Meeting Date: 3/11/2017
Disclaimer: The Herald Anime Club discusses shows as they’re airing. Naturally, there will be spoilers for a given episode. You have been warned!
Mike Ferreira: Good evening, world, and welcome to the Herald Anime Club. Tonight, we have a full house with Anthony Simpson, L.B. Bryant, and Lydia Rivers:
Lydia Rivers: Hiii everyone!
L.B. Bryant: Evening everyone
Anthony Simpson: Evening everyone
Mike Ferreira: Tonight, we’re back to talk about Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. This week’s episode: Sports Festivals, and hey, Lucoa’s not molesting anybody!
Lydia Rivers: Yaaay!
Anthony Simpson: Well she wasn’t molesting anybody she was just distracting everyone this time.
Anthony Simpson: Quite a fun episode.
Mike Ferreira: It really was. Even the interstitials with Elma were fantastic
Lydia Rivers: Please give us more Indecisive Elma Interludes.
L.B. Bryant: So, I need to get this out right away… I don’t know if it was purely because I was in a horrible mood when I watched this episode or if it was because it was genuinely emotional (or maybe a little bit of both) but I shed tears during the first half of this episode.
Mike Ferreira: It’s not just you.
Mike Ferreira: I got misty-eyed
Mike Ferreira: The toothpaste was the best part. She uses kids’ toothpaste because it tastes freakin’ awesome
L.B. Bryant: I got misty eyed while Kanna was trying to understand why Kobayashi wouldn’t come to her sports festival but then later on during the relay race when what’s her face dropped the baton and Kanna said “leave it to me”… gut punch. T_T
Mike Ferreira: The whole episode was filled with gut punches.
Lydia Rivers: Honestly, I was more impressed by the constant calculus she had to perform while accelerating *just* enough.
L.B. Bryant: It really hit me hard and made me think back to my own childhood and all the things I lacked like supportive parents and a best friend who would say “leave it to me”
L.B. Bryant: … That got a little personal. Sorry, heh
Mike Ferreira: No worries. That’s why we’re here. We’re like a therapy group. Who watches anime.
Lydia Rivers: I think what got me about that LB isn’t the fact that Kobayashi was supportive. It was the fact that she didn’t get what the big deal was, but went anyway. AND had a good time.
Anthony Simpson: I can’t say I can relate to that part. My parents were pretty supportive of me in my youth.
Lydia Rivers: That means she just plain old cares, and her understanding is moot. I wanted that sort of gift more than the typically supportive parents I think.
Mike Ferreira Definitely.
L.B. Bryant: Honestly I would’ve taken anything resembling what Kobayashi did for Kanna when I was growing up.
Anthony Simpson: Part of the reason of that had to do my with dad. He used to tell me when he would play baseball when he was little his parents never came to any of the games and that bothered him.
Mike Ferreira: I can kinda relate to L.B., though, and yeah… I think being in that type of situation really makes it hit harder, I think.
Lydia Rivers: Yeah, it was a great sequence and I was really happy to watch it.
Anthony Simpson: So when I played soccer, basketball, or when I started studying the martial arts he was there.
Anthony Simpson: my mom rarely made it the games because of her job at the time.
Anthony Simpson: She did make time to come to promotional tests when I still practicing the martial arts.
Lydia Rivers: What happened with the tug of war? I think I looked away and then I saw a butterfly and forehead girl screaming moe and they won. Did I miss something?
Anthony Simpson: Kanna touched forehead girl.
Lydia Rivers: Ohhh! Oh of course haha!
Mike Ferreira: Basically. Then she geeked out and ended up going “dead weight” which gave the pull to win
Lydia Rivers: Thank you Kanna for also making up for that lol
Anthony Simpson: What I found interesting was that they took one chapter of the manga that this is based on and made it something different from the source material.
Mike Ferreira: They did, and they really did it well
Anthony Simpson: The chapter this episode is based on is Kobayashi getting asked to come in for Parents day not Sports Day.
Mike Ferreira: Interesting.
Mike Ferreira: I thought they did a great job with the episode, overall – it was quirky, silly when it needed to be (“World Class” in the scavenger hunt? Then there’s Forehead Girl’s family…), but it just knew how to tug at the heartstrings.
Anthony Simpson: It’s plays out similar but Kanna talks to a character that hasn’t showed up in the anime then Kobayashi coming to Parents Day.
Lydia Rivers: The moral of the story shone through nicely with sports day, yeah. This time they made a good editing decision.
Mike Ferreira: Definitely. Sports Day is a bit more exciting of a show for viewers, too, which really helps to validate the choice
Anthony Simpson: I have to say this probably one of my favorite episodes of the show so far.
Mike Ferreira: Likewise. They really just nailed it this time
Lydia Rivers: I want to see more supporting characters (except for Lucoa) in the next episodes. I honestly prefer the more bite-size lessons they had in the first few episodes.
Mike Ferreira: I want more Elma, dammit.
Anthony Simpson: Well its looking like we might see more Lucoa next time.
Lydia Rivers: I’ll get my flamethrower ready.
Mike Ferreira: Lucoa can be a good character, if handled right. She was a great judge in the food contest
Anthony Simpson: Maybe she won’t be scaring Shota next time.
Mike Ferreira: Hopefully, she’ll just disturb Tohru a bit
Lydia Rivers: They abandoned her good character completely….we’ve been over this!
Mike Ferreira: That matter’s closed.
Mike Ferreira: Oh Jesus Christ on a fucking cracker!
Mike Ferreira: …Shota-kun, Shotacon. It’s a fucking horrific pun and I just caught it
Lydia Rivers: YOU JUST NOW GOT IT?!
Anthony Simpson: It took that long to get it?
Mike Ferreira: Yeah, I know. I’m slow on the uptake here.
Anthony Simpson: I pretty much got it once they said his name in episode 6. It’s like “welp.”
Mike Ferreira: Yeeeah, I feel dumb, here
Lydia Rivers: HAHAHA OMG MIKE now experience another depth to the complete urge to deck whoever was in charge of that decision. Is Shouta his name in the manga?
Mike Ferreira: Yep – Magado Shota
Anthony Simpson: Yes.
Lydia Rivers: But she doesn’t molest him in the manga?
Mike Ferreira: I couldn’t begin to tell you
Anthony Simpson: I know they shot the scene where she goes into the bath is different in the manga.
Anthony Simpson: That scene is done from the front
Mike Ferreira: That doesn’t shock me
Mike Ferreira: Aniwho, I think we’re nearing our natural end here. Any closing thoughts this week?
Lydia Rivers: Well anyway! If someone returns her to being not a child molester by way of apology, I’d welcome her back. But I’d rather just forget about her and focus on the others.
Anthony Simpson: Great episode this week.
Mike Ferreira: And I think we can all agree that Elma needs more interstitials.
Lydia Rivers: I really dig the degree of separation that you get from looking at human relationships from another creature’s point of view.
Anthony Simpson: Just choosing one can be tough at times.
Lydia Rivers: Good night everyone, and stay shiny!
Mike Ferreira: Night, everybody!
