Food Wars! The Third Plate - Episode 16 [Review]

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Food Wars! The Third Plate - Episode 16 [Review]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w7xdMzspCI

Oh, Evil Akira. Not only did you get a CLAMP-style makeover, but your eyes are now perpetually narrow and droopy, and you've gotten much more handsy to boot. Okay, that last bit was just the one scene toward the end of the episode, but I seriously thought that Evil Akira was going to kiss Soma's hand for a second there. Also, smelling the ingredients someone is using by sniffing their hands is very creepy unless you're a dog.

Once again, we have an episode that's intent on cramming in a few chapters from the source material, but it works decently well this time. The return of Dojima as the impartial judge for this particular exam does give the whole thing more of an air of legitimacy than previous stages, because we know that he's much more likely to actually be impartial than many of his brethren. He wouldn't stoop to Azami's level any more than he'd insult Soma by favoring him, so that's a definite good start. While there are still places where Azami's tentacles can reach – the supposedly random selection of bear meat for the topic could favor Akira – we're starting this challenge on much more even ground, especially since Akira's still got a shred of decency left in him.

We see that when he refuses the fancy appliances and assistants that Central has arranged for him to use, which would have been yet another blatant misuse of their power. It's not clear whether it's Akira's former self speaking up when he says no thanks or if it's simply his pride, but I'm inclined to think he wants a more level playing field for his fight against Soma. He keeps repeating how much better he is than the last time they fought, and while that's doubtlessly true (it would be odd if he hadn't kept growing as a chef), he also really cares about this rematch. It's a test of his own worth, since Soma's come close to beating him in spice-based dishes before and if he can win this one, not only will it finally determine that Soma's not worth his apron, it will also confirm that Akira made the right decision in becoming Azami's minion. While we don't know much about why he did this yet, we can infer that it was not an easy choice, given how devoted he was to Jun and her kitchen. Azami hasn't played fair yet, so whatever's behind Akira's choice, there's doubtless some emotional conflict for him.

That's not really an excuse for deliberately pissing Soma off like this, though. (I mean, has that ever worked out for anyone?) If nothing else, it's likely to make Soma suspicious of Akira's motivations and fire him up to make the best damn bear meat he possibly can. That could be what Akira is hoping for, but frankly I feel like this is going to bite him in the rear. Everyone who goes up against Soma makes the critical mistake of underestimating him, and in this case, Azami doesn't fully understand Soma's determination and the full brunt of the support standing behind him. Sure Yuga has his own ulterior motives for helping out, but at the end of the day he's lending his stooges to Soma and helping out personally because he likes the guy. Potentially bringing down Central in the process is just icing on the cake.

Soma's not the only one who might be in trouble, of course. Megumi and Takumi have been taken away by Rindo for their test, and their fate is still unknown at the end of the episode. Rindo herself is the biggest wildcard here, because I feel like she may be playing Clue while everyone else is playing Monopoly. Her motives seem to just be stirring the pot, and I suspect that her only real allegiance is to herself. How that will pan out for Megumi and Takumi is uncertain; it probably depends on how useful she thinks they'll be in the future. We'll hopefully find out next week, as the bear meat cook-off comes to a head. In the meantime, we'll just have to ask ourselves one important question: who would win if this was a bear meat cooking contest between Soma, Akira, and Golden Kamuy's Asirpa?

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Tokyo Ghoul:re - Episode 5 [Review]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiyDkD02F1Q

The battle at the auction house rages on, with the blood of ghouls and humans alike getting spilled by the gallon. And who's that entering the fray? Why it's out good pal Takizawa! Only now he's a big scary ghoul named Owl, of course. (Not to be confused with the One-Eyed Owl, Eto.)

Who is Takizawa? You'll be forgiven for not remembering, since he was a pretty minor member of the CCG. He stuck to the background working under Amon, but the anime did highlight him more in the second season by focusing on his struggle to write a last will and testament before the big final battle against Anteiku. It was classic Tokyo Ghoul character work, revealing the hidden depths of a person, their dreams and fears, just before their brutal and untimely death. But death is a nebulous concept in the Tokyo Ghoul universe, and Takizawa is actually alive and well (by ghoul standards anyway). He's a one-eyed ghoul himself now, just working under Aogiri instead of with Sasaki and the Quinxes, but the details behind his resurrection remain anybody's guess for now. The boy really seems to love jam though.

