In this week’s installment…

I throw in a few extra paragraphs as we say goodbye to Restaurant to Another World and Sakura Quest, but unfortunately not Virgin Soul. But hey, GAMERS! and Kakegurui are still hanging around and as fun as ever, so we still have one more week with them.

Check out our full size coverage: Fate/Apocrypha | Made In Abyss | Princess Principal

GAMERS! Episode 10: “Gamers and Next Stage” Thursdays 11:30 am EST on Crunchyroll

Jel: The beginning bit was pushing my patience with Chiaki saying dumb things like she didn’t have a reason to turn down Taksuku despite just discussing he would be cheating on his girlfriend, who by the way is also their friend. I’m not even going to get into how silly it is to fall in love with someone because they love Star Space Ocean 2. In the end though the episode redeemed itself with two key parts: Karen saying “I love you” and oddly enough, Keita running to support Aguri. The first one was just adorable and I was glad to see their relationship getting reaffirmed throughout.

The second part though was more interesting considering how rare it is to see platonic friendship in an anime like this, ESPECIALLY when they are already in a relationship with someone else. It also shows growth on Keita’s part. A few episodes back he realized it was important not just to be nice to the girl he likes, but to everyone else as well. He’s still kind of a clueless jerk but at least he’s trying. Now hopefully this doesn’t all spiral out of control and make Karen break up with him as it very well could, but this late in the series I’ll give GAMERS! a little benefit of the doubt. A little.

GAMERS! – Dudley would NEVER wear a hoodie

Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul Episode 22: “Which Way Is the Wind Blowing?” Fridays 10:35 am EST on Amazon Anime Strike

Jel: Predictably, Nina ends up turning into putty when she confronts Charioce and, of course, he was really trying to save the world all along. I have so many problems with this, first and foremost they offer no explanation as to why he needed to be a genocidal tyrant to make this happy. All they said was he needed “firm resolve” or something, which I’m pretty sure can be achieved without nearly destroying one race and enslaving another. Also, I was nearly hysterical with laughter when they offered a non-explanation as to why Bahamut was back. Sadly, it kind of cheapens the events of Genesis when you consider how quickly he’s returned. Did Amira’s sacrifice only buy them ten years? Really?

Even though I had concerns with the first half of Virgin Soul, it was still full of promise and competently made. The second half has been a disaster. I haven’t even had a chance to touch on the dip in production values. The show still looks decent, but it used to be one of the best looking shows airing. Instead the directing, the animation, the writing – it all feels like they fired the staff at the mid point and now the interns have been scrambling to finish the show. I’ll be glad to see it get put out of its misery soon.

Rage of Bahamut – I didn’t even mention Jeanne and Sofiel doing the fusion dance

Restaurant to Another World Episode 12: “Pork Soup / Croquettes” Mondays 2:05 pm EST on Crunchyroll

Jel: The past few episodes have been kind of hinting at the owner getting tired or sick or might have been in danger or some other negative event that could have set off a touch of drama for the finale. Even our final guest had some hint of danger to him, and yet I’m glad none of that amounted to anything. From start to finish, Restaurant to Another World was about a wide variety of people coming together to enjoy food. Using meat day and pork soup to unite them all was about as fitting a send off as I could have asked for. There was never any substance to it and I’m not even sure I’d recommend it, but i did enjoy my time watching.

Sakura Quest Episode 25: “The Kingdom of Cherry Blossoms” Wednesdays 12:00 pm EST on Crunchyroll

Jel: ​​​​I’m glad Yoshino decided to leave. Her decision to take the other job offer shifted Sakura Quest from a show extolling the value of small towns to their broader message of doing whatever you feel is right for you to be happy. I wasn’t going to be shocked either way, but I have to admit I was leaning toward guessing she would stay. Ririko leaving while Maki’s brother and Erika remaining undecided also reinforced the idea that there is no right answer here.

The episode itself wasn’t too surprising. The festival went off fine, everyone got their last little scene, and we had our tearful send off as The Queen left town. I was expecting to get a bit more emotional than I did, although the final part with Kadota running with his banner really hit hard. It was a perfectly good ending for a perfectly good show, one with a positive, heartfelt message that is definitely worth checking out.

Kakegurui – Season 3 of Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions actually looks good

Kakegurui Episode 11: “The Woman Who Bets Her Life” Licensed by Netflix (Release pending, please watch it there when it comes out)

Jel: I love how up to now no one has questioned why there is a girl with a mask talking wit a text to speech device as if that was perfectly normal, but of course when she takes it off it’s shocking. I’m going to place a bet that Mask Girl is not actually the president considering we did see the president at the family meeting earlier. So she’s either a twin or body double or something, or vice versa. If that is the case, is she trying to undermine the real president’s authority or is she just acting as her proxy? Man, who cares about that DID YOU SEE THAT GIRL BITE OFF HER OWN FINGERNAILS?!? I love this dumb show, bring on the finale.