Yep, it’s that time once again folks! We’re still trying to get the remaining spooks out of our system as October finishes itself out, but just like the many, various candies of Halloween being handed out, we at the Backloggers are handing out sweet, delicious anime articles! Yeah, they’re not exactly tasty like candies, but hopefully you’ll find a post that fits your tastes just like that favorite candy of yours.
“Is this even the same show?” A question I asked myself continuously while watching this episode.
You may have expected me to delve into another long rant-like explanation as to why SukaSuka continues to not work for me and how much it continues to stray from the beginning episodes in dramatic tone and impact, as I’ve discussed several times previously. I mean, I’ve ragged on this show a lot, after all. Most of the things I’ve ragged on though have been personal complaints or about scenes that didn’t quite hit the mark as hard I was hoping it would, and there’s still a plethora of problems with the show in general. However, this episode brought out the shows true colors and gave me exactly what I wanted and expected the show to be like all along.
And by that, I mean, an episode perhaps rivaling episode 1 in terms of outstanding quality. This episode was truly fantastic.
The penultimate for the series and boy is it worth that haughty title. What starts with a innocent, though a bit existential, discussion about “happiness” steadily divulges into an all out struggle for survival as every character down on the surface finds themselves at the end of the line, finally leading us back to just before where the series all began with that beautiful opening piece that sold me on picking up this series eleven weeks ago.
What started as a gentle slope to the finish last episode has turned into an eighty degree angle slide into the finale. The is the episode we finally, finally, get a lot of the answers that we were looking for… and then a few more questions. While I had wished more of this information had been spread out or at least hinted at more in other parts of the series, I felt its delivery was excellent and the revelations interesting. Plus, given some of the information explained, it made sense for the show to wait until the very end before revealing its hand.
This episode definitely wants us to know we’re finally here at the end of it all and the allusions to the first episode are abound, particularly the constant various versions of the show’s opening motif played in every style imaginable throughout each scene. There was also of note the opening discussion about happiness that was interesting to hear as it seemed to be a direct allusion to the first few lines of the show, a monologue about how Ctholly had found her happiness finally before she tumbles off the ship and down to the surface below.
![[HorribleSubs] Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasuka Isogashii Desuka Sukutte Moratte Ii Desuka - 11 [1080p].mkv_snapshot_01.21_[2017.06.29_01.08.05]](https://thebackloggers.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/horriblesubs-shuumatsu-nani-shitemasuka-isogashii-desuka-sukutte-moratte-ii-desuka-11-1080p-mkv_snapshot_01-21_2017-06-29_01-08-05.jpg?w=531&h=299)
Welcome to AniBlogging, Ctholly. We have words.
I think that at this point in the season, I’ve become attuned to the fact that SukaSuka is a show where it feels like, and often is the case that surprisingly little happens with each passing episode. The show often manages to delve deep into some worldbuilding, or some deep discussions between characters, but often, much of what passes the time for each episode comes across as being interesting, but ultimately inconsequential with regards to the rest of the show. Although it does still dabble in some of these issues, episode 10 is different. Episode 10 has a lot to say, and what it does say at its crucial points are important. In ways that some prior episodes did not quite reach, it manages to give us the drama, the heartfelt, touching moments, and meaningful worldbuilding that some of the earliest episodes used to inspire such faith in the show in me.
Well, here we are. It’s another rousing week of SukaSuka. I’d like to say that I’ve been constantly entertained by the series so far, but sadly, I can’t. SukaSuka rides the line between boring and enthralling, depending on how each episode captures Chtholly and Willem in a beautiful romantic light. When it decides to pull out all the stops, it does a pretty good job of being entertaining and keeping my attention. However, the times that it does shine are few and far between, and I think this inconsistency is one of the largest downfalls of the series itself. Sometimes an episode will pull out a captivating moment, only to fill the rest of its run-time with needless exposition that had already been shown to us through smaller moments. Episode 9 is similar to episode 8, a prime examples of exactly why I like the show, and also why I find this anime with such a unique premise so uninteresting as it progresses.
Whoo, boy. This one’s gonna be a doozy.