Takizawa's sudden appearance and radically altered behavior set the tone for this entire episode, which leans hard into Tokyo Ghoul's propensity for gory camp. There's no room for subtlety when Takizawa, reunited with one of his former students, punches straight through her torso as punishment for not paying attention during his lectures. These aren't delicate moments, but they can be fun. I got a kick out of Kanae stopping Mutsuki in his tracks by throwing a projectile rose into the ground, Tuxedo Mask style. Later, one of the investigators shouts “damn you and your sexy body!”, which is an impossible line to take seriously on its own, but doubly so when directed at a woman called Nutcracker as she flies through the air, boobs a-jiggling. Then one of the last scenes is a still shot of Madam with Urie's body half-stuffed in her gigantic gob. These parts are funny, and I'm perfectly okay with Tokyo Ghoul flexing its B-movie sensibilities now and then.

The big problem is that this is yet another messy action-focused episode that lacks the visual pop needed to carry its ambitions. The first two seasons of Tokyo Ghoul weren't animation powerhouses, but they frequently caught my eye with creative staging and composition. By contrast, Tokyo Ghoul:re has been far more conservative and utilitarian. As it jumps from battle to battle, it comes across more like a jumble of scenes haphazardly stitched together than a cohesive whole. This approach makes everything more difficult to follow or care about, especially when watched in weekly installments with no conclusion in sight. A lot happens, but it doesn't feel like it matters yet.

Of course, that's probably because it's all been setup for future conflicts. On the Quinx side, Mutsuki finally reunites with the rest of his family, and they all force Kanae to retreat. Sasaki, ever the caring leader and dad figure, has the injured Mutsuki retreat with Urie, but since Urie's still hungry for recognition, he purposefully takes the long way out of the building and “accidentally” stumbles upon the ghouls' escape route. Urie's not a bad person, but his ambition blinds him to the concerns of anybody else, and he doesn't think twice about possibly putting Mutsuki in graver danger. Fittingly, Urie soon finds himself in too deep (specifically too deep inside Madam's mouth), so now it's up to Mutsuki to save him instead. Meanwhile, Sasaki pursues Nutcracker with the remainder of the Quinxes but soon finds himself locked in battle with fellow half-ghoul Takizawa.

The rest of the CCG fares pretty damn poorly against the multiple ghoul threats. Takizawa mows down everyone, laughing all the way, until he gets to Sasaki. Nutcracker takes down an entire squad by herself, punctuating the battle with her titular move. Juzo is evenly matched with Ayato, so both of them retreat simultaneously. Ayato runs to help fellow Aogiri member Naki, who's not doing too hot against Akira and her dad's old patented spine whip. Then Juzo meets up with Urie and attacks the ghouls escaping from the auction. The Clowns battle another squad of investigators, who hold their ground despite Uta's manipulative face-shifting powers. Oh, and all of this is being manipulated by Washu, who's still overseeing everything from the safety of his monitors. Did you get all that?

Cramming all of this ensemble action into the episode leaves no room for even a pinch of reflection. Takizawa's reveal should be a big deal, but the revelation comes and goes with little fanfare. Naki is portrayed rather sympathetically as somebody who has fallen behind this war's arms race and built a family for himself that he's rapidly losing, but we just don't get enough time to explore these parts of his character. I also expected more to be made of Urie and Juzo indiscriminately slaughtering the ghouls attempting to escape. Obviously, all ghouls are monsters to them, and it's hard for me to feel bad for ghouls who had no qualms buying people too, but Tokyo Ghoul is notorious for refusing to dehumanize either side of the conflict, so this feels like a missed opportunity for nuance.

I'm sure these concerns will be addressed later, and that's fine. But as a discrete unit of storytelling, this episode does a heck of a lot without saying much. In an action-driven episode, I need the action to be impressive on its own, or I'm going to need something else to chew on. Historically, Tokyo Ghoul has always redeemed its shortcomings with strong and thoughtful character work, but episodes like this one leave no room to focus on anything interesting. Nevertheless, the battle rages on into next week.

