天下制覇

What in the nine hells was with that music in the first half?

Impressions:

I find myself wanting to talk about a bunch of other shows rather than this one. If you remember back to that Yozakura Quartet OVA werewolf fight, that would be an example of doing an incredible job of what this spent about sixteen minutes totally flubbing, but especially screwing up the dismount. Unlimited Blade Works comes to mind as well for similarly having fights that went on and on, but had no highs or lows, and left you mystified as to what the point was. Those were actually animated though. It was an episode that just dragged, which feels weird to say about something that was ostensibly almost entirely action. Clunky, boxy, CGI can only take so much blame for it. There was no pitch or flow to the fighting. They explained the plan, then they very gradually tried to go through with it. Not in the way of professionals doing their job. Hell to the goddamned no, not that at all. Like melodramatic teenagers, screaming in shock and disbelief when the enemy did such unbelievable things like return fire, or kill the dudes who ran out while yelling "I'm sacrificing myself for you!" No big surprises happened. No little surprises happened. I couldn't tell you what anybody accomplished at the end of it.

And then we return to Chidori and Sousuke, and decide that we're going to use last week's cliffhanger for a second go round, but this time, life affirming. Turns out, all Chidori needed was a pep talk, and bam. Angst all gone and ready to take on the world again. It takes longer to microwave popcorn than it took for her to suddenly be uncomfortable with violence and then get over it. And nobody got any popcorn out of it.