Aaaaand back to not much happening; just character gags that aren't even funny. This episode spends a considerable amount of time explaining from the humans' perspective what we've just learned about the Unknown over the last 2 episodes, so it's kind of a recap.
Don't even try to convince me that a drone from half a century in the future would do that. They'll have so many sensors and failsafes built in, tricking a drone into slicing a man's face open would be impossible.
It's about damn time the plot made some real progress instead of jumping around with no particular direction.
If you're gonna have someone the audience thinks is trustworthy turn out to be evil, it helps to…establish that they're supposed to be trustworthy. Which means, give them screen time to earn the audience's (and other characters') trust. Bad writing again.
This episode is pretty predictable until it tries to give us another hint at the overarching mystery…and then it just falls apart. Not very well written. The writers overused the "muted dialogue" trope for one episode. And let's not forget that it started out by recapping roughly a full minute of footage from the previous week.
Not keen on the main plot, but boy was it fun to see H. Jon Benjamin and Colin Salmon in the mix. Took me until the very last scene to figure out that I'd been watching Claire Danes the whole time…but it really has been too long since I last watched any Homeland.
This week on Qualidea Code: "Fuck you and your need for continuity between shots. Screw getting on the train as quickly as possible (at the end of the platform, not in the middle). Physics can kiss my ass…and what do you mean 'stop reusing footage'?!"
Aside from the technical issues (some caused by laziness, some by budgetary constraints), this is a decent character-building episode for Maihime. It's just too bad it has so many issues.
This was a refreshing improvement over the last few episodes, which were based on ridiculous premises right from the start. A grounded plot had me actually enjoying this one…until something absurd happened as a plot contrivance. I'm docking 3 rating points for ruining what would have been a solid—even great—episode with physics fuckery.
THIS IS WHAT LOVE LIVE IS ABOUT
Someone needs to brush up on their train physics. Ain't no train that can stop that quickly.
I dunno why I found Shizuru's behavior believable and Lucia's so unrealistic, but here we are. Good story, poor characterization, I think.
Silliness? Silliness. But there's plot development happening. What keeps this from being a great episode is the fact that they're trying to squeeze too much in and leaving subplots kind of half-finished to fit it all. But the ending is good!
Completely ridiculous premise that doesn't fit in at all with the rest of the series. What the hell.
I was all set to give this episode an 8 and then…oof, that flat-footed ending. Not even trying. Point off for lazy writing.
This episode in five words: Kanan actually gets screen time?!
This episode in more words: So we resolve Kanan's resistance to being an idol again, and get all the third-years to join at once, with basically no ceremony at all, all in 20 minutes. Good to see my fears about pacing were well founded. Up to now, the show's been kind of slow. Now this episode felt rushed.
Nice Alienware clone, there, Akane-chan.
Isn't this show going a bit heavy on the boob jokes?
There was something missing this week. This episode didn't have the same spark as the first several. Can't put my finger on it…
I can see why this is a classic. It's not really a story line I care for, but to hell with that; I ain't marking the score down because I didn't like the plot. I'm rating the film based on production quality and so on. It's got quality in spades.
Infrequently, I have the desire to see a movie done as a stage play, because my background is in theatre and I can't help it. This story is perfect for the stage!
I hate it so much when a mechanical failure (not resulting from damage dealt by an opponent) decides a fight.
Somehow still compelling even though there was no real suspense this week. It's actually rather neatly tied up in a bow at the end by the three remaining friends showing Naho their letters from the future.
Holy shit, Joe is a real person after all!
This film is entirely worth watching, and I feel 110% justified in my excitement for watching it—but not for the reasons I thought I'd be. It's a lot more dramatic than I expected, based on the synopsis, to say the least.
I've seen a few Turkish viewers express dismay that this film isn't wholly culturally accurate, so I cannot give it a perfect 10 (and even 9 feels high, assuming the criticisms are accurate). But it is a well constructed movie, slow-paced but thoroughly engrossing. While the characters' dress and behavior may not be true to real life, the broad commentary on Turkey's society as a whole—the state of women's rights in the country, and the society's dominant patriarchy—hold true, even according to the reviews I've read from Turkish viewers.
Not the most well-produced documentary, technically or editorially, but there's enough here to warrant a watch.
I can't get a read on Ashley. She initially seems like she wants to change the industry, but by the end she's back out there scouting new models and lying that models sent to Japan never go into debt after the audience just watched first Madlen and then Nadya get sent home over $2000 in the red.
Tempted as I am to give this episode a 10, I can't bring myself to. Takako's Engrish torpedoed that whole scene for me. It just didn't seem like something she'd actually do. :-/
But the rest of the episode, those few seconds excepted, was very good, as expected.
If there were any more twists in this episode it would be a Twizzler.
Oh look, A-RISE's counterpart has appeared. Yay?
Felt like so much fluff, tbh. I have a hunch this storyline should have been one episode—a hunch that should be much more to come, and they're stretching it out for some production reason. Or maybe they're just going for ドラマ because it's an idol show.
I don't have that much to say this week. Other than a few cute moments that managed to drag my rating up a point, this episode was pretty squarely "Meh".
Did we really need to waste screen time watching Tombstone take out the bottom seeded robot? We all knew what would happen, right? ABC should've put that time to better use. I know they're fond of cutting out matches that lack excitement to save screen time…and this would have been a perfect place to do so.
Ueda-senpai can gtfo, but we all knew that.
All but the last reveal were already pretty obvious, or heavily hinted. That didn't take away from the intensity of the scene in any case. (If you want spoilers, read @Narendran's shout.) This show is destined for Anohana-level feels, I'm calling it right now.
And the last reveal…UGH, it makes me glad that GJM got so far behind on this show, because it means there's hope I'll get to see the next episode pretty soon. CANNOT WAIT.
No freakily observant little brother this time, but we do get a good bit of character study on MC-kun and team-captain-senpai.
