天下制覇

And random titty twisters.

Impressions:

Well, certainly a better attempt than most episodes for this show lately in that they spat out a new character, and found a new situation to shove the characters into and they did a little bit different from simply shouting out their one joke for at least most of the second half. It even set Darkness aside entirely, and Aqua for the second half, to better focus down. Not that they actually did anything with the protagonist and Fourteen Sicko besides scream and make piss jokes, but at least that was something somewhat different than usual. That may be what I find most baffling about this show. It seems to understand that it should be staying firmly episodic so nobody expects any kind of greater story or for anything to go anywhere, but other than a vague idea of a plot per episode, it doesn't seem to get that there should be a start, middle, and end; just sort of… half-assed stuff until the requisite 20 minutes are up and it's time to finish whatever they were doing. Just a little actual thought or care into the structure would do this so much good and make up for its deficits in jokes, characters, animation, creativity… Okay, maybe not all its problems, but it would help.

So yes, an improvement it might have been, but the core issues were still there. It's hard to even call the newbie particularly new, as her only real joke is that she's the opposite of Aqua, which they go to great goddamned length to point out repeatedly. See, she's a goddess lich, but she acts like a normal person! Cue rimshot and laugh track. And then there's… Aqua shouting some more? Or maybe haunted dolls, I guess? Christ, guys. Could you possibly be any more creatively bankrupt than "Victorian dolls are creepy"? Even things parodying that have been done to absolute death, and this didn't consider for a moment trying to do anything we all haven't seen done at least fifty-seven times before. They still could've tried something though. How about if instead of staring with glowing eyes, he woke up to them humping his leg like a dog as they stare unblinking into his eyes? Victorian humping dolls. Lord knows it'd have certainly improved the most recent season of Rozen Maiden.

Next Episode:

Bath episode.