The Winter Games 2018: Week 7

This post is as long as one of my standard reviews, so that’s something. We’re halfway to the end, so its a downhill ride from here. What does that even mean? I don’t know, but lets read on. 

This episode of Grancrest looks interesting. I feel like the anime is really finally developing flavor and I think the true story will start when an important character dies. I’m not sure who it will be though, because the show is just too hard to predict. Everything seems to be climaxing to a death scene though, and I think it will trigger a full scale war that people hinted at in this episode. Apparently, the Union and the Alliance are only fighting in some parts of the continent, but never really going all out. A bunch of lords fear the worst though, so they seem to be unsure of what to do. The episode opens with Theo convincing a lord in the Forbes region to join the Union. The whole point of this scene is to really build up Theo. He is the kind of guy that prefers talking over bloodshed, and he seems to hold this idealistic notion that we can all sing “kumbaya” around a camp fire holding hands together. It’s idiotic, and I believe a certain Fate Stay Night character should clue him in on how exactly the world works. His idealism is commendable though, and the lord sworn allegiance to him. Contrast to New Dude who massacred a castle, Theo conquered a place without spilling blood. Of course, this impressive showcase of diplomacy is immediately offset by a scene where blood is spilled. Lassic destroyed a dude, and it was horrific.

I was a bit caught off guard, because we usually build up to these gory scenes but the anime seems to be getting impatient itself. I also notice that this anime seems to proceed on a non-episodic principle. Yeah, there is an overall story and it is episodic, but, no, not really. I mean, we were supposed to see Lassic and Theo invade the region. The last episode build that up, but now it’s immediately brushed to the side to make way for new stuff. This means that you can’t expect some solid continuation from this anime, because it’ll always give you something new each week. I don’t really care at this point, and it doesn’t help my prediction game. What happened to New Dude and the pink haired cleric and Aishela? Are they no longer part of the story? Do they have their own OVA spin off or something?

Anyways, I did like this episode because the foundation for the massive story seems to be slowly being formed. We saw Alexis, the groom, in the first episode and I love how he contrasts Marina, the bride. She is so aggressive and stupid, while he is so gentle and idealistic. I truly believe one of them will die, and this will launch a full scale war between the two factions. I only realized this now, but Villar and Marina are actually related. He dropped the bomb last week, but I only connected the dots now. It seems the Lords meeting will also decide if they should attack Marina’s region to give advantage to the Union. I’m excited for that, and I’m also surprised Theo met the lord of his hometown in the lord gathering. The lord seems surprised Theo is using the last name of a hero, and he seems to consider Theo a threat now. A clear picture is now being painted, and I believe the story is, indeed, about to get very interesting. But again, someone needs to die. I just don’t know who.

The last part of the anime is an assassination attempt, and it happened fast. It seems the lord of Theo’s hometown tried to end Theo’s campaign, but he didn’t realize Alexis was also there. Theo and Siluca now seem confident they have a trump card for the upcoming lord meeting or whatever. It seems the important chess pieces are finally being played, and we are getting a solid idea of what the chessboard looks like. Villar seems to be an expendable chess piece though, but I think Alexis is a vulnerable king too. He literally cannot do anything, while the opponents’ queen is anxious to take him out. Irvin is also a shady character, since I do still expect a heel turn from him. He is a valuable chess piece, but I don’t know who he belongs too. Meanwhile, Lassic seems to be relegated into a background character, so that’s sad. I think the only ones I’m not sure about are the involvement of New Dude and the chaos monsters. Will they crash the lord meeting? Will they be the one to kill an important character to launch the war? Seriously, someone help me.

Notable Characters in this episode

This dude, I…..I….I want to meme him.

Phew, ok then.

Theo is slowly becoming the main character we expect him to be, but his story usually involves the death of a mentor or a loved one, so really, someone should just die now. I do think he gets points for taking a castle through his diplomacy skills. Siluca was on support, but it was Theo that scored the point.

Alexis is such an interesting character. He seems to be as idealistic as Theo, and I think it’ll be his demise. Still, he does have strong feelings for Marina and I find that adorable. I hope he doesn’t get thrown into the background like Lassic, because I think he’ll do well in this chess game.

Plot Related: Marina and Alexis will meet

Character Related: There will be shouting at the lord meeting

In a surprising turn of events, the old dude from last week is actually Rin’s grandfather! Ohmygawd, what a twist!

He apparently gave the camping bug to Rin, and I find that adorable. Anyways for this week, nothing much happened, again. We mostly got the same thing from last week, including a huge amount of food for Rin and Nadeshiko. They ate a lot, and I’m seriously concerned about them now. I’m usually enticed to eat the same food they are indulging in, but they overdid it with the food. They ate all their grilled stuff, they also ate Nadeshiko’s mini-pot and some jambalaya given by their next door camping buddies. I can understand Nadeshiko eating that much, but even Rin ate a lot. These kids are going to kill themselves. I can feel my blood pressure rising from the amount of meat they indulged in. It’s even grilled meat, and it actually reminds me of my co-worker. When he eats red meat, grilled and over 1 pound, he already has his heart medication at his side because he knows he’s body can’t take it, but he wanna ride the fast train to wherever, lol. Ah, hedonism is a sin.

Anyways, we also got a male camper in this episode. The first dude camper, and I actually thought it was the short haired character, the one with the dog, and I was legitimately surprised it was actually a dude. I hope he comes back, maybe take his shirt off or something. Nothing happened in this episode. Let me just ramble on. He did help the duo with their grill, and I actually lost some points when his drunk sister was the one that scared Rin. See, I thought it was the Outdoor club member, and I also thought it was Nadeshiko that would be scared by a ghost. Damn this show. It’s actually 50% eating and 40%camping, and 10% slice of life at this point, lol. I guess I should just put food and camping in my predictions.

