Love Lab Episode 10 Highlights & Thoughts

This week offered us a light and fun episode of Love Lab. Although not a whole lot of development moving the story forward happened we did get some perspective by means of new characters (involving siblings) who enlightened us on Mizushima’s and Suzu’s past. It was a lot of fun to watch, so Spoilers ahead let’s discuss what happened.
Mizushima’s Reluctant Fashion Show

It opens with a funny skit of dressing up Mizushima for her next prospective date. What we get is some funny shots of her in different ridiculous outfits and her stumbling around without her glasses. It’s nice to see this fun scene that makes light of the serious Mizushima and pokes some fun at her for once. I enjoy that a slice of life comedy can make a scene worthwhile and funny even though it doesn’t develop much for the story (*cough* *cough* Servant x Service this week *cough*) so I appreciate the thought that has gone into this show week after week that’s made it so enjoyable thus far.
A History of Romance..?

The next scene involves Mizushima still as we get an introspective on how her relationship with her current boyfriend all started. It’s done in the perspective of her boyfriend which is nice as he is not only mysterious but he demonstrates to us how he would remain interested in her despite the fact that they barely see each other. If you’ll notice from the above screencap, their relationship starts on the wrong foot but it’s actually an endearing moment. He gets to see an expression of hers that shows there’s more to her than most other people notice. It’s a bit strange but I like that they’ve shared her relationship past with the audience and in the perspective of her boyfriend to boot. I just don’t understand why they give him no eyes. What’s with that anyway?
The Girls’ Siblings

There’s also a short segment involving the siblings of Suzu and Enomoto. Seeing Suzu as a toddler is pretty adorable, and the scene is too cute. They also poke a bit of fun at an old anime classic My Neighbor Totoro. There’s also a moment from Enomoto’s brother who’s very strange and a bit scary too. He also dons the feature of no eyes. That just adds to his scariness in my opinion. Both scenes are funny and a change of pace to feature some of the other girls for a few minutes.
Suzu’s Perspective

Lastly we get a few minutes featuring Suzu and getting a little taste of how things look from her view. She’s pretty self conscious which can be frustrating to watch but she is sweet and admires her senpais a lot. We see how even though she’s close to the other girls she still looks at them from more of an outsider’s opinion as she gets easily flustered by Maki and Riko. Either way it’s nice to see her featured for a little bit as she’s typically in the background.
So that was this week’s episode. A lot of fun and funny too. I could probably watch this show for more seasons if it continued because of how well they can make the girls’ daily lives interesting and charming, even if a whole lot doesn’t happen. I’ll probably look into the manga for that reason. I’m looking forward to further developments coming next week as well!
Christina

Servant x Service Episode 10 Highlights & Thoughts

Tonight’s episode was a bit of a disappointment to be honest. After all the tension and excitement from last week’s episode I was expecting this one to take that forward to this week’s, but alas we get an episode that feels more like filler than anything else. Spoilers ahead, let’s get on with it I suppose.
Chihaya Confesses to Toko

The episode begins with Chihaya telling Toko about her relationship with Taishi (Toko’s brother). But that plan goes half baked as Toko falls asleep and remains oblivious to it all. What we end up with is an endearing scene where the two fall asleep together and we learn that Toko is studying hard for college… and not to be a civil servant? I guess Toko’s got bigger plans for herself, and that’s nice to see. It’s unfortunate that Toko’s character isn’t well developed yet. This scene seems to allude to something we may learn about later, and I’ll be looking forward to that. We all know there’s more to Toko than meets the eye. Her strong will hasn’t shown us enough of the lengths she’s willing to go to for her brother, or really those she cares about. I’m excited to see just what she’s capable of.
Tanaka Breaks Down In front of Miyoshi

Did we forget about this guy? I’d like to. He’s after Hasebe again but Miyoshi squashes his plans of confronting his friend for the billionth time. When those plans fall through he decides to apologize to Lucy by taking her to dinner again. This gets him a quick scolding from Miyoshi claiming his actions toward everyone aren’t atonement but rather self satisfaction (way to lay it on him Miyoshi!). Isn’t that pretty much his lifestyle as it stands anyway? It appears like she hit a nerve as she’s going to dinner with him. I’m curious to see how this develops as I think it’s in Tanaka’s character to give up on Hasebe if a woman is involved in his life, but who knows. Either way their pairing is entertaining.
Kanon Around The Office

