Meeting Date: 5/15/2020
Disclaimer: The Herald Anime Club discusses shows in a generally unmoderated format. 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 this week I’m here with L.B. and Anthony.
L.B. Bryant: Hello.
Anthony Simpson: Evening.
Samantha Ferreira: This week, we’re rocketing to the University Satellite for the next chapter of Battle Athletes Victory: ReSTART!, Episode 6: “That is totally a legally distinct verison of Eye of the Tiger.”
Anthony Simpson: Also the return of the totally legally distinct Beverly Hills Cop theme.
L.B. Bryant: Hm, I hadn’t even noticed the music. I’ve been hyper focused on the story and characters.
Samantha Ferreira: The story’s gotten remarkably engaging over the past few episodes.
L.B. Bryant: I’ve been thinking about this over the last couple of weeks; wondering if I prefer this darker story over the light hearted nature of the original and I’m honestly not sure what my answer is yet.
Anthony Simpson: I have to agree with Sam about the story getting more engaging as the series as progressed.
Samantha Ferreira: Honestly, I like both about equally. The original was fun for what it was, but this feels more like a natural progression of what the Cosmo Beauty competition would become.
L.B. Bryant: I think I need to wait and see how this one ends before I decide. I think the issue is that I came into this one kind of expecting more of the original (only with fewer problematic elements).
Samantha Ferreira: I can see that. Honestly, I went in with the same but found my expectations pleasantly subverted after the third episode.
Anthony Simpson: And as someone who has no experience with the franchise outside of AMV clips, I really didn’t know what to expect.
L.B. Bryant: I will say that I’m still confused about why so many characters have similar designs from the first series. No one has even mentioned it so far.
Samantha Ferreira: The names hint that they’re all descendants
L.B. Bryant: Yeah but I’d like them to actually say it, lol.
Anthony Simpson: They might end up saying down the road.
L.B. Bryant: Yeah, I’m waiting for them to tie it all together.
Samantha Ferreira: Oh, same. I’m expecting Kanata to be Akari’s granddaughter or something
L.B. Bryant: Anyways… this episode was pretty stellar in terms of little reveals.
Samantha Ferreira: Right?
Anthony Simpson: I have to agree with both of you here. It was like the peeling of a onion.
Samantha Ferreira: I did not expect to see Paglia try to blackmail the doctor like that.
Anthony Simpson: Nor that the Dr. was aligned with a slave colony.
Samantha Ferreira: Oh god yeah. Also, that said, rookie mistake for Paglia. You do not threaten a dangerous dude without expecting backup.
L.B. Bryant: Yeah, that was rather silly of her.
Samantha Ferreira: Granted, I also didn’t expect to see Yusil going nuclear, like she did with that rockslide.
Anthony Simpson: Neither did I.
L.B. Bryant: I think that story is possibly the most interesting one of the series.
I’m loving the “Will she or won’t she” vibe.
Samantha Ferreira: Same.
Anthony Simpson: Same here. Its easily the best story line going so far.
Samantha Ferreira: Like, Yana’s been just a fascinating character this whole time – bringing in Yusil as pretty much her Joker was a brilliant move – to show what the flip side of her situation would be, if she hadn’t gone to the satellite. Meanwhile, Yusil lost everything – and she’s willing to burn everything down to get what she wants… even if it means using the one person she counted on as a friend more than anything.
Anthony Simpson: True.
Samantha Ferreira: On a lighter note, one detail I really liked was when Jeff was going through the files for the girls. Shelley’s had an explicit “does not like men” tag – like… they’re really not subtle about her and Kanata being an item and I’m here for it.
L.B. Bryant: Haha, that is pretty awesome.
Samantha Ferreira: Right? They’ve done everything short of holding up a sign that says “Harold, they’re lesbians.”
Anthony Simpson: I didn’t notice that myself. I guess I wasn’t paying attention too much
Samantha Ferreira: It’s something that caught my eye because I’m a nerd and basically read through all of them, lol. Any final thoughts this week?
L.B. Bryant: If there’s one thing that I wish had been included as a throwback to the original, it would be an Akari house.
Samantha Ferreira: I would’ve loved to see an Akari House.
Anthony Simpson: Just hoping to see what comes next week.
L.B. Bryant: Even if it only happened once, that would make me laugh and satisfy me :)
Anyways, that’s it for me, lol.
Samantha Ferreira: … I’m going to have to find a pic of that now aren’t I?
L.B. Bryant: lol, probably
Samantha Ferreira: Haha. “This is an Akari House. It is where Akari goes when she has a sad. Which is surprisingly often.”
Aniwho, I really can’t wait to see what happens next. This week left us on a pretty big cliffhanger, so next week is sure to be crazy.
That’ll have to wait til next time, though. Til then, remember: If you’re going to threaten someone allied to an evil cartel, be sure to have a posse with you, first.
Have a great night!
Anthony Simpson: Goodnight
L.B. Bryant: Night!