Best moments in the episode

• They talk about Binchoutan being great, and I keep being distracted. I know Binchoutan as an anime, not as a type of charcoal. The anime is also a trippy slice of life anime, so maybe this show is doing a double nod.
• Nadeshiko is so adorable. She bundles herself up in a cute manner, she applied face lotion in a cute fashion and she even did the zen portion of the anime in such an adorable way. I love this character so much. Probably my top three next to Mix and Tsubame.
• I feel like the studio created this character specifically for Irina. Do you like the show yet, Irina?!
• Oh wait, she’s a teacher? Hell yes! I like her too.
• Chestnut-kun made his debut, and it robbed of an opportunity to have my Pinecone-chan prediction to happen. It’s still adorable though.
• The anime built up the whole ghost thing, and I felt like the payoff wasn’t as satisfying. Seeing Rin panicked and sleeping in Nadeshiko’s tent is adorable, but I felt like we needed more than that. I was hoping Nadeshiko would run towards the lake, or something.
• Again, Rin said a mean word but the director pulled away and shows us her back.

Plot Related: Rin wants to study but will be interrupted

Character related: Characters will visit a convenience store

Oh boy, this episode was painful.

Oh boy!!!! This episode was painful!!!!!

Ok, so the Sanrio Rangers has finally gathered, and the episode is actually pretty empty. There are only two things to talk about here. Let’s get it out of the way first and mention Puroland. Sweet, glorious, product placement or is it advertising? The entire thing is cringe inducing as f*ck. The entire sequence of the group visiting Sanrio Puroland looks so lazy. The animation is practically not existent, and none of the actual attractions are given some sort of flair. If this was an advertisement for the theme park, or whatever it is, then the show did a horrid job of promoting it. Like this scene:

Lazy as f*ck! It’s a f*cking photograph, and it’s kinda pathetic that the characters are the only one riding it. You can’t draw kids in the background laughing or something? You can’t feature background characters of families or friends actually enjoying the ride along with the characters? Like, really? This is just really awful to watch. This is an animated show, so why isn’t the “animated” portion being respected? I’m actually fine with the characters visiting Puroland, but I really wanted to see how wonderful the theme park is. Instead, the entire thing looks rundown and lonely. I expected Amaburi characters sharing beers with the mascots of this theme park. Ohmygawd, kill me.

It also had this scene of an actual play or something, and it’s about people having three hearts. I was cringing, honest to goodness, I was cringing as hard as I can. Jesus Christ, they lazily drew over actual photographs of the performance and just made stills of it. They couldn’t even bother to give us audience POVs to help sell the painful play. Nope, just a really boring presentation of what looks like a “fun” experience. How many episodes left?! I want to get off this ride now. It seems evident the animation quality is really slipping, and it’s really heartbreaking to see it go on a sharp decline week after week.

Anyways, the other part of the episode involves Kouta apparently overcoming a personal conflict that the anime didn’t even bother to setup. We did get a resolution though, because I do believe we are going to get a play out of these characters. I think they’ll do the one in the first episode where Kouta was stabbed or something. Either way, it’s going to be painful. I know we’ll get an episode featuring the stage play, and I know it’ll be painful to watch as well. I’m not sure how Sanrio will tie to their performances though. I honestly don’t care, because I just want to finish this series and run away from it.

To be fair, the episode is adorable if you’re willing to forgive the animation that seems to be cobbled up by a bunch of dogs. I have a certain standard for my animation, and this episode is really seven notches below that. It’s excruciating to watch, because I look at the scene and I know it could be improved. I also know no one bothered to really put effort and improve it. There is a “child inside of us” theme for this episode that the anime really botched. It could’ve improved this episode, and the anime altogether, so it’s something I just find unforgiveable. You created an anime for a target niche audience and you didn’t give enough care to cater to them. I am so annoyed. I respect anime and animation in general, so I just cannot forgive lazy outputs like this. If this was my student, I’d give the project back, sit him down, look him in the eye and tell him to try harder. You owe it to yourself to try harder. Don’t give this anime a pass for its lazy output, because you, dear audience, owe it to yourselves to invest in something that tries harder.

I do legitimately want the hats with ears they have on. Is that a hair band? If I go to Puroland, will they give me one for free? I’m adding that to my bucket list…..but holy sh*t, WAIT A F*CKING MINUTE!!!! WHY IS KERO KERO NOT IN THIS ANIME?! YOU’RE TELLING ME YOU CAN PUT THAT DESSERT DOG BUT GIVE A PASS TO KERO?! F*CK THIS ANIME. KERO KERO IS AN INSTITUTION. THERE ARE f*CKING SHRINES BUILT FOR KEROPPI!!!!! BUT HE’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THIS SHOW!!!!! THAT’S IT!!! I’M DONE!!!!! I AM DONE!!!!! NO MORE!!!!! I WANT. TO GET OFF. THIS RIDE!!!!!

Plot Related: The Sanrio Rangers will eat lunch together (all five)

Character Related: Seme will look at uke while smiling

Anyways, you can tell I’m having fun with this collab game. Read up on the other players to see how much they are enjoying the game as well.

Check out Irina’s post HERE, HERE and HERE

Leap’s post HERE

and AstralGemini’s post HERE

For some reason, a lot of people are enjoying the collab analysis I have with Keiko, but everyone is agreeing with her. Which means, I suck and I’ll just play the most awesome devil’s advocate as we talk about the sixth episode HERE.