So Kanon, Toko’s friend from school is killing time around the office waiting for her friend and runs into some hijinks among the staff. It’s about a 5 minute segment of jokes and pretty much nothing else. I guess it’s nice to see the Magical Flowers cast animated (and so cute!). But otherwise it’s a lot of filler that kept me waiting for something exciting to happen. This could be their attempt at including Kanon’s character a bit more as she really has no role in the show but the segment is unnecessary and does nothing for her. Oh well!
A Bunny Manager Exposed

We learn that the section manager’s identity as a stuffed toy has been a secret to Toko and must have been one for a number of years now (I’m surprised they’ve pulled it off for this long). But by accident the secret is out and we get a comical moment of her freakout. She deludes herself into thinking they’ve gone crazy and that perhaps she was being too mean to everyone and thus caused their breakdown (highlighting her self-centered nature). It’s really just another segment of this episode that had no real bearing on anything. Perhaps the fact that the section manager is Kanon’s father and the fact that Toko does not know this could add some weight to her friendship with Kanon, but it’s not any big deal to anyone really (and I doubt will have impact). Why with all the pointless office antics? I can’t say much about this as there isn’t anything to say. The moment is what it is.
So there were a couple of developing points this episode highlighting Chihaya and Miyoshi with Tanaka. Other than that we get an episode highlighting a strange day in the office and not much else. With 3 episodes until the end of the season can we say this wasted air time is warranted? I don’t think so. I imagine next week will be back on track with the office romance and drama but with this episode throwing me for a loop it’s hard to say what I’ll be expecting. Either way I’ll be watching it.
Christina

Genshiken Nidaime Episode 9 Highlights & Thoughts

Another week another episode of Genshiken Nidaime. It’s getting close to the end of the season so things are starting to boil up. A lot happens without a lot said, and we’re left on the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers. Spoilers Ahead let’s talk about the episode.

Ogiue and Sasahara and Hato

In the intro we get a little banter between Sasahara and Ogiue. Although it’s quick we can see Sasahara’s engaged in making sure she feels good about her work and gets over her own insecurities. We also get to know that he must live up to the fantasies she’s so eloquently drawn out about him. Before he gets to do so though the others arrive. Poor Sasahara.
We also see Ogiue do her best to mentor Hato. She’s not a very deeply developed character (which is disappointing) but you can see her dedication to helping Hato get over his drawing problems. She helps bridge the gap of his association with BL and crossdressing to himself outside of that and how he limits his own abilities when he crossdresses. Her kind words pay off and Hato draws the final sketches for their manga. It seems like Hato’s finally making some good progress on himself.

Kasukabe Returns

Saki Kasukabe talks briefly with Ohno about revisiting the university for the school festival to catch up with the gang. Although it’s a little blurb we can expect Hato to be caught off guard by the relationship he’s about to witness between Madarame and Saki. I imagine he has no clue what kind of woman she is, and he will likely stick up for Madarame as Saki was never easy to deal with. That’s all speculation for next week’s episode though.

Old Friends Return

So with the cultural festival in full swing the club is happily distributing their magazine. Yajima’s friend from high school makes a second appearance, along with Yoshitake’s odd pair of history club buddies. There’s just a lot of back and forth banter that isn’t very important but we also get a moment between Madarame and Hato when he appears. Sasahara’s little sister also makes an obnoxious appearance to Hato’s disappointment and embarrasses him and Madarame. This scene clearly accentuates Hato’s feelings towards Madarame as he not only get embarrassed by Keiko’s comments but he also gets very defensive towards Madarame and protecting his feelings about Kasukabe. The three of them interacting is an awkward scene that lets us see Hato’s more protective side to Madarame.

