Meeting Date: 11/24/2018
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: Sure
Happy Saturday everyone, and welcome to the Herald Anime Club! I’m Samantha, and I’m here with L.B. Bryant and Lydia Rivers.
Lydia Rivers: Hiii everyone!
L.B. Bryant: Hey everyone
Samantha Ferreira: Tonight we’re back to the world of murder puppets and goo robots with Karakuri Circus episode 7: The one with the gay knife-throwing cowgirl.
Lydia Rivers: Hm, well, I mean I’m glad Shirogane has a murderer friend now but…
Samantha Ferreira: yeah.
The pacing was kind of weird… also her straight-up “I’mma slit this person’s throat”
Lydia Rivers: First of all, she spent the entire season without willingly leaving Masaru’s side. Then suddenly she’s going to return these worthless balloons to the zoo during a particularly ominous darkness, leaving Masaru by himself with the people they just joined up with.
Samantha Ferreira: That was just so weird!
It’s like “Well this is a convenient setup!”
Lydia Rivers: And the show just keeps spending so much time on characters that it fails completely and honestly, I just want the murder puppets already! I liked Naruto better to be honest. The murder puppets on that show at least got some screen time!
Samantha Ferreira: I am 100% with you! Like… the part where she got Arlequin out I was like “FINALLY!”
L.B. Bryant: I can agree with this sentiment as well
Lydia Rivers: And Naruto is basic shounen right, but it at least followed through on its drama. If I’m going to watch a basic shounen, please either do something different, or follow the damn formula!
Samantha Ferreira: Exactly! And don’t make up something so stupid as “the traveling circus gave everyone a magic disease”
Then the bit with the hundred knives. I was like “I can’t.”
Lydia Rivers: She pulled one out of her BRAIN!
L.B. Bryant: My mouth was open at that moment but then they explained it away like it was nothing and I was like “What was the point of ever having any concern for her in previous episodes?”
Lydia Rivers: None, and now Masaru can get cut up too because he drank a drop of her blood.
L.B. Bryant: Which ruins any amount of drama going forward.
Lydia Rivers: At least Naruto and his cute teammates had the decency to get wrecked before they win!
L.B. Bryant: Plus I’m not exactly trusting the traveling circus that doesn’t even have enough money to put on a real show.
Samantha Ferreira: Exactly
This whole show just… fell apart
What happened to the evil gangs? The murder puppets? The danger? The murder puppets? The suspense? The murder puppets?
Lydia Rivers: Shirogane went back to school for an episode and then left again. We just had to see her in a sailor uniform, duh
Samantha Ferreira: Of course!
Lydia Rivers: I’m sure the manga was set up much better than this, but the show is just super cringe!
Samantha Ferreira: Just like we saw with the Great Stank Arm Fire of 1995, the manga just built things up better
Lydia Rivers: And now the people who mistreated Shirogane have a dark warehouse full of children that can’t be killed
But they’re going to save them!
L.B. Bryant: Well, Narumi is going to save them. The docs are going to continue running away to their office so that they can shoot up and eat pills off the ground like candy.
Lydia Rivers: You mean eat vitamins!
Samantha Ferreira: Yes! Vitamins. Clearly not psychotropic medications and narcotics taken from the pharmacy
Lydia Rivers: I’m glad we cleared that up.
Samantha Ferreira: Same. Here I thought we’d have some real gravity again for a moment
Lydia Rivers: We did for a moment until the gay girl turned into the predatory lesbian trope and hit on the people she was just trying to murder.
Samantha Ferreira: That still strikes me as incredibly weird
Even for this show
L.B. Bryant: Which, btw, was kind of impressive considering that a second before she did that she was lying on a bed with serious injuries.
Samantha Ferreira: Like… “you almost killed me D: So what’re you doing tomorrow? ❤️ ”
Not even a beat
Lydia Rivers: “My little brother died horrifically. I still have flashbacks. Btw, you’re really hot when you cry, random stranger who I had coffee with.”
Samantha Ferreira: Exactly.
It’s like… “Dial it back, writers, and learn to read a moment. This is tone-deaf!”
Lydia Rivers: Welp. I think that about covers it!
I wish it were hilariously bad so that I could laugh and enjoy it on bad anime night. But it’s not, it just kind of quacks like a duck without being cute like a duck.
Samantha Ferreira: My one-line review to this point: “I’m not mad, just disappointed.”
Lydia Rivers: “This show gives me ample opportunity to practice my deadpan stare.”
Samantha Ferreira: “This show is sadness hidden behind a colorful veneer”
Lydia Rivers: “This show promised murder puppets…but they were a lie.”
Darling this is four lines. But it’s good to have options.
Samantha Ferreira: Hehe.
Any final comments this week?
L.B. Bryant: Nothing from me.
Lydia Rivers: * yawn * What? –my expectations for next week!
Samantha Ferreira: Hehe. Fair enough. ’til next time, remember: NOBODY IMPORTANT IN THIS SHOW CAN DIE ANYMORE
Have a great night!
L.B. Bryant: Night!
Lydia Rivers: Stay shiny, everyone!
After the meeting…
L.B. Bryant: I submit a motion that we find a new show to watch in January :)
Samantha Ferreira: Seconded
Lydia Rivers: Forty seconded!!!!
Samantha Ferreira: This show started so good, too.
Lydia Rivers: Three episode rule failed us, hard.