If nothing else, I will say SukaSuka has been a ride, though not for all the right reasons. First and foremost, let me state that this show continues to impress me because when it hits, it hits solidly. I revel in the genuine and beautiful moments that this show has to offer and I love when this anime goes out of its way to cleverly layer exposition in very natural conversation. For what faults we’ve seen up to now, this show has just as many great ideas and scenes. However, the issue is that this show is not just its high moments, and that becomes the unexpected downfall that I’ve found while watching this episode.
![[HorribleSubs] Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasuka Isogashii Desuka Sukutte Moratte Ii Desuka - 08 [1080p].mkv_snapshot_08.51_[2017.06.02_01.04.35]](https://thebackloggers.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/horriblesubs-shuumatsu-nani-shitemasuka-isogashii-desuka-sukutte-moratte-ii-desuka-08-1080p-mkv_snapshot_08-51_2017-06-02_01-04-35.jpg?w=476&h=268)
You don’t know the half of it, Willem.
Episode 7 of SukaSuka has most definitely calmed down from the dramatic, lore-filled rollercoaster that episode 6 was. In one respect, this is certainly a good thing, as the previous episode encountered a few hiccups in character motivation and narrative direction, among other things. Episode 7 returns to a very relaxed pace for SukaSuka, somewhat reminiscent of the beginning episodes of the show in how it goes about giving us some information about the world. Frankly, we learn quite a bit of pertinent information here through means that seem quite conversationally natural, and we do have some satisfying emotional payoffs in this piece, as well. At the same time, though, it feels as though we fall into some really odd places with regards to Chtholly’s own sense of self-worth, which once again leaves me feeling like this episode is a bit of a mixed bag.
This show has become strange to me over the last few weeks. It started out to be this entrancing anime, showing the depth of the world, using various elements to work towards creating a particular sort of tone, and further using these elements to create a world and characters woven into this grand narrative that was both mystical and tinged with drama. Lately though, these aspects that have attracted me to the show have started becoming buried under all sorts of problems, and it’s becoming harder and harder for me to look past them, even in its key dramatic moments.
We’ve been talking for several episodes about how much we applaud this series for being very clever with its pacing and intentional lack of action, allowing us to explore the characters and their setting on a bit deeper scale because of this. It’s an interesting idea to make a light novel adaptation with almost no action in a genre that relies heavily on it. For fantasy, action, specifically battles and violence, is the driving force for most stories and it makes sense. These are dangerous worlds in which rules surrounding people whipping out swords and going to town don’t always apply. Fantasy is such a high form of fiction that a story can easily show epic battles or intense magical creatures that tantalize and gives us incredible escapism, answering our thirst for a world where we all can have kickass powers. I mean, it’s just so dang fun to watch people sling spells and arrows around like there was a sale on projectiles. However, SukaSuka doesn’t really do this and, to be honest, that’s kinda what’s made it so great so far.
However, give me an opening like this with an epic battle… I mean, I’m not gonna complain.
![[HorribleSubs] Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasuka Isogashii Desuka Sukutte Moratte Ii Desuka - 05 [1080p].mkv_snapshot_00.04_[2017.05.14_13.03.43]](https://thebackloggers.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/horriblesubs-shuumatsu-nani-shitemasuka-isogashii-desuka-sukutte-moratte-ii-desuka-05-1080p-mkv_snapshot_00-04_2017-05-14_13-03-43.jpg?w=522&h=294)
For a sec, I thought I accidentally started watching Youjo Senki again.
I have to be honest, when I went to watch episode 4 of SukaSuka, I was interested in where it was going to take me. Was the show going to take us on a long journey where nothing happens, but we learn a lot about the show’s world, as previous episodes thus far have done? Since we just saw Chtholly, Ithea, and Nephren go off to Island 15 to fight against the 17 Beasts, are we going to see some over-the-top action sequence, switching out our fairly consistent viewpoint of Willem for that of our battle fairies? Are we going to get some action four episodes into this season that isn’t just a brief sparring match?
Not to nab some of the thunder that Owningmatt93’s previous post signaled, but episode four is, interestingly, still more of the same, but in many ways, we also see the show shift slightly – steadily-paced world-building, getting to know the cast a bit better, and…a lot about lizard romance films?
The Backloggers 