Meeting Date: 10/19/2018
Disclaimer: The Herald Anime Club discusses shows as they’re airing. Naturally, there will be spoilers for a given episode. You have been warned!
Samantha Ferreira: Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Herald Anime Club! I’m Samantha, and I’m joined by Lydia Rivers and L.B. Bryant
L.B. Bryant: Hello!
Lydia Rivers: Hiii everybody!
Samantha Ferreira: Tonight, we’re continuing our discussion on Karakuri Circus with Episode 2: “Something something ’90s jokes”
Lydia Rivers: I want to know just one thing: What’s the damn rush? Isn’t this going to be a long run?!
L.B. Bryant: Pacing has seemed fine to me so far.
Lydia Rivers: We were hurried through a few heavy character reveals and then dumped straight into a predictable “humorous” bath scene
Like
I was super jarred
Samantha Ferreira: I kind of agree that they’re escalating a bit fast.
Lydia Rivers: The fight scenes were over really fast, too
L.B. Bryant: I think they are trying to capture the audience’s attention quickly before the 3 episode rule elapses. I think they’ll find their footing soon.
Lydia Rivers: What did they want to do with this episode? Idek
L.B. Bryant: I will say that I have to admit that I was wrong and the whole thing with having to make someone laugh was closer to what Lydia said than what I said. Neither of us was 100% right but Lydia was a lot closer.
Lydia Rivers: I was so happy! Pseudoscience aside, of course!
L.B. Bryant: hehe
Samantha Ferreira: Hehe. I kind of expected it to have that element of hand-waving, though.
Lydia Rivers: Did you guys notice them slip in the setup for tournament puppet battles after showing what a badass Shirogane is
Samantha Ferreira: Yes!
Also, please give us more epic puppet battles, series. We’re loving every minute of seeing Arlequin KILL A GIANT PUPPET BY BEATING IT WITH HIS OWN ARM
Lydia Rivers: It’s going to be fun. I can’t wait to see the ridiculous things they come up with.
Samantha Ferreira: Likewise! ❤️
I mean, I think that’s my biggest complaint with the series so far. The battles are just so fun, and fluid, and flashy… but they end so fast
Lydia Rivers: Hopefully they pace it better, as LB predicts. If they keep trying to rush both the plot and the character background stuff, it’ll get pretty frustrating.
Samantha Ferreira: Agreed. I mean… Karakuri Circus is a SUPER long series – we’re talking 43 volumes. I hope they’re not trying to cram all 43 into this 30-some episode series.
L.B. Bryant: My early gut instinct says that they are but I could be wrong.
Samantha Ferreira: …Oh no.
Oh no, baby no. What is you doing, VOLN?
Lydia Rivers: In that case it’ll end up as service for the manga fans. Is there an English language license, do you know?
Samantha Ferreira: Not to my knowledge.
If I remember right, it was only released in Japan and Italy?
Maybe France, too?
L.B. Bryant: Yeah, those are the only ones.
I just looked it up.
Samantha Ferreira: OK… yeah. This is a dead license, sadly
Lydia Rivers: Hmm! Well, all we can do is hope and wait! If nothing else, we can be entertained whenever Shirogane tells Narumi to shut up.
Samantha Ferreira: True that.
Those poor convenience store people…
L.B. Bryant: I really liked that scene hehe
Lydia Rivers: I did too!
Samantha Ferreira: Same, lol
Gosh, that felt like it was ripped right out of the ’90s
Like… the pacing, the exaggerated expressions, even Shiogane’s yoga-pose kick
Lydia Rivers: YUP! She couldn’t even kick him like a normal person! YES LOL
L.B. Bryant: I was also wrong to think that Shirogane was going to get regular clothes this episode heh
Well.. she did run around for a few minutes in a button down shirt
Lydia Rivers: Ugh.
Samantha Ferreira: …sigh
I think she’s in the leotard for the rest of the run, folks.
Lydia Rivers: NOOOOO
L.B. Bryant: Well I mean, she even cooked in the stupid thing and put an apron over it no less.
Samantha Ferreira: Oh god, she did!
L.B. Bryant: So yeah, I agree that we might be seeing her in those spots more often than not.
Samantha Ferreira: Boo. she’d look so amazing in something like well… not-spangly-circus clothes that make sense in a typical setting
Lydia Rivers: God, I wish they could have chosen colors that aren’t red and yellow
If they’re going to go with irrational fan service
AT LEAST MAKE IT PRETTY
Samantha Ferreira: Yes!
That said, she did get one of the sickest burns this episode.