The Mysterious Trio

Hato has two mysterious friends who go on the lookout for him at the university. Luckily for him they do not catch on to who he is. The pair is very odd with one girl/guy who has the creepiest eyes I’ve ever seen in a casual anime. Seriously what’s with that? Anyway, the episode ends with someone exclaiming about Hato, which is apparently his female doppelganger?! What exactly is the story here? It’s a pretty big mystery making next week’s episode that much more enticing.
The episode overall was pretty bland save for the ending, but at least it gives us something to look forward to. It also introduced us to some new faces that will probably be developed further next week and in the episodes to come. Also, have we forgotten Saki interacting with Madarame? How will Hato deal with not only his own past creeping up on him, but Madarame’s past on top of that? It should be interesting. You’ll hear about next week!
Christina

Servant x Service Episode 9 Highlights & Thoughts

I apologize for missing last week’s episode! I didn’t have time to watch it on time, by the time I watched it it had been out for a few days and a highlights post at that point seemed a little pointless. That aside I’m here to highlight episode 9 for this week! This week was very lovey dovey as we got a look into Chihaya and Ichimiya’s relationship beginnings, as well as a touching moment from Hasebe to Lucy. Spoilers ahead! Let’s talk about the episode.

In the intro we get to learn a bit more about the relationship between Chihaya and Ichimiya, more specifically why someone so frustrated remains smitten. It seems like Ichimiya has a good heart and recognized Chihaya early on from when she started working as a temp. Although the moment is subtle and quick, it seems like she’s in it for his good heart (although he still gets caught up in his sister’s antics). I’ve grown to like Chihaya a lot as she seems like a very capable person and handles her emotions well (even though she has bursts of anger directed at Ichimiya every now and then, but who doesn’t get that in their relationship once in a while?).  I like their dynamic and it was nice for the quick side story, I’d like to see more of their relationship before the season’s over.

There’s also a subtle moment where Chihaya and Lucy are shopping for Lucy’s date with Hasebe. We finally get a little relief from Lucy’s insecurity as Chihaya tells her to think better of herself. This allows Lucy to realize that Hasebe’s affections are more genuine than she would have previously believed. And like the moment between Ichimiya and Chihaya, it’s a subtle line that will really transform Lucy’s character and help her to develop a lot. I think that’s what gives Chihaya oomph to her character, her moments are subtle but powerful. It’s nice to see her character mingling and affecting this flamboyant cast.

We also learn a bit more about Tanaka, more specifically that Kaoru finds him funny. We learn that he’s been persistent with everyone who has a connection to Hasebe (so Lucy is not special in that regard). I find his character very confusing; it seems like his obsession with Hasebe is a bit on the homosexual side. As strange as that sounds, he’s centered a lot of his life around trying to beat Hasebe, so much so that he is willing to have meaningless relationships to prove something to him and ‘ultimately help him’. His character is unsettling and confusing on the whole.

Lastly we get the most enjoyable moment of the episode. Miyoshi tricks Hasebe into believing that Lucy is getting married (her motives unknown, perhaps she agrees with Tanaka on the matter?). Anyways, we end up with a distraught Hasebe which is a big contrast between his usually cheerful self. It ends up being a misunderstanding as it’s really Kaoru his sister who is getting married. Hasebe admits to only needing Lucy as a contact in his phone as she is the only girl he needs, and it leaves Lucy flustered and happy. Now we know their upcoming date is going to seal the deal for Hasebe. Even despite Hasebe’s playboy demeanor he has these endearing lines that make him very likeable. I’m awaiting their eventual get together (hopefully factors like Tanaka don’t get in the way!).
So that was this week’s episode. Full of love and happiness! Each character was highlighted for their strengths this episode so it was nice to see how endearing each character is. I’m awaiting the next episode as it will most likely feature Hasebe’s and Lucy’s date. Anyone else excited for Lucy’s outfit? Until next week!
Christina

Genshiken Nidaime Episode 8 Highlights & Thoughts

This was another episode highlighting the inner struggle between Hato and his fantasy counterpart, however we do get a few minutes of banter between Yajima and Yoshitake as well as into Ogiue’s head (if only for a moment or two). But despite the lack of diverse character contribution we still have a nice episode that analyzes the inner workings of Hato’s fantasies. Spoilers ahead, let’s get to the episode!

