Rankings for the week
1. Brotherhood
Wow, what an ending! Edward proposing to Winry on the train platform was easily my favorite moment, I about DIED when he started talking about equivalent exchange in regards to marriage. That scene was just too cute, I always thought he had the inside track to Winry's heart over his brother. May is a great consolation prize but it is a little jarring to imagine that little girl with Alphonse, isn't he much older than her? Eh, no big deal. I'm just glad that he's happy and healthy again, I never realized just how tall Alphonse really is!
Mustang is still a boss even while blind, I'm glad to see him finally facing the demons of his past head on and work to make the world a better place. I don't get what happened to Scar though, is he going to work for Armstrong now? Were his killings pardoned? I'm sure somebody here can fill me in. It was also kind of a swerve to see that old general with the glasses become Fuhrer, I thought he was a morally ambiguous character...too bad Roy didn't get the job.
Brotherhood was certainly one hell of a ride, I'm still trying to process all my thoughts on the series but it's in my top 10 of all time for sure.
2. Soul Eater
Based Star vs Mifune round 3, FIGHT! These are my two favorite characters in Soul Eater so I was absolutely enthralled by this fight. I love when we get to watch Black Star walk this tightrope between the path his father took and the one he currently lives; those brief glimpses we get into his psyche help gives the character a little more depth.
3. Samurai Jack
What the heck was I thinking as a kid not watching this show? It's incredible! The music, atmosphere, art, and simplistic story telling elements all gel together extremely well making this the PERFECT 4AM show for the block.
I had no idea 'Jack' wasn't his real name; finding that out really blew my mind. Those dogs were hilarious and Aku is a heartless jerk. Loving this show so much.
3. Naruto
Sasuke is so dreamy and Sakura actually did something useful! Well...kinda. Naruto wussing out is a big turning point in the OG series for his character development. That whole scene was executed perfectly, believe it!
Kakashi the boss with the save at the end, can't wait for Zabuza to make his move. I'm a big fan of this arc, Naruto just keeps getting better from here on out.
4. Inuyasha
I had absolutely no idea what was going on but I like what I saw. That little green guy with the staff was HILARIOUS; I think I'll be staying up late to watch this more often!
5. One Piece
Betrayaltron, Robin is gone. The straw hats are shook.
I was multi-tasking during this episode so I don't really have much to say.
6. Sword Art Online
Where do I even start? After countless episodes of hearing Yui pine for her virtual mommy and daddy I've finally reached the breaking point and want to wring that annoying AI's little neck. How did she even know where to go nside the world tree? It was like the power of love led her and Kirito to Asuna, blegh.
The whole rape scene made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I know it's just a cartoon but I still couldn't help feeling sick to my stomach watching this grown man molest an adolescent girl. I had to turn away from the TV a couple of times, it almost became too much for me at times. The tear licking, hair smelling, clothes ripping, and inappropriate touching just really got to me...
Of course Kirito saves the day after getting an encouraging pep talk from his mass murdering buddy, what a good guy! On a serious note though that whole exchange was laughable, are we really supposed to sympathize with some sick fuck who just killed thousands of innocent people for no good reason!? He literally said he forgot why he did it all in the first place during season 1. Jesus.
The whole episode started to redeem itself when Kirito predictably went hax on the rapey bad guy. That whole sequence was hilarious and the voice acting was superb. The 'OH MY GOD, KAYABA!?' line delivery was perfect, I'm still laughing thinking about it.
And for those confused, rape guy didn't die. His physical body felt extreme pain since the limiter was turned off but it's fine in the real world, Kirito didn't murder him.
One episode left.
7. Clone Wars
This show has some great shots and the CG keeps impressing me. I usually dislike Clone Wars but last night was entertaining. Ashoka is annoying though.
8. Space Dandy
I hated this episode. Space Dandy has been up and down for me but this was one of the worst ones.
So Dandy and Meow get caught up in a battle between two aliens over underwear? Okay...this plotline was incredibly weak and referenced a bunch of other material (star wars, rocky, eureka 7) in an effort to skate by.
I didn't find the jokes funny; I only laughed when the two aliens dropped rocks on their heads and started to bleed out because I was glad they were finally dying. The last 5 minutes of space surfing wasn't enough to make up for the 18 minutes of pure bullshit we had to get through to get there. It was incredibly unmemorable and I have a hard time believing people would praise Dandy so much if it didn't have a big name attached to it or was a toonami world premiere each week. I'm all about supporting the block but this show has some serious flaws and is teetering between being mediocre and bad in my opinion.
Dandy is a show that is very reliant on comedy, I think that's why it's so polarizing. If you don't like the jokes, you're gonna have a bad time. I just don't understand why the poor characterization and weak plotlines get a pass. At this point the show is all style and little to no substance.
To make an analogy, Dandy is like McDonalds for me. I crave it once a week and think it looks incredibly appetizing based off of the previews of the food shown on the menu. However, once I consume the product, I usually end up feeling terrible and crapping it out because there's simply not much substance to it. I'm left feeling bitter and wanting more from the experience but keep coming back again each week.
9. Bleach
The first half of this episode was as terrible as last week but the Ikkaku v Clonepachi fight barelt dragged it out of the unwatchable tier. I'm tired of Kon's terrible comic relief, Yumichika should have done us all a favor and killed Nozomi. Kageroza obviously needs her to complete his plan, just get rid of her already. She's a mod soul, it'll be like throwing away a candy bar wrapper for goodness sake.
10. Ghost in the Shell
Tachikoma's becoming self aware? An interesting premise that touched on the questions of what exactly is a soul and how do we define humanity. Apparently this will be important to remember as the series goes on but last night I was left kind of scratching my head.
11. IGPX
A boring race and some cool tunes...are you guys ready for emo Takeshi!?
12. Shippuden
This pacing is awful. These fights are awful. Sakura is awful. The sand villagers are awful. That guy with the venus flytrap hand is awful.
Shippuden is awful.