With the release of Pacific Rim here in the states, Kaiju film fans are running to get a piece of the action. The battles are as big as the monsters. At the same time, people seem to compare it to Neon Genesis Evangelion, which had a similar premise. Although there are similarities, it seems that it more resembles Attack on Titan.
It’s a bit of stretch, and doesn’t help that Attack on Titan doesn’t include mechs, but when it comes to the characters and story, it is spot on. Pacific Rim could have borrowed from both sources (the Attack on Titan manga came out in 2009) but it really is its own thing.
Now onto the reviews.
It seems that the Trost arc has come to an end with this week’s episode of Attack on Titan, Primal Desires - The Battle of Trost Part Nine. Eren is now in control of himself as the Titan as he now is attempting to carry the rock to close the breached gate. The rest of the Elite Squad is there to make sure that no other Titan attempts to take down Eren.
Surprisingly, it was one of the more emotional episodes of Attack on Titan. It cleverly focuses on those who have risked their lives against the Titans, making the gravity of their situation very clear. While this is the end point for season one and leading directly into season two, it was good to see that each major character had their own shining moment.
Attack on Titan - Primal Desires- The Battle of Trost Part Nine gets eight stars out of ten.
My Teenage Romantic Comedy SNAFU ends with a bonus episode, And So Their Festival Will Never End. The Volunteering Club is called upon another task, this time helping with the upcoming school athletics festival. The chairman’s goal is to have it be different than what is expected in order to make it something that is worth remembering.
It shows off our characters in a very different setting and it doesn’t seem to bother with a lot of conflict. It feels very much like an epilogue, showing what has happened to these characters after their journey this past season. It is obvious that Hachiman is the one who had gone through the most change, beginning as not needing anyone in his life to cooperating with others at the athletic competitions. Hachiman, Yui, and Yukino have all become well rounded people.
My Teenage Romantic Comedy SNAFU - And So Their Festival Will Never End gets eight stars out of ten.
Flowers of Evil finishes up with 13 of 13. Kasuga, waiting for Nakamura to return, discovers her bedroom. It appears very plain and ordinary, but he spies a pink journal from one of her desk drawers. Kasuga decides to take a peek into the diary, and discovers the inner mind of Nakamura.
This episode really does drive home what the entire show’s subtext is about, which is the idea of finding one’s identity as they grow up. There are very dramatic moments with Nakamura in particular, showing how much she had developed throughout the series. The only issue is that the ending may leave some people empty; almost like it has no ending. It is obvious that they are hoping for a season two to continue the story, but it was fine being its own standalone story.
Flowers of Evil - 13 of 13 gets eight stars out of ten.
Photo Kano finishes up with Mutual Feelings, this time the episode focusing on Kanon, Kazuya’s little sister. With their parents gone away to Europe for a vacation, the two siblings spend some quality time together, but it seems that certain kinds feelings are developing between them. Kazuya, however, feels it is wrong to act on these feelings, hoping to not reveal another secret about their past as siblings.
The episode plays out like every other episode lately, a lose plot with boring romance. There may be a bit of a turn off because of the hinting at incest (which a lot of anime do actually), but the show decides to quickly clear up things and make it approachable for a more general audience. It’s a cop out that is seen a number of times and just feels cheap. Instead of really attacking the idea, Photo Kano wimps out and proves how tired it really is.
Photo Kano - Mutal Feelings gets four stars out of ten.
