Check-out Station: Golden Time ep21 – FINAL

Well here I am.  I’m quite late, but not as late as i expected.  It’s been a long time coming.  I originally said that I had high hopes for this series, and that I was looking forward to something dramatic and exciting.  But as I got through this series it got more weird, a less of everything else.  Less romance, more screaming.  Less comedy, and more goofiness.  So then let’s see if this final stretch of the show can redeem Golden Time, and make it truly a memorable show.

Golden Time ep19: weak sauce

On the plus side, I learned I was horribly mistaken about one of my previous misconceptions about this show. On the other end, this show still feels compelled to disguise high school drama in the cloak of a university setting. Or perhaps this is just another in a long line of cases of me having too high a bar for a series in terms of its maturity.

Despite my negative tone, it wasn’t as if I didn’t enjoy this episode.  Progress is

Golden Time ep17 & 18: sometimes you just need the courage to face your past.

It feels good to be back watching this show again.  I think taking a break or a breather from anime for a bit deepens your desire watch it.  I think that applies to this show as well.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

AniFriday Issue #11 (January 31st, 2014): the Snowed in Special Edition

It’s been a hell of a week or two for me.  As an adult, I don’t think weather has kicked my ass as much and as hard as it has this month.  I’ve had to evacuate my house twice because the heater couldn’t keep up with the below freezing temperatures.  People are getting injured left and right, and being on the roads is the worst thing you can do.  But at least I have time to watch some anime and read some manga.  All I need is electricity, water and tea leaves.

Here are the anime I’ll be covering this week, in order of appearance:

• Golden Time ep15
• Tokyo Ravens ep14
• Tonari no Seki-kun ep1
• Bleach ch566
• One Piece ch736
• Team Medical Dragon ch95

Golden Time ep14: don’t forget, this is Japan

I’ve punished Golden Time quite a bit critically, because I’ve failed to accept one thing. This show is average, average at best. And I can’t very well soak up another dozen or so episodes and not face that truth. It seems at this point that it’s very unlikely this show will shoot up in my tier list of anime from 2013. There just isn’t enough pop or emotional connection for this show to genuinely impress on the level that I foolishly expected. That said, it doesn’t mean I can’t accept this show as it is and enjoy it. As this episode shows, while it’s not spectacular, it does have its moments and charm.

Golden Time ep13: you make your own sh*tty luck

This show is so frustrating! Here I have an episode with stuff that I absolutely loved, yet there are elements of this show that just drag it down for me. It’s bad enough when literally one character is making you dislike the show, but it’s even worse when that character is basically the plot for the whole show. On the plus side, I did find out where all the pee jokes about this show came from. You guys on Twitter are really childish, you know that?

Golden Time ep12: on a first name, first time, first step basis

WOW! This is the episode I’ve been wanting for so long. The episode I came into this series expecting. It seems like all this silliness with Banri getting sick and later needing a job lead to some good character moments in a show that needs them.

Golden Time ep11: the Misadventures of Robogirl and Maid-Boy

This show is quickly showing that it doesn’t care much for secrets, whenever someone gets one, it’s immediately sent packing as one way or another it’s discovered by someone else. And any attempts at secrets are just a pathway to trouble. So far the main secret of this show has been Banri’s lingering love for Linda. But then there’s the mystery of the missing photo of the two of them. And then there’s a new problem, money.

Golden Time ep10: at a less than fevered pitch

What an utterly boring episode. Usually I have more patience for a show than this, but the combination of Banri’s annoying ghost taking over, even for as little as a few minutes, plus the boring dialogue just killed this episode for me.

Golden Time ep9: I’ll always be there

This episode, oh this episode.  I should expect that as the show gets more adult, it gets more complicated.  But do I have to accept clash of past and present as one of the complications?  Is it really so hard to keep the supernatural stuff to a minimum.  It’s bad enough I have to deal with the contest of past and present lovers without dual personalities and possible schizophrenia popping up.