天下制覇

This was a surprise, in more ways than one.

Impressions:

I do this not because I have any interest at all in the series, nor had even once thought about the damn thing’s existence in the months it has been since it thankfully vanished of the air, but as a historian, marking its existence on the internet because I highly doubt anybody else will. …Which is probably best.

And imagine my joy when it begins with yet another one of those damned manga panel pan-over segments. This is a goddamned OVA, AIC. Granted, the highest hope I had is that Yoshino would take a bath at some point, but by the hammer o Thor, at least put some effort into it. Like the TV series, this was another action packed episode, filled with such developments like… it’s spring, and… Gonta looks for a spot for flower watching… and then finds one… and then they talk about eating… and then they eat… and then they talk about how it tastes good… and then in a super surprising twist for the series, instead of yet another hobo god or moon rat, there’s a tree ghost that steals their cake.

Thankfully, and somewhat bizarrely, the episode manages to pick itself up to be sort of okay in the second half. Sure, it could’ve been better. Yoshino could’ve been playing Strip RPS instead of Gonta (or Yuzu). And that’s really what they were playing. I had to look it up. The things you learn… Clearly my knowledge of Japanese stripping culture still needs work. Gonta’s Inuyasha fantasy about defeating the ghost thanks to Mayu giving him "Friendship Power" to let him transform into a Super… Cat-thing wasn’t horrible either, and certainly far better than what the show normally manages. If only every episode had at least managed to supply ghostly legs and Yuzu’s bandaged breasts exposed while playing various sex games, things might have been different. Alas.