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My Hero Academia - Episode 42 [Review]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdgI0zUVvBE

Since we've been easing into a new story arc, it was a pleasant surprise for me to learn that one of My Hero Academia's Big Exciting Moments(tm) was already just around the corner. The Vanguard Action Squad's attack on the training grounds commences, but it quickly becomes apparent that the story is mostly about Kota and Midoriya's fight with a single member of the villain group who arrives on the scene unceremoniously.

The member in question is a tall and strong-looking guy who Kota immediately recognizes as the murderer of his parents. This mystery man appears to be using the League of Villains as a means to an end, because he likes using his Quirk to kill people, which will tie into the episode's themes of heroes and villains wonderfully. The Quirk in question is super strength, not unlike Midoriya and All Might's, but his particular power involves all the gross sinewy fibers of his muscles exploding from his body, making for a much more threatening display than One For All that forces Midoriya to push himself harder than we've ever seen before.

I think season three is when I've really started to appreciate MHA's hero theming. I've never been especially drawn to the superhero aesthetic or ethos; as a playground for stories about chasing your dreams, I've always preferred the anarchy of One Piece's pirate world. But episodes like this do an incredible job of finding the beauty in what it means to be a hero, and MHA digs much deeper than anything I've personally seen from Western media. "I just wanted to kill, and those two wanted to stop me. It was a result of all of us doing what we wanted," is how the villain explains to Kota that there should be no hard feelings about the whole dead parents thing. Comparing this again to One Piece—a series whose protagonist is openly ambivalent about being seen as a hero—this sounds exactly like the kind of logic a villain would use to justify their misdeeds just before Luffy punches them in the face, not out of the goodness of his heart, but because he's got to stand up for his friends.

I believe the common prevalence of this protagonist-antagonist dichotomy in Shonen Jump is what allows My Hero Academia to find a new angle on it. We've already established that our main characters harbor some insecurity about being "fake heroes", which is a weakness just waiting to be exploited by villains like Stain or Shigaraki. Making "Number One Hero" a dream that characters can compete for does implicitly remove the sense of duty and responsibility that heroism ought to be about, and while heroes are often depicted as petty in this world, they're never been portrayed as unreliable beyond the understandable limits of their fragility. You can be the Pirate King and owe the world nothing, but if you want to call yourself a Hero, you have to put your money where your mouth is at some point and make sacrifices for others. This conflict feels especially organic this week by focusing on Kota, a kid who's lost faith in the concept of heroism. Because of his parents' deaths, he can only see the imminent pain that comes with a hero's broken promise, so if someone like Midoriya's ever going to restore that faith, he has to step up in ways that others haven't.

The big finisher where Midoriya nearly blows his own arm off three times trying to use One For All at full power against a relentless villain gets so insanely messy that it's almost avant-garde in terms of visuals. This enemy's muscle quirk allows for an intense and scrambled fight, and Midoriya's final stand is a remarkable experience of sight and sound. If you remember his fight with Todoroki, where he had to strategically sacrifice his own body, destroying each of his fingers over and over, this feels like an evolution of that idea that now uses his full arm, as he delivers successive punches that meld his own flesh with his opponent's.

This fight is going to be the one that gets everybody talking again, and for good reason. However, as a full episode it also highlights the series' occasionally limp structural instincts. This villain really feels like he comes out of nowhere, and if you told me last week that we'd immediately be jumping to such a massive emotional high involving a character we'd never met, I would have been shocked. Maybe that's just the speedier pace of the show, since it does allow a major conflict to be contained within a single episode, but it still doesn't feel quite right. It takes about half the episode to get into the fight in the first place, yet the time spent with the side characters fighting the other League members doesn't serve as build-up to this conflict either. It's really weird.

But that's such a minor nitpick in the face of an otherwise extraordinary episode. We're three for three on new MHA episodes really knocking my socks off, and this is easily the most I've ever been invested in the world and characters of this story so far. The title of this episode is "My Hero," and it fittingly manages to lend new meaning to the series' title. Kota has someone to look up to now in Midoriya, and that last shot of our broken and exhausted green son roaring with victory hits hard. Winning the battle isn't the part that feels good this time, it's hearing the word "hero".

