mana Archives | 100 Word Anime

The Day Ituski Had Sex With Mana and Why Am I Still Watching This?

Posted on December 20, 2018December 27, 2018 by Karandi

Conception Anime Episode Review Title Image

Conception Episode 11 Review

I’m not sure if this counts as getting my wish or not, though episode 11 of Conception did at least address the issue of the 13th Labyrinth and what Itsuki will need to do to save the world. So I guess that is technically developing a plot that for large chunks of this series feels like it got jettisoned as inconvenient in amongst all the dating and off-colour jokes.

But, then there’s the episode beginning which brings us yet more sex jokes at the expense of seemingly underage characters (though it turns out Alfie is older than she looks). Follow that up with the climatic centre piece of this episode, Itsuki going to be with Mana, and this episode if firmly reminding the audience of what its actual focus has been.

Still, as the penultimate episode of an anime with a large cast, Conception did at least try to remind us that these girls weren’t just disposable commodities to cater to all audience fetishes (sure they weren’t). After hearing the news that he’s unlikely to survive saving the world, Itsuki decides to go present shopping for the girls and what follows is a montage of Itsuki having a cute Christmas moment with each and every one of the previously used and swiftly forgotten Star Maidens. Some of these moments are kind of cute but it doesn’t make the fact that the show is relying on still images and music to convey an emotional narrative that none of the rest of the anime has actually supported.

My money is still on Itsuki surviving this but it is almost irrelevant at this point. If he does survive I’m guessing the final moments of this anime will be Itsuki with all the girls and the guys because this anime keeps feeling the need to one up itself and they’ve done pretty much everything else at this point except actually show the characters having sex.

This is definitely what happens when you know an anime is not going to be something you like but because of one minor bit of curiosity you stick it out. You get to episode 11 and think the next episode can’t come and go fast enough so you never have to think about the anime again.

Conception: It’s The Joke That Just Keeps Missing

Posted on December 7, 2018December 27, 2018 by Karandi

Conception Episode 9 Review

I think Matt said it best over on ‘Anime Q and A’ but Conception has proven time and again that it has zero interest in pursuing its own premise and is instead determined to indulge in whatever it feels like indulging in. While sometimes that might be the smuttier aspects (though apparently never outright sex despite early promises – and I’m not actually disappointed by that but I would at least understand what sort of anime this was trying to be), it is far more frequently its forays into humour usually spear-headed by the regularly fourth wall breaking Mana (who still hasn’t had a close encounter with a paper shredder despite my endless wishes since episode 2).

Basically if you’re still watching this for the actual plot, I feel sorry for you because I don’t think this show is particularly interested in it either!
Cactus Matt

What happens in episode 9 of Conception?

Well, Mana pursues the line of thought that the thirteenth labyrinth must be some sort of forbidden door and uses that to create an incredibly flimsy premise that clearly the ‘maiden’ must be someone forbidden and proceeds to suggest that they are either male (in the absence of being a younger sister or a step-mother). We then see the two other male characters indulge in some fairly blunt dialogue with Itsuki that is more or less a take-off of the usual pick ups they’ve been doing with the girls, but now there’s an incredibly amount of awareness behind every single line and it is almost as if the anime is daring you to call them on it.

"Itsuki, I can't stop sweating."
Pause for glistening sweat.
"Bye now."

– Actual dialogue from Conception Episode 9

There are no words. 🙄
— Karandi (@100wordanime) December 7, 2018

All of this is rounded up in a twist reveal at the end that more or less confirms what the audience more or less knew all along. And that is, Mana is a punk and the single most obnoxious character of the season.

I’m guessing there’s humour to be found here but to be honest I just found this whole sequence tiresome and Conception has definitely earned its title of ‘Anime I Wish I Hadn’t Watched This Season’. Still, too late now to back out so let’s see if they manage anything resembling a resolution given they’ve ignored their own plot for so long.

