Winter 2017 Week 7

As the second half of Winter 2017 begins, it is surprising to see which series are exceeding our expectations and which are falling short of the goal. Some have maintained viewer interest with surprise reveals, while others have relied on fanservice and filler content. 

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 WeekendOtaku’s shows

1. Saga of Tanya the Evil 
2. ACCA: 13 Territory Inspection Dept 
3. Onihei 
4. Spiritpact

 

 KimmieKawaii’s shows

1. Scum’s Wish
2. Masamune-kun’s Revenge 
3. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
4. ēldLIVE

Week 7 turned out to have many of the turning points that I expected from last week. With big moments from ACCA and Spiritpact that can heavily influence those shows going forward, some of the others still opted for interesting surprises nonetheless. As the shows go toward their final arcs, we’ll probably see less variation in our categories as we decide which shows we ultimately found worthwhile.

We’ve pretty much caught up with reviewing despite some challenges from work and illness that really ate up our time/motivation, but hopefully we won’t fall far behind again through the rest of the season.

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Fully Invested:

WeekendOtaku

ACCA: 13

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Scum’s Wish

• ACCA: 13 Territory Inspection Dept.: Though I predicted Jean’s secret, it was interesting to see him come to realize it himself. There are so many possibilities as to where this could go and I’m eager to see how it unfolds.

• Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Fanservice disclaimer aside, there was a lot more to gain from this week’s episode than dragons showing some skin. Tohru and Kobayashi keep drawing me in as this show continues to be one of the better parts of the week.

• Scum’s Wish: What seemed like a side trip into Moca’s world proved to be as insightful and emotionally deep as anything else the series has offered. Scum’s Wish keeps delivering.

 

KimmieKawaii

Spiritpact

ACCA: 13

Scum’s Wish

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

• Spiritpact: Despite the overwhelming info dump this week, this series continues surpass my expectations.

• ACCA 13: A secret prince?  Yes. From animation to execution, ACCA has become one of my favorite series this season.

• Scum’s Wish: This series explores in depth the emotions and motives of even supporting characters. This commitment to developing realistic characters is what makes this series worthwhile.

• Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Toned down from last week’s overly sexual themes, this episode offers plenty of heartwarming moments amid well-timed humor.

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Still Watching (but not sold):

WeekendOtaku

Masamune-kun’s Revenge

Saga of Tanya the Evil

ēlDLIVE

Spiritpact

Onihei

• Masamune-kun’s Revenge: I guess it was going to happen sooner or later, but I had to bring Masamune down a category for a lack of progress or apparent direction. Some defining moments are needed for this to feel interesting again.

• Saga of Tanya the Evil: Nothing to say here as we had a recap episode.

• ēlDLIVE: The show goes full shounen in this week’s episode with a good fight, but leaves viewers waiting for the ongoing story. If this latest villain doesn’t turn out to be the threat this show needs, it may have run out of time to deliver strongly.

• Spiritpact: If this series could only nail its execution, the last few episodes would have put it into Fully Invested. As it stands, it’s telling a pretty good story that I’m happy to keep watching.

• Onihei: A very nice episode this week that focuses more on Heizo’s family. Now that I’m accustomed to its serial format, if this keeps being good I’ll have to move it up.

 

KimmieKawaii

ēlDLIVE

Saga of Tanya the Evil

Onihei

Masamune-kun’s Revenge

• ēlDLIVE: Honestly… not at all sure how to feel about this series anymore. After the seemingly pointless content this week, disappointment is starting to set in.

• Saga of Tanya the Evil: Recap episode this week.

• Onihei: After harshly criticizing this series for the past couple weeks, it was refreshing to see an episode focused on what drives Heizo’s emotions (his family), and witness that even the seemingly invincible are still human after all.

• Masamune-kun’s Revenge: Roughly five minutes of this week’s episode was significant, the remainder was arbitrary fanservice beach filler.

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Dropped

No new drops this week.  For your reference here’s what we dropped earlier:

• Hand Shakers: after 3 eps

• Gabriel Dropout: after 3 eps

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This post is part of our seasonal episodic review series. To view all the posts in this series, click the following link: Viewing Party