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One Piece - Episode 834 [Review]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM0cG1k8yZU

As of last week's episode, the Big Mom assassination plot's first main goal was accomplished when Brook snuck up on the framed picture of Mother Carmel and smashed it. The intended effect was for her to see the broken picture and enter her terrifying shriek mode, which is the tiny window of time where she would be vulnerable enough to hit with Caesar's rocket launchers. What the Straw Hats and Firetanks failed to predict was the exact effect that all of the encompassing chaos would have on her, so she spends most of the episode acting like a dizzied fighting game character, still unkillable because she hasn't decided where to focus her rage between the broken picture, the busted wedding cake, and all the treason. The alliance's next goal is to grab the pieces of the Mother Carmel picture and show them to Big Mom once again to ensure she panics in the exact way that they based their plan around.

But in order to do that, they have a much bigger fight on their hands as Big Mom's various children spring into action. For an episode that easily could have been a breather for the animation staff given the more significant story episodes ahead, the action looks fantastic. I think Sanji ends up getting the best stuff between casually dodging Pudding's bullets (he may have found her emotional sore spot, but she's not willing to concede just yet) and facing off with her older brother, Charlotte Daifuku. Daifuku's Devil Fruit summons a big genie from his belt that he commands like a JoJo Stand, though he brings it forth by rubbing his stomach in a provocative way, and that belt rests a little too south of his border for comfort. Penile genie smoke aside, the sense of energy and impact coming from Sanji's fights this week is really commendable. It looks great.

We're still hanging on to a chapter-per-episode pace to my delight, though this episode takes the chance to really expound on what was going on in the source material. The fights that ensue with the lower-tier Big Mom pirates leaves a much bigger impression, though I know most of these crazy-looking side characters, especially on Luffy and Jimbei's side of the fight, aren't going to be sticking around much longer. While the Straw Hats and Firetanks buy time to figure out how to get their plan back on track, Capone has to play the villain so that he doesn't raise the family's suspicions. Unfortunately, that can't last long because he's dealing with Katakuri and his Future Sight Haki, and by the end of the episode he's openly antagonizing Big Mom's scariest kid. "Even if we can't see it, we all have the right to change the future!" is a pretty cool way to confront a dude with clairvoyance. There's also the mention of Katakuri looking pale because he sees something disastrous on the horizon that nobody can stop.

Beyond the fights that the Straw Hats find themselves in, this is also a major turning point for Judge and the Vinsmokes, now that they're being forced to see the trap that's been set for them. Perospero has the whole family glued to their seats with candy, and all they can do is watch while the fighting happens around them and their imminent death is promised. The emotional position that the story puts us in with the Vinsmokes is pretty weird. This arc has finally wrapped up in the manga, so I can look back with hindsight and say that a further exploration into the backstory of Germa 66 isn't in the cards for Whole Cake Island, which is sort of necessary to understand what their overarching journey is meant to be.

It's been pretty clear that Sanji's motivation for saving his family has nothing to do with their value as people, but rather a simple instinctual obligation. He's working his own feelings out by taking action. The Vinsmokes can work as both the secondary antagonists and the damsels in distress at the wedding, but this scene has us facing a weeping, humiliated Judge who screams about his lost dreams as he faces the consequences of his thirst for power. He's confused as to why his sons are so calm and ready to accept their deaths, and Reiju promptly reminds us that he removed their ability to feel emotions in an attempt to make them super soldiers. There's an intimacy to this scene that makes it feel like more than a "Ha! Take that!" moment for the audience to get emotional revenge on Judge, but what that extra something is, I couldn't tell you. Based on my knowledge of what's coming, he's not on the verge of a traditional redemption arc, but there also feels like a deliberate juxtaposition between his dreams and Big Mom's that has yet to be explored to my satisfaction.

There's a lot of movement as we push on through Big Mom's tea party this week, but it's mostly trying to get us back to the point we thought we already arrived at last week with the Mother Carmel picture. I was surprised at how much mileage this adaptation managed to get out of what could have easily been an unexceptional episode, so I I have nothing but kudos on that front. Weeks like this start to give me hope for what's to come, because I'm getting exactly the saturated craziness that I've been asking for, despite the pacing only marginally improving. So let's see what happens next!

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