Meeting Date: 2/17/2018
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 everyone, and welcome to the Herald Anime Club. I’m Mike Ferreira I’m joined by L.B. Bryant and Lydia Rivers
L.B. Bryant: Hello!
Lydia Rivers: Hiiii everyone
Lydia Rivers: I’m going to need a full medical team to get out of this neck brace, courtesy of Ancient Magus’ Bride. Yep.
Mike Ferreira: Tonight, we’re talking up School Babysitters Episode 6: “Guess who’s back, folks”, and The Ancient Magus’ Bride Episode 19: “Use the Force, Chise!”
Mike Ferreira: I know… total whiplash this episode x-x wow
Mike Ferreira: It’s like… “Here’s gory surgery’ “Awww now the college folks are having fun =D” “Now here’s our villain BLEEDING FROM HIS EYE SOCKETS”
Mike Ferreira: Like… up down up down
L.B. Bryant: Who knew that the one armed man (I can never remember his name) was a depressed drunk?? :)
Mike Ferreira: Super depressed… with big blobby tears
Lydia Rivers: Honestly. AMB: “This is a show about the petty dramas of daily life…with magic!!!”
Suddenly AMB: “JK, here’s graphic bloody violence against dragon babies.”
L.B. Bryant: So, can someone tell me what the hell was going on in the first couple of minutes with the surgery?
L.B. Bryant: Were they dissecting it?
Mike Ferreira: The build-up to what happened in the last couple of minutes – they were basically playing god with the dragon that went on auction
L.B. Bryant: Ah got it.
L.B. Bryant: I couldn’t really tell what was happening and that confused me.
Lydia Rivers: Think chimera, FMA style.
Mike Ferreira: Yeah.
L.B. Bryant: Gotcha.
Mike Ferreira: “My daughter and her dog are so close!”
Mike Ferreira: That kind of chimera.
Lydia Rivers: Yeah…
Lydia Rivers: After *pat pat Elias had a tantrum aaaaw.*
Mike Ferreira: Yeah… It’s like… this show has no middle ground between these moments
Mike Ferreira: We have a stretch of adorable, sweet moments, then… bam. Blood from the eye sockets and surgery
Mike Ferreira: On another note: Alice can rock a suit. Seriously.
Lydia Rivers: It’s so weird, because it had some grit, which I was waiting for…but it still lacked any urgency at all. We were all sitting back watching this traumatized baby dragon turn everything into a raging inferno and just kinda tilting our heads? It was so weird.
Lydia Rivers: Yeah she can!
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. It’s like… there was this weirdly urgent lack of urgency?
Lydia Rivers: Also, Kenichi Suzumura made a cameo with the white-haired prof. That was the best thing about that episode.
Mike Ferreira: Indeed.
Mike Ferreira: Then there’s that mystery woman who apparently made a deal with Chise
Lydia Rivers: Right…even the supposed auction drama was totally flat.
Lydia Rivers: I dunno.
Lydia Rivers: Apparently I’m just not going to be happy with this excellent anime lol.
Lydia Rivers: Sorry!
Mike Ferreira: I’m not sure, either. Like… I got the feeling that this was supposed to be an amazingly tense time, but it was just so… leisurely.
Lydia Rivers: Maybe they couldn’t maintain the balance between communicating Chise’s coolheadedness with the tension of events? Although I have a feeling I’m reaching for excuses for them.
Mike Ferreira: Possibly. I’m just kind of confused, here.
Mike Ferreira: Because I get what they were *trying* to do but…
Lydia Rivers: Probably because they spent too much time showing Chise being digested by a tantruming Elias and they compressed the actual plot too much.
Mike Ferreira: Probably.
Mike Ferreira: It’s a shame – this probably should’ve been a two-parter, or a 1.5 parter, shared with “The tantrum vore”
Lydia Rivers: Kenichi Suzumura was in it for a few lines, though! Did we mention that already?!?!?!
Mike Ferreira: Yep!
Mike Ferreira: He’s still a treasure.
Lydia Rivers: Oh. Well then I’ve got nothing else lolol
Mike Ferreira: Anything on your end L.B.?