Well… several of them
From the yoga-kick STFU to the straight-up “It happens a lot at the circus, but remove that from your memory or there will be murder-death”
Lydia Rivers: I think I’m old. Actually, I KNOW I’m old. I’m officially throwing kids off my lawn whenever I see a bath scene. They haven’t been funny since 1999 and I don’t care how easier it is to show how cute your characters are when they blush.
Samantha Ferreira: It’s beyond outmoded at this point and should be in that “died in 1995” pile with the massive nosebleeds and sweatdroplets the size of hams
Lydia Rivers: And these characters ARE SO CUTE!!! Blush even more, dammit! But my eyes rolled so hard they got stuck for a second.
Agree. The only time I want to see it is in series that make fun of themselves!
Samantha Ferreira: It’s like “Come on… I know this is an old series, but for cripes’ sake… did we have to bring THIS with it?”
Like… we’ve had 21 years since the manga first launched. You’d think they’d realize what doesn’t fly anymore
Lydia Rivers: Except the bath scene is still used regularly by new ones, too. AMB, anyone?
Samantha Ferreira: True…
AMB was worse, what with Elias literally ripping her clothes off
Lydia Rivers: She was older and uninjured, too. But Shirogane wasn’t THAT much worse than Elias, especially since a man was there. I mean, that’s exactly why narumi walked in for his part of the joke. I’ll complain about this stuff until it changes, or I die. Even if I like the series.
Samantha Ferreira: Ture enough.
It’s super problematic either way.
Lydia Rivers: Yep. If it were simply an unfunny joke, I’d leave it alone. It’s not. Especially when you’ve lived through it! But, I did appreciate Narumi training to get the image out of his head.
I laughed at that part
Samantha Ferreira: Likewise! That and the album was cute
Lydia Rivers: Yesss! “Crying because I didn’t want to drink milk.”
Samantha Ferreira: That was so adorable!
“Crying because I didn’t wanna go to school”
Lydia Rivers: Who would take a picture of that? A vindictive parent probably, lol!
That album must have been his mother’s revenge
Samantha Ferreira: lol – without a doubt
Lydia Rivers: I want to see little babby Shirogane too! With her first murder puppet!
“Me when I made Arlequin knock down my first tree.”
Samantha Ferreira: Yaaas~!
I need this in my life now!
God, Shirogane’s great – she’s so badass, but she’s just a mess when it comes to being an average person. So she’s a normal human being with a murder puppet, lol
Lydia Rivers: She don’t need no man
Samantha Ferreira: She just needs her murder puppet.
Lydia Rivers: Until the boy gets ganged up by assassins
And she’s distracted by another murder puppet
Then it’s ok, Shirogane.
Samantha Ferreira: Indeed.
God, I loved that part, though. “Kill the boy” – Cue the dramatic tension before “POW” – fist beats knife
Lydia Rivers: Where did he even come from?
Ninja school?
Samantha Ferreira: China. He’s literally Ranma Saotome at age 40
Lydia Rivers: That’s terrifying
Samantha Ferreira: Isn’t it?
Lydia Rivers: The convenience store gag did go according to an Akane scenario…
Samantha Ferreira: It really did
Right down to that over-the-top yoga kick
Lydia Rivers: Ranma 1/2…with murder puppets…
…..
There was a guy who dies if he doesn’t eat pickles…and now a guy who dies if he doesn’t make people laugh…
Samantha Ferreira: Indeed. So where’s our grumpy panda-dad, damn it?
Lydia Rivers: I’ll be him, if no one shows up
Samantha Ferreira: Yay
Side note, just to emphasize to the readers how much we like this show: We’ve been talking for an hour and a half now – for Happy Sugar Life, we basically went our 30, ranted, then stopped, lol
Lydia Rivers: This show is really easy for us to go on tangents
Good ones
Samantha Ferreira: It really is.
Lydia Rivers: I haven’t thought about Ranma 1/2 in a decade
Samantha Ferreira: Aw, but you could get two whole episodes, for just $29.95 in the ’90s!
…Thank you, Viz Media, for leading literally EVERY ONE of your tapes with that. I will never forget that now.
Lydia Rivers: Yep. NEVER FORGET
The people who get mad about paying Funimation $6 a month make me laugh!
Samantha Ferreira: You and me both! But anyway! Let’s not get into that topic lest my mailbox get virus bombs again. ^-^
Aniwho… any final thoughts this week?
Lydia Rivers: No, no final thoughts! I have high expectations because I like what I’ve seen so far!
Samantha Ferreira: Likewise! More murder puppet battles, please! ❤️
’til next time, remember: Fist beats knife, unless you’re in a real-life situation!
Have a great night, everbody.
Lydia Rivers: Stay shiny!
