For better or for worse, each series seems to have settled into a groove.  It was an enjoyable week for the most part.  Could have been better though.

1. Sailor Moon Crystal

Honestly, this was as close to perfect as Sailor Moon Crystal gets.  The episode was jam-packed with character building moments, we got loads of Haruka being Haruka, minimal henshin sequences, decent action, Mercury Aqua Mirage, and the most important thing: touching on and improving upon all of the important manga moments.

I especially love that Minako got plenty of time to shine in her battle.  I would have preferred something more one-on-one with Venus getting the killing blow, but that was the absolute best case scenario, and deep down I knew it was going to follow the manga.  Hey, at least Venus’ attack did something, unlike the Rolling Heart Vibration fiasco of 2015.

2. Boku no Hero Academia

Another great episode with great moments and great characters.  Honestly, it was pretty solid and moving all around like it should have been and it was hugely entertaining.  That all said, it IS starting to bother me that the episode flow is starting to feel preeeeetty repetitive.  There’s only so many times we can see Midoriya mentally beaten down only to find courage deep down inside and stand up for what’s right while inspirational music plays in the background.

We got some great Ochako action today as well as epic One For All action as well as the strain it puts on Midoriya’s body.  Seeing his arm and legs flapping around after just jumping and delivering one punch was pretty impressive. It really showed just how little control he has over this enormous power inside him.  Again, I’m just in awe at how this anime is doing everything right.

3. Ushio to Tora

Another great episode, though it had one major misstep when it came to the Akiba reveal.  To be fair, it also kinda came out of nowhere in the manga, but there was some decent setup with the journalist.

Both Ushio’s and Tora’s armors look a LOT better than I thought they would.  I thought they looked kinda stupid in the manga, but they’re exponentially cooler in action.

Sousei no Onmyouji

This episode was surprisingly good.  Not, like, uber awesome or anything, but I felt like the series got into its own special groove.  It… probably isn’t going to last very long.

This episode focused more on Ryogo and the other non-important Onmyouji as they perform an investigation at a haunted house.  Benio is less of a factor in the episode since it’s  more about the relationship between Ryogo and Rokuro and how they’re practically brothers.  The added focus on the Onmyouji B-squad also makes it clear that this anime would be a lot more interesting if it were an episodic investigation-of-the-day style series rather than slice-of-life and inevitable shipping wars plus action shonen-lite.

Kuma Miko

Well, we FINALLY get introduced to Hibiki, the blonde punk chick from the opening.  She just kinda gets plopped into the mix out of nowhere without a proper introduction since she already has history with the main cast.  It’s actually rather jarring.

Before we can get to her, first we have to suffer through the boring-as-shit first half of the episode where we retread themes that have already gotten tiring.  Machi doesn’t understand modern technology and trends.  The old people in the village are perverted and want Machi to play dress-up.  Natsu is protective.  Yawn.

Hibiki, in contrast, is a breath of fresh air.  She’s pointlessly abusive but also has surprisingly girly priorities.  Her first act in this series is to basically bully Machi into going shopping with her.  While rummaging for some bargain deals, Machi apparently gets possessed by the goddess of fashion, and we somehow end up with hot-blooded bargain-hunting with faux Van Halen blaring in the background.  It’s the most unexpectedly awesome thing I think we’re going to see this season.

6. Ace Attorney

I’m gonna be honest here: I think 1-2 is one of the worst cases in the entire franchise, and the anime does a spectacular job of highlighting why while simultaneously making it worse.  It’s absurd how bad it is.  Pretty much the only saving grace here is Redd White’s hilarious Engrish.  Well… that and Pursuit Cornered.

We finally get to see Maya channeling Mia, and… it’s about the same as it is in the games (namely, shocking at first, slightly arousing, but ultimately I prefer looking at Maya in, well, Maya form).  I’m not entirely sure if it’s worse than the games.  I just don’t see the resemblance between Channeled Mia and Mia at all – but then again, I didn’t recognize anime Mia as Mia either, so it’s hard to say.

Anyway, the way Redd White is taken down is just as anticlimactic as it was in the game.  Let’s get past this shithole and move on to the next case.