L.B. Bryant: Nopes, I’m all good to move on if you guys are. :)
Mike Ferreira: Sounds good. I guess we can call this “A rare miss”
Mike Ferreira: Moving on, we have School Babysitters: “Creepers and Couriers”
Lydia Rivers: So………..this episode simultaneously caused me pain and joy
Mike Ferreira: Howso?
Lydia Rivers: Well, I liked how the shaggy big brother showed up after they spent time patronizing poor people “You’re plucky so it’s k!” and was like “Here, I worked hard so you could actually have something, I was lying to save face cuz pride is the only thing that’s free.”
Lydia Rivers: And bought his brothers the game
Mike Ferreira: That was a sweet moment – like a straight-up “screw you” to the general patronism
Lydia Rivers: Yeah! So I like the shaggy brother.
Mike Ferreira: He’s a good character
Mike Ferreira: I’m kind of happy to see the general reaction to the blonde guy is “stay away from the children or I’ll hurt you” – there’s some self-awareness there.
Lydia Rivers: I still didn’t get my ultrasensitive pedo alarms set off by that blonde kid. It’s not right that he pokes them, of course, but I’m still sure he sees them as puppies.
Mike Ferreira: I can kinda see that… I just get a little creeped out by him.
Lydia Rivers: “But Lydia, nosebleed.”
“But you guys, if the only excitement you ever have is sexual, please go live a little.” >.< I blush when I see cute things too. One time a curious bird landed on my head and started picking through my hair. My friend snapped a pic and I’m telling you guys, I was neon.
Mike Ferreira: It’s more “the children are afraid of him” that did it for me.
Lydia Rivers: Ugh yeah. Aunties that smother hugs on kids in the name of affection are in the same vein. Don’t force other sentient creatures to touch you! God
Mike Ferreira: Hehe. Fair enough.
Lydia Rivers: But the second half was just so damned cute.
Lydia Rivers: I hated it
Lydia Rivers: But I loved it
L.B. Bryant: Really enjoyed the second half.
Lydia Rivers: Wasn’t it so good!
Mike Ferreira: It was!
L.B. Bryant: The whole story of Kotaro’s first errand was stupid cute
Mike Ferreira: It was just adorable!
Lydia Rivers: Yesss
Mike Ferreira: LIke… right down to the kids like “It’s hit first errand! LET HIM DO IT! ”
Lydia Rivers: Yeaaah!
Lydia Rivers: And yakuza-eyes kid was so serious while helping him too
Mike Ferreira: That was amazing.
Lydia Rivers: And I even got to see samurai kid back up his friend by shoving a sandwich down some guy’s throat. It was beautiful.
Lydia Rivers: Or was it anpan?
Mike Ferreira: That was anpan
Lydia Rivers: A bread product of some kind was shoved down a throat.
Mike Ferreira: Yeah
Mike Ferreira: He was a good wingman
Mike Ferreira: Also, we got our moment of Usaida giving no fucks
Mike Ferreira: which is still great
Lydia Rivers: Which one is that? Butler?
Lydia Rivers: I still haven’t bothered to learn any names.
Mike Ferreira: The nanny guy
Mike Ferreira: Butler was amazing too, though
Lydia Rivers: Oh. Bleh hot-lazy guy.
Mike Ferreira: Yep.
Mike Ferreira: Butler’s like a ninja, though. He literally came out of nowhere with that hankie
Lydia Rivers: The butler offering a hanky with his emotional deadpan voice was well done, yes!
Mike Ferreira: I still love him
Lydia Rivers: Me too. Samurai and butler are my favs still. Anyway, this is an example of how this show looks when it doesn’t try too hard.
Lydia Rivers: And I like that look.
Mike Ferreira: Likewise.
Lydia Rivers: Too bad it was one short in the entire series >.<
Mike Ferreira: Indeed. It was probably my favorite part of the show so far
Mike Ferreira: More episodes like that, please
Lydia Rivers: Yas!
Mike Ferreira: Any other comments this week?
L.B. Bryant: None from me.
Lydia Rivers: Kenichi Suzumura was in this week’s episode of AMB!
Mike Ferreira: And with that, we close off the night. Until next time, remember to never bid on the dragon that turns into a giant black blob monster
Lydia Rivers: Stay shiny everyone!
L.B. Bryant: Laters!
Mike Ferreira: Have a great night!
