Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 1 review

Okay, so this is a little late, because I watched this episode 2 weeks ago. And it’s obviously late overall, since this premiered a long time ago. But who cares? I’m going through the episodes of Bleach: TYBW one by one.

The first episode is standard shounen fare. We have to get reintroduced to the characters, of course, but not before introducing two Soul Reapers who are there for the sole purpose of providing commentary to the viewer. Seriously, they have no other purpose. Their small plot in this episode is quickly forgotten once Ichigo shows up.

And boy does he ever show up! He shows up in style, alongside Uryu, Chad, and oh yes, Orihime! Now, if you know anything about me, you know that I am a diehard IchiHime shipper. When this anime finally reaches its conclusion and we get the IchiHime scenes of a lifetime, I am going to jog the bases after a home run as slowly as possible to take it all in. Ichigo & Orihime are together again, and it is so beautiful.

What happened in this episode again? Who cares? The characters we know and love are back. Somewhere, in the Squad 13 barracks, Rukia is clenching her fists at me. But it’s nothing personal, Rukia. You know I love you too, but only with the pineapple.

Best girl of the episode: Orihime (what, did you think I was picking the random new Soul Reaper?)

Episode rating: 8/10

Spice & Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf episode 5 review

So! (Sajak style) Lawrence spends about 10 minutes of this episode talking economics. Which are great and all, except when your future wife has been captured. After he finally comes to an agreement on how to rescue her, he and his pals pull off one of the easiest rescue missions I have ever seen in an anime. It was about as seamless as Luke Skywalker dropping down into the Millennium Falcon where Lando Calrissian was waiting. There was no drama, no excitement, just a quick rescue.

And perhaps because it was so easy, Holo wasn’t grateful in the least bit to Lawrence. Which shouldn’t be surprising given that her character has been anything but “wise,” but still is surprising because she should have been at least a little bit thankful. Anyway, life goes on, and now we find out what next will happen in our little romance between a man and a wolf.

Not the best of episodes, but surely not the worst, either.

Best girl of the episode: Holo until someone else shows up

Episode rating: 6/10

Kaiju No. 8 episodes 11 and 12 review

A weird thing happened when I came to place the body of the show Kaiju No. 8 in its casket – the corpse came back to life. Strangely enough, the botched reveal didn’t completely kill the show, although it certainly wounded it. But the final two episodes of season 1 actually made it so that I may yet watch season 2 after all.

While I didn’t pay much attention to the wild action and battling, as I find that stuff to be quite boring, I did like the way each of the characters got their necessary development in order for me to be able to say that they aren’t just all cliche. Even the guy whose only word is “Sir” seemed to improve. Mina might be the only one who’s not growing, partially because she’s been placed in the Levi role of this series. But I finally feel like this show has come together in a way that makes it worthy of another season.

The question might be, where does it go from here? The obvious answer is, Kaiju No. 8 fights Kaiju No. 9. It’s what happens in between there that determines whether this show goes from good to great. And yes, I am calling it “good” for now. Not great, but at least “good.” And that’s how much the final two episodes managed to sa-a-a-ave this show, because it had gone cold.

Best girl of the episodes: The girl with the glasses

Episode 11 rating: 8/10

Episode 12 rating: 8/10