天下制覇

I want my ears back.

Impressions:

While the assassin show appears to be recovering a bit, this show is plunging fast. An entire episode about how silly and funny stalkers are with a character literally named "twisted love," most of it spent listening to her scream at the top of her lungs. I'm starting to worry about the vocal health of voice actors with how much screaming is required of them these days. I shouldn't be longing for the days of Mamiko Noto's breathy silent voice being cast in every show, even when it needs to be the male protagonist. I'm not saying the whole yandere gag can't be funny, but this ain't the way. You can go ridiculously petty and minor, creating a humorous contrast between intensity and actions. Or fully over the top with ridiculously elaborate death traps that would impress even Skeletor. Or go full Pinky and the Brain with just plain nonsense. Satire is not just being indistinguishable from Higurashi or Happy Sugar Life or whatever, but also having a silly pun name. Half those things have silly pun names to begin with.

It did eventually lead to a somewhat nice scene at the end of the episode of Komi apologizing for it, which continues to be the show's strength that I wish it leaned more into. Not just the saccharine music, but the way it used silence as he tried to talk to him. That was a genuinely well-constructed scene! Contrast is important. Silence is important. It gives the moment impact. I just wish it hadn't been preceeded by 15 minutes of screaming unpleasantness. Or followed by yet more screaming unpleasantness. Was it worth the cost of suffering through the rest of the episode? Probably not, because I was ready to throw in the towel after ten minutes of suffering, but it may have been enough to buy the show at least one more week as both these Wednesday things continue to limp along with great reservations.