Yajima, Yoshitake & Ogiue

In the beginning of the episode we learn that Yajima and Yoshitake are going to attempt working together for a piece in the club’s upcoming magazine. I like the dynamic between these two as they banter, it feels like a real friendship between an odd pair. I like how blunt Yoshitake is while Yajima tries to deal with keeping up her own appearances for her pride. Yoshitake is shameless and it’s great. I enjoy how both characters are very relatable as one fully embraces her weird self while the other does her best by attempting to do the right thing despite her impulses. The second half of the beginning is the contemplation of Ogiue about her partnership with Hato. It’s interesting how easy we can feel inadequate when better talent is right infront of our face as Ogiue does. As someone who is professionally published, Ogiue has even more pressure on her than the other girls to impress. I wish we could explore this stress and perspective more but Hato steals the limelight for the rest of the episode. Oh well, I’m sure we’ll return to Ogiue’s anxiety in the upcoming episodes.

Hato’s Split Personality

I really like how this show has the diverse cast it does, as it shows the struggle of Hato, a complex character that we don’t get to see often in anime (or analyzed to this degree). We get to see his split personality; the reasonable person he wants to be externally versus the inner sexual self dying to live out new fantasies. I think we always have the internal voice that wants to live out a life we fantasize about, whether it be sexual or not (sexual just holds more weight). We can see how Hato struggles with his one side wishing to have the life he reads about in his manga/doujinshi versus the person he knows he has to be in order to be respectable and be accepted by the community. I think the ironic thing is that most of this is in his head, as there are characters like Yoshitake who have no filter and have no problem with expressing themselves. I think the Genshiken group would be accepting of him no matter what, but he puts these barriers up because of his fear of coming into his own. However this episode he opens up slightly to Madarame, so I think he will open up to everyone eventually.

Hato and Madarame’s Relationship

I think it’s funny to see these two interact, they both don’t know how to deal with each other but somehow make it work. I enjoy the fact that they can relate on some level, but mostly Hato finds confidence when he is with Madarame alone. Hato finds a ‘trap game’ and instantly wants Madarame’s personal opinion on whether he enjoyed the game or not. Although on the surface it appears as though Hato wants to know for his fantasy/imagination I think he’s also looking for approval from Madarame on his own lifestyle of cross-dressing (as there are cross-dressing characters in the game he finds). Unfortunately for Hato he doesn’t really get the response he wants from Madarame. But it’s probably helpful for him to see Madarame so comfortable with his own sexuality; that perhaps with time Hato will speak easily on his own thoughts. Either way the dynamic between these two makes for an interesting watch.

Madarame’s Bad News & Hato Tries Again

At the end of the episode we get a little blurb that Madarame is considering finding another job. This mostly has to do with the fact that he personally wants to move on from university life and find a new life for himself someplace further away. Of course Hato blames himself for this idea but really I think Madarame is living in the past (revisiting the club, dwelling on Kasukabe) and these are the honest drivers for his choice. Although having Madarame around in the new season of Genshiken is nice, I think it’s true that he needs to move on as his character seems mostly unchanged and he seems generally dissatisfied with himself and his life. But who knows whether he will fulfill this desire, perhaps once Hato comes into his own Madarame won’t be needed much so he will end up leaving. That would probably be a nice closure to their relationship. But despite his bad news he does inspire Hato to try drawing the manga for Ogiue. So we see that Madarame has given him some confidence to reconcile his split personality by stream lining himself into a more respectable person and changing himself for the better. I’d like to see if he can accomplish this, and it will most likely be featured in next week’s episode.
So those are my thoughts and the highlights of this episode. Send me your comments or comment below and we can start a discussion! Thanks for reading.
Christina

Love Lab Episode 8 Highlights & Thoughts

A lot happened this week in Love Lab, and not all is happy go lucky in the student council anymore! We get to understand the perspective of the Newspaper Society a bit better while seeing the back of Mizushima’s boyfriend’s head! (SCANDAL ALERT! *cough not really*) The episode leaves on a big cliffhanger while the whole episode is a wave of ups and downs regardless. So let’s get into the highlights of this dramatic episode. Spoilers Ahead!


