRR!!!!!" but we'll see. Maybe I'll be wrong.
7/10
