Blatch

Ninja Kamui 11-13 (end) Idolm@ster Xenoglossia 4

Smiling Friends S2E3 (live) Didn't gel with me as much as the previous two of this season did (though this might've had to do with my overall mood, not that it was bad), but this show is still delightful. I have to imagine what Alan went through was even more awesome than Pim and Charlie's unseen adventure; my younger self didn't like that trope. Oh, wait, I just realized I could've put these in the other thread. Gotta try harder next time.

So, a few things: Desperate? If anything I think this is the opposite. Zaslav and friends must think the block is doing well enough to give them a little something extra. Although I have been wondering if they actually wanted to air Sailor Moon on Toonami proper, only for some cunning executive to come in and say "Actually, how about we try this?" So if they were desperate, they would've shoved these shows on the main block. Love the fact that they're using the 2012-era packaging for this. Bit of a tangent, but it's funny how I've never really gotten why they feel the need to change the packaging every year, but this current package has been used for two years now (since the merger, in fact, which probably explains it) and now I'm in the mood for a change. Would be nice if they could go back to prior graphics sets on the main block. DeMarco leaving Twitter is no big loss to me. I could do without all the negative posting about politics that shows up on my feed. My overall thoughts on this block: hell yeah. I'm at least tuning in for Sailor Moon.

Smiling Friends April Fool's Day block

Touhou Fantasy Kaleidoscope: The Memories of Phantasm Episodes 14 and 15: "The Youkai Mountain Battle Incident" [parts one and two] a.k.a. "The Battle of Youkai Mountain", heh [ten thousand creatures, none the same]

I mean, he can't for six of them.

So anyway, here's what I meant to type up earlier: I personally think the Gessoku Gear fights were a better idea in theory than execution. The show needed better physics to really make them feel weighty. I also feel that their introduction is a little backhanded, more of a way to keep the hot-blooded ninja action going while not blowing out the budget. At least Yamaji becoming the Lord of Lightning and gatekeep, gaslight, and ninjabossing Joe into thinking he let his wife and kid die were cool and fucked up, respectively. Sadly, while I figured this show was a slam dunk to to be Toonami's best original (Space Dandy doesn't count) at some point, now I'm not sure I can say that. I do like it more than Shenmue, but if pressed I'll admit that show is probably objectively better. Too bad about the whole "no ending, plus you can't legally watch the dub" thing.

I'll give Warners this much: if this had happened a year ago, they probably would've cancelled and written off the show without saying a word. It'll be interesting to see if this will be their new strategy for shows that would otherwise be deleted forever. I mean, I imagine if the show isn't popular enough, they'll just write it off, but they also haven't written off anything recently, so... Housing Complex C hasn't been written off, and I don't think anyone would shed a tear if they did. You're being too pessimistic.

I was spooked enough to buy Duck Game ahead of its purported delisting, but this is cool news.

Actually, turns out I was already taping it... only now my old recordings have been deleted. Thanks, mom. So were my Zom 100 recordings, though I can catch up on those via VOD. Weirdly, the last two LycoReco episodes are still there.

You're just exactly perfect on the first point:

This has actually been a long time coming: I bought the DVDs in late 2018, but it took me until now to watch them, which was on a whim. But it also doesn't hurt that I don't have to rate the show myself given you're doing it in the thread. I was curious to see how you'd react to this. I think it'd be weird to take over rating the show from someone else, so how about this: you can keep doing the descriptions at your own pace even after I pass you. If nothing else, we can at least compare our ratings afterward; I assume mine will be different, and maybe not as good. Idolm@ster Xenoglossia 2/3

He's got another one coming out later this year. Maybe it'll have another video and Toonami will be a repeat customer?

Wait, I have to tape DBZ Kai tonight! They're almost past the marathon without me realizing. Thanks for the unintentional heads-up.

Maybe it would be different if the networks were showing new movies, but those seem to go straight to streaming with no other option. Look at the Paramount Network, for instance: they haven't added anything new in years, feels like. Just the umpteeth reruns of Forrest Gump, Shooter, and Adam Sandler comedies to go with a bunch of Bar Rescue reruns. Interestingly, networks aimed at younger viewers have been better about this, but still rely on a lot of old favorites. I've seen the original Jumanji playing on the living room TV a couple times this week. Personally, I don't pay for cable, but at this point I use it mostly for sports and whatever [as] is showing. Lately my family has been engrossed in the show 9-1-1, so reruns of that on USA and WEtv are a constant feature on the 'ol idiot box.

Ninja Kamui 10 Idolm@ster Xenoglossia 1 Woah, that was a hype premiere. First few minutes went too fast for me, but I loved the rest. How many timelines to I have to jump to get to the universe where this aired on Toonami? I also love the idea of having Internet stations in public spaces you can plug your phone into. Intact moon be damned, they should add that to our world.

If we go get a MAWS marathon, I guess I'll have to tape it and use it as my own crash course. I didn't bother doing so with the premiere run, mostly because I taped the entire run of Unicorn only to not watch it after hearing people say it's mid. Do we think there's any chance Boruto could return after Shippuden ends? I bet Viz could give them a sweetheart deal on it if they really wanted to. Or they could rely on Kai, because at this point the numbers are low enough back there that I doubt whatever they'd air would make a difference. I could see Rickanime airing pre-Toonami on Saturdays, maybe at 11:30 (just like Black Dynamite S2 back in the day) or earlier. Remember when they aired a one-off new episode of Smiling Friends on a Saturday at 11:00? Wonder if that was intended as a test for things to come...

I haven't watched any anime outside of Toonami in almost a month, but that's more out of laziness than anything. Ninja Kamui again, this time subbed. And likewise for the week after.

Ninja Kamui 9

Eh, I'm okay with Emma's death. I was more surprised that she bit it in this episode as opposed to Mike. Nice bait-and-switch from the next-episode preview. I'm just hoping Mike survives at this point, and maybe Jason too. Joe's going to get his revenge on AUZA, and I think there's a good chance he ends up sacrificing himself to make it happen. Besides, he's already got a big target on his back by directly challenging them, which is why I assume Emma was at peace with dying since Joe told her she'd have to go on the run once this was all over. Also, pour one out for Big D. Dude thought he was Henry Henderson back there. He wasn't as notable as the gay midget, but I'll remember him and his exquisitely-maintained fade.

Relevant to multiple things, including something I hope to finally finish this week.

I've seen more discussion on my Twitter TL about the new episode that aired off-the-cuff for April Fool's than for this entire series, and I think that says it all. [bring me my gwimbly gun]

Well damn, they remade the S1 episodes in different styles. I actually wondered if they were going to do this only with new episodes, but I guess this isn't as convoluted. Cute gag. It's not going to rank very high in the history of [as]'s April Fool's, but it's probably better than last year.

Lycoris Recoil 10 and 11 (live) Dragon Ball Z Kai 4 Ninja Kamui 8 (live) Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 1 (live) Now that my livetweeting game is back on point, I'll have to pop in here next week during Kamui.

Ninja Kamui 5/6 and 7 (live) Lycoris Recoil 6-9 (nice) Spy×Family S1E25 (end) Onimai: I'm Your Sister Now! 4 Dragon Ball Z Kai 1-3 That's a lot, and I like that it's a lot.