It begins with Riko wanting to reinvent herself and demolish her title of The Wild One. I like how she has this funny nickname that she thinks is terrible, but it suits her well! It’s not terrible to be wild, I’m not sure if the translation from English to Japanese translates over but wild can be a compliment! Anyone else think her feminine obsession is overrated? Anyway we get some cute and funny banter between the 5 girls involving this sudden change of heart.

And didn’t we all forget about the Newspaper Society? We’ve had no clue what was up their sleeve and even at the end of this episode we still don’t. How can they keep this secret from us for a span of 3+ episodes? This time around though these two have caused much more serious trouble, snagging candid shots of Mizushima with her boyfriend. Does Mizushima even like the guy? It seems like she enjoys just having him around to say he exists. Anyway, we find out that the Newspaper Society has had some friction with Mizushima and the gang as they cut their budget and were demoted from Club Status to an Honorary Society. But even those facts are not sufficient as this isn’t their motive, so what is it exactly? I’m excited for next week’s episode to find out!

My bets are on the fact that Mizushima and Momo have some unfinished business between each other, anyone else get that impression? So because of the bad blood between the two groups Mizushima ends up being blackmailed into admitting to the school faculty that she has a boyfriend (although she admits it semi out of choice). So we know something is up her sleeve as she’s cunning enough to make the best out of these bad situations. I really liked that she was the showcase for the second half of this episode as we get to understand her and how clever she is. She’s easily becoming my favourite character (currently it’s Riko) but next episode will be the judge of that!
So that was the episode! It was full of drama and questions, and it revitalized a dry one from last week where not much happened. This week it leaves us wondering what’s going to happen to the school council, but I know Mizushima won’t lose her accounting position so easily even though she got expelled from the school council! So I’m excited to see just exactly how she intends on getting her rightful place back on next week’s episode.
*Ahem* We also got this golden moment. Let me now erase it from my memory.

Anyone else feel uncomfortable with the blatant black face?

Christina

Genshiken Nidaime Episode 7 Highlights & Thoughts

This episode had a lot in it compared to last week’s episode. Each character had good screen time and we even get a little bit of Sasahara at the beginning! We also get some more fanservice cosplay! Cue in Ohno as Bayonetta! (Such a good game) We also finally get into Ogiue’s head a little bit, which has been well needed as she’s almost never around. Spoilers ahead! Let’s get into the highlights of this week’s episode.

The show starts with Ogiue proposing a magazine for this year’s school festival. SHOCK NOT COSPLAY THIS YEAR?! It’s a welcomed change to the series actually. Unfortunately the girls don’t work well solo or together on this it seems. We also see that perhaps the stoic Ogiue is a bit jealous of Hato’s drawing skills because Ogiue hasn’t been well received publicly for her manga publications. So instead of working solo on a project Sue suggests that the two work together for the magazine. This could work out well for the two of them, would they have a future publishing together? I’d like to see where they take this cooperative effort.

We also get a small tidbit of Yajima’s past; it’s about a small crush she had in high school. Although it’s not much, it’s nice to see her character as the center of attention for a little bit. Could this be a teaser into perhaps a reappearance of Mr. Mystery? It would be very fun if it is foreshadowing something. She doesn’t steal the spotlight for very long though, as it shifts to Yoshitake grilling Hato about his high school romance.

Hato of course is hesitant to give anything away, as it opens up old wounds. I imagine we’ll learn of this mystery romance sooner or later, Yoshitake’s probably too nosy to let this story go. Luckily Hato is saved from spilling any details by Kuchiki’s appearance. Who knew that guy could come in handy? We also get one of the funniest moments from this season so far. *Below*

Yoshitake is hilariously devious. It’s also funnily true, despite its horrible implications. Anyone else laugh out loud at this moment?
So that was episode 7! It was a really great episode that left us with a lot of questions, but I’m sure what happened will segue to some answers very soon (or at least by the end of the season). The teaser at the end of the episode showed that Madarame’s coming back next week to give us some more romantic tension. Why do I still feel funny saying that? Anyway, I’m anticipating next week’s episode, this week gave us a lot to look forward to!
Christina

Love Lab Episode 7 Highlights & Thoughts

This week I watched the 7th episode of Love Lab, and it was quite a funny episode. We get some good interaction between the 5 girls which makes for a fun watch. We get a few teasers for what to expect in the upcoming episodes, but not much else this episode. It’s still enjoyable though, so let’s get into the highlights. Warning Spoilers ahead!