A Story of Fan-service, Parodies, and Star Children, Oh My

Posted on November 30, 2018December 27, 2018 by Karandi

Conception Episode 8 Review

This anime has never hidden what it is and I don’t really think it needed to. Right from the beginning the dubious nature of Itsuki’s quest to woo the Star Maidens over in order to make Star Children through a love ritual is as in your face as it can be and despite it not actually involving sex it is about as borderline as it can be. Throw in Mana’s character who is a non-stop parade of lewd sex jokes and references and essentially this anime was very up-front about what its focus was going to be.

Still, in earlier episodes I felt there were some elements that were curious enough or interesting enough to warrant sticking around and further investigation. The overall presentation wasn’t great, some characters annoyed, and Mana was simply toxic, but the basic idea of being summoned to another world to rid it of impurities through a ritual and then fighting through different levels in a labyrinth had potential. To put it simply the balance of things that made me curious vs those things that made me roll my eyes was good enough that I stuck around. In a show like How Not To Summon a Demon Lord that ultimately paid off. Master of Ragnarok on the other hand was a failure.

So where does Conception fit in?

Well, it is hard to say given it isn’t finished yet and potentially, it could still do something with the ideas it laid out early on but has yet to really capitalise on. In fact, maybe episode 8 is just the low point before the thunderous final and I’ll look back at this post and realise that this was a by-product of weekly watching and personal prejudices against reality TV shows and that a thin parody over the top of the format didn’t make this episode any more watchable.

Note: Just playing out the tropes of something isn’t necessarily parody. Small exaggeration of those tropes doesn’t make it necessarily parody either. It kind of just makes it an emulation of the original and if you aren’t fond of the original, unless the parody is actually highlighting a specific issue or idea, basically you are stuck with something else you don’t like.

But basically, this episode brings the worst of Conception to the forefront, while ignoring most of what makes it occasionally interesting and curious. Itsuki particularly has what is left of his character butchered through the attempt to fit him into the mould of the protagonist of an episode of The Bachelor and I was one finger snap away from terminating the viewing then and there.

As it was, I did skip forward at multiple points in the episode, which is something I almost never do on something I haven’t watched through once. Second watches sometimes have sections where I will skip forward if there is a particular scene or moment I’d rather not endure a second time. But first watches are usually safe from this kind of treatment with the understanding that if I dislike something enough to want to skip forward it is probably time to let it go.

And then, just as I was more or less determined to end the viewing on this and maybe pick one of the shows I put on hold back up, they get back to the idea of the labyrinth and give just the tiniest faint hope they might address it. Not to mention, I’ve watched 8 episodes of this and I kind of want to get to the end and do a season final review. There definitely comes a point in the season where dropping something feels like a defeat and that the time will be completely wasted if you don’t get to the end.

That said, I can’t say I’m particularly looking forward to the next episode. I just kind of want this one to be done.

Chain Chronicle – The Light of Haecceitas Episodes 2 + 3

Posted on January 24, 2017January 22, 2017 by Karandi

Review Episode 2:

Chain Chronicle picked up directly where we left off with Yuri and Aram defeating the soldiers who were attacking the village. After Aram faints and then wakes up, Yuri gives him a talking to and attempts to recruit him into his volunteer army which by the end of the episode he’s decided to change the name of. This show does not do subtle.

These are the bad guys in case you couldn’t figure that part out. This is generic fantasy without any surprises so far and to be perfectly frank I’m enjoying it. It’s felt like a long time since someone just did a steep the world in darkness kind of story without trying to throw some massive over-complication in to make it seem more clever. There’s very little to recommend it, it doesn’t stand out from any of the other generic fantasy out there nor does it seem to be trying to at the moment. The writing is okay, the characters generic, the fight sequences passable, and basically if you just want to switch off and do fantasy for awhile this is working.

Review Episode 3:

Is this the characters admitting they have no clue where to go or what their next step is so we’ll just kind of aim for this group of people and hope they can exposition us out of nowhere? Okay, it’s a fairly standard plot development in fantasy but it doesn’t make it any better. The Princess has gone to round up some allies and Yuri and his group are off to see the sages and then… I don’t think any of them have thought any further than we want to win. There are some cool moments this episode with Aram and Burckhardt (predictable but cool) and the final minutes give us a bit of excitement before the episode ends.