The episode begins with Nana from the school newspaper hopelessly trying to snoop on what the school council girls. The moment is short lived and we don’t get much tension between them and the school council, but we do get a funny scene of Mizushima and Enomoto just watch her struggle. Mizushima is so ruthless, she’s one of my favourite characters on the show for that reason. She observes a lot more than she tampers with, but when she does tamper it makes for an enjoyable scene. I’d like to see the confrontation that unfolds between her and Riko. The tension seems to build all the time. Will she reveal Riko’s lies? If anyone’s going to I imagine it would be her.

The second part of the episode consists of the girls all visiting Riko. Of course her little brother Ren falls for Maki. It’s funny how extremely he changes around her compared to the other girls. Unfortunately for him Maki is oblivious, and moreover uninterested in younger boys! Perhaps there will be more of Ren’s struggle to win over Maki. It would make for some funny scenes. Too bad he doesn’t have short curly hair, then maybe he’d be more her type.

And so in the last few minutes we see Satoshi reappear! I knew he wasn’t going anywhere. I’m excited to see what happens between these two. It’s pretty obvious Riko is almost falling for him, while he’s still hopelessly attracted to her. It’s a fun spin on the story that will make for a gratifying ending if they end up together! And Yan makes another appearance as well. Will he terrorize Maki’s ego some more? Probably.

And that was the episode! Once again we’re teased with the tension between the school newspaper and the girls and yet nothing comes of it! The teaser at the end shows that they are planning something, but let’s be honest, are they even a threat anymore? Or were they never one? I want to see more conflict! This episode had some nice jokes but not a whole lot really happened. Nothing that I felt was direly significant except the end scene with Satoshi. Despite the lack of development it was enjoyable though. I’ll be expecting episode 8 along with some story drivers to make this anime move! Until then!
Christina

Servant x Service Episode 7 Highlights and Thoughts

I’m loving this anime! Each episode brings something new to the table that keeps the show interesting and spontaneous. This episode didn’t deviate from my expectations whatsoever. We get to understand the relationship between Ichimiya and Chihaya better as well as learn about the mysterious grandson Tanaka and his connection to Hasebe. Watch out! Spoilers ahead! Let’s get into the highlights of this episode!

It begins with Chihaya having a bit of fun with Toko, as she dresses her up into one the magical girls that Chihaya fantasizes about. We get to learn that Chihaya honestly likes both of them for different reasons, and that Toko is not just a conduit for Chihaya to get to Ichimiya. I sympathize a lot with Chihaya, it seems like she’s dating quite the airhead. It’s nice that they give us a little bit of their office romance (which isn’t very steamy unfortunately) and lets us in to their dynamic. That’s something I really like about this anime, it doesn’t skimp on letting us know more about all the different characters it features. We learn a bit about all of them every episode.

The second half of this episode introduces us to old lady Tanaka’s grandson. He’s a very responsible A type banker, and doesn’t seem too bad to look at either which is a plus for Miyoshi. Unfortunately he also has a score to settle with Hasebe, which eats up all of his interest leaving none for Miyoshi (or maybe a few scraps) but perhaps there’s more to their romance than meets the eye? Here’s hoping! I’d like to learn more about Miyoshi, I bet they’re going to delve further into her character so it’s something to look forward to in the upcoming episodes!

So that was another enjoyable episode of Servant x Service, which is one of my top picks for this anime season. It’s definitely up there as a josei title, I would group it in with many of the others. It’s lighthearted enough to make funny jokes but also serious enough to get us honestly involved in the characters. There’s a lot to look forward to, and I’m anticipating episode 8 which is out next week! This episode left me with more questions than answers so I hope they get answered soon!
Christina